Michael Kunzelman

May 29, 2008 | Daily Report Online

NEW ORLEANS AP - A federal appeals court on Wednesday revived lawsuits against military contractors over a deadly ambush that killed civilian truck drivers in Iraq.The suits filed by truckers and their families accuse Halliburton and a former subsidiary, KBR Inc., of knowingly sending a convoy into a dangerous area where six KBR drivers were killed and several others wounded on April 9, 2004.

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN

3 minute read

July 25, 2007 | Daily Report Online

NEW ORLEANS AP - A judge acquitted a former police officer seen on videotape beating a man during an arrest after Hurricane Katrina, saying the tape showed authorities didn't use excessive force.Robert Evangelist, 37, was found not guilty of second-degree battery and false imprisonment of Robert Davis, 66, whose violent scuffle with police was captured by an Associated Press Television News crew.

By Michael Kunzelman

3 minute read

April 08, 2009 | Daily Report Online

NEW ORLEANS AP - Women in several states claim Victoria's Secret bras gave them rashes and other skin problems, and a group of lawyers sought Wednesday to consolidate their cases against the lingerie chain.Federal lawsuits filed in Louisiana, Florida, New Jersey and New York accuse Victoria's Secret and its parent company, Limited Brands Inc.

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN

3 minute read

March 26, 2009 | Daily Report Online

NEW ORLEANS AP - A former attorney who pleaded guilty to stealing millions of dollars from a prominent New Orleans law firm and a casino operator he once represented was sentenced Wednesday to just over 15 years in prison and ordered to repay about $23 million.Former Adams and Reese partner James Perdigao, 46, pleaded guilty in October to charges that included fraud and money laundering.

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN

2 minute read

July 12, 2012 | Daily Report Online

A former New Orleans pastor was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in federal prison for stealing nearly $1 million in disaster loan payments meant to rebuild his church after Hurricane Katrina.

By Michael Kunzelman

3 minute read

March 31, 2009 | Daily Report Online

NEW ORLEANS AP - A former Army Corps of Engineers consultant on trial for bribery was working behind the scenes to improve a Hurricane Katrina levee project, not to profit from it, his defense attorney told jurors Monday.Kern Wilson, 58, of Apollo Beach, Fla., is charged with conspiring with subcontractor Durwanda Elizabeth Heinrich, 46, of Metairie, La.

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN

3 minute read

September 05, 2012 | Daily Report Online

The Justice Department is urging a federal judge to ignore BP's assertion that the Gulf Coast's natural resources are making a "robust recovery" from its massive 2010 oil spill.

By Michael Kunzelman

3 minute read

April 15, 2013 | Daily Report Online

A BP team leader who supervised managers on the rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 says he was frustrated by last-minute changes to the drilling project but didn't have any safety concerns before the deadly blast.

By Michael Kunzelman

1 minute read

March 03, 2008 | Daily Report Online

NEW ORLEANS AP - A key government witness lied to the grand jury that indicted several attorneys on charges they conspired to bribe a state judge, one of the accused lawyers said in court papers filed Monday.Zach Scruggs, an attorney whose well-known father and law partner also face bribery charges in the case, is asking a federal judge to dismiss his indictment due to alleged prosecutorial misconduct.

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN

3 minute read

January 29, 2008 | Daily Report Online

GULFPORT, Miss. AP - A federal judge refused to let jurors consider punitive damages against an insurance company after they handed down a verdict Monday that favored the insurer in a dispute with policyholders over Hurricane Katrina damage.At the end of a 10-day trial, an eight-member jury ordered San Antonio-based USAA Casualty Insurance Co.

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN

4 minute read