Don't take no for an answer
This isn't frustrating, it's infuriating.
The taxpayers are out a lot of money -- and not only the $500,000 or so the city was bilked by Project Homestead. The long SBI investigation consumed a tremendous amount of expensive staff time, as did the long review of that report by the Guilford County District Attorney's Office.
For what? No criminal charges, thanks to poor memories and shoddy bookkeeping by the people responsible.
And a sealed report.
The public pays and pays, and gets nothing in return. That's not right, and City Council should not accept that without exploring every possible means to obtain the SBI report.
Failing to do so strengthens suspicions that some council members would rather the report not see the light of day. As Stan Swofford reported more than two years ago, some actively protected Michael King from close scrutiny.
Greensboro taxpayers deserve better and should demand a better effort by city officials to let out all the facts that have been gathered.
Comments (7)
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Doug,
Where's the N&R's investigative reporting at on this matter? Surely the N&R can get some one to loosen up about the results and details of the investigation.
I'm as upset about this matter as you are and feel the City should do all that it can to have the report released. After all, that was our taxpayer's money that funded Homestead.
Who would you say on the Council would have been the elected official most partial to Homestead and capable of exerting influence on the city depts that dealt with Homestead?
Posted on April 6, 2006 12:15 PM
Jon, Stan's story that I linked to should answer your last question.
You raise a good issue about getting someone to loosen up. The people who provided information to the SBI could provide the same info to reporters ... although the SBI has more coercive means at its disposal to persuade people to talk.
Posted on April 6, 2006 12:29 PM
I haven’t been in Greensboro very long but I am sure of one thing: Greensboro and Guilford County are run by and for the Black residents. No matter what crime a Black person commits if he/she wears business apparel they get off scot free. I was an early civil rights worker and still am very much concerned about equality for all races, but equality is supposed to work BOTH ways and in this region it certainly does not. Who is to blame? Who is buffaloed? How long are the people of Greensboro/Guilford going to put up with this nonsense?
Posted on April 6, 2006 3:03 PM
Why don't you put the Woodward/Bernstein Dream Team (aka Lorraine Ahearn and Eric Townsend) on the case?
Surely they can corrupt some official into releasing the report illegally.
Posted on April 6, 2006 4:25 PM
I'm guessing it would be just a bit tougher to pry a huge investigative report loose from the SBI in Raleigh.
Posted on April 6, 2006 4:41 PM
Brenda,
Some on the council as much as admitted that they were intimidated by Rev. King by being painted as racists if they didn't back off certain fiduciary oversight processes that were standard in order to make certain somebody was in charge of the store and the monies were being properly used at Homestead.
Now to be fair, credit is to be given to N&R for doing the initial investigating and reporting on the misdeeds of Homestead and exposed the excesses of those officials.
Unfortunately, DAttorney Henderson is a light weight and has a lack of judicial integrity to at least make those individuals who are with us today and who profited by illegal Homestead disbursements with our tax dollars, repay the amounts.
Posted on April 6, 2006 4:43 PM
I feel the same way about the Civil rights musuem. Show us where the money went!
Posted on April 7, 2006 7:39 PM