Letter: Poor tracking of Sandy fraud
A sign counting the days since superstorm Sandy, which destroyed 30 homes in Ocean Breeze, rests on the front of a trailer serving as a temporary storage area on Quincy Avenue near Staten Island's southeastern shore in New York. (Oct. 2, 2013) Credit: AP
In life you can be either a shining example, or a glaring warning ["Sandy aid flaw," News, Nov. 20]. If we learned anything from the way money and aid were distributed during and after Hurricane Katrina, we learned that it was a complete disaster (no pun intended) and certainly a glaring warning.
When so much government money is available so quickly, confusion never ceases to rear its ugly head. It happened after 9/11 as well, and sadly it's always the people who need it most who get hurt. Too many undeserving people and businesses made money during these catastrophes, while honest, hardworking people are still struggling today, trying to pick up the pieces of their lives.
Now, to add insult to injury, the feds in charge of identifying fraud say they can't track the grants, loans and contracts "most vulnerable to misuse." This is simply not good enough, and casts an ominous shadow; our leaders need to do a better job.
Joseph Bua, Long Beach
