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American Morning

In One Mississippi Neighborhood, Death Toll Would Have Been Much Higher Had It Not Been for Two Brave Men; 73-Year-Old New Orleans Grandmother Spent 16 Days Behind Bars

Aired September 19, 2005 - 09:31   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it's Just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: We want to call attention to the left side of your screen this morning, right over here, right here. CNN teaming up with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. We're showing you the faces, or in some cases, the silhouettes of some of these children who are missing in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, we wish we had all the pictures, but as you can understand, given the circumstances, a lot of pictures have been lost in the shuffle as well. So silhouettes are better than nothing. At least we have names and ages, and maybe that will provide a connection and put things together for people.

Since we began doing this Saturday morning the calls to the center have tripled, 23 cases resolved, 15 of them because of the pictures you see, or the silhouettes you see on our screen.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, directly, they say because of the pictures that were shown on CNN. So we're going to keep doing it. If you want to help locate one of the kids, if you have some information, call the number at the bottom of the screen. It's 1-800-843-5678, or an easier one to remember is 1-800-THE-LOST, and give the information.

Time to check the headlines. Carol Costello, as you have seen, is in New Orleans.

Kelly Wallace, though, is filling in for her.

Hey, Kel, good morning again.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning again, Soledad. And hello, everyone.

These stories now in the news. Mandatory evacuation now in effect for the Florida Keys.

On Sunday, officials began to order tourists out of the island chain. Now homeowners are being told to leave as well. This is all because Rita is expected to become a category-one hurricane later today. Chad Myers is tracking Rita's path, and we'll check in with him in just a moment. The White House apparently, quote, "cautiously optimistic" about North Korea's decision to abandon its nuclear program, but it wants to see proof. This is all according to a Bush administration official. North Korea promised to abandon its weapons program and join the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. That development coming during six- nation talks in Beijing. In exchange, the countries involved, including the United States, agreed to provide North Korea with energy assistance.

President Bush is being briefed on the Katrina recovery efforts. The president set to meet shortly with his Homeland Security Council. They will discuss making disaster planning a national security priority and, of course, rebuilding the Gulf Coast.

Meantime, the Bush administration taking a few hits about its Katrina response. Former President Bill Clinton had some strong words in an interview on ABC's "This Week."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM J. CLINTON, FMR. PRES. OF THE UNITED STATES: Then you had another thing that nobody's talked about. A lot of these people never had any home insurance, didn't have any flood insurance, everything they own within their little home. And if we really want to do it right, we would have had lots of buses lined up to take them out, and also lots of empty vans so everybody with no kind of home or flood insurance could have been given...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The mayor probably should have had those buses.

CLINTON: ... a little bit.

Maybe the mayor, maybe the governor, but all I can tell you is that when James Lee Witt ran FEMA, because he had been both a local official and a federal official, he was always there early, and we always thought about that. But we -- both of us came out of environments with a disproportionate number of poor people. I think that we were sensitive to the racial issue, but I think we were sensitive to the economic issue. And you can't have an emergency plan that works if it only affects middle-class people up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: And when it comes to rebuilding the Gulf Coast, former President Clinton says it doesn't make sense for the United States to keep borrowing money the way it does.

And finally, there's apparently more relief at the gas pump. AAA says the average price of gas has taken a dip since Friday. It fell eight cents this weekend. The average price of self-serve unleaded is now down to $2.81 a gallon.

Miles, that's still pretty expensive when you're trying to fill up your car.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, it is, especially when you've got the 30-gallon thirsty Yukon XL.

Anyway, thank you very much, Kelly.

In Mississippi, the Katrina death toll has now risen to 219. Recovery crews are still finding bodies as cleanup efforts progress.

In one neighborhood, though, the death toll may have been much higher had it not been for two brave men.

Ted Rowlands joins us now from Biloxi with that story.

Ted, there are so many stories we have not told of brave rescues. There are just too many, but this one is particularly compelling.

Ted, good morning to you.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning again, Miles.

You mentioned the two brave men, and this neighborhood was devastated, but it could have been much worse if it wasn't for those men, and for this house.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROWLANDS (voice-over): In a field of debris on Howard Street in Biloxi, Mississippi, one house is still standing. In that house 24 people survived the storm, 15 of them were pulled to safety by Michael Kovacevich and Joey Davis.

JOEY DAVIS, BILOXI RESIDENT: They say we were stupid for staying here. But if we hadn't, a lot of people would be dead right now.

ROWLANDS: As these photographs taken from inside the house show, most of the neighborhood was underwater. As people lost their homes, Michael and Joey waded through chest-high water to save them, starting with a call for help from a man with a family in trouble.

DAVIS: We got his two daughters, him and his wife.

MICHAEL KOVACEVICH, BILOXI RESIDENT: And then the next move was to get the guy across the street. That's when Joey went and got him out.

ROWLANDS: Then an elderly man and his wife on the other side needed help.

DAVIS: So we went out the back and got both of them, and then the family next door, we got them out.

KOVACEVICH: The water was even with the top of the fence at that point. We knew we was getting water in the house, but we didn't think we would get that amount of water.

DAVIS: Twenty-four people were eventually huddled upstairs. Marks on the wall show how high the water was in the house.

KOVACEVICH: I mean, it just kept hitting and hitting and hitting, and the winds never would let go.

ROWLANDS: For five hours they waited, hoping the house would hold up. Michael's 15-year-old daughter Lanie took care of the children.

LANIE KOVACEVICH, BILOXI RESIDENT: I just talked to them and tried to keep them not looking out the windows and stuff, because they could see everything floating by and their house and stuff.

M. KOVACEVICH: She said I went through this storm a girl and come out a woman.

ROWLANDS: Two people they couldn't save were hanging onto a tree.

DAVIS: I'm not sure exactly which tree, but they were up there.

ROWLANDS: When the storm subsided, Joey led firefighters to the tree. This photo show as couple being rescued. Not all of their neighbors made it. This was one of the hardest-hit areas of the city. Many homes were completely flattened.

Thankfully for the 24 people that survived inside, this one is still standing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROWLANDS: This is an example of one of the homes that was flattened, where that first family was living. Next door was where another couple was living. And they were both saved out of their homes in the nick of time.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. I'm sorry we lost Ted Rowland's mic there. Boy, what a gripping tale, and what amazing heroism on their part. It's probably hard for them to even comprehend what they've all been through, and to take pictures through the whole thing.

Let's go back to New Orleans, shall we, the place they call the west bank. You know, the Mississippi kind of snakes through there. It's more like north and south, but it really is an east and west bank.

On the west bank in the section they call Algiers, things are a little better than they were on the other side of the river. The area code -- excuse me, the zip code we're focusing on this morning is 70114. And right in the heart of 70114 is where we find Carol Costello this morning.

Good morning, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Miles.

That's right, right in the middle of Algiers is Mardi Gras world, and I'm inside the warehouse where they keep all of the floats and make the floats for the big Mardi Gras celebration. Now outside of this warehouse is a distribution center where people can pick up things like water, food, ice. You can get medicine there. You can fill out forms to maybe get your home repaired. So a big distribution thing going on out there. Inside, all of these wonderful floats.

And beside me, the Kerns, the guys who run this place. Blaine Kern, Barry Kern, thank you for joining us this morning. Let's talk about the relief effort first. You've been a long-time businessmen in Algiers, and outside, I'm telling you, people are already in line, waiting to get that water and ice.

BLAINE KERN SR., CHAIRMAN, MARDI GRAS WORLD: We have saved people's lives and when -- we came in a day after it happened, and we told them, take all of our tracks, because we've got these monster tracks and the big generators on them. We sent them out to police headquarters, fire departments, and every place that needed them in the neighborhood. And we've got them working. We said anything we've got, do it. We have our guys stay here doing everything and start to open up, and we came in and took over, and we can't do enough, and we want to do more.

COSTELLO: Well, it's awesome that you're doing so much. But it is important to your business, and your livelihood, that Algiers is up and running, and so is the warehouse.

BLAINE KERN: I'm a seventh generation Algerian and this is the heart of Algiers. I'm Blaine -- they call me Mr. Mardi Gras Colonel.

COSTELLO: It's Mr. Mardi Gras Senior and Mr. Mardi Gras Junior.

BLAINE KERN: Junior. He doesn't want to be it yet, but he will one day, and be soon.

COSTELLO: Barry, tell me about your warehouse and how much damage it sustained.

BARRY KERN, PRES. & CEO, MARDI GRAS WORLD: Well, we're lucky because most of the working areas -- this is about 15 different buildings. Most of our working areas are intact. I mean, we've got roof damage and we have things that you would expect. But it's pretty moderate. And then we have a couple storage facilities that took significant damage and we'll deal with it.

But I mean, the big news is that we can operate our business and get going. And the first thing, obviously, is to get this relief effort and get everybody in Algiers back so we can get everybody that works here with us back and we can move forward to Mardi Gras.

COSTELLO: I know. And you're looking forward to Mardi Gras. And you told me before that it's so strange to be thinking of that right now when people are still going through so much.

BLAINE KERN: For sure.

COSTELLO: But you also said how important that is culturally to this city.

BARRY KERN: Well, I mean, Mardi Gras is part of New Orleans culture. And, you know, this is the 150th anniversary of just the parades going on in New Orleans, but Mardi Gras actually predates the city by a day. The founders of the city celebrated Mardi Gras the day before they founded New Orleans.

BLAINE KERN: Three hundred years ago.

BARRY KERN: So, it's part of our lives. And frankly, I think for a lot of people, it's more important than Christmas, Mardi Gras here. And you've got thousands and thousands of families that participate. And that's what makes it unique, because the people that are on the floats, they're throwing things out to their friends and...

COSTELLO: Yes, but will they get to do that? I mean, Mardi Gras is scheduled, you know -- the culmination, February 28, 2000 (sic). That's not very far away. Will it go on?

BLAINE KERN: Yes. But you know what, I'd like to make a plea to everybody. For the first time in history, you can ride on Mardi Gras floats. Come in and as really and truly and fill in some of the gaps, because some of the crews won't have riders. Some people have lost their homes and everything else. So I'm saying for the first time, not -- the big powerful clubs, some of plenty of money. But some of the clubs -- and they're still wonderful crews -- do need some riders. So if you want to come in and have a good time, come to the Mardi Gras.

COSTELLO: He is a salesman, isn't he? And Soledad, what they're talking about is there are different crews and they actually put on the -- they actually finance the parades. And you guys build the floats and help them do that, so you...

BLAINE KERN: No commercialism whatsoever.

COSTELLO: Absolutely not.

BLAINE KERN: No, no, we never do that. Really, it's all private.

COSTELLO: We're going to be following your story, because we know that what -- Mardi Gras pumps in what, $1 billion to the New Orleans economy. So it's important in so many ways -- Soledad?

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, it sure is. All right, Carol, tell those guys good work and good luck to them. Thanks, Carol. We'll check in with you again tomorrow, as Carol continues to report for us from New Orleans.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: All right, we're watching it. Thank you very much, Chad Meyers. Still to come, meet a 73-year-old grandmother who says she was a victim of early chaos in Katrina's aftermath. Find out why she says she ended up in jail for a crime she did not commit. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) M. O'BRIEN: All right. Dennis Kozlowski, a.k.a. Daddy Warbucks, is not a low-profile guy, but nevertheless -- nothing low-profile about him -- he slipped into the courthouse this morning and apparently there he is. Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business: with what he faces when he faces the judge.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" COLUMNIST: He faces many years in jail, is what he faces, Miles.

Let's talk about markets, though, first of all. Stocks slipping at this hour. Down 33 on your Dow Jones Industrials on the big board down there. Rita, Tropical Storm Rita, has a lot to do with that. The price of oil is up over $1.50, to $64.50. That's making traders on Wall Street nervous.

Also, a big Fed meeting tomorrow. And this is interesting. You know, the Feds raised rates ten times in a row since June of '04. This time they may not, because of the effects of Hurricane Katrina, to wit -- and this just an example of the collateral damage out there -- Russell Athletic, you know they make athletic apparel, saying they're slashing their forecast because they have 40 containers of their goods have been lost or damaged. So you can see that's the kind of stuff that companies across the country are dealing with.

M. O'BRIEN: Their facility's in that region, too, isn't it?

SERWER: I think this is just some stuff coming into Gulfport, as a matter of fact.

Dennis Kozlowski, the former CEO of Tyco and his right-hand man Mark Swartz, the former chief financial officer, are apparently in the courthouse in lower Manhattan. They face potentially very stiff sentences, from one to 30 years. But expect it to be closer to the 30 than the one. I would say at least ten years or so for the looting of that company. And we will be hearing about that later this morning.

M. O'BRIEN: A lot more latitude in the state courts.

SERWER: That's right. That's how it works.

M. O'BRIEN: OK. Thank you very much, Andy.

SERWER: You're welcome.

M. O'BRIEN: Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: CNN LIVE TODAY is coming up next. Let's get right to Daryn Kagan. Hey, Daryn, good morning to you.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Soledad. Good to see you.

S. O'BRIEN: Happy Monday. Thank you.

KAGAN: Thank you.

S. O'BRIEN: What are you working on today? KAGAN: We have a lot coming up. The top of the hour, football's New Orleans Saints play their home opener tonight. Only thing, it's in New Jersey. The team is working to help hurricane victims and win a Super Bowl. We'll show you how.

Plus, we've seen the damage done by Katrina, but some long-time Gulf Coast natives are still standing after the storm. One force of nature stands up to another.

All that coming up on CNN LIVE TODAY. For now, back to you.

S. O'BRIEN: All right, Daryn, thanks a lot.

Hey, Daryn, did you see this story about this little old lady? The question now, of course, is did she commit a crime or was she just in the wrong place at the wrong time? A grandmother, 73 years old, is going tell us how she ended up in jail. You can see her in the back of the sheriff's car right there. She ended up in jail after Katrina hit. Still has court ahead of her.

We're going to explain her story, just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: A 73-year-old New Orleans grandmother spent 16 days behind bars for looting, at least that's what police say. Merlene Maten says, though, that is not true.

Mrs. Maten and her attorney, Danielle Becknel (ph), join us from Baton Rouge this morning.

Nice to see you both. Merlene, let's begin with you, if we may.

The day after the storm struck, police say you were observed entering a store and looting. What happened on that day, that Tuesday?

MERLENE MATEN, ACCUSED OF LOOTING: That's not true. That morning, I think, we had gone downstairs -- the water was quite high -- to get -- for the trash can to get water to flush the toilet. And I also wanted to plug my phone and get some meat out of my car, which I did.

On the way -- I saw a lot of people out there, not knowing what was going on. On the way, they had sausage floating. I picked up that piece of sausage, too, because it was just floating in the water. As I did, that's when the police called me and arrested me.

S. O'BRIEN: That's when they arrested you for looting. We're looking at looking at a picture, Mrs. Maten, of the shop which you're accused of looting, and here's what Captain Steve Kerreway (ph) from the Kenner Police Department said. He said this, "The bottom line is that she," meaning you, "was observed by police looting, stealing beer and sausage, and she was apprehended." Police officers that apprehended her are sympathetic to the situation with food and water, but unfortunately, we cannot pick and choose who's arrested for what type of incident.

You say it's completely a case where they're wrong. Did you see other looters around you? did you see people breaking into stores and stealing things around you?

MATEN: No, I did not. I was on Motel 6 ground. I saw a lot of people out there, but I don't know what they were doing. You know, they were just seemed to be moving about. The only way -- when I really looked up, the police just called me, come here. But they had other people out there.

S. O'BRIEN: So the police called you -- the police called you over and said come here?

MATEN: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: And did they cuff you and put you in the back of a police car? Is that what happened?

MATEN: They cuffed me, and there were two policeman, as a matter of fact, and one said, what are you going to do with her? He said, I had kicked in the store. I didn't kick in no store. I don't even know where no store was there. My first time in that area. He said, what are you going to do with her? And the one police say, arrest her.

S. O'BRIEN: Which they did. You spent 16 days behind bars. What was that like? Was it scary for you?

MATEN: It could have been better. I really wasn't afraid, because I knew I had did nothing wrong, and I believe in God.

S. O'BRIEN: Must have provided some comfort for you then. Long time to spend locked up.

You moved around a lot as well. I know at one point your husband had no idea where you were. You had gone out, as you said, and then never really came back.

The owner of the Check-In Cash-Out Deli, which was the deli that you were accused of looting, has said that she's not going to press any charges, but you do have another court date. That's Christine Bishop (ph) right there, the owner. You do have another court date in October, October 14th. You're out on your own recognizance now. What happens?

MATEN: After that, they took me to Gretna, and I stayed there for I think about five days, six days. They moved me from there and brought me by the Greyhound bus station, and the train station, where I slept there on the ground. And from there, no one told us where we were going, just put us on the bus. And from there I went to San Diego.

S. O'BRIEN: Sounds like a lot of movement. Hopefully things will end well for you, Merlene Maten and her attorney Danielle Becknel, who is joining her today. I thank you both for talking with us.

And we're back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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