Faked Subpoenas, Two Guys and a Law Firm or…Why I Did Not Become a Lawyer.

I thought about becoming a lawyer.  I was pre-law by default due to my choice of major.  Civil Rights or Environmental Law seemed honorable fields at the time.  Every lawyer I spoke with in those areas assured me I was destined for poverty…and advised that the profession was so sleazy in general, I would not be able to stomach it.

I got another big taste of that professional sleaziness this past week when Mayor Adam Paul received two fabricated subpoenas from Lewis, Rice & Fingersh each with a $33 check attached from the firm operating account to compensatbe him for time and travel expenses.  Both were supposedly issued under the authority of the City of Ellisville in the matter related to the Revocation of the (now expired) Conditional Use Permit for the Sansone Wal-Mart Project.  The only problem:  The City Council NEVER voted, as required by Municipal Code, to issue a subpoena to Mayor Paul directing him to appear in the offices of Lewis, Rice & Fingersh on Monday, September 23, 2013 at 9:30 AM.  Oops…

Open Letter to the Residents of Ellisville

Residents of Ellisville,

It has come to my attention that Ellisville residents received an unsolicited survey (via US Mail) asking if you are in favor of the Wal-Mart project. This survey was NOT paid for or authorized by the City of Ellisville. Subsequently, the city would be unable to verify the validity of its results.

I question any survey in which the name of the survey respondent is ‘optional’, no digital record/receipt exists, and the person(s) who paid for it remains anonymous.

For two years our City has been somewhat divided over whether or not to use TIF (tax incentives) for a new Wal-Mart. Some of our residents still believe that the proposed WalMart was going to be built at the corner of Kiefer Creek and Manchester where two large vacant dealerships currently sit. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The proposed Wal-Mart would’ve been built where 23 apartment buildings and 3 small businesses currently stand. With that said, any municipality that moves forward with a Wal-Mart project of this magnitude will undoubtedly draw criticism, media attention, and spark heated debates. This especially holds true when it involves the use of tax subsidies going towards a project that removes fellow residents.

Mayor Paul Permanently Reinstated

“Had a judge come in and said ‘yeah, what the city did was wrong. Adam Paul didn’t do anything illegal,’ then I would’ve resigned, Pirrello explained. “But a judge never said that.”
-Matt Perrillo July 23rd, 2013 to KMOX

July 1st, 2013: Ruling from St. Louis County Circuit Court permanently reinstating Ellisville Mayor Adam Paul.

“…I did, in fact, say that I would resign.  But I didn’t say if he was temporarily reinstated.  The comment that I made was that if a judge overrules the city’s petition, uh, to have him removed from office… overrules that and re-seats him permanently that I would, in fact, resign.”
-Matt Perrillo June 11th, 2013 speaking on the McGraw Milhaven Show, KTRS

From Ballwin-Ellisville Patch story, May 8, 2013:
“In a session following the official meeting, Pirrello answered questions posed during the public comment period. He said he would “resign from office” if a judge determined the city was in the wrong in regard to the Paul impeachment. ”

Violation of Missouri Records Law – Deletion of Ellisville Municipal Emails

To:  Mayor Adam Paul, Ellisville City Council Members, Attorney General Chris Koster, Brenda Siegler, and residents of Ellisville.

Date:  June 14, 2013

Re:  Violation of Missouri Records Law – Deletion of Ellisville Municipal Emails.

See – The Records Law (Mo. Rev. Stat. §§109.200 – 109.310)

Attached (and linked below) is a pdf chapter of the Missouri Bar Media Law Handbook that I cited at the City Council Special Session June 12, 2013 during the public comments portion of the meeting.

To reiterate, I have received numerous complaints regarding public records requests.  Most recently, these disturbing complaints specifically concern the regular monthly deletion of Ellisville official city emails and the requirement to retain them as public records (The Records Law.)  According to this document, generally, official city emails must be retained for a minimum of three years (with some exceptions.)

A Modest Proposal From A Resident

Pursuant to the following:

Municipal Code of The City of Ellisville

SECTION 115.170:     DESIGNATION OF ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEYS — SPECIAL COUNSEL

Assistant City Attorneys may be appointed from time to time by the Council, if deemed necessary.  The Council may also employ special counsel from time to time as it deems necessary after first considering no less than three (3) individual names submitted for evaluation.  At least four (4) members of the Council must approve the employment of special counsel to serve a general or specific legal purpose until such time that the nature of the matter or matters is resolved or new special counsel is employed by the Council.  Attendance of special counsel at any meeting, other than for a “regular meeting” or “closed meeting” at which the specific matter or matters for which he/she was employed to represent the City is discussed, must be requested in writing to the City Clerk or her/his designee by at least four (4) members of the Council.  Said written request shall be given either prior to or during the meeting.  (R.O. 2005 §2-128; Ord. No. 2186 §4, 8-6-97).

The Cost of Stupidity.

Great editorial from the Show Me Institute’s David Stokes in the June 5th, 2013 St. Louis Post-Dispatch, regarding the role of city manager and situation in Ellisville:  article

How much has the Ellisville Debacle of 2013 cost us so far?   Beyond the embarrassment that Perrillo and the previous council has brought upon Ellisville, there’s a very real monetary cost to taxpayers.

See for yourself…

Paul Martin Invoice (added April 25th, 2013)

Casey Communications Invoice (added April 25th, 2013)

Request_of_public_records

Cheung Invoice 1

Cheung Invoice 2

Maupin Invoice

Scenes from the May 1st, 2013 Council Meeting:

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Deposition, Petition for Damages, and Related Documents

Petition for Damages

Below is a link to the suit filed by Adam Paul against Paul Martin et al…

Paul_v_Martin_et_al_Petition_4-17-13

On February 27th, the council adopted the preliminary resolution for removal and City Attorney Paul Martin was to immediately keep an arms-length away. Below are two PDF files…

The first pdf is an email in which Martin clearly states that he can’t participate in the hearing because he is a witness and there exists a conflict of interest.

Exhibits 1

The second are emails and supporting documentation in which Paul Martin sends the hearing officer what the conclusion of law should be and a draft of the final removal resolution.

Exhibits 2

Paul Martin Deposition

Below are the links to the transcripts (in three parts) of the deposition of Ellisville City Attorney Paul Martin.  Each part is offered in two formats, one a .ptx format which requires a viewer, and the other a PDF file.  To view the transcript via the viewer you will need to first download it.  After you have this installed, you will then be able to load and view the linked files.  Otherwise, the PDF is offered.

Download the E-Transcript viewer application to load the linked .ptx transcript files:
http://info.legalsolutions.thomsonreuters.com/software/ebundle/viewer/default.aspx

If you need to, you can download Adobe Reader for free at http://get.adobe.com/reader/

Paul Martin Deposition Part I  (Requires Viewer, download above)
Martin, Paul Deposition – Vol 1 (PDF)

Paul Martin Deposition Part II (Requires Viewer, download above)
Martin, Paul Deposition – Vol 2 (PDF)

Paul Martin Deposition Part III (Requires Viewer, download above)
Martin, Paul Deposition – Vol 3 (PDF)

Emails 1 (PDF)

Emails 2 (PDF)

Emails 3 (PDF)

Related articles

• Ouster of Ellisville mayor was planned for months by city attorney and councilman, records show (stltoday.com)
• City Attorneys, TIFs, Nausea, Vomiting. (supportmayorpaul.wordpress.com)

Final Survey Results & More

May 2, 2013

Ellisville, MO: Epicenter of a Political Revolution

 

 

April 17, 2013 Council Meeting
Scenes from the Council Meeting last night (courtesy of the St. Louis Beacon)

Michelle Murray’s “Swan Song”

 

Adam Paul Vows to Return

 

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• Attached are the final Ellisville Resident Survey results:  Final Ellisville Resident Survey

With the hearings behind us, please consider the following….

• Kangaroo court, not even following the City Charter they claim to “uphold”:
  
  Kangaroo Court

• Special Counsel?  Expensive Counsel:  Not-so-special Counsel

Dear Ellisville Residents

 “It is the people who control the Government, not the Government the
people.” – Winston Churchill

Dear Ellisville Residents,

Our community is receiving tremendous attention focused on the actions of our City Council in suspending Mayor Adam Paul.  Whether you support the Council’s actions or want Mayor Paul to remain in office, it is critical that the residents of Ellisville engage in the process to ensure that our democratic process remains intact.

City Attorneys, TIFs, Nausea, Vomiting.

As I awakened this morning, I found the following the news story  by Stephen Deere plastered on the front page of STL Today (Post-Dispatch):

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/plotting-revenge-or-following-orders-ellisville-city-attorney-at-center/article_e512fb36-2597-5a14-b7f9-5676bf22020c.html

In the opening paragraphs, the story enumerates how much the attorney’s firm has billed Ellisville for his services over the last five years, including $115,000.00 last year.