Raw Story reports that Kenyon International, hired to retrieve bodies in New Orleans, has been implicated in a body dumping scandal in Florida.
Governor Blanco has signed the contract with Kenyon after talks broke down between Kenyon and FEMA, according to Raw Story.
Louisiana governor Katherine Blanco subsequently inked a contract with the firm after talks between FEMA and the firm broke down. Kenyon’s original deal was secured by the Department of Homeland Security.
In other words, FEMA and then Blanco outsourced the body count from Hurricane Katrina — which many believe the worst natural disaster in U.S. history — to a firm whose parent company is known for its “experience” at hiding and dumping bodies.
The Menorah Gardens cemetery chain, owned by SCI, desecrated vaults, removed hundreds of bodies from two cemeteries in Florida and dumped the gruesome remains in woods frequented by wild hogs, investigators discovered in 2001. In one case, a backhoe was used to crack open a vault, remove corpses and make room for more dead bodies.
SCI paid $100 million to settle a lawsuit filed by outraged family members of the deceased.
A secretary at the lawfirm that sued SCI over the Florida cemetery scandals gasped when informed that FEMA had outsourced handling of Katrina victims’ bodies to an SCI subsidiary.
“Oh, good lord!” she said.
My view is Blanco is completely ignorant of these allegations. FEMA and Chertoff aren’t. Anyone doubt now whether the body count will be skewed?
Update [2005-9-15 9:55:8 by duranta]:this from Bravo4/11: “Malcolm Gillis, who serves on the board of SCI, also serves on the board of Halliburton.”
