Can this backassward town get any more snakebit!? Seriously. When incompetent (if not wicked) nimrods like Ray Nagin are re-elected, and honest men like Cerasoli are ground down until they have to leave... it profoundly frustrates and demoralizes me.
I wish Cerasoli the best as he confronts new health challenges, and thank him for his service to the city. However, I can't help but think that his resignation is not purely due to health issues. This guy was tough. (See the "no anesthetic" story in the T-P link.) I have to think that, barring a cancer diagnosis, Cerasoli would have stayed on if he was confident that he could properly establish the IG office, and put in two or three solid years of good, quality work. However, the Nagin administration not only didn't fully cooperate with the IG, but it tried to sabotage the office at every turn! At least that's how it appeared to me, as I watched them erect roadblock after roadblock to Cerasoli's office. The other week they disconnected his long distance service, for crying out loud!
"There was always that mysterious hand there, that made you wonder if somebody was trying to stop it, " Cerasoli said.
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Update: Selected Reactions:
Toulouse Street "There is only us"
Tin Can Trailer Trash "Our next challenge is to replace the irreplaceable."
Gambit: Leonard Odom, First Assistant for Criminal Investigations, has been selected to serve as interim IG.
Maitri "We're toast"
Suspect Device "Youre done"
