StopLouBarletta.com

In 2001, the town of Coatsville sold its water and sewer system to a private buyer.  That sale generated $40 million.  Today, only $14 million remains.  In less than 10 years, the town burned through well over half of that money.  They invested it in things that were supposed to generate steady income to the town.  Those investments have failed to generate anything.  In short, Coatsville did exactly what Lou Barletta wants to do with Hazleton.  And it didn’t work.

But, hey, maybe Lou Barletta could make this work.  Right?  Probably not.  Barletta has made bad decision after bad decision, bringing Hazleton to her knees and on the verge of bankruptcy.  He wasted millions in trying to defend his mindless “Illegal Immigration Relief Act” in Federal Court.  He illegally used the city’s pension fund for purpose it wasn’t intended for, and needed the State to come to the rescue of the city.  Honestly, if Hazleton was granted the authority to print money, Barletta would find a way to screw it up.  He’s just not very good with money.

For more proof, just look at the half-dead, sad looking thing that is his Congressional Campaign.  Already, Barletta has built up more debt than all of the other candidates, Democrat and Republican, combined.  Before he even launched his Congressional Campaign, he had to send out letters begging people to give him money because his debt was so massive.  And this is Barletta’s third consecutive attempt at running for Congress.  Every time he runs, he loses and accumulates more debt.  Most people get better at things with practice.  Not Lou Barletta.  He gets markedly worse.

The punchline in this un-funny joke is that Lou Barletta wants to take this brand of leadership to the Federal Government.  Why in the name of everything that is Holy would anyone cast a vote for Lou Barletta?  He’s not good at anything.  Unless you count ruining cities and embarrassing his own political party as a skill.  Because, I guess, Lou is pretty good at doing that.   Lou Barletta’s plan to sell the Hazleton Water Authority and save Hazleton will probably fail.  Not only because it’s a bad idea, but also because Lou Barletta is behind it.  Clearly, the voters of the 11th Congressional District simply can not afford to have Mayor Barletta represent them in the halls of the United States Congress.

As an elected official, Lou Barletta is a failure.  The city of Hazleton is worse off, not better, as a result of having Barletta serve as its mayor.  The city’s economy is in shambles.  His plan to sell-off the Hazleton Water Authority is reckless and stupid.  Before he is finished, Barletta will have made Hazleton’s economy one of the worst in the nation.  And while the damage is already done for Hazleton, it’s not too late to keep Lou Barletta from wreaking the same havoc on the 11th Congressional District.  At all costs, Lou Barletta must be kept out of the United States Congress.

See also: Barletta: Question Me and You’re All Screwed and Lou Barletta’s Vision of America

-Dan Cheek
www.StopLouBarletta.com
StopLouBarletta@gmail.com

As I’m sure all of you know by now, Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta has announced that he will make a third run at Congress.  Why this man keeps beating his head against a wall is beyond me.  He has lost in two consecutive elections, against the same opponent, and has wracked up massive personal debt that he has yet to pay off.  Additionally, for the first time Barletta has a challenger in the Republican primary, as Chris Paige has also entered the race (months before Barletta) and this will only force Barletta to spend more money that he doesn’t have.  Despite all of this, Lou Barletta apparently thinks that this third time will prove to be the charm.

Let’s hope not.  As mayor of Hazleton, Barletta has buried the city in debt.  The city is facing a widely reported financial crisis and the current city budget being put forth by Barletta is chock full of tax hikes and city layoffs.  I mention this because, according to Lou Barletta’s official website, everything is just peachy in Hazleton.  Financial crisis?  What financial crisis?  To quote from his site…

“Lou Barletta was elected to Hazleton City Council in 1998, and became mayor in 2000. He inherited a massive budget shortfall, and was able to turn the city of Hazleton around with tough prudent financial decisions, earning statewide praise and recognition. He now leads Hazleton through one of the most impressive revitalizations in regional history.”

REALLY?!?!  Aside from the dates that he was elected to office, everything else in that paragraph is a pipe dream.  Perhaps by “statewide praise and recognition”, Barletta (or whatever coked-up moron wrote that) is referring to him having to beg the State to change the laws for him so as not to have to pay back city pension money that he used illegally.  And “most impressive revitalization in regional history” is obviously in reference to the fact that the city of Hazleton now has some of the highest taxes in the entire state and is on the verge of going bankrupt.

I’m eagerly awaiting the next press release from the Barletta camp, which will probably credit Barletta with drafting the Constitution and inventing sliced bread.  There is a difference between putting a positive spin on something and simply making stuff up.  The Lou Barletta campaign has not only crossed that line, they pole vaulted over it.  To claim that the financial affairs of Hazleton are anything but a disaster is a slap in the face not only to the people of Hazleton (who are being taxed to the legal limit), but also to all of the people who support Barletta in his bid for Congress.  It’s bad enough these people are gulible enough to support Barletta, and now he’s just outright lying to them.

This is the type of person that Lou Barletta really is.  When reality doesn’t reflect kindly on him and his decisions (as it often doesn’t), he tells lies.  This is what Lou Barletta will bring to the United States Congress.  Barletta can not be trusted.  As mayor of Hazleton, he has accomplished nothing, except for raising debt and brutally taxing the citizens of the city.  It’s no wonder Barletta has such a hard time trying to find financing for his campaign.  No one is Hazleton has any left to give him.  Lou Barletta should not be elected to the US Congress.

See also: Lou Barletta to Run for Congress Again and Barletta and Hazleton Might Get a Bailout

-Dan Cheek
www.StopLouBarletta.com
StopLouBarletta@gmail.com

A couple of days ago, Mayor Lou Barletta presented his budget for the city of Hazleton to City Council.  The budget is filled with tax increases and police layoffs.  Under Barletta’s “leadership”, Hazleton has become one of the most financially distressed cities in the state.  It’s already teetering on the edge of financial collapse, a direct result of Mayor Barletta’s horrible decision making.  This budget does little to ease the city’s financial crisis and adds more pain to a population that has already been drilled into the dirt by Lou Barletta’s incompetence.

And while all of this is very bad news for the people of Hazleton, voters all across the state should take notice.  This is because Barletta continues to hint that he might want to try another run at Congress.  Take a moment to allow that to sink in.  Mayor Lou Barletta, who has ruined an entire city with his patented combination of poor judgment  and political grandstanding, now wants to bring his brand of leadership to the halls of the United States Congress.  Based on his past history, Barletta being elected to Congress would end in disaster, almost all of which would be shouldered by his constituents.

Barletta has proven time and again that he has no understanding of managing a budget, economics, or managing debt.  The city of Hazleton is a mess, a direct result of Barletta’s destructive and divisive leadership style.  Barletta has served multiple terms as Hazleton’s mayor, and things have gone from bad to worse.  This new budget of his is further proof that his handling of the city’s finances has been a bad joke, and now all that he can think of is to raises taxes and lay people off.  Just the kind of leadership America needs right about now, eh?

Lou Barletta is, for lack of a better word, an idiot.  He has used his position as Mayor of Hazleton to ruin the city, driving the city deeper and deeper into debt.  What’s worse, this man is now considering a run for US Congress.  I guess Barletta assumes that since he’s broken the city of Hazleton into as many pieces as humanly possible, he should set his sites on bigger things to wreck.  Like the 11th Congressional District.  Lou Barletta should, at all costs, be kept out of the United States Congress.

See also: Barletta Makes More Excuses for His Failures and Hazleton’s Financial Problems Might Get Even Worse

-Dan Cheek
www.StopLouBarletta.com
StopLouBarletta@gmail.com

Mayor Lou Barletta, feeling more and more pressure, appeared on the Sam Lasante Show to address charges that his incompetence has led to the imminent financial ruin of the city of Hazleton.  During the interview, Barletta managed to blame every major problem currently facing the city on someone else, mostly State and National politicians.  Barletta used charts, graphs, and lots of fluffery to try and shift some of the heat away from himself and onto as many other people as possible.  Overall, Barletta’s performance came across as desperate.

During the interview, Barletta failed to, at any point, accept any responsibility for any of the city’s current problems.  This, despite the fact that every major problem currently facing the city originated during his tenure as Mayor of Hazleton.  Addressing the city’s pension fund fiasco (which could, by itself, bankrupt the city), Barletta offered this cheery analysis of the situation (from the Standard Speaker)…

In reviewing the pension fund crisis, the mayor stressed that the city has never taken money out of the pension fund and has never failed to make the full required contribution to the fund. In several years, the city contributed more than it was required to the fund

Utilizing a portion of the Pension Tax revenues to pay for health benefits for pension beneficiaries is the issue that set the stage for the current controversy between state Auditor General Jack Wagner, state Rep. Todd Eachus and the mayor.

“I don’t believe we did anything wrong. I believe what we did will benefit, not only the retirees in this city, but many other municipalities that would benefit from Senate Bill 961,” Barletta said.

Senate Bill 961 would formally legalize the use of a portion of Pension Tax revenues to pay for retiree health benefits in addition to mandatory municipal pension fund contributions.

So you see?  Everyone thinks that this whole mess will bankrupt the city.  And despite previously warning that this situation really could bankrupt the city, Barletta now says that it will “benefit” not only the city retirees but also other municipalities, as well.  Why haven’t we given this man a medal yet?  And then when talking about the huge legal bills from Barletta’s ill-advised defense of his “Illegal Immigration Relief Act”, Barletta gave this hopeful response (from the Standard Speaker)…

As the city continues to defend its Illegal Immigration Relief Act, the unconstitutionality of which is currently under appeal in the Third Circuit Court in Philadelphia, the city is also fighting to hold its insurance carrier responsible for possible plaintiff attorney fees.

Barletta remains optimistic that those costs will be reduced or paid by insurance.

Well, as long as Mayor Barletta remains optimistic, shouldn’t we all?  I mean, yes, if the city were to have to pay all of these legal bills, then, yes, Hazleton would go bankrupt.  But what are the chances of THAT happening, right?  Did I mention that Mayor Barletta is optimistic about the situation?  And when discussing the city’s budget shortfalls, Barletta explained that none of it was actually his fault and that it was all those bastards in Harrisburg’s fault.  As reported by the Standard Speaker….

Barletta offered proof that certain decisions in Harrisburg resulted in less money in Hazleton. He said it was an act of the state legislature that reduced the amount of Local Services Tax revenues collected by municipalities statewide.Authorized by the legislature in 2005, the $52 EMS tax was originally deducted from paychecks in one annual lump sum. In 2008, the legislature changed the name of the EMS to LST (Local Services Tax) and changed the $52 lump sum deduction to $1 per week for 52 weeks. In its $52 form, the tax was deducted from most paychecks and later refunded to those earning $12,000 or less. In contrast, the $1 weekly tax is only deducted from citizens earning more than $12,000.

Barletta said if a citizen works two jobs, each job paying $12,000 or less, the combined earnings could be as much as $24,000, but the tax would not be deducted from either paycheck. The red tape of deducting a $1 tax from employee paychecks each week is also considered a nuisance to some employers, Barletta said. So the fee goes uncollected, leaving the municipality with less LST revenues.

The city received $539,798 in EMS revenue when the legislature first authorized the tax in 2005. After the legislative change, the city received $316,903 in LST revenue in 2008 – which is a $222,895 reduction in the amount of money the city used for public services.

“That’s almost a quarter-million dollars less. We hired the police, now we have less because of what they do in Harrisburg,” Barletta said.

See?  It’s not Barletta’s fault that the city’s budget is a trainwreck.  It’s because of “what they do in Harrisburg”.  But the very best part of this interview was the part where Barletta talked glowingly about himself, bragging about how popular he is in California (he has a fan club) and how he could probably be the Governor if he wanted (he’s decided he doesn’t) and that people in Washington DC are practically begging him to come be a Congressman so he can save the country from itself.  Again, as reported in the Standard Speaker…

“It would be a lot easier for a lot of politicians if Lou Barletta would go away. But I’m not going to.”According to Barletta, a recent statewide opinion poll gave him a significant approval rating for the office of governor or lieutenant governor.

“But I have ruled both those out,” Barletta said.

Still, a run for higher office appears to be a sure thing in Barletta’s future.

“It is no secret they have been talking to me in Washington. But right now there is so much going on here in Hazleton. Yet I definitely think Hazleton has been short-changed. Take stimulus money, for example. Hazleton hasn’t gotten any. And I believe it’s for no reason other than politics,” Barletta said.

“I definitely feel Hazleton needs a stronger voice in Washington,” he said.

The mayor said he was recently approached by a woman in a grocery store who was visiting from California. She said there is a huge “Barletta Fan Club” on the West Coast.

“We love you in California,” the woman said.

After receiving similar accolades from a citizen of Houston, Texas, Barletta said the news makes him feel more frustrated than flattered.

“That shows there are so many voices across the country shouting for the same things, but the people in Washington and Harrisburg have grown too big, too powerful to listen,” Barletta said.

All of this finger pointing, blame shifting, and pipe-dream-happy-talk is nothing new for Barletta.  This man, as Mayor, has ground his city into the dirt.  He has left it a financial disaster area, one of the worst run cities in the nation.  And now, despite this, he wants to run for Congress.  Lou Barletta wants to bring his brand of “leadership” to Washington.  Facing the worst economic conditions since the Great Depression, the people of the 11th Congressional District can not afford to have Barletta represent them in Congress.  Lou Barletta should not be elected to the US Congress.

See also: Hazleton’s Financial Problems Might Get Even Worse

-Dan Cheek
www.StopLouBarletta.com
StopLouBarletta@stoploubarletta.com

Hazleton’s financial problems might get even worse.  Or, possibly, stay just as bad.  Mayor Lou Barletta and the city of Hazleton are asking a Federal judge to reconsider a ruling in which the city has been ordered to pay $2.4 million in legal fees incurred by plaintiffs when the city was sued over Barletta’s Illegal Immigration Relief Act.  Hazleton claims that the city’s insurance provider, Scottsdale Insurance Company, should pay the money.  In May, a judge ruled against Hazleton and now the city is asking, pretty please with sprinkles on top, the judge to change his mind.

According to The Standard Speaker…

“The city of Hazleton has asked a federal judge to reconsider a ruling made in favor of the city’s insurance carrier that would mean the city would be responsible for paying $2.4 million in attorney fees incurred by plaintiffs in the city’s Illegal Immigration Relief Act (IIRA).

Judge A. Richard Caputo decided in May that the city would need to pay the funds if the city loses its appeal of the IIRA in the Third Circuit Court in Philadelphia.

But Hazleton officials continue to maintain that the city’s errors and omissions insurance carrier, Scottsdale Insurance Co., Scottsdale, Ariz., should be responsible.

Caputo ruled in favor of Scottsdale on the legal fee issue. As for Scottsdale’s challenge against funding the city’s appeal, he ruled the issue was moot because the firm had represented and argued the appeal in Third Circuit Court.

In June, the city filed a motion asking Caputo to reconsider his decision, saying, in part, that the insurance form misinterpreted terms in its policy.

Scottsdale then opposed Hazleton’s request in a motion, saying that it had already presented those arguments to the court. Hazleton responded otherwise last week.”

So, unless this judge changes his mind for some reason, the city of Hazleton will be forced to pay for Lou Barletta’s stupidity.  Keep in mind that the city is still fighting a completely seperate ruling in which the city has been ordered to repay almost $3 million back into the city’s pension fund after it was determined that Barletta and the city council misused the money.  So, if that ruling stands and this ruling stands, the city will be forced to come up with close to $5 million.  This will, without question, force Hazleton into bankruptcy.  Hell, even if one of these rulings stands, the city could go belly up.

All of this is a direct consequence of Mayor Lou Barletta’s “leadership.”  All of these rulings against the city are a result of Lou Barletta making really bad decisions.  Now, as a result, his city is on the verge of financial ruin.  Worse, Barletta is considering running for Congress.  If elected, Barletta would leave Hazleton high and dry and be in a position to bring his destructive, incompetent leadership to the national level.  The man has already screwed a city into the dirt and now he’s asking voters to let him try his hand at playing a Congressman.  For the love of all that is sane and decent, he must not be given that chance.

Just look at the financial appocalypse that Barletta has dropped on the city of Hazleton.  Barring some sort of legal miracle, the city will have to declare bankruptcy and it will take years for it to climb back out of the hole.  In one of the worst economies since the Great Depression, Lou Barletta has found a way to make things even worse for the people of his city.  When the economy finally starts to rebound, Hazleton will still be left lying in a gutter, paying for Lou Barletta’s disasterous leadership.  Barletta is a disgrace of a mayor and should not be elected to any higher office, especially the United States Congress.

See also: Barletta Makes Mores Excuses for His Failures

-Dan Cheek
www.StopLouBarletta.com
StopLouBarletta@gmail.com

Mayor Barletta:

For over a year, now, this website has stood in staunch opposition to your candidacy for a seat in the United States Congress. It is my belief that you are unfit and undeserving to represent the people of Pennsylvania in a higher office than the one, as mayor of Hazleton, that you currently hold. In two straight Congressional elections, a majority of the constituents you seek to represent have agreed, keeping you, thankfully, out of the US Congress. I am writing this open letter, addressed to you, to urge you to not, as you are currently considering, to run for a higher office.

During your tenure as mayor of Hazleton, the city has fallen deeper and deeper into a pit of debt. Much of this debt is a direct result of your “leadership.” Without prior approval from the Hazleton City Council, you racked up huge legal bills in a failed attempt to defend your “Illegal Immigration Relief Act” in Federal Court. In an effort to help pay for some of this debt, you established the Small Town Defenders website, which was supposedly meant to raise funds to help pay your legal bills, rather than forcing the Hazleton taxpayers to do so. That website hasn’t been updated since 2006, shortly after it was first established. This fact, combined with your announcement that you are, yet again, considering a run for Congress, makes it clear that you intend to leave the people of Hazleton to wallow under the mountain of debt that you dropped upon them. That, sir, is shameful and you should be embarrassed.

The people of Hazleton did not elect you to run their city into the ground and then abandon them for the bright lights of Washington. To put it bluntly, you made a mess and now you need to clean it up. It’s very telling that you eagerly raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to finance your own political campaigns, but can’t even maintain a website that you established to help pay for the legal bills you stuck your city with. Until you can prove, and so far you haven’t, that you are able to live up to your duties as Hazleton Mayor, I see no reason as to why you should be elected to a higher office.

Sincerely,

Dan Cheek
www.StopLouBarletta.com
StopLouBarletta@gmail.com

PS
As always, if you would like to respond to anything on this website, I promise to post, unedited, any response that you would like to make.

What does Lou Barletta have in common with disgraced South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford? No, unlike Sanford, there is no reason to believe that Mayor Barletta has cheated on his wife. However, they do share something in common: Both are embarrassments to the Republican Party. The difference is that while Mark Sanford’s political career is clearly over (or very close to it), Mayor Lou Barletta is contemplating running for the United States Congress. Again.

This is problematic for the Republican Party (of which I am a member), I think. It seems to me that the reason that the Republicans have had their asses handed to them in recent elections is due in large part to the quality, or lack thereof, of the candidates they are presenting to the American people. Lou Barletta is a prime example of the type of politician that, I think, the Republican Party needs to wash their hands of. I say this for a number of reasons.

For starters, Lou Barletta has accepted campaign money from both convicted drug dealers and dirty politicians. Worse, in the case of the drug dealers (who happen to now be local businessmen in Barletta’s home city of Hazleton), Barletta has defended these scumbags as “decent, hardworking” people. Additionally, Barletta has also built some to ties to known racists and white supremacists. During Barletta’s previous congressional campaign, he was endorsed by David Duke, a self-professed racist and former leader of the Ku Klux Klan. And just recently, Barletta and Peter Brimelow (another admitted white supremacist) served as guest speakers at an event hosted by Pat Buchanan, an event whose theme seemed to be, “Republicans need to get back to our white American roots.” Disgusting.

But wait, it gets worse. Barletta, as mayor, has been a disaster. One of Barletta’s first acts as mayor was to cut the Hazleton Police force in half. Barletta then blamed the resulting rise in crime on an “illegal immigrant crime wave”, which was proven to be an outright lie in Federal Court. Barletta also has drilled the city of Hazleton so far into debt that it will probably take a generation for that city to see the light of day. Then there’s the matter of Barletta receiving a “loan” from a Hazleton bank, the type of loan that never needs to be re-paid and never accrues interest. In attempting to explain this embarrassing little incident away, Barletta ended up offering no less than three different stories in the span of eleven days. And on, and on, and on it goes.

All of this is why I think Lou Barletta should be considered political scum and is an embarrassment to not only the Republican Party, but decent Americans in general. If the Republicans insist of holding people like Lou Barletta up as shining examples of what the Republican Party represents, then they had best be prepared to continue to be embarrassed in epic fashion at the polls. Lou Barletta should NOT be elected to the United States Congress. He doesn’t deserve the opportunity and the American people and Republican party can do better.

-Dan Cheek
www.StopLouBarletta.com
StopLouBarletta@gmail.com

UPDATE:
Perhaps there IS reason to believe that Mayor Barletta cheated on his wife. According to The Accountability Moments Blog , Lou Barletta, several years ago, fathered a child with an underage, illegal immigrant. The website even cites an interview conducted with Barletta in which he doesn’t deny the rumor, directly, but kind of talks around the issue. At any rate, I haven’t seen enough evidence (any evidence, really) that would support such allegations, but still, it does make an interesting read.

Mayor Lou Barletta, I have come to realize, is not a very smart man. However, his latest allegations, in which he blames his opponent, Representative Paul Kanjorski, for the collapsing stock market are beyond belief. That Barletta can pin the blame for all of the current stock market turmoil and financial institution failures on one person says a lot about how out of touch and simplistic Lou Barletta really is.

In a statement, Barletta explains why the stock market has done so poorly as of late, saying…

“Stock markets are plunging and financial institutions are collapsing, and it’s Paul Kanjorski’s fault,” said Hazleton Mayor and 11th Congressional District candidate Lou Barletta. “He was greedy and accepted contributions from the institutions he was supposed to regulate and monitor. Now, the hardworking taxpayers of the 11th District and the United States have to pay the price. Mr. Kanjorski’s greed destroyed the American dream for millions of people. Mr. Kanjorski sold us out and got us into this mess, but now he claims to be coming to our rescue. If he had done his job in the first place and held proper oversight of these institutions and industries, we might not be in this situation. Once again, he put his own personal interests ahead of his constituents, and once again, we’re forced to pay for Mr. Kanjorski’s personal blunder.”

Really? “It’s all Paul Kanjorski’s fault?” Clearly, Lou Barletta has absolutely zero understanding of how financial markets work, of the events surrounding the recent collapse of Lehman Brothers and Bear Sterns, or of the stock market in general. One man did not cause the stock market to plunge, yesterday. One man did not cause Freddy Mac and Fanny May to have to be bailed out by the government. And one man did not bring down Lehman Brothers.

And as for taxpayers being “forced to pay for Mr. Kanjorski’s personal blunder,” let’s take a look at what tax payers have had to pay as a result of Mayor Barletta’s personal blunders. The city of Hazleton is currently swamped with debt, over $2 million, as a direct result of Mayor Barletta attempting to defend his “Illegal Immigration Relief Act” in Federal Court. That defense failed, and the act (one of the most oppressive immigration bills ever enacted in this country) was declared unconstitutional. Worse, Barletta went ahead with this costly legal defense without permission from the city council. Hazleton tax payers are now being drilled into the ground as they have to hand over their money to pay for Barletta’s horrible miscalculation.

So what will Lou Barletta attempt to pin on his opponent, next? The assassination of Abraham Lincoln? The Great Depression? Paris Hilton’s music career? Barletta is a rat of a man and will say anything if he thinks it will get him five minutes of media attention or one more vote in November. His reputation is filthy and full of reasons not to trust a word that comes out of his mouth. Clearly, Lou Barletta should not be elected to the United States Congress.

-Dan Cheek
www.StopLouBarletta.com
StopLouBarletta@gmail.com

An article in the Scranton Times today talks about how Mayor Lou Barletta has rolled out two ads criticizing his opponent, Representative Paul Kanjorski, on various issues. Barletta’s ads slam Kanjorski for helping to get Federal funding for a local business (owned by his family), funding for a public parking garage (to be named after him), and for comments he made about Democratic promises to bring American troops home. Considering Barletta’s record (which is filled with possible illegal bank loans and connections to drug dealers), Barletta would be well served to keep his mouth shut.

Consider this: Lou Barletta has accepted campaign donations from convicted cocaine dealers. Worse, he went on to actually defend these drug dealers as “honorable people”. He has also accepted campaign contributions from Senator Ted Stevens, who has been indicted by a Federal grand jury for accepting bribes from oil lobbyists. There is also controversy surrounding a “loan” made to Barletta by a local bank back in 2002 for $65,000. Barletta has yet to pay back ANY of the “loan”.

Let’s also consider Barletta’s record as mayor of Hazleton. One of his first acts as mayor was to slash the police force in half, then blame the resulting increase in crime on a made-up “illegal immigrant crime wave.” To add insult to injury, Barletta then attempted to defend his extremist “Illegal Immigration Relief Act” in Federal Court. To do so, he used millions of dollars of Hazleton tax dollars…without actually receiving authorization from the Hazleton city council. Hazleton is now strapped with debt and has gained a reputation as one of the most ethnically-intolerant cities in America.

Despite all of this, however, Barletta still has the nerve to launch attacks on his opponent’s reputation. Obviously, Lou Barletta can’t run on his own reputation because, quite honestly, his reputation smells worse than week-old garbage. Barletta is a liar and readily accepts money from convicted cocaine dealers. He is clearly in no position to talk poorly of anyone else.

Lou Barletta is an embarrassment to his city, to Pennsylvania, and to all honest Americans. The fact that this creep is trying to run for Congress is sickening. Mayor Barletta, if elected to the United States Congress, would only continue shame his community and disappoint his constituents. Lou Barletta should not be elected to Congress.

-Dan Cheek
www.StopLouBarletta.com
StopLouBarletta@gmail.com

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