The public safety director at New Orleans’ Ernest N. Morial Convention Center — where officials are erecting a makeshift hospital for patients infected with COVID-19 — has been charged with stealing 80 N95 masks, according to an article on the New Orleans Advocate website.
According to troopers, a state Department of Public Safety officer became suspicious when he spotted a woman emerge from the back of the convention center and put two boxes in a car. The woman and the driver worked for the state-owned convention center’s public safety department.
He could face up to five years in prison as well as a maximum fine of $5,000 if convicted of malfeasance in office.
Since the pandemic started, there have been accounts across the world of people stealing protective equipment to sell at inflated prices.
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