Richard C Olson December 24, 2018
1.
Milwaukee FBI Field Office
3600 S. Lake Drive St. Francis, WI 53235 milwaukee.fbi.gov (414) 276-4684 Dear FBI I request the FBI investigate allege RICO activity in the City of Racine, Wisconsin by an ENTERPRISE operating under the cover of city officials managing government but with the willingness to commit fraud to perpetuate receiving Federal and State Grants some of which are not based on the truth. Corruption feeds itself at the highest levels and the ENTERPRISE operates under the cover of city official positions including the City Attorneys Office as the gateway to forum shop select parts of law to follow and empower the ENTERPRISE to disregard directly appropriate law for the sake of saving money. Attached is a background letter of RICO activities just on the now defunct Machinery Row Development that's been renamed Water Street Development. Additionally, attached is a determination letter from WDOA declaring Machinery Row a PUBLIC PROJECT and demanding the City follow the law which they have not. Finally, attached is a copy of a criminal complaint #17-00217 that was filed with the Racine Sheriff's Office but not investigated. Please read all the attachments and at a minimum read the links included to get a picture of the corrupt roots (printed copy included) https://issuu.com/communicatornews/docs/voice_2018-03_online Racine has a real opportunity to turn the corner and rebuild due to greater business opportunity in the county. Racine has the highest unemployment, worse school system, very high crime but now has a shot at renewal however with a RICO ENTERPRISE in control the opportunities might become self-serving. I am available via email or 920-695-5068 or cell at 847-274-3813 for a phone interview. I live North of Green Bay but will travel to give testimony. I also can provide a list of people for the FBI to interview to further corroborate the political corruption and RICO activity in Racine. Please consider investigating this case to fight governmental corruption for the sake of Racine Taxpayers and also for the sake of the victims of Machinery Row whose relocation rights and civil rights have been denied by these RICO effects. After the Federal Government prosecutes RICO than, the victims will file a State Civil RICO to seek restitution. Sincerely,
Richard C Olson Attachments:
Background Case Information for FBI WDOA determination letter Criminal Case Filing #17-00217 THE VOICE (March 2018)
cc:
FBI Headquarters 935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20535-0001 (202) 324-3000
Richard C Olson
Background Case Information for FBI Investigation
on behalf of
Marquette Distribution Center, LLC 615 Marquette St, Racine, WI 53403 Richard C Olson, member MDC, LLC Urban Sustainable Aquaponics LLC as tenant of MDC, LLC Richard C Olson, member USA, LLC Marquette Warehouse, LLC 526 S Marquette, Racine, Wisconsin 53403 Racine Indoor Motocross LLC as tenant of MW, LLC Richard C Olson, member MW, LLC Richard C Olson, member RIMX, LLC Riverside Business Center, LLC 900 Water Street, Racine, WI 53403 Richard C Olson, member RBC, LLC Richard C Olson, owner of real property 900 Water, Racine, WI 53403
Patrick Michael Fagen (PMF) dba P&P Products as tenant of MDC, LLC
Additional Parties Azarian Companies et al Azarian Marina Azarian Wrecking Azar LLC Sam Azarian 740 Water Street, Racine, WI 53403 Other tenants of RBC,LLC Other tenants of MDC,LLC
Other owners and tenants of 820 Water Street, Racine, WI 53403
VIOLATION OF CIVIL RIGHTS (Title 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983-1986); RICO (42 U.S.C. §§ 1961-1966); CONSPIRACY; FRAUD; BRIBRY; MONEY LAUNDERING WITH PREDICTS VIOLATING FEDERAL AND STATE STATUES AND COMMON LAW
December, 2018
Topic:
I allege a RICO Enterprise under the cover of City of Racine and RDA operates under a broad conspiracy using fraudulent practices including fraudulent loan conditions, bribery, money laundering, secret agreements, secret meetings, closed public records, selectively forum-shopped law and conspired to violate predicate issues of law that provide Due Process, Civil Rights, Just Compensation, Relocation Benefits and Reestablishment Business Benefits under URA (1970) US Ch 61,Wis Ch32, Wis Admin 92, and Wis Act 243 to the owners and tenants of Machinery Row, Racine, Wisconsin, a public project, all under the legal endorsement and mandated supervision of the City Attorney Scott Letteney, a founding Enterprise member. Concurrently, the ENTERPRISE operating under cover as City and RDA discriminated by selectively provided tenant relocation benefits and reestablishment benefits to a Racine County Supervisor and non-profit Racine Baseball Cooperative within the same riverfront TIF district under the same redevelopment master plan that created Machinery Row and was partially funded with Federal and State Funds. All Machinery Row owners and tenants did not receive equal treatment under law and this violates their civil rights.
I believe this is a unique RICO CASE where there is public loan fraud, bribery, money laundering and conspiracy to conceal and disguise the use of public money through a self serving informal Enterprise that conspire at the highest planning levels to deny owner's and tenant's rights under law, and selectively provided benefits to a public official and a cooperative while denying benefits to other taxpayers.
FRAUD
ENTERPRISE operating under cover as City officials using public resources to enhance one’s visibility in the community and, hence, chances for re-election or others increasing their power of influence were part of the deception. The criminal fraud includes:
•
ENTERPRISE operating under cover as City officials failed to disclose a material fact that they knew about
•
ENTERPRISE operating under cover as City official's silence misled the City of Racine Alderman and Taxpayers
•
ENTERPRISE operating under cover as City officials knew that keeping silent would mislead the City of Racine Alderman, Taxpayer and the officials kept silent to mislead
•
Racine Alderman and Taxpayers relied on ENTERPRISE operating under cover as City official’s misinterpretation of the facts, and the Taxpayers suffered damages as a result
•
Misconduct in public office
•
Federal HUD and EPA monies were to be used for the project
•
Malfeasance in office
Enterprise members used local police power strong arm tactics under threat of purchase option cancellation to force seller to make at his expense; building code improvements to properties, pay additional property taxes, pay incremental buyer side legal fees, and forced seller to vacate tenants and sweep clean the property causing delays on closing two properties causing extreme economic harm to the owners and tenants. Furthermore, benefit denial continues today, 48 months later, with similar pattern and practice of repeatedly denying benefits based on the statute of limitations under Wisc Ch 32 law, a law that Enterprise heretofore was disregarding and conspiring to circumvent. Since August 2014, these patterns of action by Enterprise under cover of the City and RDA has handcuffed and crippled the earning power for the owners and tenants with no relief in sight.
Purpose:
To expose the crimes of those given the privilege to responsibly manage and govern the assets of the City of Racine for all taxpayers. Request the FBI to investigate and provide evidence for DOJ to prosecute CRIMINAL RICO and the resulting evidence confirmed and given the light of day will help facilitate relief for those seeking protections and relief under Title 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983-1986); CIVIL RICO (42 U.S.C. §§ 1961-1966). Machinery Row prior owners and tenants have collectively been denied Federal and State rights and benefits of; property sale procedural rights including appraisals, relocation benefits, reestablishment benefits, a relocation specialist working to benefit the displaced, tenant and owner just compensation rights, civil rights and due process by the conspiracy patterns and practices of Enterprise under cover of the City of Racine and the RDA.
Background:
Olson, Jensen, and Azarian where property owners involved in selling downtown riverfront properties to a third party developer who, in hindsight, became an actor, cast as a willing developer but was in reality a pawn STRAWMAN for the City of Racine and RDA to secure a Nine Million Dollar State Tax Credit ($9,000,000.00) and facilitate direct public acquisition of the land and buildings intentionally circumventing Public Acquisition Law for a public project. This conspiracy involved Mayor Dickert, City Administrator Freidel, City Attorney Letteney and others via secret dealings with a private developer including cash schemes involving undisclosed and fraudulent applications of public loan funds. These public players operated an informal Enterprise that facilitated a public loan that included a secret source funded escrow to reimburse due diligent expenses back to the developer from loan proceeds without disclosure of source of funds to the public or use of loan escrow funds to City Council. In reality, the public loan was for more money than the purchase price of the property but this fact was undisclosed by the Mayor, City Administrator, and City Attorney before the city council blindly voted to authorize the loan. This non-recourse public loan was secured with a title in lieu agreement kept secret at the time of loan. This circumvention and complete disregard of law was approved by the City Attorney in secret meetings and closed sessions. The City Attorney claims client attorney privilege for all written correspondence from his office to control evidence and keep information from the public.
Secretive dealings that are not in the public interest continue even with open records law. https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2018/09/19/wisconsin-open-records-fight-plays-outsecrecy/1307258002/
https://journaltimes.com/opinion/editorial/journal-times-editorial-letteney-weidner-feud-shrouded-insecrecy/article_a0333f39-c667-5539-8ee7-cdeaed8baaa1.html
The motive for the conspiracy was to avoid the costs associated with following both Federal and Wisconsin State laws that govern public use or public purpose projects using public money. These laws establish a protocol for public acquisition including property appraisals, just compensation, relocation benefits, reestablishment benefits and more. Although this project I believe contributed to the premature resignation of both the former City Mayor and former City Administrator, I believe the remaining Enterprise conspirators including the City Attorney Scott Letteney, a new City Development Office director Amy Connolly, and new Mayor Mason continue to disregard Federal and State public acquisition law to this day.
Talking Racine, a weekly internet You-Tube Talk Show, has researched the chronology of events that publicly established Machinery Row(public project)and through broadcasts continues to inform the public of the failure of City officials to manage city developments within the legal framework outline under Wisconsin and Federal law. The following link is a published document that orchestrates the sequence of events under Machinery Row: https://issuu.com/communicatornews/docs/voice_201803_online
https://issuu.com/communicatornews/docs/voice_2018-03_online
An early watchdog reporter, Dennis Montey, filed a criminal complaint with law enforcement that outlines alleged criminal dealings with respect to Machinery Row by City Officials. This complaint outlines conspiracy and public deception at the highest level within the City and it is no surprise that this complaint has not been investigated in the current governing culture in Racine. The complete copy of the complaint is attached.
Legal focus of this letter should question the liability of Enterprise members operating as ENTERPRISE under the cover of City of Racine and RDA, after the WDOA informed the City of Racine and RDA that they did not follow the law. The WDOA's letter to PMF, tenant of 615 South Marquette that was a phase II building purchase, determined PMF as displaced and illegible for benefits under Wisconsin Chapter 32. PMF, received a letter form WDOA (Wisconsin Department of Administration) dated June 9, 2017 that determined the entire Machinery Row acquisition was a public project as public monies were used, and the properties are adjacent to each other and under a consolidated and dependent phase I and phase II option agreement. A copy of the determination letter is attached. Enterprise, assistant city attorney Larsen, initially disputed the determination, but slowly followed the determination by hiring a relocation specialist(Enterprise Laura Saddler) under a non public bidding process and the city council authorized $50,000 (max limit without competitive bid process). Just a few weeks later the city council authorized additional relocation specialist funds of another $150,000. I believe the city council was led down the path of no bid /low bid/expanded bid contract authorization under tactics conspired by Enterprise under cover of the City and RDA to pick a specialist that would stall the process to reach December 31, 2017(two year threshold of statue of limitations) without the City or RDA processing any relocation or reestablishment payments. Currently, the City and RDA has authorized to pay the relocation specialist more than the total of all approved relocation claims for near 20 entities that occupied Machinery Row. That ratio does not pass anyone's smell test as legitimate. PMF has strong voice recorded evidence from multiple sources documenting fraud by Laura Saddler. Amy Connolly, new director of RDA fraudulently back dated the relocation documents submitted to Civil Court in order to erroneously show RDA relocation planning efforts 12 months before it happened.
Originally, only private money was planned for acquisition under the private developer option agreements, and the buyer, Financial District Properties (FDP) an organization established under Iowa laws, was to purchase all phase I and phase II properties within 90 days. Olson negotiated $4.5 million, Jensen $1.9 million, and Azarian $1.1 million for their respective properties. The initial option and two renewals of these options prices happened during 2014, yet Enterprise kept Olson from closing with in 90 days on phase II property and demanded a $1.3 million lower price for phase II option values. Enterprise, under cover of City of Racine, controlled the Loan, Purchase, and all documents after FDP sent an email in August 2014 announcing they were abandoning the project. For FDP to abandon the
project would mean the $9,000,000.00 OF HISTORIC TAX CREDIT FOR 900 WATER STREET (Olson's property)would be lost and this motivation brewed a conspiracy.
FDP was willing to walk away because they could not secure financing for the project coupled with marketplace disinterest in signing nonbinding letters of intent to lease space. FDP had already spent a couple hundred thousand dollars and therefore was most interested in cutting their losses in an activity that continued to drain needed cash for other FDP operations. Enterprise, led by Mayor Dickert (former real estate broker),Tom Friedel (City Administrator) and Scott Letteney(City Attorney) hatched a plan to save the $9,000,000.00 (Nine Million USD) in Historical Tax Credits and provide time to find another developer. FDP was cast by ENTERPRISE as an effective (willingly or unwillingly) STRAWMAN since the reward (BRIBE) would fully recover all of FDP's prior investment and fund Jim Bowman's success based commission. FDP, therefore, had NO RISK, NO RECOURSE and NO ADDITIONAL COLLATERAL to pledge for the $4.5 million loan from the City of Racine and was immediately allocated $350,000 into a FDP controlled escrow account. The loan involved an agreement between FDP and CITY for a joint title document with the condition of title in lieu of foreclosure as loan security. Under this secret shadow plan, the quit claim deed was filed on December 31, 2017 two years after the final closing of the last building in Phase II. Enterprise Friedel appease the public scrutiny by repeatedly claiming FDP property taxes were paid and remain current under the loan agreement. Dickert and Friedel failed to disclose that the public loan secretly funded an escrow for taxes and other repayments on behalf of FDP. Additionally, FDP appeared publicly to remain as owner of Machinery Row https://journaltimes.com/business/local/machinery-row-obstacle-removed/article_b7bdefcf-898f-5f08abaa-cb479d91fc89.html even after FDP signed over the title, Enterprise Letteney delayed registering the deed to perpetuate the scheme in order to commit another FRAUD against the WDNR and it's Federal Funding Sources. City registered title change on December 31, 2017 two years after the last closing in the name of RDA. Actually the tax payment dollars were an undisclosed part of the public loan held in escrow and extorted from the sellers as an undisclosed price reduction for authorized loan value. The underlying strategy was to position the RDA to have control over the property and control over the $9 million in tax credit with the flexibility to assign the tax credit to another developer by bribing the FDP/STRAWMAN, effectively paying FDP $350,000.00 for expense reimbursements and disregarding chapter 32 public acquisition law. Evidence that supports FDP as truly a STRAWMAN is exposed by the ENTERPRISE fraud on the WDNR. A scheme was hatched for the RDA to buy enough land from FDP to create a river-walk at Machinery Row. About 5 acres were carved out and valued at $940,000 where FDP donated 50% in-kind land value and WDNR donated $470,000 Cash funded by a Knowles-Nelsen Grant. Title to this section of land was deed to the RDA for development yet the $470,000 was placed in an escrow controlled exclusively by the “real owner� of Machinery Row, the City of Racine. Now, if FDP was the owner it would have received the cash but, follow the money to find the real owner. The ENTERPRISE members control the RDA and they control the City. The City and RDA yet separate legal entities are controlled by the same people and in as much these people defrauded the WDNR out of $470,000 Cash by selling the land to it's own controlled entity without full disclosure. Now another escrow fund exists that is money not under the financial control of the city council but is used at the discretion of the ENTERPRISE members who control the RDA and City. This smells like RICO.
When the conspiracy was devised between September through December 2014 and carried out by Dickert, Friedel, City Development planning staff, the City Attorney Letteney or Assistant City Attorney Larsen should have stepped up with the legal requirements for a Public Sale. Instead, they publicly allowed a deception against all the owners and tenants at Machinery Row along with the taxpayers of Racine. This is a complete failure of the City Attorney's and Assistant City Attorney's judiciary responsibility to the taxpayers and certainly to his/her professional and ethical standard to uphold the law. This deception was effective until Talking Racine's You-Tube Talk Show, Dennis Montey's Criminal Complaint against Racine, and Patrick Fagan's filing of an administrative claim with WDOA that exposed the Shadow Conspiracy orchestrating an intentional disregard of Federal and State Public Acquisition Law. All three of these investigative efforts were independent actions designed to seek the truth and expose the denied due process of law for occupants of Machinery Row.
Patrick Fagan's letter from the WDOA is the cornerstone discovery that declared Machinery Row a Public Project. This WDOA letter dated June 9th is the DATE OF DISCOVERY�of harm. The assistant city attorney Larsen challenged this determination but WDOA's determination held and Terra Venture, a relocation specialist was hired in July and first met with the displaced victims in August 2017. Olson also filed administrative claims with WDOA seeking relocation benefits, reimbursement for costs prohibited under Federal URA of 1970, and just compensation for unfair dealing on an option price.
Estoppel can be invoked to preclude a defense time line for statue of limitations when the defendant is guilty of fraudulent or inequitable conduct. Certainly, Enterprise members under cover of Racine and the RDA are guilty of less than fair and equitable conduct in disregard of both Wisconsin Ch 32 and Wis Admin Ch 92 along with the Federal Uniform Relocation Act of 1970.
Both Fagan and Olson engaged Alan Marcuwitz of Von Briesen Law Firm to represent their individual interests against the City of Racine and the RDA for this unlawful deception and outright disregard for Public Acquisition Federal and State Law depriving both Fagan and Olson of their rights and due process.
Alan Marcuwitz is considered a Super Lawyer and an expert in the field of Eminent Domain Law. Marcuwitz however, failed Fagan and Olson as clients by dragging out representation without submission of administrative claims, reimbursement claims, relocation claims, reestablishment claims, or just compensation claims. In an email to Marcuwitz on October 23, 2017 Fagan asked if there was a conflict of interest delaying progress in that Marcuwitz was also representing another Racine County interest in the FOXCONN eminent domain effort. The next day October 24, 2018 representation was terminated for both Fagan and Olson. Marcuwitz, may have had an extraordinary opportunity to file Just Compensation within the estoppel redefined date of discovery for harm and file claims within an arguable new starting date for the statue of limitations.
The time line is as follows: statue of Limitation days June 9, 2017
1
FAGAN'S WDOA LETTER
DATE OF DISCOVERY
June 26, 2017
17
Olson WDOA response
July 5, 2017
26
First meeting with Marcuwitz
July 10, 2017
31
Engaged Von Briesen with Marcuwitz
July 17, 2017
38
Olson response to WDOA thru Marcuwitz
July 25, 2017
46
Received introduction letter from Terra Venture
July 31,2017
50
Provided detailed spreadsheets of damages
August 10, 2017
60
Conference with Terra Venture at Von Briesen office
August 16, 2017
66
Terra Venture toured empty buildings
August 31, 2017
81
September 30, 2017
121
Statue of Limitations is 120 days
October 23, 2017
144
Fagan email re: FOXCONN conflict of interest?
October 24, 2017
145
Letter of termination by Marcuwitz
LETTER OF ENGAGEMENT
STATUE LIMIT
TERMINATION
October 24, 2017
Letter from Olson asking Marcuwitz to reconsider
Both Fagan and Olson believe that Marcuwitz was negligent and failed his clients by not filing immediate claims administratively and further filing a law suit in Civil Court to argue rights under Wisc Ch 32, Wis Admin 92, 42 USC, URA, and due process denied both Olson and Fagan under the 5th and 14th Amendment for just compensation for private property rights. The statute of limitations threshold of 120 days for just compensation after the DATE OF DISCOVERY became a lost opportunity due to Marcuwitz inaction and caused grave loss to Fagan and Olson.
This statute of limitations issue is one of the most important factors in the deception by the City of Racine and RDA saying that Machinery Row was not a Public Project. The City and RDA needed only to get past the 120 day threshold and then delay for the remaining two years to avoid all legal exposure.
An effort was made to mitigate the damages from Marcuwitz's negligence and termination, as Fagan and Olson hired a local lawyer. This lawyer admittedly did not have the eminent domain expertise nor the storied Appellate Court experience of Marcuwitz dealing with local governments with public acquisition. The new lawyer filed a Federal action thinking the Federal Court had jurisdiction over Wisconsin State court.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN
CIVIL ACTION NO 17-01802
This action consolidated just compensation claims, relocation claims and reinstatement claims for a group of occupants in various buildings in Machinery Row. It turned out filing in Federal Court was a mistake since Chapter 32 filings require Wisconsin Civil action first in the county where the problem occurred. The defense response claimed the action was prematurely filed with unripe claims and moot claims for Federal Court before all claims were argued under chapter 32 in Wisconsin Civil Court. As a response to FEDERAL CIVIL ACTION NO 17-01802 dismissal a new action was filed in Racine County focused only on relocation and reestablishing the businesses involved. This action is still in process.
STATE OF WISCONSIN CIRCUIT COURT RACINE COUNTY
CASE NO. 18 CV 1250 Olson v City CASE NO.17-CV-1703 Fagan v City
Making the problem worse was that the Federal public project acquisition for the just compensation claims were dismissed with prejudice, now making it more difficult to refile the Federal claims. Olson was not informed about the prejudice dismissal until after the fact. The Federal claim was filed because the case for just compensation is stronger and the law discourages defendants of forum-shopping and avoidance of inequitable administration of the laws. In contrast,Wisconsin Chapter 32 lacks enforcement capacity other than damages if the offending agency gets caught and prosecuted. The Federal Court has the ability to withhold all Federal Funds for two years if the law is not followed clearly forcing a defendant to comply. Olson has been denied due process several times; first, by Racine and RDA guided by Enterprise conspiracy, loan fraud and money laundering while disregarding Chapter 32 and Federal Law, a second time by Marcuwitz negligence to file claims within 120 days, and a third time by the new lawyer filing moot and unripe claims in Federal Court. It might be possible to petition to the judge to reopen the Federal Claim after the current Wisconsin Civil action based on the fact that Olson was informed of dismissal with prejudice after the fact. Olson believes CIVIL RICO is a more powerful direction but only after confirmation of facts by a criminal investigation by the WDOJ or FBI.
Racine has evolved into a political culture unlike any other in Wisconsin. Laws are ignored and twisted to a bias benefit for those people endorsed and defended by the city attorney or for a select group of connected people that surround him and other key leaders. The Civil Court should be independent but often bends to the argument of the city. Today, there is even a case where a local judge sealed all public records for a case against an alderman who is not part of the connected group of city attorney's protected players. How can public records be sealed and information kept from the light of day? Reporters are finally on the case and will hopefully keep the public informed. See links:
https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2018/09/25/judge-delays-contempt-hearing-secretracine-open-records-case/1421017002/
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/wisconsin/articles/2018-09-24/alderwoman-facescontempt-of-court-in-records-case
https://journaltimes.com/news/local/weidner-faces-contempt-of-court-in-recordscase/article_4370d2cd-90b9-59d5-ae0a-f3c2bcc44e9f.html https://www.wlip.com/alderwoman-faces-contempt-of-court-in-records-case/
https://wislawjournal.com/2018/09/25/alderwoman-says-open-records-contempt-hearing-postponed/
https://reason.com/volokh/2018/09/24/secret-litigation-over-secret-city-counc
https://www.westplainsdailyquill.net/national_news/article_17131b79-9701-5dee-9fac6540d2aa0381.html
I mention this alderwoman case because she has a past of unknowingly challenging Enterprise members operating under cover of City and RDA for relocation and reestablishment benefits for the displaced people of Machinery Row. In fact, some of her emails of interest in her “SEALED� case may involve Machinery Row issues of secrecy. Conclusion: RICO can be based on predicate acts that are state law violations, a plaintiff can use civil RICO to obtain a remedy for predicate state law violations, even if the statute of limitations for those predicate violations has expired. This method of circumventing a state statute of limitations was successfully accomplished by the plaintiff in Agency Holding Corp. v. Malley-Duff & Associates, Inc. Fraud, Bribery, and Money Laundering are all predicate acts under RICO makes it increasing easy to seek remedies for violation that are essentially common law fraud violations by using federal RICO actions. I believe the FBI can investigate and the DOJ can bring a Federal RICO action against Enterprise that will effectively provide court confirmed evidence for a CIVIL RICO action by the victims of Machinery Row.
I no longer work in Racine but will be available for an FBI investigation effort.
Regards
Richard Olson
Criminal Complaint 17-00217 WDOA letter to Fagan