Sen. Larry Craig: fraud part of Louisiana's culture
Tags: larry craig, corruptionWASHINGTON — A U.S. senator from Idaho is the latest to slam Louisiana's reputation for political corruption as Congress considers whether to spend billions of dollars on hurricane recovery.
Sen. Larry Craig, a Republican, told his home state constituents that fraud is as much a part of the fabric of Louisiana as it is in Iraq and that flooded sections of New Orleans should be abandoned.
"Fraud is in the culture of Iraqis. I believe that is true in the state of Louisiana as well," Craig was quoted as saying Thursday in the Lewiston (Idaho) Morning Tribune.
The McCall (Idaho) Star News, quoted him saying "Louisiana and New Orleans are the most corrupt governments in our country and they always have been. . . . A rookie cop in New Orleans, they pay him or her $17,000 starting pay and then wink and say you better make the rest of it on the street…"
