The Yes Men hoax Louisiana

[benito]

http://edition.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/08/28/hud.hoax/

Oops: Impostor scams Louisiana officials
POSTED: 2240 GMT (0640 HKT), August 28, 2006

KENNER, Louisiana (CNN) -- A man who pulled a hoax on Louisiana officials and 1,000 contractors by presenting himself as a federal housing official said Monday he intended to focus attention on a lack of affordable housing.

"We basically go around impersonating bad institutes or institutes doing very bad things," said the man, who identified himself as Andy Bichlbaum, a 42-year-old former college teacher of video and media arts who lives in New York and Paris.

"That would be HUD. At this moment, they're doing some really bad things."

Masquerading as Rene Oswin, an official at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Bichlbaum followed Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin to the lectern Monday morning at the Pontchartrain Center in Kenner.

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I live in Louisiana and I didn't hear of this hoax in my local media. I've only seen the film 'The Yes Men' this morning and visited their site, http://www.theyesmen.org/ to see the above link to the story.