Landfill owner Fred Heebe's 'lobbyist' list includes bona fide lobbyists, consultants, others
Gov. Bobby Jindal's chief of staff, his coastal issues adviser and almost three dozen other people were identified as "lobbyists" whom embattled landfill owner Fred Heebe could use to promote his interests and stamp out competition, according to a copy of a list from Heebe's private records. The list, obtained by The Times-Picayune, is a compendium of lawyers, consultants, journalists, political officials and some actual lobbyists who, at least tangentially, orbited the waste management issues that plagued the New Orleans area during the tumultuous months after Hurricane Katrina.
Fred HeebeThe list offers further evidence that Heebe's River Birch Inc. ran a complex and concerted campaign to close the Old Gentilly Landfill in New Orleans, which had been shut down decades earlier as a possible environmental hazard but was reopened to collect construction and demolition debris after the 2005 storm.
Many of those on the list said this week they had never worked for Heebe or River Birch, indicating the list might be more a compilation of those who could exert some influence over the public perception of the Old Gentilly Landfill than a list of paid lobbyists.
Perhaps the most familiar name on the list is Garland Robinette, the WWL radio on-air personality who received $250,000 from Heebe in 2007 after using his talk show to question the environmental integrity of rival landfills. Robinette's attorney, Dane Ciolino, has described the payment as a no-interest loan and said Robinette was interviewed last year by federal investigators. Robinette on Tuesday denied he did anything wrong, and Ciolino on Wednesday repeated his statement that Robinette never worked as a lobbyist for Heebe or River Birch. He wouldn't comment further.
Also on the list is Henry Mouton, a former Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries commissioner who pleaded guilty in June to conspiracy for taking bribes from an owner of a landfill company while he worked to undermine the Old Gentilly Landfill. The court record in Mouton's case does not name the company owner, but other public documents indicate that it was Heebe or his stepfather, Jim Ward, co-owner of River Birch.
The FBI raided River Birch's Gretna offices last year.
Lobbyist list was seized in raid
The lobbyist list, which was seized in the raid, is marked as being revised in March 2007, indicating that other versions of it existed. Heebe's attorney, Billy Gibbens, wouldn't comment Wednesday.
FBI agents raided River Birch's Gretna offices and a half-dozen other affiliated businesses in 2007. Jindal's chief of staff, Timmy Teepell, said he knew nothing about being on the list and that the FBI hadn't contacted him. He also said he has no financial relationship with Heebe or River Birch. He did say that he considers Heebe "a friend" through his involvement in Jindal's various political campaigns.
Teepell speculated that his appearance on the list was likely because he worked for Jindal's congressional office and managed the Republican's 2007 campaign for governor, roles that gave him clout in political circles. Heebe has been a major contributor to Republican candidates in Louisiana.
Garret Graves, now Jindal's coastal management adviser, has worked as an adviser to Sen. David Vitter, R-La., former Sen. John Breaux, D-La., and former U.S. Rep. Billy Tauzin, R-Chackbay.
"I have no idea why my name would be on any list related to this issue and never accepted any form of compensation for anything even remotely related to my official duties," Graves said. "Aside from being wrong, it would just be beyond stupid."
'I'm a reporter, not a lobbyist'
The list also includes Manuel Roig-Franzia, who was the Mexico City bureau chief for The Washington Post in March 2007 and now writes for The Post's Style section. Roig-Franzia, a reporter for The Times-Picayune from 1995 to 2000, said he had no idea why his name appeared on the list, that he had never been paid by Heebe and that federal investigators have not contacted him.
"I'm a reporter, not a lobbyist," he said.
In October 2005, Roig-Franzia wrote a Post article that looked critically at how Louisiana regulators reopened the Old Gentilly dump.
Another journalist on the list is Gordon Russell, now the city editor for The Times-Picayune. Russell said FBI agents asked him if he knew why he would be on a list of "lobbyists," and he said he had no idea.
Russell, who was covering landfill issues as a Times-Picayune reporter after Katrina, said he and a photographer once flew over the landfills in a helicopter commissioned by River Birch and that he once accepted an invitation by Heebe to eat lunch at the businessman's home when he visited to pick up documents. He said his relationship with Heebe was strictly that of a reporter gathering information.
Familiar names on list
In Katrina's aftermath, Heebe hired a phalanx of bona fide lobbyists to push for tax incentives and other perks to help his landfill business. These included the Allbaugh Company, founded by Joe Allbaugh, former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency; the Hance Group, founded by former U.S. Rep. Kent Hance of Texas; and the Livingston Group, founded by former U.S. Rep Bob Livingston of Louisiana. Several lobbyists from their staffs are included on the list.
View full sizeRiver Birch landfillThe list also names consultants paid directly by River Birch. James "Dutchie" Connick, brother of Jefferson Parish District Attorney Paul Connick Jr., has lobbied to close Jefferson Parish's public landfill in favor of sending most of the parish's household garbage to River Birch's Waggaman dump. He didn't return a message left Wednesday seeking comment.
Ron Nabonne, a veteran political consultant in New Orleans and Jefferson Parish, said River Birch began paying him a retainer before Hurricane Katrina. He said the relationship began after Heebe married Jefferson Parish Councilwoman Jennifer Sneed, whose campaigns Nabonne had managed. Heebe and Sneed wed in 2001, and Sneed resigned from the council in August 2008.
However, in 2008, when he was fighting plans for a waste transfer station and recycling plant along the Industrial Canal, Nabonne did not disclose his relationship with River Birch. At a public hearing on the matter, he said he had not received any money from landfill owners or anyone else to oppose what he said would be "a dump."
Nabonne said at the time that it was "insulting" to suggest "that black people have to be paid to protect their own best interests." In an interview Wednesday, he said his opposition to the transfer station owed to his residency in eastern New Orleans, not to his relationship with River Birch.
Also on the list is Ray Clark, who founded The Clark Group, a Washington environmental consulting firm, in 2001. River Birch hired him and his assistant, Sara Brodnax, in late 2005 to perform environmental impact analyses about disposing of debris created by Hurricane Katrina's destruction.
Clark said their contract with River Birch wasn't for lobbying services, but more for consulting and to introduce Heebe to influential Washington figures who dealt with waste management. He didn't have the exact payments from River Birch, but he said his company generally worked for a client on retainer for roughly $8,000 to $11,000 a month. He said Heebe didn't ask him to specifically single out the Old Gentilly Landfill for criticism, nor to promote River Birch's operation.
"I knew about Old Gentilly, and I'll tell you that Fred Heebe never asked me to do anything illegal or immoral," Clark said.
He said he hasn't been contacted by federal investigators about the list.
PR people, federal officials
As Clark worked for River Birch, it brought in Marmillion Gray Sabiston Media to handle a public relations campaign against the Old Gentilly Landfill, said Norma Jane Sabiston, a company principal whose name also appears on the list. She said her firm worked for about $5,000 a month, but was paid through the Clark Group rather than directly by Heebe or River Birch.
Before handling public relations, Sabiston spent eight years working for Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La. She said she doesn't work for Heebe and hasn't been contacted by the FBI for being on the River Birch list.
Sabiston left Marmillion Gray in 2009 to start her own firm in New Orleans.
Rannah Gray, another Marimillion Gray principal whose name also appears on the list, gave the same account as Sabiston.
Two federal officials also are named on the list.
Bruce Buckheit is a former director of the Environmental Protection Agency's air pollution enforcement office. He couldn't be reached Wednesday.
Charli Coon, a former staff member for the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, recalled meeting Heebe during a fact-finding trip to Louisiana in August 2006 and later speaking with him once in Washington.
She said she, too, took a helicopter ride over the area to survey Katrina's damage and the landfills. While helicopter rides were a regular tactic by River Birch after Katrina to show environmentalists and officials what was going on at Old Gentilly, Coon said she recalled the flight being a military operation.
Coon said she was never paid by Heebe or River Birch and that the FBI had never contacted her about the list.
The Senate committee where she worked had been chaired by Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., who, along with Vitter, was petitioned by Mouton to close the Old Gentilly Landfill. Coon said she didn't know about Mouton's letter to the senators and that she didn't submit any report to the committee after she returned from her 2006 trip to New Orleans.
She did say that she toured River Birch and thought it to be bigger and better equipped than the Old Gentilly Landfill. She also said she likely wasn't the only one who came to that conclusion.
"I know there were a lot of people who were trying to get that one closed down," she said.
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Staff writers Mark Schleifstein and Frank Donze contributed to this report. Richard Rainey can be reached at rrainey@timespicayune.com or 504.883.7052.
RIVER BIRCH 'LOBBYISTS'
Joe Allbaugh -- Lobbyist, founder of The Allbaugh Company, which was hired by River Birch. FEMA director under President George W. Bush.
Rick Neal, Stephen Rhoades -- Lobbyists with The Allbaugh Company.
Sara Brodnax -- director of analysis for The Clark Group, an environmental consulting firm that River Birch hired.
Ray Clark -- founder of The Clark Group.
Bruce Buckheit -- former director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's air pollution enforcement office.
Peter Butler Sr. -- River Birch attorney.
Dutch Connick -- James "Dutchie" Connick is a lobbyist and brother of Jefferson Parish District Attorney Paul Connick Jr.
Charlie Coon -- Correctly spelled Charli E. Coon, she is former staff member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Toured River Birch landfill with Heebe but said she was never paid by him or River Birch.
Rannah Gray, Val Marmillion and Norma Jane Sabiston -- founders of Marmillion/Gray/Sabiston Media firm, which worked for The Clark Group on public relations campaign against the Old Gentilly Landfill. Sabiston later left the firm to start her own.
Bob Livingston -- Lobbyist, co-owner of The Livingston Group, which was hired by River Birch. Former U.S. representative from Metairie.
Martin Cancienne, Mel Goodweather, Rick Legendre -- Lobbyists with The Livingston Group.
Dwane Gibson -- Believed to be Duane Gibson, a Livingston Group lobbyist.
Garrett Graves -- Correctly spelled Garret Graves, he is Gov. Bobby Jindal's executive assistant for coastal activities. Former staffer to U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and senior adviser to Sen. David Vitter, R-La. He said he has never been paid by Heebe.
Kent Hance -- Lobbyist with Hance Scarborough, a firm hired by River Birch. Former congressman from Texas.
David Pore, Jay Steward, Michael Woodward -- Lobbyists with Hance Scarborough.
Randy Haynie -- Baton Rouge lobbyist.
John King -- River Birch attorney.
Rick Michaels -- Environmental consultant for River Birch.
Henry Mouton -- Former state Wildlife and Fisheries Commission member who pleaded guilty in June to conspiracy for taking $460,000 in bribes from an unidentified dump owner to lobby for closure of Old Gentilly Landfill.
Ron Nabonne -- Political consultant on retainer for River Birch.
Garland Robinette -- WWL radio on-air personality who took $250,000 from Heebe in 2007 after repeatedly questioning environmental aspects of rival landfills during his talk show. His attorney says the money was an interest-free loan. "I have done absolutely nothing wrong," Robinette said this week.
Manuel Roig-Franzia -- Staff writer at The Washington Post. Reporter at The Times-Picayune, 1995-2000. Said he has never been paid by Heebe.
Gordon Russell -- The Times-Picayune reporter covering the post-Katrina landfill dispute. Now the paper's city editor, Russell said he and a photographer once flew over the landfills with Rick Michaels in a helicopter that River Birch's owners chartered. He said he also visited Heebe's home to pick up documents and that when Heebe asked him to stay for lunch, he accepted. He said his relationship with Heebe and Henry Mouton was strictly that of a reporter gathering information from sources.
Kyle Schonekas -- Heebe attorney.
Joelle Evans -- Member of same law firm as Schonekas.
Bill Sirmon -- Baton Rouge lobbyist.
Timmy Teepell -- Gov. Bobby Jindal's chief of staff. Said he considered Heebe a friend from Jindal political campaigns but that he had no financial relationship with Heebe or River Birch.
Jim Ward -- River Birch co-owner, Heebe's stepfather. Brother of former Jefferson Parish Councilman T.J. "Butch" Ward.