Gus Frangos, President and General Counsel County Land Bank

In the Fall of 2004, Mr. Frangos was retained by the Cuyahoga County Treasurer to propose and craft policy changes for the administration and disposition of vacant and abandoned tax delinquent properties. Through the direction and under the auspices of Cuyahoga County Treasurer James Rokakis, this effort resulted in the drafting and ultimate passage of House Bills 293, 294 and the recently passed S.B. 353 all of which are designed to expedite the foreclosure and reclamation of tax delinquent, vacant and abandoned properties in Ohio.

  Thank you Lily for this information that should not be ignored by mainstream media and especially not be ignored by our elected County Executive Ed FitzGerald and elected Cuyahoga County Council.

Related to this story: property owners carrying large property tax liens and using bankruptcy to avoid paying (and losing their properties--see Aberdeen Investments) and slum landlords collecting HUD Section 8 monies for years under our former treasurer and all the while never paying taxes (see Lucky Ogor/Ikan)....bankrupting cities and killing vital services like schools and libraries, especially in East Cleveland.  

I spoke by phone on my day off with two county employees who confirmed for me that large property owners and landlords collecting HUD monies for Section 8 housing routinely got a way with not paying their property taxes, by filing bankruptcy and/or by creating LLCs to flip/camouflage their behavior.  HUD still lets these slimeballs collect HUD money (See Lucky Ogor).

For larger property "managers" this ruse was well-known, not unlike the 2.5 % primary residence reduction that was fraudulently claimed by so many multiple property owners. 

Also related to this story: Tremont West Development Corporation, Ohio City Near West, Detroit Shoreway, Stockyards, Clark-Fulton, Brooklyn Centre, Slavic Village and Old Brooklyn CDCs get to divy up the $689,000 in TIFF funding from Steelyard Commons.  Split six ways $114,833.00 each and residents have no say in how the money gets handed off to "developers" who have flipped or installed strawbuyers (including young CDC employees who purchased homes from the land bank...what a deal!) for years on the east and west side of Cleveland and stand to get the pay off now.

Section 6. That under Section
5709.43 of the Revised Code there is
hereby established a Steelyard Commons
Urban Redevelopment Tax
Increment Equivalent Fund (“Steelyard
Commons TIF Fund”), 70% of
which shall be used for acquisition
of land and to make improvements
to the Tow Path Trail and Canal
Basin Park. Of this 70%, if there are
remaining funds, they shall be used
for additional connector trails.
The remaining 30% shall be used
for retail assistance programs and
other commercial and industrial initiatives,
including land acquisition,
within the City. This 30% will be
used primarily for projects that offset
the impacts of Steelyard Commons
on adjacent neighborhood commercial
districts, and use of these
funds will be guided by the retail
impact study currently underway.
These funds will be disbursed quarterly
as grants, on a competitive
basis, under criteria established by
this Council and the Cleveland Citywide
Development Corporation
(CCDC). The CCDC will evaluate
applications and make recommendations
to this Council. Projects in the
following categories will be eligible:
Neighborhood Retail: specifically
those elements not funded by the
existing Storefront Program (such
as parking lots);
Neighborhood Small and Start-up
Businesses: to assist with small
business expansion, refine business
plans, assist entrepreneurs to “get
out of the garage and into a storefront,”
etc.;
Neighborhood Arts Projects: projects
that enhance a neighborhood
commercial/retail district;
Neighborhood Streetscape: in
neighborhood commercial/residential
districts;
Neighborhood Industrial Sites:
planning, environmental site assessments,
etc., of underused and/or
abandoned neighborhood industrial
sites; and
Land Acquisition: to support commercial
development adjacent to the
Tow Path Trail.
(see pg. 14 in link to City Record: http://www.dln.com/cr/index2006/January182006.pdf)

It will be interesting to see what happens to Erich Hooper now...
http://realneo.us/content/hoopers-farm

Also worth remembering:

Entities tied to Frangos paid more than $9 million for the properties near the casino site. Yet his many companies are plagued with financial troubles, including more than $450,000 in overdue property taxes in Cuyahoga County and defaults on two county loans, totaling more than $1.5 million.

Kill the Land Bank....now.

I find it strange that most of the property that was once in Gus Frango's name happens to be transferred into LLC's.

And the LLC's are NOT pay their property taxes.

Gus Frangos was named as a defendant/debtor in two lawsuits involving  Cuyahoga County and the judgment was over $1.5 MILLION dollars owed to Cuyahoga County.

And $450,000 owed in delinquent property taxes by the Frangos' is unacceptable.

The President of the County Land Bank, a person responsible for ownership of hundreds of properties, can not take care of business with his own real estate and should not be in a position to be responsible for hundreds of properties owned by Cuyahoga County taxpayers.

Numerous properties were taken by the county land bank via tax delinquent foreclosures .  And the person in charge of taking delinquent property tax property is behind numerous LLC's that are also delinquent with paying their own property taxes.  

Taxpayers do not want to foot the bill for the numerous LLC's , the Frangos family, Plymouth Park Tax Services, et al, to play Monopoly in Cuyahoga County.

Remember the schools need the property tax money.  It's all about the schools and the children- not really.  It's all about a  game of Monopoly and their version of the Monopoly game comes with  " Get out of Paying Property Tax"  and "Transfer all of your property to an LLC" cards.  Cuyahoga County's version of Monopoly.

Gus Frangos, a person in charge of Cuyahoga County's real estate, should be held to a much higher standard and never show even a slight hint of impropriety in the real estate market.

Gus Frangos and Jim Rokakis worked together with Plymouth Park Tax Services who recently admitted rigging the tax lien process and agreed to a $211 Million settlement.

Gus has thrown up enough red flags that I would almost feel sorry for him if he were near a bullfight.

The land bank was created to keep property out of the hands of irresponsible, out-of-state investors - who often hide behind LLC's.

I would rather take my chances that out-of-state investors have more responsibility than the investors we have right here in our own backyards.

Our irresponsible investors are in charge of the real estate market in Cuyahoga County via the County Land Bank, and they get to pick and choose who gets property from the county land bank- at taxpayer's expense.

 Report this to Cuyahoga County Inspector General Naihla Byrd at 216-698-2101--Kathy Wray Coleman

For many years, a lot of local real estate investors have worked to build small businesses in Cleveland buying , rehabbing, and renting or retailing the properties in our community. Like all businesses; you had the good, the bad and then the ugly.... I feel fortunate to have worked with some of the most ethical and respectable property managers around our town. Yet, I have also met fly by night jerks who got in over their heads really quick during the boom and tried everything to slide through this nightmare in Cleveland. Along the line; I can say one thing for sure....if you were not a pay to play participant....you were getting the shaft along the line. REI's (real estate investors) come in many forms....landlords, rehabbers, lenders, wholesalers, retailers etc.

I recall many years ago calling the City of Cleveland and asking for a list of Land Bank properties that were for sale. The list was "UNAVAILABLE".... I asked why our city would not simply sign a contract with a real estate agent to LIST those various properties? I mean; if you own marketable real estate that needs to be redeveloped; wouldn't it  be wise to market it to the world of real estate investors in an OPEN FORMAT so that everyone has an opportunity to participate? (No, of course not...this is Cleveland.... and it's a list for "SPECIAL PLAYERS!" )))))))): 

Bottom line....pay to play, pay to play....pay to play.....Land Bank included....and by the time the FBI stops pussyfooting around MR. Clean (Rokakis)....and figures out that they've been duped....it'll all be moot again.

Always Appreciative, "ANGELnWard14"

 Excuse me it is Nailah Byrd

Two mentally ill men that I was working with and trying to help  were both made HOMELESS over the County's game of Monopoly.  Greedy corrupt thieves stealing from people that are least able to defend themselves and not one public official mumbles one single word.

HOMELESS COURTESY OF CORRUPT  OFFICIALS  - Frank Giglio

 Above photo of Frank Giglio's bed taken a few days prior to bulldozing.

 FRANK GIGLIO'S BED AFTER THE BULLDOZING

AND FREDDIE:

Below are photos of the property tax foreclosure victim  on eviction day.  The mentally ill victim is looking out his door after realizing that representatives from Plymouth Park Tax Services were knocking on his door- to kick him out of his home owned for nearly 50 years.

Unfortunately, due to the victim's mental health status, he was not fully aware of what was about to happen and did not pack or move any of his belongings prior to the knock on his door.

The victim leaving his home owned for nearly fifty years- for the last time:

HOMELESS COURTESY OF CORRUPT COUNTY OFFICIALS -Freddie 

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