“False Statements” About Barletta Really Aren’t False
Recently, Mayor Lou Barletta threw a temper tantrum because he claimed a poll being conducted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) was full of “false statements” and was being used to give people the wrong impression about him. According to Barletta, this poll was a dirty political trick and was based on lies and not fact. Um….not really.
Barletta claims that the questions being asked in this poll, which was conducted over the telephone and administered to several people, asked questions that implied unflattering things about Barletta. According to Mayor Barletta’s Campaign…
“The campaign blames the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee for a “push poll” that attacks Barletta’s Italian heritage, Hazleton business owners and economic development leaders, and insults the city police department.”
Vince Galko, Mayor Barletta’s campaign manager, went on to explain…
“The poll included questions that implied Barletta has ties to organized crime, half of Hazleton’s storefronts are empty and the city went through a crime wave because the mayor laid off police officers — none of which is true, he said.”
The part of that quote that I’d like to focus on is the part where Mr. Galko says, “..none of which is true.” Obviously, Vince Galko is in the dark about a few things. That, or he’s just a bold faced liar. Allow me to explain.
First, let’s take the “accusation” that Barletta has ties to organized crime. No, Mayor Barletta has never been convicted of anything and he’s probably not smart enough to be the leader of some secret crime syndicate. However, some of Barletta’s friends and campaign supporters do have ties to organized crime.
- Paul DeAngelo was, in 1994, sentenced to 18 months in prison for being a part of the Empire Drug Ring, a New York City based drug ring that was distributing cocaine all accross Luzerne County. Paul DeAngelo, along with his brother, bought Lou Barletta’s line painting business in 2000. He also just recently donated $1000 to Lou Barletta’s Congressional Campaign. Barletta is refusing to give the money back and has defended Mr. DeAngelo.
- Neal DeAngelo was also involved in the Empire Drug Ring, however, unlike his brother, he was able to avoid jail time because he snitched on other members of the ring. He also just recently gave $1000 to Lou Barletta’s Congressional Campaign.
- Francis Scarcella was, for a long time, a close political ally of Lou Barletta. In 2006, he was indicted, and later convicted, of being involved in a stolen travelers check scheme. Scarcella served in various positions in Lou Barletta’s administration and also served as a Hazleton School Board member.
So, as you can see, the “accusation” that Mayor Lou Barletta has ties to organized crime has nothing to do with his “Italian heritage”, but rather, the fact that several of his friends were, at one time, directly involved with organized crime. So the statement that “Lou Barletta has ties to organized crime” is actually spot on and very much accurate.
Next, let’s consider the “accusation” that Mayor Lou Barletta’s cuts in the police force had nothing to do with crime in Hazleton exploding. Here are the facts: One of Mayor Barletta’s first acts as mayor was to cut the Hazleton police force in half. Shortly after, crime in Hazleton began to rise. To say that reducing, by half, the number of Hazleton police officers had nothing to do with the increase in crime is just stupid. It did.
Finally, let’s look at the “accusation” that businesses in Hazleton are leaving. Um, they are. Are all businesses closing? No, but several businesses, especially smaller family owned businesses, are on the decline. For proof of this, just drive around Hazleton. You can see all the empty store fronts. So, again, this “accusation” is less of an accusation and more of a fact.
Mayor Lou Barletta would like you to believe that the DCCC has no idea what they are talking about and all of the “accusations” they brought up were nothing more than desperate fantasies. However, as I just pointed out, all of these accusations are at least backed by more than a few facts. As a candidate for the United States Congress, Lou Barletta needs to come clean on all of these issues and stop hiding from them. For all of these reasons and more, Lou Barletta does not deserve to be elected to the United States Congress.
-Dan Cheek
www.StopLouBarletta.com
StopLouBarletta@gmail.com
