Breaking: Racist Agenda of Plain Dealer Reporter Mark Naymik exposed

Submitted by lmcshane on Mon, 01/21/2019 - 10:41.

To distance themselves from Mark Naymik's racially intended hit pieces on Councilman Ken Johnson, Advance media editors had another reporter, Robert Higgs, do an "impartial" review of council expense reports.  The effort backfired in a major way as Factchecker, aka former East Cleveland Mayor Eric J. Brewer, sliced and diced the article:

https://www.cleveland.com/cityhall/2019/01/cleveland-councilman-ken-johnson-alone-in-always-claiming-maximum-1200-monthly-expense-reimbursements-records-show.html

Comments:

As Factchecker has established - this coverage is bogus. An exhaustive search of other councilpersons' expense accounts will show that every council person - especially Anthony Brancatelli -abuses this "perk." Brancatelli avoids capping out at $1200 each month by carrying over the expenses to following months. Many times, months later. He also uses his HUD CDBG funded Slavic Village CDC to keep an email account separate from his official Council email.- lmcshane

 

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After this story was published yesterday, Robert, you attended a council meeting of committee presidents. Ken Johnson spoke and explained that the gas bill you ripped him for was for removing snow from senior and disabled sidewalks and driveways; and for inspecting the 600 vacant properties in his ward for open doors and loose boards. He mentioned "Alliana DeFreeze" as the basis for the vacant property inspections and you approached him afterwards. You have more information that contradicts the false premise behind Mark Naymik's stories and yours but you've not shared it. Nothing more underscores the points I've made here and other forums about the trustworthiness of news coming from writers like you, Naymik and others. It's not what you share. It's what you don't. You have now intentionally left your readers with the wrong impression even though you have more facts they can use to compare what you shared yesterday to what you also learned yesterday.

I know you attended law school and don't practice. I know your license is inactive. But the ethics of the profession you don't practice respects justice and fairness even if individual lawyers don't.

If you were a prosecuting attorney who has just discovered the man he's trying to prosecute is innocent, Disciplinary Rule 3.8(d) instructs prosecutors they shall not "fail to make timely disclosure to the defense of all evidence or information known to the prosecutor that tends to negate the guilt of the accused or mitigates the offense, and, in connection with sentencing, fail to disclose to the defense all unprivileged mitigating information known to the prosecutor, except when the prosecutor is relieved of this responsibility by an order of the tribunal."

So the real question, Robert, is are you ethical? ~Factchecker

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The IRS requires car allowance mileage to be documented. You made no mention as to whether or not the car users were documenting mileage to and from destinations. In Johnson's case there'd be no IRS issue because his gas money is going for lawn mowers and snow blowers to help out seniors. But in Zone's case he should have mileage to and from everywhere he goes; even when he leaves home for city hall. If he doesn't document the mileage then the money has to be recorded as an earning on his income tax return. And if he's getting an earning then it's an extra unappropriate wage and theft in office. Kelley has a car assigned to him. Again, there are no "duties" for any member of council outside city hall; so no matter how he stretches it Kelley doesn't need a car and neither does Zone or Dona Brady. By not knowing the real state laws found in Title 7 that identify the duties of council members articles like this mislead. ~Factchecker

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Your story observes that members of council are using funds appropriated for expenses to pay extra wages to their aides. State law, again, gives council the power and duty to set wages "by ordinance." Once a wage is set in an ordinance it can't be increased with money appropriated for expenses. Your headline should have read, "Kelley leads misappropriation of council funds." You have to read laws before you write.

731.08 Power of legislative authority as to salaries and bonds. Except as otherwise provided in Title VII [7] of the Revised Code, the legislative authority of a city, by ordinance or resolution, shall determine the number of officers, clerks, and employees in each department of the city government, and shall fix, by ordinance or resolution, their respective salaries and compensation, and the amount of bond to be given for each officer, clerk, or employee in each department of the government, if any is required. Such bond shall be made by such officer, clerk, or employee, with surety subject to the approval of the mayor. Effective Date: 10-01-1953 . ~Factchecker

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Every time a member of council eats a meal paid for by their expense account it's a misappropriation of public funds. They are appropriated set wages. Wages pursuant to R.C. 731.07 cannot be increased or diminished during a "term" in office. Every meal eaten with public funds is an additional and unappropriated benefit. This story misses the nuances of laws that describe how the cars, car insurance, gas and meals are added earnings pursuant to the federal tax code

731.07 Salaries shall not be changed during term. The salary of any officer of a city shall not be increased or diminished during the term for which he was elected or appointed. This section does not prohibit the payment of any increased costs of continuing to provide the identical benefits provided to an officer at the commencement of his term of office. Unless otherwise provided, all fees pertaining to any office shall be paid into the city treasury. Effective Date: 01-09-1981 ~Factchecker

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Here are the legal powers of a member of council as identified in the Revised Code of Ohio. Does any of what's written require cars, ward lunches, ward offices, etc? The law below has been on the books since October 1, 1953. If you knew the legal duties of a member of council you might realize you've been writing about the wrong stuff.

731.05 Powers of legislative authority. The powers of the legislative authority of a city shall be legislative only, it shall perform no administrative duties, and it shall neither appoint nor confirm any officer or employee in the city government except those of its own body, unless otherwise provided in Title VII [7] of the Revised Code. All contracts requiring the authority of the legislative authority for their execution shall be entered into and conducted to performance by the board or officers having charge of the matters to which they relate. After the authority to make such contracts has been given and the necessary appropriation made, the legislative authority shall take no further action thereon. ~Factchecker

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Reply to @Nocrony: I cast fault with misguided reporting. I've shared statutes that are free and online. Had the reporter read the statutory duties of a member of council before he questioned one about his or her expense account he could have asked them to cite the specific section of the state law, charter or city ordinances that gave them dutis that required the use of a car. meals and an $800 a month ward office bill. And had the writer known that these acts were not connected to a council member's official duties, by law, then he would have guided his readers to different and more accurate conclusions about what council members are doing versus what the law requires them to do. So when he looked at a report for "code enforcement" he would have known council members can perform no administrative duties. What you've read is a very long story that was completely constructed on a wrong premise. This is an attempt to make 13 wrong stories about Ken Johnson right. This is number 14 and the premise is still wrong. ~Factchecker

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Reply to @Robert Higgs, cleveland.com: That is absolutely the most wrong interpretation of an Ohio statute written in plain English I've ever read. No, Robert. You're wrong. R.C. 731.05 does apply to Cleveland city council as a "general law" that applies to all councils. You're telling me that council members in charter cities can perform the administrative duties of mayors? That would mean the council members in cities like East Cleveland, South Euclid and Lakewood with charters are mini-mayors. You forgot the basics of government, Robert. Three branches. Legislative. Administrative. Judicial. All separated by laws you haven't read or understand and you know "exactly" who I am. What you've proved with your flawed interpretation is that you lack the basic understanding of government to cover it competently for your readers. It's the reason the 14 stories are flawed. If you know no laws then you can't evaluate the spending of public officials whose acts are governed by the laws you don't know. The auditor of state audits Cleveland's financial records. Johnson's been on council since 1981. That's 38 audits by state auditors who know the laws you don't; and they've come up with nothing. You and Mark haven't either. ~Factchecker

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Here's the story you missed. The only power of a member of council is to vote and talk to officials at council meetings. If they stayed inside city hall and not the streets people could lobby them for legislation just like they lobby congress and the general assembly. That's it. They have no "ward" duties. The car, car insurance and money for lunches has nothing to do with the legal duties of a member of council. It's a slick way to get an extra benefit off the taxpayers. It should be recorded on their income tax returns as income, which exceeds the authorized amount they're paid by ordinance. Every member of council who didn't include the car payment on their tax returns committed a count of federal wire fraud when they put a stamp on it; and filing a false tax return. Each year a separate count. Check Matt Zone's "Minh Anh" receipts. Just the fact that they submitted a receipt doesn't mean the itemization included who ate. I saw him there with his wife and family dining for a ward meeting. The next time you and Mark write about council read the duties of a council member for perspective, first. You missed the story. Councilmen don't do "code enforcement." They're telling you about all the crimes they're committing and you don't write about them as crimes. ~Factchecker

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For what it's worth I already have the expense reports of the council members and have drawn my own conclusions about the information you left out of Zone's reports and others; or didn't understand.

You've picked through the reports as if your evaluation of the expenses is a legal analysis based on a comparison of local, state and federal spending laws neither of you have ever cited or shown you understand. Consider, Robert, that the duties of council members are "legislative only." So a lunch or ward meeting should connect to a legislative act. You cite lunches but you don't seek to know the individual names of the lunch attendees. You cite travel but for what legislative purpose?

To be used in support of a public duty the expense money must be appropriated in connection with pending legislation, repealing legislation or amending legislation. Research for a council "investigation" like those conducted by Congress. Investigating is a legislative duty found in R.C. 733 and a supported expense. Ward meetings are not legislative acts if the meeting isn't connected to a discussion with residents about pending, repealed or amended legislation.

Even your headline misleads. $1200 a month for Johnson. Then you write that Kelley's spending "typically exceeded $1100" a month without saying he was within cents of Johnson's $1200 to keep him from looking as bad as Johnson. I've got the reports. I know what you left out.

Zone uses the money like others as a slush fund to make car, insurance, house, utility payments and lunches. It pays for computers, printers and cell phone bills. It's extra compensation above their statutory wages and illegal. Even the annual pay raises based on police union increases is illegal. Your story misses the big picture. ~Factchecker

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Reply to @Robert Higgs, cleveland.com: As I shared in other comments, Robert, council passes a salary ordinance. It's a requirement of law that it be done annually. Wages are set by ordinance. Any dollars appropriated for "expenses" and then added to an employee's line item for "wages," would also increase the city's pension contribution to the employee. What you've described, Robert, is "theft" and a reportable offense to the Auditor of State and the Ohio Public Employee Retirement System.

That's the point about your story. You're identifying real crimes being committed by council members like Kelley and Zone and acting like they are okay because you're focusing on one councilman and his gas expenses for mowing the lawns and removing snow from the sidewalks of the homes of poor black folk. ~Factchecker

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The tentacles of Corruption -and Brancatelli

Chester Cuiksa gets preferential treatment by Tony Brancatelli in Ward 12 - this slum landlord runs his rental properties under CTC Properties DOESN'T Pay TAXES or the water bills and takes a cut on properties sold by Slavic Village Recovery as Northcoast Homes...Joe Pagonakis pls ask Ron O'Leary why this guy is not on the dockets?
http://realneo.us/…/5707-hege-44105-slavic-village-recovery… Eric Jonathan Brewer Sam Allard different standards for different council persons?...What are they doing with the additional monies they were allocated in the approved city budget??

 

 

 CHN Housing Partners, formerly Cleveland Housing Network, was founded in 1981. It is a large-scale affordable housing developer and housing service provider that works with its partners to solve major housing challenges for low-income people and underserved communities.  (CHN website) 

 

Kucinich returned to the city council (1981–82*) and ran unsuccessfully for a number of offices over the next decade, including governor of Ohio (1986, as an independent) and U.S. congressman (1988, 1992). (Britannica.com) 

*Slavic Village

https://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2012/02/24/pic-of-the-day-dennis-kucinich-is-still-god

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April 7, 2019

Laura McShane
To:vgrzegorek [at] clevescene [dot] com" data-test-id="message-to">Vince Grzegorek
Cc:ejon1953 [at] gmail [dot] com" data-test-id="message-to">Eric Jonathan Brewer,buduson [at] wews [dot] com" data-test-id="message-to">Sarah Buduson
kbanyai [at] ohiohome [dot] org" data-test-id="message-to">
 

 

Hi Vince,




In an effort to provide equal coverage, I am asking that you post the following commentary on Brancatelli.
 
 

 

 
Here are some of the points to publish on Brancatelli:



--How his wife, Gail Glamm, was recipient of public monies through Hatha Communication contracts with the Cuyahoga County Land Bank, which Brancatellli currently chairs.

See the attached correspondence from Douglas Sawyer at the CCLB. 



--Board structure at CCLB under Brancatelli was intentionally modified to remove scrutiny in 2014 on large demolition contracts:

WHEREAS, the Board of Directors of the Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corporation (respectively, this “Board” or “Board of Directors” and the “CCLRC”) at its meeting of August 28, 2009 adopted Resolution No. 2009-18, which Resolution was amended by Resolution No. 2012-2 adopted by the Board of March 30, 2012, authorizing the President or Chief Operating Officer of the CCLRC to enter into contracts on behalf of the CCLRC without approval by resolution of this Board and approving the “Policy Delegating Contracting Authority”



--There is also the question of how CHN-Eden operates in collusion with the CCLB and with Tony Brancatelli, who maintains separate transactions, while serving on CLE Council --through Slavic Village CDC  tonyb [at] slavicvillage [dot] org

I do ask that your publication requests or sues Slavic Village Development Corporation for these email transactions.  As a private citizen, I am limited in my public record requests and this may require a lawsuit to release these transactions.  I did request expense reports for Brancatelli from the City of Cleveland - and in many cases, where he makes donations (FROM his city expense account) to block clubs and non-profits like Canalway Partners - see below - he uses his slavicvillage email address. NOTE: Canalway director Tim Donovan also serves on the Board of Zoning Appeals.

 



Transfer Date: 10/31/1994 12:00:00 AM
AF Number: V94103140056
Receipt: 23412F
Parcel Deed Type Vol / Page Sales Amt Convey Fee Convey No Multiple Sale / No of Parcels
132-21-068 Survivorship Deed 10314 / 0056 $.00 $.00   0 / 0

Grantee(s) Grantor(s) Brancatelli, Anthony Cleveland Housing Network, Glamm, Gail L







NOTE: Brancatelli received his own house from CHN, while he served as the CDC Director for Slavic Village Development Corporation. http://realneo.us/content/riversweep-partner-tony-b-slavic-village
 
 
 
 
--There is also the large demolition contract to Baumann Construction Brancatelli approved as CLE Council rep Ward 12 -and approved by Brancatelli as Cuyahoga County Land Bank president. Brancatelli also approved the transfer by the CCLB to CHN of a commercial and industrial property cleared by taxpayers - over $118K wited out and well over $400K in demolition and asbestos removal costs for 3873-3881 W 25.  Including the suspicious acquisition of 3873 W 25 by CCLB for $250K only to have it demolished for CHN-Eden Emerald Alliance project.
 
--Brancatelli, like Johnson, routinely caps his $1200 expense account and exceeds that amount by transferring expenses from one month to the following month. You will see this in  one such report I have posted at REALNEO Breaking: Racist Agenda of Plain Dealer Reporter Mark Naymik exposed | REALNEO for all
 
 
   
 

Breaking: Racist Agenda of Plain Dealer Reporter Mark Naymik exposed | R...

 
 
I have also shared this information with the Ohio Ethics Commission and the Ohio Housing Finance Agency.
 
Respectfully,
 
Laura McShane

 

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Thanks to a lawsuit filed by WEWS Channel 5  and investigative reporter Sarah Buduson, the city of Cleveland was  compelled by the Ohio Court of Claims to release the full, unredacted  bid for Amazon’s second headquarters late Friday.                                      
  
  Much of the bid, which was completed in the fall of 2017 with input from dozens of public and private partners, had been released last year.  It was then that we learned, among other things, that the local  nonprofit tech startup known as The Unify Project was one of the  region’s top selling points. The bid proclaimed that the Unify Project  was the world’s most “broad reaching effort ever mounted” to use  advanced tech to end poverty. (Nearly two years later, the Unify Project  is still in “development mode” and has yet to mount anything.) 

https://www.capitalismmagazine.com/2001/06/the-poverty-pimps-poem/ "> https://www.capitalismmagazine.com/2001/06/the-poverty-pimps-poem/ 

(RIP Guy Templeton Black) 

THE POVERTY PIMPS’ POEM

Let us celebrate the poor,
Let us hawk them door to door.

There’s a market for their pain,
Votes and glory and money to gain.

Let us celebrate the poor.

Their ills, their sins, their faulty diction
Flavor our songs and spice our fiction.

Their hopes and struggles and agonies
Get us grants and consulting fees.

Celebrate thugs and clowns,
Give their ignorance all renown.

Celebrate what holds them down,
In our academic gowns.

Let us celebrate the poor.

POVERTY....POVERTY...POVERTY...it drives the machine politics in this insane alternate universe.... Budish, Sharon Sobol Jordan - all Mike White acolytes...aka Sam Miller's team.  FTR- Mark Naymik put out a regurgitated version of SARAH BUDUSON"s reporting...on Clevelanddotcom.  At least, Sam Allard acknowledges credit in his own piggybacked article:

 

(Enduring gratitude to Sarah Buduson and Channel 5 for taking a stand and suing the city of Cleveland for the full bid. Doing so was vital public service.)   

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

https://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2019/03/11/people-are-mad-about-clevelands-35-billion-amazon-hq2-bid-for-the-wrong-reasons

Slavic Village landlord Cuiska

 
Chester Cuiska and wife, Mary - rent out tax delinquent properties that are now on the docket to be inspected. 

*************The loophole that apparently exists in Cleveland (I tried calling Parma and Lakewood to determine their policy) ALLOWS landlords delinquent on their property taxes and water bills to continue to RENT out these properties****************************

FTR -THERE are rental units managed by slum lords like the Cuiskas - throughout the city.  What does it take to close this loophole??  Why has Cleveland City Counil not acted on this problem?

 

3614 Beyerle: registered, payment current, inspection scheduled

3598 Beyerle: registered, payment current, inspection scheduled

6601 Lansing: registered, payment current

6523 Hosmer: registered, payment past due

3566 Sykora: registered, payment past due, inspection scheduled

7009 Indiana: registered, payment current, inspection scheduled

 

Record RIL19000361: 

 

Work Location

 
 
 

 

Record Details

Project Description:

Thank you to City of Cleveland Building and Housing Department Director Ayona Donald for providing information on the Accela Citizen Access Portal

https://ca.permitcleveland.org/public/Cap/CapHome.aspx

W. Mona Scott targeted by Mark Naymik

  Naymik is all of a sudden concerned about tax scofflaws.   That is so interesting since he raised the issue against a "black" candidate running for office against a "white candidate - Ron O'Leary.

https://www.cleveland.com/news/2019/06/assistant-county-prosecutor-who-c...

 

The property in question is at 1293 West 9th Street. It’s owner, Valentina Lucic, owes more than $141,000, according to Cuyahoga County property records. Companies controlled by her or her husband, Velimir, also owe tens of thousands in back taxes on a vacant commercial property and on rental properties, county records show. The prosecutor’s office has a tax foreclosure case against Valentina, according to court records. The couple also has ownership stakes in the Tomo Sushi & Hibachi, court records say.

Scott told me she did not know about the Lucics’ tax problems at the time of the fundraiser, but learned of them later. She said her host committee picked the location and she regrets that more was not done to vet the owner, whom she said she did not know before the event.

Remarkably, my comments have not been deleted:

Reply to @unpaysan: the friends and family plan only works and is unreported by the PD, if the person is of a lighter skin tone. Hence, Ms. Scott, like Ken Johnson gets scrutiny - but Ron O'Leary, Tony Brancatelli, Kevin Kelley, Gus Frangos, and Jim Rokakis are golden boys with the Land Bank Midas Touch! Mr. O'Leary's wife is also counsel for Cleveland City Council - Kevin Kelley's assistant, Steven Rys, got a sweet deal in Slavic Village, two homes Transfer Date: 5/20/2014 3:10:00 PM
AF Number:
Receipt:
Parcel Deed Type Vol / Page Sales Amt Convey Fee Convey No Multiple Sale / No of Parcels
134-01-024 Warranty Deed / $4,000.00 $16.00 304186 0 / 1
Grantee(s) Grantor(s)
RYS, STEVEN SLAVIC VILLAGE DEVELOPMENT
Transfer Date: 4/5/2018 3:36:00 PM
AF Number:
Receipt:
Parcel Deed Type Vol / Page Sales Amt Convey Fee Convey No Multiple Sale / No of Parcels
132-21-070 Survivorship Deed / $6,500.00 $26.00 409536 0 / 1
Grantee(s) Grantor(s)
RYS, STEVEN & MILLER, CARRIE SLAVIC VILLAGE DEVELOPMENT

 

NOTE:  I have raised concern to my Council Representative Jasmin Santana on the unpaid taxes owed by White Gold -  aka August Garfoli and John McCartney.  She has not responded.