Monday, June 20, 2011

Comment Bump - June 20, 2011

I'm gonna start labeling comment bumps by date, FYI.  

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "On Father's day no less...":

Benetech is masquerading itself through Callahan Inc. of Mass.

Callahan Inc (www.callahan-inc.com) uses the 915 S. White Street, New Orleans, LA address which is also the Benetech address.

504-365-1119 is the phone number Callahan used on the Julia Street Cruise Terminal Improvements Vol. 1 when they submitted bid as Planholder.

AND again uses same phone number & address as Benetech in Jan. of 2011.


dholley@callahan-inc.com is the contact person for Callahan using the Benetech phone number.

Julia Street International Riverfront Center's Planholder uses the same address and contact person but changes the phone number to 504-962-0950.

The 504-365-1119 phone number is the same phone number that James Book uses at Benetech LLC in this proposed contract:

Again check out phone number, address, & company for #3 under original bidder list!!!!!!


18 comments:

Anonymous said...

I clicked on the link for the Julia Street Improvements and read all the contractors.

DRC Emergency Services LLC of Museum Drive in Mobile Alabama is...

Daya Naef (the D) and Robert Ellis (the R). Daya Naef, Fradella's former lawyer, and Robert Ellis, who did side business for Aaron Bennett while also working as a New Orleans City Attorney.

DRC Salvage has been getting City contracts going back to 2005.

DR Commercial Lines of Baton Rouge, of New Orleans, etc. is run out of their house in Covington. This place in Alabama is theirs, too.

The Bob Ellis Posse rides again.

jr said...

i don't believe any of the above is accurate other than naef working for home solutions as a lawyer. ellis could have worked for benetech but i dont know DRC has nothing to do with naef and ellis. thehead of DRC was a whistleblower on fraud in iraq. naef and ellis do not live in covington. the address for DR in covington is a small industrial office building.

Jason Brad Berry said...

I'm looking into it. Their are two addresses for DR Commercial Lines in covington that I've found, one of them is a a house.

Anon 1, the business is registered to a Robert J. Isakson. How are you discerning that Ellis is involved with that particular business?

mcbrid35 said...

I'm pretty sure anon above has it wrong.

DRC's been around since Hurricane Hugo in 1989. They've been doing disaster cleanup all over the country and world since then. Their corporate roots seem to be in South Carolina, Florida, and Alabama.

As far as what the initials DRC stand for...

Alabama corporate records for DRC Emergency Services (one of the many flavors of DRC) indicate that one of the owners at one time was the Robert J and Doris C Isakson Trust 2005.

Robert Isakson is the founder of DRC, so it seems somewhat likely the D stands for Doris and the R stands for Robert.

So, yes, DRC does a lot of business in New Orleans and Louisiana, but they were doing that sort of business for well over a decade before Katrina, so it seems very unlikley the company is named after two New Orleans bit players.

DR Commercial Lines appears to be something else completely that just happens to share the first two letters of another company. I wish the anon commenter that first brought it up would lend some more perspective, instead of being so inscrutible.

mcbrid35 said...

Also, regarding the original post:

It's not unusual for out of town firms to hook up with local firms to help "guide" them through New Orleans, especially if the out of town firm doesn't have a physical presence in New Orleans. So this Massachustts firm using Benetech's address and phone number when registering to get bid documents is not as odd as it would seem at first blush. I think all it indicates is that they were partnering with Benetech. Companies work with each other.

Jason Brad Berry said...

I think there's more going on than just that, Matt. I think it will become more apparent in the coming weeks.

mcbrid35 said...

More on this specific case, or more in general with Benetech?

Anonymous said...

"Turlich said he got the oil spill work through DRC, a company out of Mobile that administered the work."

http://www.fox8live.com/mostpopular/story/Lee-Zurik-Investigation-Plaq-sheriff-employee/HSwCXO0r4U2wEzEWWsCzSg.cspx

Lee Zurik Investigation: Plaq. sheriff employee works for FBI; defends spill work

"A Plaquemines Parish Sheriff's Department Captain defends money he made during the BP Oil Spill. But FOX 8 has also learned that same Captain is actually currently working under the supervision of the FBI in New Orleans."

http://www.fox8live.com/mostpopular/story/Jiff-Hingle-loses-powerful-post-as-president-of/xssD5pWsgk652ydBVyvsnw.cspx

Jiff Hingle loses powerful post as president of sheriffs' association

"Plaquemines Parish Sheriff Jiff Hingle is no longer president of the Louisiana Sheriffs’ Association."

"On Friday, the first vice president, West Baton Rouge Parish Mike Cazes took over as president."

"As president of the sheriff's association, Hingle was regarded as one of the most powerful locally elected officials in the state."

http://wbrsheriff.org/
West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff Mike Cazes

http://susanhillinfo.com/letter_to_judge_robin_free

Parish of West Baton Rouge
Susan Hill
Brusly, Louisiana

"injury/harm caused to me and my 20 year-old daughter by _________"

"and a pending lawsuit against, among others, _________"

"in both their official and individual capacities"

http://wbrsheriff.org/Contacts/ContactUs.asp

Sheriff Mike Cazes
225-343-9234

and

District Attorney Liaison Major Richie Johnson
225-445-1215

Jason Brad Berry said...

That still doesn't link DRC to Ellis or was that not your intent? I'm sorry but I'm not omniscient, I don't know where you're going.

Isakson also owns DRC Marine out of Mobile which I am assuming was the contractor who doled out the contract to Turlich.

Still....I don't see a connection between DRC's and Ellis and Isakson. I have been working all day on something else but I will pick up the hunt later on. It would help if you just email me or go ahead and post what is being implied. I do not know who is posting the comments as anon, and if you sign up for a bogus Gmail or yahoo account you can send me email anonymously. I also have a P.O. Box if you want to do it the hard way.

I'm willing to dig but I'm not too keen on taking on a scavenger hunt. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

thank you for your advice...and for your kind understanding......

Jason Brad Berry said...

Benetech will become more apparent, the original point of this post. The comments section is as big a mystery to me right noe ad it is you.

Jason Brad Berry said...

...to Matt

Jason Brad Berry said...

...Although Matt...you and I should take a drive down 90....past Avondale...there's something I would like to show you :)

Anonymous said...

{Dude, I love your blog but this rinky dink 4000 character lmitation thing has GAWT TO GO, brah!}

Anonymous said...

Ok, rather than print the text, which is TOO LONG, here are the links. If you have any trouble getting these just post and I will be glad to follow up:

http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091106/NEWS/911060326&template=printart


http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080518/NEWS/805180330/-1/rss02


http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080425/NEWS/804250321/-1/rss02


- Basically Callahan Inc. involved in (alleged) contractor fraud in Cape Cod Massachusetts.

{Falmouth by the way is one place to grab a ferry to Martha's Vineyard}

Anonymous said...

"La. firm acquires billboard company
- PITTSFIELD -- Callahan Outdoor Advertising, founded here in 1860, has been sold to a larger outdoor advertising company with billboards nationwide.

The local firm, a division of family-owned CCC Media Group Inc., was sold to Lamar Advertising Co. of Baton Rouge, La., for an undisclosed price. A publicly traded company (Nasdaq: LAMR), Lamar reports operating 149,000 billboards and 97,500 highway signs.

The acquisition of Callahan Outdoor Advertising was described as strengthening Lamar's presence in the Albany, N.Y., market. In addition to Berkshire County, Callahan operated billboards in Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Warren and Washington counties in New York state.

Ten people working out of Callahan's office at 4 Westview Road have been offered the opportunity to work for Lamar at that location, said Mick Callahan, president of CCC Media Group.

"Nobody's going anywhere, and I'll be here to help with the transition," he said yesterday in a telephone interview.

Callahan, a prominent figure in the Berkshire County business community, said he will remain active with numerous boards and organizations. He said two other family companies -- Callahan Sign Co. and M. Callahan Inc . -- will continue with business as usual.

The sign company, with offices on Union Street and Valentine Road, manufactures, installs and services "on-premise" signs for commercial businesses. It was founded in 1981.

M. Callahan Inc . is a real-estate development company that "will continue to be aggressive in pursuing real estate opportunities where we will be acquiring and managing properties," Callahan said.

He attributed the sale of the billboard company, which he owned with his brother, Daniel, to consolidation in the outdoor advertising industry.

"There's a major consolidation going on in this industry as well as in many others," Callahan said. "The consolidation is creating very strong regional markets, and with the Berkshires being around 135,000 [in population], we're really a small market."

Under Lamar, customers will have access to billboards in cities including Albany, Springfield and Providence, R.I. "It creates a connection throughout the Northeast," Callahan said.

The Pittsfield office will be partnered with Lamar's Albany office, managed by Matthew Duddy. The two are part of the company's regional district based in York, Pa.

"Callahan Outdoor Advertising is a company we are very proud to have in our core group," Duddy stated in an announcement of the sale. "We can now offer our customers more complete coverage of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy market. I am very pleased to have the opportunity to further develop the business founded by the Callahan family." "

2.3.05 Berkshire Eagle

Anonymous said...

And this:

http://www.patriotledger.com/news/cops_and_courts/x1742450825/Attorney-general-fines-two-subcontractors-on-Hanover-school-construction-job

1.8.09 Brockton Enterprise: "A developer of a condominium project and construction company will pay more than $20,000 in fines for violating the Clean Water Act.

Dunham Farm, LLC and Callahan, Inc will be paying $22,500 for violations stemming from storm water discharges at the 11-acre Dunham Farm condominium development.

The violation was discovered March 27, 2007 by an EPA inspector.

The EPA alleged that Dunham Farm, LLC and Callahan, Inc . failed to document routine facility inspections at the development site and failed to properly implement and maintain "best management" practices, which include erosion and sediment controls, such as drainage basins, silt barriers and berms, at the site.

The EPA said during storms in the summer of 2006, storm water laden with sediment flowed from the development site into a bordering vegetated wetland.

The developer and builder have since taken steps to remove the silt that traveled to the bordering wetland and are now in full compliance with the Clean Water Act, the EPA said."

Anonymous said...

{By the way this is pure research....}

If you notice the Callahan boys (sorry I might have plopped it into the other post...) are Patrick, Michael (Mick), and Timothy..... but here the confluence of a William Callahan appears with CDM, thus worth noting though they may not be related.

(btw, gottalove the newspaper title here)

8.15.93 Springfield Sunday Republican

"Designer cashed in on odor through no-bid contracts

To some people, it was like letting the fox into the henhouse.

Camp, Dresser & McKee Inc., a Boston consulting firm, designed the Bondi's Island wastewater treatment plant in 1970. And when problems developed after it was built with unwelcome odors drifting across the river into Springfield and surrounding communities, Camp, Dresser & McKee was paid millions by the city, through no-bid contracts, to correct the problem, which still persists.

Was it improper?

Springfield officials contend it was not, that the odor control was not a requirement of the plant when it was built, that Camp Dresser was not being paid to correct design flaws they had made.

"It is important to distinguish what Camp Dresser was doing," said Springfield Mayor Robert Markel who was a city councilor much of the 1980s.

"Cities had been given a mandate from the federal government to do secondary wastewater treatment. Odor wasn't the issue. The issue was treatment of wastewater. The odor was a related problem that wasn't given a lot of consideration at the time," he said.

No finding of impropriety

The City's Law Department and the state Inspector General's Office looked into the matter in 1989. And while no finding of impropriety was made, "probably as a result of that, contracts are now competitive," said Markel.

William Callahan , vice president of Camp Dresser , said many of the nation's treatment plants were built in the early 1970s in response to the federal requirements and many eventually suffered problems with sewage odors.

He said it was common for designers of the treatment plants, who were the most familiar with their operation, to be called in later to do additional work on them.

"The Connecticut River back in the 1970s was in desperate need of improved water quality which this plant provided. Odor control . . . became an objective of these plants later on," he said.

F. William Euliano, chairman of the Agawam Board of Health who represented that community in seeking a solution to the odor problem, said it would be difficult to say now whether the original design of Camp Dresser was at fault.

"I can't sit here in 1993 and pass an accurate judgment about the original design. What we consider state-of-the-art today may be obsolete tomorrow," he said. "