Gonzales offers resources to fight New Orleans crime

http://washingtontimes.com/national/200 ... -3326r.htm

Gonzales offers resources to fight New Orleans crime
By Jerry Seper
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published August 22, 2006

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Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales said yesterday that he will send additional prosecutors and federal agents to New Orleans to combat rising violent crime in the city in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

During meetings with law-enforcement authorities in New Orleans, Mr. Gonzales said he will dispatch 10 more prosecutors to the region, hire nine others to assist in fraud and violent-crime cases, and send four additional agents each from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the U.S. Marshals Service.

"The people of New Orleans deserve the chance to rebuild their city without the threat of violent crime," Mr. Gonzales said.

The Justice Department has made more than $20 million in grants available to Orleans Parish to help rebuild the criminal justice system in an effort to fight rising violent crime. More than $61 million in justice assistance grants and Katrina relief law-enforcement infrastructure funds have been made available to Louisiana.

Violent crime declined in New Orleans after Katrina hit last August but has risen sharply in the past few months -- both in the city and the suburbs. Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco sent in state police and National Guard troops after five teenagers were fatally shot in a sport utility vehicle in mid-June.

During his visit, Mr. Gonzales said state and local law-enforcement facilities remain damaged from Katrina, including the Orleans Parish criminal justice complex and the New Orleans Police Department's headquarters.

The attorney general also met with members of the Louisiana congressional delegation and state and local government officials to discuss how the department can best assist in combating violent crime.

He said the department will:

•Send four ATF agents to supplement a Violent Crime Impact Team that has targeted gun crime, and four deputy marshals to supplement a Crescent Star Fugitive Task Force that locates and arrests fugitives wanted in connection with violent crimes.

•Assign 10 attorneys temporarily to the region to assist in prosecuting firearms, drug and immigration cases with a federal link, and hire nine more prosecutors to assist with fraud and violent crime cases.

•Begin a Violent Crime Intelligence Initiative through the FBI and state and local authorities to gather information on violent criminals, develop a list of most violent offenders and distribute that information to federal, state and local authorities. In addition, the resources will be used to rebuild communities and provide ways for the residents of New Orleans to keep their children safe and to assist law enforcement.

Mr. Gonzales said the Boys & Girls Clubs of America will re-establish the clubs destroyed by Katrina with funding provided through the Bureau of Justice Assistance and Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. The ATF will restart a 24-hour hot line (504/581-GUNS) to allow citizens to report the illegal use and possession of firearms for federal response.

I wonder how many of the problems are related to the illegal immigrant laborers who flooded into the area. Not much said about that in the articles with the exception of one word.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=2339715&page=1

Boosting the Big Easy
Gonzales: More Agents, Prosecutors Will Be Sent To New Orleans
Aug. 21, 2006 — - Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Monday he will send additional resources here - including 10 assistant U.S. attorneys - to help fight fraud and a recent rise in violent crime.

He said four additional agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and four additional deputy U.S. marshals also will be sent to the city.

Crime plummeted in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina hit last Aug. 29. But violent crime has made a comeback in recent months in the city and its suburbs. Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco sent in state police and National Guard troops after five teenagers were shot to death in a sport utility vehicle in mid June.

Gonzales announced the additional help for the city during a news conference at the Port of New Orleans.

He also said the ATF will relaunch a 24-hour hot line people can call to report the illegal use and possession of firearms, and that the Justice Department will fund programs designed to prevent crime, such as helping to re-establish Boys and Girls Clubs of America.

Gonzales said more than $61 million in federal money has been appropriated for local law enforcement agencies devastated by the storm.

The commitment of more federal funds and resources comes nearly three weeks after Louisiana's senior U.S. senator, Mary Landrieu, D-La., sent a letter to Gonzales asking for more help. The senator Monday praised the attorney general for his quick response.

"When infrastructures are damaged and resources are compromised - and I've seen vivid evidence of that reality here in New Orleans today - it is appropriate for the federal government to come alongside a community," Gonzales said.

He said that unless New Orleans is safe people would not return and investors would shy from putting their dollars into the city and region.

"We now have an opportunity to put in place a functioning criminal justice system second to none," the attorney general said.

At first, 10 prosecutors would be brought in temporarily to beef up the prosecutor's office in New Orleans and pursue firearms, drug and immigration cases. He added that eventually nine prosecutors would be hired specifically for the New Orleans office to nail down fraud and violent crime cases.

Gonzales said the additional federal prosecutors would be able to pursue harsher charges than state prosecutors, one more tool to deter hard-core criminals.

At the news conference, Donald Powell, President Bush's point man for the Gulf Coast recovery, called Gonzales' move "symbolic of the recovery."

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I wonder how many of the problems are related to the illegal immigrant laborers who flooded into the area. Not much said about that in the articles with the exception of one word.

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I was thinking the same thing. But its isnt a real surprise any more that Main stream Media only reports what they want us to hear. If they reported the truth about the crimes of illegals, Americans would be protesting in the streets by the millions.