Archiving PD comments

Submitted by lmcshane on Mon, 07/05/2010 - 07:46.

Archiving these comments--

Don't believe the hype. All Sandra Livingstone did was take Rokakis' story line and run with it. This story was so imbalanced it seems as if Livingstone read it to Rokakis to get his approval before submitting it to her editors.

As an example, Livingstone identified a "Caifornia" company that had a large portfolio but didn't name the company. Why not? Livingstone should have checked to learn if any of the commercial properties that were picked up by Rokakis and Frangoes and placed in the land bank may have been purchased by the companies through Rokakis' third party tax lien sale. The third party investors have agreements with the county. The PD should check to see if Rokakis is enforcing the agreements. The evidence will show he is not.

Livingstone didn't touch the fact that Rokakis' third party tax lien sale has actually been emptying Cleveland and East Cleveland streets since early 1999. You owe taxes on your property. Rokakis lets third party investors buy your tax bill at a discount, and then gives them the power to foreclose against you if you don't pay. Go to Rokakis' website. He hasn't updated the number of properties he's sold off like this since 2006. That's when he stopped counting at 22,916. http://treasurer.cuyahogacounty.us/taxlien.htm What's the matter Jimmy? You afraid to report the most recent number of Cuyahoga County property owners whose properties are now in the hands of your campaign contributors?

Rokakis sold the public on the fact that the delinquent taxes paid by the third party investors would send money to the county's school districts. But the school districts only got paid until the vacant properties on hundreds of streets drove out residents, increased crime, drove down property values and increased blight on the east side of Cleveand, East Cleveland and parts of Cleveland Heights. Vacant houses don't generate property taxes. And, if he wants to complain about the "foreclosure crisis," always remember that he started selling off tax liens early in 1999 ... long before the foreclosure crisis.

GLS Capital, Plymouth Park Investments and other third party investors have also left cities throughout the county struggling with the blight caused by the vacant properties they own. Each has been forced to invest block grant dollars, and to pursue HUD Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds, to demolish blocks of vacant properties. Where cities could previously allocate federal block grant dollars to storefront renovation programs, Rokakis' bad policies and the housing foreclosure crisis have caused real "development" funds to dry up. All Rokakis is doing with the landbank is reallocating county dollars to solve a problem he helped create in the first place.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled against Allegheny County for doing to homeowners there what Rokakis has been doing to them in Cuyahoga County. The Plain Dealer would know this if its editors ever assigned a reporter to dig deep enough into Rokakis' community-busting scheme instead of singing his false praises all the time. Is he related to someone over there?

Tarax, you should examine the ignorance of your own statement. You said that getting properties back onto the tax rolls creates a win-win situation while the article above says Rokakis "wiped out the taxes" for several large investors. Which one is it? Are we getting the taxes or are they being wiped out for select, out-of-state investors?

If Rokakis can easily "wipe out the taxes" for out-of-state real estate investors like Thor, who live in California, and who own 24 tax delinquent and blighted properties in Cuyahoga County as the article stated, then why didn't he just "wipe out the taxes" for tax delinquent residents and homeowners of Cuyahoga County who got behind because they lost their jobs or faced other financial hardships that created the delinquency in the first place? Better yet, why didn't he offer delinquent "resident" property owners the same discount on their own tax bill that he sold to the investors? Tarax you are so grossly misinformed it's scarey.

More importantly, why is Rokakis "wiping out taxes" for out-of-state investors instead of investing land bank money to help mayors and councils make them pay-up and fix up or demolish their own properties? About 65 percent of the money Rokakis wiped out goes to the school district, while about 15 percent goes to the city while the rest goes to the county. "Wiping out the taxes" AND using county money to demolish an out-of-state investor's vacant properties lets the big guy completely off-the-hook while the little guy is forced to pay-up. This is absolutely nuts and terrible public policy.

Five years ago Cleveland had over 17,000 vacant properties. That number has exceeded 25,000 today. There ain't enough money in the land bank to knock them all down and I guarantee that this money won't go to the neighborhoods hardest hit by foreclosure on Cleveland's east side, in East Cleveland and Cleveland Heights. And I will not back down from my statement that Rokakis' policies began to create vacant housing on hundreds of streets long before the foreclosure crisis hit Cuyahoga County. His policies exacerbated the crisis and anyone who's been paying attention to this issue knows this area was "hardest hit" because of the double-whammy effect of sub-prime lending AND Rokakis' third party tax lien sales. Mayor Frank Jackson asked him to stop selling third party liens in his city three years ago. Rokakis, arrogantly, ignored him.

Most cities have "blight" ordinances on the books that they can't afford to enforce. Those ordinances allow local mayors and councils to declare a property to be a nuisance and to pursue the owner for remedies, up to and including prosecution. Instead of investing anywhere from $7500 to $50,000 and more to demolish vacant structures, Rokakis could help cities by allocating a portion of the money to enforcement actions.

And Rokakis' campaign finance report is most definintely full of contributions from the individuals who represent the third party investment firms buying delinquent tax liens, and with investors who own large holdings of properties. Go get it from the Board of Elections and then get a list of the employees who represent the investment firms and compare the two. That's an easy enough assignment.

There's nothing vitriolic about facts, and I bear no ill will towards Rokakis, only his policies. He's been getting away with this charade for the last decade and, unfortunately, the only chance for it to end is under the new form of government. To all the county CEO candidates, hone in on this issue. You're going to inherit one big mess with this one.


Oh, and Tarax, which responsible non-profit? All the ones I know got vacant houses for nothing from local land banks, invested $80,000 in federal Hope 6 funds to build new homes on the site and then sold them to Section 8 recipients and poor working class people for $200,000 and more. Many of them are now new and empty.

Fifth-Third Bank officials found out that one responsible non-profit sold a house to a homeowner whose "family" consisted of a man earning less than $10 an hour, his 19-year-old son and the son's girlfriend, both of whom worked for McDonald's. The responsible non-profit actually convinced the man that calculating the earnings of everyone in his "household" was legal. They forgot, however, to tell him to budget for taxes after his first year during the required housing counseling session they were supposed to give him. So much for responsible non-profits.

Keep writing "tarax." The only person showing their lack of knowledge is you. Oh, and check your spelling. I know it can be difficult for some to write without the aid of spellcheck, but do your best anyway. "Serioulsy?" You're kidding ... right?

 

Dr. Gus Kious' commitment to East Cleveland is unwavering. Over the last four or five years and more he's worked with CEO Toby Cosgrove and Fred DeGrandis to obtain funds to invest in a $4.5 million facelift for the Terrace Road entrance, and another $3 million to renovate the parking garage. This $25 million investment guarantees that Huron Hospital - East Cleveland's largest employer - will remain in the city. And for those who haven't been to East Cleveland in the last decade, there is more.

General Electric, the city's second largest employer, invested nearly $4.5 millon four years ago for a lighting college that will eventually bring 13,000 guests a year to the area. If the city can attract a hotel or motel operator, guests could stay and shop instead of leaving.

Joe Calabrese and RTA four years ago invested another $4.5 million to renovate the Hayden Garage. That's on top of the $13 million former U.S. Rep. Louis Stokes secured for them to invest in remodeling the Stokes Station and $9 million invested in remodeling the Superior Station. Not to mention another $4 million to repair at least four bridges between Lakeview and Superior. And RTA finally completed the Euclid Corridor Line in 2008 with 24-hour-a-day transportation, every five minutes, seven days weekly.

Rob Hilton and his board at the McGregor Nursing home invested $65 million to literally rebuild the property and, if HUD and the city cooperates, will invest another $12 million or so for independent senior housing.

Discussions began two years ago between Cleveland and East Cleveland for a $500 million power plant on land owned by University Hospitals and CWRU at Euclid & Lakeview. This state-of-the-art plant will replace the old plant next to the hospital along Euclid Avenue, and power the institutions of University Circle. It could also - if the current mayor can work with Mayor Frank Jackson - provide low-cost electricity for the city's residents as well.

Every single school building in East Cleveland has been rebuilt or renovated as a result of a $100 million investment from the state that began sometime in 1998 and ended in 2008 and 2009 with the opening of a new Shaw High School and Caledonia Elementary School.

Water and sewer rates are significantly lower. The police department's been rebuilt, along with the service department. The city is out of fiscal emergency. The reasons for "not" living in East Cleveland have dwindled.

People have counted East Cleveland out for years. But this city, once the home of John D. Rockefeller, won't give up. Dr. Kious and Cleveland Clinic are to be commended. John D. Rockefeller believed in Huron Hospital when he invested in it well over 100 years ago. It is wonderful that you have protected and enhanced that investment. Well done.

 
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September 22, 2011
 

With the need to address the abandoned properties in the county it is unfortunate that this process was and is completely politicized. Except for the opinions of a couple of county board members the disagreements and debate are within the Democrat party, of course, and it's all about control.

The Land Bank Project is left over from the old county government which was build on patronage and cronyism. In the final months of that former "government" those involved in creating the Land Bank worked overtime to secure a process and make sure it remained with the old guard. Loyal soldiers were rewarded and placed in leadership roles.

 

Gus Frangos, who worked for Jim Rokakis, is a former Cleveland City Councilperson as was Rokakis. Enough said, right? Frangos and his family are part of the old machine.

Fitzgerald and the county council should go back to the drawing board and start at the beginning and form and entirely new entity. Fitzgerald should appoint his most competent council member, Dave Greenspan, to head an exploratory committee to set up a un-politicized government council to manage the land bank. Five members from the ranks of business and professional people should be chosen. The backgrounds of these five members should not be politically connected, but instead, should have backgrounds in real estate, development, business start-ups and management in the free market.

Frangos and the remains of the old guard must go. We need to address the problem of abandoned properties and redevelopment. We do not need another power struggle within the county's Democrat machine.

Or, better yet, hire a management company to run the agency. It would be cheaper, more efficient, profit driven; it's success would be measurable and best of all--they could be fired if they perform badly.

 
mrx61 September 22, 2011 at 7:08AM

 

Why is the government in the job of fixing foreclosed homes up to sell. There are 1000's of real estate people that do that for a living. WHile 90% of CMHA buildings don't meet inspection criteria we are dumping more tax dollars into yet another rat hole. I wonder who gets the work fixing or tearing this stuff down.
Here is an idea. Make the MLS system that real estate people use public to foreclosures. Create a county wide data bank of every foreclosed home and allow PEOPLE (not the government) to easily purchase the homes with a set of certain goals for the fix up as terms of the purchase. The money would be put in escrow and when the repairs are complete then a family could have a nice starter home for a 20,000 dollar investment.
That is true first time buyer program not providing 400K to people with a 350 credit rating without proof of citizenship. My Parents first started in a neighborhood here I would enter now without a 50 caliber but it was their home and they then sold it to move and upgrade when they could afford it.

 
wonders270 September 22, 2011 at 7:17AM

 

Government got involved when those 1000s of companies that you mentioned did nothing to maintain foreclosures and allowed them to be stripped and become a drag on home prices in the neighborhoods that surrounded them. Why in heaven's name would we allow them to once again trash our neighborhoods by neglecting the properties?

Same thing holds for tranche's comments. Both of you obviously have not had to deal with the actual results of these foreclosures. If you did you would be shocked at how the banks and their management companies refuse to maintain or secure the properties.

And yes, it sounds great about people buying the houses, fixing them up and living in them. However, a large number end up as rentals with landlords that are just as bad as the bank management companies. And that also contributes to neighborhood decline.

If the dang private sector was so blessedly efficient as you maintain, then the banks would not be refusing legitimate offers on these properties before they become stripped and wrecks. I know one rehabber who tried to buy the foreclosure on his streert at a decent price and was turned down. He bid again after someone stripped the house of copper etc. and was turned down. The house finally sold for 8K less than he bid about a year later. The whole process took 2 and half years. '

At least the landbank keeps the properties up or tears them down helping to stabilize the values in the neighborhood. They also respond to cities about their properties and do the necessary maintenance.

 
puker September 22, 2011 at 7:25AM

 

Blah- blah-blah-blah-blah.

Another Detroit.

 

Lily_Miller_520 September 22, 2011 at 7:32AM

 

Of course Gus Frangos is going to push for additional funds.

Gus Frangos is/was listed as an Agent/Registrant for 43 business entities.

Gus Frangos is/was listed as an Incorporator for 122 business entities.

A large number of the business entities are for real estate companies, contractors, developers and parking lots.

Several properties that were once in Gus Frangos name were transferred to LLC's that do NOT pay propety taxes.

Gus Frangos was named as a defendant/debtor and owes Cuyahoga County over 1.5 MILLION in default loans.

Gus Frangos and his numerous business entities owe Cuyahoga County hundreds of thousands in property taxes.

Gus apparently lacks the ability to properly manage his own real estate. How can he be in charge of managing Cuyahoga County taxpayer's real estate?

Gus Frangos and Jim Rokakis were responsible for dragging Plymouth Park Tax Services into Cuyahoga County via the delinquent property tax lien purchase. Plymouth Park recently admitted to rigging the tax lien process in 31 states- including Ohio.

Plymouth Park filed thousands of tax foreclosures and owned 89 properties obtained via tax delinquent foreclosures. And Plymouth Park was tax delinquent for well over one year on 88 of the properties.

Enough of this already. KILL THE LANDBANK. Let the market take over.
If an out-of-state investor wants to invest in this Ghost Town, let them. They might even pay their own property taxes. Imagine that!

Thank you Dave Greenspan! Don't give up on this issue.

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Informed by a friend of a little known bit of Cleveland history that relates Kucinich, Rokakis and Slavic Village:

In addition to being Mayor of Cleveland, Kucinich has served on the Cleveland City Council (1970-75, 1981-82); served as the Clerk of Courts for the Cleveland Municipal Court (1976-77); been an Ohio State Senator (1994-96); and in November 2008, was elected to his seventh term as a Member of the United States House of Representatives (1997-present).

Kucinich, after being driven out of office as Mayor, served as Council rep, again, in Slavic Village for enough time to appoint Ed Rybka (now B&H Demos for Developers)...and so it goes.  Current council rep for Slavic Village is Anthony Brancatelli, who chairs Land Bank for Gus Frangos...this never ends.

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A galaxy of political talent from Ohio has coalesced behind an idea that would create federal tax credits -- and perhaps supply some tax dollars -- to fund a massive demolition program designed to save endangered neighborhoods. --Brent Larkin

http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2012/01/plague_of_abandoned_h...

tranche January 29, 2012 at 7:19AM

 

Amazing, the Rokakis never noticed the corruption, the crumbling of the political infrastructure and the wasting of money, the jobs given to cronies. Now he is secure with pension and a nonprofit job.

Why did people leave the city and the first ring suburbs? Why did politicians help and encourage people who were clearly without the means--financial and social--to own a home to take on the the challenging task of home owning?

Government cannot take over and relieve the citizens of personal responsibility. Welfare doesn't solve problems. Public housing has failed. Nothing is more destructive to a neighborhood that section 8 housing.

Yes, the lending institutions are guilty. Yes, our financial institutions have been less than ethical at times. Nevertheless, it is government, a kind of government that says "we will take care of you" that has created our problems. Our cities were destroyed by the liberals' agenda. Our public schools were manipulated by social scientists.

tranche January 29, 2012 at 7:35AM

 

Supposedly one of the problems in removing these abandoned homes is the cost of demolition. Naturally the work would have to be done--if the government is involved--by union contractors. This would mean unreasonable costs. Although many of these homes are of little value and need to be bull-dozed into a land fill, many could be restored; parts could be reused.

Offer the homes to individuals or groups of individuals willing to "disassemble" the homes and then rebuild them in other locations. I'd start by offering the homes to the Amish community. They would take all of the usable and reusable parts of the structure.

Actually, businesses could be created by groups of people. They get the house for free. They come into the city disassemble the house and take all usable parts to a warehouse. Someone could then come to the warehouse and purchase all or parts of a home and create a new house.

Difficult and challenging yes. Impossible, no. The more we can involved individuals in a free market, entrepreneurial approach the greater the chance of success. The less government involvement the better.

As for the neighborhoods that suffer from the physical and economic deterioration let us not forget that it is the human infrastructure that was first to be destroyed by the welfare state. The physical deterioration followed.

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0 likes, 0 dislikes
Posted by lmcshane to SCENE magazine on December 17, 2010 at 1:18 AM

 

Re: “Plymouth Park Tax Services Takes Homes Over Late Taxes, Then Fails to Pay Taxes Itself

Land Bank is money laundering for the mess left by Plymouth Park and tax liens sales authorized by County Treasurer which stopped in 2008, because Plymouth Park was not paying their taxes. Rokakis regrouped his scheme and used the "land bank" to pick up these delinquent liens, where the liens and title to these properties can be sanitized with some wite out. Frangos who leads up "Land Bank" was at Boards of Revision before the promotion...here's a description of how land bank lots work for developers.
At REALNEO:
Kickbacks for Developers....
Submitted by ANGELnWard14 on December 15, 2010 - 1:38am.

Kickbacks are all legalized with the right connections:

1) Remember, even though they bought them for $1.00...they were able to give an EQUITABLE VALUE to these properties that empowered them to use them as a leverage in the big scheme of capital investments towards leveraging dollar for dollar grants...Thus if they said the property was valued at $50,000 as a buildable vacant lot...then they got credit for that value and that much in funding towards their building project along with HOPE grant subsidies...it's an extraordinary web of money laundering for high end development! Below is a 1996 HUD outline of some of the original funding outlines!

a) Brownfield Development Funding (See the properties of Battery Park as an example).

b) 15 year tax abatements

c) Tax Credits for new development that is supposed to be low-moderate income housing...

d) HUD Funding for administration costs:

1) Empowerment Zone funds (East side of Cleveland)

2) Enterprise Zone Funds

3) Supplemental Empowerment Zone Funds

4) Home Ownership Zone funding collaboratives

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http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2012/02/the_most_important_guy_youve_n/2311/comments-2.html

swarley February 05, 2012 at 6:24AM

 

God you people are embarassing. Schochet won't make decisions based on what the Plain Dealer writes-- much less what some yo-yos in the comments are saying. He isn't here because he cares a whit about the city. He's here for there reasons.

One. land here is dirt-cheap, compared to other cities. You look at what it costs compared to any comparable city and it's ridiculously low.

Two, after the death of Dick Jacobs and the decrepitude (brought on by age) in the Ranter/Miller family, there is no one in town who's really smart when it comes to real estate. Thie smartest guy in town is Dan Gilbert and he couldn't care less about the 99,9% of the city not directly connected to his basketball team. (The Cleveland Clinic doesn't care what happens either, as long as the area around their fiefdom stays cheap.)

Three, the region is ripe for the taking. The city is run by morons. The county has only one functioning intellect... and Ed Fitzgerald is just a highly ambitious guys who is bright enough to know he has to have lots of shiny buildings (just like Voin-O) if he wants to be governor. The entities that are supposed to be looking out of the residents' best interest (the political parties, the newspaper, chamber of commerce, local philanthrpists) are all mindless lapdogs who don't know anything about development.

He says, in the article, what he intends to do: First, snap up as much cheap property as he can, now, when it's cheap. Second, roll the city and the county for billions in block grants, low-interest loans and tax abatements by blackmailing them. Three, do a concerted push to drive up property values, by building, poaching (from other cities) or growing companies.

Unless a business manufactures things, it can be located anywhere. There's no reason that a company needs to pay $$$$ per square foot in Chicago, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis or Columbus when it can pay pennies here. Key figured that out, which is why they did not move office here, like they originally intended. So have the corporate raiders who stole National City Bank.

The region will see some benefit-- to get rich, Schochet will need to have his building occupied. But there will be much less benefit for the region than people think, because he'll make Dick Jacobs, Gordon Gund and Randy Lerner look like Captain Kangaroo, Mr. Rogers and Captain Penny when it comes to cutting him deals. To get some company comparable to Sears here, he'll make sure that the city, county and state aren't collecting all or most of the payroll or income taxes they would normally be entitled to, so he has a deal that no other city can beat.

The buldings will be full... but not by people who generate revenue. Quite likely it'll be a situation like Gateway, where the region makes less money from the shiny buildings than they did with the old Central Market and its adjoining slums.

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friendofthecity July 05, 2010 at 6:49AM

 

Tarax, you should examine the ignorance of your own statement. You said that getting properties back onto the tax rolls creates a win-win situation while the article above says Rokakis "wiped out the taxes" for several large investors. Which one is it? Are we getting the taxes or are they being wiped out for select, out-of-state investors?

If Rokakis can easily "wipe out the taxes" for out-of-state real estate investors like Thor, who live in California, and who own 24 tax delinquent and blighted properties in Cuyahoga County as the article stated, then why didn't he just "wipe out the taxes" for tax delinquent residents and homeowners of Cuyahoga County who got behind because they lost their jobs or faced other financial hardships that created the delinquency in the first place? Better yet, why didn't he offer delinquent "resident" property owners the same discount on their own tax bill that he sold to the investors? Tarax you are so grossly misinformed it's scarey.

More importantly, why is Rokakis "wiping out taxes" for out-of-state investors instead of investing land bank money to help mayors and councils make them pay-up and fix up or demolish their own properties? About 65 percent of the money Rokakis wiped out goes to the school district, while about 15 percent goes to the city while the rest goes to the county. "Wiping out the taxes" AND using county money to demolish an out-of-state investor's vacant properties lets the big guy completely off-the-hook while the little guy is forced to pay-up. This is absolutely nuts and terrible public policy.

Five years ago Cleveland had over 17,000 vacant properties. That number has exceeded 25,000 today. There ain't enough money in the land bank to knock them all down and I guarantee that this money won't go to the neighborhoods hardest hit by foreclosure on Cleveland's east side, in East Cleveland and Cleveland Heights. And I will not back down from my statement that Rokakis' policies began to create vacant housing on hundreds of streets long before the foreclosure crisis hit Cuyahoga County. His policies exacerbated the crisis and anyone who's been paying attention to this issue knows this area was "hardest hit" because of the double-whammy effect of sub-prime lending AND Rokakis' third party tax lien sales. Mayor Frank Jackson asked him to stop selling third party liens in his city three years ago. Rokakis, arrogantly, ignored him.

Most cities have "blight" ordinances on the books that they can't afford to enforce. Those ordinances allow local mayors and councils to declare a property to be a nuisance and to pursue the owner for remedies, up to and including prosecution. Instead of investing anywhere from $7500 to $50,000 and more to demolish vacant structures, Rokakis could help cities by allocating a portion of the money to enforcement actions.

And Rokakis' campaign finance report is most definintely full of contributions from the individuals who represent the third party investment firms buying delinquent tax liens, and with investors who own large holdings of properties. Go get it from the Board of Elections and then get a list of the employees who represent the investment firms and compare the two. That's an easy enough assignment.

There's nothing vitriolic about facts, and I bear no ill will towards Rokakis, only his policies. He's been getting away with this charade for the last decade and, unfortunately, the only chance for it to end is under the new form of government. To all the county CEO candidates, hone in on this issue. You're going to inherit one big mess with this one.

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Plain Dealer has deleted many posted comments to their site--Jar65 was finally shut down--I was CitizenX ...and so it goes:

 

The turnpike rehired Castrigano immediately after he retired Oct. 31. He agreed to stay on until April 2, as the turnpike works through a series of changes in top management.

I like how this was buried in the article. Make a stink about what he was paid out but rehire him.

To funny.

So 56 tips have been investigated with a price of?

If missing 53 work days by an employee cost the county $15,000 then what is the cost to investigate the tips?

Actually if the guy had accumulated sick time and was close to retiring he was burning off his sick time. If he retired he would only get 1/4 of the time paid to him.

So I'm guessing that the information supplied is skewed in favor of the county, again.

Dimora's attorneys are pushing for a mistrial so they can then claim Double Jeopardy.

Nice ply and glad the judge is not falling for it. Pathetic representation.

A little light reading for those that care.

Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure

Rule 26.3 Mistrial

Before ordering a mistrial, the court must give each defendant and the government an opportunity to comment on the propriety of the order, to state whether that party consents or objects, and to suggest alternatives.
Notes

(Added Apr. 22, 1993, eff. Dec. 1, 1993; amended Apr. 29, 2002, eff. Dec. 1, 2002.)

Notes of Advisory Committee on Rules—1993

Rule 26.3 is a new rule designed to reduce the possibility of an erroneously ordered mistrial which could produce adverse and irretrievable consequences. The Rule is not designed to change the substantive law governing mistrials. Instead it is directed at providing both sides an opportunity to place on the record their views about the proposed mistrial order. In particular, the court must give each side an opportunity to state whether it objects or consents to the order.

Several cases have held that retrial of a defendant was barred by the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Constitution because the trial court had abused its discretion in declaring a mistrial. See United States v. Dixon, 913 F.2d 1305 (8th Cir. 1990); United States v. Bates, 917 F.2d 388 (9th Cir. 1990). In both cases the appellate courts concluded that the trial court had acted precipitately and had failed to solicit the parties’ views on the necessity of a mistrial and the feasibility of any alternative action. The new Rule is designed to remedy that situation.

The Committee regards the Rule as a balanced and modest procedural device that could benefit both the prosecution and the defense. While the Dixon and Bates decisions adversely affected the government's interest in prosecuting serious crimes, the new Rule could also benefit defendants. The Rule ensures that a defendant has the opportunity to dissuade a judge from declaring a mistrial in a case where granting one would not be an abuse of discretion, but the defendant believes that the prospects for a favorable outcome before that particular court, or jury, are greater than they might be upon retrial.

Committee Notes on Rules—2002 Amendment

The language of Rule 26.3 has been amended as part of the general restyling of the Criminal Rules to make them more easily understood and to make style and terminology consistent throughout the rules. These changes are intended to be stylistic only.

"When you say 'photocopying machine,' what do you mean?" asked Patterson, when questioned by Marburger.

Patterson still works for the county, making $65,000 a year.

The county should recoup the 55K by getting rid of this dolt.

Shhhh. Your going to scare the lemmings who believe that nothing is wrong.

osufan77 .....LMAO. Seriously! I hope that's sarcasm.

It appears that certain members of our county council OWE favors to people with questionable pasts.

The need to eliminate the question so that they can move their, how did Dimora classify them, Oh Yes, "FRIENDS" into positions that someone else might be more qualified for.

Nothing will change in this county until people get rid of the hang overs from the prior corrupt regime or are they making sure that Russo and Dimora are able to apply for jail in the event they don't have to serve much time.

Better yet. Brid Mc can now apply.

What juror is going to believe that a "friend" gave tens of thousands of dollars in home improvements to their "friends" home?

A couple hundred dollars as a gift to a friend. Believable. Not this.

What a pathetic defense strategy.

And I'm really loving that he intended to pay. Sorta after the fact isn't it?

That little comment is enough for Dimora to state that he did not have adequate legal counsel. Wonder how long it will be before we hear that a complaint of malpractice has been filed against this brilliant attorney?

Has anyone considered calling the guy on trial in Akron. Sure he can ask a "friend" to fix it free of cost.

"The failure to allow the financial disclosure forms, we believe, is very prejudicial to the defense, and we ask you to reconsider their admission," Whitaker said. "The court's ruling on hearsay impacted Mr. Dimora's decision on whether he would testify or not."

Any bets that this is what will be used on appeal for Dimora. If they did a sham defense with the intent of just setting up an appeal they are playing a very dangerous game.

The defense team would risk having a complain and suit filed against them for malpractice if the did not represent Dimora to the best of their ability.

If this is the best they can do then Dimora really needs to consider trying to cut a deal.

"I am at a complete loss as to why you think this is an appropriate request at this late date." Lioi said.

So soon to be felon's attorneys are laying the ground work for their appeal.
Nice delay tactic.
This should have been requested prior to the start of the trial.
If the motion is denied then they have their appeal.
Withholding evidence, even though they were given the opportunity to see this prior to the start of the trial, is a nice reason for an appeal..

pathetic.

I wonder if the jury is given any back round information on the witnesses. If they are they will make the same connections you have.

Wonder when the I didna do Nufin no one else did defense is going to be brought out.

ooops....meant jumping of workers back and forth

Pumper had testified the term "Dimora special" was actually coined by Nichols and that it meant he would get special consideration on a loan or a job.

I am sure that Pumper plead guilty and made that statement up. County workers never bent the rules for the boss. Nope. Didn't happen.

By the way Congrats on landing in another Government job. PD you ever think of looking into the jumping of works back and forth between the county and the city.

Would make for an intereting read.

Now here's a good reliable witness. chuckle

Didn't Dimora's attorneys screen this guy prior to calling him as a witness?

Not a good start to the defense.

So the witness for the defense Plead the 5th?

Whats the point of the witness?

http://blog-uat.cleveland.com/pdextra/2010/11/cuyahoga_county_auditor.ht...

In October of 1998 the Plain Dealer endorsed Mike Wise for Auditor. The charges against Russo ere held up by STJ until after the election that secured Russo's road to theft.

I have stated this before and will do so again, as rockysback has also stated, a deal was made with the person on trial in Akron to keep Russo from being charged.

If I recall correctly Mike Wise was questioning why the Prosecutors office was holding off on the investigation into Russo. Everyone in the county knew the answer to that.

This is a very interesting story and sheds light on the back room deals that protected people.

If the Plain Dealer paid a little more attention to what people post you would have run a story about this years ago.

I would say read my posts under jar65 but that would be a little hard to do.

By limiting the size of their circle of alleged co-conspirators, Dimora and Russo were able -- for a time -- to keep their conduct under wraps.

Please. They kept nothing under wraps. It was common knowledge that Russo sold jobs. That exchanges in employees between the power brokers was done to satisfy favors. that they could do what ever they wanted. They were protected.

You may play the Mason "I didn't know" card but it comes off as arm chair quarter backing.

Nail!

Meet Cuyahoga County Coffin.

McFaul wrote a personal check for $3,033.73 to cover a portion of the fine. The rest — about $127,000 -- came from his remaining campaign funds.

Something is seriously wrong with this decision. He got caught breaking the law. people, employees, were forced to see tickets and give him money.

Now he pays a little over 3 grand out of the $130K and the judge supposedly knew he would be paying his fine from the money he extorted from his employees. Right. Wheres the interview with the judge about this.

Same stuff different day. He just got to spit in the face of all the people he ripped of and laughs.

I hope that Karma goes after this man with a vengeance.

Russo also recalled calling Judge Russo's bailiff, John Berichon, at an unspecified time on Dimora's behalf. He also said he listened once as Dimora called the judge for an unspecified favor.

Where have I heard the name Berichon before? Hmmm. Plain Dealer did you check and see if there was anyone by that named that worked for Russo? You might want to check that. Or was that someone who use to work for the Board of Revision.
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/peggy-berichon/46/9b6/834

So how many millions in bribes did Felon Frank really receive? This all adds up and and probably not even 1% of what he took in.

I agree with the $80k bribe that OMAlley gave. What did he make off that deal. I don't recall him being charged with bribing Russo. Did the FBI know about that bribe and how much did he pocket?

Frank Russo IDs county workers he gave jobs as favors to Dimora.

Your title does not fit with the information that you gave, What are the names! What favors. The reporting is getting a little sad.

"How many people paid you for jobs from 1998 through 2010 when you resigned?"

AND? What was the answer? At least a 1/3 of the people paid in some way.

He also discussed people who paid him to obtain jobs with the county or people who wanted jobs for siblings.

and their names?

He said that attorney Joseph O’Malley gave him an $80,000 check to help steer a contract.

And this benefited whom?

 

"By cooperating, at least it gave me the opportunity to show myself as a person," he said. "I know I did something wrong, but this gives me the opportunity to do a right."

Good luck with that Felon!

Don't forget that Depiero had a sister on Felon Frank's payroll.

Take a look at her pay and the increases.

 

( categories: )

Sandy Turk's retirement

I wonder if Ms. Turk is enjoying her retirement?

 

Cuyahoga County Treasurer Jim Rokakis wants the county's budget director fired for producing an analysis that shows Rokakis' land bank initiative could cost county taxpayers millions of dollars.

Rokakis, who has billed the land bank program as a money maker, said Tuesday that he considers the analysis by Budget Director Sandy Turk to be flawed and that he intends to ask county commissioners for her removal.

"She deliberately misstated numbers to create the illusion that the land bank would cost the county money," he said.

Turk, who has served as budget director for 19 years, said Tuesday that she stands by the analysis. "All I'm doing is my job," she said.

link

Safeguarding the Landbank

 I wonder whom the county contracts to "Safeguard" the Landbank properties?

link 

link

link

link

link

link

link

link

 

 

My Friend of the City is gone...

The comments are gone, baby, gone...and so is my friend's account...

http://connect.cleveland.com/user/friendofthecity/index.html

Troll?

Wiping out

If Rokakis can easily "wipe out the taxes" for out-of-state real estate investors like Thor, who live in California, and who own 24 tax delinquent and blighted properties in Cuyahoga County as the article stated, then why didn't he just "wipe out the taxes" for tax delinquent residents and homeowners of Cuyahoga County who got behind because they lost their jobs or faced other financial hardships that created the delinquency in the first place? Better yet, why didn't he offer delinquent "resident" property owners the same discount on their own tax bill that he sold to the investors?

??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

See also:

http://realneo.us/events/land-banking-helping-blighted-neighborhoods-prosper-jim-rokakis-cuyahoga-country-treasurer-ci

 

http://realneo.us/content/peeling-back-layer-frank-giglio-3#comment-23955

tax wipe outs

Why can't Rokakis 'wipe out' Frank Giglio's taxes?

Why is he insisting on taking this land based on taxes owed?   Why was a tax foreclosure filed on Giglio's land for taxes in the amount of $184.50???????????

Wipe outs, Wite outs,,,,,,,

Cuyahoga Avenger Comments to Rokakis

 
 
When is the other shoe going to drop in regard to this county land bank? 
 
Rokakis isn't graciously facilitating all this demolition let alone reassigning property ownership out of the kindness of his heart. 
 
Who's profiting? And how? For how much? 
 
Then there's the troubling participation of former Cleveland City Council member Gus Frangos as the land bank's president and chief legal counsel. Apparently a very good case can be made that Frangos committed mortgage fraud? 
 
http://realneo.us/content/cuyahoga-county-land-ban... 
 
So why is Frangos the land bank prez and receiving a nice six-figure salary, Rokakis? This explanation should be hysterical. 
 
Also, Rokakis, you took office as Cuyahoga County treasurer in March 1997 after sitting on Cleveland sitting council for 19 years. 
 
During this time you were involved with Nicholas Zarnas in something called the Icaraus Development Group, LLC...which, in 1999, changed it's name to R&Z Development Group (did the R&Z stand for "Rokakis" and "Zarnas," by any wild chance?). 
 
In an amazing coincidence, incorporation records state: "The address to which interested parties may direct requests for copies of any operating agreement and any by-laws of the LLC is Gus Frangos" and lists a Hudson address for Frangos. 
 
http://smtp.realneo.us/content/cuyahoga-county-lan... 
 
So what exactly did you and your buddies Zarnas and Frangos DO under the guise of Icarus? And was it, say, ETHICAL, for a sitting county treasurer to have an interest in such a limited liability corporation while he's serving in an elected capacity as treasurer? 
 
Obviously the term "conflict of interest" doesn't exist in Cuyahoga County (every politician from George Forbes to Bill Mason have either run law firms or election "consultant" agencies while in elected office), but still -- wouldn't a sitting county treasurer possess some serious insider knowledge regarding the local real estate game? 
 
Talk about a fox guarding a hen house scheduled for demolition. 
 
And now we're supposed to take seriously whatever grand pronouncements you make regarding "saving" the region from "blight." 
 
Not to mention you were the ONLY elected official in Cuyahoga County who wasn't aware of the institutional corruption perpetrated by convicted felons Frank Russo and Jimmy Dimora? We're supposed to believe that and also believe you never warehoused any of their friends or relatives on the county treasurer office payroll? 
 
Lots of unanswered questions and dark implications plague the credibility of this county land bank situation. Big shame there isn't a local newspaper possessing the resources, interest or integrity to sort out the entire mess.

clevebaron7 likes this..

 

http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2013/07/how_best_to_save_a_neighborhoo.html

NPR rebroadcast--professional trolls

Today--

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/magazine/articles/2010/06/20/inside_the_mind_of_the_anonymous_online_poster/?page=full

If FriendoftheCity is a professional troll for the Clinic, then why would the PD delete their comments?

Certainly, Opportunity Corridor bedfellows include the Clinic, PD, Rokakis, Brancatelli, and Gus Kious ??? 

I am not getting the praise for Kious while condeming Rokakis, but it could be someone from Forest City, too--I think Lily and I are closer to the truth.  But, we will never know as the comments were made anonymously :)

Landbank BS

The land bank will only benefit a select few.   Check out land bank and HUD give-a-ways to friends, family and CDCs.  Add up the numbers.

According to the Cuyahoga County Auditor's website:

  600 Jefferson Avenue, permanent parcel # 004-19-180. 

Gift from the land bank:

 July 20, 2006, Cleveland City of LB91 to Thomas P. Leneghan  $0

September 27, 2006, Thomas P. Leneghan transferred to Lori Properties (Sam Catania from Tremont West), transferred for $0

December 15, 2006, Lori Properties sold to private owner for $270,000.  New house built and sold in less than three months.  This is what happens when homes are built in less than three months.

Little wonder that the Tree House  (Leneghans) have sought assistance from Sam Catania regarding Tremontsoul's property.  (see letter from Leneghan to Catania here)

Sam Catania, aka Lori Properties, is a for profit developer in the Tremont area and also a paid employee of Tremont West Development Corporation.  Catania has bought numerous parcels of land in the Tremont area for pennies on the dollar (while employed by TWDC) and has sold his developed land for big bucks.  I wonder why he has so many pending county lawsuits and foreclosures filed against him and his company?

I wonder why Sam Catania, an employee of Tremont West Development Corporation, offered to buy Frank Giglio's land prior to the demolition?  It is a major conflict of interest for a member of Tremont West to attempt to privately purchase Frank Giglio's home when Tremont West was a major party that targeted Frank's home and insisted on demolition.

It is a conflict of interest for a for profit developer to work for a CDC, expecially in the same ward in which the employee is developing land.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

 

 

 

 

LORI PROPERTIES INC 1630 STANDARD BUILDING P CV-02-487840
LORI PROPERTIES INC C/O 1630 STANDARD BUILDING P CV-04-522322
LORI PROPERTIES INC C/O 1630 STANDARD BUILDING P CV-04-543284
LORI PROPERTIES INC C/O 1630 STANDARD BUILDING P CV-04-547683
LORI PROPERTIES INC C/O THOMAS C CATANIA PRESIDENT D CV-09-686026
LORI PROPERTIES INC 34120 PETTIBONE ROAD D CV-09-701466
LORI PROPERTIES INC C/O LON D. STOLARSKY STAT AGENT D CV-09-701466
LORI PROPERTIES INC C/O LON D STOLARSKY STAT AGENT D CV-10-717315
LORI PROPERTIES INC 2237 W 11TH ST D CV-10-717315

CATANIA SAM 34120 PETTIBONE ROAD D CV-09-701466
CATANIA SAM 2297 & VACANT LOT D CV-09-701466
CATANIA SAM J 2947 E 92ND ST P CV-87-126352
CATANIA SAM J 2947 EAST 92 ST P CV-82-050042
CATANIA SAMMY ROSS 2237 WEST 11TH STREET D CV-09-700847
CATANIA SAMMY ROSS 2237 WEST 11TH STREET DT JL-09-392668
CATANIA SAMMY N/A D CV-06-581855
CATANIA SAMMY R 11107 PARK HEIGHTS ROAD D CV-76-952098
CATANIA SAMMY ROSS 1103 STARKWEATHER AVE DT JL-99-111298

 

Also named in a lawsuit filed 08/06/09 by National City Bank.  Many Connections.  Sammy Catania SII Development Director/Project Manager - developer/owner of Lori Properties, Inc., built by Sutton Builders, sells $395,000 condo to Tom Cook, President of TWDC Board, Tom Cook former employee of National City Bank.

 

  

 

 

 

Lilly, there is one

Lilly, there is one important property you didn't mention:

PP 004-02-033 - 2097 W. 19th Street - Commercian Vacant Land - Sales amt. $0 - by Quit Claim Deed, Nov. 3, 2003, to Sammy and Thomas Catania, by Roesmary Vinci.  (The same Rosemary named in the Russo - Dimora FBI Investigations).

Rosemary was also TWDC Board President and upon her departure from this position, Sammy Catania filled the Board President seat.  Upon Sammy's relinquishment of the board seant, Tom Cook took his place as president.  These dots are all in a straight line.

 Also, with regard to the 600 Jefferson Property, certain documents have surfaced that Sammy presented to surrounding property owners for signature and the blank signature lines  had already been notorized and stamped with a notary seal. 

jerleen

thank you.  So much going on in that area it is difficult to keep up.  I would like to get my hands on the documents that you mentioned so that I can make sure the right person reviews those documents.

These lot purchases are interesting too.

004-19-068  Lori Properties, Inc.,  00000  CLEVELAND 
004-18-032  Lori Properties, Inc.,  02296  CLEVELAND 
004-18-033  Lori Properties, Inc.,  02288  CLEVELAND 
004-18-034  Lori Properties, Inc.,  02280  CLEVELAND 

004-19-127  LORI PROPERTIES  02292  CLEVELAND 
004-19-067  LORI PROPERTIES, INC  02314  CLEVELAND 
004-18-074  LORI PROPERTIES, INC  00000  CLEVELAND 

004-18-035  Lori Properties, Inc.,  CLEVELAND 

All of this info has been

All of this info has been sent to the appropriate agency.

-

*

thank you

I should have known.

They are full of shit about EC

Professional Troll - paid to attack Rokakis and pimp the Clinic... seems Cleveland is the troll capital of the world.

Too many PR and law firms - not enough entrepreneurs.

Disrupt IT

Really Norm?

You think it is a-okay for the PD to delete the comments??

 

I'm glad they are dead

I really don't follow anything about the PD any more... certainly not how they handle comments or what anonymous trolls write or how they are treated - and this troll is full of shit and propaganda about EC so I'm glad they are dead - and after the whole Saffold mess who cares what the PD does with comments and trolls - I assume half the PD comments are written by professionals and folks at the PD - thePD is out to get their "customers" and cause them harm... strangest enterprise in the world... what one may expect in a communist country.

Disrupt IT

East Cleveland and EC Library

  See also--Regionally speaking:

http://blog.case.edu/wrss/

I was just there last week

I was just there last week - good example of how good intentions can harm a community - way overdeveloped and underutilized asset for our community - the actual "library" is small, cramped and under-resourced... when I was there every computer was taken.

We should talk more about what a library should be... this is the wrong model.

Disrupt IT

Replacing books with computers

  Is not my idea of a great library--especially as wi-fi eliminates need for fixed computer stations.

This is a time for real ingenuity and reinvention in libraries and it should mean more physical buildings--not less, yet that is where we are in America.  Losing institutions that promote democracy--our public schools and libraries.

SEE: http://www.losinglibraries.org/

I'd say 80% of EC Library Square Footage is fluff

I'm sure an anaylsis of the space use and community requirements of East Cleveland would confirm this is not the right library for our community.

Nothing I've seen planned for EC has been good for EC. We have poor planning here.

Disrupt IT

EC Lib. helped this CHer

Several times, through ClevNet, I've located a book available at the EC Public Library, and unavailable (on loan) at CHUH and SH Public Libraries. It is a short trip for me to fetch books at the main EC library. I once told the head of a large local foundation this and he said, "I'm glad to see that our money is put to use."

The takedown of East Cleveland's public libraries

 
 

hook July 16, 2010 at 8:30AM

 

Beware ! This is an issue that is far more than A " bailout " . It is A contrived crisis that has been engineered to " start the ball rolling " in the process of forced regionalization of library services in Cuyahoga County. A Trojan Horse has been selected and will be the " prototype. Once A " success story " is on the books , pressure will be brought to bear in hopes of A " domino " effect ensuing. A monopoly in the area of library leadership and policy making is A bad idea. "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely " . The politics of Cuyahoga County , the County in Crisis , should send A message loud and clear that diversification is A means of limiting and or preventing corruption and abuses such as those we continue to witness here. Checks and Balances , openness and transparency are standards ill-served in dictatorships or organizations where power is held by A small core group. The public sector is in desperate need of work atmospheres where differing opinions are valued, and people feel they can be open and honest contributors to their particular organization without fear of political retribution. The area of library service to the community is on that should remain free and diversified without central rule . Caveat Emptor ; Caveat Vendor ! Hook

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/07/east_cleveland_library_leaders.html

Sold to the Foundations years ago

Sold to the Foundations years ago - now they are taking possession. This is now part of the Cleveland Clinic Huron Road Hospital CAMPUS - why don't you people listen to me!?!?!

Kiss your world class libraries including Cleveland Public Libriaries and everything world class and that you love here good bye.... sold out for chump change.

Won't all the cool stuff in the CPL special collections look great on E-Fucking-Bay, Laura. Good way to balance the budget now that our leaders have sold out everything else.

I'd buy one of those great chess sets but I'm sure all the rich local lawyers and CDC staff will bid the prices beyond my reach... I didn't sell out.

Dirty leaders - dirty air - empty libraries and museums - Cleveland+sellouts

Disrupt IT

I guess I'd better get my parents' African art out of there

I guess I'd better get my parents' African art out of there - the library has had a bunch of pieces from my parents' ethnographic art collection on display there since the renovation... I'd hate to have to sue the Cleveland Clinic to get them back, or worse see them sold off on e-Bay by mistake

Disrupt IT

Sickening...19 million dollar shortfall

Rokakis' first takedown of libraries in Cuyahoga County didn't work so they went back to the drawing board to undermine the community that needs libraries the most--PD won't report on the social, environmental and economic justice issues in East Cleveland.  It sickening.  Rokakis will be long gone to Maine where he can pretend to be a WASP...when the real shit hits the fan.

Oh, It's just East Cleveland

It doesn't matter.. does it Norm?

no need for libraries next to a coal plant... just hospitals

It doesn't matter...  with MCCO next door - no need for libraries next to a coal plant... just hospitals

Disrupt IT

Nazi Germany = East Cleveland

  Exactly, Lily--the same ubermensch mentality--sickening.

More like Poland

More like Poland - Hitler is in the next city over

Disrupt IT

Zookeeper's Wife-Mundane horrors

 You are right Norm--Poland...the master race also wanted to decimate the Slavic population, too.  I was not aware of that history until I read the Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman.  The need to control strategic "real estate" is also described in the book.  What floors me, especially--is the propaganda machine that the new regime has created in NEO. 

Zookeeper's Wife is not an easy read and some of the criticism is valid--(cutsey interspersed w/horrorific) but it is a reminder that some of the most vicious human behavior is perpetrated by folks who see themselves as good and who justify their efforts as "heroic."   I need to pick the book up again, because it does capture the mundane horrors we live with and allow ourselves to camouflage with our trite day-to-day concerns for personal happiness. 

The Tin Drum

The story revolves around the life of Oskar Matzerath, as narrated by himself when confined in a mental hospital during the years 1952-1954. Born in 1924 in the Free City of Danzig (now Gdansk, Poland), with an adult's capacity for thought and perception, he decides never to grow up when he hears his father declare that he would become a grocer. Gifted with a piercing shriek that can shatter glass or be used as a weapon, Oskar declares himself to be one of those "auditory clairvoyant babies", whose "spiritual development is complete at birth and only needs to affirm itself". He retains the stature of a child while living through the beginning of World War II, several love affairs, and the world of postwar Europe. Through all this a tin drum that he receives as a present on his third birthday remains his treasured possession, and he is willing to kill to retain it.

Disrupt IT

Deal made with the DEVIL?

Discussions began two years ago between Cleveland and East Cleveland for a $500 million power plant on land owned by University Hospitals and CWRU at Euclid & Lakeview. This state-of-the-art plant will replace the old plant next to the hospital along Euclid Avenue, and power the institutions of University Circle. It could also - if the current mayor can work with Mayor Frank Jackson - provide low-cost electricity for the city's residents as well.

East Cleveland School District

Why not merge with CH-UH school district to consolidate library systems?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Every single school building in East Cleveland has been rebuilt or renovated as a result of a $100 million investment from the state that began sometime in 1998 and ended in 2008 and 2009 with the opening of a new Shaw High School and Caledonia Elementary School.

Water and sewer rates are significantly lower. The police department's been rebuilt, along with the service department. The city is out of fiscal emergency. The reasons for "not" living in East Cleveland have dwindled.

People have counted East Cleveland out for years. But this city, once the home of John D. Rockefeller, won't give up. Dr. Kious and Cleveland Clinic are to be commended. John D. Rockefeller believed in Huron Hospital when he invested in it well over 100 years ago. It is wonderful that you have protected and enhanced that investment. Well done.

Lightning Demolition

  Some one correct me if I am wrong--but does this outfit get the most demolition contracts in the City of Cleveland?

Who are the officers, owners, investors in Lighting Demolition???

http://www.lightningdemolition.com/

How to get banned by the PD-

 
/* */

All Activity by repalltheway    RSS

I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!

Today, Mr. Davis reports that the treasurer is the PRESIDENT of the boards of revision. People should be outraged because the Plain Dealer has hidden this fact all during the coverage of the Board of Revisions and how incompetent they were.

Mr. Plain Dealer, why did you not hold the treasurer responsible for this????????????????

Last night, Scott Taylor from Channel 19 did a story on double dippers. The treasurer is a double dipper but the Plain Dealer does not mention this, ever. You point out Ed Fitzerald -- Dolan would be better -- is PE # whenever you get a chance. Maybe Scott Taylor will do a story on the treasurer double dipping. I add that to the list.

AND posters are saying the treasurer is angling to be re-appointed. I CAN'T BELIEVE IT.

THE PUBLIC DESERVES AN EXPLAINATION ON WHY YOU DID NOT HOLD THE TREASURER - THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARDS - ACCOUNTABLE. The only explaination is thay you were covering for him

1. How did his wife get her job?
2. How did his bother get a job in the Federal D.A. s office.
3. Another brother got a job at the Ohio Lottery in a trade where a lottery official was hired in the Treasurers Office.
4. Did you know that his sister works at Earl Turners office in the muni clerk of courts?
5. His daughter worked for Bill Mason?
6. Investigate Mr. Rokakis practice of steering tax forclosure properties to his friends. The entire land bank operation needs to be put under your scrutiny.
7. Check out "friendship" with Rick Rennell of Resource Title.
8. He is a double dipper

 
 
 

 

repalltheway:

We were the first to report in July 2009 that Rokakis was about the become a double-dipper (link below). The story was followed-up several times over the next two months. As for your questions, we are looking into some of those things. If you have specific information, please contact me directly.

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/07/more_northeast_ohio_elected_of.html

(Looking into these things...really Henry?? How long does "looking" take for the PD??  Until, Rokakis high tails it to his Maine hideaway???)

It seems the White House is protecting Rokakis and Mason

It seems the White House is protecting Rokakis and Mason as some hold outs of honor and effectiveness among the sea of scum of the democratic party here - for them to tank on them and their praised landbank and lake erie wind turbines is to have failed at everything good they claimed to be accomplishing here - they are protecting these losers to save face at the national party level... they'll probably give them jobs in Washington DC.

Disrupt IT

Rokakis 'President" of Boards of Revision

Disgusting.  Thank you, Laura, for copying and saving the comments before the PD pulls out their magic  wand and makes them disappear.

I am waiting to see what PO # the FBI assigns to Rokakis. 

Add up these numbers.......

The number game here

The PD can not continue to cover-up this GAME. 

Do citizens have the right to a class action lawsuit

Do citizens have the right to a class action lawsuit to recover overcharged taxes assessed by these fraudulent crooks through their well documented fraudulent practices? I don't believe these individuals or the County government are protected from lawsuits if they are clearly corrupt and negligent, as they are.

I believe our property and all property in the region is worth far less than assessed and must be adjusted down - we are due refunds - and this sorry ass county is as bankrupt as the morals of our leaders.

Absolute human garbage.

Disrupt IT

Plymouth Park Comments

 Comments to Harlan Spector Story:
http://www.cleveland.com/cuyahoga-county/index.ssf/2011/09/cuyahoga_county_executive_ed_fitzgerald_says_county_will_target_property_tax_delinquents.html#comments

Lily_Miller_520 September 10, 2011 at 6:13AM

 

Hopefully Cuyahoga County will be more careful about the crooks they drag into Cuyahoga County via tax lien purchases.

The last batch of thieves, Plymouth Park Tax Services, aka Xspand, aka J.P Morgan Chase recently admitted rigging tax liens sales in 33 states- including Ohio- and reached a $211 Million dollar settlement.

Plymouth Park Tax Services received a NO BID contract from Cuyahoga County for several years.

Plymouth Park Tax Services owned nearly 100 properties in Cuyahoga County obtained via delinquent tax foreclosure and was delinquent in paying almost every single property- some for well over one year. They only paid after I exposed them.

They stole property that was owned mortgage free for decades.

Created neighborhoods filled with blight.

And did NOT pay their own taxes.

The county needs to start tax collection on the other batch of thieves also dragged in via delinquent property tax liens- Aeon Financial FBO CapitalSource Bank. They own dozens of properties - all obtained in 2011 via tax delinquent foreclosures.

Nearly 40 properties transferred into this company's name in February 2011 and they still have not paid their taxes after foreclosing on property owners for not timely paying their taxes.

Aeon Financial FBO Capitalsource Bank, aka Capital Source Bank, filed nearly 2,500 property tax foreclosures since 2009 in Cuyahoga County.

Aeon currently owns 84 properties- all from finalized foreclosures in 2011.

They have hundreds of pending foreclosure cases and the potential to take all of the properties from the owners.
Nearly 40 properties were deeded to Aeon in February 2011. Tax time has come and gone and they did NOT pay their property taxes.
Aeon should not be allowed to continue the foreclosure process on any of their outstanding foreclosure cases until they pay their own delinquent property taxes.

Break down of victims by predatory tax collectors in Cuyahoga County:

GLS Capital filed the following delinquent tax foreclosures:

2001 - 93 foreclosures filed
2002 - 335 foreclosures filed
2003 - 143 foreclosures filed
2004 - 164 foreclosures filed

 

PLYMOUTH PARK TAX SERVICES filed the following delinquent tax foreclosures:

2005 - 520 foreclosures filed
2006 - 714 foreclosures filed
2007 - 567 foreclosures filed
2008- 629 foreclosures filed
2009 - 129 tax foreclosures filed

Aeon Finanicial fbo CaptialSource Bank filed the following delinquent tax foreclosures:
2009 - 1302 tax foreclosures filed
2010 - 467 tax foreclosures filed
2011 - 795 tax foreclosures filed

Thousands of victims that had to pay 18% interest rates, excessive fees , court costs and attorney fees in order to save their property. The numbers only reflect actual foreclosure filings and does not include property owners that paid the excessive fees to avoid foreclosures.

Hundreds of families lost their properties- some owned mortgage free for decades.

J. P. Morgan Chase and it's subsidaries, PLYMOUTH PARK TAX SERVICES, aka Xspand, admitted their guilt to rigging delinquent tax liens- right here in our own backyards. And Ohio is part of the $211 MILLION settlement.

The NO BID contract with Cuyahoga County contained very lucrative terms and the contract to the theives was renewed for several years.

And Plymouth Park Tax thieves did not pay their own property taxes for well over a year on almost 100 properties obtained from victims of this predatory lending and our public officials. On many properties, Plymouth Park owed more in taxes than the original owner owed prior to losing their homes to these thieves.

There is hope for individual victims though. The settlement specifically mentions, "
This agreement does NOT cover tax offenses or PUBLIC CORRUPTION offenses of any kind."

Such big news on J.P. Morgan, aka Plymouth Park Tax Services, aka Xspand, admitting they rigged bids and the public corruption mention in the settlement leads me to believe that very big news is about to come out regarding Plymouth Park Tax Services and Public Corruption.

 

 

 
deputydog981 September 10, 2011 at 6:44AM

 

Well I just counted 70 properties that PLYMOUTH PARK TAX SERVICE LLC owns. The county website wouldn't show what taxes are owed. I'm new to this buying liens or whatever.

 

 
deputydog981 September 10, 2011 at 6:49AM

 

By the way, PLYMOUTH PARK TAX SERVICE LLC is still buying properties up to July of this year!

 

 
puker September 10, 2011 at 6:53AM

 

Mr. FitzGerald, Johnny come lately. Really? If there was anything the previous Treasurer did right. It was this.

 

 
jester6 September 10, 2011 at 7:01AM

 

I would guess one of the reasons Cuyahoga's taxes are more delinquent is that they are too damn high.

I looked at a vacant property in Lakewood a while back. It was in good shape and could be moved into after a coat of paint and purchasing some appliances. A very good price. The problem was the taxes were so high the monthly tax bill could exceed the monthly mortgage the day I bought the place.

1215 Marlow. Asking price $59,900. 2010 taxes $4243.16.

Paying the asking price and putting down 20% would give me a mortgage payment well below $250 per month. I’d be paying $350 per month in taxes. This is just one example. Look at other lower priced homes in Lakewood right now and you will find other examples of this. Shaker Heights too.

Even if the property is distressed the taxes should be a fraction of the mortgage; not the other way around.
 

 

 
Galt57 September 10, 2011 at 8:21AM

 

One thing to consider is to appeal your property valuation.

I appealed my property valuation and was able to reduce my property taxes by one third. The DTE-1 form and the BOR process were straight forward and the auditor's web-site makes home sales easy to research. I believe it is too late to start the BOR process this year, but next year give it a try.

 

 
ManginisMother September 10, 2011 at 8:25AM

 

You hit the nail on the head. First Cuyahoga County needs to retroactively adjust all the property taxes based on actual value not the bubble values. Then they need to work out very generous payment plans. Then there needs to be an across the board rate reduction. Then Ohio needs to restructure how the schools are financed. The Supreme Court told them to do this 20 years ago. It will not do Cuyahoga County any good throwing tens of thousands of properties into foreclosure.

The hospitals which are huge profit centers need to pay real estate tax. It is a joke for Cleveland Clinic and Univ Hospitals, two huge land owners, to say they are nonprofit.

 

 
Lily_Miller_520 September 10, 2011 at 7:09AM

 

At the time of my investigation in September 2010, Plymouth Park Tax Services owned 89 properties and was delinquent with paying taxes on 88 properties.

After I and an attorney exposed Plymouth Park and made a complaint with the Feds, they finally paid their taxes on almost every property - except one.

Look at the dates of transfer and then notice the delinquent penalty that Plymouth Park was charged when they finally paid their taxes in 2011. They were charged delinquent penalties for the 2010 tax year on nearly all of their 89 properties.

The reason the county webiste is not showing taxes owed is because you need to look in the "2010" tax year to see the delinquencies and penalties that were owed. The information will not be reflected in the county's website unless you look in 2010. The website defaults to 2011 taxes.

Plymouth Park Tax Services is not "buying" properties up to July of this year, but rather "stealing" properties via tax delinquent foreclosures. And our elected officials looked the other way when Plymouth Park Tax Services failed to timely pay their own property taxes.

 

 
countyinsider September 10, 2011 at 7:36AM

 

For several years Jimmy "the Creep" Rokakis was given a free ride by the PD because of his knack for dropping dimes on most Cuyahoga County democrats...even himself. He was alot of bluster and little substance when it came to getting the job done. Many have been awaiting for the Feds to handcuff him, but it appears "the Creep" is well connected there as well. The damage that he has caused to the county and its neighborhoods will be felt for years to come. The saddest part about this is the the PD continues to ignore any investigation on these issues. Keep up the good work Liliy Miller.

 

 
Left Out September 10, 2011 at 7:59AM

 

The crooked wheel is squeeking, get it some grease.

 

 
reloadron September 10, 2011 at 8:19AM

 

Lily_Miller

Thank you for some apparently very well thought out and more important well researched post. I agree it is time for some investigate journalism if everything posted is factual and I certainly have no reason to believe otherwise.

Thank You!

 

 
reloadron September 10, 2011 at 8:20AM

 

Correction: "investigative journalism".

 

 
mytown55 September 10, 2011 at 8:39AM

 

Lilys' comments are all facts that she has researched and experienced..SHE HAS EXPERIENCE and FACTS in ALL that is written by her...I am a witness.....

 

 
grace111 September 10, 2011 at 9:24AM

 

Starting with the tax services that have distroyed communities, also go after the banks with their REO properties. Bet they are not paying taxes, let alone keeping the property secure, gutting grass and snow plowing/shoveling. Banks are very bad citizens.

Banks are one of the reasons for this recession continuing on and on. I would bet they do not even appear in the Housing Court when sent a summons?

 

 
mytown55 September 10, 2011 at 9:58AM

 

Cuyahoga County Planning Commission site has information on how your property may be targeted for their Master Plan 2020...Has Clevelanders been sleeping?? The "code enforcers will visit you soon enough..then, that, is a "CLUE" that, you are "in their plans"...WAY.... don't worry...THE HAPPINESS "VIRUS" is coming soon!

 

Words from a young cannibal

 
 
I used to rehab houses in the Ohio City neighborhood. There are a lot of fine old homes in the city; I enjoyed rehabbing and then selling them making a small profit on my actual cash investment a big loss if I figured in the cost of my time. Having a day job and being single at the time I did not care about including the cost of my labor.
 
However dealing with the city was always problematic. Their housing inspectors pretty much sucked there is no other way to put it. It was always a battle to stay ahead of the thieves and metal strippers I had to live in the house that I was working on or my tools and raw material would be stolen. I never would buy a lot where the city had demolished the house/structure because the city would always bury the building in the basement making new construction difficult if one wanted a basement and giving rats a great place to nest if I just wanted the lot for green space.
 
And I soon found out that folks connected to the local politicians always had the inside track on acquiring cherry properties that were coming up for sale. I stopped rehabbing houses in Cleveland and in fact moved out of Cleveland because to put it bluntly the ‘underclass’ population of people on the dole, on section 8, disability kings and queens and in general druggies and drunks were just not worth putting up with. 75% of the teens on my last street were pulling in disability payments of 400 to 600 dollars a month because they were of minority heritage and had ‘anger’ issues. Section 8 people living around me had no interest in taking care of the home that they were living in. I used to volunteer to do yard work for the elderly through one of the local churches, I stopped volunteering because it was just plain annoying to be busting my butt while the client’s 20 or 30 something offspring sat on the porch smoking weed and drinking and just plain enjoying watching me work.  

My thoughts are that you can bulldoze the entire city but until you bring in a better class of people there will not be anyone building a decent community. Those kids pulling in their anger issue money did not appreciate anything that they had because they did not earn it. Section 8 people do not care about taking care of where they live because as a great socialist once commented “They have no skin in the game” 
 
 
 
Come on. Democrats LOVE the status quo. They have controlled and kept Cleveland and many surrounding areas swirling around in the toilet for DECADES now. Any money that comes in most of it ends up in corrupt city and county official pockets as well as their mafiosa contractors. Its been that way fir decades now. Look at what happens when Democrats try to "run" something. Its a farce. If there isn't outright embezzlement going on then at the very least there is complete incompetence and LAZINESS.  
 
Status Quo? The name of the game when it comes to the Democrat leadership. 
 
A whole line if 6-digit salaried CEOs and all their slew or reports who also rake in 6-digit salaries at theCMSD and what is there to show for it? ACADEMIC FAILURE and ACADEMIC EMERGENCY for how many years? 
 
School CEOs retiring with huge grins on their faces and laughing all the way to the bank??? And then all the welfare recipients and Section 8'ers voting on and passing a 15 mil levy that wont affect them?? Now why do you suppose that the actual working TAX payong residents are leaving in droves??? 
 
I'll give you a big hint : (D) 
 
Keep votong in incompetence and corruption and see what happens. 
 
I will be a resident for another week and a half and then I am blessedly gone. No more horrible city "services" . No more high property taxes for LOUSY schools. No more ineptness from city dept employees. And no I am not going to a Burb filled with strip malls. so you can keep all those dumb snarky comments to yourselves. 
 
Good luck to the Mayor and the CMSD CEO and the hundreds of fictitious employees in made-up affirmative action jobs who twiddle their thumbs all day long. Good luck collecting revenue from your non-tax paying government dole population. You love those people so much, see if they can pay all those city and county paychecks and pensions. You guys are going to need a miracle. 
 
But by all means, let's be politically correct and dumb and ignore the elephant in the room for the past 4-5 decades: (D)emocrats. 

Eric Brewer on East Cleveland Annexation

If the Plain Dealer's Leila Atassi understood anything about Ohio and East Cleveland's laws and charter requirements for passing ordinances, there's a question she should have asked Gary Norton when she interviewed him.
“If you believed council's memorandum of agreement was “unrealistic, impractical and illegal in some cases, why didn't you veto it?”
She had the boy right on camera and he was running his mouth to make himself look good while throwing council under the bus. Remember? He said he wanted to spare council from being laughed at and ridiculed. Mayors who disagree with council ordinances and resolutions have no other duty but to veto them. It's in Section 113(E) of East Cleveland's charter.
“Mayor’s Veto Powers: Every ordinance and resolution passed by the Council shall be signed by its President or Vice President and shall be presented forthwith to the Mayor by the Clerk. If the Mayor approves such ordinance or resolution, he or she shall sign and return it. But if the Mayor does not approve it, he or she shall return it with a statement of his or her objections to the Council who shall enter the Mayor’s objections in its journal. The Council may then reconsider the vote on the passage of such legislation not later than at its next regular meeting. If upon reconsideration, it is approved by four-fifths (4/5) of the members of Council, it shall become effective. If any ordinance or resolution shall not be returned by the Mayor within seven days after it was presented to him or her, it shall become effective in the same manner as if the Mayor had signed it on the last day of the seven-day period.”
So according to East Cleveland's charter, every ordinance approved by the mayor is signed and returned to council. When the mayor doesn't approve of an ordinance or resolution, he refuses to sign it and then writes his objection as a veto. If he doesn't sign it, and doesn't veto it, then the ordinance or resolution is approved in 7 days as if he signed and approved it. Norton – regardless of what he says or Atassi has reported – approved council's "conditions." I'm placing emphasis on the word "conditions" because it's what they're described as in ORC 709. They're not "demands" like the reporters are describing them. The document council submitted to Cleveland should not have been a memorandum of understanding or prepared by them pursuant to ORC 709.
The “voice concern” bullshit he shared with Atassi was garbage she didn't have the political comprehension to discern. Whenever you see only Norton quoted by a reporter be very suspicious of the accuracy of the story. He's a liar. All they're doing is spreading his lies and ignoring their duty to verify what they've been told.
Council President Thomas Wheeler has confirmed to me that Norton did not veto the memorandum of understanding, and so has council clerk Khadijah Guy. If Atassi had spoken to either of them instead of just Norton, and read the charter, she wouldn't have run that dumbass' lies on Cleveland.com as if they were the gospel. Don't forget. The Plain Dealer endorsed Norton so they have to keep making him “look” good.
Norton will tell you I didn't have a problem vetoing his illegal ordinance to give himself a pay raise of $65,000 a year as safety director while he was still council president and 8 days before he took over as mayor. I spelled out in three pages just how illegal his actions were, advised him that he was going to disgrace himself and his family, and possibly end up in jail. That's how a mutha fuckin' mayor says no to a city council's illegal acts.
What Norton did at the council meeting where council's "conditions" were discussed was “voice” his objection and nothing more. His law director, Willa Hemmons, signed off on the illegal "memorandum of understanding" as “true to form.” She, obviously, hadn't read ORC 709 to know that the "mou" was not a legal document. Norton should have instructed her not to sign it.
Council vice president Brandon King created the "mou" out of his own mind, not ORC 709. King is the councilman who lied about living in the city in a rowhouse owned by his brother that was also the site of drug raids. He was a resident of Richmnond Heights, not East Cleveland, when he sought the job on council. He's the guy who sponsored and introduced legislation to let him buy a $99,000 house out of the landbank for less than $1000.
King doesn't have a clue about government, but he does about self-deaing. It's why the "mou" he wrote included all this self-dealing shit for city council members and Norton. Don't think for a second that Norton was not supportive of the "mou." Anyone who's heard him discuss his plans after the annexation knows damn well Norton wants to keep being paid by the taxpayers as East Cleveland's rep in Cleveland. Corporate America won't touch him.
The "mou" King wrote, and that his council colleagues and Norton approved, was illegal and took absolutely no consideration for the fact that the commission that included members from both cities, not just East Cleveland council, was supposed to prepare it pursuant to ORC 709.28 under the heading “Conditions of annexation.” Go ahead and read it.
“The commissioners appointed by the respective municipal corporations proposing annexation pursuant to sections 709.23 to709.33, inclusive, of the Revised Code, shall proceed to arrange the conditions of annexation and report the result of their action to the legislative authorities of their respective municipal corporations within one hundred twenty days from the date of the appointment of the commissioners of the municipal corporation with which annexation is proposed.”
So Norton's "veto" if he objected should have advised council that it was the joint commission's duty under ORC 709.28 to identify the "conditions" and report them to East Cleveland and Cleveland council.
If you go to ORC 709.461, state lawmakers again instructed Norton and the council to let the commissioners “colloborate” on the “conditions” with the inclusion of “the public” East Cleveland's Wheeler - King led council ignored. The heading for the statute is, “Collaborative formulation of merger conditions.”
(A) In formulating the proposed merger conditions, the commission shall attempt to work in a collaborative process that results in a consensus of its members as to the best proposal for all of the political subdivisions involved. To this end, the commission shall adopt rules for the orderly operation of commission meetings that permit all commission members to be coleaders, as appropriate, so that overall no one member has more authority than any of the other members in determining the proposed conditions. These rules may create a framework for building agreement among the members to adopt proposed conditions. The commission also shall seek the advice of both public and private sources to help the commission fully study the merger situation so that appropriate conditions are drafted. If funding permits, the commission may contract with a dispute resolution expert to help make the process more collaborative."
In his veto, if he disproved of council's "mou," Norton should have cited the exact law I cited above. This shit is way above his, King, Wheeler, council and Atassi's heads.
The landbank shit was downright criminal. Notice I wrote that King sponsored and introduced a resolution to let him get a $1000 deal on a $99,000 Forest Hill home.
Cleveland city council needs to be aware that the landbank piece was included to protect the individuals who've illegally received landbank property. Since I left office Norton and Trevelle Harp of NOAH, who serves on the landbank committee, have been transferring properties without a vote of council as required by the city's landbank ordinance.
They've been distributing the properties to their “boys” to hold until University Circle moves up Euclid Avenue. If the annexation is ever approved, Cleveland officials will need to thoroughly investigate the landbank transactions to reacquire the properties and possibly prosecute the participants. Norton let Harp get a loan to fix his home and then released the city's lien against it without him paying it back.
The most glaring blunder in the document King wrote, that council passed and Norton approved, is how they totally ignored state laws and Cleveland's charter in naming their conditions. It's as if they didn't understand that once East Cleveland is annexed there will only be Cleveland.
There'll be no shadow city government, no separate municipal court, no separate school district, no separate police and fire, and no East Cleveland politicians being the only citizens eligible to hold office. Ward boundaries will be redrawn more than likely by Robert Dykes and his Triad company with Cleveland's council president. It's what they did in 2013.
More specifically, annexing has to include things like the taxes residents will pay, water and sewer rates, whether EC residents will have access to Cleveland Public Power, trash collection, service, parks and recreation and more. We're talking about merging two cities. Will East Cleveland's block grant funds go to the city, or will they be combined and used elsewhere? What about cable television?
Look. I think annexing right now is East Cleveland's only solution. I've seen who's coming as elected officials and it doesn't get any better. The city's “Talented 10th” ain't shit when you understand that it's them behind the city being fucked up.
I've heard Una Keenon, the school board president, is considering a run for mayor.
I've known Una since she, Almeta Johnson and Judge Pat Blackmon were law partners. Una and I were cool, but Almeta and I were friends. The late Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Moyer told me personally she ran the worst court in the state. My cousin was an armoured car driver who was supposed to pick up the court's daily cash intake. Her employees told him to come only when they called and weren't depositing the money daily as the law required. Una was letting them “borrow” it until they could pay it back. Auditors found over $30,000 in cash that had been missing for over a year in a file cabinet. It's no better at the schools where the board is doling out public funds to feed themselves at school board meetings.
The other guy thinking about running for mayor is councilman Nathaniel Martin. My nickname for him was “Stymie” when I was mayor. I've had second thoughts about it because Stymie was actually pretty slick. He ran them little white boys in the Little Rascals.
My point is that there is no person holding elected office in East Cleveland, or who's currently qualified to run, with the management and legislative skills to lead the city. Please quit asking me about going back because I ain't. It's a $40,000 a year job and I didn't turn my back on East Cleveland. A majority of the city's voters turned their backs on me and I'll never trust them again to make another decision that affects my life. It's that simple. But I do care, so I write and share.
A note to Zack ReedKevin ConwellPhyllis Cleveland, Kevin Kelly, Michael D. PolensekTj Dow and Cleveland's other councilmembers.
You all know the rules and laws for enacting ordinances and resolutions. I strongly advise you folk to do your due diligence and confirm that East Cleveland officials are complying with their charter, ordinances, administrative code and state laws when they conduct public meetings. They're not.
They do not follow council's rules or Robert's Rules of Order. They do not know how to introduce ordinances and resolutions and move for their adoption. They do not properly identify procedures. The minutes of meetings are so deficient and devoid of facts there's no possible way for the public to know the substance of discussions and how officials voted.
Ordinances are being written by King at council meetings and introduced and passed at the same meeting. Just know that there are East Clevelander's organizing against the annexation and they're recording every illegal act to mount a legal challenge. I'm telling you they'll win.
Even the council clerk was hired on January 14, 2016 without a resolution of council. The council president simply told the HR director, through Norton, to hire and pay her.
Yes, she was administered an oath of office. But the city won a lawsuit a former clerk filed against me for refusing to pay him when Norton told him to start working without a resolution of council. Judge Lance Mason handled the case. I remember him telling Norton, very clearly, that if the mayor instructed him four months earlier that the clerk can't be hired without a resolution of council, then why didn't he just pass the resolution?
The ex-clerk lost. I won, which meant Norton lost. But Norton bragged to the ex-clerk after they fell out that he lost. Seriously. This guy is a real douche bag.
If I were Andrew Jackson, Sandra Morgan and Chris Glassburn, I'd give East Cleveland council my resignation. If I've shared that the clerk of council has not legally hired, it means that any act she's performed since January 14, 2016 was done unlawfully. That includes the duties she performed associated with your appointment resolution. I don't think she did anything intentionally. I think Wheeler had no idea he couldn't make a decision by himself, without a resolution of council, to tell the clerk to start working. And that's the problem with who's running East Cleveland today. Since they don't read they don't know what laws to follow. Since they're not following laws, they're creating their own shit, and none of it is right.
Where in ORC 709 does it make any reference to an "mou" like the one King created, council passed and Norton approved? It doesn't and if they'd read it they'd have known it. It's in English. King made it up just like the city's officials are making up everything else they do over there. There's no possible way for these non-readers to do anything that complies with laws. Jim Petro, when he was state auditor, confirmed this in a 2002 performance audit and nothing has changed. He blasted council then for not following its own rules. In minutes I receive from the clerk someone inserted references to two administrative code sections that have nothing to do with the rules of council. These folk are truly confused.
Think about it this way. It's against ORC 2921.44(d) and (e) for elected and appointed officials to recklessly spend more than council appropriated, or fail to perform a legal duty. So we wouldn't even be talking about annexing if Norton spent money based on what council budgeted. The only reason East Cleveland mayor is the only one out of 1141 in Ohio asking another mayor to do his job is because Norton spent $5.7 more than council appropriated during his first 23 months in office. He didn't stop there, he kept on spending more than what council authorized until the state tookover, and even then he didn't stop. Where' the $8 million from the Cleveland Clinic deal that the Plain Dealer's former publisher served on when he voted to close Huron Hospital?
Norton belongs in jail. Not on television.