From:
Robert Burns [mailto:robert@auctionsellsfast.com]
Sent: Wednesday, January 09, 2013 1:00 AM
To: 'Larry Bankston'
Subject: RE: Failure to Deduct September LALB Per Diem Payments from
Mileage Reimbursement for November
Mr. Bankston:
I remind you of the highlighted text in your email below. It appears you had a
“change of heart” in terms of permitting me to comment on the very item you’d
previously indicated I would be free to speak about. Perhaps it’s because
I just may have brought out the fact that a Governor’s Executive Orders are NOT
Executive Suggestions (hence they SHOULD be followed!!!).
Your censorship of the meeting of Tuesday, January 8, 2013, Mr. Banston, rose to
new heights. Basically, you weren’t going to allow ANY public comment
unless you approved!! Must public comment be pre-screened in the future by
way of approved draft by you?. With that in mind, may I inquire, Mr.
Bankston, where were your censorship skills when the “I’s here” roll call was
made. http://youtu.be/-PQxe2kN68Q??
Where were your censorship skills when Board Member Darlene Jacobs-Levy has
REPEATEDLY made blatantly defamatory statements regarding Dave Gilmore of
Gilmore Auction and J. P. King Auction Company,
http://www.auctioneer-la.org//jacobs_gilmore.htm?
Where were your censorship skills when Board Member Darlene Jacobs-Levy made her
now-infamous glowing recommendation for your hiring and said, “He’s never been
censured by any court that I’m aware of,” [see
2:30 – 3:54
mark of this video,
http://youtu.be/izT352UPpIs? You saw no need to censor her remarks
when they benefited you financially even though you knew full well that you are
a convicted felon,
http://www.lasc.org/opinions/2002/01b2780.pc.pdf, and one member of the
Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board, Richard Gerard, dissented strongly from
his peers in voting to grant you your law license back,
http://www.ladb.org/NXT/gateway.dll/DB/2004-02-05_03-db-002.htm?fn=document-frame.htm$f=templates$3.0?.
It’s amazing how your EXTREME censorship skills all seem to have TOTALLY
VANISHED in the above cited instances (most especially when you stand to gain
financially!!). Totally amazing, Mr. Bankston!!
Lastly, as to your statement (in the form of EXTREME censorship skills) that
public comment cannot transpire regarding the impending approval of the minutes
of the previous meeting, I would direct your attention to the
3:48 – 5:31
mark of the following audio wherein Rev. Phillips challenged the
MINUTES
of the January meeting:
http://youtu.be/skPTJXqLi9s. The result, Mr. Bankston, was that the
Board waited until the May meeting (at which YOU were in
attendance!!!!) to approve BOTH the January
AND
March minutes. See the agenda for that meeting:
http://wwwprd.doa.louisiana.gov/boardsandcommissions/MeetingNotices/3_agenda%2005-21-2012.pdf.
I’m not going to bother with correcting the blatant inaccuracies of what Ms. Dow
relayed at that meeting during the 1:43 audio covered in the audio clip I’ve
just referenced; however, I have Ms. Boyce’s letter (ah, what the heck, it’s
page 3 of this file:
www.auctioneer-la.org/AG_Response030812.pdf). As you can tell, Ms.
Boyce most certainly DID NOT tell Ms. Dow that she was “in compliance” with the
Open Meetings Law and, in fact, stated that Ms. Boyce relayed the matter was
discussed with Ms. Dow and that “she has assured FUTURE compliance.” If
you want the video where Rev. Phillips ATTEMPTED to correct Ms. Dow leading to
the letter, it’s at the
2:30 – 4:45
of this link: http://youtu.be/nKrpLCOYKMA.
Rev. Phillip’s was spot-on correct regarding Ms. Dow’s obligation to reveal
the specifics of the “prospective litigation” (which almost CERTAINLY entailed
the Legislative Auditor Report – hence, did the LAO “threaten to sue” the
LALB????), yet she DEFINANTLY (and incorrectly!!) informed Rev. Phillips that
she had no such disclosure requirement!!!!! Ata any rate, in the situation
cited in this paragraph, the minutes were NOT approved until they had been
amended as Rev. Phillips suggested because they were NOT reflective of what
transpired at the prior meeting regarding why the Board went into Executive
Session.
So, I contend, Mr. Bankston, that your statement that approval of minutes is not
fair game for discussion by public members to be: #1) inconsistent with
prior Board Meetings at which YOU WERE IN ATTENDANCE for the approval of the
AMENDED minutes, #2) absurd, and #3) an effort to deny the public the right to
speak on an agenda item in direct violation of LA R. S. 42:14(D):
http://www.legis.state.la.us/lss/lss.asp?doc=99481.
Notwithstanding all of the foregoing, Mr. Bankston, I note with interest your
comment that, “It is not appropriate for me to engage in dialogue with you
regarding these matters” which you made at the January 8, 2013 meeting.
That being the case, Mr. Bankston, I’m sure you can readily prepare yourself for
the inevitable dialogue between the two of us in a courtroom.
Look forward to many more fun-filled meetings of the LALB with you, Mr. Banston,
and also submitting a FOIA in a few days (we all need to take a few days to
exhale, huh?) to ensure the inappropriately-paid per diems for September 17,
2012 (a date I can hardly forget!!) were in fact deducted from mileage
reimbursements for the January 2013 meeting!!
See you soon!!
Robert
Edwin Burns, Vice President
LA
Association of Professional Auctioneers (LAPA)
4155 Essen
Lane, Ste 228
Baton
Rouge, LA 70809-2152
(225)
201-0390 (225) 235-4346
From:
Larry Bankston [mailto:larry@bblawyers.net]
Sent: Friday, December 21, 2012 8:57 AM
To: Robert Burns
Subject: Re: Failure to Deduct September LALB Per Diem Payments from
Mileage Reimbursement for November
Mr. Robert Burns
I was in receipt of your previous email. Any information
you provide is forwarded to Sandy Edmonds. I am the attorney for the board. As
such, my obligations are to the board and not to you. It would be inappropriate
to respond to your emails. I am sending this email to explain to you my
position.
I will advise the board of its legal obligations. As
a member of the public you will have an opportunity to bring any of this
information to the attention to the board during "public comment" portion of the
meeting.
You should not expect any response more than this. I am
sure you have already made everyone aware of the contents of you email.
Larry Bankston
On Dec 21, 2012, at 12:50 AM, Robert Burns wrote:
Ms. Edmonds and/or Mr. Bankston:
Since neither of you chose to respond to my email inquiry regarding whether or
not the overpayment of $97 in per diem to each Board Member for the 9/17/12 LALB
meeting was recovered via mileage reductions from the November travel vouchers,
and given that the 9/17/12 per diem payments appear to be in clear and
unequivocal violation of Gov. Jindal’s Executive Order (and he subsequently made
it ABUNDANTLY clear that he could care less whether an entity is self-funded or
that the funds didn’t come from the State’s General Fund), per diem payments
were NOT to be remitted from the date of his signing of the original Executive
Order, which was on the 24th day
of August, 2012 (my prior email correspondence to you indicated August 5, 2012,
an error on my part) forward. As such, I contend that the 9/17/12 per diem
payments were unauthorized and inappropriate.
Having now observed the November 2012 travel vouchers and having ascertained the
fact that Board Members’ mileage was NOT reduced by the $97 on those vouchers, I
am looking for such a reduction on the January vouchers or a WRITTEN statement
from the Governor’s Office that the 9/17/12 per diem payments were appropriate
in the Governor’s opinion. If any Board Members opted to resign or may
otherwise not be in their positions as Board Members for any other reason, then
letters should be sent to those members requesting checks for $97 representing
the overpayments. This email will document the fact you’ve been made aware
of what I consider a pretty obvious violation of Executive Order BJ-12-09.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Robert Edwin Burns, Vice
President
LA Association of
Professional Auctioneers (LAPA)
4155 Essen Lane, Ste 228
Baton Rouge, LA
70809-2152
(225) 201-0390 (225)
235-4346
Larry S. Bankston
Bankston & Associates,
L.L.C.
8708 Jefferson Highway, Suite A
Baton Rouge, LA 70809
(225)766-3800
(225) 766-7800-fax