A Tale of Two Cities: Will It Ever End?

I had every intention of having a positive posting today. With little motivation to post anything as of late, I figured I'd post something meaningful to me. I decided to focus on the MLK Memorial and the "controversy" surrounding it. While gathering my thoughts, I decided to visit nola.com to see what's up in N.O. Imagine my surprise to see the headline:

Man killed on South Claiborne is brother of witness in Hankton murder case

I tried to devote my attention elsewhere but I couldn't ignore the force that was drawing me into this article. I'd heard about the case and read a couple of the articles before but none had demanded my attention quite like this one.  Last month, I became so enthralled in this story because it seemed like a damn movie or the perfect treatment for a screenplay. I don't remember an article that has grabbed my attention and refused to let go in such a long time. This was the story that made me take my grandmother's newspaper. All of the elements were there: Family, Loyalty, Values, the "Code," Revenge, Murder...you name it. Less than a mile away from both of my childhood homes and mere feet from where my cousin was murdered on his doorstep 16 years ago, I couldn't turn away. After reading the latest article, I could only ask myself:  WILL IT EVER END?

Despite the economic growth and "evolution" of New Orleans, the city is always in the headlines as a booming city of tourism and criminal activity, primarily murder. Efforts to "rid the city" of violent criminals post-Katrina were short-lived. I think the majority of residents understood this more than local or national government officials. Ridding the city of "violent criminals" is an unconquerable feat. There's always someone lying in wait for the perfect opportunity to make a power move. Add in straight-laced officials by day BUT corrupt crooked criminals by night and you have the perfect combination for the criminal cocktail. I suppose corporate criminals are subject to different laws than violent criminals. (Yes, I'm aware that in some ways they are) There's no violence in turning a family's existence inside out by squandering away a person's life savings and leaving them destitute...nope, no violence in that. I don't believe that crime could reach this level without law enforcement turning a blind eye SOMEWHERE down the line. Am I wrong? Is it just me and my conspiracy theories? Someone please convince me otherwise.

What do you think? Does the city's culture and cuisine cast a menacing shadow on crime? Or vice versa? 

Here's the article: http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2011/10/man_killed_in_front_of_lounge.html