My first blogg post, Politicians and Diapers, has generated some interest in Supervisor Ron Llewellyn’s Financial Holdings Statement. I thought it might be interesting for you to read the email exchange that brought about the amendment.
I obtained a copy of Llewellyn’s Financial Holdings Statement from the Warren County Administrators office and noticed an entry for Reliance Woods, a parcel of 80 acres subdivided into a number of lots for sale. The form has a column to record the legal owner of the property. It was empty, signifying Llewellyn was the sole owner.
A check of the property records at the Warren County Courthouse disclosed the legal owner of record is LBX3, LLC, not Ron Llewellyn. Returning to examine the Financial Holdings Statement I did not see an entry disclosing LBX3, LLC, as one of Supervisor Llewellyn’s companies where he held a substantial financial interest exceeding $10,000.
Llewellyn did not disclose his substantial financial interest in the corporation, LBX3, LLC. The corporation’s principals are Ron Llewellyn, Stephen Llewellyn, and Charlie Llewellyn. I believe the corporations name, LBX3, is code for "Llewellyn Brothers Times Three".
County Attorney Blair Mitchell attempted to dismiss the need for an amendment. Schedule H-1 requires disclosure of real estate holdings. Schedule F requires disclosure of business interests. See if you can understand Mitchell's explanation reproduced below.
Ultimately, Mitchell advised Llewellyn to file an amended statement and to include a cover letter explaining his “ooppss” moment.
NOTE: The text color in one of Llewellyn's replies below is red, duplicated from the original. Do you think he was sincerely inviting me to work with his re-election committee?
***************************************************************************
------Original Message------
From: Bill Pierceall
To: Ron Llewellyn
Sent: Feb 28, 2007 9:09 PM
Subject: Financial Holdings Statement
Mr. Llewellyn,
Your published Financial Holdings Statement claims property owned on Reliance Road totaling 80 acres of vacant land. I am unable to locate that property listing in Warren or Frederick County databases. Can you provide any additional identifying information to assist my inquiry?
Best regards
Bill Pierceall
----- Original Message -----
From: Bill Pierceall
To: Ron Llewellyn
Sent: Monday, March 05, 2007 5:10 PM
Subject: Second Request for Info - Financial Holdings Statement
Second Request March 5, 2007, 4:10 PM
----- Original Message -----
From: fragltd@shentel.net
To: Bill Pierceall
Sent: Wednesday, March 07, 2007 6:45 PM
Subject: Re: Financial Holdings Statement
I own 25 % of Relience Woods Sub. Unsold lots
----- Original Message -----
From: Bill Pierceall
To: bmitchell@warrencountyva.net
Cc: Ron Llewellyn
Sent: Friday, March 09, 2007 4:24 PM
Subject: Financial Holdings Statement
Mr. Mitchell,
I have been in email contact with Mr. Llewellyn regarding his Financial Holdings Statement. He has clarified one entry on Schedule H-1 Real Estate, line 13, "80 ac Relience (sic) Rd", describing it as a 25% interest in a subdivided parcel named Reliance Woods.
The Warren County Real Estate office database discloses the recorded owner of Reliance Woods is LBX3, LLC.
Schedule F, Business Interests, of Mr. Llewellyns filing does not list LBX3, LLC.
In the interests of full disclosure accuracy, perhaps Mr. Llewellyn should file an amended Schedule F and review other listings for errors of omission?
Best regards,
Bill Pierceall
----- Original Message -----
From: Blair Mitchell
To: 'Bill Pierceall'
Cc: 'Ron Llewellyn'
Sent: Friday, March 09, 2007 5:23 PM
Subject: RE: Financial Holdings Statement
Mr. Pierceall,
Thank you for your e-mail and your civic concern on this matter. I will need to speak to Mr. Llewellyn about this to get all the details. After I have all the information, I will advise Mr. Llewellyn on whether and how any revision or amendment should be considered.
Blair D. Mitchell
County Attorney, Warren County
220 N. Commerce Avenue
Front Royal VA 22630
Phone: 540-636-6674
Fax: 540-636-6980
-----Original Message-----
From: Bill Pierceall [mailto:bill_pierceall@msn.com]
Sent: Monday, March 19, 2007 10:31 AM
To: Blair Mitchell
Subject: Re: Financial Holdings Statement
Mr. Mitchell.
Ten days have elapsed since your communication regarding the Llewellyn financial holdings statement. When may I expect your information gathering effort to reach completion and receive your response to my email dated 03-09-07?
Best regards,
Bill Pierceall
----- Original Message -----
From: Blair Mitchell
To: 'Bill Pierceall'
Sent: Monday, March 19, 2007 10:55 AM
Subject: RE: Financial Holdings Statement
Mr. Pierceall:
I have not yet had a chance to speak with Mr. Llewellyn about this. As soon as I do, I will notify you. I expect to talk to him later today.
Blair D. Mitchell
County Attorney, Warren County
220 N. Commerce Avenue
Front Royal VA 22630
Phone: 540-636-6674
Fax: 540-636-6980
----- Original Message -----
From: Bill Pierceall
To: Blair Mitchell
Sent: Thursday, March 22, 2007 7:58 PM
Subject: Re: Financial Holdings Statement
Mr. Mitchell,
Monday evening just prior to the Warren County Board of Supervisors meeting I observed you on the dais having a private conversation with Mr. Llewellyn that lasted several minutes.
During that private conversation did you discuss my issue or did you forget?
Best regards,
Bill Pierceall
----- Original Message -----
From: Blair Mitchell
To: 'Bill Pierceall'
Cc: 'Ron Llewellyn'
Sent: Friday, March 23, 2007 11:38 AM
Subject: RE: Financial Holdings Statement
Mr. Pierceall –
I do not forget things I need to discuss with Board members. At that particular time I was discussing several things with Vice Chairman Llewellyn. Among them was a very brief discussion of the wording of his disclosure forms. We have also had a more extensive discussion at another time. I expect Mr. Llewellyn to amend his filing in the near future. As you had noted, at least one of the properties he noted as owning is owned by a corporate entity of which he is a part owner. In identifying the land as one of his interests, he actually disclosed more than what the form required - that is, that he owned a part interest in the land through the business. Technically the form could have noted only his partial interest in the business, and that would not have disclosed the part ownership in the land itself, through the business.
Nonetheless, I expect to see Mr. Llewellyn here in the Government Center to amend the disclosure in the near future, as noted above. Once he has done so, I will notify you as a follow up to your earlier e-mails.
Blair D. Mitchell
County Attorney, Warren County
220 N. Commerce Avenue
Front Royal VA 22630
Phone: 540-636-6674
Fax: 540-636-6980
----- Original Message -----
From: Bill Pierceall
To: Blair Mitchell
Cc: 'Ron Llewellyn'
Sent: Friday, March 23, 2007 7:58 PM
Subject: Re: Financial Holdings Statement
Mr. Mitchell,
Please excuse me for not understanding portions of your response.
My first email to you talked about two separate forms contained within Mr. Llewellyn's Economic Interests filing. One form is Schedule F - Business Interests. The second form is Schedule H-1, Real Estate.
Your statement "In identifying the land as one of his interests, he actually disclosed more than what the form required. "makes sense if you are talking about Schedule H-1, column #1, because Mr. Llewellyn's listing says, in part, "80 Ac. Relience (sic) Rd." The form does not require the number of acres to be disclosed, only value in excess of $10,000.00.
In column #2 for the row "80 Ac. Relience (sic) Rd." Mr. Llewellyn properly discloses the type of real estate as "Vacant Land".
Column #3 for the row "80 Ac. Relience (sic) Rd" is empty. The heading for column #3 instructs "IF THE REAL ESTATE IS OWNED OR RECORDED IN A NAME OTHER THAN YOUR OWN, LIST THAT NAME." Mr. Llewellyn failed to enter the property's recorded owner, LBX3, LLC.
The second half of your above referenced statement continues, ".. that is, that he owned a part interest in the land through the business". Here is where I become confused as to your meaning.
Try as I might, I fail to see anything on Schedule H-1 where Mr. Llewellyn discloses, or is required to disclose, he is a part owner of "80 Ac. Relience (sic) Rd. It appears to this untrained observer, that because column #3 is empty, Mr. Llewellyn is stating, by default, that he, Mr. Ron Llewellyn, is 100% owner of "80 Ac. Relience (sic) Rd." when, in fact, the recorded owner is not Mr. Llewellyn. The recorded owner is LBX3, LLC and this corporation's name should appear in column #3.
Because Mr. Llewellyn has stated to me he owns 25% of the 80 acres, I would guess that 25% part ownership of LBX3, LLC, is valued at $50,000.00, more or less, and therefore Mr. Llewellyn should record this valued interest of LBX3, LLC, on Schedule F.
The ownership of record for the Schedule H-1 entry "200 Acer (sic) Catlett Mt." I believe is recorded as "Catlett Mountain, LLC". Mr. Llewellyn is not the recorded owner of this property, however he may be a partner or principal of Catlett Mountain, LLC. Catlett Mountain, LLC should be entered in column #3.
A second statement you wrote is just as confusing because it is not clear which form you are talking about, Schedule F or Schedule H-1.: "Technically the form could have noted only his partial interest in the business, and that would not have disclosed the part ownership in the land itself, through the business.
Here again, Schedule H-1 appears to require Mr. Llewellyn to disclose only that he has an interest valued in excess of $10,000.00 in an item of real estate . It is not required that he disclose he is a partner or a principal.
Schedule F requires Mr. Llewellyn to list any business in which he receives an income above or below $50,000.00 in value. Schedule F does not require him to say whether he is a partner or a principal in the listed business.
I would be most grateful, Mr. Mitchell, if you would be so kind to correct any misunderstanding I may have regarding your meaning contained within the above listed two statements.
I am reminded of a very old lawyer joke that goes something like this:
If what I am saying is perfectly clear you are not fully comprehending what I am talking about.
Best regards,
Bill Pierceall
----- Original Message -----
From: Bill Pierceall
To: Blair Mitchell
Cc: Archie Fox ; Doug Stanley ; Gray Blanton ; Richard Traczyk ; Tony Carter ; Ron Llewellyn
Sent: Monday, April 16, 2007 11:01 AM
Subject: Economic Interest Statement
Mr. Mitchell,
My last email message to your attention was dated 23 March 2007 regarding a matter first brought to your attention on 9 March 2007.
As County Attorney, your lack of timely action regarding my inquiry into Mr. Llewellyn's on file Statement of Economic Interests information is a cause of concern and possibly represents a window into the content of your character. "Easy" questions receive a prompt reply; "tough" questions are avoided or ignored.
I sense a pattern of your inaction becoming the excuse of choice in other County matters as evidenced by a recent statement you made during a Planning Commission meeting I attended. It reminded me of the classic "I've been real busy and the dog ate my homework". Past actions are a good indicator of future performance.
Mr. Mitchell, you have not been forthcoming with a request for clarification of a specious opinion you have suggested to me regarding the Llewellyn Statement of Economic Interests omission I brought to your attention on 23 March 2007.
Mr. Llewellyn, as of 13 April, has not amended his Statement of Economic Interests to reflect his connection with LBX3, LLC as you indicated he would. Now I wonder if other financial interests are hidden or not properly disclosed? In lieu of an inquiry by a concerned county resident, perhaps you would prefer an interrogative by federal authorities instead?
I repeat here for your benefit some advice previously given to Mr. Llewellyn:
Tight little inner circles are vulnerable to exposure because they have something to hide. If they are not hiding something the best way to demonstrate the truth of that is wide dissemination of the facts. This omission will be their downfall.
Those who differ from the inner circle are excluded from the benefits of power, while those possessing wealth that toe the party line are welcomed; these dots connect to form a disturbing picture -- not so much of greed-fueled corruption as of ideologically driven coziness.
People without power trust and depend upon the decency of those with power to defend and protect them.
Best regards,
Bill Pierceall
----- Original Message -----
From: Blair Mitchell
To: 'Bill Pierceall'
Cc: 'Archie Fox' ; 'Doug Stanley' ; 'Gray Blanton' ; 'Richard Traczyk' ; 'Tony Carter' ; 'Ron Llewellyn'
Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2007 3:34 PM
Subject: RE: Economic Interest Statement
Mr. Pierceall:
I have met with Vice Chairman Llewellyn and discussed the clarification of his Economic Interests Statement. He has prepared and filed with the Deputy Clerk of the Board a letter of amendment which includes the corporate entity that owns the property on Reliance Road, as well as including the tax map and parcel numbers of the property.
This should meet the concerns of your original inquiry.
Blair D. Mitchell
County Attorney, Warren County
220 N. Commerce Avenue
Front Royal VA 22630
Phone: 540-636-6674
Fax: 540-636-6980
----- Original Message -----
From: Bill Pierceall
To: Blair Mitchell
Cc: 'Archie Fox' ; 'Doug Stanley' ; 'Gray Blanton' ; 'Richard Traczyk' ; 'Tony Carter' ; 'Ron Llewellyn'
Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2007 4:00 PM
Subject: Re: Economic Interest Statement
Mr. Mitchell,
Thank you for your prompt reply and action.
I will visit the Government Center soon to obtain a copy of the letter of amendment.
I read recently a definition for the legal term "crave oyer" as forcing the provision of documents. Is the equivalent out-of-court non-legal phrase "poke 'em with a stick"?
Best regards,
Bill Pierceall
----- Original Message -----
From: Ron Llewellyn
To: Bill Pierceall
Sent: Thursday, April 19, 2007 12:12 PM
Subject: [WARNING - NOT VIRUS SCANNED]Re: [WARNING - NOT VIRUS SCANNED]Re: Economic Interest Statement
Bill,
I was just thinking, that since we now have become such good friends that maybe I could talk you into helping me with my upcoming election in November. You obviously are well versed on a number of important topics and clearly have a vision for what the County should and should not be involved in.
Ron
----- Original Message -----
From: Bill Pierceall
To: Ron Llewellyn
Sent: Thursday, April 19, 2007 11:23 PM
Subject: Re: [WARNING - NOT VIRUS SCANNED]Re: [WARNING - NOT VIRUS SCANNED]Re: Economic Interest Statement
Mr. Llewellyn,
I'm still laughing, but I'm not quite sure why. Perhaps it's the thought of adding yet another name to my Xmas list.
Before I stop thinking about your proposal, I'll invite you to consider doing just one thing to correct a fatal flaw that is your personal Waterloo come this November.
If you are committed to serving the community, you must distance yourself from being in a position of suspicion. You need to begin a new business career that cannot possibly be in conflict with your public service.
There are at least two ideas to consider before choosing one.
The first idea allows you to continue being a developer, but not in Warren County. The farther away the better off you will become. You do not need 5 or 6 Mr. Hoovers rolling their eyes every time you exercise your right to earn a living. Steal their thunder. Remember the old saying: Don't eat in the bathroom and don't crap in the kitchen.
The second idea makes you suspend all development activity and you become an entrepreneur in a new business not likely to associate with Warren County in any manner. You could manufacture tiddley-winks, or re-open the Mustang Ranch in Reno, or re-invent the wheel. If I had a spare $500k I'd invest in a Golden Coral franchise(s), hire a competent manager, hire someone to count my money for me, and go golfing around the country.
Best regards,
Bill Pierceall
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Monday, September 17, 2007
Politicians And Diapers
Politicians And Diapers Need To Be Changed For The Same Reason.
Warren County Board of Supervisors Vice-chairman Ron Llewellyn has a surplus of self-regard and pride. Theologians consider pride as the greatest of all sins. It leads to other, more heinous acts. Llewellyn calls to mind the words of nineteenth-century writer and playwright Honoré de Balzac: “Behind every great fortune there is a crime.”
Supervisor Llewellyn’s sin, if not technically criminal, is like that of other elected politicians (Duke Cunningham, R-Ca. comes to mind) caught with their private hand in the public cookie jar, the sin of misplaced public trust.
How does an elected official misplace public trust? Their actions benefit themselves at the expense of protecting and defending the constituent votes that put them in office. Benefits to the voting public are accidental consequences.
According to a recent Washington Post editorial and article series, “The Sleaze In Loudon County”, Board members of that county are the latest group of politicians to enjoy investigation by Federal prosecutors for alleged misconduct involving land deals and rezoning that pitted developers interests against citizens wanting to maintain Loudon’s rural quality of life. (See attachment 1 for short excerpts)
Recently, a special Grand Jury was empanelled by District Court Judge Hupp to investigate cover-ups by businessmen involved in political bribery charges and politicians involved in conflict of interest actions in Shenandoah County relating to development property near Toms Brook.
Over and over again we are witness to politicians taking advantage of their positions for personal financial gains. At the Federal level it is pork barrel projects, bribes, and kickbacks. At the local level it usually involves behind the scenes land deals, housing developments, and commercial rezoning.
Warren County is embroiled in much the same situation as Loudon and Shenandoah Counties. Well-heeled developers are attempting to circumvent the controlled growth mandate of the Comprehensive Plan with the cooperation of like-minded members of the Board of Supervisors.
A ripe stink has arisen by Llewellyn’s access to inside information being used to attempt to fatten his wallet and the coffers of his business partner, Brookfield Washington LLC.
Is Warren County next? The similarities between events within Loudon, Shenandoah, and Warren County certainly suggest it should happen. One can only imagine what trained professional investigators would discover. May I suggest a few places to start looking?
Supervisor Llewellyn is extremely proud of his business associations and as a commercial land developer. Commercial development tends to be much more profitable than residential development. Few real estate properties have potential for both residential and commercial development unless they happen to be located adjacent to main thoroughfare roadways exposed to high traffic flow.
Two local development projects of note, Swann Farm and Catlett Mountain, lay the foundation for the Llewellyn/Brookfield Washington LLC partnership. A third property, Reliance Woods, is the root cause of false sworn documents required by law to satisfy Financial Holdings Statement filings.
On the one hand, Llewellyn finds himself and the Catlett Mountain development in the uncomfortable position of having his acquisition of wealth brought before the Warren County Board of Supervisors, of which he is a sitting member, for a vote of approval. Llewellyn received $1,150,000.00 from Brookfield Washington LLC on 9 May, 2005, and used Catlett Mountain as security for the loan. This “loan” could be construed as Brookfield becoming a “Partner” with Llewellyn. It might prove interesting to see the payback terms of this “loan” document.
On the other hand, Llewellyn finds himself and the Swan Farm development before his political party friends sitting on the Front Royal Town council for a vote of approval. Llewellyn received $1,000,000.00 from Brookfield Washington LLC on 18 August 2004, and used the Swann Farm Property as security for the loan. Again, the Deed of Trust on file at the Warren County Courthouse describes the transaction as a loan, not a purchase agreement.
To calm vocal opposition to his association with Brookfield Washington, Mr. Llewellyn sought and received a legal endorsement from former County Attorney Douglas Napier as to the propriety of the Brookfield/Llewellyn contractual agreement. The summary of Mr. Napier’s review of the Llewellyn/Brookfield contract amounted to, Yep, it sure is a contract all right.
Mr. Napier went on to say the terms of the contract were such that the monies Llewellyn received were his to keep no matter what happened with the zoning and development. If that were true, why the need to record the money as a lien against the properties? Did Brookfield simply give a huge sum of money to Llewellyn without expecting something in return?
In a 02-09-2007 Northern Virginia Dailey article by Ben Orcutt, “…former Warren County Attorney Douglas W. Napier says that the contractual arrangement that North River Supervisor Ron L. Llewellyn has with Brookfield Homes is above board.”
That description falls far short of “without potential for conflict of interest”.
Napier describes the transactions as purchase contracts. Two separate Deeds of Trust on file at the Warren County Courthouse describes the transactions as loans secured by liens against the properties.
Napier goes on to opine, “I feel almost certain that’s what it was.” Napier’s comments resemble nothing like a definitive legal statement absolving Llewellyn of conflict of interest.
Current County Attorney Blair Mitchell appeared baffled by the Deeds of Trust on file at the courthouse. "The deed of trust really doesn't specify," Mitchell said. "It doesn't clarify that. I have no reason to doubt what he [Llewellyn] says, but the documents themselves really don't give you the clues one way or the other."
Llewellyn’s attempt to “shed some light” on his relationship with Brookfield Washington LLC remains shrouded in secret darkness, confused by Napier’s confusing doubletalk, Mitchell’s fence-sitting uncertainty, and Llewellyn’s obfuscation of the facts and terms of the contracts.
A more compelling opinion might be forthcoming had those same documents that were presented to Napier for review had instead been submitted to Circuit Court Judge Hupp.
Brookfield Washington LLC has put all their eggs into one basket held by Llewellyn. They are relying on Llewellyn’s political connections to smooth the way for their acquisition of public water and sewer service provided by the Town of Front Royal. Clearly, without public water and sewer service for both properties, development profit potential takes a nosedive; both properties revert to ho-hum status, especially Catlett Mountain. Potential groundwater contamination leaves this property totally unsuitable for well and septic systems and worthless to develop as a “by-right” project.
The Catlett Mountain property has two serious negatives connected to the property. The first is a former, un-lined, city dump located along its western border. This dump received Front Royal trash and garbage for many years until being closed in the 1970’s.
Secondly, a Federal Super Fund Site, the Fiddlers Green and Rivermont Commons' portion of the old Avtex site, are located along the Catlett Mountain property’s eastern border and is contaminated with carbon disulfide, a deadly nerve agent. Drilling wells into a water table potentially contaminated with a nerve agent is not too attractive for developing 80 “By-right” home sites.
The Fiddlers Green/Rivermont Commons parcels are tracts of land containing individual lots that were purchased by the EPA due to contamination from the Avtex site directly across the river. These parcels are restricted by the Environmental Protection Agency as to allowed uses. They are presently designated to be a scenic trail, camping and picnic area. The parcels are also prone to flooding by the Shenandoah River and are also designated as flood plain. Private individuals still own a few lots located within the Fiddlers Green/Rivermont Commons tract and are allowed to camp on their property. No permanent buildings are allowed.
Warren County Manager Doug Stanley has suppressed the above facts, possibly in deference to the Llewellyn/Brookfield by-pass right-of-way proffer, which would require part of the Fiddlers Green/Rivermont Commons properties being converted from scenic trail status to accommodate a portion of Llewellyn’s bypass route. (See notes from the Warren County website, Planning Commission Meeting 09-13-06, Brookfield 2006-09-01)
One of the rezoning proffers attached to the Catlett Mountain/Brookfield property, jointly owned by Supervisor Llewellyn and Brookfield (a $2,150,000.00 lien holder against Llewellyn), is the donation of land for use as a right-of-way for a proposed “Western Bypass Route”, a 4 lane divided roadway touted by proponents as the be-all-end-all answer for downtown Front Royal traffic congestion.
Downtown Front Royal will always be traffic congested due to narrow 2 lane streets. Building 4 lane highways outside city limits will accomplish nothing to relieve downtown congestion.
The true reason for establishing eastern and western bypass routes is to support growth and development in Warren County outside Front Royal town limits. Building new highways using taxpayer dollars benefits developers of properties located adjacent to the new roadways.
Growth requires supporting infrastructure comprised of water, sewer, electrical services and the all-important “access by public roadways”. The proposed bypass roadways would be paid for by citizen tax money, not by developer proffers. Hence, Llewellyn donates otherwise useless land for the right-of-way, Warren County builds the roadway with taxpayer money, Llewellyn/Brookfield reap the rewards of developing commercial property served by a 4 lane public highway. Sweet!
Llewellyn purchased the Catlett Mountain property AFTER his election to the Board of Supervisors in 2003. This fact suggests Supervisor Llewellyn may have been in possession of and acted upon inside information. His attempt to steer the approval of the “Western Bypass Route” onto the Catlett Mountain property suggests yet another use of his political power to line his pockets with wealth disguised as a proffer for public benefit.
Warren County acceptance of the proffered land benefits Llewellyn/Brookfield in a non-obvious manner. If the Western Bypass Route is approved by the Board Of Supervisors to pass through the donated Llewellyn/Brookfield/Catlett Mountain property, the value of developed home sites will double in value, perhaps even triple. Future commercial development then becomes possible. The property value skyrockets with a major thru roadway located adjacent to, or within, the Catlett Mountain property.
Llewellyn touts himself a developer of commercial property. Without public water and sewer, the Catlett Mountain property has marginal “By right” residential development potential of 80 or so homes and zero commercial development potential. It is doubtful Brookfield Washington LLC entered into a business arrangement with Llewellyn based on 80 buildable lots with wells sucking up contaminated ground water. It makes more business sense to anticipate 155 high-density buildable lots served by town water and sewer.
Brookfield representative Brian Grezelak admitted during a public hearing his company would not proceed with a by right, well and septic-based development. This admission makes clear Brookfield knew there was not enough by-right profit to make the venture worth their time and effort. Brookfield was confident Llewellyn could deliver Town water and sewer, so much so they invested $2,150,000 to partner with Llewellyn.
Brookfield Washington LLC may have believed Supervisor Llewellyn’s political connections with members of the Front Royal Town Council and as a sitting member of the Warren County Board of Supervisors would guarantee public water and sewer would be forthcoming to the Catlett Mountain and Swann Farm developments.
Mayor James Eastham acknowledged his personal friendship with Supervisor Llewellyn and recused himself. Other Town Council members are in the same “personal friendship” status. At least 2 members of the Board of Supervisors, Carter and Traczyk, are also close personal friends.
Please allow me to rain on Supervisor Llewellyn's parade by proposing for your consideration an alternate route for the Western Bypass. If adopted, this alternate enhances land value owned by the Economic Development Authority and provides benefits to Front Royal and Warren County.
A better bypass route alternative would follow the existing railroad right-of-way that passes through the Royal Phoenix EPA site on the opposite side of the river, creating high value for the future economic development of the site and creating attractive locations for new anchor tenants consisting of new Town and County government offices, a regional jail site, a tourist center connecting to Skyline Drive, and attracting major businesses to the site because of the very favorable transportation and access routes. Best of all, every Town and every County government office and department would be in one central location. Front Royal could definitely use a boost to in-town economic development made possible by central government offices.
Using the Royal Phoenix bypass route option will create added property value to benefit Front Royal and Warren County instead of creating wealth for Supervisor Ron Llewellyn with his offer of a bypass route through his Catlett Mountain property.
Which is better, enhanced economic development for Front Royal/Warren County utilizing the Royal Phoenix site or enhanced property values for Supervisor Ron Llewellyn?
No contest.
According to Abraham Lincoln, government is “…of the people, by the people, for the people.” Nowhere did Lincoln say government is for people to manipulate for personal gain.
Yet the Warren County Board of Supervisors seems poised to defer to the Llewellyn proposal. Isn’t this political cronyism exercised at the expense of the public’s best interest? Supervisor Carter is on record supporting the bypass route through Catlett Mountain. Supervisor Traczyk supports the toxic dump Avtex site as too valuable as prime industrial property despite no interest to date by potential tenants.
A second similar bypass route situation surrounds another joint venture by Supervisor Llewellyn and Brookfield Washington LLC, the Swan Farm development. Straining credulity of coincidence, a proposed new “Eastern Bypass Route” passes by the Swan Farm property, resulting in a 4 lane divided roadway with direct access to I-66. Here we are talking really big bucks in commercial development profit similar to the Route 522/I-66 intersection today.
What single property owner benefits most with the creation of the 2 new bypass routes? Which member of the Board of Supervisors is in a position to influence his personal friends also sitting on the Board to vote to approve the creation of these bypass routes?
Is it possible Supervisor Llewellyn/Brookfield Washington LLC could reap a fortune in increased property values brought about by creation of these bypass roadways? Does a hobbyhorse have a wooden behind?
In the past, Llewellyn has not recused himself from voting on a rezoning application by a landowner whose property is adjacent to property owned by Llewellyn. (Public Hearing – 2006-12-01 Joseph Terzuoli – BOS Meeting Notes 04-18-06, Warren County website)
The rezoning of the Terzuoli property to a 10-lot cluster-housing tract benefited Llewellyn, causing his adjacent property to increase in future value. I suspect Llewellyn would not recuse himself from voting on the Eastern and Western Bypass Routes simply because he owns properties adjacent to or near the routes and whose value would double or triple with the creation of the new bypass roadways.
Should Llewellyn recuse himself from voting on approving the routes of the Eastern and Western Bypasses? Does he have enough friends sitting on the Board who will vote to make him rich? Maybe, maybe not. The upcoming election will decide.
The Warren County Board of Supervisors is happy to look the other way when Llewellyn tries to manipulate the governmental process. Not one of the other 4 Supervisors has ever said anything about Llewellyn’s land development schemes and political maneuvering being ethical or unethical. Isn’t it time for each Board member to state his position and take a stand for or against Llewellyn’s conduct? Perhaps Supervisor Carter, an insurance broker, should disclose his income from providing insurance services to the developer community, their associates and employees?
There is a certain amount of sympathetic ideological coziness displayed by Supervisor Carter and Supervisor Traczyk towards Supervisor Llewellyn; Carter because of the failed Centex Happy Creek development within his district, blamed on Front Royal for not extending water and sewer service, and Traczyk, a purchasing manager by trade, because he is a follower, not a leader, a Mad Dog out of control, angry at the Town’s water policy which influences growth within the County. Pro-growth Traczyk is constantly hurling insults towards the Town Council, its policies, and its members. This troika of Llewellyn, Carter, and Traczyk votes in unison, scratching each other’s back in a love fest of mutual adulation.
Ignoring Warren County’s Comprehensive Plan, these 3 Supervisors, Carter, Traczyk, and Llewellyn, angry at Front Royal Town Council, proposed selling Shenandoah River water to Frederick County in exchange for Frederick building a sewage treatment plant and a water treatment plant to provide service to Catlett Mountain, Swann Farm, and Centex’s Happy Creek 1800-3,000 home development.
Depending on whom you talk with, there is some dispute over who approached whom. Traczyk says he was approached by Frederick County, Frederick County says Traczyk approached them. Neither claims responsibility for originating the idea. Someone isn’t telling the truth.
I suspect Traczyk, acting as Board Chairman, was the official messenger, acting on behalf of Carter and Llewellyn. I wonder if Supervisor Llewellyn, the person with the most to loose or gain, may have been the initial person to approach Frederick County officials with a water deal? Is there one person who has more to gain than Llewellyn?
The inter-county water agreement negotiations failed for numerous reasons. The main reason had nothing to do with selling water. Frederick County did not need more water. They needed some place to dump their sewage. Their only river, Opequon Creek, was choked to the sewage limit allowed by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. Without someplace to dump their sewage, Frederick County is facing the prospect of a development moratorium while expensive upgrades were performed on the Opequon facility with no guarantee Virginia DEQ would permit additional discharge of phosphorus and nitrogen into the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
The Shenandoah River seemed to be the perfect sewage dumping grounds in order to allow future growth in Frederick County and be in compliance with the Chesapeake Bay Act. It would be perfect except for one flaw; Frederick County has no stand-alone right to dump sewage into the Shenandoah River or to take its water without the cooperation and permission of riparian rights holders. Contrary to Virginia Code, Llewellyn, County Manager Stanley, and County Attorney Mitchell said Frederick had the right and could take the water if they wanted without seeking permission.
I pointed out to Llewellyn, Stanley, and Mitchell why their joint statements were in error, citing the appropriate Virginia Code sections that showed them to be mistaken and I invited their rebuttal if I were mistaken. The silence was expected and persists to today. No correction was published because none was offered. The misinformation was allowed to stand because it created the false impression Warren County was helpless to resist selling water to Frederick.
This water deal fiasco demonstrated the lengths Supervisor Llewellyn would entertain to protect his financial interests at the expense of Warren County residents. Without public water and sewer, both of his development projects, Catlett Mountain and Swan Farm, are dead deals. Carter’s Happy Creek deal with Centex Homes, without public water and sewer, cannot proceed.
Today, Supervisor Llewellyn is in scramble mode, trying to protect his get rich schemes from coming unraveled. Without a water/sewer deal in place for Catlett Mountain and Swan Farm, Brookfield Washington LLC is poised to ride off into the sunset with their $2,150,000 in liens against Llewellyn secured by the real estate. Llewellyn will still have mortgages to pay off and no income to do it. Foreclosure is a possibility.
Front Royal providing water and sewer service was to become the bird-in-hand portion of the Catlett Mountain and Swan Farm deals, the By-Pass Highways were the frosting on the cake. The fly in Brookfield’s ointment? Llewellyn failed to deliver Town supplied water and sewer.
Here is where Llewellyn dropped all pretenses at keeping separate his dual role as a Supervisor and as a Developer. Llewellyn broke ranks and appeared in person before the Front Royal Town Manager and the Public Works department to use his position as Vice Chairman of the Board of Supervisors and his self-proclaimed vast powers of persuasion to override the Town Council and obtain water/sewer for Brookfield Washington LLC.
His lobbying efforts on behalf of his financial interests betray his self-proclaimed neutrality in all matters before the Town Council for a vote of approval. Is this the “balance” between business interests and public trust Llewellyn proclaims he has mastered?
Questionable appearances weaken government. Llewellyn claimed he had personally appeared before the Public Works Department and Town Manager Graham to find the truth about water to his developments, implying his business partner Brookfield Washington LLC lied to him, his attorney lied to him, and the Town Council lied to him.
A Supervisor has no business being involved in negotiating water extension issues when as a Developer he has financial interests that depend on the extension of that water.
There are only two things to dislike about Supervisor Llewellyn; his face. Llewellyn has no enemies but he is strongly disliked by many of his friends.
And the plot thickens:
Building lots located in Reliance Woods raw land development subdivision are selling poorly. When Supervisor Llewellyn filed his Financial Holdings Statement, he claimed to be the sole owner of these 80 acres located on Reliance Road. Llewellyn did not identify a business relationship with his brothers, Stephen and Charlie, or his affiliation with a company named LBX3, LLC.
LBX3 seems to stand for “Llewellyn Brothers Times Three”. Supervisor brother Ron has not been caught crossing the line talking to other government officials while someone is watching. Can the same be said about brothers Stephen and Charlie Llewellyn acting as proxies on behalf of brother Ron? Legal? Maybe. Ethical? You make the call.
Events surrounding Reliance Woods indicate Supervisor Llewellyn filed false notarized Financial Holdings Statement documents regarding his business interests in this development. Why did he try to hide his business relationship with his brothers Stephen and Charlie? State law requires Llewellyn to identify any individual with whom he has a “close financial association”.
“Close financial association” is defined as “an association in which the person filing shares significant financial involvement with an individual and the filer would reasonably be expected to be aware of the individuals business activities and would have access to the necessary records either directly or through the individual”.
There can be no doubt this definition applies to Supervisor Llewellyn’s business relationship with his brothers Stephen and Charlie. Did Supervisor Ron Llewellyn simply “overlook” this business relationship when filing his Financial Holdings Statement?
Perhaps brother Charlie’s close personal association with Warren County Administrator Doug Stanley may have come to light with the LBX3 revelation? Charlie Llewellyn and Doug Stanley are old buddies, whose joint socialization includes at least one trip to Las Vegas together. Planning Commission Vice Chairman David McDaniel joined Charlie and Doug on this Las Vegas trip. Whatever happened there shouldn’t stay there, should it?
The Las Vegas “vacation” lends to the appearance 3 members of the Planning Commission, Doug Stanley, Ron Mabry, and Dave McDaniel, are under the influence of the Llewellyn family, more or less. All 3 have placed themselves in questionable situations involving Supervisor Llewellyn. This backslapping love fest was deeply involved in the zoning application approval for Catlett Mountain.
Fork District Planning Commissioner Ronald Mabry has said he has a close personal friendship with Supervisor Llewellyn. Mabry admitted he has discussed the Catlett Mountain application with Supervisor Llewellyn. This discussion violates Virginia Code 2.2-3112ii, which prohibits “discussing the matter in which he has a personal interest with other government officers or employees at any time”.
Mabry partnered with Llewellyn and Supervisor Carter in attacking Commissioner of Revenue John Smedley over program audits. Smedley politically defeated Carter for the 2003 GOP nomination for the Commissioner post. It is no surprise Llewellyn and Carter are supporting Mabry against Smedley in this falls elections.
What is Mabry’s relationship with the other 2 brothers? We expect to discover more information as these investigations proceed. History shows Mabry cast the swing vote to approve the Catlett Mountain rezoning. Dave McDaniel avoided suspicion by being absent for the vote.
The above interpersonal relationships chronicle the cozy, tight little circles of friends within the local political party. Each little group is at war with the other little groups outside their tight little inner circle. Llewellyn’s little circle is in power at the moment. More importantly, this tight little circle strongly supports itself against all-comers.
Supervisor Ron Llewellyn may be on the verge of major problems concerning his financial position. In addition to receiving money in the form of “loans” from Brookfield Washington totaling $2,150,000.00, Supervisor Llewellyn, his brother Stephen Llewellyn, and Charlie Llewellyn created LBX3, L.L.C., a corporation that is the owner of record of the Reliance Woods subdivision.
In May of 2006, Stephen Llewellyn was served a Federal Small Business Income Tax lien in excess of $325,000.00, now on file at the Warren County Courthouse.
As partners in the LBX3 Corporation, Ron, Stephen, and Charlie may be jointly responsible for the tax lien. Perhaps this lien is the underlying reason Llewellyn omitted this business relationship information from his sworn-under-oath Financial Holdings Statement filed last year with Warren County? Or perhaps it was the lobbying efforts by Stephen and Charlie on behalf of their brother Ron? Those “vacation” trips to Las Vegas keep getting in the way.
I questioned Llewellyn about this omission loudly enough that he was ultimately forced to file an amended Financial Holdings Statement to include his involvement with the LBX3 corporate partnership holding of Reliance Woods.
Warren County Attorney Blair Mitchell at first denied any amendment was necessary. I questioned Mr. Mitchell about his line of reasoning, finding major inconsistencies with his interpretation of the requirements of the Financial Holdings Statement. Mr. Mitchell ultimately advised Llewellyn to file a statement explaining why he filed amendments to his original Financial Holdings Statement.
Mr. Mitchell was instrumental in choosing the language ultimately used by Supervisor Llewellyn in the amended Financial Holdings Statement, attempting to make it appear it was a minor “ooppss moment” oversight for Llewellyn to forget his business and real estate dealings with his brothers. Now that the tax lien has surfaced it appears the underlying reason for the fuzzy memory is the negative business connotation of not being able to pay your taxes or the Las Vegas “vacation” connection.
Doubt exists that this was a genuine “ooppss moment”. Supervisor Llewellyn made it clear in his original sworn Financial Holdings Statement that he was the sole owner of 80 acres located on Reliance Road, omitting any reference to his partnership in LBX3 Corporation, the owner of record for Reliance Woods. LBX3 does not appear anywhere on Supervisor Llewellyn’s original Financial Holdings Statement.
Supervisor Llewellyn got caught swearing an oath to a false document required by State law to be filed by elected members of government. Is this sufficient evidence to accuse Llewellyn of lying under oath?
Supervisor Llewellyn is poised to suffer the repercussions of his poor business decisions, poor strategic planning, poor interpersonal skills with other governmental agencies, and worst of all, poor assessment of his perceived value by his constituents to act with their best interests at heart.
Arguments of Substance or Muckraking?
People without power rely and depend upon those with power to protect and defend them. Llewellyn seems to have lost the desire to protect and defend his constituents.
Tight little inner circles are vulnerable to exposure because they have something to hide. If they are not hiding something the best way to demonstrate the truth of that is wide dissemination of the facts. This omission will be their downfall.
Those who differ from the inner circle are excluded from the benefits of power, while those possessing wealth that toe the party line are welcomed; these dots connect to form a disturbing picture -- not so much of greed-fueled corruption as of ideologically driven coziness.
Supervisor Llewellyn has been criticized numerous times over his conflicting dual positions as Supervisor and Developer. Notably absent is Llewellyn’s willingness to discuss these conflicts openly with his accusers and shed some light for inspection by the voting constituents.
Once again, as we have witnessed numerous times, when a politician is accused of impropriety, we are exposed to the same old song and dance explanations of ‘It wasn’t me, I’m an innocent man. It’s all a figment of your imagination’.
Now comes Supervisor Llewellyn mounting his soapbox wearing the breastplate of righteousness. Llewellyn spins a yarn describing his worthiness that would put a glass eye to sleep. The more a man has to lose by having a secret life, the more he acquires the trappings of respectability. Llewellyn tends to blind the audience to certain of his practices. To others in his everyday world, he is not only normal and righteous, but also an exemplar of good behavior and right thinking.
Llewellyn sincerely believes he is more righteous than the next man, hence his shock and outrage, his disbelieving indignation, when he is discovered and discredited. When his critics or enemies confront Llewellyn, he digs in his heels instead of looking into his soul.
When push comes to shove, Llewellyn prefers to threaten his accusers with legal headaches for slandering his reputation in lieu of opening his books to the light of day. And for our part, let’s stop being so surprised when we discover that our public figures have their own complex lives, and start being more suspicious when they self-righteously denounce the lives of others.
In the past, Supervisor Llewellyn has accused me of misinformation and false statements. I have asked Llewellyn to please correct any misinformation or false statements I may have made in error. I am very willing to acknowledge my mistakes with an apology. To be wrong is one thing, to be wrong at the top of your lungs is another.
To this date, Llewellyn has remained silent.
At his request this past winter, I agreed to have a face-to-face meeting with Mr. Llewellyn. I asked for and received an appointment for a one-on-one private conversation over coffee at a restaurant next door to his business office. He did not have far to travel for this meeting. Llewellyn failed to show up. He later claimed to have made an appearance, looked around the restaurant, did not see me, and left. Did he? How could he have not seen me? I was the only person seated in the restaurant for ½ hour before and ½ hour after the appointed time! He has not spoken to me since. I wonder why?
Are these the actions of a man willing to shed some light or of a man with something to hide? Past performance is a good predictor of future actions. Llewellyn says he has committed to appear at the Front Royal – Warren County Chamber of Commerce candidates forum. I predict he will not show up. I predict I will.
In order to entice Llewellyn to appear, I predict the Chamber of Commerce forum will be restricted to attendance by “members only” to avoid embarrassing Llewellyn with torch bearing, ripe produce holding, members of the public-at-large asking questions Llewellyn may find difficult to answer to their satisfaction.
No, the Chamber of Commerce will fail at creating a forum for the exchange of thoughts and ideas, but it will succeed at providing a sanitary stage for boilerplate self-serving speeches accompanied by polite applause generated by invited Chamber Members. The uninvited un-washed voting public, their ripened produce in hand, will be relegated to peering through the windows at the joyful good-old-boy back slapping festivities. The ripened produce will continue to ripen.
Llewellyn shunned an invitation to a public meeting forum with political opposition Glenn White. According to The Northern Virginia Dailey, Llewellyn said “He would consider participating in White's forum if it includes a meaningful dialogue. He said some of White's supporters could keep that from happening.” So could some of Llewellyn’s supporters, if he has any willing to attend.
Perhaps Llewellyn shunned this open public meeting because his supporters would be a very small percentage of the public attendees. The last thing Llewellyn wants is a straw poll showing him in an unfavorable light and to risk exposure to the light of day. Llewellyn will avoid any meeting where he cannot control or manipulate the debate to his advantage.
He learned this the hard way when he and I had a friendly conversation at a neighborhood Christmas party held by a local resident in my community. In a battle of wits, Llewellyn is unarmed, ignorant to published facts, and oblivious to the truthfulness of his opinions. Pick a topic for discussion, ask questions, and see for yourself.
Supervisor Llewellyn follows the advice of the philosopher Cicero, who, 2,500 years ago said, “When your argument lacks substance, abuse your adversary”.
Validating Cicero, Llewellyn says I write this “stuff” because I "like to hear myself talk". He says when someone jumps in the mud with pigs, the pigs are happy and you are muddy.
I say Llewellyn’s’ pigs need their lipstick freshened. Lipo-suctioned, too.
Bill Pierceall
Warren County Resident
P.O. Box 35
Middletown, VA. 22645
**************************************************************************************
ATTACHMENT 1
“It’s Déjà vu all over again.” Yogi Berra
To review the complete series of articles, log on to http://www.washingtonpost.com/ and search the site for articles by Michael Laris and David S. Fallis. An Editorial titled “The Sleaze in Loudoun, Insiders get rich, and the public stays in the dark” appeared on Monday, January 29, 2007; Page A14
The Sleaze in Loudon County
Influence of Developers, Allies Runs Deep
By Michael Laris and David S. Fallis
Washington Post Staff Writers Sunday, January 21, 2007; Page A01
Warren County Board of Supervisors Vice-chairman Ron Llewellyn has a surplus of self-regard and pride. Theologians consider pride as the greatest of all sins. It leads to other, more heinous acts. Llewellyn calls to mind the words of nineteenth-century writer and playwright Honoré de Balzac: “Behind every great fortune there is a crime.”
Supervisor Llewellyn’s sin, if not technically criminal, is like that of other elected politicians (Duke Cunningham, R-Ca. comes to mind) caught with their private hand in the public cookie jar, the sin of misplaced public trust.
How does an elected official misplace public trust? Their actions benefit themselves at the expense of protecting and defending the constituent votes that put them in office. Benefits to the voting public are accidental consequences.
According to a recent Washington Post editorial and article series, “The Sleaze In Loudon County”, Board members of that county are the latest group of politicians to enjoy investigation by Federal prosecutors for alleged misconduct involving land deals and rezoning that pitted developers interests against citizens wanting to maintain Loudon’s rural quality of life. (See attachment 1 for short excerpts)
Recently, a special Grand Jury was empanelled by District Court Judge Hupp to investigate cover-ups by businessmen involved in political bribery charges and politicians involved in conflict of interest actions in Shenandoah County relating to development property near Toms Brook.
Over and over again we are witness to politicians taking advantage of their positions for personal financial gains. At the Federal level it is pork barrel projects, bribes, and kickbacks. At the local level it usually involves behind the scenes land deals, housing developments, and commercial rezoning.
Warren County is embroiled in much the same situation as Loudon and Shenandoah Counties. Well-heeled developers are attempting to circumvent the controlled growth mandate of the Comprehensive Plan with the cooperation of like-minded members of the Board of Supervisors.
A ripe stink has arisen by Llewellyn’s access to inside information being used to attempt to fatten his wallet and the coffers of his business partner, Brookfield Washington LLC.
Is Warren County next? The similarities between events within Loudon, Shenandoah, and Warren County certainly suggest it should happen. One can only imagine what trained professional investigators would discover. May I suggest a few places to start looking?
Supervisor Llewellyn is extremely proud of his business associations and as a commercial land developer. Commercial development tends to be much more profitable than residential development. Few real estate properties have potential for both residential and commercial development unless they happen to be located adjacent to main thoroughfare roadways exposed to high traffic flow.
Two local development projects of note, Swann Farm and Catlett Mountain, lay the foundation for the Llewellyn/Brookfield Washington LLC partnership. A third property, Reliance Woods, is the root cause of false sworn documents required by law to satisfy Financial Holdings Statement filings.
On the one hand, Llewellyn finds himself and the Catlett Mountain development in the uncomfortable position of having his acquisition of wealth brought before the Warren County Board of Supervisors, of which he is a sitting member, for a vote of approval. Llewellyn received $1,150,000.00 from Brookfield Washington LLC on 9 May, 2005, and used Catlett Mountain as security for the loan. This “loan” could be construed as Brookfield becoming a “Partner” with Llewellyn. It might prove interesting to see the payback terms of this “loan” document.
On the other hand, Llewellyn finds himself and the Swan Farm development before his political party friends sitting on the Front Royal Town council for a vote of approval. Llewellyn received $1,000,000.00 from Brookfield Washington LLC on 18 August 2004, and used the Swann Farm Property as security for the loan. Again, the Deed of Trust on file at the Warren County Courthouse describes the transaction as a loan, not a purchase agreement.
To calm vocal opposition to his association with Brookfield Washington, Mr. Llewellyn sought and received a legal endorsement from former County Attorney Douglas Napier as to the propriety of the Brookfield/Llewellyn contractual agreement. The summary of Mr. Napier’s review of the Llewellyn/Brookfield contract amounted to, Yep, it sure is a contract all right.
Mr. Napier went on to say the terms of the contract were such that the monies Llewellyn received were his to keep no matter what happened with the zoning and development. If that were true, why the need to record the money as a lien against the properties? Did Brookfield simply give a huge sum of money to Llewellyn without expecting something in return?
In a 02-09-2007 Northern Virginia Dailey article by Ben Orcutt, “…former Warren County Attorney Douglas W. Napier says that the contractual arrangement that North River Supervisor Ron L. Llewellyn has with Brookfield Homes is above board.”
That description falls far short of “without potential for conflict of interest”.
Napier describes the transactions as purchase contracts. Two separate Deeds of Trust on file at the Warren County Courthouse describes the transactions as loans secured by liens against the properties.
Napier goes on to opine, “I feel almost certain that’s what it was.” Napier’s comments resemble nothing like a definitive legal statement absolving Llewellyn of conflict of interest.
Current County Attorney Blair Mitchell appeared baffled by the Deeds of Trust on file at the courthouse. "The deed of trust really doesn't specify," Mitchell said. "It doesn't clarify that. I have no reason to doubt what he [Llewellyn] says, but the documents themselves really don't give you the clues one way or the other."
Llewellyn’s attempt to “shed some light” on his relationship with Brookfield Washington LLC remains shrouded in secret darkness, confused by Napier’s confusing doubletalk, Mitchell’s fence-sitting uncertainty, and Llewellyn’s obfuscation of the facts and terms of the contracts.
A more compelling opinion might be forthcoming had those same documents that were presented to Napier for review had instead been submitted to Circuit Court Judge Hupp.
Brookfield Washington LLC has put all their eggs into one basket held by Llewellyn. They are relying on Llewellyn’s political connections to smooth the way for their acquisition of public water and sewer service provided by the Town of Front Royal. Clearly, without public water and sewer service for both properties, development profit potential takes a nosedive; both properties revert to ho-hum status, especially Catlett Mountain. Potential groundwater contamination leaves this property totally unsuitable for well and septic systems and worthless to develop as a “by-right” project.
The Catlett Mountain property has two serious negatives connected to the property. The first is a former, un-lined, city dump located along its western border. This dump received Front Royal trash and garbage for many years until being closed in the 1970’s.
Secondly, a Federal Super Fund Site, the Fiddlers Green and Rivermont Commons' portion of the old Avtex site, are located along the Catlett Mountain property’s eastern border and is contaminated with carbon disulfide, a deadly nerve agent. Drilling wells into a water table potentially contaminated with a nerve agent is not too attractive for developing 80 “By-right” home sites.
The Fiddlers Green/Rivermont Commons parcels are tracts of land containing individual lots that were purchased by the EPA due to contamination from the Avtex site directly across the river. These parcels are restricted by the Environmental Protection Agency as to allowed uses. They are presently designated to be a scenic trail, camping and picnic area. The parcels are also prone to flooding by the Shenandoah River and are also designated as flood plain. Private individuals still own a few lots located within the Fiddlers Green/Rivermont Commons tract and are allowed to camp on their property. No permanent buildings are allowed.
Warren County Manager Doug Stanley has suppressed the above facts, possibly in deference to the Llewellyn/Brookfield by-pass right-of-way proffer, which would require part of the Fiddlers Green/Rivermont Commons properties being converted from scenic trail status to accommodate a portion of Llewellyn’s bypass route. (See notes from the Warren County website, Planning Commission Meeting 09-13-06, Brookfield 2006-09-01)
One of the rezoning proffers attached to the Catlett Mountain/Brookfield property, jointly owned by Supervisor Llewellyn and Brookfield (a $2,150,000.00 lien holder against Llewellyn), is the donation of land for use as a right-of-way for a proposed “Western Bypass Route”, a 4 lane divided roadway touted by proponents as the be-all-end-all answer for downtown Front Royal traffic congestion.
Downtown Front Royal will always be traffic congested due to narrow 2 lane streets. Building 4 lane highways outside city limits will accomplish nothing to relieve downtown congestion.
The true reason for establishing eastern and western bypass routes is to support growth and development in Warren County outside Front Royal town limits. Building new highways using taxpayer dollars benefits developers of properties located adjacent to the new roadways.
Growth requires supporting infrastructure comprised of water, sewer, electrical services and the all-important “access by public roadways”. The proposed bypass roadways would be paid for by citizen tax money, not by developer proffers. Hence, Llewellyn donates otherwise useless land for the right-of-way, Warren County builds the roadway with taxpayer money, Llewellyn/Brookfield reap the rewards of developing commercial property served by a 4 lane public highway. Sweet!
Llewellyn purchased the Catlett Mountain property AFTER his election to the Board of Supervisors in 2003. This fact suggests Supervisor Llewellyn may have been in possession of and acted upon inside information. His attempt to steer the approval of the “Western Bypass Route” onto the Catlett Mountain property suggests yet another use of his political power to line his pockets with wealth disguised as a proffer for public benefit.
Warren County acceptance of the proffered land benefits Llewellyn/Brookfield in a non-obvious manner. If the Western Bypass Route is approved by the Board Of Supervisors to pass through the donated Llewellyn/Brookfield/Catlett Mountain property, the value of developed home sites will double in value, perhaps even triple. Future commercial development then becomes possible. The property value skyrockets with a major thru roadway located adjacent to, or within, the Catlett Mountain property.
Llewellyn touts himself a developer of commercial property. Without public water and sewer, the Catlett Mountain property has marginal “By right” residential development potential of 80 or so homes and zero commercial development potential. It is doubtful Brookfield Washington LLC entered into a business arrangement with Llewellyn based on 80 buildable lots with wells sucking up contaminated ground water. It makes more business sense to anticipate 155 high-density buildable lots served by town water and sewer.
Brookfield representative Brian Grezelak admitted during a public hearing his company would not proceed with a by right, well and septic-based development. This admission makes clear Brookfield knew there was not enough by-right profit to make the venture worth their time and effort. Brookfield was confident Llewellyn could deliver Town water and sewer, so much so they invested $2,150,000 to partner with Llewellyn.
Brookfield Washington LLC may have believed Supervisor Llewellyn’s political connections with members of the Front Royal Town Council and as a sitting member of the Warren County Board of Supervisors would guarantee public water and sewer would be forthcoming to the Catlett Mountain and Swann Farm developments.
Mayor James Eastham acknowledged his personal friendship with Supervisor Llewellyn and recused himself. Other Town Council members are in the same “personal friendship” status. At least 2 members of the Board of Supervisors, Carter and Traczyk, are also close personal friends.
Please allow me to rain on Supervisor Llewellyn's parade by proposing for your consideration an alternate route for the Western Bypass. If adopted, this alternate enhances land value owned by the Economic Development Authority and provides benefits to Front Royal and Warren County.
A better bypass route alternative would follow the existing railroad right-of-way that passes through the Royal Phoenix EPA site on the opposite side of the river, creating high value for the future economic development of the site and creating attractive locations for new anchor tenants consisting of new Town and County government offices, a regional jail site, a tourist center connecting to Skyline Drive, and attracting major businesses to the site because of the very favorable transportation and access routes. Best of all, every Town and every County government office and department would be in one central location. Front Royal could definitely use a boost to in-town economic development made possible by central government offices.
Using the Royal Phoenix bypass route option will create added property value to benefit Front Royal and Warren County instead of creating wealth for Supervisor Ron Llewellyn with his offer of a bypass route through his Catlett Mountain property.
Which is better, enhanced economic development for Front Royal/Warren County utilizing the Royal Phoenix site or enhanced property values for Supervisor Ron Llewellyn?
No contest.
According to Abraham Lincoln, government is “…of the people, by the people, for the people.” Nowhere did Lincoln say government is for people to manipulate for personal gain.
Yet the Warren County Board of Supervisors seems poised to defer to the Llewellyn proposal. Isn’t this political cronyism exercised at the expense of the public’s best interest? Supervisor Carter is on record supporting the bypass route through Catlett Mountain. Supervisor Traczyk supports the toxic dump Avtex site as too valuable as prime industrial property despite no interest to date by potential tenants.
A second similar bypass route situation surrounds another joint venture by Supervisor Llewellyn and Brookfield Washington LLC, the Swan Farm development. Straining credulity of coincidence, a proposed new “Eastern Bypass Route” passes by the Swan Farm property, resulting in a 4 lane divided roadway with direct access to I-66. Here we are talking really big bucks in commercial development profit similar to the Route 522/I-66 intersection today.
What single property owner benefits most with the creation of the 2 new bypass routes? Which member of the Board of Supervisors is in a position to influence his personal friends also sitting on the Board to vote to approve the creation of these bypass routes?
Is it possible Supervisor Llewellyn/Brookfield Washington LLC could reap a fortune in increased property values brought about by creation of these bypass roadways? Does a hobbyhorse have a wooden behind?
In the past, Llewellyn has not recused himself from voting on a rezoning application by a landowner whose property is adjacent to property owned by Llewellyn. (Public Hearing – 2006-12-01 Joseph Terzuoli – BOS Meeting Notes 04-18-06, Warren County website)
The rezoning of the Terzuoli property to a 10-lot cluster-housing tract benefited Llewellyn, causing his adjacent property to increase in future value. I suspect Llewellyn would not recuse himself from voting on the Eastern and Western Bypass Routes simply because he owns properties adjacent to or near the routes and whose value would double or triple with the creation of the new bypass roadways.
Should Llewellyn recuse himself from voting on approving the routes of the Eastern and Western Bypasses? Does he have enough friends sitting on the Board who will vote to make him rich? Maybe, maybe not. The upcoming election will decide.
The Warren County Board of Supervisors is happy to look the other way when Llewellyn tries to manipulate the governmental process. Not one of the other 4 Supervisors has ever said anything about Llewellyn’s land development schemes and political maneuvering being ethical or unethical. Isn’t it time for each Board member to state his position and take a stand for or against Llewellyn’s conduct? Perhaps Supervisor Carter, an insurance broker, should disclose his income from providing insurance services to the developer community, their associates and employees?
There is a certain amount of sympathetic ideological coziness displayed by Supervisor Carter and Supervisor Traczyk towards Supervisor Llewellyn; Carter because of the failed Centex Happy Creek development within his district, blamed on Front Royal for not extending water and sewer service, and Traczyk, a purchasing manager by trade, because he is a follower, not a leader, a Mad Dog out of control, angry at the Town’s water policy which influences growth within the County. Pro-growth Traczyk is constantly hurling insults towards the Town Council, its policies, and its members. This troika of Llewellyn, Carter, and Traczyk votes in unison, scratching each other’s back in a love fest of mutual adulation.
Ignoring Warren County’s Comprehensive Plan, these 3 Supervisors, Carter, Traczyk, and Llewellyn, angry at Front Royal Town Council, proposed selling Shenandoah River water to Frederick County in exchange for Frederick building a sewage treatment plant and a water treatment plant to provide service to Catlett Mountain, Swann Farm, and Centex’s Happy Creek 1800-3,000 home development.
Depending on whom you talk with, there is some dispute over who approached whom. Traczyk says he was approached by Frederick County, Frederick County says Traczyk approached them. Neither claims responsibility for originating the idea. Someone isn’t telling the truth.
I suspect Traczyk, acting as Board Chairman, was the official messenger, acting on behalf of Carter and Llewellyn. I wonder if Supervisor Llewellyn, the person with the most to loose or gain, may have been the initial person to approach Frederick County officials with a water deal? Is there one person who has more to gain than Llewellyn?
The inter-county water agreement negotiations failed for numerous reasons. The main reason had nothing to do with selling water. Frederick County did not need more water. They needed some place to dump their sewage. Their only river, Opequon Creek, was choked to the sewage limit allowed by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. Without someplace to dump their sewage, Frederick County is facing the prospect of a development moratorium while expensive upgrades were performed on the Opequon facility with no guarantee Virginia DEQ would permit additional discharge of phosphorus and nitrogen into the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
The Shenandoah River seemed to be the perfect sewage dumping grounds in order to allow future growth in Frederick County and be in compliance with the Chesapeake Bay Act. It would be perfect except for one flaw; Frederick County has no stand-alone right to dump sewage into the Shenandoah River or to take its water without the cooperation and permission of riparian rights holders. Contrary to Virginia Code, Llewellyn, County Manager Stanley, and County Attorney Mitchell said Frederick had the right and could take the water if they wanted without seeking permission.
I pointed out to Llewellyn, Stanley, and Mitchell why their joint statements were in error, citing the appropriate Virginia Code sections that showed them to be mistaken and I invited their rebuttal if I were mistaken. The silence was expected and persists to today. No correction was published because none was offered. The misinformation was allowed to stand because it created the false impression Warren County was helpless to resist selling water to Frederick.
This water deal fiasco demonstrated the lengths Supervisor Llewellyn would entertain to protect his financial interests at the expense of Warren County residents. Without public water and sewer, both of his development projects, Catlett Mountain and Swan Farm, are dead deals. Carter’s Happy Creek deal with Centex Homes, without public water and sewer, cannot proceed.
Today, Supervisor Llewellyn is in scramble mode, trying to protect his get rich schemes from coming unraveled. Without a water/sewer deal in place for Catlett Mountain and Swan Farm, Brookfield Washington LLC is poised to ride off into the sunset with their $2,150,000 in liens against Llewellyn secured by the real estate. Llewellyn will still have mortgages to pay off and no income to do it. Foreclosure is a possibility.
Front Royal providing water and sewer service was to become the bird-in-hand portion of the Catlett Mountain and Swan Farm deals, the By-Pass Highways were the frosting on the cake. The fly in Brookfield’s ointment? Llewellyn failed to deliver Town supplied water and sewer.
Here is where Llewellyn dropped all pretenses at keeping separate his dual role as a Supervisor and as a Developer. Llewellyn broke ranks and appeared in person before the Front Royal Town Manager and the Public Works department to use his position as Vice Chairman of the Board of Supervisors and his self-proclaimed vast powers of persuasion to override the Town Council and obtain water/sewer for Brookfield Washington LLC.
His lobbying efforts on behalf of his financial interests betray his self-proclaimed neutrality in all matters before the Town Council for a vote of approval. Is this the “balance” between business interests and public trust Llewellyn proclaims he has mastered?
Questionable appearances weaken government. Llewellyn claimed he had personally appeared before the Public Works Department and Town Manager Graham to find the truth about water to his developments, implying his business partner Brookfield Washington LLC lied to him, his attorney lied to him, and the Town Council lied to him.
A Supervisor has no business being involved in negotiating water extension issues when as a Developer he has financial interests that depend on the extension of that water.
There are only two things to dislike about Supervisor Llewellyn; his face. Llewellyn has no enemies but he is strongly disliked by many of his friends.
And the plot thickens:
Building lots located in Reliance Woods raw land development subdivision are selling poorly. When Supervisor Llewellyn filed his Financial Holdings Statement, he claimed to be the sole owner of these 80 acres located on Reliance Road. Llewellyn did not identify a business relationship with his brothers, Stephen and Charlie, or his affiliation with a company named LBX3, LLC.
LBX3 seems to stand for “Llewellyn Brothers Times Three”. Supervisor brother Ron has not been caught crossing the line talking to other government officials while someone is watching. Can the same be said about brothers Stephen and Charlie Llewellyn acting as proxies on behalf of brother Ron? Legal? Maybe. Ethical? You make the call.
Events surrounding Reliance Woods indicate Supervisor Llewellyn filed false notarized Financial Holdings Statement documents regarding his business interests in this development. Why did he try to hide his business relationship with his brothers Stephen and Charlie? State law requires Llewellyn to identify any individual with whom he has a “close financial association”.
“Close financial association” is defined as “an association in which the person filing shares significant financial involvement with an individual and the filer would reasonably be expected to be aware of the individuals business activities and would have access to the necessary records either directly or through the individual”.
There can be no doubt this definition applies to Supervisor Llewellyn’s business relationship with his brothers Stephen and Charlie. Did Supervisor Ron Llewellyn simply “overlook” this business relationship when filing his Financial Holdings Statement?
Perhaps brother Charlie’s close personal association with Warren County Administrator Doug Stanley may have come to light with the LBX3 revelation? Charlie Llewellyn and Doug Stanley are old buddies, whose joint socialization includes at least one trip to Las Vegas together. Planning Commission Vice Chairman David McDaniel joined Charlie and Doug on this Las Vegas trip. Whatever happened there shouldn’t stay there, should it?
The Las Vegas “vacation” lends to the appearance 3 members of the Planning Commission, Doug Stanley, Ron Mabry, and Dave McDaniel, are under the influence of the Llewellyn family, more or less. All 3 have placed themselves in questionable situations involving Supervisor Llewellyn. This backslapping love fest was deeply involved in the zoning application approval for Catlett Mountain.
Fork District Planning Commissioner Ronald Mabry has said he has a close personal friendship with Supervisor Llewellyn. Mabry admitted he has discussed the Catlett Mountain application with Supervisor Llewellyn. This discussion violates Virginia Code 2.2-3112ii, which prohibits “discussing the matter in which he has a personal interest with other government officers or employees at any time”.
Mabry partnered with Llewellyn and Supervisor Carter in attacking Commissioner of Revenue John Smedley over program audits. Smedley politically defeated Carter for the 2003 GOP nomination for the Commissioner post. It is no surprise Llewellyn and Carter are supporting Mabry against Smedley in this falls elections.
What is Mabry’s relationship with the other 2 brothers? We expect to discover more information as these investigations proceed. History shows Mabry cast the swing vote to approve the Catlett Mountain rezoning. Dave McDaniel avoided suspicion by being absent for the vote.
The above interpersonal relationships chronicle the cozy, tight little circles of friends within the local political party. Each little group is at war with the other little groups outside their tight little inner circle. Llewellyn’s little circle is in power at the moment. More importantly, this tight little circle strongly supports itself against all-comers.
Supervisor Ron Llewellyn may be on the verge of major problems concerning his financial position. In addition to receiving money in the form of “loans” from Brookfield Washington totaling $2,150,000.00, Supervisor Llewellyn, his brother Stephen Llewellyn, and Charlie Llewellyn created LBX3, L.L.C., a corporation that is the owner of record of the Reliance Woods subdivision.
In May of 2006, Stephen Llewellyn was served a Federal Small Business Income Tax lien in excess of $325,000.00, now on file at the Warren County Courthouse.
As partners in the LBX3 Corporation, Ron, Stephen, and Charlie may be jointly responsible for the tax lien. Perhaps this lien is the underlying reason Llewellyn omitted this business relationship information from his sworn-under-oath Financial Holdings Statement filed last year with Warren County? Or perhaps it was the lobbying efforts by Stephen and Charlie on behalf of their brother Ron? Those “vacation” trips to Las Vegas keep getting in the way.
I questioned Llewellyn about this omission loudly enough that he was ultimately forced to file an amended Financial Holdings Statement to include his involvement with the LBX3 corporate partnership holding of Reliance Woods.
Warren County Attorney Blair Mitchell at first denied any amendment was necessary. I questioned Mr. Mitchell about his line of reasoning, finding major inconsistencies with his interpretation of the requirements of the Financial Holdings Statement. Mr. Mitchell ultimately advised Llewellyn to file a statement explaining why he filed amendments to his original Financial Holdings Statement.
Mr. Mitchell was instrumental in choosing the language ultimately used by Supervisor Llewellyn in the amended Financial Holdings Statement, attempting to make it appear it was a minor “ooppss moment” oversight for Llewellyn to forget his business and real estate dealings with his brothers. Now that the tax lien has surfaced it appears the underlying reason for the fuzzy memory is the negative business connotation of not being able to pay your taxes or the Las Vegas “vacation” connection.
Doubt exists that this was a genuine “ooppss moment”. Supervisor Llewellyn made it clear in his original sworn Financial Holdings Statement that he was the sole owner of 80 acres located on Reliance Road, omitting any reference to his partnership in LBX3 Corporation, the owner of record for Reliance Woods. LBX3 does not appear anywhere on Supervisor Llewellyn’s original Financial Holdings Statement.
Supervisor Llewellyn got caught swearing an oath to a false document required by State law to be filed by elected members of government. Is this sufficient evidence to accuse Llewellyn of lying under oath?
Supervisor Llewellyn is poised to suffer the repercussions of his poor business decisions, poor strategic planning, poor interpersonal skills with other governmental agencies, and worst of all, poor assessment of his perceived value by his constituents to act with their best interests at heart.
Arguments of Substance or Muckraking?
People without power rely and depend upon those with power to protect and defend them. Llewellyn seems to have lost the desire to protect and defend his constituents.
Tight little inner circles are vulnerable to exposure because they have something to hide. If they are not hiding something the best way to demonstrate the truth of that is wide dissemination of the facts. This omission will be their downfall.
Those who differ from the inner circle are excluded from the benefits of power, while those possessing wealth that toe the party line are welcomed; these dots connect to form a disturbing picture -- not so much of greed-fueled corruption as of ideologically driven coziness.
Supervisor Llewellyn has been criticized numerous times over his conflicting dual positions as Supervisor and Developer. Notably absent is Llewellyn’s willingness to discuss these conflicts openly with his accusers and shed some light for inspection by the voting constituents.
Once again, as we have witnessed numerous times, when a politician is accused of impropriety, we are exposed to the same old song and dance explanations of ‘It wasn’t me, I’m an innocent man. It’s all a figment of your imagination’.
Now comes Supervisor Llewellyn mounting his soapbox wearing the breastplate of righteousness. Llewellyn spins a yarn describing his worthiness that would put a glass eye to sleep. The more a man has to lose by having a secret life, the more he acquires the trappings of respectability. Llewellyn tends to blind the audience to certain of his practices. To others in his everyday world, he is not only normal and righteous, but also an exemplar of good behavior and right thinking.
Llewellyn sincerely believes he is more righteous than the next man, hence his shock and outrage, his disbelieving indignation, when he is discovered and discredited. When his critics or enemies confront Llewellyn, he digs in his heels instead of looking into his soul.
When push comes to shove, Llewellyn prefers to threaten his accusers with legal headaches for slandering his reputation in lieu of opening his books to the light of day. And for our part, let’s stop being so surprised when we discover that our public figures have their own complex lives, and start being more suspicious when they self-righteously denounce the lives of others.
In the past, Supervisor Llewellyn has accused me of misinformation and false statements. I have asked Llewellyn to please correct any misinformation or false statements I may have made in error. I am very willing to acknowledge my mistakes with an apology. To be wrong is one thing, to be wrong at the top of your lungs is another.
To this date, Llewellyn has remained silent.
At his request this past winter, I agreed to have a face-to-face meeting with Mr. Llewellyn. I asked for and received an appointment for a one-on-one private conversation over coffee at a restaurant next door to his business office. He did not have far to travel for this meeting. Llewellyn failed to show up. He later claimed to have made an appearance, looked around the restaurant, did not see me, and left. Did he? How could he have not seen me? I was the only person seated in the restaurant for ½ hour before and ½ hour after the appointed time! He has not spoken to me since. I wonder why?
Are these the actions of a man willing to shed some light or of a man with something to hide? Past performance is a good predictor of future actions. Llewellyn says he has committed to appear at the Front Royal – Warren County Chamber of Commerce candidates forum. I predict he will not show up. I predict I will.
In order to entice Llewellyn to appear, I predict the Chamber of Commerce forum will be restricted to attendance by “members only” to avoid embarrassing Llewellyn with torch bearing, ripe produce holding, members of the public-at-large asking questions Llewellyn may find difficult to answer to their satisfaction.
No, the Chamber of Commerce will fail at creating a forum for the exchange of thoughts and ideas, but it will succeed at providing a sanitary stage for boilerplate self-serving speeches accompanied by polite applause generated by invited Chamber Members. The uninvited un-washed voting public, their ripened produce in hand, will be relegated to peering through the windows at the joyful good-old-boy back slapping festivities. The ripened produce will continue to ripen.
Llewellyn shunned an invitation to a public meeting forum with political opposition Glenn White. According to The Northern Virginia Dailey, Llewellyn said “He would consider participating in White's forum if it includes a meaningful dialogue. He said some of White's supporters could keep that from happening.” So could some of Llewellyn’s supporters, if he has any willing to attend.
Perhaps Llewellyn shunned this open public meeting because his supporters would be a very small percentage of the public attendees. The last thing Llewellyn wants is a straw poll showing him in an unfavorable light and to risk exposure to the light of day. Llewellyn will avoid any meeting where he cannot control or manipulate the debate to his advantage.
He learned this the hard way when he and I had a friendly conversation at a neighborhood Christmas party held by a local resident in my community. In a battle of wits, Llewellyn is unarmed, ignorant to published facts, and oblivious to the truthfulness of his opinions. Pick a topic for discussion, ask questions, and see for yourself.
Supervisor Llewellyn follows the advice of the philosopher Cicero, who, 2,500 years ago said, “When your argument lacks substance, abuse your adversary”.
Validating Cicero, Llewellyn says I write this “stuff” because I "like to hear myself talk". He says when someone jumps in the mud with pigs, the pigs are happy and you are muddy.
I say Llewellyn’s’ pigs need their lipstick freshened. Lipo-suctioned, too.
Bill Pierceall
Warren County Resident
P.O. Box 35
Middletown, VA. 22645
**************************************************************************************
ATTACHMENT 1
“It’s Déjà vu all over again.” Yogi Berra
To review the complete series of articles, log on to http://www.washingtonpost.com/ and search the site for articles by Michael Laris and David S. Fallis. An Editorial titled “The Sleaze in Loudoun, Insiders get rich, and the public stays in the dark” appeared on Monday, January 29, 2007; Page A14
The Sleaze in Loudon County
Influence of Developers, Allies Runs Deep
By Michael Laris and David S. Fallis
Washington Post Staff Writers Sunday, January 21, 2007; Page A01
Six months after they took office in 2004, members of the Loudoun Board of Supervisors demonstrated in a single afternoon their ability to help a friend.
First, they voted 6 to 3 to boost the number of homes that could be built on the family farm of Dale Polen Myers, a former supervisor who had been instrumental in getting many of them elected. The next month, a builder bought the property from Myers's family for $12.2 million -- four times its assessed value before the zoning decision, records show.
Next, the board agreed unanimously to authorize the county to purchase a different parcel for $13.5 million, once again helping Myers, who was acting as the real estate agent. That earned Myers and her boss a commission that by industry standards would range from $270,000 to $675,000.
Such coziness has become routine among some Loudoun officials and a group of politically connected developers, landowners and others in the real estate industry, The Washington Post found in a year-long investigation……
Supervisor Voted on Issue in Which Friend Had Interest
By Michael Laris and David S. Fallis
Washington Post Staff Writers Sunday, January 21, 2007; Page A11
County Supervisor Bruce E. Tulloch and Leesburg lawyer Douglas L. Fleming Jr. are close friends.
"I love the guy like a brother," Tulloch (R-Potomac) said, adding that Fleming had encouraged him to run for office in 2003. When Tulloch won, he asked Fleming, a substitute judge in Loudoun's General District Court, to swear him in.
Since 2003, they have co-owned a rental house in Surfside Beach, S.C., that earns tens of thousands of dollars in annual income, records show.
And on several occasions, Tulloch's public role has overlapped with Fleming's professional world.
Tulloch cast votes four times in favor of Loudoun Hospital Center, which had hired Fleming for legal advice. Tulloch voted twice for its expansion and twice to block a planned competitor….
Official Backed Plans Of Business Connections
Former Planning Chief Had Ties to Companies
By Michael Laris and David S. Fallis
Washington Post Staff Writers Monday, January 22, 2007; Page A01
In 2004, Peter J. Knop, a wealthy Loudoun landowner, asked the county to allow his family company to build a vast entertainment complex with a theater and studios on his 1,000-acre property near Dulles Airport.
Lawrence S. Beerman II, then chairman of Loudoun's Planning Commission and a venture capitalist, had business plans of his own. He was raising money for the purchase of an Alabama-based trucking fleet known as Evergreen Transportation Inc., according to records and interviews. He brought that deal to the Knops, and they invested, Knop said.
Two weeks after the sale was completed, Beerman voted favorably on the Knops' entertainment center, helping it clear its first regulatory hurdle.
Beerman, who held sway over land decisions in Loudoun for nearly a decade, voted multiple times in favor of companies with which he had business ties, according to records and interviews.
His actions took place in a county where major land-use decisions have been dominated by a small group of public officials and their close allies in the development industry, The Washington Post found in a year-long investigation.
Beerman resigned abruptly from the Planning Commission in July after reporters conducted interviews about his ties to Knop and others doing business in Loudoun.
Beerman was part of a small group of public officials who assumed power in Loudoun in 2004 with the backing of a well-funded network of developers, a building industry group and others in the real estate industry. In the years since, some of those officials have worked closely with their backers, coordinating privately to ensure votes favorable to major projects, according to thousands of e-mails and other documents obtained under public records laws….
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)