RICO
GANGSTER Clay Johnson and his land-acquisition partner Neal Hatcher
reveal hard-core MAFIA TYPE SECRET CONTROLLERS ACTUALLY ARE
THE HIDDEN
RULERS OF PORTSMOUTH. NO DEMOCRACY HERE, WE SUFFER UNDER
PLUTOCRACY OR "RULE BY THE RICH".
AUSTIN
LEEDOM
Beware
of buying anything
at "Welcome" Center
THIS IS PART OF THE SOGP/Clay
Johnson UMBRELLA
This enterprise is not public, and
operations
have no official relation to Scioto
County
or Portsmouth City
government
Written by Austin Leedom, Friday April 8,
2011
What is the business the Portsmouth Murals, Inc
is sponsoring at the
SCIOTO COUNTY WELCOME CENTER?
The Secretary of State lists Portsmouth Murals, Inc.
as a “Corporation for Non-Profit”
03/05/1993,”08/04/2014”
At home yesterday morning, Thursday, April 7, 2011 I
was made aware that old coins and other
items were being purchased at the SCIOTO WELCOME
CENTER at 342 2nd Street, Portsmouth, OH 45662.
I was
reading page 8 of the Portsmouth Daily Times,
(published on Sunday, April 3, 2011) when I
learned that old coins, scrap gold and gold jewelry
were being purchased at the SCIOTO WELCOME
CENTER. This page was a full-size ad printed in
various colors. I
looked the ad over carefully and
estimated (to myself) that the ad likely cost about
Two Thousand Dollars).
Later yesterday, in the afternoon, I entered an
established coin dealer’s shop on Chillicothe
Street to talk with a friend (who is the coin business
operator there), on a matter other than coins.
While we talked the man told me that coins were being
purchased at SCIOTO COUNTY WELCOME
CENTER and that someone had spent some big advertising
money with the Portsmouth
Daily
Times to
attract people into the WELCOME CENTER to sell their
coins
. I said
that I had seen the ad and then the businessman told me of a lady
who had come into
his store earlier that day. He related the lady told him
she had taken coins to the WELCOME
CENTER to sell and was offered Twenty-Eight Dollars
($28.00) for her coins.
The lady, believing the amount she was offered for her
coins to be too low had then taken
her coins to the gentleman in the 600 block of
Chillicothe Street. The coin-man told me,
and showed me, paper work that indicated, he had
purchased the coins from the lady who
had first been to the WELCOME CENTER and received the
offer of Twenty-Eight Dollars ($28.00).
The businessman, on Chillicothe Street had paid the
lady Three-Hundred and Thirty Two Dollars ($332.00)
for the same coins for which the Scioto County Welcome
Center coin buyer had offered her only
Twenty-Eight Dollars ($28.00).
I made inquiries after I left the coin dealer on
Chillicothe Street. A
very courteous lady official at
the City Auditor’s Office referred me to the Police as
licenses to sell are issued by the Police Department.
The Portsmouth Police were also very courteous and
helpful. They told me that a representative
of the people buying coins had been to their office to
obtain a license, but no license is
needed to buy in the City so they did not need to pay
any fee.
A kindly official of the Scioto County Auditor’s
Office told me that the property at 342 2nd
Street is titled to PORTSMOUTH MURALS, INC. AND MAIL
TO THE PORTSMOUTH MURALS
FROM THE AUDITOR IS ADDRESSED TO TOM REEDER.
I was told by the nice ladies at The Scioto County
Commissioners’ Office that
the County Commissioners have nothing to do with the
Scioto County Welcome
Center.
It is not owned by Scioto County, not controlled, nor
supported by Scioto County,
although many years ago the Commission did help the
Portsmouth Murals group
obtain a grant from the State of Ohio.
For
more information on Scioto County Welcome Center click links
below.
By Austin Leedom on Friday,
April 08, 2011.
John Haas wants to run the Health Department now. John Haas can’t run his own
finances
good enough to pay child support to his offspring. John Haas is an object of
pity.
He needs help. He does not need the extra
mental and physical strain of attempting to be
a city councilman.
John Haas cannot
afford serving as a city councilman and the city of Portsmouth
cannot
afford to have John Haas in charge of anything in this
city.
JOHN R. HAAS IS SUSPECTED OF BEING MENTALLY DISABLED.
IN MY NEXT WRITING
I WILL PROVE THIS STATEMENT WITH JOHN R. HAAS’ OWN REQUEST FOR
MENTAL EXAMINATION
that you can find on the Common Pleas Court Records by clicking on
the
link printed
above.
Moe’s Forum is now publishing information that John R. Haas
has a sister who is a very
nice lady and is married to a city fireman by the name of
Chris Lowery.
It would be proper if Councilman John Haas would abstain from
all comment and votes on
matters concerning the Fire
Department.
5th Ward Councilman John R. Haas is a crook. He was a main supporter of
the deficit
budget for the year 2009 that caused a shortage of over a
million dollars by the end
of the year.
Haas, an SOGP/Clay Johnson councilman appointed to office in
November
2008, voted for the BAD BUDGET in the regular Council meeting
held in the last meeting
in February 2009.
In January 2010,
less than ten months after voting for this inflated BAD BUDGET,
John Haas, Nick Basham, Jerrold Albrecht were publicly,
viciously, falsely critical of the
newly elected Mayor Jane Murray during council meetings,
casting blame on the
newcomer
for
their own mis-deeds in the BIG BUDGET.
These very con-men who had passed the BAD BUDGET after
Councilmen Richard Noel,
6th Ward and Bob Mollette, 3rd Ward
repeatedly warned them that there would not be
enough income to the pay all the expenditures that they were
approving, were now the
same men who were blaming a newly elected Mayor for the BAD
BUDGET, for a BUDGET
the lady had never seen.
What a cut-throat gang of low-life, lying crooks. No wonder Governor John
Kasich said,
“The Devil is running
Scioto County.” The
Governor is right. Come
to the next council meeting
and get better acquainted with Disciples of the Devil. The Devil's Disciples will
be sitting in all the
council seats, except three, Kevin Johnson, 6th Ward, Richard
Noel, 6th Ward, Ritch Saddler, 2nd Ward.
Such
devious, treacherous action was bad, but even worse was the willing,
yea, even anxious
publication of any detail that could cause discredit on the
new Mayor. Such items
were to be
headlined, front-paged with red ink in an effort for more ad
sales for the newspapers and to get rid
of a lady mayor who was not welcome among the Gangsters (Clayton Johnson/Neal
Hatcher, etc.)
who have run this city for the benefit of the power brokers
and outlaws for the past thirty years.
Governor John Kasich has said, “The Devil is running Scioto
County”. The two things
the Devil cannot bear here in this county are an Honest Mayor and an Honest Sheriff.
John Haas has acted criminally, viciously mean to other ones
and talked threateningly
to
a lone, little lady
during public meetings. Unlike most politicians, John R. Haas
is
a man that people can learn to hate the first time they
meet him.
John R. Haas is a sick man. He knows better, but “the
Devil is running Scioto County.”
SOGP
Feabruary 08, 2011 by Austin Leedom
JEFF BARRON
IS BACK reporting news.
FOR Lancaster-Eagle Gazette,owned by Gannett Compnay,
inc.
I am
very happy to see Jeff Barron with a top-notch publisher. It
will be a different world for Jeff; he will no longer have his
writings screened by C.Clayton Johnson's SOGP group of RICO
thieves
by Austin
Leedom Tuesday 08 February 2011
Remember
Jeff was fired by SOGP orders after Jeff published
a news
item about a Glockner employee dealing in drugs while at work.
Glockner
wanted no TRUTH on hard drugs published; he complained to
SOGP and
SOGP told the PORTSMOUTH DAILY TIMES THAT JEFF BARRON WOULD BE
FIRED. Unfair? Yes
UnAmerican? Yes?
Jeff,
the best to you.
Say
good-bye to Portsmouth Jeff, where Evil Criminals
Rule. No Democracy here.
Our Governor says,"The Devil is running Scioto
County,"
CT ORDER ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE - THE MOTION DEMONSTRATES THAT THERE IS A PROBABLE CAUSE TO BELIEVE THAT DEFT IS IN CONTEMPT OF THIS COURT'S ORDERS AND ORDERS THAT JOHN HAAS APPEAR BEFORE MAGISTRATE JAY S. WILLIS, AT 602 7TH STREET DOMESTIC RELATIONS COURT ROOM 304, PORTSMOUTH, OHIO 45662 ON 11/4/10 AT 1:30 PM TO SHOW CAUSE WHY HE SHOULD NOT BE PUNISHED FOR CIRMINAL AND OR CIVIL CONTEMPT OF COURT. 682/113 08/26/10 ISSUANCE NOTICE OF HEARING ISSUED WITH CERT COPY OF ORDER TO SHOW TO DEFT BY CERT MAIL. 08/31/10 FILING DEFT'S MOTION TO CONTINUE THE HEARING SET FOR 11/4/10 AT 1:30 PM 08/31/10 DOM ORDER ENTRY OF APPEARANCE: ATTY GEORGE L. DAVIS, III FOR DEFT 09/02/10 SERVICE RETURN RECEIPT FILED. SERVED JOHN HAAS SK. PRATER 9/1/10 09/08/10 DOM ORDER JUDGMENT ENTRY: THE HEARING SCHEDULED FOR 11/4/10 AT 1:30 PM IS CONTINUED TO 11/10/10 AT 10:00 AM TO NOON. 683/71 09/13/10 NO SERVICE ENVELOPE RETURNED. ADDRESSED TO: JOHN HAAS - UNCLAIMED (NOH, ORDER) 09/15/10 ISSUANCE RE-ISSUED NOTICE OF HEARING WITH CERT COPY OF ORDER TO DEFT BY REGULAR US MAIL WITH CERT OF MAILING. 09/20/10 CERTMAILIN CERTIFICATE OF MAILING TO: JOHN HAAS ON 9/16/10 10/04/10 FILING DEFT'S MOTION FOR PARTIES TO HAVE PSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATIONS 10/15/10 FILING NOTICE OF HEARING. HEARING ON MOTION - ON 11/10/2010 @ 10:00 AM - BEFORE JUDGE DAVID E. SPEARS 10/28/10 FILING PLTF'S WITNESS AND EXHIBIT LIST 11/08/10 FILING PLTF'S MOTION TO CONTINUE THE HEARING SET FOR 11/10/10 AT 10:00 AM 11/09/10 DOM ORDER ENTRY OF CONTINUANCE: THE HEARING SET FOR 11/10/10 AT 10:00 AM IS CONTINUED TO 1/31/11 AT 1:30 PM 687/24 01/18/11 PRECIPE PRAECIPE FOR SUBPOENA FILED BY ATTY FOR PLTF 01/18/11 ISSUANCE ISSUED SUBPENAS TO THE FOLLOWING TO APPEAR ON 1/31/2011 @ 1:30 ON BEHALF OF THE PLTF: - LEESA MOWERY - BARRY SPRADLIN - ANGELA MUNN - MELISSA FOSTER (ISSUED BY CERT. MAIL SERVICE) 01/18/11 FILING PLTF'S SUPPLEMENTAL EXHIBIT LIST 01/21/11 SERVICE RETURN RECEIPT FILED. SERVED LESSA MOWERY - 1/20/2011 - SIGNED BY LISA RADY
CITY COUNCILMAN JOHN HAAS IS A
'DEAD-BEAT-DAD'
Fifth Ward City Councilman John R. Haas
scheduled to appear in
Common Pleas Court 11/10/10 for contempt of
court for failure
to
provide support for his children. See sciotocountycpcourt.org/ for records
of
divorce of Heather and John Haas and the action to attempt to
collect
support
payments for his children from a previous
marriage.
RICO SUIT FILED CHARGING UNIONS
AND OTHERS WITH RACKETEER INFLUENCED CRIMINAL OPERATIONS IN SCIOTO
COUNTY AND OTHER PLACES. Details http://ohioconstitution.org
PORTSMOUTH
DAILY TIMES, (PDT) a
long time member and supporter of the SOGP is still taking orders
from the SOGP Gangsters.
PDT is now again giving free space to the Austin Keyser,
SOGP/C.Clayton Johnson/Neal Hatcher/Terry Ockerman/Mike
Jones Special Interest Group that has control of our city
council.
Local Union Leader Austin Keyser was
given half of the
Editorial Page of the Portsmouth Daily
Times on Thursday,
October 13, 2010 to sing the praises of
the highly
controversial Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) for unions.
Citizens of Portsmouth who attended
Council meetings in
2008 will remember Mr. Keyser as the man
who more than
once filled the seats of the Council
chamber with so many
out-of-town union members that citizens
of Portsmouth could
not gain entrance to the meetings.
Keyser is also remembered as the union
leader who donated
$2,500 of union funds to the 2008 campaign to renovate the
Martings Building that appeared on the
ballot in the fall election.
Despite Keyser’s union fund contributions and big
contributions
from developer Neal Hatcher, swindler C.
Clayton Johnson, and
Terry Ockerman they failed in their attempt to put the
citizens of
Portsmouth into
millions of dollars of bonded indebtedness on their
real estate property.
The voters said no at election
time.
The group’s goal was partly to create jobs for
Keyser’s union men
but mostly to get our present City Hall
vacated by moving
city government to the detested, decrepit
Martings Building and
to the moldy old Mike Mearan/Adelphia
cable company building
on Washington Street. If this plan had been
successful then
the developers (SOGP/Clay Johnson/Neal Hatcher would have
taken title to our present very valuable riverside
property
at a deflated
“fire-sale price” for their extended profits and created
an enduring large debt of many millions
of dollars in
taxes on citizens real
estate.
Austin Keyser, Neal Hatcher, Terry Ockerman and Clay Johnson
wasted their money as the citizens of Portsmouth rejected
their
plans by a large margin in the November 2008 election.
This was the second time the voting
citizens have solidly refused to
back spending millions of dollars on
using the scandalous Marting
Building as offices for our city
government.
More Martings Fraud Scandal news is
coming.
Our inside information is the SOGP/Clay
Johnson/Neal
Hatcher led gang is still trying to get
our present city hall
vacated so they can gain title to this
property and begin their
“development for the betterment of Portsmouth.” The
suspect
actions of Solicitor Mike Jones, Councilmen John Haas and
Nicholas Basham is indicative of these SOGP goals.
Solicitor Mike Jones
has been a solid partner of the gang. SOGP
furnished Jones with over $150,000 to help in his purchase of
the
dying donut business on Gallia Street near the Library.
Written and posted by Austin Leedom on Monday, October 18,
2010-
****************
Mayor
Jim Kalb managed to keep this a secret until this month when
Teresa Mollette exposed it
on her website
http://com2.runboard.com/bccgforum.f1.t596
IN
OCTOBER 2003, OUR PRESENT MAYOR JIM KALB, AS PRESIDENT OF CITY
COUNCIL,
GAVE SOUTHERN OHIO GROWTH PARTNERSHIP (SOGP)/CLAYTON
JOHNSON $2.5 ILLION IN AN UNLAWFUL ORDINANCE, TO ALLOW JOHNSON TO
BUY CITY WATER AT A CUT RATE AND SELL THE CITY WATER TO THE SOUTHERN
OHIO CORRECTIONAL FACILITY (SOCF) AT AN INFLATED
PRICE.
ATTORNEY CLAYTON JOHNSON IS THE SAME SWINDLER
WHO SOLD THE
SAME (JIM KALB) CITY COUNCIL THE OLD MARTINGS BUILDING
(VALUED AT $762,000 ) fOR THE EXALTED PRICE OF $2 MILLION DOLLARS. AFTER THE COMMON PLEAS COURT
OVERTURNED THE SALE AS ILLEGAL, JIM KALB THEN BOUCHT
THE MARTINGS BUILDING THE SECOND TIME.
ALL THESE DEALS WERE OKAYED BY CITY SOLICITOR DAVID
KUHN AND SUPPORTED ALL CONTRACTS WITH SOGP/CLAY
JOHNSON.
CLAY JOHNSON
WAS TO PROFIT 2.5 MILLION OVER A PERIOD OF TWENTY YEARS –
BUT SOMEONE REVEALED THE
EXCESSIVE MARKUP TO THE STATE GOVERNMENT AND THEY QUIT BUYING FROM SOGP/CLAY JOHNSON WHEN THEIR CONTRACT TO
PURCHASE FROM SOGP ENDED IN
NOVEMBER 2006. CITY OF
PORTSMOUTH NOW IS GETTING NO
MONEY FROM SALE OF WATER TO THE PRISON AS THE STATE IS
BUYING FROM WATER ONE
COMPANY. (A bonus for the state is that they are
getting cleaner water
now.)
First written and posted by
Austin Leedom at 1:00 a.m. on Tuesday, February 8, 2005.
Re-posted after the news that $1.4 Million, in
grants and donations, is already on hand for complete renovation of Welcome
Center was published on April 20,
2005 on frontpage of
Community Common.
There is no excuse now to
give SOGP/Clay Johnson $2.5 Million from our city water
funds. Did Jim Kalb and his city council lie to us in August
2003? Yes, they did.
AT
COUNCIL SESSION IN OCTOBER, 2003 FICTIONAL INFORMATION WAS CITED BY
MENDACIOUS
COUNCIL MEMBERS
$2.5 Million Dollars from
our water funds to Clay Johnson/SOGP for a Welcome Center
with Restrooms to Benefit
BoneyFiddle is "the smart and the right thing to do"
according to City Councilman
Howard Baughman, a relative (cousin) of Clay
Johnson.
COUNCIL PRESIDENT JIM KALB
PRESIDED OVER
A $2.5 MILLION DOLLAR RIP-OFF
OF CITY FUNDS BY
SOGP (CLAYTON JOHNSON)
Present for the Portsmouth Ohio
City Council meeting on Monday, August 25, 2003 were President of
Council Jim Kalb, City Solicitor David Kuhn, Auditor Trent Williams,
Councilpersons Ann Sydnor, Carol Caudill, and Howard Baughman. Vice
President of Council Ray Pyles and Councilwoman Barbara Halcomb were
absent from the meeting.
Ordinance
passed after the third reading rule was suspended on a motion by
Councilman
Howard Baughman. Howard Baughman also made the motion to pass
the
illegal ordinance.
According to the official record of the
meeting, "The Clerk gave a second reading to an ordinance
authorizing the Mayor to renew an existing twenty year contract,
effective November 20, 2006 through November 20, 2026, with Southern
Ohio Growth Partnership (SOGP) for the purpose of furnishing water
to various industrial sites owned by said (SOGP). Councilman
Baughman moved to suspend the rule requiring an ordinance be read on
three separate dates.
There were no questions or
comments. The roll was called. VOTE: ayes 4 –nays (sic) -
The rule was suspended.
Councilman Baughman made a motion to pass the
ordinance."
NOTE: At the beginning of the meeting before any
ordinances were voted on, Franklin T. Gerlach of
814 7th Street spoke with regard to this proposed item
concerning the renewal of the SOGP lease to obtain
water from the City of Portsmouth and re-sell it to
"industries they own" at an increased rate.
From the official
record of the City Clerk: "Mr. Gerlach noting that the existing
twenty-year contract with Southern Ohio Growth
Corporation doesn’t expire until 2006, stated it to have been
Council’s practice to allow the Council that is seated at the
time the contract expires to be the Council that authorizes any renewal of
that contract. Saying there may a reason for renewing the contract
three years in advance, Mr. Gerlach advised Council that
what they are about to do is to give about two and one half million
dollars to a private entity. He said as a citizen and a user of
water he found this to be a lot of money over the twenty years of the
contract, saying this does not include any rate increases that
might occur. He suggested that someone look into it more
fully to make sure this is what Council wants to do considering the
amount of money
involved."
The following comments were made
after the motion to pass the ordinance was made by
Councilman
Howard Baughman
according to the official City Clerk’s record:ANN
SYDNOR: ORDINANCE NEEDED FOR WELCOME CENTER
"In
response to the President’s request for questions or comments,
Councilwoman Sydnor,
with regard to Mr. Gerlach’s questions and comments, stated that it
to be her understanding
that in 1965 this idea was conceived by, what was then known as
Portsmouth
Area Community Improvement Corporation. She said the gentlemen
who
formed this corporation to do development within the county needed
to generate funds
and therefore this agreement was worked out with the City and an
ordinance was
passed in 1966 that authorized a twenty-year contract for the
purpose of furnishing
water to various industrial sites owned by the corporation. She
pointed out that
in 1986, City Council renewed the contract for another twenty years.
She
acknowledged Mr. Gerlach to be correct that last renewal is not due
again until 2006. She
said the corporation, now known as Southern Ohio Growth Partnership
has made adecision
and stepped forward with the Welcome
Center.
SYDNOR ADMITS RENEWED CONTRACT
NEEDED FOR
SECURITY FOR BANK LOANS TO SOGP/Clay
Johnson
She
noted that since there is not any guarantee of federal money SOGP
needs a guarantee of
a cash flow in order to be able to commit to this project. She said
the purpose of renewing
the contract is to guarantee the local lending institutions funds
will be forthcoming.
To Mr. Gerlach she acknowledged that Council does not usually
renew
a contract early but noted this to be a project that will benefit,
not only Portrsmouth, but
Scioto County, and hopefully, the region. Mrs. Sydnor reiterated the
purpose for which
SOGP needed this renewal to take to the
financial institution. Clay Johnson was borrowing $600,000 and wanted city funds to help him
pay.
MAYOR BAUER: "REVENUE STREAM WILL
CONTINUE"
The
Mayor stated that in addition this is assurance that that revenue
stream will continue (to
SOGP) and will allow funds to retire the debt for the welcome center
property in twenty
years.
FIFTH
WARD COUNCILMAN HOWARD BAUGHMAN CALLS $2.5 million dollar
giveaway "exciting."
Councilman
Baughman agreed with everything stated by Councilwoman Sydnor and
the
Mayor. He also described this to be one of the most exciting things
that has come before
Council. Mr. Baughman said one of the most frustrating things with
being on Council
is to adhere to all the rules and regulations with regard to how
funds can or cannot
be used. He expressed pleasure that the City is going to have a
welcome center that
will house public restrooms, the Chamber of Commerce and several
other organizations
that will benefit Boneyfiddle. He described this legislation as the
"the smart and right thing to do" and expressed his
excitement at Council being able to participate.
There being no further
questions or comments, the roll was called.
VOTE: ayes 4 – nays 0 The ordinance was
passed ORD. #80-03"
BIGGER THAN THE
MARTING SCAM
Most citizens know how we were
robbed of Two Million Dollars by the SOGP/Marting Foundation/Clay
Johnson Gang and a crooked city council in the purchase of the
Marting department store building in May of 2002.
However, most citizens were not aware
of the GIVEAWAY OF 2.5 MILLION OF OUR MONEY IN AUGUST, 2003 by the City Council.
Fellow
citizens of Portsmouth: This ordinance for renewal of a lease was
not really just
a massive giveaway; the ordinance #80-03 is really a Conspiracy to
Commit Grand Theft of
$2.5 Million Dollars of City funds.
Let us consider the comments
uttered by Councilpersons in support of Ordinance
#80-03, and Ordinance itself.
STATE PRISON IS NOT
"INDUSTRIAL SITE OWNED BY
SOGP"
The ordinance reads, in
part: "for the purpose of furnishing water to various industrial
sites owned by said (SOGP).
Water that the SOGP is currently purchasing from the City
is going in city water lines to the
Southern Ohio Correctional Facility (SOCF). This is a state prison and can hardly be properly termed an
"industrial site owned by said
(SOGP)."
CITY LOSING MILLIONS –
SOGP LOOTING CITY COFFERS
The State of Ohio became more
interested in their Water expenditures
after the Sentinel published facts
about big markup they were paying.
While we are at this point
let us look at the profit being taken from taxpayers by the
SOGP.
Shawnee Sentinel investigators have obtained invoices from
the Southern Ohio Correctional
Facility that document during the fiscal year ending June 2004 the
following payments were made to
Southern Ohio Growth Partnership by the
Southern Ohio Correctional
Facility:
September 2003 $61,765.13
December
2003 54,356.17
March
2004
54,888.52
June
2004
34,480.32
TOTAL ............
$205,490.14 paid by the Southern Ohio Correctional
Facility to SOGP.
(The prison pays SOGP/Clay Johnson from our state tax money;
not only is Clay Johnson
short-changing the City of Portsmouth by getting water at a
cut-rate, but he is over-charging
SOCF. Citizens of Portsmouth are losing on both ends of
this illicit deal.
For the water that was delivered to the State
Correctional Facility the Southern Ohio
Growth Partnership paid the City of Portsmouth:
September
2003 $30,482.86
December
2003 25,468.58
March
2004
28,362.98
June
2004
19,066.22
TOTAL
$84,314.42 paid to the City of Portsmouth by
Southern Ohio Growth Partnership (SOGP/Clay
Johnson)
Money received by Southern Ohio
Growth Partnership was $205,490.04
Southern Ohio Growth
Partnership paid the City
................. 84,313.42
The
difference is a SOGP profit of
................................................$121,176.62
for the fiscal year ending in June
2004.
$121, 176.62 a year by 20 years
equals:..................... .......$2, 423,
532.40
These
figures indicate that Franklin T. Gerlach was right on the money
when he, "advised
Council that what they are about do is to give about two and one
half million dollars
to a private entity."
DOES SOGP/CLAY JOHNSON NEED $2.5
MILLION
OF OUR CITY WATER FUNDS?
Now, let us consider the comments made by the Mayor and the
Council members at this meeting. Councilwoman Ann Sydnor justified
the renewal of this agreement with SOGP because "Southern Ohio
Growth Partnership has made a decision and stepped forward with the
Welcome Center. She noted that since there is not any guarantee of
federal money SOGP needs a guarantee of a cash flow in order to be
able to commit to this project. She said the purpose of renewing the
contract is to guarantee the local lending institutions funds will
be forthcoming.
To Mr. Gerlach she acknowledged that Council does
not usually renew a contract early but noted this to be a project
that will benefit, not only Portsmouth, but Scioto County, and
hopefully, the region. Mrs. Sydnor reiterated the purpose for which
SOGP needed this renewal to take to the financial
institution.
What was Ann Sydnor talking about? Does SOGP need $2.5 Million
Dollars to contribute help in renovating the old Kenrick Building?
The building was sold to Portsmouth Murals, Inc. on October 30, 2003
by George Clayton for an inflated price of $350,000.
On October 30, 2003 the building was paid for by
Portsmouth Murals, Inc.; there was no lien or mortgage on this
property.
But, according to records at the Scioto County
Recorder’s Office, on the same day they purchased this property it
was mortgaged by Portsmouth Murals/Clay Johnson to Oak Hill Banks to
obtain a $600,000 loan. Why was this necessary? Several gifts and
grants that have been obtained were apparently sufficient to pay for
the building.
What has happened to the $600,000 loan? Will
it be eaten up by administrative fees at the allowable
rate of 20% per year? Or has the money been placed in stocks and
bonds to earn more money? Unless we can get federal or
state agencies to begin fraud investigation we may
never know.
SOGP/CLAY JOHNSON
REFUSES TO MAKE PUBLIC
ACCOUNTING
The
SOGP and its shell affiliates refuse to reveal how any of the money
they receive is spent. Their
organization is more secretive, and less honorable than the Cosa
Nostra (Mafia).
In
1997 Shawnee Sentinel Investigative Reporter Wally Leedom was given
some reports by
President Ron Fisher of Bank One on the expenditures of SOGP
Empowerment Zone
Funds.
The
reports we were given at that time were mis-information. We
were lied to.
What Councilwoman Ann Sydnor was really saying about the
urgency of renewing the water lease with SOGP was that
SOGP/Portsmouth Murals needed this new leaseagreement to use as
security for the pending $600,000.00 loan from Oak Hlll
Banks.
Teresa
Mollette's
investigative reporting has revealed what Mayor
Jim
Kalb has been keeping
secret from the City Council for the past ten
months. Jim Kalb knew the SOCF water contract was dead and
kept the news from the
public
and the city council. Auditor Trent William revealed the loss
Monday, September 10th, 2007 when
he reported to the Council the water funds were
short.
A repost by Austin Leedom on Thursday, September 13,
2007.
BAUER AND THE "REVENUE
STREAM"
Now, Mayor Greg Bauer said the "revenue
stream will continue and will allow funds to retire the debt for the welcome center property in
twenty years." At the time the Mayor was
talking there was no debt on the Kenrick building/"Welcome Center."
Did Greg Bauer believe that the
$2.5 Million Dollars that SOGP would receive from this agreement would be invested in improvements to Kenrick
Building? Mr. Bauer was right, "the
revenue stream will continue" but don’t expect any public accounting
of the "revenue
stream."
HOWARD BAUGHMAN EXCITED: “ RESTROOMS AT WELCOME
CENTER”
According to official Council records,
Councilman Baughman agreed with everything stated by Councilwoman Sydnor and the Mayor. After
all, the money will be going to his close
relative, Clayton Johnson. Mr. Baughman also described "this
to be one of the most exciting things
that has come before Council." He expressed pleasure that the
City is going to have a"welcome center
that will house public restrooms," the Chamber of Commerce and several other organizations that will
benefit Boneyfiddle. He described this
legislation as the "the smart and right thing to do" and
expressed his excitement at Council being
able to participate.
It is easy to
comprehend Mr. Baughman’s excitement. Anytime you can pull a $2.5
MILLION DOLLAR FLIM-FLAM on your fellow
citizens for the benefit of one of your close relatives,
and get public restrooms too, it must be
exciting. WHAT A DEAL! WHAT A SWINDLE!
EXCITING!
This is simply another gigantic fraud by the City
Council/SOGP white-collar mob that almost
got by unnoticed.
Action by outraged citizens will be taken
to halt this monstrous rip-off, but don’t expect our present Mayor Jim Kalb to ever take any corrective
measures.
Jim Kalb, as President of
the City Council, oversaw, conspired, and led efforts to run
dozens of suspicious deals through city
council. Several of the crooked council members who assisted Kalb in his betrayal of his
fellow citizens are gone from Council.
Already Jim Kalb has joined
with Councilmen Marty Mohr and Howard Baughman in a new conspiracy with SOGP/Clayton Johnson to deny
citizens the recovery of the Two Million
Dollars due the citizens of Portsmouth from the illegal Marting
Foundation scam. Only one of Kalb’s
old-time conspirators remains on council, Howard Baughman. Mr. Baughman
has indicated that he will not run for
re-election.
MAYOR JIM KALB COULD REPENT AND
ATONE
Mayor
Kalb is willing to give $2.5 Million Dollars to SOGP/Clay Johnson at
the same time he is raising water rates
on "the rest of us."
Jim Kalb as Mayor
now has the opportunity to correct some of the many illicit actions
he guided through Council as
President. He could begin his atonement by leading an
effort to rescind the $2.5 Million Dollar
Water Lease Give-away to SOGP (Clay Johnson) that he guided through City Council in August
2003.
However, we have little hope
that Jim Kalb will ever take the high road. He has been steeped in a brew of dubious deals and devilish
designs for over twelve years and
hasfollowed
the former Mayor’s practices of back room deceptive deals and secret
no-bid, over-priced,
under-the-table suspect contracts with his "old friends."
Written and posted by Austin Leedom at 1:00
a.m. on Tuesday, February 8, 2005.
Re-posted April 26, 2005.
Jim Kalb has cheated
taxpayers twice on Martings Deal.
Re:
Judge Marshall's Latest Rulings on Marting's Case
WHAT IF ANYTHING WAS SAID ABOUT THE
MARTING'S BUILDING. JAY
quote:
|
| 8/31/2005, 9:12 pm
|
|
Andrew
Feight
Registered
user
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Registered: 08-2005
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Re:
Judge Marshall's Latest Rulings on Marting's Case
What was said about the
actual building?
Judge Marshall asked about whether or
not there had been a new agreement reached concerning the
Marting's property. The Mollette's lawyer explained that an
agreement had been reached, which originally included a
stipulation that the Mollette's lawyer fees would be paid by
the defendants (I believe); the deal also included the
controversial granting of the properties to the city, along
with a promise to return some $1.4 million in grants to the
city, which had to go towards either renovating, demolishing
and building a new city building on the cite, or renovating
for use as a commercial building. The Mollette's lawyer said
that the city and the Martings Foundation's part of the deal
appeared to have gone forward, while the agreement to pay the
legal fees of the Mollettes had not.
What I took away
from the discussion was that the new deal on the building was
not an issue involved with the Mollette case. In other words,
the new martings deal, explained above, is not something
Marshall is in a position to rule on. Sounds like, thanks to
mayor kalb and City Solicitor Kuhn, who signed off on the
deal, it is a DONE DEAL.
Which brings us back to
Councilperson David Malone who changed his vote and provided
the critical vote to deny the people of Portsmouth the
opportunity to vote on whether they wanted to renovate or
demolish the building for use as a new city building or as a
commercial building. This issue was to be placed on the ballot
for all to vote on, but thanks to Malone, who changed his
vote, and joined with Baughman and Mohr, the vote deadlocked 3
to 3, which meant the ballot measure failed.
The point
is that Mayor Kalb and David Malone (with the legal counsel of
David Kuhn in the background) are to blame for letting the
Martings Foundation dump their building on the city's
taxpayers and then tie the hands of city council. And let's
not forget Kalb was the City Council President when the
original Martings deal was made -- though he claims he was
misled by former Mayor Bauer about the original deal, he went
ahead and signed another bone-headed deal with the Martings
Foundation.
If someone wants to give the city a
building and some cash with strings attached, the mayor is the
one who gets to decide whether to accept the gift. The Council
does not need to pass an ordinance to accept any such grant.
It is clear to me that the mayor and the martings
lawyers decided not to work out a new purchase agreement after
Judge Marshall's original ruling because the make up of
council was changing and the people had been arroused, the
real value of the building had been exposed, and no one on
council was about to vote to buy the Martings property. So
someone came up with the idea of giving the building and the
money back in grants -- while leaving the foundation with a
major say in what was done with the property.
All the
foundation had to do was return the $2million and then sign a
new purchase contract, which would have to have been discussed
in public meetings thanks to Marshalls original ruling. But,
that was out of the question because the people of Portsmouth
would have raised cain at these public meetings. Council would
not have bought the 800 pound white elaphant a second time.
Everyone says they want the Martings issue resolved so
that the city can move on. If we are stuck with the property
it is still not too late to put it out on the ballot to let
the people decide if they want the place renovated into a new
city building. And one step towards putting the Martings issue
behind us would be to send Mayor Jim Kalb packing. He's
managed to screw the city twice with this Martings property.
Marshall stopped the first one. But he is powerless to stop
the second.
Andrew Feight
Portsmouth Free
Press |
Fired City Manager Still
Scandalous
Barry Feldman was fired by Council as City
Manager
in Portsmouth
in 1980, but Attorney Clayton
Johnson managed to get him
re-instated.
The article below was copied from the West
Hartford, Connecticut Courant
today, June 20, 2005, by Austin
Leedom.
Town Manager Decries Fliers
June 18, 2005
By DANIELA ALTIMARI, Courant Staff Writer
|
WEST HARTFORD -- Town Manager Barry
Feldman said Friday that Joe Visconti and other opponents of
Blue Back Square have resorted to underhanded tactics by
circulating a flier that includes personal
attacks.
"Joe continues to take the low road," Feldman
said. "It's unfortunate, but that's his choice."
Four
days before a townwide vote on changes to a development
agreement between the town and the builders of a $158.8
million shopping, housing and entertainment complex, residents
are being bombarded with mailers, brochures and
advertisements. Most have been circulated by the developer,
BBS Development LLC.
But a five-page flier produced by
the anti-Blue Back citizens group, Save the Center, contains
attacks on everyone from Lt. Gov. Kevin Sullivan to Blue Back
Square's chief financial backer, international investor Ronald
DeWaal.
The flier is being hand-delivered to about
15,000 of the town's 27,000 homes.
Feldman receives two
pages of criticism. The flier features a yellowed newspaper
photograph of a mop-topped Feldman and discusses his actions
as town manager of Portsmouth, Ohio, where he served in the
early 1980s.
Visconti, a founding member of Save the Center, said he
is distributing information the public should have as it
prepares to head to the polls next week. He said he has gotten
a positive response from residents.
"People are very
upset," he said.
The changes in the development
agreement would allow the construction of Blue Back to proceed
despite pending litigation. | Copied 20 June 2005 by Austin
Leedom
MARCH 9, 2005
FINAL DOUG DEEPE
STORY
TIME TO CLOSE UP SHOP!
NO NEED TO CONTINUE WHEN CHIEF OF POLICE AND OTHERS ALLOW FORUM TO
GO FORWARD WHEN THEY KNEW THOSE IN ATTENDANCE WERE BEING LIED
TO!
By John Welton, March 9,
2005
Last night as I sat and listened
to the Martings Forum I was disturbed to hear that Chief Charles
Horner had somehow been able to get Teresa Mollette upon the stage
to help co-moderate the forum. Late last night I learned why it
happened and after hearing the explanation I decided that it is time
to shut down this site, let the crooks have the City of Portsmouth
back, and watch the taxpayers foot the bill for the renovations on
the Martings Building.
Teresa Mollette, Bob Mollette and
their attorney, D. Joe Griffth, had been in secret negotiations this
past weekend with the Martings Foundation attorneys, Stan Bender and
John Berry to try to find a way out of the legal mess they were in.
According to the Mollettes, during this meeting with Attorneys Stan
Bender and John Berry the Mollettes claim that they were told that
there would be "no strings attached to the return of the $1.4
million dollars to the City of Portsmouth as long as all parties
dropped their litigation. The Mollettes made the deal because their
lawsuit really had nothing to do with the return of the money. I
believe now the Mollettes understand why they were called into the
deal though. The Mollettes were needed by Clay and the gang to come
out in support of taking the deal which was done at the beginning of
the meeting.
Teresa Mollette told me last night that as soon
as Foundation owner Clayton Johnson made his first comment that the
money would be returned only if the Martings assets were renovated
that she went to her
attorney and balked at what Johnson was saying but her attorney, D.
Joe Griffith told her not to say anything at the forum and that he
(Griffith) would address it later.
The people that sat in
the audience believed that the Mollettes had sold them out and
joined the gang. I know because my email account is full today and
my phone rang off the hook until about 1:30 a.m. with calls claiming
that some deal had been worked out behind closed doors with the
Mollettes and the Foundation. Well I can’t blame Bob or Teresa for
wanting to get their attorney fees. I would have done the same thing
and I told them that last night. I didn’t see anybody in town
jumping up to offer to help them with their legal bills so the time
had come to work it out for their financial well being.
City
Officials have agreed to put on the ballot the legal issue the
Mollettes were fighting for anyway; that being the authorizing of
City Council to hold executive sessions. So there was no financial
or legal reason for the Mollettes to continue the legal battle. They
got what they wanted on behalf of the City of Portsmouth.
I understand from Teresa
that she now knows that she, Bob and Chief Horner were used in the
sham forum last night. I know this because Teresa told me that Chief
Horner was "mad as hell" when he left the forum last night. Chief
Horner, Teresa and Bob Mollette were cornered by crying Dee Penix
and Sharon Bender who were outraged that the Mollettes were getting
their attorney fees paid and that the deal had been made. Penix and
Bender were overheard telling people after the forum that they had
been used by Chief Horner. (For what nobody knows.)
You see people when you make deals
with the Devil then you ask God to come in and bless your event it
just does not work. Chief Horner stood and prayed for God to come in
and help them last night but evil had already won days before that
prayer was said.
I have attacked Chief Horner for good cause
over the last few weeks but I was amused to learn that he and Teresa
both sat on the stage last night and put on a show for those in
attendance. It appears that both of them knew that agreements that
were made before the forum was held were being broken but for the
"good of the community" they both sat silent and allowed the lies to
continue. Chief Horner, is that the Christian thing to do? Go ask
your pastor if it was because I know the answer;
No!
I had to sit and listen
to people tell me how much money they had put out of their pocket to
try to help expose corruption. For over 10 years Austin, Wally and I
have put thousands of dollars out of our pockets to expose
corruption. I quite frankly get a little angry hearing how people
that just jumped on the wagon feel that only they did anything
financially in the fight to expose corruption. For three years all
my extra money went to fighting these crooks every penny. So if you
call me do not try to tell me your financial woes. I know exactly
what it is like to give my money in this fight.
So, with this in mind I have
personally decided to close up shop and enjoy my retirement. There
is no need for me to continue wasting my money on trying to expose
corruption when the City of Portsmouth has a cop that refuses to
arrest the crooks and then sits and allows them to lie to a room
full of taxpayers. Nothing that happens in the Martings deal affects
my tax dollars one cent. I was asked to help by city residents and I
did my job and I did it pretty darn good. We ran out a corrupt
mayor, two corrupt city council members and many other corrupt
officials out of their jobs. Now Im done. It is up to the rest of
the people of Portsmouth to pick up the torch that was lit and
continue to run the snakes out or just let them take back over. It
is your choice.
Quite frankly I am tired of all the calls
for help and then watching secret deals being worked out behind our
backs that leaves us holding the bag to explain why things happened
to my readers. Please when you receive your tax bill after the
renovations on the Martings Building begins, do not call me. My door
is shut.
I enjoyed meeting and working with many of you but
as they say all good things must come to an end. I am going to leave
this up for a few days to inform my readers of this decision then
this site will shut down. There are other websites up and running so
please visit them for your web news. Good luck with your
city. John Welton
EDWARD C. JONES & CO.
CAUGHT CHEATING
Wednesday, January 05,
2005
The story below was prepared by
Austin Leedom of the Shawnee Sentinel who gained most of his
information from an article written by Laura Johannes and John
Hechinger that appeared on Page One of the Business Section of the
Wall Street Journal on Thursday, the 23rd day of
December, 2004. This article may be read at
http://online.wsj.com
The Portsmouth Public Library has a
hard-copy of this edition of the Wall Street Journal
available.
The United States Security and
Exchang, the three that were secretly paying fees under-the-table to
Jones &Co.
These three were American Funds,
Hartford Mutual Funds, Inc. and Marsh & McLennan
Company’s-Putnam Investments. Two of these three, the managers of
the American and Putnam Funds – made additional revenue-sharing
payments so Jones’s brokers would steer clients to the plans they
manage.
Edward Jones and Co. is number one on
a sweep by the National Association of Security Dealers (NASD) that
is investigating twenty brokerage firms that sell the
college-savings accounts. Federal regulators are concerned that
secret kick-backs are leading e Commission (SEC) has ordered Edward
D. Jones and Co. to pay Seventy-Five Million Dollars to reimburse
investors.
SEC regulators say investors were
harmed because they didn’t know that the brokers were influenced by
preferred fund groups who funnelled Tens of Millions of dollars to
Edward D. Jones Co., so Jones’ brokers would recommend their fund
groups to their investors.
Edward D. Jones & Co. brokers were
rewarded with trips to Caribbean and European resorts for selling
customers mutual funds from firms that were making secret cash
payments to Jones & Co. The ‘free’ trips was one of several new
details of Jones’ practices as disclosed in the SEC order released
on Wednesday, December 22, 2004.
Edward D. Jones & Co. was
criticized for promoting college-savings plans offered only by the
mutual-fund families that were making the secret payments. These
college savings plans known as 529 plans let
parents save money for college without paying taxes on investments
as long as the money is used for college expenses. Investment firms
handle the plans on behalf of state governments.
Although Edward D. Jones had 14
different 529 plans available,
Jones & Co sold only threeparents into higher-cost and
poorer-performing options.
According to the SEC, Edward Jones
& Co. ran sales contests twice a year. The contests were
sponsored by the revenue-sharing mutual-fund firms. These firms had
exclusive access to Jones’ representatives during the vacation
trips. Jones’s brokers stayed in very plush accomodations and were
treated to fine food, tours and other special favors by the select
kick-back firms.
SEC ordered Edward Jones & Co. to
disclose its practices, within 15 days, on their website, including
the amount it receives from each of seven funds that have been
secretly sending money to Jones & Co. These groups are American,
Putnam, Hartford, Federated Investors, Inc., Goldman Sachs Group,
Inc., Lord Abbett & Co. and Van Kampen Investments. Jones has
been ordered to send the same information to current and former
customers.
Edward C. Jones & Co. has
about 10,000 brokers nationwide. According to a lawsuit, filed December 20, 2004 by the
California Attorney General, Edward C. Jones & Co. has received
$300 million in secret pay-offs since January, 2000.
Federal regulators believe the
payments have influenced brokers across the country to sell mutual
funds that have been harmful to the customers. Some of the
‘preferred funds’ such as Putnam have had below par
performance.
According to the SEC order, Jones’s
goal was to collect from each ‘preferred fund firm’ 25
per cent of the advisory fees that the firm charged the investors.
Three of the firms paid Jones by directing a portion of the fees
they paid for trading and selling stocks in fund portfolios, even
though Jones didn’t perform any of the trading and selling
functions, SEC said.
Selling funds that they were getting a
kick-back from could net a representative an additional $265, 000 in
profit per year, according to an Edward C. Jones executive, in a
January 2000 internal newsletter.
Much like Enron, such practices as
Edward C. Jones & Co. has committed may have damaged tens of
thousands of investors. If you believe you have been harmed by
Edward C. Jones & Co. you may contact the SEC at http://www.sec.gov/.
Edward C. Jones & Co. has an
office at 709 Sixth Street in Portsmouth, Ohio. The telephone number
is 355-3655.
Note:
The Jones office is near the offices
of Attorneys Johnson & Oliver at 701 Sixth Street. These two
attorneys were involved in the illegal sale of the Martings Building
to the City of Portsmouth in May, 2002. Attorney Clay Johnson is
presently in control of the Two Million Dollars that the City of
Portsmouth paid Johnson for the building.
Does Clay Johnson have the City’s
money invested with Edward Jones & Co.
Attorney Clay Johnson’s lawyer, Stan
Bender, recently appeared at a City Council meeting and offered to
"make a deal" with the city following a ruling by Common Pleas Court
Judge William T. Marshall that the sale of the property to the city
was illegal.
Sixth
Ward Councilman Martin (Marty) Mohr and Mayor James Kalb had earlier
met secretly with Clay Johnson and are in favor of "making a deal,"
a deal that most of the citizens of Portsmouth are against.
Another Note: Today we learned that if
you want to invest in a mutual fund you do not need a broker. You
can deal directly with the mutual-fund. It is easy, no trouble. Just
send your check to the mutual-fund company and save the broker
fee.
Prepared and published by Austin Leedom at 9:50 p.m. on
Wednesday, January 05, 2005.
SOGP / SSU
TOGETHERNESS
By AUSTIN LEEDOM -
DECEMBER 29, 2004, 4:05 P.M.
Southern Ohio Growth Partnership, also
known as Banker/Attorney Clay Johnson, has another member in a power
position at Shawnee State University.
Banker Daniel Mooney, has been
appointed as a member of the Board of Trustees at the university for
a nine-year term by Republican Governor Bob Taft.
This appointment allegedly costs a
minimum donation (bribe) of $10,000 to the Governor’s
party.
Corrupt practices between SOGP
operators and the administrators of SSU have a long, smelly history
of illegally funneling University money to preferred local business
people. This appointment of Dan Mooney is distasteful to citizens
who know the history of University/SOCF cooperative
corruption
The tentacles of the SOGP are
pervasive and far reaching. Printed below is a copy of the official
SSU facts sheet on Trustee Daniel Mooney:
Daniel E. Mooney
Quality of University Life Committee Member
Term Expiration: June 30,
2013
Ironton, Ohio 45638
Education:
Graduate of Marshall University with Bachelor's Degree in
Finance
Graduate of the American Bankers Association Commercial
Lending Graduate School, University of Oklahoma
Graduate of the
Stonier Graduate School of Banking, University of Delaware
Employment:
2000 - present Oak Hill
Banks, Area President for Scioto County, Senior
Commercial Lender for Scioto and Lawrence Counties
1992 - 2000 Bank One, Huntington,
WV
1984 - 1992 Star Bank, Portsmouth,
OH
1972 - 1984 Star Bank, Ironton,
OH
Memberships and Community Service
include:
Chairman of Leadership Tri-State since
1999; President of Leadership Tri-State Class of 1996 and President
of the Alumni Association 1998
Vice President of Lawrence Economic
Development Corporation
Board Member Shawnee State University
Development Foundation
Board Member Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital
Foundation
Board Member of Southern
Ohio Growth Partnership,
Chairman of Development Committee
Board Member of Hill View Retirement
Center in Portsmouth, OH
Board Member of
Southeast Ohio Regional Council
Member Portsmouth Rotary
Club
Member of Endowment and Finance
Committees, First United Methodist Church, Ironton, OH
MARTINGS SCANDAL HEARING
By Austin Leedom,
December 17, 2004
A hearing at 10:30 a.m. on Friday,
December l7, 2004, is to be held by the Honorable Judge William T.
Marshall in Scioto Common Pleas Court to consider a motion by
Richard D. Marting Foundation, (Clay Johnson) to intervene to appeal
the decision delivered by Judge Marshall on November 23, 2004
concerning the city council’s unlawful purchase of the Marting’s
building in May 2002.
In the November decision Judge William
T. Marshall ruled that the purchase of the old Martings department
store building on Chillicothe Street by city council was not legal
because of the council’s violation of the "Sunshine Law."
It was also ordered that the deeds
recorded with County Recorder be set aside and that the City of
Portsmouth retain an equitable charge and a valid enbumbrance and
lien in the property for the purchase price of $2,000,000.00.
In sum, in ordinary language, in April
and May 2002, following a series of secret, unlawful meetings with
City Council members, Clay Johnson (also known as the Richard D.
Marting Foundation) illegally, and with intent to defraud, sold a
delapidated, shabbily built, and poorly maintained old asbestos
infested building that had been valued at $762,000 by an honest
appraiser to the City of Portsmouth for $2,000,000.00.
(There was also an appraisal of nearly
$2,000,000.00 by Real Estate Agent Ken Rase that was used to justify
the over-priced sale. Ken Rase admittedly was not qualified as a
commercial property appraiser, and, suspiciously, his office caught
fire and burned his records the evening before State investigators
were to interview him.)
The Martings Case was taken to
Court.
When the matter was brought before the
Scioto County Common Pleas Court by a citizen of Portsmouth, the
Judge ruled the "deal" was wrong and Clay Johnson, aka The Martings
Foundation, got the old building back along with a debt of
$2,000,000 owed to the real estate taxpayers of the City of
Portsmouth.
In the years prior to this illegal
purchase City Auditor Trent Williams had wrongly accepted taxes in
the amount of more than $2,000,000.00 from the real-estate taxpayers
of Portsmouth through collections of real estate tax by the County
Auditor’s Office. Mr. Williams had collected an additional
real-estate tax from the citizens to pay indebtedness when none
existed. He had $2,000,000.00 of taxpayers’ money illegally on hand
when the "deal" was done with Council and Clay Johnson.
The City Council, in collusion with
City Auditor Trent Williams, passed an "emergency ordinance" to
borrow $2,000,000.00 (without any public hearing) for future
real-estate acquisition when he already had $2,000,000.00 on
hand.
He then illegally paid Clay
Johnson, (aka The Marting Foundation,) $2,000,000.00 from the money
the Council had borrowed from the lending institution (Connors Company), and placed a further tax on the
citizens of Portsmouth who pay real-estate taxes. He then, a year
later, re-paid Connors Company the $2,000,000.00 from money he
already had on hand before the "emergency" acquisition ordinance was
passed.
The money that Clay
Johnson (aka The Marting Foundation) received now should be
returned to the citizens that were illegally taxed.
Mayor Greg Bauer, City Solicitor David
Kuhn, City Clerk Joanne Aeh, Council members Ann S. Sydnor, Russ
Pyles, Howard E. Baughman III (close relative of Clay Johnson),
James D. Kalb Sr., Barbara E. Halcomb, Madeline Carol Caudill, and
City Auditor Trent Williams were all involved in the secret meetings
and the withholding of information from the public.
Although negotiations were going on
for nearly two months, none of the above persons ever divulged to
the public any information concerning the $2,000,000.00 indebtedness
with which they were planning to burden the citizens.
In meeting after meeting after
meeting, none of the above persons ever mentioned the "deal" they
were covertly planning. Then they passed the ordinance to purchase
the building as an "emergency" ordinance. The public had no idea
what was going on until it was over. As Mayor Greg Bauer said, "It’s
a done deal, and there is nothing you can do about. It’s a done
deal."
Many of the citizens of the City were
displeased with the "done deal," but believed that there was nothing
they could do about it.
Mayor Greg Bauer became more
arrogant than ever. In May 2003 when Shawnee Sentinel
reporters asked Bauer about the missing drug task force money, he
and Chief Charles Horner withdrew from the dreaded Drug Task Force
which had gained an unsavory image. This left Sheriff Marty Donini
with no partner in the Drug Task Force and he secretly also withdrew
from the Drug Task Force. He, like Police Chief Horner, has refused
to make public the truth about the disappearance of the Drug Task
Force funds.
Then, Mayor Bauer was faced with
multiple thefts of city money and property by his Service Director
Mike Blackburn. When Shawnee Sentinel Reporters John Welton
and Austin Leedom asked Mayor Bauer why he was covering up the
illegal purchase of a $3,000.00 computer for the personal use of
Mike Blackburn, Bauer nearly exploded with anger. His face changed
to various shades of red, blue, and white. He then said, "It’s a
done deal, there is nothing you can do about it." When pressed for
an explanation Bauer said, "I don’t have to explain anything to any
citizen, it’s a done deal; write anything you want about
it."
The Sentinel reporters did
write and citizens begin to read the truth about what the Mayor and
City Council members were doing to them. The Portsmouth Daily
Times also got into the act. The Times actively pursued
city corruption until they were called off by SOGP Gangleader Clay
Johnson earlier this year.
In order to keep his employment as
editor, Rick Greene has since defended official corruption; he even
worked against the recall of the crooked Mayor in the election in
May, 2004 when the citizens voted Greg Bauer out of office, by a 2-1
vote.
Early in February, 2004 serious
investigation into the Marting’s Scam (probably the biggest crime so
far uncovered in the history of Portsmouth) began after then-Council
President Jim Kalb possibly became frightened of prison time for his
participation in the Marting’s purchase from Clay Johnson. Many
citizens believe that Mr. Kalb decided to "blow-the-whistle" on his
accomplices to save himself.
Citizens for the recall of Mayor Greg
Bauer already were taking out petitions.
Kalb would look good if he were the
"courageous councilman" who decided to "clear the record," by being
the first to confess. Also, an investigation by law enforcement
officials would likely aid the citizens in their recall of Mayor
Greg Bauer. Jim Kalb, as President of the City Council, by Charter
Rules, would then become Mayor if Greg Bauer were
recalled.
Second Ward Councilman David Malone,
on Monday, February 24, 2004 called an executive session of Council
and included the Chief of Police, Charles Horner. The executive
sessions lasted more than two hours.
Later, during the regular council
meeting it was announced by Police Chief Charles Horner that he had
been investigating the Martings Scandal for two weeks at the request
of Council President Jim Kalb.
"I’ve investigated the Marting’s
building purchase for the past two weeks," said Chief Horner, "I’ve
determined the purchase was made illegally and potential criminal
conduct occurred."
Council President Jim Kalb’s ambition
to be Mayor of Portsmouth was soon realized. Despite heavy support
of Greg Bauer by the Community Common (Bill Warnock), The Portsmouth
Daily Times (Rick Greene) and radio disk jockey Steve Hayes, Mayor
Greg Bauer was beaten 2-1 in a special recall election.
An action to overturn the scandalous
Martings "Deal" was filed in Common Pleas Court in May 28, 2004 by
Teresa Mollette, a citizen of Portsmouth. On November 23, 2004 Judge
William T. Marshall handed down his ruling; the sale was
overturned.
The hearing before Judge William T.
Marshall at 10:30 a.m. today, Friday, December 17, 2004, in the
Scioto County Common Pleas Court is public. All persons are
welcome to attend. Proceedings are open in Judge Marshall’s
court.
Written by Austin Leedom at 12:30 a.m. Friday, December 17,
2004
SOGP – MARTINGS
–BAUER- RECALL SYDNOR AND CAUDILL
Well people of Portsmouth! You were
right to recall Bauer. More Shady Deals brought out.
People of Portsmouth, if you read
The Times or listened to Monday’s Council meeting you will
see another lie brought forth to you the people.
Now Jan Broughton, superintendent of
Portsmouth City Schools, a very educated and intelligent lady came
before City Council Monday evening and once again offered an
alternative site for the new city building. In her presentation she
mentioned the Portsmouth High School Building and the McKinley
Elementary building. What was so interesting about her presentation
was the fact she mentioned she had made the same offer to former
mayor Greg Bauer, and that he was not interested!
This is just another fact why the
voters did the right thing in the recall. This is more evidence to
prove the Martings Purchase was just a bail-out for a greedy
local attorney (Clay Johnson) that got in over his head in
an old building that nobody wanted. The sad thing is it was
at the taxpayers expense!
The important thing to remember is
that the 7 million dollars the city plans to spend is only to
remodel two floors. Ms. Broughton also brought out the fact the city
could build a state of the art building for the same money they
would have in an old 1930's building! What should the voters do NOW
? Throw good money after bad into an old rundown building they got
took on or should they look at a brand new building at the same
cost?
Just remember, November 2nd, two more
of Bauer's conspirators will be up for recall, Carol Caudill and Ann
Sydnor, they were and still are for the Martings scam. If you
noticed, neither one volunteered to meet with the school system. You
wonder why this city is in the shape it's in? Here is two of the
reasons! On November 2nd Vote to Recall these two conspirators
before they have a chance to do you any more damage, damage that you
as a taxpayer can't afford.
A CITIZEN OF PORTSMOUTH, OHIO –
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
SECRET SOCIETY
Written and posted at
1:00 a.m. Monday, August 23, 2004 by Jay Olson
Portsmouth’s own secret
society! "If you’re squeamish or disbelieving please skip past this
story."
It has been brought to
my attention that there is a most powerful and controlling secret
society right here in little Portsmouth, Ohio. You may first think
of some organizations like the Masons, Shriners or even the Moose!
Well the mentioned organizations do a lot of good things and I would
never think they would be involved with the secret tactics that this
group uses. A discarded member, who could no longer go along with
their dishonest ways, pasted this story on to me, and that he ask to
remain anonymous, so I’ll pass it on to you. Number one, to first
become a member of this great organization you must be invited to
join. Then meet the many rules and requirements, some of which good
God fearing people couldn’t live with or face their neighbors. This
group first requires you to swear on the Good Book overlooked by the
rest of the membership. The Bible is swore upon that you will never
reveal what is discussed or decided on at the meetings. NO ONE! Then
you are required to sign a sworn affidavit to these effects, and
that you could lose all your assets and could be disgraced by the
rest of the membership if charges are ever brought against
you.
It is said new members
go through a probation period and are scrutinized about what
information they receive for the first several months. At which time
they are not even aware of this scrutinizing. You are probably
thinking this is some type of a mafia, or underground organization.
No this information is all in becoming a member, by invitation only
of course. Not just anyone can join! This group also has and
controls Millions of dollars. There is no true accounting of these
monies; their books are as secret as their meetings. They even
appoint a board of directors, and try to look like a legitimate
organization. This group supports political candidates and has heavy
influence in newspapers and local radio stations. The sad part about
this story is, this group uses the hard-earned money of the poor
taxpayers. If you haven’t figured it out by now this organization
goes by these letters SOGP. Written by J.Olson Monday, August 23,
2004
SOGP TAKES TIGHTER CONTROL OF
PORTSMOUTH DAILY TIMES
SOGP INSIDER TAKES COMMAND
POSITION AT DAILY TIMES
MAYOR AND CHIEF OF POLICE TO BE
ATTACKED
Written and posted by Austin
Leedom at 1:20 a.m. Monday, August 1, 2004
Barbara Hogan, according to the July 24,
2004 issue of The Portsmouth Daily Times, has been installed
as Associate Publisher of the newspaper.
The new Associate Publisher is an old-time
Southern Ohio Growth Partnership (SOGP) top employee with employment
dating back to the beginning of the SOGP.
Official records indicate that Barbara Hogan
was the first secretary to Clay Johnson’s SOGP. Barbara Hogan was in
from the beginning with Clay Johnson as he founded the one-man
corporation (SOGP) in the very early 1990’s.
Times and SOGP together since
1991
The SOGP and Portsmouth Daily Times
have a long record of running together on the same shady track.
(PDT) Publisher Ken Parks was one of the earliest to join the SOGP
(also better known as the Same Old Gang Program.) Parks followed the
SOGP line and publicly and maliciously slanted news for political
benefit of the local Republican party, and the SOGP.
PDT Publisher Ken Parks was effective. He
repeatedly "hammered" the honest Democratic Sheriff Jim Sutterfield
for minor errors and an auto accident, while overlooking $190,000 in
public money that a state audit showed was missing from the funds of
Republican Sheriff John Hull at the time the citizens voted Hull out
of office in 1992. Publisher Parks’ continued unfair, slanted news
items about Jim Sutterfield resulted in Sutterfield’s defeat in the
election of 1996 by SOGP/Republican candidate Marty Donini, an
admitted thief. (Donini was one of the top officers in Sheriff John
Hull’s regime when the $190,000 disappeared.)
The attacks on Sheriff Sutterfield were necessary for the Gang.
Jim Sutterfield was a danger to the SOGP and any other corrupt
operation; he was honest and the Gang cannot afford to have an
honest Sheriff in office.
TIMES INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER FIRED IN
1994
Parks’ dedication to the Republican Party
paid off. Not long after Publisher Parks fired the Times
investigative reporter Tim Underwood for "looking into things he was
not supposed to investigate," Mr. Parks was then fired by the owner
of the Times for daring to report that a physician at
Southern Ohio Medical Center had been sued for malpractice. Mr.
Parks had no worry, the Republican Party quickly gave him a very
high-paying position with the Ohio Department of Highways. At last
report, Ken Parks is still enjoying his very lucrative political
appointment.
Now it appears that Clay Johnson and the SOGP
organized crime embezzlers may have taken total control of the
Portsmouth Daily Times.
The announcement, on July 24, 2004,
of the promotion of Barbara Hogan to Associate Publisher of the PDT,
was possibly a result of an order from Clay Johnson, handed down in
a secret order to Publisher Clifton Forrest.
Publisher Forrest’s job is to see that the
Daily Times makes a large profit and funnels this large
profit to the home office in Jacksonville, Florida. He will do what
is necessary to continue sending Scioto County money south to the
home office. Daily Times profits have been estimated to be in excess
of $20,000 a week. (Too bad we don’t have a local paper; a million
dollars a year could stay in our town.)
Barbara Hogan, the newly appointed Associate
Publisher of the Portsmouth Daily Times was secretary of the
SOGP in the early nineties when Clay Johnson, Greg Bauer, Andy
Glockner, the Burkes, the Keatings, Greg Bauer, Ron Fisher of Bank
One, and others were making off with $30 million of Empowerment Zone
Money.
During those prosperous days SOGP top members
gained much revenue, and secretly disposed of it. The top SOGP
members refused to make the public records public; it is not known
by the Sentinel how much money each received.
But it has been published several times that
Andy Glockner did extensive landscaping at the Honda Auto Sales on
US 23 North where he installed a huge new auto sales lot, complete
with blacktop.
And Mr. Keating of Mitchellace purchased a
factory in Honduras to compete with American shoe-string
manufacturing and Burke of OSCO was able to purchase and equip a new
steel mill in New Boston.
There was no income increase in property tax
income for the City of Portsmouth as the gigantic property
improvements went to New Boston, Clay Township on 23 North, and to
Honduras in Central America. This was a marvelous achievement of
swindling. Over 30 millions dollars were taken out of Portsmouth
funds that were sent here by the federal government to improve the
economy of Portsmouth, and the money either left for out-of-town
developments or simply disappeared.
SOGP GAVE BIG-PAY JOB TO
PORTSMOUTH TIMES
PUBLISHER’S WIFE TO BUY
SILENCE
In 1995, when PDT
Publisher William J. (BJ) Riley promised the citizens of Portsmouth
that he would keep a close eye on what happened with the new
$30 million dollar Empowerment Zone (EZ) grant received by the SOGP,
the SOGP/Clay Johson employed Riley’s wife, Mrs. Mary W. Riley, to a
very lucrative job as secretary of the SOGP.
It was never
published by BJ Riley about what happened to the money although he
certainly knew what was going on with his wife in the number two top
position at SOGF. She was secretary to the con-man Dan Desantis, who
was then the front-man for the SOGP. (Bob Huff, an Indiana promoter
with a questionable record now is honored with this
position.)
Dan DeSantis left town suddenly after the
Sentinel caught him spending big sums of Empowerment Zone
(EZ) money out of town. He threatened suit against the
Sentinel writers; the Sentinel writers then urged
DeSantis to hire a local attorney to bring suit against the
Sentinel, and not spend legal fee money with out-of-town
lawyers. The SOGP could not stand the publicity; they (Clay Johnson)
fired DeSantis.
Mrs. Riley, the Times Publisher's wife
stayed on as secretary of the SOGP until BJ Riley got moved out of
Portsmouth by his newspaper company.
SOGP SECRETARY GETS SECRETARY POSITION AT
DAILY TIMES
Barbara Hogan later went to work as a secretary at the
Portsmouth Daily Times. Now, with SOGP organized racketeering
again being exposed, Mrs. Hogan has been moved to a position where
she can give orders to Editor Rick Greene. She can make certain he
does not print items he is not supposed to
print.
Editor Rick Greene was
publishing the truth for awhile until Attorney Clay Johnson ordered
Greene and Publisher Eddie Blakely to Johnson's law office and told
them what they would print and what they would not print.
Rick Greene knows what crookery is going on, but has sold
his soul for "twenty pieces of silver" to keep his
job.
Rick Greene knows of the corruption of the
SOGP and was angered in 2003 when he and Jeff Barron (one of the
Daily Times star reporters) caught then-Mayor Greg Bauer
lying to them about City Service Director Mike Blackburn’s thefts in
the computer scandal.
At the time Mayor Greg Bauer was trying to conceal the criminal activity of Mike
Blackburn. Greg Bauer gave the Times Editor Rick Greene and
Reporter Jeff Barron false and misleading statements; Bauer was
unaware that the Shawnee Sentinel had already furnished
Portsmouth Daily Times Editor Rick Greene with many documents
of the proof of Bauer’s conspiracy in the thefts with Blackburn.
The SOGP is now in charge. They have their
lady in a position to make sure that Rick Greene doesn't stray from
their defense and the defense of the local Republican
Party.
STUDENT PREDICTED BAUER TO BE CROOKED AND
INVOLVED WITH SOGP
In 1997, the actions of Mayor Greg Bauer were
predicted and printed by a Shawnee University journalism student
before Greg Bauer’s election as Mayor. The prophesied corruption by
Bauer and the SOGP came to pass as the student predicted.
MORE PREDICTIONS ABOUT SOGP
GANG WILL ATTEMPT TO REGAIN CONTROL OF CITY
GOVERNMENT
MAYOR JIM KALB, POLICE CHIEF CHARLES HORNER ON HIT
LIST
Solicitor David Kuhn and Ann Sydnor will team
up together. (Both Kuhn and Sydnor were charged with tampering with
election ballots in 1999 and Ann Sydnor was one of several council
members who were found guilty by a Common Pleas Judge of taking
funds illegally from the City Treasury)
(Repayment of the missing money, an amount in excess of $300,000,
was not ordered repaid by the Judge because Ann Sydnor and others
who took the money allegedly to cover medical expenses had been told
by (then-Solicitor) Judge Richard Schisler, "that it is
okay.")
Solicitor David Kuhn and Councilwoman Ann
Sydnor will join forces with others such as Clay Johnson the head
king-pin of SOGP racketeering, Lee Scott of the Columbia Theatre,
Gregg Bauer the deposed Mayor, Mark Kuhn the City Prosecutor, Carol
Caudill the councilwoman who was at the secret signing of the
crooked Martings building sale (she signed as a witness to the contract along with Neal
Hatcher, the big time developer,) the
Chamber of Commerce, and the Retail Merchants.
Also included in the forces will be Sheriff
Marty successfully attack either Mayor Jim Kalb or Police
Chief Charles Horner. That way is the way that Jim Sutterfield was
beaten in the Sheriff’s election of 1996.
Derogatory insinuations, false
statements, outright malicious lies, and misquotes can and will be
made repeatedly, over, and over, and over against these men, until
finally the public begins to believe the newspaper (and one local
radio station that will join in,) in the devilish destruction of
these good men.
(This was a technique used by Adoph
Hitler who advocated use of a lie, a big lie, over and over and over
to destroy his political opponents. It works; it worked well for
Hitler and The Portsmouth Daily Times used this evil program
in 1995-96 against Jim Sutterfield in order to get the Donini, C. B.
Hermann the insurance agent now under investigation, (On
May 11, 2004, Donini and C B Hermann persuaded the Republican
Central Committee to furnish money to keep Greg Bauer from being
recalled.) Ken Rase the appraiser whose office recently
burned, Bill Warnock of the Community Common, John Rahall the
investor, Attorney Stan Bender and others.
Their common goal will be to restore
the city government to a manageable group that they can once again
control for their own continued profit and prosperity. Their sincere
belief is that what is "good for the gang" is also good for the all
of the citizens. They do not mind embezzlement of public money if
that will further their goals; they just don’t like for the public
to know what they are doing.
LEE SCOTT
BELIEVED TO BE MASTERMIND OF RECALL EFFORTS - A DEAL IS MADEAlready
it has been admitted by Lee Scott, that David Kuhn helped him
in properly filing papers to get Greg Bauer removed from office.
However, the former zest that Scott had to also recall Ann Sydnor
has been replaced by a desire to keep her in office. Look for Lee
Scott, who has spent nearly a half-million of his own money in the
marvelous restoration of the Old Columbia Theatre, to begin
receiving financial and other assistance from the
SOGP.
DAILY
TIMES WILL ATTACK
HONEST ENEMIES OF SOGP
AND WILL SUPPORT
REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES
The Portsmouth Daily Times
will do their share. They will support Republican candidates in the
coming election in every way they can, and write only nice, fluffy
articles about the local SOGP gang. The Times will also print
news releases (without verification) from the
Chamber of Commerce, the Retail Merchants Association and other
groups of the SOGP gang as though the self-serving releases are
honest news items.
Although Editor Rick Greene has known
for nearly a year about the corruption of the SOGP, exMayor Gregg
Bauer and certain other city officials, Greene worked 100% for Bauer
to be retained in office. Just before the election Greene was urging
in his editorials to, "Punch Number 7, No Need For
Recall."
Greene was only following the orders
from the SOGP that were laid down for them by Clay Johnson and Bob
Huff earlier this year. Editor Greene will continue to play the
game; look for him at first to have nice articles about the new
Mayor Jim Kalb in an effort to gain a closeness with Mr. Kalb.
"Youse gotta get close to a guy before a you can stab
him," is an old Mafia maxim.
This is necessary because Jim Kalb is
on the "hit" list, along with Police Chief Charles
Horner.
Mayor Jim Kalb, you may remember, was
the courageous city council president who discovered the theft of
public money that had been committed in the Martings Building sale,
and went to the Chief of Police with his documents and information
in January 2004. The rest is history. Police Chief Horner
investigated, the common citizens became interested, demanded
answers, and finally recalled the corrupt Mayor.
JIM KALB SHOWED COURAGE
IN ‘DOING WHAT IS RIGHT’
Jim Kalb did the right thing when he
blew the whistle on the big time crooks and the Mayor. It took
courage to blow the whistle on Bauer and his big time racketeering
colleagues in the Martings grand theft deal.
The Gang has not forgotten nor
forgiven Jim Kalb for upsetting their embezzlements. Now he is Mayor
and they must find a way to get rid of him, legally or otherwise. As
of this writing Kalb is too visible a target to be a victim of a
physical attack. Public outrage would be more than the gang could
bear if anything untoward were to happen to Mayor Kalb at this time.
But…you can bet, he is on the list.
The Gang is also not pleased with the
superb investigative efforts of Police Chief Charles Horner in the
Martings $2 Million embezzlement.
Chief Horner is smarter than
most of those he has investigated; he is a very thorough, very
competent researcher who knows the right law-enforcement people in
higher government. He too, may be safe from physical damage from the
gang because too many good citizens, at all levels, local and state,
are watching over Chief Charles Horner.
THE GANG WILL ATTEMPT TO DISCREDIT BOTH KALB
AND HORNER
There is only one way the Clay
Johnson/SOGP Gang can admitted thief, Republican Marty Donini, elected as
Sheriff)
THE TIMES HAS ALREADY
STARTED HITTING CHIEF CHARLES HORNER
Already the Portsmouth Daily
Times has been slanting news against Chief Horner and the
Portsmouth Police. In a frontpage article on Friday, July 30, 2004,
Rick Greene headlined a John Adams-Bobby Burns murder story with the
words, JURORS CRITICIZE POLICE. This is an example of articles to
come in the Daily Times.
This article was written by the
Editor whose purpose was to make the police, and Police Chief
Horner, look bad. This purpose was the main force of the article.
Most reasonable persons might ask, "What was there to criticize, the
police obtained a conviction of murder, they won kidnapping
convictions and convictions on numerous other
counts"?
Dr. Adams, a very sick 61-year-old
man, was sentenced to 26 years. If he lives long enough to get back
on the street he will be 87 years old. "Justice has been served,"
was the observation made by a long-long-time veteran attorney of
murder trials, in the courtroom, at the close of this
trial.
There was really nothing to
criticize; if Editor Greene had done his homework, or simply read
the inside information that the Sentinel had furnished him
months earlier, he should have demonstrated elation that the
Portsmouth Police performed so admirably under extremely difficult
conditions in this case. Also this case occurred at almost the same
time as two other murders happened in Portsmouth. The police did
excellent work under difficult circumstances.
Editor Rick Greene didn’t do his
homework, and he had to interview many jurors in order to come up
with the small bits of criticism he was able to present to his
readers in a very unsubstantial and unconvincing attempt to
discredit the Portsmouth Police, and Chief Charles
Horner.
Don’t expect truth, and honest
articles from the Portsmouth Daily Times Editor Rick Greene about
Chief Horner, nor Mayor Kalb. This writing on July 30, 2004 is only
a preview of stories that the readers may expect from Mr. Greene who
apparently is being told what to write.
This is way that the SOGP/and their
gangster associates will attempt to damage Mayor Kalb and Chief
Horner. Watch for it; it will happen.
(Written and posted by
Austin Leedom at 1:10 a.m. Monday, August 2,
2004.
Lee Scott wrote his
opinion in the Portsmouth Daily Times on
Wednesday, July 28,
2004; the following is my opinion:
Written and posted by Austin Leedom at 12:30
a.m. on Thursday, July 29, 2004
LEE SCOTT CHANGES COURSE – JOINS
SOGP
Lee Scott has suddenly decided that plans to
recall Ann Sydnor from City Council is not the proper way for the
citizens of Portsmouth to proceed in the cleanup of corruption here.
In a Letter To The Editor approved by the Southern Ohio Growth
Partnership, and printed by the Portsmouth Daily Times
(PDT) today, July 28, 2004, Lee Scott indicates he would
like to keep Ann Sydnor on the City Council. For many months Lee
Scott promised and threatened Ann Sydnor with recall action. Now he
has changed his mind because he has made a deal (with the
Devil.)
Mr. Scott says Ann Sydnor brings experience
(she has 18 years on city council, Fidel Castro has 45 years as
leader of Cuba), knowledge, (she has seen almost every type of dirty
deal become a "done deal,") brings understanding to our City Council
(this is frightening, she knows how to manipulate special ordinances
for special people.)
The reason for the letter urging the
salvation of Ann Sydnor as council-member is obvious.
LEE SCOTT HAS SWITCHED SIDES – HE HAS DECIDED
TO JOIN WITH CLAYTON JOHNSON, aka SOGP who works very close with the
Community Action Organization where Ann Sydnor is employed by
Director Bob Walton. Both groups control large amounts of public
money. Scott has made friends with the very people who have been
trying to destroy his noble, worthwhile struggles to perform a
wondrous restoration of the old, and once beautiful Columbia
Threatre, a building that the public officials of Portsmouth had
neglected and left to deteriorate for too many decades.
As for Lee Scott and his newfound devious,
devilish downtown banker/attorney/political associates their actions
are predictable. "Follow the money," we were told in Journalism 101.
Lee Scott has been mistreated by the local
gangsters; he was treated disrespectfully in many ways as he has
proceeded with the restoration of the old Columbia Theatre. This
rebuilding is a noble work and has been financed by the Scotts with
no help from the SOGP, or any other of the gangster groups handling
the big payouts of the federal grant monies that have been
mysteriously consumed in Portsmouth in recent years. Many others
have been able to feast on taxpayer funds handled by the SOGP (Clay
Johnson) and hundreds of millions of dollars have been wasted away
in frivolous suspect ventures. Miraculously over the past nine years
nearly 267 million dollars of federal taxpayer money has vanished
and there is nothing to show for it but the increased wealth of a
very few already rich persons.
Lee Scott was harassed by the Mayor’s
department heads and their inspectors. Cruel efforts were made to
make certain that local banking institutions would not help Mr.
Scott, and his efforts to obtain financing from other sources were
sabotaged. However, he, his wife, and his son persevered, nothing
wavering, and the great restoration has proceeded. His work in
restoring a magnificent building has been an inspiring one; all
around the city you can see the results of government ordered
destruction of fine historic structures, and the demolition caused
by greedy developers and bankers.
Lee Scott finally had enough of the gang’s
satanic sabotage, the tyranny of the City Council and the arrogant
interference of the Mayor and the "choice" people he represented.
Lee Scott fought City Hall and won the first
big round. Lee Scott advocated, and worked for a recall of the Gang’s puppet Mayor. The
Gang was beaten publicly, and they were beaten badly, when the
citizens learned the truth and angrily went to the polls on June 22,
2004 to oust Mayor Greg Bauer. The SOGP (Clay Johnson) Gang was
hurt; they had been exposed and beaten for the first time. They were
scared, they feared further publicity and possible
prosecution.
With their heads down, and their tails
between their legs, the leaders of the Gang went to Mr. Scott and
offered to make a deal.
Their number one puppet Mayor (Greg Bauer)
was out, and Scott had promised to remove Howard Baughman, Carol
Caudill and Ann Sydnor. The Gang could stand to lose Carol Caudill;
she couldn’t be saved anyway after her racist actions and outrageous
conduct in City Council. However, Ann Sydnor, the Community Action
Organization representative on council, had to be maintained on
council if the Gang could have much great hope of retaining their
power to continue looting the city treasury and stealing from the
federal government grants. Ann Sydnor needed to be saved, she like
Fidel Castro, had served a position of power for a long
time.
David Kuhn, the Solicitor, helped Mr. Scott
in getting Mayor Greg Bauer out of office, but he wanted something
in return. Lee Scott and David Kuhn became conspirators to maintain
the status quo and the other Gang members promised to come through
with great advantages for Lee Scott for joining the team.
Now, you can watch Lee Scott obtain abundant
money to finish his great project; the new Mayor Jim Kalb is
expected to be of great assistance in the financing of Mr. Scott’s
project. (Kalb has already been
caught in a shady deal with Rick Fraley of Ohio Pest
Control.)
Lee Scott will have the most magnificent
structure in the City, a marvelous work and a wonder, a show place
for the enjoyment of the citizens and tourists.
Lee Scott will also have his news releases
printed free of charge in the SOGP controlled Portsmouth Daily
Times (PDT) and grand stories and many photos will be printed
for the readers of the PDT, at no cost to Lee Scott, the latest
addition to their Gang.
Lee Scott is a learned man; he knows that all
things have a price; apparently he is willing to pay the
price.
Good luck, Lee Scott. You were a great help
in the recall. You have repeatedly proven that you work hard and you
do get things done. We are sorry to see you go to the other side,
and are distressed that you have chosen the low road..
Written and
posted by Austin Leedom at 12:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 29,
2004
Scroll down to read $1.9 Million MARTING SCANDAL Read
how Clayton Johnson received the
money.
See Case Number 02CIH00271,
Scioto County Common Pleas Court. Docket sheet indicates that
Clay Johnson was the only attorney
put under oath and questioned. See Docket Entry 03/24/03. See Doug
Deepe’s Investigative Article on Martings/Taylor Lumber/Clay Johnson
next week. (Posted 2:15 p.m. Monday, April 12,2004 by Austin
Leedom
WHERE DID THE ENTERPRISE ZONE MONEY
GO?
Written and posted by Wally Leedom at 1:00
a.m. on Wednesday, April 14, 2004
Enterprise Zones have
enabled many members of the Chamber of Commerce to receive 100% tax
abatements. Empowerment Zone money supplied to the SOGP has been
nearly $300 million dollars.
The qualifications for an
Enterprise Zone have to do with population, unemployment, income
levels and the number of demolished or abandoned buildings in the
area.
The SOGP, officially known as
the Southern Ohio Growth Partnership, but more commonly known as the
"Same Old Gang Program", has been the main beneficiary of our
increased unemployment, low income and the Colemanizing of many of
our historic buildings. (Colemanize: to destroy, raze, or demolish a
building. Also known as Boone. The church that stood there was
beautiful, but it was Booned. The word is derived from the many
buildings knocked down by Boone Coleman Construction.)
The Portsmouth Daily
Times has long been a member of the SOGP. Publisher Ken Parks
was a trustee on the first board. Over and over they have announced
grants to be used for the economic development of our area, but the
economic development was reported only in the sense of what was to
be done and the amounts of money received to do these
projects.
Seldom have any of the projects
been reported by the Times as complete. The Portsmouth
Daily Times has been a propaganda arm for the SOGP. Over and
over the Portsmouth Daily Times has reported on the "good
people who are doing good things for our area." The good things have
never happened.
The Daily Times
announced an Empowerment Zone Grant in the amount of $29 million
dollars, in the mid-1990s. The publisher, B. J. Riley faithfully
reported this to the Times readers and also promised to give
an accounting of how the money was spent. The publisher’s wife was
hired by SOGP at a rate far above normal pay. The Daily Times
never told us where this EZ money went. They were bought off by the
club that former Daily Times Publisher Ken Parks helped
establish, the SOGP.
A man named Greg Bauer and an
English woman named Lynn Risby went right to work at SOGP, writing
the checks to spend the $29 million dollars. They worked under a man
named Dan DeSantis.
The president of the SOGP at
that time was an auto dealer named Andrew Glockner. The SOGP gained
nearly $300 million dollars in tax money and to this day they refuse
to allow anyone to know how this tax money was spent.
Greg Bauer was asked at a
public meeting to open the books and disclose who gets the big
welfare money in this town. The SOGP dollars. Greg said that he,
"can’t do that." When advised of the difference between "can’t" and
"won’t," Greg Bauer said that he "wouldn’t" disclose who he wrote
the empowerment zone checks to.
The only way that the SOGP was
able to collect nearly $300 million dollars for economic development
was to keep the rest of us unemployed or at a low income, and
demolish much of Portsmouth. They have profited from your poverty.
If the SOGP can keep you on
welfare, they get a welfare check worth hundreds of millions of
dollars. Your poverty is their success.
It is disheartening to look at
community leaders who possibly could have led us honestly, but
didn’t. The trust that they have broken will not be healed any time
soon.
It is past time to bring these
men forward and hold them accountable for this theft of public
funds.
The poorest of the poor in this
town are harassed and some are arrested for welfare fraud. What do
we call this gigantic fraud done by our community leaders under the
guise of economic development?
Never forget that the money
they used was collected from the taxpayer, it was your money and it
continues today.
The men who have stolen your
future and driven your children away to seek jobs elsewhere are the
very men entrusted to provide economic growth in Portsmouth and the
surrounding area.
They are still here and they
are prosperous. They have looked to their futures and their
children’s futures, at the expense of the rest of us.
"The Same Old Gang Program", Andrew Glockner,
Greg Bauer, Clay Johnson, The Portsmouth Daily Times and
others have quite a bit to answer for, the destruction of this town,
the poverty of the people, and $260,475,582.00 dollars, to be
exact.? Written and posted by Wally Leedom at 1:00
a.m. on Wednesday, April 14, 2004
oooooooo
SELLER OF MARTINGS BUILDING WAS
ACTUALLY A SUBSIDIARY COMPANY OF THE RICHARD D. MARTING
FOUNDATION.
THE SCANDAL
DEEPENS! NO MARTING IN MARTING FOUNDATION.
Who was the "sole stockholder"
of the 12,000 shares of The Marting Brother Company
stock?
By John Welton and Austin
Leedom-8:45 p.m. Sunday, April 4, 2004
This weekend we decided to go back
and follow the money just like we were taught in college. Instead of
money we decided to follow the family name of Marting to see where
it would lead us. What we learned was shocking because we believe we
have uncovered how the game was played by Attorney C. Clayton
Johnson and Mayor Greg Bauer in the scamming of over $2,000,000 of
taxpayers money. To understand what we found we have to begin back
in 1996. The following information involving creation, merging and
dissolution of companies is from the Ohio Secretary of States
records.
The Marting Brothers Company
Statutory Agent Had To Go!
On May 6, 1996 The Marting
Brothers Company had 10,000 shares of outstanding stock valued at
$250,000. On May 6, 1996 local attorney, David Horr is appointed as
the new statutory agent for the company. For some unknown reason we
have reason to believe a plan was devised and implemented to create
a situation for a new statutory agent to be appointed to The Marting
Brothers Company. That statutory agent would be Attorney C. Clayton
Johnson.
C. Clayton Johnson Establishes
Marting Brothers Acquisition Company!
On June 18, 1996, local attorney,
C. Clayton Johnson creates a new
corporation called Marting Brothers Acquisition Corporation. In his
articles of incorporation we can not find any appointment of board
members to serve this new corporation.
This new corporation was to issue
1,200 shares of common stock to generate $500.00 in start-up cash
for this corporation. The corporation was established to engage in
the following business activity; "Business is to include but not
limited to conducting a general department store, purchasing,
selling and dealing in all kinds of merchandise and property and
doing all things incident thereto."
This corporation never opened a
door in Portsmouth, Ohio.
C. Clayton Johnson Establishes
Richard D. Marting Foundation!
On the same day that Attorney
Johnson set up his new phantom company Marting Brothers Acquisiton
Corporation, he also incorporated a second company he called The
Richard D. Marting Foundation.
On this new company Attorney
Clayton Johnson appoints members of The Marting Brothers Company to
join him as the company’s board members and trustees. The trustees
and board members for this new corporation were Julia Wisniewski,
Gerald Jenkins, Randy Arnett, Roy B. Payne Jr. and C. Clayton
Johnson. Do some these names sound familiar? They should because you
will find some of them on the board of The Marting Brothers
Company.
This articles of incorporation
claims this foundation was "organized and shall be operated for the
purpose of promoting and advancing the economic betterment of
Portsmouth and the Scioto County area."
Board of The Marting Brothers
Company Merge With Phantom Company of C. Clayton
Johnson!
On July 26, 1996,
thirty-eight days after Attorney C. Clayton Johnson established
his non-existant operating company Marting Brothers Acquisition
Corporation, The Marting Brothers Company agrees to merge these two
companies. The new company name would remain as The Marting Brothers
Company but the number of issued stock increased from 10,000 shares
to 12,000 shares with the value remaining at $250,000. Did Attorney
C. Clayton Johnson receive 2,000 shares of stock to buy out his
mystery company 500 shares of stock?
Julia Wisniewski signed as the
Chairman for both companies. How many mergers of companies can you
find where the chairman for the companies merging are the same
person?
On page five of the merger papers
is the big shocking discovery. According to the merger papers the
sole surviving company is actually Attorney C. Clayton Johnson’s
company, Marting Brothers Acquisition Corporation and not The
Marting Brothers Company.
Here is what the merger paper
states that discloses the surviving company, "The name and address
of the surviving entity’s statutory agent upon whom any process,
notice or demand may be served is: "C. Clayton Johnson, 400 Bank One
Plaza, Portsmouth, Ohio."
Why would the board members of The
Marting Brothers Company agree to take positions on C.Clayton
Johnson’s company that only existed on paper for thirty-eight days
and remain on The Marting Brothers Company board unless it was to
assist C. Clayton Johnson in this "hostile
takeover?"
Where Is The Missing Piece Of
The Puzzle?
Somehow the Richard D. Marting
Foundation was able to take over The Marting Brothers Company and we
can not find out how this occurred or when paperwork was filed with
the Ohio Secretary of State notifying them of the merger between
Johnson’s two companies. Here is what we found on a document filed
with the Ohio Secretary of State.
On April 15, 2002, just a few days
before the purchase agreement for the Martings building was signed
between the City of Portsmouth and C. Clayton Johnson’s companies,
the Richard D. Marting Foundation board received an order from the
"Sole Shareholder" of the Marting Brothers Company. The order was
that the Corporation (a legal term on this document meaning the
Richard D.Marting Foundation) shall cause its "wholly owned
subsidiary" to re-elect Gerald R. Jenkins and Julia Wisniewski as
Directors of the subsidiary corporation for a term of three (3)
years, expiring May 31, 2005, and to confirm the Roster of Directors
of the subsidiary corporation."
Why would the Richard D. Marting
Foundation be giving orders to The Marting Brothers Company as to
who would be the directors of that company unless the foundation was
the parent company?
CITY OF PORTSMOUTH BUYS MARTINGS
BUILDING FROM JOHNSON’S SUBSIDIARY COMPANY WHO TRANSFERRED FUNDS TO
PARENT COMPANY
The contract between the City of
Portsmouth and the "seller", The Marting Brothers Company also
includes the Richard D. Marting foundation. Did this contract
include the foundation name to pull off the big
scam?
The first paragraph in the
purchase contract reads as follows, "This real estate purchase
agreement made on the 29th day of May, 2002, by and
between The Marting Brothers Company, an Ohio corporation
(hereinafter referred to as "Seller"), Richard D. Marting
Foundation, Inc., an Ohio corporation not for profit (hereinafter
referred to as "Foundation"), and City of Portsmouth, Ohio an Ohio
municipal corporation (hereinafter referred to as "Purchaser").
According to the contract the
money did not go to the "Foundation" it went to the "Seller." The
City of Portsmouth never had a deal to buy the Martings building
from the Richard D. Martings Foundation they bought it from The
Marting Brothers Company. The contract reads "Purchase Price: The
total consideration to be paid by purchaser to Seller for the
Property shall be the sum of $1,999,990."
The only time in this contract
where the Richard D. Marting Foundation is discussed is in a
paragraph which reads, "Undertaking of Foundation: In consideration
of the Closing of the purchase of the Property, the Foundation
covenants and agrees that it shall pay over and distribute to the
Purchaser the sum of $200,000, the same to be paid without interest
as grants from the Foundation, and distributable from time to time
subsequent to the Closing, provided however, that all sums payable
by the Foundation pursuant to this Agreement shall be paid over and
distributed to the Purchaser no later than that date which is thirty
(30) calendar months next following the Closing Date."
If the "Seller", The Martings
Brother Company gets all the money then how does the Richard D.
Marting Foundation get involved and how much money was the
"Foundation" to receive? That is not listed anywhere in the
contract.
WHY DID C. CLAYTON JOHNSON’S LAW
PARTNER REQUEST CHECK BE MADE OUT TO LAWYERS TITLE AGENCY AND NOT
THE MARTING BROTHERS COMPANY?
A review of the signed contract is
strange and the payment is stranger. Once again we find Julia
Wisniewski signing as chairperson for The Marting Brothers Company
and the Richard D. Marting Foundation. This puts Julia Wisniewski on
each and every board for companies involved in this travesty.
Then after all parties sign the contract C. Clayton
Johnson’s law partner, Stephen Oliver, notifies the Portsmouth City
Auditor Trent Williams to change the name on the city voucher to
another company operated by Attorney C. Clayton Johnson, Lawyer
Title Agency. This violated the terms of the contract but the
voucher was sent out in this manner. So how was the money divied up?
Nobody really knows. The hide and seek game
continues.
OAK HILL BANK CLEARS LIEN AND
THE MARTING BROTHERS COMPANY FILES DISSOLUTION PAPERS WITH THE OHIO
SECRETARY OF STATE
In the middle of January 2003 Oak
Hill Bank Vice President Beverly Shaw issued a letter to the Scioto
County Recorders Office to remove a $300,000 lien on the Martings
property that the City of Portsmouth purchased in May of 2002. If
this lien was not cleared until January 2003 this would be a
violation of the purchase agreement that declared all encumbrances
would be cleared on or before the date of closing for the
sale.
On January 21, 2003, within a few
days of the $300,000 lien being cleared from the city property, The
Marting Brothers Company Chairperson Julia Wisniewski files domestic
dissolution papers with the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office in
Columbus, Ohio closing the company down.
SO WHO PULLED OFF THE FRAUD,
MAYOR BAUER, CLAYTON JOHNSON, OR BOTH OF THEM WITH THE HELP OF
OTHERS?
A phantom company, many of the
same names serving on all the boards of C. Clayton Johnson’s
companies, purchase money going to someone not the seller of the
property and these people wonder why the public believes something
is wrong?
One important point nobody has
addressed. Who was the sole stockholder of the 12,000 shares of
stock in the now defunct Martings Brother Company? If this person
was C. Clayton Johnson or anyone on the Richard D. Marting
Foundation board, how can that person claim that they did not
"personally benefit" from the selling of the Martings Building.
We now know that the Richard D.
Marting Board was issuing orders for the "sole stockholder" of The
Marting Brothers Company. Hopefully when the Chief of Police
finishes his investigation he might have these answers for
us.
If the Chief didn’t know all this
information, he does now!
Portsmouth Daily
Times has made no mention of this crime of violence by
Solicitor Dave Kuhn's employee against a helpless female; why are
they silent? Are they fearful of SOGP and the threats of loss
of advertising revenue? We understand; it has happened before.
Crimes by the elite "good people" traditionally have not been
publicized by The Portsmouth Daily Times; "the rest of
us" make frontpage for minor offenses. Are public
officials immune from both prosecution, and adverse publicity
in Scioto County?
For the Times
it's a contest between doing what is
right versus staying in business; we understand, but a house
built on sand will not stand.
Ethics versus money; that
is the reality; we, the people, understand, and feel sorry for
you.
SOUTHERN OHIO
GROWTH PROGRAM
(also known as the Same Old Gang
Program)
(Written and posted at 12:30 a.m.
Monday, March 15, 2004)
CORRUPTION IN PURCHASE OF
OLD MARTINGS
BUILDING MORE APPARENT THAN
EVER
MARTING SCAM ILLEGAL FROM DAY ONE
Portsmouth Daily Times makes peace with local big money
gang that controls much of
their advertising income
The purchase of the old failing Marting
Department store building was illegal from day one. The ordinance
that was passed as an "emergency" by the City Council was not only
illegal, but also immoral. Greg Bauer, present Mayor of the city and
"darling" of the secretive "controllers" of city "economic
development," lied to the council members and the press about the
conditions of the sale agreement before and after the ordinance was
unlawfully approved by his rubber-stamp council in May
2002.
First, there was no "urgent situation" in
purchasing the old pieced-together shambles that had been damaged by
fire, needed asbestos removal, new plumbing, heating, electrical
repairs and new roofing. The exterior had been covered with generic,
unappealing siding to hide flawed and cracked exterior walls. There
was no legitimate rush to make this another Greg Bauer "done deal."
There was no crowd of prospects to buy this building. The gang had
furtively sought for some "sucker" to purchase the structure, but
there were no takers. The city taxpayers have been duped by the
Bauer Gang into paying four or five times what the old Martings
building was worth.
Even Bauer’s over-trusting council would
never have passed this ordinance, if the citizens of the city had
been given an opportunity to protest such an outlandish price for
such a questionable structure in such an unlikely location. The
"emergency" ordinance, that Bauer persuaded the gullible council to
pass, effectively kept the people who are paying the bill, (the
citizens) from learning of this purchase until it was all over. This
fraud was another Greg Bauer "done deal" in which the citizens had
no input.
The first notice the "common people" of the
city heard was that Mayor Bauer had made a purchase that was going
to cost them $1,999.999.90, plus appraisal costs, and $4 to $5
million to repair. It was a "done deal." Passage of this collosal
fraud was illegal from the beginning.
The result of this "done deal" is that Mayor
Greg Bauer and Bauer’s conspirators will prosper; the citizens will
pay for generations, as their taxes, water bills, and sanitation
bills go up.
Police Chief Charles Horner has been
conducting an appropriate investigation into this apparent fraud and
has enlisted the assistance of the Attorney General. Jim Petro, the
attorney general, is a former State Auditor who was responsible for
the downfall of several crooked county, city and state officials
while serving eight years as state auditor. Any final decision as to
the responsibility of the involved persons should be withheld until
the Attorney General’s investigation is completed.
Attorney Clay Johnson, along with Mayor Greg
Bauer, is the apparent leader of the questionable sale of the
Martings building. The Portsmouth Daily Times yesterday,
Sunday, March 14, 2004, published Attorney/Banker Clay Johnson’s
self-serving story.
This story is in keeping with the
Portsmouth Daily Times tradition of giving favorable
reviews for advertisers and elected officials in power. We have no
quarrel with that; the publisher of the Daily Times is
expected to make a profit for the
out-of-state owner of the newspaper, or he will be gone.
Last December Sheriff Marty Donini went to
the Portsmouth Daily Times to gain forgiveness of his sins of
theft, disorderly conduct, tampering with court records and other
crimes after the Shawnee Sentinal and dougdeepe.com
had publicly exposed his hidden records. Sheriff Donini was given
Frontpage space and the Editor told his story in the most kindly,
forgiving manner. On February 9, 2004, under oath, Sheriff Donini
reluctantly admitted his crimes before a Scioto County Board of
Elections trial court. There was little publicity by the
Portsmouth Daily Times concerning this trial of
Sheriff Donini.
Clay Johnson has also been treated kindly.
The amounts of money do not match up in the story that Clay Johnson
allegedly told the Portsmouth Daily Times.
For one example, Mr. Johnson failed to
explain, or the Daily Times failed to publish the reason that
a $600,000 mortgage against the old Martings building was not paid
off until January 2003, although the deal to purchase was made in
May 2002 and the Martings Foundation had received the money from the
city.
What did the Martings Foundation do with the
$600,000 for the six months before they paid off the mortgage? The
citizens of Portsmouth were paying interest on $1,999.990.00 dollars
all this time.
Were the dealers in the Martings purchase
using $600,000.00 of the citizens’ money for investments during this
time? Were they making stock market investments? Remember that we
told you, in an earlier publication, that Attorney Stan Bender and a
stockbroker had attended the last City Council meeting. Why were
they there? What were their interests?
Clay Johnson was not forthright when he
allegedly said, as is recorded in Column 4, Page A10, Portsmouth
Daily Times issue of Sunday, March 14, 2004, "As far as how the
transaction came about, that is totally irrelevant." Irrelevant? It
is not beside the point to the people (the citizens of Portsmouth)
that are paying for the multi-million dollars deal.
The details that Mr. Johnson did not reveal
are likely to be far more incriminating than the information he did
hesitantly reveal.
Like the Enron, Adelphia, World-Com, Tyco and
Martha Stewart frauds, these investigations take time. Police Chief
Horner has only had one month; we have great faith in the ability
and thoroughness of Chief Charles Horner and Attorney General Jim
Petro. The truth will out.
In the interim, if the Portsmouth Daily
Times does not publish any more news of this fiasco do not be
dismayed. The Shawnee Sentinel and dougdeepe.com will
continue to publish facts to the world. We already have in our
possession documented evidence that has not yet been exposed to the
public. We have withheld publication of these documents in order not
to tip the Bauer Gang off to investigatory efforts that others may
be pursuing.
The word will be made known. Last week this
website, www.portsmouthohio.info had 526, 882 viewers.
Dougdeepe.com had nearly as
many hits. We have no advertisers to silence
us.
, Ohio to replace Dan DeSantis as
head of the SOGP. Mr. Huff was well received and hailed as a savior
by dignitaries and many elected officials when he arrived. The
County Commissioners even appointed him as a member of Airport
Authority. His only qualification for this appointment was, as he
said, "There was an airport in my hometown back in Noblesville,
Indiana."
At the time Bob Huff came aboard the SOGP was
run by such doubtful people as Ron Fisher of Bank One, John Kennard
of American Electric Power and Andy Glockner of Glockner Chevrolet,
and other doubtful persons.
ooooo(are they
threatening Publisher Blakely? (That may
turn out to be a big mistake for them.) How are they
connected to the Marting-Bauer deal that now appears to be a
million-dollar robbery from the citizens of Portsmouth? Have they
received some of the money from the sale?
It was observed at the Portsmouth City
Council meeting on MWritten and posted at 12:30 a.m. Monday, March
15, 2004)oooooo
DOES CLAY JOHNSON CALL
THE SHOTS?
Is he the Don of the "Portsmouth
Family?"
(Written and posted at 1:00 a.m.
Thursday, March 11, 2004 by Austin
Leedom)
Bob Huff of the SOGP has been chosen as the
messenger by a group of people who apparently hope to avoid any
sunlight on their dubious deeds as unelected controllers of
Portsmouth.
On Tuesday, March 9, 2004 Mr. Huff was
designated to be a Mafia-type courier to the Portsmouth Daily
Times after The Times printed the news that Police Chief
Charles Horner was investigating the sale of the old Marting
department store building at an inflated price to the City of
Portsmouth. Huff was ordered to communicate with Portsmouth Daily
Times Publisher Eddie Blakely with the news that the Chamber of
Commerce (a private group that does good things for
their own group) was unhappy that the Times was also
investigating allegations of impropriety in the sale of the Martings
Building. Mr. Huff was ordered to advise Publisher Blakely that the
Chamber of Commerce was going to renege on their agreement to
advertise in the annual "PROGRESS" edition because of their
discontent with the Times investigation.
Chamber of Commerce
offers a "Deal"
To Portsmouth Daily
Times Publisher Eddie Blakely
The "deal" that Huff offered the Times was:
"You quit printing anything about the Marting deal or you are going
to suffer." Mayor Greg Bauer’s associate,
Rocco Castellano couldn’t have said it better.
This is puzzling. The
Chamber of Commerce had not been mentioned in any of the articles in
Portsmouth Daily Times. Why is the Chamber Commerce afraid of
an investigation? Why are they so crude? Why onday
night, March 8, 2004 that City Solicitor David Kuhn, and Council
members Howard Baughman and Carol Caudill all declared their
innocence. Nobody had accused them of anything. Why the
protestations of innocence? What do they know that the other members
of the council do not know?
In many investigations, we have found it
interesting that persons who are not accused, or even suspected,
often decide to publicly state that they are not guilty. Many times
it proves out that such people are party to violations; their
protests of innocence serve to call attention to their
involvement.
Bob Huff has been heading up the Southern
Ohio Growth Partnership (SOGP) (better known
as the Same Old Gang Program) since early 1997. A native of
Indiana he came to Portsmouth from Athens
Dan DeSantis had been the front man for the
SOGP but was sent down the road on Monday, March 24, 1997 by the
directors after the Shawnee Sentinel got on DeSantis’ trail
to track down unaccounted expenditure of public money and had
complained to federal investigators. (Note: Dan
DeSantis got out of town shortly before his brother Albert was put
away by a federal judge in Columbus for four years and three months
on charges of bankruptcy fraud, money laundering and witness
tampering.)
We, like most of the other readers of the
Portsmouth Daily Times are anxious to learn what the Times
has uncovered. Doug Deepe has promised to write what we have learned
on Monday, March 15, 2004. Perhaps the Daily Times will have
news before Doug can write what he knows.
Stay tuned, this case may get big attention
statewide. Jim Petro, the Attorney General now has men on this case.
Petro, you may remember, is the man who sent the crooked sheriff of
Fairfield County, Gary DeMastry, to prison for six years for
improper expenditures of public funds. (Written and posted at 1:00 a.m. Thursday, March 11, 2004 by
Austin Leedom)
ooooooooooooooooooooooooo
GRAND THEFT OR
LEGITIMATE "DONE DEAL?"
(Posted at 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, March 10,
2004.)
Clouds above the Marting
Scandal growin' darker every day;
Can the thunderous,
raging lightning storm now be far away?
Questions of the day for Portsmouth Mayor
Greg Bauer:
According to our copies
of city documents the official cashier’s check in the amount of
$1, 984, 882.54, dated June 04, 2002, for purchase of the
Marting building was made to LAWYERS TITLE AGENCY OF PORTSMOUTH,
INC., But the seller named on the contract is listed as
Richard D. Marting Foundation, Inc. Also the check was not
mailed to the address of LAWYERS TITLE AGENCY OF
PORTSMOUTH, INC. at 701 Sixth Street, but
it was mailed to P. O. Box 1505.
- Did the Richard D. Marting
Foundation receive the check?
- If so, when did Richard D.
Marting Foundation receive the check?
- Do you have a copy of the cashed
check from the bank?
- Who cashed the check?
- Who endorsed the check?
- What account was it deposited
into?
- At what bank was the check
initially cashed?
- Did City Council authorize you to
make payment of $1,984,882.54 to LAWYERS TITLE AGENCY
OF PORTSMOUTH even though the official contract for
payment indicated that the payment was to go the Richard D. Marting Foundation?
- Why did Clay Johnson ask that the
check be sent to a post office box instead of to his office at
701 Sixth Street?
- Were City Council members made
aware that you did not pay the Richard D. Marting
Foundation, but sent the money to Clay Johnson at
LAWYERS TITLE AGENCY OF
PORTSMOUTH?
- Were City Council members made
aware that, according the contract, the city is only to receive
$200,000 from the Richard D. Marting Foundation, Inc.,
and that the Foundation has 30 months from date
of closing to pay the $200,000 to the City?
- Were the City Council members
made aware that there is no provision in the contract that the
City of Portsmouth ever receives any more money from the Richard
D. Marting Foundation?
- Documents reveal that real estate
developer Neal Hatcher was present at the signing and closing of
the contract. What interest did Neal Hatcher have in the sale of
the Marting Building to the City of Portsmouth?
That is all the
questions we have for today. We will have more later. You may reply
to our questions on your regular weekly radio broadcast. We will
stop by your office for copies of the above-mentioned
documents.
(Posted at 12:30 a.m.
Wednesday, March 10, 2004.)
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