The Martin Chronicles reporters had an interesting chat with some of its Kenton County court house sources yesterday. They told us some things we had heard before but were never able to confirm. They involve circumstances surrounding Villa Hills malfeasant Mayor Mike Martin's 2007 FORGERY ARREST, subsequent legal proceedings and the aftermath.
Let's look at our courthouse sources' accounting of what really happened in seriatim:
- The investigation in to Martin signing a deceased person's name on that deceased person's checks and then cashing them definitely began in Hamilton County, Ohio. The Villa Hills Police Department only became involved after they were contacted by Hamilton County. Assistant Police Chief Joe Schutzman spoke with then Councilman Martin once about the matter, and then Martin "lawyered up". The information that had been gathered by Hamilton County and The Villa Hills Police Department was taken to the Kenton County Attorney's Office.
- The Kenton County Attorney's Office drew up FORGERY CHARGES against Martin and took them to a judge who signed off on an ARREST WARRANT for Martin.
- Contrary to the fable Martin has told numerous people, he was not arrested and put in handcuffs by Assistant Chief Joe Schutzman. Martin was not stuffed in to Schutzman's police cruiser and hauled down to the Kenton County Justice Center. No, it was handled far more diplomatically. Police Chief Dan Goodenough actually phoned Martin and advised him of the ARREST WARRANT that had been issued for the little liar. According to our courthouse sources, Goodenough carefully explained the next steps Martin should take to deal with the ARREST WARRANT. After putting on a white shirt and tie, Martin actually turned himself in at the Justice Center and was processed in less than an hour.
- Our courthouse sources tell us that the judge who signed off on Martin's ARREST WARRANT and heard the subsequent legal proceedings determined that Martin was simply too stupid to understand what he had done and eventually dismissed the charges with the proviso that the now-diminutive dictator fix the many legal problems he had created by signing a deceased person's name on that deceased person's checks and then cashing them.
- Our courthouse sources tell us that the Kenton County Attorney's Office did not share the judge's belief that Martin was simply a mindless idiot who didn't know what he was doing was a CRIMINAL ACT. We are told that the Kenton County Attorney's Office wanted to go directly to a grand jury to ask for a FORGERY INDICTMENT against Martin.
- Here's where the irony begins. The two people who talked the Kenton County Attorney's Office out of going to the grand jury to ask for a FORGERY INDICTMENT against Martin were Villa Hills Police Chief Dan Goodenough and Assistant Chief Joe Schutzman. Why? Because they simply wanted the whole sordid matter to come to an end. Goodenough and Schutzman were trying to spare the City they had taken an oath to protect from further embarrassment. Despite the fact that one of the City's councilmembers was signing a deceased person's name on that deceased person's checks and cashing them. We get that.
So, how did Martin react? Well, instead of thanking the Great Spirit that he wasn't sitting in a jail cell with Tattooed Bubba, Martin soon filed a $1.505 MILLION LAWSUIT against Goodenough, Schutzman and the taxpayers of Villa Hills, spouting all manner of LIBEL, SLANDER and DEFAMATION that would eventually be carried forward by Martin's hillbilly lynchmob. Martin's LIES also generated numerous costly-to-the-taxpayers lawsuits for his aforementioned LIBEL, SLANDER and DEFAMATION.
Our courthouse sources also told us that the Kenton County Attorney's Office also explored the possibility of pursuing a FORGERY INDICTMENT against Martin after the diminutive dictator's flimsy lawsuit was thrown out of court twice and judges reviewing the lawsuit opined that what Martin did "fit the very definition of FORGERY".
These are the reasons that the misdirecting Martin continues to waste TENS OF THOUSANDS OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS pursuing his personal vendetta against the Villa Hills Police Department. The voters of Villa Hills are now the only ones with the power to stop Martin's vicious vendetta.
They'll get that chance in 276 days from Friday's Chinese New Year celebration.
The Martin Chronicles is hearing that Villa Hills malfeasant Mayor Mike Martin may be backing off a bit from his plan to fleece every child who want to play sports on the Civic Club ball fields to the tune of twenty to thirty dollars a head. Why? Sources tell us that the midget Martin and the civic club drones are really feeling the backlash to their insipid plan. As well they should.
Sources are saying that Martin may back down to only charge five to ten dollars per child. Whooop-eee. So what? Martin shouldn't be asking for a single dime for reasons we will explain. Instead, Martin and his council should be celebrating every child who turns away from technology to walk outside in to the sunlight to play sports.
As we have written before, The Martin Chronicles understands the need for "pay for play" under the correct circumstances. If a government or school board has launched a legitimate austerity plan as a means of dealing with rising costs that are truly beyond their power to control, "pay for play" could fairly be included in that austerity plan.
But that is not the case in the mismanaging Martin's Villa Hills.
- Maybe Martin should do some real soul-searching and decide to stop wasting thousands and thousands of taxpayer dollars on lawyers and legal actions only to further his personal vendetta against the people he will forevermore blame for his 2007 FORGERY ARREST.
- Maybe Martin should do some real soul-searching and decide to stop wasting a taxpayer-funded $47.50 per hour to pay an unqualified personal friend to do the City's bookkeeping when-after nearly three dreadful years of financial confusion-it couldn't be clearer that this personal friend is woefully incapable of doing the job.
- Maybe Martin should do some real soul-searching and finally admit that he really doesn't have a coherent plan to fix the City's streets, push to keep his 2010 promise to repeal the UNFAIR $40 PER CAR STICKER TAX and quit talking about new ways to dip in to the taxpayer wallets to fund his clearly non-existent road plan.
- Maybe Martin should do some real soul-searching and walk away from his plan to use taxpayer money to elevate the controversial City Clerk Craig T. Bohman to a City Administrator position that the tiny tyrant has always said a town the size of Villa Hills doesn't even need.
- Maybe Martin should do some real soul-searching and decide whether Villa Hills needs either the costly services of the Northern Kentucky Area Planning Commission or the costly services of a local so-called "Nuisance Officer", instead of pushing council to have his costly-to-the-taxpayers cake and spending a fortune to eat that costly-to-the-taxpayers cake too.
Just consider this. Martin authorized the waste of thousands of dollars on a park that most town residents don't even know exists. Why do that and then turn around and fleece the children to play at another park? It makes no sense.
How about just leaving the children alone?
The Martin Chronicles doesn't have to remind you that a well-recognized definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different outcome. Of course, this type of insane behavior by Villa Hills malfeasant Mayor Mike Martin is becoming standard operating procedure.
So what is the most recent example? Well, we reported some time ago that the mallet-headed Martin and his "golden moment" council were considering several different ways to dig deeper into taxpayers' wallets to fund the tiny tyrant's non-existent "road program".
The folks at Cincinnati.com recently woke up and posted an article about Martin's latest re-hashing of previously-failed efforts. Martin and his council are looking at an increase in every residents' property tax to generate funds for that aforementioned non-existent "road program". The proposed increase? An additional $35 in property tax per $100,000 in home value.
Similar proposals have been offered to Villa Hills voters twice before in the last ten years. The 2004 attempt was turned down 55%-45% by the voters. The last attempt was in 2011. That terribly-managed Martin effort led to the diminutive dictator receiving a "confidential" reprimand for misuse of City personnel and resources and a 71%-29% drubbing at the polls.
So, Martin wants to try it again. Makes sense. At least to Martin. And evidently, at least some council members.
Better yet, the mathematically-challenged Martin told a Cincinnati.com reporter that he isn't looking to "increase taxes". Oh, really? Is that a fact? You don't say?
Well, let's look at Martin's brazen statement by taking a basic math quiz. We will use very simple numbers in the following word problem.
Johnny's Villa Hills home is valuated at $165,000. His current City property tax is $351.35 . A majority of voters approve the mismanaging Martin's scheme to increase property taxes by an additional $35 per $100,000 in home value. The following year, Johnny's City property tax on his $165,000 home is $409.20. Please answer the following question.
a. $351.35 < $409.20
b. $351.35 = $409.20
c. $351.35 > $409.20
d. hummana-hummana-hummana
Yes, we know. The moribund Martin most likely answered 'D', hummana-hummana-hummana. But most folks who understand very basic math see that the CORRECT ANSWER is 'A'. Meaning that a $409.20 property tax represents an INCREASE over the previous $351.35 property tax.
Ergo, either Martin is a LIAR or INCREDIBLY STUPID. Or more likely BOTH.
QED
The Martin Chronicles believes its long time readers may remember this post. If you don't, please go back to the archived articles and check out our report from Saturday, April 28, 2012 entitled, "I Don't Have An Answer".
Want the CliffsNotes version? We described how Villa Hills malfeasant Mayor Mike Martin took an absolute drubbing in court on Friday, April 27 for his ILLEGAL destruction of City records by a well-respected judge. In fact, this judge was so dismayed about Martin continued ILLEGAL destruction of City records after being ordered to cease and desist that the diminutive destroyer was asked, "Why, why, why would anyone think that destroying documents in the middle of a lawsuit was a good idea?" The feeble response from Martin's attorney? "I don't have an answer."
Well, our Kenton County Courthouse sources were burning up the Martin Chronicles' phone lines and email boxes yesterday. Why? Because Martin found himself before that same respected judge yet again. The reason? Martin filed a taxpayer-funded lawsuit against the man he blames most for his 2007 FORGERY ARREST-Joe Schutzman.
The supposed basis of the complaint? Well, the mendacious Martin claims that Schutzman is refusing to turn over some unknown Building and Zoning records to the City. As far as our investigation can uncover, there has been no such refusal by Schutzman. Better yet? There doesn't appear to be any listing or other documentation of what these allegedly-missing records even are. The whole complaint seems to once again be made out of whole cloth-as is the misleading Martin's typical modus operandi.
Our Courthouse sources tell us that the judge seemed to see right through Martin's complaint. The judge simply suggested that the defendant in this bogus taxpayer-funded lawsuit could simply turn over copies of any records he may have-if any-that the City may not have in its possession. Considering the demolishing Martin's unusual penchant for ILLEGALLY burning and shredding City records, who can know what the City may be missing?
But the scheming Martin's bad day wasn't over. Our Courthouse witnesses told us that Martin became red-faced and very angry when he was advised that CRIMINAL charges may be filed against him for THEFT for the tens of thousands of dollars he has so far refused to pay Schutzman. Despite the fact that the Kentucky Labor Department and other State agencies are aware that Schutzman is owed the money.
Despite all of these costly, Martin-driven, taxpayer-funded failures, somebody continues to make good money. Who might that be? Well, that would be Martin's personal attorney who he convinced a majority of his "golden moment" council to hire as the City Attorney. Win, lose or draw, this continued mess translates in to a boat load of billable hours for Toad V. McMurtry.
The voters can fix this mess by tossing out their own version of Mad Magazine's Alfred E. Neuman and all of his cronies on this November 4 Election Day.
The Martin Chronicles entire staff wonders what's going on with Villa Hills malfeasant Mayor Mike Martin's "golden moment" city council lately. They seem reluctant, or even afraid, to pose a single question to the mismanaging Martin about the diminutive dictator's erratic behavior. It is as if they have been bullied in to silence. The council only seems to come to life when they are parroting the misdirecting Martin's unpredictable party line.
- Why hasn't anyone on the "golden moment" council asked the megalomaniacal Martin for a coherent explanation for his comprehensive plan for the future of the Villa Hills Police Department? It would be fair to make this request in public. Why? Because a large segment local residents expressed their great unhappiness when the mendacious Martin finally stepped out from behind his long-told LIE, to finally admit he does want to disband the local department and "outsource". To date, nothing has been resolved or explained. The council has a duty to get answers for the people who elected them. What has the public gotten lately? Silence.
- Why hasn't anyone on the "golden moment" council asked misspending Martin for a coherent justification for the need to increase the City's budget for legal expenses ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-EIGHT PERCENT only to be quickly followed up by a warning from the City's Finance Committee that the ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-EIGHT PERCENT INCREASE won't be enough? The council has a duty to get answers for the people who elected them. What has the public gotten lately? Silence.
- Why hasn't anyone on the "golden moment" council asked the imperious Martin for a coherent explanation of his refusal to post a simple spreadsheet outlining his wasteful spending on legal fees on the City Website? This simple request was made by the pathologically-polite Councilman Jim Cahill. The malicious Martin rebuffed the kowtowing Cahill by saying that the disingenuous director had done some soulless soul-searching and decided he just wasn't going to do it. Is that a good explanation? Really? The council has a duty to get answers for the people who elected them. What has the public gotten lately? Silence.
- Why hasn't anyone on the "golden moment" council asked the malevolent Martin for a coherent explanation for why his abhorrent behavior has generated so many costly-to-the-taxpayers lawsuits? If nothing else, this "golden moment" council should demand a public explanation for why Martin's wife and sister have been active participants in his vendetta against the Villa Hills Police Department. The "golden moment" council should also ask the mealy-mouthed Martin to verify that he had absolutely nothing to do with the supposedly-anonymous letter to the State Auditor. What has the public gotten lately instead? Silence.
- Why hasn't anyone on the "golden moment" council asked the misleading Martin for a coherent explanation for why the miniature mullah has amazingly abandoned his long-standing (since at least 2004) opposition to a costly-to-the-taxpayers City Administrator for his tiny town only to propose appointing his compliant City Clerk Craig T. Bohman City Administrator? The council has a duty to get answers for the people who elected them. What has the public gotten lately? Silence.
- Why hasn't anyone on the "golden moment" council asked the mallet-headed Martin for a coherent explanation about exactly why he rushed them in to approving the small sultan's hiring of the Northern Kentucky Area Planning and Zoning Commission to provide building and zoning services for Villa Hills only to learn that the mismanaging Martin now also wants whatever a "Nuisance Officer" might be? The council has a duty to get answers for the people who elected them. What has the public gotten lately? Silence.
- Why hasn't anyone on the "golden moment" council asked the misdirected and miserly Martin for a coherent explanation about why the tin-pot tyrant now wants to shake down the children of his community for big bucks just to pay sports on the crappy fields of the Villa Hills Civic Club when he's wasting so much taxpayer money on other useless efforts like legal fees and new administrative positions? The council has a duty to get answers for the people who elected them. What has the public gotten lately? Silence.
Sure, we know that the mislead voters were duped in to believing that "Villa Hills needs a new council" in 2012 to make things better. The new, "golden moment" council came in to office with the thought that the residents wanted an end to the "blaming(?)". But, what the heck?
Well, the malingering Martin is running roughshod over the City's budget and any semblance of "honesty and integrity". Is this the time for the "golden moment" council to devolve in to a state of complete silence? If so, they are totally abandoning their State statute-mandated, sworn duty to provide oversight of City government.
That's why the voter's 2014 broom must sweep completely clean this November 4.
The Martin Chronicles is about to welcome its 190,000th visitor. As our beloved publisher occasionally reminds us, that's not bad for a little blog that almost exclusively writes about a little Kentucky town perched on the hills along the Ohio River that is only 3.5 square miles in size.
Our mission? To keep our readers up-to-date on the perpetual foul-ups, bleeps and blunders of Villa Hills malfeasant Mayor Mike Martin. As our regular readers know, the mallet-headed Martin keeps us very, very busy. The corrupt little fella just can't seem to help himself. In fact, we are working on several new, shocking stories right now.
Sure, we have our detractors. We've been called "vile" and "disgusting" by some of Martin's dwindling number of supporters. But, guess what? We don't give a tinker's dam about that. The Martin Chronicles plans to keep our watchful eyes on the malicious Martin all the way through this November 4, and well beyond.
The way things are shaping up, it's going to be a fun year. At least for us.
Now it's time to get back to work.
The Martin Chronicles wants to begin by apologizing by for the lateness of our reporting on Villa Hills malfeasant Mayor Mike Martin's Wednesday night city council meeting. But, it was so loaded with juicy tidbits that several of our reporters went out in to Thursday's bitter cold to gather public reaction from some long-time local political observers.
Where to begin? How about this? The misdirecting Martin now wants to elevate City Clerk Craig T. Bohman to the position of City Administrator. A first reading for that amazing proposal was presented to Martin's "golden moment" council Wednesday night. We fully expect the council will vote to approve Martin's request at the next non-televised caucus meeting in February.
Some newbies to the area may wonder why this proposal is so amazing. But long-time Martin observers expressed some strong opinions on this brazen move. We'll give you a taste of what our reporters brought back on this topic.
- "That clown Martin must think the residents are as stupid as he is. All that little twerp did was rail against the previous City Administrator (Corky Brown), carping that there was no need for a City Administrator in a town as small as Villa Hills. Martin makes me sick."
- "I guess we now know that there is no bottom to how low Martin is willing to go, as long as he's spending our money. This whole thing is payback for Bohman providing that bogus statement claiming he was a poor, pitiful victim of selective traffic enforcement. Martin is pathetic."
- "I have to think Martin is just desperate to make the City look like its running better than the train wreck its been since he took office. That little sh$t could care less how much taxpayer money he has to waste to try to re-elected in November."
Martin is also proposing to waste even more taxpayer money hiring what he calls a "nuisance officer" to paper over the shortcomings of the organization he falsely claimed would solve all of Villa Hills building and zoning (non-existent) problems, the Northern Kentucky Area Planning and Zoning Commission. What did veteran residents have to say about this loopy move?
- "What a joke. Wasn't it that dumb f#%k Martin who rushed a special meeting to get his flunkies on council to approve his hiring of the planning commission some months back? Didn't that lying piece of s#!t Martin tell those idiots on council that the planning commission was the way to go? So why does he have to waste our money hiring someone else to do the work the planning commission can't or won't do? That's bold face bull s#!t. Maybe those idiots on council should have read the planning commission proposal before they voted to approve it. We need to throw 'em all out."
- "So, instead of either local or regional building and zoning services, that idiot Martin now expects us to pay for both?!?! Who else other than that moron and the other morons on council think that's a good idea?!?!?"
Oh, the hits keep coming. Martin has asked the overly-compliant council has approved his whacky plan to shake down the town's children another $20 to $30 each for the privilege of playing sports on the Civic Club's mostly crappy fields. No doubt, his hyenas on council will vote to approve that rip-off too (in case you can't tell, this one really rubs us the wrong way). What do the old-timers' think about this?
- "Let me get this straight. Martin wants to waste our money on a City Administrator he never thought the town needed and an unnecessary Nuisance Officer and then stick it to our kids to cover his screw-ups. How did that jack#ss ever get elected mayor?"
- "Why does Martin want the City to enforce the greed of those crooks from the Civic Club? Oh, that's right. Martin is a bigger crook than those fools are."
- "I wouldn't mind Martin picking the pockets of our children if he wasn't also wanting to waste that money on attorneys, lawsuits, City Administrators and Nuisance Officers. What the he!! is a 'Nuisance Officer' anyway. Tell me again. Exactly why did Mike Pope and Jim Noll vote to keep that little dumb f#%k in office, again? Shame on those two jerks and the jerks on the current council."
One long-time observer was right on the money. Literally.
- "Do you know who is really cleaning up on this? It's that City Attorney (Toad V.) McMurtry, that's who. Why did council ever approve Martin's plan to use our money to hire his personal attorney in the first place? Can you imagine what its cost us to write all of these terrible proposals. As far as I'm concerned, they can all go straight to he!!, do not pass "Go" and not collect their $200!"
But don't worry. Council is likely to approve all of Martin's proposals at the next untelevised caucus meeting. So what does all that mean?
The voters have 284 days (from Friday) to correct the mess they created.
The Martin Chronicles was watching Villa Hills malfeasant Mayor Mike Martin well before he was narrowly voted in to the mayor's office. Several years ago we had him rated as a more-or-less amiable doofus and nothing more. We now know that the only thing right about that assessment is that Martin is indeed a doofus. His actions over the past four years clearly prove Martin is anything but amiable. Oh, and we now also know that Martin is a LAWBREAKER.
We have recounted his 2010 dirtbag mayoral campaign for you several times. There is plenty of time to retell that story in future posts. Martin went door-to-door and on the internet telling LIE after LIE after LIE after LIE after LIE after, well-how best to say it?-LIE. In point of fact, Martin and his surrogates told so many LIES that those LIES have sparked multiple lawsuits.
Our beloved publisher reminds us that dirty politics is nothing new. Democracy involves swaying at least one more vote to you than to your opponent. American history is replete with examples of campaign calumny. Candidates are frequently willing to sling mud. Do you remember Barack Obama's assertion that Mitt Romney murdered the ailing wife of a poor union steel plant worker?
There is the famous story of a nineteenth-century campaigner who made a stop in a small, rural town. Knowing that the crowd before him was uneducated, this pol accused his opponent of being a "somnambulist" and his wife of being a "thespian". Not understanding that his opponent walked in his sleep and his opponents wife performed in the theater, they simply chose to believe the worst and cast their votes for the misleading-story-telling pol who stood before them.
So, the fact that Martin told a bushel-basket full of LIES to get elected in 2010 is no real surprise. Survey after survey reports that people despise negative campaigning. And yet, survey after survey also reports that negative campaigning is highly effective.
Then came council campaign 2012. Martin and his surrogates hit the streets spinning a fantastic-and completely false-tale that all the tiny tyrant needed was a new council to restore peace and harmony in the once-proud City of Villa Hills. Kool-Aid drinking nitwits even stood in front of polling places on Election Day, 2012 holding tacky, homemade signs proclaiming "Villa Hills needs a new council". Desperate to restore some semblance of order, the voters wrong-headedly granted Martin's dishonest request.
Martin moved quickly to consolidate his power after the voters handed him his "golden moment" council:
- The miniature mullah hired his personal attorney to serve as City Attorney.
- The small sultan stepped out from behind his LIE to admit his long-standing plan to disband the Villa Hills Police Department and "outsource" outside protection.
- The puny pol signed a Municipal Order granting himself the right to spend tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars to investigate his political enemies.
- The diminutive dictator signed an Executive Order granting himself the right to have political dissidents expelled from public meetings and even arrested.
Here is what is damned odd. Its one thing to tear down your incumbent opponent in an election. But-once elected-most voters believe the new leaders they elect will actually govern and lead.
And yet, Martin continues to tear down the government he was foolishly elected to lead.
After more than three dreadful years, has Martin ever presented his comprehensive plan for his vision of how Villa Hills' City government should operate? Hell, no.
- Has Martin ever sat down with the employees he has publicly attacked and privately discuss his alleged concerns with them? Our extensive research leads us to confidently say, Hell, no.
- Has Martin kept his phony 2010 campaign pledge to find the money necessary to adequately fund a street repair and replacement program from money "in the current City budget" and repeal the dreaded UNFAIR $40 PER CAR STICKER TAX? Instead, Martin and his "golden moment" council are proposing more new taxes. So once again, we write, Hell, no.
- Has Martin kept his dishonest promise to bring "more transparency" to Villa Hills City government? Given the fact that he has been convicted for his illegal destruction of City records, our response is-once again-Hell, no!
- Has Martin kept his pernicious pledge to build teamwork in City government-READ: pacify his one friend who was on council back in 2010 who was so oddly awkward that he couldn't get along with anyone else? Given the fact that the combative and evasive nature Martin exhibited with the previous City Council continues unabated with the "golden moment" council he duped desperate voters in to giving him, our answer is-once again-a resounding-Hell, no!
Let's look at the miscreant Martin's most outrageous and pointless 2010 pledge. In order to infer that "dark forces"-that never really existed-were out to unfairly persecute him, Martin claimed in his patented megalomaniacal style that he would restore "honesty and integrity" to the Mayor's office. So, how has that worked out?
- Martin has received a "confidential" reprimand for MISUSE of City personnel and resources from the Villa Hills Ethics Board.
- Martin was caught "red-handed" producing a FALSE DOCUMENT in a dishonest attempt to MISLEAD the previous City Council and the taxpayers about the extent of his PERSISTENT AND ILLEGAL DESTRUCTION OF CITY RECORDS.
- Martin received a stinging JUDICIAL REBUKE FROM THE BENCH for his PERSISTENT AND ILLEGAL DESTRUCTION OF CITY RECORDS.
- Martin was CONVICTED on SEVEN OF NINE COUNTS of OFFICIAL MISCONDUCT and NEGLECT OF DUTY.
- Martin convinced the majority of his "golden moment" City Council to approve his hiring of his personal attorney to serve as the taxpayer-funded City Attorney.
- Martin was finally forced to step out from behind his ongoing LIE and admit his long-standing plan to DISBAND THE VILLA HILLS POLICE DEPARTMENT to "outsource" for protection.
- Martin spent several weeks pulling his "golden moment" council behind closed doors in hastily convened "special meetings" to supposedly discuss "pending litigation". We have now confirmed that Martin has been desperately attempting to get the taxpayers of Villa Hills to foot the majority of the legal bill generated by Martin's INTENTIONAL LIBEL, SLANDER AND DEFAMATION.
Despite the fact that the manipulative Martin holds all the cards of power in his troubled town, he wants residents to continue to believe that he continues to be an "outsider who is an innocent victim of circumstance and-worse yet-dark forces that are "out to get him". By now, anyone who has functioning frontal lobes should finally realize that Martin is nothing more than a dishonest doofus who has been using the power of the mayor's office to get revenge against his perceived enemies.
The voters get a chance to end this mess in 286 days.
The Martin Chronicles recently reminded you that Villa Hills malfeasant Mayor Mike Martin assured a reporter from The Kentucky Enquirer that the most recent lawsuit filed against him is "without merit". You can take the mendacious Martin's comment for what its worth.
There are plenty of examples of other government "leaders" making strong-and also false-denials. Richard Nixon announced that he was not "a crook". Bill Clinton strongly denied his dalliance with Monica Lewinsky. More recently, Barack Obama declared that "if you like your current health insurance plan, you can keep it. Period." We know how all those declarations panned out.
First, let's take a look at the definition of the word "merit". Encarta's Online Dictionary defines "merit" in the proper context as "the facts of a matter without regard for emotional, procedural, or other issues".
Assistant Police Chief Joe Schutzman has filed suit against the mendacious Martin and his wife Janet for-among other things-defamation, harassment and intimidation. Let's take a look at some of the demonstrable facts of this matter, without regard for emotional, procedural, or other issues.
- The Machiavellian Martin has been accusing Schutzman of "double-dipping" to anyone who will listen now for several years without ever offering proof. As a councilman, Martin went so far as to launch an ill-advised "investigation" of Schutzman. It is a demonstrable fact that Martin even used his sister to place Open Records requests in an unsuccessful attempt to "dig dirt" on Schutzman. At the conclusion of Martin's so-called "investigation", documents prove Martin was advised that there was no evidence of "double-dipping". In typical fashion, Martin twisted the words of the former City Attorney and former Mayor, claiming that they said they "didn't care" about Schutzman's falsely-alleged "double-dipping". That claim was a LIE designed to harm Schutzman-and others-in the public eye.
- Martin has claimed that he was "unaware" of the temporary arrangement that had been made in late 2010 for building and zoning services that led to his abject mismanagement of employee scheduling and tens of thousands of dollars in unnecessary taxpayer-funded overtime expense. Documents have surfaced and statements have been given that prove that it is a fact that Martin has been LYING about being "unaware".
- The malicious Martin, City Attorney Toad V. McMurtry and City Clerk Craig T. Bohman advised Schutzman that he was suspended pending termination in May, 2013. Why? In part, for unproven "political activity" and unproven "intimidation" of City employees. City Clerk Craig T. Bohman went so far as to provide an unproven statement that he was a "victim" of "selective traffic enforcement" by Schutzman. This despite the fact that there is absolutely no evidence that Schutzman ever wrote City Clerk Craig T. Bohman a traffic ticket or even once stopped him.
- Martin filed a taxpayer-funded lawsuit against the City's duly-enacted Civil Service Board in a duplicitous attempt to wrest away their legal authority to hear his false claims against Schutzman. Many suspect that the inimical Martin filed that wasteful lawsuit because he believed his "golden moment" council would be a more favorable "court" to hear his amoral attempt to railroad Schutzman.
- The imperiling Martin removed a security door-mandated by the agency granting accreditation to the Villa Hills Police Department-that is present in virtually all police departments, on multiple occasions, exposing Schutzman and others to unnecessary danger.
- Reports have emerged that Martin routinely offers harsh criticisms of Schutzman at Kenton County Mayors' Group meetings and other public events. The purpose? Well, a reasonable person could certainly conclude that Martin's negative comments would make it far more difficult for Schutzman to secure employment with another City.
- The misleading Martin claimed ignorance of a letter sent to the State Auditor's office by a so-called "anonymous citizen" prompting a "pimped" investigation of Martin's taxpayer-funded, mismanaged overtime expenses. Gee, suppose a witness has stepped forward because their conscience got the best of them saying that Martin was deeply involved in seeing that the letter to the State Auditor was sent?
- The contemptible Martin immediately issued a press release blaming Schutzman for all of the overtime problems in the aftermath of the State Auditor's report. This despite the fact that the State Auditor never once spoke to Schutzman during their investigation and the fact that the State Auditor wrote that every Villa Hills' City employee may have some double-billed payable hours.
- Documents have surfaced that prove that it is a fact that Martin's wife Janet placed Open Records requests to other municipalities in a mean-spirited attempt to "dig dirt" on Schutzman and his then-minor son Joey in the very recent past.
- As recently as January 13, 2014, a City Official appointed by the mallet-headed Martin and approved by his "golden moment" council walked into an already-underway Safety Committee meeting and began to make defamatory comments about Schutzman.
These are just a few of the facts. And this small sampling of facts are damning. Of course we know why Martin has been conducting this callous campaign. It has everything to do with his judicially-justified 2007 FORGERY ARREST. But the taxpayers of Villa Hills need to understand that Martin's callous campaign continues to cost them an unnecessary fortune.
The voters will have to wait 288 days before getting the opportunity to put an end to it.
The Martin Chronicles has been watching Villa Hills malfeasant Mayor Mike Martin's vendetta-driven attack on the City's fine police department and the diminutive dictator's mistreatment of other City employees for a long, long time. In our view, the attacks and mistreatment have only gotten worse since the November 2012 election.
And why is that? Well, Martin was emboldened by the unjustified survival of his October, 2012 removal hearing. The corrupt commissar only remained in office because former councilmembers Mike Pope and Jim Noll ignored the fact that Martin was convicted on seven of nine counts of Official Misconduct and Neglect of Duty and both took a dive for their pal.
Then the voters bought in to Martin's 2012 dishonest council election promise that if they only gave him a new council to work with he could really show them what he could do. Come to think of it, that is exactly what's happening.
Look at the make-up of the new council. At least three of them have become active participants-wittingly, or otherwise-in Martin's full-scale assault on Villa Hills City Government.
Mary Koenig was returned to City Council after twelve years. Why? Many voters were just frustrated. Many voters came to town well after Koenig's previous misadventures. Other voters simply forgot her history.
But Koenig came back to council carrying the baggage of a long-and well-documented-history of divisiveness, duplicity and deception. An archived stack of e-mails clearly prove that Mary Koenig was actually the principal architect of the unjust termination of then-Police Chief Michael "Corky" Brown right before Christmas, 2000. That episode resulted in the resignation of a mayor. Given her words and actions since returning to council in January, 2013, she has not changed. Except that she might actually reside in Taylor Mill.
Holly Menninger-Isenhour and Brian Wischer are probably more useful idiots than masterminds in Martin's vendetta. But their comments about the Villa Hills Police Department and other City employees at Villa Hills council meetings have been reckless and incendiary. They need to go in the upcoming election if for no other reason than that they are both far too stupid to be effective public servants.
Let's examine another unfortunate opportunity the voters presented Martin beginning in 2013. Martin was able to convince a majority of the new council to hire the miniature mullah's personal attorney, Toad V. McMurtry to serve as the taxpayer-funded City Attorney. Then, Martin convinced that same "golden moment" council to approve the appointment of Craig T. Bohman to City Clerk. To say that the results of those two council-approved appointments have been disastrous is an historic understatement.
First, McMurtry. You know McMurtry. Martin's personal attorney who called Police Chief Dan Goodenough "unethical" and Assistant Police Chief Joe Schutzman "a baboon". Most Villa Hills residents would probably think less taxpayer-funded billable hours from their City Attorney is a "worthy goal". Given the fact that the new City Council approved a 138% increase in taxpayer-funded legal fees in December and then the City's Finance Committee announced that the 138% increase wasn't enough less than one month later, Martin will certainly miss that "worthy goal" by several miles. Some attorneys just have to love those "billable hours" conducting investigations of investigations of investigations of mismanagement.
Next, Bohman. Despite high praise from people like former Covington Mayor and current Villa Hills resident Butch Callery, Bohman started his first week on his new job in Villa Hills photographing Villa Hills City employees in a controversial attempt to catch them in some imaginary wrongdoing. Then, in May 2013 Bohman gave a statement claiming that he was a victim of unfair traffic enforcement by Assistant Chief Joe Schutzman. This despite the fact that Schutzman never ticketed-or even stopped-Bohman. Most recently, Bohman has been the target of a complaint resulting from his odd penchant for filing Open Records requests for information he is statutorily-assigned to maintain. Oh, brother.
Then there is that promise the mendacious Martin made way back during his dirtbag 2010 mayoral campaign. You know the one. Martin pledged to repeal the UNFAIR $40 PER CAR STICKER TAX. In an August, 2010 Community Recorder article, Martin callously claimed he could find more than enough money to maintain the City's street repair and replacement program out of "the current City budget".
The voters sure changed all of that in November, 2012. After being given the new council he begged for, Martin stepped out from behind his lies and began pushing for his UNFAIR NEW ENERGY TAX. More recently, Martin's new City Council has jumped in to the effort to push Villa Hills' taxes higher. The Finance Committee is suggesting an increase in the SNEAKY INSURANCE PREMIUM TAX, an $80 per parcel add-on to every resident's property tax and looking at other ways to dip in to the taxpayers' ever-lighter wallets.
Oh, its worse than that. Have you been paying attention to what is going on at the City's Finance Committee meetings? Time and time and time again they make it abundantly clear that they simply aren't getting the answers they need from Martin or HIS CRONY-HIRE, FORTY-SEVEN DOLLARS AND FIFTY CENT PER HOUR TAXPAYER-FUNDED BOOKKEEPER to approve the flimsy City financial reports. It is now a certain fact that these complaints were not the fault of the previous council. The fault lies completely with the misdirecting Martin.
Way back in 2010 Martin made the false claim that he wanted to make Villa Hills' City government more "transparent". Then he began illegally destroying existing City records, tampering with City computers, failing to properly fill Open Records requests and then even providing the previous City Council with a doctored document falsely claiming to represent a complete list of the records the malfeasant mayor had illegally destroyed.
In part thanks to the fact that the voters adhered to Martin's plea for a new council in 2012, the emboldened Martin recently went so far as to refuse to post a simple spreadsheet on the City's website detailing his wasteful legal expenses. Yes, its shocking. But the voters created this monster when they elected Martin in 2010 and then surrounded him with willing accomplices in 2012.
Recently, Martin's misdeeds have generated yet another lawsuit. The remarkably "opaque" Martin now drags his "golden moment" council behind closed doors to lie to them about a complaint without "merit". Martin is most certainly ignoring the recovered emails from his sister and his wife that were designed to further Martin's mudslinging against members of the Villa Hills Police Department. Martin is also most certainly ignoring the strong rumors that someone has stepped forward and provided a statement that Martin and "others yet unknown" actually orchestrated the supposed "anonymous" effort to bring in the State Auditor's office to provide false evidence supporting the misdirecting Mayor's bogus claims of wrongdoing. It's a voter-created mess.
Martin has also decided that it's a perfectly fine idea to shake down the children who play sports on the Villa Hills Civic Club ball fields to the tune of "twenty to thirty dollars" per child. That step might have been justifiable except for the fact that Martin has otherwise wasted tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars reimbursing himself excessive legal fees and launching an already well-documented effort to dismantle the Villa Hills Police Department that has necessitated the hiring of several "hired gun" attorneys.
Besides, Martin is wasting taxpayer money employing four-yes, FOUR-administrative clerks. To put it in perspective, Martin has more clerks on duty than the City's police or public works department ever fields in a single work shift. It makes no sense. So, instead of justifiable step, Martin's pickpocketing of children is simply an abject disgrace.
But, as fate would have it, the voters who helped create this terrible mess in 2010 by electing the mismanaging Martin and in 2012 by surrounding the small sultan with a mostly-compliant council he is better able to bamboozle, will get yet another chance to fix the terrible mess they helped create. Isn't it great that we live in America, where even the most inattentive voters get even a third chance to fix a problem they helped to create?
These same inattentive Villa Hills's voters who were willing participants in creating this current mess will get yet another chance to throw Martin, Koenig, Menninger-Isenhour, Wischer and even McMurtry, Bohman-and yes, a few others-out on their butts in just about 290 days.
The Martin Chronicles staff occasionally frets that the human wrecking ball Villa Hills malfeasant Mayor Mike Martin will somehow get his act together, denying us things to write about. But that fretting is quite rare indeed. Because in our collective heart of hearts we know that the mistake-prone Martin is always only minutes away from being caught in another lie, misdeed, foul-up, bleep or blunder.
Not surprisingly, Martin has managed to do it again. The tiny tyrant's latest outrage occurred at the annual youth sports field assignment meeting held at that local den of drunkenness known as the Villa Hills Civic Club.
Martin opened the meeting in his typical fumbling fashion. The diminutive dictator immediately delivered some very bad news to the assembled throng of community-minded volunteer coaches, telling them that there were going to be some changes. Specifically? Every team was going to be shaken down for twenty to thirty dollars per player for the "right" to have their teams compete on the so-called "civic" club's ball fields this year.
Witnesses tell us that the assembled coaches wouldn't have been any less put off if Martin had instead announced that he had slipped poison in to every drink that had already been served that evening. In other words, the coaches were understandably none too pleased.
Always one to run for cover, Martin then turned the meeting over to two of the members of his infamous "goon squad", Councilwomen Holly Menninger-Isenhour and the hideous Mary Koenig to finish the dirty deed. As you can imagine, they did nothing to improve a very bad situation. But enough about that for now.
For the purposes of full disclosure, The Martin Chronicles is not absolutely opposed to the concept of "pay for play". If a government entity is legitimately enacting austerity measures as a means of freeing up money for perhaps more important services, it may make sense.
But that clearly isn't the case in the mismanaging Martin's Villa Hills:
- Remember, Martin had no trouble signing a Purchase Order to pay himself TWENTY-THREE THOUSAND-PLUS TAXPAYER DOLLARS to cover his legal expenses for his personal attorney who managed to get the malfeasant Martin acquitted on two counts of Official Misconduct and Neglect of Duty. Oh, that's right. Martin was CONVICTED on the other SEVEN COUNTS OF OFFICIAL MISCONDUCT AND NEGLECT OF DUTY. Ain't that something?
- Remember, Martin had no reservations about convincing a majority of his "golden moment" council to hire his personal attorney to serve as the City Attorney to the-yes-the-meter-is-running-at-full-speed-ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY TAXPAYER-FUNDED DOLLARS PER HOUR. Again, ain't that something?
- Remember, Martin tasked his personal, and now City-Attorney to launch a ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY TAXPAYER-FUNDED DOLLAR PER HOUR investigation of the investigation of the State Auditor's investigation of the Kentucky Labor Department's investigation into the mismanaging Martin's refusal to pay justifiably earned TAXPAYER-FUNDED overtime expenses. Again, ain't that something?
- Remember, Martin recently convinced a majority of his "golden moment" council to approve a ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-EIGHT PERCENT INCREASE in taxpayer-funded legal fees. Oh, yeah. The City's Finance Committee just announced that that whopping increase wasn't going to be enough to cover the misspending Martin's TAXPAYER-FUNDED legal largesse. Once again, ain't that something?
Our regular readers realize that this is just the very tip of the mallet-headed Martin's wasteful spending. Given that, how does the miniature mullah justify shaking down every youth sports team an additional THREE TO FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS?
Good Grief!
The Martin Chronicles entire staff gathered together in our conference room to watch the video of the Monday, January 13 Villa Hills Safety Committee meeting. While the meeting only lasted a little more that twenty-six painful minutes, those painful twenty-six minutes could very well have laid the groundwork for even more costly-to-the taxpayer legal action.
Here's the best part. The problems were mostly created by a man who wandered in noticeably late to the meeting that lasted only twenty-six painful minutes. Who was that man? Well, it was Dave Hilgeford. Yes, the same Dave Hilgeford who Villa Hills' malfeasant Mayor Mike Martin has just appointed to the City's Civil Service board.
So what did Hilgeford say? Committee chairman Jim Cahill asked, "does anybody have anything else?" After a different question, Hilgeford prefaced his next inflammatory comments by saying he wasn't trying to be "vindictive". But you wouldn't know that by the things that he said next.
Hilgeford continued, "I understand we have an officer who is on leave because of mental strain and anguish (an obvious reference to Assistant Police Chief Joe Schutzman. You remember him. Schutzman has been the main target of the malevolent Martin's several years-long vendetta against the local police department)".
Peppering in qualifiers like "I'm not trying to stir the pot" and "I'm not trying to make a big stink", Hilgeford went on to express concern that Schutzman may have a City-provided gun and taser. Hilgeford injected terms like "mental and emotional distress" and painted a scenario where Schutzman may show up at "a local elementary school". Man, oh man.
At least one other committee member jumped in to the roiling pot of very hot water. "The City might have to ask a judge to order Assistant Chief Schutzman to surrender his firearm". It was also stated that Schutzman should have to "prove his sanity".
We heard terms like "unstable", "irrational" and "suicidal" bandied about. All in all, that piece of the painful twenty-six minute meeting sure seemed like a desperate plea from Hilgeford and perhaps one or two others to "please, please, puh-leeeeaase sue me too!"
Our readers should consider this. How did Hilgeford even know about any of this? Protocol for an officer requesting any sort of leave would call for notice to be sent to his immediate supervisor (in this case, Police Chief Dan Goodenough) and the mallet-headed Mayor Martin. We seriously doubt that Chief Goodenough would share confidential employee information with Hilgeford. That sort of, kind of, leaves the malingering Martin as the primary suspect.
It doesn't take a huge leap of faith to conclude that Martin is out continuing his incessant campaign of slander and defamation against Schutzman. Why? To divert attention away from the fact that the misbehaving Martin continues to drag Villa Hills' taxpayers in to one costly lawsuit after another. Poor me. All they do is pick on me. Why won't anyone work with me?
Our readers should also consider this. What in the wide, wide world of sports were Councilmen (and Committee chairman) Jim Cahill and Rod Baehner possibly thinking? They said they couldn't discuss the matter because it involved "pending litigation". Fair enough.
But what both of them should have also done is tell Hilgeford to "shut the f^%k up!" Why? Because Hilgeford's inflammatory comments and the defamatory discussion it caused may very well have dragged the taxpayers of Villa Hills in to yet another lawsuit.
How much clearer does it need to be? The only way for Villa Hills' voters to fix this ongoing mess is to throw Martin and everyone else out this November 4. The problem is that Martin will continue to do very-hard-to-fix damage to the City between now and then.
291 days and counting.
The Martin Chronicles is borrowing a line used in virtually every prescription drug commercial for this post's title for an important reason. If and when Villa Hills' malfeasant Mayor Mike Martin is finally able to execute his radical plan to disband the local police department and outsource coverage, you had better read the fine print for what Martin will be peddling. Why? Because that darn devil is lurking in the details.
If you want to do a little preparatory homework, read yesterday's post in Cincinnati.com about Crescent Springs new five-year contract for police protection with Erlanger. The Martin Chronicles has absolutely no comment about decisions made in Crescent Springs or the quotes provided by their Mayor Jim Collett. Our mission has always been and will always be to report on the ongoing corruption and incompetence of the Villa Hills feckless Mayor Martin and his cronies.
But that Cincinnati.com post does provide some clear clues about what would happen to the wallets of Villa Hills taxpayers wallets if Martin's radical plan comes to fruition. Readers should also bear in mind that the population of Villa Hills is more that twice that of Crescent Springs when trying to determine what Villa Hills residents would pay for outsourced coverage.
Crescent Springers' annual cost for outsourced coverage is about to jump from $876,000 to $988,000. For those of you who prefer percentages, that is a 12% increase. Over the rest of the life of the five-year contract, the annual cost increases in steady steps to $1.11 million. Again, for those of you who prefer percentages, Crescent Springers' annual cost for police protection will increase by 26% over the next five years. No additional coverage. No new services. So, the cost for more of the same goes up 26% by the time a new contract must be negotiated.
Our readers should also remember that a municipality is prohibited by law from spending money outside of its borders. Why is that important? Let's say one city contracts with another city for police protection-or any other service. If the city or county that is providing that police protection-or any other service-realizes that it is costing them more than what they contractually agreed to, they are forced by law to either ask for an increase in fees or terminate the agreed-to contract.
Has that happened? You bet it has. The City of Erlanger had to do that very thing just a few short years ago when they realized the cost of providing Emergency Medical Services to a number of cities was more than they anticipated. Each city that signed a contract for Emergency Medical Services from the City of Erlanger was forced to decide whether to pay significantly more than they contracted for or seek the service elsewhere.
Now, let's circle back to Villa Hills. Let's imagine the day the mendacious Martin just might be able to announce that he and his "golden moment" council have finally decided to contract for police services with the City of Erlanger, Park Hills, Ft. Mitchell, Ludlow or Whatever. You know what the mallet-headed Martin will bray. He'll say he did it "to save a whole bunch of money".
First of all, we know that will have next to nothing to do with it. Why? Because Martin and his willing allies on that "golden moment" council have simply been endlessly conniving to get a measure of unwarranted retribution for the miscreant Martin's judicially-declared righteous 2007 forgery arrest.
Secondly, many of us remember that "Rule of 72" we learned in school. For those of you who don't, you divide the number 72 by the rate of increase to determine how long a number takes to double. Flash back to the Crescent Springs story in Cincinnati.com. If Villa Hills would contract to pay a 12% annual increase for the cost of outsourced police coverage to another city it would only take six short years for that cost to double. Friends, that would translate to a serious amount of taxpayer money.
Readers should also be mindful of the fact that the annual increase in the cost of maintaining a well-trained, properly-staffed local police department would be far less. This is not even taking in to consideration the far better service a local police department provides its residents. Again, that darn devil is lurking in the details.
293 days until the election, but will it be too late?
The Martin Chronicles enjoys following the asinine antics of our State Legislature in Frankfort. At least when it comes to the how and why proposed new legislation just might effect the terrible turmoil in Villa Hills' malfeasant Mayor Mike Martin.
One piece of legislation-whose sole current sponsor is the ineffectual career politician Adam Koenig-is one that fills the aforementioned bill. For the uninitiated, Adam Koenig is the son of Villa Hills' Rhine Maiden Councilwoman-who may have just slipped up and admitted she actually resides in Taylor Mill-Mary Koenig. And in this case, it appears that the unimpressive Adam is desperately trying to carry the water for his Mommy Dearest.
First, let's show you Master Koenig's proposed legislation:
HB 183
Kentucky House Bill
AN ACT relating to city civil service. Amend KRS 90.310 to prohibit the establishment of a civil service commission in the months of November or December of even-numbered years; allow any ordinance creating a civil service commission to be amended or repealed, except that no repeal of provisions relating to the maintenance of a pension fund are allowed; amend KRS 95.761 specifying that certain cities may adopt either the provisions of KRS 95.761 to 95.766 or KRS 90.300 to 90.420 for its police and firefighters, allow adoption of KRS 90.300 to 90.420 for non-police and firefighters; prohibit the establishment of a civil service commission in the months of November or December of even-numbered years; allow any ordinance creating a civil service commission to be amended or repealed, except that no repeal of provisions relating to the maintenance of a pension fund are allowed.
Did you carefully read Koenig's proposed legislation? If you did, you will see that the if Koenig's proposal becomes law it becomes a wonderful gift for the miscreant Martin, Momma Koenig, Holly Menninger-Isenhour and Brian Wischer.
Why? Because it will allow that remarkably un-fabulous four to undo the worthwhile protections passed in to law by the previous council to protect City employees from a malevolent man who was elected while simultaneously suing Police Chief Dan Goodenough, Assistant Chief Joe Schutzman-and, yes the inattentive voters who narrowly elected the mallet-headed Martin.
This Koenig-proposed-no, we aren't entirely sure whether it was actually proposed by Adam or Mary Koenig-legislation would allow vendetta-driven mayors and councils-like the one currently mismanaging Villa Hills-to repeal protections still in place provided by the old Civil Service ordinance.
Do you think it was just a coincidence that Koenig included a prohibition against enacting a Civil Service ordinance in the months of November or December of even-numbered years when the Villa Hills Civil Service ordinance was enacted in December, 2010? For those of you who have not mastered the concept of odd and even numbers, 2010 was indeed an even-numbered year.
Here is what you can take to the bank. If Adam Koenig's proposal becomes law then watch out. Martin will fire all of his perceived enemies and Villa Hills will soon be contracting for less-effective outside police "protection". Martin's vendetta started after his righteous 2007 forgery arrest will then be complete.
The Martin Chronicles is giving all of its readers a little homework. Adam Koenig's 69th District covers parts of Kenton, Boone and Campbell Counties. Check out which Cities fall in to that district. Then check out which of those Cities have Civil Service ordinances in place.
Then ask yourself why Koenig decided to take up this cause.
Our beloved publisher says Koenig's obvious charade reminds him of a hilarious bit in the great movie, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. Leaning back in his chair and taking a puff of his ever-present cigar, our beloved publisher told us, "Remember when Sylvester Marcus (ably played by comedian Dick Shawn) got the phone call from his mommy (also ably played by superstar Ethel Merman) telling him of trouble? What did Sylvester do? Without any thought or planning he immediately set out on an absolutely disastrous trek in a totally unnecessary attempt to save her. That is exactly what's happening here. And Villa Hills is most certainly a mad, mad, mad, mad world under that corrupt and incompetent Martin".
"You're baby's comin' to save ya, momma!"
The Martin Chronicles is happy to see the dinosaur media has finally decided to report on the continued legal wrangling in malfeasant Mayor Mike Martin's troubled town of Villa Hills. The Kentucky Enquirer and Cincinnati.com have published the same story about the most recent lawsuit filed against the tiny tyrant.
Just some observations at this time.
Martin provided the expected pro forma quote that this most recent lawsuit is "without merit". To bastardize a famous Samuel Johnson quote, "denial is the last refuge of a scoundrel". Of course, we don't know if the most recent lawsuit filed against Martin and his wife Janet is either with or without merit. The matter has not been adjudicated. No evidence has been formally presented. Nobody has been deposed. All of these things and much more are still to come.
There is one lawsuit filed in Villa Hills' recent history that we know with certainty was "without merit". What was that lawsuit? The $1.505 million lawsuit the very same mendacious Martin filed against Villa Hills Police Chief Dan Goodenough, Assistant Chief Joe Schutzman and, yes, the taxpayers of Villa Hills. That was the lawsuit Martin filed in a failed attempt to paper over what he did that resulted in his 2007 forgery arrest.
You see, four separate respected judges decided that what Martin did "fit the very definition of forgery". Martin was so off-base in his attempt to deflect attention away from the fact that he did sign a deceased person's name on that deceased person's checks and cash them for years after that person passed away that one of those four respected judges opined that Martin was "barking up the wrong tree".
Martin also provided the Kentucky Enquirer and Cincinnati.com reporter with other interesting quotes. First, Martin says, "All we did was provide the State Auditor's office with what they requested, to my knowledge. We did not go out of our way to provide them with documents they didn't ask for". Setting aside the mangled grammar, it would be useful for readers of The Martin Chronicles to remember that this is the same Martin who was chastised by a respected judge for illegally destroying City records.
Later in the article, Martin claims that "there are no records from 2004 that show Schutzman was promoted to Assistant Chief". Again, Martin was caught illegally destroying City records in early 2012. Better yet, Martin and his goon squad frequently refer to Schutzman as "Assistant Chief" in various documents obtained by The Martin Chronicles. As much as he would like to do so, the dissembling dictator cannot have it both ways.
The dinosaur media article also shares more interesting information. "The Mayor has repeatedly said, including again on Wednesday, that neither he nor his wife made any formal (italics added) complaints to the State Auditor's office, nor was he aware of the State Auditor's examination until he was formally notified last April until it was underway".
First of all, Martin has a long and well-documented history of using others to do his dirty work. It is a fact that Martin has hidden behind both his sister and his wife in odd attempts to dig up non-existent dirt on Assistant Police Chief Schutzman and Schutzman's-then-under-aged-son Joey going back now many years. It wouldn't be a great stretch to conclude that Martin was well aware of the letter that was supposedly sent to the State Auditor's office by an "anonymous citizen" complaining about the six figures of taxpayer-funded overtime resulting from Martin's abject mismanagement of the City's police department.
We also know that the mallet-headed Martin is very closely linked to a current councilwoman who has a very long-established track record of launching truth-less torpedoes against her opponents for no other reason than to exact some form of twisted retribution. If you aren't sure who this councilwoman is, we will provide a clue. She just might have recently slipped up and admitted that she may actually live in the City of Taylor Mill.
Wouldn't the malevolent Martin be dismayed-and financially exposed-if someone has already stepped forward to state that the miniature mullah was not only aware of the bogus letter sent to the State Auditor's office-before it was sent-but that the small sultan actually actively participated in the effort to send that letter? The small superior wouldn't be the only one then facing financial problems. Since Martin is now alleged to have been conducting a campaign of libel, slander, defamation, intimidation and harassment directly from the mayor's office, the taxpayers would also find themselves on a costly hook.
Saturday marks 297 days until Election Day.
