I think Ron Mercier was a victim of political payback and that is why he was fired by the City Manager for stealing gas while his boss stoled..er ‘borrowed” city owned property, used city workers and gas to power them, was fined $5,000 by the State Ethics Commission and kept his job.

I have zero issue with the police or someone investigating what is going on NOW to insure things like that no longer occur.

However, I think it is a steaming pile of crap to waste any man hours and the money spent for the time it will take to look into something that MAY and let’s be 100% clear here it is only MAY have happened 9 years ago based largely on the words of a disgruntled former worker and a lawyer hired to try and save his butt at a trial.

New councilor John Leahy pointed that out Tuesday Night saying “We shouldn’t chase after stuff coming out of a trial.”

Hos many man hours of IG, FBI. HUD and every other alphabetical division was spent searching for non existing illegally dumped Asbestos on the word of another disgruntled employee who had a grudge and agenda? He was incompetent at his job yet the Newspaper especially treated his word has gold because it fit the Political Agenda of the Editor/Publisher which was and still is in my humble opinion to try and get Dr. Gary Wallace because try as they might they can’t get Kendall Wallace out of the SUN!

What we do know has FACT about the Julian Steel Project is this:

1. Upon completing the transfer of each JDS family the LHA shall convey title of all lands and buildings, including all structures above ground and all subsurface components to the the RFDC.

2. The RFDC shall immediately be responsible for the demolition and to dispose of the debris in accordance with the law.

3. The City of Lowell through municipal bonds shall pay up to $1,000,000 for the cost of the demolition.

4. The RFDC awarded the demo contract to a company called S and R.

5. The demolition was handled entirely by S and R has far as any records show. No one at the LHA knows anything about supposedly 40 units done by City of Lowell workers.

6.The water meters owned by the city were not attached to LHA buildings, they were out on the city sidewalks underground with trap doors covering them.

An LHA Official who I asked about the demolition and the City workers stealing had this to say on the supposed WINDFALL by City workers..

” I don’t know how they would have done that, during the relocation the LHA had offices on site that housed relocation coordinators and hired night time security details to protect the safety of the remaining residents.”

Why do councilors and the newspaper seem to think that people who have been fired for one reason or another are more credible than people still employed or the Manager?

They have an ax to grind and should be looked at with the knowledge that they are pissed off and disgruntled and were fired for either being an incompetent idiot or for stealing because ‘everyone did it.”

In 2003 copper was worth between $1,400/ $2,000 a ton. There is 2,000 pounds in a ton so copper was about worth about $1.00 a pound. It wasn’t until late 2003 and early 2004 the price began to move upwards. Prices continued to climb higher during 2004 and 2005, reaching $4,500 a ton at the end of that year ($2.25 a pound).

So how much could someone really make and how did they transport it without anyone noticing a huge truck hauling away TONS??

Just like the Bayliss situation unnecessarily cost the city money for the Manager to get rid of him, this wild useless goose chase looking for someone to say something credible and find out how supposedly tons and tons of material was carted away is a useless endeavor.

A fact that is being ignored is according to contracts signed at the time, ALL demolition should have been done by S and R and if it wasn’t they NOT the city were the wronged party and yet there is no record of them complaining or saying they were screwed by city workers. Shouldn’t they be the ones complaining?

How after 9 years does anyone remember anything that will stand up in court and why are we blindly willing to accept the words of fired, disgruntled employees to cost taxpayers dollars chasing after things they say?

This goose chase is a total waste of time and money and should stop before it starts. Councilor Mercier should withdraw that request and start looking at things she can effect.

Make sure the city does have a policy about scrap, make sure dept. heads know and follow it and make sure the Manager is meeting with all dept. heads and communicating with the Council and stop chasing ghost that will result in nothing but cost of time and taxpayers dollars.

Did the city in 2003 have a written policy concerning scrap? For that matter do they now?

The LHA did and does and when I asked about it, was told;

‘We do have a procedure in place for dealing with scrap metals and white goods (refrigerators, stoves) and that there is very minimal scrap copper on an annual basis, it generally runs about $1,000 per year.”

Isn’t their a statute of limitations for theft? Can we go back 9 years and prove beyond a reasonable doubt the exact amount of money someone MAY have received from stealing?? And how much do we spend in man hours to find this out?

All the alphabet divisions that looked into the Inspection/LHA Issue ended up with NOTHING but a slap on the wrist for nOT doing enough testing BEFore hand, NO Proof of Asbestos, Illegal Dumping or wrong doing at a cost of thousands of dollars and time spent by people who could be looking into real issues.

Doesn’t this apply to any ability to prosecute anyway?

An indictment for any other crime shall be found and filed within 6 years after such crime has been committed. Any period during which the defendant is not usually and publicly a resident within the commonwealth shall be excluded in determining the time limited?