Posted on 02/18/2020 8:59:25 PM PST by texas booster
Some of the New Orleans city building inspectors who signed off at key points of the construction of the Hard Rock Hotel before it pancaked and collapsed on Oct. 12, killing three laborers, do not appear to have been properly certified for the work, records show.
One inspector, Bryan Cowart, appears to be certified only for residential inspections. Inspector Julie Tweeter, whose whereabouts during inspections she claimed to have completed at the Hard Rock on several days last year are now under investigation, did not receive her commercial building inspector’s license until July 2018. By then, she’d signed off on at least four early inspections at the Hard Rock site, city records show.
All building inspector certifications are granted by the International Code Council, which limits residential inspectors to reviewing one- and two-family dwellings, townhomes and other buildings three stories in height or less.
...
The MCC (Metropolitan Crime Commission) blew the whistle in 2013 on a state fire marshal’s inspector, Nunzio Marchiafava, in a case with striking similarities. Marchiafava had allegedly lied about inspecting a Grand Isle motel where two people died in a fire, then fudged records to cover his tracks.
An investigation by the state Office of Inspector General — which likewise involved location data, though they were from Marchiafava’s phone — led to his conviction on a charge of attempting to injure public records. He received a year of probation.
(Excerpt) Read more at nola.com ...
Such a sad state of affairs that cost three men their lives.
While the Roosevelt hotel ain’t that far, it does have a great bar.
two blocks away? That is not very far to walk.
Looks like the bosses are tossing the inspectors under the bus.
how are the rooms? asking for a friend.
There was a job posted online in code enforcement, City of New Orleans that paid $25,000 full-time— and you had to live in the city! Who do they hire at that salary?
Never stayed. Friends enjoyed it.
Obviously they hire exactly what they pay for LAZY inspectors!!! I can’t believe this is what they pay for a full time inspector something doesn’t sound right!!!
Look, the bribes were all paid. I don’t get what the problem is.
Corruption and incompetence? In New Orleans? In Louisiana? You have got to be kidding me!
You just can’t possibly imagine how shocked I am to hear this news. Just shocking.
Hard Rock has a serious law suit against the city!! Families of the dead will also sue the city this is going to cost the city MASSIVE amounts of money!!!
“Code enforcement” most likely does not mean “Building Code enforcement.” Usually code enforcement deals with complaints about such things as overgrown weeds, unregistered vehicles, illegal fences, property maintenance, and the like. In many places code enforcement is complaint driven. It would be unusual to have code enforcement officers driving around randomly looking for violations.
There is no way that is the salary for a certified building inspector. Usually the salary of city employees is public record. I bet if you looked up what New Orleans pays building inspectors it would be above what a code enforcement officer makes.
I would certainly hope so, there is a HUGE responsibility with a Building inspectors job!! These inspectors will be going to jail AND the city is going to be sued for MASSIVE amounts of money!!! The inspectors had to be paid off by the contractor!!!
Oh, I agree. This is rotten to the core.
Well, that’s a big problem, but it sounds like the cause of the collapse has yet to be determined. Besides shoddy inspections does not let the contractors and engineers off the hook. Lengthy report due April 12, according to the article.
Yeah. I lived in New Orleans for a couple of years. The place makes Haiti look honest.
Lots of blame to go around here. Inspectors, engineers, contractors, but hey it’s N’orlins.
They weren’t even properly licensed, why wouldn’t you throw them under the bus / not defend them?
So who’s fault is that ?
That is a MANAGEMENT fault !
Toss the Leadership and Management under the bus !
The Sazerac Bar at the Roosevelt is indeed a great bar. And the chef John Besh restaurant there, Dominica, is a top notch Italian place. Recommended.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.