Posted on 10/10/2003 1:07:25 PM PDT by Dog
Local NBC station in Philly is reporting federal warrants are being served in at the Municipal Services Building.
There is also a report of an emergency meeting of Mayor Street's cabinet taking place right now..
They were shaking down people..
At least they won't have to go looking for everyone...
It was something like 103% or 105%, but definately over 100%. ;-)
This was sort of my thought too. Gambling?
Phila Business Services was the name of it.
With Street? .. Oh yea, I'll bet it is.. John's come a long way since his days of fighting with Franny Rafferty
These rats are scrambling all over the place and not sure which way to go
6/7/03: Mayor nixes brother's airport deal Street cites 'potential' of impropriety By Dave Davies daviesd@phillynews.com
Mayor Street yesterday pulled the plug on brother Milton's $1 million-plus contract to maintain baggage equipment at the Philadelphia airport .
"I don't like the fact that this was a contract Milton entered into with no bidding," the mayor said at a press conference. "It has the potential to be looked at as a kind of insiders' deal."
Street said he asked his brother to withdraw from the contract, and he did. The mayor said he first heard about the contract when reporters began calling his press office this week.
Milton Street 's company, Notlim Service Management was to take over supervision of about 14 employees who now work for Philadelphia Airport Services, which manages maintenance for the entire airport .
Notlim's contract would be worth about $1.2 million according to one business plan. Airport officials approved the plan, but insisted that PAS retain the administration, liability, and financial responsibility for the services.
"The rules were followed," Street said yesterday. "However, I don't like the appearance of an impropriety, whether or not one exists."
It was unclear yesterday how Milton Street 's company could have been approved as a minority contractor by the city's Minority Business Enterprise Council while he appears to owe the city more than $8,000 in unpaid business taxes. MBEC director James Roundtree was away yesterday and unavailable for comment.
Milton Street said in a prepared statement that his firm won the contract "fairly, and without influence," but would honor his brother's request to withdraw.
Milton Street was a paid consultant to PAS when it won the airport maintenance contract in 2001. He said in an interview Thursday that since then he's been building a company he hopes can provide technical services to airports in other cities.
"We can pursue opportunities in a number of cities where the media won't pay any attention, because my brother isn't the mayor," he said.
Mayor Street said he won't ask his brother not to seek city business in the future.
"I believe that Milton has to be very careful, but I don't know that it's lawful or fair for me to ban Milton from any contract in the government," Mayor Street said. "If I hear of a situation that I think poses a questions of propriety, then I will get in it."
The embarrassing episode is certain to play a role Mayor Street's re-election campaign.
Republican mayoral candidate Sam Katz said yesterday "cronyism, nepotism, and secrecy are alive and well in the Street administration."
Katz said it "strains credulity" to think that a company owned by the mayor's brother with no employees, no capital, and no experience in the field could get such a contract without high level administration officials knowing about it.
"We don't need any moralizing from Sam Katz on cronyism," said Street's campaign spokesman Mark Nevins. "Time and time again, we've seen him enrich himself with insider contacts and political connections." *
FBI Probe Linked to Enron Collapse?
October 9, 2003 — Our Action News investigation reveals that the FBI corruption probe reaches into almost every corner of city government. The main focus appears to be the awarding of contracts and lucrative legal work on city issued bonds, and that some of the probe may have been triggered by the Enron scandal.
Action News has learned that when the Enron scandal broke, red flags were raised at the City Controller's office. That's because the company that had won the controversial airport maintenance contract is an Enron subsidiary. Affiliated Business Services, based in Houston, teamed up with two politically connected Philadelphia companies when it bid on the contract.
One of the companies, General Asphalt, hired Mayor Street's brother Milton. They say he was there to help mediate the bidding process. The other company, U.S. Facilities, has close ties with former City controller Tom Leonard.
Former Enron subsidiary eventually won the contract with a low bid of $13.6 million dollars. A year later, Affiliated Business Services bought out General Asphalt's and U.S. Facilities shares of the contract.
Both companies say Milton Street's involvement did nothing to open doors for them, and they say they have not been contacted by the FBI. We've also learned that in addition to the city, federal investigators are looking into airport contracts too. The FBI is also looking into the awarding of city bond work. When the city needs money for major building projects, it issues bonds. That requires legal work, which is usually a percentage of the bond.
The federal investigation has tentacles spread into the far corners of the city's contracting practices. What they eventually snare if anything, remains to be seen.
(Copyright 2003 by Action News. All Rights Reserved.)
LOLOLOL!!!!
The FBI is also looking into the awarding of city bond work. When the city needs money for major building projects, it issues bonds. That requires legal work, which is usually a percentage of the bond.
Whoa baby!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.