Tag Archives: breaking news

BREAKING: hit and run driver sought for knox covered bridge in valley forge park

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ys1

A friend of mine posted this photo above a little while ago on her Facebook page! YES! Unbelievably it happened again! Some IDIOT hit ANOTHER one of our beautiful Chester County Covered Bridges! If you recall, a truck driver with a giant tractor trailer destroyed the Rapps Dam Bridge in East Pikeland in 2014. The damages were estimated in media reports at $500000, and a repair contract wasn’t awarded until this past April.

So this beautiful bridge known as the Knox Covered Bridge is in Valley Forge Park. I have taken it’s photo easily dozens of times and walked the bridge. It’s beautiful. It is 252 on one side along the creek and Yellow Springs Road on the other.

Here is one photo I have of it that I took (I think this one is circa 2008):

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So someone according to my friend and others (including two television stations) did a hit and run on this beautiful bridge!

YS2

What kind of jerk does this???

As per PennDOT this bridge (The Knox Covered Bridge) is now structurally unsound and closed as of today. No estimates on repairs.  This is in Tredyffrin Township Police Department’s jurisdiction, here is hoping they and Tredyffrin Township in general are as diligent and thorough as East Pikeland was with Rapp’s Dam and bringing that truck driver to justice.

This bridge, the Knox Covered Bridge was just recently part of an award of monies for repairs:

Three county covered bridges to be rehabilitated

By Candice Monhollan, cmonhollan@ 21st-centurymedia.com, @CMonhollanDLN on Twitter (Pete Bannan photos)

People will be able to take a drive through history once again after PennDOT rehabilitates three covered bridges in Chester County.

PennDOT awarded a $3.2 million contract to Eastern Highway Specialists, Inc., who will set to work on the Rapps Dam covered bridge in East Pikeland, the Speakman covered bridge and West Marlborough and the Knox covered bridge in Valley Forge National Historic Park in Tredyffrin Township.

“The ideas to rehabilitate the bridges came from a variety of sources — from the county, from PennDOT, from the historic preservation community and from legislators, such as myself,” said Sen. Andy Dinniman. “PennDOT is trying to rehabilitate as many bridges on the funds that we have approved. The historic covered bridges are still being used..

Good thing that money is there, right?

Unbelievable.  If anyone out there knows anything or saw anything, please please please call Tredyffrin Police or Valley Forge Park or PennDOT. It is hard to see who is taking tips as early media reports indicate that Tredyffrin Police are sort of referring this along right now.  This apparently happened this afternoon around 2 pm but there is nothing on the Tredyffrin Police Department Website yet.

I found an email on that site that is  police@tredyffrin.org and this other information:

Tredyffrin Township Police Department

Anthony Giaimo, Superintendent of Police
Taro Landis, Lieutenant – Administrative Division
Joseph Glatts, Lieutenant – Operations Division
Organizational Chart [PDF]

Contact the Police Department
Tredyffrin Township Police Department
1100 DuPortail Road
Berwyn, PA 19312-1079

Business Number: 610-644-3221
Dispatch Number: 610-647-1440
Emergency Number: 911
Fax Number: 610-644-5394
Email Address

Office Hours: Monday – Friday, 8 am to 4:30 pm

alert

Please…if you know anything, or you say saw a damaged vehicle driving away from this direction this afternoon, PLEASE call police. This bridge is part of our heritage and our history and a lot of people still use this bridge daily. Accidents happen, but a hit and run like this is not right.  The bridge is painted white so a vehicle could have all sorts of white paint on it and hopefully Tredyffrin will do their bit and see if any automobile paint is on the damage. yes, yes I know a little Nancy Drew meets CSI but this is such an awesome bridge!

Here is the media I have discovered thus far on this:

Car Strikes Covered Bridge In Tredyffin

The bridge, located in Valley Forge National Historical Park, has suffered structural damage and is closed indefinitely.

By Jason Laday (Patch Staff) July 6, 2015

Authorities are seeking a driver who reportedly struck a covered bridge in Tredyffin Township Monday afternoon.

Knox Bridge, located where Yellow Springs Road crosses Valley Creek in Valley Forge National Historical Park, was hit by an unknown vehicle at approximately 2:30 p.m. According to Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) spokesman Gene Blaum, the only information currently known about the vehicle is that it was ”large.”

The bridge remains closed indefinitely pending a PennDOT investigation….

Later, in a PennDOT statement, Blaum reported that ”nearly an entire stone-masonry wing wall adjacent to the bridge” had been damaged along with a 20-foot-long section of its timber siding….

Originally built in 1865, the Knox Bridge has rehabilitated twice, in 1996 and again in 2006.

Asked for comment, a representative for the Tredyffin Police Department referred all questions to Valley Forge National Historical Park, where an official in turn said any new information would come from PennDOT

 

CBS3:   Covered Bridge In Valley Forge National Historical Park Closed Due To Damage  July 6, 2015 5:21 PM

6ABC Action News (has video) TRAFFIC Covered bridge struck in Chester Co.; driver sought

 

will it be eminent domain and pipelines, sunoco?

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20140331-190842.jpgSimple Shots Photos photo

A group in West Goshen is fighting mad and battling Sunoco Logistics and its plan for the Mariner East 2 pipeline project.

W. Goshen residents upset with gas pump station proposal By Jeremy Gerrard, Daily Local News POSTED: 03/30/14, 7:47 PM EDT |

WEST GOSHEN — Township residents are organizing against the construction of a proposed natural gas pump station, voicing outrage over possible health and safety issues from the facility.

“This doesn’t just affect West Goshen, but every community from here to Marcus Hook,” resident Tom Casey said.

Sunoco is requesting a variance from West Goshen at an April 3, 2014 zoning meeting to build a pipeline pump station with 34 foot ‘flare stack’ in a neighborhood at Boot Road and Route 202. Sunoco has similar requests in 31 municipalities across Pa as it transitions a cross-state petroleum pipeline to ethane, butane, propane liquid gas use.

Apparently one of the big fat sticking points per my sources is the flare stack proposal. I learned about the Just The Facts Please group from my friend Tim at Panewz:

Panewz.com: Gas pipeline wants fast track on expansion, pump station, flare stack approval in Pa

….Many pipelines across Pa were established with easements to carry petroleum when much of the Pa landscape was farmland. Today these pipelines pass through suburbanized communities.

Additionally, many residents are concerned about the conversion of the former petroleum pipelines to highly pressurized liquid gas and its combustibility. In some cases, residents aren’t aware that a pipeline, installed many years ago, runs through their neighborhood….One concern for residents is the pump or compressor stations that must be built along the gas pipelines to push the gas through. Some of these stations can be quite large, depending upon terrain and distance from the next station… Sunoco Pipeline is also applying for status as a Public Utility in Pennsylvania. See the application and a list of all Pa Townships involved in the Mariner East 2 pipeline expansion by clicking here.

If approved, the pump and valve control station buildings, above, that Sunoco says it would install on the sites, would be ‘exempt from any local zoning, subdivision and land development regulations’.

The company is also requesting that the applications be expedited because ‘full potential of Pennsylvania shale gas remains hampered by limited pipeline infrastructure’. The company has requested approval of this legal designation prior to the Public Utility Commission’s meeting of June 19, 2014.

The company’s application says the buildings and expedited service are needed for the ‘convenience and welfare of the public’. It also does not want one township’s denial of construction to hold up the entire pipeline.

A judge has already ruled in York County on Sunoco’s Motion for Survey Rights and efforts to condemn property in Eminent Domain. Read about it by clicking here.

Pa eminent domain blogger and Harrisburg attorney Michael Faherty has written ten reasons why, he believes, Sunoco will not succeed with the PUC in gaining Public Utility status and the power of eminent domain.

Alrighty then. The other meat of it? Sunoco apparently has a request before the PUC to be classified as a ‘Public Utility’ so the company can bypass all local zoning regulations and use eminent domain to take additional lands along the existing pipeline route? Apparently they are not a public utility when it comes to gas or something? So does that mean then they want carte blanche eminent domain powers? Sounds like it right?

The Facebook Page, Just The Facts Please, is trying to get more people to the meeting.

I think that eminent domain for private gain shrouded in a cloak of eminent domain for public purpose is what will occur if eminent domain for properties is attempted. I was told but have no proof that some are already are having to deal with whispers of eminent domain and to them I say FIGHT. I am somewhat astounded to hear how reluctant property owners are being bullied and isn’t that awful?

Look, our homes are our castles and our personal American dreams and personally I wouldn’t want big oil or the government to have a piece of my dream. (And I hope homeowners facing eminent domain know about groups like the Institute for Justice
in Washington, DC. They are a tremendous resource and much more.)

I used to be somewhat ambivalent towards this whole pipeline issue. But now, because of what I have heard happening in West Goshen and my former community of East Goshen I’m not so sure. And if big oil came knocking on my door I don’t think I could say yes. I am not going to judge anyone who has said yes, and I know some who have in the past, but I don’t think this is for me either.

Do we as Chester County residents get benefits of allowing drilling as we live in a state whose governor doesn’t have a tax (or much of a tax?) on the big oil companies having to do with what they drill? Ironically most of us don’t even have access to natural gas for heating because there aren’t a heck of a lot of those kinds of gas lines, yet they have been running an insane amount of pipelines. We are also on wells out here, so what happens to our drinking supply if they screw up?

I know you can’t take on everything but this is something at the very minimum worth going to a meeting to learn. After all a good portion of municipal meetings in Chester County are not televised.

I guess where I am on this is I hate government bullying. I hate eminent domain. I hate businesses attempting what Sunoco is attempting. I think I might even buy gasoline for my car elsewhere now. Wawa has better prices anyway. And most of all I hate that residents can’t just say “no thank you” if they don’t want a pipeline in their yard.

So if you have concerns, please don’t wait, go to this meeting this week. April 3, 7 pm, West Goshen Township Building. 1025 Paoli Pike, West Chester.

Judge Rules that Sunoco Pipeline Does Not Have Eminent Domain Power by Michael Faherty on February 28, 2014 in Pipeline Construction

The Top Ten Reasons Sunoco Pipeline Does Not Have the Power of Eminent Domain by Michael Faherty on January 22, 2014 in Pipeline Construction

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mixed emotions

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I heard from Pat Biswanger. She has been elected the new President of the Board of the Chester County SPCA. I am very proud of my friend. Hope she doesn’t live to regret this, but I think she will do a good job.

However, and this is the mixed emotions of it all, Howard Nelson has been elected Board Vice President. I honestly feel and my opinion is this is a huge mistake. I don’t see him as a victory for homeless animals. I said before that Howard should have turned this down if he really wants people to believe the Howard from the PASPCA is not the Howard at the CCSPCA. I still feel that way and Howard, it is never too late to put ego aside and do the right thing.

This is Chester County’s shelter. I believe that the board leadership should have been split between Chester County and Delaware County as long as there is the contract, after that who knows?

And because it is Chester County’s shelter and they take donations from Chester County residents and the shelter is physically located in Chester County, I believe that Chester County should always be represented in board leadership. Now it is not, and I am sorry but I do NOT think that is right.

I have no problem with a general board composition that includes people who don’t necessarily live in Chester County who are animal advocates or professionals helpful to the shelter, but I do think because it is Chester County’s shelter that Chester County should always be part of board leadership.

Pat will do a good job. I simply have little faith in what’s his name given his past with the PASPCA.

But the horse is out of the barn.

I found this op-ed today and I would like to share it as it reminded me what was important (the animals, not the personalities):

Chester County needs to focus on animals by Joe Mason The Intellegencer

There is a huge issue going on at the Chester County SPCA.

From what I’ve read and from what I’ve been told, it’s the staff against the volunteers.

I don’t know who is going to win, but I can tell you now who is going to lose.

The animals.

The shelter staff has undergone a lot of changes over the past few months….Today, the SPCA is electing its new board president, and according to a letter I received that was mailed to the board, this vote goes a long way in deciding how many rescues will work with the shelter……I don’t care if the people who work at the SPCA hate the volunteers and rescues, and vice versa. That’s not important.

The entire reason for everyone being there is to make sure the animals get in, stay comfortable while they’re there, and get into a home or foster home as soon as possible.

It’s why the shelter is there.

It’s why the board is there.

It’s why the employees are there.

It’s why the volunteers are there.

And it’s why rescues are there.

So forget egos, forget agendas, forget rivalries and do whatever it takes to get everyone working together to place dogs and cats in situations where they can be loved and spoiled.

The last thing we need is animals not getting every chance at being saved because of a little bickering.

Good luck Pat. You are going to need it and a big bottle of ibuprofen for headaches as I am thinking chairing this board will be like herding cats. And speaking of cats, I might be a dogs rule kind of gal, but I think cats need more representation at CCSPCA.

 

UPDATE SUNDAY 3/30:

New SPCA board president says shelter can rebound

By Kendal Gapinski, Daily Local News

WEST GOSHEN — The Chester County SPCA, in turmoil for nearly a year, has a new board president.

 

Patricia Biswanger, of Havertown, Delaware County, was announced as the new CCSPCA board president Friday morning. Biswanger, an attorney who operates her own small practice out of Wayne, was an animal advocate for several years before joining the Chester County SPCA board of directors….

During the board meeting Thursday night, the board voted to approve a bylaw that states all members must sign the code of conduct, and if it is not signed, then that member cannot participate in board activities, according to Biswanger.

 

Conrad Muhly, the former board president, said there are 19 total board members and 14 have signed the document so far. Both Muhly and Biswanger said they hoped the few who hadn’t signed it would reconsider.

 

Muhly has also been a point of controversy during his time as board president. He served as president of the CCSPCA’s board for five years and during the past year faced allegations of a conflict of interest surrounding the sale of shelter land in West Bradford to a developer that lists him as a principal member.

 

guilty

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argus-and-fiona

Last September 11th I was up in a hot air balloon shaped like a flag floating over Chester County.  This September 11th I spent all day in a court house.

Almost two hours ago the jury came back. Sorry for not posting sooner, but I wanted to sit and think a while.  It has been a long time since February.

It was a long afternoon as we waited in the District Attorney’s Offices – which were a real kick to see! I have to say the Chester County District Attorney’s Office personnel were pretty darn amazing.  They did not have to go out of their way to make us comfortable and they did.  They allowed us to wait in a small conference room instead of just hanging in the hall all afternoon.  On a brutally hot day with my friend Amy in a full boot cast, this was particularly nice. I met some really amazing people and even one of the working dogs handled by the Chester County Sheriff’s Department.

Anyway…..the verdict?

Guilty.  Gabriel Pilotti wanted to be judged by a jury of his peers, and he was.  And he was found guilty.  Truthfully I think his defense team looked a bit surprised.

Case CP15 -CR-00010992013

Count 1  Cruelty to Animals (Argus) – Guilty

Count 2 Cruelty to Animals (Fiona) – Guilty

Sentencing is October 28th at 9 a.m. in front of Judge Ronald C. Nagle.

Assistant District Attorney Kevin Pierce really brought his A game to the closing.  I could go into the back and forth nitty-gritty of the closing, but why? The verdict is what it is. I also understand that Mr. Pilotti will probably lose his weapon now? That is what I was told on my way out this evening.

Today justice was done for Argus and Fiona.  To me this was also a big win in general for Pennsylvania’s dogs. A win for the dogs is much overdue.

I also want to thank Bud Haly who is on the board of the Chester County SPCA for stepping up and coming to court today.  That gives me hope for that organization.  Some people who are affiliated with the CCSPCA were mighty pissy that I even articulated someone should be there. Guess what? I wasn’t wrong and he said simply that he couldn’t NOT be there. So I am glad one board member did the right thing.

I also want to thank West Vincent Chief of Police Michael Swininger and Officer Austin Russell. They were there with us, and as critical as I can be about West Vincent Township, these two gentlemen are stand up guys. And many thanks to the media who devoted time for this, especially print media. We all know they are stretched thin.

We were all very emotional when the verdict was read.  Bill Bock just stood there for a moment not moving with tears in his eyes.  That right there made all the crap we took for believing in Justice for Argus and Fiona worth it.  This family can have peace and closure.

Run free over the Rainbow Bridge Argus and Fiona. You have your justice, sweet pups.

Chester County man guilty in death of dogs
 Mari A. Schaefer, Inquirer Staff Writer Last updated: Wednesday, September 11, 2013, 5:46 PM      

Daily Local Breaking News: Jury finds man who shot dogs guilty

And some have asked if Pilotti can appeal. Well he can but whether or not he would get much traction? I simply don’t know.  My guess would be not really.

 

 

playing “chicken” in west vincent

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cluckThere has been a lot of discussion about “things” in West Vincent again, and once again the knee jerk reaction of someone is to post things which are tantamount to bullying at a minimum in a building that functions as a United States Post Office.

Posting harassing things to bully private citizens in a building designated a United States Post Office is like mailing the same things through the mail – it is not quite legal and that is why things like this are given to United States Postal inspectors, isn’t it?  Maybe it is past time to bump this up a notch?

west vincent harassment

So supporters, followers, politicians, township employees, whomever here is the 411: David Monteith is not and never has been “Chickenman”.  And Chickenman is not the one who started the inquiry into the problematic West Vincent Farmers Market.  Ordinary people did.  I have looked into it, does that make me Chickenman too?  Do the inconvenient facts that the Township Manager of Upper Uwchlan is following his zoning and the law make him , Cary Vargos , Chickenman?

I don’t know who Chickenman is and as an Auslander I stand a better chance of finding out than Ken Miller, Dave Brown, Claire Quinn and so on and so forth. Maybe Chickenman is Sam Cantrell and he is all organic? Maybe Ted Otteni or Gabe Pilotti is Chickenman?  What about West Vincent’s Township Manager and Township Solicitor? Are they in fact Chickenman?

I know David Monteith.  He runs a good business.  And because he stood up once upon a time in West Vincent he is harassed by supporters of “good government” as it currently stands in West Vincent.   These people stand in the shadows like vampires  afraid to be seen in daylight, don’t they?  And doesn’t this stuff oddly seem to happen to every other resident and taxpayer of West Vincent who stands up for the right things?  I figure it is only a matter of time before  John Jacobs and Maria Holderness will be targeted, right?  Maybe their residency will be challenged? How they tie their shoes? Maybe a case can be used against civilized, incorruptible, honest people some more in West Vincent?  Why does good = bad?

So are you going to attack me because I am sick of what you “good people” have been trying to do to an innocent man the past couple of years?  I get you are all working on mob mentality and like to hide in the shadows as bullies are wont to do, but sooner or later, probably sooner, you will be caught won’t you?  After all you never know where surveillance cameras lurk (other than in woods during private barbeques) do you?

The irony of this dumb as dirt thing posted today is the proposed farmers market for West Vincent is actually located in Upper Uwchlan .  So maybe Cary Vargo REALLY is Chickenman?  Hell maybe Jim Gerlach is Chickenman! Or what about that nasty Larry guy who left comments on this blog?  Is he Chickenman?

Lots of media follow this blog and eventually someone will say it is very odd the way West Vincent officials turn a seemingly blind eye while residents are bullied by government supporters.  And I bet that might include The Daily Local which some flannel mouth woman in West Vincent whose name begins with an “S” seems to think she controls, right? (I find that to be quite the accomplishment given she is neither editor, owner, nor publisher is she?)

If you people do not have the balls to come out of the shadows and man and woman up and have a conversation the right way maybe you should all just shut it?

But this bullying and harassing of private citizens who love where they live and want the best for residents IS going to stop. People get tired of it more and more every time. And the fact that May primary turned out the way it did and the fact that the placards in the United States Post Office are back says that someone or several someones are running scared and dare we say they are BIG CHICKENS?  Are they Chickenman????

Cluck, cluck, cluck.  This blog is my opinion as guaranteed by the founding fathers of this country via the First Amendment.  Guess they are Chickenmen too?

about 60 pipe bombs? in public storage in malvern?

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Last night a headline broke on Malvern Patch:

p1

ps

Actual photo taken inside Public Storage in Malvern months ago

That really freaked me out because until a couple of months ago, I was a customer of that Public Storage – I had needed some extra storage when I first relocated permanently to Chester County.  It was clean and easy to get to and not creepy feeling the way a lot of those self storage places are.   The few months I was there we rarely saw other people, and given all the shows on television and cable about storage units (Storage Wars) and auctioning off abandoned storage units, you can’t help but wonder what people store there.

While a customer there I saw mostly people who were storing clothes and books and stuff like me and once in a while people who were antiques and collectibles dealers who didn’t have store fronts, and did shows.  Occasionally you would see an orphaned piece of  furniture or a lamp no one wanted left inside the front doors by the elevators, but that was it.

So I was floored when I saw Malvern Patch’s headline last night about the sleepy yet clean Public Storage and I am equally shocked this morning that yes, the bomb squad borrowed from Montgomery County (apparently Chester County doesn’t have one?) detonated BOMBS last night!  Sweet Jesus!  How long were they in the storage facility?  The risk to the public with this if not for law enforcement could have been crazy.

This also makes you think about all the other self storage facilities around here on and off that Route 30 corridor, doesn’t it? Remember that developer of Malvern (who isn’t getting the Whip Tavern is also bringing more self storage to Malvern called “Cube Smart”.)

So how do these self storage companies really know what is being stored?

Mr. Bomb Storage in the news broken by Malvern Patch (EXCELLENT job by the way in getting that out there) ends up is a Ponzi schemer named  “Istvan Merchanthaler, a 42-year-old man facing federal charges related to a $2 million Ponzi scheme.”

And Patch reports that there was a lot of law enforcement there last night.  Given what it was about, I have no doubt in my mind ATF was there too.

I hope they throw another book at this freak Istvan Merchanthaler for those explosive devices.

Here is the updated story from Patch (Malvern Patch really does do local news well as opposed to a lot of other Patch sites), and from Michael Price at The Daily Local:

Bombs Detonated in Park After Storage-Unit Seizure

A series of explosions shook houses Thursday night as authorities destroyed pipe bombs in East Whiteland’s Valley Creek Park.

By Pete Kennedy and Eric Campbell  Email the authors  March 7, 2013

malvern patchTwo bomb-disposal units were among the multiple emergency response teams working at the Public Storage facility in Frazer Thursday evening after a large amount of explosives was found inside a storage locker.

FBI agents and bomb technicians worked in and around the building, located on the unit block of Lancaster Avenue, as local police and fire departments controlled traffic, maintained a perimeter and kept ready to respond to any incidents.

Around 8:30 p.m., bomb squads from Montgomery County and Philadelphia began hauling the explosives from the storage facility to nearby Valley Creek Park. The explosives were transported inside large metal containers on trailers, and each trip involved a convoy of fire engines, ambulances and police vehicles…..

Shortly after 11:15 p.m., as a light snow fell, the first in a series of explosions shook houses and woke sleeping residents miles away. At least five explosions occurred before they stopped around 1:15 a.m. Friday.

There were also reports of an explosion earlier in the day, around 7 p.m., but employees at businesses near Public Storage said they did not hear anything at that time.

The FBI had notified East Whiteland Police that they planned to execute a warrant within the township, but the circumstances that led the agency to Malvern are unclear. The Daily Local News reports that the storage locker was registered to Istvan Merchanthaler, a 42-year-old man facing federal charges related to a $2 million Ponzi scheme. Harman said agents told him a Maryland resident had been arrested in connection with the bombs.

Federal agents remove explosives from Malvern storage locker

 By MICHAEL N. PRICE mprice@dailylocal.com

Posted: Thursday, 03/07/13 10:35 pm Updated: Thursday, 03/07/13 10:43 pm

EAST WHITELAND — Federal agents and bomb squad units removed a high amount of explosives from a storage locker Thursday night in the unit block of Lancaster Avenue in Malvern.

According to a high ranking official close to the investigation, agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and members of the Montgomery County and Philadelphia bomb squads removed about 60 pipe bombs from a storage locker at Malvern Public Storage and transported them to a nearby park, where they were to be detonated.

The source, who asked to remain anonymous due to the ongoing and sensitive nature of the investigation, said that the storage locker was registered to 42-year-old Istvan Merchanthaler, a Chester County man facing federal charges in connection to a Ponzi scheme that officials say defrauded investors of about $2 million over the past seven years.  Officials close to Merchanthaler’s case said the suspect was connected to similar explosive investigations in other states, and added that he is facing charges in multiple jurisdictions throughout the east coast….The United States Attorney’s Office announced additional fraud charges against Merchanthaler Thursday

Ponzi schemes are bad enough without adding BOMBS to the mix. So what was the goal here? Defraud some people and blow some others up? Wow. Nice guy this  Istvan Merchanthaler, right?

west chester court scandal: district justice mark bruno caught in philly fed probe

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courthouseThis morning news broke of a Federal probe that basically indicts a boat load of judges. This all has to do with ticket fixing, and apparently has been this huge ongoing probe.  Well Main Line Media News and The Daily Local are reporting that West Chester District Justice Mark Bruno is one of the judges caught up in this HUGE scandal!

Judges above the law?  The list of names indicted is quite astonishing and sad for our judicial system if this proves true. Wow, just wow.

Daily Local: West Chester DJ named in ticket probe is suspended 

By MICHAEL N. PRICE mprice@dailylocal.com

bruno1A Chester County district judge was one of 12 people named in a federal indictment Thursday for allegedly “fixing” Philadelphia traffic tickets for those with political and social connections.

Magisterial District Judge Mark A. Bruno, who presides over District Court 15-1-01 in West Chester, was one of nine elected judges and three others who were named in the now unsealed indictment from the United States District Court in Philadelphia. According to the indictment, the accused conspirators used the Philadelphia Traffic Court to give preferential treatment to certain ticket holders, defrauding the city and commonwealth of revenue.

Bruno was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, one count of wire fraud, one count of mail fraud, and aiding and abetting. According to a statement from the Justice Department, if convicted Bruno could face up to 60 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $750,000 fine.

On Thursday, Chester County President Judge James P. MacElree II ordered that Bruno be relieved of his duties presiding over District Court 15-1-01, which handled cases from the western wards of the borough. He is also not permitted in the court until the case is resolved.
Bruno’s charges are just one small part of a sweeping 77 count federal indictment that accuses Philadelphia ward leaders, local politicians, and associates of the Democratic City Committee of contacting defendants who were seeking preferential treatment. The defendants also allegedly “fixed” tickets for family members and friends, the indictment said.

 

Judges, Others Caught In Philadelphia Ticket-Fixing Probe

January 31, 2013 11:45 AM

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) –- Several former and current judges of Philadelphia Traffic Court, plus judges in Bucks, Chester, and Delaware counties, as well as local businessmen and others associated with the Philadelphia court system, were surrendering to federal authorities today after being caught in a wide-ranging probe of ticket-fixing in Philadelphia.

The accusations are contained in a 77-count indictment plus three “informations” (indicating that those three defendants may intend to plead guilty).

According to a statement from US attorney Zane Memeger, “The defendants participated in a widespread culture of giving breaks on traffic citations to friends, family, the politically connected, and business associates.”

Investigators say the judges acted on requests from Philadelphia ward leaders, local politicians, associates of the Democratic City Committee, as well as family, friends, and other associaties.  Philadelphia Traffic Court handles moving violations, not parking violations, in the city.

Read the Indictment (.pdf format)

…

The US attorney’s office in Philadelphia today issued the following list of defendants:

  • Michael J. Sullivan (sitting judge, Phila. Traffic Court)

  • Michael Lowry (sitting judge, Traffic Court)

  • Robert Mulgrew (former judge, Traffic Court)

  • Willie Singletary (former judge, Traffic Court)

  • Thomasine Tynes (former judge, Traffic Court)

  • Mark A. Bruno (Chester County Magisterial District)

  • H. Warren Hogeland (Bucks County senior magisterial district judge)

  • Kenneth Miller (Delaware County senior district judge)

  • Fortunato N. Perri Sr. (senior judge, Traffic Court)

  • William Hird (former Director of Records, Traffic Court)

  • Henry P. Alfano (local businessman)

  • Robert Moy (local businessman)

 

 

french creek state park is on fire

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Tim Gallagher photo

Tim Gallagher photo

UPDATE: Tuesday Morning – waiting to hear from my friends. Fire is still burning.  NBC10 Philadelphia and other media outlets  needs to correct their current coverage as they report this as only Berks County with no mention of Chester County:

“A forest fire is burning at French Creek State Park in Berks County. Nearby homes were evacuated Tuesday morning. 100 acres have burned so far.”

The Pottstown Mercury has updated by saying:

A brush fire that started in the area of Route 345 and Shed Road steadily moved east with Monday’s strong winds and continued into the night as hundreds of personnel worked to knock the blaze down. Black smoke was visible as far away as the Hanover Street Bridge in Pottstown

My friend  Si who is out  at a camp ground near French Creek told me there is a brush fire spreading across French Creek State Park.He left me a message earlier  that said that he and his friend Tim are a couple miles from French Creek and he describes it as a “massive brush fire, with the winds fanning it like crazy…it looks like at least 10 fire companies are responding.”

Tim Gallagher photo

Tim Gallagher photo

Tim Gallagher photo

Tim Gallagher photo

My friend has photos and will send them as he is able. I have a few to post now.  I am told CBS-3 is in the area now.  Again, they are at the camp ground a couple miles from French Creek – near St. Peter’s Village in Warwick Township. He just called again and says the top of the ridge that was smoke before is all aglow in orange.  He can see two ridges of fire with a break in between.  They see the flash lights of fire fighters in the woods.

Tim Gallagher photo

Tim Gallagher photo

Here is what the Pottstown Mercury is saying:

(Updated at 6:30 p.m.) Officials have issued a mandatory evacuation for residences along St. Peters Road between North Camp Hill Road and Unionvill Road in North Coventry as a brush fire that began on state parkland spread across parts of Berks and Chester county Monday…..A fire that started as a brush fire in the area of Route 345 and Shed Road has been spreading through the afternoon and now engulfs a large section of state gameland and park land according to witnesses.

WFMZ is reporting:

Forest fire nears fireworks factory; evacuations ordered

Shelter established at Immaculate Conception social hall in Birdsboro

UNION TWP., Pa. –

A forest fire in the French Creek State Park has prompted the mandatory evacuations of nearby residents.

The fire was first reported Monday afternoon in the 500 block of Fire Tower Road in Union Twp., Berks Co. Firefighters from several surrounding municipalities have since been called in to help fight the flames.

A 69 News crew on the scene reports that much of the fire is in the wooded area of French Creek, but crews are taking steps to keep it from spreading to the nearby International Fireworks factory at 240 Sycamore Rd.