WITH EVEN MORE HEAD SCRATCHERS!

283. Welcome everyone to Blog 27, a place where you can catch up for updates on your wonderful elected officials in Superior WI. A place where we update you on all the tremendous work they are doing. News you won’t read or find out about in you great local media. Just here.

CHIEF ALEXANDER

284. Let’s start today with Chief Nicholas Alexander. Here are a few updates on information requests I sent the Chief.

From:brian noel

Sent:Wednesday, August 23, 2023 1:24 PM


Subject:Re: info request

This email was originally sent to Rebecca Scherf, the Mayor’s chief of staff, who then sent it to the Chief.

Re: Info request clarification concerning the Palace

Here are the dates and people I’m requesting.

April 10, 2022 – April 19, 2022

April 27, 2022 – May 25, 2022

January 1, 2020 – March 17, 2022.

The communication would be between the following individuals and Ms. Hyatt.

Mayor Paine

Chief of Police Alexander

Captain Paul Winterscheidt

Sergeant Bradley Jago

And any sitting member of Superior City Council during the above mentioned dates.

Thank you,

Brian

The Chief’s response:

Alexander, Nicholas F.

To:brian noel

Cc:Prell, Frog

Mon, Sep 11 at 1:53 PM

Brian – I have searched my email account and phone and do not have any records of communication with Ms. Hyatt during the three date ranges you requested. I do believe that Ms.Hyatt may have called me a couple times during those periods. I do recall that the few times she did call me it was typically to inform me of a police response to the Palace. I am not sure if the other officers listed have replied to you but I did send them a reminder to do so.

Nicholas F. Alexander

Chief of Police

Superior Police Department

My comments

285. First off, notice the cc to Frog? I wonder why? How come there is no cc’s to the taxpayers? Anyway, another vague response from the Chief. “Ms.Hyatt may have called me a couple times during those periods. I do recall that the few times she did call me it was typically to inform me of a police response to the Palace.”. Well, it went from “Ms.Hyatt may have called me“ to “I do recall that the few times she did call me it was typically to inform me of a police response to the Palace.” Well, did she call you or not? Why is it, that every public official, including the Chief, jump every time this fountain of misinformation, Melissa Hyatt speaks? If you know could you let me and “Ripley’s Believe or Not!” know? Thanks.

286. Here is my next request to the Chief. I’d like to call this segment Bar Check BS, because that’s what it is. As you know, I have been very critical about this stupid and ineffective practice and this segment will confirm everything I’ve been talking about. Keep in mind, they conducted 95 bar checks at the Palace in a three month period in 2021. That is more than one per day.

brian noel

To:Nicholas F. Alexander

Thu, Oct 5 at 10:27 AM

Hi Chief,

In light of the information I reported on Blog 21, on Palacebartruth.com, could you provide me with the top 3 bars (excluding the Palace) with the most bar checks in any consecutive 3 month period between 2020-2022. Please include the names of the bars and the dates you used. 

Thanks,

Brian

Here is the Chief’s response:

Alexander, Nicholas F.

To:brian noel 

Cc:Prell, Frog

Thu, Oct 12 at 3:17 PM

See attached

Notice that CC to Frog again.

01:18:09 09/06/20

619 TOWER AV; BUILDERS SALOON

01:14:37 09/27/20

619 TOWER AV; BUILDERS SALOON

23:34:53 10/23/20

619 TOWER AV; BUILDERS SALOON

00:57:53 10/24/20

619 TOWER AV; BUILDERS SALOON

23:29:06 10/30/20

619 TOWER AV; BUILDERS SALOON

00:48:53 10/31/20

619 TOWER AV; BUILDERS SALOON

00:51:17 10/31/20

619 TOWER AV; BUILDERS SALOON

22:21:30 10/31/20

619 TOWER AV; BUILDERS SALOON

00:45:24 11/01/20

619 TOWER AV; BUILDERS SALOON

02:20:45 09/12/20

702 TOWER AV; CENTERFOLDS

22:01:06 10/22/20

702 TOWER AV; CENTERFOLDS

23:50:44 10/22/20

702 TOWER AV; CENTERFOLDS

23:20:01 10/28/20

702 TOWER AV; CENTERFOLDS

21:10:42 10/29/20

702 TOWER AV; CENTERFOLDS

00:28:09 11/14/20

702 TOWER AV; CENTERFOLDS

00:22:03 11/22/20

702 TOWER AV; CENTERFOLDS

21:55:05 10/22/20

628 TOWER AV; LADY VIS

23:28:04 10/22/20

628 TOWER AV; LADY VIS

00:02:57 10/30/20

628 TOWER AV; LADY VIS

20:59:52 10/31/20

628 TOWER AV; LADY VIS

00:09:07 11/06/20

628 TOWER AV; LADY VIS

My comments

287. Let’s do some math here. The totals for the top 4 bars with the most BS Bar Checks in any consecutive 3 month period between 2020-2022.

And you wonder why I want these banned? I want these banned so that corrupt politicians and city officials cannot use this as a tool to weaponize their personal agendas against business and private citizens. That is exactly what has happened here. They don’t work and it is a major invasion to everyone’s privacy. They only serve as a weapon to the police dept. Owners and customers alike don’t like them. I would urge you to go back to Blog 21 and 22 and check out the statistics. In Blog 21, Point 241, I asked the Chief the following:

“Could you tell me who is responsible for this decision and/or take me through the process of the decision. And what I mean by that is giving me the names of the people who were involved in the decision.

His response: (notice the CC to frog again)

Alexander, Nicholas F.

To:brian noel

Cc:Prell, Frog

Mon, Sep 25 at 3:10 PM 

Hi Brian – I contacted Officer Jago and he recalls this direction be provided to him by Captain Paul Winterscheidt who is the Patrol Division Commander. I do not specifically recall what advice or involvement I may have had as there were frequent complaints made by Melissa but I am sure that I likely at some point suggested to Paul, and/or the Mayor that increased police presence and some dedicated/directed patrol were options to consider. Captain Winterscheidt is the Patrol Division Commander so I would allow him to formulate response plans to complaints, concerns, hot spots without much further coordination from my office other than me providing some ideas.

Nicholas F. Alexander

And then I commented:

So the Chief doesn't recall if he was involved but he might have been, the Mayor might also might have been involved, but he’s not sure. You get the picture.

MORE COMMENTS ON BS BAR CHECKS, THE CHIEF AND MORE

288. I don’t buy the Chief’s explanation for one minute and I’ll tell you why. They (The Mayor, Chief and Frog) knew exactly what they were doing. Despite what the Chief said in an earlier Blog that somehow patrons are ok with them. They know that the BS Bar Checks are detrimental to a business and if misused could cause irreparable harm to them. But when you do it at level they did it to us (95 in a three month period and the other bars were 9, 7 and 5), they were doing it on purpose. And the purpose is to put us out of business through their own harassment. They tried to create an environment that customers would be turned off and not want to patronize.

And, really, who would blame them? I don’t want to go to a bar where every night a bunch of cops walk in for no good reason and just stand around like a bunch of dummies. It’s annoying, intimidating and serves no good purpose.

THE TIMELINE OF THESE BS BAR CHECKS

289. The BS Bar Checks were conducted at the Palace between Feb 2021 and April 2021. The timeline here is very important. The ONLY shooting at the Palace occurred March 18,2022. So, a year before the ONLY shooting, in my opinion, that is supported by the many facts I have put on all the Blogs, The Mayor, Chief, Frog and of course their chief officer of disinformation, Melissa Hyatt, were busy planning our demise. And not once did they ever come to us with any concerns. We had no idea that anything like this was happening behind the scene. And by the way, listening to the serial complainer and serial liar Melissa Hyatt would be like getting yelled at by Satan after you left the toilet seat up in hell(in my opinion). 

CITY COUNCIL

290. Not much to report here. If you look at Point 284. I asked for the following info.

“And any sitting member of Superior City Council during the above mentioned dates.”

Guess what? Right again. Nothing. Are these people even alive? I will have a lot to say in upcoming Blogs about City Council and I guarantee it won’t be pretty.

SAVING THE WORST FOR LAST

291. After several information requests to the Mayor’s office, many of them that I’ve posted on several earlier Blogs and not getting adequate or timely responses I sent an email to his office on Oct 3, 2023. (See below)

Tue, Oct 3 at 8:48 AM 

brian noel

To:Rebecca Scher

Hi Rebecca,

I was wondering how the procedure for information requests from the Mayor's office works.

The reason I ask is because requests from other departments seem to take a lot less time to

get than the Mayor's office. Below are my questions.

How many people are involved in getting the information?

Does the Mayor get involved?

About how many total hours weekly are devoted to acquiring the information? 

Thanks,

Brian

MAYOR PAINE”S CHIEF OF STAFF

292. Here is her response:

Wed, Oct 4 at 12:30 PM

Scherf, Rebecca

To:brian noel

Hello Mr. Noel,

The reason that it takes much longer for the Mayor’s office than other city departments is because in the Mayor’s office I am the only staff. Departments such as the police department have entire records departments that can assist in the process. When there are requests to the Mayor’s office, I am the only one to acquire them. The Mayor is involved when the records requested pertain to his personal records. I dedicate around 5-6 hours per week on records collection, depending on other timely matters that pertain to the Mayor’s office. I handle records requests in the order in which they are received. I am aware that I have two open requests from you at this time, and I will fulfill them as quickly as possible.

Thank you,

Rebecca Scherf

Chief of Staff to the Mayor

City of Superior

A couple of days later, I got this email:

Fri, Oct 6 at 8:32 AM

Scherf, Rebecca

To:brian noel

Mr. Noel,

This is a response to your clarification and consolidation of your multiple records requests dated August 30th, 2023. In your request you asked for all communications from several individuals and Melissa Hyatt concerning the Palace bar from a series of dates, (1/120-3/17/20, 4/10/22-4/19/22, 4/27/22-5/25/22, 5/27/22-6/20/22).

There are no communications between Mayor Paine and Melissa Hyatt for the dates requested.

There are no communications between Melissa Hyatt and Paul Winterscheidt for the dates requested.

There are no communications between Chief Alexander and Melissa Hyatt for the dates requested.

There are no e-mail communications in our system for any members of City Council and Melissa Hyatt for the dates requested. City Councilors are their own custodians of records for Facebook Messenger and texts but I do not believe any such records to exist.

I have attached communication between Bradley Jago and Melissa Hyatt for the dates requested.

Thank you,

Rebecca Scherf

Chief of Staff to the Mayor

City of Superior

MY COMMENTS

293. When I ask for these kinds of requests, I get what I get. I can’t get into a conversation like “I don’t believe you, I think there is more” or anything like that. Do I believe her email? Not really. The other possibility is that they had in person or telephone conversations during those times that I requested and therefore there would be no records. Do I think that’s what happened? Not really. Do I think there is a lot more information out there? Yes I do. Do I think some of it has been destroyed? I think it is possible. And that is why I desperately wanted City council to start an investigation into this matter. They can ask the questions that I can’t. But to this day, I have not heard a word from them. 

I don’t blame Rebecca Scherf for the delays, I blame the Mayor. It’s his office. Why do all the other departments get information out in a somewhat reasonable time and the Mayor takes weeks and in some cases months. I’ll give you my take. I believe it’s by design. Why can’t he hire another person if the backlog is that bad? Because he wants it that way. He seems to have a certain disdain for his constituents and anybody else that questions his decisions or his authority. He has a history of doing this. He stalls, delays, bullies and in some cases, completely ignores questions or requests trying to wear you out in hopes that you just go away. And some do while others fight on, trying to get to the truth.

Also, I already had received the Jago/Hyatt texts from the Chief. So the only think I got, I already had.

I think that today’s Blog, once again reveals the corruption coming from this City. And I have a lot more. 

And I will be sharing it with you in upcoming Blogs.

294. I’d like to end this Blog with an editorial I read in our local paper. Wouldn't it be great if the state, city or both looked at doing this. I’m not sure the Chief would like it since he’s retiring in the next few months, but on the other hand he was part of the group that pretty much did this to me. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you soon. Brian

EDITORIAL: Rosen bill targets congressional crooks

Those who violate the public trust while serving in elected office shouldn’t be rewarded with a generous pension supported by the tax dollars of the very people they betrayed.

Unfortunately, lax laws have allowed numerous congressional crooks to continue receiving small fortunes in ill-gotten pension dollars. Now, Sen. Jacky Rosen, a Nevada Democrat, hopes to stop this unfortunate practice. It’s long overdue.

Prior to 2007, senators and House members could lose their pensions only if convicted of espionage or treason. That year, Congress beefed up the law by passing the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act, which denied congressional pensions to federal lawmakers who committed perjury, bribery or fraud in the course of their official duties.

That law was not retroactive, however, and allowed more than 20 congressional offenders to continue collecting their pensions despite felony convictions for crimes they committed while in office.

Five years later, Congress followed up with Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012, which was supposed to strip members of their pensions upon final conviction for their crimes. Yet criminals can file endless appeals over several years to avoid final conviction and keep the money rolling in.

According to Demian Brady, vice president of research with the National Taxpayers Union Foundation, loopholes in the existing corruption laws mean that “no member of Congress has ever been confirmed to have lost their taxpayer-funded pension after being convicted of a serious crime.”

Mr. Brady cites the case of Rep. Chaka Fattah, a Pennsylvania Democrat sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2017 for charges that included wire fraud, mail fraud and racketeering. Yet he “continued receiving his pension even though he was convicted … because he had not exhausted his appeals.”

Now comes a further proposal sponsored by Sen. Rosen and Sen. Rick Scott, a Republican from Florida, which has unanimously passed the Senate and is now headed to the House. It would bar members of Congress from collecting taxpayer-funded pensions if they are convicted of felonies related to their official duties and prevent them from continuing to receive such taxpayer support post-conviction by dragging out the appeals process.

Members would lose their pensions immediately upon conviction — even during the appeals process. If appeals are successful, they would be eligible for the full amount owed.

Mr. Brady aptly points out that ordinary Americans are not eligible to collect Social Security benefits while behind bars. Why shouldn’t members of Congress — who are in a position of public trust and should be held to a higher standard of conduct — face stricter consequences for violating that trust?

The House should quickly send this legislation to the president. Sen. Rosen should also consider a follow-up proposal that would expand the scope of crimes that result in forfeiture and increase transparency so taxpayers can be confident that reform efforts are working as intended.