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Author: Tom Gogola

About Tom Gogola
Tom Gogola covered criminal justice for The Lens from February 2012 to May 2013. He is a veteran journalist and editor who has written on a range of subjects for many publications, including Newsday, New York, The Nation, and Maxim. Gogola was a 2011 winner of the Hillman Foundation Sidney Award, for his groundbreaking report in New York magazine detailing regulatory waste in the commercial fishing industry.

Judge extends deadline for city, Justice Department to pick NOPD monitor

April 29, 2013 Updated November 7, 2019
If the sides can't agree, a judge will award the contract, worth at least $7 million.

911 operators answer hundreds of calls every day related to police officers’ moonlighting

April 25, 2013 Updated November 7, 2019
About 250 times a day, a New Orleans police officer calls the 911 center to check in for a "paid detail" assignment — a private security job paying up to $39 an hour. Meanwhile, some people calling 911 wait so long for an answer, they hang up before reaching anyone.

Postponements continue to dog Criminal Court despite huge drop in its caseload

April 24, 2013 Updated November 7, 2019
Cutbacks in public defenders office means defense lawyers often don't make it to hearings.

NOPD says feds now looking into 2011 embezzlement from Lusher Charter School

April 17, 2013 Updated November 7, 2019
So far Lauren Hightower has not been charged with any crime, though she admitted taking money from the school.

Live blog: 2 companies vie to monitor reforms to New Orleans Police Department

April 15, 2013 Updated November 7, 2019
A committee meets at noon to choose between Hillard Heintze and SheppardMullin.

Finalists to monitor NOPD subject themselves to public scrutiny on Monday

April 12, 2013 Updated November 7, 2019
The feds have a favorite and so does Mayor Landrieu. Can they find common ground?

Angry sheriff takes the stand, later accuses mayor of ‘Archie Bunker’ tactics

April 4, 2013 Updated November 7, 2019
Gusman says he signed the consent decree after the city refused his 2013 request for an extra $15 million.

Schizophrenic inmate tells court about jail violence; Gusman testifies Thursday

April 3, 2013 Updated November 7, 2019
Deputy mayor and judge clash over whether the city was included in consent decree negotiations.

Guns, drugs, gambling, violence: Video shows out-of-control Orleans prison

April 2, 2013 Updated November 7, 2019
Jail security is a study in "total dysfunction," testified expert witness Manuel Romero.

Continuing live blog: Consent decree hearing on Orleans Parish Prison

April 1, 2013 Updated November 7, 2019
On Wednesday, testimony concerned the city's involvement in the negotiations over the consent decree and conditions in the mental health unit. Sheriff Marlin Gusman will testify Thursday morning.

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