DALE MALLORY IMPEACHED!

Goodbye Law Dog

2009-04-09T09:03:00.002-05:00

Cincinnati lawyer Ken Lawson was sentenced to two years in prison today for his role in a drug conspiracy that devastated his family, his clients, and his career.

Lawson had asked for probation and placement in a drug treatment program, but U.S. District Judge Sandra Beckwith said the scope and severity of the crime justified a prison sentence.

“The bottom line is no one is above the law,” Beckwith said.

Junebug comes in later in the article:

Lawson, whose law license was suspended last year, has admitted he lied, cheated and stole from clients for years to feed an addiction to prescription painkillers. By the time he entered a drug treatment program in 2007, Lawson said he was spending $1,000 and popping as many as 100 pills every day.

Dozens of former clients have accused Lawson of stealing from them and many already have been reimbursed by a state fund set aside for victims of unethical lawyers.

Federal prosecutors say Lawson obtained illegal drugs for years through a conspiracy involving long-time friend George Beatty and Cincinnati Dr. Walter Broadnax. Lawson, Beatty and Broadnax all pleaded guilty last year to drug conspiracy charges.

Prosecutors say Lawson was a leader of the conspiracy and used clients and family members, including his children, to obtain drugs.

Lawson said he was a drug addict who was exploited by Broadnax, who is accused of writing many of the fraudulent prescriptions Lawson used to get drugs.

A fine tradition of West End Leadership.

A comment I approved today said this:

My name is La'Quanda Collins, the younger sister of the late Lorenzo Collins. In regards to the Ken Lawson situation I just want to say, "good ridens". My mother passed April 13, 2003, and she went through a lot with Lawson. I will never forget the day my mother was in the hospital suffering from stress which led to an aneurysm, he had her to sign over a check to him. She never talked to him again. I really felt that he took advantage of my mother's situation. Once she began to really think of my brother and the situation she wanted me to get the court documents and a list of the monies that was recieved from the lawsuit. He told me point blank, "NO". Although he is a selfish and weak man I wish the best for his family, and I hope that his family does not have to suffer the consequences of his actions. I felt the need to speak for my mother, thank you....

La'Quanda Collins wrote that comment on 4/3/09. I haven't been updating this blog, but I thought I would for her comment.

Ken Lawson claimed to represent the little guy and protect him from being taken advantage of by the system. In the end he was the one taking advantage of the people that put their trust and their lives in Ken Lawson.

Ken Lawson, MIA

2007-09-25T01:08:00.000-05:00

What has happened to Ken aka "Kenny the Crackhead" Lawson?

Last I heard he had defrauded a client and the government of tens of thousands of dollars. He also defrauded other clients. Why is this man not in jail?

Why has he not been charged with a crime?

Cops: Nothing More on Dale Mallory

2007-07-01T22:52:00.000-05:00

Kevin Osborne wrote a follow up piece on the Porkoplis blog.

Cops: Nothing More on Dale Mallory

In an interview with Lt. Col. Richard Janke, Janke asserted that the Cincinnati Police do not have any more in their files about Dale Mallory.

Because several West End residents who lodged the complaint against Mallory said police interviewed them in sessions that lasted an hour or longer and that the interviews were recorded, the paper asked whether any transcripts existed.

“There are no transcripts,” Janke said. “Oftentimes, when there was no real dispute over the facts, there are no transcripts made.”

Despite Janke’s remarks, Mallory contested at least one crucial fact during a June 14 interview with CityBeat. He alleged that a copy of a cancelled check for $1,119.19 containing his signature that community council members gave to police was a forgery. The check cleared out the group’s bank account months after Mallory had been impeached as the council’s president and removed from office.

“That thing was counterfeit, forged, faked,” said Mallory, who is brother of Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory. “I have no idea where they got that from.”

Janke claims that "there was no real dispute over the facts." In fact it would be hard to dispute the facts in the case. As Kevin Osborne aptly pointed out, Dale Mallory did dispute those facts.

There is no statement from Dale Mallory in the file that contains his version of events. That is a blessing for Dale, because I doubt his version would have read well in light of the facts. A complaint is filed by a community council; police investigated that complaint for 233 days, but did not yield a statement from the one man the complaint was filed against.

Janke replied today that the relevant facts in the case were that the money was taken and most of it — $1,000 — was given to the YMCA for an art project. The YMCA returned the money, and none of the funds were used for Mallory’s personal gain, the assistant chief added. (The remaining money was given to Marquicia Jones-Woods to buy boots for a local drill team and already was spent.)

“There was nothing in contention here,” Janke said. “There’s no doubt that the money ended up with the YMCA and was subsequently returned.”

Once the investigation was launched, police saw that it was a fairly straightforward case, Janke said.

“It’s not a particularly complex matter,” he said. “Criminal culpability was decidedly lacking.”

In Janke’s view, the main thing is that the money was returned (even though it wasn't returned by Dale Mallory). The WECC had to do the legwork to get the money back. That sets quite a disturbing precedent in law enforcement, to say the least.

But if Janke is correct, it doesn't appear that the police have been fair to anyone. If this case is a fairly straightforward, open and shut case where both the facts are not disputed and criminal culpability is decidedly lacking, why in the hell would it take 7 months and all the man-hours to investigate. Janke is basically admitting that they knew right off the bat that this case was going nowhere. What a waste of resources and taxpayer dollars.

Even the Mallory camp can complain about that. Dale was investigated for seven months and in the middle of a political campaign. Now Lt. Col. Richard Janke is coming out saying that they knew the facts early on, they were never in dispute, and there was no criminal culpability. I am sure Dale would have liked to hear that last July.

It isn't fair to the people who filed the complaint either. If Janke is correct in that this case had "no real dispute over the facts", why did it take 233 days? Why did they have policemen doing lengthy interviews? Why did they tell the press and members of the West End Community that the investigation was "complex" and ongoing, with no apparent end in sight? It would have been better off had everyone heard that last July. What a waste of time and money.

Want another waste of time and $$? Why did they give this case to the FBI? Mind you, no documentation really exists that they DID handover the case to the FBI, but they claimed that they did. Why would they do this if they knew the case had no merit?

I continue to support the position that the whole affair was just a slow bleed strategy to let it die on the vine.

Anyone that wanted to talk to the police was allowed to submit to a lengthy interview by two officers on tape. They never did anything with those tapes. It was simply to placate people and buy some time. Those officers told citizens that they were humping on the case, and they had the tape recorders to prove it. What a waste of time, because Janke says it was clear early on their was no case. Those tapes don't even exist today.

The most critical piece of evidence in the case was a court document where Dale Mallory stated that he was dropping his lawsuit. He admitted to the court that he is no longer the WECC President. Weeks later, he cleaned out and closed down the community bank account. That document is the one document that you can't explain away if you want to make this a tale of a "he said, she said" neighborhood political pissing match. Since they couldn't explain that document, they threw it away. It is not in the file of the investigation, even though it was given to the police on more than one occasion. That also means that the CPD didn't forward it on the prosecutors with the case.

I am ignorant of police process, and this question might reflect that: Why was this case even forwarded on to the prosecutors if it was open and shut and police found nothing criminal (as Janke contends)? Do all complaints get forwarded on regardless of merit? And if you are going to forward it on, why not include all of the evidence (like Dale's statement to the court)?

In the end of the June, 2007 (over a year after Dale had shut down the WECC account) Lt. Col. Richard Janke is basically admitting that their never was much of an investigation. Without Osborne following up on the investigation, those facts would have never seen the light of day. Even when Kevin called them after the investigation had already concluded the police told him it was still ongoing, “complex”, and with no end in sight. They were still buying time and lying to the press and the public until the very end (the request for public records).

Now the official record is that it was not complex, never in dispute, and thus never really investigated. I can’t say it makes the CPD look good. It makes them look like deceptive politicians instead of policemen, who say things to comfort and placate people while pursuing a completely different agenda.

You can have timelines, court documents, copies of the checks and witnesses. It doesn’t matter one bit if you are well connected. On the other side you have a liar who sold out his own community. He continues to lie about even writing the checks (which even the police concede is not in doubt). He never even produced the historical records of the WECC to give to the current community administration. Five years of his administration, and not one single financial or historical record to show for it.

They say you can’t beat City Hall, and I say they are right.

Where are the records of the investigation?

2007-06-28T10:00:00.000-05:00

It seems there is a little controversy in the comments section regarding just who dropped the ball in the Dale Mallory investigation.

Let me say first off that I have a lot of respect for the CPD. They put their lives on the line and make a difference and I do respect that. I believe that we have some real live heroes on the force. In my rants against the system that doesn’t always come through.

This was a complicated matter not because of evidence but because of politics. The evidence of who did what and when they did it were firmly established early on. What made this case complicated were the political connections and the power of the people involved.

My opinion is based upon the Osborne article and some of the facts that came out of it, particularly the response to his request for public records.

If the CPD gave the prosecutors the same info that they gave Kevin Osborne, I can see why the prosecutor decided not to file charges. That file was flimsy and there was nothing there. They worked on this case for a better part of a year, but nothing was in the file.

Why is that? I would like to know. If the police really did investigate where is the evidence or the paper trail?

Dale Mallory stated in court that he was no longer WECC President. Weeks later he withdrew all of the funds and closed down the bank account. The file given to Osborne contained no mention of Dale’s statements to the court. Those documents were the most critical piece of evidence in the case. If they didn’t have those in the file, it is hard to believe that they ran a legitimate investigation. If they didn’t have those in the file, it is similarly hard to believe that they passed that critical evidence on to the prosecutor’s office.

If they really did an investigation, there should be more in the file.

Where is the evidence that they actually talked to Dale and took his statement? Where is that statement? What is Dale’s official version of what happened? I am probably most interested in hearing that.

Dale Mallory skipped depositions and dropped his court cases so as to not have to answer questions. It would be interesting to know what he told the police. A complaint was filed against Dale; they would have talked to him and gotten a response. I would like to see what he said.

In the press he has repeatedly botched the issue. He is still claiming that the check is a forgery and a fake. Is that the story he told to the CPD? What about the bank manager and teller who were witnesses? The CPD interviewed them. No mention of them in the public records. If there was an investigation, these files have been subsequently sanitized to save Dale Mallory from embarrassment.

What about the Dale tale of the WECC approving the expenditures in February (the month when he was actually impeached)? Did he tell the police that whopper? We had tapes of those meetings and it can be easily proven what actually happened. Dale’s statement to the Cincinnati Police would be the most interesting document of the whole public records request. But the interview either never happened or records of it have been lost.

I have to believe that there was either no real investigation or that the files have been purged to save Dale from embarrassment. And I have to reiterate a serious concern: If critical evidence is missing from the police records it calls into question if that evidence ever made it to the prosecutor’s desk.

Where are the records? What happened to this case?

Dale Mallory claims the cancelled check is a fake!

2007-06-21T14:02:00.000-05:00

From CityBeat and Kevin Osborne:

Exonerated -- Sort of
Dale Mallory is being garnished but not prosecuted
By Kevin Osborne

Even after the case has been closed, a seven-month long criminal investigation of State Rep. Dale Mallory that involved local police and the FBI continues to raise more troubling questions than it answered.

When Mallory, the brother of Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory, was campaigning for the 32nd District seat in the Ohio House of Representatives last fall, he didn't mention in his rare public appearances that he was the subject of an investigation about alleged wrongdoing at the West End Community Council (see "Dale's
Deals," issue of Oct. 11-17, 2006).

In fact, Mallory's supporters disputed claims that he was the target of a criminal investigation by the Cincinnati Police Department, despite residents who made the complaint, stepping forward and acknowledging it, adding that officers had interviewed them as part of the probe.

Dale Mallory’s supporters denied that he was a target of a criminal investigation, and they were almost correct on that. It is hard to call what the Cincinnati Police conducted a criminal investigation.

“Later, in mid-January, when CityBeat inquired about the investigation's progress more than six months after it had begun, the newspaper was told it was a "complex" matter, with a police spokesman adding that detectives "couldn't even give me estimation on when they'll be bringing that to a resolution."

But police documents recently obtained by CityBeat after a public records request indicate the investigation already was completed at the time and had been turned over to the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office, which already had declined prosecution Jan. 6. The Police Department formally closed the case Feb. 7.

Isn’t that just classic. It was a “very complex matter” that merited a whole 2 page incident closure report once they got a hold of the public records. The CPD told CityBeat they were still investigating and they couldn’t foresee when the investigation would end. The reality brought to light by the public documents is that they weren’t investigating the crime, and that they never really had been.

“If the fact that the case was closed four months ago is news to the public and CityBeat, however, it's more surprising to Dale Mallory. Now serving as a state lawmaker in Columbus, Mallory said he hadn't been notified the matter was dropped when the newspaper interviewed him by telephone June 14.

"I hadn't heard," Mallory says. "It'd be nice if I got a letter."

I agree with Dale here, it would be nice. I think the letter would look something like this…

Dear Dale,

Just wanted to let you know that your family’s powerful political connections completely thwarted and shut down a police investigation. You can feel free to deny you ever wrote the check like a buffoon, it doesn’t even matter what you say at this point.

Love,

Your Friends in High Places

'Grossly understated'

Begun in June 2006, the police investigation was part of a tumultuous year for Mallory that also saw his impeachment as president of the West End Community Council and revelations about his secret lobbying for a controversial project proposed for the neighborhood.

In May 2006, Mallory wrote checks totaling $1,119 that emptied the West End Community Council's bank account, more than three months after his impeachment and a few weeks after his lawsuit seeking reinstatement was dropped. Mallory had said the money was for an arts program at the YMCA the council authorized in February 2006, but group leaders said no vote was ever taken and alleged Mallory's act was retaliation for his ouster.

The community council filed a complaint in June 2006 with Cincinnati Police that alleged embezzlement against Mallory and Esther Williams, a Mallory friend who was the group's former treasurer and also was ousted.

Dale Mallory was impeached and removed from office in February of 2006. He filed two separate lawsuits in a bid to get reinstated. Both lawsuits were filed by crackhead Kenny Lawson, which explains why they read like they were written by a third grader.

One lawsuit was thrown out of court because it had no merit. In the other lawsuit Dale refused to be deposed and decided to drop the case instead. He wasn’t about to answer any questions on the record.

In dropping the case in late April, Dale stated in court documents that he “has no intent of remaining President of the West End Community Council” and that he was “respectfully dismissing this matter without prejudice”

Then in May, (months after being removed and weeks after dropping the case), Dale Mallory walked into the bank and closed down and shut down the West End Community Council bank account. He took every red penny, and the account was officially closed. The check was made out to cash, and this is a copy of that check.

He had no authority to close down the account and withdraw all the money, he had already admitted as much to the court. The bank had eyewitness accounts from the manager and the teller who handled the transaction that day. If you do that and your last name isn’t Mallory it is a felony. It appeared to be an open and shut case. It turned out to never be really opened in the first place.

Whether the department notified Mallory about the probe's conclusion -- and if not, why -- is just one question left lingering in the case.

CityBeat made the public records request to the police department earlier this month. A week later the newspaper received 14 pages of documents. They include a two-page incident closure report and 12 pages of photocopies, mostly of cancelled checks.

The police department spent almost a year on the investigation, including a period when it handed the probe to the FBI for a while to avoid a possible conflict of interest because the mayor's brother was involved. Ultimately, the FBI concluded the allegations didn't involve enough money to merit their involvement and handed the case back to police.

Based on police documents, CityBeat calculates the investigation took about 233 days to complete.

West End residents who filed the complaint that sparked the investigation believe police purposely delayed the inquiry because it involved the mayor's brother and didn't want the publicity before last November's election, when Dale Mallory was a candidate.

"It was a fairly straightforward matter that should have been an open and shut case," says Dave Petersen, a West End Community Council member.

233 days for two pages of documents and some copies of some cancelled checks? They were never really investigating this case. In case you didn’t know, the Mayor’s brother is well connected. Though unemployed, heavily in debt, and unable to ever hold a steady job, Dale Mallory is now a State Representative. It was always going to be that way, and the Mallory political machine would accept no other outcome. Dale is in the family seat.

Petersen and some of the community council's officers also question whether all police records were released. They each were interviewed by police during sessions that were tape-recorded.

"There had to be six to eight hours of interviews that I am personally aware of," Petersen says. "The documents seem grossly understated for an investigation that went on for so long. The depth of skullduggery goes far deeper than a two-page report."

CityBeat e-mailed follow-up questions to the police department's public information office to verify that the documents are complete and ask whether any interview transcripts exist. A police spokeswoman forwarded the request to Lt. Col. Richard Janke, the department's second highest-ranking officer after the chief. Janke hasn't yet responded.

People were interviewed across the West End. The bank manager and the teller were interviewed, and they could put Dale on the scene closing down the account. Several members of the West End Community Council were interviewed.

Those interviews were merely to placate and pacify the angered members of the WECC, which had filed a complaint against Dale Mallory for closing down the bank account and withdrawing all of the money. According to CityBeat’s reporting, no records of those interviews exist.

In fact, no record seems to exist of why the crime was ever referred to the FBI for investigation. This was $1,119.19 from a Community Council’s bank account. It is debatable if it was even the FBI’s jurisdiction. With that dollar amount, it was never going to be a Federal case. The CPD had to know that.

Said again, high ranking people in the CPD work with federal agents all the time. They know them and have working relationships. They had to know after two minutes that this wasn’t a Federal case. But it was a good way to toss the potato and buy some time. And time is all that they were looking for.

Before referring a case to the Feds, you would think there would be some sort of paper trail explaining the rationale. According to Kevin Osborne’s record request, there was nothing.

People of the West End demanded a response to the complaint that they filed. Dale Mallory cleaned out and closed down the WECC bank account long after even he admitted he was no longer the WECC President. And nobody had a suitable explanation for that action, or any explanation at all for that matter.

The police couldn’t explain it or politically afford to prosecute it, so they started interviewing anyone that wanted to speak. They came in, held their hands and talked them through their pain like a good therapist. No records of those interviews exist. Those interviews weren’t a part of any concerted investigation. They were just an appeasement measure to keep people quite and buy time until after the election.

This investigation employed a slow-bleed strategy for 233 days until it was finally concluded. Even after they had stopped investigating they still didn’t admit it until a public records request. It is pathetic.

And where were the court documents in the public record request? Dale Mallory stated to the court that he was no longer the WECC President. This is before he withdrew all of the money. That was a critical piece of evidence in the case. It was given to the police more than once, and mentioned in all of those interviews. If the police have no record of that information, I doubt that they passed it on to the prosecutors.

Potato toss

Meanwhile, the prosecutor's office questions whether it should have received the case in the first place.

"Our office concluded it was civil in nature, not criminal," says Jennifer Irey, a prosecutor's office spokeswoman.

I am not sure what to believe. I can’t ascertain that the prosecutor’s office indeed got all of the evidence, including statements made by Dale Mallory to the court admitting that he was no longer WECC President. If all the police gave the prosecutors was a couple of pages and some copies of cancelled checks, it doesn’t surprise me that nothing happened. A slow bleed strategy to die a slow death.

Prosecutors can only go off of the evidence that they have.

Mallory says he acted within the scope of his authority involving the community council's money. Regardless, he alleges that the copy of a cancelled check for $1,119.19 signed by Mallory that Petersen and others gave to police was a forgery.

"That thing was counterfeit, forged, faked," Mallory says. "I have no idea where they got that from. I commend the police department for doing a professional job. ... It was a waste of the police department's time."

Police records, though, dispute Mallory's claim. The report states, "Both Dale Mallory and Esther Williams went to the National City Bank and withdrew all funds from the WECC account. They used a counter check signed by both of them, made payable to cash, then obtained a cashier's check."

Of the money that Mallory distributed, $1,000 went to the YMCA to assist a West End art project, and $119.19 went to Marquicia Jones-Woods to buy boots for a local drill team. The YMCA returned its money, but the amount given to Jones-Wood already was spent, the report states.

Dale contends that the check he used to clean out and close down the WECC bank account is a forgery and a fake. I have to wonder if any sane person exists that believes Dale Mallory. That is some funny stuff.

The bank teller and the manager of the bank who handled the transaction of closing down the account both identified Dale Mallory. They produced copies of the checks and gave eyewitness accounts of what happened.

They identified Dale as the one who got the cashier’s check. This is the same check Dale then presented in person to the YMCA. The head of the YMCA can identify Dale as well. Is it all some conspiracy? Is Dale really that stupid? Is it any wonder they didn’t let him out of the house to make public appearances on the campaign trail?

Dale had previously said publicly that the money for the YMCA was authorized in February. That sounded good until people figured out that February was the month that he was impeached. The Mayor, reporters and news cameras were at the meeting and the WECC had the whole thing on tape. With Dale it is one lie after another and each one more pathetically stupid. I couldn't make that stuff up if I tried.

But who is really laughing? Dale Mallory did get away with it. He can deny he wrote that check and act like it never happened. He should join the CPD; they are acting the same way in regards to investigating his crime.

"They continued to push for an investigation even after they got the money back," Mallory says. "I guess they weren't accustomed to community politics and don't support the arts project."

I guess if you rob a bank and give the money back it is OK. And Dale didn’t give the money back, the YMCA did. Dale was thrown out of office and he took every penny of the bank account with him. Since people worked hard to recover most (not all) of it, he thinks everything is fine.

West End Community Council members defend their complaint. The group is considering filing a lawsuit against Mallory and is reviewing how the community council's money was spent from 2001-05, when he was president. Records are sparse, they add, and it's difficult to track and account for the funds.

"It's not a big number, but the money is important to the neighborhood," Petersen says.

Police didn't aggressively pursue the matter, he says.

It should be noted that it is hard to investigate how the council spent their money from 2001-2005. That is because Dale Mallory and his cronies have either kept or destroyed all bank records for that time period. They refused to had over the historical records to the new administration of the WECC.

The Police were able to get copies of some cancelled checks from the bank, but nobody has been able to acquire any of the supporting back up documents for the five year time period that Dale was President.

Judging by the way he abused his power in the one incident that we have proven, I can only assume more exists in those records. People thought the police would be able to get them, but it is quite clear now whose side they were on.

"We had meetings with the police and with the FBI," Petersen says. "It went on for months and months. This thing was bounced around like the hot potato it was. The police didn't want to touch it with a 10-foot pole."

With city politics and potential promotions on the line, it is easy to overlook $1,100 from the Mayor’s big brother. This case was destined never to see the light of day, and it didn’t.

Mallory also is facing other legal troubles.

CadleRock Joint Venture, a northern Ohio company, recently won a judgment in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court to garnish Mallory's paycheck to pay off a debt he's owed since at least 1997. Cadlerock is seeking $37,475. Mallory initially contested the debt's validity and he didn't list it on state ethics forms he had to file while running for office.

Mallory's check is being garnished $858 each month to pay off the debt. At that rate, it will take him about two years -- or nearly his entire term in state office -- to pay it off.

The great thing about our State Representative is that before getting elected in 2006 he hadn’t had continual gainful employment since 1997, which is why CadleRock had to wait nine years to garnish his wages.

He did do a brief stint as a consultant to the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation. The people he appointed to the CEC board as WECC President ended up hiring him (cough cough - kickback, conflict of interest).

During that time he was paid to work on a project for the CityLink Homeless mall. He was WECC President at the time. While residing over WECC meetings, Dale Mallory refused to let the CityLink project come up for a vote so that the community could challenge the zoning. That is the sole reason why he was removed from office. After the fact the community learned that he was on the payroll to promote CityLink the entire time.

Dale Mallory sold out his community. Dale Mallory committed a crime that will never be truly investigated. Dale Mallory is State Representative for the Ohio 32nd.

Kenny The Crackhead

2007-06-05T00:28:00.000-05:00

The Law with Ken Lawson

Ken Lawson admits to abusing drugs for years. Those rumors have been around for a long time. People knew and the word got out. The people closest to him had to know, he has been doing this for years.

The people at his firm had to know. They had to be getting the irate phone calls when he didn’t show up for trials. People gave him money and he didn’t represent them. If you are answering the phone there you would have to know. They were part of the fraud. They had to get notices of the lawsuits filed against him by people they had taken money from and didn’t represent. Knowing of some of the people he associated with, not only would they have known but would have actively participated in both his drug use and the defrauding of clients.

The IRS came calling, he is in bankruptcy, and you had flurries of lawsuits against Ken Lawson. He knew it was going to hit the fan one way or the other. So he got out in front of it and gave a story to gain sympathy. But where is the sympathy for the Medicaid tax dollars he has stolen and defrauded the government? Where is the sympathy for the lenders and the tax revenue he never paid? Where is the sympathy for the clients defrauded of their money, or the people who went to jail when they might have had a chance at freedom or at least a lighter sentence if he had represented them well?

Ken Lawson should go to jail. It is amazing to me that he hasn’t been arrested. He shouldn’t be the only one. The people around him had to know. They aided and abetted him in defrauding all those poor people he claimed to fight for. They should take the whole lot and throw them in the can.

From Ken Lawson On The Buzz

Labeled by some “The Junkyard Dog of Justice”, Mr. Lawson prides his character and work ethic as an attorney in relentlessly fighting for his clients and their rights to due process. A proponent of the system of justice, Mr. Lawson predicates his position to defend and uphold the statutes of the law by representing all walks of life. As he is sometimes presented by the media in the more high profile and celebrity cases, Mr. Lawson receives just as much professional gratification and reward by representing those who may not be deemed newsworthy. His passion is for proving what is just while upholding the legal rights of his clientele. Mr. Lawson believes that these merits transcend all lines of race, creed, ethnicity, social and economic status.

What a liar and a fraud Crackhead Kenny is.

But despite the media attention received from the high profile cases, Mr. Lawson truly derives pleasure and reward in fighting for the everyday individual, the person who may not be as well-known. He enjoys representing the people who the system traditionally ignores and does not seem to care about.

And Crackhead Kenny doesn't care about them either.

One major misconception is that Mr. Lawson only takes “big” cases, those that may attract a large amount of press. That is not true. There is no such thing as a case that is “too small”. Mr. Lawson is often seen in traffic court arguing speeding tickets and disorderly conduct cases. He does an enormous amount of work that includes domestic violence, driving under the influence, resisting arrest and other misdemeanor offenses. Mr. Lawson is not too busy to consider handling your case.

The reality is that Crackhead Kenny is not too busy to take your money upfront, and then to hell with your case.

The whole thing makes me chuckle. Remember SNL's Caveman Lawyer? We had our own Crackhead Lawyer skit going here in town for years. People should have been laughing at him then. The sad truth is that people around him covered up for him for years, and a lot of people got taken.

Police Kill Shooter

2007-05-28T01:12:00.000-05:00

Police kill shooter
'It was a running gun battle,' Streicher said
BY JESSICA BROWN

SOUTH FAIRMOUNT – For the second time in nine days, Cincinnati police officers shot a suspect Sunday, this time fatally.

Police killed a man who had fired at two officers after they confronted him for allegedly stealing ice cream from a convenience store, Police Chief Tom Streicher said.

Four officers fired back at the unidentified man, Streicher said. The chief described it as a “running gun battle” along several blocks of Queen City Avenue.

The man bought some ice cream and stole some ice cream from the UDF store at Queen City and Quebec Avenue, according to police. Police went to the scene to investigate the alleged theft, when the man came back into the store.

“He walked back into the store to get a spoon,” Streicher said.

Great to see that people are willing to kill cops after stealing some ice cream. If anything proves that we need a better system of public education, it is the moronic activities of our criminals. You could at least make an economic argument for the cost vs. benefit of robbing a bank or a Brinks truck with a gun. But this guy is willing to go to the wall and kill cops over Ice Cream. At that point it is time to thin the herd. I hope he liked that ice cream.

An officer spotted him and asked to pat him down. The man took off running east down Queen City Avenue, police said. The officer gave chase and pulled out his Taser.

“The man drew his gun, turned, and we’re not sure if the man fired the gun first or the officer fired the Taser first,” Streicher said. The Taser missed, shots were exchanged between the man and the officer and the man kept running, police said.

If you run from the cops they are allowed to use non lethal weapons like a taser. It has to suck to be a cop with a non lethal weapon when somebody is firing live ammo at you. And if the guy is whacked out on drugs like Ken Lawson, he might not even have the same biological response to your taser like a normal person would.

As the suspect passed a second officer he fired at her too with a small-caliber gun, police said. She dove for cover, injuring herself in the process, and fired back, police said. Two more officers arrived and told the man to stop. One of them fired at the man and he fell to the ground, police said.

Another officer approached the man as he lay on the ground and the man pointed his gun at the policeman. The officer fired another shot.

The Hamilton County Coroner’s Office pronounced him dead at the scene.

By this account, the man fired at two officers and aimed his gun to fire at another before he died.

It is unclear why the man ran, or why he fired at officers, the chief said. It is also unclear whether he was struck by gunfire or whether something else might have killed him, Streicher said.

Again, a good time to thin the herd.

“We emphasize in training to never underestimate what you’re walking into,” Streicher said. “It’s a dangerous game of cat and mouse.” He said police recover 1,600 to 1,800 guns a year from the streets.More than 20 people witnessed Sunday’s shooting, Streicher said.

With all the guns and violence on our streets, we need to give it up to the Men and Women in Blue that risk their lives to our protection. I wouldn’t want that job. I am damn glad they are out there and I appreciate their sacrifice. God Bless them.

A couple of people at the scene criticized police as too quick to draw their guns.

Angela Jo James, a neighborhood resident, said she can’t understand why the suspect would have reacted the way he did.

“Someone in his right mind wouldn’t have did nothing like that,” she said. “He lost his life over some ice cream. Unnecessarily.”

Those quotes come from one person and don’t seem critical of the police as too quick to draw their guns. I was wondering who criticized the police for drawing their guns and what they were actually saying. I want to see those comments attributed to actual names. This guy fired on two officers and aimed at a third before being taken out. This guy fired bullets at police before any were fired on him, and “police were to quick to draw their guns”? They only guy able to come out in defense of those actions would be a crackhead like Ken Lawson.

This is the fourth time Cincinnati police have shot suspects in the past year.

Shane Welch, 19, also known as Shane Myers, of Mount Auburn, was critically injured May 18 in Over-the-Rhine when an officer shot him twice in the chest. Police say Welch was running toward officers with his gun pointed at them.

On April 20, an officer shot a man in the arm in the West End after the man, who was running from the officer, stumbled, reached into his waistband and tried to pick up a gun that had fallen out of his pants.

Last September, another officer shot an armed robbery suspect in West Price Hill after the man pointed a gun at the officer.

What an impressive history. Four guys with weapons threatening police officers.

Let's say you are a police officer in this type of environment. You are chasing a suspect into a dark alley in Over The Rhine and the alley ends up being a dead end with no way out.. The suspect turns around and reaches into his pants for his firearm….that is exactly what Steven Roach thought, and that was the only blemish on his police record.

You have people shooting cops over ice cream, yet it is absurd to think that Tim Roach was acting in good faith in a dark alley?

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

BONUS COVERAGE:

Are we setting up another riot with every police killing? Look at the killings that predated the last riot and see how they compare:

Adam Wheeler. Wheeler, 21, died when a drug investigation turned into a chaotic shootout inside a Corryville apartment on Jan. 31, 2001. Wheeler - wanted on three open felony warrants, two for aggravated armed robbery, one for attempted abduction - was shot after screaming, ''You want a war? You got a war!'' to police responding to a drug complaint. A gun was recovered near his body, police said. Wheeler had convictions for cocaine possession in 1999 and 2000 and twice served seven months in prison. One police officer also was shot in the hand in the incident.

Jeffrey Irons. Suspected of shoplifting from an IGA supermarket in Pleasant Ridge, Irons was shot and killed during a Nov. 8, 2000, scuffle with police in which he grabbed one officer's gun and wounded another in the hand. Irons, 30, of Chicago, had been convicted locally of a dozen offenses in the past six years, including felony drug abuse and resisting arrest.

Roger Owensby Jr. The 29-year-old College Hill man died on Nov. 7, 2000, after a struggle with officers who arrested him outside a Roselawn gas station where he had just purchased an energy drink. According to a store security camera, Owensby fully cooperated with police until he was about to be handcuffed, when he bolted and was quickly tackled by officers. Officers sprayed him with a chemical irritant, handcuffed him and placed him in the back of a police cruiser, where he was found unconscious shortly thereafter. He later died of what of a coroner's report termed ''mechanical asphyxiation.''

Courtney Mathis. Mathis, 12, and officer Kevin Crayon both died on Sept. 1, 2000 , after Crayon tried to stop a car being illegally driven in Mount Airy by the underage motorist. When confronted by Crayon, Mathis sped away in the car, dragging the officer nearly 800 feet. While clinging to the car, Crayon fatally shot Mathis in the upper left chest, then was killed instantly seconds later when his head slammed into another car.

Alfred Pope. Pope died in a hail of gunfire from Cincinnati police in the early- morning hours of March 14, 2000, after the 23-year-old Bond Hill man and an accomplice allegedly pistol-whipped, robbed and shot at a group of other men in the hallway of an Avondale apartment.

Carey Tompkins. Tompkins, 28, was shot and killed on Oct. 16, 1999, in a West En d hallway by a Cincinnati police officer who had responded to 911 call in which an operator overheard people arguing and references to a gun. After arriving, officers, peering through cracks in a door, saw Tompkins standing in a narrow staircase leading to a second-story residence. When Tompkins opened the door, an officer put his hand out to keep Tompkins from leaving and felt a gun in his waistband, police said. When Tompkins started back up the stairs and pulled the gun out, an officer shot him four times.

James King. After robbing a bank in Corryville on Aug. 20, 1999, King was shot a nd killed by four officers when he refused to obey their order to drop his gun, instead turning toward them with his weapon. Police chased King, who had an extensive criminal history, after a robbery at the Fifth Third Bank, 30 W. Corry St. In the robbery, King gave the bank's assistant manager a note demanding money and saying that he was armed and was prepared to take hostages and kill employees and police. Before fleeing the bank, King fired a shot at one of the tellers but missed. Police pursued him to the University of Cincinnati campus, where they said he jumped out of his car and ignored their orders to surrender, prompting their gunfire.

Michael Carpenter. Carpenter, 30, an unarmed black motorist from Mount Airy, was shot and killed by Cincinnati police during an early-morning struggle in Northside on March 19, 1999. The shooting occurred after two officers - Brent McCurley and Michael Miller - saw Carpenter acting suspiciously in a convenience store, followed his car and stopped him for an expired license plate. The officers said Carpenter refused to get out of his car, began reaching between the car's seats, dragged Miller a few feet as he leaned into the vehicle attempting to remove Carpenter and then attempted to back his car into McCurley. The police internal-affairs unit said the officers violated several procedures during the traffic stop but used lethal force justifiably.

Randy Black. A University of Cincinnati student, Black, 23, was shot to death on July 17, 1998, after police say he attempted to rob a campus credit union. Police said Black, of Evanston, threw a chunk of concrete at a Cincinnati police officer, then advanced on him with a nail-studded board after fleeing the Tangeman University Center in Clifton. An officer fired two shots, hitting Black twice in the torso. The officer suffered a minor arm injury where he was struck by the concrete, police said.

Jermaine Lowe. On June 3, 1998, Cincinnati police in Over-the-Rhine tried to pull over a stolen car being driven by Lowe, who suddenly sped away. Chased by police, Lowe crashed into another car in Corryville, then leaned out the car window and began shooting at three officers. The officers shot back, killing Lowe. The 21-year-old Mount Auburn man already had served nearly five years in prison for robbery, had broken parole and was being sought for a recent armed robbery.

Daniel Williams. On Feb. 2, 1998, Williams, 41, who had a history of criminal and mental problems, flagged down a police cruiser being driven on Central Parkway by a 23-year-old female officer. Williams pulled a .357-caliber Magnum and shot the officer four times in the leg and abdomen below her bulletproof vest, then shoved her to the passenger side, got behind the wheel and sped away. Though wounded, the officer was able to pull her gun and kill Williams.

Lorenzo Collins. Collins was gunned down on Feb. 23, 1997, after threatening several officers, including a Cincinnati police officer and a University of Cincinnati officer who both fired at him, with a brick. He had just escaped from University Hospital's eighth-floor psychiatric ward, where he was being held at the request of a suburban police department.

Darryl C. Price. The 42-year-old Corryville man died on April 4, 1996, after striking his head while struggling with officers.

Police had been called to investigate a ''violent mental subject'' after a passersby reported a man was screaming and running in and out of traffic. When officers arrived, they found Price jumping on the hood of a car at Martin Luther King and Eden Avenue. As officers tried to handcuff him, he resisted. Officers then wrestled Price to the ground and handcuffed him. But as they tumbled to the ground, Price struck his head on a metal plate covering road construction, police said.

Harvey Price. A 34-year-old ex-convict from Avondale, Price was shot five times after he lunged with a knife at officers who had tried repeatedly to subdue him after he killed and partially decapitated his girlfriend's 15-year-old daughter with an ax. An autopsy later determined that Price had taken cocaine within 12 hours of the Feb. 1, 1995, incident.

Lawson loses law license

2007-05-16T09:37:00.000-05:00

Ken and Scarface

Cincinnati lawyer Ken Lawson must give up his legal practice until the Ohio Supreme Court decides what to do about charges he mishandled cases while addicted to drugs.

The court suspended Lawson's law license Tuesday pending the outcome of disciplinary proceedings involving at least 11 clients.

The Cincinnati Bar Association, which filed a complaint against Lawson earlier this year on behalf of seven clients, requested the "interim suspension" after receiving four more complaints. The bar association also found that at least 13 civil cases have been dismissed since 2005 because of Lawson's neglect.

"We thought there might be a danger to a number of clients if he continued to practice," Cincinnati Bar Association director John Norwine said.

One can only imagine the damage he has done to his own clients, let alone the people that has sued with frivolous lawsuits. The frivolous lawsuit he filed on behalf of Dale Mallory against the West End Community Council read like it was written by a fourth grader. Not it turns out it was just written by an incompetent attorney on crack.

Lawson has told The Enquirer and the Supreme Court's disciplinary counsel that he was addicted to drugs for years and it affected his job performance. He said the drugs he took included painkillers, marijuana and cocaine.

Several clients have sued him and filed complaints against him, accusing him of mishandling their cases, failing to show up for court dates and accepting payment for work he did not do.

Lawson's continued practice of law "poses a substantial risk of serious harm to the public," the complaint states.

The complaint also says Lawson initially lied to disciplinary counsel investigators about his problems, telling them that he suffered from multiple sclerosis when, in fact, he was using drugs.

Real classy to claim he had MS to get sympathy to cover up his actions. It is reprehensible behavior. Every person that he has ever defended now has a legitimate right to appeal. This could cost the tax-payers millions to give this people new trials.

A precedent already exists for this. A few years ago a Judge gave a man a new trial because he was so poorly defended by none other than Ken Lawson. He should have lost his law license right then. This is not the first time he has screwed his own clients. Now that he has done it again he deserves his law license for good.

Ken Lawson was never a community activist or “man for the people”; he is just a crackhead that is out for nobody from himself. He has screwed over his own clients, many of whom know little about the legal system and put both their faith and their fate in his hands. That trust has been broken again and again. I can’t imagine how many lives he has wrecked with this reckless behavior.

This guy has had his second chance already. It is time for him to go.

Update on Dale Mallory's Felony Investigation

2007-01-19T00:01:00.000-05:00

Dale Mallory cleaned out and closed down the West End Community Council bank account to CASH. This is a copy of that check. Notice that it wasn’t to the Urban League, YMCA or the Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, this check was made out to CASH. When you hear that Dale cut checks for social causes, that is pure cover. Look at the check. This is the check that closed down the WECC account.

State Reps Gone Wild

Edited By Gregory Flannery

Two criminal investigations alleging possible voter fraud and embezzlement are lingering from 2006, and local law enforcement officials say they're not sure when the probes will be completed. One investigation involves a dispute between newly elected State Rep. Dale Mallory (D-West End) and the West End Community Council. The other probe involves State Rep. Tom Brinkman Jr. (R-Mount Lookout) and questions about whether signatures were intentionally forged on an aborted petition drive seeking to overturn the city's Human Rights Ordinance.

In each investigation -- the Cincinnati Police Department in the former, the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office in the latter -- officials say the matters involved are so complicated that they require extra time and effort, and they wouldn't estimate when the inquiries would be completed.

People who lodged the complaints that sparked the investigations, however, say the allegations depend on a fairly straightforward series of facts that should be easily discernable if they have any merit.

In May 2006, Dale Mallory wrote checks totaling $1,119 that emptied the West End Community Council's bank account, which occurred more than three months after his impeachment as the group's president and a few weeks after his lawsuit seeking reinstatement was dropped. Mallory has said the money was for an arts program at the YMCA that the council had authorized in February, but community council leaders said no vote was ever taken. The council filed a complaint in June with Cincinnati Police, alleging embezzlement.

A month later, Police Lt. Col. James Whalen told the council that the Mallory investigation was turned over to the FBI to avoid a possible conflict of interest; Mallory's brother, Mayor Mark Mallory, has oversight responsibility for the Police Department. FBI agents, though, later said the allegations didn't involve enough money to merit their involvement and handed the case back to police. It's now been more than 230 days since the bank account was closed.

Police Lt. Steve Kramer, the department's major fraud investigations commander, is handling the investigation. Lt. Tom Lanter, a department spokesman, last week described the probe as "a long-term investigation that is ongoing."

"It's apparently pretty complex and pretty involved," Lanter said. "(Kramer) couldn't even give me an estimation on when they'll be bringing that to a resolution."

Some community council members who have copies of the cancelled checks signed by Mallory are angry that it's taken so long for police to respond, calling it "an open and shut case."

Kudos to CityBeat for continuing to follow the investigation. I just read this article and I will post it again, as well as my reaction to its finer points in the coming days. I wanted to get this out there right now.

What is clear from the reporting is that the CPD has not yet closed the investigation. Dale’s camp likes to claim that there never was an investigation. Not closing the investigation is a convenient cover for the CPD. The CPD never has to disclose facts of an ongoing investigation, and this investigation spans 245 days. This way they don’t have to answer questions, and I am going to have plenty of questions.

I think that they are unwilling to dismiss the case because they would have to offer a plausible explanation of what really happened. I think that political pressure has hurt this investigation, to put it mildly.

In my next post, I am going document the reasons for the call to Simon Leis to take on this investigation. I think it is time for the Lawman to look at the facts.

View the Timeline Right Here

Just How Many Homeless?

2007-01-17T02:11:00.000-05:00

How many homeless in Cincinnati? Depends who's counting

What caught my attention was of course the state of Ohio's total of 16,165. That number jumped out at me because of the homeless advocates who routinely claim nearly 25,000 homeless in the city of Cincinnati alone. How is that possible? This claim can be seen on their own website.

I think this is worth investigating. The city is facing a looming budget crisis, yet any hint of cuts in socials services result in claims of impending doom. I think these agencies have a vice grip on the city and are more interested in turning Cincinnati into one large Skid Row. How many homeless are there really, and is the city, county, even Federal and State spending more than needed?

The question of how many homeless people that we have is an honest one.

He asks Georgine Getty for an honest explanation...

Thanks for your question. The National Alliance to End Homelessness used numbers that follow the HUD[20] definition of homelessness, which only includes people living in shelters, on the street, or in places not fit for human habitation, like abandoned buildings, cars etc. We use the Department of Education's definition, which includes these folks and also people who are precariously housed by "doubling up" (staying with other people for a few days or weeks, but not on the lease).

Also, their number is a point in time count for one night. I know their information reads like it's 16,165 for the whole year, but it's not. It's just on any night of the year that many people are homeless. Our 25,000 number is the number of people who will experience homelessness at some point over the course of a year.

Following the stricter HUD definition (not including people who are doubled up), we estimate that there are 1,300 people homeless each night in Cincinnati -- 1100 in shelters and an additional 200 on the street, in cars, etc. Of course, this number is probably low because we have no way of finding everyone staying in cars and we do not check abandoned buildings for safety reasons.

The 25,000 figure drops to 1,300 real fast, and even that may be an exageration by a stretch. Most of the people that actually live on the streets suffer from mental illness. The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless likes to trot out the 25,000 figure, and the media even repeat it as fact. We don't even have 25,000 residents in OTR and the West End combined.

Here is a hint, they do it for the funding.

Mayor Mallory under investigation in BWC probe

2006-12-14T20:35:00.000-05:00

Cincinnati mayor being investigated in BWC probe
By PAUL E. KOSTYU COPLEY COLUMBUS BUREAU CHIEF

COLUMBUS Mayor Mark Mallory of Cincinnati, a former state senator, is under investigation for trying to influence the Bureau of Workers' Compensation to lower premium rates for an electric company.

But the mayor didn't know he was under investigation. There's some confusion about who knew what when.

Jason Barron, a spokesman for Mallory, spent several days trying to correct stories last week, including one by Copley Ohio Newspapers, that reported an investigation of Mallory by the offices of the Ohio inspector general and legislative inspector general.

Copley Ohio printed a correction Tuesday, while The Associated Press ran a correction Saturday. Both corrections were unnecessary.

Similar investigations all tied to the bureau and lower premium rates are under way involving the governor's office, state Sen. Kirk Schuring, R-Jackson Township, and five other lawmakers. Sources familiar with the investigation expect more lawmakers to be named as investigators weed through 500,000 e-mails and other correspondence related to the issue.

All of the lawmakers and Gov. Bob Taft have denied wrongdoing, saying they were providing constituent services. Lawmakers received letters sent Nov. 13 from the legislative inspector general asking for material dealing with premium and claim issues before the bureau, typically the first step of an investigation.

Mallory said Tuesday he did not receive the letter, which included a request for records from 2004 involving Bertke Electric. Its bureau rates went down after Mallory's office contacted the bureau, apparently more than once.

The letter didn't go to the mayor. It went to his successor, state Sen. Eric Kearney, D-Cincinnati, and was passed on to Mike Deemer, the legal counsel for Senate Democrats.

Legislative Inspector General Tony Bledsoe said he could not acknowledge whether any investigations are under way, but he did not dispute press reports about the investigations. He said his office loses jurisdiction when a lawmaker leaves the General Assembly.

The issue of lawmaker influence came to light after the release of bureau records following requests by newspapers. There is an ongoing investigation of the bureau by a state task force.

No one from Kearney's office nor the Senate Minority Caucus contacted Mallory to let him know he was under investigation.

Schuring said Tuesday he asked Bledsoe to expedite his case, but Bledsoe said he can't.

"We cannot change the investigative process," he said. "We have to do due diligence for all the people involved."

Reach Copley Columbus Bureau Chief Paul E. Kostyu at (614) 222-8901 or e-mail: paul.kostyu@cantonrep.com

-------------------------------

This story has just come to my attention. I have to admit that I don't know any more than is in the article. What strikes me as odd is that this investigation is not being reported by the Cincinnati papers.

Feel free to comment and clarify any issues. One question I have off the top is: Who is Bertke Electric?

CityLink Discussion On CityTalk Radio

2006-12-06T15:47:00.000-05:00

Follow the link below to listen to Sunday's program on the CityLink court decision.

Program Title and Guests:
Latest Court Decision on CityLink
Martha Gitt - Economist & Environmental Engineer
Jim Wilson
Dave Petersen

Link

Listen for yourself. Gitt, Wilson and Petersen did a great job of clarifying the issues.

WHO DEY!

2006-12-04T00:08:00.000-05:00

Great week for the Bengals. An awesome defensive performance before a packed crowd on Thursday night. Then today both Denver and Kansas City Lose. The stars are in alignment. If the season ended today, your Cincinnati Bengals would be in the playoffs. It is nice to control your own destiny in the National Football League.

I know it is offtopic but I don't care. As this city is closing in on the murder record with a do-nothing Mayor and no new jail in site, it is comforting to point out a bright light. The Bengals are going to make the next few weeks interesting, and the chase for the playoffs looks like it is going to go down to the wire.

WHO DEY!

RULING ON CITYLINK IS ABSURDLY WRONG

2006-11-27T09:08:00.000-05:00

A letter to the editor in Sunday's Enquirer:

RULING ON CITYLINK IS ABSURDLY WRONG

Hamilton County Judge Ralph E. Winkler's absurd interpretation of semantics overturned two lower court decisions in the CityLink case ("Judge OKs controversial social services mall," Nov. 23). He declared that CityLink, a faith-based, non-profit, social services mall, is not a community services facility but is a business/commercial enterprise.

I ask anyone reading this who knows anything about CityLink: Does CityLink propose to provide services to addicts, ex-cons and homeless people in the Cincinnati community by offering housing, food, clothing, grooming services and job training, or is it a business akin to Kroger, P&G or Gold's Gym? Where is John Stossel and his 20/20 news segment "Give me a break" when you need him?

Dr. Lorie Walter Over-the-Rhine

I would have to agree with Dr. Walter.

This comes from the original Enquirer Article on Winkler's decision:

Judge Ralph E. Winkler’s decision Wednesday said Citylink is not a “community service facility” that would be barred from a manufacturing district under the city’s zoning code.

Citylink is a consortium of churches and social service agencies that plans to create a one-stop center for job training, drug treatment, health care and other charities at a $1.4 million Bank Street site.

Because Citylink seeks to provide job training to people throughout the region – and not just residents of the West End – it is “best described as a business or commercial enterprise” rather than a social service center, Winkler’s decision said. “

Winkler's logic is indeed stunning. And his ruling (if let stand) could have some serious implications for the future of the City of Cincinnati's zoning code. If CityLink is best described as a business or commercial enterprise, facilities like this could potentially go anywhere other businesses and commercial enterprises exist. The City of Cincinnati needs to appeal this ruling to defend their right to enact and enforce future zoning law.

If CityLink isn't a community service facility (as prohibited in the zoning code) one has to wonder what constitutes such a facility.

The ruling also highlights CityLink's duplicitous nature in the whole affair. They consistently denied that the CityLink Center would be a magnet for drug addicts, pre and post release felons and the mentally ill. In court they argued that CityLink could not be defined as a community service facility because they weren't just serving the surrounding communities. CityLink claimed they would be drawing people from "throughout the region". Crossroads Community Church is planning a Wal-Mart sized Homeless Mall on a five acre site across the street from schools and playgrounds, and they admit in court that they plan to draw people from across the region to concentrate them there. That wasn't the message they were pimping to the community. At least they have been consistent in being consistently deceitful.

CityLink Wins Appeal

2006-11-22T19:42:00.000-05:00

Porkopolis is blogging about it. CityLink won their appeal today in front of Judge Winkler. What a sad decision for the City. The decision will be appealed.

At this point I am at a loss because I can't comprehend the logic behind the judges ruling. Why even have zoning laws? Do zoning laws only apply to those without money, power and connections? If CityLink isn't a prohibited "Community Service Facility", than that word has no use or real definition in the zoning code.

If you have enough money, power and connections I guess anything can go through. It is no wonder why people leave this city.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Angry Mayor Mallory Losing Power

2006-11-16T08:50:00.000-05:00

Rules change enrages Mallory
THE ENQUIRER

Cincinnati City Council adopted a resolution Wednesday, 7-2, that changes council rules to bring to the full council items that have been recommended by subcommittees - a move that takes some power away from Mayor Mark Mallory.

Previously, Mallory could effectively prevent a legislative item from being considered by simply not placing it on the council agenda.

Now, after Council Member Jeff Berding presented and pushed for passage of the item, if a council committee recommends an issue for approval, it automatically goes to the Clerk of Council for consideration by all nine council members.

Mallory said he was outraged it was brought before council for consideration before being discussed with him.

Kudos to Jeff Berding and Council for taking the pocket veto dictatorship away from Mayor Mallory.

The Porkopolis Blog has more detail here:

Council Takes Veto Out of Mayor’s Pocket

The policy, sponsored by members Jeff Berding and Leslie Ghiz, was proposed in early October after Mallory had refused to schedule a vote on a proposal that would require the cost for the mayor’s bodyguard be borne by his office budget instead of the police budget.

Some council members were concerned about the amount of overtime incurred by police Spc. Scotty Johnson, Mallory’s bodyguard. Some council members question why paying any overtime is necessary, instead preferring that other officers be rotated into the bodyguard’s slot once Johnson reaches 40 hours of duty in a week. Mallory specifically requested Johnson, a longtime friend, as his bodyguard in April after activist Kabaka Oba was shot outside City Hall.

Overtime costs are included in salary calculations to establish a pension amount once a police officer retires; the more overtime accrued, the higher the monthly pension payment.

Check it out. As discussed before, the excessive overtime for Scotty Johnson could increase his pension benefits dramatically. It will be interesting to see what happens to the lucrative contract with the Mayors bodyguard.

Scotty Johnson is President of the Sentinel Police organization, and he also happens to have his own radio show on the buzz. Mallory isn't stupid. Scotty J is not a bad guy to have on your side, and Mayor Mallory is greasing the wheels to make sure he is well compensated.

To date, no record of any threat to the Mayor has been documented. Our Mayor doesn't really have a bodyguard as much as he has a personal driver. And given the overtime and increased pension costs that personal driver has become a very expensive luxury.

But the bodyguard dilemma isn't all about budgets, overtime, or bloated pension costs. What is the opportunity cost when we take a 20 year veteran off the streets? Scotty holds the rank of Police Specialist, not driver. Scotty should be back working with the SWAT team and investigating robbery.

What is the cost to the victims having Scotty on the sidelines? Those costs may be impossible to calculate, but they exist.

Dale Mallory annointed to the Family Seat

2006-11-08T00:23:00.000-05:00

As expected, Dale Mallory was elected to the Ohio Statehouse. Nationwide the country experienced a historic election in which the Democratic Party has taken back both the House and probably the Senate. Nationwide this is a good thing. We have had enough of one party government. For the 32nd, this could be a disaster waiting to happen. Dale Mallory will be the first person sticking his hand out in Columbus.

Voter issues tended to be national issues and not local ones. Dale Mallory has ridden a wave of both his family name and voter discontent and that wave is taking him to Columbus. Even under felony investigation, Dale Mallory never had to campaign, submit to interviews or even do much of anything to get elected. We here at the IMB don't think he will do much of anything but steal in Columbus, and we are dedicated to watching him closely.

Kimberly Hale never had chance. No Republican is going to win the 32nd. The district is gerrymandered and drawn for a specific outcome, and that outcome is always going to be a Democrat. The chance to really defeat Dale Mallory was with Eve Bolton or another Democrat. No Republican was going to win the 32nd.

If Dale is ever to become unseated, it is going to have to happen in the Democratic primary races. Now that Dale has been elected, he enjoys the advantage of being an incumbent along with the powerful family name. To unseat a Mallory would be legendary in the 32nd, because it has never happened in four decades. This is the Mallory Family seat. Realistically, Dale Mallory is going to be in the Ohio Statehouse for eight years until he is term limited out.

That doesn't mean that their isn’t a bright side to this result. Consider that the unemployment figures will be favorable. Dale just got his first long term employment in the last decade. For a guy that couldn't hold down employment, that is a bonus. Maybe now Dale can become a taxpayer. He could start by paying down his outstanding property taxes and paying off his court ordered debts.

And think of the great things this means for the West End Community Council. Now that Dale Mallory is State Rep, he no longer will keep claiming that he is the West End Community Council President. We impeached him nine months ago, but we will finally get rid of him when he goes to Columbus. We can finally take our community back. Our loss is now a gift to the entire 32nd district. Enjoy him, we don't want him back.

Another positive outcome is the last exodus of the Mallory clan from the West End. Dale gets to go to Columbus, and he was the last Mallory left standing. William Sr. and Fannie long ago moved to Mr. Airy, where they live with their unmarried son Mark. Dale doesn't own his own home, and he only moved back into the West End after a WECC member protested in 2001 that he didn't even live in the West End.

Also standing to gain are the debt collectors that showed in court that Dale Mallory owes 37,000 in unpaid back debt. Now that Dale has a job they can start to garnish his wages. For the next eight years they can expect to be on schedule. Good for them, but I fear that the people of Ohio's 32nd will pay far more.

We will continue to watch Dale Mallory in Columbus. We will continue to watch the expenditures of the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation. And we will continue to fight the CityLink Center Homeless Maul on every front. The results today were completely expected. Today was not a defeat, but a call to action and vigilance against Mallory corruption.

IMPEACH MALLORY BLOG ENDORSES KIMBERLY HALE

2006-11-06T00:41:00.000-05:00

After several hard fought seconds of deliberation, the editorial board of the Impeach Mallory Blog has decided to endorse Kimberly Hale for the Statehouse in the Ohio 32nd.

It was not a tough choice given her opponent. Let’s first take a look at Dale Mallory.

In February of this year, Dale Mallory was impeached and removed from office from the West End Community Council. Dale Mallory conspired to deny his community a vote of opposition on the CityLink Center project. Later investigations by the Cincinnati Enquirer and the Cincinnati Business Courier revealed that Dale Mallory was a paid advocate on behalf of CityLink, and that he had sold out his community. The CityLink case is still in court, and Dale Mallory is currently under criminal investigation.

This is a list organizations opposed to CityLink:

1) West End Churches and Ministers
2) Cincinnati City Council
3) Sheriff Simon Leis
4) Over The Rhine Chamber of Commerce
5) OTR Brewery District
6) Clifton Heights Business Association
7) Brighton Business Owners Association
8) West End Community Council
9) Pendleton Neighborhood Association
10) Westwood Concern
11) Dayton Street Neighborhood Association
12) Klotter / Conroy Residents Association
13) CUF Neighborhood Association
14) Clifton Heights Improvement Association
15) West McMicken Improvement Association
16) Mulberry Hill Neighborhood Association
17) East Walnut Hills Assembly
18) Cincinnati Homeowners Association

The list of community organizations and neighborhood groups that support CityLink still stand at zero. Dale Mallory claimed neutrality, but he was later exposed for being a paid shill for the cause. Dale Mallory was paid to support CityLink, even while he was actively denying his community a vote on the matter.

Dale Mallory was the executive director of Genesis Redevelopment. The Genesis Redevelopment Scandal rocked the West End a few years ago. Genesis had a budget of nearly a million dollars, and they promised to develop over a hundred units of housing. Investigations found that Genesis built only one home, along with giving contracts and doing surface cosmetic enhancements to homes of families and friends of those involved.

As President of the West End Community Council, Dale Mallory appointed the City Hall Hitman / Functionally Illiterate dishwasher Howard Beatty to the Board of Directors of the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation. Dale also had a hand in appointing George “Junebug” Beatty and Len Garrett to the Board of Directors. As chairman of the board, Len Garrett then gave Dale a “consulting” position reporting solely to him. The whole affair was exposed by the Cincinnati Enquirer, which raised both ethical and legal questions that Dale Mallory never answered. As soon as the news became public, the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation fired Dale Mallory. That brought to an end his only constructive employment in the last decade.

After Dale Mallory was impeached and removed from office, he filed two lawsuits against over two dozen people. He sued his niehbors, West End Ministers, the Cincinnati Police and the Sheriff. One suit was thrown out of court, and the other was dropped before it followed the same fate.

Months after being impeached and removed from office, Dale Mallory cleaned out and closed down the West End Community Council bank account. He is currently under a felony investigation for that act.

During the current political campaign, Dale Mallory has refused all attempts to answer questions, conduct interviews, or have debates. He has run a silent political campaign. His sole strategy is to rely on the Mallory family name.

On the flip side we have Kimberly Hale, who is a breath of fresh air into the Cincinnati political scene. This is what the Cincinnati Enquirer had to say when endorsing Kimberly Hale:

There's a better alternative for voters in this district of central Cincinnati neighborhoods. Kim Hale, a West End neighbor of Mallory, decided to run after GOP candidate Mike Poast discovered he wasn't really a resident of district. She also was motivated by what she saw as Mallory's attempt to ram CityLink through without debate.

A progressive-minded community activist, she's not a typical Republican but is a very good fit for this district - bright, hard-working, good at networking and collaboration with various community groups.

She is president of the Dayton Street Neighborhood Association and member of the Cincinnati Human Services Advisory Committee. She would focus on attracting and encouraging small businesses, and she has specific ideas on combating crime and on increasing residency in the district. We endorse Kim Hale in the 32nd House District race.

It is about time the 32nd got proper representation. We need someone who cares about the people and the needs of our community. We need someone who can’t be bought off and sold to the highest bidder like Dale Mallory.

Kimberly Hale offers a fresh alternative to the corruption that is plauging the district. A vote for Hale is a vote for change in the way we do business. We here at the IMB both support and endorse Kimberly Hale.

Cincinnati Enquirer Endorses Kimberly Hale

2006-11-03T06:22:00.000-05:00

Hale, Silver in Ohio House races

Call it A Tale of Two Districts: Cincinnati's 32nd Ohio House District long has been held by Democrats, while the 34th District is traditional Republican turf. This year, however, voters in both districts would do well to switch allegiances and elect the better candidates in these races.

32ND DISTRICT

Democrat Dale Mallory, brother of Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory and son of former House Majority Leader William Mallory Sr., is bidding for the seat his family held for 32 of the past 40 years. But he has run an under-the-radar campaign, virtually silent and invisible, relying on the esteem in which his family is held to get him elected.

Because of questions about his role in the CityLink social services proposal, he was impeached and removed as president of the West End Community Council. He faces various legal and ethical questions, and could have limited effectiveness as a lawmaker.

There's a better alternative for voters in this district of central Cincinnati neighborhoods. Kim Hale, a West End neighbor of Mallory, decided to run after GOP candidate Mike Poast discovered he wasn't really a resident of district. She also was motivated by what she saw as Mallory's attempt to ram CityLink through without debate.

A progressive-minded community activist, she's not a typical Republican but is a very good fit for this district - bright, hard-working, good at networking and collaboration with various community groups.

She is president of the Dayton Street Neighborhood Association and member of the Cincinnati Human Services Advisory Committee. She would focus on attracting and encouraging small businesses, and she has specific ideas on combating crime and on increasing residency in the district. We endorse Kim Hale in the 32nd House District race.

Here is what CityBeat said about the thought of Endorsing Dale Mallory:

As much as we'd like to see Democrats level the legislative playing field in Columbus, Dale Mallory is too tainted and too invisible to deserve this open seat.

Enquirer Endorsement: Link
CityBeat Link: Dale's Deals

I couldn't agree more.

Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation Sets To Spend $130 Million

2006-11-01T09:25:00.000-05:00

From banker to rainmaker
New Empowerment Corp. exec ready to make things happen

Joyce Powdrill will trade banking for community building when she leaves Key Corp. on Oct. 30 to take the newly created position of vice president of economic development for the Cincinnati Empowerment Corp.

Her first task is no small one. Powdrill plans to roll out a $130 million bond fund to make capital investments in Cincinnati's poorest neighborhoods.

I know nothing of Joyce Powdrill. She sounds like a great person. And I like the thought of $130 million being invested in the urban core. The problem is that I do know something about the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation.

The last fiscal audit showed that well over 60% of the funding went to administrative expenses. The Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation has spent millions with few tangible results. Giving them $130 million in bond money seems to be a recipe for disaster.

Is anyone here familiar with how these bonds work? Specifically, is somebody on the hook to pick up the tab if the projects fail to produce the revenue to satisfy the obligations of the Bonds? Is the City responsible, the County or the Feds? Is this taxpayer money, or will people lend money to the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation because they feel it is a good investment. The Enquirer released a report that stated that 80% of their loan portfolio was non performing and behind payments?

Who is going to lend these people their own money? This is a disaster waiting to happen, and when it does I suspect Joe Taxpayer will be picking up the tab.

Dale Mallory is Nowhere To Be Found

2006-10-27T08:06:00.000-05:00

Kevin Osborne follows up on his recent CityBeat cover story on the Citybeat Porkopolis blog:

Dale Mallory Still MIA

Dale Mallory’s disappearing act is par for the course so far this campaign season. Impeached as president of the West End Community Council and facing a criminal investigation about allegedly emptying that group’s bank account three months after he was removed from office, Dale Mallory has avoided any public campaigning and refused to answer reporters’ questions about his secret lobbying on behalf of the proposed City Link Center, a project opposed by many West End residents. Also, he declined to fill out the League of Women Voters questionnaire that is routine for most campaigns.

And later:

Dale Mallory has tried to duck controversy and hope most voters are unaware of the dispute, preferring instead to rely on his family’s name and history in public service to help him achieve victory. In the words of Sgt. Schultz from the old Hogan’s Heroes sitcom, “I see nothing, I hear nothing, I know nothing.”

I think that Kevin Osborne is dead on in his assessment. Go to the Porkopolis blog and check it out.

Dale Mallory Lied on his Ethical Filing

2006-10-26T13:30:00.000-05:00

Dale Mallory did not include a reported $37,475 in outstanding debt on his ethical filing. Dale B. Mallory is heading back to court today. The Enquirer broke the news:

MALLORY IN COURT

Dale Mallory, the Democratic candidate for the 32nd Ohio House district, is scheduled to appear in court today on an action by a creditor to recover a $37,475 debt he's owed since at least 1997.

Cadlerock Joint Venture, a Youngstown-area company that buys bad debt, recently obtained a "revivor" order.

Mallory's opponent, Republican Kim Hale, said the issue isn't so much that he's failed to pay his debts, but that he didn't disclose it on ethics forms filed with the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee. "Honesty and integrity are important in a candidate," she said.

Mallory said the loan goes back to the 1980s, and that he has contested its validity. He said he didn't disclose it because he thought the certificate of judgment expired after five years.

--Gregory Korte

One pattern that I see with Dale is his constant sense of denial. Consider the statement:

“Mallory said the loan goes back to the 1980s, and that he has contested its validity”.

From what I understand, Dale Mallory has already lost this case in court. Dale likes to “contest the validity” of things that have already happened. I believe a court of law has decided that Dale Mallory owes that money. I believe what has passed with time is Dale Mallory’s ability to appeal the case or “contest the validity” of the court’s findings. This isn’t an open debate.

I will try to find out more facts on the case, but it seems like the facts have been decided and that portion is over and done with. What is left is the attempt of the creditor to get the money back from Dale Mallory. As Dale has not had a job in years, this is a tough road to hoe.

It is also interesting to see how a chronicly unemployed Dale Mallory approaches the debts and obligations that he takes on in life: “He said he didn't disclose it because he thought the certificate of judgment expired after five years.” Dale figured if he didn’t pay anything for five years he should be in the clear. At least he is consistent in always trying to get something for nothing. I think it is the overarching theme of his life.

Dale hasn’t had a job in years. His creditors can’t garnish his wages because he has no wages. Dale Mallory is a leech on society.

Side By Side Enquier Graphic Revealed

2006-10-26T01:11:00.000-05:00

Dale Mallory and Kimberly Hale had a side by side graphic in Wednesday’s Cincinnati Enquirer.

Let’s go through Dale’s responses:

Campaign Web Site

Two candidates from the 31st district were highlighted alongside Dale Mallory and Kimberly Hale of the 32nd district. Of the four candidates, Dale is the only one without a website that you could learn more about him and his stand on the issues. Not only does Dale avoid the questions of the Press (MIA-Dale Mallory), he also doesn’t present anything directly to the people. Dale’s plan is to say as little as possible and just run on the Mallory family name.

Kimberly Hale’s website is listed as www.haleyes.org.

Age

Dale’s age was reported as 47. His campaign disclosure listed his income from two sources: the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation and General Electric retirement funds. Dale hasn’t worked at GE since well before this century. He didn’t have the years to qualify for GE’s retirement. He was dismissed from General Electric for failing multiple drug tests. Kimberly Hale is a youthful and passionate 38 year old who manages a business. She also develops property in the West End and invests in her own community.

Occupation

As occupation, Dale Mallory listed “Consultant”. As usual, Dale Mallory is currently unemployed, he isn’t a consultant. He was hired as a consultant by the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation, and he served under board chairman Len Garrett, a man that Dale himself helped appoint to the CEC. Dale also appointed George “Junebug” Beatty and his brother, City Hall Hitman Howard Beatty to the CEC board of directors. After appointing members to the board, those board members gave him his only meaningful employment in the new millennium. As soon as it became public what had happened, the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation fired him. That is impressive.

Experience

Dale Mallory listed his roles as a Ward Chair and Precinct Executive as experience. That would be impressive if he did that on his own. Given his family’s strong standing in the Hamilton County Democratic Party, I don’t think those positions were earned on merit.

Notice how he isn’t listing himself President of the West End Community Council or his experience as Executive Director of Genesis Redevelopment? Dale was impeached and removed from office as President of the WECC. His own community dumped him by over 75% of the vote. He also never brings up his involvement with Genesis and his ties to prominent Genesis Redevelopment figures.

The Genesis Redevelopment scandal rocked both City Council and the West End six years ago. Dale Mallory ended up appointing the same usual suspects from Genesis to the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation.

The CEC is currently under investigation by the FBI, The City of Cincinnati, and the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Their last audit shows that even though they spend millions, well over 60% goes to administrative costs. Some of those dollars went to Dale Mallory, after he appointed the people that were in charge. An Enquirer investigation found his bills “troubling”. I found them to be troubling too.

What I Stand For

Here is what Dale purports to stand for:

“I am committed to public service. I have been and will continue to be a strong voice for working people. I will work for affordable health care and for ensuring that our children are provided with a world class education.”

How can a man be a strong voice for working people when he isn’t one of them? Dale doesn’t work.

As for health care, affordable health care is a major issue for working Americans, and Dale isn’t one of them. He doesn’t work. His brief stint as a “consultant” for the CEC didn’t put him on the payroll with health benefits. He hasn’t been on any payroll with health benefits in this millennium. If Dale was in an accident tonight, his health care would be paid for by the taxpayer. That would be affordable for Dale, but it would increase the costs of working Americans who pay taxes. If you want to make Health Care more affordable, one way would be to get people like Dale Mallory to actually get a job and pay health care premiums.

Dale Mallory doesn’t work. He doesn’t own his own home. And he doesn’t pay taxes on the vacant and un-rehabilitated property that he owns. This guy is going to make health care more affordable? A good start would be if he actually got a job.

His other issue push was for “ensuring that our children are provided with a world class education”. That is a laugher.

Read Osborne’s article again. It has been well documented that Dale Mallory was a paid consultant for the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation. In that capacity, he actively promoted the CityLink Homeless Maul. The project was going to move homeless shelters and soup kitchens from Washington Park to the West End, and locate them right across the street from schools and playgrounds. CityLink was going to concentrate the mentally ill, drug addicts, and court ordered pre-release and post-release felons coming straight out of jail right next to his own community’s schools. When members of the West End Community Council tried to vote against the project, Dale Mallory blocked the vote. Little did they know at the time that Dale Mallory was getting paid to advocate on behalf of the CityLink Center. Maybe they should have put that tidbit in his employment line item.

And the one thing the Enquirer didn’t tell you today in the graphic is that Dale Mallory cleaned out and closed down the West End Community Council bank account months after being removed from office. He took all of the funds out and closed it to cash.

Dale Mallory isn’t one of the working people he claims to represent. He is an unemployed bum who secretly took money to work against his own community. After he got caught he was both impeached and fired, and he responded by draining the community’s bank account. This election is a chance to say both goodbye and good riddance to Dale Mallory and the corruption that he represents.

Another CityBeat Reader Chimes In

2006-10-25T22:45:00.000-05:00

Unchecked Power

Thanks for the savvy and insightful article on the situation surrounding state representative candidate Dale Mallory ("Dale's Deals," issue of Oct. 11). This seems to be a situation where unchecked power has led to serious abuses that should by no means be rewarded with public office anywhere, much less in a challenging and needy area such as this one.

Although I would generally be inclined to vote for a Democrat, your article makes doing this in good conscience impossible. Thanks for the excellent reporting.

-- Gabriel Deutsch

traveler172@yahoo.com

I find it hard to believe that a person of any political stripe could vote for Dale Mallory after finding out the truth exposed by Kevin Osborne in CityBeat. Party lines tend to blur when issues get local, especially considering the Heimlich/Mallory alliance. This election isn't about party affiliation, it is about what is right.

Dale Mallory isn't good enough for his own community council, and he isn't a wise choice for the entire 32 District either.

Expose the Lying Weasels

2006-10-19T21:30:00.000-05:00

A letter to CityBeat concerning the Dale Mallory saga:

Expose the Lying Weasels

Regarding the editorial "It's a Crime" (issue of Oct. 11), the reason that city leaders are intimidated by the Cincinnati Police Department is actually answered in other articles in the same issue.

Both the cover story ("M.I.A. Dale Mallory") and the Porkopolis item about Christopher Finney ("The Republican Longing for Anal Affection") make it painfully clear that most of our leaders are dirty, lying, inside deal-making, bush-league slimeballs. We are run by a bunch of small-town thinking weasels.

Police Chief Thomas Streicher can't be challenged by them because they're dishonest politicians who can't open their lying traps -- doing so would expose them. I feel more comfortable with Streicher running Cincinnati than any of the dishonest politicians in this town. At least we know what his job is -- it's to make the city safe.

The only agenda we can be sure of from the likes of the Mallorys, Heimlichs, City Council and County Commisioners is that most of them are enriching themselves and their cronies at the expense of the taxpayers. They're also responsible for keeping CityBeat out of many distribution locations around town.

Keep up the good work in exposing all the sissy boy, lying weasels we have in this town. Only an honest mayor, council member or commisioner can call out any public official for their behavior or policies. Until we clean out the dirty-dealing people in office and replace them with honest, trustworthy leaders, we can't expect Streicher -- or any public servants for that matter -- to be accountable.

-- Daniel Cooper, Mount Lookout

It is about time we showed the Heimlichs and Mallorys of this town the door. Well said Daniel Cooper.

Nupdate on the Police Investigation of Dale Mallory

2006-10-17T23:07:00.000-05:00

Why "nupdate"? Cause nothing is happening. If I said update, I could be accused of misleading our readers.

This note is from the minutes of the September 19th meeting of the West End Community Council released tonight:

COMPLAINT TO CPD FOR WECC PAST RECORDS: Robert Killins, Vice President Colbert and Treasurer Moon still trying to get resolution and closure on this issue.

Background on the latest complaint:

The West End Community Council came to the point of giving up on any real response to the criminal complaint against Dale Mallory. The community council then made a request for just the historical records of the council. It was the least that they could ask for. The Cincinnati Police Department refused the request, citing an ongoing police investigation.

Skepticism existed among members of the West End Community Council. People thought the police weren’t really investigating the matter. West End Communtiy Council Treasurer Maggie Moon filed a criminal complaint about Dale Mallory early in June, and nothing happened.

A decision was made within the W.E.C.C. executive committee to contact the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s office. In early September officers of the West End Community Council went to the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s office and asked if an investigation was actually taking place. The Prosecutor’s office followed up with the CPD and affirmed that the criminal investigation was active and ongoing.

In some people’s eyes, that is when the investigation actually started.

Since that point, the CPD has actively interviewed witnesses involved in the West End Community Council. September is a strange month to get started. Seven months after Dale was impeached, four months after Dale cleaned out and closed down the bank account, and three months after the criminal complaint was filed, the CPD started interviewing people about the crime and asking questions about Dale’s impeachment.

Those interviews have reportedly concluded just weeks ago. Why did the CPD take months to getting around to actually investigating the crime? It is a fair question.

Many of the circumstances involved work in Dale Mallory’s polictical favor. By keeping this investigation active, the bank records and historical records are off limits and cannot be gained by the WECC. By keeping this investigation active, members of the CPD also cannot comment on an ongoing investigation.

How does it work in Dale’s favor? Those records could contain other fiscal malfeasance, as many suspect. Dale Mallory has consistently refused requests to turn over records. Instead, he chose to close down the bank account tie things up neatly.

We are now eight months past from Dale Mallory being impeached and removed from office, and the Community Council has no historical records. Funding from Invest in Neighborhoods, (where Dale still sits on the board) has never been reinstated. That funding amounts to $9,000 a year. Our Community Council has gone without proper funding or proper records, and everything seems to be in limbo.

A recent CityBeat article by Kevin Osborne sheds some light into the current predicament:

When voters go to the polls Nov. 7, it's highly likely they will elect to the Ohio Statehouse a person facing a criminal investigation by Cincinnati Police who has rarely campaigned publicly and who dodges questions about his involvement in secret lobbying for a controversial project proposed for the city's West End neighborhood.

Osborne’s sources seem to indicate that this investigation will last just a wee bit longer than November 7, the day Dale Mallory goes on the ballot. Nobody at the Cincinnati Police is rushing to end this investigation. As I have said before, justice delayed is justice denied. If no crime was committed, the CPD should state that fact and explain why. If one was, Dale Mallory should be prosecuted.

A detailed timeline on Dale B. Mallory’s checks can be found here.

The Quick Timeline:

In February Dale Mallory was removed from office by over 76% of the vote.

In March Dale filed two lawsuits to get reinstated.

In April Dale had one suit thrown out of court, and dropped the other one while claiming that he had no intent of remaining president of the West End Community Council.

In May Dale decided to close down and clean out the Community’s bank account, months after being removed from office. He had the check written to Cash.

Then someone told Dale what a dumbfuck he was, and Dale took the money back to the bank. Problem was he couldn’t redeposit it because he had closed down the account. It was like if a bank robber took the money back to the bank and claimed that nothing happened. Since he couldn’t redeposit the money, Dale had two Bank cashiers checks made out for the balance. One was made out to the YMCA, and the other to one of Dale’s friends that he had worked with through the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation/CityLink saga. He then claimed that these were legitimate community council expenditures that were approved in February. The only catch was that February was the month that he was impeached and removed from office. Cameras were rolling, reporters were there, and no vote was taken.

In early June, the WECC treasurer Maggie Moon went to the bank to find out information about the account, and she was told the account was closed. She was given a copy of the check where Dale closed down the account to cash. Maggie Moon immediately contacted the police and filed a criminal complaint.

It is that complaint that has never been answered.

It has been five months since Dale Mallory cleaned out and closed down the West End Community Bank Account, and if the Mayor’s office has it’s way this investigation will drag on another month so that Dale can be elected on November 7th. It has been eight months since the WECC voted Dale B. Mallory out of office, but the WECC still has no legal records or paper trail. Those documents are conveniently part of a “police investigation”.

The CPD has copies of the checks. They have videotapes of the WECC meetings and eyewitness accounts of the events. They have press reports; they even have court records of Dale himself conceding that he no longer is WECC President.

Why wait?

Is the Cincinnati Police Department waiting for the other shoe to drop? Are they still accumulating evidence of a crime that obviously happened five months ago? Are they awaiting something to happen that will break this investigation wide open?

The answer is quite simply, No. The simplest answer is usually the correct answer. (Occam's razor) This is an open and shut case. All the evidence has been out there for months, and the CPD is determined to do nothing about it.

So What is Going to Happen?

Nothing. “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!” We have had an investigation into the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation that was halted dead in the tracks. We also have a criminal investigation into the actions of Dale Mallory that is stagnated and shut down by the powers that be, at least until after the safety of the election.

And if you think another reasonable explanation exists for this bizarre chain of events, ask Dale Mallory. He isn’t talking, he won’t speak of these events, and he won’t debate or even face a journalist until after the election. If this was a tin-foil hat conspiracy, Dale Mallory could come to the table and knock down all the lies with honest answers. He can’t give honest answers to honest questions, because he has none. It is that simple.

Why is this investigation so important?

Dale Mallory is a son and heir to the throne of the Mallory political dynasty. Dale B. Mallory is running for State Representative in the 32nd District for the Ohio House of Representatives. If Dale Mallory was indicted on felony charges for cleaning out and closing down the Community Council bank account, his political future would be over.

Take notice of the fact that nobody in the Mallory family or the Mallory campaign is even defending the charges. They aren’t out and about trying to “clear his good name”. Instead, they are calling in favors to make sure this matter doesn’t get investigated and come to light to the general public. And they are winning my friends. They are winning.

That’s politics. This isn’t about the truth to them, it is about winning. They don’t have to defend him. They don’t even deny the accusations. All they have to do is suppress the truth for a few more weeks, and everything is going according to plan. The CPD should be ashamed for being a co-conspirator to the crime.

I will say it again. Justice Delayed is Justice Denied.

Just another day in Paradise.

CityBeat Cover Story on Dale Mallory

2006-10-11T13:37:00.000-05:00

The link is up for Kevin Osborne's article: MIA: Dale Mallory. Osborne's reporting is a journalistic tour de force which I highly recommend. Dale Mallory has been exposed to the electorate. The more people find out about Dale Mallory, the more they don't like him.

When voters go to the polls Nov. 7, it's highly likely they will elect to the Ohio Statehouse a person facing a criminal investigation by Cincinnati Police who has rarely campaigned publicly and who dodges questions about his involvement in secret lobbying for a controversial project proposed for the city's West End neighborhood.

The more people read this, the less likely it is we will send him to Columbus.

When residents tried to gather more information about the project and discuss it at meetings of the West End Community Council, Dale Mallory -- the group's then-president -- repeatedly delayed placing it on the agenda. As more information about City Link seeped out, some members began calling for the group to vote on whether it supported or opposed the project, a decision that would wield some clout as city officials decided on rezoning and other approvals that would be needed. Mallory blocked those efforts, too.

As Mallory delayed the discussion, community council members were unaware that he also had a $40,000 yearly contract as a part-time consultant for the CEC, a non-profit agency that administers federal anti-poverty funds. Mallory's job was to identify potential development projects that the agency could undertake in the nine poor neighborhoods it serves, including the West End.

Although Mallory told the community council he had no connection to City Link and was personally undecided on the issue, he privately advocated the project as a CEC consultant. Mallory's reports to the agency outline more than 20 appointments or telephone calls with City Link's president, including one where Mallory introduced him to Harold Cleveland, the CEC's chief executive officer.

Osborne never asks the tough questions: When they held their secret lunches, did Dale and Stecher play footsie under the table?

After seeing the back door deals and selling out of her community, Kimberly Hale had seen enough of Dale Mallory...

"When it became clear that Dale was going to run unopposed, a lot of people couldn't sit back and just watch that," Hale says. "This seat is such an important position because the 32nd District includes the central business district and many, many neighborhoods. To entrust Dale Mallory with that isn't a good idea."

Osborne also touches on Dale's campaign strategy:

"Mallory hasn't done any campaigning in recent weeks and hasn't agreed to any candidate forums or debates with Hale. He doesn't have a campaign Web site and did not provide information for the Cincinnati League of Women Voters' election guide.

Dan Hurley, host of Channel 12's Newsmakers program, tried to arrange a joint appearance with Hale but was rebuffed.

"Dale has such a powerful family name, I don't think he believes he has to do anything to win," Hale says.

One has to wonder if Dale can survive a campaign while not talking to the people or the press. It appears that is his campaign strategy. Given the facts out there on the table, Dale owes people at least an attempt at an explanation. At this point it is an open question if even the Cincinnati Herald will endorse Dale Mallory.

================
The Dean Chimes In: Follow-Up: The Dale Mallory, Phil Heimlich, CityLink Connections

M.I.A.: DALE MALLORY

2006-10-11T06:22:00.000-05:00

Got up 1st thing this morning to get the new issue of CityBeat. WOW! It was worth it. Kevin Osborne's story shows a MIA photo of Dale on the cover and on page 23 he reviews the whole sad Dale saga.

There are several photos of Dave Petersen and Kim Hale too.

Regular readers of this blog knew something like this was in the works. I heard something was underway, and gave out more than a few hints. The Mallory Mafia response was sad and predictable.

A certain unnamed Mallory flunkie spent most of yesterday on a libelous smear campaign to attack anyone associated with Mallory opposition. This same flunkie has made so many false attacks in the past, his credibility is less than zero. The only reason for the acknowledgement is the precise timing of the smear campaign and its' tie in to this story. It's so obviously a Mallory Mafia scare tactic. Make the world afraid to oppose you. Sorry..... Dave, Kim and the TS don't scare that easy.

The on-line version of the CityBeat story won't be available till later today, so get a hard copy NOW.

Once the on line version is available, a TS member will be sure to post it.

What a beautiful day in the neighborhood!

Gotta go now.......off to the salt mines.

Felony: Dale Mallory's Checks

2006-10-10T22:18:00.000-05:00

This is a blast from the past. Instead of rehashing what has already been said, I will offer one from the archives. Here is the post about the Felony Investigation of Dale Mallory. It was written in July. The investigation is still open. The West End Community Council still awaits answers to their complaint and the conclusion of the investigation.

-------------------------------------------------

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, 2006 – Dale 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, 2006 – Mallory sues West End council

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

March 21, 2006 – West 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, 2006 – FBI 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.

--------------------------------

Update

The key points that were vital in July are still vital in October. The only switch is that we are now 145 days since Dale Mallory cleaned out and closed down the WECC bank account, and we are still waiting for someone to do someting about it.

Justice Delayed = Justice Denied

What's Dale's job history???

2006-10-07T22:31:00.000-05:00

The Dean was looking for a few of Heimlich's "missing years" in the early 80's.
Dale has a missing life and we sure would like to know the sources of his income.
We do know that Dale had about 50 weeks @ $770/week from mid 2005 to mid 2006 as a CEC "consultant". Sure, it was a fake job provided by his CEC cronies Junebug, Howdie the Hitman and Cowboy Len Garrett.....but it WAS a job.
We do know Dale had no other visible means of support this century.
Dale's "ethical " filing says "GE retiree", but face it folks, a 30 something toolcrib guy with a drug problem ain't gettin no retirement check from GE.
That same "ethical" report shows no assets or investment income. So tell us Dale......who put the bread on the table?
Was it 1)-the parents? 2)-your abused girlfriend(s)? 3)-kickbacks and "emoluments" from your volunteer job?
These are not trivial questions. What kind of person does Tim Burke want to represent the 32nd District?
We know Dale's been impeached. We know he took WECC funds 3 months AFTER he was booted out of office. We know he sold out and sued his neighbors for a few EZ bucks.
What we don't know is the REAL Dale Mallory resume.
What in the world did you do in your adult life?
What is the timeline of your actual employment?
An unemployed, twice divorced guy that lives in his parents house with no lifetime accomplishments doesn't seem like the kind of person I want representing me in Columbus.
Add in the fact that he hangs out with killers and drug lords, and I really have a problem.
Why in the world doesn't the press ask these questions? They are so damned obvious......you'd think he had a friend in City Hall or something.

CPD Investigation Nearing An End

2006-10-04T08:29:00.000-05:00

The CPD investigation into the WECC's complaint filed against Dale Mallory is nearing completion - One week, two at the most.

The complaint alleges that Dale Mallory illegally took community funds from the WECC bank account three months after his removal from office.

Dale Mallory still hasn't turned over bank account or council records to the community.

Porkopolis: Mallory Blocks Bodyguard Vote

2006-10-02T23:18:00.000-05:00

CityBeat's Kevin Osborne stays on the bodyguard beat in the Porkopolis blog:

Mallory Blocks Bodyguard Vote

Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory is using a loophole in city council’s rules, known as a “pocket veto,” to block the group from voting on a proposal to make his office budget bear the expense for the mayor’s bodyguard.

Check out the article. It looks like Mayor Mallory may never have to deal with a City Council vote:

Under a council rule change approved in August, the mayor has no deadline for forwarding items for final approval after council committees have passed them. If the mayor chooses, the items can linger until the end of the year, when another new council rule — known as the sunset clause — nullifies all items that haven’t been voted upon and cleans the legislative slate for the new calendar year.

Kevin Osborne also takes note of the pension effect of overtime costs:

Overtime costs are included in salary calculations to establish a pension amount once a police officer retires; the more overtime accrued, the higher the monthly pension payment.

Some on Council don't see why we have to pay so much overtime, and I don't either. This pension effect means that this overtime will continue to hit the City Budget for decades to come. For now, Council doesn't even have a say in the matter. Some on Council have proposed rotating policemen so that the pension effect is mitigated. That is a smart economic move if we are going to be consigned to paying for a bodyguard.

Mallory chose a friend for the position, and it doesn't appear that he wants a rotating shift. The overtime and pension costs are going to be substantial, with all the money paid to a longtime friend who no longer has to work his day job. How many crimes has this senior veteran solved since he became the driver and entourage of Mayor Mallory? He has probably seen more luxury boxes and football games than solved crimes since he started the assignment.

The City Budget is cash strapped. People are calling for more police in response to violent crime and sky high murder rates. We live in a world of economic scarcity. The concept of opportunity cost tells that that diverting resources to paying for a Mayoral bodyguard costs us the opportunity of having more policing on the street. It is a zero sum game, if you take from the police budget and give it to the Mayor, you will have less left to go around to protect the rest of us.

One has to question if this is the most efficient use of resources. Historically, I am not aware that our mayors have ever been under a physical threat. Our Mayor doesn’t need a bodyguard.

====
Previously : The Million Dollar Bodyguard

Dale Mallory Reinstated as West End Community Council President?

2006-10-02T01:24:00.000-05:00

It may be hard to believe, but according to the City of Cincinnati that is the case.

In the last week the City has revised its official listing of community council Presidents. They have reinstated Mayor Mark Mallory’s older brother, Dale B. Mallory as West End Community Council President.

Here is a link to the google cache of the City of Cincinnati listing: here.

That listing is dated August 24th. It lists Robert Killins, Jr. as president of the West End Community Council.

The current listing tells a different story. On September 26th, the City’s List has been altered to now list Dale Mallory as President of the West End Community Council. This is news to all of the members of the WECC, who seven months ago voted to remove him from office.

Dale Mallory was impeached and removed from office in February of this year. Dale responded with two separate lawsuits. One was thrown out of court. The other was dropped by Dale Mallory himself. In dropping the lawsuit, Dale B. Mallory stated in court documents 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."

The only problem was that a few months after being removed from office, Dale Mallory sauntered into the bank and did the unthinkable. On May 19th, Dale Mallory had the entire balance of the community’s bank account made out to cash. He cleaned out and closed down the WECC bank account, well after being removed from office and admitting to the court that he had no intent of remaining President.

On the 29th of June I blogged this entry:

The fact that he cut the checks and closed down the account is not in dispute. What is now in dispute is Dale Mallory's last chance for freedom. He is claiming that he wasn't really impeached, and that he is still President of the West End Community Council…

This is Dale Mallory's last chance for freedom in this world. He needs to convince the Cincinnati Police Department that he is still President of the WECC, months after being impeached. He needs to get his brother, Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory, to pressure people to drop the case.

If he can't do that, he is going to be under criminal investigation for cutting those checks. And like I stated earlier, the fact that he cut those checks and closed down the account is not in dispute, even by Dale Mallory.”

I remember thinking it through in June, and the only logical defense of Dale cutting those checks would be to claim that he is still the WECC President. Obviously, if he wasn’t the WECC President, he had no authority to close down the bank account. On a side note, even if he was the WECC President he had no authority to close down the bank account.

And he couldn’t deny it. We had copies of the checks, and the people at the bank gave positive identification of Dale B. Mallory. This isn’t an instance of identity theft. Dale Mallory closed down the WECC account to cash on May 19th, and that is a fact.

That is a fact that has apparently eluded authorities, as it has been 136 days since he cleaned out and closed down the WECC bank account, and they only recently started investigating (or so they say).

Now it has come to light that his entire impeachment has been expunged from the official City Hall record, just in the last week. According to the City, on September 26th Dale Mallory was reinstated as President of the West End Community Council. I wonder if Dale has any connections down at City Hall.

This act obviously helps to muddy the waters and delay the investigation until after Dale takes the family seat at the State House representing the entire 32nd. No longer confined to embezzling WECC funds, Dale will now have access to selling out the entire district. The good thing for the West End is that he will no longer be able to be WECC President after he gets elected. He is our gift to the rest of the district, and we don’t want him back. That is why we threw him out on his ass in the first place.

So what is Dale official story? Nobody knows, because the Dale will not answer any questions to the media even though he is a political candidate. Strangely, the media is going along with it.

Deep Throat had a posting about Dale’s alibi here: Dale Mallory’s Felony Defense

Dale’s story is that he wasn’t impeached by over 76% of the vote of his own community council. Instead, he is claiming that the council voted for him to close down and cash out the bank account and disband the community council itself. For if Dale is holding WECC meetings, none of the members of the WECC know about it.

A reporter should give him a call and ask him if he is still President. A press release by Dale Mallory given to the Cincinnati Beacon speaks of Dale in the past tense of when he "was" the WECC President. People should ask Dale if he is still holding secret meetings, and if so why are they not invited?

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

Update from the Beacon: The Dean has information that this whole affair is just a confused mixup: ImpeachMallory Bloggers Jump the Gun, Issue Mistaken Accusations

I can't tell you definitively if the Dale had anything to do with this or not. It sure looked fishy at 1:00 am when I was already half in the bag.

The City has already changed the page back. Robert Killins, Jr. is the West End Community Council President.

Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation Board Meeting October 2nd

2006-10-01T13:25:00.000-05:00

The last CEC meeting was cancelled. You can read about the recent history of CEC board meetings here. They have also recently made changes in the composition of their board of directors, even without a public meeting (here).

Will the CEC close down yet another meeting? Will they finally answer questions from the community? Your guess is as good as mine.

The meeting is at 5:30 Monday at the Berry Center on East Court St. (E of Linn).

In the July Meeting, the promised to answer all of the questions that we submitted in September. September came and went and they cancelled the meeting. Now here we are in October, and people are expecting answers.

Some of the questions related to Junebug and the Beatty nepotism. Since July, Howard Beatty was kicked off the board for missing three straight meetings (he was in jail for killing Kabaka). Junebug has since resigned from the board and vanished without a trace. As for Orlinda Beatty, I presume she is still on the CEC payroll. Orlinda though is not a board member, so I am guessing no Beatty will attend the meeting.

They had quite a few questions involving transparency, and why they would refuse to answer questions or make documents publicly available. The E-Loan fund was questioned. Where were those funds directed, and why were they all in default? How come if you call them up and ask questions they refer you to a lawyer?

They also had questions about Federal Funds that were dedicated to the Empowerment Zone that were expended outside the boundaries of the EZ. The CityLink property on 800 Bank Street didn't even fall within the zone, yet they spent money promoting it. They give huge amounts of cash to the Mallory center, and that isn't even near the EZ boundaries. These acts are blatantly illegal given the EZ guidelines, and the funding goes to people with inside connections.

They were also asked why over 60% of the funding that they get goes to administrative costs. Their last audit showed that 68% of the funding never made it out of Harold Cleveland’s office. That is why I think he doesn't want to hold another meeting. Who wants to answer that question?

So mark your calendar. The meeting today is 5:30 at the Berry Center.

Rockin on the Roof

2006-09-29T09:27:00.000-05:00

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

2006-09-27T10:40:00.000-05:00

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

The Million Dollar Bodyguard

2006-09-25T23:12:00.000-05:00

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

2006-09-24T23:22:00.000-05:00

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

2006-09-21T13:21:00.000-05:00

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

2006-09-20T21:45:00.000-05:00

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

2006-09-18T22:20:00.000-05:00

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?

2006-09-17T08:17:00.000-05:00

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?

2006-09-16T09:29:00.000-05:00

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

2006-09-13T22:13:00.000-05:00

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

2006-09-12T23:34:00.000-05:00

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

2006-09-11T23:48:00.000-05:00

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?

2006-09-10T18:41:00.000-05:00

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.

2006-09-07T22:36:00.000-05:00

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

2006-09-06T23:23:00.000-05:00

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

2006-09-04T23:01:00.000-05:00

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

2006-09-03T22:30:00.000-05:00

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

2006-09-02T16:13:00.000-05:00

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 "

Hale yes! signs

2006-08-31T19:57:00.000-05:00

The Hale Yes crew was busy today.
The Mallorys have a Hale billboard in their side yard.
The Linn and Ravine area has billboards galore.
I-75 has a billboard on Dayton St.
Conroy's hill has a sign seen all over the West End and OTR.
Not a bad day.............Hale yes!

Update: Each sign has been photographed and time stamped. All surrounding property owners have been put on alert and are on the lookout for vandals attempting to remove the Hale Yes! signs. Additionally, the beat officer's have been notified and will keep their eyes open.

New Blood

2006-08-30T07:27:00.000-05:00

This blog is about to get some new blood. I am going to be away on business and far too tied up to maintain this site on a daily basis. I will still be able to contribute from time to time. That is part of my story anyway. The truth is I am burned out.

You can let your new masters know what you want out of this blog. Not saying they will listen. Be nice; try to remember that winning an argument on the Internet is like winning in the Special Olympics. Even when you win, you are still retarded.

Have a blast.

Over the weekend we past the 100 Dale mark. It has now been over 100 days since Dale Mallory cleaned out and closed down the West End Community Bank Account, months after being impeached and removed from office.

The West End Community Council filed a complaint with the police. I guess the police don’t have to answer our community, because they haven’t. It doesn’t appear that they intend too. Case closed as far as I can see. FBI won’t touch it either; it isn’t a “Federal Case”. Don’t expect anything to happen without divine intervention. These actions give a lot of respect to the Mallory political dynasty, but they also give tremendous disrespect to the ordinary citizens of my community.

The case was a sure fire felony. You can’t clean out other people’s bank accounts. I shouldn’t have to mention that. Your ass would be in jail in a New York minute. Unless you are the Mayor’s brother, and you are next in line to the throne that is the Ohio 32nd. Dale isn’t in an election; he is involved in a coronation. It is the ‘family seat’. A Mallory has held that seat for 32 out of the last 40 years. Dale Mallory is the heir to the throne.

Who is Dale Mallory? He is a guy who can’t hold a steady job for his life. Despite his prestigious family name, he is a guy who got impeached by over 76% of the vote from his own community council. He is a guy who was executive director of Genesis Redevelopment, which spent close to a million dollars to build one house and do cosmetic repairs to homes of WECC member’s family and friends. He is a guy who promised to clean up the West End Community Council, but the only thing he cleaned out was the West End Community Council bank account. He is a guy whose only steady job in the last decade came after he appointed his cronies to the board of the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation.

This blog did some great work with the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation. At least we scared the shit out of them. We documented some of the inside dealing, hiring of relatives and family and friends. We brought to light the fact that 85% of their loans went bust. We showed people that funds went to people that were actually outside of the Empowerment Zone boundaries that had inside connections to board members and employees. And we told you how 60% of the millions that they are allocated never even make it out of Harold Cleveland’s office.

But who cares and what does it mean in the end? I have sources that tell me that the CEC is going to skate on the audit, and that funding will soon be restored. It doesn’t matter one bit. Joseph Stalin, a renowned humanitarian, used to say that it wasn’t who voted that mattered, but he who counts the votes. In auditing, it isn’t he who submits the proof of fraud; it is he who judges the fraud.

What we have is fraud on a massive scale. We have a continuum of fraud that spans over a decade. From Genesis Redevelopment to the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation, we have fraud and public graft by the same documented characters. Much like STD’s, these are the gifts that keep on giving.

So who are you and why do you matter? The truth is you don’t matter one bit. Dale Mallory isn’t going to the big house for his crimes; he is going to the State House to represent the entire 32nd. And the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation is going to continue to spend millions of dollars without any economic betterment to the communities that they serve.

I am burned out. We have been at this for the better part of a year. It was a great effort with much enthusiasm to expose the truth. The truth is out there; you can read it on this blog. Nobody is willing to do a damn thing about it. Color me cynical and jaded, but I can’t see things changing. It is hard to blame people that move out of the city.

CityBeat on the CityLink Appeal

2006-08-23T22:06:00.000-05:00

Checking out the new Porkopolis blog from CityBeat:

City Link Loses Appeal

Pretty good take...

In February, the West End Community Council voted to oust President Dale Mallory — brother of Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory — from office. Several members were upset that he’d used rules to block a vote to oppose City Link. Although Dale Mallory denied any connections to City Link at the time, since his impeachment it was revealed he lobbied for City Link while working for the Cincinnati Empowerment Corp., which administers federal anti-poverty funds.

City Link’s supporters and people who have done work on their behalf are a veritable web of local movers and shakers. Besides Mallory, they include attorney and conservative GOP activist Christopher Finney, attorney and Hamilton County Democratic Party Chair Tim Burke, lobbyist Dick Weiland and a religious group affiliated with County Commissioner Phil Heimlich.

The Porkopolis blog also has a new entry on an old favorite, The Genesis Redevelopment Corporation:

Genesis Scandal Figure Back at City Hall

For about a decade beginning in 1991, the community council and Genesis received more than $825,000 and promised to build 130 housing units, but built just one house and repaired 11 other units. Most of the money came from federal grants administered by the city. Board executives included several well-connected West End residents such as George Beatty, who now owns Junebug’s Bar-B-Que and Steaks, as board president; his brother, Howard, who is now awaiting a verdict in a murder trial, also was a board member.

Check em both out.

Empowerment Corp. Director is Guilty Killer

2006-08-23T12:54:00.000-05:00

Beatty guilty in Oba death
BY DAN HORN ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

This is a relatively open thread about City Hall hitman Howard Beatty. Howard Beatty was appointed to the board of directors of the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation by Dale B. Mallory.

In The News

2006-08-22T05:53:00.000-05:00

Kim Hale has officially entered the race against Dale Mallory.

Republicans make matchup switches

Kimberly Hale, 38, will run against Democrat Dale Mallory in the 32nd Ohio House District, which covers central Cincinnati neighborhoods from downtown to College Hill. A West End resident, she owns a graphics business.

She replaces Mike Poast of North College Hill, who dropped out of the race after moving out of the district.

Good luck to Kimberly Hale. She has done well in leading the charge to save her community from the CityLink homeless mall which was to be located next to three schools and a playground. Her next mission is to prevent a criminal from holding office and representing the entire 32nd. If Dale Mallory isn't good enough for his own community council, he isn't good enough for you.

Another article coming over the wire...

IRS hopes Lawson boat will make dent in debt
Lawyer owes $660,000; 'Law Dog' goes up for auction soon
BY DAN HORN ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Prominent Cincinnati attorney Ken Lawson owes more than $660,000 in back taxes to the federal government.

The tax troubles cover at least the past five years and have resulted in the seizure of Lawson's 37-foot boat, "Law Dog." The Internal Revenue Service seized the boat in May and will auction it next week.

I have some suggestions for Mr. Lawson on how he could cut costs in terms of payroll. I doubt productivity would suffer.

An article I am still waiting on is:

Dale Mallory Indicted On Felony Charges

CityLink claims to have "to much invested" to walk away, vows to continue fight

2006-08-20T08:25:00.000-05:00

Look behind Mark Stecher. His property is now overgrown with weeds. The West End Community Council is organizing a community cleanup of the Bank Street property owned by the OneCity Foundation.

Ruling is against Citylink group
BY GREGORY KORTE ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Citylink, the consortium of churches and social service agencies, has suffered another legal setback in its quest to locate a five-acre social services mall in the West End.

A Hamilton County magistrate ruled Friday that Citylink is a "community service facility" barred from locating in a manufacturing-zoned district. That decision upheld a 3-2 vote from the Cincinnati Board of Zoning Appeals in February.

As reported here on Friday, CityLink has lost yet again. It has been clear from the beginning that what they are trying to do conflicts with the zoning laws. This was expected and did not come as a surprise.

But Citylink's president said the group has too much invested in the $1.4 million Bank Street site to walk away from it. He said the board had already decided to take the issue to Common Pleas Judge Ralph E. Winkler, who can overrule the magistrate's decision.

"We know what we're about. We're about fighting poverty," said Mark Stecher. "We're going to keep on doing that and do that even more aggressively."

Work on putting together the center's operational plan will continue even while the dispute over its location works its way through the courts, he said.

Curious quotes by Mark Stecher. He claims to have too much invested in 800 Bank Street. Try driving by 800 Bank Street sometime. The site hasn't been touched since they bought it and is overrun with weeds. They haven't started construction and they don't even conduct regular maintenance on the grounds. CityLink likes to talk about community cleanups, but they don't clean up their own property.

How can they possibly have too much invested? All they did was purchase a property that doesn't meet their zoning requirements. They haven't made any improvements to the property. The site looks more run down at this point in time that at any time in its entire history. Can't they can simply sell the property? That way they wouldn't have "so much" invested.

I get a creepy feeling about the whole affair. Mark Stecher, CityLink and the OneCity Foundation have always been dead set on this one location. The fact that this location is right across the street from three schools and a playground has upset many people in the downtown basin and on the hillsides. They have never appeared to be open or flexible about changing the location.

"We know what we're about. We're about fighting poverty," said Mark Stecher. "We're going to keep on doing that and do that even more aggressively."

So far the only thing that they have done is purchase a property and let weeds grow on it. From now on though, the gloves are off. Mark Stecher is going to let those weeds grow even more aggressively.

To put a stop this aggressive weed growing, members of the West End Community Council and the Dayton Street Neighborhood Association have banded together and have committed to clean up the Bank Street property. We the people have far more invested in our community than they do. If they aren't going to give a damn about that property we will take care of it with God's good grace. Frankly, I am sick and tired of looking at it.

The proposed CityLink Center has no place in any neighborhood, much less one like the West End that still struggles with open air drug markets. Bringing people with drug addiction to the West End is like having an AA meeting in a bar. It is just a bad idea. It is also a bad idea to locate a housing program for court ordered pre-release and post-release felons next to schools and homes. It isn't a good placement for the people that CityLink is trying to serve, and it isn't good for the community. It is bad for everyone. Their target population has high rates of mental illness, violent crime, as well as high rates of recidivism and re incarceration. Maybe those people need to get away from areas that struggle with crime and open air drug markets. Give them a fighting chance.

The article also talks about my good friend Dale Mallory:

The West End Community Council - which had removed its previous president, Dale Mallory, from office over his support for Citylink - intervened in the court case.

Dale Mallory was impeached and removed from his office as President of the West End Community Council by over 76% of the vote. Three months after being removed from office, Dale Mallory criminally cashed out and closed down the community's bank account. You can view the timeline here.

Open Thread

2006-08-19T06:53:00.000-05:00

Post youR off topic comments, diatribes, rants, and inane ramblings here.

CityLink Loses Again! WOO HOO! HALE YEAH!

2006-08-18T09:57:00.000-05:00

CityLink and Crossroads Community Church have lost their appeal to put a homeless mall right next to three schools and a playground in the West End. Congrats go out to all that have fought the good fight, including Kimberly Hale who led the charge. She is one tough cookie. I wouldn't want to go up against her.

What is CityLink?

CityLink & Crossroads Community Church were trying to build a 100,000 square foot "mall for the homeless" in the West End. It would be the largest social service facility in the history of the region.

Our community rejected it; we were supported by surrounding communities, churches and business associations. You can check out the NoToCityLink site for yourself.

Who was opposed to Citylink?

The West End Churches and Ministers were opposed to CityLink. All the major congregations of the West End, including the Catholic Church came out against a plan to put drug addicts, the mentally ill, and prisoners fresh out of prison right across the street from our schools, homes and playgrounds.

The head law officer in the County, Sheriff Simon Leis came out against CityLink for the following reasons:

1) Proposed location and close proximity to three schools and the LeBlond Boys and Girls club.
2) Police calls and criminal activity in and around similar facilities.
3) Widespread Community opposition
4) Existing similar services
5) Scale of proposed facility
6) Economic revitalization efforts in and around the area.
7) Limitations of the proposed private site security.

Sheriff Leis observed that this “service will likely have a negative impact on the public safety of the residents and the neighborhood.”

Cincinnati City Council came out with a seven point resolution against the CityLink Center in February. The reasons? It was against the West End Comprehensive Plan, for one. In 2001, the West End Community Council, the Dayton Street Neighborhood Association, and the West End Business Association came together to forge the West End Urban Design Plan. This was later adapted and adopted by City Council as the West End Comprehensive Plan. The goal was to redevelop and revitalize the neighborhood.

To quote from the council resolution: “the neighborhood is rapidly becoming a mixed income neighborhood, with a 190% increase in household income from 1980 to 2000, and a 60% increase in the number of homeowners, making the West End single family market the fifth highest in sale value in the City”

The City also objected to CityLink’s obvious violation of the zoning code. The site was zoned for manufacturing, and CityLink planned to build a Wal-Mart sized homeless mall and service center for drug addicts, ex cons, and a special program for pre-release felons. That isn’t manufacturing, and it has no business next to the children of my community.

Local Businesses were outraged. The Over the Rhine Chamber of Commerce came out against the project. The OTR Brewery District came out against the project. Klotter Builders and Klotter Properties came out against the project. The Clifton Heights Business Association was opposed, as were the Brighton Business Owners and the Historic Hauck House Museum.

Eleven different community and neighborhood associations lined up against the project.

1) West End Community Council
2) Pendleton Neighborhood Council
3) Westwood Concern
4) Dayton Street Neighborhood Association
5) Klotter/Conroy Residents Association
6) CUF Neighborhood Association
7) Clifton Heights Improvement Association
8) West McMicken Improvement Association
9) Mulberry Hill Neighborhood Association
10) East Walnut Hills Assembly
11) Cincinnati Homeowners Association

The number of neighborhood groups that supported Crossroads / CityLink still stands today at zero. The number of business associations and law enforcement groups that support the Crossroads / CityLink concept still stands today at zero.

There are literally thousands of people who are vehemently against the Crossroads Community Church effort to build a monument to their own greatness by concentrating the homeless, bums, drunks, drug addicts, and both pre and post-release felons into a grand mall right across the street from three schools and a playground.

The people at Crossroads believe that they are doing God’s will. The people in the neighborhood that they plan to place their facility believe that they are about to rip apart a reviving neighborhood and put their children in harms way.

One of the biggest generators of the animosity is the pure arrogance of Crossroads Community Church. Crossroads Community Church is the biggest Mega-Church in the City. They had the audacity to flood our community forums with hundreds of “true believers”, and they invited the media to make believe that they had West End and community support. Brian Tome and Tim Senff literally asked hundreds of people from their own Oakley / Hyde Park congregation to come, and they even instructed them to cheer whenever they spoke. People from my community that attended meetings that were dominated by loud and shouting outsiders were offended. It was a bad idea for everyone, and a horrible way to conduct a public relations campaign.

Today is a victory for Cincinnati.

Dale's Appointments to the CEC Board

2006-08-17T19:15:00.000-05:00

This is a memo from Dale Mallory reappointing George "Junebug" Beatty to the board of directors of the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation. As has been noted before, the West End Community Council never ratified this appointment. Junebug's brother, City Hall hit man/ functional illiterate Howard Beatty was also another Dale appointee who was never taken before the community council. These appointments happened behind closed doors.

I had some questions in terms of the timeline. This memo was written in November of 2001. It states that "George Beatty will remain on the Empowerment Zone board for the next term as a representative for the West End Community Council. From what I have heard, board terms have a duration of two years. It would seem to me that Mr. Beatty was first appointed to the board in November of 1999.

I am not sure when Dale came into the Presidency, but I am confident that he was not President in 1999. I believe that the President prior to Dale was George Beatty. Did Junebug appoint himself to the Empowerment Zone board? I also believe that Len Garrett was President of the WECC at some point during the 1990's.

Anyone want to fill me in with a more complete timeline?

If George Beatty was on the Empowerment Corp board in 1999, that would go against the theory that after the Genesis corruption he simply shifted it to the Empowerment Zone. This evidence would lead one to believe that he was doing both projects concurrently.

People at City Hall threatened to shut down the WECC because of Genesis and the financial malfeasance of the West End Community Council. People on council were demanding that the people who allowed this money to be wasted would never again be put in charge of the spigot of public funds. At that same time JuneBug was already firmly entrenched with the Empowerment Zone, the funding of which is overseen by the City of Cincinnati. While Cincinnati was saying “never again”, it was already happening again.

You also have to wonder how many years Junebug was with the Empowerment Zone. One source told me that he was term limited off the board after two terms as West End Community Council representative. But he is still on the board right now, and he was on the board presumably when his first term started in 1999.

Dale Mallory appointed George “Junebug” Beatty to the board. Dale appointed Howard “Hit Man” Beatty to the board. Dale also got Len Garrett in from Queensgate. Dale got people on the board, and those people gave Dale a job working for them. He reported directly to Len Garrett. Dale wasn’t the only person to get a job, Junebug’s wife Orlinda is also a paid employee of the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation. Orlinda’s job title is “Community Liaison”. That is pretty much what Dale’s job title was too. They hire friends, family, and cronies, and then they spend the lion's share of the budget on each other. It is an orgy of graft. The Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation spends 60% of their budget on salaries and administrative expenses. Looking at Dale’s time sheets, it is great work if you can get it.

Homeless Drunks In Seattle

2006-08-16T01:05:00.000-05:00

We have talked about CityLink being built next to schools and homes, so I am wondering what people think of this approach...

1811 Eastlake

This inital link has numerous links on the concept and idea, as well as reaction to the concept and idea of it all. I will give a few highlights.

Best Social Experiment

It was predictable that someone would go off his collective nut when the 1811 Eastlake project opened last December. The project provides permanent housing to chronic street drunks and allows them to keep drinking. And that sort of thinking sounds insane to uptight media types like KOMO-TV's Ken Schram, who denounced the place as enabling drunks. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer's Robert Jamieson has been nitpicking 1811 as well, since well before it opened, in fact, and the paper continues to refer to it as a "wet house." But here's the deal: Chronic street drunks cost taxpayers about $50,000 a year as they move through the current streets-jail-emergency- room-repeat program. The new approach, spearheaded by the Downtown Emergency Service Center, gives these guys a roof over their heads, lets them hooch it up, and saves the taxpayers money because the former street denizens will no longer be cycling through jail and ERs. Estimated savings: about $35,000 per person. Sounds counterintuitive, sure, but so far the reports are that the drunks are drinking less.—Philip Dawdy www.desc.org/1811.html

Check out the NPR report and listen in here.

From the New York Times

Also of interest by Malcolm Gladwell in the New Yorker:

MILLION-DOLLAR MURRAY
Why problems like homelessness may be easier to solve than to manage.
by MALCOLM GLADWELL

Click the links and check it out. Add more in the comments if you find some good ones.

Many people that post here know about the proposed CityLink homeless mall. Seatlle has quite a different approach and I thought it was interesting. They barricaded the facility behind highways and overpasses and put it in a commerical/industrial zone. Then they invited all the worst drunks in town and told them they could keep drinking to their hearts content.

They claim to be saving money hand over fist. And people don't have to step over passed out bums on the street. The worst drunks in town are no longer lurking, pissing, and crapping in alleys, streets and parks of neighborhoods. Just about everyone they asked took them up on the offer. Listen to the NPR interview and the guy talk about his 9 year old daughter. Salient points. Nobody wants to see it, and if these people have dedicated their lives to the cause maybe we should give them that freedom.

To continue to jail, hospitalize, and detoxify a group of dedicated people such as this may be throwing good money after bad. Read the Gladwell article. So much of the social service budget is sapped up by a small percentage. If we could isloate these people and let them be free on their own terms, (while not imposing on others), a huge chunk of the social service budget could go to those where it could make a differnce.

This is very controversial, and I understand that. I think it is interesting and deserves a look and a comment. Where the hell do you stand on this?

CEC Budget

2006-08-16T00:26:00.000-05:00

A post concerning the City Manager's report on the CEC budget can be found here.

Let's talk about the "training" portion of the budget. Gordon Lafer wrote a book entitled "The Job Training Charade", and I found some gems in the pages.

Fraud and Abuse in On-The-Job Training

On-the-job training (OJT) programs have consistently reported the greatest success in raising the earnings of JTPA (Job Training Partnership Act) participants. But since they have also been the most common sites of program fraud, this success is suspect.

He goes on to list specific instances of fraud, including fictitious individuals as OJT participants. At times the OTJ acts as a subsidy to lure business, classifying people already employed as trainees just to get the subsidy. One company closed for a day just so they could reopen the next with subsidies.

"While it is impossible to know how common this type of fraud is, one GAO (General Accounting Office) survey found that half of the local governments surveyed had at least one OJT contract for workers who were already employed in the occupation for which they were being trained"

These programs constantly skim off the top, taking the most employable candidates that most likely would have been hired anyway. That way they can inflate their outcome statistics. Some even don't report prospects until they have been placed in a job.

"This suggests that the apparent success of on the job training may be almost entirely illusory, and the program may accomplish nothing more than subsidizing private sector employers, enriching poverty entrepreneurs, and offering local governments an easy way to claim paper success in combating unemployment."

The Aggregate Impact of Operation Problems

The lack of centralized date makes it impossible to conduct careful cost-benefit analyses of JTPA. However, using the studies cited above as a rough measure, it is clear that mismanagement accounts for a very substantial share of the program budget. Adding together the impact of only three of the problems discussed above, inflated claims of job placement, illegitimate costs charged to contracts, and OJT subsidies for individuals who would have been hired anyway--yields an estimate of up to 50% of the Title IIA funds that were wasted through fraud of mismanagement. While the total impact of the mismanagement is uncertain, it is clear the JTPA has suffered from more than minor implementation problems, indeed it has wasted money on a vast scale."

Look at the CEC budget expenditures again. 59% goes to administrative expenses. Three out of every five dollars that we pay never makes it out the god damned door. Of the money that did make it out, 90% went to programs that had no measurable economic impact. The most significant expenditure was for job training. How much of those dollars went to subsidize worker for Len Garrett’s company? How many other companies got subsidized labor. How many actual people learned a trade that they hadn’t known before? I would love to see some published outcome statistics for the success of the CEC’s job training program. Too bad they don’t publish outcome statistics. And if you have the balls to ask for them they tell you to fuck off. They City won’t cop to anything either. The money was spent, that is all they are going to tell you.

And I am telling you it is all a web of deceit and a pack of lies. Trust me on that one. The CEC spends millions per year and they have nothing to show for it. If they wanted to prove me wrong, they could start by pointing out their achievements. To date, I can’t find any.

Ballot swap puts heat on Mallory

2006-08-11T23:36:00.000-05:00

Ballot swap puts heat on Mallory
Residency concerns drop Poast; Hale joins race in 32nd
BY KIMBALL PERRY AND GREGORY KORTE ENQUIRER STAFF WRITERS

Facing concerns that his questioned residency may cost him the election, Mike Poast will drop out as the Republican candidate for state representative in Cincinnati's 32nd District, to be replaced on the ballot by Kimberly Hale.

Hale's entrance in the race also portends a more aggressive GOP attack on Dale Mallory, who was removed as West End Community Council president this year.

"Dale Mallory, with all of his problems," should be concerned, said Brad Greenberg of the Hamilton County Republican Party.

Dale has reason to be concerned...

Mallory has been on the receiving end of attacks from his West End neighbors over his support of the CityLink social services center. Hale was part of a neighborhood coalition that removed Mallory from the community council post over the CityLink controversy.

The Enquirer later reported that Mallory, then a consultant for the Cincinnati Empowerment Corp., was billing the federally funded agency for his work on the project.

Hale's entrance into the race is likely to push that issue to the forefront of the campaign. She is president of the Dayton Street Association in the West End.

Hale doesn't seem to be a typical Republican, and web searches cannot find her previously running for elected office. She has emerged as a leader among many passionate people involved in the West End and surrounding communities in the downtown basin. This doesn't look to be a battle down partisan lines, but instead one of concerned citizens that have finally had enough of the way that Dale Mallory and crew do business on behalf of the constituency.

Dale Mallory was impeached and removed from office from his own community council. Months after being removed from office he cleaned out the community's bank account. He has yet to be prosecuted for that crime. Dale hopes to represent the entire 32nd district by riding on the back of the Mallory family name. The challenge to Hale will be getting the facts of these incidents to the voters. It is a daunting challenge, and Kimberly should be applauded for taking on the task of speaking truth to the Mallory political machine.

Prediction #1: Don't expect Dale to come close to touching a debate with Kimberly Hale. It would be political suicide for Dale. He isn't very quick on his feet to begin with, and the facts are not on his side. He can't explain away the obvious felonious action of cleaning out the bank account months after being removed from office.

Prediction #2: Dale will have his minions, (Nate on the blogs, Markus and others on the Buzz) claim racism in one form or another. It has been the only campaign strategy that Dale has ever had.

Let the fireworks begin. This is no longer about some bible thumping cooking oil salesman from College Hill giving speeches about God, Flag and Country. This is about someone on Dale's own street confronting him with the facts of selling out his community and shedding light on his criminal activity. The rules of the game just changed.

Good luck Dale, you will need it.

Politics Extra: Post Poast: Hale takes on Mallory

Day 83

2006-08-09T23:01:00.000-05:00

It has been nearly three months since Dale Mallory cleaned out and closed down the West End Community Council bank account, months after being impeached and removed from his office as president of the WECC.

If you aren't familiar with this affair, you can view the timeline right here.

Here is an update on what has happened since the last time we broached the subject:

1) Not one thing.

Thanks for checking in, I am sure we will have more updates later.

Now a cynic might say that this investigation is over. In reality, it hasn't even started. A complaint was filed by the WECC treasurer, Maggie Moon. That complaint went to the Cincinnati Police. The CPD never opened a formal investigation. They never asked bank officials for records. They never interviewed anyone involved in the West End Community Council. When concerned parties got around to asking the question why?, the CPD stated that they were handing the investigation over to the FBI for another reason: They had an apparent conflict of interest with Dale being the Mayor's brother.

The FBI was given the case. They have had it for about a month. Has the bank been contacted? Has the WECC been contacted? Sources have confirmed to me that this hasn't happened. You would think at the least a perfunctory gesture would be done to admonish them of having to really take action, but they can't even fake it.

Pathetic.

At some point, I expect the CPD and the FBI to close out the complaint and tell people the case is now closed. In a way, it already is.

If the Hamilton County Democratic Party wanted to replace Dale Mallory on the ticket, that deadline is a week and half away. Since no investigation has been started in the last three months, the chances that an investigation will both start and find something in the next week and a half is very little. Dale Mallory is in the clear. He will be on the ticket and can't be removed.

At a later date, Dale could be indicted on felony charges for embezzlement, or passing bad checks (which he should be), but nonetheless he will be on the ballot. Given the nature of the 32nd District, that means that Dale Mallory is going to the State House.

We have two options now:

1) Dale’s case gets closed out, and he moves on to the State House.
2) Dale gets indicted for a felony, and he moves on to the State House.

Our goal was actually much different 83 days ago. We wanted the crime he committed to be prosecuted. We wanted Dale’s felony to be both indicted and convicted. Dale Mallory would have never made the statehouse. He would have been going to the big house.

That didn’t happen. People were advised by the CPD to be patient while they conducted an investigation. That investigation never happened. Right now we are being patient with the FBI, and that isn’t happening either. They have done nothing. Nobody has lifted a finger since the original complaint was filed. He is untouchable.

They don't try to tell us why. There are no explanations, and there is no investigation.

Just another day, Day 83.

CEC Budget Put In Perspective

2006-08-07T16:31:00.000-05:00

I found a nice comparison that puts the budget for the Cincinnati Empowerment Corp. in perspective. I stole this from a poster nicknamed "FunnelCake" on a Beacon thread:

funnelcake says:
05 Aug 2006 at 04:05 pm | #
As Monican & the Dean requested, here are the comparisons between the United Way, The Red Cross & EZ (...is that EZ as in EZmoney?)

United Way of America report
Programs: 88.13%
Fund Raising: 1.02%
Administrative: 10.83%

Not bad but of course that is the national organization.
The local United Way of Greater Cincinnati self reports (PDF) the following numbers:
Program Expenses $55,646,400 (90%)
Administrative Expenses 2,198,300 (3.6%)
Fundraising Expenses 4,036,100 (6.5%)
Total Expenses $61,880,800

American Red Cross”
Programs: 91%
Fund Raising: 3%
Administrative: 5%

CEC According to parent submission?
Administrative: $1,728,032 (59%)
Programs: $1,216,769 (41%)
Total Spending $2,944,801

He also had another comment on the subject of this forum that I liked:

It is hard to bring corruption to light. I think Justin Jeffery had been working for a while to air out issues with the handing over the Foutain Square Garage to the 3CDC. He wasn’t very successful either. I think it is important to air out corruption no matter where it comes up. So the question beggs, how has the impeach mallory blog been successful where so many others have failed? What can we learn from them? How can we apply their methods to other areas of corruption?

Here are my observations.
1. They are very passionate about the subject.
2. They created an issue specific blog that only deals with their subject. Thus a lower signal to noise issue.
3. There is more than one person working on the issue. Looks like a team of four working on the blog.
4. They have worked hard to establish a level of crediablity in what they say.
4.1 They back up their claims with indendent 3rd party sources, documents, pictures & video.
4.2 They freely admit what they cannot prove & ask for help.
5. They solicit help with proving their claims from the general internet community.
6. They don’t have an issue that conflicts with the interests of Main Stream Media.
7. They have people associated with their cause getting on TV & quoted in the news.
8. They do most of the reporters work for them.
9. They are clear, meticulous & thorough in proving their claims.
10. They don’t give up when they don’t get instant results.

I guess it doesn’t hurt that a whole community is upset, motivated & a high profile murder is thrown into the mix to make the whole subject attractive to reporters.

In honor of #5, soliciting help from the general net community, I am stealing his post and offering my thanks to FC.

Comparing the EZ Budget to those of other non profits is pretty damning evidence of what has been going on. I can't think of one good reason that they city wouldn't shut the thing down and clean the whole place out.

An Entry Worth Headlining?

2006-08-06T10:32:00.000-05:00

Original entry can be located as post 29 in "Genesis Rears It's Ugly Head".

anonymous said...
A note to the wise:

Use this blog to INFORM the public of what is going on with the various cases. Do NOT...I REPEAT...DO NOT give up ANY more information other than for the use of PUBLIC AWARENESS. These S.O.B's have folks monitoring your posts and it is imperative that you begin to operate more from of a position of SILENCE. This town is waaaaaaaaaaaay TOO small and people TALK! Less is MORE!!!!!

Godspeed, Truth Squad---take 'em DOWN.

Anon, rest assured the information hits this board long after wheels are in motion and claws are secure. If you think the Mallory Mafia is big, you'd be proud to know the true depth of the Truth Squad. It's monumental.

Tick, Tick, Tick...

..and the Walls tighten....

2006-08-05T15:02:00.000-05:00

A great article in today's Enquirer.

And, also related.

Tick, Tick, tick......

Friday Happy Hour Open Thread

2006-08-04T16:15:00.000-05:00

Around the Web:

July 28, 2006
‘Cincinnati Edition.’ Sunday morning. NPR.

Greg Korte was on WVXU's Cincinnati Edition on NPR last Sunday, which somehow escaped this blog. Listen HERE

The Dean put a new thread on The Beacon about the appalling CEC expenditures: New Beacon Thread.

A thread posted in the last week on The Beacon is closing in on 70 replies. The thread became hot once legendary race baiter Nathanial Livingston came back from the dead to defend Dale Mallory. Nate claims that Dale Mallory is still the rightful President of the West End Community Council, and that Dale still has secret meetings of "The Real" West End Community Council.

That got our crack staff working overtime. Evidence points to the fact that Dale does indeed hold these meetings. We found a man who attended the meeting, and even procured a ticket stub from the event. True to form, this forum remains on the cutting edge. We are the worldwide leader in Impeach Mallory News.

The Ticket Stub:

Those Prices aren't just criminal, That amount constitutes a felony!

To assure journalistic integrity, the ticket stub has not been altered in any way. I wouldn't have believed it had I not seen it with my own eyes.

=====
Update: Tonight I added a counter on the sidebar to count the number of days since Dale cleaned out the community's bank account.

Have a great weekend.

Genesis Rears It's Ugly Head

2006-08-03T14:00:00.000-05:00

One story has hit a couple different media outlets in the last day, and that is the story of Kimberly Gray.

Jury will hear lawsuit against city
Ex-investigator claims she was demoted for comments

Gray claims city officials demoted her from acting director of OMI because she was investigating ties between city employees and the Genesis Redevelopment Corp.

Genesis was the target of an investigation because it received $700,000 in tax money but did not complete any significant housing development projects.

And it gets juicy here:

Gray said some city employees obstructed her work and shredded documents related to the case. She said she was demoted and ridiculed by her bosses after telling her story to council members.

The other coverage came from Channel 9 news: Jury To Decide City Worker V. Employee Case

The Channel 9 page also has three links:

Council tries to untangle its own Genesis probe

Investigator: New OMI chief quashed probe

City Council to question Genesis investigation

The real scandal of genesis was how the story was killed and swept under the rug. I suspect many of the same forces are still at City Hall, doing the exact same things for Dale Mallory and the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation.

Empowerment Zone Data - A report from the City Manager

2006-08-01T23:01:00.000-05:00

This is a report from David E Rager, the City Manager. The second page has a section that details the expenditures of the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation.

“During the report period, the City disbursed a total of $2,944,801.00 of Empowerment Zone grant funds to the CEC for the following programs, services and projects that are directly administered by the CEC:

CEC Administrative Costs: $1,728,032
Loans to homeowners and businesses: $69,891;
Job training, job placement, and apprenticeship programs; $802,058
Business technical assistance in financial management, marketing, administration, and e-commerce: $39,245
Down payment assistance: $16,509
Youth recreation and internship programs: $253,286
Leadership skills of Empowerment Zone organizations and residents: $35,780

That is the way the City described it. I will try a few of my own:

CEC Administrative Costs: $1,728,032
All CEC programs combined: $1,216,769
Total Spending $2,944,801

59% of the money given to the Empowerment Zone doesn’t even make it out of the office. They spent 59% of the federal funds on administration, and 41% on the actual programs.

Put another way, it cost us $1,728,032.00 just to have them give away the other $1,216,769.00. Can anyone say “Time to shut it down.” This is outrageous.

What about development and job creation? Let’s take another look at the numbers:

CEC Administrative Costs: 59% of budget
Loans to Homeowners and Businesses 2% of budget
For every $1 they spent towards developmental loans, they spent $25 on Administrative Costs.

The CEC has a paid staff consisting of six people.
CEC Administrative Costs: $1,728,032
CEC Costs divided by number of staff: $288,005
Total Loans to homeowners and businesses: $69,891;

The administrative cost per staff member is over four times the amount of the total developmental loans given to businesses and homeowners.

The Empowerment Zone program came to be during the Clinton administration. A major push of the zone was attracting jobs to depressed areas to stimulate economic development. An overriding concern was how urban areas were being left behind. The goal was to attract more businesses and jobs into the urban core.

Looking at these numbers is sad. The Empowerment Zone in Cincinnati only seems to empower the current administration that gets to divvy up that fat budget.

Let's look at the numbers again.

Good non profits generally spend around 20% of the budget in administrative expenses. If you are a non profit and you go to the United Way for instance, they demand a written explanation if these expenses exceed 25%.

An important note is that most non-profits spend a good chunk of their administrative expenses on fundraising. They have to get the word out on who they are and what they do, and they have to solicit people to give them money so that they can continue to carry out their mission. But the CEC doesn’t even have fundraising expenses, because they are fully funded by the Federal Government and your tax dollars. Even with this obvious advantage they are still spending three out of every five dollars disbursed on administrative expenses.

It is disgusting. You don’t need to find fraud or embezzlement to shut this baby down. The fraud is on the taxpayer and the EZ residents, and it is hiding in plain sight.

Soft Programs

Of the money that did make it out of the office ($1,216,769), 90% (or $1,091,124) of that went to “soft programs”.

Job training, job placement, and apprenticeship programs; $802,058
Youth recreation and internship programs: $253,286
Leadership skills of Empowerment Zone organizations and residents: $35,780
Total Soft Spending: $1,091,124

This is a good example of mission creep. An agency that was founded for urban economic redevelopment is spending three and a half times more on youth recreation than it spends on economic development loans. Is youth recreation a good thing? Yes. Is that the mission of an organization committed to economic redevelopment? No.

The biggest line item in their budget (outside the 59% for administrative expenses) is for job training and placement. I would bet they find that Markus “fat-mouth” Jenkins gets a piece of that action. That would be the same Markus Jenkins who apparently lives in one of Dale Mallory’s abandoned buildings.

One of the advantages (to the CEC) of funding “soft” programs is that it is difficult to tell if these programs succeed in doing anything. What are the defined benefits vs. the opportunity costs? It is almost impossible to judge, and if you can’t judge success you can’t judge failure.

Another disturbing facet of these soft programs is that they are plagued with yet another layer of “Administrative Costs”. That means that the $1,728,032 that was previously pegged as the total administrative costs is actually substantially understated.

I will put it another way. The CEC spent $35,780 on enhancing Leadership Skills of EZ residents. That probably entailed paying one of their friends $35 grand to go round and talk to people. How do you judge the success of that? Were leadership skills of EZ residents improved? You can’t objectively measure that fact one way or the other.

Which leads to a political aspect of soft programs; Who can be against job training, youth recreation, or enhancing leadership skills? They sound great and that makes them politically viable. And since the success is never measured they can’t possibly fail.

On the other hand, “hard” programs have defined benefits for Empowerment Zone residents. If a loan or a grant is made for development, you can come along later and measure the progress in jobs created, increased tax base, as well as the physical bricks and mortar and other physical improvements to the infrastructure in the zone. This is what local activists mean when they say they want “Jobs, not job training”.

CityLink was going to provide job training, but such training isn’t effective if there aren’t any jobs. One of the pressing demographic problems in the urban core is the migration of jobs and people moving outside of our cities. The EZ program was initially designed to bring back companies and jobs. Grants and loans made in that respect provide actual and measurable economic development, bringing it back into the EZ communities.

The Sad Tale of the Tax Payer

Let’s say you send Uncle Sam a dollar in taxes. He won’t send you a thank you letter.

The Federal government is a big bureaucratic behemoth. Let’s say your dollar gets slated for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which itself is a massive government bureaucracy. Then HUD decides to send your dollar to the Cincinnati Empowerment Corporation for economic development.

The first obvious thing is, your dollar won’t be a dollar anymore. Once you send it to Washington, the Feds and HUD have to take their cut. They have administrative expenses of their own. So let's say 85 cents of your original tax dollar makes it out of HUD and on its way to the CEC.

While at the CEC, they take 59% of your remaining 85 cents and spend it on administrative expenses. That money never makes it out of Harold Cleveland’s office. This further whittles your original dollar down to 35 cents.

As for the money that actually makes it out the CEC door, 90% of that goes to soft programs with no measurable economic impact. That takes your George Washington down to less than 4 cents of the dollar.

So you just sent a tax dollar to Washington and they earmarked it for economic development in the urban core. Expect less than a nickel to actually go to that intended purpose.

If you would have kept that dollar and either saved it, invested it or spent it, the economic impact would have been far greater that having it gutted and sliced up by Harold Cleveland and crew.

“Stop the Madness!” This program needs to be stopped cold in its tracks.

Open Thread

2006-08-01T21:06:00.000-05:00

I was working on a post but I am slammed today and have nothing until tonight or tomorrow.

A side issue: Where in the hell is Blanchard? Does he think he can rest on his laurels just because he made it to the pinnacle of the Mallory-impeaching masses?

I have seen it happen all the time. Guys get made, they go soft and lose the desire. Staying on top is just as tough as getting there. We are the world wide leader in impeach Mallory news. That still means something to people Mr. Blanchard. Greatness such as ours comes with high expectations. I am calling Blanchard out.

The Dean chimes in on Dale's checks

2006-08-01T19:00:00.000-05:00

Update: Nathanial Livingston is apparently back.
He is participating on a thread at the Beacon linked below. Among the things that Nate is claiming:

Dale Mallory is still the WECC President.
Dale Mallory still holds meetings of the "real WECC".

When it was first announced that the Cincinnati Police had begun looking into the impeachment instead of Dale's obvious crime, I wrote a post about it here.

This is what I said then:

On April 24, 2006, Dale Mallory stated that he had no intent on remaining President of the West End Community Council. That isn't hearsay, that is what Dale Mallory told a court of law. He openly admitted for the record that he was giving in and he wouldn't fight the impeachment, and that he had no intent of holding the office.

Two months later in June, Dale Mallory was cutting checks and closing down bank accounts of the West End Community Council. In his own defense, he is now claiming that he is still President of the West End Community Council.

Unbelievable.

This is Dale Mallory's last chance for freedom in this world. He needs to convince the Cincinnati Police Department that he is still President of the WECC, months after being impeached.

=================================================
The Dean just chimed in with a post about Dale's checks.

Seems that he is asking that same question that occurs to all of us, namely "Why don’t these checks provide enough for a formal investigation?" Nobody here seems to have a reasonable answer.

The timeline post on Dale Mallory's checks is here: Dale Mallory's Felony Investigation.

An article ran a while back that got past this blog's attention. It is about Cincinnati's Community Council system. Check out Micro Democracy.

It touches on the Genesis Redevelopment Scandal of the recent West End Past, and then goes on to say:

But the West End group again is embroiled in dispute after it voted in February to oust Dale Mallory from office. Several members were upset that he used rules to block a vote to oppose CityLink, a proposed one-stop center for the homeless and mentally ill that business and church groups want to build in the neighborhood (see "CityLink Divides West End," issue of Dec. 21-27, 2005).

Since Dale Mallory's impeachment, it was revealed he lobbied for CityLink while working for the Cincinnati Empowerment Corp., which administers federal anti-poverty funds. The board of the Empowerment Corp. didn't know about the arrangement and cancelled Mallory's consulting contract.

I am not sure how accurate that last statement is. Some Board members seemed to be directly responsible for that contract and it's administration.

The article also stated that some "business and church groups" were behind CityLink. Church groups for sure, but business groups? I am not exactly sure who they were talking about.

CityLink Opponent Terrorized

2006-07-28T05:00:00.000-05:00

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

Open Thread

2006-07-27T10:00:00.000-05:00

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.

CityLink Disrupts a Community Meeting

2006-07-26T23:45:00.000-05:00

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?

2006-07-26T10:02:00.000-05:00

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.

Dale's Checks Redux

2006-07-25T00:25:00.000-05:00

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.

Dale Mallory's Felony Investigation

2006-07-23T15:00:00.000-05:00

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.

“(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, 2006 – FBI 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.

Empowerment agency assails critics

2006-07-20T18:45:00.000-05:00

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

Got to hand it to the Dean

2006-07-19T16:41:00.000-05:00

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

2006-07-19T16:30:00.000-05:00

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

Questions Linger Over Empowerment Corporation

2006-07-17T18:32:00.000-05:00

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.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation

2006-07-16T23:39:00.000-05:00

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.

CEC Board of Directors Meeting

2006-07-10T23:27:00.000-05:00

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.

Mallory Center Not in Zone

2006-07-09T12:41:00.000-05:00

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.

More Self Dealings?

2006-07-08T16:38:00.000-05:00

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.