The owner of the largest building inspection firm in New Orleans faces federal charges that claim he falsified permit applications and signed off on work that wasn't done by licensed contractors. It raises questions about the safety of those buildings.
The Justice Department says, "According to the indictment, FARRELL used his status as a third-party inspector at IECI to orchestrate a years-long scheme in which he accepted bribes to let unlicensed electricians work on hundreds of New Orleans homes using licensed electricians’ names and permits, and then FARRELL and IECI fraudulently passed the inspections of the unlicensed electricians’ work."
Last year the feds also prosecuted James Mohammed. He worked for Farrell and was Kenner's Director of Inspection. He worked across the metro area.
"James Mohamad jeopardized the safety of countless homeowners who trusted him for more than a decade," said Douglas A. Williams, Jr. Special Agent in Charge of FBI New Orleans. "Those homeowners were unaware he was taking dangerous shortcuts in bribing a city official, hiding behind the legitimate permits of other contractors, and further concealing the dangers by inspecting his own work," the Justice Department said.
This is all just part of the issues that have plagued New Orleans' Department of Safety and Permits, said New Orleans Inspector General Ed Michel.
"Unfortunately, instances of fraud, waste and abuse within the Department of Safety and Permits has been continuous and ongoing," Michel said.
Michel says people who had work done recently, and are wondering if they got a proper inspection, might want to get a second opinion.
"Homeowners, and business owners as well, can take the precautionary step of having an independent assessment conducted if they feel as though there was something that went awry with the first inspection," he said.
The IG says he is embedding his staff into Safety and Permits starting this week to watch the day to day operations in real time.
