EAST CLEVELAND TATTLER

Issue Number 4, Mar ch 2012 Marc Got pictur es or documents pr oving wr ongdoing? eastc le velandleaks@gmail.com pictures pro wrongdoing? eastcle lev

PUSSY WHIPPED
Officials want to know how and why the police chiefs secretary got video footage of the council president from Silvermans store
By CLYDE CLODHOPPER Theres a growing belief among East Cleveland residents that the civil rights of its citizens and government officials are being threatened by mayor Gary Norton, police chief Ralph Spotts and law director Ronald K. Rileys failure to reign in, report and prosecute corrupt behavior among public employees and officials within the municipal government; and their inability to curtail their own violations of ordinances and state and federal laws. Norton was serving in his capacity as mayor of the city of East Cleveland and a law enforcement officer according to Ohio law and the citys charter when he applauded employee Vanessa Veals Will greed cost Spotts unlawful disruption of an his career? official meeting of council on March 7, and her insubordinately telling the council president that she disrespected her. Veals also shockingly confessed that shes obtained video footage of Jordan giving the Tattler to a city cop at Silvermans department store on Hayden Avenue. Her claim was backed up by a letter councilwoman Mildred Brewer read into the record saying that cops had Jordan under surveillance. Nortons applause was personal. If he was a member of the audience and not on city business as the mayor he could have stomped and hooted for Veals. But as her boss, and as the citys chief conservator of the peace pursuant to Ohio law and East Clevelands charter, Norton should have
Norton shown before taking growth hormones I NEED MY BABY BACK, BABY BACK, BABY BACK RIBS. Nortons rubbing his wifes stomach kinda reminds us of that big red-haired dude in Austin Powers who told Mini-Me to jump in his belly. This emotionally and verbally abusive husband and father calls his wife of 10 years fat to close friends and when he flirts with other women. The Tattler hears the dwarflike Norton literally went crying (real tears) to the Concerned Pastors of East Cleveland for help. He got turned down after he told them he asked people not to pass out pictures of the former mayor that were stolen from his computer by Pitassio Taylor and given to him. Some remembered Norton showing the pictures to them and their congregation members and were astounded by his ability to lie in a church. Whats wrong with this dude? Is he sick?

Suspicions grow that Norton and Spotts wont discipline Vanessa for fear of her spilling the beans on their secrets

warned Veals that she did not have the authority to speak as a non-resident and that her insubordinate disrespect of the council president, regardless of her personal thoughts about Jordan, would result in very aggressive disciplinary actions if she continued. Its why Norton did not say those things as his alleged funk buddy and employee was violating laws and ordinances in front of the mayor, police chief and law director, who is also the chief prosecuting attorney, thats now raising eyebrows across the city. Veals is a secretary not a law enforcement officer. A former safety official said East Cleveland city council should be demanding, through an investigation, to know how she obtained video footage of Jordan and why she has it. Cops dont have the authority to obtain Silvermans private video footage unless there is probable cause for a criminal investigation of

Jordan, which there is not. Distributing a newsletter is not a crime whether Norton, Spotts or Veals likes its contents or not, the source said. There are more copies of the Tattler on the internet than on the streets. What are they going to do? Search Jordans computer? Learning the identity of the Tattlers publisher or whos associated with it isnt a function of municipal government. Norton, Spotts, Veals and any other employee who uses their on-the-job time to the pursuit of identifying or harassing anyone associated with the Tattler would engage public employees in an area of civil rights violations that will most assuredly make them the subject of a federal investigation and land them in jail. The source encouraged council to contact Ohio Highway Patrol superintendent Col. John Born, who manage the Law Enforcement Acess Data System (LEADS), to see if Norton and Spotts have authorized cops to use it for gathering information about their political enemies. A knowledgeable source said former mayor Eric Brewer sought help from the highway patrol, and was angered to learn that cops had illegally used LEADS to check Why wont Norton and his background Spotts fire an employee and that of his top who steals payroll checks, disrupts council meetings cabinet members.
Flip it over

and disses the council prez?

EAST CLEVELAND TATTLER, NO. 4, MARCH 2012

SEND AN EMAIL TO eastclevelandleaks@gmail.com for the Tattler

Council wants to know why Norton, Spotts wont discipline Vanessa

Keep reading ....

Use of LEADS for anything other than an authorized traffic stop or ongoing criminal investigation is illegal and could result in East Cleveland being suspended from using it if cops are caught doing so in violation of the states tight usage rules. Brewer disciplined and threatened to prosecute cops if they did it again and fired former detective Tiffney Cleveland for using her LEADS access to thwart an FBI sting that involved her drug dealing husband. Nortons just so aw shucks look at me glad to be the mayor he hasnt even checked to see if the cops hes using as his goons have used LEADS to investigate him and his people,the former safety official said. Veals chilling confession suggests that she is using her position as Spotts secretary and the protection shes receiving from Norton to retaliate against or create a civil rights violating investigation of the council president. Both Ohio and federal laws prohibit anyone from violating the civil rights of elected officials engaged in the lawful performance of their jobs. There is absolutely no reason for any cop to have used the authority of the police department to obtain Silvermans property and to deliver it to Veals or Mildred Brewer, the former official said. Spotts isnt going to investigate. Rileys a a major disappointment and his hiring a mistake. Sheriff Bob Reid and the FBI need to interview council and others with knowledge of criminal acts taking place inside the police department and investigate whether Norton and Spotts are abusing their law enforcement offices to harass and target elected officials and others they consider to be enemies. Matching her conduct as an employee to violations identified in East Clevelands employee handbook and codified ordinances would suggest that Veals should have faced stiff disciplinary charges, termination and even prosecution from Norton and Spotts before this latest episode of misconduct. Records show she was headed for the door under the ex-mayor as she had already racked up a three-day suspension with a warning that a second offense could result in termination. The ex-mayor suspended Veals for drunkenly cursing

at police officers when she showed up and interfered with an investigation and started throwing her weight around as Spotts secretary. Norton and Spotts inaction has fueled rumors that the preferential treatment Veals receives from them is a sign that allegations about her and the mayors sexual relationship must be true. In Spotts case, something even greater. Norton and Spotts dont dare touch her, said one source. Vanessa is the keeper of the records and she knows how money is coming in and being passed around in the police department. If Norton fires her he wont be able to shut her up. A former police source said Veals and Spotts are signatories on the Police Athletic League (PAL) bank account thats traditionally been used by police as a slush fund to finance travel and other activities they chose to invest in. Spotts informed the ex-mayor that Patricia Lane had used about $2700 in PAL funds for clothing purchases after she was terminated. He reported that Lanes daughter was a signatory on the police PAL account. The information was turned over to county prosecutor William Mason and investigator Michael OMalley in 2007, but nothing happened. The source said up until the ex-mayor ordered both Spotts and Lane not to spend law enforcement trust funds without his authority, the existence of the fund was often hidden from the mayor and council even though Spotts is required by local and state laws to give council an itemized monthly report of trust fund income and expenses. Council has the sole authority to create legislation to determine how the funds are spent, which pisses off police chiefs in many cities because they want the money exclusively for their own benefit. Its how they reward their favorites and generate extra benefits for themselves, said a former public safety official. That fund had nearly $300,000 in it when the ex-mayor ordered Spotts to spend it for new Dodge Chargers, guns and other equipment for the police department. One source said councilwoman Barbara Thomas has complained that Spotts has never submitted the monthly reports to council under Norton: a first degree misdemeanor since violation of any ordinance of council, unless

otherwise specified, is a crime. Thomas is calling for Nortons prosecution. The PAL account is different in that it exists as a result of the citys police department, but is managed separately without any public scrutiny as a non-profit by the police chief and whoever he or she designates to serve as a signatory on the bank account. The former mayor reported the former police chiefs $2700 in clothing purchases to the county prosecutor because of a $10,000 grant PAL received in criminal justice funds from the prosecutors office. Council has the right to investigate the PAL account and learn how public employees are spending funds that come to them because of their public offices, the source said. An attorney living in East Cleveland has been alarmed at how much unreported criminal activity is taking place in the presence of law director Riley. Under Ohios Code of Professional Conduct for lawyers, Riley is a lawyer for the organization and its constituents and not just the mayor. The rules require him to report violations of law to the highest authority able to resolve it within the organization, even if it means reporting his boss, the mayor, to the council once he becomes aware that his actions are unlawful and will have an impact on the organization. Rileys practiced law for over 35 years and once worked as an assistant prosecuting attorney, the attorney said. He knows better and has said nothing. I think he should be disciplined by the Supreme Court and sanctioned. One source believes Veals knows Norton and Spotts are using the PAL account to do things they cant do on paper, which is the major reason shes protected. Norton crossed an ethical line when he got involved with Vanessa and gave her $10 grand. Once you screw your secretary she owns you, the source said. If he fires Vanessa she talks. If he doesnt fire her and she continues to violate rules without being disciplined, Norton draws more attention to himself for the way hes letting her off the hook while other employees get the axe for lesser offenses. The First Ladys got to be wondering just why her husband is protecting this totally out of control secretary.

Strothers files theft in office complaint against Norton with county prosecutor
Just as council plans to hire attorney Darryl Pittman and James Alexander for legal advice and assistance in pursuing investigations of the mayors office and other city departments, Norton gets smacked in the face with a theft in office complaint from resident Gerald Strothers. Strothers. Strothers complaint alleges that Norton stole public funds by directing the finance director to continue paying him a safety directors salary that council voted out of the budget in 2012. Norton sounded a lot like a convicted exmayor when he told the press he wasnt worried about the complaint, citing his belief that law director Ron Rileys opinion protects him from prosecution. Norton claims the ordinance cancelling the safety directors wages was stayed by his petition drive. The problem with his logic is that Norton didnt do a line item veto of the safety directors salary portion of the 2012 budget, he vetoed the entire ordinance which would have rendered East Cleveland without a budget for the year. And once council passes an ordinance, only a judge can render it invalid: not an opinion from his handpicked law director.

Elections board gets complaint of Norton gathering pay petition signatures in polls on election day
Like a child who thinks he can do anything and get away with it, mayor Gary Norton may face Cuyahoga County Elections Board officials for criminally gathering signatures to get a pay increase inside the polls on election day. Elections board watchers say officials should also investigate why its employees didnt call police on Norton to have him removed, and why he wasnt ordered out by the on-duty elections official in charge. School board member Pat Blohowiak told Cleveland Magazine she couldnt support Norton because of previous election law violations. Well explain more in the next Tattler.