CommonSense

Should we come back?

2006-12-26T04:57:00.000-05:00

We took DelcoTomPaine on a long hiatus because of fears for our employment, etc. So much has happened during that time! It was very hard to resist commenting on Judge Clouse's ongoing melodrama, Curt Weldon's implosion, Mike Gillen's continuing degradation of the Chester school system, etc. We contemplate a return, but we welcome your advice. Should we? Is it worth the risk? Judge Clouse steps down soon, but his successor is equally vindictive, so the perils are obvious. We like our jobs and do not want to lose them. Your thoughts please.

Paris suburb names street for Mumia Abu-Jamal

2006-05-16T03:36:00.000-05:00

We have lots of police officers in our family and among our friends, and this disgusts us:

Paris suburb names street for Mumia Abu-Jamal

Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA - A street in a Paris suburb has been named in honor of Mumia Abu-Jamal, who was convicted of the 1981 murder of a Philadelphia police officer.

"In France, they see him as a towering figure," said Suzanne Ross, co-chair of the Free Mumia Coalition of New York City, who was part of an April 29 ceremony to dedicate the Rue Mumia Abu-Jamal in the city of St. Denis.

Ross said the street is in the town's Human Rights district, which includes Nelson Mandela Stadium.

Abu-Jamal, a former radio reporter and member of the Black Panther party, was sentenced to death in 1982 for the shooting of 25-year-old Daniel Faulkner. He has maintained his innocence. His writings and taped speeches have made him a cause celebre among Hollywood activists, foreign politicians and some death-penalty opponents who believe he was the victim of a racist justice system.

The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last year agreed to consider three counts of Abu-Jamal's appeal, allegations that there was racial bias in jury selection, that the prosecutor gave an improper summation and that a judge in a previous appeal was biased.

Faulkner's widow, Maureen, called the street dedication "disgusting" and urged Philadelphia residents planning a visit to Paris this summer to cancel their trips. In 2001, the Paris City Council made Abu-Jamal an honorary citizen.

"This is so unnerving for me to get this news," Faulkner said from Los Angeles, where she lives. "It's insulting to the police officers of Philadelphia that they are naming a street after a murderer."

Daniel Faulkner has been honored by a memorial plaque installed at the scene of the shooting at 13th and Locust Streets in Philadelphia.

Succession Planning

2006-05-11T23:27:00.000-05:00

It's what every smart corporation does so that when your CEO starts to act a little funny and you think that maybe an overseas assignment - say, perhaps, to Russia - would be good for him and the company, you have his successor all spruced up and ready to go.

Some of us here at DelcoTomPaine saw Andy Reilly on Action News last week, and we all thought the same thing: the man looked - dare we say it? - downright Congressional.

Aw Shucks . . .

2006-05-11T23:17:00.000-05:00

The folks here at DelcoTomPaine are blushing bright red, what with all the attention that Peter Porcupine is getting . . .

Editorial: What’s bugging Clouse? Who knows?

People love to gossip - especially about the famous and beautiful and those in positions of power. People like business tycoons. And movie stars. And mayors and governors. And judges.

That’s why some eyebrows were raised in the county seat when it was revealed last week that Delaware County President Judge Kenneth Clouse hired two former FBI agents to sweep the courthouse for bugs. Clouse spent something less than $2,000 to have the sleuths determine whether courthouse phones were tapped. His reason? "There was sensitive personnel information and all kinds of things that were leaked out," he said. "They were either leaked or the phones were tapped."

He also cited "confidential" information about the ongoing contempt-of-court case of jailed lawyer H. Beatty Chadwick. Clouse would not disclose what the agents found, saying only, "We’ve remedied some suspicious areas."

Clouse’s move came as a surprise to high-ranking county government officials. "This is a joke, right?" said Delaware County Council Chairman Andrew Reilly.

Reilly wasn’t laughing when he was assured it was not. After all, he’s in charge of funding the court system, and county council and Clouse have butted heads bitterly over budgets in recent years - to the point where the judge was threatening to sue for more money. While Clouse did nothing wrong in spending the money to hunt for bugs, Reilly didn’t seem happy to find out about it - from a reporter.

But why would Clouse be concerned about security in the first place?

Well, his professional and private lives have been in the spotlight for some time. He drew considerable attention as a Republican rebel and then political insider in the contentious world of Haverford Township politics.

Controversy followed him to the bench. Clouse was even the target of courthouse pickets in 2004 by those who claimed he misrepresented his marital status to avoid paying about $3,000 in real estate transfer taxes in 2002. Clouse later paid the money and an investigation by the state Attorney General’s office cleared him of any criminal wrongdoing.

Most recently, a local political blogger dubbed "Peter Porcupine" has written extensively about Clouse and the county courts system on his Web site, CommonSense. [Look, Ma! That's us!] It’s a fascinating blend of fact, rumor and speculation that’s as impossible to resist as slowing down to gawk at a car accident. That would be a fair description of the blogger’s opinion of Clouse’s tenure as president judge, by the way. [Actually, the term "train wreck" is what comes to mind.]

But everyone has opinions, right? And dealing with that is part of being a public official. Ken Clouse has certainly been one of the most interesting president judges in recent county history.

As long as he holds that post, he must know that people are going to be watching what he does and listening to what he says. And then talking about it. However distasteful that may be, it’s certainly no crime. Case dismissed.

We're famous!

2006-05-07T09:59:00.000-05:00

This story was on Channel 6 Action News last night!

Courthouse Conspiracy?
Judge Takes Controversial Action

May 6, 2006 - The Delaware County's top judge wants to know how sensitive information is getting out, so he's taken matters into his own hands.

Fears of espionage at the Delaware County Courthouse...now revelations that the president judge had the building swept by ex-federal agents looking for bugging devices. Judge Kenneth Clouse has confirmed paying 2 former FBI agents nearly 2-thousand dollars to see if courthouse phones were tapped. Clouse, who was not available for comment, told a hi-level county official that too much sensitive information has been leaking out.

The judge's anti-bugging operation was done without the knowledge of the county council, which controls the purse strings, but does not monitor all the court's day-to-day business.

Judge Clouse has been under fire from a county political blog, which regularly rips republicans and Clouse in particular, on cases over which he presided and has included comments about his private life. Was he trying to shut down the leaks to a blogger known as Peter Porcupine?

Chairman Reilly and the president judge have clashed before and Reilly is not ready to sign off on this use of taxpayer's money.

2 thousand dollars out of a county budget of 400 million dollars may seem like a drop in the bucket but his story about leaks does provide a window into the kind of political gamesmanship and paranoia that are legend in Delaware County.

(Copyright 2006 by Action News. All Rights Reserved.)

Does Clouse suspect that federal agents have wiretapped his chambers?

2006-05-05T23:21:00.000-05:00

Clouse downplayed the significance of the courthouse sweep, saying, "it’s done all the time by all types of government agencies."

Hmmmm. The last time we remember hearing about a government agency sweeping for bugs, it was John Street, and he found one, because the federal government was investigating corruption in his administration, by Ron White, Cory Kemp, etc.

Kind of makes you wonder.

Question for Judge Clouse

2006-05-05T20:47:00.000-05:00

Who leaked to William Bender the story about you having the courthouse swept for bugs?

Question for Andy Reilly

2006-05-05T20:28:00.000-05:00

"This is a joke, right?" asked county council Chairman Andrew Reilly. "I can tell you I will be following up with him to talk about it because it does raise some concerns from my standpoint," Reilly said.

We have a concern, too. Do you think this FBI agent only swept the courthouse? With his level of paranoia, we think he probably had his house swept, too. Maybe even both of them. Or even all three of them.

Sometimes you're just paranoid...

2006-05-05T12:26:00.000-05:00

We were taking some time off from blogging - life interferes sometimes - but this article was brought to our attention, so we think it's time to get busy again! If you have anything you would like to share with us, please email us at delcotompaine@gmail.com. Complete confidentiality assured!

05/05/2006

Bugged?

By WILLIAM BENDER wbender@delcotimes.com

Acting at the behest of Delaware County President Judge Kenneth Clouse, two former FBI agents performed a sweep of the courthouse to neutralize what Clouse had deemed a security breach. It is unclear when the sweep took place, but Clouse said Thursday that the former G-men were paid less than $2,000 to determine if courthouse phones were tapped.

"There was sensitive personnel information and all kinds of things that were leaked out. They were either leaked or the phones were tapped," Clouse said.

He also cited "confidential" information concerning the case of H. Beatty Chadwick, the Main Line attorney who has been in jail for more than a decade for refusing to reveal where $2.5 million in marital assets are hidden.

Asked if the problem had been resolved, Clouse said, "As far as we know, it has been. These fellas should know what they’re doing. They’re former FBI agents."

The judge would not disclose whether any phone lines were, in fact, tapped.

"We’ve remedied some suspicious areas," he said, declining to elaborate.

The judge’s "security measure" was apparently authorized without the knowledge of county council, which provides Clouse with money to run the court system, but does not monitor all the day-to-day operations.

"It’s not something that I’ve heard of," said county Executive Director Marianne Grace.

"So Judge Clouse swept the courthouse?" county Solicitor John McBlain asked. "That’s a new one."

"This is a joke, right?" asked county council Chairman Andrew Reilly.

"I can tell you I will be following up with him to talk about it because it does raise some concerns from my standpoint," Reilly said.

Clouse would not say if he hired the agents to stop the flow of information to CommonSense (http://www.delcotompaine.blogspot.com/), a county politics blog that was launched last August. The author writes under the pseudonym Peter Porcupine.

The site is "intended to be a forum for discussing Delaware County government, and how it can be improved to the benefit of the taxpayers." It has been critical of county Republicans, particularly Clouse and his handling of the Chadwick case.

Clouse’s longtime companion, Lynn Cohen, is also a frequent topic on the site.

In 2004, the judge was targeted by courthouse demonstrators who claimed he had misrepresented his marital status to avoid paying about $3,000 in real estate transfer taxes in 2002. Clouse later paid the money and was cleared of any wrongdoing by the state attorney general’s office.

The site’s most recent posting is dated March 10 under the heading "Wedding Bells Are Ringing?" It asks, "Is it true that wedding bells will soon be ringing in the President Judge’s chambers?"

The blog’s operator did not respond to e-mail Thursday.

Clouse downplayed the significance of the courthouse sweep, saying, "it’s done all the time by all types of government agencies."

McBlain said he was not aware of any phones being checked in the adjacent government center, nor does he suspect that they are tapped.

"If somebody’s listening, they’re going to be awfully bored," he said.

Wedding Bells Are Ringing?

2006-03-10T15:34:00.000-05:00

Is it true that wedding bells will soon be ringing in the President Judge's chambers?

About that $440,000 house . . .

2006-01-28T20:38:00.000-05:00

The LA Times article got me to thinking. As a Congressman, Curt Weldon earns $155,100. He and Mrs. Weldon have six kids, including some still at home, and I think he maintains some kind of home in Washington, too. So how does he afford a $440,000 house? Anybody know?

The Los Angeles Times Takes Another Look at Weldon

2006-01-28T20:18:00.000-05:00

From the Los Angeles Times

A Small-Town Lobbyist and Her Big Connection
By Ken SilversteinTimes Staff Writer
January 28, 2006

WASHINGTON — The lobbying firm of Grimes and Young Inc. is not on K Street, famous address of some of the nation's most influential lobbyists.

In fact, Grimes and Young is about a 2 1/2 -hour drive from the halls of Congress, in politically remote Media, Pa. (pop. 5,469).

The firm has no office. It has no website. It has only one lobbyist — Cecelia Grimes. And she's a real estate agent. Her resume shows no past experience working on Capitol Hill or for the federal government.

But Grimes and Young has emerged as a niche lobbying firm with access to one powerful member of Congress — Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.), vice chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and the House Homeland Security Committee.

It is not clear how a small-town real estate agent moved from selling bungalows in suburban eastern Pennsylvania to trading access and influence in the nation's capital.

But with a scandal looming over Congress since lobbyist Jack Abramoff agreed to cooperate in a federal influence peddling probe, congressional ties to lobbyists are coming under renewed scrutiny.

Grimes, 40, who calls herself a longtime family friend of Weldon's, represents firms from as far away as California with business involving one or both of Weldon's House committees. Her services typically command a $20,000 annual retainer.

Weldon has taken steps to help at least three lobby clients of Grimes and Young, records and interviews show. And the representative of another company said he was referred to Grimes by a Weldon aide who said Grimes would "help our cause."

The congressman declined to be interviewed and referred all questions to his lawyer, who denied that the aide had recommended Grimes or that Grimes received any special treatment from Weldon's office.

"She is one of hundreds, maybe thousands, of people to come into the office with ideas," said William B. Canfield. "Her ideas have to make sense before anyone would take her seriously."

It is not the first time the 10-term congressman has attracted controversy over unusually close ties to a lobbyist. In 2004, a report by The Times disclosed that Weldon's daughter landed about $1 million in lobbying contracts with foreign clients who were assisted by the congressman. A House Ethics Committee inquiry remains unfinished.

Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said she saw troubling similarities between the lobbying relationship Weldon had with his daughter and the one with his longtime friend.

"There is an appearance that Weldon may be using his office to benefit family or friends," said Sloan, a former federal prosecutor.

Since 2003, records show, Grimes has signed up at least eight corporate clients, four of which are located in Weldon's district. The companies are mostly small firms seeking federal defense and domestic security funding.

Grimes declined to answer written questions from The Times, e-mailed at her request.

In a brief telephone interview, however, she said clients heard about her firm through "word of mouth" and some picked her because they were unable to afford Beltway lobby shops.

She denied that her relationship to Weldon had benefited her business. Grimes said that despite a lack of Washington experience, she had lobbying skills. "It's all about networking and follow-up," she said. "My clients like my company, and that has nothing to do with Curt."

Canfield, former senior staff counsel for the Senate Ethics Committee, acknowledged that Weldon had known Grimes for "more than a decade." But he played down Weldon's ties to Grimes, whom he described as "a big-deal Realtor" and prominent figure in the congressman's district."

I suppose she said something to him at some point," Canfield said when asked if Grimes had told Weldon she intended to become a lobbyist. "Maybe it registered … maybe it didn't."

Several of the firms Grimes represents had close ties to Weldon before hiring her. Others, by virtue of being in Weldon's district or having made political contributions to his campaigns, were already acquainted with the congressman.

Anthony Mulligan, president of Advanced Ceramics Research Inc., a Tucson firm that retained Grimes, told The Times that she had done a great job lobbying the Arizona congressional delegation.

But Advanced Ceramics had other lobbyists on retainer at the same time, including a former staff aide to U.S. Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.), a member of the House Appropriations Committee.

How a little-known Pennsylvania lobbyist would significantly boost Advanced Ceramics' political influence in Arizona was not clear.

A representative from another company that has lobbied Weldon's office said a senior Weldon aide suggested the firm retain Grimes. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to protect his company from retribution."

He didn't flat out say to hire her," the official said, recalling the aide's advice. "But he said … it would be good to have her on our side."

The company did not retain Grimes because "the situation didn't feel right," the firm's representative said.

Canfield said neither Weldon nor his aides had ever recommended that any company hire Grimes or any other lobbyist.

Congressional watchdog groups said it appeared that some companies retained Grimes not only for future access to Weldon but also to say thank you for the congressman's past support."

The only thing that she seems to be bring to the table is her relationship with Weldon," Keith Ashdown of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a Washington watchdog group, said when told of Grimes' work as a lobbyist.

"If I were looking to hire a lobbyist, I'd want someone with experience…. There's a big difference between selling houses and selling legislation to the House."

Grimes studied computer science at Beaver College — now Arcadia University — in Glenside, Pa., from 1983 to 1985, according to a resume posted on her real estate website. She received a bachelor's degree from Neumann College in Pennsylvania, the resume says.

She obtained her real estate license in 1989, state records show, and her website describes her as a "consistent multi-million-dollar producer." She has received multiple real estate honors, the website says.

Grimes told The Times that she had known Weldon for about 15 years. "I coached one of his kids in junior high school," she said, declining to elaborate.

Weldon, 58, was first elected to Congress in 1986 and represents the mostly Republican suburbs southwest of Philadelphia — including Media, a borough that describes itself as "Everyone's Hometown."

In 2000, Grimes was listed as Weldon's real estate agent in the purchase of his $440,000 two-story home in nearby Glen Mills, documents show.

Grimes, who still works as a real estate agent, has been lobbying since March 2003, when she opened a firm initially called CC Nexus, now incorporated as Grimes and Young. Her partner is Cynthia Young, 28, a freshly minted lawyer. Young declined an interview request.

Young's husband, Robert J. Young, worked as a paid staff aide for four months on Weldon's 2004 reelection campaign. He also is the son of U.S. Rep. C.W. "Bill" Young (R-Fla.).

Among the most recent clients signed by Grimes and Young is Oto Melara, a subsidiary of Italian defense firm Finmeccanica. On June 1, the company agreed to pay Grimes $20,000 annually to lobby the House and Senate.

Oto Melara announced plans to open a new plant in Weldon's district in 2004, around the time the congressman began pressing the Navy to buy the firm's deck guns to install on new combat ships. A rival's weapon already had been selected.

Last year, Weldon supported an amendment to the defense bill requiring the Navy to study his proposal to switch deck guns, putting weapons made by Grimes' client on the next-generation of Littoral Combat Ships.Weldon also has championed Oto Melara's parent firm, Finmeccanica.

Last year, Finmeccanica's helicopter unit joined forces with Lockheed Martin Corp. to score an upset bidding victory and land a $1.6-billion contract to build the new presidential helicopter.

The Italians beat out a bid from United Technologies Corp. for its American-designed Sikorsky VH-92 to serve as Marine One, the presidential helicopter.

According to Aviation Week & Space Technology, a defense industry trade publication, Weldon was a key backer of Finmeccanica's winning bid.

Oto Melara officials did not respond to requests for comment.

Advanced Ceramics Research has retained Grimes since September 2003 to seek defense funding from the House and the Office of Naval Research.

Mulligan, president of the Tucson company, said Grimes initially contacted him because one of her clients did business with his firm. Mulligan liked Grimes, he said, and hired her.

"We're always getting beat up by bigger [defense] firms that have a lot of generals on their payroll," he said, explaining his decision to hire Grimes and other lobbyists.

Mulligan said that he was unaware Grimes knew Weldon at the time and that he hired her because he "thought she was bright and had the ability to find things out." He said Grimes subsequently introduced him to Weldon, with whom he has met about half a dozen times.

Since August 2004, Mulligan and another Advanced Ceramics executive have donated $4,000 to Weldon's political coffers.

Some of that money was contributed at a fundraiser for Weldon that Grimes hosted at her home in Media. The event raised $8,050 for the congressman's 2004 reelection campaign, with two other Grimes and Young clients making donations, in addition to Advanced Ceramics.

Mulligan said Grimes lobbied about a dozen members of Congress, including Weldon, to help secure a $3-million contract in 2005. The ceramic tools project was the firm's first successful bid for funding in a defense appropriations bill.

While Advanced Ceramics was paying Grimes to lobby for that project, Weldon went to bat for another of the firm's products, unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs. The congressman twice invited Mulligan to appear before the House tactical air and land forces subcommittee, which Weldon chairs.

Weldon praised Mulligan publicly, congratulating him for his "outstanding testimony and outstanding products."

Advanced Ceramics has since won a combined $43.5 million in Navy contracts and congressional funding for its UAVs. About $5 million came from the Naval Air Systems Command, an agency overseen by Weldon's subcommittee.

Mulligan said Grimes never lobbied for the UAV program.

An earlier client for Grimes was FSI Energy Inc. of Bryn Mawr, Pa. The firm is developing an ambitious natural gas project linking gas fields in Russia to North and South Korea and Japan. The massive KoRus pipeline project is backed by Weldon.

The congressman was a leading advocate for the project before his real estate agent friend signed on to represent FSI in June 2003. Five months earlier, he and John Fetter, president of FSI, had promoted the project at an energy conference in Washington.

Fetter said he was aware that Grimes knew Weldon and that "she has worked with him and done a lot of liaison work for companies doing business with the government, trying to help them get things through the system."

He praised Grimes, saying she helped set up meetings for him in Washington. "I've paid people more than I paid Miss Grimes and got more out of her," he said. "She was able to set things up that were timely and productive."

Fetter said he hired Grimes at the recommendation of Frank Rapoport, a Washington lobbyist also retained by FSI.

Rapoport is a longtime political ally of Weldon's and a periodic contributor to the congressman's campaigns. Last year, the two traveled together to Moscow for the first U.S.-Russia Homeland Security Trade Mission.

Rapoport declined to say why he recommended Grimes to Fetter, citing attorney-client privilege.

Governor Rendell Brings Home the Bacon!

2006-01-17T00:30:00.000-05:00

We know, we know . . . we haven't posted in a long time. Well, there was Christmas, New Year's, all that fun stuff, and we've been busy! And it's not easy keeping up a blog. We didn't want this to be one of those blogs where people post any random thought that pops into their heads. We want it to be uniquely Delco, a source of information. And it's not easy to gather that information, what with everyone in panic mode all the time, afraid they'll be suspected of talking to the wrong people. But we're back now, and we'll try to keep this interesting. Here's something we spied recently that we don't expect the Delaware County Republican Party will be telling you about any time soon:

GOVERNOR RENDELL ANNOUNCES $636,000 INVESTMENT TO CREATE, RETAIN 650 JOBS IN DELAWARE COUNTY, HELP COMPANY EXPAND OPERATIONS

HARRISBURG — Governor Edward G. Rendell today announced a $636,000 investment to help Alloy Surfaces Co. create and retain at least 650 jobs at a new facility and an expanded operation in Delaware County.

“We make investments to help create new opportunities for our working men and women and their families,” Governor Rendell said. “At the same time, our resources help businesses grow and expand while helping to revitalize our communities.”

“This is good news for the whole region as Pennsylvania continues to successfully compete for new jobs projects and new investment. The decision by Alloy Surfaces to grow and invest in Pennsylvania is a tribute to our skilled and dedicated workforce and the climate we have created to support manufacturing firms.”

“It is clear to businesses that Pennsylvania has the right initiatives in place to help them grow and prosper,” the Governor said. “Through evolving partnerships with the private sector, we have helped to create jobs throughout the commonwealth,” Governor Rendell added. “The results are clear as we now have a record number of jobs in the commonwealth. But more remains to be done.”

ASC will manufacture special material decoys at its new production facility, located at 25 Commerce Drive. The company will also expand its existing 47,000-square-foot Boothwyn facility by 17,800 square feet. The total cost of this project will be $12 million.

The Governor’s Action Team is comprised of economic-development professionals who report directly to Governor Rendell. The Department of Community and Economic Development and GAT offered ASC a funding package that includes a $200,000 Opportunity Grant, $50,000 in Job Training Assistance and $386,000 in Job Creation Tax Credits. As part of the GAT offer, the company also received a $3,375,000 loan through the Citizens Bank Job Bank program.

The Governor’s Action Team serves as a single point of contact for businesses that are evaluating Pennsylvania as a site for a facility location or expansion. GAT works with domestic and international businesses, as well as professional site consultants, on projects involving significant investment and job creation opportunities.

During 2005, GAT successfully completed 206 projects that resulted in commitments for 20,257 new jobs and the retention of 40,556 existing jobs. The commonwealth provided more than $421 million in assistance for these projects, leveraging more than $1.9 billion in additional funds.

A subsidiary of Chemring Group PLC, ASC is the world’s only manufacturer of Covert Multi-Spectral Special Material Decoys. The company’s decoys are on the leading edge of IR countermeasure technology and are currently being used to protect a wide variety of U.S. and allied military aircraft.

For information on the Governor’s Action Team and other DCED funding, visit http://www.newpa.com/ or call 1-866-GONEWPA (1-866-466-3972).

To learn more about Alloy Surfaces Co., visit http://www.alloysurfaces.com/.

News: A Victory for Mumia

2005-12-08T20:14:00.000-05:00

Add this to the category, "Appalling Judicial Developments."

In a major development in the 24-year-old death penalty case of Philadelphia journalist and former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal, a panel of three judges of the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling Tuesday that Abu-Jamal can appeal his murder conviction on three separate grounds.

The court put the case, which has been in legal limbo for several years, on a "fast track," with the defense brief on the three claims scheduled to be filed Jan. 17.

The first grounds is a claim by Abu-Jamal that the jury selection in his case had been racially biased because the prosecutor rejected 10 or 11 of 15 qualified black jurors, using peremptory challenges, for which no reason had to be given. The jury that ultimately convicted Abu-Jamal had only two black members, in a city that is 44 percent black.

The second is a claim the prosecutor in the case, Joseph McGill, had improperly attempted to reduce jurors' sense of responsibility during the so-called guilt phase of the trial, by telling them that any guilty verdict would be vetted later. As McGill put it in his trial summation, "If you find the defendant guilty, of course there would be appeal after appeal and perhaps there could be a reversal of the case, or whatever, so that may not be final." In other Pennsylvania cases, including one prosecuted by McGill, the 3rd Circuit has overturned capital-case convictions on the basis of the same wording used in trial summations.

The third a claim that the trial judge, the late Albert Sabo, was biased during the Post-Conviction Relief Act hearing. That hearing, which was held in 1995-96 to consider the validity of the facts presented at trial, as well as new evidence brought in by the defense, was controversial. At the time, the Philadelphia Inquirer stated in an editorial that the judge was displaying overt bias against Abu-Jamal.

Any one of the three claims, if upheld by the 3rd Circuit next year, could lead to a new trial for Abu-Jamal, who was convicted of the 1981 slaying of white police officer Daniel Faulkner. The most likely first action on upholding an appeal claim, however, would be an order sending the issue back to federal Judge Yohn for reconsideration, not an order for a new trial. A finding of bias on the part of Sabo could also lead to a reopening of the post-conviction hearing in a state court, legal experts say.

Attempted break-out at the juvenile justice center

2005-12-05T12:31:00.000-05:00

We heard that there was an attempted break-out last night at the Juvenile Justice Center in Lima. Developing . . . (as Matt Drudge would say).

What's another week when you've been in prison for ten years?

2005-12-02T12:29:00.000-05:00

Judge Clouse decided to push back Beatty Chadwick's hearing to December 6th, meaning that an elderly man with cancer will be in prison for at least one more week for failing to prove, to the satisfaction of his bitter and rancorous ex-wife, that he doesn't have millions of dollars stashed somewhere in the world.

Judge Clouse also said the hearing will be "en banc" which is a judicial code phrase meaning "I don't want to be out on this limb all by myself."

Today's contest is: which two judges will be on the "en banc" panel with Clouse?

(a) Pagano and Durham
(b) Pagano and Bradley
(c) Pagano and Zetusky
(c) Durham and Bradley
(d) Durham and Zetusky
(e) Bradley and Zetusky

The winner gets lunch for three on a Tuesday at the Towne House.

Abuse of Contempt Power

2005-12-02T12:20:00.000-05:00

You have to wonder what the New York Commission on Judicial Conduct would think of a judge who holds a man in prison for over ten years without an evidentiary hearing. As they investigate Judge Clouse, is the Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board looking into the Beatty Chadwick story?

JUDGES SANCTIONED FOR CONTEMPT ORDERS
Unruly Litigants Should Get a Warning and a Chance to Speak, Conduct Panel Finds
BY STEPHANIE FRANCIS WARD

Holding someone in contempt is usually a judge’s last resort, but a New York disciplinary commission felt that was not so in two cases in which judges were disciplined for issuing summary contempt orders.

In one instance, Judge Duane A. Hart issued a contempt order against business litigant John Modica after his lawyer, Leland L. Greene, tried to get into the record that the judge threatened to have his client arrested the day before. The judge made the threat when Modica approached Hart in a parking lot to ask for a continuation after the judge had denied the same request in court.

. . .

The commission sanctioned Hart with censure.

"We find the respondent’s misconduct particularly troubling notwithstanding that later that same day, at the conclusion of trial, he corrected his injudicious decision by vacating the contempt finding," the commission wrote. "Several factors have persuaded us that a severe sanction is appropriate in this case."

The other matter involved Judge Richard S. Lawrence of the Nassau County Family Court. A party in a child support dispute repeatedly and audibly sighed and was fidgety in the judge’s courtroom, according to the commission’s findings.

Two court officers repeatedly warned Mark Schulman about his conduct. When Schulman’s behavior continued, Lawrence issued a contempt order, stipulating that Schulman be jailed for five days. Schulman protested, and Lawrence upped the time to 10 days.

David Teeter, Schulman’s Garden City, N.Y.-based lawyer, interjected, and Lawrence raised Schulman’s sentence to 12 days. Then he told the court officers to remove Schulman.

The commission gave Lawrence, who acknowledged that he didn’t give Schulman the proper warning, an admonition. That finding was also released Oct. 20.

. . .

Outing Us?

2005-12-02T12:13:00.000-05:00

We have received several warnings from kindly readers that we are about to be "outed" and that when we are, we will undoubtedly be sued. That raises two questions:

(1) why would anyone want to out us? Have we hit a nerve somewhere in this County, so that we can't be ignored?

(2) what have we said that isn't legitimate Constitutionally-protected opinion, and/or true?

Thoughts?

The View from Maine

2005-11-28T13:16:00.000-05:00

There are two sides to every story, and this person has posted this comment; another side to the Beatty Chadwick saga. (Interesting, too, that this blog has reached Maine!)

Why didn't the Media, PA court take testimony from this witness re: the truthfulness of Mrs. Chadwick, Judge Battle we can understand cause he's 2 yards under but before Beatty joins him why don't you Judge Clouse, either take off the blindfold or put it back on and try the case===> here's just the first of Mrs. Chadwick's bad-character witnesses, read & weep for what you've done to an innocent man: Oh...we know all about what Mr.Chadwick is going through. How we know? We live next door to his ex-wife Barbara Chadwick. My husband and I have lived in the town of Thomaston for twenty-four years and Barbara Chadwick/aka Applegate had all kinds of suits against us(FALSE ALLIGATIONS) She and her new hubby thought they could come into a small town and brag about their wealth, dig for more money and rule us. Well, what they didn't know is that we are a tight knit little town and she thinks she can fool us like she is with the PA Judge. Our Lawyer saw right through her just as many in our town. The Judge on Chadwick/Applegate vs. Chadwick is so wrapped tight around Barbara's finger that it shows how weak the Judicial system can be. People think Mainers are backwards and stupid...Oh Ms.Applegate now knows she can't move our mountains. She sure plays quite a tune with Pennsylvania that must be a real stupid place to live! If they can't see through her negative ways and check on her legal history of taken people to Court...Wow! POOR Mr.Chadwick is stuck in the spiders web! We hope and pray for Mr.Chadwicks release. It is such a terrible thing to think that any sane decent human being can think that she/he can have so much power over someone to keep them squirming like a worm on a hook...it must be a personal thing with the individuals who have consumed such false power.
LESA KITCHING
THOMASTON MAINE

Give the kids a break, Mike . . .

2005-11-25T22:13:00.000-05:00

Memo to Mike Gillin: the President Judge of the Commonwealth Court just told you that you suck. I believe his exact words were: (a) you suck; (b) you suck; and (c) you suck. Perhaps it is time to take the hint and give the kids of Chester a break.

Judge: Chester board broke law
The Commonwealth Court ruling said the panel had harmed students. Hearings begin next week.
By Dale Mezzacappa, Inquirer Staff Writer, Nov. 23, 2005

In its three years in office, the board that runs the Chester Upland school district has broken state law and done "irreparable harm" to students, a Commonwealth Court judge has ruled.

Responding to a lawsuit filed by Gov. Rendell and the state Department of Education, President Judge James Gardner Colins ordered hearings for next week to help him decide whether to put the district in receivership. That could mean it would be operated directly by the state Department of Education.

Colins found that the three-member Special Board of Control repeatedly violated the state school code by failing to balance the district's budget, hiring some unqualified teachers, maintaining inaccurate records, and not properly tracking incidents of school violence.

"In its nearly three years in office the harm to the district's students is undeniable," Colins wrote.

The ruling was a victory for the governor, who has been trying since last summer to dislodge the board and straighten out the troubled district, one of the lowest-performing in the state.

State audits have shown deepening deficits, a breakdown in accounting and inaccurate record-keeping in the 5,000-student district, which is mostly poor and African American.

Chester Upland has been operated by a state control board since 1994 when it was first declared fiscally distressed; the current board, with expanded powers, took office in January, 2003.

But Rendell is powerless to remove the board members. They were installed by his Republican predecessors for five-year terms on the eve of his inauguration, removable only for malfeasance.

In the wake of Colins' ruling, Rendell reiterated his call for the board members to resign.

"Judge Colins has concluded what I have been saying for months: The Board of Control is not doing its job, and its failures to do that job continue to irreparably, and unfairly, harm the children of Chester Upland," Rendell said in a statement. He said they should take Colins' words seriously and "resign their positions before one more child is cheated out of the education they are entitled to."

Michael F.X. Gillin, chairman of the board, said he had no intention of stepping down.

We've come this far. We think we're changing things around down there," said Gillin, Delaware County's elected Register of Wills.

Gillin also said that the board "never knowingly" violated the school code and terminated administrators who gave the board faulty information. As far as harming children, Gillin said, "I'm not in the classroom. I don't know what he means by that."

Granville Lash, another board member who has often been at odds with Gillin, said he agreed with Rendell and is trying to extract himself from the lawsuit. However, he said he would not resign as long as the other two members, Gillin and Adriene Irving, Chester City's director of public information, remain.

"I have done everything I can do to see that our children get a quality education," said Lash who said he objects to spending public money on the lawsuit. The state has to share in any blame for failure, he added.

The board has hired Jack Krill, a Harrisburg lawyer who has also represented Republican legislative leaders, to defend it against Rendell's move.

Colins issued his order late Monday. On Friday, he heard oral arguments in Harrisburg on Rendell's October motion to appoint a receiver, which would treat the district like a bankrupt company.

The oral argument was attended by a half-dozen parents and activists who filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the state's position. They are represented by the Education Law Center, a nonprofit that advocates for poor students.
"The judge is hearing the cry from the community," said Charlie L. Warren II, chairman of a group called Chester-Upland Community, Parents and Students on the Move. "Socially and educationally, for years this community has been deprived."

Warren is a retired carpenter who graduated from district schools and has four children and two grandchildren who have attended schools there.

Colins scheduled three days of evidentiary hearings for next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

Perjury Trap?

2005-11-23T03:17:00.000-05:00

(Michael) Malloy also in his petition filed Tuesday is asking that President Judge Kenneth Clouse step down from hearing the matter. A hearing on issues related to the Chadwick matter is set for Nov. 30.

Malloy refers to Clouse’s requesting a criminal investigation by the district attorney’s office concerning a letter from Delaware attorney Carl Fernandes to Chadwick in which mention was made about opening an account in the Cayman Islands.

Malloy is not contending that there was anything wrong with asking for the probe in which the district attorney’s office "determined that there was no evidence of any past, present or future criminal activity related to the correspondence or the bank checks contained therein."

Malloy is charging, however, that neither Clouse nor Momjian advised "counsel for the defendant, or more importantly the Special Master A. Leo Sereni, of their knowledge or possession of said information prior to questioning (Chadwick) or Master Sereni" at a hearing.

Malloy contends that Clouse and Momjian were aware of the account as well as the letter forwarded before a Sept. 20 hearing at which Chadwick took the stand.

"That at the time of said hearing the aforementioned correspondence from Carl Fernandes, Esquire, to the defendant and the contents thereof, were known to, and reviewed by and in possession of plaintiff’s counsel Albert Momjian, Esquire, and President Judge Kenneth Clouse," stated Malloy."That the actions of President Judge Kenneth Clouse in failing to disclose the documents material and/or relevant to the investigation of the Court-appointed master, failing to advise the defendant or the defendant’s counsel of the requested criminal investigation into the defendant’s activities, permitting the questioning of defendant and the master as it related to said documents infringing upon defendant’s constitutional rights, gives the appearance of impropriety and suggests a lack of neutrality in the proceedings as to warrant a recusal of (Clouse) from presiding over these proceedings," stated Malloy.

Judge Clouse was unavailable for comment.

Malloy contends that the Fernandez letter was for "planning purposes" in the event Chadwick was released. "No such account was established, and the attorney (Fernandez) did not further pursue the matter. Indeed, if, as plaintiff argues, Defendant has monies deposited in foreign accounts, there would be no need for him to obtain advice about such an account."

Daily Times 11/23/05

The Man in the Iron Mask

2005-11-23T00:49:00.000-05:00

Watch the Daily Times this week for a surprising development in the Beatty Chadwick saga. Judge Clouse may have some 'splaining to do.

Election Day Wrap-Up

2005-11-12T13:05:00.000-05:00

We know that many readers were anxiously awaiting DelcoTomPaine's take on the election results, expecting our usual insight and wisdom and maybe some good gossip too. But frankly, election results in Delco are just so ho-hum, so predictable, and so unexciting, that we can hardly stand to waste the keystrokes. Here are a few observations however:

Paula Brown lost her umpteenth race for mayor of Darby. Now maybe the place has a chance at survival. The GOP might have to increase her hours however, or even get her a full-time job, if she is going to continue keeping Darby in turmoil.

Which reminds us, just what is John McNichol going to do about Upper Darby? It's only a matter of time before a Democrat wins something significant there, and then Upper Darby will become another Lansdowne, swinging from Republican to Democrat as the wind blows. We are sure that McNichol will not subject Upper Darby to the Paula Brown/Darby Treatment (buying off a Democrat so she'll keep the Democratic Party in turmoil and ineffective), because that is a drastic remedy and the consequences are dire, and he wouldn't do that to his beloved Upper Darby. So what is he going to do?

We predict that he's going to let it go. The younger generation of the Delco Republican Party is already establishing beach heads in the western part of the County, in places like Concord Township, Middletown Township, and Birmingham Township, a la Curt Weldon, Andy Reilly, and Hughie Donaghue. DelcoTomPaine predicts that in ten years the Delco GOP will have ceded large parts of the eastern, less prosperous part of the County to the Democrats. The GOP will hang on to Radnor, Marple, Haverford, and Springfield, which have money and also will provide an important barrier between the nouveau riche enclaves of Concord and Birmingham and the teeming masses of Yeadon, Darby, Folcroft, Glenolden, and, soon, Upper Darby.

On another election note: Judge Zetusky was up for retention, and to no one's surprise he won easily. The famously bad-tempered and erratic yet intelligent judge has a far greater battle ahead of him, however. It is well known that Judge Zetusky wants to succeed Judge Clouse as President Judge, so it was not wise of him to insult and anger Andy Reilly. Having just endured what other lawyers put up with on a daily basis, Reilly might have second thoughts about allowing Zetusky to become PJ.

Did Curt Weldon Benefit from Tom DeLay's Money Laundering Scheme?

2005-10-27T19:27:00.000-05:00

PA GOP representatives on Tom DeLay's payroll

Pennsylvania members of the Republican caucus who are alleged to have received money from Tom DeLay's laundering scheme according to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee:

Charles Dent

Phil English

Michael Fitzpatrick

Jim Gerlach

Melissa Hart

Tim Murphy

Donald Sherwood

Bill Shuster

. . . and . . .

(drum roll please)

. . .

Curt Weldon

In case you missed the Sunday Inquirer

2005-10-23T18:46:00.000-05:00

Greetings Sports Fans! How about them Eagles?

The Sunday Inquirer carried a story that no fan of Delco politics should miss. We are excerpting parts of it here. You can read the whole story at www.phillynews.com.

Commerce weaves web in Pa. suburbs
The bank got government money, officials got loans.
By Tina Moore
Inquirer Staff Writer

When Commerce Bank set out to conquer the city's Pennsylvania suburbs, executives had a simple strategy: Make friends with the elected officials and power brokers who could help deliver deposits of public money.

It worked. By 2003, Commerce Bank Pennsylvania had increased its stash of government cash fivefold. [And then a whole bunch of people went to jail.]

---

In Delaware County, which is dominated by Republicans, one Commerce executive correctly predicted, a year ahead of time, that the bank would snare all county cash once a new chairman of the County Council took over. [Did he have a really shiny crystal ball, or do you think it was his connections?] Two months before the county moved the money, the chairman received a $220,000 Commerce loan. His lawyer says there was no connection. [Oh. It was the crystal ball.]

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As part of a wide-ranging investigation into Commerce, the FBI is scrutinizing the bank's relationships with officials in Philadelphia's Pennsylvania suburbs.

---

Commerce's political action committee, Compac NJ, gave less than $20,000 in Delaware County between 1995 and 1999. Over the next three years, the PAC gave more than $69,000 to the county's reigning Republicans.

---

Commerce bankers also forged relationships with such suburban power brokers as Delaware County's Charles Sexton, Springfield Township Republican Party leader and former county chairman.

Sexton was named a member of the bank's Pennsylvania advisory board in June 2002 - a position that paid $500 a meeting, stock options, and $100,000 of permanent life insurance.
By then, Commerce was already lining up Delaware County business. [Including the personal accounts of several judges!]

In an October 2001 memo, Holck wrote: "$6 MM payroll account being moved to us from F/U [First Union]. Will look to move entire relationship once McFadden assures chairmanship in January."

That was John McFadden, then vice chairman of the County Council and a Sexton ally in Springfield Township. He became head of the County Council in January 2002, three months after that memo was sent. Over the next three months, Commerce poured $25,000 into the county's main Republican finance committee.

In November 2002, McFadden received a $220,000 Commerce loan for the purchase of a $400,000 tract of commercial land just outside Media. Two months after that, the County Council voted unanimously, without a word of public debate, to shift $54 million to Commerce.

Let's look at this:

In October 2001 Commerce gets the $6 million payroll account, and figures it has the rest of the County's money locked up.
In January 2002 McFadden becomes head of County Council.
By April 2002 Commerce has given the Delco Republicans $25,000.
In June 2002 Charlie Sexton gets a paid position on Commerce's board.
In November 2002 McFadden gets a loan.
In January 2003, Commerce gets $54 million in County business.

McFadden would not comment, but referred questions to his lawyer, Joseph M. Fioravanti.

Isn't that the same Joe Fioravanti who is also one of the three partners in Solutions North America, along with Karen Weldon and Charlie Sexton?

County Controller Cynthia Leitzell said that a committee supervised by McFadden evaluated proposals from six banks and picked Commerce because it charged no fees and offered better service.

"I feel that we made the right decision on a purely objective basis," said Leitzell, who was a committee member and who also received a Commerce loan. "Nobody said a word to influence my decision."

The team that made that pitch included Albert J. Melfi Jr., Commerce's regional vice president. Melfi also played a role in McFadden's and Leitzell's personal Commerce loans.

Fioravanti said that McFadden and Melfi are friends and that McFadden's loan had nothing to do with the bank's receiving county business. Melfi prepared McFadden's loan for him, Fioravanti said, adding that McFadden received no special treatment. McFadden's interest was 7 percent, the market rate, documents show.

"There isn't any this-for-that," Fioravanti said. "It just doesn't exist."

Shepard said there was nothing strange about a vice president preparing a loan himself.

"There's nothing wrong with Al Melfi preparing loans," Shepard said. "He's a banker."

The bank has since changed its policies, however. Bankers seeking public business are no longer permitted to write loans for the town's officials, Shepard said. And loans for government officials must be approved by a senior vice president.

"As the bank grows, we need to ensure that we have the gold standard of procedure," Shepard said.

In February 2004, Leitzell received a Commerce business loan for her accounting firm, Leitzell & Economidis. She said it was for about $30,000.

Leitzell said she also talked to Melfi about a loan after his presentation; he referred her to a branch manager. She said she didn't get any favors.

Bankers sometimes courted government business at lunch meetings and other social events. Leitzell said that has changed for her.

"I saw what happened to Corey Kemp," she said. "I don't even go out with these guys anymore." [Very wise, Cindy! Buy your own dinner and Phillies tickets, and you won't need that Get Out of Jail Free card!]