Mount Vernon City Council votes "YES" for corruption and fraud

Well, they did it. The Mount Vernon City Council went and voted to eliminate the Office of the Inspector General. In a move orchestrated by their puppetmaster Maureen Walker, the new City Council wants city government to revert back to past practice and lack of oversight which allowed Mount Vernon taxpayers to be ripped off by corrupt individuals closely tied to former Mayor Davis. In making his case, Council President Edwards offers that departments can police themselves and the Comptroller has the power to conduct audits in order to prevent illegal and unethical practices. However, these "controls" existed back when the city was being ripped off of millions of dollars and they failed miserably.

The Office of the Inspector General has existed within the City Charter for many years. Former Mayor Ernie Davis failed to ever fund of staff that office and we experienced firsthand the embarrassing and fiscally damaging results. City Council President Yuhanna Edwards and Councilwoman Karen Watts were major players in the former administration when the corruption happened. Edwards had a high level post in the Comptroller's Office, served as the Director of Emergency Services, Recreation Commissioner and was Ernie Davis' hand-picked choice to fill a vacant City Councl seat. Watts served as councilmember and as Recreation Commissioner. Of course, Comptroller Walker, the self-anointed financial watchdog, stood by and actually signed the checks which were made payable to the mob-affiliated A&D Carting (which were major campaign contributors to her) as well as to Wayne Charles' (boyfriend of Davis administration Planning Commissioner Gerrie post) company.

In addition to claiming that controls already exist, Edwards also reasons that the city cannot afford the $200,000 or so budgeted to the IG's office. Well, since Edwards and his Walker puppets voted to increase the council's part-time (25 hours/week) Legislative Assistant position from $35,000 to $89,000 and also voted to restore the $127,000 Chief Accountant's position back to the Comptroller's Office, that is plain old BS. Let's not forget that in order to offer this crony a pay raise and to restore the Chief Accountant's position they raided the city's contingency fund, which is specifically set aside to be used in case of emergencies.Also, keep in mind that the Inspector General has negotiated to save our city millions of dollars in federal fines and penalties and is playing a major role in seeking restitution ($1 million already in the A&D Carting case)n from those who have ripped off the taxpayers right from under the nose of Comptroller Maureen Walker. This new City Council is placing our city in great financial risk.

Politics are also at play here in regards to the part-time Legislative Assistant position. The crony and beneficiary of the above-menioned outlandish pay raise, Nichelle Johnson, has lofty political aspirations. She ran an unsuccessful campaign for City Judge last year and their appears to be another vacancy likely opening up in the future should current City Judge Bill Edwards, as expected, run for a position on the county level. An $89,000/year working only 25 hours per week would give Ms. Johnson a terrific advantage when it comes to a future campaign effort. Could the new City Council offer their longtime friend Nichelle Johnson a better gift and opportunity. Sadly, this gift is paid for by the taxpayers of Mount Vernon.

Speak out about this travesty. Call the City Clerks office at 665-2348 by this Wednesday, March 10 by 3pm, and register to speak out at that night's City Council meeting.

LETTER FROM THE MAYOR TO MOUNT VERNON RESIDENTS:

CITY OF MOUNT VERNON, NEW YORK

office of the mayor

One Roosevelt Square

Mount VERNON, NY 10550

914-665-2300

www.cmvny.com

February 25, 2010

URGENT MESSAGE

Dear Fellow Citizens,

Since 2008, my administration has worked diligently to improve services, advance economic development, and ultimately remove remnants of corrupt practices that have not only tarnished the reputation of our great city, but cost you as taxpayers millions of dollars.

Now as your Mayor, I am writing to inform you of the grossly negligent and illegal attempt of the new City Council, in concert with the Comptroller, to remove the Inspector General from office. Two weeks ago, the City Council proposed legislation to abolish the Office of the Inspector General. Last night they passed this legislation. This is not only reckless and poor public policy, but a clear violation of the Charter of the City of Mount Vernon and the laws of the State of New York. Therefore, I am publically stating that I will take any and all actions to reverse this egregious injustice that can potentially place our beloved city in financial peril.

First, allow me to explain the role of the Inspector General’s Office. The I.G.’s Office is an independent body vested with investigative powers to root out criminal activities, fraud and abuses within every single office in city government. The I.G. also recommends corrective action, and where necessary, refers cases to the appropriate authority, whether federal, state, or local agencies. The prior City Council supported the creation of the Inspector General’s. In 2008, I hired Harry Stokes to serve as Inspector General for our City. Mr. Stokes is a certified Inspector General and uniquely qualified for the position based on his experience in financial management, and as a practicing attorney in both New York State and Washington, D.C.

The creation of the Inspector General position has already saved Mount Vernon taxpayers millions of dollars through my administration’s negotiation of a $1.7 million dollar settlement to repay HUD over a period of years without the City incurring interest or penalties. If we did not have an Inspector General in place, the penalties alone could have approached ten million dollars. This is a fact.

I submit to you, the taxpayer, that this action is strictly politically motivated. The new City Council’s assertions that they are attempting to save money are simply not true. The well-publicized corruption scandals and criminal activity of our city’s all too recent past cost us millions in penalties and waste, and literally screamed out for an Office of Inspector General. Again, these criminal activities occurred under the prior administration. And now, with people loyal to the past ways of governing sitting on our new City Council, the attempt to eliminate this office would only seem to cast us back to the dark ages when corruption and fraud were rampant.

The Office of the Inspector General falls under the executive powers of the Mayor. After this illegal attempt to usurp these executive powers, what vital department will the new City Council attempt to eliminate next?

Second, speaking legally for just a moment, the executive power of the City is vested in the Mayor. Section 69 of the Charter which clearly states the “Inspector General” shall be appointed by the Mayor to hold office until the end of term of the Mayor by whom he or she was appointed and until his or her successor is appointed. Section 27 of the Charter provides that the removal of an appointed officer and/or employee is only permitted by the officer making the appointment. Therefore, since the Mayor appoints the Inspector General, only the Mayor may remove him, not the City Council or the Comptroller. Simply put, the new City Council’s attempts at removal are illegal.

The mere contention that the City systems are in place to detect and prevent corruption and wrongdoings are both factually erroneous, misguided and a poor attempt to deceive the public. In a recent interview with the Journal News, City Council President Yuhanna Edwards said that “each department can monitor itself…and the Comptroller’s office has the ability to audit the various agencies and departments of the City.”

I would remind City Council President Edwards, as I hope you will as well, that the so-called systems and Comptroller’s audit ability were in place when the criminal actions of the former Planning Commissioner and her codefendant, as well as that of the A&D Carting Company and the alleged mobsters, stole millions of dollars from the taxpayers of the City of Mount Vernon. It is the Inspector General who is playing an important role in helping us to recover those losses. Given the convictions of Ms. Post, Wayne Charles and the carting company executive, it is clear that the so-called systems upon which Mr. Edwards so confidently relies have failed miserably.

As citizens and taxpayers of our great city, you deserve and demand greater controls and protection of your tax dollars, and together, we must fight these attempts to return to business as usual. Let me be perfectly clear. I will vehemently oppose all attempts to remove the Inspector General and any efforts by the new Council to undermine or disrupt investigations. I will keep you well informed of my efforts to fight these illegal and irresponsible acts, and please trust that I will continue, as I have for the last two years, to act in the best interest of our great city.

I thank you for your attention.

Sincerely,

Clinton I. Young, Jr.

MAYOR

Sam Rivers Mugshot?

Came across this mugshot online and at first glance, the resemblance to Samuel L. Rivers was uncanny. However, on further review, it appears not to be Scam Rivers. However, you be the judge. Given his criminal history and his series of run-ins with the law, I'm sure that there are at least a few of Scammy Sammy's mugshots out there.

Given Scam Rivers' criminal history that spans his adult life, why does City Council President Yuhanna Edwards and the rest of the city council, along with Maureen Walker tie themselves to this crook.?

Mount Vernon City Council - A Little Bit of History

A Little Bit of History

Due to a election petition error, a new city council was elected in the 2009 elections. Councilman John Yuhanna Edwards, former Councilwoman Karen Watts, former School Board Trustee Diane Munro-Morris and Roberta Appuzo all ran together on a Maureen Walker backed ticket and these four espoused transparency and leadership throughout their election campaign. Sadly, in their first seven weeks, they have shown no tendency whatsoever towards transparency and the leadership that they talked so much about comes in the form of their puppetmaster, Comptroller Maureen Walker.

Walker, who is without a doubt running for Mayor in 2011, has made it clear that she wants to see zero progress in Mount Vernon during the current administration which would benefit her election campaign. In this effort to obstruct and divide, the most powerful tool in her box is her four puppets on the City Council. Thanks to their 4-1 margin on the council, they have performed flawlessly in following Maureen's orders and in doing so, their campaign promises of transparency and leadership have been thrown out the window.

The most severe travesty to date has been the City Council's illegal vote to eliminate the Office of the Inspector General. For the past two years, the biggest thorn in Maureen's side has been the Office of the Inspector General. The IG position was funded and staffed by the current administration due to the corruption and fraud that took place during the Ernie Davis regime. In its first two years of existence, the IG has saved the city millions of dollars in federal fines and penalties in the HUD affair, has fought for and was awarded restitution in the A&D Carting corruption case and has worked with federal prosecutors in the Gerri Post/Wayne Charles corruption case that has yet to go to the sentencing phase. These three embarrassing cases of corruption, fraud and mismanagement happened during the Davis administration and it is important to note that during the 12 years of the Davis era, provisions existed in the City Charter for an Office of the Inspector General but the position was never funded or staffed. Do we really need to wonder why? It is also important to note that during the Davis era, Comptroller Maureen Walker supposedly stood as the city's financial watchdog. However, it was on her watch both as Comptroller and Treasurer of the IDA, that these cases of corruption and theft of taxpayer dollars happened right under her nose. Yuhanna Edwards and Karen Watts were also intimately entangled within the inner workings of the Ernie Davis administration. Edwards held a high ranking position in the Comptroller's Office, served as Commissioner of Emergency Management and as Recreation Commissioner. He was also Ernie's hand-picked choice to fill a vacant City Council position. Karen Watts also served as a Councilwoman during the Davis administration and was appointed by Ernie to the position of Recreation Commissioner. It is safe to assume that these three want to return to the old days of corruption and fraud and along with their other team members, Diane Munro and Roberta Appuzo, they will stop at nothing to accomplish their mission.

It is important to note that the City Council will once again have to vote on the elimination of the Office of the Inspector General. Since council president Edwards was mysteriously absent from the last meeting, the vote to eliminate the OIG was only a 3-1 vote. Council rules state that when a 3-1 vote occurs, that they must vote on the item again at the next council meeting. So this Wednesday, February 24th at 7:00pm there will be a City Council meeting where this vote will again come up. Be sure to attend and sign up to speak at the meeting by calling the City Clerk's officeat 665-2348 by 3:00pm on Wednesday.

Since we're talking history here, we would be remiss to not discuss newly installed Councilwoman Diane Munro-Morris. Diane was a long-time school board trustee who served on the board during an era that saw the ushering in of outrageous school tax increases and rapidly declining academic performance in the schools. In the 2008 school board elections where there were five vacant positions up for election, Munro-Morris was trounced at the polls and finished 8th out of the 10 candidates vying for those five positions. How did a woman with this record of failure become a city councilmember? Well it was due to a flawed election petition that eliminated much of the competition as well as the support of Comptroller Maureen Walker. Another question to ask is why would someone who claims to be fiscally responsible back a candidate who played a substantial role in the skyrocketing school taxes that are now forcing city homeowners out of their homes? There is some good news though, Diane Munro-Morris is only filling a vacant term that expires next year, so she will be up for re-election very soon. If she doesn't change her ways and become an independent and responsible voice for city residents, we will have an opportunity to remove her from office in 2011.

Mount Vernon residents, this new City Council does not represent you. They represent and work to fulfill the agenda of Maureen Walker. Continue to pay attention and spread the word. Only when they realize that their actions have consequences will they understand they they must work to move our city forward for the benefit of our citizens and not to benefit a Comptroller with greater political ambitions.

Mount Vernon City Council's Runaway Train places city's finances at risk

All Aboard the Mount Vernon City Council's Runaway Train

They Just Don't Get it

Well, just about six weeks into the new City Council's tenure, two things have become abundantly clear...they will stop at nothing to avoid transparency and they will carry out Queen Maureen's agenda without fail.

Last night, the new Mount Vernon City Council voted to eliminate the city's Office of the Inspector General. Maureen's Four Blind Mice just sent a clear signal that Mount Vernon is now back to the days of corruption and fraud that occurred during the Davis administration. No wonder really as both Council President Yuhanna Edwards and Councilwoman Watts, along with their leader Maureen Walker, were all intimately involved with Davis Administration and did nothing to stop the criminal activity when it happened on their watch. Edwards will tell you that departments can police themselves and that the Comptroller can conduct audits of any department at any time. However, Comptroller Walker had these audit powers when millions of taxpayer dollars were being swiped from under her nose and she did nothing about it then. What makes Edwards think that she is willing to do anything about it now?


Chooooooo Chooooooo!!! Comptroller and City Council Raid City's Contingency Fund

Folks, the saga continues and gets even better. In an effort to restore funding to re-hire Maureen's Chief Accountant in the Comptroller's Office, Maureen Walker wrote a letter to the City Council asking them to transfer funds out of two budget lines - one to pay the city's insurance premiums and the other to pay the city's social security obligations to the Social Security Administration. This letter is public record and can be obtained by filing a Freedom of Information request with the City Clerk's office. When the sunlight was focused on this illegal and financially dangerous ploy, she scurried back into retreat and revised her plans. However, she is up to her fiscally risky ways yet again. Last night, at the City Council meeting, Maureen Walker and her lackeys, along with Steven Horton, raided the city's Contingency Fund to re-hire her Chief Accountant and to raise the salary of Nichelle Johnson, the part-time holder of the entry-level Legislative Assistant position within the City Council's office (more on that below). Now readers, this contingency fund serves as a last resort when the city faces an emergency situation. With declining revenues and federal, state and county funding commitments being cut regularly these days, we must act conservatively and hold onto this fund for stormy times. Using it to hire back a $112,000/year accountant in an office with an army of accountants and $100,000+ salaries makes no financial sense and puts the city at risk. We can only hope that Maureen's councilservants wake up and apply the brakes to this risky and dangerous behavior before it is too late.

Highest Paid 25 Hour/Week Employee in the State?

As mentioned above, they are still attempting to increase the part-time salary of Legislative Assistant Nichelle Johnson from $35,000 to $85,000. Now you may be saying to yourself, "I thought that the City Council already voted to raise her 25 hour a week salary to $85,000/year." Well reader, you are not imagining things - the City Council did indeed pass legislation to transfer money's around to give their friend Ms. Johnson a 242% pay raise. However, for some inexplicable reason, that pay increase was put on hold at a Board of Estimate meeting. Now, Maureen's councilservants are at it again and have approved legislation to increase Ms. Johnson's salary to $89,000/year - a 254% pay increase. That salary would make Ms. Johnson one of the very highest paid 25 hour per week workers in the state. Not bad for what is traditionally an entry level position.

There was this thing called an "Agenda"

Further proof of the shady goings on with the new City Council involves the council Agenda for each of their meetings. Prior to this year, you used to be able to stop by the City Clerk's office where, by the afternoon, there was an agenda available of the legislation that was to be voted on that night by your elected city councilpersons. This agenda allowed the public advance notice of the items/actions before the council that night. However, with the New Year and the new city council, the agenda is no longer available until you walk into the council chambers at 7pm for the start of their meetings. The last three meetings have seen no agenda available in advance. Why is this Council President Edwards? How about you Councilmembers Watts, Munro and Appuzo? All of you ran together on a Maureen Walker carried ticket and each of you espoused transparency and leadership. Yet, all we've gotten so far is secrecy and collusion with the Comptroller to support her agenda of division and destruction. Leadership involves following your own judgement of what is right and wrong. Where is the leadership from the new City Council?

Oh but Mr. Edwards is not done yet

Political patronage seems to be Council President Edwards modus operandi. In addition to hiring his friend Ms. Johnson and giving her a massive pay raise, Yuhanna Edwards has also hired long-time friend and employee of his, Patricia Fleming, to a part-time position within the City Clerk's office. So the question for Mr. Edwards is this: in addition to her part-time salary from the city, is Ms. Fleming still on your private payroll as well?

The Roadrunner is getting desperate

Last week, after the big snowstorm, the "Roadrunner Express", an email newsletter apparently sent out by an Ernie Davis loyalist and campaign manager for City Council candidates Edwards, Watts, Munro and Appuzo published unsubstantiated allegations against the Mount Vernon DPW. A very low quality photo of a white pickup truck plowing the driveway of a private business was used as evidence of wrongdoing on the part of a DPW worker. However, the photo contained no identifiable marking whatsoever and it clearly was a great stretch by "Roadrunner" to make such outlandish claims in an attempt to smear the city.

Is the publishher of the "Roadrunner" cracking under the pressure of continuously having to manufacture lies and fiction in order to drag this city down until Maureen Walker has a chance to run for Mayor?

Finally...

Keep up the pressure good people. There are clear signs that the new City Council is allergic to sunlight and is reacting to it by retreating on some of their blatantly risky legislative efforts. However, their idea of transparency is rather odd and they need your help to explain it to them. Keep speaking up at council meetings. Keep making the phone calls. Keep forwarding these emails to your friends and family who care about the future of our city.

You can follow the complete story of the new City Council's shenanigans by visiting http://www.mvexposed.blogspot.com

IS MAUREEN WALKER RAIDING THE CITY'S SOCIAL SECURITY ACCOUNT?

Word has it that Mount Vernon Comptroller Maureen Walker has requested that the City Council pass legislation which apparently raids the city's Social Security account in order to transfer money from that account into the line item to restore the position of Chief Accountant to her office. This position was unfunded in the 2010 budget in order to cut costs and provide some tax relief to residents. The Comptroller's Office already had an army of accountants and seven, yes 7, employees earning over $100,000 per year. However, Comptroller Walker is trying yet another in the dark, last minute attempt to try and sneak legislation past the taxpayers with an impending storm and what is likely to be a sparsely attended City Council meeting tomorrow night. Will her blind mice (Edwards, Watts, Appuza and Munro) allow this travesty?

How can someone who claims to be a financial watchdog try to pull such a risky and seemingly illegal move? As an employer, the city is required to pay social security withholding payments to the Social Security Administration. These payments go towards providing a safe and secure retirement for employees. It seems as if the desperate Comptroller, in trying to find any way possible to restore her Chief Accountant, is willing to risk the financial status of the city. She's probably hoping to transfer this money back into the social security line item later in the year, when she assumes that the money will be available. However, in an era with declining revenues and state aid already being cut to municipalities, that money is not likely to be there when she expects it to be. This shell game must not be allowed to go through.

City Council members, it is time to cut the cord and stand up against Queen Maureen.

Mount Vernonites, it is time to stop the Comptroller and her risky management of the city's finances. Shine a light on these shenanigans and forward this email to friends and family. Call or write the City Council members or attend the city council meetings and demand that this nonsense stop.

Why Maureen's Four Blind Mice want to run Steven Horton out of the City Council

After last week's special and secret meeting of the newly formed Mount Vernon City Council, two things become abundantly clear: a) Council President Edwards, along with Councilmembers Watts, Munro and Appuzo have no intention of conducting city business with any transparency whatsoever and b) they want senior Councilmember Steven Horton out because he is the lone member not willing to go along with the sleazy tactics of Maureen Walker's Councilservants.

Last Monday, the council held a meeting to introduce legislation to eliminate the Office of the Inspector General. As you are well aware by now, this meeting was held with zero public notice and at a time (5:30pm) when most would have a hard time attending anyway. When it came time to vote on this disastrous piece of legislation, Steven Horton was the only member in opposition and registered that opposition with a "No" vote. These dynamics clearly seem to be what was at play when Maureen's Four Blind Mice set out to destroy the policital career of Horton. One councilmember who made it clear that he will not go along just to get along is now facing an attack not only from Edwards, Watts, Munro and Appuzo, but also the snake in the grass and convicted criminal Scam Rivers. You see, by running Horton out, these sunlight-evading creatures will then get to appoint his replacement and you can bet your bottom dollar that it will be yet another shill who will kowtow to Queen Maureen and abide by her agenda of division and destruction for the next two years.

Let's stop this nonsense. Let's shine the light on these antics and send this cabal scurrying back into their holes. Forward this email to those who care about Democracy and open government in Mount Vernon.

You can also follow these events by visiting http://www.mvexposed.blogspot.com

Mount Vernon City Council with ya Pants on the Ground

Well, if you read today's Journal News, you've seen the reason for the City Councils secret "special meeting" on Monday at 5:30pm. It seems to be yet another in the dark attempt to eliminate the Inspector General's office. Yes, the same office that Mayor Young created in the aftermath of the dirty dealings that occurred during the Ernie Davis administration. You've heard of these corruption cases - the Secion 8 fiasco, A&D Carting and Gerrie Post/Wayne Charles.

Now, let's look at a common thread between the Davis regime and today, well there are three of them and they are: Maureen Walker, Yuhanna Edwards (now City Council President) and Karen Watts (now and then, councilwoman). These three were entrenched members of Ernie's cabal with Maureen being the alleged financial watchdog, Yuhanna serving in the Comptroller;s office, as Civil Service Director, Recreation Commissioner and Ernie's hand-chosen pick for a vacant city council seat and Watts as the Recreation Commissioner and councilwoman. One needs to ask the question, just why does Maureen and her City Council puppets Watts, Edwards, Munro and Appuzo want to eliminate the office of Inspector General - the only office that provides a deterrent and oversight to any potential dirty dealings in City Hall. Well, Council Pres. Edwards claims that this move is because we can't afford the $165,000 in salaries between the Inspector General and his Secretary. I say that he couldn't be more full of caca if he were a dung beetle scouring a heard of water buffalo. The fact, Mr. Edwards, is that the IG has worked with the Justice Department and HUD saved our city millions of dollars in penalties and fines from the HUD fiasco. He has reportedly fought for and won restitution in the A&D Carting case. He has recommended and institued internal controls within City Hall. He has restored confidence in Mount Vernon in the eyes of the Feds. Yet, Edwards claims that the city cannot afford the IG position. I state that the city cannot afford to eliminate the IG position and doing so would make it look like the city is going back to the old corrput ways of the Davis administration. Edwards also claims that the Comptroller can conduct audits whenever she wants so that the IG is not needed. However, why did the Comptroller NEVER conduct an audit when the taxpayers of Mount Vernon were ripped of by these scandals?



Now, back to the shady ways of the City Council and it's President, along with his puppetmaster Maureen Walker - this effort was first presented by the Comptroller Walker at a Board of Estimate meeting. When the agenda was completed and the meeting was about to end, unbeknownst to anyone else in room save her and Edwards, Walker handed the City Clerk two sealed envelopes that conatined legislation to defung the IG's office and to ransfer the moneys to the City Council office to create a new position under the council. Mayor Young beat back this illegal attempt. However, in a special meeting this past Monday afternoon at 5:30pm (called with no public notice), the City Council introduced legislation to eliminate the IG's office. This was the second attempt by Maureen and her puppets to eliminate oversight in the city. Why are they so anxious to run the IG out of Mount Vernon? Well, I submit that one needs to look no further than their ties to the Davis Adminstration.



Councilwomen Appuzo and Munro, will you go along with these shenanigans, or will you provide the transparency and leadership that you spoke of frequently when you were running for office? You are now in the spotlight.



Mount Vernon, shine the spotlight on these sunlight hating elected officials and forward this email to those who have a stake in our future.