Money can buy you elections, pay bribes to city workers and delay demolition of a shoddy built building while a rotting body lies inside.
In October 2019, New Orleans made the news when a constructions site fell apart and killed workers and residents walking on the street.
Since then, a city worker admitted to taking $65,000 in bribes to not inspect the worksite.
Related: Former New Orleans city building inspector pleads guilty, admits taking $65,000 in bribes
An undocumented worker was deported for his working on the construction site and giving interviews shortly thereafter that the site wasn’t safe.
Related: Multi Million Dollar Kailas Company Used Undocumented Workers in New Orleans Hotel Collapse
Developers of the Hard Rock Hotel, the Kailas Company, are campaign donors to the New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell.
The city, along with the developer, initially announced December 2020 as the target demolition date of the half standing structure, despite two workers bodies still being inside the rubble.
Related: Victim’s remains still inside Hard Rock Hotel 2 months after partial collapse
Somehow a tarp was able to be placed over one of the exposed bodies and it blew off the other day, where one of the men’s legs could be seen dangling from the structure.
Demolition day has been moved up to March, presumably to allow for the many parades to commence down Canal Street for the annual Mardi Gras celebration. The Hard Rock Hotel is located on Canal Street.
Mayor Cantrell is emphatic that the city doesn’t have control over the site and 1031 Canal Development LLC, the consortium run by developer Mohan Kailas that owns the building, issued a statement largely echoing McConnell’s sentiments while pointing out that it “does not have control of the current site (either).”
Demolition contractor D.H. Griffin Cos. has taken over that task from Dem/Tech.
The photo was discovered and published by Jules Bentley.
Bentley, who in November wrote an article in Antigravity magazine arguing that the hotel collapse was a preventable, man-made disaster resulting from unscrupulous developers and city officials who enabled them, sent a friend to confirm the tarp was gone and the legs were visible. Once the friend told Bentley the image wasn’t a hoax, Bentley said he decided to republish it on Twitter.
His words accompanying the picture were harsh, mocking Cantrell’s “City of Yes” moniker for New Orleans.
“Now all can see how #CityOfYes treats workers,” the tweet read. “We let rich developers kill them & leave them to rot in open air.”
5 Comments
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What happens when the body is so decayed the legs ,which like everything else is effected by gravity, fall to the street below? This will possibly happen or body fluids falling down from a dangling decaying corpse? This is so shocking. So unbelievable to be happening In the USA. Nobody is talking about this happening but it is possible. Very possible.
That is a gruely description but unfortunately, you’re most likely right.
That’s what we get for voting the Cali crook in as mayor. Although I think it was voter fraud
Campaign donations will definitely have City Hall looking the other way re: city inspector taking bribes