Friday, July 28, 2006

CityLink Opponent Terrorized

Community Council Member Target Of Vandals.

Watch the Video


“Dave Petersen's roof garden is like a West End oasis, an oasis that was visited by vandals on Tuesday. Getting to the garden, someone had to either scale a 6 foot fence or a 13 foot wall. Plants were destroyed, pots broken.

Dave Petersen, West End Community Council Member: "It took a lot of effort to come up here, and they're sending a message..."

Petersen says that message is clear.

"Stop digging, stop talking, and just basically, we've got a good thing going here, keep your mouth shut."

A member of the West End Community Council, Petersen and others have come out strongly about mismanagement in the community, funding issues, and plans to put a social service center called City Link in Petersen's back yard.

"We have uncovered millions of dollars of questionable transactions."

Dave Petersen has also found his tires flattened and a window broken at his home in the last three weeks. While a broken window doesn't necessarily mean anything, this one might, because it's so hard to get to. You have to go through a fenced yard, then you have to go through the bushes, and this one's barberry, it's really sharp, then you've got to get to the glass by going through an iron grate, about the only way to do that is with a piece of rebar or something like that and jam it through, nothing easy about breaking this window.”

David Petersen – A Profile in Courage

David Petersen is a courageous man who has taken a public stand for what is right in the West End. He has spoken out against CityLink, and he has exposed the corruption of Dale Mallory and the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation.

Mr. Petersen was selected to be on the impeachment committee that reviewed the petition to impeach and remove Dale Mallory from office. The five member panel returned with a unanimous recommendation that Dale be removed. The West End Community Council agreed with over 76% of the vote against Dale Mallory.

Petersen was a vocal opponent against CityLink.

He was also an appellant against the CityLink zoning permit. He joined with his neighbors and the West End Community Council in contesting it. The Community won their case. CityLink’s lawyer, Democratic Party Chair Tim Burke is still appealing within the legal system.

Petersen was one of the people sued by Dale Mallory when Dale contested his impeachment. That case had no merit, and was thrown out of court. Dave was interviewed by the Dean of Cincinnati at a protest at the Oakley Democratic Forum, which you can listen to here.

Petersen has been on the forefront of the investigation of the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation. You can view his interview with Dan Hurly on Newsmakers here.

To date, CEC board member Lamont Taylor resigned after calling for an investigation. City Hall has demanded an investigation and an audit. HUD went as far as calling for a full audit of the CEC and asking the Cincinnati Police to investigate possible criminal behavior. The latest player to join the party is the FBI, which specializes in cases of public corruption. Given these facts, I can’t see how effective acts of intimidation and retribution would be. Though the mayor has reportedly tried, no one person has the power to call off the dogs at this point. You can’t put that genie back in the bottle.

David Petersen is a civic and community leader. At the last community council meeting, Mr. Petersen was unanimously approved by 40 of his fellow members to become the West End representative on the Board of Directors of the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation. He was the subject of a race based diatribe by Harold Cleveland and Lincoln Ware when he recently called in the talk show to discuss the Empowerment Zone on the Buzz. Lincoln Ware is in tight with the Beatty/Lawson/Mallory Cabal. Ware has broadcasted frequently from Junebug’s restaurant, and Lawson is a fellow host on the Buzz.

Petersen will take a spot on the Empowerment board made vacant by City Hall Hitman / functional illiterate Howard Beatty. Cincinnati Magazine recently noted noted that Howard Beaty had a criminal record that included jury rigging, aggravated burglary and domestic violence. Beatty was appointed to the Empowerment Board by Dale Mallory. Petersen will give his community a real voice for accountability on the Empowerment board.

"Nothing good happens unless you stand up for what's right, and what's going on down here is not right and I am willing to take the consequences of my action." – David Petersen

Thursday, July 27, 2006

Open Thread

In an effort to keep posts on topic, I am posting an open thread.

I will try to keep in under the most current post.

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

CityLink Disrupts a Community Meeting

Kathleen Norris, lobbyist for CityLink & The Empowerment Zone was paid to disrupt community meetings.

I will have more commentary on CityLink, Crossroads Community Church, and the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation tomorrow. Kathleen Norris represented all three. This is a picture of her unplugging the microphone and disrupting our community meeting in December.

============================
And now, the rest of the story...

The December Meeting was a memorable event.

At least two people in attendance were getting paid by The Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation to support the CityLink Center, lobbyist Kathleen Norris and West End President Dale Mallory.

The December meeting was planned by Dale Mallory and Mark Stecher of CityLink. The plan was to have Dale Mallory start the meeting and announce that no vote would be taken. This would be followed by a presentation by Larry Harris (thanks Larry!) on why CityLink is a good idea that conformed with the West End Comprehensive Plan. After that presentation, everyone was invited enjoy the food (catered by Junebugs (board of the C.E.C.), and the drinks and cookies (catered by CityLink.)

CityLink planned our meetings. They catered our meetings. Crossroads Community Church asked their congregation to attend our meetings and applaud for CityLink. The Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation paid off our community council President for CityLink. Some people were paid to pass out pro CityLink material. And that witch Kathleen Norris was paid to unplug the microphone and disrupt our community meeting just as we were taking a vote of opposition on CityLink.

Dale started out the meeting and told us we couldn’t vote. People demanded to vote. They had already been denied a vote in October and November. Dale said there would be no vote and introduced Larry Harris to explain why CityLink was such a great idea. Nobody wanted to hear Larry Harris (thanks Larry!) shill for CityLink, they wanted to vote. People demanded the vote. Larry Harris got his panties in a bunch, and Dale Mallory decided to close down another meeting without a motion to adjourn. Dale just walked out.

Nobody left with Dale, the members of the council stayed put to reorganize and vote, Dale or no Dale. With Dale out, Shirley Colbert came forth to run the meeting.

Out of nowhere comes this blonde witch, Kathleen Norris. Norris unplugged the mic and stood in front of the outlet holding it in her hand. The picture above is actually a few moments later, when a Cincinnati Police Officer came over and instructed her to plug the mic back in. A pro-CityLink lobbyist paid for by the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation was doing this at our December meeting. It happened, and you can view the photo above.

=======================
Thanks Larry!

A question for Larry Harris: were you getting paid? Everyone else was getting a check. If I was Larry, I would be ticked off if I found out I was the only one there who wasn’t getting paid. Even Nate Livingston can’t stand the fact that he was shillin for free when everyone else was on the payroll.

=======================
Memory Lane

This photo was taken from the NoToCityLink.com media archive. They have archived other articles on the December meeting to help you stroll down memory lane.

Community votes against center

"We are going ahead with our plans," said Rodger Howell, executive director of CityCure, one of the five social service agencies planning the center. "The city zoning allows us to build the center. It doesn't matter what the council says."


That was the only time to date that CityLink has been honest with us.

West End can't stop mall
CityLink Center would serve addicts, ex-cons, homeless


"Once they buy the property, no one has the authority to stop them.," said CityLink supporter Dale Mallory, president of the West End Community Council and brother of Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory.


"Howell estimates CityLink will serve 35,000 to 40,000 people a year."


"Mayor Mallory has declined to answer questions about the project, calling it a "neighborhood issue."


Tensions Flare Over CityLink Center Plans

Watch the video

Is Harold Cleveland in Law School?



Has anyone in the media asked Harold Cleveland point blank if he is indeed a full time law student? The guy makes around 130k a year plus benefits, and he is never in the office when you call. His benefits package and expense account are enormous. One source told me that if you are lucky enough to get an audience with the pope, he will only meet with you over lunch at the University club. It would be nice to see how many highbrow lunches we are paying for.

The Cincinnati Empowerment Zone isn't a "direct service" organization. In English, that means don't perform any of the services, they are a flow through organization. They might pay for a job-training program, but they don’t do the job training. What they do is give away money. The CEC pays an exorbitant amount in salaries and administrative expenses. They pay the better part of a million dollars to staff every year just to give away tax dollars.

And with all that administrative cost, they still aren't very good at what they do. According to published reports, the CEC is delinquent on over 80% of their loans. What the hell are we paying for, other than Harold Cleveland's law degree? Not to say his law degree won't come in handy in keeping his ass out of the big house. At least he made appropriate preparations. His Boy Scout troop leader would be proud.

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Dale's Checks Redux

I tried to limit the detail of my commentary in the timeline post for the purpose of brevity. I would like to revisit and take a closer look at Dale's checks for clarification:

Front & Back





A point of contention and confusion on this blog likely comes from this article by Dan Monk:

West End group demands police investigation of Dale Mallory

This is the relevant passage:

West End Community Council Treasurer Maggie Moon is asking police to investigate the withdrawal of $1,119 from the group's bank account June 1, more than three months after Dale Mallory was impeached as the group's president. Moon said Mallory has refused to turn over financial records, but the group recently obtained from National City Bank a $1,000 check, authorized by Mallory, to the West End YMCA. Another check, for $119, went to an individual. Both were dated June 1, 2006.

Mallory told the Courier that the money was for an arts program at the YMCA. He said the expenditures were authorized by the community council in February. Moon claims there was no such vote and the money should not have been withdrawn.

People were under the belief that Dale closed down the WECC account on June 1st, disbursing funds to the YMCA and Monique James in the process.

Scroll back up and take a look at the front and back of the check again.

Dale’s check was a counter check written to cash. It was written and endorsed on May 19, 2006. You can read the bank's electronic processing of the check, and that is dated in the mechanical type. This check was processed by the bank on May 19th, and the funds were disbursed on May 19, 2006.

Where did the money go?

Every check has a line that says "PAY TO THE ORDER OF", and that is where the money goes. In this instance, this check is made to pay out to cash.

What happened to that cash? I have been told today in an update that Dale Mallory used that cash to buy a certified check. I presume that the certified check was made out to “Cash”. I have not seen a copy of that check. The check pictured above is a counter check drawn off the WECC bank account. That is the check that closed down the account.

Three days before the check was written, the WECC had resolved to go to the bank and present a letter to take control of the account. I am assuming that Dale Mallory got wind of this and decided to close down the account before the new administartion got their hands on it.

Two weeks after doing this, Dale Mallory went back to the bank with the certified check for $1119.19. Dale had already closed the account. He couldn't put the money back in, because no account existed at that point in time. It had been closed by Dale Mallory 14 days earlier.

On June 1st, Dale took the check and asked the bank to take it and issue yet two more certified checks, one to the YMCA, and one to Monique James. These checks were not written on the WECC bank account, that account was closed on May 19th.

Summary


On May 19th, Dale Mallory closed down the bank account of the West End Community Council. He wrote one counter check to “cash” and exchanged that for a certified check for the balance of the community funds.

Two weeks later, on June 1st, Dale Mallory returned to the scene of the crime (they always do), and bought two certified checks for the amount that he had previously withdrawn from the Community’s bank account. He then claimed that those checks were written on the WECC account and that they were authorized by the WECC, both assertions being provably false.

Sunday, July 23, 2006

Dale Mallory's Felony Investigation

This is a copy of the cancelled check that Dale Mallory used to clear out the West End Community Council Bank Account on May 19th, three months after being impeached and removed from office of the West End Community Council.


And this is the copy of the back of the check.


Timeline

On May 19th, 2006 Dale Mallory cleaned out every red penny of the West End Community Council bank account and closed it down. Here is a timeline of the events that led up to the check, as well as law enforcement’s reaction to the WECC Complaint.

January 23, 2006 – A Petition was filed to impeach Dale Mallory and remove him from his office as President of the West End Community Council.

Additional Link: Impeachment petition roils West End

February 21, 2006Dale Mallory was removed from office. Over 76% of the members of the community council voted to oust Dale Mallory.

Additional Link: Mayor's brother ousted from West End council

March 6th, 2006Mallory sues West End council

March 21, 2006 - Dale Mallory files a second lawsuit against the West End Community Council.

March 21, 2006West End Community Council appoints Robert Killins, Jr. as President.

Late April, 2006 - In the fourth week of April, both of Dale Mallory's lawsuits against the West End Community Council get resolved.

Lawsuit #1, filed on March 6th, gets thrown out of court on a motion to dismiss.

Lawsuit #2, filed on March 31st, is dropped by Dale Mallory. Dale had skipped two previous depositions and refused to testify under oath. In dropping his own case, Dale Mallory stated to the court that he "has no intent of remaining President of the West End Community Council" and that "he is respectfully dismissing this matter [the lawsuit] without prejudice."

May 16, 2006 - Still unable to get control of the bank accounts and historical records of the organization, the WECC resolves at the May Meeting to draft and present a letter to local banks concerning the whereabouts of WECC accounts.

May 19, 2006 - Dale’s gets a counter check made out to “Cash”, cleaning out the balance of the account and shutting it down.

June 1st, 2006 - Dale takes money back to bank, and has two cashiers checks issued for the balance. $1000 to YMCA, and $119.19 to a person.

June 6th, 2006, WECC presents letter to bank and is informed that the account is closed. They are given a copy of the counter check that Dale Mallory used to clean out the balance. WECC treasurer Maggie Moon files complaint with Cincinnati Police claiming criminal embezzlement on behalf of the WECC

Additional Links: West End group demands police investigation of Dale Mallory

Dale Mallory Cleans Out WECC Bank Account

June 13th Mallory Press Release on Cincinnati Beacon

Dale's Press release is included at the bottom of the post as an update.

“In addition to being a Neighborhood Development Liaison with the Empowerment Zone, Mallory was also the president of the West End Community Council at the time.” Check out the past tense.

June 29th – Instead of investigationg Dale Mallory, Cincinnati Police decide to investigate Dale Mallory’s Impeachment.

“(Sgt) Smith said police are trying to understand the underlying controversy before they decide whether to open a criminal investigation into the matter.”

July 7, 2006 - Allegations of cover-up surface in bank account investigation.

July 14, 2006FBI joins investigation into the actions of Dale Mallory and the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation.

July 18, 2006 – Assistant Police Chief James Whalen attends WECC meeting to explain and update the Council on the WECC complaint and the ongoing investigation into the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation. He explained that the investigation into Dale Mallory’s activities risks having an appearance of a conflict of interest, and that the CPD has asked the FBI to take hold of the investigation

July 19, 2006 – FBI Special Agent Michael Brooks reports to the Cincinnati Enquirer that the FBI has not opened a formal investigation.

Numbers

Now that I have provided a timeline, let’s look at some numbers. Today is Sunday, July 23, 2006.

152 – # of days since Dale Mallory was impeached and removed from office.

90 – # of days since Dale Mallory abandoned attempts through legal means, publicly stating that he had no intention of remaining WECC President

65 - # of days since Dale Mallory cleaned out all the funds from the community council and shut down the bank account.

47 - # of days since the WECC complaint was filed with law enforcement. To date, no evidence exists that either the CPD or the FBI made a formal attempt at starting this felony investigation.

Summing it up:

1) Dale Mallory was impeached and removed from office.
2) Dale Mallory took his case to court and lost. In the end, Dale stated to the court that he had no intention of remaining WECC President.
3) After events #1 & #2, Dale proceeded to clean out and close down the WECC bank account.
4) Law Enforcement has been given clear and convincing evidence of this obvious felony, including but not limited to the copies of the cancelled checks.
5) Nobody as of yet has started a formal investigation into the matter.

Thoughts and Observations

It has been said that this case is a “litmus test” for the entire investigation into Dale Mallory and the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation. I would concur that this case will give us an accurate barometer of things to come.

Quite simply, if law enforcement won’t investigate this case, don’t expect anything else to come out of the C.E.C investigation. They have been given this case on a silver platter. The media covered Dale’s impeachment extensively, and the court records are well documented. They even were given copies of the checks. If we can’t get a reaction when we tell them exactly where the bodies are buried, don’t expect them to find much on their own.

I am open to suggestions / editing of the timeline or my conclusions. You can post them on this blog or email me at ImpeachMallory@yahoo.com.

Thursday, July 20, 2006

Empowerment agency assails critics

Empowerment Corp. hires Seitz
BY GREGORY KORTE ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Click the link and check it out. The C.E.C. has decided since they don't like they message they will attack the messenger.

Responding to inquiries from the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development this week, Empowerment Corp. lawyer Bill Seitz blamed the press, city officials and the "No to Citylink" activist group in the West End for advancing what he called "the biggest bogus story I ever heard."


One thing that is in question is whether Dale Mallory used "political influence" to get his consulting contract. As President of the WECC, Dale Mallory appointed George Beatty, Len Garrett, and City Hall hit man / functional illiterate Howard Beatty to the Board of the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation. Orlinda Beatty, wife of "Junebug" George Beatty is also on the staff of the C.E.C. Dale got hired by the CEC, and he then reported directly to Len Garrett, a man Dale himself appointed. This pack of cronies has already done this once before, during the Genesis Redevelopment scandal that rocked the West End in the last decade.

HUD is also investigating a real estate deal between Harold Cleveland and Theo Holmes. Holmes was the landlord for Junebug Beatty's restaurant. He received a low interest loan from the Empowerment Zone that is now reported to be delinquent. Cleveland reportedly bought the building from Holmes through a pass-through anonymous trust. In the deal, Cleveland became a landlord to one of his bosses.

To blame this investigation on politics or neighborhood activists is a bit misleading to say the least. On June 13th, CEC Board Member Lamont Taylor resigned from the board in protest. He had demanded Len Garrett’s resignation and an investigation into the contract given to Dale Mallory.

Lamont Taylor Link
Taylor said these deals are symptomatic of an agency in disarray.

"It's to the point where the board has to do the work of the CEO," said Taylor. "There's no direction. There's a pot full of money sitting over there. But the administration has let the West End control that organization for all these years."


When you have a member of the board demanding investigations, it is hard to look elsewhere for blame.

And interesting point in today’s article is the CEC has changed it official position on if it supported CityLink.

“Seitz conceded for the first time that the Empowerment Corp. actively supported Citylink, a proposed faith-based social services center in the West End.
"Let's not quibble about that," Seitz said. "If you're paying Dale Mallory to work on the project, you can't argue that you weren't advocating for it," Seitz said. "What was he going to do, kill it? I mean, let's be honest."

The agency no longer supports the project, Seitz told HUD.”


When or why the CEC stopped supporting CityLink is still a mystery. The fact that they supported it in the first place is still an open question. 800 Bank Street is not in the Empowerment Zone, and the West End Community voted against the proposal. Months after that fact the CEC was still paying Dale Mallory and Kathleen Norris to work with CityLink officials on a plan to overcome community opposition.

The Race Card

Theo Holmes chimed in today’s article with a glimpse of the new political strategy of the CEC, which is playing the race card.

"Junebug's . . . is the only positive black owned business on Linn Street," Holmes said. "I truly feel there's a witch hunt here. Unfortunately, it's a witch hunt for African-Americans trying to do something positive in the community."


As for Junebugs being the only “positive” (?) black owned business on Linn, that is false. It isn’t even the only restaurant on Linn. I believe that Popeyes is owned by “the Cobra” Dave Parker, though I can’t confirm that. I believe Richies is also black owned. And maybe Theo should give a call to Nate Tubbs or Tony Moore, who also own businesses on Linn. And the positive thing about those businesses is that none of their employees have a history of embezzlement, fraud, jury rigging, or gunning down black activists in front of City Hall. That is quite a list of positives for Junebug’s crew.

The race card was also played by Harold Cleveland when he appeared on the Buzz today on the Lincoln Ware show. Lincoln is tight with JuneBug and the Lawdog. Harold Cleveland again denied that the CEC supported CityLink, even while his lawyer was admitting it to the Enquirer. He stated that Dale Mallory received preference in hiring because he lived in the Empowerment Zone, and then later conceded to a caller that Dale didn’t technically live in the Empowerment Zone, but close to it.

The current storyline is that evil white people are attacking the CEC because they are racist and want to keep poor black people down. If I wanted to keep black people down I would hire Harold Cleveland, Dale Mallory, Len Garrett and the Beatty boys to mismanage and embezzle millions of dollars of funds earmarked for redeveloping impoverished neighborhoods.

If I wanted to keep the West End down I would support the Empowerment Zone’s efforts to put the regions largest homeless mall right across the street from three schools and a playground despite the pleas of educators, parents, businesses and residents.

===================================================

Additional Link To Cincinnati Politics Blog:

Politics Extra: GOP's Seitz defends Empowerment agency

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Got to hand it to the Dean

I suspected that the Dean has been working on the "bigger picture" for some time now. He's hit it head on in his latest blog post.

This is a must read.

Welcome to the Truth Squad Dean.

Mallory's agency faces probe

FBI also may look into role of mayor's brother
BY GREGORY KORTE ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

The Cincinnati Police Department and federal authorities will conduct a joint investigation into the Cincinnati Empowerment Corp. after reports of conflicts of interest at the inner-city development agency, a top police official told the West End Community Council Tuesday night.

Whalen said the investigation into the Empowerment Zone started after some of the articles started hitting the paper. The Cincinnati Police Department was also contacted with a letter from HUD requesting a criminal investigation. In addition, the West End Community Council filed a complaint for criminal embezzlement against Dale Mallory.

Members of the West End Community Council allege that Dale Mallory, after he was removed as president in February, wrote $1,119 in checks from the community council account.

Dale's signatures are on those checks. He didn't even deny to the press that he cut those checks. The facts of this case have been widely reported and are not in dispute.
An FBI agent said the bureau had not opened a formal investigation. "We've had discussions with the Cincinnati Police Department about investigative activity they're already engaged in," said Special Agent Michael Brooks, general counsel for the Cincinnati Division.

It is worth noting that well over a month has passed since the original complaint, and nobody has started a formal investigation. All reports that I have indicate that the CPD didn't subpoena the bank records or talk to bank management.

Politically motivated stall?

In a few weeks the deadline will pass for Tim Burke and the Hamilton County Democratic Party to replace Dale on the ticket. If Dale is indicted on felony charges for cutting those checks he will be removed from the ticket and his political career will be over. Let us be clear here, if the charges involved are true (and they are!), this is a felony. Assistant Police Chief James Whalen said as much when asked the question.

If Dale is allowed to go past that deadline in August, the Dems won't be able to remove him from the ticket. The 32nd has been a democratic seat for many decades. A Mallory has held the seat for 32 out of the last 40 years. If he is the Democrat on the ticket, I think he will win that race.
The Cincinnati Department of Community Development and Planning is citing a possible FBI investigation in holding up the release of Empowerment Corp. documents requested by The Enquirer under the Ohio Public Records Act. The Empowerment Corp. also has declined to release documents related to its $2.4 million small-business loan program. The corporation's attorneys acknowledge that 84 percent of the portfolio is behind on payments.

If you want to find the bulk of the money mischief, it is going to be found in the 84% of the loans that went belly up. These are low interest loans, which make them easier to pay back than regular loans. The loan portfolio has never been available to public view. That is a shame. Both the press and concerned citizens could help this investigation. You are talking about a fairly large document dump, and you need people with a good idea of where the bodies are buried.

And how many people have access to those files now? The City, CPD, HUD, THE FBI, and the outside auditor selected by the City. You have a lot of people with their hands on those documents, this isn't just an FBI investigation.

Be on the lookout for Bill Seitz, the new lawyer for the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation.
In a letter he sent to HUD Monday, Seitz called the controversy a classic case of "don't believe everything you read in the newspaper." He said the issues were stirred up by Dale Mallory's Democratic primary opponent, former Hamilton County Recorder Eve Bolton, and a group opposed to a proposed West End social services center that the Empowerment Corp. supported.
The new lawyer for the Empowerment Corporation admitted that the C.E.C. was supportive of the CityLink homeless mall. This is in stark contrast to what Harold Cleveland has told the press and West End residents recently, which is that the C.E.C never supported CityLink. I would agree with the argument that this affair started with the CityLink Homeless Mall. In the begining, it was widely believed that Dale Mallory was getting paid to promote CityLink and that he had sold out his community. Months after investigating the matter, that is exactly what we have found (along with his upcoming felony indictment). The corruption and incestual financial relationships of the Empowerment Zone are a real eye opener as well.

==============

Update Channel 12 link

Monday, July 17, 2006

Questions Linger Over Empowerment Corporation

From Local 12:

LAST UPDATE: 7/17/2006 1:27:26 PM
Video

Local 12 Newsmaker's Dan Hurley discusses questions being raised over Empowerment Corporation with David Petersen, an active member in the West End Community Council, and Tom Walters, a developer.Click video icon to watch the segment from Sunday July 16.


Newsmakers has released the Sunday show on the web. This is must see TV. Check it out.

Sunday, July 16, 2006

The Federal Bureau of Investigation


Cuff them both now and save me some time!


FBI Joins Empowerment Investigation
WKRC Local 12 News
LAST UPDATE: 7/15/2006 7:28:31 PM

Click the link above and check it out.

Local 12 broke the news that The FBI is the newest entry to the investigation of the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation. The FBI joins HUD as the second Federal agency to investigate the ongoing criminal activity at the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation. HUD is currently auditing the improper conduct of the C.E.C. Cincinnati City Council also called for an audit of the C.E.C. This article breaks the news that the Cincinnati Police Department has also been on the Empowerment trail. That is a new development.

Over the years Federal funding for the CEC is into the tens of millions, and over 80% of the loans are reported to be delinquent. This despite the fact that CEC loans were given at below market interest rates (3%), which make it easier to pay back the money. Even with that built in construct, the CEC is only getting pennies on the dollar for what they are giving away. In addition to that, they are paying the better part of a million dollars every year in salaries and administrative costs just to give money away. The CEC provides no direct service, they exist only to give millions of dollars away.

Some of those funds were given to Dale Mallory and Kathleen Norris to promote a project that wasn’t even in the Empowerment Zone. 800 Bank Street is the proposed location for CityLink, and that property doesn't fall within the boundries of the Empowerment Zone. The C.E.C. had no authority on CityLink because it was outside their legal parameters. That didn’t stop them from spending tens of thousands of dollars of public money on the project.

CEC money was given to insiders, friends and relatives. A small cadre of people (the Mallory West End Cabal) has controlled the public spigot of funds.

The FBI is involved because the Mayor’s big brother is the subject of the investigation, which the Mayor and his family have been actively trying to suppress. This development makes that matter more difficult for them. The more Mayor Mallory works to suppress a felony investigation, the more he becomes liable to be the subject of the investigation himself. Implicitly, having the FBI involved puts everyone “on notice” of this fact.

What has always confounded logic is the West End Community Council checks that Dale wrote in June. He had no reason to write them. He had been impeached and removed from office four months earlier. He even admitted in court that he had no intention of holding the office.

He had two court cases for his reinstatement as WECC President. One was thrown out of court. He dropped the other one, and in dropping it he admitted that he was no longer WECC President.

Four months after the fact Dale was still cutting checks and closing down the WECC bank accounts. The West End Community Council filed a complaint, and as of yet we have no reason to believe that anyone has taken constructive action on the investigation. I applaud the FBI investigation of the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation, but the obvious felony up for grabs is Dale cutting those checks.

Dale's checks haven’t been widely reported. Hats off to Local 12 for breaking this news, but they have never spoken about Dale’s checks. The Cincinnati Enquirer, The Cincinnati Post, and the Cincinnati Herald have never made those checks an issue, or even given them a mention. If we didn’t have Dan Monk at the Cincinnati Business Courier, Dale’s actions would be facing a total media blackout. That is what the FBI should be investigating.

It really is an open and shut case. Dale cut those checks after being removed from office. He closed down the WECC bank account. It happened. The WECC filed a complaint and demanded an investigation, and according to Dan Monk, the only response was that the CPD started investigating the impeachment of Dale Mallory, instead of Dale Mallory's obvious felony.

Monday, July 10, 2006

CEC Board of Directors Meeting



Above is the agenda for the Board of Directors meeting of the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation.

The Agenda:

1. Minutes from 6-5-06 meeting
2. Open Forum
3. CFO Report
4. CEO Report
A) Consultant Recommendations
B) CEC Banking
C) Board of Directors Resolution
D) City Letter
E) HUD Letter
5. Board Appointments
6. Open Discussion

That was supposed to be the agenda for the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation tonight. The fact is none of that happened.

The meeting started and the Board Members of the CEC realized that people had come in force to call them to task. Several speakers had signed up to ask poignant questions relating to their conduct and financial affairs.

No minutes were read or approved. The entire agenda was ignored. People that signed up to speak were allowed to speak and ask questions. They were then told that no answers were going to be forthcoming tonight, and that the August CEC meeting had been cancelled. Don't worry though, all their concerns would be addressed in September.

They didn't present the minutes. They didn't have a CFO report. They didn't have a CEO report or address the audits of the City of Cincinnati or the investigation by the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. They did not address any board appointments. They had no open forum or open discussion.

They did allow people to show up to ask questions, which was very nice of them. Then they told them that they wouldn't answer the questions. That was the meeting in a nutshell.

If ever anyone wanted to act like they have something to hide, just refer to this textbook example by the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation.

Why is this happening?

By avoiding the agenda tonight they effectively cancelled the July meeting. They also cancelled the August meeting in the process. Why?

My best guess is that they don't want to answer questions or release any information until after the City of Cincinnati Audit. In the last month, courageous members of Cincinnati City Council decided to audit the Empowerment Zone. Mayor Mark Mallory didn't want the audit, and he has been putting considerable pressure on the administration. He is basically directing his people to "shop" for an opinion in the auditor selection process. That means that this investigation is done before it has even started, and it also means that when the CEC has another board meeting in September they won't have to answer questions. They will point to the audit and their clean bill of slate.

Repeated attempts have been made to get copies of board minutes, CFO and CEO reports, reports of consultants (like Dale Mallory and Kathleen Norris), and the process for board appointments and board approval (especially in light of Hit Man Howie and Junebug's prominent role on the board). The CEC has never responded to those requests. Tonight proves that you can't even get a copy of the minutes or the current reports / board appointments even if you attend the CEC BOD meeting.

The whole thing is a joke. When the Empowerment Zone concept was created, it represented a paradigm shift in government funding. The new emphasis was to get grass roots community involvement to let communities get a chance to empower themselves. So much for that. Community involvement gets shut out at the door when questions arise, and meetings get completely shut down.

=====================================

On another note, I would like to thank the Whistleblower for giving us another "link of the day". The link was to a post entitled “Mayor Mallory involved in Coverup”, and it talks about the Mayor’s role in redirecting a felony police investigation concerning his brother Dale Mallory.

The original investigators were immediately taken off the case and replaced in this investigation. It has been over a month since the complaint has been filed, and people at the bank have verified that they have yet to be contacted. No records have been subpoenaed. The Cincinnati Business Courier reported that the investigation had been redirected. The focus of the investigation is now the West End Community Council’s impeachment of Dale Mallory, not the council checks that Dale Mallory has been cutting four months after being removed from office. Truth be told, the CPD isn’t investigating the impeachment either. They are doing nothing and waiting until it all goes away.

The West End Community Council starts every meeting with a police report. It has been relayed to me that the Council is requesting the CPD to give an update of the investigation into the complaint filed by the WECC against Dale Mallory. Captain Ken Jones is going to be invited to give a progress report on the investigation. Needless to say, it is going to be interesting.

Capt. Jones is a good man, and he has the power to get the ball rolling on this investigation. The CPD is getting called out on the stall, and I can guarantee you that this issue will not go away. They are going to have to deal with it. The detectives have stone walled and the WECC is climbing up the ladder. Maybe I am politically naïve, but I have faith in Ken Jones. It will be interesting to see if he accepts the invitation. I can’t wait to hear what he has to say.

Sunday, July 09, 2006

Mallory Center Not in Zone

William Mallory Sr. Vehemently denies receiving EZ funds from the CEC.

According to the City of Cincinnati's descriptive map outlining Cincinnati's Empowerment Zone boundaries, the Mallory Center, located at 3262 Beekman Street isn't located within the Zone. It's located at the corner of Moosewood and Beekman Streets in Millvalle. Needless to say, Millvalle isn't one of the nine communities within Cincinnati's Zone. Is it any wonder Mallory Sr. denies the funding.

The Mallory Center was awarded a 2-year contract worth nearly $500,000.00. A contract, signed and dated September 15, 2004 states "recipient agrees to repay CEC for any payment or portion thereof which CEC or HUD determines were not properly due or were declared ineligible expenditures." (Number 2c).

The Mallory Center sits very near the Moosewood Public Housing Complex and no where near an EZ population. Number one, the Mallory Center isn't in the zone and number two, it's serving a population of non-zone participants. The Center should never have received the funds. This people, is down right fraud.

I am very concerned about both audits that are gearing up. HUD can review the finances and awards granted, but if they don't know the associations/relationships between the CEC board, employees and grant recipients, they could quite possibly issue a clean bill of health. HUD needs to be fed information.

Saturday, July 08, 2006

More Self Dealings?

According to Cincinnati Empowerment Zone's website, the CEC funded DevCorp Consulting Corporation and Inner City Health Care, Inc. (among others).

DevCorp Consulting is a foreign/for-profit Corp. They filed articles of incorporation in January 2003. The Statutory Agent is Ayana Sloan, Esq (McMillan Avenue). In the 2001 EZ Annual Report, Ayana is listed as being on the Board of Trustees (pg 3) and is a member of the Civic Infrastructure Committee (pg 11). Lastly, Ayana is listed as a member of the Governance Body (pg 23), which is referred to as the "main governing body".

Inner City Health
was incorporated by three trustees, one named Janie Allen-Blue. Janie is also listed as the Statutory Agent. In the 2001 EZ Annual Report, Janie is listed as a member of the Individual and Family Well-Being Committee.

Please note as outlined in the report, all committees review and/or approve funding for applicants.

Both DevCorp and Inner City Health have a person/people that sit on EZ committees. Both of these companies received EZ funds.

Seems like more self dealings to me.

Friday, July 07, 2006

Mayor Mallory involved in Coverup


It has often been said, "It is not the crime, it is the cover-up".

The crime in this case happens to be the fact that Dale Mallory was writing checks and shutting down the multiple WECC (West End Community Council) bank accounts months after being removed from office.

Ordinarily, that would not have any adverse affect on the Mayor of Cincinnati, but in this case the Mayor happens to be Dale’s younger brother Mark Mallory.

I got a phone call tonight.

I have sources at the Cincinnati Police Department (CPD) that have confirmed to me that the Mayor and his family are actively working to squash the investigation.

Sources deep within the CPD have told me that Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory has contacted prominent members of the CPD, and that they have had several “conversations”. According to those sources, Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory directed the Cincinnati Police Department to look into the legality of the impeachment proceedings, and not the actual subject matter of the crime involved.

Dale Mallory’s checks have ceased to become the obvious focus of the investigation. Instead, Mayor Mallory has the CPD investigating the new members of the WECC. Mayor Mallory has effectively ended a criminal investigation.

That isn’t the end of it. Dale’s father, William Mallory Sr. has also continued to lobby against this investigation. It is a family affair.

It doesn’t stop there. The Mallory family is outraged that the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation is undergoing an audit. They fought tooth and nail to make sure that did not happen, and they will continue to fight to suppress any findings.

Take a close look at the selection of the auditor of the CEC, because I suspect they will be shopping for an opinion. Take a close look at the auditor selection process. The Mayor doesn't want anything found. The message is out there, and people have been given their marching orders.

From what my source told me they are winning the battle.

Don’t expect any indictments against Dale Mallory this week, or indeed ever again. He has become an untouchable. This investigation is over for all intents and purposes. The CPD is under the close watch of the Mayor Mark Mallory. If more money was still in the WECC accounts, Dale could still be writing more checks today for all they care. They have their marching orders.

It is a sad day for the City of Cincinnati.

It is time for a new plan. The CPD has failed us. Over a month has passed and they haven’t even begun basic requests for the records. This isn’t an investigation, it is a stone wall. I wish that I had better news to tell, but I don’t. Dale Mallory is going to get away with criminal activity. The CPD isn’t unknowing or powerless; they are actually complicit in the cover-up by the Mayor Mark Mallory.

I never expected this. Crimes have been committed, and it is about time somebody started to investigate them. The only investigation going on right now seems to be on the people that voted (by over 76%) to impeach and remove Dale Mallory from office. Dale Mallory was removed from office four months ago. Even Dale Mallory himself admitted in court that he no longer was the WECC President. Even after those events, Dale Mallory continued to spend WECC funds and was even closing down bank accounts. Dale decided not to transfer any records, because he conveniently spent everything.

Mayor Mark Mallory is making everything go away. His older brother Dale is about to become State Representative in the “family” seat, despite his documented criminal activity. As far as I can tell this is Mallory family business as usual, and our cries for justice are going unheard.

So here we are. It isn't a pretty picture. Don't kill the messenger.

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Ever Wonder Why?

It always seemed a little odd to me why the Cincinnati Empowerment Zone chose to use Empowercincy.org as its website address.

In 1998, the Cincinnati Empowerment Corp. filed its Articles of Incorporation. There were four people listed as initial trustees/incorporators. One name to remember - Jerry Pryor.

(According to a 2001 Annual Report released by the CEC, full funding was unleashed in late 2001 – 2002).

In February of 2001, Empower Cincinnati Investment Corporation filed its Articles of Incorporation (for profit) with a stated purpose of …”To provide an investment vehicle for minority business development”. Three people are listed as incorporators. Again, one is Jerry Pryor.

When flipping through the 2001 Annual Report, it is interesting to point out that Jerry Pryor not only incorporated the Cincinnati Empowerment Zone (CEC), but he’s also listed as a staff member in the annual report (pg. 4) – specifically he is listed as the Director of Economic and Workforce Development. The stated goal of the Economic and Workforce Development Committee is to review and/or approve projects as recommended by the CEC staff. To summarize, CEC staff member Jerry Pryor has the power to approve funding to applicants and he, himself incorporates a for-profit entity (Empower Cincinnati) that is presumably permitted to apply for funding from CEC.

Both the CEC and Empower Cincinnati Investment Corp. are active companies. They have different addresses. The CEC curiously uses empowercincy.org as its website. Both companies have one incorporator in common – Jerry Pryor.

Interestingly, Empower Cincinnati Investment Corp’s other two incorporators listed are Corrine Kinebrew and Asa Olusola. The statutory agent is Perry Ward.

Corrine Kinebrew is listed in the CEC 2001 Annual Report as a member of the Finance Committee (pg 3) and Economic and Workforce Development Committee (pg 4).

Asa Olusola is listed in the CEC 2001 Annual Report as being on the Board of Trustees, a member of the Executive Committee, Finance Committee (all pg 3), Economic and Workforce Development Committee (pg 4), Civic Infrastructure Committee (pg 11), and is listed as a Governance Member (pg 23).

Perry Ward is listed in the CEC 2001 Annual Report as being on the Finance Committee (pg 3), Economic and Workforce Development Committee (pg 4), and Individual and Family Well-Being Committee (pg 16).

All of the committee’s have a stated purpose of reviewing and/or approving projects for funding.

Here you have four people, all in positions to approve funding from the Cincinnati Empowerment Zone, incorporate Empower Cincinnati Investment Corp.

There is more. On the exact same day in February 2001, the same four people incorporated a company called Ujima Worldwide Incorporated. A for profit company with a stated purpose of …”To undertake community development in the areas of, but not limited to, the community’s health, education, housing stock and business development.

George Beatty’s name was listed throughout the report.

I will mention one last curiosity. John Shirey, former City Manager. Coincidental or not, in an Enquirer Article dated February 7, 2001, Cincinnati’s top administrators were accused of hiding a police report with damaging information about the administration as it related to the Genesis (West End) scandal. John Shirey denied the acquisition. In the 2001 Cincinnati Empowerment Zone annual report, Mr. John Shirey is listed as a member of the Finance Committee and a member of the Governance Committee. Genesis was unraveling at the same time the CEC was winding up and Mr. Shirey had a hand in both.

It is hard to tell who, if any, of these people are still working the well of EZ funds and anything before 2003 is beyond the statue of limitation for fraud. I suspect they are nearby if not directly in the thick of it which is promising because each act adds on another three years of limitation. Rest assured, the CEC still being run this way, if not blatantly worse.

Harold Cleveland came on board in 2003. Harold? You’re a full-time law student. Certainly you realize that what you did yesterday, today, or have planned for tomorrow gives you three more years of sweating it out.

Tick….tick….tick…..

Saturday, July 01, 2006

Dale Mallory Issues Press Release

Personal attacks over neighborhood role uncalled for
BY DALE [For sale] MALLORY

Click the link and check it out.

I would first like to object to the by-line, I do not honestly believe that Dale Mallory wrote this press release. Dale doesn’t like to comment to the press. An editorial piece like this gives his handlers the opportunity to give a finely scripted message without having to answer any questions. And Dale Mallory doesn’t like to answer questions.

“I have recently come under fire for my job as a neighborhood development liaison with the Cincinnati Empowerment Zone. However, according to a report issued by Empowerment Zone attorneys and reported in The Enquirer on June 19, I did nothing illegal.”


For the record, the Enquirer just reported what the Empowerment Zone’s own paid attorneys told them. And the Enquirer reported them as stating that Dale “probably” did nothing illegal, not a certified statement that Dale did nothing illegal.

Did Enron attorneys break the Enron scandal? Nope. Are the CEC’s paid attorneys behind the recent demands for investigations and audits by HUD and the City of Cincinnati? Nope.

And why is that? These attorneys have reviewed the documents, why didn’t they call for a full scale audit of the CEC when city officials and HUD representatives did? Could it be because they are paid to be advocates on behalf of the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation?

Dale is basically saying: “My lawyers have investigated and found no evidence of criminal conduct”. Couldn’t that quote be written by every criminal defendant in the country? Wouldn’t it be super if I could get out of jail by hiring a lawyer who said I did nothing wrong?

The West End Community Council voted against CityLink in December. In January, Dale hired a lawyer (Former Hamilton County Democratic Party Treasurer Jim Carroll) to tell people that the vote didn’t count. Dale then claimed that the vote didn’t count because obviously a lawyer said so. Later on, he claimed the impeachment didn't count because his lawyer said so. His case was thrown out of court. Now he is claiming his lawyer says he did nothing illegal. What I am saying is, Dale Mallory's lawyers have a bad tract record. They are batting 0.00% thus far.

Does Dale realize that in every case in our judicial process we have lawyers on both sides? In our system of justice, the arguments and presentation of facts of lawyers on different sides drastically differ. One side says yes, the other side says no. Cases don’t get decided just on what one side paid a lawyer to say. That is only half the bargain. Kenneth Lay’s lawyers argue that he did nothing illegal. Bill Erpenbeck’s lawyers argue that he did nothing illegal. The Cincinnati Empower Corporation’s lawyers argue that nobody has done anything illegal. It is shocking news that paid advocates tend to advocate on behalf of their own clients? I don't think so.

Let’s take a venture into the twilight zone, into another world, and another dimension in an opposite universe. Let’s say that General Electric’s lawyers started issuing press releases that GE broke the law. It might be a great news day for the press, but I will tell you one thing. The very next day they would no longer be paid advocates for General Electric. Would you pay a lawyer that argued that you are a criminal? I wouldn’t. The Cincinnati Empowerment Zone wouldn’t, and Dale Mallory wouldn’t either.

“I worked with the Empowerment Zone for nearly a year, and in that time, I helped get the ball rolling on a lot of projects that will be very beneficial to some of Cincinnati's most impoverished communities.”


Did anyone notice Dale couldn’t even hang his hat on one specific project? And this wasn’t a press conference where reporters could ask questions, this is a press release printed by the Enquirer. The CEC's own invoices show that he spent the bulk of his time on promoting the CityLink Homeless Mall. Crossroads Community Church should be proud by association.

“I also had meetings with the proponents of the controversial Citylink project. As I've already said, I was simply meeting with them in my capacity as a neighborhood development liaison. Citylink was a major development being proposed in an Empowerment Zone neighborhood, and I thought it was important to get the facts on what was being proposed and find out the impact on the community.”


CEC documents reveal that Dale Mallory met with CityLink dozens of times. Some of those meetings were for developing a plan to “overcome community opposition”. He wasn’t a neutral player, he was developing a game plan against his own community. The CEC also paid another consultant, Kathleen Norris to lobby for CityLink’s behalf. Dale wasn’t just trying to get the facts, and neither was the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation. For the record, the CityLink property isn’t even located in the Empowerment Zone. That property would legally never fall under the jurisdiction of the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation.

“There were some people within the West End Community Council who opposed Citylink, but most of the vocal opposition came from developers and people from outside the neighborhood. I suggested that we at least give the Citylink group a chance to come in and make their case.”


Dale Mallory was impeached and removed from office by over 75% of the vote of the West End Community Council. You can find links to news stories about his impeachment on this blog. You can watch news video of his impeachment on this blog. You can view the copy of the impeachment petition on this blog. Dale tells us that “some people within the West End Community Council” were opposed to CityLink. In December, the Enquirer reported the vote on CityLink to be UNANIMOUS. By saying “some people”, Dale actually means “everybody that voted”.

For Dale Mallory, the best part of this press release is simply that it is a press release and not a press conference. Dale Mallory is currently under criminal investigation for cutting checks and closing down the WECC bank account four months after being impeached and removed from office, and two months after he personally and publicly admitted in a court of law that he is not the WECC President. The Enquirer prints Dale's press release for free, but they have not as of yet made a comment on the ongoing criminal investigation.