Some public officials fight FEMA handouts they see as unnecessary.

Publication: South Florida Sun-Sentinel (via Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service)

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COPYRIGHT 2005 South Florida Sun-Sentinal

Byline: Megan O'Matz

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ In recent years, public officials sounded the alarm about fraud in federal disaster aid. They were largely ignored.

In Bladen County, N.C., an elected commissioner has tried for months to stop the state from sending money to county residents who had already pocketed millions from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. She's still trying.

In Wilmington, N.C., the head of the public housing authority alerted federal investigators to false claims from tenants collecting aid for a hurricane that he knew caused no damage. Privacy rules, he was told, prevented him from learning more about the payouts.

And in Mobile, Ala., the county's top emergency management official warned FEMA that people reportedly were intentionally damaging their homes to feign damage from tornadoes and...

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