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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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I was amazed to see Flint residents encouraging the Administration to stay with the Detroit water line, while we are still committed by contract to KWA. Didn't anyone notice the KWA payments in the budget?
The switch was made to leave Detroit after an annual increase in price from Detroit and the promise of these increases continuing for the foreseeable future. I have found the Detroit papers have a better grasp on the Detroit water woes than the Flint Journal. Detroit and other financially strapped cities owe the Detroit water system many millions and those debts will be added to the other partners in the system.
KWA members have told me that Detroit threatened to finally provide Flint with a secondary water source and make Flint pay for it (only more than 35 years too late). |
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Mon May 23, 2016 10:01 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Flint originally was negotiating their own water system until it was revealed that real estate individuals like Claude Darby and Sam Catsman had been given advance notice of the planned route and had been buying property needed for the line. Then Prosecutor Robert Leonard brought charges and the original plan failed.
Detroit never built the secondary water system promised to Flint and as a result, both Flint and Genesee County have gone through multiple instances where the flow of water has been disrupted. Genesee County built several water storage tanks to assist if a long tem disruption occurred. |
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Mon May 23, 2016 10:08 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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It was interesting to see Genesee County Drain Commissioner come up with the Karegondi plan because he campaigned against Ken Hardin in their 2000 election by bringing a huge water pipe to all of the parades and calling a new water line to be Hardin's "Pipe Dream".
The concept was originally conceived by former Drain Commissioner Tony Ragnone. Having read several of Ragnone's documents, I considered him as a visionary, one who foresaw many of the county's future needs and issues.
After his death, his son-in-law, Ken Hardin was selected to replace him. Wright had been a long time employee and many argued that he should have been selected instead. There was even a controversy that Hardin, a Genesee County Commissioner at the time, was allowed to be considered when later Tim Herman, another Genesee County Commissioner was not allowed to be considered for Sherriff when former Sherriff Joe Wilson stepped down from office after a scandal involving his "Special Deputy " badges. Corporation Counsel Ward Chapman was grilled about why one was allowed and the other denied. |
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Mon May 23, 2016 10:19 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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The election for the remainder of the Ragnone term pitted Wright against Hardin again. Wright had to deal with an anonymous group placing an ad detailing his three DUIL"s and the seemingly easy treatment he received by the Burton courts. Some linked the group to Donald Williamson, but I am not sure that was confirmed.
The 2000 election between Wright and Hardin was even more contentious. In addition to the "pipe dream" allegations, a vague association to the Flint NAACP entered the fray. NAACP political advisor John Hightower, and a female associate from the Detroit Area, formed a Friends of Jeff Wright group. They never properly organized and never filed any financial statements until challenged.
In the White Horse "back room" Sam Riddle alleged he had been approached by Hightower to participate in a paid role for the committee. He further alleged Jeff Wright was at the meeting and that he was offered a "brown bag full of money". He claimed he declined and that he would deny that the meeting ever happened. |
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Mon May 23, 2016 10:28 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Many ads for Wright appeared in the Concerned Pastors newspaper, The Courier. They include photos of Wright, his family, Hightower and his associate. After a complaint was filed with the State, the group came up with a donor list that included the NAACP and many Detroit residents. Newspaper articles streamed that the NAACP wanted their name off the documents because it was untrue and jeopardized their status.
Jim Kiertzner, then with a Flint TV station, did a series of investigations that revealed these Detroit area donors never contributed and had no intention of contributing to a Genesee County race. I filed a complaint and Hightower and his committee was assessed a $4,000 fine. County Commissioner Mike Carr kept the fine documents in his office and to my knowledge they never became public. Hightower had the payments set very low and he died before it could possibly have been paid off. |
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Mon May 23, 2016 10:37 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Later during the Rizzo and Burton saga, Rizzo alleged Wright had engaged in money laundering during the election. Rizzo claimed money supposedly paid to Tara Aqua, Wright's company, was a front and the work was never done. Wright then donated the money from Tara Aqua to his campaign.
The State Attorney General, then Mike Cox, allegedly sent the case back to Genesee County Prosecutor Leyton for prosecution. Robert Leonard and others claimed Cox told Leyton the case was a "slam dunk". Instead of prosecuting the case, Leyton sent the case to the Lapeer Prosecutor, and I believe the case was reduced to a misdemeanor. |
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Mon May 23, 2016 10:46 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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| Now the Detroit papers are saying the e-mails and other documents reveal that KWA was assisted by the state DEQ and other state officials. |
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Mon May 23, 2016 10:47 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Here is the message of one of Jeff Wright's 2000 political campaign:
THE PIPE DREAM AND THE FINANCIAL NIGHTMAREE
It's fun to dream-up a spending spree when you're using taxpayer's money. At least that's what the current appointed County Drain Commissioner thinks.
He's got this dream of spending 270 million dollars on a second pipeline that runs parallel to the existing one bringing water into Genesee County.
His pipe dream will cost 270 million dollars plus interest. We will pay these millions through double or triple water bills.
On Tuesday, August 4th elect Jeff Wright for a qualified and experienced drain commissioner and keep the pipe dream from becoming our nightmare. |
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Sat Jun 04, 2016 1:14 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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How does Wright reconcile his 200o message with his several year long quest for a second pipe line?
With all of the corruption that surrounded the Kilpatrick administration and the water and sewer contracts, it is apparent that something must be done to break away from the Detroit system. So was Hardin right in the first place and would Genesee County have saved millions with a new pipeline earlier?
With Detroit's costly infrastructure needs and unpaid bills, there will continue to be water increases in the future. AC Dumas was right when he discussed how Flint residents would be unable to sustain the already high water bills and future increases. However, I disagree that we should kick the KWA to the curb. We are locked into the program contractually, with assistance from the state DEQ and other state officials. Can Flint pay for a costly legal battle to get out of this contract? If we did get out of the contract, how about the money already paid into the bond issue? Wright never hid the terms of the contract.
And what about a secondary water line. Over 35 years ago Detroit made the promise of a secondary line and never complied with the contract. That is why the Flint River was used whenever water from Detroit was unavailable.
The new issue I was told about yesterday was the health issues emanating from our water plant's use of THHM and other chemicals to sanitize our water. If it is true that our pipes are filled with dangerous crystals and our workers are being exposed to toxic chemical by-products without the proper gear, the unions and the water plan supervisors are being negligent! |
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Sat Jun 04, 2016 1:28 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Mon Jun 06, 2016 10:43 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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LANSING- The Flint drinking water crisis and the Detroit City Hall corruption case are two of the biggest Michigan scandals in the last 10 years.
Linking them is political consultant Sam Riddle, a Flint native and felon.
What proved to be a disastrous decision to draw drinking water from the Flint River came about after Flint decided to stop buying water from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department in favor of a new $285-million pipeline now under construction to Lake Huron- the Karegondi Water Authority.
Flint' decision to join the KWA was separate from the decision to use the Flint River as an interim source while waiting for the new pipeline to be completed. But without the KWA, Flint's split with Detroit was much less likely.
Genesee County Drain Commissioner Jeff Wright, who is also the CEO of the KWA, hired Riddle as a $2,000-a-month consultant in 2007 and 2008 to lobby the Detroit City Council in connection with the planned pipeline.
Wright acknowledges he secretly recorded conversations with Riddle, acting as an informant for the FBI, while his contract with Riddle was in place-a fact that was reported in 2010 by the Free Press and other media.
Wright, the KWA, and other figures in and around the public health catastrophe are under increased scrutiny in the wake of the crisis, which has exposed an unknown number of children and other Flint residents to lead poisoning and may be linked to outbreaks of Legionnaires' disease in Genesee County that have resulted in nine deaths. Andrew Arena, a former Detroit FBI director who is heading up Attorney General Bill Schuette's investigation of the crisis, told the Free Press Editorial Board Thursday his investigation extends back to 2006, when the KWA, slated for completion this summer, was in its infancy. |
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Mon Jun 06, 2016 11:02 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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The FBI, other federal agencies and a task force appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder are also investigating the lead contamination of Flint's drinking water.
How did Wright become an FBI informant?
Wright won't say, but FBI informants typically--though not always--are people under suspicion of criminal conduct who become cooperating witnesses in exchange for favorable treatment or the dropping of charges that could be pending, said Peter Henning, a professor of Wayne State University Law School and former prosecutor.
Former Prosecutor Arthur Busch told the Free Press this week he wanted to charge Wright with money laundering in 2005 but was unable to do so because of legal issues involving the Statute of Limitations.
Developer Blake Rizzo, providing information in 2003 as part of what led to a plea deal, accused Wright of illegally funneling money that came from Rizzo through a corporation for use in his 2000 campaign for Drain Commissioner, Busch said. The Rizzo case and the accusations against Wright were extensively reported in the Flint Journal in 2005 and 2006. |
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Mon Jun 06, 2016 11:12 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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"What I'm surprised at is how Wright has avoided any scrutiny", Busch said Monday, "He's in charge of the water for the whole....county."
Wright, who has denied the money laundering allegations and attacked Rizzo's credibility. wouldn't say Wednesday whether the case Busch was pursuing landed him in jeopardy with federal officials and resulted in him becoming an FBI informant.
"Mr. Riddle was involved with a lot of people that were stealing millions of taxpayer money and ratepayers," Wright told the Free Press. " I was asked to perform a service and I did, and I would be glad to do it again."
Riddle and Wright told different versions of what Riddle was lobbying the Detroit council to do, from March 2007 to December 2008.
Riddle told the Free Press on Monday that Detroit had a permit to withdraw water from Lake Huron but the city was withdrawing less water than the permit allowed. Wright wanted Detroit to allow Genesee County to use the permit capacity Detroit was not using to support the planned pipeline, said Riddle, who sees what happened in Flint as "environmental racism" perpetrated by the Snyder administration and feels Wright was mostly interested in developing a new pipeline as a political power base. |
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Mon Jun 06, 2016 11:26 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Wright said Riddle's description of his lobbying assignment is inaccurate. Genesee County had already applied to the state for a Lake Huron withdrawal permit. He said he had hired Riddle at the recommendation of Donald Williamson, who was Mayor at the time, to provide introductions to the Detroit council and staff to explore the possibility of Genesee County and Detroit working together on a new pipeline.
Wright wouldn't say what the conversations he recorded with Riddle related to, but he said they were unrelated to the Detroit corruption investigation. Evidence of Wright's role as an FBI informant was filed in federal court in connection with a corruption case in Southfield involving former Southfield City Councilman William Lattimore and former state Rep. Mary Waters, who had been romantically involved with Riddle.
In 2010, Riddle was sentenced to 37 months in federal prion for his role in conspiring to bribe Lattimore in connection with city approvals to relocate a pawnshop. Riddle, an aide to former Detroit Councilwoman Monica Conyers, who also went to prison, was indicted in the Detroit City Hall corruption prosecution, but his bribery-related case ended in a mistrial. |
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Mon Jun 06, 2016 11:38 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Whatever evidence Wright may have gathered against Riddle was never presented in court. Riddle said he became suspicious of Wright working with law enforcement when Wright began telling him, "I'll pay whatever it costs" to get the Detroit Council to share its withdrawal permit.
"I've been around the block, and I'm not going to be entrapped" said Riddle.
Wright's drain commission also had a contract in 2007 with Synagro, a sludge company that was also at the center of the Detroit City Hall corruption case. Wright said his office used Synagro periodically, through competitive bidding, apply waste products to land. Write said he had no dealings with James Rosenthal, the former Synagro official who was sent to prison for bribing Detroit officials.
Paul Egan 517-372-8660
http://on,freep.com/1XeY9nr |
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Mon Jun 06, 2016 11:46 am |
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