Mysteries Shroud FEMA-EMS Deal

Entrepreneur Chuck Henderson spent years trolling the edges of the Texas business world, waiting for the big deal. But it remained elusive until Hurricane Katrina and FEMA blew into the Gulf Coast.

That's when Henderson reeled in a big one: $12.5 million in FEMA contracts - with $7.5 million as profit for him and his two partners.

Henderson, a convicted felon who admits he had no experience operating an ambulance company, was paid by FEMA to provide ambulances to hurricane-stricken Louisiana.

But Henderson had no ambulances. Within days of getting the FEMA contract, he located GoldStar, a Texas ambulance company in hot water with the federal government. He leased the company's vehicles.

For four months, GoldStar ambulances cruised the streets and sat in parking lots in Baton Rouge and elsewhere, and some wound up in Texas during Hurricane Rita. Several paramedics hired by Henderson claim the ambulances were poorly equipped, and a dispute with the company has left some unpaid for their services.

And though Henderson hit it big with the FEMA contract, much of the money he received has been locked down by a Texas judge trying to unravel his personal finances. Henderson severed ties with his two partners earlier this year when the three men disagreed how to divide the FEMA profits.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has refused to disclose any information regarding the contract, including how the 72-year-old Henderson, president of C. Henderson Consulting Inc., got the contract in the early hours of Sept. 3.

Henderson also refused to be interviewed.

"I don't have anything to say," he said.

Several thousand miles southwest of FEMA's Washington, D.C., office, details of the contract have been revealed over the past few months in an unlikely venue: divorce hearings in Houston.

Henderson, who has been married five times, is being sued for divorce by his second wife, Mary Ann McDaniel. The judge is determining whether to award her any of the FEMA profits.

McDaniel accuses Henderson of bigamy, claiming he never obtained a divorce from her even though he married two women - one of them twice - after leaving her. Henderson claims he got a Mexican divorce from McDaniel in 1999.

The divorce hearings have been held intermittently over the past few months. Each time one is held, the same small band of people regularly shows up.

Every one of them has a story to tell about their dealings with Henderson, and most aren't flattering. Some claim he owes them money, and some hope they'll get paid back.

But the FEMA contract has dominated the testimony, some of which points toward problems for Henderson.

Ken Ralston, McDaniel's attorney, said in court that Henderson is being investigated by the Department of Homeland Security for "fraud in obtaining a FEMA contract."

Henderson replied that he was unaware of the investigation. He did admit on the witness stand that he did not disclose being a convicted felon to FEMA.

"I didn't think it was relevant," Henderson said.

Henderson pleaded guilty in 1995 in Texas to engaging in organized crime and received a suspended 10-year sentence. Further details of the offense aren't available.

Henderson also acknowledged he had no experience operating an ambulance company.

"But I had been working on an ambulance situation for three months prior" to getting the FEMA contract, Henderson said. He did not explain what he meant by that.

McDaniel, who has been married to Henderson for 24 years, said he never held a regular job during their marriage.

"I never knew how he made money," McDaniel said outside court. "At first I thought he was a big businessman. But the more I was around him, I figured out that wasn't true."

A deal is born

For years, Henderson collected partners who worked with him on business ventures.

James Brannon and Richard Bell were his partners in C. Henderson Consulting, the company that handled the FEMA contract.