After the levees broke in New Orleans, the Army Corps of Engineers quietly hired a public relations firm called Outreach Process Partners (OPP).

OPP was hired under a 3-year contract to ostensibly improve the federal agency’s image.

This small firm was paid $1 million up front and, over the next three years, received another $3,613,998.00.

OPP boasted in its website that it reduced negative news stories for the corps. Levees.org brought the nearly $5 million contract to the attention of its supporters in May 2009.

The eBlast got the attention of CBS National News and the Associated Press who both did national stories.

Dennis Woltering with WWL TV Channel 4 did the local news story shown above on May 13, 2009.

This scandal––and many others––are described in detail in founder Sandy Rosenthal’s upcoming book, Words Whispered in Water: Why the Levees Broke in Hurricane Katrina.

Preorder from a local bookstore near you,
Paperback from Barnes & Noble or
Paperback and audiobook from Amazon.