Ineptitude a contributing cause in 3 deaths?

lubu · **Joined:** Sat Jun 06, 2009 11:19 am **Posts:** 401

The September date is only the recording date, not the date of conveyance. Interesting that the transaction date is not mentioned. He can claim a wide range of dates since he was on both sides of the transaction. The 19 dollars is the amount paid to the county to record the document. This sale to the IRA was recorded in September but it had to happen much earlier because the contract sale for deed states the IRA is the contact seller in a transaction dated May 1 that wasn't recorded until June 24. So although the September date makes it appear that the IRA is the owner, it's not by these documents alone. At some unknown day the llc sold to the IRA which then sold on contact to someone on May 1.

sparks · **Joined:** Tue Nov 14, 2006 4:17 pm **Posts:** 3800

lubu wrote:

The September date is only the recording date, not the date of conveyance. Interesting that the transaction date is not mentioned. He can claim a wide range of dates since he was on both sides of the transaction. The 19 dollars is the amount paid to the county to record the document. This sale to the IRA was recorded in September but it had to happen much earlier because the contract sale for deed states the IRA is the contact seller in a transaction dated May 1 that wasn't recorded until June 24. So although the September date makes it appear that the IRA is the owner, it's not by these documents alone. At some unknown day the llc sold to the IRA which then sold on contact to someone on May 1.

The lawyer for Wittig would not acknowledge in court that Wittig owns both companies. However, the prosecuting attorney pointed out that Mr. Wittig owns both companies so Wittig clearly was served. Harkin called the entire scheme "legal smoke and mirrors" which cost three children their lives. It will also cost Wittig millions when he loses the civil lawsuits that are being filed against him.

justcallmetommy · **Joined:** Thu May 01, 2008 8:25 pm **Posts:** 5662

Point of information.
Grantor=Seller
Grantee=Buyer

A deed never has to be recorded, until the property is to be sold by a purchaser/owner ready to sell the property again, but the "owner" has the risk of someone attempting to claim ownership any time before filing the transaction. Lake County in its wisdom only records the Grantor, adding confusion to this scenario & many others. Most county's record both grantor and grantee.

So unless you actually go to the county and pull specific records on the property, the chain of events is muddied.

Transaction time line using available historical documents:

1. A foreclosure sale occurred on 5/4/2012: Sheriff John Buncich. Grantor, to Wells Fargo Bank Na, Grantee. http://gatewaysdf.ifionline.org/PrintForm.aspx?SDF_ID=45-2012-2373182

2. On 4/18/2013, REAL ESTATE SOLUTIONS OF INDIANA, LLC, Grantor appears to have attempted to record some transaction, but for what ever reason, it was not accepted or processed by the County. Reference County Record below or the link i borrowed: http://nwigazette.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/644salesdisc.doc

3. A transfer/sale occurred on 08/23/2012 Wells Fargo Bank NA Grantor, Grantor, to Real Estate Solutions of Indiana LLC., Grantee. http://gatewaysdf.ifionline.org/PrintForm.aspx?SDF_ID=45-2012-2375903

4. A Contract for Deed was executed 05/01/2013 between Equity Trust Company Custodia FBO Joseph Wittig IRA Grantor, to Edwin Feliciano & (a name crossed out), Grantee.
http://nwigazette.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/644sibleyK.pdf

Case filed in Hammond City Court: REAL ESTATE EQUITY SOULTIONS OF IN LLC
Case Number 45H04-1306-OV-52991
Date Filed: 2013-06-12

5. A Limited Liability Company Warranty Deed was recorded in Lake County on 09/26/2013. This transaction was accepted and documents the execution of the transfer, although a transaction date is not recorded on the document. However, the document, accepted by LC, recorded the sale from Real Estates Solution of Indiana LLC, the "Grantor", to Equity Trust Company Custodian FBO Joseph Wittig IRA, "Grantee". The recording was approximately 4 months before the fire. http://nwigazette.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/644deed.pdf

In summary, per the documents available, it appears the owner of this property, as of 05/01/2013 is Edwin Feliciano & (a name crossed out), Grantee. http://nwigazette.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/644sibleyK.pdf.

So, it appears, Real Estate Equity Soultions (sic) of Indiana, LLC didn't own the property as of 05/01/2013. It appears Edwin Felciano was the property owner six months before the fire.

Ms. Kantar filed her court documents on 06-12-2013. A full month after Real Estate Equity Soultions (sic) of Indiana, LLC apparently sold the property to Edwin Feliciano.

From County Court Records, it appears Ms. Kantar never filed service to Edwin Feliciano on this matter. And as of this writing I can't find service to Equity Trust Company Custodian FBO Joseph Wittig IRA. To be summonsed to court, you have to have notice, notice appears not to have been served to Wittig.

A legitimate question, was Kantar to busy with her legal practice, outside of her Hammond City Attorney obligation? Would a prudent attorney, have provided service to each of the individuals involved in this transaction, requesting their court presence, if only, to sort the matter out, under oath, before a judge?

Is this a misstep by Hammond's legal department? A situation complicated by, what Code Enforcement should have done? And then, adding to this, the short comings by Family Services, failing to discover a home with out utilities. Adding to the mix, a neighbor giving this family electricity via an extension cord, allowing them to continue to live in this uninhabitable unit. A situation, again complicated by the obvious poor choices the parents in this case had taken.

It appears these three children were victims of some exceptionally poor choices, made by adults, whom they depended upon to assure their safety, adults who should have been more diligent.

Quote:

Ok Matt & Amy, I copied most of this from: http://nwigazette.com/2014/01/22/a-tragedy-of-errors-fatal-hammond-fire/. I don't want to be accused of not giving credit where credit is due.

Now as to notice vs service

The defendant in the case is listed in court records as Real Estate Equity Soultions (sic) of Indiana, LLC. Lake County property records show that the property located at 644 Sibley Street in Hammond is owned by Equity Trust Company Custodian FBO Joseph Wittig IRA. (See the deed here: 644deed ) This deed was recorded on September 26, 2013.

There is no indication of proof of service on the owner of record, Equity Trust Company. Even after the fire, there is no indication that the City ever attempted to amend or otherwise serve the owner of record.

Ownership of the property prior to April 2013 was in the name of Real Estate Solutions of Indiana, LLC. There is no record of a company named Real Estate Equity Soultions (sic) of Indiana, LLC ever owning the property. It appears that someone within the City erroneously merged the names of the two companies.

What should have been added to this story from the nwigazette.com is A Contract for Deed was executed 05/01/2013 between Equity Trust Company Custodia FBO Joseph Wittig IRA "Grantor" to Edwin Feliciano & XXXXXXX "Grantee"
http://nwigazette.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/644sibleyK.pdf

http://gatewaysdf.ifionline.org/Search.aspx

Quote:

Lake County's transaction record, as recorded in Lake County Records:

Parcel Number Parcel Address Current Total Value Data as of Assess Year Pay Year
45-02-36-429-013.000-023 644 SIBLEY ST, HAMMOND $42,200 1/6/2014 2012 2013

Sale Information for 9/26/2013
Grantor Real Estate Solutions of Indiana LLC Document No. 26298 Document Reference No.
Land-AV $10,000.00 Exempt Transaction N Relationship N
Improve-AV $42,600.00 Exempt Code Personal Prop Y
Total-AV $52,600.00 Transfer of Entire Parcel Y Amt. Pers Prop $0.00
Sale Date 9/26/2013 Real Prop Exchange N Condo Sale N
Total Sale Price $11,000.00 Significant Change N Adjoining Land N
Deed Type L Splits

Sale Information for 4/18/2013
Grantor REAL ESTATE SOLUTIONS OF INDIANA, LLC Document No. Document Reference No.
Land-AV $10,000.00 Exempt Transaction N Relationship N
Improve-AV $42,000.00 Exempt Code Personal Prop N
Total-AV $52,000.00 Transfer of Entire Parcel Y Amt. Pers Prop $0.00
Sale Date 4/18/2013 Real Prop Exchange N Condo Sale N
Total Sale Price $11,000.00 Significant Change N Adjoining Land N
Deed Type Splits

Sale Information for 8/23/2012
Grantor WELLS FARGO BANK Document No. Document Reference No.
Land-AV $10,000.00 Exempt Transaction Y Relationship N
Improve-AV $35,500.00 Exempt Code 3 Personal Prop N
Total-AV $45,500.00 Transfer of Entire Parcel Y Amt. Pers Prop $0.00
Sale Date 8/23/2012 Real Prop Exchange N Condo Sale N
Total Sale Price $16,000.00 Significant Change N Adjoining Land N
Deed Type Splits

Sale Information for 5/4/2012
Grantor JOHN BUNCICH SHERIFF OF LAKE COUNTY Document No. Document Reference No.
Land-AV $10,000.00 Exempt Transaction Y Relationship N
Improve-AV $35,500.00 Exempt Code 3 Personal Prop N
Total-AV $45,500.00 Transfer of Entire Parcel Y Amt. Pers Prop $0.00
Sale Date 5/4/2012 Real Prop Exchange N Condo Sale N
Total Sale Price $20,205.00 Significant Change N Adjoining Land N
Deed Type Splits

Sale Information for 3/3/2004
Grantor GARCIA, ARMANDO & IRENE GARCIA H & Document No. Document Reference No.
Land-AV $0.00 Exempt Transaction N Relationship N
Improve-AV $0.00 Exempt Code Personal Prop N
Total-AV $0.00 Transfer of Entire Parcel Y Amt. Pers Prop $0.00
Sale Date 3/3/2004 Real Prop Exchange N Condo Sale N
Total Sale Price $76,800.00 Significant Change N Adjoining Land N
Deed Type G Splits

Sale Information for 9/20/2002
Grantor GARCIA, ARMANDO & IRENE Document No. Document Reference No.
Land-AV $0.00 Exempt Transaction N Relationship N
Improve-AV $0.00 Exempt Code Personal Prop N
Total-AV $0.00 Transfer of Entire Parcel Y Amt. Pers Prop $0.00
Sale Date 9/20/2002 Real Prop Exchange N Condo Sale N
Total Sale Price $0.00 Significant Change N Adjoining Land N
Deed Type Splits

Court Record:

Criminal/Traffic Defendant
Full Name REAL ESTATE EQUITY SOULTIONS OF IN LLC
S.S.N.
D.O.B.

Charge
Action Code 96.135-HA
Description AUTHORITY TO INSPECT-HA
Citation Number 644SIBLEY
Offense Date
Jurisdiction LAKE COUNTY INDIANA
Agency Hammond City Ordinance Enforcement

Court Information
Judge Jeffrey A Harkin
Appearance Date
Location Hammond City Court â€“ H04

Balances
Total Balance Due $2,618.00
A/R Balance Due $0.00

Case Attributes
Case Number 45H04-1306-OV-52991
Status Open
Date Filed 2013-06-12
Last Updated 2013-06-12

2014-01-03 Hearing set for Event: H04 Continued Date: 01/16/2014 Time: 9:00 am Judge: Harkin, Jeffrey A Location: Hammond City Court â€“ Room 232 â€“ Tel. 219-853-6388
2013-12-10 Hearing set for Event: H04 Order To Appear Date: 12/19/2013 Time: 2:00 pm Judge: Harkin, Jeffrey A Location: Hammond City Court â€“ Room 232 â€“ Tel. 219-853-6388
2013-11-13 Hearing set for Event: H04 Status Date: 12/05/2013 Time: 9:00 am Judge: Harkin, Jeffrey A Location: Hammond City Court â€“ Room 232 â€“ Tel. 219-853-6388
2013-10-10 Hearing set for Event: H04 Add On Date: 10/10/2013 Time: 9:00 am Judge: Harkin, Jeffrey A Location: Hammond City Court â€“ Room 232 â€“ Tel. 219-853-6388
2013-10-07 Hearing set for Event: H04 Continued Date: 11/06/2013 Time: 4:00 pm Judge: Harkin, Jeffrey A Location: Hammond City Court â€“ Room 232 â€“ Tel. 219-853-6388
2013-08-26 Hearing set for Event: H04 Default Judgment Date: 09/26/2013 Time: 2:00 pm Judge: Harkin, Jeffrey A Location: Hammond City Court â€“ Room 232 â€“ Tel. 219-853-6388
2013-08-26 Court Cost (Non Traffic Related) IF or OV Charge #1: AUTHORITY TO INSPECT-HA
2013-08-26 Infraction Judgment $ 0 to be determined by Court
2013-08-26 Hearing set for Event: H04 Default Judgment Date: 09/26/2013 Time: 2:00 pm Judge: Harkin, Jeffrey A Location: Hammond City Court â€“ Room 232 â€“ Tel. 219-853-6388
2013-07-29 Hearing set for Event: H04 Order To Appear Date: 08/22/2013 Time: 2:00 pm Judge: Harkin, Jeffrey A Location: Hammond City Court â€“ Room 232 â€“ Tel. 219-853-6388
2013-07-01 Hearing set for Event: H04 Continued Date: 07/25/2013 Time: 9:00 am Judge: Harkin, Jeffrey A Location: Hammond City Court â€“ Room 232 â€“ Tel. 219-853-6388
2013-06-12 Hearing set for Event: H04 OV Arraignment Date: 06/20/2013 Time: 2:00 pm Judge: Harkin, Jeffrey A Location: Hammond City Court â€“ Room 232 â€“ Tel. 219-853-6388
2013-06-12 MANDATORY COURT APPEARANCE

lubu · **Joined:** Sat Jun 06, 2009 11:19 am **Posts:** 401

Lots of good information here that is new to the discussion. I didn't know how the foreclosure crisis figured in this story. We don't even know who was renting out the unit. For all we know the contract buyer had possession and rented/leased to the fire victims. Sparks is ready to hand over multimillion dollar damages to the family with few facts. Sparks also wrongly places causation on failure to comply with the city ordinance pertaining to authority to inspect. Who provided the space heaters? Who started them? Who "barricaded" the exits? Do you think that proportionally, they would bear the dominant responsibility? Would parents who would endure the utilityless condition of this winter find ignoring a sticker on the door too daunting to ignore?

sparks · **Joined:** Tue Nov 14, 2006 4:17 pm **Posts:** 3800

lubu wrote:

Lots of good information here that is new to the discussion. I didn't know how the foreclosure crisis figured in this story. We don't even know who was renting out the unit. For all we know the contract buyer had possession and rented/leased to the fire victims. Sparks is ready to hand over multimillion dollar damages to the family with few facts. Sparks also wrongly places causation on failure to comply with the city ordinance pertaining to authority to inspect. Who provided the space heaters? Who started them? Who "barricaded" the exits? Do you think that proportionally, they would bear the dominant responsibility? Would parents who would endure the utilityless condition of this winter find ignoring a sticker on the door too daunting to ignore?

You raise some good points about several factors that caused this tragedy. There is plenty of blame to go around. However, the owner of the property, Mr Wittig, has some major legal problems. Under state law, it is illegal for any owner to let premises that don't have lights,water and heat. He had a legal responsibility to evict the tenants from 644 Sibley. His failure to evict them led to the deaths of three children. It addition to failing to evict the tenants, Real Estate Equity Solutions had been illegally receiving homestead tax exemptions since 2004. Anyone who lives in Lake County should be bothered by the fact that their property taxes are higher because of the activities of Mr. Wittig's companies and others of his ilk. It will be interesting to see how many tens of thousands of dollars he has defrauded the county out of.

justcallmetommy · **Joined:** Thu May 01, 2008 8:25 pm **Posts:** 5662

sparks wrote:

lubu wrote:

Lots of good information here that is new to the discussion. I didn't know how the foreclosure crisis figured in this story. We don't even know who was renting out the unit. For all we know the contract buyer had possession and rented/leased to the fire victims. Sparks is ready to hand over multimillion dollar damages to the family with few facts. Sparks also wrongly places causation on failure to comply with the city ordinance pertaining to authority to inspect. Who provided the space heaters? Who started them? Who "barricaded" the exits? Do you think that proportionally, they would bear the dominant responsibility? Would parents who would endure the utilityless condition of this winter find ignoring a sticker on the door too daunting to ignore?

You raise some good points about several factors that caused this tragedy. There is plenty of blame to go around. However, the owner of the property, Mr Wittig, has some major legal problems. Under state law, it is illegal for any owner to let premises that don't have lights,water and heat. He had a legal responsibility to evict the tenants from 644 Sibley. His failure to evict them led to the deaths of three children. It addition to failing to evict the tenants, Real Estate Equity Solutions had been illegally receiving homestead tax exemptions since 2004. Anyone who lives in Lake County should be bothered by the fact that their property taxes are higher because of the activities of Mr. Wittig's companies and others of his ilk. It will be interesting to see how many tens of thousands of dollars he has defrauded the county out of.

Honest Sparks, read the time line, I am not going to hurl stupid, moronic comments at you, but it is very clear you don't understand the concepts. Swallow your pride and read thru them pal, you very well may have some explaining to do, not only on this case, but maybe to Mr. Wittig.

If the information gathered is correct, and it appears to be, putting the docs together in a time line, allowing clear discovery of who/m may have been owner at what time, during developing events was and is needed.

If I had access to the NIPSCO and Code Enforcement Data, then you could insert those pieces into this timeline allowing sunlight to be placed on who/m specifically are responsible for this gross failure.

It is clear, using the information gathered, unless some other deed record is produced, Kantar served the wrong party, but had the legal authority to have summoned all parties into court to sort thru the story, if need be. Or maybe, just maybe Kantar should have done more competent research on this matter.

This all doesn't exempt the information presented by the papers, As quoted in a Trib article, Hammond records show the electricity was shut off in March, and gas service a month later. Water service was stopped in October, Officials said.[/b]

[b]City Attorney Kristina Katar said, "Obviously, if our inspectors found people living there, without water or power or heat, we would not have let them stay there." No one went back to the residence to check? Not Code, not Family Services?

Kantar had records, utility termination notices and information regarding illegal meter reconnections, which should be plugged into the above time line. (the father twice reinstalling abandoned home's electrical meters, re establishing electric service).

An unanswered question, how did Hammond Water Department turn off water, with out gaining access to the property? If they didn't gain access, then they shut water off at the buffalo box, turning water off in the entire building. The entire building should have been shut.

Then we have Nipsco stating twice the father put in other resident electric meters to reconnect electricity to their unit.

So when Kantar first filed the 644 Sibley case on June 12th, 2013, she served the wrong party. The wrong property owner, and the record reflects, as of 5/01/2013, Equity Trust Company Custodian FBO Joseph Wittig IRA Grantor, transferred ownership to Edwin Feliciano & (a name crossed out), Grantee, for some economic consideration. Wittig appears to have had no ownership interest in the property.

Why on earth would he respond to a property he had no ownership interest?
http://nwigazette.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/644sibleyK.pdf

You really just might want to back off your rhetoric.

If I get some time, and I am not saying Matt's Corporate Ownership data is incorrect, but it needs to be drawn out in detail. I don't see the links, but then I am a moroon, a mental light weight, a person who should be sitting at the very back of the friggin yellow bus.

I Had it not been for the docs posted in the http://www.nwigazette.com article, none of this would have been known.

Where the is the Times and Gary Post Tribune on this story? WTF!

And by the way Sparks, you and Kantar should be sitting next to me at the back of the yellow bus.

justcallmetommy · **Joined:** Thu May 01, 2008 8:25 pm **Posts:** 5662

Quote:

http://posttrib.suntimes.com/opinions/25159174-474/rutter-be-honest-about-how-and-why-3-children-died.html

Rutter: Be honest about how and why 3 children died

BY DAVID RUTTER January 25, 2014 10:46AM

Updated: January 25, 2014 9:13PM

Seven-month-old Jayden Young, 4-year-old DaSani Young and 3-year-old Alexia Young are dead. We must catch those who did it.

If we do not catch the guilty, justice means little. There are crimes, evils, grotesqueries. And we must bring the evil to accounts, otherwise what sort of humans would we be?

In the shorthand of life, we prefer tidy answers, so we can move on to the next puzzle without looking over our shoulders.

Loose ends taunt us. We have to chase the original Nazi stormtroopers even though they are all 90 now and imprisoning 90-year-old monsters does not rectify any unresolved issue. Itâ€™s not the person we must penalize, but the crime we cleanse, otherwise we enable future evil if we let past sins slide peacefully into the night.

So somebody killed the three Hammond toddlers on Jan. 7 in a propane-fueled space-heater fire that should never have happened, in a house that should never have been occupied and perhaps in a community that never cared enough collectively or individually to stop it.

There are appropriate investigations by appropriate agencies with appropriate jurisdictions. And when all the careful assessment is concluded, you can guess the result will be a lot of nothing much. Mistakes were made. It was nobodyâ€™s fault, really. Letâ€™s all cast our eyes downward with sadness over the unavoidable tragedy. Itâ€™s just one of those horrid moments life inflicts. But itâ€™s nobodyâ€™s fault, really.

But of course that is not true.

It was someoneâ€™s fault.

Real people killed the children by inaction. It was a lot of peopleâ€™s fault who will never be called to judgment, and likely do not believe they did anything wrong. Thatâ€™s because we have no moral mechanism for holding inaction responsible for the anguish it causes. That would require a level of duty weâ€™d rather shun.

Who will accept that their lack of foresight caused the death of three children? But before some failure of â€œthe systemâ€ gets the blame, we should at last talk more honestly that human institutions are not inanimate objects. Those institutional structures are the way humans arrange themselves. We create them; we run them; we are responsible for them. They are us.

And when they fail to save the lives of children, it is not â€œthe systemâ€ that failed; it is us.

So let us say who failed the children.

The grubby landlord owners? Sure. They bobbed and weaved away from legal responsibilities and seemed adept at never making the home habitable. Too expensive.

â€œHabitable?â€ Thatâ€™s not asking much. A home without heat, electricity or water is by definition a hovel.

The city of Hammond could have stopped it, but didnâ€™t. Building inspectors â€œcould never contactâ€ the owners, could never tell if someone lived in the house, never decided that standing in the living room would have proved the obvious. Too complicated?

The subdivided house at 644 Sibley St. never went anywhere, nor did the family. The house sat waiting to kill three children, and the city seemed unable to stop it. Itâ€™s not the only house in that condition there.

Hammond City Attorney Kristina Kantar told a reporter that the house would have been found uninhabitable if the city â€œhad been able to make an inspection, as it had tried to do.â€ Kantar also said the landlord â€œhadnâ€™t allowed the city to inspect the building, prompting the citation.â€

What can those statements mean? The cityâ€™s inspectors did not acquire emergency court orders, knock on the homeâ€™s door, gain entry and inspect it. Too hard?

NIPSCO had cut off the heat months earlier, and to get warmth returned, the childrenâ€™s father needed more money than he ever seemed to have. So he did without.

Various social service agencies knew about the family and its burdens.

The state knew. NIPSCO would have known had it wanted to know.

The city of Hammond knew.

Lots of people knew.

And finally, the facts strongly suggest that Andre Young was a doting, loving father, but the quality of life he provided five children was not nearly good enough. He could not provide basics. His unrelenting poverty helped kill his children.

He was lucky that he and two other children in the home did not perish, too.

The â€œsystemâ€ did not fail the three dead children. The community failed them. Real people making real decisions failed them

No one cared enough to save them..

David Rutter was an editor at six community newspapers more than 40 years, including nearly a decade as managing editor of the Post-Tribune. His column appears Sundays in the Post-Tribune. Contact him at david.rutter@live.com.

1794

justcallmetommy · **Joined:** Thu May 01, 2008 8:25 pm **Posts:** 5662

Interesting day today, so many visitors to my abode found under the hohman avenue bridge. Gifts of food, firewood, water, coat and friendship....

Sitting around the campfire, one of my guest told me a story. The author of the gary post tribune op ed piece, Mr. Rutter, well he contacted them.

Apparently some other information was shared, they didn't say what specifically, but only the retired editor found interest in the material.

They said, the retired editor "felt very strongly stating he passed the materials to the PT editors, with high hopes the information may spur even more conversation & citizens response."

The visitor reading from their cell phone continued, "something terribly happened in that home.... tragedy of deaths speak fo itself.... a wider deeper range of civic functions that protect citizens did not work at all. ... beyond his understand how such a thing could have been allowed. "

Finishing the read, He thought "the events demand answers, & hopes the PT & its readers can find them."

This visitor sharing their email, made a special trip to the campfire, as the content in my prose was similar to that of the retired editor.

Time will tell.

On the bright side, lets hope it develops just before Toms election! More importantly, there needs to be a wholesale change in how code enforcement, building services operates. I believe they, and the city legal department were negligent and have responsibility in the deaths of 3 children.

A need for some to be fired, others to be muzzled, and still others... well, maybe the city will get a new full time city attorney.

Mayor....

1906

justcallmetommy · **Joined:** Thu May 01, 2008 8:25 pm **Posts:** 5662

Tell me it ain't so!

Its been quiet at my abode under the hohman avenue bridge, but a visitor with in the last day stopped by with a troubling story.... very troubling.... they implied racial discrimination and patronage in Code Enforcement. Naw... can't be, never under the Lake County Democratic Chairman and Hammond MayorThomas McDermott Jr. Tom wants to run for other office or be a lobbyist or a fire man or something like that.... he would never put himself in the position to do something so stupid as open himself and the city to federal litigation, filed against him for civil rights violations.... never I said. Tom's tooooo smart for that!

The source said, it Seems Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr made some changes in the Hammond Code Enforcement Department this last summer. June they said, See, this last summer, as the story was told, McDermott Jr reportedly demoted two senior code enforcement personnel and hired him some inexperienced people to fill their shoes.

Was this any way tied in to activities at the 644 Sibley fire which cost three young children their life? Two senior experienced Code Enforcement Inspectors demoted in favor of two white individuals being hired? Then the loss of one of the other Senior Code Enforcement Inspectors, now named in federal litigation, who left Hammond employment, in what the plaintiff portrays as an inducement to toss work at another city employee who reportedly has a contracting business?

Apparently the two black senior code enforcement inspectors, per the source, were delegated to secretarial duties. Hmmmm.

Now, a twist, I heard rumor there was federal litigation filed, filed by one of Tom's favorite attorney's. If you think Tom doesn't like me, well Tom has, reportedly of course, a real dislike for this attorney. :smt002

& from what I hear,this attorney is a very sharp knife in the drawer.

Adding to this, the two people he demoted, in code enforcement were black! & I heard who he hired were white. Now was this in violation of Hammond Personnel rules? See Tom does what he wants to do, he doesn't care about the law... personnel codes....due process.... Taking most senior BLACK personnel, re assigning them to be secretaries, while hiring new WHITE personnel and giving them the position of Code Enforcement Inspectors? Maybe Tom felt a need to reassign the senior employees because they wouldn't illegal trump up bogus inspection against political opponents?

Now add this in with the AVelos vs. Hammond and others lawsuit where the plaintiff alleges code enforcement personnel brought a city clerk to a residence , reportedly inspecting a roof, later one of the two, a licensed (which is in question as their corporate registration was administratively revoked) contractor, also reportedly worked in the city court. The litigation reported this contractor appeared to be making an implied, i can do your roof for $5k, if I don't do it maybe code might find something else wrong & I get them off your back. Interestingly enough, the next closest outside bid was almost twice the $5k, and still another appeared to be just under $20k. Maybe city city employees are just that much more skilled, proficient and competitive than other companies which do roofing for a living. Why hell, I am sure that's right cause Tom has trained his people!

Should this all come out, thru various litigation, then unfortunately, despite Tom's efforts to leave Hammond, first as lt. governor, then governor, the US Senator, then lobbyist and then attaching himself to a law firm, Tom may never leave Hammond until he is indicted by the US. Attorney.

A question, I hope Mr. Capp ask them, were they demoted because someone in Tom's Administration asked them to do something illegal, and they refused? Could this be why Tom demoted them?

Mr. Capp, can you give Tom an extended paid vaaaaaaaaaacation?

I'll see if I can get the court docs and post em.

Personally, No wonder Tom backed off the slum lord story.... first it appears they had the wrong property owner summoned to court, apparently failed to do a diligent search on the subject property ownership, mis steps by Hammond city attorney, then this...

Quote:

2:14-cv-00018-JVB-APR Woods v. Hammond Indiana City of et al
Joseph S Van Bokkelen, presiding
Andrew P Rodovich, referral
Date filed: 01/22/2014

2014

sparks · **Joined:** Tue Nov 14, 2006 4:17 pm **Posts:** 3800

Tommy, you're going to have to come up with some better lies because you are losing what little credibility you had with moronic posts like this. Code enforcement has ten employees. 5 of those employees are black and one is hispanic. That means 60% of the department are minorities.

justcallmetommy wrote:

Tell me it ain't so!

Its been quiet at my abode under the hohman avenue bridge, but a visitor with in the last day stopped by with a troubling story.... very troubling.... they implied racial discrimination and patronage in Code Enforcement. Naw... can't be, never under the Lake County Democratic Chairman and Hammond MayorThomas McDermott Jr. Tom wants to run for other office or be a lobbyist or a fire man or something like that.... he would never put himself in the position to do something so stupid as open himself and the city to federal litigation, filed against him for civil rights violations.... never I said. Tom's tooooo smart for that!

The source said, it Seems Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr made some changes in the Hammond Code Enforcement Department this last summer. June they said, See, this last summer, as the story was told, McDermott Jr reportedly demoted two senior code enforcement personnel and hired him some inexperienced people to fill their shoes.

Was this any way tied in to activities at the 644 Sibley fire which cost three young children their life? Two senior experienced Code Enforcement Inspectors demoted in favor of two white individuals being hired? Then the loss of one of the other Senior Code Enforcement Inspectors, now named in federal litigation, who left Hammond employment, in what the plaintiff portrays as an inducement to toss work at another city employee who reportedly has a contracting business?

Apparently the two black senior code enforcement inspectors, per the source, were delegated to secretarial duties. Hmmmm.

Now, a twist, I heard rumor there was federal litigation filed, filed by one of Tom's favorite attorney's. If you think Tom doesn't like me, well Tom has, reportedly of course, a real dislike for this attorney. :smt002

& from what I hear,this attorney is a very sharp knife in the drawer.

Adding to this, the two people he demoted, in code enforcement were black! & I heard who he hired were white. Now was this in violation of Hammond Personnel rules? See Tom does what he wants to do, he doesn't care about the law... personnel codes....due process.... Taking most senior BLACK personnel, re assigning them to be secretaries, while hiring new WHITE personnel and giving them the position of Code Enforcement Inspectors? Maybe Tom felt a need to reassign the senior employees because they wouldn't illegal trump up bogus inspection against political opponents?

Now add this in with the AVelos vs. Hammond and others lawsuit where the plaintiff alleges code enforcement personnel brought a city clerk to a residence , reportedly inspecting a roof, later one of the two, a licensed (which is in question as their corporate registration was administratively revoked) contractor, also reportedly worked in the city court. The litigation reported this contractor appeared to be making an implied, i can do your roof for $5k, if I don't do it maybe code might find something else wrong & I get them off your back. Interestingly enough, the next closest outside bid was almost twice the $5k, and still another appeared to be just under $20k. Maybe city city employees are just that much more skilled, proficient and competitive than other companies which do roofing for a living. Why hell, I am sure that's right cause Tom has trained his people!

Should this all come out, thru various litigation, then unfortunately, despite Tom's efforts to leave Hammond, first as lt. governor, then governor, the US Senator, then lobbyist and then attaching himself to a law firm, Tom may never leave Hammond until he is indicted by the US. Attorney.

A question, I hope Mr. Capp ask them, were they demoted because someone in Tom's Administration asked them to do something illegal, and they refused? Could this be why Tom demoted them?

Mr. Capp, can you give Tom an extended paid vaaaaaaaaaacation?

I'll see if I can get the court docs and post em.

Personally, No wonder Tom backed off the slum lord story.... first it appears they had the wrong property owner summoned to court, apparently failed to do a diligent search on the subject property ownership, mis steps by Hammond city attorney, then this...

Quote:

2:14-cv-00018-JVB-APR Woods v. Hammond Indiana City of et al
Joseph S Van Bokkelen, presiding
Andrew P Rodovich, referral
Date filed: 01/22/2014

2014

justcallmetommy · **Joined:** Thu May 01, 2008 8:25 pm **Posts:** 5662

sparks wrote:

Tommy, you're going to have to come up with some better lies because you are losing what little credibility you had with moronic posts like this. Code enforcement has ten employees. 5 of those employees are black and one is hispanic. That means 60% of the department are minorities.

justcallmetommy wrote:

Tell me it ain't so!

Its been quiet at my abode under the hohman avenue bridge, but a visitor with in the last day stopped by with a troubling story.... very troubling.... they implied racial discrimination and patronage in Code Enforcement. Naw... can't be, never under the Lake County Democratic Chairman and Hammond MayorThomas McDermott Jr. Tom wants to run for other office or be a lobbyist or a fire man or something like that.... he would never put himself in the position to do something so stupid as open himself and the city to federal litigation, filed against him for civil rights violations.... never I said. Tom's tooooo smart for that!

The source said, it Seems Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr made some changes in the Hammond Code Enforcement Department this last summer. June they said, See, this last summer, as the story was told, McDermott Jr reportedly demoted two senior code enforcement personnel and hired him some inexperienced people to fill their shoes.

Was this any way tied in to activities at the 644 Sibley fire which cost three young children their life? Two senior experienced Code Enforcement Inspectors demoted in favor of two white individuals being hired? Then the loss of one of the other Senior Code Enforcement Inspectors, now named in federal litigation, who left Hammond employment, in what the plaintiff portrays as an inducement to toss work at another city employee who reportedly has a contracting business?

Apparently the two black senior code enforcement inspectors, per the source, were delegated to secretarial duties. Hmmmm.

Now, a twist, I heard rumor there was federal litigation filed, filed by one of Tom's favorite attorney's. If you think Tom doesn't like me, well Tom has, reportedly of course, a real dislike for this attorney. :smt002

& from what I hear,this attorney is a very sharp knife in the drawer.

Adding to this, the two people he demoted, in code enforcement were black! & I heard who he hired were white. Now was this in violation of Hammond Personnel rules? See Tom does what he wants to do, he doesn't care about the law... personnel codes....due process.... Taking most senior BLACK personnel, re assigning them to be secretaries, while hiring new WHITE personnel and giving them the position of Code Enforcement Inspectors? Maybe Tom felt a need to reassign the senior employees because they wouldn't illegal trump up bogus inspection against political opponents?

Now add this in with the AVelos vs. Hammond and others lawsuit where the plaintiff alleges code enforcement personnel brought a city clerk to a residence , reportedly inspecting a roof, later one of the two, a licensed (which is in question as their corporate registration was administratively revoked) contractor, also reportedly worked in the city court. The litigation reported this contractor appeared to be making an implied, i can do your roof for $5k, if I don't do it maybe code might find something else wrong & I get them off your back. Interestingly enough, the next closest outside bid was almost twice the $5k, and still another appeared to be just under $20k. Maybe city city employees are just that much more skilled, proficient and competitive than other companies which do roofing for a living. Why hell, I am sure that's right cause Tom has trained his people!

Should this all come out, thru various litigation, then unfortunately, despite Tom's efforts to leave Hammond, first as lt. governor, then governor, the US Senator, then lobbyist and then attaching himself to a law firm, Tom may never leave Hammond until he is indicted by the US. Attorney.

A question, I hope Mr. Capp ask them, were they demoted because someone in Tom's Administration asked them to do something illegal, and they refused? Could this be why Tom demoted them?

Mr. Capp, can you give Tom an extended paid vaaaaaaaaaacation?

I'll see if I can get the court docs and post em.

Personally, No wonder Tom backed off the slum lord story.... first it appears they had the wrong property owner summoned to court, apparently failed to do a diligent search on the subject property ownership, mis steps by Hammond city attorney, then this...

Quote:

2:14-cv-00018-JVB-APR Woods v. Hammond Indiana City of et al
Joseph S Van Bokkelen, presiding
Andrew P Rodovich, referral
Date filed: 01/22/2014

2014

Come on Sparks, one at least, possibly more have filed suit against the city, McDermott and named others.....

are you that far out of the loop?

There are a number of facets in which to claim discrimination. Don't most UIC Graduates have some type of business school training in this matter?

Or is it just finding some poor slob, kept out of the loop, who thinks they are in the know, who needs the money and will do anything they are told to do?

Has the city provided you with EEOC Training?

ADA training?

FMLA Training?

Civil Rights Training?

Apparently not.... be very careful in your work place.

lubu · **Joined:** Sat Jun 06, 2009 11:19 am **Posts:** 401

Along with being our resident dictionary, sparks has anointed himself statistician for all things code enforcement. Now he's trying to use stats to confuse the facts. The case was filed by one of the women counted in sparks' survey. Were two people demoted in the inspections department? Reassigned to positions that entailed a significant pay cut? Sparks may have some intimate details about the composition and operation of the inspections department. Almost like he works there. On the public roster, there is no asterisk next to the names of employees who are minorities. I'd venture to say that 99.9 percent of Hammond residents wouldn't know the racial composition of code enforcement employees. Now sparks, being the statistician here, can you say that two employees weren't demoted, and two new hires weren't brought on? Let's start there.

sparks · **Joined:** Tue Nov 14, 2006 4:17 pm **Posts:** 3800

sparks wrote:

Tommy, you're going to have to come up with some better lies because you are losing what little credibility you had with moronic posts like this. Code enforcement has ten employees. 5 of those employees are black and one is hispanic. That means 60% of the department are minorities.

justcallmetommy wrote:

Tell me it ain't so!

Its been quiet at my abode under the hohman avenue bridge, but a visitor with in the last day stopped by with a troubling story.... very troubling.... they implied racial discrimination and patronage in Code Enforcement.[size=50] Naw... can't be, never under the Lake County Democratic Chairman and Hammond MayorThomas McDermott Jr. Tom wants to run for other office or be a lobbyist or a fire man or something like that.... he would never put himself in the position to do something so stupid as open himself and the city to federal litigation, filed against him for civil rights violations.... never I said.
Should this all come out, thru various litigation, then unfortunately, despite Tom's efforts to leave Hammond, first as lt. governor, then governor, the US Senator, then lobbyist and then attaching himself to a law firm, Tom may never leave Hammond until he is indicted by the US. Attorney.

Quote:

2:14-cv-00018-JVB-APR Woods v. Hammond Indiana City of et al
Joseph S Van Bokkelen, presiding
Andrew P Rodovich, referral
Date filed: 01/22/2014

justcallmetommy wrote:

Come on Sparks, one at least, possibly more have filed suit against the city, McDermott and named others.....
are you that far out of the loop?
There are a number of facets in which to claim discrimination. Don't most UIC Graduates have some type of business school training in this matter?
Or is it just finding some poor slob, kept out of the loop, who thinks they are in the know, who needs the money and will do anything they are told to do?
Has the city provided you with EEOC Training?
ADA training?
FMLA Training?
Civil Rights Training?
Apparently not.... be very careful in your work place.

People file lawsuits against their employers everyday. It's one thing to file suit, it's quite another to have sufficient evidence to prove the case. It will be interesting to see how your shyster friend likes it when a few of these groundless cases are thrown out and he doesn't make a penny.

justcallmetommy · **Joined:** Thu May 01, 2008 8:25 pm **Posts:** 5662

Six code enforcement officers, two in a protected class demoted to secretaries (strike one), 4 outside of the protected classes were not considered for or required to submit to demotions (strike two)......

Woods replacement... a mid twenty year old white male with no experience or training in code .....only qualifications was his active political activity .....(strike three, your out, next batter). ....(did this guy cover 644 Sibley?)...

McDermott (his ego couldn't let others handle this) with all employees in attendance, informed them he knew everything going on in their office (strike one), he made the policies were in place (strike two), woods requested a meeting and McDermott refused to meet with her (smartest thing he ever did in this case).

See sparks, read this next one carefully, "illegally were done in concert by Kearney, Callahan and McDermott acting individually and as agents and employees of Hammond." This line adds them to the mix individually, acting in concert...... :lol:

Violating Hammond Personnel Policy.

Sparks, as a man who supports Tom why not talk to Woods and see if you can get her to change her mind. Come now, we all know how persuasive you are. Give it a try, see if you can save the city and Tom millions here and maybe his political career.

Maybe you could be a hero for Hammond & Tom.

We are all sure it is just a misunderstanding.

2129

Tiger1 · **Posted:** Mon Feb 03, 2014 9:33 pm

justcallmetommy wrote:

Six code enforcement officers, two in a protected class demoted to secretaries (strike one), 4 outside of the protected classes were not considered for or required to submit to demotions (strike two)......

Woods replacement... a mid twenty year old white male with no experience or training in code .....only qualifications was his active political activity .....(strike three, your out, next batter). ....(did this guy cover 644 Sibley?)...

McDermott (his ego couldn't let others handle this) with all employees in attendance, informed them he knew everything going on in their office (strike one), he made the policies were in place (strike two), woods requested a meeting and McDermott refused to meet with her (smartest thing he ever did in this case).

See sparks, read this next one carefully, "illegally were done in concert by Kearney, Callahan and McDermott acting individually and as agents and employees of Hammond." This line adds them to the mix individually, acting in concert...... :lol:

Violating Hammond Personnel Policy.

Sparks, as a man who supports Tom why not talk to Woods and see if you can get her to change her mind. Come now, we all know how persuasive you are. Give it a try, see if you can save the city and Tom millions here and maybe his political career.

Maybe you could be a hero for Hammond & Tom.

We are all sure it is just a misunderstanding.

2129

WOW !!! Time to get the popcorn ready !!! :twisted:

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