IS IT TRUE FEBRUARY 10, 2016

1. I’m not holding my breath that anything will come out of this supposed FBI investigation. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. As for this bush league hockey team, it appears we’ve found another otters that loses money hand over fist. This time the city pays, not just some rich family that can afford to pay for a losing team for their own entertainment. Who is this Mike Hall and did he have to pony up ANYTHING for this? Is this just another one of Winnecke’s cronies and it’s his turn to cash in on the peasants’ coffers?

   • English Bob:
     Under what terms should Mike Hall have an opportunity to run a hockey team in Evansville? You ask “did he have to pony up ANYTHING” in order for him to be in the hockey business. What are you asking for? What terms are you demanding?

     • It was disclosed that the rent deal was the same as the one offered to the very wealthy Mr. Geary, but it was not disclosed whether or not any “special financing” incentive offered to Mr. Hall. If he does have resources to do this all on his own dime, it seems odd that he is not better known. He clearly loves sports, but being a part of the “Go3” hydroplane racing team does not require the kind of financial commitment that being the sole owner of a hockey team. Is he a “front” for a group of investors, and if so, who are they?

       • “Local businessman seeks to start a hockey business in Evansville.”
         “Wait a minute, WE don’t know him? He is not known.”
         Who else is involved???”
         Whew!!!
         Highly tenacious pursuit by you LKB on activity involving City affairs.
         And this is about a “hockey team.”

         • He is a successful local businessman and a UE graduate. He is the perfect candidate for this franchise. I hope he has deep enough pockets to develop this team until it can make a profit. Good luck to Mike Hall. The Otters have local ownership who are willing to defer profits to keep a team in Evansville. Maybe Mike Hall will be to hockey as Bill Bussing has been to baseball.

           http://www.thesphl.com/view/thesphl/evansville-2

           • Joe

             Thanks for the information. Hope your right.

             Editor

         • Joe Wallace, Spot on comment. I wish Mr. Hall every success and admire his initiative. Bill Bussing has done a fabulous job as hands-on owner of the Otters. Hopefully, Mr. Hall will follow the lead of Mr. Bussing. If so, this could be a very positive development for our community.

       • If it is a private entity it is none of the public’school business.

         • It is if we’re paying their operating costs, which is what I suspect we’ll end up doing.

         • Amen. +100
           Good luck to a local guy who is trying to make something work on this hockey thing….But no, there are people shooting arrows in his chest…witless people sitting in the stands, “poor souls who rank with those timid spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.” Support your local guy for God’s sake.

         • He is partnering with VenuWorks and leasing Ford Center. That makes it the public’s business.

     • My concern is the original press conference release and press articles included the fact that Mr. Hall is “partnering” with Venuworks on the hockey team. If they are partners and they manage the facility, setting the rates, charges and rental agreements for all events, doesn’t anyone see this as a conflict of interest? Also, they have a management agreement that expires quite soon and should by all regulations go out to open bid.

     • It seems like a good question to ask. Why shouldn’t taxpayers ask it? I don’t want to help this guy pay for his hobby, unless he helps me pay for mine. I like to bet the horses and that gets expensive.

   • I would probably share your thoughts on the investigation that is going on about the DMD/Brownfield business if it were not for the insistence on conducting that business behind closed doors and the fact of the corruption uncovered in Indy.

     I do share your thoughts on the sudden appearance of a new hockey team for the Ford Center, owned by a relatively unknown individual. If it was a Steve Chancellor venture, it would seem more legitimate. Ron Geary is a millionaire many times over, and he couldn’t justify the expense of pursuing this costly hobby in Evansville. I wonder if the agreement between the City and Mr. Hall will be made public..

     • ELKAYBEE,
       Why the change in attitude on demands for transparency on the Land Bank/Evansville Brownfields Corp from you too? This is a highly quiet style and behavior change from you when you sense collusion and corruption in Evansville city affairs. I have never known you to sit back.
       LKB, you always ask questions if suspected mischief has been found…..yet you are not here.
       Why so quiet on this EBC/Land Bank matter LKB?
       You always demand answers because transparency demands it. Why the change?

       • There is NO change. I AM advocating transparency in the Brownfield dealings, the hockey team agreement, AND the allegations concerning the fitness of Weaver to continue to serve on CC. If you have quotes from me to indicate otherwise, please share them.

         • ELKAYBEE:
           It is the LACK of quotes from you on the EBC land bank I am asking about.
           No one in here witnessed you withdrawing from pursuit of possible collusion of city officials.
           Yet you have no questions about it. It’s just extremely curious LKB, and you haven’t explained why.

       • Maybe you should STHU and get off the ladys back. She said plenty about Coures and Brownfields. Weaver needs to get on TV and tell us why he shouldn’t resign.

2. Great job Editor in keeping the apparent collusion and collaboration among Evansville City official in the land bank activities of the Evansville Brownfields Corp.
   The activities of the EBC have led to “clearing land with Federal funds intended for “blighted homes” for the new D-Patrick auto dealership near US41.
   Smoking gun of corruption and collusion? The answer to that appears to be YES.

   This business about Councilman Weaver’s personal conduct?
   That is NOTHING compared to the investigation by the United States Treasury Department’s Division of the Office of the Special Inspector General for TARP funds working on the trail of possible City official’s involvement in the activities and the land bank, Evansville Brownfields Corp.

   Transparency is the order of the day. Corruption in the BUSINESS OF LAND BANKS is not rare. Yesterday’s Indy Star article….shows land bank corruption is, indeed, going on close to home.

3. I agree with you that the investigation is a much bigger deal than Weaver’s behavior, but that doesn’t make the allegations about his actions inconsequential, either. John Friend’s “drunken boating” incident didn’t make many waves. SBR’s “drunken posting” was made a much bigger deal. Her resignation from Council was howled for, and there was even an attempt to have her disbarred and/or be prosecuted for her indiscretions. Weaver has displayed his personal life on Facebook, and while I do not believe a few stumbles in one’s personal life should disqualify them from holding elective office, I do believe that repeated flouting of the law and bragging that the Police Chief is looking out for you does disqualify a person from public service. Why doesn’t Byrd give Weaver an opportunity to refute claims about his unfitness for office? Why doesn’t Weaver ask for the opportunity to defend himself? Does the public find a woman with an admitted alcohol addiction less acceptable than a man who faces many credible allegations that make him appear to have the same problem and a propensity for physical threats to women and septuagenarians? My Grandma always said “What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.”

   If I I recall correctly, the Friend and Brinkerhoff-Riley incidents took place during your “Weinzwestside” or “Riverfront Shem” incarnations, you saw significance in the allegations made about them.

4. LKB……You’re still talking about this Weaver thing. All the while you are acknowledging it is NOTHING compared to the US Treasury Department investigating possible collusion of city officials and the Evansville Brownfield land bank activities.
   You devote 13 lines of text to this Weaver thing LKB.
   Are you willfully being distracted by this Weaver thing instead of Federal corruption investigations involving City officials LKB?
   It is not like you to NOT BE ALL OVER THIS possible land bank collusion…..why the change LKB?

   • Is it possible to be mad about both? Damn.

     • ….that is the issue, right? Mad about Weaver, but apparently not MAD AT ALL about the possible collusion of city officials with land bank/Evansville Brownfields Corp. It’s all Weaver. Why?

       • ….this withdrawal of interest by ELKAYBEE from possible corruption with City Officials on the land bank/EBC, it is stunning. I’ll say it again: no one in here has witnessed LKB withdrawing from pursuit of possible collusion of city officials on other matters. But she has on this one. Why?

         • I took the time to go sit at the sham public Brownfields meeting, and write a Letter to the Editor to tell people about it. I let them draw conclusions from there. I have made my own conclusions and they have been made very clear. In case you have difficulty understanding what I have been writing for MONTHS ON CCO, I BELIEVE THAT TARP FUNDS HAVE BEEN MISUSED BY BROWNFIELDS/DMD IN THE D-PAT PROJECT AND OTHERS, AS WELL. I am pleased that there is a Federal investigation going on, and I look forward to finding out the conclusions of that investigation. I want to see everyone who is guilty of any wrongdoing prosecuted and imprisoned. I have been very clear about that, but don’t see the need to repeat myself everyday. I don’t understand why you do, but it is a free country.

           I had knowledge for weeks that the investigation was taking place before any information about that fact was made public. I don’t feel the need to tell everything I know, especially as it involves a Federal investigation. As I recall, you “pooh-poohed” my allegation about the investigation being covered up, citing the innocuous article that appeared in the newspaper late in 2015, with Coures saying it was a routine “audit” and that nothing will come of it.

           Now it appears that you find nothing else in the City worthy of news coverage. You seem to have appointed yourself a “Junior G-man” and conjecture about those you have some ill-founded suspicion of. It appears to me that you are barking up all of the wrong trees, but perhaps you aren’t. I will wait for the investigators to reach their conclusions, and will call for justice to be done. In the meantime, there ARE things worth discussing that have nothing to do with the investigation. I wonder what you are so reticent to talk about Weaver’s fitness to serve on City Council in light of allegations of unacceptable behavior, including some that are made by the Publisher of CCO.

           In light of the fact that Evansville has already established itself as a “mark” for scammers with the EarthCare experience, why shouldn’t the vetting of the owner of the very suddenly created hockey team be questioned?

           I demand to know why you don’t want to discuss facts about what is happening right now in the City, and only want to play guessing games about an investigation that is taking place. What is it you are trying to ignore? Does it involve your political pals, so you are trying to divert attention from these real issues?

         • One more thing, and then I am done with your accusations that I am not sufficiently invested in seeing justice meted out by the Feds, I find your claims of being surprised at the fact of the investigation being done to be extremely disingenuous. It has been a poorly kept secret for months. Everybody with any political ties or who is close to those with political ties has known about this for quite awhile. I find it hard to believe that you didn’t know, so I wonder why you are claiming to be so shocked that nothing else deserves any attention.

         • ELKAYBEE:
           Excellent, thank you, and great job.
           Notwithstanding, I’m gonna disagree with you that you have been as equally tenacious about the land bank/EBC possible collusion with city officials investigations…..compared the level you pursue others today and in the past. I think it is clear, you have been mostly sitting this one out, and I’m certain there is an interesting story behind that.
           IMPORTANT:
           And since when do you EVER sit on possible allegations of something like this?…..LKB: “I had knowledge for weeks that the investigation was taking place before any information about that fact was made public.”
           ….doesn’t smell right LKB. There’s something behind your motivation you are not sharing….and I’m guessing….but I think potential targets of that investigation are “Friends of LKB.”

           Otherwise LKB…..you are right. I sit out some of these conversations because I think they are petty, insignificant and pedestrian personal attacks and resentment of some public officials. Like this Weaver thing. If they guys is guilty of corruption of official duties, then I care. This other stuff…is just resentment over losing an election.

         • @ DB –
           Do we know eachother? You claim to know a lot about my behavior patterns, but it is pretty clear you don’t have a clue about me.

         • Of course we know each other.

         • If we know each other, you know that even my worst detractors will say that I am good at keeping secrets! If I had a problem keeping confidences, no one would tell me anything, now would they?

           You’re at a distinct advantage knowing who I am, and me not knowing who you are. Apparently you are one of the Republicans who bought Weasel.

         • …..and ELKAYBEE, if I understand you correctly, you are validating that you want and demand transparency and refrain from legal activities from our public officials…..UNLESS……you need to keep a secret on behalf of the “Friends of LKB.” Then…..what I hear you saying, then you are “ok” with collusion and corruption among those Official friends…as long as they get away with it, cause you will help “keep their secret.”
           LKB, this whole exercise was to point out your claims of integrity and authenticity are superficial. LKB: “We’re all equal. Except some of us are more equal than others.”
           You’re validating that.

         • ….Ok. Dead horse. I know. This horse is dead.

         • You were saying you didn’t believe I kept quiet about the investigation for weeks, and I was assuring you that I did. That is all.

           If you have founded suspicions about people I consider friends being involved in the wrongdoing, you need to grow a pair and say so. If you don’t have the guts to say what is on your mind, then you need to let it go. I think you have built up some sort of suspicion in your head that is without foundation and when the investigation results are made public, I hope you at least have the decency to apologize to me and to the two ladies you keep mentioning in relation to Brownfields.

           I consider the horse to be in a coma until results of the investigation are known, and at that time its fitness to be beaten some more or put out to pasture to live out its days can be assessed. It could be months before anything is revealed by the investigators. I would also remind you that the people arrested in Indy were not board members or elected officials. They were second tier operatives in the department and private property developers.

           The ties between the former director of Evansville’s DMD to the Indy operation and his hasty but quiet departure from his position here raises my curiosity. Then there are all of the real estate connections that abound within this administration. I know absolutely nothing about who the targets of the investigations are, and playing guessing games seems silly when there are plenty of things to spend time and energy on.

         • Yes LKB. We shall see.
           1. The US Treasury is investigating possible corruption with land bank activity in Evansville.
           2. Some of these City Officials have been involved as Executive Board Members of Evansville Brownfields Corp land bank since Day One.
           3. Some City Officials have been advocating the structuring of a next-generation Evansville City Land Bank immediately before leaving Office, and now have returned to their private practice, but still maintain close relationships with those Officials, and engage in activity with other businesses, individuals and organizations who engage in Official City and related City organization activities.
           4. There have been reports of potential misuse of funds in Evansville land bank activities, and that investigation is ongoing.
           5. Corruption in land bank activities have been uncovered elsewhere in Indiana, and prosecutions were successful in Indianapolis.
           So, you are right. We shall see what is happening in Evansville.

     • There is plenty to be pissed about in this town.

5. Mosby seems to be running true to form, saying ‘slander’ when she should have said ‘libel’. Doesn’t matter, the truth is a perfect defense to either charge.

   At this point putting up a new comment on the DPatrick siting would just about require making something up. It has been well covered, thanks to the CCO for the forum and Mr. Lumley, Press and Don for the information. Actually Don often distills the sometimes cumbersome amount of information from the others into a more concise form. When something new comes up, something provable, it will merit comment. In the meantime, I think everyone, whether they state it here or not, would be for this battened down administration to open up. With their overt paranoic secrecy they are inviting people to fill in the blanks. What are they hiding? If Mosby and Weaver (and Hargis, et al) are the public face of what’s going on down there, they would be better off just coming clean no matter how bad it is.

   I think the men are on the chessboard and about to move. If the rook Coures is maneuvered towards the edge of the board it bodes ill for him. At that point he is just a flip of the wrist, a bump of a pawn, from falling off the flat earth. That why they call them fall guys.

6. Is it true that Reggie Walton, who just got sentenced to nine years for what he did as Director of the Indy Land Bank, trained Phil Hooper in Land Banking? Is it true that Hooper is the former Director of Evansville’s DMD? Is it true that Hooper trained Kelly Coures in Land Banking? Is it true that the same investigators in Indianapolis have now turned their attention to Evansville’s handling of TARP and Land Banking?

   • Maybe Walton’s assistance as a prosecution witness in any subsequent federal proceceedings, for instance in Vanderburgh Co., in exchange for having his sentence revisited while Judge Lawrence still has control of the case, could speed up getting answers to some of the questions surrounding the DPatrick siting. I’ve never seen a massive car operation or anything else go up as quickly as that one did. Those poor people who were uprooted at 41 & Walnut are seldom mentioned when the subject comes up.

     • Coming to a city near you:

       https://youtu.be/IMWXxzZ9ncw

       • I hope so!

     • I believe the Judge stated that Mr. Walton would have to serve a minimum of 85% of his sentence. That would be 7 years and 7 months of his 9 year sentence. Mr. Johnson will be serving 4 years and 8 months of his 66 month sentence. Small wonder some local people have retained counsel.

       • I get the feeling that the waters run a little deeper down here. Either that, or they just quit looking in Indy after they nabbed these two and the rest got swept under the proverbial rug.

     • I feel awful for those people. Moving is expensive and tiring even when you plan for months in advance. Those people had to get out in two weeks. It was just one more way that Winkie and friends send the message that all people are equal, but some are more equal than others. At least Connie Robinson got a little money out of the City, allegedly repaid by D-Pat. to help them with moving expenses.

       The neighborhood that was taken was not posh by any means, but the video taken by George Lumley showed it to be a lot better than some that have not been touched. If the Mayor did allow his signature to go on the documents that were falsified, he may be meeting Reggie Walton soon.

       • ELKAYBEE……oh for God’s sake! “Connie Robinson got those poor people some money from D-Patrick.” Who in the world do you think helped make this deal happen? Robinson was part of the D-Patrick fiasco from the very beginning.
         And you try to pass off this ignorant pandering narrative how the wolf is so compassionate….I can’t believe you are writing this insulting crap…You are becoming Lee Atwater reborn LKB.

         • Talk to Cheryl.

7. As of 2015, SPHL teams operated with a $5600 weekly cap for 18 players. The players are provided an apartment and I doubt if the franchise fee is very high with that cap, so it shouldn’t be hard to break even with a 56 game schedule of 28 home and 28 away games. It might take a wealthy person, but I seriously doubt it takes someone as rich as Laura thinks.

   All the above info is readily available online.

   • $10 says the washed up players are housed for free in the new hotel on our dime.

     • That sounds about right. What kind of bums play hockey for about $300 a week and a room?

       • Guys that are no longer hacking it in the NHL but aren’t ready for a family and a real job. Come here and play a couple years, get drunk every night with weaver, have your fill of USI girls, eventually settle down.

       • pretty much the same ones who play for the Otters

   • Thanks for the information, Joe. It’s good to know that you think well of Mr. Hall. Like you, I hope the pockets are deep enough to keep him out of the taxpayers’ pockets!

   • That isn’t as much money as I had guessed, but it still adds up to a good amount of cash when you figure in equipment, travel, advertising, and other costs. It still amounts to about a quarter of a million dollars a year. I hope he draws good crowds. He must be counting on it, since he is reducing the price of tickets.

8. The idea that Walton may flip on some of the others seems right. It looks like he has connection here in town too.

9. In honor of our local politicians we should the name the new hockey team the Evansville Highbinders

   • Evansville Snegals

     • Winner! Winner! Chicken dinner for BigP’s name for the new Hockey Team

10. Editor-
    Grayville is a town in Illinois. John GRAYBILL is the man who is obsessed with hate for the Rieckens.

    • Thanks! I’m out of pocket right now but will correct asap!

11. It’s a shame that EPD and Chief Bolin wasn’t at Weaver’s Mardi Gras fundraiser last night at Bokeh Lounge. There were a lot of drunks coming out and getting in cars. Oh, wait! Maybe Bolin was there.

12. What ever happened to the guy to took Rev. Brooks’ place on the Police Merit Commission? It was alleged that he did not meet the state eligibility requirements for holding such an office.

13. I was at River Bend this weekend and Weaver and Mosby were there together and left at the same time. I’m sure they participated in the Mardi Gras parade earlier that afternoon. I do not go out much, but I’ve seen them together at other places before too. Are they an item/couple? If so, I don’t know which one got the shorter end of the stick. Ewww!

    • You hear all kinds of gossip, but somebody in the know told me that Missy and Weasel are just pals. I heard she likes her guys in uniforms does a lot of favors for the police department . He has a thing for tiny physically fit women, so she isn’t his type. She is big enough that he would have a fair fight on his hands.

      • She would kick his ass in a fair fight, but he isn’t into those.

    • Mosby is Evansville royalty. Her and beaver are always together.

14. It is plain and it is simple . . . Mosby and the Weasel are hooked up . . . Winnecke was the news director for channel 25 and the Weasel was for five years, when he showed up, the weather dickmeister for ch 25 . . .and you wonder why 25 is in the tank for those clowns. pathetic as it is . . .

    • For those folks that think the Weasel like those hard belly fit chicks you are kidding yourselves . . . this dickmeister will tap anything with nails and bleached hair. He is one of the most afflicted individual with the bad case of Kentucky Horn most have ever seen. Not to insult the horn dogs. . .

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