This may come as a shock, but New Orleans has some problems. Chief among them: erratic crime, rising sea levels, and a thoroughly unhinged jackass of a mayor who was elected by wealthy Uptowners and bussed-in, destitute evacuees--neither of whom have to deal with his shit because the former can always jet off to Gstaad and the latter still live in Houston.
So, basically the last thing we need is more problems. Especially more loonies. Luckily, this one was stopped at the border:
NEW YORK -- A fashion writer accused of sexually abusing a former co-worker while dressed as a firefighter hoped to go to New Orleans and lead a gang of angry Hurricane Katrina survivors, a psychologist testified.
Dr. William Barr, a neuropsychologist, said Monday that the plan was something Peter Braunstein told him he considered while on the run after the attack on the woman on Halloween night 2005 in New York.
"He talked about going to New Orleans because he thought there were a lot of angry people down there and he could provide them some kind of leadership," Barr testified....
Braunstein, 43, is accused of igniting smoke bombs while wearing firefighter gear and tricking his way into a former co-worker's apartment, where he knocked her out with chloroform, tied her to a bed and sexually abused her for nearly 13 hours.
--CNN
(Which kinda reminds me of the time a vanity arsonist set fire to the Bourbon Pub, just so he could get a pat on the back and maybe some sympathy sex. But that's another story.)
Anyway, this guy was caught before he infiltrated our city, but surely he's not alone. New Orleans has always been a magnet for folks on the fringe, so how many chloroform-wielding, Hero Syndrome-suffering others walk among us? Common Ground, I'm lookin' in your direction....
UPDATE #1: The New York Times reveals that Mr. Braunstein drafted a manifesto (brownie point #1) in which he threatened to kill Anna Wintour (brownie point #2). Maybe he's not so bad after all.
UPDATE #2: Apparently, the judge thought he really was so bad after all.
