Robert A. Cerasoli

Robert A. Cerasoli is the first Inspector General in the history of the city of New Orleans. [ [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11654617 NPR streaming audio: "New Orleans' New Inspector General Looks Ahead"] ] Cerasoli took the post in the Summer of 2007, a post that "was created in late 2006 by the City Council to send a message that New Orleans could be trusted to spend federal recovery aid after Hurricane Katrina." [ [http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/09/05/watchdog_begins_work_in_new_orleans/ "Watchdog begins work in New Orleans" by Becky Bohrer, Associated Press Writer, September 5, 2007, from Boston.com and "The Boston Globe"] ] Initially without a budget beyond $250,000, Loyola University President Kevin Wildes, also the chairman of the city's Ethics Review Board, provided Cerasoli temporary office space at the university. [ [http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-9/118906359985700.xml&coll=1&thispage=2 "Inspector general puts feet to grindstone" by Bruce Eggler, Thursday, September 06, 2007, from Nola.com and "The Times-Picayune"] ]

Cerasoli was formerly the Inspector General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (from 1991 to 2001) and is widely known for pointing out flaws in the Big Dig highway construction project through the city of Boston. [ [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/07/14/cbsnews_investigates/main1806639.shtml "Big Dig Is A Big Mess," July 14, 2006, cbsnews.com from CBS News] ] [ [http://www.boston.com/globe/metro/packages/bechtel/archives/010801.htm "Review cites flaws at Big Dig" by Thomas C. Palmer Jr., 01/08/2001, from boston.com and "The Boston Globe"] ]

Cerasoli, a graduate of American University [ [http://www.zoominfo.com/Search/PersonDetail.aspx?PersonID=51970440&QueryID=9d301c5a-ac03-4cbd-850f-0e409c8030d7 ZoomInfo on Cerasoli] ] and the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, was teaching at Eastern Nazarene College and Quincy College before taking the position in New Orleans. [ [http://www.getcited.org/mbrx/PT/11/MBR/11100309 getCITED.org] ] [ [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4200/is_20070612/ai_n19291646 findarticles.com reference to "Massachusetts man to become N.O.'s first inspector general," Jun 12, 2007, from "New Orleans CityBusiness"] ]

Cerasoli appeared [ [http://www.bestofneworleans.com/dispatch/2008-03-04/thea_rec.php "Stage Recommended: The Inspector General" by Will Coviello, March 4, 2008, from "Gambit Weekly"] ] in the "walk-on role" of Inspector General in several performances of the Cripple Creek Theatre Company production of Nikolai Gogol's The Inspector General, and led discussion following. [ [http://blog.nola.com/davidcuthbert/2008/03/general_delivery_cripple_creek.html "General Delivery" by David Cuthbert, March 14, 2008, from Nola.com and "The Times-Picayune"] ]

Notes and references

External links

* [http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geu6BXVWhHlrsAaZBXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTFhNzFsZGRhBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMwRjb2xvA2FjMgR2dGlkA01BUDAwMV85NwRsA1dTMQ--/SIG=12682fefl/EXP=1198106327/**http%3a//thinknola.com/post/robert-cerasoli-podcast/ Coffee Talk with Inspector General Robert Cerasoli on thinknola.com]