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deep qt dossier 81: Might Makes Blight: Eminent Domain v. Free Speech in Clarksville, Tennessee
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November 29, 2008: Hop the last train to Clarksville, Tennessee. Where Mayor Johnny Piper, the Downtown District Partnership, and the Clarksville City Council have a blight pretty plan to seize other people's land. So private developers can "maximize the potential". Home owners and small businesses in Blightville object. They say bad things in newspaper ads. Pointing out the local pols who double as developers. Suggesting their profits will be maximized. "Libel" scream the pols/developers. The Institute for Justice sez "SLAPP". As in: Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation... |
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deep qt transylvania twist: Nightmare on Election Street
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October 30, 2008: Hit the road Halloween. For those who loathe politicians (count me in) there's no more horrific time than the final days of a presidential race... |
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deep qt dossier star 80: Obama McCain: A Man For This Season
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October 13, 2008: Remember "change we can believe in"? How about "the straight talk express"? The first is the mantra of believers in Barack Obama, the second was John McCain's war wagon during his 2000 primary fight for the Republican nomination. Though Dubya ultimately prevailed, McCain's image as political brave heart got a righteous polishing. Even after he became Dubya's liege the image didn't completely lose its luster. As for Obama, his jousts with Bill and Hill of The Infernal Machine won huzzahs in independent circles. But those were the days of yore-- this is now. Evil omens re the economy hath melded Obama and McCain into one man, living in the cramped quarters of one craven political soul... |
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deep qt grease fire: The Big Bailout Circus
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September 28, 2008: The Big Bailout Circus has the nation in stitches. Taxpayers are being sewn into a skin-tight forever suit by an amazingly bipartisan group of government clowns. But despite the agreement about the need for a slap dash redo of the U.S. financial system-- and by extension our political system-- the designing bozos disagree about details. And none can resist an occasional hit of the rubber chicken... |
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deep qt dossier 79: Explicit Fannie & Freddie: Taxpayers Tote Load, China Heaves Sigh of Relief
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September 11, 2008: Is there some way out of here, said the taxpayer to the thieves... |
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deep qt bangers and mash: Obama Parts the Sea, Cuomo Heeds the Community, Cynics March on DC
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August 10, 2008: Pundits are puzzled; why no Berlin bounce for Obama? Back at the ranch, Methuselah oops McCain fires off a few snarky campaign ads. Moses gets his britches in a twist. Or at least, Bob Herbert seems to think so. Freud calls it as HE sees it, the O crowd cries "cynical". Pols in Albany, New York agree. Cynicism is next to ungodliness. Mayor Jerry Jennings nixes the blame game; state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo preaches to the political choir. His Community Partnership Initiative wing-ding is chock full of workshops for the peeps! Topics not covered: public corruption, mortgage fraud, gangs, drug traffic... |
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deep qt micro brew: Bloody Toto Guilty of Mortgage Fraud
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July 25, 2008: Go Brooklyn. A jury in that fair borough has found Emmanuel "Toto" Constant guilty of mortgage fraud and grand larceny. Emmanuel Constant is the former founder and leader of FRAPH, the Haitian paramilitary group that in the early 90's, systematically tortured and murdered thousands of supporters of deposed President Jean-Bertrand Aristide... |
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deep qt perpetual steak roast: The Albany Show/See Bruno Go/Did Spitzer Know?
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June 30, 2008: New York's X Governor Eliot Spitzer must be kicking himself. If he'd played his cards sharper he could be in Albany watching state Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno take flight sans state-owned helicopter. Oh-- Joe says the revitalized FBI probe into his state-funded bidness deals (nano grants ahoy) and his duties at Wright Investors' Service (union pension funds ahoy) had nothing to do with his leaving. Still, the feds did help Bruno move; they hauled 30 boxes of records from his office. As Bruno resigned he allegedly aped Spitzer. In Albany, monkey shines all of the time! |
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deep qt dossier 77: Hillary's White Wedding/Mortgage Fraud Rescue Wrap/Why Are We in Iraq
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June 8, 2008: Spring segued into Summer with Hillary's white wedding. Milady Hill rolled in Joe Sixpack's arms moaning how Joe wouldn't go for O. Is this the same co-president who sliced globaloney? In April, FBI Director Robert Mueller asked another pert question: are we becoming more crooked? The most recent FBI Mortgage Fraud Report is suggestive. Hot scams include: foreclosure rescues. Not to be confused with the Senate Banking Committee housing rescue. The plan could reach Dubya by Independence Day. Hooray! Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will tote the FHA load. Taxpayers won't be tapped. If you believe that, remember Iraq... |
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deep qt spring-a-ling roll: Fort Trumbull Circa 2008: Waist Deep in the Big Muddy
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May 6, 2008: Crank the Wayback Machine to Summer 2005 and the Supreme Court decision re Kelo v. New London. Eminent domain in New London, Connecticut was AOK. Blue collar Fort Trumbull was passe; upscale redevelopment carried the day. After bulldozing Fort Trumbull's last homeowners, the New London Development Corporation (NLDC) got busy with preferred developer, Corcoran Jennison. An affluent utopia rose. Condos! Lattes! Revenues galore! Oops. Reality is a wasteland mired in a slack lending market. The conventionally financed condo plan is long gone. Think multifamily rentals. Bring on (hopefully) a taxpayer-backed FHA loan. Not to worry tho-- luxury is still the name of the game... |
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deep qt: dossier 76: Troopergate Opens in New York, Cops and Robbers Come Out
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April 16, 2008: New Yorkers can thank their lucky stars X Governor Eliot Spitzer had a thing for pricey hookers run by international crims laundering money through shell companies. If Spitzer did cheap cash and carry his transactions wouldn't have triggered Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) and he'd still be dodging investigations into Troopergate. But with Spitz dethroned, Troopergate is opening wide. Revealing not just one measly scandal but a political culture so airless it makes Jersey smell fresh. Cave Troll Number One: a State Police smear squad... |
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deep qt wack snax: Hillary's Housing Fix in a New York Nutshell
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March 29, 2008: Welcome to the Empire State Asylum for the Politically Insane. While X Governor Eliot Spitzer rampages in the day room, Senator Hillary Clinton is on the sun porch mixing up a housing fix. Stand and deliver, taxpayers-- your contribution will be "self-financing over time". Woo Woo! Former fed head Alan Greenspan and Citigroup's Robert Rubin will direct Hill's fix. Qualifications? Greenspan has the Housing Bubble under his belt, Rubin knows CDO sickness. And Rubin & Citi give good bailout. Think predatory subprime Ameriquest. Their spawn, Argent Mortgage, has been busy in Florida. Allegedly. |
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deep qt: dossier 75: QAT: Eliot Spitzer's International Mystery Mack
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March 19, 2008: Enough with the sack stuff. The real eye opener about Eliot Spitzer isn't his compulsion to heave ho, but his willingness to disguise payments via an international criminal enterprise that specialized in money laundering. Aka QAT International, Inc. Aka QAT Consulting Group. Aka QAT this and that. Lord knows how many QATs. What does QAT mean? Is it a conglom of initials? An acronym for "Quietly Artfully Tax-less"? Or does it refer to khat (also called qat) a plant with an amphetamine buzz.. |
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deep qt venison stew: Ben Bernanke Walks Into a Bar, Andrew Cuomo Appraises the Nation
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March 5, 2008: The Clinton Obama show is killing comedy. Great jokes are lost in the sauce. Did you hear about Ben Bernanke and stagflation? His antlers were bass ackwards! Or how about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? The GSEs checked into Motel OFHEO. As their portfolio caps were lifted, taxpayers provided implied protection. Whap! Pow! New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is ready to combat appraisal fraud in the whole GSE USA. (His investigation of the issue is closed.) Come 2009, the Home Valuation Code of Conduct and an independent institute financed by Fannie and Freddie will send bad lenders to the moon. Till then, OFHEO will be on the job.... |
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deep qt: dossier 74: Merrill Lynch, Springfield, and the Secret CDO Wasteland
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February 21, 2008: Remember when subprime was going to be over in just a few quarters? Now it's billions upon billions in CDO writedowns. The hits from esoteric mortgage-related instruments just keep coming. Attorneys in public and private places are launching investigations and lawsuits. Attention institutional investors! Did Merrill Lynch put your pension fund in a bind? Is your Taft-Hartley barely beating? Are your triple A-rated, assured auction market investments secret CDOs? See Springfield, Massachusetts. They bit but got back what they lost. If only Maine could make Merrill and municipal bond insurer MBIA hoist Mainsail II. Aye, there's the rub-a-dub drubbing. So few public servants lashed down the cargo... |
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deep qt super supper: Obama and Ron Paul Take New York State, Tastee-Freeze Opens in Hell!
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February 5, 2008: You say you want a revolution? |
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deep qt snow cone: Stimulus Package Store, GSE Jumbo Out Back
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Jamuary 28, 2008: Hot damn. The government is going to stimulate the economy. Come Summer, rebates will arrive from Uncle Sam. What a man! Consumers will rush to pump Wal-Mart. Meanwhile, back at Rancho Notorious for Tax and Spend, pols do it the usual way. On top, with the lights out. Gee whiz-- a GSE loan jolt might stimulate housing prices in inflated markets! Will Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac overcome financial and legal problems? Will investors fall in love (again) with mortgage-backed securities full of jumbo? Cynics say the GSE guarantee will bring taxpayers to their knees; romantics cite the birds and the bees... |
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deep qt: dossier 73: The Mortgage Mess Lawsuit: Countrywide and Miles High
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Jamuary 16, 2008: Suit up in 2008! The mortgage mess manifests in courts countrywide. (Yeah, there's a lender by the same name.) Bank of America rescues Countrywide Financial from bankruptcy rumors. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are relieved. But will BofA lift Countrywide's lawsuits? Oh what a strain-- the predatory train rolls on. Baltimore! Cleveland! Did Wells Fargo Bank set up Baltimore's inner city nabes to fail by foreclosure? Did 21 investment banks and lenders trample Cleveland? Then there's Springfield, Massachusetts. Where reps from the Albany, New York office of Merrill Lynch sold subprime CDOs to unnamed officials. The investments tanked. Springfield got mad. Mass is investigating. There must be some way outta here, said the subprime juggler to the thieves... |
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deep qt egg noggin: Santa Sees Albany Sleeping; Mayor Jerry Jennings Saws Wood
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December 22, 2007: Santa drops in on city hall in Albany, New York. Seeking Mayor Jerry Jennings. Got coal? Nope-- it's the Medallion of the University at Albany! A big chunk of SUNY. Santa sees the Honorary Committee pay tribute to Mayor Jennings for "innovative and effective government" and an "unprecedented reduction of crime". Santa sez who wrote this stuff and checks the list twice. Deck the halls with all the interested parties. In a nabe near Washington Park, thieves party in a couple of brownstones. The unprecedented reduction of crime isn't playing in real time... |
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deep qt: dossier 72: Subprime Cottage: Eco-Friendly w. Eminent Domain View
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December 11, 2007: Cast your mind back to Susette Kelo. She and her neighbors in the Fort Trumbull section of New London, Connecticut lost their property to eminent domain. As perped by the New London Development Corporation (NLDC). Poodle to Connecticut's Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD). Until early 2007, the DECD loved Mortgage Lenders Network. Aka MLN. Mighty Mouse of subprime. Like cheese, MLN melted down. Next up: Chapter 11 with protection. Residential Funding, sub to GMAC, got huffy when MLN's Mitch Heffernan made "scandalous" allegations. Emax Financial relaxed in the Virgin Islands and eco-friendly Workstage got stuck with a rustic cottage. In November, MLN settled. Which creditors will take out the trash? Back in Fort Trumbull, ain't nothing going on but another delay by developer Corcoran Jennison. Is this "public use" or speculation in subprime time? |
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deep qt: dossier 71: Philadelphia On The Edge Of Tomorrow
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November 18, 2007: Say hey. Philadelphia has a new day. In November, reform candidate Michael Nutter was elected mayor by an enormous margin. A gut reaction against the corruption and crime that flourished under Mayor John Street. The feds convicted players in and around city hall. Philadelphia became Murder City, USA. Old faces from the byegone Black Mafia surfaced. Imam Shamsud-din Ali invoked "the person closest to the person" when shaking down drug dealers and fronted minority-set asides for majority pals. The mosque's school got the treatment too. This Summer, Imam Ali was seen talking slots and casinos to a grand jury. Will tourists pay-to-play on the waterfront? In October, Sean Patrick Griffin's seminal work (Black Brothers, Inc.) on the Philly Black Mafia was reissued and Black Entertainment Television (BET) kicked off American Gangster with an episode based on the same. History haunts. Bring on the change! |
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deep qt treat bag: Hillary Clinton, The Shadow Party and Me
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October 28, 2007: Halloween 2009. A big night at Castle Clinton. Aka the White House. President Hillary is throwing a bash. The Shadow Party is THE place to be. X President Bill plays host, cape by Vlad the Impaler. Among the guests, financier seer George Soros. A babe dressed as an ACORN hurls punch: the Working Families Party Store cleans up. Hillary zeros in on Xi Jinping, of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China. Ring-a-ding-ding what a princeling! The Beijing Olympics were divine! Will Hillary in Iraq be as fine? Seriously folks, The Shadow Party is a book. By David Horowitz and Richard Poe. A polemic just right for the season. I read it. I write what I think... |
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deep qt: dossier 70: Cambodia Rocks, Justice Rolls, Nuon Chea Feels Dizzy
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October 10, 2007: Cambodian justice has finally twitched the tip of its little piggy and indicted Nuon Chea, former Deputy Secretary of the Communist Party of Kampuchea-- aka the Khmer Rouge. Nuon Chea is charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes. Between 1975 and 1979, the Khmer Rouge rocked Cambodia back to the stone age with their vision of a totally self-sufficient agrarian society created by totalitarian force in cut time. Two million people died. Tuol Sleng prison, as headed by the notorious Comrade Duch under the authority of Nuon Chea, was an abattoir for the politically impure. Duch and Nuon Chea are the only high-level Khmer Rouge indicted by Cambodia's Extraordinary Chambers. So little justice, so many international dollars. The UN development agency (UNDP) thinks it looks hinky. Meanwhile, Nuon Chea is defending himself like a hack hit with graft charges. I'm so dizzy sez he. Give that man a European toilet... |
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deep qt: dossier 69: The Bush Subprime Bailout: Limited Surge or Taxpayer Quagmire?
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September 4, 2007: There he goes again! The man who said "mission accomplished" is launching a "limited" bailout of the subprime Ownership Society. Powered by HUD, FHA, and GSE. Hey-- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac aren't pure government poodles: they're government sponsored enterprises who dood the secondary mortgage market. Lenders loved MBS. Appraisers got pressured. Like Topsy, the housing bubble just grew. Private sector subprime seduced innocent borrowers into taking out liar loans. Foreclosures followed. Will FHA Secure lift enough ARMS? Or will a taxpayer quagmire be required? |
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deep qt corn dodgers: The Appalachian Summer of Eliot Spitzer
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August 22, 2007: The New York State political scene is bubbling like a still with a bumper crop of corn! Troopergate rages-- as do Governor Eliot Spitzer and State Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno. Is Republican political consultant Roger Stone a dirty mouth? Or did a robot make those calls to Spitzer's Daddy-O? Hell-O. We will bury U. With dirty politics and taxpayer investments in weird urban real estate. Paging the DHCR. The Corporation picks up the phone. In Albany, the South End gets boosted. In the Southern Tier, State Senator Thomas Libous strikes a blow for freedom. Oh yeah say folks left out of the Steak Roast. Back home, Uncle Ira carves close to the bone... |
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deep qt: dossier 68: Mortgage Fraud Addicts of the Empire State
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August 10, 2007: Meet Mortgage Fraud. According to the FBI, this white collar celeb is a housing bubble lover with a helluva habit. Subprime anyone? Please check your ARMs at the door. Whoops they fell through the floor. In Albany, New York, hard core mortgage fraud addict Aaron Dare solicits an unwilling appraiser and Berne Bernie Watkins lets himself go. HUD fraud rocks almost as hard as the foreclosures sweeping the nation! In Brooklyn, where the dead really know how to flip, a Lending Universe explodes. The AGA Capital players receive indictments for bad mortgage fraud habits allegedly perped in all 5 boroughs, the Catskills, and Jersey. Hey-- can anyone here read Russian? This loan doc looks mighty darn funny... |
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deep qt covered dish dinner: Jersey Ham ala Sharpe James, Redevelopment Scams on the Side
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July 29, 2007: Summertime isn't downtime when it comes to corruption in Jersey. See X Mayor Sharpe James of Newark perp walk with redeveloper Tamika Riley. James' companion on city credit card trips. See State Senator Sharpe James enhance the power of Mayor Sharpe James via state legislation. Hey-- dual office holding is legal. Not legal: city credit card pleasure trips and steering city properties for Tamika to flip. (Allegedly.) See Tamika flip! Building An Empire was never so cheap. Ultra legal: New Jersey's Local Redevelopment and Housing Law. Aka LRHL. Just one of the acronyms that keep the wheels spinning... |
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deep qt: dossier 67: On Spitzer! On Bruno! In Custom Clown Cars!
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July 15, 2007: New York Governor Eliot Spitzer and State Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno are clowning it up in Circus Albany. Bopping each other with insults and spritzing accusations. Yo corrupt Bozo, honks Spitzer. Pennywise the Spy-Boy, flaps Bruno. The plane, the plane! There goes Bozo right down Hevesi lane? In the government reform ring, New York State's public authorities will be getting a presto change-o. Will the shadow agencies disappear, or merely shift shape and serve a new master? Beep beep, goes Pennywise as he delivers a power point presentation about the lazy pachyderms in the state legislature. Campaign finance reform is the name of that game. Republicans do drag their feet. But may step more lively when Pennywise utters the magic words "full public financing”. |
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deep qt summer book club: Pulp Fiction Iraq
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June 28, 2007: When Johnny came marching home post WW2 pulp fiction jumped to meet him. Titles screamed bloody murder. Jackets were eyeball ecstasy. Blurbs rhapsodized the sack and slug stuff under the covers. When Our Boys & Girls finally get back from Iraq, pulp needs to greet them just as exuberantly. Read all about it: Dick's rage rises, Bill gets busy with POTUS, and George surges into the Fertile Crescent. And in 2057, Hollywood turns gritty post Iraq pulp fiction into box office gold.... |
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On The QT Special Features: Bloody Toto in Mortgage Fraud Land
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June 10, 2007: During the halcyon years of the housing bubble, mortgage fraudsters partied hearty. Among the revelers was Emmanuel Constant. Aka "Toto" Constant. Formerly of Haiti. In Haiti, Toto collected CIA dollars and co-founded FRAPH. A paramilitary group some called "death squad". When President Aristide returned, Toto slipped out the back. Surfacing in New York. If you can make it there you can make anywhere! After Clinton & crew backed off deporting Toto, FRAPH-Man did the mortgage broker thing. Playing air loan with the indicted Sandella Group in Brooklyn. Being D&M Financial's best boy on Long Island. Meanwhile, over in Jersey, D&M was fending off lawsuits launched by angry lenders and secondary mortgage market mavens. Sorry, said Mister & Miz Michalaki, no buy-backs. By the by, has anybody seen unlicensed appraiser Andy Perdikos? And why are Homeland Security and ICE suddenly so hot to send Toto packing? |
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deep qt oh gee: Good in Iraq: The Dating of The President 2008
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May 8, 2007: Oh gee we're stuck in Iraq. No turning back. Can't give Dubya the sack till 2008. What about our new date? Let's ask Dear Addie... |
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deep qt: dossier 66: Jim McGreevey and the China Syndrome
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April 30, 2007: Sad news. Jim McGreevey, X governor of New Jersey, has suffered a chutzpa relapse. 1000 corrupt maniacs conga down memory lane: Golan Cipel leads the pack. In the now, McGreevey teaches ethics at Kean University. University Prez Dawood Farahi sends Jim to China. Education is a highly desirable commodity! The Peoples Republic will pick up the bill! The State University of New York (SUNY) has similar plans for an outpost in Nanjing. United University Professions (UUP) sends a union message re the treatment of foreign teachers in China and Amnesty International reports on repression in Beijing. Where the 2008 Olympics look a lot like the old daze... |
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deep qt deep bucket: Oh Alphonso! FHA Modern is so Subprime!
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April 15, 2007: Hold on to your hats girls. HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson is asking Congress to pass a proposal for a "modernization" of FHA mortgage loan programs. According to Alphonso, the FHA needs to cover the subprime crisis. Once upon a time, the FHA was a hefty home financier. Fraud ridden but cozy. Then came the subprime sirens. Fraud ridden and exotic! Borrowers went for a free market fling. The FHA showed more skin. No luck. Will a makeover do the trick? Lift those loan limits, ditch those downpayments. Dubya and Congressman Barney Frank say FHA Modern is oh so subprime... |
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deep qt: dossier 65: Alt-A Reality and the Subprime Rescue Mission
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April 9, 2007: The United States of Real Estate continues to suffer subprime mortgage sickness. Now turning Alt-A. Together they make nonprime. M&T Bank Corp feels queasy re Alt-A and the secondary market. American Home Mortgage Investment drops a few Alt-A products. Meanwhile, Ohio commits state taxpayers to a subprime rescue mission. Jersey and California could follow. Check the federal front. Is Lafayette on the way? Or is it the FHA? Beazer Builders hangs with ButtHUD in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Their low income homes a study in foreclosure... |
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deep qt home canned candidates: Hillary and Rudy Sitting In a Tree
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March 24, 2007: With each presidential election the candidates seem more proscribed and the selection process more truncated. Inner party poopers, talking heads and big money try to seal the deal before the ink is dry on the last guy. This time the dumb beats loudest for Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani. If Hillary and Rudy wind up the people's choice they'll be a killer combo platter. Little dif between the chow fun and lo mein but plenty of ptomaine. And maybe a new top model for MAD Magazine! |
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deep qt dossier 64: The Subprime Tsunami Awards
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March 17, 2007: Subprime celebs galore! Alan Greenspan's exploding ARM is a killer. Bear Stearns & UBS sport invisible analyst hands. New Century looks old and predatory but Ameriquest's face lift is grand. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick offers himself-- Robert Rubin of Citigroup accepts. Alas, Mortgage Lenders Network of Connecticut is missing. Thanks for the memories sez GMAC. Emmanuel "Toto" Constant (formerly of Haiti and FRAPH) breaks out in a mortgage fraud sleeper shot on location in Brooklyn. Closing Bell: Maria Bartiromo looks soulful as Angelo Mozilo of Countrywide Financial dishes his irrational competitors and stands up for Joe Doakes. Seems subprime is social salvation. But is it affordable-- or merely obtainable? |
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deep qt cold cut platter: Hot Rats in Connecticut/Reform in China
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March 8, 2007: On March 3rd, the City of New London, Connecticut and the quasi-public New London Development Corporation (NLDC) finally did what they've been hot to do since 1998. Bulldoze the family home of Michael Cristofaro. Cheese was served at NLDC Central. Taxpayers picked up the tab. Two days later in the People's Republic of China, Premier Wen Jiabao promised reform. Attention peasants displaced by government land grabs! Cease and desist demonstrating... |
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deep qt dossier 63: Heritage Hell: The Watson International Murders
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March 1, 2007: Philadelphia's murder wave crested again on February 12th when self described real estate investor Vincent Julius Dortch shot and killed Robert Norris, Mark Norris and James Reif in the waterfront offices of Zigzag Net. Zigzag wasn't the object of Dortch's obsession. The men he killed were board members of Watson International, a company rooted in Broome County, New York. Dortch believed Watson execs cheated him in a deal gone sour. The Watson plan was to revamp the Heritage Country Club, a left-behind piece of IBM in Broome County. Tis a tangled tale, involving foreign interests, 4 states, a flood, and a whole lot of conflicting stories.... |
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deep qt dossier 62: Snitch & Die: A Philadelphia Crime Tradition
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February 11, 2007: In 2006, Philadelphia became the top spot for murder among America's ten largest cities. Victims numbered 406. The majority were inner city residents. Among the dead were drug turf rivals, innocents caught in the crossfire, and witnesses who made the mistake of talking. Witness intimidation of the fatal variety is big in Philly. It's why many murders go unsolved, or can't be prosecuted. Some think "snitch & die" is a new trend. But for those familiar with Philadelphia's criminal history in the 1960's and 70's, it's deja vu all over again... |
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deep qt dossier 61: The Big Subprime Shovel
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January 29, 2007: Once upon a short time ago, Mortgage Lenders Network USA (MLN) seemed an inexorable subprime force. A model for Connecticut's financial services. MLN execs had seen the future and it was subprime. Then came the storm. Warehouse lenders and Wall Street investors battened down the hatches. Banking regulators, borrowers, mortgage brokers and sales reps (sans commissions not culottes) picked up torches. MLN kept right on shoveling... |
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deep qt amuse bouche: Springfield Laffs Its Asselins Off
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January 22, 2007: In the roster of corrupt pols who serve the people on the Eastern Seaboard, few provide as many black laffs as the Asselin clan of Springfield, Massachusetts. Raymond Asselin Sr. was head of the Springfield Housing Authority (SHA) since Disco days. He and his family, including State Rep Chris Asselin, looted the SHA. Got graft? The Asselins raked it in. Hi ho! Off to prison they go... |
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deep qt: dossier 60: The Tainted & The Prime: Mortgage Lenders Shake Out
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January 15, 2007: 2007 kicked off with weird weather and the meltdown of Mortgage Lenders Network, USA. A prominent subprime lender based in Connecticut. Until 2 months ago everything looked jake. Connecticut's Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) was set to deliver an ultra advantageous 4 million dollar loan. Tainted borrowers were being phased out in favor of double plus good ones. Then lightening struck-- a dramatic deterioration of lending conditions! Employees and borrowers did the Furlough. Sans stockings & chocolate. In California, Ameriquest Mortgage shakes its body down to the ground. Is Ambassador Roland Arnall having an Amsterdam good time? Or does he dream of exotic mortgage nights in 49 states of the union? |
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deep qt bubbly: Homeschool For The Holidays
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December 31, 2006: Yes Virginia, many people do socially beneficial things without taxpayer support! Take homeschoolers. Such as the ones featured at the "One Week Short of a Year Carnival of Homeschooling" posted at "Principled Discovery". Their spirits are high. Does G. K. Chesterton know why? |
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deep qt western omelet: Rocky Mountain Mortgage Fraud Fever
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December 11, 2006: District Attorney Scott Storey of Jefferson County, Colorado is one busy lawman. The local housing market is chock full of mortgage fraud varmints. One particularly pesky ring, operating for roughly 5 years, recruited hundreds of illegal immigrants to act as straw buyers in the Denver metro area. Ringmasters were mortgage brokers, realtors, and loan officers in local banks. Straw buyers were supplied with stolen identities, including drivers licenses, social security cards, and income tax returns. What couldn't be stolen was forged. HUD greased many a wheel with DAP. The FHA gift program kept rolling rolling rolling... |
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On The QT Special Features: Aaron Dare, Mortgage Fraud & HUD's Helping Hand
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December 4, 2006: HUD fraud is old. Ditto for real estate scams. But mash them up and you get hip happening white collar crime. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) delivers the goods for crooked house parties across the nation. Agency overlords in Dee Cee know squat about folks funded on the homefront. Qualifying docs may be delivered but docs are easily doctored. Reputations are harder to fake. Local public servants and finance seers should be savvy. Can the ideal and cut to a chase. One involving frauds perped in the inner city neighborhoods of Albany, New York by confessed real estate crook Aaron R. Dare. Acting with a cast of as-yet-unknown numbers... |
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deep qt dossier 58: Indies Party Hearty/Eminent Domain Mopes
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November 14, 2006: Old news: anti war vote lifts Dems who bought the WMD, Rumsfeld bonds with Winston Churchill, Dubya remains optimistic & Rove gets a lesson in metrics. Good news: indies sweep the nation. Real good news: citizens in nine states say bye-bye to eminent domain abuse. The ghosts of Poletown are dancing in the Detroit streets. Some call it the post-Kelo revolution... |
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deep qt monster mash: Election 2006: The Shadow of Bush/The Bride of Clinton
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November 6, 2006: As Halloween recedes, Turkey Day looms. Yessir, the elections are upon us. But not all the monsters have decamped. Shove over inflatable Pilgrims and plastic Santas. The ghoulish denizens of Party City have decided to hang in our yard FOREVER. |
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deep qt land-grab-a-bite: Kelo v. Pataki. Not.
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October 28, 2006: New York, New York. A wonderful town. Unless your slice is coveted by developers Forest City Ratner and the Empire State Development Corporation. Bruce Ratner and ESDC head Charles Gargano have gargantuan appetites; Governor Pataki can pack it in. Eminent domain is their shovel. In Brooklyn, folks fight back against Atlantic Yards. Aka 8.8 million square feet of taxpayer jack-in-the-box. See resistors launch a federal lawsuit at Pataki, Gargano, Ratner, et al. Claiming gluttony is unconstitutional. Citing Kelo v. City of New London... |
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deep qt dossier 57: The Eminent Domain Train
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October 24, 2006: Proposition 90, Woody Guthrie & Jesse James. The last a movie circa 1939. Admired by Guthrie who dished land grabs launched by railroads in the late 19th century. According to Professor Gideon Kanner of Loyola Law School, the Iron Horse set the pace for today's epidemic of eminent domain. Professor Kanner spelled it out in October at the 10th Annual Property Rights Conference in Albany, New York. Guess what state is the "sub-basement of eminent domain law"? Going down! Next stop-- Destiny USA in Syracuse. A mega mall to die for. Other stores will. While Proposition 90, aka the Protect Our Homes Initiative, riles the League of California Cities, The California Redevelopment Association, and the California State Association of Counties. Whew! Is this any way to run a railroad? |
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deep qt dossier 56: The Good Right Arm of Robert Menendez
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October 12, 2006: In New Jersey's political whirl, one day you're in and the next day you're out. Sometimes it works in reverse-- prison doors swing both ways. Over the past several years scores of the state's politicians and public contractors have been indicted and/or convicted on corruption charges. Others balance on the edge of legal dodges, insufficient evidence, or are blessed with stellar connections. A consistent theme is graft in exchange for career advancement, public contracts, and development deals. Both Democrats and Republicans join in the jamboree. No region of the state, be it urban or suburban, has proved crook-free. Some spots however, are hotter than others... |
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deep qt tv tray: As The Empire State Turns
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October 1, 2006: New York State is TV Land! Men in Trees go for Republican gubernatorial candidate John Faso. Comptroller Alan Hevesi sez Pimp My Ride; Eliot Spitzer sez day one everything changes. Will Democrats be Dancing With The Stars? Classic sitcom Bewitched is a model for AG wannabe Andrew Cuomo, but Jeanine Pirro's life is a telenovela. Move over Ugly Betty-- here comes Al's Love Boat! Alleged mob ties crowd Bernie Kerik's drawers, while X Governor Jim McGreevey of Jersey tells Oprah ALL. Except for the political corruption he keeps in his closet... |
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On The QT Special Features: White Rabbit Redux
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September 28, 2006: For the past year and a half, Maxine Russell has been knocking on official doors in China and the United States, seeking justice for her late son Darren. Mrs. Russell is a former schoolteacher living in Calabasas, California. Darren Russell was also a teacher. Up until a few days before his death on April 14th, 2005, he taught English to children at a school in Guangzhou, China. Darren's Chinese name was "White Rabbit". His students called him either White Rabbit or "Mister Rabbit". Though Darren's death was officially declared an accident, MaxineRussell believes her son was murdered. She also believes that the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou did not live up to the duty of consulates as defined by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Consular Affairs: "to provide assistance to and protect the welfare of American citizens who live abroad." |
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deep qt election lit: Dogs, Guns & Cheese
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September 7, 2006: Tiptoe thru election lit from New York State. Primary day draws nigh. Who let gubernatorial candidate Eliot Spitzer's Democratic dogs out? He will ask & we will answer: Spitz is not to blame! His cheesy shoes were hijacked by attorney general wannabe Andrew Cuomo. An X HUD head. Andy Boy also sends guns to Dems. Remember his Gun Buy-Back Program? Oops it was unconstitutional and ineffective. Never mind sez regional Huddie Charles King-- Andy meant well. What made bell ringer Charlie run? Ask & Andy answers. In the 108th Assembly District in upstate New York, hands are found in Independent and Conservative boxes. Courtesy of candidate Martin Reid, the Republican State Committee, and state Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno. They know bad government when they seize it. Hey say they-- change is needed! Ask & we will answer? |
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deep qt dossier 55: Fort Trumbull's End: No Whimper, Big Bang.
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August 31, 2006: After years of legal wrangling, government proceedings and pay-outs, political repercussions, community destruction, personal tragedy and a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling that touched off a national firestorm, the eminent domain battle of Fort Trumbull in New London, Connecticut has ended. Not with a whimper but with a great big bang of public money. |
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deep qt serial noir: Revitalization My Lovely: Chapter 8
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August 23, 2006: Mayor Bob Slotsky gets busted. Constituents give his perp walk poor marks. Will Slotsky miss out on becoming America's Next Top Zombie Pol? Is Slaugerton, New Jorksacutt, a target of the plot to disenfranchise the dead and shaft cities? Was Henry Ford the devil? County Exec Frank Tusk moans low at the Peanut King Brew Barn. Bartender & moonlighting cop Mike Testirolla slings drinks and FHA mortgages, while Sal "Coochie Coo" Adobo has half the force in his can. A salacious sitcom plays geek chorus and a special agent for change sez gimme some joe. To go? Hell no. The feds are in it for the long haul... |
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deep qt war(m) machine: Mash It Up
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August 3, 2006: Saddam sez shoot me. Tasha Thomas sues him. In Baghdad, bullets fly. Dubya said they'd be roses. We bought a dozen. Years? Decades? Back in the usOa, Nanny State & Bully Boy are dating. Welcome to Club New York. The Empire State Development Corporation rules! ESDC head Charles Gargano waits tables in a quasi-public style, gubernatorial gonnabe Eliot Spitzer gobbles peanuts, and Hillary & Chuck blow in from DC. Hey-- they licked Maliki! X HUD guy Andrew Cuomo sez make me AG. The PBA of NYC agrees. They heart his fraud-ridden Officer Next Door. But all is not rotten in Denmark. Eminent domain abuse takes a legal hit in Ohio, while war mongering makes Senator Joe Lieberman run for his life in Connecticut. Joe still might win tho. Al Sharpton just plugged his opponent. |
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deep qt dossier 54: The Pioneer Families of Springfield
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July 21, 2006: In Springfield, Massachusetts families still count. Public money & federal indictments. Clan Aranjo headed by Carol looted a credit union. Allegedly. Ray Asselin & family mined the Springfield Housing Authority. Allegedly. The Brothers Ardolino, talked mortgage fraud in X Mayor Mike Albano's city hall and HUD buck danced in mob bars. Their ownership interests hidden. Semi-allegedly. Non family players include X City Council Prez Francis Keough 3. No friend 2 the homeless he, but big on CDBG. X Police Commission Chairman Gerald Philips taught welfare teens the value of a no show job, while kicking back with HUD's bucket. Is that a Section 8 voucher or are you just glad to see me? And X attorney Albert Innarelli turns to his support group when convicted of perping FHA mortgage fraud in Springfield's distressed neighborhoods. Indeed they R... |
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deep qt 4th of july: Squibs & Sparklers
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July 4, 2006: In Bridgeport, Connecticut, Mayor John Fabrizi just fessed to coking it up while in office. His dealer (alleged) was in local gov'ment too! Fabrizi won't resign. Duty calls. Or is it the Executive Committee of the Conference of U. S. Mayors? Fabrizi signed the exec com's We-Luv-Eminent-Domain resolution. So did recently indicted San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales. Along with Mayors John Street of Philadelphia and Richard Daley of Chicago. Ongoing federal investigations be damned! We hates H.R.4128! Land grabs must be expedited. So sayeth Speaker of the House James Amann back in Conn. Where X Governor John Rowland is trying to sell his. Rowland X aide Peter Ellef and X public contractor William Tomasso check into Club Fed. No hot tub but a whole lotta bunks. In sunny California, one million voters put John Hancocks on an initiative to quash eminent domain abuse. Happy 4th of July! |
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deep qt dossier 53: HUD's House of Pancakes
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June 22, 2006: Holy housing bubble! HUD is finally cracking down on fraudulent mortgage flippers. Will Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac be under OFHEO's thumb? Will the National Association of Realtors make FHA mortgage loans exotic? And how about those crazy HUD friendly CHDOs? Not a cheese snack, but an exception to HUD's new anti flippin' rules. Join the crowd! The national mortgage fraud epidemic rages-- perped by a handful of unregulated sleazeballs. Flip City shivers, tapped taxpayers lap dance, and the last buyers into the pool of inflated affordable housing ask where did our love go... |
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deep qt serial noir: Revitalization My Lovely: Chapter 7
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June 11, 2006: Local development lovely Lara Tremor (now Linda Twitch) surfaces in witness protection. Stuck on a Medicaid reservation in Catatonga Falls. New Jorksacutt's answer to the Riviera. Visions of past charettes & long gone HUD bux dance in Lara/Laura's brain. Back in Slaugerton, a body believed to be Mayor Terry McConn is found coming through the rye. Will current Mayor Bob Slotsky prove a zombie for all political seasons? Governor Herb Kuspitor needs him to bring out the dead-- or a reanimated reformer could ride a "me love the little guy" ticket into office... |
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deep qt frozen snickers: Nuts! Nougat! Chills!
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June 5, 2006: In Connecticut, the New London City Council votes to evict the last eminent domain resistors in blue collar Fort Trumbull. Even though Governor Jodi Rell wrote a letter to Mayor Sabilia requesting property rights lite. Once upon a John Rowland time, New London Development Corporation (NLDC) prez Claire Gaudiani said crushing Fort Trumbull would create a hip little city. Tough nugies baby! The hipsters are Susette Kelo, Michael Cristofaro and all who fought the good fight. Meanwhile, New York State's goobernatorial candidates are chosen. The goobers? Democrat Eliot Spitzer & Republican John Faso. Aka Spitso. But who does what in the executive bathroom? In Brooklyn, that beauteous boro, a demo is scheduled to protest Forest City Ratner's Atlantic Yards project. Be there or be quasi-public. |
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deep qt dossier 52: Desperately Seeking Serfs
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May 25, 2006: In New London, Connecticut the eminent domain war rages on. Mediator Robert Albright (a man with a mission from Governor Jodi Rell) plays the cash card. Serf's up he croons to Fort Trumbull's homeowners, and hits the table with a carrot and stick. X prez Claire Gaudiani of the quasi-public New London Development Corporation claims the NLDC bulldozed the nabe to help "the real little people". Pfizer Pharmaceutical sez "whatever". The Connecticut legislature adjourns without passing any reform legislation re eminent domain, but does agree an ombudsman is needed. Attention taxpayers-- pay $200,000. A mere bagatelle considering the cost, social and otherwise, of development related eminent domain. The corrupt ghost of X Gov John Rowland haunts Conn's campaign trail. Will voters remember Fort Trumbull? |
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deep qt dossier 51: The Thought That Counts
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May 14, 2006: New York State's culture of impunity jacks networks of regional cronies. Mismanagement, miscalls and/or malfeasance matter nought. Promise taxpayers anything, but give them unemployment and HUD backed foreclosures. When it come to economic development, it's the thought that counts. The Broome County boys launched Endicott Interconnect. Pledging Mo Jobs and Profits Galore. They didn't drop in. Now see what condition their condition is in. Over in Albany, the capital city, real estate whiz Aaron Dare (cuz to Virginia) emerges. One, two, three acts has he! Eat your heart out F. Scott Fitzgerald-- the Ascension has been guaranteed. |
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deep qt dinner theater: EDA's Follies: Part Four
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April 27, 2006: In Godzilla movies the money shot is when the big guy crushes Tokyo. With city dwellers rushing around trying to dodge the dino's dogs. But if developer Forest City Ratner and New York State's quasi-public Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) have their way, no one will flee the footprint of the Atlantic Yards Project in Brooklyn. The nabe will be empty when Godzilla gets there! Y so blue Panda Bear? If eminent domain abuse (EDA) takes your home, ACORN will drop you into an "affordable" slot. Out in the hood, gag orders are temporarily lifted. Pataki & The Legislators blow 100 million taxpayer kisses to Ratopia, and the ESDC and its collaborators deny their conflict of interest. |
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deep qt dinner theater: EDA's Follies: Part Three
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April 14, 2006: Happy communities are all alike-- but every community threatened by eminent domain abuse (EDA) is different. Hoboken, New Jersey has its own twisted tale to tell. Are political corruption and EDA joined at the hip in Jersey? Will the last few blue collar jobs in Hoboken be swallowed by an URSA/Tarragon land grab? Will Mayor Dave Roberts ever stop counting developer dollars? And whither the dithering City Council? Paging Frank "Pupie" Raia; URSA/Tarragon wants your Northwest Redevelopment Area mojo! Further out/in the Garden State, the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) faces charges of systemic Medicaid fraud... |
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deep qt dinner theater: EDA's Follies: Part Two
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April 4, 2006: On April 3rd, the city council of New London, Connecticut, blew another chance to heal the city they represent. It's been roughly 6 years since New London's municipal government, and the quasi-public New London Development Corporation (NLDC), launched an eminent domain attack on the homes of residents in the modest nabe of Fort Trumbull. Since then, it's been a laff riot. Not. |
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deep qt dinner theater: EDA's Follies: Part One
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April 1, 2006: Celebrate April Fools Day by considering the follies of EDA. Aka, Eminent Domain Abuse. You know EDA. She rolled over on the nabe of Fort Trumbull in New London, Connecticut. The U.S. Supreme Court said go go girl. Now her slips are showing across the nation. In Albany, New York, the WinnDevelopment plan for Park South cuts EDA down to size. Only "non-owner occupied property" need apply. Will the nabe's most prominent slumlord reap the property values he helped drive down? You do the math! Mayor Jerry Jennings did little. Drug crime and neglect did a lot. Next ish-- on to Brooklyn. See DDD rassle the ESDC. Check Hoboken, New Jersey. EDA eyes the last few blue collars; Ursa/Tarragon throws its weight around. Then back up to EDA's epicenter. New London, Conn. Where an upside down American flag in Fort Trumbull sez it all... |
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deep qt home cooking: Appalachian Apple Knockers
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March 24, 2006: New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer wants to be governor. He has plans to fix po' lil old upstate New York. According to Spitz "if you drive from Schenectady to Niagara Falls ... it looks like Appalachia." Phew. Albany, where the AG hangs his Sheriff of Wall Street hat, is AOK! Appalachia starts 5 miles west of the capital city. Ping ping ping ping. Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings is bustin' his crime fightin' buttons. The rest of upstate will get an influx of poverty warriors from Manhattan (take that, pellagra) and taxpayer jacked downtown development that smacks of Governor George Pataki. State Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno twangs his approval. Uh oh-- maybe Jennings should break out the burlap... |
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On The QT Special Features: Little House on the CDBG
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March 19, 2006: Steve and Sharon Wolff signed onto a government program intended to help people realize the American Dream. But their life in Rio Dell, California, became a bureaucratic nightmare. They and their 5 children lived in a house with what a grand jury called "alarming structural and safety issues" but were blocked from addressing the problems by out-to-lunch, and often outright hostile, public and quasi-public servants. The Wolffs' private lives dwindled as they spent more and more time taking on a raft of government agencies and non-profit entities. Including the municipal government of Rio Dell, the Redwood Community Action Agency of Humboldt County, the California Department of Housing and Community Development, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Aka HUD. Where the Inspector General will be getting back to the Wolffs about that investigation any day now... |
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deep qt on the go: To Live And Die in New London
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March 14, 2006: This morning brought a mailing from Michael Cristofaro in New London, Connecticut. It contained a link to a news story about the death of Wilhelmina Ciavaglia Dery, an 88 year old resident of the Fort Trumbull neighborhood in New London. Also this comment by Michael: "At least she spent her last days in the house she loved"... |
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deep qt serial noir: Revitalization My Lovely Reloaded: Chapter 6
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March 4, 2006: The pols and players of fictional Slaugerton in lovely New Jorksacutt ride again. Zombie Bob Slotsky is Mayor. The dead voted him in. X Mayor Terry McConn and local development lovely Lara Tremor are missing in action. Maybe. Police Chief Kram is worried-- the feds are in town. Counting the HUD bux that pimped the bar strip and Sal "Coochie-Coo" Adobo. A convention center cum gambling casino is planned. Slotsky pours Kram a killer cocktail and zombies aspire to pinnacles of political power. Mayor Slotsky's pants pop at an inopportune moment. But editor Bix Blanc, of the Slaugerton Herald-Union, covers his butt with a revitalizing vision... |
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deep qt policy pop: The Universal Soldier
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February 28, 2006: The End of History and the Last Man was a fizzy concoction bottled by Francis Fukuyama back in 1992. A policy wonk gone wild. Rapping the universal desire for liberal democracy to a transnational beat. Yet neoconservatives who invaded Iraq didn't really catch his kind-of-Marxist lyrics. Now Frankie sez relax: don't do it! And cynical isolationists better not come knocking when foreign policy is rocking. But wait-- what's that thumping under the floor? Countless numbers of tell tale hearts? Or Dubya worshipping the Golden Calf? |
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deep qt dossier 50: Slaves, Serfs & Odd Birds: Part 1
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February 21, 2006: Paging Jim Thompson. Lonoke, Arkansas (pop. 4,287) has a story 4 U. Mayor Thomas Privett has been busted. Along with Police Chief Ronald Jay Campbell & his darlin' wife Kelly. Charges say the chief was brewing up meth and burglarizing homes. His missus was also allegedly doing the last. Plus inmates at the county jail. All R charged with using prisoners as their own private dancers. The inmates came courtesy of Arkansas' Act 309. Which delivers state prison inmates to local jails for free local labor. But the federal PIE program enhances private industries with prison labor all over the nation! On the northeast front, opponents of eminent domain in Albany, New York can rest EZ. Winn Development of Boston will only get heavy when needed. In Springfield, Massachusetts, the comely homeless led bureaucrats astray. HUD goodies their goal. Go west to Rio Dell in Humboldt County, California. See Sequoia Semperviren. Also see CDBG's First Time Home Buyer and Housing Rehab program morph into something way strange. Hey-- the owls R not what they seem! |
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PEEP 7: The Psychedelic Trivet, Part Two
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February 10, 2006: Eyes ahoy! Blue flowers bloom on arabesques of cast iron. The big back & forth continues. Open PEEP's scandal mag cover. Want America's urban elite served on a platter? Yeah, you can have it like that. Then turn to Mike Dickau (aka Captain Biology) in California for the latest on alien abductions. In the "Living" section, Paula Jesgarz (Germany) mixes hats with heads, Henning Mittendorf (Germany) interprets the Tarot and Isao Yoshoii (Japan) imagines peace. Simon Warren's journal covers street life in London and death in Venice. Mark Greenfeld (U.K.) and D.Zinovjev (Latvia) twist black and white into something more complex while California boy C.Z. Lovecraft rafts the Red River on an envelope. In New Jersey, Mark Sonnenfeld puts the Beat back in the land of McArt and Zan Hoffman of Louisville, Kentucky beats the band any band. Folks from the Fort Trumbull neighborhood in New London, Connecticut show eminent domain land grabbers the meaning of Christmas: the meaning of Mail Art is pondered in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Is Mail Art the Spider in the Bottle? Go Ask Abby. When she's 10 feet tall... |
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deep qt dossier 49: Blow The Men Down
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January 28, 2006: New York New York! The state, that is. Population is down but the cronies are up. Rising up greedy. Marching on the state capital in Albany. The heads of AAR Contractor Inc bit the dust-- now the henchmen are heard from. A snowstorm of asbestos and cocaine fills the air. Workers are coughing. Worth Construction and Joe Pontoriero won't get to revamp that highway for the state but the courthouse down in Putnam still beckons. In Westchester County, will D.A. Jeannine Pirro ask Emily Post for advice re returning Joe's dough? In Broome County, the state issues a job audit at Endicott Interconnect Technologies. Whoopsie EI! Not enuff jobs for the ESDC dollars. No biggie. Enforcing penalties just isn't done. Meanwhile, back at Rancho Notorious, Charles Gargano and his quasi-public crew rev bulldozers for eminent domain land grabs and plot to shoot craps in endless casinos. |
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deep qt hangover helper: Wires & Liars
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January 15, 2006: Abramoff. Cunningham. DeLay. Ho hum. Want pay-to-play? Pols wearing wires and copping pleas? Cronyism so thick democracy chokes on it? Go northeast young man & woman! Visit the secret school in Secaucus, New Jersey where pols do the pat down. Then pop up to Massachusetts for fun with X State Rep turned lobbyist Christopher Asselin of Springfield. A slew of corruption charges bother his clients and government pals not a whit! Though those in the housing projects allegedly plundered by his family might beg to differ, folks who beg to live wind up in the Springfield homeless shelter. Where X director Francis Keough allegedly used them for free labor. And sex. While helping himself to money meant for the shelter along with a little Section 8. Allegedly. Meanwhile, the right Reverend Paul J. Starnes of Trinity Mortgage got busy flipping close to 100 depressed properties. Fraudulently. Over the border in New York State, quasi-public agencies cut a rug. Or is that a deal greased by crony connections? Whatever. Plus helpful hints re corruption correction. |
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PEEP 7: The Psychedelic Trivet, Part One
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December 31, 2005: In 4000 AD, archaeologists & art critics rave "how blechlectic" when artifacts from the 1970's are unearthed. A psychedelic trivet the jewel of the collection. Wrought iron arabesques & acid orange owls thrill fashionistas from Planet X. But hip hip hooray-- museums of the future already exist! Visit heavenly Schoharie County in New York USA for one of the best. Then blast off to Lorentzweiler in the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg. Where local government welcomed more than 250 mail artists from 34 countries who addressed the question "What is Mail Art?" Their answer? Return to senda! A chorus of angels with names like "pig" sang please mister postman. A key was used to open the world. Meanwhile, back in the states, mail artists Bern Porter & Carlo Pittore passed through the portals. |
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deep qt shopping list: Right Down Santa Claus Lane
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December 1, 2005: Cancel Thanksgiving. Cut to Black Friday. X Prez Bill Clinton confesses-- I was a Teenage Hitchcock! Early bird shoppers come to blows. The deep gift list includes: Joseph Pontoriero & Worth Construction. Cuff links or mob links? New York State Comptroller Alan Hevesi sez no Joe. Putnam County sez go go. Attorney General Eliot Spitzer mounts up to be guv -- give him a lasso. But what about Charles Gargano? A DVD for Governor Pataki. Steak knives for state rep Tom Libous. Alien abductions for New London, Connecticut and all of New Jersey plus goodies for Monmouth, Camden & HUDson. In Springfield, Massachusetts more anti-Albano and for Providence, Rhode Island a prince not a rogue. For Philly and Newark a new attitude. On Xmas eve Mayor Jerry Jennings of Albany, New York tears into his toys, X Governors John Rowland of Conn and Jim McGreevey of Jersey wear chains forged in life and Dubya sips nog from a mug with notorious stubble. While a crisp star appears before John & Jane Q who come through on some critical issues. |
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deep qt horn o' plenty: We Gather Together
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November 19, 2005: Iraq Iraq Iraq. Before moving forward, a little step back. |
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deep qt dossier 48: The Vorpal Blades
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November 10, 2005: O frabjous day! In Albany, New York Mayor Jerry Jennings wins another term in office. But those FBI crime stats need some splaining. Meanwhile, the Albany Times Union stands lost in uffish thought & another citizen watch group gathers in Midtown. In Springfield, Massachusetts the feds snag a Bandersnatch from the inner circle of X Mayor Mike Albano. X Chief of Staff Anthony Ardolino! And his bro, X cop Chet! Former Mayor Robert Markel asks Y local news types didn't beat the feds to the punch. David Starr at The Republican answers. All mimsy were the doings at Springfield Central-- an economic development council where pols & players gimbled with public money. But tomorrow is another day. Say yay voters gave Mayor Charlie Ryan the AOK. Also say yay the One New London party in New London, Connecticut staged a city council coup. Take that eminent domain! Way down yonder in Jersey, Jon Corzine gets to be guv. Just which Jabberwock will fill his senatorial seat? And didja hear the one about the Golden Cicada, the Catholic high school and the quasi-public development agency from Jersey City? Transparency International puts the Czech Republic on the corruption hit parade. Snicker-snack snicker-snack say blades in cyberspace... |
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deep qt dossier 47: Dr. Strangedeal or:
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October 27, 2005: how to stop worrying and learn to love land grabbers, quasi-public agencies and aluminum coifed cronies. Unfortunately, elderly people have a tuff time getting with the program. Like Walter Pasqualini of New London, Connecticut and Pat Kelly of Albany, New York. In New London, check that crazy NLDC! They're out no they're in. Chief Operating Officer David Goebel "retires". Public & quasi public state agencies in Conn heave a sigh of relief as Peter Ellef & William Tomasso plead out. X Governor Rowland is packing up his jail cell. Will Ellef inherit his bunk? In Albany, an APA amicus brief in favor of eminent domain comes back to haunt the Albany Law School as angry philanthropist Marty Silverman sez git off my land. Say-- was CAIDA a rent hog? And why won't Jon Corzine in Jersey pop in on POG? Read all about the Cyrkle of Aluminum Cronies (aka CAC) and kick up your heels at a Carnival of Liberty. Smells like 1776 spirit to me... |
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deep qt harvest home 2: ED's Little Acres
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October 18, 2005: Welcome to New London, Connecticut. Where the national eminent domain (ED) wars were launched. And rage on the local stage. Gather broader meaning while ye may. Do ED & corruption have a thing going on? Are quasi-public agencies the creatures of corporate interest? Should politicians who do ED fear voter wrath? Ask the New London City Council. Prior to election day they've severed (ouch!) relations with the New London Development Corporation. That's NLDC if you're nasty. Alas-- NLDC exec David Goebel can't come to the phone. In NYC, Mister ED aka Charles Gargano of the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) and developer Forest City Ratner have plans for a hefty hunk of Prospect Heights and Park Slope in Brooklyn. While upstate in Albany, a Castle Coalition rep will deliver a speech about eminent domain reform at every level. Mister Ed however, will never speak unless he has something to say... |
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deep qt harvest home: God's Little Acres
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October 14, 2005: Libertarians got back! On the Internet! Hear Eric grumble before the grave and spin a few LLP's. In Elk Grove, California the city council takes a Last Supper break. While New Jersey gubernatorial hopefuls Jon Corzine and Doug Forrester spar over eminent domain. Is Camden's Cramer Hill project part of an "unholy alliance"? Is George Norcross III a political boss? And how come Commerce Bancorp has such a big family? Over at the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) acting Governor Richard Codey takes out the trash. In Connecticut, residents of New London and a federation of taxpayers apply FOIA to the NLDC. The NAACP in Dee Cee testifies to Congress re Kelo and names Park South in Albany, New York as a place where eminent domain threatens African-Americans. The UHA gets sued, EIT may appeal and in Ohio, Tom & Bernadette Noe (the Arnold & Maria of Toledo) put their assets on the line. A report on E-Rate fraud by the House Energy and Commerce Committee appears in time for the Day of the Dead and HUD head Alphonso Jackson enables 362 housing agencies. |
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deep qt dossier 46 addenda: ED's Social Whirl
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October 3, 2005: The social season kicks off with notable anti-eminent domain (ED) events. Head for Brooklyn, New York on the evening of October 5th for "A Celebration, Inspiration and How To Stop Eminent Domain In Its Tracks" at the BRIC Studio at 57 Rockwell Place. Around the corner from the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Call Develop Don't Destroy at 718-362-4784 for time & direction. Or pop the provided link to DDD. The BRIC line-up is killer-- |
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deepqt dossier 46: Quasi-Public Agencies R Us!
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September 30, 2005: Or R they? In New London, Connecticut city officials dither after demanding the heads of the heads of the quasi-public New London Development Corporation (NLDC). The quasi-public agency that loves eminent domain. Top dogs Michael Joplin and David Goebel hunker down in the NLDC bunker. Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell sends a mediator and talks reservation. X Governor John Rowland was rah rah for quasi-public agencies. X Co-Chief of Staff Peter Ellef was liaison man. Referencing wisdom gained when Commish at the Department of Economic & Community Development (DECD). A full support undergarment for the quasi-public. Then there was CRRA. Enron anyone? And the CuraGen addenda. Or how about CURE and that crazy bioscience cluster? See CII. Or CDA. When Robert V. Matthews testified re Rowland eyes opened wide. In myriad altered states quasi-public cronies streamline past oversight. Talking free market while using government to transfer wealth to their pockets. In the Cramer Hill neighborhood of Camden, New Jersey a demonstration is on the agenda. October 8th. 11 A.M. Anti eminent domain-- what else? |
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deep qt main dish: Land Grabbers Stew
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September 21, 2005: Yum yum. New London, Connecticut. Where an unelected quasi-public agency almost ruled via eminent domain. The Supreme Court said faster pussycat. The New London Development Corporation (NLDC) savored a bittersweet victory. Why half sour? Read it & weep. NLDC execs Michael Joplin and David Goebel are evicted by the New London City Council. Who also lower a no confidence boom on the NLDC. The agency that told Susette Kelo to take a hike from her Fort Trumbull home. (She isn't leaving anytime soon.) X Governor John Rowland sits in prison. Does Pfizer miss him? Thankfully philanthropist and X NLDC prez Claire Gaudiani is long gone. Or it might be her skin on the sidewalk. New London is not alone. Eminent domain battles rage. Uniting right & left. Making pols dash for the exit. And threatening the delivery of federal funds to cities that use eminent domain to crush small property owners. It's enough to make a land grabber stew... |
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deep qt classic cuisine: Venus & Mars
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September 16, 2005: Are Burlington, Vermont and Jersey City, New Jersey sisters under the skin? Are men from Burlington and women from Montreal? Venus spins while Mars roils the political waters in Albany, New York. Mayor Jerry "Jerigula" Jennings calls forth his paladins to beat back the Albany Civic Agenda. Assemblyman Jack McEneny steps forth. Back room reformers beware-- the spirit of Erastus Augustus lives! But reform is a trickster. It uses the side door. In New London, Connecticut eminent domain takes a hit. The New London Development Corporation (NLDC) delivers notices to quit and charges homeowners rent. Governor Jodi Rell hits the ceiling & house trains NLDC. Top dog Micheal Joplin sulks. New London pols who once worshipped his ground want to evict him. Upstairs the gods are rolling in the aisles... |
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On The QT Special Features Update: Shrinking Giants/Gentleman Farmers
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September 7, 2005: The small town of Endicott in Broome County, New York was the birth place of IBM. By 1980 they employed 14,000 in the area. Now they employ 1,600. In 2002, Endicott Interconnect Technologies (EIT or EI) became IBM's local mini-me. Thanks largely to massive financial assistance from state & federal sources. Courtesy of Governor George Pataki, State Senator Tom "Steak Roast" Libous and Empire State Development czar Charles Gargano. In return EIT promised to solidly employ 2000 former IBM workers. Firings followed. Union organizer and EIT employee Rick White of Alliance@IBM/Communications Workers of America took issue in public forums. EIT Chairman William Maines added White to the dismissed list. But oops, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) said no go. EIT appealed. Last week, right before Labor Day, the decision came down again in favor of Rick White. Hi ho, hi ho, it's back to work he'll go. Maybe. |
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deep qt dossier 45: Way Down Yonder
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September 6, 2005: Perhaps the only city dwellers who can't imagine experiencing the societal breakdown of New Orleans post Katrina are those who live in urban nabes as valuable as some in say, Manhattan. Where if Wall Street or 5th Avenue were threatened by looters, gun toting paratroopers would drift downward like dandelion fluff in May. But residents of myriad other cities, particularly ones called post-industrial must surely suspect that given a similar scenario, rule of thug would replace rule of law just as quickly, the buses, water and food would be just as slow in coming, and pols would shovel the bull just as high as they have re New Orleans... |
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deep qt labor day do: Feet Don't Fail Us Now
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August 29, 2005: Hup 2 3 4 Iraq's an ever onward war. Homeland Security pork is served to both political parties but hey-- hands off illegal immigration! Speaking of borders, if you live one step over the city limits of Albany, New York don't bother trying to help city voters vote. As the Albany Civic Agenda discovered. State Supreme Court Justice Thomas Spargo tossed 224. In the meantime, Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings suits up for another term, seeking to dispense more outside-budget bucks and appoint department heads sans Common Council approval. In Cologne, Germany, youthful Catholics gather for a word from Pope Benedict. Don't tell us what we want to hear sez a neo-Pascal. We're tired of lies chimes in Felicity Elvis. Yup-- Elvis. Back home, Kanye West walks through the valley where the shadow of death iz... |
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deep qt dossier 44: Summertime Has Come Today
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August 17, 2005: Today in Ohio, Nate "Bagman" Gray was found guilty on all 36. Governor Bob Taft got four-- a historical first. In early August the New Jersey governor's race turned muddy for plutocrats Doug Forrester and Jon Corzine. Talking weird mortgage loans check "The Housing Bubble Fact Sheet" at CEPR. Just how many years will it take for Fannie Mae to restate? Should GSEs do FHA? Is the bubble big enuff to box with God? Poor Jeanine Pirro. A mudslide of allegations re cash from RICO Suave washed over her dog days. Did Hillary do the spillary? Tiptoe through the past contributions and present public contracts of Joe Pontoriero and Worth Construction in New York State and Connecticut. Paging Senator Joe Lieberman and of course-- triple X Mayor Phil Giordano of Waterbury. |
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deep qt serial noir: Revitalization, My Lovely, Chapter 5
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August 8, 2005: Local development lovely Lara Tremor is top of the world Ma. Bob Slotsky, Slaugerton's most prominent unofficial political consultant and blackmailing zombie is finally dead! His funeral swings like a pit & pendulum do. New Jorksacutt Governor Herb Kuspitor and State Senator Jed Puptue give Bix Blanc of the Slaugerton Herald-Union the straight poop on crime in our times. Mayor Terry McConn's jowls do the herky jerky. County Executive Herb Tusk twists the knife. The eminent domain boom gets lowered on some low rent stakeholders, DWI Construction gets ready to roll and Bob Slotsky's lips are unlaced. A priest steps up to the plate and serves The Word. The End? |
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deep qt chuck wagon: The Sheriff Rides Out /ED Stampedes
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August 1, 2005: Howdy Podners! New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer hits the justice trail. Tracking payola in the lawless streets of Tune Town. Relax-- don't do it. So say experts re real estate in the day of the bubble. U.S. Reps Hillary Clinton & Chuck Schumer vote low on the U. S. Border Patrol but step up to save the American Dream. The Castle Coalition spins top abuses of eminent domain: that's ED Baby ED. Park South in Albany, New York makes the cut. So do hits from West Harlem, Syracuse & Spring Valley. Jersey and Pennsylvania got game too! Will Shorty's Lunch & Jerry's Shoe Repair kiss ED's hoof? Will the Flats in Cleveland, Ohio be re-revitalized by developer Scott Wolstein and Mayor Jane Campbell? In California, U. S. Rep Nancy Pelosi hears God speak via the Supreme Court while back in New York, semi-public development corporations make like the Shadow Over Innsmouth. Pols rush to craft Swiss cheese laws limiting property theft and Dee Dee Sharp swings her lasso like a square dance pro... |
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deep qt dossier 43: Poobahs On Parade
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July 25, 2005: Questions questions questions. Such as: whatever happened to that surveillance tape of New Jersey political poobah George Norcross asking an AG investigation to go away? Is it in Heaven? Is it in Hell? Or is it poobah spirit that we smell? In the locker rooms of poobah, Jersey pols gather to dis Hoboken's anti pay-to-play ordinance and mull over the latest corruption busts in Monmouth County. While in Ohio, the Bureau of Workers Compensation takes a hit. Poobah Tom Noe, a fund raising fool and bud to Governor Bob Taft, put his rare coin hoodoo on BWC investments. Just how many golf trips did Taft take? And how much wood did he chuck? On municipal fronts, the feds ask if X Mayor Michael White of Cleveland used X consultant Nate Gray as a bag man for airport deals. While residents of New York State ask if former HUD head Andrew Cuomo will become AG. (Perish the thought say voices from his past.) In Philadelphia, airport & insurance deals receive federal scrutiny while in Massachusetts, jumped-up public servants in Springfield often ask "Where do you work?" A bully game played in myriad poohbah places... |
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deep qt loss: Pat Kelly
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July 22, 2005: Pat Kelly of Albany, New York died on July 21st of cancer. Pat was one of the founders of, and the principle force behind, the Park South Walk & Watch. She was also active in the Park South Neighborhood Association. Pat was in her 60's and had lived and worked in Park South for more than four decades. She loved her neighborhood. She knew every inch of it. Her commitment to it was unshakable. Though a tenant who could have left at any time, Pat stuck by Park South as it became blighted by crime and neglect. She worked hard to reverse that decline. She also defended Park South in the last few years when the city of Albany launched a redevelopment plan that involved the use of eminent domain. Pat, more than anyone, wanted Park South to be revitalized. But in her words, "Bulldozers are not the answer." |
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On The QT Special Features: Shrinking Giants & Gentleman Farmers
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July 14, 2005: In the village of Endicott in upstate New York, IBM once ruled. Now they expand in India. In 2002 a savior appeared to save the jobs the jobs. Endicott Interconnect Technologies. Aka EIT or EI. As Huron Real Estate (LTD) they "bought" IBM's poisoned land. Broome County IDA sweet as apple cida lent a hand. As did Binghamton State Senator Tom Libous, Governor George Pataki and that jack for all trades-- Empire State Development. Chairman Charles Gargano made with the grants and EZ living. CDBG by way of Small Cities said no strings on me. But the jobs the jobs still diminished. A union organizer posted nasty things and was fired. Hark! The hum of SureScan is heard in the distance. X-ray X-ray read all about it! U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer brings home 50 mil of Homeland Security bacon! And urges Michael Chertoff to declare EIT/SureScan the TSA winnah. Think of the jobs the jobs. Meanwhile down in Chinatown everything's Jake... |
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deep qt serial noir: Revitalization, My Lovely, Chapter 4
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July 1, 2005: Now that murdered political consultant Bob Slotsky has risen up zombie, will local development lovely Lara Tremor and Slaugerton Mayor Terry McConn find a way to keep him in the ground? Will Grubanese real estate flipper Alkar Y'hut be able to help? At non-profit Housing From Heaven zombies are a dime a dozen. Just like mortgages. Say hey FHA! At the Samaria Lounge & Motel, bugs are detected. Thanks to Homeland Security-- and New Jorksacutt Governor Herb Kuspitor. Sometimes he uses the floor. Terrorists know nothing of his moves. Only his aides know for sure. But Lara Tremor suspects it will take more than a salt shaker to seal Slotsky's lips... |
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deep qt burger special: The Ground Round
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June 27, 2005: Bless my soul if on June 23rd the U. S. Supreme Court didn't rule (narrowly) that it's AOK for local governments to use the power of eminent domain to seize private property and give it to private developers who claim they can use it more profitably. Dean-o might say "ain't that a kick in the head" but hey-- the Court hasn't been a reliable champion of constitutional rights for some time. While a ruling on the right side would have made things easier, the battle isn't over. Quite the contrary. Eminent domain will now be fought state by state, city by city, street by street and blog by blog. And the battle will be a big red one. |
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On The QT Special Features: Bring The Blogs Home
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June 21, 2005: Come quick Maude! The blogs are on TV! CNN goes Inside The Blogs-- watching the blogs watch the newsmedia watch national and international events. But on Main Street, who's watching the store? John and Jane Q that's who. They've been blogging in their PJ's, all the live long day. Dishing up their local pols just to pass the time away. Savor the wisdom of teen terror Sergio Bichao back in 2003. DaHiller gave good Jersey. That beat goes on. Philly blogs its latest dog. In upstate New York, a sleeping giant awakes. User friendly blogging services say good morning sunshine! Buffalo stampedes. In the Hudson Valley, Democracy in Albany (DIA) opens a window. Paul Bray at the Bray Papers has vision and the Albany Civic Agenda seeks city charter reform. Head east on I-90. See Springfield, Massachusetts. See Tom Devine at the Bay State Objectivist. See Tom shine. Shine Tom shine. Down in NYC, Conan the Conqueror trades housing stories with Ronan Amano at RentWars. But a hush falls over Cramer Hill in Camden, New Jersey. The specter of eminent domain hovers. Across the nation, neighborhoods protest death by revitalization. Saying home is where the heart is. Along with a host of websites and blogs... |
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deep qt bento box: Eat To The Beat
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June 10, 2005: A little box of updates to go go. Shrink wrapped specials include: Frances X. Moroney and Raymond B. Asselin of the Springfield Housing Authority. When in Massachusetts, visit Belchertown. Excuse me, on to Utah. Where eminent domain (ED) gets dunked in the salt lake. But Mayor Adam Schneider of Long Branch, New Jersey sez Me Love ED. As do reps from K. Hovnanian Homes and Applied Development Co. The Urban Land Institute agrees. In Albany, New York, angels land. Curtis Sliwa shows up on a slide. Westward ho the internet eyeballs on state Senator Tom Libous. While NFI message-boarders surf lunatic waves. Back in Jersey the war chest of Hoboken Mayor Dave Roberts swells to dangerously bodacious proportions. Gubernatorial candidates Corzine and Forrester suit up as reformers-- dough balls kneaded by chefs from the Garden State kitchen. |
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deep qt dossier 42: The Good Doctors Of Jersey
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June 7, 2005: As Mayor Dave Roberts races for re-election in Hoboken, New Jersey, dodgy campaign contributions swell his war chest. "Swell" sez POG "see you in court." The anti pay-to-play ordinance that POG (aka People for Open Government) fought for in 2004 seems to say Roberts and state Senator Bernard Kenny should fess up. But will they? Or instead hunker down in chairs at the Hoboken Democratic Party and the state Joint Committee on Ethics? Where Camden state Senator Wayne Bryant got a pass for his dual role as chair of the Senate Budget and Finance Committee and legal beagle re the Camden Recovery Act. Talking Camden recovery, check Cramer Hill. Low income Hispanic home owners may get the eminent domain treatment. So yupsters from Philly can park their butts cross the Delaware. In the meantime, Camden municipal government is out of town. And old familiar faces gather in a fine assortment of chairs... |
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deep qt serial noir: Revitalization, My Lovely; Chapter Three
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June 1, 2005: The Hams End Neighborhood Association (HENA) gathers. Led by HENA head Horace Stumpfler and vice prez Katrine Patooty. Their vice is HUD. And Potemkin Village community participation. Slaugerton knows good hogs. See city father Phineas Van Slauger. Whose Victorian pork palace revitalizes into a gold mine for Mayor Terry McConn. Local development lovely Lara Tremor enters the room. Bette Davis eyes screwed down tight. Sergeant Mike Testirolla flips Cop Next Door homes and flics his Bic at criminal complaints. But Lara leaves in a lather, late for an appointment in Samaria. While an eager beaver new urbanite gets fitted for a Howdy Doody frame... |
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deep qt lazy susan: The World Spins/QT catches the dishes
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May 20, 2005: In Los Angeles elephants line up behind Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Back east in New Jersey, Mayor Jeremiah Healy of Jersey City keeps his clothes on-- and still gets re-elected! Mayor Dave Roberts of Hoboken gears up for a rematch with Carol Marsh and "Pupie" ponders his future. Political consultant Paul Byrne checks out. Without seeing Bobby Jay pay. Back in the day Boss Hague haunted the halls of power. Making like the ghost of Christmas Future. While up in Albany, New York, Mayor Jerry Jennings strolls through the Student Ghetto. A nabe reformer reborn. Dropping a dime on former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Aka Doktor Mabuse. Downstate, X-execs at Staten Island University Hospital cringe before the wrath of AG Eliot Spitzer. Take that Medicaid fraudsters! 50 lashes with a wet noodle! In Dee Cee, Republicans stampede to save CDBG... |
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On The QT Special Features: The Philadelphia Story
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May 17, 2005: In Philly, May brought the unexpected conviction of a clutch of pay-to-players with links to Mayor John Street. X City Treasurer Corey Kemp and Commerce Bank boys Glenn Holck and Stephen Umbrell were shocked: bond lawyer, fund raiser and Commerce board advisor Ronald White had already left the building! White bought Kemp. Kemp steered city business to Commerce. Meanwhile, the Reverend Francis McCracken and Kemp skimmed construction bux from The Church of God in Christ. Detroit restauranteur La-Van Hawkins dreamed of The Church of Chicken and sent checks to Kemp. Charles LeCroy and Anthony Snell of J. P. Morgan billed their company for Ron White's invisible hand. Which touched UMDNJ in New Jersey when White helped transition X Governor Jim McGreevey. Charles LeCroy hit the Garden State too! Sending memos about deals scotched by Robert Feldman and former state Senator John Lynch. Along with George Norcross III and Commerce Bank of Cherry Hill. Alas, Commerce Bancorp still faces a SEC investigation. Then there's that "plot" re the bug in Mayor John Street's city hall office. Mother of God, will Imam Shamsud-din Ali ever be free of RICO?? Last but no way least enjoy a love feast. As New York's own Reverend Al Sharpton and Foxy Bill O' Reilly do the Philly dog and dish the demonizing press... |
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deep qt serial noir: Revitalization, My Lovely; Chapter Two
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May 9, 2005: Bob Slotsky lurches into the Peanut King Brew Barn in Slaugerton. A political player turned dead boy. Date rape drugs burn a hole in his pocket. Moonlighting cop Mike Testirolla keeps pouring: behind the scenes lurks Sal "Coochi-Coo" Adobo. A saint by any other name with awesome endowments. King of countless revitalized bars. County Executive Frank Tusk arrives in time to keep a female employee from taking the fall. Bob Slotsky places a call. Local development lovely Lara Tremor picks up: murder comes back like too many onions. And New Jorksacutt gets nailed by Thomas De Quincy... |
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deep qt recipe box: 4x4x4, part two
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May 5, 2005: Tomorrowland. Future Mondo paths. One leads to apocryphal New Jorksacutt. Another through neighborhoods slated for eminent domain. See Long Branch, New Jersey & New London, Connecticut. See public servants snap up private property. Then look back in anger at Poletown in Detroit. Mayor Coleman Young knocked it down. Two decades later the Michigan State Supreme Court raised it up. Vindicating the constitutional rights of a long gone population. Sullied pols cry for QT attention. Stop your sobbing! The race for the statehouse in New Jersey & New York will be wild. The last mad days of the housing bubble more so. In 2011 President Condaleeza Clinton makes her bones. Only to be busted by a blogger... |
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deep qt quik bite: Call Me Mister
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April 28, 2005: Apres resignation, X Governor Jim McGreevey of New Jersey was last seen slaving over dry briefs in the back offices of the Weiner Lesniak law firm. Where State Senator Raymond Lesniak hangs. In reality Jimbo was helping the Mills Corporation and Mack Cali Realty build a Xanadu in the Meadowlands. Though missing mobsters may grumble, the real issue is conflict of interest. Perception-wise. Jimbo resigns. Again. Ray Lesniak supports. Again. In search of jobs jobs jobs former New Jersey governors lose the ID. And re-enter the USA as illegal aliens. Picking peaches and slinging rice. In South Jersey, Mr. Monmouth County is indicted. A replacement rises from the waves... |
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deep qt serial noir: Revitalization, My Lovely
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April 26, 2005: Mayor Terry McConn of Slaugerton, New Jorksacutt heaves himself out of the E-Z Boy. But Lara Tremor, local development lovely, spots danger danger on the hirsute chest of crony consultant Bob Slotsky. A dark tale of murder follows. The HUD bucked hot tub at the Peanut King Motel sees some action. Thongs are worn. Electric knives whir. The dead walk, vote and obtain FHA backed mortgages. Keep repeating it's only a movie it's only a movie it's only a movie. Chapter One of an ongoing story... |
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deep qt recipe box: 4x4x4, part one
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April 24, 2005: Ruminations on Mondo QT. Past, present & future. It came from a hysterical/historical condo. Then swept forward on a wave of real estate fraud. HUD hovered. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae hit the hay. Main Street Grifters with Ubermensch Delusions (MSGUD) paid to play. OPM picked up the tab. Coke washed it down. Blogs blogged onward while public servants got busy with their bad selves. New urban snake oil was poured by folks with one foot out the door and the other in grave disservice to their neighbors. Antiques and second homes were hawked in the city of Hudson, New York: jobs for the young and under-employed took a hike. But all roads still lead to Springfield, Massachusetts, Camden, New Jersey & Buffalo, New York. Follow the bouncing ball of Mondo QT. Take a PEEP at future art. Hear Lieutenant Columbo press Dubya about Osama Bin Laden & see Tom Lehrer at home on the range. |
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deep qt dossier 41: Things To Do Under House Arrest
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April 14, 2005: Harsh justice descends on convicted New York Racing Authority (NYRA) administrator Vincent Hogan. Six months of house arrest looms. The horror... the horror. In Newark, New Jersey another white collar crim gets the booklet tossed his way. Jerry Free, of United Gunite Construction, once bribed his way into the Garden State's sewers. Wearing a wire, talking pay-to-play and taking down the likes of Essex County X Executive James Treffinger. The sewer man also got busy in Atlanta, Georgia. Where in 2004, X Mayor Bill Campbell was indicted. Now Free wears an ankle bracelet - and dishes up novelty ice cubes in Florida. Take a trip to Marlboro Township in Monmouth County, New Jersey. Sample the latest corruption catch: X Mayor Matthew Scannapieco. He sold out his town for a handful of developer clams. Over & over & over. If he gets house bound will Jerry deliver the wings? |
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deep qt sandwich board: Nihil Obstat
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April 8, 2005: As Pope John Paul II steps through Heaven's gate worldly pomps gather. Stateside, Bush throws down Social Security reform but keeps coming up snake eyes. WMD mutters the public. Remembering gas that was going to flow like cheap wine. In Springfield, Massachusetts, convicted public servants are house bound. Assistant U.S. Attorney William Welch suggests they wear sandwich boards. School lunch money thief Alfonso Carrano narrowly misses his chance. Will X-cop Chester Ardolina do better? Chet launched a little mortgage fraud, but a much bigger deal was allegedly inflated by Pastor Paul Starnes. Why so much flipping in cities? Nihil obstat sez HUD. In New York State, Middletown Mayor Joseph DeStefano hunkers down in his office apres partial conviction. While in Jersey, X County Executive Robert Janiszewski gets more than expected. A state Judiciary Committee hearing on corruption in Monmouth County is proposed by a rep from Camden (!) and the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement subpoenas former NYC top cop Bernie Kerik. His attorney moves to quash. Lock, stock & barrel. |
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On The QT Special Features: Plowing The Back Forty-- Full Throttle
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April 2, 2005: An extended play version of deep qt 40. Spun in honor of eminent domain. Aka ED. The right of government to have its way with private property. Though occasionally AOK (see roads & bridges) urban r |
