Rockin on the Roof

CINCINNATI'S ONE AND ONLY ROOFTOP PARTY


LIVE MUSIC BY The Kelly Evans Trio with Dave Faul


• Date: Friday, September 29th • Time: 5:30-10:00 •


• Cost: $20 pre-sale, $25 at the door (includes entry and 5 drink tickets) •
• Location: Sawyer Point Building Rooftop, 720 E. Pete Rose Way (across from the main entrance to Sawyer Point) •
• Free parking in the lot adjacent to the west entrance of the Sawyer Point Building •
• Proceeds benefit the Dayton Street Neighborhood Association •

Click here for pictures from the roof top deck!
Click here for a map

Dress is evening casual, but please remember to bring a coat.
The event will be held rain or shine.
In the case of inclement weather, the event will be held in
the beautiful building atrium

Rockin On The Roof Website

Open Thread

"Cry havoc, and let slip the blogs of war"

The Million Dollar Bodyguard

The CityBeat blog has a post by Kevin Osborne about the cost of Mayor Mallory's bodyguard.

Paying for the Mayor’s Bodyguard

Check it out. City Council is fighting to make the Mayor accountable for the cost of his own body guard in his administrative budget.

CityBeat is reporting that Johnson's salary is $58,000 a year, and the expected overtime is going to reach $30,000 by the end of this year.

I got to wondering about the total cost to the taxpayer if Mayor Mark Mallory decides that he wants a bodyguard for the rest of his term.

I will admit right out that I am ignorant on the particular facts. I have to rely on personal knowledge of accounting and public pensions. Employers have to pay FICA matching taxes (for social security and Medicare) of 7.65% of the wages that they report for every employee. I have made estimates to come up with the total figure.

I don’t know Scotty Johnson. I don’t know the ins and out of the CPD pension package. I also don’t know what his medical premiums actually are. I suspect that the Cincinnati Police have an impressive benefit package. I also suspect that police departments in cities with significant crime rates have to pay a premium on Worker’s compensation, disability and insurance. These are all estimates, and that should be stressed at the outset. That said lets give it a go.

Kabaka Oba was shot in April, well into the second fiscal quarter of the year. CityBeat reports that Scotty Johnson is on pace to amass $30,000 in overtime by the end of the year. Working at a full year at that pace, Mr. Johnson would amass $40,000 in overtime.

So let’s work out the numbers

Year 1 (the partial year):

Salary $43,500 .00 (75% of his regular $58,000 salary, due to the partial year)
Overtime: $30,000.00
FICA Taxes: $ 5,622.75
Health Benefits: $6,750.00
Workers Compensation/ Insurance: $2,000.00

Total for the first partial year: $87,872.75.

After the first year we switch to full year estimates, because Mr. Johnson would be working January through December. His full salary and benefit package would then be on the table.

Year 2

Salary: $58,000.00
Overtime: $40,000.00
FICA Taxes: $7,497.00
Health Benefits: $9,000.00
Workers comp / disability / life insurance: $2,667.67

Total for the second year: $117,163.67*

*Note that the second year includes no cost of living adjustment, which could easily be within the $2,000 range.
Year 3 and Year 4 would mirror year two, with the exception of Cost of Living adjustments that would make the total higher. This is also assuming that Scotty Johnson does not receive a promotion in pay scale, which could also alter the dynamic.

So for four years, here would be the cost of the Mayor’s bodyguard.

Partial Year One: $87,872.75
Year Two: $117,13.67
Year Three: $117,13.67
Year Four: $117,13.67

The total for four years (or 3.75) of a bodyguard? A whopping $439,363.76.

But the great news is that it doesn’t end there. We haven’t even factored in the legacy cost of the pension.

I don’t know the particulars of the CPD pension, but I am aware that similar police departments pay out pensions equal to 60% of the final earnings of the policeman. I read this in an article about New York’s budget crunch. After 9/11, New York policemen racked in the overtime for homeland security detail. Then they started retiring with record pensions. It is going to affect the New York City pension fund for decades to come.

I am assuming that CPD officers have the same deal. If that is correct, $40,000 in overtime is going to boost Scotty Johnson’s pension by the amount of $24,000 a year. In fact, if the ratios are correct, Scotty Johnson will make more in pension pay than he makes in base pay today because of the affect of the overtime.

So if Scotty Johnson is going to make an additional $24,000 a year, let’s assume he lives another 25 years after he retires. The additional cost to the taxpayer under that scenario would be $600,000 in pension legacy costs.

To recap the total:

Four years of a bodyguard: $439,363.76
Pension / Legacy Costs: $600,000.00
Total Cost to the taxpayer for Mayor Mallory’s bodyguard: $1,039,363.76

There you have it, your million dollar bodyguard. Ain’t it grand?

Consider this:

As of the last census the median income for a family in Cincinnati was $37,453.00. The city tax rate is 2.1%, and the median family would pay $786.51 in City Taxes over the course of a year. (Note: That doesn’t count permits, fees, sales taxes, or property taxes).

Given those statistics, it would take 1,322 families in the City of Cincinnati to pay for Mark Mallory’s body guard until the end of his term. That is quite an efficient use of resources, especially in the time of a budget crunch.

The CityBeat blog ends with this:

Since that time no specific death threats against Mallory or council members have been reported.

Johnson’s new assignment comes with perks. He accompanied Mallory over the weekend to attend the Bengals-Steelers football game in Pittsburgh. Johnson joined the mayor and others in watching the game from a private luxury suite at Heinz Field.

It is nice to know we are hiring million dollar bodyguards with no apparent threat. It is also nice to know that we pay for this guy to sit in a luxury box in Pittsburgh. Because we all know that Mayor Mallory couldn’t stand a chance if he had to sit in a luxury box in Pittsburgh without an armed police officer. I suspect that Scotty Johnson also flew to DC for the last Mayor’s conference. I bet we aren’t even including all of the costs associated with the bodyguard in this estimate.

What a sad and pathetic tale. The man with the million dollar body guard is telling you not to worry, your city is safe as can be. What wretched excess. It seems to me that we have more than one Mallory that needs to be impeached.

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

Update by Kevin Osborne via the CityBeat Porkopolis Blog:

Mallory Says His Bodyguard Isn’t a Bodyguard

During his weekly press briefing this afternoon, Mallory said that calling Johnson a bodyguard was a misnomer.

“First off, I don’t have a bodyguard. It’s a security detail assigned to me by the chief of police.”

Asked to explain the difference, Mallory replied that a security detail provides protection for all members of the mayor’s staff, not just him.

Clue me in but I just don't get the semantical argument. Is calling a bodyguard a "security detail" going to change the amount of funds needed from taxpayers? Is the Mayor currently under any threat? Is the Mayor's staff under any threat? Why does our Mayor need a million dollar security detail?

And couldn't the police send over guys in shifts so that they don't have pay for exhorbitant overtime and pension costs? Mallory selected a friend for his own "security detail". As the post describes above this friend will cost the taxpayers over a million dollars if the current situation persists for the Mayor's full term.

Crime

I read some interesting articles on crime in the paper today.

The headline in today’s paper was an article by Dan Klepal: Crime's Outreach Spreads Out.

Klepal's article focused on crime, and how it is on the rise just about everywhere. Some city leaders may claim otherwise, but denial isn't a river in Egypt. Crime is a big problem for the City of Cincinnati.

What is the cost of crime? Here is one price we pay:

Families are leaving. Census data released this summer showed the city lost 6.8 percent of its population from 2000 to 2005, taking Detroit's place as the biggest percentage loser among cities with a population of 100,000 or more.

Ultimately people vote with their feet. It is sad to see that we have eclipsed Detroit, the national model on how to run a bad city. For those of you not up on the utopia that is Detroit, check out Shrinking Detroit has 12,000 abandoned homes. My favorite part of the article is when Stephen Vogel, a Dean at the University of Detroit talks about the exodus of dead people already in their graves.

"Suburbanites are taking the bodies of their relatives out of cemeteries because they're afraid to come to the city," Vogel said.

Vogel states that 400-500 dead people are removed from Detroit cemeteries every year. Thousands of dead people have been relocated. Imagine the cost of that, it is no little affair. You pay to exhume the grave, transport your beloved, and you pay for a new plot and a new burial. It is thousands of dollars. When you take your dead with you, it isn't just leaving a city. It is making a bold and clear statement.

I love this city. The fact that we have eclipsed Detroit as the biggest percentage loser in population scares me. We need to save Cincinnati, and we are at the tipping point right now. Wait any longer and you will never have another chance.

This part of Klepal's article confused me:

But crime isn't the only reason, says Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, a non-profit think tank in Washington, D.C.

Every major city is dealing with a surge in violent crime, Wexler said. Nationwide, violent offenses increased more between 2004 and 2005 than at any time in the past 14 years.

"Cincinnati is not alone," Wexler said. "You're one of a number of cities dealing with the same thing across the country - from Boston to San Francisco, from Orlando to Sacramento."

Wexler and other law enforcement experts cite a number of reasons: a rise in gang activity, more juveniles becoming involved in crime and reduction in police on the streets while cities have to spend more on homeland security.

"We're seeing this impact in many medium to large cities," Wexler says

The article states that crime is not the only reason, but if fails to cite any other reason other than crime. Chuck Wexler didn't give us another reason. Rising gang activity, more juvenile crime, and a reduction in money for policing are all crime/safety related issues. That isn't to say that crime is the only issue that people cite for leaving, just that Klepal and Wexler don't offer any others. People often leave the city because of our failed public schools. Of the people that leave the city, issues of security/safety and education almost always top the list.

Another article in today's paper by Sharon Coolidge tackled issues of crime from the perspective of black judges: Black judges discuss issues

I found most of article agreeable, but one part questionable.

The president of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Attorney Theodore M. Shaw focused on the War on drugs...

The criminal justice system continues to incarcerate millions of African-Americans for non-violent drug offenses, Shaw said.

"We have to find a better way," Shaw said. "The war on drugs has become the war on black people."

I agree completely with barrister Shaw. We do have to find a better way. The drug war has become a war on black people if you look at the statistics. The birth of organized crime in this country was when alcohol was made illegal. It created underground economies and gave violent criminals an avenue to make loads of cash and increase their power and influence. The exact same thing has happened with the war on drugs, and the battleground and the victim is the black community.

We aren’t going to “win” the “War on Drugs”. If anyone thinks that is possible, they need to look at history. Drugs are bad for you, just as Alcohol and Cigarettes are bad for you. Nobody is mistaking these habits for virtues in today’s world. There has to be a better way than incarceration for non-violent/victimless crimes. The industry could be taxed, regulated, and better treated as the health/addiction issue that it is. What we have done is to criminalize abuse and addiction. Dispite wide spread drug abuse across racial and economic lines, the end result has targeted a statistically disproportionate amount of the black population.

The comment I didn’t agree with was made by Saul Green. Saul Green is “the collaborative agreement monitor who tracks reform efforts by the Cincinnati Police Department”

Green said in many cities, including Cincinnati, people must find a better way to respond to violent crime.

"It is often knee-jerk - more police, more arrests, more enforcement," Green said. "All that does is result in more incarceration."

First off, incarceration is not a “knee-jerk” response to violent crime. The history of this nation is pretty consistent with regards to violent crime, regardless of race or economic status. It is distressing to me that the monitor of the Collaborative Agreement thinks that incarceration is not a proper response to violent crime.

If incarceration is not going to solve the problem, does Mr. Green think that not incarcerating people is a better alternative? If Howard Beatty was free to walk the streets today, does anyone think that would be a good idea? Incarcerating Howard Beatty won’t solve all of society’s problems, but it will solve the problem of Howard Beatty. People will continue to die on our streets, but for the next 13 years Howard Beatty isn’t going to gun down anyone in front of City Hall.

If you let violent criminals go free without incarceration, imagine how intimidating life would be for law abiding citizens. The Howard Beattys would get their way, and everyone but the Beattys and the people who couldn’t afford to move would be leaving the neighborhood.

And this situation isn’t unique to America. Every nation locks up violent criminals. If you rape, stab, shoot or murder someone you get incarcerated. You get taken out of society and locked up. Part of the reason is to punish you, but the main part is to keep you from raping, stabbing, shooting or murdering the rest of your neighbors.

Mr. Shaw was addressing non-violent crimes relating to the drug war. On that subject other nations have indeed relaxed laws and treated the problems of drug abuse and addiction as health problems with considerable success. It is something worth looking at. Mr. Green however is giving us a prescription for anarchy. I am all for attacking the root causes of violent crime, like failed government schools or lack of economic opportunity. I am not for treating rapists and killers like victims.

Empowerment Corp Director Gets 13 Years for Manslaughter

Howard Beatty was appointed to the board of directors of the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation by Dale B. Mallory.





Beatty gets 13-year sentence

“I bought into this system hook, line and sinker,” said Ted Bailey, Oba’s brother. “I never thought this blind lady of justice would tilt her scales to the criminal.”

Tough day for Ted. His brother was gunned down in cold blood. It was premeditated. Beatty knew that Kabaka would be at City Hall as he always was. He also knew he would probably be unarmed because of City Hall security. Beatty got off easy. "YEEE HAWWW".

At one point during the trial, Lawson said of Oba: “No one’s advocating street justice, but the man got what he asked for.”

I must have missed where Kabaka asked to get gunned down by a functionally illiterate dishwasher.

Dale Mallory's Felony Defense

The West End Community Council inquired about the status of their criminal complaint against Dale B. Mallory. They were told that an investigation into Dale Mallory’s check cashing scandal is currently ongoing.

I am currently working on a post about Dale Mallory's defense for his obvious felony.

It involves Dale Mallory convincing the Cincinnati Police Department that the West End Community Council authorized him to shut down and close down the WECC bank account and disburse all known funds, a full three months after being removed from office.

I have to wonder how many times community councils have ever voted to shutter their bank accounts. I would guess that every community council recognized by the City has an active bank account. I would highly doubt that any of them have ever voted to close down the bank account on a whim.

The West End Community was the subject of controversy from October until March. Dale's story is that amid all that swirling controversy, the only thing that the council had agreed to vote on decisively is to have him shut down the account and disburse all the funds, three months after being removed from office.

What an unbelievable tale. I am trying to find the right words as we speak. It is a work in progress.

A quiet reshuffling of the CEC Board

What a difference a few days make. Even though the CEC board refuses to conduct public meetings, that doesn’t mean that they aren’t undergoing changes.

Compare the recent Google cache with the current website.


George “Junebug” Beatty is now nowhere to be found. He was the Chair of the E-Fund program. He was evidently doing a bang up job, because the Enquirer reported that over 4 out of 5 loans are behind on payments.

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.

He also used to be listed as:

George Beatty, Junebug’s Steakhouse, Business/Employer Group Representative

Without even holding a public meeting, that is no longer an operative statement. JuneBug’s Steakhouse is now closed, and George Beatty is nowhere to be found on the CEC board.

George Beatty was appointed to the board by Dale B. Mallory.
Dale worked to get three members on the CEC board, George Beatty, Howard Beatty, and Len Garrett. The board then awarded a consulting contract to Dale in which he reported directly to Len Garrett according to an Enquirer report. It was Dale Mallory’s only stable employment in the last decade. By an amazing coincidence, these four all have a history with Genesis Redevelopment.

George “Junebug” Beatty is not the only recent deletion from the CEC board. His brother was taken off the board after gunning down activist Kabaka Oba in front of City Hall in cold blood.
Howard was a dishwasher at Junebug’s restaurant. Howard Beatty was Chair of the committee of Economic and Workforce development at the Cincinnati Empowerment Corp.

Consider the findings of the last City Manager’s report on the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporations expenditures, which found that the lion’s share of program funding went to job training. How a functionally illiterate dishwasher got to head committee that oversaw the majority of the program funding is beyond me.

At the height of their power Dale’s appointees were Chairman of the Board of Directors (Garrett), head of the corrupt E-Fund loan program (Junebug), and head of Economic & Workforce Development (Howie the hitman). Today both Beattys are gone, and Garrett has stepped down from his Chairmanship. Lamont Taylor, another member of the board resigned months ago after calling for Len Garrett’s resignation in an unsuccessful coup attempt. It was shortly after that that Len Garrett relinquished the Chair.

It is my belief that these three people exerted considerable control over the board and the entire organization.

In June funding for the Cincinnati Empowerment Corp. was suspended pending a full audit called for by members of City Council. In August Mayor Mallory appointed a new City Manager. A week later funding to the CEC was reinstated. To date no auditor has been selected to investigate the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation. Even though he was impeached and removed from his own community council, Dale Mallory is running for the State House in the 32nd district. The three month delay in the selection of the auditor seals the deal. At this point no audit will start and conclude before the Mayor's brother goes on the ballot. Those dirty little secrets are destined to remain dirty little secrets when the voting public goes to the ballot.

Who is Marcus Jenkins?

Our good friend Carstairs has done a wonderful muckraking job on Theotis and Thaddeus. Their theft of countless EZ dollars needed to be seen by all and our ace Carstairs met the challenge.

Carstairs' last comment was "Who's next?" My top of mind thought was "Marcus Jenkins".

Who is Marcus Jenkins? and why is he in need of a Carstairs muckover?

Key Marcus factoids:

1)- Marcus was co-plaintiff on D4$'s 2 failed frivolous lawsuits. One of these frivolous lawsuits targeted the CPD, the Sherriff, the WECC, the DSNA, and many West End residents.

2)- Marcus LIED when he claimed he lived at 925 Dayton Street. At the time, 925 Dayton was a boarded up dump owned by Dale Mallory. The 925 Dayton saga was well documented on this blog in prior months. This blog showed Jenkins' real home, but I was unable to find it today on the auditor's site. (update: found his real residence to the left)

3)- Markus was doing "asset mapping" work with Dale Mallory. This "work" was well documented in the many Dale invoices to the EZ.

4)- Marcus attended the "Vibrant Neighborhood" meetings as a CityLink supporter. Marcus' address card showed he DID NOT LIVE IN THE WEST END!

Laketa Cole noted that the pro-CityLink folks lived in the burbs. Ms. Cole noted that the many anti-CityLink folks had West End and OTR addresses.

Marcus also said an Asian lady "Didn't LOOK like she came from the West End". Marcus was doing RACIAL PROFILING.........in his mind, you must be a poor African American to have the right to live in the inner city.

5)-Marcus Jenkins "inner City Development: Project consultants" attended the 6/5/06 EZ board meeting. He was taking plate numbers in the parking lot for the Sept. cancelled meeting.

6)- How much has the EZ paid Marcus? How much will they pay him? What is their output? Did the Dale cabal pay him off for his THUG work?

Truth Squad......do your stuff. Show the world what a crook Marcus is. Who is Marcus Jenkins?

Yet another cog in the Mallory/Beatty mafia.

Who Is Thaddeus Dawson?

As I read this blog, I see good old Ozie Davis is handing the Avondale EZ board seat to someone new.

What does that have to do with Thaddeus Dawson you might ask?

Plenty.

Thaddeus Dawson owes the EZ a ton of money.

Thaddeus Dawson is one of the 5 members of the zoning appeal board that heard the CityLink case in February.

Thaddeus Dawson was one of only 2 that took the CityLink side. Thaddeus Dawson was Avondale Community Council President.

Thaddeus Dawson pulled a "D4S"....he appointed Ozie Davis to the EZ Board without approval of the community council. Ozie was the personal choice of Junebug and Cleveland.

Thaddeus is in hock to the EZ and selects who Junebug tells him to. Thaddeus votes his zoning vote the way Cleveland and Junebug tell him to. Thaddeus should have recused himself from that zoning decision.

I think the FBI and HUD might be interested in the RICO implications of this racket that Thaddeus, Junebug, Cleveland, Ozie and CityLink are part of.

Who is Thaddeus Dawson?

Just one of the many cogs in the Mallory/Beatty Mafia.

The Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation Cancels another Meeting

For the third straight time, the CEC has cancelled a board meeting.

Back on July 10th, The CEC decided to shut down a meeting after they realized that several members of the community had come forward to ask questions that were critical of the actions of the Empowerment Corp.

How was that meeting shut down? They didn’t present or approve any minutes from the previous meeting. They decided they didn’t have to follow any preset agenda. They didn’t have a CFO or a CEO report. They didn’t talk about board appointments, nor did they have an open forum or discussion. Without any of those elements, what they had cannot be called a meeting. The July meeting was effectively cancelled.

They let people speak and ask questions, but they refused to answer any questions. They told people that the August meeting was also cancelled, but that all of their questions would be answered in September. Today they cancelled that meeting to.

Summary of the last three months of CEC board meetings:

July: Abandoned once it became apparent that they had trouble on their hands by EZ residents asking tough questions. No answers to questions were given, and no formal board meeting took place. The meeting was effectively cancelled.

August: CEC cancelled August meeting.

September: Late today Cincinnati Empowerment Corp. CEO Harold Cleveland cancelled the third straight meeting.

Tonight was the night the CEC promised to answer all the questions that they had refused to comment on in July. The CEC would prefer to answer the questions by attacking the people who are asking the questions: Empowerment agency assails critics

Take these curious snippets from two July Enquirer articles:

July 19th: Agency faces inquiry:

Empowerment Corp. CEO Harold Cleveland said he has answered inquiries from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development but was unaware of any criminal investigation.

"We welcome any inquiry and would cooperate fully in any request," he said. But 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.

The Empowerment Corp. has begun to answer some of the allegations publicly, however. Last week, it jettisoned its old law firm, Dinsmore & Shohl, which had advised a strict "no comment" policy, and hired Taft Stettinius & Hollister.

The City refused public records requests, as did the CEC (all the while boasting of “transparency”).

July 20th:

Cleveland said the board is making a new effort to be transparent - and that the hiring of Seitz is part of that effort. The agency's previous law firm, Dinsmore & Shohl, refused to comment publicly and advised the board to do the same.

Seitz said the Empowerment Corp. now realizes its decision not to address the allegations directly made its problems worse. "I think it's been a deer-in-the-headlights situation. When in doubt, they clam up."

So in July, the Empowerment Corporation decided to be more “transparent”. What did that decision entail?

1) Publicly attacking people who asked questions.
2) Canceling the August CEC Board Meeting
3) Canceling the September Board Meeting.
4) Refusing to respond to requests for public records.
5) “Quietly” work through back channels to restore CEC funding.

The funny thing is that their actions are transparent, because it is pretty fucking apparent they are hiding something.

In the CEC dictionary, pledging “transparency” means personally attacking critics, shutting down public meetings, and hiring a sleazebag Republican politician/lawyer to work through back channels to “quietly” secure the release of CEC funding.

Tonight’s meeting comes as no surprise my friends. Bill Seitz got their funding back. The City isn’t asking any questions. All they care about is the money train. It is all about the greenbacks. Now that the funding is in place, they could give a damn about your questions.

The people that take this type of behavior without protest deserve exactly the type of government malfeasance that they get.

Alas, yet again another day in paradise.

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

CEC Archive

The following is the Impeach Mallory Blog (IMB) archive for the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation. The IMB started an investigation into the Empowerment Corporation in early April after a few related incidents.

In April, Dale Mallory revealed on his ethical filing that he worked for the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation. At the same time this news broke, the City Hall Hitman, (functional illiterate dishwasher Howard Beatty) gunned down Kabaka Oba at City Hall. It came to light that Hitman Howard was on the board of Directors of the multi-million dollar CEC, and that Dale Mallory had appointed him. Then the dam broke wide open.


Mayor Mallory Halts Another Investigation Most recent, September
Empowerment Corp. Director is Guilty Killer
Dale's Appointments to the CEC Board
CEC Budget
CEC Budget Put In Perspective
Empowerment Zone Data - A report from the City Manager
Is Harold Cleveland in Law School?
Empowerment agency assails critics
Mallory's agency faces probe
Questions Linger Over Empowerment Corporation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation
CEC Board of Directors Meeting
Mallory Center Not in Zone
More Self Dealings?
Ever Wonder Why?
Dale Mallory's response to EZ allegations
Empowerment Corp. debtor had business ties to board
Michael Cervay calls for independent auditor to look at the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation
City To Audit Cincinnati Empowerment Corp
Agency director's purchase questioned
The Meltdown Continues At The Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation
Enquirer Editorial on Mallory' s "ethical lapse"
Mallory's bills 'troubling'
Harold Cleveland buys Junebug's building
Front Page News Above the Fold: Mallory A Paid Shill For CityLink
The Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation Responds
Coverup at the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation
Meltdown at The Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation
Mallory Appointed Killer to Board of Directors
Mallory Campaign Taking On Water
Howard Beatty Press Release
Dale Mallory's Ethical Filing
Kabaka Oba Shot: Beatty, Lawson, and the Mallory Cabal - April, The begining of the End for the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation

Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation Audit

The last City Manager released a report concerning the finances of the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation. You can view that report and my take on it here. Check it out, because the last City Manager had more detail than this routine audit.

When I looked at the David Rager’s report, I was astounded that 59% of the money allocated to the CEC never made it out of Harold Cleveland’s office. Three out of every five dollars went to pay administrative expenses. It was outrageous.

Well tonight I got an email attachment of the recently released audit of the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation for year ending September 30, 2005 (their fiscal year end).
Sorry for the poor quality image scan (nothing I can do to make that clear).


The results were even worse than I expected. When I got a looked at the Statement of Activities and Changes in Net Assets, one thing caught my eye.

Expenses:

Program Expenses: $520,208, 32%
Management & General: $1,084,891 68%
Total Expenses: $1,605,099

It turns out that 68% of the funds that are allocated by HUD to the Cincinnati Empowerment Zone went to administrative expenses. They just paid a million dollars in administration costs to administrate a program that had a budget of half a million dollars.

Over two dollars out of every three dollars given to the CEC were spent on administrative expenses for the year.

If that isn’t enough to shut down the program, I am not sure what is.

You don’t have to look for fraud or criminal activity at this point. Those numbers spell incompetence and fiscal irresponsibility.

The sad thing is that no one is accountable. Who do you complain to? Who has the balls to try and shut this baby down? Who is going to fight that fight?

The funding for the Cincinnati Empowerment Zone comes from the Federal Government, but the oversight for those funds lies directly with the City of Cincinnati. The city approves all financial disbursements. That is how they were able to shut the money down in the first place. In that sense, this isn’t a federal program but a local one. Those funds are considered Federal “flow through” funds. The Feds may pay the bill, but the burden of custodianship is on our City. The last HUD audit was critical of the city’s oversight. What a surprise.

Do you know what our City did when they saw these outrageous numbers? One would think that people would be plenty pissed off, but in fact their reaction was just the opposite.

Upon reading these numbers, the new City Manager (appointed by Mallory) just restored full funding to the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation.

Another day in paradise.

CityLink's Michael Armand

Let’s go back to an article written on December 20th, 2005. It was written right before the West End Community Council voted against the CityLink mall for the homeless, drug addicts, and ex cons.

West End Can’t Stop Mall

“Michael Armand of Over-the-Rhine, who is in the Exodus program now, also believes a one-stop center would help addicts like himself. And he's puzzled by the opposition from West End residents.

"When you drive through the West End you see a lot of bad elements now. You see evidence that it is a high crime area. A substantial one-stop service center could only help the image of the community," Armand said.

Because the area is zoned for manufacturing and multiple use housing, CityLink will also be able to provide about 100 beds.

[Citylink’s Rodger] Howell estimates CityLink will serve 35,000 to 40,000 people a year.

Michael Armand was puzzled by the opposition. The CityLink homeless mall was going to help the image of our community.

That takes us to our “Where are they now?” Segment….

According to courtclerk.org, Michael Armand has been arrested for theft and drugs since the article was written. CityLink highlighted Mr. Armand and the Exodus program of City Gospel Mission in the article. And the one person they highlighted that was undergoing treatment ending up arrested for trying to take personal property and for drugs. A warrant is currently out for Mr. Armand.

It is true that you can’t extrapolate fairly when the data set consists of one relapsed drug addict. That said it makes you wonder how many of the thousands of people CityLink hoped to serve would relapse into recidivistic and self destructive behavior. If these poor souls didn’t have money to feed their addiction, what would the effect been on personal property crimes in the surrounding neighborhood?

I am all for people being saved. What I am not for is the naivety of suburban mega churches who think that they can save everyone without taking a reasonable look at the possible consequences. Either they are so foolish that they don’t understand the statistical reality of relapse or recidivism, or they just don’t care about the neighborhood, schools and businesses surrounding the area where they wished to concentrated thousands of these people.

Also in the article:

"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.

After that article came out, Dale Mallory denied being a CityLink supporter and complained about the press coverage. Months later public records requests of Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation documents revealed that Dale Mallory was paid to promote CityLink. He was paid to meet with CityLink’s Mark Stecher and devise plans to overcome community opposition.

One plan to thwart his neighbor’s opposition was to not let the community vote on CityLink. Dale Mallory refused to take a motion on CityLink for three straight WECC meetings, and he even presented a lawyer in the January meeting to claim that the vote opposing CityLink was invalid.

Another plan hatched by Dale Mallory and Mark Stecher was to hold a special West End Community Meeting. That meeting was hosted by Dale Mallory, (paid CityLink promoter). It was moderated by Lincoln Ware, who was pro CityLink. The speakers were all from CityLink. And though the location of the meeting was at the Lincoln Center in the West End, the crowd of hundreds was directed in by Brian Tome of Crossroads Community Church and told to cheer for CityLink.

WHO DEY?

click picture to enlarge

Bring on Cleveland. Professional football failed there once, and the original Browns are gone forever. The fake new Browns are proving the point that Cleveland doesn't deserve professional football.

Be on the lookout for Browns fans trying to invade the Jungle. You can usually spot them by their lack of personal hygiene. Also be on the lookout for Harold Cleveland. You can usually spot him by the fact that 60% of the federal funds allocated to his organization never make it out of his office.

Down with Cleveland!

Who is a big fan of two faced Mayor Mallory? Not Leslie Ghiz.

A couple of posts on the blogosphere today about Mayor Mallory:

The CityBeat Porkopolis blog:

Tardiness Starts at the Top

Apparently the Mayor’s philosophy is ‘Do as I say, not as I do’. The Mayor is writing memos imploring people to be punctual, and yet he reports over half an hour late to a meeting the very same day he wrote the memo.

It is the latest instance where the rules don’t apply to Mayor Mallory.

An article on crime was published in today’s Enquirer.

Streicher attended a violent-crime seminar in Washington last week with Mallory. He said when the mayors and police chiefs from other metropolitan areas heard about the city's homicide rate, they laughed.

"We really don't even have an issue," compared to other cities, he said.

I hope that Mallory had a good laugh. We have nothing to worry about. Nothing to see here, move along.

One thing that strikes me is; why is it that Mallory has a bodyguard if everyone is 'safe'? How two faced is it to do away with all City Hall security and then hire a bodyguard for your own private security? The Mayor now has a personal driver. But it isn't just any personal driver; the Mayor's need for a playmate has taken a veteran cop off the beat.

Phil Bates just got gunned down right in front of his beautiful home in North Avondale. His wife was upstairs asleep while he bled to death on the front porch. Three kids and all, lives torn apart. He had just come from a ceremony for another murder victim. A woman who attended his vigil then got robbed at gunpoint and luckily escaped the same fate. But that doesn't matter, we are safe. If you think otherwise it is worthy of a good laugh. And Nero fiddled while Rome burned...

I hope the Mayor got a good laugh in DC. He doesn't have to worry about safety. They bulletproofed City Hall chambers and they gave him a body guard. And it isn't like he actually lives in the West End, that is just for photo ops. Nobody in the press ever calls him on that lie. The man is a two faced son of a bitch and he is doing nothing for this city.

And Nate will tell you that David Pepper paid me to write that. That isn't true. I don't mind Nate saying it, but I would like it more if Pepper started sending some checks. Dave, if you read the blog I would like some cash to bullet proof my house. I would also like to have a full time police bodyguard, and an expense account where I can jet off to DC and laugh my troubles away. Hook a brother up!

Speaking of Pepper, remember when he got abducted at gunpoint in Mt. Adams? Anyone who goes through that doesn't think that the crime wave is mere laughable media hysteria. And the truth is the Mayor doesn't think so either, that is why he had council chambers bullet-proofed. That is why he has a body guard. And that is why he was ducking under his desk at City Hall when he heard the shots and the YEEEEE HAAWWWWW! from the City Hall hitman / functional illiterate dishwasher Howard Beatty. Mallory may tell you that you are safe. At the same time he might piss on your leg and tell you it is raining.

Leslie Ghiz doesn't trust him according to the Dean:

Leslie Ghiz Does Not Trust Mallory

Click the link and read the article.

“Given the behavior and secrecy of the mayor since he took over at council, I am not inclined to give him any more power to ‘legally’ have meetings behind closed doors,” explains Ghiz. “It’s that simple.”

Sexy Leslie isn't against executive sessions on principal, she is actually an advocate. She doesn't want to get behind closed doors with Mark Mallory. I have sources that tell me she has nothing to worry about in that regard.

The Dean also broke the news about how the Mayor left Jeff Berding out to dry on the whole affair. Berding is a good guy in my opinion, and he has certainly tried to work with the Mayor to move the city forward. If Mallory set him up to it and then shot him down with political posturing he may have just lost his closest ally. I don't think the Dean is making it up. It think it could be a bad situation for our two faced Mayor.

People have been losing trust and confidence in Mallory for months. His duplicitous nature has been exposed. He will say one thing and do another. He even lies about where he lives. He likes back room deals that avoid the spotlight.

Far be it from me not to mention the Mayor's role in squashing two potentially volatile investigations into the Mallory family's connections to criminal activity.

It took a week before anyone knew that the City had resumed funding of the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation. After freezing the funds in June and calling for a thorough investigation, the City hasn't even selected an auditor. By the time that they do, the findings won't be due until well after the Mayor's brother, Dale Mallory is on the ballot. Justice delayed is justice denied.

And don't forget Dale Mallory's forgotten felony investigation. That was pushed aside by the CPD by an 'appearance of a conflict of interest' (WTF?!?!) of Mark covering up for his big brother.

>


Dale Mallory walked into the bank three months after being impeached and removed from office. He cleaned out and closed down the WECC bank account, and if you read the check you will notice it was written to CASH. Not the YMCA. Not to Save the Children. Freaking Cash. He cashed out the bank account and Dale took the proceeds home. Two weeks later he gave some of the money to the YMCA. When the WECC complained, nobody listened.

It has now been 112 days since Dale Mallory cleaned out and closed down the community's bank account. Despite being given copies of the checks, no law enforcement agency to date has initiated an investigation. I am sure it will happen any day now.

The West End Community Council is going to ask about the status of their complaint concerning the criminally fraudulent behavior of Dale Mallory. It is about time we got an update. I wonder what they are going to say now.

We have two sets of rules in the Mallory regime. One rule for the "safe masses" that shouldn't question or listen to the hysterical media, and another rule for the Mallorys: The Mallory’s rule.

I might as well throw my own little piece out there for the hungry herd to chew on.

I had a reliable source tell me that the reason Mark Mallory relaxed security at City Hall was because of the sign in sheets. He didn't want it on the record that known gangsta George "Junebug" Beatty was visiting him on a regular basis. I don't have multiple sources on that, and I have no way of confirming it. But the guy who told me is rock solid. It wouldn't surprise me. I just wonder who is giving the orders. It would also tie in the Kabaka assassination with why now the mayor would fear for his life. It fits quite nicely in that respect. If Mallory is that involved with Junebug, he has good reason to want a bodyguard. At first I thought it was ridiculous to ban people from the upper deck of City Hall for fear of Snipers and for bullet proofing the chambers.

If I was up to neck deep in this shit, I would be doing the same thing. The title to the HNIC thread "Is this why the Mayor needs a bodyguard" seems pretty accurate with that added dash. That info gives one pause and a change of perspective.

Open Thread

Check out a couple of thread on the HNIC board, which has been brought to attention by a few posters...

Kabaka Oba Murdered

Later in that thread our good friend Nate chimes in, along with his brother. I don't think that they hold Nate in high regard, nor do they the Lawdog or the BCF (Beatty Crime Family). They also talk about the EZ.

Is This Why Mallory Needs A Bodyguard?

This thread talks about the EZ extensively, and it also comments on this blog.

Speaking of the Beatty Crime family, anybody know why Junebugs has been closed?

Mayor Mallory Halts Another Investigation

Let us look at the anatomy of a defunct investigation:

On June 28th, City Council members Birding and Bortz called for an audit of the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation.

June 28th: From the Enquirer

"There have been enough allegations now of mismanagement of funds, from a number of different sources, to suggest that a more complete review is required or responsible," said Councilman Chris Bortz, a Charterite who chairs the Economic Development Committee.

Bortz, joined by Democrat Jeff Berding, has proposed that the city freeze funding to the Empowerment Corp. until the audit is completed.

June 28th: From the Business Courier

The city of Cincinnati's director of community development and planning wants to hire an outside auditor to examine the finances of the Cincinnati Empowerment Corp.

This, after two recent controversies over potential conflicts of interest among the agency's board members, employees and consultants.

"I see a lot of smoke and I want to make sure how much fire there is," said Michael Cervay, who advocated the hiring of an independent auditor during a June 28 meeting with city finance and legal officials.

The meeting was held in response to a June 7 memo by city council members Chris Bortz and Jeff Berding. They asked interim City Manager Dave Rager to freeze "all reimbursements and administrative drawdowns" to the federally funded agency until the city can conduct a "full audit" of "potentially inappropriate expenditures."

Cervay said a decision will be made by the end of this week on whether to conduct an audit and whether to freeze the agency's funding. He would like to take proposals from accounting firms that can review the agency's spending in detail.

"Enough questions have been asked that I have not been able to answer that I feel I need the information in order to be assured that no irregularities exist," Cervay said.

June 29th: Greg Korte reported that the CEC’s funds had indeed been frozen.

Part of that article is of interest:

The vice chairman of the Empowerment Corp. board, Robert O'Neal, told City Council on Wednesday that the city's action was premature.

"I'm saying there are people here to answer any questions. Do not take what's being reported in the paper. We've had three financial audits," he said. "We're willing to work for the community and do the work we are supposed to do."

Afterward, O'Neal declined to answer questions from The Enquirer. "I only talk about what the board tells me to talk about," he said.

While at City Hall, Empowerment Corp. officials hand-delivered two audits - for years 2003 and 2004 - that were one and two years late. The 2005 audit is due Friday.

Note that the routine annual audit of the CEC was due the very next day. Auditors take months to do their work. The work on this audit had obviously been completed months earlier.

I put the original quotes up here in context with links so that you can read them and check out the original source documents. Now that is done, let’s talk about what happened.

Reset

Let’s go back to the beginning of the City’s investigation into the Cincinnati Empowerment Zone. At the end of June, Council Members and the City Administration were calling for a freezing of funds pending a “more complete review”. Members of City Council called on interim City Manager Dave Rager to conduct a “full audit of potentially inappropriate expenditures”

Michael Cervay talked about seeing smoke and finding the fire. "Enough questions have been asked that I have not been able to answer that I feel I need the information in order to be assured that no irregularities exist," Cervay said. From his words, Michael Cervay was going to get to the bottom of the investigation, and the city was going to hire an independent auditor to look into the allegations. He was even going to solicit bids from auditors to help investigate.

That was the original goal, but that wasn’t what happened. Something happened along the way that was of major consequence…

August 14th: Milton Dohoney Jr was sworn into office as the new City Manager. He was hand picked by Mayor Mark Mallory without any input from council in the selection process.

August 23rd: Barely a week after taking the job, the City of Cincinnati resumed payments to the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation.

On August 23rd, the resumption of funding happened “quietly”.

“The city of Cincinnati will resume payments to its inner-city development agency following a two-month freeze to look into allegations of conflicts of interest.

The action came quietly Aug. 23; one week after the Cincinnati Empowerment Corp. delivered its 2005 audit to the city. The audit, routine for all federally funded programs, was conducted by Clark Schaefer, Hackett & Co.”

In an article a day later Korte ">writes:

"The city of Cincinnati freed up federal funds to the agency last week after the Empowerment Corp. submitted three overdue audit reports.”

What does that mean?

I will tell you what it doesn’t mean. It doesn’t mean that the City investigated the Cincinnati Empowerment Zone for conflicts of interest, self dealing, or fraud. If the CEC was audited under the auspices of City Hall administration for fraud the auditors would have made a finding one way or the other. That finding would have been noted in the article. This was a routine audit for year ending 2005.

What just happened?

The Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation had their funding frozen by the City of Cincinnati pending an investigation into allegations of fraud & conflict of interest in June. That investigation never happened.

The Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation gets audited every year. As Korte stated, such audits are routine for all federally funded programs. This appears to be a routine audit, which is much different than an investigative audit concerning fraud or looking into allegations of conflicts of interests.

As in the Nixon administration, some past versions of the truth are “no longer operative” statements. The current version comes from a technical interpretation of the law. The Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation had not delivered its yearly audit for the year ending 2005 to the City, and the City suspended funding for non compliance. The CEC then delivered the audit, and the City Administration resumed funding because they are now in compliance. “In Compliance” only means that they delivered a routine audit, which they have every year.

Did the city pay an independent auditor to conduct a more complete review?

No. The audit that was presented to the city was done months before City Council or Michael Cervay even raised questions. It is a routine audit. The auditors were chosen by the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation. Remember when I warned you to look closely at the auditor selection process? In the end it turns out that the auditor was both selected and paid for by the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation.

Did Michael Cervay get to the bottom of this?

No evidence suggests that Michael Cervay conducted any investigation. What he did do was accept a routine audit from people that were selected and paid for by the CEC. In his defense, sources at City Hall tell me that he had no choice in the matter. His orders came from above. The new City Manager, appointed solely by Mayor Mallory made that call. Chris Bortz was one of the council members initially calling for the investigation. A quote from him tells the tale:

Councilman Chris Bortz, a Charterite who is chairman of the Economic Development Committee, had suggested the funding freeze with Democrat Jeff Berding. He said Thursday that releasing the money was "entirely within the purview" of City Manager Milton Dohoney Jr. and his community development director, Michael Cervay.

The City Administration changed the scope of the investigation, and councilman Bortz is powerless to do anything about it.

Bortz called for an investigation and a complete audit, and he wasn’t alone. But shutting down that investigation and releasing the funds to the CEC is “within the purview” of City Manager Milton Dohoney, and he alone.

Mayor Mallory Halts Another Investigation

Mayor Mallory is making a habit of stopping investigations that might be sensitive to the Mallory clan. You can read about his interference in a police investigation here, and view his brother Dale’s investigation timeline here.

An eerie similarity to both situations exists. Dale Mallory closed down the WECC bank account months after being impeached and removed from office. The police were even given copies of the checks. Both his impeachment and his crime were covered extensively in the press. Likewise, the facts of the CEC were covered in the press. Both cases had public outcry. Both cases got citywide attention. And both cases were stopped before anyone ever began an investigation. The CEC is back to full funding of your tax dollars and nobody can do anything about it.

What does it matter?

Let me try to impress upon you the gravity of the situation.

The Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation has been funded tens of millions of dollars. That money has been controlled by a cabal of interconnected predators. Much of this info has just recently come to light. They loan money to insiders and friends and those people never pay it back. 84% of their loans are “non performing”, which in English means that people aren’t paying them and they have gone belly up.

They give money (big money) to projects that are located outside of the physical boundaries of the Empowerment Zone, like the CityLink homeless mall or the Mallory Center. This money is given because of inside connections, and it is illegal to disburse those funds to projects outside the zone.

In a convoluted tale, the CEO of the Empowerment Corp just bought a property that made him a landlord to Junebug, who is a board member that has served longer than any other on the CEC board. Junebug is Harold Cleveland’s boss, but Harold Cleveland is Junebug’s landlord. Cleveland could raise or lower the rent on Junebug, and Junebug could vote to raise the pay or fire Cleveland. As an added caveat, Cleveland bought the property from a person that received a quarter of a million dollar loan from the CEC. And that loan is currently “non performing”. In English, non performing CEC loans = free money for your cronies at the expense of the community and the taxpayer.

Even the lawyers for the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation found that Dale Mallory’s relationship with CEC board as “Troubling”.

Dale Mallory appointed three members (Junebug, Garrett, and Howard Beatty) to the Empowerment Zone board of directors when he was President of the West End Community Council (without ever clearing it with the members). One of those people was Howard Beatty. Howard Beatty was a functional illiterate dishwasher at Junebug’s restaurant. His most recent claim to fame was gunning down Kabaka Oba in front of City Hall. The people Dale appointed hired him as a consultant who reported directly to them.

Junebug’s wife even works with the zone. The self dealing from the Genesis days has never stopped, it only gets bigger. The people repeatedly waste critical resources earmarked from legitimate urban development.

Don’t overlook the fact that the previous City Manager released a report stating that 60% of the funds allocated to the Empowerment Zone never make it out of Harold Cleveland’s office. You would think a fraud investigation would start right there.

Given all these facts, people called for an investigation. Guess what? Nothing happened. Another day in paradise.

The Missing Link

If you google CityLink you might not get the whole story.

The Missing Articles

CityLink is an organization that planned a homeless mall unprecedented in size and scope in the history of our region, right across the street from three schools and a playground.

When the CityLink debacle first erupted, it was a huge controversy. I am personally against CityLink. People against CityLink came together to form a site at www.notocitylink.com. Though I supported the goals of that site and have no problem linking to it, I was not a part of that effort.

Yesterday I got an email from a reader that told me that I had links that were out of date. When I checked the links, indeed this was the case. I checked the NoToCityLink.Com media database, and they have false links too. The articles have disappeared, just in time for election season. This is a recent development.

I can research Genesis Redevelopment and read articles from six years ago, but going back less than a year in the current controversy gives you articles that are lost without a trace from the Cincinnati Enquirer. You can try yourself, the links that once worked now don’t. And even the links from the Google search engine show the articles have been removed from public consumption.

I don't know why or how this happened but it makes me curious, it is an honest question. Now that I have slept on the matter and talked about it with friends, it seems highly unlikely that this was done deliberately.

Click these links:

CityLink narrowly rejected (2006-02-14)
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060214/NEWS01/602140354/1077

Zoning board scuttles CityLink plan (2006-02-13)
http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060213/NEWS01/302130002

Zoning board gets CityLink (2006-02-13)
http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060213/NEWS01/602130326

Citylink Disregards Potential Harm (2006-02-11)
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060211/EDIT0202/602110342/-1/all

City council votes 8-1 against CityLink (2006-02-08)
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060208/NEWS01/60208006/-1/all

CityLink cheered at forum (2006-02-09)
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060209/NEWS01/602090370/1056

5 on Council oppose CityLink (2006-02-08)
http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060208/NEWS01/602080363/1056/CINCI

Impeachment petition roils West End (2006-01-28)
http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060128/NEWS01/601280375/1056/CINCI

CityLink patronizing approach insulting (2006-01-13)
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060113/EDIT02/601130342/-1/all

CityLink worthy of proving its value (2006-01-10)
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060110/EDIT02/601100307

CityLink must answer tough questions (2005-12-31)
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051231/EDIT02/512310353/-1/all

Community votes against center (2005-12-21)
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051221/NEWS01/512210359/1056

West End can't stop mall (2005-12-20)
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051220/NEWS01/512200335

Who is CityLink? (2005-12-20)
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051220/CINCI/312200011/-1/all

Letters to the editor (2005-12-14)
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051214/EDIT0202/512140309/-1/all

West End delays vote on center (2005-11-16)
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051116/NEWS01/511160405/1056/news01

Center in West End opposed (2005-11-15)
http://http//news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051115/NEWS01/511150376/1056

I would like it if the Enquirer found a way to put these relevant articles back up on their website.

CityLink is still filing an appeal as we speak in Hamilton County Court. This case is not over and done with by any means. It is an ongoing concern to the people of my community.

Dale Mallory is running for political office. Some of these articles sketch out his behavior during critical periods. He was quoted in some of them when he was still President of the West End Community Council (and at the same time being paid to promote CityLink by the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation).

I think that the Enquier did a great job covering the story, and I think they should preserve the coverage since the work is still relevant. I hope that they will do this.

**This post has been updated. I wrote it late Friday night, and my judgement may have been impared by libations. It wasn't my fault though, I was overserved. I originally thought that these dead links may have been motivated by some conspiracy. That doesn't make sense to me now, and I don't believe it. It was probably an automated process to conserve scarce resources.

I also intend on editing the timestamp on this article to move it off the top of the page and out of the headline. I will probably move it three or four posts downward. Having an automated bot scrub a story really isn't a sexy headline or topic for discussion.

For those that missed Cunningham

A Truth Squad contributor has informed us that several callers to Bill Cunningham's show on 8/24/6 had some interesting perspectives on the Howard Beatty story.
A caller named "Tom" told his story of the Beatty threats to kill West Enders.
Another caller from Avondale claims Howard was the patsy behind the Mallory Mafia plot to kill Kabaka. The General was about to spill the beans on EZ corruption and the Mallory/Beatty complicity. I listened to the show....it's an eye opener. The TS message is below:
" Go to the WLW podcast page, scroll down to Bill Cunningham 1st hour with Joe Deters. Move the bar over to 18:25 and play. At the end Willie asks his producer to mark the tape in case anything happens to Tom. The second hour our good friend Leslie Ghiz was on and a caller from Avondale ties Kabaka's killing to his knowledge of the EZ and his willingness to expose the Beatty's and Mallory. That's a new twist, but we all know that $30 million has gone some where in the last 6 years. Who better to help themselves to some of it than these pigs at the trough.

http://www.700wlw.com/cc-common/podcast.html "