Proving Innocence – Not Guilty or Neighborly

Every time I read of accusations on facebook , social media etc I do so with a wariness. I wouldn’t have had a few years ago. In my last post
https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2016/08/09/municipal-manipulation-lorain-e-again/
I mentioned our 11 months of hell caused by an elderly neighbor who truly believed her accusations. Before her dementia she had been a good neighbor, wanting to help with the community and did so , her talent as an artist used more than once with neighborhood events .

The family made no effort to help and so this neighbor literally took down her favorite tree, glass blocked her windows and put up fences . She was scared , frightened and alone in the fact she did not get the help she needed and that fact rippled through our lives. Due to her actions, we could not help – our attorney forbade any contact- so we had to leave her to her own terrifying nights until at last, after being found by another neighbor wandering the street in her night attire, something was finally done. The damage to our family was already done-

I wrote about that time on another blog The WoM Blog 10 years ago – I would like you to read this tale of accusation – 11 months of proving innocence- this could happen to you –and the years between have not erased the helplessness and yes anger at the family we felt.

WoM Logo by Scott Baklar

J’Accuse- The Cost of Innocence
It is 6:00 am. in Lorain – Do you know where your attorney is?

John Paul Sartre got it right when he stated in his play – No Exit
”HELL IS OTHER PEOPLE!”
The accuser and the accusations:
A neighbor, elderly and alone (who fully believed in her accusations) and since she wasn’t a known trouble maker or on anyone’s radar was totally believable- so the complaints made to the various authorities seemed reasonable.

1. a male neighbor throwing things at her house
2. male footprints in the freshly fallen snow leading to her front door from the neighbors
3. weapons being hidden between the houses
4. a male neighbor exposing himself through the fence
5. a neighbor opening the fire hydrants on the street
6. a male neighbor pointing a gun at her through the back door
7. a male neighbor hiding in the shrubs
8. intruders in her basement
9. intruders inside her house
10. up on her roof at night
11. neighbors cutting her phone lines

So I would ask you – you are the Lorain Police Department – you are getting these calls from an elderly woman, all alone- starting in June and carrying through to May of the next year. You send patrol cars -you check – you wake people from a sound sleep at all times of the night to make sure they are home and not harassing an elderly woman.

You respond when a citizen complains, it is documented. The elderly woman tells the rest of the neighborhood what it happening to her, enlisting their aid. The “family” of the accuser calls the accused family “perverts”-among other insulting remarks.
ARE YOU FEELING SYMPATHY AND OUTRAGE FOR THIS POOR WOMAN?

The REST of the story :

1. the things being thrown -tennis balls- coming across and into her yard as the kids in a neighboring home are playing ball.

2. footprints in the snow- the mail carrier coming from one house delivering to another

3. weapons ( supposedly being hidden to hit the neighbors on the head) – fallen tree limbs from her own tree

4. THE DE -FENCE NO. 4 -in the Accusations list

Oh! and the “exposing of a male part of the anatomy through the fence (from two properties away I might add)

X marks the spot where the “protruding penis” was supposed to have happened

It was the first accusation – I remember it so well another neighbor phoned,
NB. where is your husband?

ME: He is at the store –

NB: Oh good Sally phoned to say he was putting his penis through (another neighbors fence) ( two doors away)

ME: WHAT???? Is this some sort of a joke??

NB: No she is claiming your husband is sticking his penis through a knot hole in the fence….

AND SO IT BEGAN –

The elderly lady was fixated with the knothole and the penis and called out the police on another fine summer day. I asked the officer who was a little sharp with me at first to please come and look at the fence. He reluctantly did so – I showed him the knot hole and its position in the fence and then I said

“officer if you can put your penis through that hole I will personally put the handcuffs on my husband “

A little grin did flicker across his face as he remarked ”

” No thank you ma’am I am more endowed than to fit that opening.

I then took him to the other side of the fence where we have a pond. and where in order to expose oneself you would have to lay on your side half in the water.

The officer wrote up a report which was pretty laughable- the Chronicle Telegram and their reporter saw the police report, thankfully we were spared our names in the article – Shawn Foucher wrote the article : If The Fence Don’t Fit You Have To Acquit!

5. Opening Fire Hydrants – The fire dept. was called by the accuser, and the LFD were very irate, it was in fact the Lorain Water Dept. as they had a water line burst on Oberlin Avenue. So when the Fire Dept then turned off the gushing fire hydrant the water dept. guys from the Utilities Dept came running down the street waving their arms as they were now having to deal with gushing water .

astoundingartifacts.blogspot.com

6. The gun , after three such calls and reports it turns out, when questioned further, that the “gun” was actually a “RAY GUN” and this wonderful invention (invented apparently by the accused) could make her steel back door disappear for 8 seconds at a time and she had to blink to get it back!

7. The shrub – was an over 70 foot maple tree, which not only did the accused manage to climb, in the dark – but did so in a DRESS. (ouch!)

8. The intruders (now there were two) the accused and his wife- apparently getting in through the vent in the glass block window

https://www.amazon.com/Borrowers

9. Picture this if you will. The police are called the “intruders” (we now have two again) are in the house, armed . One officer arrives, he has called for back up however there is a serious problem elsewhere other officers are tied up on another call. With caution the officer calls to the intruders to come out of the closet. Nothing, silence- weapon at the ready he throws open the door to a closet???? no one
Ma’am are you sure they went in here?

The Accuser:
What is the matter with you ? Can’t you see them- they are hiding under that lampshade!
Call for back up was cancelled!
10. Up on the roof (raccoons and squirrels using her roof as a route from one tree to another )

11. The phone lines were cut as a truck making deliveries to More for Less caught the overhead lines and ripped them down.

NOTE – pretty funny isn’t it??? but these plausible complaints were harrowing to us at the time and terrifying to her – AND WE HAD TO PROVE EVERYDAY – EVERY COMPLAINT THAT WE WERE INNOCENT!!!!

The EFFECT😦 Due to these accusations):

1. Hundreds of dollars were spent by the accused on lawyers letters, dealing with the accusations, building higher fences . Family members of the accuser making insulting and damning remarks (rather than seeing the problem- again lawyers letters)

2. Months of harassment, being woken from a sound sleep at all hours of the night with the police at the door responding to the accusations. Not being comfortable and able to relax in your OWN home.

3. Documenting your every move for over a year. Because when someone makes an accusation that you were doing something at a certain time you better have proof that you were elsewhere and have a reliable witness.

So you keep a daily/hourly diary, where you were, who was with you, if you go to the store alone -you keep the time stamped receipt. You cannot even go into your back yard without a witness or companion. Your reputation is shot! Your life becomes about PROVING YOUR INNOCENCE every day, just because “J’Accuse”.

4. The embarrassment is bad enough but the stress takes its toll, infact this living on the accusatory knife-edge ( and people will say – hmmmm where there is smoke…..) effects you emotionally and physically you become ill. You can’t sleep, you are on the defensive, your life is turned upside down and the lives of your family, you are angry, bewildered and hurt .

YOUR HOME, YOUR SANCTUARY BECOMES A PRISON

Everyday you have to prove innocence because someone made an accusation, that on the face of it, was believable. You spend your days “explaining” and your nights waiting for the next phone call or knock on the door wanting to know what you are doing and where you have been .

It is only when you look into the “rest of the story” that you realize that as ridiculous as these accusations really were the suffering, expense and the toll on a family -wasn’t funny.

AND NOW – the hedges are grown deliberately- so the daughter and husband who had their say as I was screamed at by the “construction king ” and ironically wanting MY HELP in their “estate court case” can no longer peer into my garden- let them inspect the alley–

You see the grandfather also had issues before he passed only at that time it was another neighbor who bore the brunt of his “visions” – those ” good ” neighbors eventually moved…… So before accusations are made – and believed remember sometimes all is not so cut and dried…………………………THIS PROVING OF INNOCENCE CAN HAPPEN TO ANYONE ……….

Advertisements

An open post to City of Lorain- The History of Frustration

This post actually started out as an email to City Council members but like the housing situation we find ourselves in and lack of accountability it too became too much and unwieldy- no one was going to read through it.

Photo Source – City of Lorain
There are any number of reasons Lorain finds itself in the housing position we are in today:

Mayor Koziura 1996-2000( now Council at Large) tried, along with then Building Inspector Mr. Murphy, to reign in the deteriorating homes and buildings in Lorain and lawyers 😉

https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2013/07/09/the-pos-and-nuisance-ordinance-a-lesson-in-history/

This did not sit well with the mega landlords ( at the time ) and they supported Craig Foltin for Mayor .

There was , imho, a let us appease those who are “squeaking” the wheel in 2005 – see article Broken Homes from the Chronicle – when a number of us went before Mayor Foltin and Mr. Desvari stating the deteriorating neighborhoods.

brokehomes which “chronicles” the situation. I re – chronicled the issues in May 2012.

https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2012/05/01/lorain-oh-broken-homes-broken-people-just-plain-broke-part-two/

The then Building Inspector Bill Desvari , himself on charges before he died , gave token action to the problems .

Desvari’s most recent legal problems began in 2008 when Lorain police launched an investigation into his dealings as head of the city’s Building Department.

He was placed on leave in February 2008 as police probed complaints about problems with homes in the King’s Woods subdivision. That investigation expanded to include allegations that Desvari allowed an unlicensed cement contractor to operate in the city in exchange for the contractor doing work on Desvari’s Columbia Township home.

Desvari was indicted in July 2008 on charges dealing with the contractor and allegations that he failed to complete inspections and require permits on homes in New Century Village.

Another round of charges were brought in 2010 against Desvari that centered on two $5,000 loans Desvari received from men his attorney has described as friends. Prosecutors contend the loans were actually bribes.http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2012/08/06/former-lorain-official-dies-while-awaiting-trial/

We then had the Sub Prime Mortgage Crisis 2008 , for Lorain and “property procurers ” this gave them a huge “feeding frenzy” with very little controls from local government.

You have anecdotal situations brought before the media and City Council – the sound bites of frustration. We have had council people literally venting their frustration at meetings. AND although everyone seems to be on the same page with “doing something to stop the rot and turn around the older neighborhoods” for the most part hands are tied

The situation , imho, has become laughable , when even a junk car next to a church and in a neighborhood becomes “Where’s Waldo” ( the trashed car) How many weeks did this take only to have it moved to another junked property around the corner so to speak ?
https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2016/05/20/don-the-downspout-says-lorain-in-a-fix/

The Art Car

We have any number of people “playing the system” ( judicial)the cost of doing business a mere fine and not having to abate issues.

There are so many of these situations , they are too many to document The whole system is broken because of a lack of respect, ( which can’t be legislated), lack of accountability ( which is not accounting for much) , a city with a declining job market and one of the biggest businesses in town – the rental business making profits don’t take my word for it Kent Sutton one of Lorain’s mega landlords and LELA members was quoted affirming the fact :

“We simply assure housing providers that they{LELA MEMBERS} are running a business not like any other business,” Sutton said. “The housing should be kept up to some condition of the neighborhood.” http://www.morningjournal.com/article/MJ/20120618/NEWS/306189973

The frustration of City Council Members , The Administration, ( and yes the Judicial, hamstrung by ineffective fines , time lines and legal lalala speak is clear – the frustration is spilling over in the neighborhoods and City Council floor as there does not seem to be a simple fix.

We have tweaking of our ordinances so that lawn mowers ( as seen from space) does not become an everyday occurrence because there was loophole in an ordinance that brought this one iconic situation before housing court for the past FIVE YEARS. .

http://www.morningjournal.com/general-news/20160523/lawn-mower-legislation-under-review-in-lorain

The cry is we need jobs!!!! Let us look at that

When a Corporation/employer looks at a community in which to relocate they look at Infrastructure, School system, housing etc.

http://www.forbescustom.com/EconomicDevelopmentPgs/CorpRelocationCurrentTrendsP1.html

What is the answer to our tale of woe……. well here is a clue :

that they- [ ED. NOTElandlords/ mega property owners} are running a business not like any other business………………………….

TO BE CONTINUED

Plump Lady Plummets – and the housing trip continues

Update : I received the following communication from Kaja Holdings/ Vision Properties as to the fact I had linked Harbour Portfolio with his clients Please see below :

Dear Ms. Ritchey:
It was a pleasure meeting and speaking with you on Wednesday. It is important for every community to have concerned citizens that care enough to voice their opinions on important issues. As a lifelong resident of Lorain County, I appreciate your efforts to preserve the history of Lorain. I especially appreciate your work for Charleston Village Society.

I write to kindly ask you to correct an inaccuracy in your April 7, 2016 blog post. In your post, you state that I may be able to assist the City of Lorain in serving Harbour Portfolio with complaints for Housing Code/POS violations, stating that my clients (Kaja and Vision) are all “part and parcel of the same grouping”. You brought up your suspicion that my clients and Harbour were related entities when we met on Wednesday and I observed Councilman Flores delivering the same message to Assistant Prosecutor Holmes in Court.
I have conferred with my clients and they have confirmed that Kaja and Vision are in no way related, whether directly or indirectly, with Harbour. They share no common ownership, staff, office space or other connection. One is not the subsidiary of the other, they are not sister companies and they do not work together in any fashion. Harbour is a competitor of Kaja and Vision. I respectfully request that you alter your post, print a retraction or otherwise clarify that the companies are not related.

Thank you,
J.R. White James R. White, Attorney at Law

Yesterday, I once again made my way to Lorain Municipal Housing Court, as readers know, I have been there a couple of times. In 2009 Lorain County Photographer’s blog ran a series of thoughts from Judge Pianka from Cleveland’s Housing Court https://clevelandmunicipalcourt.org/judicial-services/meet-the-judges/judge-raymond-l-pianka
http://www.locophotogblog.com/?p=304 http://www.locophotogblog.com/?p=305

“Gee, there are people using the civil side of the court to evict people, but on the criminal side they were ignoring our summonses and complaints. So, it caused some cognitive dissonance on my part. So, we decided that you can’t just come into court and use one side of the court, the civil side, but ignore the criminal side of the court”

In 2009 this Lorain County blog – Lorain County Photographers Blog http://www.locophotogblog.com/ was feeling the frustration some of us, in the City of Lorain, had been feeling and documenting for years. There were hundreds of photographs taken, words written trying to find a way to keep our older neighborhoods free from blight from 2005 onwards. The time line for the above series was, of course, right in the middle of the Sub- Prime Crisis caused by banks and idiotic mortgages.

8 years have passed since the sub-prime mortgage debacle and Lorain is still feeling the ripple effects, Fannie Mae , Deutsche Bank , Freddie Mac etc. all selling off those write off mortgages to the LLC’s, a number out of state , such as Kaja Holdings, Harbour Portfolio, Vision Properties . You can find my thoughts here:
https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2015/09/17/the-follow-up-a-tale-of-two-houses-city-council-loraine/
https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2015/09/11/the-housing-court-and-you-lorain-part-one/
https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2015/10/22/housing-court-and-you-lorain-continued/

You can also find the article from the New York Times on this group of LLC’s here on the what is happening .

Market for Fixer-Uppers Traps Low-Income Buyers By MATTHEW GOLDSTEIN and ALEXANDRA STEVENSONFEB. 20, 2016

One of the larger firms in this market, Harbour has bought more than 6,700 single-family homes in Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania and a handful of other states since 2010 — most of them from Fannie Mae, according to the mortgage finance firm and the foreclosure research firm RealtyTrac.

Ten of the more than 50 homes Harbour bought in Akron have been torn down after being condemned and two others are slated for demolition

Harbour and its founder, Charles A. Vose III

I was at the court to see what was happening with the Point of Sale Icon House 1348, West Erie now owned by Kaja Holding/ Vision Properties etc etc etc.

I was curious to see what progress had been made if any or where the “abatement” stood. Pictures of the front steps etc taken a few days before court left me a bit wary as to “tripping hazards”. Turns out I should have been wary of the concrete lip outside City Hall.

As I entered City Hall- well not quite entered- as I fell flat on my face – I went down with an almighty thump. There is some good that comes out of being on the plump side – my fat shock absorbers , absorbed. It was so embarrassing as my chin hit the concrete and I went flat out. I was mortified, especially when the policemen ( running security at the door) rushed to my aid and it took two of them to hoist my “knocked the breath out of me frame” to vertical once more.

“I am fine really , just help me up, no honestly I am fine . she said hoping to salvage some dignity

Now why should I have felt ashamed and embarrassed , it was not my fault just one of those things, but I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. However, my mood and the pain in my head and neck from the jarring of the hitting the concrete left me less than tolerant when it came to Housing Court that afternoon .

Now the main purpose of taking people and LLC’s to court is not to punish ( so I am told) but to “abate the conditions as cited by our housing inspectors“ Well that makes sense .

Maybe it was the pain, the left over mortification from the half an hour before but I can say that some , actually three of the “supposed to be working for the city ‘s best interest” employees left me wishing I was a caricature artist. They would do well to remember they are working on the taxpayer’s dime , I was wondering if my dimes were being spent well.

The one, who decidedly made the most impression in my pain addled thoughts, was “Miss Looks like she is smelling bad fish” – nose so far in the air it is a wonder she didn’t trip over herself. Can you tell this in my opinion officious official really , as we say in England , got right up my nose!!!” But then I remembered I was not there to critique theatre but then again………….

You see, I am totally frustrated and fed up! Some of us were bleating on about the city and her housing long before the sub prime crisis.

One Mayor ( Joe Koziura) literally lost his campaign for re-election due to coming down hard on housing. I wonder if things would’ve been different had he succeeded instead of the loved by the landlords candidate Craig Foltin who backed off an aggressive stance by the Building Dept 2000 and look where we are NOW!!!!

article found here brokehomes
BROKEN HOMES
How abandoned houses are hurting Lorain, and how the city is trying to fight back

Dan Harkins and Shawn Foucher
The Chronicle-Telegram

It’s not hard to find examples of crimes linked to abandoned or all-but-abandoned homes in Lorain. The crimes are an extreme example of the kind of “negative effect on the neighborhood stability and economic vitality of the city” that state auditors warned Lorain of a year ago.
“By not administering its code enforcement, property maintenance and building programs, it is difficult for the city to preserve its housing stock,” auditors wrote in their report.

Now Lorain, which had not come close to matching other cities its size in the vigor of its housing enforcement, has acted on recommendations made by the state auditors to hire two additional housing inspectors. The new inspectors started with the city in April………….

……Beyond that, the new housing inspectors have gotten only a lukewarm endorsement from Mayor Craig Foltin, who defeated his predecessor in 1999 in part by making an issue of what he characterized as an overly aggressive Building Department…….

“We feel that if they don’t have a successful plan and aren’t self-sufficient and nice to people, then we will not continue with them,” Foltin said recently of the inspectors…..

Some of us are tired of fixing our properties and “ABATING” without going to court – doing the right thing because we should take care of our property. No matter if it was “vindictive” behavior that caused the inspections in the first place 😉

Some of us are really angry how the “playing the system” works for multi property owners, who “prostitute the homes , buy cheap ,rent them out, and don’t pay property taxes and then walk away or dump them on some poor unsuspecting sucker in a rent to own scheme. The out-of-town LLC’s clustering together, confusing the cities and counties where they form like blobs of greed growing bigger with each added LLC. .

Why should the little guy in this city suffer when the MEGA property owners are, in my opinion, prostituting these properties.

Why should our property values decline because of trash housing?

Why should we be punished our neighborhoods looked at with scorn ?

It infuriates me when people I have been writing about for years just keep gathering more and more , paying less and less and in some case not even bothering with the property taxes walking away or even dying – leaving the trapped tax payer holding the bag and looking forlornly at what has happened to their neighborhoods. Sixteen years on and we are still on the same trip!

To be continued …………….

Housing Court and You – Lorain- Continued

As promised, a continuation of Lorain’s Housing Court.
https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2015/09/11/the-housing-court-and-you-lorain-part-one/

Let us first get some housekeeping out-of-the-way!

This was my third time attending the proceedings. It is punishment in and of itself having to sit in a stuffy, airless room with people coughing, hacking, sneezing and other odoriferous issues , stacked like sardines in a can. Word of advice don’t try fanning oneself you will get more than a fresh breeze
.

source Obit

To be fair, those that haven’t got a seat are allowed to go and wait in one of the other courtrooms until their case is called . I think if Warren Finkel, the chief architect of Lorain City Hall, wasn’t already deceased he should be fined for poor design at the very least. Each time I have attended there has been a large number of people sometimes 90 people on the docket , hopefully I have just been unlucky.

The other issue, frustrating to all, including Magistrate Cook ,was the number of times the software went “walk about” or the computer glitched- 4 times by my reckoning in 2 hours.

Purely from the standpoint of an observer, and I may be under a misconception here,it looks to me as if the defendants who have an attorney present go first on the docket.

The people who have abated their issues seem to come next .I am pleased to say there were, on all three times I attended, a great many people who had abated their issues , the system seems to be working in that regard.

Apparently , abating issues does not save you from “Court Costs”. The mere fact the city had to go through the paperwork, sending out for inspections and going through the process( even if your violations were now abated) doesn’t save you from court costs. That is, unless the city has had their own issues- ( that happened more than once every one of those court dates- imho too frequently ) My first day in court August 12th had Magistrate Cook admonishing the Prosecutors office with ” sloppy work”.

source
http://powermylifetx.com

NOTE: A word to the wise if you get a notice from the Building Dept with regard to violations , take care of them , let them know you will take care of them in writing – ( get that all important paper trail) . In case you end up in Housing Court

1. If you have abated your issues- according to the Prosecutor- you then sign the document electronically as does the Prosecutor and you go across the hall with your paperwork and pay the court costs

If you haven’t abated – you have three choices, Not Guilty as which time you are set either for a pre- trial or a bench trial and choose a date in the future ( this also gives you more time to abate your issues before your next appearance) NOTEI have been told every time this happens the Building Dept has to once again re inspect the property again and may be required to appoint an attorney for you ( the City of Lorain that is)

2. No Contest which means you didn’t admit guilt but then again you don’t disagree- This ends up with a fine and court costs -to be paid across the hall

3. Guilty– same as above- the highest amount fined was $250 plus costs

If there are circumstances in your life where there are problems with taking care of the issues – contact the Building Dept, explain the problems and put it writing with a projected date you will be able to adhere and after you have finished call for a re-inspection and get the paper work the violations were abated .

Keep that paper trail, mistakes can and have happened.

Don’t wait until you are summoned to court because you will face a probably 3 hour punishment of sitting in that claustrophobic courtroom and I am sure the Building Dept. employees don’t enjoy sitting there session after session either .

Garage Sales Beware– People of Lorain YOU HAVE TO GET A PERMIT FOR A GARAGE SALE- I WAS TOLD THEY WERE FREE- BUT IF YOU DON’T GET ONE – YOU WILL BE OUT OF POCKET – FINE PLUS COURT COSTS

Magistrate Cook, is very personable and runs a fairly relaxed courtroom. I am not sure how I feel about that- one the one hand it did break the ordeal of having to sit there generally listening to procedure and helped with the tension. He is charming, concerned , empathetic, patient , has a sense of humour and usually deferring to the Prosecutor as to fines etc. A great deal of the defendants were less than knowledgable as to the process and it seemed he took that into consideration. Magistrate Cook certainly is not Judge Raymond Pianka

Source Scott Shaw, The Plain Dealer

Cleveland Housing Court Judge Raymond Pianka is ratcheting up the costs for absentee property owners who spread the damage from the foreclosure crisis. They will have to pay neighbors for economic losses caused by their neglect. http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/08/cleveland_housing_judge_requir.html

BUT on the other hand this chatty chat does somewhat cheapen the due process and personally I would like to have seen a less obliging courtroom in some of the cases I witnessed, but maybe that is just me who is used to the British Courtrooms where calling out compliments and chat at least on two occasions from those waiting would have been seen as disrespectful to the process of law.

Magistrate Cook, did make it quite clear YOU not your spouse has to attend court when summoned , unless of course you have an attorney speaking on your behalf – However, the two that did feel his wrath were not penalized due to their “names not being accurate on the paperwork “ in the first place!

My trip to the court on October 21st was due to the fact Kaja Holdings were up before the bench one more – Readers will remember Kaja Holdings
https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2015/09/17/the-follow-up-a-tale-of-two-houses-city-council-loraine/

However apparently their attorney Lei Jaing is no longer acting for them and a new attorney is in place therefore a continuance until December 9th, these properties have been in the hopper now for how many months- since the first of the year on some of them – ( the beginning of the process)

All was not lost because there were one or two people I recognized from previous blog posts on my mega landlords and their impact on our neighborhoods.
1st up Gustav Krause POS foreclosure–
1621v E.36th Street-

but we know Gustav Krause and his LLC -FGSK PROPERTIES LLC of old from the September 2012 post, before the death of George Schneider.

Gustav Krause looks to own 12 parcels and the tax bills are sent to a PO Box number 395 as well- along with property owners of David W Carter/ Red’s All American Recycling fame.

https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2014/09/20/george-schneider-a-property-legacy-what-now/

And I had my issues with Judge Mihok and leniency that same September 2012
George Schneider (Appeal)ing Properties- or where’s the judgement? Pity the system didn’t do something when they had the chance because we would be left with the mess we have now
https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2012/09/12/george-schneider-appealing-properties-or-wheres-the-judgement/

https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2012/09/07/who-holds-the-key-george-schneider-david-carter-gustav-krause/

Imagine my interest when another landlord – multi property owner and holder of “thatwoman blog fame” Jerrod Biebrick –
https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2012/12/08/trash-to-the-treasurey-time-to-pay-for-your-garbage/
http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2015/03/30/lorain-county-habitat-humanity-seeking-new-home/
Biebrick, owner of Patriot Property Management, said he owns about 80 rental properties in Lorain and has been buying building materials at the store for two or three years.
Landlording in Lorain is a big business ( Housing Choice Vouchers alone)
https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2014/08/13/freedom-of-speech-usa-really-pt-4/

For instance according to Ms. Carter of the LMHA
“housing choice vouchers alone pump 1.4 MILLION A MONTH
into Lorain County but The City of Lorain gets 64% of that money EVERY MONTH or approximately $900,000.00 PER MONTH COMES INTO THE CITY OF LORAIN-!!!

and Mr. Biebrick apart from his 80 properties certainly has a plethora of LLC’s

A quick check on just 4 of Biebrick’s many properties he owes on just those 4
over $23,000 dollars – I would hate to see what his tax bill is like on all 80 odd- I went through picking out randomly and every one had taxes owed that I checked – including the one for which he had to appear

4095 Laurel
Annual Real Estate Tax: $908.54
Current Special Assessments: $0.00
Delinquent Special Assessments : $0.00
Unpaid Taxes: $2,105.41
Full Year Tax(includes any unpaid taxes & special assessments): $3,196.89
Total Taxes Paid to Date: $0.00

4332 Laurel

Annual Real Estate Tax: $260.06
Current Special Assessments: $0.00
Delinquent Special Assessments : $412.14
Unpaid Taxes: $2,957.42
Full Year Tax(includes any unpaid taxes & special assessments): $3,737.32

Those names just keep cropping up and unlike most of the people who were homeowners, some having no clue how the process works these multi- property owners have appeared before and KNOW the system– the excuse of “didn’t know” and the “post office is at fault” excuse left one wondering what would have happened in Judge Pianka’s courtroom

Last up was a Mr. Dessie Cheers– he had sat there right from the beginning and seemed to have at least 5 separate issues on his properties and it seems he has more than building violations!

According to the Auditors site his property of 419, Kentucky , 1530 Fillmore, and 1538 Fillmore he owes a cumulative amount of $19,588.04 in unpaid property taxes, that is not the case on his “own home” – just saying- this court of public opinion finds this “IFFY”

419 Kentucky

Annual Real Estate Tax: $1,186.76
Current Special Assessments: $0.00
Delinquent Special Assessments : $1,137.02
Unpaid Taxes: $5,152.10
Full Year Tax(includes any unpaid taxes & special assessments): $7,785.61
Total Taxes Paid to Date: $0.00

1530 Fillmore
Annual Real Estate Tax: $1,223.06
Current Special Assessments: $306.00
Delinquent Special Assessments : $375.89
Unpaid Taxes: $4,037.42
Full Year Tax(includes any unpaid taxes & special assessments): $6,220.21
Total Taxes Paid to Date: $0.00

1538 Fillmore

Annual Real Estate Tax: $867.16
Current Special Assessments: $306.00
Delinquent Special Assessments : $993.91
Unpaid Taxes: $3,196.81
Full Year Tax(includes any unpaid taxes & special assessments): $5,582.11
Total Taxes Paid to Date: $0.00

Something very wrong here Lorain-

To Be Continued…………

Source
http://www.cosplayisland.co.uk

The Follow-up – A tale of Two houses City Council Lorain(e)

September 14th the Lorain City Council Public Meeting on Point of Sale.
as mentioned in the Morning Journal Newspaper. ( http://www.morningjournal.com)

http://www.morningjournal.com/general-news/20150912/lorain-city-council-to-discuss-enforcement-of-point-of-sale-inspections
Council Chambers held more than the usual few – Invited participants included members of Lorain County Government and Magistrate Cook , in whose courtroom I had found myself ( trying to hear) on August 12th and September 9th. I won’t go into detail you can find coverage here
http://www.morningjournal.com/general-news/20150914/lorain-council-wants-stiffer-fines-more-enforcement-for-point-of-sale

BUT WHAT I CAN SAY IS:

COUNTY GOVERNMENT HAS TO BE INVOLVED TO HELP IN THE POINT OF SALE ON THE FRONT END THROUGH PROPERTY TRANSFER- –

AND JUDICIAL HAS TO BE JUDICIOUS ON THE BACK END. THESE ISSUES ARE NOT JUST LORAIN ISSUES!!! These out-of-state / county holding companies are not choosy where they feed.

When I attended the Housing Court on Sept 9th I met a family – The Shaffers- whom, to my mind, have become the faces of unscrupulous out of state Holding and Property LLC Companies .

The Shaffers, are in sort of a legal limbo when it came to having their say in Housing Court- Before the bench those days were the LLC Kaja Holdings 2 in all their Vision Properties glory who were the “defendants” along with their attorney Jaing, Lei- ( Lei Jaing) who got to plead their case –
http://eb5info.com/eb5-attorneys/35-lei-jiang

Unfortunately the Shaffers , although they believed themselves to be the owners 4132 Fulton ( since they were the purchasers of the home – under the Lease to Own agreement) – had no say in the courtroom and therefore were dismissed from the courtroom by Magistrate Cook, in all likelihood as they were not on the paperwork given by the city. They were considered tenants.

The Shaffers , thanks to City Council Committee on the Enforcement of Point of Sale and Councilman Dan Given, did get their say! The media also have given them coverage
http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2015/09/16/lorain-familys-ordeal-highlights-point-of-sale-systems-flaws
http://www.morningjournal.com/article/20150915/NEWS/150919657

The Shaffers produced a receipt given to them ( see Chronicle article ) showing they had paid $350.00 to Vision Properties ( aka Kaja Holdings) for what they were led to believe was for a City of Lorain inspection for POS/ plumbing/ electrical. NOTE: the actual inspection by the City of Lorain is $100.00 and the city did not inspect this home.
Two things come to my mind-

Had the Shaffers ( who had brought the documentation to court been allowed to speak- Kaja Holdings/ Vision Properties may have had to answer some very interesting questions from the Magistrate if not the city prosecutor/ Building and Housing Dept.

ONE: For instance in all of the properties purchased by Kaja Holdings, RVFM , Vision Property Management
etc. after Lorain’s Point of Sale

How many times, since a number of them have been cited for non compliance Certificate of Inspection (POS), took money for such a supposed inspection from the people ( Leasing to Own)? Obviously they did it once and made money – were there others so duped?

And number TWO-

To this layperson’s thinking does this not constitute fraud? Using an ordinance to take money from people, not following that ordinance, and charging three times as much for the compliance of the ordinance that never was- and if the City of Lorain’s inspectors weren’t the person with the clipboard who was? How many times has this – in my opinion -fraud happened . Is not the City of Lorain an injured party in all this? Will we prosecute?

The Shaffers, are still in a mess but hopefully now someone has listened they will be helped and the City of Lorain has garnered some interesting information.

Unfortunately, a quick drive around my neighborhood shows another Property Company from Columbia South Carolina and Fannie Mae up to their old habits . 917 9th Street– There are the rent to own signs everywhere on this house –

and

Now you know if my discharging “donspout” was cited in February and given 6 days to be fixed
https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2015/02/01/ode-to-a-downspout-named-don-lorain/

then this house on 9th NEVER could have passed a point of sale inspection !

The house sold and transferred July 27th 2015– Another “sale by Fannie Mae ” ( Federal National Mortgage ) before POS- BUT HARBOUR PORTFOLIO VII LP ( NOTE the NUMBER VII)sold it on for 1,500 dollars – probably after renting it out for a couple of years

I wonder if Clotilde Ann Eaker – SOUTH KOREA knew about Point of Sale ??
This Harbour Portfolio VII is also tied up with
NATIONAL ASSET ADVISORS, LLC
Address: 4350 ST ANDREWS RD, COLUMBIA, SC 29210
http://naadvisorsllc.com/

And it is their signs all over the 9th street property

They too have a couple of homes in Lorain on their site

OH and Vision Property Management they have added a couple since the last time I checked

Interesting : 1144 Washington ( AKA Kaja Properties) has been in Housing court with numerous violations –
https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2015/09/11/the-housing-court-and-you-lorain-part-one/
614 W 21st Street–
Address: WELLS FARGO BANK NA TRUSTEE
1665 PALM BEACH LAKES BLVD WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33401
Tax Bill Mailed to: DEUTSCHE BANK
1665 PALM BEACH LAKES BL WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33401
Then there is
1837 E 36th Street

Owner Name
Address: CHRISTIANA TRUST
1665 PALM BEACH LAKE BLVD WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33401
Tax Bill Mailed to: DEUTSCHE BANK
1665 PALM BEACH LAKES BL WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33401

Notice anything the addresses are all the same ( Deutsche Bank) –
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsche_Bank
they have been known to transfer to Kaja , Vision, and whomever. in this sordid property tale.

Oh! dear me and yes you can still purchase 1348 West Erie

Our new group of LLCs. LP Numbers ONE through apparent infinity is “Harbour Portfolio “ and their source of supply Fannie Mae aka Federal National Mortgage

This is not new to North East Ohio and Harbour Portfolio V11 of them was with their source Fannie Mae ( Federal National Mortgage ) the FEDERALLY backed mortgage company
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/fannie_mae/index.html

Good old Fannie, she has been busy with Harbour Portfolio and all its numbers

There were 27 listed – Lorain- Elyria some after Lorain’s Point of Sale and every single one of the came from Federal National Mortgage – dumped on US( in my humble opinion).

We are not alone in this bank dump behaviours- Fannie has been “fannying” around with property and old neighborhoods in Cleveland as well

Predatory Carpet Baggers
the focus of an article in 2012 Cleveland
http://topics.cleveland.com/tag/harbour-portfolio-vii-lp/posts.html

Fannie Mae, the government sanctioned lender of last resort, panders to predatory flippers by dumping zombie properties for chump change, writes Christopher Evans

What sets 3868 apart is the prior owner: Fannie Mae, that government-sanctioned lender of last resort, is back in the business of selling foreclosed zombie properties to predatory carpetbaggers.

Harbour Portfolio bought the property for $4,304 last February from Fannie Mae, according to the Auditor’s Office.

Fannie Mae did not disclose that the property had been condemned, Brancatelli says. Not that Harbour Portfolio would care, he adds. “They’ll find some buyer who’ll put lipstick on the pig and rent it out.”

The condemnation notice? “They’ll buy a key at Home Depot that’ll turn the water back on,” Brancatelli says.

………It also notes that Building and Housing has prepared 22 criminal charges against Fannie Mae for not obtaining certificates of disclosure on properties before they were transferred. An additional 38 charges are in the works, the email adds.

Not much changed then.

Where are the Feds when you need them? Oh that is right they back Fannie Mae.

The HOUSING Court- and YOU! Lorain Part One

I have, for more years than I care to remember, bitched and moaned about the deteriorating homes and neighborhoods in this, Lorain’s oldest neighborhoods.
https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2013/11/16/welcome-to-fairyland-aka-in-the-pink-lorain-ohio/
Beautiful large family homes , homes built for the entrepreneurs of Lorain’s past becoming cut up transient housing , bastardized by owners for more income.
https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2012/08/15/rape-of-lorain-literally-determining-the-health-of-my-neighborhood/

I have written about the banks and what I consider to be bank dumps adding to the loss of value to the surrounding properties.
https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2012/07/11/banks-banking-on-lorain-business-of-blight-devaluing-lorain/

I have written about Point of Sale which came into being January 1st 2014.It was and is a program for which, I believe, will help other Lorain neighborhoods from falling into the desperate housing situation this old neighborhood faces every day.

Point of Sale “should’ve been ” about protecting the buyer of a home, making sure the home was safe for a family –

helping stabilize neighborhoods from frankly, becoming what we in “old Lorain have to deal with – rotting homes used and abused , sold on until they have to be torn down! BUT THERE HAS TO BE SOME ACCOUNTABILITY ON THE JUDICIAL END !
https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2015/08/11/selling-of-lorain-an-energy-decision-red-flags-flying/

When Point of Sale is followed correctly the city benefits, the seller knows they are selling a home that is worthy and the buyer knows the home meets codes- no surprises!

I have written about the legacy left to Lorain by multi- property owners that are now deceased, literally hundreds of properties that were and are a disgrace now on the chopping block to be razed at taxpayers expense.
https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2014/09/20/george-schneider-a-property-legacy-what-now/

The theory of Point of Sale was, according to at least one newspaper account, The Chronicle
http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2013/07/09/lorain-inspection-law-under-fire/

” Sales would be blocked until repairs are made and failure to make repairs could result in first-degree misdemeanor convictions and up to six months imprisonment, a $1,000 fine or both.”

That in fact is NOT what is happening when Point of Sale is not followed – Sales are NOT being blocked – those that do not go through Point of Sale have not had any of their “sales” blocked – they happen and the process is retroactive.

Should these home not go through Point of Sale the last step is Lorain’s Housing Court ! How many I wonder will be receiving the up to $1,000 fine and/or a possible 6 months in jail?

I attended two housing courts in a month- August 12th and September 9th to say I was, as a lay person, less than impressed with the system is an understatement. I will deal with the over all impression in Part two.

My concern in this post is the example of at least one group of holding, property companies that seemingly play the system and apparently “non- accountability”

https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2015/07/24/lorain-common-core-values-and-pos-pt-5/

1348 West Erie 2012

In the above post linked, you will see the Poster Child of Point of Sale and the cry by those in opposition to Point of Sale NO ONE WILL BUY THIS HOME BECAUSE THERE IS A RECORD AMOUNT ESCROW REQUIREMENT $45,750.00

http://www.morningjournal.com/general-news/20140620/lorain-house-sets-record-with-45750-escrow-requirement
HA!the house sat there owned by Fannie Mae until it transferred quietly to Kaja Holdings LLC .

You will see in that self- same post Kaja Holdings is part and parcel of a number of other LLC’s coming under an umbrella of Vision Properties .

Kaja Holdings LLC in and of itself has these properties listed on the Lorain County Auditors Site

Of those properties ( which includes vacant land) 9 homes were purchased AFTER POINT OF SALE January 1st 2014. How many of those actually went through Point of Sale??? Certainly NOT our Poster Child House, 1348 West Erie.

After I wrote that post , on August 5th I noticed that one homeowner in Lorain was cited for his outdoor showroom. He was found guilty and the terrible punishment after 4 YEARS of citations and a plethora of lawnmowers $150.00 and court costs.


https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2015/08/05/outdoor-showrooms-lorain-by-don-the-downspout/

That fact sent me finally to the last bastion of defense citizens have in this Inspection/ Citation/Court process. Lorain’s Housing Court!

The buck apparently stops with Judge Christopher Cook, of Lorain’s Housing Court .
Judge Cook is internationally known ( well at least in the UK) as to having his gavel stolen

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1375564/Now-THATs-order-Man-captured-stealing-judges-gavel-court-surveillance-camera.html

The City of Lorain relies upon our Law Dept. to prosecute ( the two days I went, the Prosecutor was Joe La Veck ) the Lorain Building Dept. acts for the city ; for the most part defendants act for themselves. Groups and banks tend to have attorneys who go first on the docket – so it seemed to me anyway.

I initially went to the court on August 12th to watch the process and I will write about the “process of the court” in a follow-up post .

In the meantime on August 12th 2015 who was up front and center – Kaja Holdings 2

This is the list from Public Records from the Court. Court Docket and Violations :

Those discerning readers will see that of the 9 homes in Lorain owned by Kaja Holdings ( please note there is a back story to 4132 Fulton)

Source Auditors site

SIX of those properties listed as belonging to Kaja Holdings 2 on the County Auditors site were before the Judge on August 12th 2015 – And of that same list of properties owned were purchased AFTER Point of Sale January 1st 2014.

1739 W. 19t – seller to Kaja Federal National Mortgage 11/12/2014
1348 West Erie- seller to Kaja Federal National Mortgage 2/3/15
2027 E 31st St – seller to Kaja – Deutsche Bank 9/30/14
4132 Fulton – seller to Kaja Federal National Mortgage-1/22/14
1719 Hamilton- seller to Kaja – Federal National Mortgage 11/12/14
700 W 17th- seller Bank NY Mellon Trust – 3/23/2015

SURPRISE! SURPRISE who sold these properties to Kaja Holdings OH YES!!! the BANKS!!!!!

I have yet to have confirmed if some of them received a Certificate of Inspection going through Point of Sale.

Although the Poster Child of Point of Sale was confirmed as not having gone through Point of Sale as well as 329 Hamilton Avenue( from yet another bank and a rent to own sign) which also shares the same address as Kaja Holdings/ Vision Properties – in fact they have any number of LLC’s and I just scratched the surface

https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2015/07/24/lorain-common-core-values-and-pos-pt-5/

Yes! that is correct another LLC using the same address as the purchaser of 1348 West Erie Address: RVFM 11 SERIES LLC
16 BERRYHILL RD COLUMBIA, SC 29210

Two of Kaja Holdings properties ( August 12th) were lacking a Certificate of Inspection
purchased or transferred by those pesky banks – after Point of Sale
1719- Hamilton– (sold for ZERO dollars according to the Auditors site)

and 2027 E 31st Street.( sold for $6,450)

How do I know Kaja Holdings is Vision Properties because the court docket from another trial to be judged by Judge Chris Cook tells me so .

Unfortunately, for one family I met in court on September 9th they had taken Kaja Holdings up on their offer as seen in an advertising sign put on the grass at 4132 Fulton – Lorain – This home was also one of those Fannie Mae ( Federal National Mortgage) transfers for Zero dollars.

You know the Rent to Own / Land Contract deals – 500 down and so much a month

they can be found on the net easy enough http://www.housinglist.com/rent-to-own/oh/lorain#listings
http://www.realtystore.com/bargain-homes/ohio-rent-to-own/lorain-county.htm

In the POS ordinance found here
173-13

it states :

Apparently a fact lost on the Shaffers who thought they were purchasing this home. The home had various violations cited before the court on August 12th

4132 Fulton – seller to Kaja Holding 2 Federal National Mortgage-1/22/14

( court complaint August 12th 2015)
307.1 accumulation of rubbish
302.7 Accessory structures
302.9 defacement of property
304.7 Roofs and drainage
304.13 window skylight and door frames

It was extremely difficult to hear either the attorney for Kaja Holdings,Jaing, Lei or Judge Cook on August 12th. In fact I was unable to hear the outcome of any of the properties brought forward from the previous month by Judge Cook.

As of writing, I have not had a reply to my query as the outcomes, but from what I was able to hear no one was found GUILTY from that grouping represented by Jaing, Lei .

Judge Cook – August 12th court– did raise his voice somewhat at one chap who was there for another of Kaja Holdings properties – about putting out a Bench warrant for the CEO of Kaja – can’t say what happened there either – he was given another month. What I can say is he wasn’t there on September 9th – Maybe that property was then being represented by Jaing, Lei- I couldn’t tell you.

JIANG, LEI
http://eb5info.com/eb5-attorneys/35-lei-jiang
From what I could gather that day of August 12th the attorney Jaing, Lei was given another court date of September 9th to remedy and or update the situation.

Back to 4132 Fulton and the Shaffers

PLEASE NOTE Attorney Jiang, Lei was representing KAJA HOLDINGS and in fact was still representing KAJA HOLDINGS ON SEPTEMBER 9TH.. for 4132 Fulton . The Shaffers ( whose water and garbage were cut off) are going through an eviction process – and it will be in JUDGE COOKS COURT -2015CVG01790 CASE IS SET FOR A F.E.D. HEARING ON Sep 14 2015 1:00PM IN FRONT OF COOK, D CHRIS !

It seems “now” that Kaja Holdings now, has decided to evict the Shaffer family from 4132 Fulton-

You will see in this court docket Judge Cook the plaintiff is VISION PROPERTIES for 4132 Fulton NOT KAJA Holdings although the address is the same – Two courts- two different companies, same address and same attorney and the same Judge.

JIANG, LEI ATTORNEY $0.00
CALABRESE, MARTHA MAXINE DEFENDANT 4132 FULTON ROAD LORAIN OHIO 44055 $0.00
VISION PROPERTY MANAGEMENT, LLC PLAINTIFF $0.00
SHAFFER, HARRISON BRADFORD DEFENDANT 4132 FULTON ROAD LORAIN OHIO 44055 $0.00

Can you say bring on the IFFY METER

On September 9th Attorney Jaing, Lei and presumably the contractor for Kaja Holdings were in front of the Judge AGAIN THE CONVERSATION WAS INAUDIBLE but it sounded as though the case for 4132 Fulton was “Dismissed “

No surely not – but as I have no confirmation from the Law Dept as to what happened at the time of publication I am left in the dark!
.
I did hear 1323 Lexington had nothing done (Kaja Holdings) – again I could not hear the outcome –

The “approach the bench” style of judgement was not conducive to this taxpayer’s ears and since no follow-up from the Law Dept as to out come – I am at a loss as to give any conclusions , apart from the Attorney Jaing, Lei getting a further month October 21st on a property on Hamilton could that be 1719 Hamilton – the one that is cited for No Certificate of Inspection –

How can there be a continuance from August 12 to October 21st – the penalty for non compliance is pretty clear ?

And drum roll please our poster house 1348 West Erie , you know the one with the $45,750 needed for escrow and NO CERTIFICATE OF INSPECTION – well we will deal with that little matter on OCTOBER 21ST…….
This is the photo of the Historic Poster House of 1348 West Erie as of September 10th a day after another continuance By Judge Cook… YES! that is a Lease to Own sign from Kaja Holdings and another family enabled to live in Lorain by the lack of “JUDGEMENT!!!!

I am not holding my breath for that ( up to a) $1,000 fine at this rate…….

Maybe we had better find a stronger “gavel”

To Be continued

Source
http://www.cosplayisland.co.uk

Hurled Through the window- Retribution- who done it Lorain

This post was going to be about a Fast Food Window –

I had noticed the other day that from my mum’s upstairs window you could reach out your hand and pick an apple , the kitchen window has tomatoes within arms reach and the front window living room window was the same reach out and pick. I had my husband take photos for the blog so I could segue from Chris’ Birthday post
https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2015/08/20/the-day-dream-chris-ritchey-august-21st/
with something not so dour until I posted the next post on the housing of Lorain and her court.

I like my 90 year old leaded glass windows , although they are a bugger to fix if they ever get broken , which has happened twice and it was a pain finding anyone with the knowledge to fix them.

However, this morning this household woke to glass and shattered windows. Funny thing was when the Insurance asked for a recent picture of the front window before the act of destruction by a disturbed mind I had a very recent photo

to go along with what happens when a Neanderthal brain, trapped in their lower than shit on the shoe lifestyle – creeps up to the front of your home and with the reasoning of a sub-human throws a huge chunk of concrete at leaded glass windows . Such a clever “come back’ / and or retaliatory stance- but we are dealing with the underbelly thinking of some of Lorain’s citizens.

The concrete chunk was quite heavy and for size comparison next to a size 10 sneaker.:

The police duly arrived-

did we not hear or see anything

– well I had taken a sleeping pill( two actually). It has been an emotionally wrecked week due to what would have been my son’s birthday and mine and an anniversary- all things that used to be celebrated. Not much sleep in this household this past week so we are pretty much exhausted.

Oh! the dogs did their bit apparently- I didn’t hear them- Mum thought Tetley

was barking because Shadow

was barking and my husband thought Shadow was barking at the groundhogs that come for the fallen apples. We didn’t listen to the dogs. We have cameras out the back , because that is where a lot of “happenings” take place – looks like more for the front now.

So the next question :

Did I have any idea who did it and why?

WELLLLLLL , I can think of a lot of people who don’t like me , who are aggrieved and angry at some of my blog posts but who reacts with vengeance and vindictiveness?

My first thought was of one particular “family group” with seemingly the mother of all retributions in charge!

https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2015/01/10/city-officials-caught-between-a-ritchey-and-a-dye-place/

BUT I had to be fair I have quite a list of suspects :

I have written about on some despicable and selfish people, ( in my opinion)
https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2010/10/14/an-open-letter-mama-sue-lombardi/

Banks and bank dumps,

https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2014/06/22/point-of-sale-lorain-a-history-a-result/

Out of town landlords, LLC’s
https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/category/lorain-multi-property-owners/

The news media, editors
https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2014/01/19/morning-journal-lorain-going-going-oops/
https://thbarchive.wordpress.com/

Roverfest,https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2014/08/10/freedom-of-speech-usa-really-pt-3/

The Catholic Church https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2010/07/01/ignorestance-and-the-roman-catholic-church-part-6/
https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2013/03/11/the-cardinal-letter-h-for-hypocrisy-pappish-style/

even a drug dealer or two
https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2013/09/30/grenade-and-garbage-lorain-landlords-swatted/

and some council members/ politicians
https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2011/08/01/the-duelists-weapons-of-choice-words-and-who-is-your-2nd/
https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2013/03/07/lorain-city-council-chambers-a-tale-of-two-passions/
https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2013/03/08/two-bees-and-no-b-bee-a-stinging-tale-lorain-city-council-continued/
https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2014/10/27/robert-gilchrist-ex-service-director-diversionary-tactics/

Lorain City School and Board shenanigans
https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2011/08/16/i-was-shocked-said-dimacchia-errrrr-so-am-i-more-from-wonderland/
https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2011/08/14/down-the-rabbit-hole-in-the-wonder-land-of-lorains-boe/
https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2013/02/09/truth-is-the-daughter-of-time-a-crying-shame-dr-cheryl-atkinson/
https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2011/07/29/the-biber-gilchrist-chronicle-stirring-the-pot/
https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2011/10/07/the-dangers-of-being-a-non-entity-checking-facts-and-who-is-who/
( At least one “gentleman”- used with sarcasm – threatened my welfare if I came within 10 ft of him- he was flaming angry – I am told 😉

Mayors and politics too many to list . over the past 10 years.
https://thbarchive.wordpress.com/2009/07/11/the-foltin-fiasco-and-the-pd-and-wom/
https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2012/02/20/kraisienko-mantini-round-three-and-the-winner-is-but-lorain-loses/
https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2013/07/15/veterans-memorial-park-a-neglected-disgrace-again/

Registered Sex Offenders ….
https://lorentalinfo.wordpress.com/2013/08/28/who-is-who-in-the-052-c-week-12/

City Departments especially Building Dept
https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2013/03/19/cowboys-of-lorain-schneider-shoots-crazy-eight/

https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2015/08/05/outdoor-showrooms-lorain-by-don-the-downspout/ ( hmm back to that original retribution)

Oh the list goes on……

As my husband told the two policemen

“ you would do better making a list of those that wouldn’t do it”

It is true I have been quite prolific in my writings but looking over the 60 odd categories and over 1,500 posts on this blog alone not counting WoM and other writings. A lot of these people I have written about have left , died, are in jail and moved on. They are more likely to hit me with lawyers than concrete . And I am sure they would have if I didn’t back everything I write with links and or documentation upon which I base my opinions.

So the question remains: Who has threatened retribution, who has been stirred up in the past few days, who borders on Neanderthal thinking. I simply can’t believe the Roman Catholic Church would condone “concrete vengeance”, or city council members , the media nah! they throw words not concrete.

freedom of speech by Chris Ritchey

If it is this “ape” of civilized behaviours way of frightening me – Well good luck with that – The very worst thing that can happen in one’s life and my life is watching my wonderful talented son die by increments for 6 weeks – hour upon hour day upon day- nothing is as terrible as that – I have faced that fear and been engulfed by it .

Throwing a tantrum at a window doesn’t scare me , nothing does not even my own death. So sorry if I haven’t given you the reaction you wanted but the house is now marked and monitored to protect the panes of the innocent 😉 .