Larry Suniga: Yes.
Dolcefino: That opened?
Suniga: Yes.
Dolcefino: Places where people eat?
Suniga: Yes.
Dolcefino: Places where people sleep?
Suniga: Yes.
Larry Suniga is the fired former fire marshal of Kemah. When we asked Suniga if in his view Wiggins was compromising safety, Suniga responded, "Correct." In a later lawsuit, Suniga claims Wiggins didn't want his places to get inspected. "I don't know if you'd call that a special favor. He certainly didn't want me looking," said Suniga. "He's just making all that up?" we asked Wiggins.
"He's making it all up. Absolutely, he is," said Mayor Wiggins about Suniga.
He says the fire marshal must have thought his bed and breakfasts were safe because he stayed there for free a lot. "I know the fire marshal visited all my bed and breakfasts because he spent 30 to 40 nights in them the last couple of years," Mayor Wiggins said. Suniga does not deny some free stays before the storm, but insists the mayor wanted to operate without fire inspections. "I look around too much, I ask too many darn questions, and it comes down to, 'Hey, I don't want you there," Suniga said. Suniga says he told his story to the FBI late last year. "How do you ensure that somebody is not going to get hurt in a building that hasn't been inspected?" Suniga asked. The mayor has owned a bed and breakfast at 7th St. and Bay Ave. for years. It got a new certificate of occupancy last year, but one problem -- we couldn't find the required fire inspection. "Well, there apparently is no written record," said Fryday. Architect Carl Joiner has been fighting his own battle with the guy next door -- a house now listed as a place for weddings and other big events. "We've had loud, 200 people events. I call it the party palace next door," said his wife, Colene Joiner. And the Joiners have been crying foul. "It's very stressful. We can't have peace in our home," said Colene Joiner. How would you like to have strobe lights and loud music as your next door neighbor? The neighbor says the noise doesn't violate noise laws. "The people that are elected to really protect the citizens of Kemah, they are not doing it. They are in it for themselves," said Carl Joiner. "I don't drive around looking for violations," said Fryday. The Swamp Shack sits on land owned by Kemah's Judge Mark Foster. Some in Kemah see a pattern of selective enforcement. "Who's doing the selecting? Well, it's not me," said Fryday. "Does it appear so? Probably." But to Carl Joiner, it's not just about a noisy neighbor. It's about the city making sure all these places meet safety codes. "People are coming here and he's putting their lives in jeopardy because he doesn't have the safety things in place for that," said Carl Joiner. The mayor said, "Carl Joiner has more to sit on than he does to think with." And Carl Joiner says he's only met the mayor twice. "So this is his town, and by God, what he wants, he's gonna do. He doesn't care who he runs over or who he hurts," said Carl Joiner. But the city's administrator claims what we've uncovered is due to a lack of resources, not special treatment. Kemah officials have known for months that we've been examining their inspection records. You know how many fire inspections reports have been done in the last two months? Try none.