The board that oversees much of New Orleans’ $14.5 billion hurricane-protection system, which has faced upheaval over the past year due to resignations and new appointments, is facing a new round of turmoil.
In recent months, Attorney General Liz Murrill’s office has opened an investigation of the nine-member board. Misdemeanor battery charges have been filed by the agency’s police chief against one of its board members. And state lawmakers are considering stepping in, including Metairie Republican Cameron Henry, the powerful state Senate president.
Now, the two remaining board members who were not chosen by Gov. Jeff Landry are resigning, effective Monday. One of them, Deborah Settoon, a 67-year-old former Shell engineer, stands accused of punching the agency’s 46-year-old police chief, Joshua Rondeno, at a closed-door meeting in October. Settoon called the accusation absurd and part of a pressure campaign to force her to resign…