[StBernard] Feds subpoena St. Bernard government for SDT records

[Westley Annis]

Feds subpoena St. Bernard government for SDT records

07:26 PM CST on Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Lee Zurik / Eyewitness News 

Eyewitness News has learned the U.S. Attorney's Office has issued a federal
subpoena to St. Bernard Parish government for records, contracts and
payments made to its garbage collector, SDT Waste and Debris Services. 



The subpoena calls for all records to be handed over to a federal grand jury
on December 19.  SDT's business practices have been the focus of a series of
WWL "4 Investigates" reports. 


Sources tell Eyewitness News that a subpoena also went to the landfill where
SDT dumps its garbage, River Birch on the west bank. 


As WWL-TV has reported, River Birch notified St. Bernard 11 months ago that
its landfill payments had skyrocketed since the parish opened a waste
transfer station. 


The grand jury is also expected to hear about the federal government's
environmental investigation into SDT possibly dumping sewage from portable
toilets. 


Last month, an SDT driver told Eyewitness News that he was told to dump
sewage in a City Park manhole following Voodoo Fest. 


Loyola University Law School professor Dane Ciolino says the subpoena to
testify before a grand jury shows the federal government is in the early to
middle stages of a wide ranging investigation. 


"Typically what this signals is that prosecutors have probable cause that
some federal crime has been committed," Ciolino said. 


"In this case, prosecutors believe they have probable cause environmental
criminal laws or federal fraud laws have been implicated." 


U.S. Attorney  Jim Letten was unavailable for comment, but in response to a
call from WWL, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jan Mann responded "The grand
jury process is secretive, so it would be inappropriate to talk about what
may or may not happen." 


SDT attorney Pat Fanning told Eyewitness News he "has no knowledge of a
subpoena or what they (the federal government) are seeking...but we welcome
any inquiries and will be fully cooperative."