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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Former 2nd Ward Councilman Edward L Taylor was a Vice president in AA Capital Partners in Detroit, which was run by Orecchio, the Chicago businessman listed in the story.
Taylor never disclosed this employment, although it was required under City ordinance, and even refused to acknowledge this job during his initial divorce actions. Although he spoke from the council floor about his employment no one ever challenged him. It really did not come out until angry pension board members, of which Taylor was the council appointee, spoke out when he wanted to bring in investors and disclosed hia relationship to AA Capital Partners. Flint's pension fund refused to participate.
Taylor and mays fought to bring a casino to Flint and AA Capital Partners was in the business of investing in casinos also.
And Taylor is not the only councilman tht has not disclosed employment, non profit associations and business ventures. Several council have been linked to alleged fraud and kick backs for zoning, liqour licenses etc.
The Detroit Carpenters Union was one of several unions that lost pension funds in this scheme.
Last Updated: May 17. 2011 1:17AM
Former carpenters' union boss pleads guilty to taking kickbacks[/b
]Robert Snell / / The Detroit News
Detroit— The former head of the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters pleaded guilty Monday in federal court to accepting kickbacks from a casino consultant and a Chicago businessman who donated $10,000 to ex-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's nonprofit foundation.
The former union official, Walter Ralph Mabry, reached a plea deal with prosecutors that could send him to prison for 21 months.
But defense lawyer Arthur Weiss argued Mabry should spend no more than six months in prison when he is sentenced Aug. 16 by U.S. District Judge Arthur Tarnow.
"We will pursue corruption whether it occurs in City Hall, public schools, federal agencies or labor unions," U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade said in a statement. "When labor leaders abuse their positions for personal gain, they rob the working men and women they were entrusted to represent."
The plea comes more than a week after Mabry, 65, was freed from federal prison after serving a sentence for receiving illegally discounted work on his Grosse Pointe Park home.
"He doesn't have the resources to go to trial and he doesn't have the physical strength to go to trial," Weiss said.
"He's still suffering the ravages of cancer and his family doesn't want him to go through the rigors of a trial."
In this case, Mabry was charged with fraud in connection with kickbacks he received from April 2004 through September 2006.
[b]They were paid by casino consultant Joseph "Roxy" Jewett and John Orecchio, a Chicago businessman, according to federal records.
Orecchio told investigators he got an audience with Kilpatrick after writing a $10,000 check to his nonprofit foundation, the Kilpatrick Civic Fund.
Kilpatrick then took the unusual step of personally appearing with Orecchio before a city pension board while Orecchio made a pitch for a multimillion-dollar investment in his company, records show.
The pension fund approved the investment, though it did not ultimately go ahead.
As part of his plea deal, Orecchio was cooperating with a federal investigation into Kilpatrick, his civic fund and two public Detroit pension funds.
Mabry admitted he accepted $5,000 to $10,000 in hotel and entertainment expenses.
The judge will decide if Mabry also agreed to take $266,000 as an additional kickback in exchange for his decisions related to the Carpenters' Pension Trust Fund investment in a casino.
If so, Mabry could face a longer prison sentence.
"Embezzling union resources and accepting kickbacks systematically robs union monetary assets and decreases benefits to all members," Andrew Arena, special agent in charge of the FBI in Detroit, said in a statement. |
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Tue May 17, 2011 9:55 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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From Labor Pains:
Just the usual: Union fraud in Detroit (even Kwame is involved)
Thursday, October 29th, 2009
Detroit’s citizens (and union members) can’t catch a break. Former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is even involved in this one too.
According to the Detroit News, the general vice president of Local 324 of the International Union of Operating Engineers John M. Hamilton allegedly received multiple kick backs for investing millions in a Chicago-based investment firm. The Detroit News explains:
An Illinois businessman told the FBI he arranged for an inflated price to be paid for the home of a Detroit-area union official in return for the union investing $65 million of its pension funds with his company.
John Orecchio of AA Capital Partners told federal investigators there was “a quid pro quo” between the Operating Engineers Pension Fund investing the money with his firm in December 2003 and Orecchio arranging for an inflated price to be paid for the home of John M. Hamilton, business manager and general vice president of Local 324 of the International Union of Operating Engineers, according to documents obtained by The Detroit News.
In July, Orecchio, a partner in the Chicago-based investment firm, was charged in federal court in Illinois with fraud and embezzlement. He is accused of misappropriating $24 million of the funds invested with his company by the Operating Engineers and other clients. He has had conversations with the FBI since at least 2006, and the charges are pending. Hamilton did not respond to telephone and e-mail messages Monday seeking comment.
The News reported Saturday that Orecchio told the FBI he wrote a $10,000 check in 2005 to the Kilpatrick Civic Fund, a nonprofit corporation controlled by the former mayor, to get an audience with Kilpatrick to “pitch” a $20 million city pension fund investment in AA Capital. [...]
Orecchio told investigators from the FBI and the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Labor that he spent a lot of money “wining and dining” Hamilton before and after the union made its $65 million pension fund investment with AA Capital.
To get rest of the story, read it here in The Detroit News. There’s even a story involving Kwame, Las Vegas, and Oscar De La Hoya. You can’t miss it.
Image courtesy of sultmhoor.
Posted in Center for Union Facts, Crime & Corruption, EFAC, News | 2 Comments »
COPYRIGHT © 2011 LABORPAINS.ORG | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED |
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Tue May 17, 2011 10:12 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Chicago Equity Fund CEO Indicted in Union Pension Scam | National ...Jul 31, 2009 ... John A. Orecchio, now 43, is co-founder and CEO of AA Capital Partners, ... and Millwrights Local 1102, each based in the Detroit area. ... $8.3 million of its massive $150 million pension fund to AA Capital Partners. ...
nlpc.org/.../chicago-equity-fund-ceo-indicted-union-pension-scam - Cached
[PDF] UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. JOHN A. ORECCHIOFile Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - Quick View
AA Capital Partners, located at 10 S. LaSalle Street, Chicago,. Illinois, was incorporated by defendant JOHN A. ORECCHIO as a Delaware ...
www.justice.gov/usao/iln/pr/chicago/2009/pr0722_01a.pdf
- SimilarEx-money manager says Detroit-area union official got favors ...Oct 27, 2009 ... A review of documents obtained by The Detroit News indicates that John Orecchio of AA Capital Partners said in exchange for the Operating ...
www.mlive.com › Detroit News - Cached - Similar |
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Tue May 17, 2011 10:19 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Plante Moran has audited Flint and other Flint entities for years. This is what can happen when a firm becomes too closely linked to the entity they audit.
An irreverent Wall Street Blog
by Bill Singer
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Yet Another Wall Street Stripper Case
Written: March 2, 2010
Harry Markopolos (one of my heroes) recently lambasted the culture of lawyers at the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). In Markopolos’ view, a key problem, perhaps even the seminal problem, at the SEC is a lack of mathematicians, accountants, and other finance professionals. The rebuffed Madoff whistleblower argues that lawyers can’t decipher financial statements and have waylaid the federal regulator. In more stark terms, he said that lawyers poisoned the SEC – he also calls many of them “idiots.”
I understand where Markopolos’ anger comes from. Been there, done that. However, I refuse to accept his thesis that if there were simply more number-crunchers at the SEC that the failures to competently investigate and examine Wall Street would cease. See, Harry, the fish stinks from the head down. http://www.brokeandbroker.com/index.php?a=blog&id=319
Lo and behold, this falls into my lap this morning.
In the Matter of Gerard A. M. Oprins, CPA and Wendy McNeeley, CPA (Release Nos. 34-61607, AAER-3116; File No. 3-13787, March 1, 2010):
ORDER INSTITUTING PUBLIC ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDINGS PURSUANT TO SECTION 4C OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 AND RULE 102(e) OF THE COMMISSION’S RULES OF PRACTICE
http://sec.gov/litigation/admin/2010/34-61607.pdf
T&E Or T&A?
After an investigation by the SEC’s Division of Enforcement and the Office of the Chief Accountant, the regulator instituted public administrative proceedings against two CPAs (Oprins and McNeeley) – the ultimate Wall Street number crunchers – for allegedly improper professional conduct during Ernst & Young LLP’s (“Ernst & Young”) independent audits of the 2004 financial statements for AA Capital Partners, Inc. (“AA Capital”), an investment adviser registered with the Commission, and the AA Capital Equity Fund (“Equity Fund”), one of AA Capital’s affiliated private equity funds. During the audits, Oprins, the engagement partner, and McNeeley, the manager, allegedly learned that AA Capital’s president, director and co-owner, John Orecchio (“Orecchio”), purportedly had borrowed $1.92 million in funds belonging to AA Capital’s clients between May and December 2004 to pay a personal tax liability arising from his ownership interest in AA Capital’s private equity funds. In fact, Orecchio had allegedly invented the story about the so-called “tax loan” to conceal his ongoing misappropriation of client assets for his personal use.
Among the more lurid allegations in this matter, the SEC alleges that shortly after he co-founded AA Capital in 2002, Orecchio began spending lavishly on travel and entertainment. Among my favorite parts of his business plan was the SEC’s claim that in August 2003, Orecchio began a relationship with a woman who performed at a Detroit strip club.
When the SEC says that she "performed" at the club, I'm not exactly sure what to infer. Perhaps she performed audits, but I'll have to look into that question further. Apparently ever the civic-minded man, between 2003 and 2006, Orecchio spent substantial amounts of money on his mistress and her family. Although the SEC doesn’t exactly spell-out how the strip club performer transitioned from an entertainment professional to Orecchio’s mistress, I suspect that I can leave that transformation to your imagination.
Alas, the cost of maintaining mistress-strippers seems to be plagued by inflation (now, c’mon! get your mind out of the gutter) because starting in 2004, Orecchio allegedly began siphoning money from client trust accounts to fund his lavish lifestyle. I don't know about you, but I've always wanted a lavish lifestyle. There's just something about that opportunity that has an enticing ring to it. Maybe there are some available on Craigslist?
Anyway, between 2004 and September 2006, Orecchio allegedly misappropriated more than $23 million in client funds, including at least $5.7 million under the guise of a purported “tax loan.” Like how many lap dances are we talking about here? In hindsight, Eliot Spitzer paid Ashley Dupre what?... a measly $4,300 for an hour? Can you imagine the bill if Spitzer and Orecchio had ever joined forces? Of course, then you have to wonder if those two playboys would have tossed a couple of bucks towards, let's say a sitting governor, I don't have one in mind, you use your imagination, and maybe that state elected official could make some phone calls to make any problems go away. You know -- come to think of it -- that's a great idea for a screenplay. Lemme make a note here.
So... getting back to our story, in May 2004, Orecchio allegedly told his CFO that he needed to borrow money to pay a significant tax liability based on his ownership interest in an affiliated private equity fund and a failure by Ernst & Young to timely file certain tax returns. At Orecchio’s direction, the CFO withdrew $602,150 from client trust accounts and then wired the money to Orecchio’s personal bank account. Through the balance of 2004, the CFO allegedly made four similar disbursements to Orecchio in the amount of $1.92 million – the amount Orecchio claimed was needed for his IRS estimated taxes (in reality, the amount owed was about $25,000). By October 2005, the CFO allegedly made at least 20 such disbursements in the amount of $5.7 million.
CPAs vs. Lawyers: Sudden Death Overtime But No One Ever Scores
Okay – great, nary a lawyerly type in sight at this point. If Markopolos' theory is correct, the Ernst & Young audit staff should nail Orecchio and the affiliated companies. The tip off to the auditors will certainly be the fact that Orecchio never signed any loan documentation for his purported “tax loan” and never agreed to repay the “tax loan” with interest. Also, there is the simple fact that a call to the IRS will disclose no such liability. It's just a matter of asking the right questions, punching in the numbers, having fresh batteries in the calculators, and running the spreadsheets.
Oops!!!
[b]Ernst & Young's seven-member audit team including McNeeley, as the audit manager, Oprins, as the engagement partner, an independent review partner, two senior auditors and two staff members embarked upon their on-site review. After learning about Orecchio’s purported “tax loan,” the SEC alleges that Oprins and McNeeley largely relied upon the CFOs’ unsupported assertions and documentation about Orecchio’s purported “tax loan” as sufficient evidential matter. Pointedly, the audit team did not
obtain any documentation reflecting Orecchio’s tax liability or the terms of the “tax loan;”
discuss the “tax loan” with Orecchio;
take steps to confirm Stevens’ statements that Orecchio “made a payment to the IRS for $1,921,050” or that the “tax loan” would be repaid by Orecchio or the IRS during 2005;
take steps to assess the collectability of the “tax loan;” and
discuss Orecchio’s tax liability with their colleagues in Ernst & Young’s tax department who prepared the tax filings for AA Capital and its affiliated private equity funds.
G.I.G.O.
So, you see, Wall Street’s desultory regulatory scene is not simply the fault of mathematically challenged lawyers – there are more than enough finance professionals who are regularly daunted by uncovering fraud. And if the high-priced talent at Ernst & Young comes up short, what do you expect from the lower-priced civil service talent? I suspect that if you transplanted all the CPAs from the top auditing firms into the SEC and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) that things would still be in the same sad state as they are. It’s not that all lawyers at the SEC are screwing things up – it’s the incompetent ones (along with the cronies and toadies) who derail effective regulation. It’s not all CPAs – it’s the lazy and incompetent ones who screw things up.
Garbage in, garbage out.
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Tue May 17, 2011 10:25 am |
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Investor lived dual life on plundered cash
June 16, 2010 7:14 PM
For four years, John Orecchio spent part of his life as a well-respected banker, husband and devoted father of three young children living in a two-story house with white pillars on a tree-lined Arlington Heights street.
The rest of the time, court records show, he posed as a high-rolling millionaire who drove a Bentley, collected thoroughbred racehorses and traveled on private jets to Las Vegas and tropical islands with his young fiancee, a former dancer whom he met during frequent visits to a Detroit strip club.
His dual life was supported by a seemingly bottomless pool of cash plundered from union pension funds. A University of Notre Dame graduate who earned an MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, Orecchio pleaded guilty in February to embezzling millions of dollars from a handful of Michigan pension funds through his investment company, Chicago-based AA Capital Partners. He is slated to be sentenced in federal court Thursday.
In all, Orecchio, 44, stole more than $24 million from six unions to prop up his charade, which devastated the lives of colleagues, clients, family and friends, court records and interviews show.
He might have gotten away with it if, in 2006, investigators from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission hadn't started poring over the books of AA Capital Partners, a boutique investment firm catering to union pensions that was founded by Orecchio and a partner in 2002.
Now the investment banker is facing more than nine years in prison and tens of millions of dollars in fines and restitution payments. He lost his wife and all his posh possessions, with the psychic toll leading to a suicide attempt and brief hospitalization, court records show.
His story adds to a history of abuse in a corner of the U.S. retirement system where 17 million blue-collar workers and tradesmen have more than $675 billion set aside in multi-employer union pension plans.
"Anyone who would steal money from hardworking people deserves the full ramifications of the law," said Rich Davis, the newly elected president of the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters, one of the pensions Orecchio stole from. "This has had an impact on people's retirement."
Under federal sentencing guidelines, Orecchio could have received a maximum of 25 years in prison for one count of wire fraud and one count of stealing from an employee benefit plan. But he is expected to receive a much lighter sentence Thursday in large part for cooperating with ongoing federal corruption investigations into union officials in Detroit.
Documents filed in federal court point out that Orecchio placed more than 150 phone calls to union officials that federal authorities recorded and that he wore a wire during 20 in-person meetings with union representatives.
His cooperation helped lead to the indictment of Julian "Roxy" Jewett, a Las Vegas resident who pleaded guilty in January for giving kickbacks to a former trustee of the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters in exchange for requiring Orecchio to hire Jewett's firm as a consultant on a deal to develop a Hard Rock casino in Biloxi, Miss. Jewett received a year of probation.
The former trustee, Walter Ralph Mabry, had already been found guilty and sentenced to two years in federal prison in 2006 for receiving about $120,000 in free union work on his home in Grosse Pointe Park, Mich. No charges have been filed in connection to the Orecchio case.
John Tesija, an attorney representing two pension funds for Michigan carpenters that together invested $96 million with AA Capital, said union officials have been cooperating with authorities.
"Both funds have strongly supported prosecuting Orecchio and are cooperating with a number of federal agencies," he said.
Orecchio has said he tried to bribe former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick -- who went to prison for obstruction of justice in 2008 -- in return for a chance to pitch the Detroit Police and Fire Pension Funds on investing with AA Capital, according to FBI reports quoted in news stories out of Detroit late last year.
Reports filed by receiver Scott Porterfield, who was appointed by a federal judge to assume control of AA Capital in 2006, say Orecchio spent about $1 million in pension funds to make political contributions and donations to politically connected charities in Michigan.
Pleadings filed by Orecchio's attorney, William Zeigelmueller, say Orecchio's crimes were sparked by his "wining and dining" of union officials, which eventually "spiraled out of control." Zeigelmueller declined to comment for this story.
Indeed, court documents show that Orecchio spent lavishly on travel and entertainment during his four-year scheme. Orecchio used $2.5 million from the pension funds for sporting events, including luxury box seats at Bears, Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings games; another $1.5 million went to high-end hotels, first-class plane tickets and "client events."
Millwrights Local No. 1102, another union with a pension fund that was bilked by Orecchio, claims in a 2007 lawsuit that an unnamed senior vice president of Merrill Lynch -- hired by the pension fund as an investment adviser -- recommended that the union invest with AA Capital while failing to disclose that the executive had received lavish gifts from Orecchio. Merrill Lynch's attorneys vehemently deny the allegations, saying the union sought out AA Capital on its own.
Yet the bulk of the money Orecchio embezzled went toward stoking his millionaire image, according to court records. Along the way, he took up with a 27-year-old dancer who worked at Crazy Horse Detroit, a strip club where Orecchio took clients.
Although he never owned a stake in the club, court records show that Orecchio used $180,000 in pension money to rehab the establishment in exchange for making the dancer a manager. Orecchio eventually proposed to her and bought her a horse farm in Michigan and about $1 million worth of jewelry.
He also bought property in Las Vegas and Michigan, including a home for the dancer's mother, all while supporting his wife and three children in Arlington Heights, records show.
Orecchio embezzled the money under the noses of his partner, Paul Oliver, who owned half of AA Capital, and Mary Elizabeth Stevens, the firm's CFO, who approved millions of dollars' worth of expense reports and made wire transfers to accounts controlled by Orecchio without proper documentation, court records show.
Orecchio, Oliver and Stevens were all sued by either the SEC or the Department of Labor or both and have been barred from overseeing retirement funds or publicly traded companies. Orecchio, meanwhile, was slapped with a $50 million civil judgment in a case filed by the Labor Department.
Although the SEC has declined to say what triggered its investigation, examiners quickly found that AA Capital had $7 million in expenses and just $2 million in revenue and that about $5 million had been misappropriated. The agency then filed suit in federal court to remove AA Capital's managers and appoint a receiver, who has spent years and millions of dollars untangling the fraud.
Of the $194 million invested with AA Capital by union pension funds, Porterfield so far has recovered about $100 million by selling assets and collecting on fidelity bonds taken out on investment funds managed by the firm.
-- Jason Grotto
A Tribune Newspaper website
Chicago's Blog Network: www.chicagonow.com |
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Tue May 17, 2011 10:32 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Tue May 17, 2011 10:40 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Background for Edward Taylor
Employment History
AA Capital Partners Inc
Board Memberships and Affiliations
Member
National Association of Securities Professionals
City Councilperson and Trustee
City of Flint Michigan
Education
MA Degree
Eastern Michigan University
BS degree
Eastern Michigan University
Edward L. Taylor, Vice ...
www.aacapitalpartners.com, 17 Feb 2006 [cached]
Edward L. Taylor, Vice President.
Mr. Taylor joined AA Capital in 2003 and focuses on marketing and client relations.Previously, Mr. Taylor held various municipal and educational positions in California and Michigan.He was a City Councilperson and trustee for the City of Flint Michigan for 13 years.Mr. Taylor earned MA and BS degrees from Eastern Michigan University.He is a member of the National Association of Securities Professionals.
ts3tc1hh@rt3cm3r3f3rb3w |
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Tue May 17, 2011 10:46 am |
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Even before Williamson, an FBI agent often came to city council and just sat in the audience watching the council. He always sat where the council could easily see him and with no one else around him.
I have heard Alex harris discuss the Flint corruption with council, so why couldn't the FBI get more than Makokha in their corruption cases? Previous council members had enough complaints about requiring kickbacks. And then the US Attorney kicks Poplar free with just a slap on the wrist.
Last edited by untanglingwebs on Wed May 25, 2011 7:49 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Wed May 18, 2011 6:53 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Detroit mayor Dave Bing pledges to get tough on corrupt spending
May 18, 2011 | 17Comments
Detroit Mayor Dave Bing pledged "swift and serious action" over mishandled money. Twitter
BY STEVE NEAVLING
DETROIT FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER Filed Under
Local News
City of Detroit
Related Links
Editorial: Tough response to furniture scandal could help Detroit
Money to help poor people buys furniture for Detroit department
Detroit Mayor Dave Bing said Tuesday that he suspects wider abuses of federal grants at the city's Human Services Department after the Free Press revealed the agency spent more than $200,000 on furniture from money that was supposed to help clothe and feed low-income people.
Bing pledged "swift and serious action" against anyone who mishandled the money. The City Council plans to hold a hearing on the issue today.
"The reality or appearance of abuse of grant dollars is unacceptable and will not be tolerated," Bing said in a statement to the Free Press. "Our most vulnerable citizens deserve and will receive better."
Bing's comments came after two audits found that the city mismanaged more than a dozen federal grants worth more than $100 million last year -- all of which were to help low-income people.
Records show the city's human services department used federal stimulus money to issue a no-bid, $1.2-million contract last year to Detroit nonprofit Clark & Associates to staff a food and clothing bank.
But in September, the department spent $210,344 to furnish its offices and waiting room at 5031 Grandy and billed Clark & Associates to cover the expense, records show.
Head of nonprofit says he had no clue about misspent money
The head of the nonprofit that signed off on a $210,000 expenditure said he thought the money was being used for food and clothing banks, not to outfit city offices with furniture.
"I was under the impression that (the money) was going to the food pantry and clothing boutique," said Timothy Ballard, director of Clark & Associates in Detroit. "When we got the furniture bill, we saw that it went to the offices instead."
Officials in Detroit's Human Services Department didn't return calls Tuesday to confirm Ballard's account of the misspending.
Records show the department gave Clark & Associates a no-bid, $2.1-million contract last year that was to be used only for hiring 33 full-time workers to staff a food pantry for poor people and clothing boutique for people seeking jobs.
Although the purchase of furniture is barred under the contract, Ballard said he signed off on it because a city official told him the money would be spent to furnish and improve the food and clothing banks.
An investigation by the council's Research and Analysis Division found that the furniture spending "appears to be outside of the four corners of the grant application."
The council is to meet at 9 a.m. today to discuss the contract, following criticism Tuesday from city Planning and Development Director Robert Anderson, who said the city has mismanaged more than $25 million in community block grants.
"The findings are troubling," Anderson said.
Two city audits and a federal review last year concluded that the Human Services Department mismanaged more than $100 million in federal money for lower-income residents.
In the first indication from the city that the problems likely go deeper than the furniture purchase, Mayor Dave Bing said Tuesday that his office is looking at broader abuses in the Human Services Department and pledged to clean up any mismanagement.
The furniture issue came to light when a union leader for some of the department's employees told council members that the department appeared to have violated city ordinances by hiding the furniture purchase in a service contract.
"We know about the history of no-bid contracts in the city," said Greg Murray, vice president and administrative representative of the Senior Accountants Analysis and Appraisers Association. "This is how the deficit increases."
By hiding the furniture purchase in a service contract, Murray said the department managed to spend money on itself at a time when the city is slashing wages, employee benefits and services.
It's still unclear whether all of the furniture ended up in city offices because department officials have declined to comment.
In October, the city issued another contract to Clark & Associates in the amount of $694,201 to provide the same services, records show.
Contact Steve Neavling: sneavling@freepress.com |
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Wed May 18, 2011 7:10 am |
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When Flint Council got a Department of Energy grant that went through the proper bidding process, the grant was to go to a company with 17 years experience in the field and had worked with most cities in South east Michigan.
When the former CEO of Greater Eastside Community Association (GECA)made her presentation for the grant, her documents showed Greg Eason's application as CEO for the new company. The office was the same as that shown for GECA, Jackie Foster had worked for Greg Eason at Career Alliance and then later also worked for Fields at GECA. She now works for the City of Flint and reports only to Flint City Administrator Eason.
James Ananich was a previous President of GECA before he became a councilman for the 7th ward. He did not disclose this relationship before his election or for the year as required after his electon. He had signed a loan as president of GECA for $100,000 on the old bank building on Franklin although the location dictated the building was probably not worth the value. Ananich also signed documents to get a tax break on the building saying the building was used for storage. Later GECA held garage sales out the building after their flea market on Franklin.
Ananich decided not to run for council again as he was going to run for the term limited house seat of Gonzales. He stopped the energy contract from going through. The contract stalled and the amended contract did not pass until the new council was seated. Then Kate's company Advanced Solutions got the contract. Her claim to fame for her recently created company was that she (not GECA)built 2 energy efficient homes on Delaware.
She did not discuss the MSHDA communications alleging she had possibly given a Burton builder an unfair advantage and this was one of her partners in the new grant. Nor was it mentioned that Josh Freeman, re-elected for the 4th ward Councilman, was the registered Agent and President of the now nonfunctioning GECA. During the city lawsuit against GECA Freeman signed documents placing liens on the properties owne by GECA and signed the equipment over to kate Fields in lieu of salary and vacation pay owing. With no disclosure, Advanced Solutions and kate got the contract for the grant.
Recently Freeman signed the Franklin Avenue office property back to the land bank. The Land bank had made numerous decisions to allow GECA to remain although payments on the land contract were scarce and they never filed formal arrangements for eviction. It's nice to have friends in high places like the Kildees and others.
A whistleblower lawsuit is now ongoing as part of this,
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Wed May 18, 2011 7:53 am |
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Flint's findings are also troubling. Poplar, upon being made President of the council, took the Grants Committee away from Nolden and gave it to Loyd. fianally after doing little, Loyd resigned and the committee was given back to Nolden. Nolden is serious about getting to the bottom of this ongoing problems with Flint's grants. Eason is resisting Nolden's requests for information but Nolden is not afraid to go to HUD for answers. Detroit and Flint are not that far apart.
Last Updated: May 18. 2011 1:00AM
Detroit's block grant program in disarray
Planning chief says city could lose $5.7M in funds
Darren A. Nichols / / The Detroit News
Detroit — The city is "failing" its administration of federal block grant funds and could lose $5.7 million if officials don't get the troubled program under control, a top city official said Tuesday.
Planning and Development director Robert Anderson came on board in January and since then has investigated the grants that go to nonprofits and other agencies for affordable housing, anti-poverty programs, infrastructure improvements and other programs.
He told the City Council he's uncovered a mess: The city hasn't been in compliance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development rules for two years and routinely commits to groups funding that isn't there.
Detroit must scale back the funding by about $40 million, Anderson said. That's a potential blow to groups that rely on the money to improve neighborhoods and deliver social services. And it raises questions about whether residents are receiving services that were promised.
"The findings are troubling," he said. "We've got a failing program. The mayor has made it very clear that continued failure is not an option. There are too many people in this community that are counting on us to deliver these services, and we are not doing it well. It has taken us a whole generation to get us where we are. We've had our share of failures. Now it's time to seek some answers."
Detroit officials are in negotiations with federal counterparts to make sure the city doesn't lose the $5.7 million. The Detroit News couldn't reach HUD officials for comment Tuesday.
Dan Lijana, a spokesman for Mayor Dave Bing, said: "The administration has launched an internal investigation into this matter. Swift and serious action will be taken."
Anderson said he has assembled a task force that has examined nearly 2,000 line items of funding since the mid-1990s. The group includes two former analysts from HUD, and its work should wrap up in about a month.
Some early findings:
The city distributes $5 million each year more in block grant funds than it actually receives, leaving some recipients without funding, Anderson said.
The city borrowed from a $53 million demolition program, and called it a floating loan. It now owes about $13 million to the federal government.
Officials allocated $27 million in grants for a home repair program to groups that can't do the work.
Groups have asked for about $105 million for programs, but about $34 million will be allocated this year.
"It took all of us to get in this; it'll take all of us to get out of it," Anderson said.
Council President Pro Tem Gary Brown called the findings "troubling" and said it would be devastating to send any money back to the federal government. The city already faces a $155 million deficit.
"It's troubling to have as many needs as we have in Detroit and not to have that funding utilized in a more efficient and effective way," Brown said.
"It looks like we're moving in a direction to get it straightened out. I am cautiously optimistic that we won't lose any money and we'll make it a more effective program in the future."
Councilwoman JoAnn Watson criticized the department because it's not using 10 percent of the funds to hire city residents, as required by law.
"All of it is vulnerable if we don't do what the federal government says we're supposed to do, which is hire Detroit residents and give contracts to Detroit residents," Watson said.
"We're not doing it, not to the degree we should. It should not be status quo."
Also Tuesday, City Council staffers released a report that found $200,000 in block grants was used to buy furniture for the city's Human Services Department offices.
The money came from a $1.1 million community service block grant contract with the Department of Human Services to Clark & Associates to provide a food pantry and clothing boutique for low-income residents.
Clark & Associates also used block grant funds to pay its staff $236,000 in overtime. Its officials were unavailable for comment Tuesday.
Greg Murray, a city union leader, said the purchases "send the wrong message."
"People are being told to stay within their budget, but you have departments spending money like a drunken sailor, further obligating the city to money it doesn't have," Murray said.
East side community activist Mike Fisher said the funding process has become political.
"Block grant dollars are essential to a lot of programs," said Fisher, a former executive director of the Detroit Community Initiative.
He applied for block grant funds for years, but stopped because the process got too politicized. "They are important dollars for economic development. All of the pitfalls have been the favorite son statuses. The pet projects may not have been the best use of dollars."
Last edited by untanglingwebs on Wed May 25, 2011 7:53 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Wed May 18, 2011 8:01 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Many are talking about the Detroit and the MSU connection in many contracts currently being awarded by the City of Flint and conjecture revolves around Eason's work in Detroit for several years after Career Alliance.
Now Advanced Solutions is afiliated with Greening Detroit. Not much is known bout Greening Detroit as it is fairly new. Their office has been traced back to a company owned by Lawyer and Real estate Investor Anthony Randazzo.
However there is no Greening Flint as indicated in this attached website description. The closest I can find is an MSU video production on environmental issues in Beecher and attributed to Flint and dayne Walling. Can anyone say potential campaign materials?
In All Categories About Us Photo Gallery Pressroom Dirt Talk Green News You Can Use Metro Communities Grassroots Blog Natural Wellness Renovating Detroit Shop Talk UncategorizedIn All CategoriesIn All Categories
About Us
Photo Gallery
Pressroom
Dirt Talk
Green News You Can Use
Metro Communities
Grassroots Blog
Natural Wellness
Renovating Detroit
Shop Talk
Uncategorized
Advanced Solutions Group LLC
2804 N. Franklin Avenue
Flint, MI 48506
Contact: Kate Fields
Phone: 810-908-0366 Cell or
810-233-7300 Office
katefields@aol.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Company Description
As Energy Specialists, Advanced Solutions Group LLC (ASG) offers a multitude of services for residential, commercial, institutional and governmental customers.
We provide Consulting Services for: Strategic planning, grant identification, writing, packaging, submission and reporting, project planning, implementation, management and reporting, program development, implementation, management, marketing and reporting, curriculum development and training, energy assurance planning, training, management and reporting, RFP development and administration, bid preparation, packaging and submission, cost and feasibility analysis for energy initiatives, organizational capacity analysis, energy audits (residential, commercial), government liaison for energy initiatives, and GSA schedule preparation
We provide Construction Services for: Energy audits and energy efficiency construction retrofits, weatherization (single-family, multi-family, commercial), and renewable energy technologies installation (solar, geo-thermal, solar-thermal)
We provide assistance with applications, documentation and processing of: Michigan Saves residential energy retrofit loans, residential and commercial utility rebate programs (ASG is a Consumers Energy Allied Trade Partner), and federal and state energy financial incentives
SIGNIFICANT PAST PROJECTS:
ASG principal (Kate Fields) developed Energy Star Certified single-family homes; both new construction and rehabilitated. These homes were built for low-to-moderate income families utilizing HUD Block Grant funds from the City of Flint and the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA).
Assisted GreeningDetroit.com with City of Flint approval for GreeningFlint.com
Provided three Externships for graduates of American Green Careers; experience provided with residential energy audits.
City of Flint Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG). Secured the grant, prepared (accepted by DOE) Energy Efficiency Conservation Strategy (EECS) and developed an additional Comprehensive Strategic Energy Plan for the city. Many energy experts were utilized for research and analysis of relevant energy topics in order to prepare the comprehensive strategy and EECBG allocation recommendations. This work was presented in a five-day series of seminars which you will find posted on this web site. Although they were geared to the City of Flint, most seminars offer generic information for anyone interested in energy or “Green” initiatives.
Topics included:
Day One – Energy and Green Jobs
Welcoming Remarks
Introduction to EECBG
Green Jobs
Michigan Energy Legislation(Renewable Portfolio Standards, Net Metering and Feed-in-Tariffs)
Smart-Grid
Brownfields
Day Two – Energy Efficiency and Conservation
Energy Efficient Building Practices including Energy Audits
LEED Building Practices
City Of Flint Facilities Energy Audits and Rebates
Energy and Building Automation
Day Three – Renewable Energy
Renewable Energy Generation
Renewable Energy Ordinances
Alternative Fuels
Day Four – Energy and Green City Operations
LED Traffic and Street Lighting
Alternative Transportation
Waste-to-Energy (Recycling, Reuse and Energy Recovery)
Green Purchasing Policies
Day Five – Funding Energy and Green Initiatives
Financing Municipal Energy Projects
Potential “Other Grants” Funding
Proposed: Flint-Genesee Energy Coalition
The EECBG Strategic Plan: Synopsis, Prioritization and Recommendations
Concluding Remarks
Comprehensive Strategic Energy Plan – Vision of Flint as a Sustainable CityCURRENT PROJECTS
CURRENT PROJECTS
BIOGRAPHY OF KATE FIELDS
© 2009 GreeningDetroit.com All Rights Reserved.
View our Privacy Policy, Terms and Conditions, Disclaimer.
Website Maintained by Matt Oberdier
Home About Us Become Listed Contact Us Endorsements and Supporters Commercial & Industrial Buildings Green Homes Metro Communities Network with us: |
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Wed May 18, 2011 8:14 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Wed May 18, 2011 8:27 am |
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Dave Starr
F L I N T O I D
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quote:
untanglingwebs schreef:
Even before Williamson, an FBI agent often came to city council and just sat in the audience watching the council. He alsways sat where the council could easily see him and with no one else around him.
I have heard Alex harris discuss the Flint corruption with council, so why couldn't the FBI get more than Makokha in their corruption cases? Previous council members had enough complaints about requiring kickbacks. And then the US Attorney kicks Poplar free with just a slap on the wrist.
Maybe the feds in Flint are dirty, too. |
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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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Wed May 18, 2011 8:27 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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quote:
Dave Starr schreef:
quote:
untanglingwebs schreef:
Even before Williamson, an FBI agent often came to city council and just sat in the audience watching the council. He alsways sat where the council could easily see him and with no one else around him.
I have heard Alex harris discuss the Flint corruption with council, so why couldn't the FBI get more than Makokha in their corruption cases? Previous council members had enough complaints about requiring kickbacks. And then the US Attorney kicks Poplar free with just a slap on the wrist.
Maybe the feds in Flint are dirty, too.
That thought has crossed my mind!
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Wed May 18, 2011 8:35 am |
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