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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Walling, as an employee of the Minneapolis Urban Coalition, was treasurer of a group fighting redistricting in Minneapolis. The fight was legitimate as allegations were that minorities were packed into one district that threatened one of 2 minority council and that councilpersons were deliberately moved out of their districts and placed into districts with another sitting council member.
Allegations arose that the councilmamber leading the fight against redistricting was using the nonprofit to solicit bribes in return for selling his vote. Dean Zimmerman was convicted and spent 30 months in prison. The non profit only raised a fraction of the over $100,000 legal bill.
1. The description of the crime is the same as that of Jackie Poplar and the Party Store owners. The difference is the amount, but then Jackie wanted annual payments.
2. This begs the question as to why she was given a pass by the then US Attorney Haviland.
3. Have other council persons sold their vote for money or promises of development in their ward. Some have openly bragged that their wards were to receive vague future benefits. Is this a bribe to keep them re-elected.
4. This is a warning for everyone to pay attention as to the method employed by the new redistricting. Boundaries will be altered and what impact will it have on certain neighborhoods. |
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Sat Feb 12, 2011 9:11 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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| <iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Rc0OKCnEAcE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> |
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Sat Feb 12, 2011 9:17 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Is pay for play operating in Flint?
Is that why federal grants are being taken from qualified long standing companies and given to new start ups?
Is that why DCED, the DDA, the EDc and the FAEC are sudenly being micromanaged?
What are your thoughts? |
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Sat Feb 12, 2011 9:26 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Search ResultsMinneapolis Confidential: Notes From Day Two of the Dean ...Aug 3, 2006 ... Notes from the Zimmermann trial. Day 2: Tuesday, August 1, 2006 ..... The treasurer was Dayne Walling (who worked for the Urban Coalition). ...
minneapolisconfidential.blogspot.com/.../notes-from-day-two-of-dean-zimmermann.html - Cached - Similar►Minneapolis Confidential: Notes from the Zimmermann Trial--Day 6 Aug 10, 2006 ... Notes from the Zimmermann trial. The usual cautionary note from the ...... Dayne Walling was the treasurer; the lawsuit took place in 2003 ...
minneapolisconfidential.blogspot.com/.../notes-from-zimmermann-trial-day-6.html - CachedDay two of Zimmermann trial reveals tapes and video evidence ... Aug 3, 2006 ... Day Two of the bribery trial of former Minneapolis City Council ..... The treasurer was Dayne Walling (who worked for the Urban Coalition). ...
www.tcdailyplanet.net/.../day-two-zimmermann-trial-reveals-tapes-and-video-evidence - Cached |
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Sat Feb 12, 2011 9:33 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Flint has a history of corruption in government and so did Minneapolis.
September 9, 2005
Zimmerman Following In Herron's Footsteps? (Update!)
Dean Zimmerman took Brian Herron's spot on the Minneapolis City Council after the arrest and conviction of the latter on federal bribery charges. Now the Strib and the AP confirm that federal agents have their eyes on Zimmerman for the same kind of behavior, apparently having caught him in a sting operation assisted by an anonymous local developer:
A City Council member is being investigated for allegedly accepting bribes from a developer in exchange for help with zoning permits, according to court documents filed Friday.
Councilman Dean Zimmermann, a Green Party member seeking his second term, is accused of accepting thousands of dollars from the developer, who was working in cooperation with the FBI.
One payment was to help with attorney fees owed by Zimmermann, according to the document. Other payments were for the councilman's re-election campaign, the document said. The exchanges between Zimmermann and the developer were recorded on audio- and video tapes.
Agents took computers, personal records and a campaign mailing from Zimmermann's home Thursday.
Herron took money from Basim Sabri, one of a family of colorful developers in the Twin Cities area that have heavily invested in the Minneapolis/St. Paul region, especially in Little Somalia. Sabri also got convicted in that case and currently serves his time at Fort Leavenworth. However, that didn't keep the feds from raiding his offices again on Wednesday.
The two actions might just be coincidental, but the timing, as I wrote, looks very strange. At first, I thought that perhaps Sabri's family might have helped the feds sting Zimmerman. After all, his brother Hamoudi is also a developer -- but then why raid Basim's office now, especially when Basim hasn't been there for several months? The feds say they're looking for evidence of forgery of a mysterious letter proclaiming his innocence that surfaced during the penalty phase of his trial, but again, what are the chances that two unrelated federal investigations would result in raids within 24 hours of each other, involving people who have longstanding connections in the community?
The property in question that was apparently used to sting Zimmerman is a condo development on Chicago Avenue. The primary owner of that property is the Chicago Commons Project, run by Gary Carlson. One of its investors associates, though, turns out to be ... Azzam Sabri, Basim's older brother, and his competitor in development, especially in the Somali community. (See update II below.) Both men built strip malls that compete with each other.
It's still pretty early to know what might be happening with this case. However, the Sabris have a history of bad blood between the brothers of the clan, although they have supposedly buried the hatchet a few years ago. Azzam could have helped the feds go after Zimmerman in the hope of reducuing Basim's sentence. He could just as easily have targeted Zimmerman to get even with Basim and Hamoudi.
All I know right now is that it will get interesting soon.
UPDATE: The source for Azzam's involvement in Chicago Commons is Council VP Robert Lilligren, whose ward includes that project:
Gary Carlson of Edina is listed as the CEO of the Chicago Commons Corp., which owns and is developing the site, according to public records. He didn't return a phone message left at his home Thursday evening.
The site developer recently sought to bulk up the retail component of the project but was denied by the city's Planning Commission.
Lilligren said Azzam Sabri, a brother of imprisoned Lake Street developer Basim Sabri, has been somewhat involved in the project since the beginning. Azzam Sabri could not be reached Thursday evening for comment.
It's interesting that Lilligren would know this, but not all that suspicious. One would expect Lilligren to involve himself in the details of development in his ward and to promote it for jobs and expansion of the tax base. I find it more interesting that Lilligren wanted to point that out.
UPDATE II: Azzam worked for Chicago Commons as a consultant for a short time, according to one reader, but was never an investor. My apologies for the misunderstanding of Lilligren's quote.
UPDATE III: I poked around Google a bit, and found this interesting little factoid. Azzam Sabri spoke out in support of the Chicago Commons project in a public hearing of the city Planning Commission on June 21, 2004 (page 12). He doesn't disclose any relationship between |
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Sat Feb 12, 2011 9:39 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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It is interesting that with all of this federal money coming in the new President of City Council, jackie Poplar, chose to ignore the former chair of the grants committee, Bryant Nolden, and replaced him. Nolden had a learning curve but the was definitely trying to learn the HUD programs. What will happen next is any ones guess as an uniformed council cannot make informed decisions.
The federal government ramped up their investigative techniques and gave trainings on how to spot fraud in these new recovery grants. There will be far more oversight to see that things are done correctly, |
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Sat Feb 12, 2011 9:45 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Minneapolis Confidential In addition to taking bribes, Dean Zimmermann tried to convince real estate ... However, while former CM Zimmerman was convicted of accepting and using money from .... Here is an audio file from Zimmermann's appeal hearing that explains ...
www.minneapolisconfidential.blogspot.com/ - Cached
This is a revealing tape as the Us Prosecutor addresses government entrapment, the selling of a political office, the link between gratuity and bribery and jury nullification. |
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Sat Feb 12, 2011 9:58 am |
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Dave Starr
F L I N T O I D
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| Maybe this is why council wants cops at their meetings; to protect them from the citizens when the corruption is exposed. Is what's been happening in Egypt making them nervous? |
_________________
I used to care, but I take a pill for that now.
Pushing buttons sure can be fun.
When a lion wants to go somewhere, he doesn’t worry about how many hyenas are in the way.
Paddle faster, I hear banjos. |
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Sat Feb 12, 2011 10:29 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Michigan AG creates Public Integrity Unit
Published: Thursday, February 10, 2011, 11:35 PM Updated: Thursday, February 10, 2011, 11:38 PM
By The Associated Press
Follow
AP File PhotoBill Schuette
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette (SHOO'-tee) has created a Public Integrity Unit aimed at stepping up the fight against corruption in state and local government.
Schuette says in a statement Thursday that corruption scandals have "damaged the public's trust in government" and left Michigan with a questionable national reputation. He says there will be "no more Kwames," a reference to disgraced former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.
Kilpatrick served jail time for lying in court about an affair and now is in prison for violating probation. He and his father also face a sweeping federal indictment that accuses them of taking kickbacks and bribes.
Schuette says the unit is being created with existing office resources. During last year's campaign, he had said fighting public corruption was important.
Sponsored Links |
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Sat Feb 12, 2011 11:54 am |
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Dave Starr
F L I N T O I D
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quote:
untanglingwebs schreef:
Schuette says in a statement Thursday that corruption scandals have "damaged the public's trust in government" and left Michigan with a questionable national reputation.
Replace "damaged" with "destroyed". |
_________________
I used to care, but I take a pill for that now.
Pushing buttons sure can be fun.
When a lion wants to go somewhere, he doesn’t worry about how many hyenas are in the way.
Paddle faster, I hear banjos. |
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Sat Feb 12, 2011 1:01 pm |
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