New Orleans Inspector General Ed Michel’s office has seized the computer of a city IT worker involved in the “smart city” contracting process, an indication that the canceled project has spawned an investigation from the city’s top watchdog.
The IG seizure of a city computer assigned to Christopher Wolff occurred on Wednesday, according to Wolff's attorney and City Council President Helena Moreno.
Wolff’s lawyer, Michael Kennedy, told Moreno’s office that the seizure would complicate his ability to comply with an subpoena request from the City Council for reams of documents related to the smart city project.
Office of Council President Helena Moreno asks Jonathan Rhodes, director of the Mayor's Office of Utilities, questions during the Smart Cities and Public Wi-Fi Deployment Investigation during the Special Meeting of the New Orleans City Council at City Hall in New Orleans, Wednesday, April 27, 2022. (Photo by Sophia Germer, NOLA.com, The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)
The city declined to comment. Kennedy said that his client had done nothing wrong and would continue to comply with the investigations of the doomed contract.
“He has been completely above board throughout this entire process and is cooperating to the best of his ability,” said Kennedy.
Extent of probe unclear
It wasn’t immediately clear how many other city workers, if any, have been forced to turn over electronics. Wolff was one of numerous city workers involved in the contracting process.
But the existence of an inspector general probe is significant. Under the City Charter, the IG’s office has the power to investigate waste and fraud, to conduct joint investigations with law enforcement agencies and to make referrals to prosecutors.
Michel declined to comment on the investigation, including whether he has similarly seized electronics from Jonathan Rhodes, the director of the mayor’s office of utilities.
Jonathan Rhodes, director of the Mayor's Office of Utilities, flips through the exhibit before continuing on with the Smart Cities and Public Wi-Fi Deployment Investigation questioning during the Special Meeting of the New Orleans City Council at City Hall in New Orleans, Wednesday, April 27, 2022. (Photo by Sophia Germer, NOLA.com, The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)
Rhodes’s office sponsored the solicitation for the ambitious broadband and public WiFi project that would have involved tens of millions of dollars of investments over 15 years. He is so far the only employee who has appeared in front of the City Council for formal questioning.
Together, Wolff and Rhodes co-founded a Delaware company called Verge Internet that attempted to raise money in order to compete for broadband internet projects.
Both men have said that the company never produced any income, but their long-undisclosed side project has drawn criticism because Verge Internet partnered with the telecom giant Qualcomm and the investment firm JLC Infrastructure on a “smart city” pitch to the city of Los Angeles.
At the same time, Rhodes and Wolff were involved in the procurement process for New Orleans’ smart city project, which ended with a consortium including Qualcomm and JLC securing the winning bid.
The City Council, which has its own investigation of the smart city project, subpoenaed Wolff earlier this month seeking all documents related to the smart city contract and his communications with the vendors.
Wolff was initially ordered to comply with the subpoena by Monday, but Kennedy had previously sought and received a two-week extension of the deadline. Kennedy has raised objections to some of the requests in the City Council subpoena.
Council staffers are still examining a large number of documents that Rhodes has produced under subpoena, according to Moreno.