NEW ORLEANS — Danger and uncertainty surrounding the demolition of two massive and unstable cranes inside the Hard Rock Hotel collapse site has delayed the risky operation for a second day in a row.
But financial issues may have also played a role, at least in causing the first delay, which pushed back the implosion first planned for Friday afternoon to Saturday.
The developer of the ill-fated hotel project, a group led by Mohan Kailas, did not pay the $5 million demolition price until Saturday morning. The demolition team, a joint venture between D.H. Griffin Wrecking Co. of Greensboro, N.C., and Lemoine Disaster Recovery of Lafayette, required full payment into a trust prior to the demolition, according to public records requested by WWL-TV.
"My team has been involved and fully engaged in the conversation around liability and cost," New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said. "We have worked around the clock to find solutions. This work has not contributed to delays or diverted from the stated priority of keeping the public safe during this trying time.”
Kailas’ son, Praveen Kailas, was the original lead developer on the project until a WWL-TV investigation in 2012 exposed hundreds of thousands of dollars he and his employees fraudulently billed to state Hurricane Katrina recovery programs.
As a direct result of those reports, Praveen Kailas pleaded guilty to theft of public funds and was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison in 2013. In 2014, Mohan Kailas was delinquent on hundreds of thousands of dollars in permitting fees and the $85 million project was delayed several years until work began in earnest again in 2018.
After the top nine floors of the 18-story building suddenly pancaked on Oct. 12, a joint investigation by WWL-TV and The Times-Picayune | New Orleans Advocate found members of the construction crew expressed concern about a lack of structural support from steel beams and columns as they poured heavy concrete into steel pan decking.
