And some Bayou La Batre residents say the recent indictment only scratches the surface of Mayor Wright's crimes.
Wright faced accusations of favoritism and corruption after the BP oil disaster as well. Bayou la Batre was one of the few cities to oversee its own clean-up operation in the summer of 2010, despite protests by some local commercial fishermen who wanted the Mayor to stay out of it.
The city directed most of its allotted BP money to a company that employed Stan Wright's brother Gordy, in a lucrative $7.4 million contract. Janey Galbraith, the indicted Safe Harbor administrator, was also involved -- her company received $500,000 from the city for administering Bayou La Batre's BP money.
Chris Bryant, a commercial fisherman who organized the protests of the Mayor's involvement in the BP clean-up, says the indictment for Katrina-related crimes is just the beginning for Wright. "I think there will be a lot more to come. Once they start looking into the BP oil spill, there will be a lot of others involved."
In a town that is half people of color (mostly Asian Americans (33%)
of Vietnamese and southeast Asian descent, and African Americans (10%)),
Wright also has a reputation for racism.
Wayne Rabby says that as Police Chief, he heard Wright use racial slurs on a few occasions. In one incident, Rabby, who is white, says he heard Wright used the n-word in reference to a city council member. Rabby wrote of another 2001 incident, "I heard Mayor Wright say that he was not going to allow a Boys & Girls Club in Bayou La Batre because "they would be bringing in [n-word] kids from Mobile and everywhere else."
In the same statement, Rabby wrote that he also heard the Mayor say
to an Asian American business owner, "I want you out of my town. Why
don't you go back where you came from?"
With a history like this, it is no wonder that some Bayou La Batre residents see the indictment as Wright's comeuppance.
"The majority of people I talk to are happy," says Paul Nelson. "They see justice is going to be served to this guy. I feel the same way" It's been a long time coming."
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Photo: Paul Nelson on the foundation of his former house and oystershop, which were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Photo by Patrick Jackson.
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