Friday, March 16, 2007

The Garland/Meffert interview

Here is the interview (HT Ashley), I just listened to it:

WWL Garland Robinette interview with Greg Meffert

Not even sure where to begin:

1. It's obvious that the woman who called is one of the ImagineANON commenters...she (Tammy...henceforth known as St. Tammany) was quoting her own talking points from the comments nearly verbatim..."sour grapes", "supposed buddies", "Garland, you don't want to see both sides of the story."...to which she received a righteous and appropriate bitch smackdown from Mr. Robinette. Garland replied, "I don't know who you're working for..."

yeah we do.

2. Meffert stated..."Show me one person who is making these allegations that isn't a scorned contractor."

Me...I've never had a contract with the city and never will.

3. Meffert tried to discredit Grant Holcomb by saying he was in the Urology department at Tulane. This is Holcomb's background as he explained it in an email to Meffert:

I am an honor graduate of the United States Marine Corps Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Warfare Defense School. I am a combat veteran. I have a B.S. in Electrical Engineering. After attending the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, I taught Electrical Engineering at the U.S. Naval Academy. I have over 25 years of experience behind my claim that the inability to communicate during a natural disaster or terrorist attack directly results in the unnecessary loss of life. The grant submission presented how vulnerable the citizens of Southeast Louisiana are during a disaster. You intentionally ignored this critical information.

And this was Holcomb's response to Meffert's attempt to discredit him during the DOJ Grant debacle:

Does the public know that you have a liberal arts degree and do not have the engineering credentials to be the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of anything, particularly the City of New Orleans? Ordering Microsoft Software and Dell computers and hiring a third party to set up a web site does not make you "technical", nor should it cost the taxpayers so much a year.

A note about the third party who created the website which won the city an award...they were never given credit and were contracted to create other websites for city ventures and were not fully compensated for their work. Disgusted by the business ethics they encountered, the designers have since left the city...one more casualty to the brain drain due to business as usual in New Orleans.

Incidentally, our current CTO who replaced Kurt, Anthony Jones, holds a degree in Business Managment from the University of Phoenix...yeah that one. Dr. Morris...you think your qualified? I should hope so.

4. I did not accuse Meffert of being Gay or of being a Scientologist. I posted the question "Is Meffert a Scientologist?" and this is the post itself:

I ignored this originally but it just keeps coming back up. I had two Anon's claim that Mefffert is a member of the COS. Now Ashley is claiming that Earthlink is run by Scientologists. Very Strange, indeed.

I posted it as a question in regard to the exclusive Earthlink deal for city wifi.

I never called Meffert gay....my commenters did. I don't care who he fucks as long as he quits fucking this city. I've received countless...countless...stories about these guys' personal lives which I have not published. I've said this before and I'll say it again, my blogging about this stuff is not a personal attack...I am sick and tired of the corruption in our city govenrment and I'm going to take on anyone I hear about that's involved in it. Meffert is not the only person I've called out on this site.

5. This isn't Holcomb's website, as they referred to it on the show. I contacted Holcomb myself in order to clarify what exactly happened with the DOJ grant...he was kind enough to send me a bulk of material of which I've only posted a small amount.

6. I'm not defending Southern Electronics or Active Solutions....the questions I've posed are regarding collusion among Meffert, Kurt, St. Pierre, Domke, Drake and most importantly....Ray Nagin.

7. Garland specifically stated that no one is accussing Dell of improper dealings.

I am.

Overall, I think Oyster summed it up pretty well. Meffert didn't provide any substantial answers. I thouht it was funny how he kept reffering to "the game"...which I think sums up how he viewed his role and responsiblities with the city. All he could do is keep touting how they stayed after the storm and set up a wifi cloud which allowed some level of communication. Well Greg, you wouldn't have had to do that had you not scuttled the DOJ grant...you feel that?

The bottom line on the Camera Contract is they pushed the contract into their own hands....the 400k (which is nothing to sneeze at) was a precursor to future contracts, not just in New Orleans.

As a matter of fact they're already touting themselves as experts in that arena and the NetMethods site is currently taking full credit for the city's crime camera system with no mention of Southern Electronics or Active Solutions involvement.

15 comments:

bayoustjohndavid said...

Tammy Taxpayer needs to go to ringer school. Also, I don't know why Meffert keeps insisting that $15K is half of $22K. I do actually, and it's silly.

Jason Brad Berry said...

yeah it was so blatant it was funny. She probably called in 30 minutes before the show so she could be the first caller....I can see her practicing the speaking points while she's on hold.

At least she caught hell for it.

Jason Brad Berry said...

Anon,

Yeah I noticed that too. He really shouldn't have gone on the show...it was a bad PR move. As Oyster put it...he really did look like a buffoon.

A disclaimer: I'm not calling him gay and I don't care if he is. I've never claimed the guy is gay, people just keep saying that in the comment section.

Anonymous said...

OMG! What a mumbling idiot! Talk about a sea of tangents. Meffert did not and could not give an honest, logical, or believable answer. If he said anything at all...between the lines that is...is that all the allegations or perceptions that the public is making is TRUE!
If you listen closely...(and I did)...in the very beginning...from the very first question...(under his breath) he admits to, agrees to, and laughs at the fact that "it goes back to the ol' school" and "he knows the game"!
Man, just admit that you are BUSTED!

To Tammy (the caller), you must've had way too much mint julips when you made that call. You made as much sense as Meffert!

Transparency, Baby! We're gonna need a whole lot of Oxyclean to make this muddy water clear!

Anonymous said...

I heard a rumor... RUMOR... from someone who has heard Linda Meffert, Greg's wife talk and they said that it sounded like her. I don't know though, I have never spoken with her. Hoewver, I find it funny that the two of them (Greg and Linda) own a fairly new investment company. I find it strange that all of these people involved at City Hall seem to be linked to their own investment companies. I have some mutual funds and a financial advisor, but boy. What kind of payouts are they getting that they need to form their own company just to manage their income!

Anonymous said...

erzulie said Tammy must've had too many mint julips. I'm willing to bet Tammy is Scott Domke's live-in, Fran. She does have a drinking "issue" that's a matter of public record - DWI charges and 2 totalled cars.

Jason Brad Berry said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

The Bottom Line isn't that new. Here: http://www.sos.louisiana.gov/cgibin?rqstyp=crpdtlC&rqsdta=35770202K

Anonymous said...

sure, here. i don't know anything more than is publically available, sorry:

Charter/Organization ID: 35770202K

Name: THE BOTTOM LINE COMPANY: STRATEGIC FINANCIAL CONSULTING,
L.L.C.

Type Entity: Limited Liability Company

Status: Active

Annual Report Status: In Good Standing Add Certificate of Good Standing to Shopping Cart

Last Report Filed on 09/25/2006

Mailing Address: C/O GREG MEFFERT, 24 PARK ISLAND DRIVE, NEW ORLEANS, LA 70122

Domicile Address: 24 PARK ISLAND DRIVE, NEW ORLEANS, LA 70122

File Date: 08/30/2004

Registered Agent (Appointed 8/30/2004): GREG MEFFERT, 24 PARK ISLAND DR., NEW ORLEANS, LA 70122

Member: LINDA MEFFERT, 24 PARK ISLAND DRIVE, NEW ORLEANS, LA 70122

Unknown said...

Many here have tried to paint Meffert as someone less than truthful using complicated examples. There is a simple easier way....

In his own words Meffert has called himself:

1) As the "CTO" (via his title with the city).

2) As the "City Planner" (in his interview on 60 minutes).

3) As a "Wetlands Scientist" )in a letter he wrote to the editor of the TP).

4) As the city's "Deputy Major" (in various interviews and statements).

The facts are, even if he was officially appointed CTO, most "real" cities would not consider a liberal arts graduate for such a position.

He was never appointed City Planner and would not be qualified to hold such a position.

Not having a degree in something like Marine or Aquatic Biology, Environmental Science, some area of Geology or related science, his claim to be a "Wetlands Scientist" is like a high school graduate claiming to be a Neurosurgeon. Meffert is so full of crap !

Lastly, as the TP pointed out in todays Metro section (under New Orleans Politics), Meffert called himself a "Deputy or Vice Mayor" many times. However, as the TP points out, there is no mechanism in the City Charter for such a position. (If the Mayor cannot serve for a period, the charter calls for one of the Councilpersons at large to handle his duties). How stupid does Meffert think the public is ? (Note that Previstar has been reported to be hyping him as a former Deputy Major).

What will Meffert morph into next? Will he put on a Speedo and claim to be Superman ?

Anonymous said...

Uhhhh, Mel, thanks for that last image. NOT. Or maybe... I need an idea for next Mardi Gras. Where's the photoshop button now?

Anonymous said...

I said it before and although it doesn't really need repeating, I'll say it again:

Meffert is a liar.

His performance on Garland's show makes a lot more sense in that context.

can't wait until justice is finally served.

mominem said...

Didn't Michael J. Fox have the title of Deputy Mayor on his last TV show "Spin City"?

Jason Brad Berry said...

Dambala said...
yeah, I figured it was either her or St. Pierre's wife. I'm pretty sure she's commenting on the blog as well.

I actually feel sorry for her to some extent. If half of the stories I've received about these guys' personal lives is true...she's either completely clueless or she's living in a state of strategic delusion.

It was so blatant....1. She knew the head of Active Solution's name and that he had a security camera in front of his house...when she said that Greg commented "I wish I would have known that when was still there." He did know that....that was a petty attempt to try and discredit Active Solutions. 2. She knew how many cameras were working and how many weren't and what proportion of those cameras were installed by Southern and how many were installed by NetMethods/Veracent.

Garland sniffed it out immediately....as I suspect did everyone listening. The bitchslap she got from Garland was hilarious...I've never heard him get that pissed before.

So tell me more about this investement company....can you tell us the name of the company?

Anonymous said...

ok coming back to this after many years i have two comments...

1) now the city has six deputy mayors in Landrieu's admin. the charter has not changed since the last, as far as im aware.

2) theres nothing wrong with a liberal arts degree. its all about your experience -- i know many talented software engineers with liberal arts degrees. a CTO is merely a seasoned technical manager. as it is possible to be technical without a BS, then having a BA is not an automatic disqualification.