http://medford.patch.com/groups/rock-journalist-joe-vig-/p/attorney-at-government-oversight-reviewing-city-of-medfords-alleged-failure-to-give-an-appropriate-response
IN my possession is a letter from the oversight entity in Boston who/which inspects public records requests if there is an appeal because certain documents requested were not given. A lawyer has been assigned the case, which means that this citizen not only had to:
---file a public records request with the city for information that should be available to all without a request
---file a complaint that the information was not received in a timely manner
...but also had to:
---file an additional complaint that I was charged for information that I did not receive, though previous requests to other Medford city officials were specific PRIOR to taking my monies in exchange for materials we have already paid for.
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The issue - of course - is where the heck the millions and millions of monies paid in to P/E/G access tv have gone in the past 20 or so years.
On PATCH early this morning was a rather telling statement from an individual, one of the last four "board members" that we can ascertain actually participated on the board (though the individual in question, Arthur Deluca, claims he was not privy to ALL the board meetings, just the ones where the last three board members felt Deluca wouldn't leak information when allegedly playing both sides), and the statement is pretty clear:
Former TV3 Board member A.A. Deluca had this to say on PATCH:
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For you see, as a part of MCC/TV3's dissolution, all their assets not otherwise assigned by the court to go elsewhere (we may have outstanding bills to be paid) are by virtue of their contract with the City to go BACK to the City. The City is going to get everything anyhow. No need to tally up scores, conduct inquisitions etc to determine what the City is due and how much can be recovered, THE CITY IS GOING TO GET IT ALL!!!
Posted by Arthur DeLuca , November 19, 2013 at 02:11 AM
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The problem isn't only the absolute failure, the deceptions, by Medford City Hall. It is also that a non-profit that was publicly funded did so much in the dark while hurling mud to distract.
It is interesting that those who do the shouting and the finger-pointing and the distractions are the ones with an OBLIGATION to be straight forward and forthright with the citizens of Medford. They have a duty, a fiduciary duty, to be honest when it comes to our monies. Mr. Deluca, as a former board member, making a public statement, only angers cable subscribers who feel they were cheated during this past election cycle. Deluca said, as an alleged candidate, he wanted to shut down P/E/G, yet as a board member, he had a fiduciary obligation to facilitate access. His admission that he hates the P/E/G channels while liberally enjoying the Christmas parties, allegedly Christmas bonuses, monies Deluca was paid while on the board (see Solicitor's 2/10/08 report documenting how much Deluca was paid while he was on the board of directors) draw many red flags. All the posturing on Patch only digs a deeper hole for someone who enjoyed the cameras and the broadcast time for himself and tells those he denied the access station to that they really didn't need it.
Here's an article I wrote about this situation on May 19, 2009 - it starts off with a statement from taxpayer-funded auditors Melanson Heath & Co PC regarding the board members, of which Deluca was one, failing to be forthright with a city-funded audit:
“Your accounting records were incomplete during the period under audit and we were not able to apply alternative procedures to determine the completeness of the statements and related disclosures. TV3’s management has not provided us evidence to support the $55,000 receivable on your financial statements. Additionally, TV3’s management has declined to provide us with sufficient representation on your financial statements...”
The letter goes on to say that the management, which includes two individuals who claim to be “money managers” (one, a person who posts on Patch under the name "Harvey") and offer advice to Medford viewers, cited “numerous references to accounting standards and accounting practices which we are not familiar with and which we do not understand.”
Frankly, the Comcast subscribers who fund the enterprise don’t quite understand how individuals we never hired — who admit they don’t know how to count — are able to play with millions of dollars and not be held accountable to the people who fund the station.
It’s our money; we’d like to know how every dime is spent. Anything less should result in the police, the attorney general and the district attorney putting a focus on each and every member of the Board of Directors of TV3.
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It's as simple as that. On August 6, 2013 the self-appointed president of TV3 was removed from City Hall by the police per order of the council president. On April 27, 2010 the police had to be called by the council president because three members of TV3 had conspired months in advance to attack this writer; there's a police report documenting this incident which I handed to Issuing Authority Michael J. McGlynn on April 28, 2010 and, per the Mayor's suggestion, I handed it to Judge Diane Kottmyer, the judge who (as a prosecutor) put the Angiulos away and who (as a judge) handled the Neil Entwistle trial. At another session in Superior Court Judge Kottmyer, in 2010, boomed out the name of the individual now charged with a false bomb threat. She said "Who is G....Z...." in a loud voice. Three years later the person was arrested.
On November 12, 2013, just last week, former TV3 Vice President Ron Delucia was disorderly enough to have the council president bang the gavel down on him, and on October 29, 2008 Judge Jackson-Thompson (retired) had the lawyer for TV3 removed from City Hall by the police.
Do you see a pattern? It's public evidence - at the council - in court, that TV3 is belligerent and very difficult to get answers from.
So pardon us if we just can't take the Patch post from a former board member seriously. Especially since the Chief of Police, Leo Sacco, said publicly that he just handed an investigation into racism over to the DA's office. Since this writer has personally asked the DA's office to investigate the financials of TV3, it is quite possible that those individuals are being investigated right now for the financial aspects of public access as well as the allegation of racism.
That is why the City Council is a public forum for the citizens to at least TRY TO get some answers from. Where citizens can at least try to ask some questions. The Council voted 7-0 to end the TV3 mess before they dissolved the corporation. Adam Knight, the councilor-elect replacing Bob Maiocco, is on record calling TV3 a "fiasco." So when Mr. Deluca makes statements regarding the board he was on and we find out that auditors and a retired judge got no information from them, you take what Dr. Rabies/Art Deluca says with a grain of salt.
We invite Mr. Deluca to come up to the council meeting and say what he says in print to the face of those he writes about. Since the councilors show up, since this writer is there every week, it begs the question: what is Mr. Deluca so afraid of that he wants to make a statement without giving the people he was supposed to serve an opportunity to question his statements in a public forum where he will be on a level playing field.
That's all the citizens who paid into the system that Deluca supervised want right now. If his answers are deficient, then we will have his statements on public record for the authorities to possibly investigate further. We are talking about a lot of money, and a public figure/candidate for Mayor owes it to the citizens to be upfront and not run and hide.
Council meeting is tonight at 7 PM in Alden Chambers, Medford, Mass.
Police Remove TV3 President Frank Pilleri from Medford City Hall
http://medford.patch.com/groups/rock-journalist-joe-vig-/p/police-remove-tv3-president-frank-pilleri-from-medford-city-hall_95a1cf5a
