Opinion, or Fact?

I've had discussions with friends and acquaintances regularly over the years about Wentzville government and its elected officials. Some of those conversations were calm and others  led to outbursts of language of a somewhat inappropriate manner, even to the extent of questioning my lineage. The Wentzvillian has been criticized by mayors, aldermen, and a host of ... let's say ... fans, who strongly disagree with my reviews.

 

The Wentzvillian has been called polarizing, I disagree. Those who make those claims are separating themselves by drawing lines, all I do is enlighten citizens by shining light on where the lines have been drawn. There's a fine line (like an electric fence) between ethical and unethical and I stand on that fence watching closely which side our elected officials choose to work from. It may sound strange, but some people who dabble on the "wrong side," don't like being called out for their actions. Mayor Nickolas Guccione tests that fence frequently, and that's probably why I don't get Christmas cards from him anymore. Many aldermen over the years have also scratched my name from their dance cards simply because I'm unafraid to give "my opinion" and tell it like it is ... publicly.

 

A couple of months ago, a personal friend of mine became frustrated after he asked me what was going on in city hall. The discussion was regarding a particular alderman and after I told him "...she's a lousy alderman...," he was mildly miffed regarding what I said. He disagreed and told me about it by saying; "That's just your opinion, she's one of the best on the board," I laughed and said; "No, that's just your opinion." So what's the difference between his opinion and mine?

 

I'm as informed about our city government as any regular citizen and more than the vast majority. When I asked my friend the basis of his opinion, he didn't really have a good reason other than that mine stinks, so I knew it was a personal thing and not based on fact. I know my friend, I see him at public meetings maybe twice a year, which is hardly enough contact with the government to base his opinion upon. On the other hand, for years I've attended every scheduled Board of Aldermen meeting, except for an infrequent absence, because watching elected officials deportment during the meetings reveals so much more than watching a video. In addition, I investigate public record to help connect the dots and fill in the blanks ... sooner or later it all comes together. My friend had spoken socially with the alderman in question and based his opinion on her opinion of me, and right now her opinion of me is less than ideal ... it's just that simple.

 

Opinions vary, and the validity of any opinion is education of the subject matter. My friend's opinion is "just his opinion," based on his business needs and social contact with elected officials. My opinion is "just my opinion" to him, but is based of years in city hall watching meetings and digging through public record. Am I always right when I speculate? Absolutely not, but it's closer to the truth than most other opinions of people who are not concerned and do not investigate their government. When I speculate with little or no information, that's "my opinion," but when qualified with facts gained through observation and research, it's a much different animal than "just my opinion." I wish more voters were active and attended the alderman's meetings. If they did, we would have a much better and more effective government — elected officials would know they are being observed and stand the chance of being criticized if they jump the electric fence.

I've come to see some politicians more in the family; Homo Rodentia than Homo Sapiens. When you're armed with the facts, and you corner one, look out, they tend to bite. A few years back I had one of these rodents attack me at a public meeting of a local organization here in Wentzville. He didn't like an article I published which pointed out some of his shenanigans. After raising his voice and disrupting the meeting, I asked him what it was that I printed that wasn't true? He fumbled with his papers, "Well uh ... uh," he had nothing. He hadn't expected me to ask that question, and that's when he realized he'd made a fool of himself, which was basically the point of the article!

Elected officials react differently when confronted with truths that they would rather not have publicly known. A couple of alderman were using their "charms" (for lack of a better word), to appeal to my personal friends in an effort to persuade me to back off of my investigations into their political games. To them I say; give it up, my friends know that I'm an idealist who deplores hypocrisy — as long as there's a hint of unethical behavior, and I find out about it, it will be exposed. No amount of influence you may have on my friends will change the course of my reports. I suggest to those elected officials who don't like what I have to say, maybe you need to change the way you are doing things, try acting like you are "By the people, For the people, and Of the people," not "In the people, On the people, and Through the people!" So many elected officials today don't know the correct use of a preposition.

This past weekend, my friend came up to me and said, "You need to stop telling lies on your blog." I asked him if he might share with me the lies I'm posting; "Well uh ... uh," Again, he had nothing. I know the alderman he's enamoured with, and I had to laugh at him because he's so wrapped around this elected officials little finger it isn't funny. I simply told him, "If you don't like what I post, I suggest you don't read it." His response; "I don't." Then what the hell are you talking about!

I'm amazed how most people believe the half-truths or downright lies told to them by politicians. I was told by another friend; "The Wentzvillian fueled the fire of the lawsuit against the city, and others, by Chief Harrison." If I hadn't published the findings of the County Prosecutor of September 11, 2013 (click here), the whole matter would have been swept under the rug and covered up in executive session — the citizens of Wentzville would have never know of the alleged criminal actions going on with their elected officials.

The same thing happened a couple of years ago with the Lambi scandal, had I not investigated and revealed the things that were going on then, the entire situation would have been whitewashed and plowed under. I took a lot of heat and ridicule regarding the Lambi scandal, and today, it seems to be my fault that this lawsuit was filed. The only thing I can say about these matters is; Lambi plead guilty to the Missouri Ethics Commissions charges, the plaintiffs in the lawsuit of today will have their day in court, and the citizens of Wentzville continue to be warned about underhanded things going on in our city.

Mayor Nickolas Guccione (one of the most unethical politicians to ever be elected) has stated publicly that what I do is not journalism. This is one of the very few instances when he was correct and right on target. I am not a journalist, nor ever claimed to be, what I do is more in the line of investigative critical review. People all over the country do not trust the government, they are tired of being manipulated and lied to. What I do is to enlightened the citizens of Wentzville of what our local government is really doing and how it is really being done. If some elected politicians want to continue their legacy of lies, diversion, and deceit, The Wentzvillian will be here to expose them — that is not an opinion, that is a fact.

Stay tuned, I'm onto something that may raise more than a few eyebrows in the city.
 

Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Blog?

 

The Board of Aldermen meeting last evening; April 23rd, 2014 (click here), was fairly routine until Aldermen Sonya Shryock and Rick Stokes gave their farewell speeches, broke for their farewell reception, and did their farewell walk out of the front door. The moment Mayor Nickolas Guccione called the 'new board' to order, he was transformed. Dressed in his white confectioner's suit, he had banished the infidels from the kingdom and went to work with a new vigor by anointing his new board and commissions. It was his turn, the White Knight was finally able to wear his King's crown and wield Excalibur with the authority for which he was destined — Long Live the King!

 

With two-thirds of the intelligence on the board gone (Stokes and Forrest Gossett), Alderman Cheryl Kross wasn't to be denied. She proudly accepted the nomination for President of the Board by newly elected Alderman Michael Rhoades and took her seat next to the King — where she will wash his feet and polish his scepter when necessary. If I had to guess, Rhoades was tricked into nominating Kross, making the same mistake most junior aldermen make; equating time on the board with ability to lead. If anyone had been thinking about the "good of the city," which the King reminded everyone of — regularly, Alderman Chris Gard would have been elected to that post. Oh well, such is politics in the big city, and as we all know; "What's good for General Bullmoose, is good for the USA!"

 

During last night's short but entertaining get-together, I harvested quite a bit of useful information regarding our junior aldermen; Rhoades, Robert Hussey, and Linda Wright. I know that Mr. Rhoades is a tough and devout believer in right and wrong, I don't see him being misled or pushed around for long. Hussey gave a very good report stating that he is only; "Interested in doing right by his constituents and the city." He is familiar with government procedure and the next few months will tell if he is, who he says he is. Linda Wright is another story completely, Guccione put more time and effort in getting her elected than he did Michael Hays, and we all know how that turned out. I think her political life will be a mixture of the Hays, Kross, and Shryock styles — disastrous for the city, especially Ward 3. God, I don't even want to think about the future of Ward 3, we are screwed!

 

The real fun started when King Nickolas gave his "Mayor's Report." He was all puffed-up with pride and bubbling over with power, since his arch-nemesis; Rick Stokes wasn't there to correct, or steer him in the appropriate direction. Like a dragon, he spewed fire at "The Blog, it tells lies and slanders good people. Don't pay attention to it!" He slobbered on about "The Blog" for several minutes warning his junior minions of the evil that lurks within. He might want to take his own advice, but that ain't happenin', he's hooked. He reads The Wentzvillian, or has someone read it to him at every opportunity. He got rid of Stokes and Gossett, and has Gard is in his sights, but he's going to have a real challenge in his attempt to stifle the First Amendment Rights of The Wentzvillian. It will be here to tell the truth about the state of Wentzville's city government under King Nickolas and beyond. Three mayors and countless aldermen have come under scrutiny here, only a dysfunctional mayor, by any standards, would think he's going to get a pass. Take care Mr. Mayor, haven't you ever seen the old statement of freedom: "Don't Tread On Me?"

 

Mayor Nickolas Guccione's "Mayor's Report" was bloated with arrogance. At first I thought it was was just me who saw it, but two citizens who were in attendance said exactly that; they watched Guccione's new found power-trip and used the word "arrogance." Given the hubris he displayed last night, I feel confident that his administration is on the way to self-destruction — he is going to screw up royally. Citizens need to watch him closely as he wields his butcher knife (Excalibur) to Wentzville. Watch the city video (click here), notice his deportment change after Stokes left the chambers, take a gander at him foaming at the mouth when he spoke of taking apart every initiative and every ordinance that Stokes' boards passed over the past two years.

 

* * * * *

 

King Nickolas Guccione is on a collision course with history and either he doesn't realize it, or he just doesn't care. He has brought about three employee discrimination lawsuits in just his first two years — one of which involves himself, two aldermen, two cities, three policemen, and the County Prosecutor. That's a lot of legal fees defending these aldermen, among others. The citizens of Wentzville need to ask: Who is going to pay the defense attorney's fees for the nine defendants here in Wentzville, the taxpayers?

 

According to the County Prosecutor's investigation; "Memorandum of Interview," dated September 11, 2013, most of which was posted here in; The "Unholy Alliance" Exposed (click here), clearly alleges that there were aldermen and police who overstepped their authority by acting out of their duties as elected officials. According to my sources; it is alleged that documents and testimony which will be brought out during the eleven separate trials will prove that there was a conspiracy in the mayor's office which discriminated against Wentzville Chief of Police, Lisa Harrison. So who pays for the defense of people who act on their own?

This information needs to be made public. Are the taxpayers going to be responsible to pay for attorneys fees and perhaps huge punitive damages if it is found that people went outside their regular duties? If any portion of these trials come out in favor of the plaintiff, it could result in paying out millions of dollars, who is going to be held responsible? Voters, taxpayers, and citizens of Wentzville have a right to have these answers, it should be made public by our mayor. Remember Mr. Mayor, in your own words; "I will act for the good of the people." Well, what's it going to be Mr. Mayor? Are you going to give the citizens full disclosure, or will it be another closed-door, closed-mouth process as it was with the Lambi scandal?

 

A Tisket, A Tasket, Guccione Gets His Basket.

 

There were so many things wrong with the Board of Alderman meeting of February 11, 2014 that I hardly know where to start. Aldermen Cheryl Kross and Sonya Shryock once again asked imbecilic questions taking up the time of both petitioners and staff. They stalled a CID renegotiation resolution of the Wentzville Bluffs development just after the petitioner announced that he had five new businesses ready to go to planing and zoning, one of which is a new movie theater. Mayor Nickolas Guccione went total bozo over the ethics policy again and reiterated the fact that he cannot read and hates Roman numerals. Of course, Alderman Michael Hays did what he does best; stare at his computer screen, make funny faces, and vote with Guccione—adding absolutely nothing to the meeting.

 

* * * * *

 

I am going to start with Guccione's favorite issue: being able to take baskets of goodies to the Mayor's ball. This point in question has become the entire thrust of Guccione's platform, any other issues in Wentzville pale in comparison to his desire to collect donations from companies to take to the Mayor's Ball.

 

Guccione has been arguing the ethics policy for months trying to get the Aldermen to change it to allow him to take charitable donations. You may recall, this policy was modified to disallow elected officials to solicit private donations after Mayor Lambi abused his authority and was found guilty by the Missouri Ethics Commission. Spearheaded by Alderman Forrest Gossett, the policy was written to safeguard individuals and companies from feeling pressured by elected officials who seek donations for a cause. Guccione wanted it changed back to pre-Guccione days so he can go around town strong-arming companies to give generously to his beloved Mayor's Ball.

 

I used the term "strong-arm" because regardless of how you cut it, that's what it is. Companies as well as individuals are intimidated by an elected official coming to their home or business looking for a hand out. If I were to walk into a Wentzville business asking them to donate $250 to my favorite charity, they'd say, "no thanks." But if a mayor walks into that same business with the same request, the owner is nervous and feeling pressured about refusing him, and as Lambi proved; they'll give it to him. Maybe I'm wrong, but isn't this a form of (perhaps unintended) extortion? I think so, and so should our elected officials.

 

The change to the policy was up for final reading and King Nickolas got his dream fulfilled as it was a 5-1 vote. Alderman Rick Stokes sacked up and held firm that he disagreed with allowing any elected official to extort solicit donations, consequently, he was the only one to vote "Nay." I'm especially disappointed in Gossett when he announced that he promised to compromise with the mayor but struggled with himself internally because he felt it wrong also. That didn't stop him from voting "Yea." Mr. Gossett sold out his core values to keep a promise to a mayor who has never kept a promise to anyone since being elected almost eight years ago. Shame on you Alderman Gossett, you just made it possible for Guccione to move on to his second priority—getting Chief of Police, Lisa Harrison fired.

 

* * * * *

 

Moving on to the utter lunacy of Kross and Shryock. Mr. Rick Podhorn, developer of the Wentzville Bluffs retail development, came before the board to ask for a resolution to obtain an extension of the CID used to develop the property on the southwest corner of Hwy. 70 and Hwy. Z. Mr. Podhorn explained that he had five other businesses (one of which is a movie theater) ready to go before planning and zoning within the next two months, but they will be unable to obtain financing if the CID is not extended. After repeating the lengthy proposal to Shryock three times because she didn't seem to understand Community Improvement Development language, Stokes moved to offer the extension and have a resolution drafted by the next meeting.

 

Alderman Kross, in her usual baffling way, offered an alternate motion to bring it back for discussion without a resolution. Why she wants to stall this great opportunity for Wentzville has many people scratching their heads. She is making things tight for the developer and could possibly close the window on it with her smoke and mirror logic. She's making powerful enemies all over town and I'm afraid with this latest stunt, among many others before, Alderman Kross has outlived her usefulness to Wentzville politics—she needs to follow Shryock out of the door and definately not be re-elected in 2015.

 

Wentzville—The Campaign Created Kingdom?

 

As most educated voters know, Mayor Nickolas Guccione is deeply involved in Wentzville politics. They know of his desire to control the Board of Aldermen and that his campaigns have  had a documented record of using any dirty, mud-slinging, and deceptive tactic necessary to achieve his goal. It's easy to deduce from his unethical election practices when he was pardoned by Mayor Paul Lambi that he has no thought of Wentzville other than to have total control over it by any means necessary. Mayor Guccione is not the sharpest tack in the box as illustrated by his consistant use of deceit, deception, and diversion during any election he's ever been involved in, or one he feels will help him with his control agenda. It is for these reason's he wants to remove two of the top three achieving incumbent aldermen, he cannot control them and he hates both of them.

The election coming in April will be fraught with dirt thrown by Cuccione's camp. This year there are three targets in his cross hairs, Rick Stokes, Forrest Gossett, and The Wentzvillian. I didn't know that The Wentzvillian was running for election but Guccione obviously does, so he'll use any means to discredit it. He is deeply concerned that there are too many facts coming out here that focus too closely on his record and meddling in elections when he should be dealing with the many problems in the city. It's hard to focus on his job as mayor when he has candidates lined up for his support to help him achieve his Socialist ideas for Wentzville. You will see him at the polls in April handing out his city business cards and hawking votes for his anointed few, with a little luck he'll violate the political activity policy as he did in past elections, with a little more luck the aldermen will do something about it this time.

It's unfortunate that candidates in an election can't run on their own merit, especially when it's one of those running in Guccione's stable. When you're going up against two-term Alderman and two-time President of the Board, Rick Stokes, who championed the half-million dollar real property tax reduction in his first term and since brought forward countless initiatives to the credit of Wentzville. It's difficult for anyone to run against that kind of record, but that didn't stop Guccione from lining up Linda Wright to do just that. This race is like David and Goliath but Guccione feels, with just the right amount  cash and discrediting he could have beaten Abe Lincoln with a chimpanzee. Guccione, for the past few months, has been trying to dig up anything he can find, or dream up to unseat Stokes, watch to see the mud start flying at Stokes soon.

Look similarly at trash being piled up on our Sunday school teaching Alderman, Forrest Gossett, as Guccione presses his flawed candidate, Robert Hussey against him. Last time Hussey ran against Cheryl Kross with over $6,000 in his war chest and Guccione in his corner. It's revealing to see him fight so hard to secure an alderman seat that pays $4,500 a year—there's something wrong with this scenario. Guccione's idea of how to win an election is simple; more money and a higher pile of trash will get results. Using this method, he's certain that he could have beaten Lincoln with his chimpanzee. Unfortunately for him, and good for Wentzville, he didn't pile up enough of either to seat Hussey over Kross. Robert Hussey is going to have a difficult time overcoming his record of being fired from Dardiene Prairie, but Guccione will try.

The question is: Why? Why does Guccione want to remove two of the most highly-educated, productive, and informed Aldermen ever to be elected in Wentzville, replacing them with flawed or unqualified candidates who have already proven they were unelectable just last year? This question is complicated but very simple at the same time.

The Wentzvillian has always contended that Nickolas Guccione is all about politics, city business pales in comparison to getting himself or someone else elected, government seems to be a game to him. It has been his goal in the executive branch to have complete control over the legislative branch of government, thus taking away any aldermanic representation of the citizens of Wentzville. Were he able to do this, his "It's my way or the highway" brand of law-making would take away the voice of thousands of Wentzville residents. This is not a government of the people it's a Monarchy, what the King says, goes. Mayor Nickolas Guccione doesn't necessarily want citizens to respect him for the job he's supposed to be doing, but rather wants them to love him, and show that love at the ballot box.

Since being elected mayor, he appears to be using his office to trade favors for votes. You may think this far-fetched, but is it? Last year, Mayor Nickolas Guccione pardoned a private citizen, business owner, for not filing for his liquor license on time. There was no monetary fine attached with his lack of filing for the licence and Guccione stated publicly; "It's kind of an emergency." The emergency was that the service station owner would need to wait 30 days to re-apply for his license and unable to sell liquor until that time. Since when does our government intervene in its process in favor of a negligent business owner who is obviously incapable of running his business without a king throwing out the law. Another incident took place recently when a private citizen got him to order a police escort to drive a golf cart from the golf course into downtown Wentzville. One phone call to a local tow company would have garnered the same result without any cost to the city.

These are not isolated instances of the power he wants to wield over Wentzville, and the way to do that is to throw out any logical-thinking member of the Board of Aldermen and replace them with people who will give him his head. Currently those supporting Guccione on the Board of Aldermen is Michael Hays and Cheryl Kross, he needs to get rid of Stokes or Gosset to maintain tie control but eliminate both for a total kingdom. Should he get his way, the city won't need aldermen and could trade the mayor's gavel for a crown.

The biggest puzzle in this city is Cheryl Kross. She is staying out of supporting either Stokes or Gossett in favor of Guccione and his plot. Kross isn't an unintelligent individual by any stretch, and has always claimed to have conservative values, so why she is going along with this Socialist way of government? It's baffling, especially since she has designs on being Mayor in 2016, and needs to win her seat in 1015. Both Gossett and Stokes have supported her in every election in an effort to keep insanity from taking power over the board, yet it seems that by her lack of support for her old comrades, she's inviting Guccione to impose all sorts of lunacy into city that she will be powerless to stop after the election of Guccione's recruits. She may as well be campaigning for Hussey and Wright when she turns her back on Stokes and Gossett. Two years ago she activly campaigned for Alderman Leon Tow againts "Guccione for Mayor," and now through her silence is advocating Guccione for King. Alderman Kross needs a reality check if Wentzville is going to continue digging out of the many problems facing it.

Mayor Nickolas Guccione hates The Wentzvillian and will use any deception he can to shut it down because he finally realizes that his record, which is being reported here, is damaging his plot to be the King of Wentzville. Fearful, like a rat in a corner he's lashing out trying to frighten someone who will be here reporting on Wentzville politics long after he's a bad memory. Mr. Mayor, if you want to shut me up, start looking out for the welfare of our city rather than control of it. Start acting like a rational mayor of a great city and learn how to make Wentzville a better place, not a palace.

(To my devout readers, and also those of little faith: I've heard about imitators and impostors out there and The Wentzvillian wants to assure you first;—I don't care—and second; the only place The Wentzvillian posts comments or reports is right here on this blog since 2006. The Wentzvillian does not post on Facebook, Twitter, or any other social network so if you want to read what The Wentzvillian has to say, you'll find it here exclusively. The impostors out there are fear driven, by the same folks who will bring you trash-talk about Rick Stokes and Forrestt Gosset—guess who? He used this tactic during the election of 2012, it didn't work then and it won't divert the Wentzvillian from posting the facts regarding the political activity of Mayor Nickolas Guccione and his machine today. The Wentzvillian is flattered to know they are so concerned by this blog that they would imitate it. Everytime you attack it, or refer to it, a larger spike in readership results. The Wentzvillian is encouraged to know that a nerve has been struck. I'll keep up the good work—thanks for your assistance in spreading the message of The Wentzvillian!)
 

The King Had Only One Basket at the Ball

 

I've had time to look, re look, and look again in disbelief at the Wentzville Board of Aldermen meeting of December 18, 2013 (click here). I've got to tell you something, Mayor Nickolas Guccione said some things that should disturb even his most avid fan. I've always known that he is not the most crisp pickle in the jar, but after the statements he made Wednesday December 16th, I'm concerned that there may be some criminal intent in his methodology when he threatened the Alderman and the City with a lawsuit if he doesn't get his was.

 

Mayor Nickolas Guccione has, and is displaying his arrogance of power and his total disregard for the laws of our city in the exact same manner written about in the book, The Imperial Presidency by Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. Everyone knows about his use of the City logo and the GM trademark during his election, everyone knew it was illegal except Guccione, and everyone was shocked when he was allowed to walk via Mayor Lambi's illegal pardon. Only a Governor has the power to pardon the crimes Guccione committed in the way and time he committed them. Now, because his lack of ethics is beginning to pile up, I'm beginning to wonder if Guccione did not know his deeds were illegal, or if he believes it's easier to ask forgiveness than permission, or he knows his actions are illegal and thinks himself above the laws the rest of us must abide.

Wednesday evening during "(I.D. # 4946) Ethics Policy," in a discussion that has been going on for months, Guccione threatened the Board and the City with litigation if the ethics policy was not changed to allow him to solicit private donations for various groups. It must be noted that this policy was modified, and signed by Guccione after the Lambi scandal, but now he wants to change it back to be able to do everything that was afforded Lambi.

At about 2:02 into the meeting Guccione became frustrated, as he does most of the time when he doesn't get his way. "My personal attorneys told me that I was elected by the people, and the Alderman can not hold me to this ethics policy. The people who elected me didn't make this policy, the Aldermen did." WHAT? Does our Mayor really believe that the people write laws and policies? My high school government classes taught me that the legislators write laws and policies, and in this case, that's our Aldermen. The same people who elected Guccione to head up the executive branch of our government, elected our Aldermen to legislate our laws. Guccione does not need an attorney he needs a government class, the problem is, he just doesn't like the system and wants to change it to his more Socialist ideas. "Not one, but two attorneys told me that if I challenge this policy it would not hold up in court. I don't want to do that but." I could hardly believe what I heard. He also said he knew State Representatives who side with him. I wonder who he's talking about, maybe his strong political supporter, Brian Spencer? Our mayor just told the aldermen, and the city, that if you don't change this policy, I'm going to collect donations anyway, and if you try to punish me for violation of the policy, I'm taking the city to court. All of you good citizens who voted for Nickolas Guccione must now see that he does not respect the laws of this city and it's by design, not oversight, it's simple ignorance of government and how it works.

If I were an Alderman and I wanted to get rid of the arrogance and utter incompetence in the Mayor's office, I would uphold our laws as they are written. If anyone of the aldermen bow to his threats, perhaps they believe they are above the law also. At one point during the discussion he said to Alderman Shryock, "If you have to ask, it's probably wrong." Guccione has been asking a whole lot in an effort to get his own way, it's time he let it go and concentrate on being a better mayor, after all, he's not a fundraiser, he's the CEO of a failing administration. He tried this same tantrum when he had Michael Hays appointed to the board, in his mind it worked once, why not again? Guccione is really pushing the envelope and deserves to be slapped around by the legal system. I'd love to watch him defend his actions here in Wentzville's municipal Court. He thinks he's above the law and deserves the opportunity to prove it to his subjects, and Judge Martin.

Dear King Nickolas, Your subjects are leaving like rats from a sinking ship, the city is being buried in lawsuits, and all you want to do is attend the Mayor's Ball. You are correct, the other mayors are laughing at you, but not because you only brought one basket to the Ball.

The Push Is On!

 

I didn't attend the Board of Aldermen meeting of December 11, 1013 (click here) for one reason; I wanted to see how some aldermen acted when I wasn't watching. I did however, watch the streaming live video and I got an eyeful of the mayor, Nickolas Guccione, and certain aldermen politicizing Wentzville Government. The election is just over three months from now, and as Guccione announced before, he went full-bore trying to discredit President of the Board, Rick Stokes.

 

Once again, Alderman Sonya Shryock during her "Alderman Report" led Guccione's charge by talking about "Penalties for leaking information from executive sessions. ...I want it to be impeachment or censure worthy..." She mentioned City Hall so I ascertained she wants to point the finger at some alderman for the leak of the location of the new city hall building. I previously speculated that the new city hall building will be on the yet unbuilt Schroeder Creek extension behind Holt High School, and I knew that the final site would be decided during the regular executive sessions. The words in her report came directly to her from Guccione, how do I know this? When she finished her report Guccione said "You forgot something, I'll handle it in my 'Mayors Report.'" Unless he had scripted her report before the meeting, how could he know she'd forgotten something? Incredible!

 

Back to the point; Guccione is pointing the finger at Stokes and wants to publicly admonish and accuse him of being the leak. Unfortunately for Guccione and Shryock, the information did come to me from two aldermen at different times, and that data was stored until I posted it. The first alderman to give me the location was Cheryl Kross during several of the many meetings we had prior to her flip and subsequent blackout. The second was none other than Shryock who hinted to me about the location, but she said; "You can't tell anybody about this." So, if someone is going to be impeached as Shryock suggests, she needs to put herself and Kross at the top of the list. If you're not going to play nice, I'm going to turn you in.

 

Guccione is a great one for leaks too, I got verification of Lambi's shenanigans from him. He admitted in public meetings that my speculations were all to true by saying "I didn't leak it to the newspapers, the blog did it." Those in the know still laugh at him after giving the information to the St. Charles County Journal and St. Louis Post Dispatch. It's important to know that Kross was instrumental in connecting the dots of the Lambi investigation.

 

Even though Guccione says The Wentzvillian is not a member of the press and not a reporter, I still get it correct sooner or later and make it public for our citizens. Any good investigative reporter using carefully worded questions can, and do get "secret" information from an unsuspecting source, in this case it's Guccione, Shryock, and Kross. These three elected officials have given me more fodder than any alderman currently serving in office, simply because they have no sense of how to act during interviews. I'm certain that given the proper circumstances I could get any one of them to sell out their own grandmothers, but I'm not a reporter. I'm just a delusional conspiracy theorist concerned about what these three newly immigrated individuals are doing to Wentzville, they have no idea of what they are doing to the future of our city.

 



* * * * *

 

I hope you take the time to watch the "Mayor's Report," It's worth the time to see the spiteful vengeance he displayed during his attack on President of the Board, Rick Stokes. Guccione's politically oriented aggression is an outrage, he shows his hatred of Stokes publicly trying any way he can to discredit and keep him from being re-elected.  Mayor Guccione made a total fool of himself and the office he holds.

 

Sock-puppet Shryock started the attack in her report and Guccione escalated it during his. Guccione singles out Stokes as the only alderman on the board who is undermining his office. I've got news for the mayor, he doesn't need anyone to undermine his office, he's been doing a great job of it all by himself for over a year-and-a-half. I have to laugh at Guccione, he doesn't have the mental horsepower to spar with Stokes when it comes to government, or anything other than cutting up chickens for that matter. With the exception of Chris Gard, there has never been a more effective alderman in recent history.

 

Guccione has recruited Shryock to help run interference in taking down Stokes in the coming election and he has guaranteed her his support. I know Shryock, and I cannot believe that she's sold her soul to the devil to keep a job for which she has proven to be so ineffective. Wentzville politics is out of control and I expect that her campaign will be as dirty as any run by Guccione since he's betting the farm on her winning and giving him control of the board.

 

The push is on, Shryock is being pranced all over town just like Guccione did with Michael Hays. In the coming months leading up to the election you will see Shryock bringing things to the board that Guccione wants and they will continue trying to smash Stokes. Take notice when you watch the meeting video that Guccione gaveled Alderman Forrest Gossett saying, "I'm done with you." Gossett is in his sights and Guccione has candidates lined up to deal with him. Guccione is starting to sound like Lambi did after he knew he'd been caught, it's going to be an interesting and dirty campaign.

 

More came out of the meeting of December 11th and I'll get to is soon, but I can't get over Shryock. Out of the mouths of babes comes her betrayal of Wentzville and good, healthy government. I hope my readers vote and when they do, remember the sock-puppet who wants to do more damage to an already crippled city government—Shryock.

 

We've Got To Stop Meeting Like This!

 

I've figured out why more citizens of Wentzville don't attend the Board of Aldermen meetings — because they have lives! Why any private citizen would want to spend seven-plus hours watching local government pass or fail bills and resolutions just doesn't make sense, and Mayor Nicolas Guccione knows it. With tongue in cheek I suggest—it's a sadistic plot. Anytime he can stretch a four-hour meeting into seven or more it means fewer people watching him stumble over misdirecting the meeting, thereby not seeing him for the failure he really is.

This is getting old, but once again I don't know where to start. Guccione made an ass of himself so many times during the Board of Alderman meeting of October 9, 2013, it had to be seen to be believed, but there was more; the "girls" Aldermen Cheryl Kross and Sonya Shryock continued playing leap-frog; Alderman Chris Gard made an unusual statement during his Alderman Report; Guccione's pet monkey, Michael Hays, did absolutely nothing productive again; and President of the Board, Rick Stokes, chastised Guccione for his poor leadership, but the funny thing is; I don't think he even realized how serious Stokes was.

Generally I watch the meeting video before posting just to make sure that I actually heard what I actually heard, but "Due to technical difficulties the video for the meeting is unavailable." If I were Guccione, I wouldn't want anyone going back to see how poorly I ran the meeting either.

One of my faviorate Aldermen to watch (NOT!), especially when I want to take a nap, is Guccione's pet monkey, Michael Hays. He usually says nothing — ever, but this time he decided to open his mouth and remove any doubt that he is really interested in what's going on. It came after the aldermen heard the "Public Hearing" for McBride Peruque, LLC., who wants to build out the subdivision; Peruque Hills Estates. Almost 300 lots were left un-built after the original builder bailed on the project. It's complicated, but it boiled down to McBride asking to change the side-yard setback from six feet, to five feet. Hays, who spent way to many years on planning and zoning needs to go back, if they'll have him. His reason for voting "Nay" on the first reading revolved around his bedroom habits which was way too much information for me. It was said that in other instances, this type of change had been approved in other subdivisions in Wentzville, but not under Hays' watch. He said: "Just because we did it before doesn't mean we will do it again. If I were to vote for this, I wouldn't be able to sleep at night." What the hell, you don't need to sleep at night, you've been doing enough of that while trying to conduct Wentzville city business as an alderman.

 

* * * * *

I can't cover all of what happened last Wednesday night during this writing, but over the seven-plus hour meeting several things need to be addressed.

1) Alderman Chris Gard, who is one our most rational aldermen very seldom gets upset at the dais. In the three years he's served on the board, I can think of only two. That's why I was surprised to hear him get angry at an un-named member of the board of aldermen because his name was mentioned in a report of an investigation conducted by the St. Charles Prosecuting Attorney. Subsequently, he apologized to Chief Lisa Harrison three times during his tirade. I have read the report and know the facts of the case, but I doubt any of my readers would understand what's going on without the information in the report, and I'm reluctant to divulge it at this time. I'm sure viewers of the meeting were puzzled, and in my cynical way; I wonder if the video of the meeting suffered from a real technical difficulty — or an actual legal problem.

2) If there were ever any doubt that Aldermen Kross and Sonya Shryock were voting together on everything, that thought was put to rest at this meeting. Both voted "Nay" on the final reading of Bill No. 3501 which funded the new Economic Development Director position. Then, on Bill No. 3502 which funded the IT Manager position, Shryock paused for an uncomfortable 20 to 30 seconds before she reluctantly voted "Yes." What's funny about this is that Kross did exactly the same thing immediately following Shryock, these two are definitely in lock-step.

3) Now before I close, it must be mentioned how dissatisfied President of the Board, Rick Stokes, was about the lack of direction Guccione gave in keeping the meeting orderly. It was getting late and Stokes said, "Mr. Mayor, you need to get control of this meeting, we cannot continue operating like this." Guccione's reply was barren of sincerity, "Oh, I know." This meeting didn't close until 1:20 AM and they still hadn't gone into executive session, by the time they went home, it was after 2:30 AM. Guccione let the public speak during "Open Forum," and "Public Hearings," and then proceeded to let them talk from the podium and their seats during "Bills and Resolutions," or pretty much whenever they wanted to be heard. He has no idea of how to run a meeting which doesn't surprise me, it took him a year-and-a-half to learn how to use the gavel (sometimes).

I saw Mayor Paul Lambi conducts meetings, and he was good at it, rarely did he let anyone other than petitioners speak during "Bills and Resolutions," and rarely did he ever have a meeting run past 11:00 PM. So what's the difference? Simple: Guccione doesn't see the public as citizens talking when they want to, he sees them as voters that he doesn't want to offend by telling them, "the public had their chance to speak during 'Open Forum,' and 'Public Hearings,' after that comes the business portion of the meeting, and the public just listens."

I've said it before, and I'll say it again; Mayor Nickolas Guccione is incompetent when it comes to anything having to do with government, and it glows when he's at the dais. I feel sorry for the staff who has to sit for over seven hours listening to citizens talking when they shouldn't, and discussions that are covered over and over while the mayor naps. The employees probably work 10 to 12 hours a day running their departments and then they have to sit through another seven hours of Guccione's lack of control of the meeting, it's a crime. He doesn't care, he doesn't work cutting up chickens on Thursday, it's his day off, but the employees need to get some rest if they are expected to function in the high-stress administration of King Nickolas.

The meeting of October 9th was a product of the Aldermen giving Guccione his head. They stopped running the meetings for him and are letting him excel at screwing it up. The last two regular meetings ran until after midnight. Don't the aldermen have grounds enough over the first year-and-a-half  to censure Mayor Nickolas for incompetence? Stokes called him out, but that alone is not going to straighten out the mess Guccione has created, it's going to take something else. Guccione just does not understand what's going on around him. I can't believe the aldermen who have eight-to-five jobs don't complain about getting out of city hall before midnight, these agendas under Guccione are no more loaded than the ones in Lambi's administration.

A lot more happened during the seven-and-a-half hour meeting and I will report more next time.  Right now, I've got surf to deal with.
 

The Invisible Man — Michael Hays

 

The scrambling in City Hall continues after our legal services team rejected the city's offer of a six month extension on their contract. Sitting around waiting for the city to find a replacement would do nothing positive for their firm's reputation. Cunningham, Vogel, and Rost has represented Wentzville through three administrations and now because two aldermen and the mayor don't like the advice of City Attorney, Paul Rost, they kicked them to the curb.

 

Aldermen Cheryl Kross, Sonya Shryock, and Mayor Guccione all have personal reasons for not wanting Rost as Wentzville's city attorney. I've underscored; personal, because each of these people created problems for themselves and rather than hire an attorney for themselves, they thought Rost should act as their private attorney. When Rost, who looks out for the interests of the city gave them his opinion, this group didn't like what he advised.

 

Guccione was in serious legal trouble after he violated the city's copyright laws during the 2012 election. The board was about to turn his case over to the prosecuting attorney when Mayor Paul Lambi issued an executive pardon one week before Guccione was sworn-in as mayor. Guccione figured wrongly that the city attorney was there to represent him through the ordeal, he found out that Rost represented the city, not individuals within the city. After that was all finished, Guccione was going to spare no expense in relieving Rost of his position, having no board support, he needed to wait until the legal services contract was up for renewal.

 

Kross and Shryock's dislike of Rost is an entirely different story. These two aldermen have gotten themselves into some potential legal problems that I'm holding onto until such time that a determination has been made. Once I get the first indication of anything going public, I assure my readers, I'll be all over it. They each went to Rost with their problems and they also didn't like the advice they were given. Time will tell about the possible slings and arrows headed their way. These two aldermen are not enough to reject the recommendation of the Professional Services Committee so, enter Alderman Micheal Hays.

 

Hays came to office by appointment of Guccione and was elected in 2013 via one of the most unpopular elections ever in the history of Wentzville. This may not have happened if Kross hadn't flipped on her vote to allow Guccione to appoint him, now Guccione had his first real ally on the board of aldermen. Hays has literally done nothing productive on the Board of Alderman, his sole mission is taking up space until such time that Guccione needs him to vote on an issue. I defy anyone, anywhere, to successfully refute that assessment.

 

So here we are, Guccione, Kross, and Shryock dislike Rost because they don't feel he helped them with their personal problems, still not enough votes to have him removed from his job. Now we add the vote of Guccione's pet monkey, Hays, and it's instant revenge.

 

Something inside me says that none of these revolutionaries gave a thought to the fact that when they threw out Rost, they were throwing out the entire legal services team. Tom Cunningham, Bond Counsel, has a reputation of being one of the best, if not the finest Bond Counsel in the entire state, and they didn't renew his contract because they didn't like the advice of the City Attorney. I have to wonder about the leadership qualities of any of those who voted against Cunningham, Vogel, and Rost on September 25th.

 

At any rate, the scrambling goes on in the city — Wednesday's Board of Aldermen meeting, October 9th, has the possibility of being exciting. "NEW BUSINESS: Item 3, (ID # 4834) Professional Services Committee," and "Item 4, (ID # 4833) Municipal Legal Services," holds the potential for some real serious discussions. I look to see Aldermen Stokes, Gard, and Gossett bring up some very interesting questions for Guccione, Kross, Shryock, and the invisible man, Hays.

 

 

 

"I'll Have No Truck With Plot" —Sheldon Cooper

 

Last night's marathon Board of Aldermen meeting hadn't ended for the aldermen when I left at 12:45 AM — they were all cozy in the back room in executive session when I decided I'd had enough fun for one day. Fun was the word for it too, in all the years I've been watching Wentzville city government I've never witnessed a more bizarre meeting. This meeting could have easily lasted until three in the morning had the aldermen not deferred five discussion items to the next regular board meeting. So much happened that I know I'm going to miss something during the reporting. However, I'm confident that my screw-ups will pale by comparison to the mishandling of the meeting and pufferous-buffoonery of our Mayor Nickolas Guccione.

 

I will not be able to cover even a small portion of what transpired last night, so I'll start with the item I thought the most ridiculous and try to elucidate in as few paragraphs as possible. If at anytime you get lost, I suggest you go to the city's video of the meeting and see if it's any less confusing there (good luck). But first, in Guccione's inimitable style (or lack of); after the call to order and the pledge, he decided not to have an official roll call and skipped right on down to approval of the agenda. Later he gave the wrong bill number on a second reading making me wonder if the vote was legal, and he continuously introduced bills to be read "by title only" which is the duty of the aldermen, not the mayor, but what the hell, he is the King.

 

Getting down to "NEW BUSINESS, Item 6, (ID#4799) Municipal Legal Services (City Attorney)," a cut and dried vote to approve the recommendation of the Professional Services Committee to accept Vogel, Cunningham & Rost Law Firm turned into a nightmare. After Alderman Forrest Gossett read the findings and gave the scores of the competitive bidders, Alderman Sonya Shryock made the statement; "I don't like that the board doesn't get to interview the bidders." This isn't the first time I've heard her say that, but this time it started a rhubarb that still has me shaking my head this morning.

 

I don't know the exact count of aldermen and directors who comprise the Professional Services Committee but I do know that at least two aldermen and three staff members are involved. The formation and parameters of this committee were created by this very board and has become a part of the Purchasing Policy which was recently approved and adopted by ordinance of this board. It appears that if there were objections, they should have been aired out long before thousands of staff hours were expended to write such an in-depth document. It must be remembered that our City Attorney is not an employee and as such, does not fall under scrutiny of the board other than to have their contract approved or disapproved, interviews take place at the committee level. The ensuing discussion raised brows throughout chambers.

 

What I found interesting is that there was a vote not to accept the recommendation of the committee and reinvestigate the process of selection. Those voting "No" (to accept the recommendation) were Shryock, Cheryl Kross, and Michael Hays, voting yes were; Chris Gard, Rick Stokes, and Forrest Gossett. Guess who got to break the tie with a "No" vote? The subject of investigating the process is opening a can of worms — if they decide to change the process it means that the board is once again micromanaging the city by interviewing every professional services company to ever bid on a service to the city.

 

Now it's time for a little preface to this subject: I know that Kross does not like the law firm representing the City and that they fell out of grace with Guccione, probably because he didn't get the answers he wanted from them when he was going through his and Mayor Lambi's ethics problems. Kross and Shryock have become very close in the last year-and-a-half and have been voting as a block of late. Hays is a total zero on the board and would do anything to please his benefactor, Nick Guccione. This sounds like the days of The Lurchettes when they were creating problems for the city and costing tax-payers in the process.

 

I believe Shryock made a huge mistake bringing this forward and that her decision to do so was influenced by Kross and Guccione. I've gone on record saying, I've been disappointed recently with some of Kross' actions and that she has fallen prey to the Third Term Crazies, it appears that Shryock has stumbled into lock-step with her. It's a known fact that Kross is still seething about not getting to be board president and has had a huge falling out with Stokes, communication has broken down, and she has been dragging Shyrock over to her side.

 

There are many ramifications to what happened last night on this subject, all of which will burden our already overworked staff, and waste valuable city resources. This board is clearly divided, just like Guccione wanted, and we must thank Alderman Cheryl Kross for it's demise as an effective body. I'm disheartened that her vendetta toward Board President, Rick Stokes, has taken this once well-oiled government machine to a rusty hunk 'o junk (Lurchettes), in just six months. I'm sorry that The Wentzvillian ever supported her in her last election, that mistake will not be repeated.

 

What happened last night in regard to this item has proven to me that The Wentzvillian's polls are correct: look at them, see which aldermen are the most effective and asks the most relevant questions. It all boils down to the fact is that the Mayor (who has a 19 percent job approval rating) and Kross (one of the least effective aldermen and asks the most irrelevant questions) do not like our City Attorney, Paul Rost. I believe Aldermen Shryock and Hays are taking part in a plot to remove him from his position, and that the subject to reevaluate the selection process is simply a cover for the conspiracy. I agree with Wentzville's most effective aldermen on the board: Gard, Gossett, and Stokes who sided to approve our City Attorney, and keep the process of selection intact (I have a hunch that the City staff does too). 

 

 

The Little Meeting That Couldn't

 

Last week's Board of Aldermen meeting of July 10th was interesting—to say the least. I brought my sleeping bag just in case because it was a four-page agenda and given our Mayor's record of running meetings I just knew it was going to end in the wee hours of the morning. Eleven items on the agenda dealt with community development and represented applicants from builders who are looking to build over 300 new homes in Wentzville.

 

I knew something was amiss when I saw Mayor Niockolas Guccione scurrying around before the meeting frantically from the City Attorney to the City Administrator. I saw sure panic on his face, similar to Wile E, Coyote when he realizes that the Road Runner's piano is about to drop on his head and he couldn't get out of the way—he was a mess. Aldermen Cheryl Kross and Forrest Gossett were seated when Alderman Rick Stokes arrived and Guccione approached him. Then the whole picture became clear—they did not have a quorum—three aldermen wouldn't cut it. In my almost fifteen years of watching Wentzville City meetings I have never seen a time when a meeting of the board was cancelled due to the lack of a quorum, but we never had a mayor like Nickolas Guccione.

 

The Mayor sets the meeting agenda, and for my money he's supposed to know what's going on, but again we're talking about Nickolas Guccione. He knew that Alderman Chris Gard would not be there because Gard announced it during the meeting of July 3rd, and Guccione received a call from Michael Hays informing him that he would not be there either, that alone should have hoisted the red flag. That leaves four, which is enough to conduct the business of the City; however, Alderman Sonya Shyrock had called the City Clerk to inform her that she would not be in attendance, old Wile E. just had the piano slam onto his head and didn't know what to do.

 

The chamber had numerous citizens and petitioners waiting patiently to be heard, but what they heard from our mayor was; "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry" something we've heard from Nickolas Guccione many times over the last 467 days since he was elected. What we should be hearing is the citizens of Wentzville saying "We're sorry that we ever elected you," but after all, we only have to endure his ignorance of City business for around 1110 more days. Guccione has screwed-up many, many, many times since he was sworn-in, but this will probably make the history books as his biggest screw-up. All of the Directors of the City worked all day for the City and were at the meeting only to hear Guccione say he was sorry to those in attendance, he wasted all of his Directors time and he owes them more than an "I'm sorry."

 

The Mayor of any city is responsible for its meetings, and ours needs to take responsibility. His acceptance of responsibility for anything that goes wrong in Wentzviille has always been to say, "I didn't know," how many times do we have we hear that from our mayor before he is found to be the incompetent he truly is?

 

They pushed off a work session to put this agenda on the evening of July 17th, let's hope Guccione can get his ducks in a row before then. The City business is a week behind and the agendas are beginning to get longer, let's hope the President of the Board, Rick Stokes can keep things moving so the audience doesn't need to bring their jammies. I've watched a great number of City meetings but I've never had as much fun reporting on any mayor more than Wile E. Guccione. I guess the last time there was this much to talk about was the final days of Mayor Paul Lambi.

 

PSS: I kinda hope Stokes doesn't lead the meeting. I know Guccione has taken hammer lessons from our last mayor so he at least appears to the camera that he's competent at what he's doing, but those in the know, know!

 

 

Watkins, Gap-1, & The Missouri Ethics Commission

In 2011 and 2012 The Wentzvillian posted several articles which exposed alleged pay-to-play ethics violations by then-Mayor Paul Lambi and Mr. Ed Watkins. Lambi was outraged in Board of Aldermen meetings trying to defend himself against allegations regarding a mysterious $15,000 check and his connection with "Graduate America Priority 1," or "GAP-1." Executive sessions came frequently as the City Attorney, Paul Rost, Mayor Lambi, and Aldermen discussed the allegations. The Wentzvillian's speculations in the articles regarding the goings-on in those sessions are what spurred the City to have the St. Louis Police Department come and sweep the Wentzville City Hall for bugs.

 

This subject remained dormant as the Missouri Ethics Commission investigated the facts around the alleged play-for-pay scheme dreamed up by Watkins and Lambi—until a few weeks ago. The Board of Aldermen directed the City Attorney to draft a letter to the Missouri Ethics Commission to find out the status of their complaint, low and behold, last Monday case number 12E005 was filed; "Missouri Ethics Commission, Petitioner, v. Ed Watkins, Respondent; JOINT STIPULATION OF FACTS, WAIVER OF HEARING BEFORE THE MISSOURI COMMISSION, AND CONSENT ORDER WITH JOINT PROPOSED FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSION OF LAW."

 

After digesting these documents signed by Ed Watkins on June 8, 2013, I have more questions than Answers. Other than Lambi not being a Co-Respondent, under the "JOINT PROPOSED FINDINGS OF FACT" header, items 2: "Respondent Watkins is a founder, shareholder, and registered agent of WE News, LLC, which was formerly known as Westplex ENEWS, LLC."; Item 3: Respondent Watkins is the owner of the fictitious name 'Winning Endeveavors.'"; Item 4: "Respondent Watkins is the founder of 'Graduate America Priority 1,' or 'GAP-1.'" In or about September of 2011, Respondent Watkins, together with Paul Lambi, filed paperwork with the Missouri Secretary of State to incorporate GAP-1 as a public benefit non-profit corporation, but on February 23, 2012, Respondent Watkins filed articles of dissolution. In July 2012, Paul Lambi filed with the Missouri Secretary of State a registration of fictitious name for Graduate America Priority 1 identifying "WE News, LLC as the owner of the business name." Why would Lambi register the same fictitious name that Watkins dissolved just four months earlier?

 

Now to jump around a bit: Item 5: "Mr. Lambi was paid by WE News, LLC, as C.E.O. of Winning Endeavors, Paul Lambi was also the mayor of Wentzville, Missouri, from 2004 through 2012." Item 11: As the founder and owner of WE News, LLC, and doing business as GAP-1, Respondent Watkins sought to establish an educational facility in the City of Wentzville." Item 12: "Respondent Watkins approached Rankin Technical College with a proposal to locate an educational facility in Wentzville, and requested a fund-raising agreement with Rankin that would have paid Mr. Lambi through GAP-1 a salary of approximately $60,000 per year for fundraising."

 

I advise anyone interested to read this nine page public document for yourself, there is just too much to put here, but the bottom line is that Ed Watkins admitted to the facts in this document. So, where does this leave Lambi? Watkins got a $100 slap on the hand with the promise that if he violates any of the items listed within the next two years he would pay an additional $900. Some allege that Lambi may be in even more serious trouble, it depends on what the Missouri Ethics Commission does with the information they've gathered during their investigation. We could have to wait another two years, who knows?

 

I've linked just a couple of several posts revolving around this situation below. During that period of time there was a lot of excitement surrounding this case and the involvement of Mayor Paul Lambi. Time will tell, and I assure you I will stay on top of it.

 

"The Illegal Practice Of Using One's Influence..." (December 16, 2011)

"Den Of Bell-Tails" February 14, 2012

 

 

Article Interruptus

It is with guarded excitement that I await the Board of Alderman meeting this Wednesday, May 8th. The reason I'm looking forward to it is because the "Ethics Discussion," which was originally posted, and removed from the agenda of April 24th has been placed on the upcoming agenda. I'm apprehensive because here lately when I hear things, they haven't necessarily come to be. So, I'll be there to listen and see what happens.

This discussion item was placed on the agenda to address the  questionable ethics of Mayor Nickolas Guccione and Ward 3 Alderman Michael Hays during the election this past April. Remembering back to the election of 2012, during Mayor Lambi's final meeting as Mayor of Wentzville, the Board was going to have a similar discussion about Guccione's unethical behavior. Lambi's last official duty was to issue a pardon for him. I always thought it unfortunate for citizens of Wentzville to bear the shame of having a Mayor sworn in who was just pardoned by the outgoing mayor. And now, citizens of Ward 3 are represented by an alderman who won by only 39 percent of the vote, who would not have been elected if Guccione hadn't gotten involved.

Guccione must not have learned anything from Lambi's pardon because he continued along with his old campaign strategies this past election by using the mayor's office to promote the seating of Hays. I can only hope our Aldermen impose some drastic spankings.

NEWS FLASH: The body count rills up under Mayor Nickolas Guccione's administration. Ms. Petree Powell, Interim Wentzville Finance Director was fired Friday night about 8:30  PM by City Administrator, T. Michael McDowell. It was reported to The Wentzvillian that Ms. Powell and Mr. McDowell may have had some bad blood between them. Powell was hired January 10th of this year to replace Dennis Walsh who had served as Wentzville Finance Director for many years. Ms. Powell sent a blistering email to the City, which I will do my best to acquire. The Wentzvillian has been told that a new interim Finance Director will be present at the meeting this Wednesday.

Guccione was directly involved with the firing of four directors in Wentzville, so much for being in favor of the employees, huh? I have never seen such a turnover in the City as that created by Mayor Nickolas Guccione. My suggestion to City employees is: if you have a position of any responsibility with the City, duck! Do what your leader does; hide, pass the buck, lie, accomplish little or nothing, and always have someone you can blame.

I'm off to do some research, see ya later!

Re-Elect Judge Steve Martin to Municipal Court

I voted for Judge Larry Nesslage in 2009 and because he didn't campaign as hard as he had in past elections Michael Carter flooded the town with signs, made a nuisance of himself with auto-dial phone recordings, and won the election. Once on the bench, Carter did his best to dismantle the Justice Department budget by lowering fines that were set by ordinance, releasing offenders with reduced fines, and not fining others who violated our laws.

The single most destructive thing Judge Carter did was to alienate our police force who worked fearlessly to apprehend those who would harm us, the citizens. Our Police officers lost faith in our municipal court and that situation put the citizens in harms way. Mayor Paul Lambi, Chief Robert Noonan, the Wentzville City Attorney, and our Aldermen had closed door meetings to see what could be done about either limiting Carter's power or removing him from office all together. Carter claims that his actions were in the name of justice, I claim he is arrogant, suffers from delusions of grandeur, and is once again wanting to reek havoc on Wentzville's Police Department and burden taxpayers by not making law-breakers pay their fair share.

In the 2011 election for Municipal Judge there were 3,685 votes cast for six candidates. Judge Steve Martin garnered 52.73 percent while Michael Carter snared 25.78 percent of the vote. I am proud to say I voted for Martin and seeing Carter's reign of terror end in Wentzville. Today, he has the Guccione machine supporting him and all bets are off, we need to continue our support for Judge Martin and I ask my readers to vote and tell your friends and acquaintances about Carter and Guccione's agenda of chaos in the City. I have spoken with Judge Martin and his words follow:

Dear Voters:

Last election for Municipal Judge, I asked for your confidence in me to serve as Municipal Judge and I was honored by your overwhelming support.

I promised to be fair to all, respectful to everyone, and bring professionalism back to Wentzville. I kept that promise and at the same time increased efficiency and saved the taxpayers money.

I look forward to discussing the improvements we have made to the Municipal Court since the last election, including the promises I made and have kept!

I look forward to meeting with you and I ask for your trust, and your vote on April 2nd.

Respectfully,

Stephen Martin.

Promises Made, Promises Kept

As Municipal Judge, I promised to bring professionalism back to the Municipal Court. I am proud to report that as Municipal Judge:

• Not a single ethics complaint has been filed against the court.
• The Court meets all statutory deadlines.
• The court is in compliance with all state laws.
• Residents are informed of their rights before going to trial.
• Everyone before the court is treated with respect.

 I also pledged to bring fairness to the court. Since being elected:

• A fair trial is received by everyone.
• Fair and polite treatment of all victims and all are given a chance to be heard.
• Reduced number of continuances. Justice delayed is justice denied.
• Expanded payment options for residents.
• Regularly scheduled trial nights for residents wanting a trial.

Re-Elect

STEVE MARTIN

Municipal Judge

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I find it difficult to believe that Mayor Nickolas Guccione is actively campaigning for Carter. that alone speaks volumes about the character of both individuals.  If you don't believe me about this situation, stop any Wentzville police officer and ask them what they thought about the damage Judge Carter did to the City of Wentzville and then please re-elect Judge Steve Martin to the Wentzville Municipal Court.

Statesmen vs. Politician Part II

Ward 3 is a totally different story than the Ward 1 race, there are three candidates running and only one with experience in Wentzville city government. One sits in an appointed position on the Board of Aldermen and as much as I like Alderman Cheryl Kross I think flipping on her vote to allow that to happen was her biggest mistake in her time on the Board, we'll see what happens.

Ward 3

Michael Hays (appointed)

Linda L. Wright

Darrel Lackey

Micheal Hays spent several years on the Planning and Zoning board where he and Mayor Nickolas Guccione became friends. Hays was one of the three candidates recruited by Guccione to beat Rick Stokes in the 2012 election  Cutting a deal with Guccione, Hays withdrew his name in favor of becoming the appointed Ward 3 Alderman should Guccione become mayor and vacate his seat, beating Stokes was a long shot anyway.

Everyone knows the story about the long arguments over his appointment to Guccione's vacated seat. "It's my appointment, it's my appointment," he cried over and over and the seat remained vacant for nine months until Kross changed her vote putting a smile on Guccione's face. Guccione will be active in this election bringing the full force of his dirty campaign tactics against Hays' opponents, I know one of his opponents and if things get nasty Hays and Guccione had better brace themselves.

Hays has never campaigned, he's never been in the trenches and is enjoying his appointment to the board at the dismay of many Ward 3 residents who had no choice in his representation. He will be relying heavily on Guccione's campaign machine to beat his more qualified and highly experienced opponent. Guccione and Hays have become thicker than fleas on a hound dog's ears, arriving early to have their clandestine meetings in the mayor's office to plan their strategies. Guccione is parading him all over town including him in all of his mayoral functions. As a resident of Ward 3, I resent the mayor's total lack of care and concerns regarding his Ward 3 constituents.

Linda L. Wright is still an unknown to me. I have heard that she decided to oppose Hays strictly because of the way Guccione handled the appointment and she sounds like a very concerned citizen of Ward 3. I'm not sure how much she will campaign since she now knows that Hays will have a formidable opponent.

Darrel Lackey is no stranger to Wentzville, serving two terms as Mayor, three terms as Alderman of Ward 2, and two terms as Alderman of Ward 3. I had the pleasure of having Lackey represent me and was impressed with his no nonsense attitude toward our City government. He was responsive to citizen requests and concerns throughout his career in Wentzville Government.

Lackey was the butt of Guccione's dirtiest campaign tactics when he ran against him last year for Mayor. It is my belief that if Lackey hadn't entered the race on the last day of registration he would be sitting in the Mayor's office today. Lackey re-entered Wentzville politics winning his first term as Ward 3 Alderman in 2002 when the City was in the grip of the tyrant Mayor Vickie Boedeker where he helped bring a sense of peace back into the City. Deja vu, now we have an unqualified, ineffective mayor, Nickolas Guccione doing his best to throw Wentzville back into the dark ages. Darrel Lackey is not the kind of elected official to pander to special interests or grant favors, he is a common sense legislator who represents his constituents. Lackey left Wentzville Government to run for a seat on the St. Charles County Council.

Municipal Judge

Michael E. Carter vs. Steve Martin (incumbent)

Michael Carter: Michael Carter served as Wentzville's Municipal Judge from 2009 to 2011 when he lost his reelection bid to our current Judge Steve Martin. Carter was disliked by our Police Department due to his habit of reducing fines set by ordinance and releasing prisoners. His actions reduced the police budget so much that our Mayor Lambi and Aldermen took action to limit his authority and even talked of having him removed from office. Carter created an unhealthy and even unsafe environment in our city for the residents of Wentzville because of the disturbance he created in our police department. Carter campaigned actively for Nick Guccione and there's no doubt his support will be reciprocated by the mayor. Many people see judges on the ballot and don't have a clue which one to vote for, be assured, Carter is not the man for Wentzville  If you have thoughts of voting for Carter, ask any Wentzville police officer who served during his term as judge for their opinion of his time on the bench.

Stephen Martin (Incumbent), Judge Martin was elected against a field of six candidates in the 2011 election. His service over the past two years has resulted in the restoration of the Police budget which was almost destroyed by his predecessor. He is revered by the Police Department and City Hall as a good and fair judge. The people should be proud to have Judge Martin on our Municipal Court bench.

According to public record, when Martin was elected, Carter had left him $220,000 in uncollected fines. During his time in office Martin had assessed $1.1 million fines and collected $1.3 million. Martin has streamlined the court system reducing court sessions and paperwork. When you go into the voting booth, The Wentzvillian recommends pulling the trigger for Judge Steve Martin.

Parks—February 27th, 2013 Board Meeting

"(ID # 4369) Peruque Valley and Heartland Park Project" was discussed at length last Wednesday evening under "New Business". Several of the bidders were in attendance and spoke during "Open Forum," including one who was contesting the selection process.

At the onset, Mayor Nickolas Guccione recused himself at the advice of the City Attorney and left chambers until the discussion was completed.  The selection committee comprised of city staff had chosen the top three companies, of those they recommended C. Rallo Construction Co. Interesting to note here, the owner of C. Rallo Construction Co. is a member of Mayor Guccione's family. The Wentzvillian is not suggesting improprieties but in government just the appearance of the lack of ethics should be avoided at all costs. In this instance, not only does the mayor have a family relationship to the recommended supplier but the people on the selection committee work directly for him. By appearance alone it would be easy for someone to correctly or incorrectly deduce that this combination meets the criteria for a conspiracy, either intended or unintended. To make things even more sticky, Guccione has a family relationship with the owner of the cleaning service company contracted by the city.

During "Open Forum," representatives of Gundaker Commercial Construction protested the selection process. Apparently they had several blanks on the bid form filled in with "Later" and those blanks excluded them from being an approved bidder. Gundaker stated that other bidders who were approved had left blanks yet were approved. In support of their argument to be an approved bidder they added; "Gundaker was low bidder across the board."

Now for the problem: Parks construction has been pushed and pushed to "Start digging" by the Park Board, Friends of the Parks, and Mayors Lambi and Guccione to the point that cost overruns on the Splash Station are projected to far exceed its budget. The latest estimate for opening day is August 24th 2013 plus two weeks which ends up being one week after its scheduled closing for the season. This information should make it a little easier for Guccione to make his decision whether or not to open in 2013, but you never know.

Because they are going to be so far over budget on Splash Station, the Aldermen have been placed in an unsavory position—robbing Peter to pay Paul. To tell how deep to cut Splash Station amenities and/or from the budget of Heartland and Peruque parks, they need an accurate accounting from staff just how much Splash Station will cost. Questions were asked; "Why Splash Station was chosen first and why its location was chosen. Very good questions if they want to start pointing fingers (which I'm sure will come sooner or later and I'd bet those fingers are attached to the arms of Lambi and Guccione), but it won't help the situation. After a lengthy debate and deciding that the obvious result of cuts to Heartland and Peruque would change their design criteria it was decided to rebid.

The only thing left is for staff to provide the numbers asked for, evaluate the depth of the cuts to each of the parks, and send it back out for bid. I would be surprised if there are any blanks left on the forms this time around.

Where the Buck Stops

Before I get into the happenings of the January 16th board of aldermen meeting I have to relay a newsflash, a pontification by our Nickompoop; Mayor Nick Guccione. During the Mayor's Report, Nickompoop stated that he had good news; the Newstime newspaper is going to be publishing weekly once again and that they will have a reporter at all of the city meetings. Quoting Nickompoop: "Newstime will fix any misinformation out there." That's great news for Wentzville, throw away the Journal, don't read Patch.com, and never, ever visit the Wentzvillian. Our Nickompoop has declared the Newstime newspaper the guardian of Truth, Justice, and the American way.  His rationalization sounds like one of Mayor Lambi's during his last days in office—twisted.

Possibly the most interesting portion of the meeting was "Open Forum." A gentleman spoke before the board asking them to change the sign ordinance to allow human signs. If you'll remember, Jiffy Lube always had a person waving a large sign at people in cars on Pearce Blvd. near the Wentzville Parkway trying to rustle up business and some business owners had people in costumes on streets out in front of their businesses. The City received numerous complaints by citizens claiming these large animated critters and sign waivers are  hazardous distractions to travelers on Wentzville thoroughfares—they wanted it stopped.

The sign ordinance was just recently revised removing the "human sign" hazard from the roadways and now it will be interesting to see if the aldermen go back on their earlier decision, under the threat of litigation, and bow to the speaker because he claims it to be a violation of his first amendment rights. His company uses human signs in costumes of the Statue of Liberty to attract business. If the city changes the ordinance to allow human signs get ready for a hoard of costumed hucksters in the form of hippos, ball headed hamburger peddlers, and giant gorilla balloons lining the Parkway and Avenues of Wentzville.

Now back to Rock Park. City staff came back with their upside cost overrun amounting to $290,000 for any more unexpected anomalies (rock removal). Last week they estimated $250,000 but the two-ninety figure is their latest estimate. The new number leaves $2,000 for any other problems they may have during the remaining ninety percent of construction cost of the 6.3 million dollar Splash Station. The "how did we get here" question was put off for another day and Ward 2 Alderman, Chris Gard stated, "Laying blame is not constructive." Ward 1 Alderman, Forrest Gossett added, "We need a root cause conference much like what is had with Federal contracts. We must not repeat how we got here."

Perhaps the most dysfunctional statement came from our maladroit mayor, Nick Guccione, "I can't see any problems above ground and nobody can anticipate what's below ground." REALLY Mr. Mayor! I'm going to hold you to the first part of that statement, especially when above ground change orders begin coming in which total more than $2,000. Secondly, core sampling was invented many years ago, no major undertaking of this magnitude would not include it. The history of this site was known and I would think that any competent below ground survey would have found the "unforeseen anomaly." Obviously, someone dropped the ball and by the sound of your statement, it fell on your head!

The Splash Station project is going to come in over budget, there is absolutely no way it can't, and when that happens some amenities will need to be dropped from the project. It's going to be hard-decision time and I hope our Nickompoop can stand before the taxpayers and explain why this project is not all it should have been. I hope he is the one choosing which parts of the Splash Station are cut and he answers to the people of Wentzville.

This whole thing is your fault Mr. Mayor, you are in the seat where the buck stops and you need to take responsibility! Maybe you can get Newstime to blame it on someone else.