LAPA President: Rev. Freddie
Phillips
Louisiana Auctioneer Q & A
September 16, 2015
LAPA President Rev. Freddie Phillips & Vice
President Robert Burns
welcome auctioneers from around the United States to
the third annual
State of the Auction Industry Address presented below.
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Q 1:
Is it true that you and Vice President
Robert Burns recently conducted a fund raising auction for a Baton Rouge
church wherein you "reversed roles" and Burns served as evangelist? |
A 1:
Rev. Phillips:
"Yes. That was Grace Fellowship.
CLICK HERE to see my
buddy Rob cover Jesus' portrayal through all 66 books of the bible!"
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Q 2:
When LAPA Vice President Burns references
being a "sacrificial lamb" for other auctioneers entailing LALB |
A 2:
Rev. Phillips:
"Burns filed an open meetings violation
lawsuit entailing the LALB going into executive session to deliberate
after conducting a hearing on him. This was done in violation of
LA R. S.
42:17(A)(1). The trial court (and the appeals court) let the
LALB off the hook because the Louisiana Attorney General's Office gave
bad advice to the LALB in indicating that they could convene the illegal
executive session. What is important for auctioneers to know is
that,
if you are ever called before the LALB for a hearing,
you have the
right to DEMAND that the deliberations transpire in an open format
instead of behind closed doors in an executive session!!
That is why Burns said he was fine with being a "sacrificial lamb"
because the courts have now made it clear that the individual has the
RIGHT to DEMAND that any such hearing deliberations transpire in an open
format." |
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Q 3:
Didn't Mr. Burns recently also drive home
the point that a hearing is a meeting and that, therefore, an
opportunity for public comment must be extended to the audience for
hearings? |
A 3:
Rev. Phillips:
"Yes.
Video of Mr. Burns doing so is
available here. Mr. Burns emphatically drove home the point
that a meeting IS a hearing and therefore a period of public comment is
MANDATORY! If the LALB fails to grant that period of public
comment, we have been advised by multiple attorneys that they are fully
prepared to litigate the matter on our behalf.
The
significance of the public comment period is that auctioneers with
hearings are free to encourage fellow auctioneers, clients, etc. to make
public comment regarding their auctions.
Of course, the complainant is also free to encourage any member
of the public with whom they may be friends to also attend and make
public comment." |
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Q 4:
Well this may be good information to know
since there is a large slate of LALB hearings being heard soon, right? |
A 4:
Rev. Phillips:
"Yes. On Wednesday, September 30,
2015 @ 11 a.m., the LALB has scheduled several hearings.
If you or an auctioneer you know is the subject of one of these
hearings, please make sure that he or she is aware of his/her right to
DEMAND that the deliberations transpire in an open forum rather than
behind closed doors in an executive session if that is what that person
desires." |
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Q 5:
Does LAPA plan to provide video coverage
of the hearings scheduled for September 30, 2015? |
A 5:
Rev. Phillips:
"Yes. As a response to us
videotaping the LALB meetings, the LALB finally opted to also videotape
their regular meetings; however, they have steadfastly refused to also
videotape hearings. We firmly believe that the |
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Q 6:
In the introductory video above, you made
the distinction between the LAA and the LAPA. What prompted you to
form the LAPA? |
A 6:
Rev.
Phillips:
"At the LAA Convention in 2009, LAA
President Delmar "Buster" Gay was openly encouraging attendees to sign a
petition being held by Larry Nobles (now deceased) at the back of the
room to have the Executive Director of the Louisiana Auctioneer
Licensing Board (LALB), on which I served at the time, Ms. Sherrie
Wilks, fired. Many auctioneers voiced support for the petition.
I felt the entire episode was very unprofessional and it was that
incident on Gay's part that prompted me to form the LAPA."
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Q 7:
Why was Gay seeking to have Wilks fired? |
A 7: Rev.
Phillips:
"Ms. Wilks caught Gay submitting
allegedly fraudulent travel vouches along with LALB member Ray Camp. She
reported both men to Gov. Jindal's office. Jindal handled the
matter by dismissing Camp from the LALB and "demoting" Gay from LALB
Chairman to mere LALB member. Ms. Wilks explains it all on the
first
video on this page.” |
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Q 8:
Wasn't Ray Camp, whom Jindal booted from
the LALB for the alleged travel voucher fraud, related to an LAA
officer? |
A 8: Rev.
Phillips:
"Yes. Kelly Weatherford, former
Secretary-Treasurer of the LAA, is Ray Camp's daughter." |
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Q 9:
Well, weren't there more problems within
the LALB entailing financial improprieties? |
A 9: Rev.
Phillips:
"Yes. Sandy Edmonds, who replaced
Ms. Wilks as LALB Executive Director, has been cited extensively for
committing payroll fraud." |
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Q 10:
Wasn't there a recent published article
about that payroll fraud and your role in reporting it?
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A 10: Rev.
Phillips:
"Yes. Sound Off Louisiana
recently published an extensive article on my efforts to curtail the
payroll fraud as an LALB member and my efforts to investigate it with
the Interior Design Board, for which Ms. Edmonds serves as Executive
Director as well. I welcome everyone to
read the article at this link.
The article also contains numerous embedded videos demonstrating the
hostile treatment I received from members of both the LALB and the IDB.
Links to Louisiana Legislative Auditor reports and Inspector General
reports confirming my payroll fraud assertions are also contained within
the article." |
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Q 11:
Is it true that the LALB, in concert with
the LAA, openly defied the reports you reference above and demonstrated
its support of Edmonds by presenting her with caviar at the conclusion
of an LALB meeting? |
A 11: Rev.
Phillips:
"True. Feel free to see the caviar
presentation to Edmonds by
clicking here." |
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Q 12:
We have heard that LAA leadership has
openly advocated increasing the license fee for Louisiana auctioneers
from $150 to $500. True? |
A 12: Rev.
Phillips:
"True. Watch President Wiley
Collins and prominent member Barbara Bonnette do so before the |
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Q 13:
So, LAA President Wiley Collins openly
advocates a $500 licensing fee despite his own Federal tax lien?
Has that lien ever been cancelled? |
A 13: Rev.
Phillips:
"Yes, Collins advocated a $500 licensing
fee
despite owing this $21,000+ Federal tax lien. No, there has
been no cancellation of the lien filed into the public record." |
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Q 14:
Didn't LAA President Wiley Collins openly
lambast LAPA? |
A 14: Rev.
Phillips:
"Yes. Feel free to
watch Collins'
lambasting of LAPA and LAPA Vice President Robert Burns' response." |
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Q 15:
Didn't an associate of Bonnette attempt
to block LAPA's video coverage and soon thereafter Collins uttered the
"F word?" |
A 15: Rev.
Phillips:
"Yes and yes. Bonnette associate
Chris Lemoine attempted to block our video coverage of Bonnette
speaking, and Collins used the 'F word' soon thereafter. Feel free
to view that video at this link." |
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Q 16:
Did Bonnette go so far as to indicate
"small time" auctioneers in Louisiana need continuing education?
[NOTE:
We’ll report more on efforts to restore CE to Louisiana as a requirement
for licensure in the second installment of the third annual SAIA.] |
A 16: Rev.
Phillips:
"Yes. Bonnette seemed to indicate
that, while she didn't need CE due to the sheer number of auctions that
she conducts, she emphasized that
"small-time" Louisiana auctioneers NEED continuing education." |
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Q 17:
Well, Bonnette's apparent belief that
only "small time" auctioneers need CE notwithstanding, hasn't she had
past problems with the LALB? |
A 17: Rev.
Phillips:
"Yes.
This link entails an auction conducted in Texas with no TX license
and her failing to inform the LALB about her illegal TX auction.
Also,
this link entails testimony by Bonnette at the Louisiana House of
Representatives Committee on Criminal Justice with her responding to
accusations by Rep. Damon Baldone that shill bidding was deployed at a
real estate auction she conducted." |
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Q 18:
Has anyone on the LALB provided any
explanation for the Bobby Manuel hearing in May of 2015? |
A 18:
Rev. Phillips:
"No. The
Bobby Manuel hearing over a
trivial $25 dresser (for which Manuel offered a full refund) is another
episode of LALB Chairman Tessa Steinkamp and the Board actively
prosecuting small-time auctioneers
over the most trivial matters while she
herself kept silent for years as New Orleans Auction Galleries committed
some of the most egregious auction statute violations imaginable.
Steinkamp kept silent despite her position of being Vice
President, Treasurer, and Director of the company and despite the fact
she admitted after the company filed bankruptcy that she was fully aware
of a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles years before bankruptcy entailing the
auctioning of paintings certified as FAKES by Christie's for amounts in
excess of $100,000." |
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Q 19:
Speaking of New Orleans Auction
Galleries, can you tell us what all went on down in New Orleans
entailing NOAG? |
A 19:
Rev. Phillips:
“Sure. Just visit
the LAPA webpage devoted
to NOAG. It will tell you everything you could possibly want
to know." |
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Q 20:
Referencing Bobby Manuel again, didn't
LALB Vice Chairman James Sims once read Ms. Steinkamp the riot act
over things like the Manuel
hearing as "witch hunts." |
A 20:
Rev. Phillips:
"Yes. On November 5, 2012, Vice
Chairman Sims
engaged in a heated exchange with Steinkamp wherein he accused her
of conducting witch hunts. Apparently, his chastisement of her did
little good as evidenced by the Manuel pursuit." |
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Q 21:
So nobody has explained why Manuel was
pursued?" |
A 21:
Rev. Phillips:
"There has been no explanation; however,
the pursuit of Manuel entailed considerable expenditures
on the part of the LALB for legal and
investigative invoices pertaining to that pursuit." |
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Q 22:
Speaking of legal fees, you mentioned
that in the introductory video. Can you provide the legal fees for
2014 for Bankston and Dow? |
A 22: Rev.
Phillips:
"Yes.
Bankston's legal fees totaled $29,447.20 while
Dow's
totaled $16,895.28 (of which $7,313.08 were for subcontracted
investigative work). The total of the two is $46,342.48.
Mr.
Bankston's cumulative legal billings total $63,284.63. We have
submitted a public records request to the LALB to |
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Q 23:
So, when LAPA Vice President Burns
references the LALB spending close to $100,000 to litigate such things
as LAPA's right to use a tripod, he's not joking? |
A 23:
Rev. Phillips:
"Unfortunately, no." |
The preceding
questions conclude installment one of our 3rd annual SAIA. We'll
provide installment two to you in about 30 days or so. Thanks for your
interest, and
we look forward to providing you with the next interesting
installment.
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To return to LAPA's Index Page of Auctioneer Issues Discussions by the LALB, CLICK HERE
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