A Stench: Mobile Morgues, Brown, Funeralgate, FEMA - a Cover-up?

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Fri Sep-09-05 01:01 PM
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A Stench: Mobile Morgues, Brown, Funeralgate, FEMA - a Cover-up?

I see a travesty taking place, and I need to speak up. FEMA is bringing in a really sleazy outfit to care for, identify and bury Katrina's dead. Worse still, this outfit has big money ties to Bush's Houston buddies, including both the current and previous head of FEMA. And I'm not sure who's in charge, or what their agenda is.

Skip ahead to THE ONGOING SCANDAL below if you want, but please come back and read this too:

Unfortunately, the greater public's attention wanders when we begin talking about dry (!) details like Rove's outing of an operative, but this story has some strong emotional and graphic overtones. I’m using the word SCANDAL intentionally. Still, I want to use it responsibly. Watergate WAS a national scandal. BucshCo’s character assassinations and innuendos are touted as scandals, but they are the tactics of bullies and thugs.

So… I don't want to ignore these facts, just because they seem creepy. They've all been cited in mainstream articles. I would appreciate any corrections or further fact-checking.

Read THE SCANDAL PART 1, then THE ONGOING SCANDAL farther down, and finally THE CHILLER.

I organized this basically in this order: Background on who's in charge of FEMA and where they came from; how they became involved with the mobile morgue people; and what seems to be happening now.

How did Brown get appointed? What's his background?
From Time Magazine:
Before joining FEMA, his only previous stint in emergency management, according to his bio posted on FEMA's website, was "serving as an assistant city manager with emergency services oversight." The White House press release from 2001 stated that Brown worked for the city of Edmond, Okla., from 1975 to 1978 "overseeing the emergency services division." In fact, according to Claudia Deakins, head of public relations for the city of Edmond, Brown was an "assistant to the city manager" from 1977 to 1980, not a manager himself, and had no authority over other employees. "The assistant is more like an intern," she told TIME. "Department heads did not report to him."
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1103003,00.html

More damning statements, from a Daily Kos blogger (and remember, this is just a blog, although it’s been widely distributed):
"An unmitigated, total fucking disaster." That's not a quote from Mike Brown, but rather, a quote describing him. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/9/2/34622/68348

How did Mike Brown get to FEMA in the first place?
Joseph Allbaugh, Bush's chief of staff when he served as Governor of Texas, brought him along to FEMA with him:

Allbaugh hired Brown after an acrimonious end to a nine-year stint as commissioner of the International Arabian Horse Association. Former officials say he was forced out; a friend and lawyer of Brown's said he negotiated a settlement after withstanding numerous lawsuits against his enforcement of rules for judges and stewards.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/05/AR2005090501590_pf.html

How did Allbaugh become head of FEMA? Who was he?

FEMA website:
Prior to his appointment, Mr. Allbaugh served as Chief of Staff to then-Governor George W. Bush.
Mr. Allbaugh served as the National Campaign Manager for Bush-Cheney 2000 with responsibility and oversight for all activities related to the Bush election campaign. He had previously served as Campaign Manager for President Bush's first run for Texas governor.
http://www.fema.gov/about/allbaugh/index.shtm

Where is Allbaugh now?
Washington Post:Former FEMA Chief Is at Work on Gulf Coast
After leaving FEMA in March 2003, Allbaugh, who managed the 2000 Bush-Cheney campaign, founded Allbaugh Co., a lobbying-consulting firm with many clients in the disaster-relief business.
-snip-
Among those clients are: the KBR division of Haliburton....
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/07/AR2005090702385.html

HERE'S THE SCANDAL, PART ONE:

The Austin Chronicle
Funeralgate Hits Texas

What began as a citizen's complaint against SCI in January 1998 has since grown into a scandal revolving around campaign contributions, and the influence they may buy. All of the politicos who intervened on SCI's behalf received major contributions from SCI's political action committee, or PAC. Did that money convince them to help SCI -- the world's largest death care company -- and to punish the agency that investigated SCI?

-snip-
As a major player in the funeral business, SCI is accustomed to doling out cash in the form of perfectly legal campaign contributions. From 1996 through the 1998 election, SCI's PAC contributed about $113,000 to the campaigns of dozens of politicians. Bush received $35,000 from SCI. Cornyn got $2,000. Moreover, there appears to be a connection between SCI's political giving and actions taken by elected officials.

-snip-

the scandal promises to grow as the lawsuit -- filed by former TFSC director Eliza May -- works through the discovery process. The suit alleges that May was fired because she "repeatedly and in good faith reported violations of the law and conduct that she reasonably believed to constitute violations of the law." As May's suit goes forward, Bush and the other politicos who helped SCI are scrambling for cover. May's lawyers want to depose Bush.

(Poster's note: the whistleblower lawsuit has been dismissed, yet there are claims that Bush perjured himself or obstructed justice. I am not a lawyer and did not include these as I don't know their validity)

-snip-

A few days later, May alleges, she was called into Allbaugh's office where -- with Waltrip sitting in the same room -- Whitmire interrogated her about the TFSC's investigation into SCI and demanded that she answer his questions about the investigation.
http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/vol18/issue45/pols.sci.html

OR google: funeralgate allbaugh bush waltrip TFSC or any combination and get your mind blown, if you don't already know this story - oh, yeah, Atty General Gonzales has been all over trying to get this hushed, google his name in connection, too.

THE ONGOING SCANDAL (COVERUP?)

Here's the part I'm not finding ANYWHERE in the news. I pulled the info together yesterday, emailed the Austin Chronicle and a local politician, and now assembled threads for DU.

Here's the story, links follow with details:

SCI Corporation has a wholly-owned subsidiary, Kenyon International, which has been deployed, with a mobile morgue, to NOLA. I'm having a little trouble getting GREAT definitive answers - imagine that! - but everything I see points to this being the mobile morgue in St Gabriel, where the NOLA bodies are being processed without transparency, without autopsies, behind a Bushco veil of secrecy.

FEMA didn't deploy its own DMORT teams to the St. Gabriel warehouse where the mobile morgue is set up, but outsourced that location’s administration to Kenyon International. That's right, Joe Albaugh and Michael Brown's FEMA selected them, and FEMA is saying there is neither time nor money for autopsies. If autopsies were performed on randomly-selected bodies, a statistician could use the results to extrapolate a great deal of information about the Katrina deaths; specifically:
--numbers killed by drowning and initial trauma of Katrina itself
--numbers killed by dehydration
--numbers killed by gunshot
--time of death
--were people killed by the natural disaster or the failure of the rescue effort?

I believe that most Americans would not want such a sleazy outfit in charge of the remains. And I must ask: why use a Bush crony to handle this?

From what I can see, by searching Louisiana revised code as well as DMORT.org's website, it's up to the local coroner to make final decisions about death certificates and the need to autopsy. How can FEMA usurp this right?

I'd love to see this story get in front of the American public. I think. Then, again, it's pretty sensational. But entrusting Katrina's bodies to a company that is accused of burying bodies in the woods...?

On September 1, Kenyon posted a press release on its website, and was quoted on CNN's website in an article about St. Gabriel's, but the press release and the reference to a Kenyon representative in CNN's story has been pulled from the internet.

Please take the time to check out these links:

How sleazy is SCI/Kenyon?
Houston Business Journal
Houston-based Service Corp. International, the world's largest funeral and cemetery company, on Tuesday said it agreed to pay $65 million to settle a securities class action lawsuit. The suit had been pending against the company and certain of its current and former officers since January 1999. http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2004/04/19/daily22.html

The New York Times
$100 Million Settlement Over Remains
The parent company of two cemeteries has agreed to pay $100 million to families who sued it for mishandling and moving remains. The company, the Service Corporation International of Houston, announced the settlement months after a judge certified a class-action lawsuit by 2,000 families in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach Counties. The settlement will also compensate plaintiffs in related suits against the company and its Menorah Gardens cemeteries in Palm Beach and Broward Counties. Abby Goodnough (NYT)
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C01E0DA173DF937A35751C1A9659C8B63

The New York Times
Funeral Company Accused of Desecration
ABSTRACT - Class-action lawsuit in Florida accuses Service Corp International, largest US funeral company, of desecrating remains in Jewish cemeteries it operates in South Florida; families of deceased charge company with breaking open burial vaults and dumping contents in woods to make room for others.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30612F73A5A0C728EDDAB0994D9404482

Kenyon is deployed:
PRNewswire
HOUSTON, Sept. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Kenyon International Emergency Services, the world's leading disaster management company, has activated an emergency action team to respond to the needs of Baton Rouge, Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina under an agreement with the US Government and the Department of Homeland Security

Kenyon has deployed one of its fully-equipped mobile morgue kits and a 10-member, specially-trained team to provide morgue support to the area. The mobile morgue includes equipment for search and recovery, victim identification, and pathology. It is one of three mobile morgues held worldwide by Kenyon. Earlier this year, Kenyon also deployed a mobile morgue and a large response team for the tsunami efforts in Phuket, Thailand.

Kenyon International Emergency Services is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Houston-based Service Corporation International (NYSE: SCI). Founded in 1929, the company works with more than 200 clients in both the public and private sector, and has responded to more than 300 mass-fatality incidents in its 75 year history.
For more information, call Jay Kirsch at 281-872-6084 or Jerry Hendin at 425-442-5565 or visit the Kenyon website at http://www.kenyoninternational.com .
PR newswire site: http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/09-01-2005/0004098489&EDATE=

The source of the prnewswire above, including the links to Kenyon Internationl, is the Yahoo business site: http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050901/dath045.html?.v=16

Houston Chronicle
Morgue set up in St. Gabriel,Team of forensic specialists called in to help identify the dead
Sept. 6, 2005, 12:57AM

ST. GABRIEL, LA. - The bodies have been tied to trees, floating in the toxic muck and decomposing in the blazing Louisiana sun. Now, officials say the victims of Hurricane Katrina being collected this week from the flooded streets of New Orleans and other damaged areas will be handled with delicate care before they are claimed by loved ones.
As officials began the grim task of pulling bodies off the streets and out of homes, a team of forensic specialists at a makeshift morgue in St. Gabriel, a small town between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, prepared to process the bodies.
-snip-
It won't be a traditional operation, where we would do autopsies and things that would take a vast amount of time," Ellis said. "We want to try and do a good job on the post-mortem collection and inspection side so we can give these folks and opportunity to retrieve their loved ones at some future date.

Baton Rouge Advocate
September 4, 2005
Morgue in works in St. Gabriel
Disaster Mortuary Team to identify victims of hurricane

By MARK F. BONNER
mbonner@theadvocate.com
Advocate staff writer

ST. GABRIEL -- In preparation for the bodies that will be removed from New Orleans in the coming days and weeks, a Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team on Saturday was erecting a temporary morgue in a large warehouse next to the St. Gabriel Police Department off of Iberville Street.

Officials on the scene wearing green "DMORT" shirts would not comment on their presence or their construction efforts, but dump trucks were bustling in and out of the work site.

DMORTs are directed by the National Disaster Medical System -- a sector within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Response Division. The teams include funeral directors, medical examiners, coroners, pathologists, forensic anthropologists, medical records technicians and transcribers and fingerprint specialists, according to the National Disaster Medial System Web site.

Don Moreau, the chief of operations for the East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner's Office said Saturday he had been in contact with DMORT officials to inquire if they needed support. Moreau said officials told him that DMORT did not need support from him and said they would be processing 60 bodies a day in recognition and identification procedures.

St. Gabriel Police Chief Kevin J. Ambeau Sr. would not comment on the presence of DMORT and directed a reporter to leave the premises.

Gov. Kathleen Blanco said Saturday that she expects the death toll to reach into the thousands.
http://2theadvocate.com/stories/090405/new_morgue001.shtml

You can read about DMORT here:
Main Site: http://www.dmort.org/
History of DMORT: http://www.dmort.org/DNPages/DMORTHistory.htm

It was the DMORT WMD team that deployed to St Gabriel (which is 15 miles from Baton Rouge)- you read that right - the WMD team, which was used after September 11. I wish I had time to find out when and how Kenyon International came up with the idea of a mobile morgue capable of deployment by FEMA - when buddy Joe Allbaugh took over the agency?

The posting below is from the DMORT website: http://www.dmort4.com/

UPDATE 8/31/2005 FROM COMMANDER HOWELL:

DMORT Region IV has deployed two 3 person teams to assess the situation in Gulfport and Biloxi, MS. The remainder of the region IV team is currently enroute to Hattiesburg, MS and under the command of Paul Taylor. Region I and II has been deployed to Aniston, AL. Region VII is deployed to Baton Rouge, LA. Region VIII has been deployed to Houston, TX. The mobile morgue in Selma, AL has been deployed to Biloxi, MS. The DMORT WMD Team has been deployed to Baton Rouge, LA. No additional resources have been called at this time, but all DMORT Region IV members should be on standby for possible deployment. If you are a DMORT Region IV member and have not already notified DMORT Command Staff of your availability for deployment, please do so via the contact form on this website.

And here's this, which begs the question: If FEMA can deploy DMORT teams directly, without the layer of paying a subcontractor some profit, too, why wouldn't they? But the following post seems to say that Kenyon is competing with the DMORT teams to bring in qualified DMORT techs.

UPDATE 9/7/2005 FROM COMMANDER HOWELL:
Many DMORT Region IV members are also members of Kenyon International Emergency Services, Inc. Due to the scale of this natural disaster, Kenyon International has contracted with FEMA to provide mortuary services. As a result, many DMORT Region IV members have been contacted about possible deployment with Kenyon. Please be aware of the fact that any deployment with Kenyon is NOT a DMORT mission. Those DMORT members who have already confirmed their deployment status with DMORT Command Staff are expected to remain available for deployment, and should expect to be deployed in the near future. DMORT Region IV will not prevent anyone from deployment with Kenyon. However, any DMORT Region IV member who is unavailable for deployment due to a prior obligation or deployment with another agency such as Kenyon may be asked to step down from the Region IV team so that positions can be available for those making the mission of DMORT Region IV a top priority.

And from the same website, it’s apparent that FEMA was in no hurry to deploy all their DMORT teams:

DMORT REGION IV NEWS
UPDATE 8/30/2005 FROM ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER KIM PLUNK:
As of 10am Tuesday morning the deployed DMORT IV team members are still stationed in Anniston, AL. During the night 2 three person assessment teams were sent forward to help in affected areas. Cotton has asked that all members please keep up with latest info. via this website and email. DO NOT CALL COTTON UNLESS IT IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. We will give daily updates as long as we have capability to do so.

And I repeat, I don't see anything that deprives the local coroners of the right to determine cause of death, or order/deny an autopsy.
Please see:

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MEDICAL EXAMINERS
MASS FATALITY PLAN
Excerpt: Page 7
The decision to do complete or partial autopsies resides with the Medical Examiner/Coroner authority locally responsible for body processing and death certification. Some reasons for complete autopsies:
- Homicides
- Terrorism
- Indeterminate manner of death
- Flight crews ¡V the same pathologist should do all members
- Unidentified remains
- Federal request
- Local ME/Coroner request

Excerpt: Page 14
The final determination of body or body parts positive identification is the sole responsibility of the local ME/Coroner in which the disaster occurs

Excerpt: Page 15
Death Certificates
A. Issued according to procedures normally in place and as directed by the local ME/Coroner jurisdiction.
B. The administrative or judicial issuance of death certificates in situations in which there is an absence of positive physical forensic scientific identification is a responsibility solely of the local ME/Coroner in conjunction with local legal and public health authorities.
http://www.dmort.org/FilesforDownload/NAMEMFIplan.pdf

AND
from the "Mass Fatality Incidents: A Guide for Human Forensic Identification" June 05 Report by the National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice,Office of Justice Programs: http://www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles1/nij/199758.pdf

Excerpt: Page 57
The DMORT team supports the local medicolegal authority by providing expertise, personnel, supplies, and equipment. The responsibility for assigning the cause and manner of death, signing of death certificates, and death notification remain with the local authority

and

Excerpt - Page 15
If the medical examiner/coroner is not equipped to assume responsibility for managing morgue operations, a Disaster Mortuary sponsible for appointing a forensic pathologist or temporary medical examiner/coroner who is capable of overseeing all morgue operations and administrative functions. The extent and role of a DMORT remains at the discretion of the local medical examiner/coroner.

This same document says:

Excerpt: Page 57
Federal Disaster Declaration. The Federal Response Plan dictates how Federal agencies respond following a disaster. A request for DMORT assistance must be made by a local official through the State emergency management agency, which will then contact the regional office of FEMA. Based on the severity of the disaster, FEMA can ask for a Presidential disaster declaration, allowing the DMORT team to be activated. This process can take from 24 to 48 hours.

http://www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles1/nij/199758.pdf

In closing, here's

THE CHILLER:

from a DMORT newsletter, referring to the Pennsylvania crash site on 9/11: http://www.dmort.org/DNPages/jan2002newstext.htm

This response marked several firsts, all of note because of their importance for future responses. These included the deployment of the DNA team, the establishment of protocols documenting the operation of each morgue section, responding under a memorandum of understanding with the FBI, the response of the FAC team and the collection of family blood reference samples, the inclusion of a formal triage station as the first morgue station, and the first use of the Kenyon International Services mobile morgue.

and

The FBI was the lead authority in the investigation because of the criminal nature of the crash. Although victim identification responsibilities resided with the local coroner, his capabilities were severely taxed. Attempts to have the site declared a federal disaster through the state proved unsuccessful. The FBI stepped in to establish a memorandum with HHS that allowed DMORT to respond. During the activation, the crash site was under the control of the FBI; the DMORT operation focused on the morgue and the family assistance center.

Sound familiar?

Bolding is mine, but the term "the first use" sent chills through me. I am NOT a conspiracy theorist. As a matter of fact, I had these facts assembled yesterday and delayed posting because I needed to ask my spouse and a few good friends, "Am I cracking under the stress/grief/frustration of watching this unfold? Am I getting wacky?" Admittedly, there is an element of the macabre in all this that had me repulsed throughout the research, but still....

Moderators, take this down, of course, if you think it’s too sensational or inflammatory.

Also, I have GOT to get back to my PAYING job, so if any of you think this merits it, can you please forward to media, politicos, or whatever? Thanks!