I'd been looking at booking a trip with them but the owners may be in some real trouble with the state of Louisiana. This is them: Journey South Outfitters
Items offered for sale by former Wildlife & Fisheries employee match those missing from inventory, auditor says
And more: Read emails between Wildlife & Fisheries employee and vendor who got big contract
Items offered for sale by former Wildlife & Fisheries employee match those missing from inventory, auditor says
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A former Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries employee offered for sale on the internet fishing equipment matching the description of items purchased by a team managed by her husband, also a department employee, with a state credit card in the wake of the BP oil spill, according to a report issued Monday morning.
After months of investigation, the Louisiana Legislative Auditor's report focuses on Eric Newman and Monique Savoy, now married, who resigned from the department in January 2014. Investigators were unable to locate in the department's possession $54,957 of fishing equipment purchased by that team to help with the BP Tissue Sampling Program, but found identical items totaling $19,762 either in the couple's possession or offered for sale by Savoy on Facebook.
In February and March 2016, Savoy offered on her Facebook timeline a "never used" Kristal 640 Kite Reel and four "never have been used" Okuma Makaira 50WII for $500 each, as well as two Kristal XL621 12-volt reels for $1,100 each. Auditors say the team purchased reels matching those exact descriptions in October 2010, February 2011 and September 2011 using state purchasing cards, and that they were unable to locate those reels in the agency's inventory.
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The report says investigators also found $14,338 worth of fishing equipment matching the description of items missing from the department at the couple's Covington residence and Venice camp. Those items included 50 rods and reels worth $12,222, a Blue Mako Oceanic Pro spear gun worth $311, four Yeti coolers worth $1,521 and three external hard drives totaling $284.
Newman, who began working for the department in August 2010, was authorized to make the purchases by then Fisheries Division Director Randy Pausina to help the agency collect offshore fish samples to be tested for impacts from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Department employees told investigators that Newman was in charge of the Venice tissue-collection team, which included Savoy, his then girlfriend.
The team purchased $677,585 worth of boating equipment, fishing and water sports equipment, vehicle equipment, household supplies and groceries, clothing, cameras and other items. Newman and Savoy made $475,945 worth of those purchases, auditors found. The items were not included in department inventory records, and a separate accounting of the gear was not maintained by the Venice team, according to the report.
In total, the report says 65 percent of the 114 reels and 111 rods purchased by the Venice team with state money are missing, as are 23 of 25 Yeti coolers, three spear guns, two binoculars and a paddle board.
And more: Read emails between Wildlife & Fisheries employee and vendor who got big contract