In yesterday's post I bashed Bill White of The Morning Call. I don't think it's fair that I keep bashing him, so today I take aim at their other columnist, Paul Muschick. Paul thinks that the need for big money in campaigns for governor and senator led Pawlowski astray, and previously campaigning just as a mayor, he was innocent as fallen snow.
He risked the fine public service career he built over decades in Allentown to squeeze people for money he needed to run for higher office.
The FBI needed a starting point and an ending point for their investigation, or it would still be on-going. When Pawlowski's first appointed park director ordered every item in the PlayWorld catalog for the destination playground, perhaps that should have been scrutinized. Only when the same director wanted to build a destination water park that would have extended all the way up to Hamilton Blvd., did city council finally blink.
No Paul, ethics are ethics... You either have them, or you don't. This blog has reported inequalities in city hall for years before the FBI investigations. Pawlowski always used city contracts as plums to be traded.
As Scott Armstrong and others have pointed out, the Morning Call only started reporting on the corruption after the FBI raided city hall. While spending a decade asleep at the wheelhouse, they now subscribe to McMahon's premise that Pawlowski was a moral person, driven to aberrant behavior by circumstances beyond his control. McMahon is Pawlowski's defense attorney, charged with saying whatever necessary to get his client out of jail. The Morning Call is a newspaper, charged with providing citizens of Allentown with the truth.
When the Morning Call building was included in the NIZ zone, although across the street from that zone, they became officially compromised.
Readers in the Lehigh Valley seeking some glimmers of truth have been limited to this blog and O'Hare's Ramblings.
The more they write they deeper they bury their credibility and further besmirch the once honored trade of journalism. Their attempts to explain Ed's failings are nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to excuse their very real culpability in Allentown's downfall.
ReplyDeleteSame goes for Alan Jennings, he of course must defend Ed in order to explain his own involvement with the convicted felon. It's all as transparent as it is self serving.
Frankly it's all just sickening.
Add to the MC compromised position vis a vis the NIZ building their 'sponsorship' of major parts of the Iron Pigs and Phantoms games/events. What happens when there is a scandal involving those organizations? (So far, we have seen none). Can they (will they?) report fairly?
ReplyDeleteA newspaper "buying" a scoreboard ad is one thing; but "buying in" to a private organization is quite another.
What a surprise another negative story on a "building Allentown page." Michael people like you are the problem. You want to cry about negative news in Allentown that fits your agenda.
DeleteMike, since you had clear evidence of corruption by Pawlowski, including improper awarding of contracts, did you call the FBI? If not, why not?
ReplyDeletebob@1:43, would you describe yourself more as an antagonist or an apologist? Actually, Bernie O' Hare's blog was mentioned in the trial, and Bernie subsequently mentioned this blog, for informing him about Pawlowski. However, neither of us would take credit, or in your case blame, about Pawlowski's indictment. that took an investigation with right to know information.
ReplyDeleteMike, if you knew back then that "Pawlowski always used city contracts as plums to be traded" it's reasonable to ask if you called the FBI. For some reason you've avoided the question. Either the information you had wasn't strong enough to justify calling in the FBI, or there was some other reason why you didn't. Or maybe you did call them, and don't want to say so here.
ReplyDeleteWhatever the case, well before the investigation, TMC published an unsettling story about Mike Fleck fundraising off of the city vendor list. So it is untrue that TMC "only started reporting on the corruption after the FBI raided city hall". I believe TMC's reports were mentioned in the trial too. Could they have done more? Of course. But they did more than you say.
Earth to Bob,
ReplyDeleteMike and Bernie, and the rest of what we now refer to as the "media" do not turn people into the authorities , they investigate and publish the misdeeds in the hope that the authorities will act. Many of us spoke out, and as with Bernie and Mike, wrote about the cleansing of integrity from city hall, the routine violation of procedure and the city charter, and the blatant pay to play. For years nothing came of it but finally the authorities did act and we can thank Mike and Bernie for that. They took the heat while you acquiesced. Bob while Mike was part of the solution, you were and remain part of the problem. And frankly, you have plenty of company in this town. Look at the blight, the debt, the distressed school district then look in the mirror to see the culprit.
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ReplyDeleteScott, let me get this straight. You knew of "blatant pay to play", and you didn't call the FBI?
ReplyDeleteYou, and others, decided that a better strategy was to write comments about these crimes on a blog in hopes the FBI would see them and act?
I just don't understand this fear of cooperating with law enforcement.
bob@10:59, let me be gentle, you're a troll. you don't even have the moxie to comment with your own name, but you want to deflect the shortcomings of the MSM to me or scott?
ReplyDeleteAnd again, what is a serious problem in the city, the attempts to impugn and silence the truth is again demonstrated here on this blog. Although the man who demonstrated a mastery of such tactics has been lead off to jail there remain many who saw the effectiveness of slander as a useful political tool.
ReplyDeleteMichael, it is a fact that TMC published a story about Mike Fleck fundraising off of the city vendor list, well before the investigation. It is also a fact that you wrote that you were years ahead of the investigation by reporting "inequalities" in City Hall, and that "Pawlowski always used city contracts as plums to be traded".
ReplyDeleteIt is entirely reasonable to ask why you didn't call the FBI if you knew this to be true. You won't answer the question, so I'll speculate: you didn't because you had suspicions, but no proof. So perhaps the corruption wasn't as clear back then as your recent posts have implied. Either that, or you were strangely unwilling to support law enforcement in making Allentown a better place.
Sorry if my pointing this out upsets you to the point of namecalling -- all I'm doing is speaking the uncomfortable truth with refreshing candor.
Bob@1:24, I never contacted law enforcement, furthermore, I never even wrote that Pawlowski was corrupt, until he was convicted this past march. I did however chronicle on my blog for many years, long before the Morning Call, things that seemed way less than in the city's best interest. for example, I relayed complaints about how he took away the Hamilton Street cleaning contract from one entity and gave it another, if he thought it would deliver him more votes. i broke the story that Pawlowski wanted to log south mountain. I did document how the city used a straw buyer to purchase properties for the arena, and deny that they were behind that maneuver. you will find a search engine on the right sidebar of web version of this blog. this blog has broken numerous stories, which were then picked up by the paper. for you to write that i'm apparently unwilling to make Allentown a better place is very offensive.... such comments in the future will be deleted.
ReplyDeleteI did write about Fed Ed’s obscene campaign finance, and long before the Morning Call or federal investigation I actually reported him for campaign finance violations on four separate occasions, and on four separate occasions, was determined to be correct. Fed Ed was ordered to revise his campaign finance reports, and on one occasion, was fined. I know for a fact that MorningCall reporters who wanted to write more about Fed Ed were stifled by their editors. MM exposed him for abuse of process in the way he used code enforcement to trick one property owner into coming into the City, after which he was arrested. I know for a fact that Fed Ed used code as a retaliatory tool, and tried using it on MM. I know for a fact that he slimed MM as a slum lord to a MC reporter, and if I am not mistaken those words were almost published. He is an ugly, vengeful and sinister criminal. And people like you are why we have corrupt officials.
ReplyDelete