“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
January 9th, 2010 at 4:17 pm
Just for your clarification, Francis Scarcella was cleared of any charges that had to do with stolen traverlers checks. Please make sure your information is accurate before you publish slanderous statements. Also, just because Lou Barletta and Francis Scarcella know each other that has nothing to do with either the chargea against Barletta or the alleged and rescinded charges against Scarcella. Who in Hazleton and the surrounding area does NOT know each other (if they have lived here all their lives). This is another example of people in Hazleton spewing false accusations and calling them “truth”.
August 26th, 2010 at 12:00 am
TO PROTECT MYSELF FROM LIABLE, I AM STATING THAT NONE OF THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE HAS BEEN VERIFIED AS TRUTHFUL OR AS FACT:
The City of Hazleton has a home improvement program in which home improvements are paid for through a loan forgiveness program. I do not have the resources to investigate and document the facts, therefore I am not going to identify the specific construction company or the company’s owner.
Anyhow, my elderly neighbor qualified for a home improvement program and work was to be done on this senior’s home. As I understand, my elderly neighbor qualified for $10,000.00 worth of home improvements. A dumpster was placed in front of my neighbor’s home, which would be needed as demolition work would ensue. Of course the cost of renting the dumpster and the cost of removing and emptying the dumpster would be credited from the $10,000.00 loan amount. I personally witnesses the construction company arriving after dark in their work truck and discarding materials (from other job sites) into this neighbor’s dumpster. The Construction Company came so often that the dumpster had to be removed to be emptied, and then brought back a few times. All at a cost to this senior citizen!
I asked my neighbor why this construction company was chosen and was told that the company was “supposedly” recommended by the personnel working in the city office where my neighbor had applied for the home improvement loan forgiveness program.
NOW THE KICKER: this construction company is owned by an alleged (convicted) drug felon! HOW DARE the city endorse sending an alleged drug felon to a senior citizen’ s home only to take advantage of and steal from the senior.
I am assuming that “perhaps” some back-room deals took place through the administration of this home improvement program.