UNRELATED PROBE?

Re: “Letten Loose,” by Allen Johnson Jr. November 2007 issue.

Shame on you. Shame on you for including me in your article on Jim Letten. When does a misdemeanor plea warrant being rated in the “Top Cases.” And to add insult to injury, you’re totally in error by stating that my tax charge stemmed from “an unrelated corruption probe.”You and everyone else in the city that knows anything about anything know that my tax problems originated from my former wife when she turned my tax records to the IRS. The press, and that now includes you and New Orleans Magazine, have attempted in almost every public writing to link me to the “City Hall corruption probe.” That simply isn’t the case. My attorney was informed from day one that my case was a tax case. Period. And by the way, after being investigated for almost three years by the IRS, FBI, U.S. Attorney’s Office and who knows who else, my charge was failing to file my taxes in a timely manner. Not a hint of corruption. Thank you very much.

I would hope that you and New Orleans Magazine have the decency to publish a correction regarding this.

William A. Schultz
Pensacola, Fla.

Ed. response: A Nov. 8, 2006, press release issued by the office of Jim Letten, U.S. Attorney, entitled “Local Political Consultant Pleads Guilty in Federal Court,” includes the following:

“During the tax years 2001 and 2002, Schultz did not file any federal income tax returns. In so doing, Schultz failed to report consulting income which he received from Pampy’s Inc. (Stanford Barre) and the Moss Creek Development Company (Reginald Walker).” Both Barre and Walker were indicted (and later convicted) on “federal corruption charges arising out of a kick-back scheme to defraud the city of New Orleans during the contracting and awarding process of the Johnson Controls Inc. Retro-Fit Contract with the City.”

According to the press release Schultz entered into a plea agreement with the government requiring him to serve one year and one day in prison and repay $183,701.00 in federal back taxes. “And thirdly, the agreement requires Schultz to cooperate with federal authorities in other ongoing federal investigation.”
We respect Mr. Schultz’s interpretation of his legal situation but links alleged by the government certainly make his case high profile.

SAVING DEUTSCHES HAUS

The following four letters are in regards to: “Save the Deutsches Haus,” Speaking Out column. November 2007 issue.
   
My wife and I, her sister and husband plus two friends from California just returned from the city. My wife’s grandfather was a founding member of the Deutsches Haus. His picture is there dating back to 1926. We live in California and were close to the recent fires. We gathered important papers and ran across a share of stock for the Deutsches Haus from her grandfather. As college students we would frequently go to the Deutsches Haus on Saturday nights and hear Papa Shula sing German songs and enjoy good German beer. The stock has no monetary value but does give my wife voting rights.

We vote to keep the location.

In between our normal New Orleans stops (Mandina’s, Casamento’s, Arnaud’s, Galatoire’s, Domilise’s) and visiting family, we stopped at the Deutsches Haus for a beer. The place looked great, although very different from what we remember. The bowling alley is gone but the tradition lives on. There has to be a way to keep this treasure. We would help in any way we can.

The city is better; I visited the campus of my high school, Holy Cross, and the area still looked tough. I grew up near St. Roch playground and that area looks bad.
My family visit included boiled crabs, the crab soup, gumbo, boiled shrimp, stuffed artichokes and some good Abita beer. We love the city and will always cherish our heritage.
To better days ahead.
George & Madelyn Dudenhefer
Corona, Calif.

Thank you for the Speaking Out article about saving the Deutsches Haus! I am living in St. Louis, Mo., now and your article just made it to me via [e-mail] forwards through my family.

I am a native New Orleanian and since I was a child, have had countless hours of smiles and fun at the Deutsches Haus on S. Galvez Street.
I remember being in the company of my great-grandparents (native Germans) celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary at the Haus, (one of whom I believe was an original founding member).

I have since enjoyed family outings, Chicken Dances, Schnitzel Banks, Dixie beers, cabbage rolls, knockwursts, polka bands, soft hot pretzels and did I mention the authentic homemade German desserts? Oooohh!

I love New Orleans and consider it my home but my heart aches terribly for the post-Katrina city and its people. I work in the health care industry and understand the importance of good medical care and the necessity of convenience and access to medical facilities. I am in full support of a “combined Louisiana State University/ Veterans Administration super hospital.” However I am totally against destroying another true New Orleans institution to get there.

I applaud your statement that, “Joy is an important element in maintaining health.” And I do hope that there will be a more-than-fair outcome in either incorporating the Haus into the new hospital facility or finding the resources to offer a hefty buyout and much help, support and resources in relocating, especially since the Haus has been so faithful to the city in returning and rebuilding.

Members of my family are still active as members and volunteers at the Haus and as I told my grandmother, “I think the most you can do is stand up to let them know how important the Deutsches Haus is for so many.”

Although the building and location are material and may be replaced, the opportunity for a body of people, the New Orleans German community and beyond, to mix, grow and heal would be lost.

And New Orleans cannot afford to lose any more of its own.
Thank you for helping bring light and hope to this dilemma. And thanks to Mike Luckovich for the cartoon! A bit of joy and humor goes a long, long way.  
Rachel Ricks,
Saint Louis, Mo.

What do I think of the article? I am going to start a subscription to New Orleans Magazine, that’s what I think! As a member of the Haus, I appreciated very much your attention to our plight and wish more public outcry would be raised to prevent what’s happening. I was approached by literally hundreds of people throughout the five-week Oktoberfest celebration about how wrong it was and what people could do to help stop it. Where do we go from here?
Dave Moore
Madisonville