If the sides can’t agree, a judge will award the contract, worth at least $7 million.
Author Archives: 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.
Posted inCriminal Justice, Investigations
911 operators answer hundreds of calls every day related to police officers’ moonlighting
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.
Posted inCriminal Justice
Postponements continue to dog Criminal Court despite huge drop in its caseload
Cutbacks in public defenders office means defense lawyers often don’t make it to hearings.
Posted inSchools
NOPD says feds now looking into 2011 embezzlement from Lusher Charter School
So far Lauren Hightower has not been charged with any crime, though she admitted taking money from the school.
Posted inCriminal Justice
Live blog: 2 companies vie to monitor reforms to New Orleans Police Department
A committee meets at noon to choose between Hillard Heintze and SheppardMullin.
Posted inCriminal Justice
Finalists to monitor NOPD subject themselves to public scrutiny on Monday
The feds have a favorite and so does Mayor Landrieu. Can they find common ground?
Posted inCriminal Justice
Angry sheriff takes the stand, later accuses mayor of ‘Archie Bunker’ tactics
Gusman says he signed the consent decree after the city refused his 2013 request for an extra $15 million.
Posted inCriminal Justice
Schizophrenic inmate tells court about jail violence; Gusman testifies Thursday
Deputy mayor and judge clash over whether the city was included in consent decree negotiations.
Posted inCriminal Justice
Guns, drugs, gambling, violence: Video shows out-of-control Orleans prison
Jail security is a study in “total dysfunction,” testified expert witness Manuel Romero.
Posted inCriminal Justice
Continuing live blog: Consent decree hearing on Orleans Parish Prison
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.