also tonight we have discovered that
there's an awful lot of secrecy
surrounding a tiny airport northwest of
Houston but the warnings about
trespassing and videotaping aren't about
airport security Channel 2 investigates
discovered it's all about how your tax
dollars are being spent defense kept us
out so we cranked up the chopper and
flew above this find out the scope of
this waste hundreds of FEMA trailers we
discovered sitting empty never used
being resold at a huge discount
investigator Mario Diaz exposes the
practice revealing how flood victims are
the ones who lose every investigation is
a journey this one starts right here
nice little day isn't it you're about to
see an introduction handshake and a
lightning-fast denial
I'm with KPRC channel 2 in Houston NBC
ok is it possible we can take our
cameras into the facility here oh no
they don't do any photography inside
this is not a top-secret government
facility it's the tiny town of her in
Texas a speck on the map two and a half
hours northwest of Houston not much
action in town but there's plenty of
business behind the tall fencing at the
local airport they're really strict
about cameras oh yeah perhaps it's
because the government does not want you
to see what sky two captured early one
Saturday morning in January FEMA
trailers designated for use after
hurricane Harvey dozens upon dozens
lined up ready to be sold at massive
discounts units deployed after the storm
but channel 2 investigates discovered
some our brand-new never been lived in
and the feds are selling them to the
highest bidder
I say FEMA you say I want to say that
word I need a shifflett nearly lost
everything in Harvey her family
qualified for FEMA housing a government
contractor informing them they had room
for a manufactured housing unit there
was no question no problem and then we
get the RV instead of a manufactured
home they received this 20-foot travel
trailer as soon as they brought that
trailer here we were fighting battling
for one of FEMA's mhu units they
promised it but they gave it to somebody
else so imagine her reaction when we
showed her what we discovered on the
federally owned GSA auctions website
we're ten minutes away from the closing
bid on a 2018 manufactured home in
Hearne Wow
for weeks channel 2 investigates
monitored the auction of FEMA trailers
the vast majority 2017 and 2018 models
units with unwrapped new furniture
opening bids one hundred dollars I
bought it from the famous sale donnie
Ganaway met us days after picking up his
new purchase in her I think I got this
trailer for 19th
$244 inside of Donnie's 2018 southern
energy model we found a sparkling new
oven and immaculate fridge with
paperwork still inside even an
activation tag in the smoke alarm there
were new drawers spotless carpet and a
mattress it's still wrapped in plastic
most revealing documents detailing a
manufactured eight months after Harvey
it's amazing
I can't just find it but they have their
way of doing things and why I don't know
the state says FEMA is reimbursing them
nearly $45,000 for units like this one
the federal agency admits to channel 2
investigates their average is sixty four
thousand five hundred dollars when they
buy the units with some topping out at
seventy thousand dollars and let's not
forget Donnie bought has never lived in
trailer at auction for just over 19
thousand dollars were you surprised that
you got it I think I was excited FEMA
admits it periodically sells surplus
housing units adding that manufactured
homes that were never occupied but
stored for several years begin to fail
with time and keep in mind some trailers
are like new and stored for less than a
year the message from Anita and Ani a
super one we're gonna need them again
these areas are gonna flood again I
would save up and reuse them
now there are two congressional rookies
who campaigned hard on Harvey issues
both have legislative oversight over
FEMA representatives dan Crenshaw and
Lizzy Fletcher we informed their offices
of our findings but both failed to
accommodate us for a formal interview we
hope to sit down with them in the near
future
milah Dominique a lot of taxpayer
dollars being spent right now on these
units or have been spent on these units
being auctioned off good enough for the
public to live in for many more years
apparently not good enough to have
around for anymore hurricane seasons in
the near future now we're going to show
you tomorrow exactly who is buying these
trailers and where they are ending up
man some people get a free meal others
not so good right Thank You Mario great
story