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MIAMI (AP) — Carnival Corp. reached a settlement Monday with federal prosecutors in which the world’s largest cruise line agreed to pay a $20 million penalty because its ships continued to pollute the oceans despite a previous criminal conviction aimed at curbing similar conduct.
Senior U.S. District Judge Patricia Seitz approved the agreement after Carnival CEO Arnold Donald stood up in open court and admitted the company’s responsibility for probation violations stemming from the previous environmental case.
“The company pleads guilty,” Arnold said six times in a packed courtroom that include other senior Carnival executives, including company chairman and Miami Heat owner Micky Arison.
“We acknowledge the shortcomings. I am here today to formulate a plan to fix them,” Arnold added
“The proof will be in the pudding, won’t it?” the judge replied. “If you all did not have the environment, you would have nothing to sell.”
Carnival admitted violating terms of probation from a 2016 criminal conviction for discharging oily waste from its Princess Cruise Lines ships and covering it up. Carnival paid a $40 million fine and was put on five years’ probation in that case, which affected all nine of its cruise brands that boast more than 100 ships.
Now Carnival has acknowledged that in the years since its ships have committed environmental crimes such as dumping “gray water” in prohibited places such Alaska’s Glacier Bay National Park and knowingly allowing plastic to be discharged along with food waste in the Bahamas, which poses a severe threat to marine life.
The company also admitted falsifying compliance documents and other administrative violations such as having cleanup teams visit its ships just before scheduled inspections.
Seitz at an earlier hearing threatened to bar Carnival from docking at U.S. ports because of the violations and said she might hold executives individually liable for the probation violations.
“The concern I have is that senior management has no skin in the game,” Seitz said, adding that future violations might be met with prison time and criminal fines for individuals. “My goal is to have the defendant change its behavior.”
Under the settlement, Carnival promised there will be additional audits to check for violations, a restructuring of the company’s compliance and training programs, a better system for reporting environmental violations to state and federal agencies and improved waste management practices.
The agreement also would set Sept. 13 and Oct. 9 deadlines to create an improved compliance plan and make other changes, subject to fines of $1 million per day if those deadlines are not met. If a second round of deadlines are not met, the fines could go up to $10 million a day.
Other proposed changes include a reduction by Carnival in the use of single-use plastic items across its entire fleet and creation of “tiger teams” meant to make improvements in the ships’ food and beverage systems and how waste is handled at sea.
Seitz is retiring later this year and is turning over the case to U.S. District Judge Ursula Ungaro, who jointly presided over Monday’s hearing.
Three people who claimed they were victims of Carnival’s environmental violations attended the hearing. Their attorney, Knoll Lowney, expressed skepticism that Carnival will keep its word this time.
“Time and time again, Carnival has shown its contempt of environmental laws and the rule of law,” he said. “Here we are again.”
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Two St. Mary Parish jail trustees were booked on multiple drug charges after authorities found packages at the parish motor pool containing heroin, methamphetamine and other items, Sheriff Blaise Smith said in a news release.
—Cody Pearce, 30, of Rose Street in Berwick, was arrested at 6:45 p.m. Friday on charges of conspiracy to distribute marijuana, conspiracy to distribute heroin, conspiracy to distribute synthetic marijuana, conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, obstruction of justice and conspiracy to introduce contraband into a penal facility.
—Brodie Boudreaux, 25, of McDermott Drive in Morgan City, was arrested at 6:45 p.m. Friday on charges of conspiracy to distribute marijuana, conspiracy to distribute heroin, conspiracy to distribute synthetic marijuana, conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, obstruction of justice and criminal damage to property.
At about 9:30 a.m. Friday, narcotics detectives were called to the St. Mary Parish Motor Pool on La. 182 in Garden City in reference to packages being located on the premises.
Inside the packages were two quart size bags which contained loose tobacco, rolling papers, heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana and synthetic cannabinoids, Smith said.
During the investigation, authorities learned that two trustees, Pearce and Boudreaux, were involved. Both trustees were observed trying to put the packages in a five-gallon bucket, the sheriff said. While Boudreaux was going through the packages and separating them, Pearce was looking out for deputies, Smith said.
Subsequently, Boudreaux located a surveillance camera, took the camera down, and threw it in Bayou Teche, Smith said. Both were jailed with no bail set.
Smith reported that deputies responded to 45 complaints in the parish and reported the following arrests relating to east St. Mary Parish:
—Anthony R. LeBlanc Jr., 22, of Pecan Drive in Franklin, was arrested at 3:20 p.m. Monday on charges of reckless operation of a vehicle, four counts of aggravated flight from an officer and one count of riding on levee prohibited.
Deputies observed a motorcycle traveling over 100 mph on U.S. 90 west in the Patterson area with Patterson Police Department attempting to conduct a traffic stop, Smith said.
Deputies pursued the motorcycle and after a short chase, were able to apprehend and identify the driver as LeBlanc, the sheriff said. LeBlanc was jailed with no bail set.
—Charlotte Tonya Bracamontes, 31, of Rayne Court in Bayou L’Ourse, was arrested at 10:21 a.m. Monday on a warrant charging her with two counts of failure to appear in court.
Bracamontes was transported from Lafayette Parish jail to St. Mary Parish jail on the active warrants. No bail was set.
Morgan City Police Chief James Blair reported that officers responded to 37 calls and reported the following arrests:
—Deven Damar Bradley, 25, of North Bayou Black Drive in Gibson, was arrested at 11:43 p.m. Monday on charges of possession of marijuana second offense, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, resisting an officer by giving false information and simple escape and 32nd Judicial District Court warrants charging him with three counts of failure to appear.
—Christina Rochelle Celestin, 26, of Mallard Court in Houma, was arrested at 11:43 p.m. Monday on charges of improper turning (no left turn) and no driver’s license.
An officer observed the vehicle commit a traffic violation at the intersection of Brashear and Federal avenues. A traffic stop was conducted, and the driver was identified as Celestin and passenger later identified as Bradley.
A computer check revealed Celestin did not have a valid driver’s license. During the investigation, officers learned Bradley had given a false name and 32nd Judicial District Court in Terrebonne Parish held active warrants for his arrest, Blair said.
While Bradley was being secured in handcuffs he fled on foot but was apprehended a short distance from the traffic stop. Bradley was located in possession of a handgun and suspected marijuana, Blair said. Both Celestin and Bradley were jailed.
Berwick Police Chief David Leonard Sr. reported the following arrest:
—Kalab Wood, 25, of Three B’s Lane in Bayou Vista, was arrested at 5:51 p.m. Monday on charges of resisting an officer with force or violence, battery on a police officer and two warrants charging him with failure to appear for drug court. Wood was transported to St. Mary Parish jail for housing with no bail set.
Patterson Police Chief Garrett Grogan reported no arrests.
BATON ROUGE (AP) — It was the most massive amphibious invasion the world has ever seen, with tens of thousands of Allied troops spread out across the air and sea aiming to get a toehold in Normandy for the final assault on Nazi Germany. And while portrayals of D-Day often depict an all-white host of invaders, in fact it also included many African Americans.
Roughly 2,000 African American troops are believed to have hit the shores of Normandy in various capacities on June 6, 1944. Serving in a U.S. military still segregated by race, they encountered discrimination both in the service and when they came home.
But on Normandy, they faced the same danger as everyone else.
The only African American combat unit that day was the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion, whose job was to set up explosive-rigged balloons to deter German planes. Waverly Woodson Jr. was a corporal and a medic with the battalion. Although Woodson did not live to see this week’s 75th anniversary — he died in 2005 — he told The Associated Press in 1994 about how his landing craft hit a mine on the way to Omaha Beach.
“The tide brought us in, and that’s when the 88s hit us,” he said of the German 88mm guns. “They were murder. Of our 26 Navy personnel there was only one left. They raked the whole top of the ship and killed all the crew. Then they started with the mortar shells.”
Woodson was wounded in the back and groin while on the landing craft but went on to spend 30 hours on the beach tending to other wounded men before eventually collapsing, according to a letter from then-Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland. Van Hollen, now a U.S. senator, is heading an effort to have Woodson posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions on D-Day. But a lack of documentation — in part because of a 1973 fire that destroyed millions of military personnel files — has stymied the effort.
Another member of the unit, William Dabney described what they encountered on D-Day in a 2009 Associated Press interview during the invasion’s 65th anniversary.
“The firing was furious on the beach. I was picking up dead bodies and I was looking at the mines blowing up soldiers. ... I didn’t know if I was going to make it or not,” said Dabney, then 84, who passed away last year.
Linda Hervieux detailed the exploits of the 320th in her book “Forgotten: The Untold Story of D-Day’s Black Heroes, at Home and at War.” She said the military resisted efforts to desegregate as it ramped up for World War II. Instead they kept separate units and separate facilities for black and white troops.
“This was a very expensive and inefficient way to run an army. The Army ... could have ordered its men to integrate and to treat black soldiers as fully equal partners in this war. The Army declined to do so,” she said. The Army wanted to focus on the war and didn’t want to become a social experiment, Hervieux said, but she notes that when African American soldiers were called on to fight side by side with whites, they did so without problems.
By the end of World War II, more than a million African Americans were in uniform including the famed Tuskegee Airmen and the 761st Tank Battalion. The Double V campaign launched by the Pittsburgh Courier, a prominent African American newspaper, called for a victory in the war as well as a victory at home over segregation, including in the military.
During World War II, it was unheard of for African American officers to lead white soldiers and they faced discrimination even while in the service. Black troops were often put in support units responsible for transporting supplies. But during the Normandy invasion that didn’t mean they were immune from danger.
Ninety-nine-year-old Johnnie Jones Sr., who joined the military in 1943 out of Southern University in Baton Rouge, was a warrant officer in a unit responsible for unloading equipment and supplies onto Normandy. He remembers wading ashore and coming under fire from a German sniper. He grabbed his weapon and returned fire along with the other soldiers. It’s something that still haunts his memories.
“I still see him, I see him every night,” he told the AP recently. In another incident, he remembers a soldier charging a pillbox, a selfless act that likely ended the soldier’s life. “I know he didn’t come back home. He didn’t come back home but he saved me and he saved many others.”
After defending their country in Europe, many African American troops were met with discrimination yet again at home. Jones remembers coming back the U.S. after the war’s end and having to move to the back of a bus as it crossed the Mason-Dixon line separating North from South. He recalls being harassed by police officers after returning to Louisiana.
“I couldn’t I sit with the soldiers I had been on the battlefield with. I had to go to the back of the bus,” said Jones, who went on to become a lawyer and civil rights activist in Baton Rouge. “Those are the things that come back and haunt you.”
Leon Francis Deck, 90, a native of Cement City, Michigan, and resident of Morgan City, died Monday, June 3, 2019, at Louisiana War Veterans’ Home in Jackson.
He is survived by three sons, Phillip Deck, Leon Deck and Chris Deck.
He was preceded in death by a daughter, his parents, a brother and a sister.
There will be no services. Interment will be held privately at a later date.
Hargrave Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
PARKINSON’S
Group Support meeting 6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 18, at Bayou Vista Branch Library, 1325 Belleview Drive. Guest speakers from Home Instead Senior Care and Maison Jardin Senior Living Community. Care givers and family welcome. For info call 985-255-9605.
2 on Southeastern honors lists
Two local students have been named to honors lists for spring 2019 at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond.
They are Mollie M. Millett, who made the President's List, and Cullen W. Hinkle, who is on the Dean's List. They're both from Morgan City.
La. Tech names two to Honor Roll
Two Berwick students have been named to the spring 2019 Honor Roll at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston.
They are Ryan Joseph Hover and Kristina Ann Theriot.
Patterson student gets grad degree
Kate Louviere of Patterson was among the graduate students who received Master of Science in Nursing degrees at the recent McNeese State University commencement in Lake Charles.
Donated items are needed for the silent auction to be held during the St. Mary Chamber of Commerce Education Banquet 6-7 p.m. June 27 at the Patterson Area Civic Center. The live auction follows.
Donated items raise money for scholarships and other educational assistance for St. Mary Parish students.
You can drop off items at either St. Mary Chamber of Commerce office or call Catalene Theriot at 337-551-4260 or 337-557-5088. Her email is: ctheriot@16jda.com.
Chamber to explore 2019 session
The St. Mary Chamber of Commerce Legislative Wrap-Up Luncheon will be 11:30 a.m.- 1 p.m. June 19 at the Petroleum Club of Morgan City, 500 Roderick St.
The scheduled speakers are state Sen. Bret Allain, R-Franklin, state Rep. Sam Jones, D-Franklin, and state Rep. Beryl Amedee, R-Gray.
For more information or to RSVP, call 985-384-3830 or 337-828-5608.
The Morgan City public swimming pool located at 611 East Blvd. is now open. Lap swim is $2, and the hours are 6-7 a.m. and 6-7 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Public swim is seven days a week from 1-5 p.m. and is $4 per person. For information on swimming lessons, call the pool office 985-380-4652.
Franklin Banner-Tribune
P.O. Box 566, Franklin, LA 70538
Phone: 337-828-3706
Fax: 337-828-2874
Morgan City Review
1014 Front Street, Morgan City, LA 70380
Phone: 985-384-8370
Fax: 985-384-4255