Timeline of Rokakis, Cummins, Brancatelli deceit on near west side.

Submitted by lmcshane on Sun, 11/06/2016 - 09:25.

 Both Brian Cummins and Tony Brancatelli came to us as council representatives from the "Community Development" CDC world.   Cummins worked for Old Brooklyn Development Corporation and Brancatelli for Slavic Village Development Corporation.  Brancatelli was groomed to fill Ed Rybka's position - Cummins was not.  Emily Lipovan was groomed to fill the Rokakis council seat after he appointed Merle Gordon.  Gordon's CDC director Brian Cummins - facilitated the property transfers that benefited Rokakis' family (Glen Restaurant) for the CVS built on Memphis and Pearl.  Cummins also transfered the Wirth House to Art House using Community Development Block Grant funds-all to prime this commercial site for eventual demolition.  

When, Cummins decided to run against Emily Lipovan - I supported him.  Little did I know that the residents who voted for him started a chain reaction of revenge on the part of Jim Rokakis.  Cummins first term was initiated with transparency that soon degraded into a sychopantic plea for his intiation into the Rokakis-Forest City real estate club. Here's the timeline

Cummins - Ward 14 elected in 2006, starts term 2007:

2007 http://realneo.us/Is-Art-House-our-house Cummins vows to save the historic property and then later reneges -the property is allowed to deteriorate under Rokakis-Lipovan loyalist -Sheryl Hoffman.

2008 Aberdeen Homes - demo'd with public funds http://realneo.us/image/aberdeen-investments starting the mysterious wave of city demos in Old Brooklyn.  Cummins aide, Johanna Hamm and her husband Darren Hamm, fighting for their own political survival start moving Cummins towards the Rokakis development plan that includes NRP housing on Denison Ave.

http://realneo.us/blog/lmcshane/lake-erie-living 

Cummins (and the Hamms) negotiate a secret giveaway of city-owned park property and demo of a historic property to the developer NRP for low income tax credits on a contaminated fill part of WC Reed Park. In Tremont - Frank Giglio's property is condemned and demo'd raising awareness of the scheme (Frangos-Rokakis) and property transfers http://realneo.us/content/tremont-social-capital under Joe Cimperman as councilperson in Tremont.  Lily Miller begins long-term investigation of Plymouth Park Tax Services.

2009  Subprime mortgage melt-down - Rokakis and Frangos start crafting their exit plan legislating the Land Bank.

http://realneo.us/content/hush-money-bribe-or-donation#comment-33787

Cuyahoga County corruption probe unravels Dimora-Russo schemes, but Rokakis-Frangos get a pass. Cummins is still targeted and the ward is redistricted by Martin Sweeney (also named in the Cuyahoga County corruption probe) 

http://realneo.us/content/brooklyn-centre-old-brooklyn-targeted-slice-and-dice-council-leadership

Cummins breaks away from CDBG support of Old Brooklyn CDC - over fall-out with Sweeney loyalist Kevin Kelley. Cummins uses existing non-profit (reinitiated by Darren Hamm) to support a housing code enforcer - Deb Zeleny.  Cummins is redistricted out of a ward and runs against Joe Santiago, who is supported by Sweeney and Frank Jackson (Rosemary Vinci connections for this ward) - Santiago is eliminated in the primaries and Cummins is up against Rick Nagin (Nelson Cintron's former aide) - Cummins gets mystery support and wins. Meanwhile - longterm plans for Slavic Village are hatched and protected.

2010 

Brian just caves in to Rokakis after surviving his contentious election campaign with mysterious $$ assistance - Cummins shows up at Rokakis' fist-pumping City Club event: 

http://realneo.us/content/demos-developers-0

At this point - Cummins doesn't even pretend to care about his constituents, anymore - there is no communication from his office to residents.  The Coral Group plaza starts going into full depreciation mode.  Tenants leave and the property is allowed to deteriorate with no response from the councilperson.   Cummins aligns himself and his CDBG funds with the mega CDC Detroit Shoreway.  

2011-2012

 Residents are blindsided by two major failings on part of the council reps (at this time - now Cummins and Cimperman).  WC Reed Field is announced as contaminated and Aldis plans move to benefit Mitch Schneider at Steelyard Commons.  Cummins also decides that historic South Branch library of the Cleveland Public Library system should be used to dangle historic tax credits to developers.  He does nothing and literally encourages the library system to shut down the historic library and move to rent from a shady property owner on Clark Ave., instead.

 

2013-2014

(I will give Brian Cummins - ONE piece of credit - it did not endear him to Frank Jackson - He did stand up to the incinerator scheme with Peter Tien in 2013- IT girl Jenita McGowan was hired to spin that piece of work - she is quiting the City of Cleveland now (Nov 2016) to go to NEORSD after having a baby...)

Cummins survives relection once again - against Janet Garcia and Brian Kazy.  Cummins wins after recount shows he has 19 more votes than Kazy.  Kazy is rewarded with Sweeney's council seat.

http://realneo.us/content/ty-chris-warren-brian-cummins-aldis-usa-first-interstate-and-mitch-schneider-reimagined-w-25

Benefactors of Cummins real estate dealings for the Masonic Building  - Ginmark is one of the contractors awarded major demolition contracts through the County Land Bank.  

 

2015-2016

Cummins and Brancatelli, in collusion with the Land Bank, Detriot Shoreway Development Corporation and Cleveland Housing Network - conspire to demo the vacant eyesore with public funds to support a contract rigged scheme for OHFA funds to build  Permanent Supportive Housing on the bluff of the Big Creek Valley.

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Detroit Shoreway will submit OHFA application in Feb 2017

Submitted by lmcshane on Sat, 11/12/2016 - 09:32.

OHFA's 2016 application for federal Hardest Hit monies triggered widespread suspicions that this state agency is working in collusion with the County Land Bank.

http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2016/06/ohio_chose_not_to_ask_for_fede.html

 If OHFA awards Detroit Shoreway the monies to build PSH Housing on West 25th -  I hope it nails these corrupt public officals for collusion and misuse of federal funds.

The best course of action for Cuyahoga County would be to avoid the scrutiny all together.  But, Budish protects Forest City and all of the shady deals being hatched through the Western Reserve Land Conservancy under Rich Cochran and Jim Rokakis.  I recently posted this comment to Clevelanddotcom - they are shadowed:

Thank you for this coverage and the amazing photos.  I love that the Akron Art Museum reaches out to their community through the Inside Out program of art display.  I love that I can ride my bike from my home in Old Brooklyn Centre- put my bike on the Cuyahoga  Valley Scenic Railroad and be in Akron for a $3 train fee. I love that I can stay at a Courtyard Marriott that is a five minute walk away from the Art Museum.  I love that on Free Fridays in the summer - I can take a bus FOR free to the Akron Zoo and Stan Hywett Hall.  The exhibits at the Akron Art Museum are always visually engaging and educational on so many levels.  You can also take the Akron Metro Bus to the museum from Cleveland for $10 roundtrip.

Sadly, at the northern terminus - Cleveland leaders are squandering the potential with plans that only benefit the mega CDC Detroit Shoreway.  I hope that we can make the Old Brooklyn access to the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo -as appealing as Akron has worked to improve their trail connection to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.  It's not for trying - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0WfZXrrjRU&feature=youtu.be

View on YouTube

 

Discussion on FB re: Old Brooklyn

Submitted by lmcshane on Sat, 12/19/2020 - 12:06.

 

FUN fact - Brooklyn Centre was the original "Old Brooklyn" part of Brooklyn Twp annexed to Cleveland. Area most commonly known now as "Old Brooklyn" was Village of South Brooklyn (before that Brighton) - South Hills was part of Village of Brooklyn Heights (hence the cemetery and UCC church) -what a mistake...should have stayed w/BH. Rest of Brooklyn Twp became the City of Brooklyn and western Brookside portion (where Kelley lives) was annexed to CLE.

 

I am not a fan of the CDC system in NEO - but Jasmin Santana, Cleveland City Councilwoman Ward 14 knows that at very least - Brooklyn Centre should be represented and funded through OBCDC NOT fake MetroWest which was created by Matt Zone and Brian Cummins when - Kevin Kelley basically threw Cummins out of OBCDC. The dust up came when Brian wanted to pull funding after Kelley installed one of his family friends as the unofficial code enforcer - putting Debbie Zeleny out to pasture. For short while Cummins funded Brooklyn Centre Community Association as his CDC to keep Zeleny on the payroll. Then, Zone (w/help from Jim Rokakis) cooked up the SCFBC

DSCDO and Housing Court were part of this scheme

Submitted by lmcshane on Sun, 06/06/2021 - 10:26.

 From Eric J. Brewer at EJBNEWS: 

After his release from prison, Moore on January 30, 2012 registered 3D Moore Enterprises LLC with the Ohio Secretary of State.  His friend, King, was not yet on city council or the mayor.  King entered the office of mayor without delivering an oath of office to the Clerk of the Council on December 7, 2016 after Gary Alexander Norton, Jr. was recalled.  He repeated the same oath offense on January 1, 2018.

On October 19, 2017, Moore operating under his D Moore Enterprises LLC received his first big check for $39,500 from partners in crime King and Leach to demolish 1277 Hayden Avenue.  It was a single family home once owned by a local female pastor that could easily have been brought “up to code” with the same money and resold at cost to a large family.

 

The above is violation of United States Code of Federal Regulations Section 85.35.  It is cited as 24 CFR 85.35.

As a “grantee” receiving HUD CDBG funds, it was the duty of King, Leach, Hemmons and finance director Charles Iyahen, including an unsuspecting city council, to enforce the “debarment and suspension” mandates found in the United States Code and the United States Code of Federal Regulations.  Moore was ineligible to receive any municipal contracts from a federally-funded city pursuant to Chapter 24 of the United States Code of Federal Regulations Section 85.35.  It is cited as 24 CFR 85.35.

Excluded Parties.  Grantees must not make any award (subgrant or contract) to any organization which is debarred or suspended or is otherwise excluded from or ineligible for participation in Federal assistance programs under Executive Order 12549, ”Debarment and Suspension.” This applies to any CDBG-assisted contract at any tier in the process

NOW - this ^^^^^ is East Cleveland, but please remember City of Cleveland is ALSO under federal investigation FOR DEMOLITION CONTRACTS.  https://ejbnews.com/news/damian-borowski/   Google Damian Borowski and Rufus Taylor.  https://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/2018/09/former_cleveland_demolition_bu.html

O’Leary supervised retired bureau manager Rufus Taylor along with Damian Borkowski.  It was Borkowski, not Taylor, who oversaw the assignment of emergency demolition contracts to contractors.

 

There has been a revolving door in the Department of Community Development and investigation of demolitions under the Department of Building and Housing.  City of Cleveland gives contracts to this guy: https://ejbnews.com/news/sata-satka/

  The FBI, IRS and HUD’s inspector general raided the community development department Michael Cosgrove led on December 6, 2017. On December 8, 2017 Mayor Frank Jackson announced Cosgrove was leaving for a new job.

Contracts in East Cleveland are one thing - but EMERGENCY demolitions in Cleveland are a WHOLE NOTHER LEVEL of corruption.  Zone has left his ward to an acolyte and is hiding out in the sincecure Rokakis created at WRLC (where taxpayers pay his obscene salary). DSCDO has been completely dismantled.  Ramsey, Rosen are gone - *POOF.  Ron O'Leary has been installed at Board of Revision.  The players in this sick chess board just get moved around - Rokakis "retired."  How is the Land Bank still NOT on anyone in the media's radar?  Something is going to happen with Brancatelli and Frangos. It's going to happen soon.