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CNN Saturday Morning News

FEMA to Stop Paying Hotel Bills for Hurricane Victims; FBI Unveils List of Top Ten Art Crimes

Aired November 19, 2005 - 10:30   ET

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

ROB MARCIANO, CNN ANCHOR, CNN SATURDAY MORNING: Left homeless by Mother Nature. Could victims of hurricane Katrina now be left homeless by the Federal government? Welcome back to CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm Rob Marciano in for Tony Harris.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR, CNN SATURDAY MORNING: Thanks for being here Rob and I'm Betty Nguyen. That story is coming up, but first stories happening right now in the news. Here's a look. President Bush is in China on the third leg of his four-nation visit to Southeast Asia. The president is scheduled to hold talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao and other leaders. Now, topping the agenda will be trade currency reform as well as human rights and democracy.

A fierce and bitter debate in the House on the war in Iraq. GOP leaders try to force Democrats to take a stand on withdrawing U.S. troops early from Iraq. The Republicans brought a resolution calling for the immediate military withdrawal from the region. Democrats called the move a stunt and was overwhelmingly defeated.

And FEMA's role in the Katrina disaster is being questioned again. A Democratic congressman says the agency failed to take advantage of an offer of free housing for hurricane evacuees. Mississippi's Betty Thompson (ph) says mortgage lender Fannie Mae offered FEMA 1500 rent-free units, but the agency did not take up that offer. FEMA said it had differences with Fannie Mae.

MARCIANO: They survived the worst natural disaster to hit the United States, now hurricane Katrina evacuees across the country are faced with a new dilemma, not having their hotel tabs picked up by the Federal government. FEMA says December 1st, it will stop paying hotel bills for more than 50,000 people. FEMA's recent announcement sparked an outcry among many evacuees who feared they will suddenly become homeless and they say FEMA has done very little to help them so far. CNN reporter Jason Carroll spoke to some frustrated evacuees now living in New York.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This morning Quintin Garrus took time to play with his kids, 9-month-old Justice and 2-year-old Zarya. For the family, a brief moment of happiness before harsh reality sets in.

QUINTIN GARRUS, KATRINA EVACUEE: We're frustrated, angry, tired, disgusted, disappointed, just ready to settle down. CARROLL: Since September this family of four, forced from their New Orleans home by hurricane Katrina, has been living in a New York hotel room, temporary housing, paid for by FEMA, Federal Emergency Management Agency. The family's funds are running low. They've been unable to find work or affordable permanent housing in a city where the average cost of a one bedroom apartment is more than $1,000 a month. They say FEMA has done little to help.

DANIELLE WEST, KATRINA EVACUEE: FEMA never came her and said this is what we're doing for you all. This is housing and you can go here and they're going to have this and that for you.

CARROLL: Now FEMA says as of December 1st, it will stop paying hotel bills for Quintin and some 51,000 other evacuees living in hotels across the country.

WEST: I can't imagine being homeless all of a sudden with two children. On the first, all my things are going to be put out on the street.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don't know what to do at this point because we keep getting pending, pending, pending.

CARROLL: On Friday, a room roomful of evacuees living in New York hotels faced FEMA and city officials.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm here to tell you what the reality is. I'm the messenger.

CARROLL: Danielle West hoped to hear something encouraging, but most of what she listened to were complaints from others just like her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have not received a check. I have not received any assistance whatsoever from FEMA.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And if they told you that there's a check that's been sent, that in a way is good news because that means you're eligible and we need to find that check.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: December 1st date was not told to us, OK. We found that out through rumor.

CARROLL: Then some encouraging words. New York City officials say the city would pick up the tab and allow evacuees under certain conditions to stay in hotels until January 1st, but then the city representative said something no one wanted to hear.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The shelter system is an available resource.

CARROLL: Critics say some of the city's shelters are so unsafe even the homeless won't stay there. West had enough.

WEST: I've never been homeless a day in my life (INAUDIBLE) and my 9-month-old baby and a 2-year-old? But --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know that's hard.

CARROLL: West was too upset to talk with us after that. FEMA's representative didn't want to talk either.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why at this point are we still hearing the same kind of complaints we heard several weeks ago, more than a month ago? Why are we still here?

CARROLL (on-camera): Late Friday New York City's mayor sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees FEMA asking them to extend hotel funding and consider postponing the deadline.

Despite the city's efforts, many here aren't sure what their futures now hold or who they can turn to for help. Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: And this just in to CNN, we are learning according to the Associated Press that at least 15 are dead, 40 wounded in Baquba, Iraq, after a suicide bomber drove a car into a tent that was owned by a Shiite family who was receiving condolences for a family member who just died. But again, at least 15 people killed, 40 wounded in Baquba. We are just learning the details on this. As soon as we get more information, we're going to bring it to you right here on CNN.

Back to FEMA and the Hurricane Katrina evacuees. So where are people living in hotels now? Where are they expected to go and how will they pay for housing?

One evacuation family joins us now to talk about that. The Haisleys are currently staying in Atlanta and we want to appreciate you for being here today. We have Katrice and Kirby. You also have your other two boys with you here. Katrice, tell me about your situation right now. Have you found permanent housing?

KATRICE HAISLEY, HURRICANE EVACUEE: No. Not as of yet. I've been diligently looking but it's a little difficult right now. I've called several apartment complexes, filling out forms. They want -- they are not waiving like any fees or anything. Being that you are a Katrina evacuee, I don't have a job. My job was basically washed up with the flood and right now I'm just seeking -- it's like this is my job, making sure that I can provide for my family.

NGUYEN: So you're living in a hotel right now and as of December 1st, FEMA is not going to pay for those hotel bills anymore.

HAISLEY: Correct.

NGUYEN: I also understand though that FEMA will pay for money up to 18 months if it's used for long-term housing. So for those of them out there that say it's been three months. What's been the hold-up in finding housing and jobs? What do you say to critics who say that?

HAISLEY: Well, first, I say you have to walk in someone's shoes before you can judge them well. Being that my house is under and I live in New Orleans east I didn't even see my house for two months. We weren't even let in that area. Once we were let in that area you see the mold, the mildew and you're trying to deal with getting back to your home. No one is really trying to stay. They're just using this as temporary residence.

NGUYEN: Because you want to move back to your home.

HAISLEY: I want to go back to New Orleans, yes, I do. That's my home.

NGUYEN: Do you know how long it's going to take?

HAISLEY: I have no idea. It's a day by day process. I've called FEMA. I'm going through my insurance company. I'm steadily going on the process that's been changing day by day and I'm fighting to get back to my home. All I'm asking for is temporary housing like most others until we can get back to our own homes. I don't need a second mortgage or a second -- because your mortgage company doesn't stop asking for their money despite this disaster. So basically you're asking for someone to be able to accommodate two living spaces at one time when you have no job.

NGUYEN: So how long do you think you're going to need this Federal housing assistance to get back on your feet?

HAISLEY: To be really honest? I don't know. I would hope three months, six months and that's my best estimation because I'm pushing to get my house gutted out and get the mold out of it and the next process, I understand is you have to have electricians and plumbers to check your structure to see if it's sound.

NGUYEN: So you're dealing with a home that was destroyed and a home that you're about to lose which is in a hotel because FEMA's not going pay for those hotel bills anymore, but they are paying for long- term housing and you're looking into that at this point.

HAISLEY: Yes, I am.

NGUYEN: Kirby, let me ask this of you because you're in high school. This is your senior year. How has it been for you so far? You've been living in a hotel for three months.

KIRBY HAISLEY, HURRICANE EVACUEE: It's been pretty rough. It was hard transitioning from my old school to Atlanta's school system. We were six weeks behind. So it was hard for me and a lot of my friends to catch up and we were struggling to try to do our best so we could graduate on time.

NGUYEN: Honestly, are you relieved in a way because you want to get out of the hotel or are you fine where you are?

KIRBY HAISLEY: I'm OK where I am. The hotel we're in has a kitchen so we can cook and what not. It's not like the other hotels that some people have to live in where they have to wash their clothes in the sink. NGUYEN: But you're ready to get back into a real home, aren't you?

KIRBY HAISLEY: Yes.

NGUYEN: And so as you look to the future, you want to move back to New Orleans. You just need something temporary here, is that correct?

HAISLEY: Correct. That's all I'm looking for, just a temporary solution for now. While I'm working on going back and forth to New Orleans to get my home available for us to live in again.

NGUYEN: But in the meantime you need to find a place to live. How's that been going?

HAISLEY: It's been a little rough. I've called all of the places. I've heard about the dilemmas in the application process, how long it usually takes to do an application check, check your credit, etcetera and it's like, I'm dealing with a time limit. Next week is Thanksgiving. You have to think about it. Most people have half a day, the day before Thanksgiving. So that's two days out of the equation already. So I'm sitting on a time bomb and I'm trying to accommodate their timeline.

NGUYEN: Time is ticking and then you throw in the holidays on top of it. It's got to be very difficult. Katrice, Kirby and the Haisley family, we appreciate you coming today and talking to us about the situation, putting a real face behind it. We appreciate that.

HAISLEY: Thank you.

NGUYEN: And you can log onto cnn.com for a direct link to FEMA's information page and a lot more. That is at cnn.com/katrina -- Rob.

MARCIANO: Betty, they are some of the most precious pieces of art work in the world, worth millions and millions of dollars, but they're gone. Up next, the FBI launches a new top 10 list to find these missing paintings. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: This just in. We want to get you an update on that breaking news that we told you about just moments ago dealing with a suicide bombing at a funeral ceremony in Iraq. Let's go now to CNN's Nic Robertson who is in Baghdad with the latest on this. Nic, the numbers differ. We said somewhere around 15. Now it seems like it's up to 18. What do you know?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Betty, the latest information we have from the police who have jurisdiction over that area, they say that 18 people are dead, 20 people are wounded. What happened is a suicide car bomber drove a car full of explosives into a tent where the family of a recently-deceased man were receiving people for condolences. This is the traditional way in Iraq as part of the sort of funeral, if you will. They were reading from the Koran to the people who had come to offer their condolences. The family were gathered there with friends and relatives. That's what the suicide bomber drove his car into, into the tent. Eighteen people dead, 20 wounded.

Now this has occurred just as the sun was setting this evening, just northeast of Baghdad. It's southeast of a town called Baquba, so really not far from the capital, perhaps about 30 or 40 miles from Baghdad, Betty.

NGUYEN: And, Nic, what do we know about the wounded so far?

ROBERTSON: It's not clear. This is about an hour and a half or so since the incident happened. Very likely they've been taken to the local hospital and one of the nearest major hospitals at least would have been the hospital in Baquba. They're very used to receiving casualties from car bombs, from all sort of bombings and they will vert likely be treated there.

I think we can expect the casualty figures to change. This would be normal. We haven't heard of such an attack of a suicide bomber driving into a funeral gathering if you will, for some time. It's not unheard of here, we just haven't heard of one like this for some time. What we do know was that this was a Shia family, a Shia funeral and what we know is that the insurgency here is dominated by Sunni Muslims and they predominately target the Shia Muslims, trying to create a sectarian divide, Betty.

NGUYEN: Interesting point there and just an update now according to CNN, 20 have been wound so far in that suicide bombing. Nic Robertson in Baghdad. Thank you for that update.

MARCIANO: Also just in. An earthquake out of Indonesia, 6.5 magnitude quake in an area that's been very active as you know in the past 12 months. We're looking to get more information on that quake as well as we go throughout the morning. Stay with us on that.

On another front, the FBI has some interesting things you may not think of. They have a top 10 most wanted list, but it's not the one you think of. It's for art crimes and they unveiled it this week. The FBI is asking for your help in finding these stolen works of art from Da Vinci's Madonna, (INAUDIBLE) to Cellini's salt cellar to Munch's "The Scream" just stolen over a year ago. These artifacts are worth some $600 million.

Joining us now from Chicago is art investigator Robert Spiel. This is something you wouldn't think of there, Robert, thanks for joining us and it's a bigger deal than most people think, isn't it?

ROBERT SPIEL, ART INVESTIGATOR: I think it is, Rob. The annual value of stolen art, I recently wrote a book covering the subject is about 13 -- I'm sorry, $1.3 billion.

MARCIANO: So, we're talking about big-time money. Let's prioritize though. Doesn't the FBI have other things to do besides to look for missing art work? Some people might say that, what would be your argument to that?

SPIEL: Art work is among property crimes. It's in about the top 10, possibly the top five and also it's something that has an emotional impact on most people, unlike other types of property that's sometimes stolen.

MARCIANO: So priceless and irreplaceable obviously to some degree. You've been -- you have an interesting background. You have an art degree and you worked for the FBI for 20 years. Quite a combination so you're obviously an expert in this area. You don't work for the FBI anymore, but you can probably tell us what they're doing right now. What are some of the techniques they're using to try to track down these criminals?

SPIEL: There's a couple of things that are very important in art theft investigations that you don't see quite so much in other types of investigations. One is a big use of APBs, all points bulletins, not only to other law enforcement, but to the art community at large. And then very importantly, you have to have informants in place and developing as you go in the particular type of art that was stolen. And then also undercover work and rewards are very important.

MARCIANO: So this sounds like it could be made a movie. As a matter of fact, there probably has been a movie with Sean Connery made about this. I'm thinking of one in Asia. Let's talk about some of these pieces of arts that were stolen and give me a story on some. The gardener thefts if I'm pronouncing that right. Tell us what happened.

SPIEL: Yes. It was really very simple. It was an armed robbery committed by two robbers disguised as policemen. They asked the night security force which was quite small, consisting of two people, if they could come into the museum because they'd heard a report of something in the back court yard. And so the security guards let them in and the next morning they were found handcuffed in the basement.

MARCIANO: No kidding? How about "The Scream?" What happened there? Is that a neat story?

SPIEL: Another armed robbery. This in daylight, though.

MARCIANO: Don't they have -- I'm sorry, don't they have -- did they dress up as police officers again? Aren't there security in front of these museums before they can actually get in? Don't they get checked for metal objects like you would get on an airplane?

SPIEL: Oh, sure, but they just drew their guns and went right through them.

MARCIANO: No kidding. The old-fashioned way, I suppose.

SPIEL: Yes.

MARCIANO: Are you a consultant on this case? It seems like you'd be a perfect fit. Have they asked you to help out?

SPIEL: Not on "The Scream" case. No, I did a little bit of work on the gardener case right after it happened.

MARCIANO: OK, quick advice if I were to look into buying some big-time art. What would you tell me to look for as far as authenticity?

SPIEL: I think it's very hard for the lay person to tell and so what I would do, basically is make sure I could find the person who sold it to me again.

MARCIANO: Want me to check with the FBI, say is this painting hot? That would be an option, too. You don't want to be caught with some hot goods. That may be something, too. This has fascinated me, Robert. Thank you very much for your insight on this. The FBI now trying to track down missing art, priceless works of missing art. Robert Spiel, an art investigator, we thank you for your insight.

SPIEL: My pleasure..

MARCIANO: By the way, if you have any information about these works of art contact your local FBI office or if you're abroad, you go to the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. You can also submit tips online at tips.fbi.gov.

NGUYEN: Yes, here's a tip. If someone gives you "The Scream" for a present, just know that you may want to report that. It's been stolen.

Bonnie, we need to get some information from you. We understand there's been an earthquake in western Indonesia.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's right. Near Simalu (ph) which is part of Sumatra and as we take a look at where this earthquake was, we'll show you that it registered at 6.5 on the Richter scale and as we take a closer look at where that is in western Indonesia, we can tell you that there are no reports of injuries or any reports of tsunami warnings.

Now remember, the quake struck near the Ache province which a 9.0 magnitude quake triggered a massive tsunami on December 26 last year and that tsunami of course killed 110,000 people, but we do not have reports of any tsunami warnings. The magnitude 6.5 on the Richter scale. It hit Indonesia and that's according to the U.S. Geological Survey and actually it's to the south of Malaysia on the map, just a little bit further in over in this part of the region there.

So 6.5, a damaging earthquake right now struck in western Indonesia. We will have more. This is just coming in and we'll keep you up-to-date on the situation here.

MARCIANO: And important to reiterate Bonnie, what you said is that at this point, there are no signs of any tsunamis generated by that quake.

SCHNEIDER: Yeah.

NGUYEN: Hope it stays that way, right. Thank you, Bonnie. Well we've been asking you all morning long, our e-mail question of the day, dealing with the vote in the House. Friday's House vote on immediate troop withdrawal from Iraq. Was it a show of support for the troops or a political stunt? E-mail us your thoughts. We'll be reading them shortly, weekends@cnn.com. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARCIANO: Welcome back. Good morning, Detroit. Look that the beautiful blue sky. The Midwest is looking good today. Good football weather. We've got good games, Ohio State, Michigan I believe, Penn State playing Michigan State, big college day. It should be good.

NGUYEN: Well, all morning long we've been asking you for your thoughts on our e-mail question. Here it is. We're going to put it up one more time. How do you feel about last night's Republican-led House vote? Was it a political stunt or support for the troops? I have to tell you, we talked about this Rob and this has really set off a firestorm among our viewers. They are hot on this issue.

MARCIANO: How many did we get?

NGUYEN: Eight hundred e-mail responses, so far, just so far and here's one from Larry. He says: "Well, isn't that calling the kettle black. Let's leave it up to the Republicans to call Mr. Murtha a coward. As a veteran he has the right to oppose an unjust war that has no direction. Let's also remember that both the president and vice president avoided Vietnam by either their political or financial contacts. Who are the real cowards in this country?"

MARCIANO: Another e-mail from an unknown sender. He says: "John Murtha said one thing and the Republicans as usual twisted the facts to produce more lies to continue to fuel an unjust and unending war of their own making. One would think we would have responsible adults guiding our nation rather than a bunch of spoiled children." That's from William.

NGUYEN: Well, again, we want to thank you for all your responses on both sides of this issue. It was a hot one and we're going to have another one for you tomorrow morning so stick around for that. Well, if you've got to get out the door and start your day, we want to thank you for watching.

MARCIANO: If not, stick around. We'll have more news.

NGUYEN: Many more hours to come here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING, but the next hour though does start right after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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