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EAST CLEVELAND TATTLER

Jul uly Issue Number 14, July 2012 eastcle lev get you Send an email to eastclevelandleaks@gmail.com to get the Tattler emailed to you

TOTAL AMERICAN NEWS BLACKOUT!

Clev residents longer ignore East Cleveland residents can no longer ignore city hall misconduct

Cleveland media ignores Israels anti-African riots


Can the Plain Dealer, Fox8, WOIO, WEWS, WKYC be trusted if they suppress news?
By JULINDA MIADOLLA Anti-African riots erupted in a Black neighborhood in Israel on May 24 when over 1000 Israelis protested their presence in the nation, trashed their stores and beat African men, women and children amidst chants of Blacks go home. Aside from The Australian in Australia, several Israeli newspapers and The Guardian in Great Britain, not a single American newspaper or major television network such as CNN, FOX, MSNBC, ABC, NBC or CBS shared this example of Israeli racism to American news consumers; not even online publications such as The Huffington Post or Politico featured the story. Even Al Sharpton was silent. Not only did the majority of the worldwide press ignore the riot story, Singer Macy Gray they provided absolutely spoke out against no coverage of the Isreali racism American Jewish communitys swift outrage over the racist acts committed by their Hebrew brothers and sisters in Israel. Americans have heard Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu call people infiltrators thinking he may have been referencing Palestinians. But the word is almost singularly associated in Israel with approximately 60,000 African immigrants from Sudan, Eritrea, Ghana and the Ivory Coast who have sought political asylum in the country because of violence against them in their own nations. Racist members of Knesset and Likkud, two of Israels leading political parties, including members of the Israeli parliament, have used their political offices to inflame an antiAfrican and anti-black sentiment in a nation that is totally comprised of immigrants who in 1947 created a country out of land that
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Law director horrib leg advice ectors rible ex lusiv Law directors horrible legal advice and exclusive dev Norton obstructs citys off business devotion to Norton obstructs citys official business
By CLYDE CLODHOPPER Ohio law and the Supreme Court of Ohios Code of Professional Conduct makes the director of law for a municipal corporation the legal advisor to all the officers of a city, and to its public employees regarding the performance of their official duties as public officials. The person who holds the job is an advisor and not a decision maker according to Ohio law, and the legal opinions they offer are not laws, only interpretations of them. When the opinion is wrong, elected and public officials are not immune from prosecution or other acts of accountability because Ohios courts have ruled that they, individually, have a responsibility to know their duties; especially after the official has been administered an oath of office to uphold instead of breaking laws. Attorney Ronald K. Riley doesnt just work for Mayor Gary Norton, Ohio law sets forth that he works equally for the council even though both sides of East Clevelands governmental aisles dont always get along. In a dispute between the two branches of government, and a third when the municipal court is added, the director of laws advisory duties are supposed to be balanced right down the middle, choosing neither sides point of view over the others unless the position is supported by law. That hasnt happened with Riley. Norton is his exclusive master and his conduct and misrepresentation of laws to favor his boss shows he has ignored even the most basic standards set forth not only by Ohio law, but the Supreme Court of Ohios disciplinary rules and ethnical considerations found in the legal professions Code of Professional Conduct. As Council President Joy Jordan, Vice President Chantelle Lewis, Nathaniel Martin, Barbara Thomas and newly-appointed councilman Mansell Baker seek accountability from an out-of-control Norton, high-quality legal advice they can trust is the only information they need from Riley: information he has shown over the past 30 months that he is incapable of providing. The examples of Rileys bad legal advice have now gone well beyond director of finance Jack Johnson using the director of

RILEY MUST GO
NORTON AND RILEY DONT GIVE A DAMN ABOUT EAST CLEVELAND, ONLY THE MONEY. Norton will laugh all the way to the bank if East Cleveland residents are stupid enough to give him a pay raise this November. The citys broke. Services are horrible. He doesnt show up for work and missed 10 council meetings this year alone, 35 while council president. Armed with a bad legal opinion from Riley, hes still being paid to be the safety director in violation of an ordinance where council stripped him of the extra money. With the money he gets from the RTA board, Norton picks up well over $100,000 a year whether the city goes into fiscal emergency or not because of his incompetence. Getting paid and getting laid at taxpayer expense is all he cares about.

laws opinion to violate a council ordinance that prohibited Norton from continuing to receive safety directors wages or his telling council that he could negotiate with Cleveland Clinic to shut down Huron Hospital even though the legislative authority passed a resolution against it. His bad legal practices go beyond his lying to Shaker Heights Municipal Court and telling them that council, not Norton, ordered him to file a $375 frivolous lawsuit against ex-mayor Eric Brewer to recapture a 40 gigabyte laptop computer and a used Smith & Wesson handgun he purchased prior to leaving office as other outgoing officials have done. Council corrected Rileys lie with an ordinance it approved on June 25 specifically stating that they did not direct him to file the lawsuit, evidence that he violated disciplinary rules in the Code of Professional Conduct to file it on his own. Jordan, Lewis, Martin and newly-appointed councilman Mansell Baker voted to support giving Brewer the $375 in property and ordered the director of finance to pay wages Norton has unlawfully withheld from him for over 30 months.
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TATTLER, NO. JULY EAST CLEVELAND TATTLER, NO. 14, JULY 2012

PA THESE FOUR PAGES ARE MORE CREDIBLE THAN THE ENTIRE PD

Riley is wrong for EC


From page 1

Riley had no authority to make the city a plaintiff in any legal action against Brewer without the approval of council, according to an Ohio law. But an email given to the Tattler between him and Brewer, shows he violated even more disciplinary rules when Riley admitted that he did not discuss any aspect of the case with council, including three settlement conferences the rules required him to share with the client. Brewer in the email reminded Riley that Shaker Heights Magistrate Lois Resnick told him on May 15 to see if his client would approve a resolution delivering the $375 in property to Brewer. Rileys email confession showed he ignored her instructions. I have said nothing to Council about this matter since the filing of this case, Riley admitted in his June 22 email. Brewer shot back that Rileys admission confirmed his failure to comply with his basic duties under Disciplinary Rules 1.2 and 1.4 to represent your clients wishes and not your own and guaranteed hed be reported to Jonathan Coughlan of the Supreme Court of Ohios Disciplinary Counsel. Riley has consistently claimed verbally and in his pleadings that Norton did not instruct him to file the complaint. Jordan, Lewis, Martin and Thomas have been raising constant questions about the state of the citys finances to address the $5.8 million deficit in January thats now potentially $7 million or more since Norton has refused to live within the budgetary limits council established in an ordinance last year. State Auditor David Yost rejected his plan to raise taxes on the residents and refuse fees, calling it inadequate. Norton told the public he would turn the mandatory full-time job of mayor into a parttime position after council voted to strip him of the safety directors wages, and hes held true to his unlawful promise although East Cleveland voters made the job full-time in the early 1990s. That, too, is cause for concern because hes continuing to receive full-time wages for a job he publicly-stated would only be performed part-time. Any time card Norton has submitted in exchange for full-time wages which reflects his working 40 hours a week is an absolute lie according to his own words. Has Riley or even Chief Ralph Spotts investigated him for theft since both know he doesnt show up daily for work at city hall? Absolutely not. Nortons missed at least 10 regular council meetings this year, and has attended only one committee meeting to discuss the citys struggle to develop an acceptable financial recovery plan to submit to Yost. When Riley was asked by Jordan the council president if Norton was required by law to attend council meetings, or at the very least to have a representative present, he verbally said no.

This writer is going to tell East Cleveland Tattlers readers that Riley is lying, but the argument is better supported by simply sharing Section 113(D) of East Clevelands charter and Chapter 733.06 of the Ohio Revised Code. The charter reads as follows: The Mayor shall be entitled to a seat in, but not on, the Council, and, along with the Finance Director, Law Director, and such other department heads as directed by the Mayor, shall attend or be represented at all meetings of Council. The Mayor shall have the right to recommend ordinances, resolutions, and motions and the right to participate in the discussion of all matters coming before Council, but shall not vote in Council. At the request of the Mayor, the heads of the respective departments shall be given an opportunity to participate in the deliberations of Council on the legislation pertaining to their department, but shall have no vote. ORC 733.06 has the following heading and is easily verifiable to anyone who wants to look it up online for free. Mayor and officers of cities shall attend meetings of the legislative authority. That heading is followed by these instructions from Ohios state senators, state representatives and the governor who signed the bill that authorized it into law. The mayor, the directors, and the several officers provided for in Title VII of the Revised Code shall attend the meetings of the legislative authority when specifically requested by such legislative authority, and answer at such time questions put to any of them by any member of such legislative authority, relative to the affairs of the city under their respective management and control. The language in the two laws cited above isnt foreign. Its plain English. The wording is not ambiguous and the use of the word shall contained within both East Clevelands charter and the Ohio Revised Code makes them mandatory duties imposed upon the offices of mayor, director of finance and director of law. Norton, Riley and Johnson have no choice but to attend all meetings of council and to answer questions any member has about the affairs of the city. Johnson doesnt get to tell council during its meetings that he wont answer questions about the $3.2 million Norton lied and said he found in an overlooked KeyBank account. The Plain Dealers Tom Feran lied to the newspapers readers and reported this bullshit four months ago. Neither law limits Norton, Riley and Johnsons attendance to the regular meetings of council, but compels them to attend any and all committee meetings of council, including its committee meetings, specifically if the council president sends a letter informing them that their presence is requested.
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Library board member continues to receive illegal no-bid contracts

Norton places public access equipment in Fambroughs private Forest Hills home

By JONAS BALSITCH Council recently learned from resident activist Gerald Strothers that Mayor Gary Norton sent a letter to East Cleveland Cable telling them to install the citys publiclyfunded cable access equipment in contractor William Fambroughs private Forest Hills home, and that he did so outside any public process without informing council or the citys residents. Ohio law and the charter gives council full control of the citys property, which creates problems for Norton for placing it in a private Is he another future jailbird? residence with an employee who also operates a business from his home, and who has illegally received another no-bid contract from the mayor that council did not approve. Strothers confirmed that Fambrough is charging residents $50 to place programming on the air, an act that wasnt approved by council or any contract. It also deprives the city of income in violation of an ordinance council approved in 2008 that gives the city a percentage of East Cleveland Cables earnings, including money derived from advertising and the fees Fambrough is using the publicly-funded equipment to charge residents for using. Fambrough had received an earlier no-bid and retroactive contract in 2009 to pay for work he performed illegally that year when Norton told him to tape council meetings without any public discussion or contract. Norton and former Council Clerk Melvin Davis created a fraudulent document that was cut and pasted from an agreement the city already had with Jim Gates of Gatesway Productions to tape council meetings for $300 each. Fambroughs no-bid agreement with Norton charged the city $350 per meeting in 2009 in violation of the city and Ohios public
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TATTLER, NO. JULY EAST CLEVELAND TATTLER, NO. 14, JULY 2012

PA THESE FOUR PAGES ARE MORE CREDIBLE THAN THE ENTIRE PD

From page 2

Law director Riley lacks ethics Naming anything


EDITORIAL
Jones appointed him to serve on the board of the Council for Economic Opportunities in Greater Cleveland and Cuyahoga County chief executive officer Ed Fitzgerald appointed him to the Regional Transit Authority board. More importantly, Norton appointed Riley to lead the law department and hired Johnson to manage the citys finances. Theyre his guys and Norton should know better with all his experience. If he doesnt its his own fault. Jordan, Lewis, Martin, Thomas and Baker would do well to use the information contained within this editorial to issue a resolution of no confidence against Riley and give it to their lawyers to use as more ammunition for the misconduct charges and a writ of mandamus they are preparing in an effort to gain more accountability from Norton and his team of derelict public officials. Theyve got until September 27 to deliver a sound financial recovery plan and are in an impossible position to do so without reliable information from the mayor and the citys department heads. They had 120 days to meet this goal. As of this writing on June 29, they have 88 days left. Riley may have once been a decent lawyer, but his illnesses, arrogance and failure to stay current with the ethical duties of his profession makes him a liability the citys officers can no longer afford. For his own sake, if he wants to stay out of jail, Norton should either fire Riley or force him to resign.

If council orders the mayor to deliver a public employee to any of its meetings for them to answer questions about the affairs of the departments under that employees control, Norton has no choice but to direct the employee to attend the meeting, and to provide the legislative authority with documents and to answer their questions truthfully. Since Norton is a pathological liar, the truth for this psychologically defective public official is an easily-disposed of trait. Failing to do any of the duties imposed upon the offices described in this editorial is a criminal and prosecutable offense under Ohios and East Clevelands dereliction of duty and obstruction of official business laws. But despite the plain English language of the laws stated above, Riley has said Norton did not have to attend council meetings. Not only has Norton missed at least 10 regular council meetings and scores of committee meetings, both Riley and Johnson have refused to cover his back and stand in for him when requested to do so by council. Contrary to what the Tattlers readers read earlier, Riley has said neither of them are required to stand in for the mayor, which means Norton has been grossly negligent in performing his duties because of his law directors bad and totally self-serving legal advice. If anyone might feel a tinge of sympathy for Norton, they should know that Ohio law doesnt give him a pass because of his law directors bad advice. He has a duty as a public official to know the laws connected to the office, and was administered an oath of office saying he would uphold them. Hes supposed to have two degrees, one being a masters in public administration, and years of prior experience as a public official having worked for ex-commissioner Peter Lawson Jones who often assigned him to drop off and pick up his laundry.

after the late council woman is a mistake


Mayor Gary Norton has said he wants the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority to name a building its erecting at Belmore and Euclid Avenue after late Councilwoman Mildred Brewer even though he told former commissioner Mae Stewart it would be named for her. No problem. Nortons a liar and everyone knows it. But in our opinion naming anything after the late councilwoman would send a wrong message to the citys residents and remind them that integrity and competency arent ideals embraced by its politicians. Brewer was forced to leave the library board in the 1980s because of allegations of corruption. Anyone who read her testimony during the criminal trial of a former mayor who was jailed for corruption knows she took a $185 bribe from OMI/CH2M Hill vice president Howlie C. Davis in exchange for sponsoring legislation which awarded the company that employed him a $3.6 million a year no-bid contract she admitted to not reading. That deed raised water and sewer rates by well over 50 percent and devastated household budgets of the citys financially struggling residents. It drove away property owners by the hundreds even before the foreclosure crisis. Norton may want to appeal to her family and he can do so by extending them a Key to the City in her honor. That would be more fitting. Naming a building after her would be a daily irritant to city residents and show East Cleveland children that corruption and incompetence are rewarded. Norton appoints but council confirms the citys CMHA appointee. We think the board would do well to check with both appointing authorities before they make a terrible mistake.

No-bid Fambrough
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bidding laws. The Norton-Davis cut and paste job was so sloppy it still made reference to Gatesway throughout the illegal contract. Former Mayor Eric J. Brewer refused to pay Fambrough, and vetoed legislation awarding him the retroactive no-bid agreement.

Mason helps cops prosecute police victims to cover-up wrong acts


Judge Russo dismisses prosecution of Toledo woman whose car was shot 18 times by two East Cleveland cops
By JULINDA MIADOLLA Instead of prosecuting two East Cleveland police officers for attempted murder or deprivation of unarmed Mikeela Fitzgeralds civil rights under the color of law for shooting 18 bullets at her during a nonlethal traffic stop, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor William Mason conspired with cops and the citys prosecuting attorney to conceal their criminal acts by prosecuting the victim. Its a law enforcement tactic used often throughout the nation to avoid cops being held accountable for violating the civil rights of innocent people they have wronged. Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Judge Nancy Russo correctly dismissed charges against Fitzgerald because Masons prosecutors presented testimony from ex-cops Brandon Jackson and Matthew Ferrell that they thought the car was shooting at them. None of the other police officers who arrived at the scene drew or fired their weapons at the busy intersection near Shaw High School where the two reckless ex-cops discharged their weapons. Russos dismissal adds her to the growing list of common pleas judges who are complaining bitterly about the criminal prosecutions of innocent people that Mason has engaged the prosecutors office in during his disgraceful 13 years in office.

Judge Nancy Russo didnt support the bullshit charges Mason filed against Mikeela Fitzgerald.

Mason has presented recklessly false evidence and testimony to the Grand Jury against individuals like ex-county welfare director Gladys Hall to Art McKoy to Michael Green and Joe Ambrosio. Ambrosio is suing the county for over $40 million. Attorney Ed Wade has said he will reform the prosecutors office if elected in November.

TATTLER, NO. JULY EAST CLEVELAND TATTLER, NO. 14, JULY 2012

PA THESE FOUR PAGES ARE MORE CREDIBLE THAN THE ENTIRE PD

Media supression of Israels anti-Black riots supports racism


From page 1

belonged to the Palestinians. The Australian and The Guardian reported the viciousness of the riot that took place in Hatikva on May 24. African-owned stores were trashed. Protestors grabbed a child off his bike and beat and kicked him the head. An African mother carrying her baby was beaten so mercilessly she dropped her child. Israeli rioters stopped shuttle buses to search for Africans, all while Israeli police stood by and did nothing . Instead of condemning the Israeli protestors violent acts, Netanyahu promised to deport 25,000 Africans and immediately ordered 200 Sudanese infiltrators as he described them to be transported out of the country by airplane on June 4. Hes awaiting an Israeli Supreme Court decision to see if he can make good on his promise. Hes admitted, however, that deportation will be a challenge. Right-wing Isrealis have complained of an increase in crime around immigrant neighborhoods, stating that their views are not based on racism but survival. Its a statement that bears little credibility when protest signs carried slogans that said Blacks go home and protestors shouted Blacks out. Eli Yishai of the ultra orthodox Shas Party has criticized the influx of Africans in Israel and said they and the Palestinians will end the Zionist dream. What interests this writer is how the American and world media blacked out such a major international news story: a fact that raises questions about who owns the media and what other information is being suppressed . African Americans are the largest ethnic group in Cuyahoga County at nearly one-third and Cleveland at almost 60 percent. There are approximately 2 million in Ohio, making African Americans the states second largest ethnic group and the medias second largest news consumers. Seventy-five percent of the states Black population lives in urban cities like Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Toledo, Akron, Dayton, Youngstown and Canton where their support of media advertisers is crucial. While those numbers arent reflected in local media newsrooms, particularly on television, without African American consumers supporting the newspaper and television stations advertisers theyd all go out of business. One of the Plain Dealers fellow daily newspapers in the Advance Communications chain in New Orleans, The Picayune-Times, recently went from seven days a week to three days a week due to falling revenue. Its why this writer finds the decision to suppress stories about anti-Black riots in Israel as a story of interest to an African American audience is so repugnant. American journalists in recent years have been quick to call African Americans racist for speaking out against the practice while at the same time suppressing stories that point to it. The Plain Dealers publisher, Terrence Z. Egger, wanted to shove Bill Mason, Martin Zanotti and Bruce Akers county reform plan down the voters throats and manipulated editorial content to avoid any criticism of the

U.S. President Barack Obama told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that America wasnt down for a war with Iran after revelations that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was enriching uranium the Israelis thought would be used for nuclear weapons to attack them. Republicans like Mitt Romney rushed to kiss Netanyahus ass when he visited America and said he was prepared to risk American lives to defend Israel. Romney is a Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints member whose religion did not allow Black men to serve as priests between 1847 and 1978. Within months of his U.S. visit, racist Israelis who were inflamed by members of Netanyahus Likkud political party took to the streets to protest the presence of Africans in the country with shouts of Blacks go home and Go back to Africa. Were sure that didnt sit well with President Obama, whose father is an African from Kenya, since the same Israeli racists wanted Americans, many of whom long shed their racist views to sacrifice their lives for them. Even the president must have been startled at how effective Israel has been in suppressing this inflammatory story from the worlds media.

fucked up charter they created. and to attack its critics. Egger and the editors he leads used one of the newspapers old racist tactics to pit Black and White voters against each other. Plain Dealer reporter Mark Naymik was assigned to bait former Cuyahoga County Recorder Lillian Greene into making a statement about the political impact of the county reform plan on the Black community. Green responded and Elizabeth Sullivans editorial pages accused her of playing the race card. Today the Plain Dealer suppresses coverage of County CEO Ed Fitzgeralds lilly White selection of officers to replace those who were once elected as coroner, sheriff, treasurer, auditor, recorder and county clerk of court that in no way reflects Blacks being the countys largest ethnic group and outnumbering Irish Americans by more than two-to-one and Italian Americans by a nearly three-to-one margin. Fitzgeralds lack of diversity is further evidenced in his board appointments and low Black employment figures at the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections. This comes from a Democrat whose party automatically gets loyal Black votes that candidates like him do not earn. All this has occurred under a Black editor named Deborah Adams Simmons. Even the Call & Post has failed to alert its readers to this racist travesty and was silent on Israeli riots. Soul singer Macy Gray was bitterly attacked by Israelis when she asked her Facebook friends in January 2011 if she should perform at a concert in Isreal. Some of Grays fans wanted her not to perform because of Israels treatment of Palestinians. She called the nation a disgusting apartheid state, and was met with a stream of ugly racist comments. Said one Israeli, The ugly niggers are joining the Darfurians entering here. All of you go away. We dont want you. President Barack Obama drew much criticism from Washington Republicans when he told Netanyahu he wanted a diplomatic instead of a

Even with a Black editor, PD reporter Naymik still uses race baiting tactics

Naymik Simmons Wade Plain Dealer political reporter Mark Naymik is not a registered voter and looks like a skinhead. He identified attorney Ed Wade as Black in an article about his campaign for county prosecutor even though the story included the veteran criminal defense attorneys picture. Duh! Naymik uses a race baiting tactic of identifying Black people as Black that died in the 1960s. He baits Black politicians into answering questions about the Black community but doesnt do the same with White politicians. His most recent racist missives have come under the watchful eyes of Deborah Simmons, the Plain Dealers editor. If the sister had any real power this untalented racist jerk would be fired or at least demoted to writing obits with Grant Segall.

military response to Irans alleged enrichment of uranium that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said will be used for energy and medical purposes. Netanyahu has claimed and offered no concrete proof that uranium is being enriched to create nuclear weapons capable of attacking his nation. Washington senators and congressman used a Netanyahu visit to try and embarrass Obama, but even the Israeli prime minister grew less bellicose about his threats to attack Iran once rioters in his nation expressed their strong antiBlack views. He knows it would be difficult to sell Americans - particularly Black soldiers - on sacrificing their lives to help racist Israelis.

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