I suppose that tar and feathering sounds a bit harsh, but a hundred years ago, a thousand miles to the west, Ed Pawlowski would have been coated already. I would prescribe the treatment not for his alleged abuses at city hall, but for his recent facebook posts, which have been insufferable. In a recent post, he's pictured with immigrants from Liberia. Tonight I welcomed members of the Liberian community in Allentown as they form a new organization to help bring reconciliation to their homeland which has been torn apart over the years by civil war. Picture after picture, Ed is with people who probably don't know about the FBI scandal. To them, and to Ed, he's still mayor.
While I'm spreading holiday cheer, allow me to address the recent Morning Call special on J.B. Reilly's investment in the NIZ. The report said that he's putting 5% down on the projects, which are approved by the NIZ board. The article omits the fact that he was loaned $20 million before any construction began, and before any specific project was announced. According to Mike Fleck, as reported in the Morning Call, J.B. had pledged $50 thousand dollars to Ed's campaign fund.
I think that local politicians, developers and reporters must have accidentally misplaced my address, I have yet to receive any greeting cards this year.
You have to pay to play, MM.
ReplyDeleteTick-tock. Time is running out. Court on Friday.
ReplyDelete@7:41, i believe that the NIZ was way above pawlowski's paygrade, and reilly did not have to pay pawlowski anything to play, but rather he (reilly) owns the game. i saw the pledge as a tip for being a good boy, and not getting in anyones way. i suspect that if reilly had known the shenanigans that pawlowski was playing with city contracts down the street at city hall. he would not have made the pledge. again, let me clarify, that the FBI investigation deals with normal city hall contracts, not with the NIZ, which was a state sanctioned, one of a kind, tax incentive.
ReplyDeleteMike the pay/play was between Reilly and Pat Browne - witness the $300k/year consulting agreement between Reilly ($200k), Joe Topper (Reilly's partner, $100k) and Heather Browne. From what I understand, totally legal and totally slimy.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, Ed was a passenger on that train. However, he was the engineer on the train that's about to hit him between the eyes.
The Banker
Who chaired the ANIZ committee?
ReplyDelete@2:35, to my knowledge, sy traub is the chair. fyi, i prefer that comments do not take the form of a question, that require a reply.
ReplyDelete"Tonight I welcomed members of the Liberian community in Allentown as they form a new organization..."
ReplyDeleteExactly what type of organization are they forming? A non-profit? Like we don't have enough non-profits already.
I guess that's the new dream of every immigrant: To come to America and form an "organization".