The post Bob Gatchel calls out conflict of interest. appeared first on Cecil County News.

                This Christmas, Cecil County once again took its place on the national stage by providing the country with America’s Christmas Tree. As the lights are turned off and the decorations are taken down in Rockefeller Center, county residents can take comfort in knowing that in a turbulent time our county was able to provide a token of unity for everyone to gather around. Many of the visitors may not have known where the tree came from or may not have recognized the town of Elkton when they read the name, but no one could miss the beauty and elegance that the America’s Christmas Tree provided and the spirit of the holiday that it symbolized.

It may be easy to forget in recent times, but our little community has, throughout its history, routinely played a role in momentous events and occupied positions of national importance. During the Revolutionary War Cecil County was a strategic location for the Royal Navy. In 1777, 300 British ships sailed up the Elk River and off-loaded 15,000 soldiers who set up an encampment in Elkton. In the 1800’s Cecil County was a transportation hub with canals and railroads delivering the nation’s goods. Throughout the Civil War, Cecil County served as part of a passage for the Underground Railroad. The funeral train of Abraham Lincoln and Robert F. Kennedy passed through Cecil County with groups gathering along its path, most notably at the Elkton train station. The same train route was taken as a pilgrimage by President Obama on the way to his first inauguration. And of course, in the early 1900’s Cecil County was the premier wedding destination for the East Coast, resulting in quite a few celebrities finding their way to our wedding chapels.

                In addition to pivotal events, Cecil County has been home to many prominent figures. There have been professional musicians, athletes, and entertainers. As well as educators, writers, and luminaries who have all at one point or another called Cecil County home. Our county has produced governors, senators, congressmen, and even a Supreme Court Justice, David Davis. Davis was not only instrumental in getting Abraham Lincoln elected as his campaign manager, but was also single-handedly responsible for the presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes.

                It is no wonder then, that residents of Cecil County can tend to transfix their focus on national events. So much so that at times we end up overlooking what is happening in our own back yards (except when our backyards are producing the country’s Christmas tree). Our County has undergone a fundamental transformation in the last decade, and it is difficult to stay informed with the rapid changes while also trying to balance a busy work and family schedule. It has been less than a decade since we replaced our Commissioner style of government with a County Charter, upending how our local government functions.

                A new form of government brings new systems and processes and even new authority. To the average person working full-time and trying to provide the best life they can for their children, there isn’t time to research what the new administrative details will look like or even the exact limits of power their local government now has. They will continue their lives until an event takes place that alerts to a problem, and rightfully so. Local residents should expect that their elected officials act in their best interest, and anything to the contrary would be a betrayal of the public trust.

                Without engaged citizens, power can easily concentrate in the hands of a select few, and the interests of the connected displace the interest of the County. As other articles have demonstrated, this has manifested locally in the form of the Cecil Business Leaders PAC (CBL PAC). As power centralizes their actions are more easily hidden by ensuring a recurring list of individuals routinely occupy positions on committees, commissions, and administrations. This has a compounding effect as local journalism begins to relay on a small cast of characters, effectively handing over their megaphone to those in charge with power to dispense and interests to protect.

                However, even with nearly limitless funding, a grip on influence, and control of the press, officials become complacent and their words on the campaign trail contrast with their actions in office and soon become so obvious that their true motives become exposed. Nowhere has that been more obvious than with the McCarthy administration. In exposing the actions, connections and administration of Alan McCarthy, County residents had their eyes opened to the kind of corruption plaguing our County.

                Although McCarthy is out of office, his affiliates and those connected to him still hold positions of influence and power, resulting in the corruption and back room deals still taking place. However, one thing that has changed over the last few years is an awakening by the citizens to the culture of corruption that has been pervasive throughout local government. As we close the book on 2021, we encourage all of our readers to perform their due diligence on the municipal and county candidates up for election in 2022. We must demand transparency and hold our elected officials accountable. In 2022 we hope that our County can continue to make a national impact by retaking control of our own backyard.

The post What is the future of our own political backyard? appeared first on Cecil County News.

                After an exhausting 2020 election cycle that left even the most ardent political spectators feeling fatigued and with the next election over a year away, few County residents are focused on the upcoming political happenings of 2022. Despite the seemingly distant events that will unfold in advance of County residents next visit to the polling booth, the County redistricting process is already underway, which will have a major impact on the 2022 race. As required by the Charter of Cecil County, the County Council is required to form a Redistricting Commission each year following the U.S. Census. The Redistricting Commission is responsible for submitting a plan that outlines residency districts, along with a report explaining it, no later than November 15^th of the year before the plan is to take effect. While redistricting is an inherently contentious process, this Redistricting Commission has been faced with last minute obstacles imposed upon them by the County Council, and Council President Bob Meffley in particular.

                In accordance with the County Charter, each party that earned at least 25% of the vote share for County Executive is entitled to nominate five members (one from each district in the county) to serve on the Redistricting Commission. As long as those nominees meet the eligibility requirements to serve, the County Council is required by the Charter to appoint the members selected. These names are to be submitted by the Central Committees of the qualifying parties (in this case, Democrats and Republicans) and confirmed by the Council no later than April 1^st. That date has come and gone, and while the Commission was established by the Council in March, the composition of the Commission has recently been thrown into question.

                On August 17^th, 2021, the Council proposed the resolution to appoint members to the Redistricting Commission, which will be voted on during the next legislative session on September 7^th. While the Democratic slate was full, the Republican slate had two noticeable absences for District 4 and District 5. Sources familiar with the matter have provided documents that show the circumstances surrounding those vacancies. The District 4 nominee lived outside of the district, making her ineligible for appointment. The District 5 nominee, however, was removed under the pretense that he was an elected official as a member of the Republican Central Committee and was therefore ineligible for appointment, because the Charter prohibits elected officials from serving on the Redistricting Commission.

                The grounds on which the District 5 nominee was blocked is legally dubious, and definitionally absurd. The Republican Central Committee, like all parties’ central committees are not a public body and are certainly not officers of the Cecil County Government. Members of the central committee are selected by the members of that party, not by the voting public. Furthermore, the County Charter doesn’t list any position in a political party as a public office, which is why the conduct, function, and members of the committees are not bound to the same laws as County Officials. Central committee members are party officers, not public officers. Therefore, a central committee member although “elected” by their respective party would not fit the definition of an elected official in the County Charter any more than a CEO elected by a board of directors, or a deacon elected by a congregation would. The provision in the County Charter is designed to prevent public officials from appointing themselves to positions that give them control over issues that affect their current office.

                Definitions of elected officials aside, the actions taken by Councilman Meffley appear to be political retribution rather than an honest, good-faith effort by our government to enforce a fair composition of the Redistricting Commission by following their best interpretation of the law. For one, other nominees listed on the resolution for appointment are also members of their party’s central committee. This means that Councilman Meffley is either targeting the District 5 nominee, or has failed to do basic due diligence on those nominated. Secondly, sources shared that the decision to disqualify both members were received on August 11^th. The Republican Central Committee was then given three days to appoint new members in advance of the legislative session where the appointments were to be confirmed. Not only is that an overly burdensome timeframe, but it also made it all but impossible to mediate the dispute over the District 5 nominee before a decision was needed.

                In light of the obvious double standard of barring one nominee from serving on the Commission on the grounds he is a central committee member and not others, sources share that the Council has removed the other nominees who currently sit on a central committee. However, the initial actions of Councilman Meffley are telling. The nominee from District 5, Vincent Sammons, is an outspoken anti-corruption advocate in the County. Many of Mr. Sammons targets are those with whom Bob Meffley has close ties. This incident, paired with past actions taken against Mr. Sammons by Councilman Meffley, reinforces the notion that Mr. Sammons removal from the list of nominees was politically motivated.

                Whether the one-sided actions taken by the Council were motivated by malevolence or are the results of incompetence, speculation can only answer. Regardless of intent, the actions taken are directly blocking eligible individuals from serving on the Commission in contravention of the Charter, and are indirectly disenfranchising Republicans who may not receive the representation on the Redistricting Commission that their party chose, potentially affecting the results of redistricting. Councilman Meffley’s actions have exposed the County to possible litigation, should the determination of the status of Mr. Sammons eligibility be taken to the courts. If pursued, the County’s limited resources will now be diverted to legal costs, and the work of the Redistricting Commission could be delayed. If not challenged, Councilman Meffley will have successfully blocked those within his own party from serving on the Commission and speaking up for voters throughout the redistricting process.

The post Last minute obstacles for the Redistricting Commission appeared first on Cecil County News.

It was recently reported by the Cecil Whig that Cynthia Osborne, the executive director of the Elkton Housing Authority, had embezzled $50,000 in federal funds. Bethany Rae Perryman, the newly appointed editor of the paper, broke the scandal story in what she lauded as the biggest scoop of her career.

However, the taint runs deeper in the EHA than the Whig has reported. Sources within the system, who we will only address by the pseudonym “Mary Jane” in order to conceal their identities and protect them from possible retribution, have reached out to us in order to disclose more details than the Whig has reported.

Ever since the story in the Whig broke, the tenants in the communities managed by the EHA have been talking and decided to share their story implying that the fraud doesn’t stop at embezzlement.

Tenants Being Overcharged on Rent

One of the issues brought forth is that tenants are not being informed of programs within the EHA such as Earned Income Disregard. This program encourages tenants to seek employment in assurance that their rent will not dramatically increase by the new income.

Legally, the Housing Authority is obligated to inform tenants of this and other programs during lease renewals and sign papers confirming that they are aware of all information.

Under the EIS program, 100% of income is disregarded for the first year. On the second year, 50% is disregarded.

Many tenants have lived in these EHA controlled communities for years and overpaid their rent by thousands of dollars and have never heard of Earned Income Disregard.

Unexplained Fees and Unreasonable Utilities Bills

In EHA controlled communities, specifically Rudy Park and Windsor Village, communication between the EHA staff and the tenants is very poor. Tenants reported to us that the EHA would correspond only by leaving notes stuck to their front doors.

Often attached are bills only described as “Past due,” and when asked what the past due bill is for, they receive no explanation, only a threat of eviction if it is not paid.

In addition, the utility fees for all of the tenants have skyrocketed. Several of the charges for water alone exceed $500. And when Mary Jane has asked for copies of the bills issued from the gas, water and electric companies, they have been denied.

These tenants feel they have the right to see the actual bill for their utilities and not the paper printed out by EHA and stickered to their doors. And for the sake of transparency, they are correct.

Ignored Drug Activity

Mary Jane has also told us about drug use by tenants living in the communities. This behavior has been reported and otherwise ignored by the EHA staff.

More specific details have been omitted from the article to protect the privacy and safety of our sources.

If you live anywhere in Cecil County, this should not come as a surprise given that our region is in the throes of an opioid epidemic and in many neighborhoods dealers and addicts run rampant.

Black Mold/Code Violations Persist as Maintenance Orders Go Ignored

We all know that low income housing isn’t going to be like living in the Plaza Hotel, but all buildings are required to meet certain standards of livability.

Many tenants have work orders going back as far as 2015 that have yet to be filled. Others have provided pictorial evidence of black mold in their homes and suffer from chronic health issues related to mold exposure. Their children are reportedly suffering the same health issues, as well as their pets.

Maintenance, when they actually did show, did little to solve the issue, claiming that all they had to do was paint enamel over the mold because if it can’t be exposed to water, it would die.

In other cases, paint peels from the walls and is being consumed by their pets, leading to concerns about whether or not this is lead paint, as it has been used before in low income homes.

Physical Assaults and Fears of Retribution

According to Mary Jane, there is an individual in the area shooting at people, property, and vehicles with a BB gun. This person has been reported and as of now, no action has been taken.

Mary Jane, and many of the other tenants who have not reached out, are afraid to speak up and make waves, for fear of the EHA evicting them in retribution and being left homeless and destitute. In the past they have taken steps to evict people who have angered them.

Many more ghastly details provided to us had to be omitted to protect the safety of our sources.

“I hope by shining some light on this, someone can help us, all the families that are under the management of EHA,” said Mary Jane. “This is a lot. I know. Welcome to life in our neighborhood!!”

Closing

Several photos have been provided to us by the tenants corresponding to us under the pseudonym “Mary Jane” and will be provided in this article. See the gallery inserted at the bottom of the page.

What we have seen, and what has been explained to us is nothing short of reprehensible. We would like to call on authorities to carry out a full investigation of the Elkton Housing Authority and all of the properties they see.

Our own investigation has uncovered curious examples of malfeasance. A case search we conducted revealed that the EHA sued administrative secretary Alisa Ducre on several occasions for failure to pay rent, indicating that she was living in a property meant for low income families.

More evidence of corruption in the EHA is currently being investigated and we will report on it as details become available.

It would seem that the $50,000 embezzlement scandal reported by our friends at the Whig was only the tip of the iceberg.

The post EHA: Deeper Corruption Gone Unreported appeared first on Cecil County News.

Earlier this week Cecil County News reported the sad story of Charles and Amber Maggiore, who have had land belonging to them seized via an action to quiet title that failed to name the appropriate landowner nor representatives as defendants when the Maryland Code for Real Property demands it, and was based on a deed to the wrong property.

Read the story here: http://cecilcounty.news/2019/09/08/perryvilles-not-so-quiet-title-farce/

Assisting the Maggiore family in their negotiation with the town is local businessman Vincent Sammons who has reported that Perryville refuses to acknowledge the 17.85 acreage surrounding the Mill Creek Reservoir as the part of the estate of Mabel Williams-Whack whose representatives sold the estate to the Maggiores.

Fred Sussman, the town attorney for Perryville insists that the town purchased the reservoir property from the Perryville Water Company despite filing an action to quiet title to claim the land. He insists that the 17.85 acres is separate from the 51.62 acres owned by the Maggiores despite the evidence we provided in our prior article stating otherwise.

For anyone confused by Perryville’s response; think of it like buying a six pack of soda at the market, having someone take a soda then try convince you that 3+3 equals 5 instead of 6, and that the sixth soda theirs because they bought it from a different market. And if you try to take the soda back, they threaten to have you arrested.

Based on the current information provided, Sussman also claims that the town is being required by the Maryland Department of the Environment to lower the water level in the reservoir to ensure the safety of the reservoir, despite the Cecil Whig’s reporting in 2016 that the reservoir was going to be demolished and scrapped while Lidl would be restoring the streams as part of a compensatory mitigation.

This, readers, is what is known as gaslighting; which is an attempt to manipulate someone into doubting reality in spite of facts and logic by asserting a lie like it’s truth.

Inspection of the terrain has uncovered property markers that support the Maggiore’s claim, and three witnesses attest that some more were removed during the work being done on the land by the town.

Sussman has also demanded that the Maggiores remove the signs posted claiming ownership of the disputed property and directing people to “keep out,” claiming that they are “inaccurate and defamatory.”

Meanwhile at the Maggiore property, Perryville two men showed up on the premises accompanied by a police officer out of uniform and driving an unmarked car, but wearing his badge and holstered sidearm. When he was asked and was legally required to answer, refused to reveal his name. An argument ensued over who was the owner of the property that Charles Maggiore told Cecil County News went on for five to ten minutes. He was only identified as Officer Jerry Warner of Perryville PD due to the neighbor coming out to check on the commotion and calling him out by name.

Mr. Maggiore also told us of another incident with police where he was stopped on the road because of a broken headlight. But when Mr. Maggiore asked to get out and look at it, the officer instructed him to remain seated. After the officer left, Mr. Maggiore inspected his headlights only to find that they were fine.

At this point, the town of Perryville has few options. Either they can arrest Charles Maggiore for trespassing, or he will have them arrested for trespassing. Either way, the case and the evidence will go before a judge. Based on the evidence we have collected, the quiet title judgment should be vacated.

In his back and forth with Town Administrator Denise Breder, Mr. Maggiore reported that every time she sends him a deed to prove the town owns the reservoir property, it is the same wrong deed that belongs to a property at Old Post Road in Perry Point, several miles from the disputed land.

We will continue to keep you apprised of the situation.

The post Perryville’s Response to the Maggiore Case appeared first on Cecil County News.

Meet the Maggiores

Imagine after working hard finally being able to purchase your dream home. You sign the papers, write a check, put your name on the deed and start moving in. It’s heavenly, right? This is one of the single greatest joys a person can have in their life, to stand on land and sleep in a house that is theirs alone.

But for Charles and Amber Maggiore of Perryville, MD, that dream became a nightmare. The couple, for the sum of $275,000.00, bought a parcel of land to put down their roots and raise their five children from the estate of Mabel S. Williams-Whack, who passed away in 2014 at the age of 90. It’s a beautiful range of 51.62 acres located on Jackson Station Rd home to wetlands and waterways.

After signing the dotted line in May 2016, their problems began. One day, the Maggiores caught a suspicious man hunting near the old Mill Creek Reservoir, which stands on their property. This poacher claimed to have been given permission by the town to hunt on the land. Reasonably, Mr. Maggiore consulted Denise Breder, Perryville’s Town Administrator.

“Poacher said the town gave him permission to hunt by the reservoir,” Charles Maggiore told us, “I went into town to see Denise and she said to call the cops.”

Mr. Maggiore said that the next time it happened, the Department of Natural Resources got involved and advised him to put up No Trespassing signs. According to their maps, the reservoir was on his property and by the opinion of the state, belongs to him.

A 2013 Cecil Whig article by Jane Bellmyer claimed that the reservoir built by the Cole family in the 1930s was sold to Perryville for the use of the reservoir. The land it sat on was purportedly being leased to the town. More on that later.

 The Maggiore’s situation only worsened after this.

The Action to Quiet Title

 In March of 2016, the Town of Perryville had filed a quiet title action and the following July a judge ruled in their favor, allowing Perryville to effectively seize the 17.85-acre parcel of land where the reservoir stands as town property.

From Wikipedia: “An action to quiet title is a lawsuit brought in a court having jurisdiction over property disputes, in order to establish a party’s title to real property, or personal property having a title, of against anyone and everyone, and thus ‘quiet’ any challenges or claims to the title.”

In previous cases involving a quiet title, people using lands that are not theirs have made adverse possession claims followed by quiet title actions and been able to take ownership of that land by court authority. Various news websites have described this as a means to legally steal real estate.

In order for the action to work, the squatter for an amount of time that varies state-to-state has to be openly living on or using the property without permission and paying taxes or other expenses associated with maintaining the property before they can make the case. It’s similar to a common law marriage, where after cohabitating for an established period of time an unmarried man and woman are considered legally married.

A municipality (the Town of Perryville) arguably cannot squat on private property, nor can they pay taxes and fees to themselves for it. Even if they argue that they own the Mill Creek Reservoir which has been on the land since the 1930s, that is a very flimsy predicate, as for decades the reservoir and land have not been in use by the town.

It’s also worth noting that the defendant listed in the court records for the quiet title action is Gertrude C. Cole of South Carolina, not Mabel S. Williams-Whack or the representatives of her estate, Dwight James and Thomas Short III, or even Charles and Amber Maggiore who were sold the property and all its contents before the ruling was made. According to the deed for the property, William Cole Jr. and his wife Sarah sold the parcel of land to Collins Williams in 1926.

Maryland Code Real Property Title 14 – Miscellaneous Rules subtitle 6 – Actions to Quiet Title states in subsection 14-610: “Notification of personal representative. – If a person required to be named as a defendant is dead and the plaintiff knows of a personal representative, the plaintiff shall join the personal representative as a defendant.”

In a similar case, Estate of Zimmerman vs Blatter, the additions to Subtitle 6 signed in by Governor Larry Hogan in 2016 applied retroactively and following an appeal, the judgment in the Zimmerman case was vacated and the case was dismissed. This sets a legal precedent for any future cases with the same circumstances.

As we pointed out before, in the action to quiet title and settle ownership of the 17.85-acres, Perryville town attorney Fred Sussman did not name Thomas Short III or Dwight James, the representatives of Mabel S. Williams-Whack as defendants in his action to quiet title. Which, by the precedent we’ve explained, means the court’s ruling that the 17.85-acre parcel belongs to Perryville should too be vacated. But to this day, they still claim the town owns the land around the reservoir.

In our investigations, we have found that there are no records in the Cecil County circuit court of that land ever being allocated to the town of Perryville prior to the quiet title action, either ownership or lease. The County Clerk was unable to locate any relative information.

Not only that, the Town of Perryville submitted the wrong deed for their case. The document given belongs to a property at Old Post Road in Perry Point that was owned by John Stump in the 1800s. This location is miles away from the disputed land.

And that would be checkmate, I think. It is hard to believe that this farce ever held up in a court of law. The Court should review their ruling and with the evidence in mind, vacate it and dismiss the case according to legal precedent.

The quiet title action is not the only suspicious misfortune the family has suffered since moving in.

The Fire, the Liens and the Land Developers

In November 2016, the Maggiore’s home caught fire. Investigators suspected arson and according to Mr. Maggiore, inspectors came out twice while he wasn’t home and logged it without notifying him. Evidence pointed to the fire being started from outside the house and Maggiore believes the case is still open and unsolved.

No one was hurt, thank God, but for a time the house was unlivable, and the family had to be away from the property, and Mr. Maggiore says they never received anything in the mail from the town about any matter, except for warnings Ms. Breder and town attorney Fred Sussman issued for them to stay off the property and not to hang signs or paint the trees.

Tax liens were then placed on their property, ostensibly to satisfy unpaid taxes and charges due the county in the amount of $919.12. The property was sold at an auction for $170,000.00 to Thornton Mellon LLC, who would foreclose the property after six months if the Maggiores did not pay the money.

After fighting the sale and highlighting errors made by the town, the Maggiores successfully reclaimed their property. But the Town of Perryville still claims ownership of that 17.85-acre parcel of land around Mill Creek Reservoir via their shady quiet title action.

The question you’re likely pondering is: why does Perryville care so much about an 80-year-old defunct reservoir and the land surrounding it?  

In March 2016 (the same month the Quiet Title action was filed,) Jane Bellmyer reported in the Cecil Whig that the Town of Perryville was given a draft plan for a stream restoration project that would fix flooding issues around the reservoir and help the town. The specifics are unclear as the representatives of TLBT, LLC whose organizations devised the draft plan were under a DNR, as was Lisa Webb, the director of Cecil County’s Department of Economic Development.

That fall, Bellmyer reported in her Whig news column that the town of Perryville wanted to scrap the reservoir and sell the property. She also mentioned that the stream restoration project was being carried out by Lidl, which recently opened its new distribution center in the county. Following this information, it would be safe to conclude that Lidl would be the purchaser, or perhaps another company working in tandem with them.

The area around it has a lot going on recently. Contrary to the Whig’s claim of stream restoration, the logging and digging taking place adjacent to the Maggiore’s property have been damaging the wetlands and waterways. The MDTA notified the family of this effect along with their intention of applying to the Maryland Department of the Environment to obtain authorization.

There are also improvements to the I-95 exit sought by the Maryland Transportation Authority, likely due to the Great Wolf Lodge going up next to Hollywood Casino. Being nestled between I-95 and Route 40, the land is also in the path of the County’s Master Water and Sewer Plan. York Builders (Stewart Properties) is involved with many of these enterprises.

In another letter, MDTA requested permission to enter the Maggiore’s property to perform a field survey. Mr. Maggiore has expressed contempt for the damage these projects are doing to his property and its value.

It would seem that the only crime Charles and Amber Maggiore committed was choosing a home for their family that lay in the path of the town and developers looking to turn the area around the I-95 exit into a tourist hub. The lack of concern for the local nature and the value of Maggiore’s property is sad.

• The Maggiore Deed 2016 with Map (Current Owner of 655 Jackson Station)
• The Cole Deed 1926 (Previous owner of 655 Jackson Station)
• Town of Perryville Quiet Title 2016
• The Stump Deed 1893 Town claims was Deed to 655 Jackson Station (Reservoir) Page 1 at bottom , Page 2
• 1858 Survey map of Cecil County showing the Deed 2 different deed’s references.

The post Perryville’s Not-So-Quiet Title Farce appeared first on Cecil County News.

It used to be said that no journalist worth their salt would reveal their sources, but today it is considered mandatory in order for a news article to be credible. The days of Walter Cronkite, the most trusted man in America are long past.

The era of social media is one where everyone is connected; where news and information, true or not, can reach people at great speeds and elicit a response that can either be gracious or harmful. And in too many ways, this has become a tool for predacious elements looking to promote themselves or diminish their rivals.

Such as the times are changing, journalism too must change with them in order to preserve its integrity. News is about reporting the facts and making sure people understand them, not about treating information as a commodity you push for profit, which bequeaths more power over what you say to your sponsors. A truly free press can belong to no one.

Real news must protect its values and not be for sale. Cecil County News believes in a volunteer press; real news for free, and free of corruptive influences.

Your questions posed about who writes the articles for Cecil County News have been seen and noted. Our small staff includes a writer/editor; a very talented individual who offered insight into the value of anonymity, given our tendency to report on public corruption and the backroom deals taking place between county officials and business leaders.

A good example is the case of former Councilor Diana Broomell. Though she is widely regarded with distaste and was ultimately voted out of her seat on the Cecil County Council, much of the ill sentiments toward her and the so called “Anti-Growth Agenda” narrative exist only as a result of the propaganda spewed by friends and supporters of the Cecil Business Leaders PAC. In the past, she reported extensively about public corruption and censorship of information damaging to the corrupt officials. Her other reports addressed the county’s drug epidemic, as well as the dangers of charter government. Looking back at the articles from her personal blog, it proves that old adage: hindsight is 2020.

Next to suffer this treatment is local businessman and Chairman of the Cecil County Republican Central Committee, Vincent Sammons. As an outspoken critic of the McCarthy Administration, he has been harassed by County Officials who trespassed on his property without a warrant demanding to inspect his home on suspicion of running an illegal business. This same claim, along with many more lies have been repeated by the Facebook page Cecil County Politics, which is run by Joshua Brown, a member of the Cecil Business Leaders PAC which owns the McCarthy administration.

Much of the same libelous treatment Sammons receives also comes from the liberal news blog Cecil Times. Their editor, Nancy Schwerzler, has a proclivity for using her blog to attack members of the GOP, except for members of the CBL and McCarthy’s administration. For them, she conspicuously pulls her punches and focuses her attacks on their opponents, such as the Town of Rising Sun.

For the sake of the truth, state law requires someone operating a business out of their home to have a special exemption, but only if the business in question does business inside the state. VSS Business Solutions does not have any Maryland clients and serves the technical needs of clients in Pennsylvania and Delaware, making his operation perfectly legal due to working out of state. The only demand Maryland has is that Sammons pay his taxes, which he does.

Anonymity protects staff members from any sort of public harassment and slander. In some cases, it may even guard their physical safety should they be called as witnesses if criminal investigations and charges were to follow one of our reports. If one thing is clear, it is that the one ring of business leaders who aim to rule us all will sink to any low in order to destroy anyone who runs counter to their agenda.

Readers still ponder over who we are though, and idea has been proposed to assign pen names to writers as we grow and we begin recruiting new volunteers to write articles and differentiate them, but so far, we’re not ready to put that plan into motion.

Much of our position has been explained previously in the article, Watcher of the Watchdogs, which provides a summary on the history of journalism and its punishment as an act of sedition. Statesmen may pay lip service to the merits of a free press, but often those words are hollow and the only press they truly like is the one that pushes their propaganda.

Every article we publish relies on sources of information we provide, such as publicly accessible records such as campaign finance and court documents, or from Freedom of Information Act requests to public officials. We are also willing to and have credited persons who comes to us as a source.

Reach out to us if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, or if you want to be a contributor. We will do our best to reply and address you in a timely manner.

Thank you for reading, Cecil County News

The post A New Form of News appeared first on Cecil County News.

“The Executive shall devote full-time to the duties of the office. The Executive shall not participate in any private occupation for compensation. During the term of office, the Executive shall not hold any other office of profit.”

County Charter; Article 4, Section 405 (b) – Qualifications for the County Executive.

The rules of the Cecil County Charter are very clear in the matter of outside employment for the position of County Executive. After taking the role upon democratic election, an individual must end any employment in the private sector and step away from any business enterprises they may run.

In the case of retired veterinarian Dr. Alan McCarthy, the rules of his office need not apply apparently. His role in land development and real estate continued into his term as Executive.

Baker’s Hill LLC (McCarthy, plus Kenneth Simmons, Jay C. Emery III, and Stephen Baker) acquired a swath of land from Willard E. Megonigal Jr. of New Castle, DE, and developed the land into a townhouse community.

Initially, this was nothing out of the ordinary, just a group of investors looking to make a profit. But when the housing market tanked and sparked the Great Recession in 2008, the investors of Baker’s Hill fell on hard times and were unable to meet their financial obligations.

One by one, Baker, Simmons, and Emery withdrew from the LLC in 2013 and assigned all their interests to Dr. McCarthy (who as of 2012 was sitting on the Cecil County Council), leaving him the last remaining member of Baker’s Hill. In effect, McCarthy had bought out their stakes in Baker’s Hill and indemnified them from any future financial obligations.

Rather than pay the debt to Megonigal when it was due in July of 2016, Councilman McCarthy let it go into default while selling homes and collecting rent from more than thirty tenants; and making his bid for the position of County Executive.

On December 20^th, 2016, County Executive Alan McCarthy (newly sworn in and bound to Article 4, Section 405 (b) of the County Charter) received a certified letter from the attorneys of Willard Megonigal stating that if the debt and interest were not paid, legal action would be taken against McCarthy and the other three investors.

On January 26^th, 2017 the debt of $250,000.00 and interest of $6472.25 referred to as the Megonigal Note was paid off by Baker’s Hill LLC.

However, a one-member LLC called Ulysses claimed to have paid off the debt soon after and proceeded to sue Kenneth Simmons, Jay C. Emery III, and Stephen Baker to pay debts they were indemnified of when they assigned their interests to McCarthy. Any liability that may still exist vanished the moment the Note was paid off.

Ulysses LLC, which is owned by Dr. Alan McCarthy, and is therefore his proxy, appears on none of the checks written. McCarthy wrote checks from his personal PNC Bank checking account to Baker’s Hill and wrote checks from Baker’s Hill’s Harford Bank account to Willard Megonigal. His other LLC, the plaintiff in the lawsuit, has no role in any transaction.

The entire lawsuit was without merit and amounted little more than a scam by McCarthy to recoup his money.

In his efforts to save political face and commit fraud to shirk his debts, County Executive Alan McCarthy has broken charter laws and violated the Clean Hands doctrine. During his term as County Executive, he continues to collect rent as a landlord.

In February 2019, the lawsuit against Baker, Simmons and Emery by Ulysses LLC was dismissed by Judge Colleen Cavanaugh after proof was established that Ulysses had no role in paying the Megonigal Note.

*Copy of court documents can be found here: cecilcounty.news/downloads/McCarthy-Baker.pdf

The post McCarthy Violates Charter Laws appeared first on Cecil County News.

Journalism is a craft that can be dated back to Rome before the rise of the Empire. Because of the boundless curiosity of common men, as well as the methods which rulers and administrators can abuse their positions for personal gain, there have always been a cause for brave and worthy individuals to find and report the truth.

Often in history, reporting on the government has been charged as sedition and punished. In other cases, the government has controlled the news and spread propaganda, abusing the trust placed by the everyday individual to be informed. This is an instrumental part of similar collectivist structures like communism, socialism and fascism.

In modern history, the industrialization of journalism transformed reporters from being watchdogs into little more than providers of entertainment; a commodity. Rather than by virtue of telling the truth, news became more concerned with getting a juicy scoop before the competition to boost ratings and bring in more revenues from sponsors.

The most powerful means of capturing an audience are by fear and scandal. As much as we enjoy seeing a heartwarming story on the news about an everyman rising to the occasion and saving a life, or starting a nonprofit to help those less fortunate, salacious tales and gossip tickle our darker passions and intrigue us. When times are tough or uncertain, those looking for solace take comfort in the words of like-minded men the same way the religious find it in the word of God.  

We as a society place great faith in journalism, often forgetting that the journalists are as corruptible as any statesman or businessman. Which begs the question: who checks the journalists and keeps them honest?

Of their own free will, they can become deceptive and predatory for their own profit. They can ally with the corrupt government for mutual gains and fool us into hating their enemies.

There are too few willing to do this.

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