It Is Good To Be King (or the Mayor of Collegeville)

Several folks have written to me regarding the Stagliano's (Albert and Teresa) the Mayor and the Vice-President of Collegeville Council respectively. One person even sent a picture (left) of the Mayor's car parked in a fire zone right under the fire zone sign! I am told this picture is right next to The Pizza Stop Restaurant where you will often see cars parked in this fire zone including the Mayor's car and that of his wife, Teresa Stagaliano, Vice-President of Collegeville Council and also a licensed barber who works at the barber shop.

The resident who sent the picture asked me in their e-mail if the Mayor is "above the law"? Based upon the picture and them telling me that cars are parked all day long in a fire zone with no police action I could only reply "I guess so"! We thought this warranted more investigating so we could bring you the whole story.

Well it turns out to appear that Mayor Stagliano believes he is above the law. I am told by one of the folks from Collegeville who is "in the know" that shortly after being elected Mayor, Stagliano got all fired up and instructed the Collegeville Police Chief NOT to ticket him or anyone else for parking in a fire zone in the shopping center where the Stagliano's have their barber shop. Sergeant Bruce Penuel was just doing his job when he attempted to ticket the Mayor's car. The Collegeville Police do a great job and had always done an admirable job of policing the fire zones within Collegeville Borough. Not any more as the Mayor has seen fit to put his own interests before those of the public and their safety.

This "power trip" with the Stagliano's goes FAR beyond parking in fire zones. In early 2006 it came to the attention of Trappe Council that one of the representatives for Trappe on CTMA and Collegeville-Trappe Joint Public Works (CTJPW), Ernest Schmitt. Council was told:

• Mr. Schmitt was not a resident of Trappe Borough (and admitted in a court deposition that he had not been a resident for over 4 years)


• Listed his mailing address as that of the CTJPW building on First Avenue in Trappe on all official correspondence for CTMA and CTJPW so he could "hide" the fact that he eally had been living Lower Frederick Township for the past 4 years


• Was an employee of CTJPW and had voted to raise his own salary several times (up to $30,000.00 per year) without the consent, as required, from the Collegeville and Trappe Borough Councils'


• Was Treasurer of CTJPW (you cannot be an employee and a officer of such an entity)

With this information Trappe Council had no choice but to request Mr. Schmitt's resignation. He refused to resign in spite of the evidence presented to him that he did not meet the requirements to be a representative for CTMA or CTJPW.

It took the legal action of the Montgomery County DA, Bruce Castor, wherein Mr. Castor threatens legal action to force Mr. Schmitt to resign. During this whole scenario I am told and the meeting minutes show that Teresa Stagliano got pretty damn angry and defended Mr. Schmitt. Trappe Officials asked why she was interfering with Trappe Council? Mrs. Stagliano would not reply. Shortly after Trappe was successful in removing Mr. Schmitt, Teresa Stagliano along with members of Collegeville Council and the Collegeville appointees of CTJPW and CTMA attempted to use public money from CTMA and CTJPW coffers to pay Mr. Schmitt's legal bills. Then Collegeville Council voted to appoint Mr. Schmitt (for a short time until it was pointed out to her that the appointment was illegal) to be the representative for Collegeville for the regional sewer authority. Wow! Lucky for the taxpayers of Trappe and Collegeville, Trappe Officials blocked Mrs. Stagliano from paying Mr. Schmitt's legal bill using public funds.

In my next post we will bring you the results of a long-term investigation into the CTJPW and the cronyism that has been going on with Teresa Stagliano and the employees of CTJPW. Now remember, this is a person elected to represent Collegeville Borough Residents and be part of the team to "negotiate" with the employees of CTJPW. There must NEVER be an appearance of a "conflict of interest" on Teresa Stagliano's part ... but we will show you numerous examples of just that.

Stay tuned!

Stan Huskey's "Truth of the Day"

Well, there goes Stan Huskey and his version of the "truth" as he writes on his blog:

"Anyway, this is (and I know I've said this before but I'm serious this time) the last time I'll address the alleged charge to Trappe Borough for putting borough contact information in the Collegeville/Trappe Heritage special section. I didn't a little investigative reporter. I was a cop reporter in a former life, you know. The money that shows up on the Trappe books is for an ad they took out in the section; not for the listing".

What ... talk about spin?!

Stan, you wrote "No, we didn't charge Collegeville and Trappe to put their listings into our recent Collegeville/Trappe Heritage piece". That was a lie and the invoice proves it.

Someone commented to the posting "No, No, No" posting "After viewing the invoice that was printed on the "other" bogus website formed by what I believe to be by a current council member to disparage the name of the endorsed candidates (even though the committee persons refuse to endorse them because the candidates that they wanted to endorse didn't win the primary), It appears as if "Mr Marks" would have had to have access to the boroughs Accounts Payable files. That being said, if either of the two employees that work at Borough Hall have never seen this apparition of a blog author, Then i for one would have to say that it appears if some fishy business has been going on..........Is that really such a surprise for the current regime that sits on council"?

I have to assume that they are referring to this blog. I am not a current member of Trappe Council and I have never even lived in Trappe. You see my picture ... have you ever seen me sitting at the Trappe Council table during meetings? This sounds like the Clinton's and their "vast right-wing conspiracy" theory!

But enough of that let us focus our efforts on the invoice. I exercised the right of a PA Taxpayer and I obtained the invoice under the Pennsylvania Right To Know Law. Under this law it provides access to public records and make copies thereof. While the law states that a formal request can be made, most entities, having nothing to hide, grant access without a written request. After all it is the taxpayer's information as they paid for it.

The law defines a "Public record" as "Any account, voucher or contract dealing with the receipt or disbursement of funds by an agency or its acquisition, use or disposal of services or of supplies, materials, equipment or other property and any minute, order or decision by an agency fixing the personal or property rights, privileges, immunities, duties or obligations of any person or group of persons".

What I have noticed in Trappe is the folks who want to gain control write such things when they cannot answer the allegations made against someone like Mr. Huskey. They do not address the immoral and possible illegal activities of Fred Schuetz and Matthew Watson of the "Trusted Team".

Oh and before I forget let me "connect-the-dots". We have reported on this blog in a prior posting regarding David Kane and Mark Marino. One of the current candidates for Trappe Council and a member of the "Trusted Team", Lew DiPrete, was a person I would not associate with Fred Schuetz, Matthew Watson or Paul Edwards as he is not associated with land development or real estate. Then it struck me ... could this Lew DiPrete be related to Beth DiPrete of Limerick Township? Sure enough, Beth is the wife of Lew DiPrete and the Finance Director / Treasurer of Limerick Township.

Now I find it interesting that Beth's employment depends on none other than David Kane, Chairman of the Limerick Township Board of Supervisors. Now Mr. Kane is well known for being a bully and firing anyone who disagrees with him. This is the same David Kane who financed (through a Republican PAC) the "Trusted Team" campaign.

Yes, the "Trusted Team" has been bought and sold by Mr. Kane and Mark Marino. It was overheard on primary night (May 15, 2007) that Mr. Kane stated he "owned Trappe with this primary victory and the Trappe School development would benefit him". How? Wait and watch as we are investigating. When the new "Trusted Team" takes their seats in January keep your eye on development in Trappe ... especially the Fugo Property subdivision and the Stearly Tract. Our prediction is they will "sail through" Council under the direction of Mr. Schuetz and Mr. Watson while selling out the nearby residents and the good folks purchasing properties in these subdivisions.

And finally let me address the "sidewalk" issue in Trappe. Under the guidance of Trappe Councilman Jim Durrell, the sidewalks were marked for replacement and letters were issued giving residents of those properties the directive to replace the sidewalks. Well ... this whole "project" has turned into somewhat of a problem so NOW the Borough has backed off. Now what do we do about all of these "marked" sidewalks?!

Next blog posting "It's Good to Be King".

Stan Huskey Strikes Again

What is it with Stan Huskey and the truth? This guy is in TOTAL denial! On his blog in his post of October 15th Mr. Huskey writes:

"No, we didn't charge Collegeville and Trappe to put their listings into our recent Collegeville/Trappe Heritage piece".

Well I believe the invoice to the left (click to enlarge) clearly shows that Trappe was indeed charged for the "Heritage Day" ad. It is not for classified advertising as Mr. Huskey alludes to when he responds to his own post and writes "Apparently some people don't understand plain English. We did not charge College, or Trappe money to go into the Collegeville/Trappe Heritage section. I'm sure there was a bill in Trappe that was paid to The Times Herald, just like there is for every other municipality that runs a legal notice. Do you understand now? I've received about 15 comments on the blog about this. I'm half tempted to believe they're all from the same person. This is as clear as I can make it and this is the last time I'll comment on the topic". By the way Trappe Borough only advertises legal notices in the Pottstown Mercury. My question is can Mr. Huskey start telling the truth? I don't think so ... think about that the next time you read something in the Norristown Times Herald ... fact or fiction? Due to Mr. Huskey this newspaper is losing what little credibility it has left.

Good News for Collegeville Residents (Well Sort of …)

According to the Collegeville web site there will NOT be a tax increase for fiscal year 2008. That will be a huge relief and burden off the residents and taxpayers of Collegeville who suffered a whopping 133% tax increase in November 2004 for fiscal year 2005. The Tax Rate is for General Purposes, the sum of 3.5 Mills on each dollar of assessed valuation or the sum of .35 Cents on each one hundred dollars of assessed valuation.

In researching the budget for the cause of the large increase in 2004 we discovered the police budget increased from $800k to $1.2M. Wow! Why does Collegeville need all of those police officers (7 counting the Police Chief) AND a full-time detective? Without Ursinus College (which contributes NO money to the tax base) they are but one square mile. A lot of folks are confused in thinking Collegeville Borough is a much larger Borough due to the Post Office being located there but they are smaller than Trappe Borough according to the Montgomery County Web Site.

Additional items on the agenda at it’s public meeting on November 7, 2007 at the Borough Hall will be the establishment of a parking by permit only program and the adoption of the "Local Services Tax" in order to implement the Act 7 Amendments to the tax known as the "Emergency and Municipal Services Tax"; imposing a tax at a rate of $52.00 per year for all non-residents and residents who carry on an occupation in Collegeville Borough.

Just what the folks need ... more taxes!

When Good People Fail To Get Involved

I found it very interesting the recent arrests of the former board president of the Penn-Delco School District in Delaware County and its former superintendent whom were charged in connection with an alleged scheme to secretly invest money in a company that operated child-care programs at district schools.

A reported statement from one resident told the existing school board members "We're going to be watching every move you make". It was also reported that the school board got a tongue lashing outraged by the scandal. "I think this was all done for greed on their part," said Janice Fromal of Aston. "The people arrested today are, in essence, charged with violating the trust imposed in them," said Delaware County District Attorney Mike Green.

What I find even more interesting and perplexing why good people were not watching before this happened? Most people by nature are trusting and do the right thing. But remember the old saying "People do not do what you expect, they do what you inspect".

Don't let what happened in the Penn Delco School District happen here. Get involved and keep yourself informed. We will do our best to report all of the ongoing local government business here ... please stay tuned!

Stan Huskey's Fictional World

I do believe that Stan Huskey, the Editor of the Norristown Times Herald, missed his calling in life to be a fiction writer. In his recent blog he writes:

No, we didn't charge Collegeville and Trappe to put their listings into our recent Collegeville/Trappe Heritage piece. Yes Mr. Huskey, you did charge Trappe Borough $200 as noted in the vote that took place during the September 2007 Trappe Borough Council Meeting.

No, I don't know Mark Marino. I think I shook his hand for the first time last Monday and said hello to him, but in my book, that doesn't mean I know him. Yes you do know Mr. Mark Marino as you were seen by several people on March 15, 2006, at the Swann/Mathhews Reception held in Conshohocken, speaking at length to Mr. Mark Marino.

No, I don't allow every post to go through. No fiction here ... just cherry picking. Time to retire Mr. Huskey ... or they should remove you. Your journalistic integrity is gone and the general public knows it.

Matt Watson and the Truth

It appears someone from the "Trusted Team" is reading this blog in Trappe. We noticed that Matthew Watson, a current member of Trappe Borough Council, has removed his name as one of the representative agents at 1st Patriot Realty, his last known employer.

Now I would venture to guess that Mr. Watson wants to distance himself from Drew Bycoskie, a realtor and principal with 1st Patriot Realty, Mr. Watson's last known employer and his boss. In his bio on the 1st Patriot Web Site, Mr. Bycoskie describes himself as "In his continued pursuit to offer his clients additional services, Mr. Bycoskie became heavy involved in both Land Development and investment properties opportunities for both himself and his clients. During this time, Mr. Bycoskie began to work with Ted Laskowski on several real estate and land development projects. As Ted and Drew began to talk and work with one another, they could see the positive synergies that they had together.

With that, both Ted and Drew have merged their real estate and mortgage companies to offer their clients a full service organization that can handle all aspects of an individual’s real estate transaction. Mr. Laskowski’s 30 plus year experience as a real estate broker in both commercial and residential real estate combined with Drew’s analytical and financial capabilities offer a wealth of knowledge, expertise and diversity to their clients".

What is interesting here is Mr. Bycoskie owns land at 437, 438, and 439 Main Street in Trappe that was brought before Trappe Council for land development for housing and was rejected due to "numerous required waivers" to ordinances and other considerations. Mr. Stu Strauss was very vocal in his opposition to the numerous waivers ... but not Mr. Watson. In other words Mr. Bycoskie wanted to squeeze more into his land development so he could make more money. And Mr. Watson, along with the majority of the last Trappe Borough Council, was going to let this go through giving it special treatment until Mr. Strauss and Mr. Scholl brought this to light. Why? Well for starters, Mr. Bycoskie was a big contributor to most of the Council's election as well as lending support to their campaign by posting campaign signs on his various properties. But the real "quid pro quo" for Mr. Watson was a "job" with 1st Patriot Realty when he left Harvard Realty Exchange in Trappe.

Now enter another developer, Andre DiPrinzio, whose last land development was Carriage Ridge in Trappe, who it appears has joined up with Mr. Bycoskie to develop the land development at 437, 438, and 439 Main Street in Trappe. Mr. DiPrinzio was not a good business partner with the folks who purchased homes at Carriage Ridge until the currently seated Council put Mr. DiPrinzio on notice ... then the residents of Carriage Ridge got treated fairly. I was able to cull this from the Trappe Borough Council meeting minutes posted here.

I believe that the land development for 437, 438, and 439 Main Street will be presented to the "new" Trappe Council should the "Trusted Team" win the general election next month. The only problem for them is Mr. Watson would need to recuse himself due to the conflict of Mr. Bycoskie being his last known employer. My guess is that they will attempt to get around this "conflict of interest" by having Mr. DiPrinzio lead the land development with Trappe Borough Council. I do believe that both Mr. DiPrinzio as well as Mr. Bycoskie have contributed financially to the "Trusted Team" but that needs to be confirmed from the financial statements they are required by law to file.

Stay tuned on this one and we will continue to monitor the "Trusted Team" and will update you when we have new information.

Stan Huskey and the Truth

This morning Mr. huskey wrote on his blog "did I say I didn't know who the Marinos are? I'll answer that. No, I didn't. I said I didn't 'know' Mark Marino. I know his father quite well. We spoke often when I was a cop reporter. I don't know Mark".

Well here is a refresher for you, Stan. On March 15, 2006 at the Swann/Mathhews Reception held in Conshohocken several people have written to me stating that they saw you speaking at length with Mark Marino at this event. Does that ring a bell?

These same folks indicated they also left comments on Mr. Huskey's blog but they never appeared. So when you write in the same posting "First, yes I do moderate this blog. I have to. However, if you'll go back and check out previous posts you'll see I try to use comments from both sides" we all know you once again are not telling the truth. By the way, why does Mr. Huskey "have to" moderate his blog? I believe it is so he can bias the comments for one side only. What say you Mr. Huskey?

The most important thing to a reader of a newspaper is that the reporting be unbiased and the truth. Not to print just part of the story ... deciding to only report the facts as they see fit. As the editor, we count on Mr. Huskey to do fair and truthful reporting - both in the newspaper and on his blog. Mr. Huskey crossed the line by reporting unsubstantiated allegations on his blog. It is time for Stan Huskey to go as Editor of paper. He can retire or however he wishes to handle it. If he does not voluntarily go, then the powers-to-be at the Norristown Times Herald need to take action.

Newspapers have enough trouble these days when they play it straight. With declining advertising and readership they need not have their journalistic integrity questioned. Mr. Huskey was caught in a lie and has put the reputation of this fine newspaper in jeopardy.

This is just irresponsible. Period.

Mr. Huskey, Your Slip Is Showing

Once again I feel the need to point the disingenuous and downright dishonest nature of Mr. Stan Huskey as Editor of the Norristown Times Herald.

In his most recent posting to his blog Mr. Huskey writes “The role of your local newspaper is to be a watchdog”. My question for Mr. Huskey is for whom is he a “watchdog”? Mr. Marino? Mr. Kane? Mrs. Stagliano? Mr. Schmitt? Just who Stan? Because it is NOT the residents of Trappe. How do I know this? Because the few times over the past two (2) years the Norristown Times Herald has only covered the Trappe Council meetings when they are “summoned” to do so by Mr. Huskey’s cronies.

Furthermore, Mr. Huskey writes “First, I do not know Mark Marino. I think I met him for the first time the other day, but I certainly don't know him. I do know Mike Marino”. Anyone who knows anything regarding Montgomery County Politics knows that if you know Mike Marino, you damn well know Mark Marino. And Mark Marino is one of the Area Leaders for the Republican Party. We have now caught Mr. Huskey in a lie as we can get numerous folks who will testify that Mr. Huskey has known Mark Marino and has not, as he states “I met him for the first time the other day, but I certainly don't know him”.

When various members of the current Trappe Borough Council requested the Times Herald send a reporter to cover a Trappe Council meeting the reply received was “we don’t cover Trappe, our sister publication, the Pottstown Mercury covers Trappe”.

The Mercury has done a “fair” job of reporting on Trappe Borough. Much credit goes to Mr. Evan Brandt of the Pottstown Mercury who at least provided fair coverage in the past. But even Mr. Brandt has his limitations. He takes his marching orders from the Managing Editor Nancy March (OK – but really – no pun intended). As for Nancy March and Stan Huskey … well more on that later. It will be, shall we say “enlightening” along the lines of “good cop, bad cop”.

If you don’t believe this just review the article wherein the Times Herald “splashed” a histrionic article regarding accusations made against the Trappe Borough Manager during a recent court case. The Times Herald covered this story as though the gentleman had already been convicted. They further printed the actual notes of testimony from court deposition transcripts which I believe is unprecedented for this or ANY local paper. By the way, the Trappe Borough Manager won his case and was exonerated but did the Times Herald “splash” that on their front page? Not even a mention was made in their paper that indeed this gentleman won his case and was exonerated. Wow, they really are not appearing to be great watchdogs for ALL of the Trappe Residents and Taxpayers.

Now let us take a look at the piece of journalism that appeared in this past Saturday’s Times Herald wherein the paper makes mention of Mr. Carrig’s reaction to a petition that was presented to Trappe Council. The petition was presented by Mr. Arnold “Bud” Bender of Rittenhouse Square, the same development where Mr. Carrig resides. The exact motive of Mr. Bender is unclear. What is clear is that until the last few months Mr. Bender had not even attended at Trappe Borough Council meeting even though, according to Montgomery County Court Land Records, Arnold Bender and his wife Diane have been residents of Trappe Borough since June of 1988.

This much is clear. It was reported that Mr. Carrig challenged Mr. Bender when the petition was presented. Mr. Carrig stated it was a personal vendetta and he told someone in the audience to “shut the hell up” when they called for Mr. Straus, Council President, to bring the meeting to order. What the paper failed to report was Mr. Carrig’s other “outburst” regarding Arnold Bender’s past. You may remember Mr. Bender in the news about eight (8) years ago where Mr. Bender was forced to resign as Police Chief of Spring City. Off the record, I am told by officials at the Borough of Spring City that Mr. Bender had a sexual tryst in his office where he was literally caught with his “pants down”.

Hmmm, now this is very interesting. The Times Herald reports unsubstantiated allegations of non-residency about Mr. Carrig but does not even question a private citizen, Arnold Bender, writing a "press release" stating Mr. Carrig as being a non-resident. Especially one of Mr. Bender’s character. Sounds personal to me!

Once again the the unethical and downright dishonest Mr. Huskey writes “For some reason the discussion on whether a Trappe councilman still lives in the borough has turned to what business is it of the newspaper or of mine”. I do not know how Mr. Huskey forms his opinions, but it obviously is not based on ANY evidence that Mr. Carrig does not “live in Trappe” and that he remains a resident.

So I did what Mr. Huskey should have done … I called Carrig at his home. He stated that he is remains a resident of Trappe and has been for the past twenty (20) years. When he is no longer a resident of Trappe he will resign from Council. Period. He further stated that if anyone has any evidence that he is not a resident, bring it forward and present it to the Borough and/or the newspapers.

If you have no evidence that Mr. Carrig is NOT a resident, Mr. Huskey, I think I would leave this alone. As they used to say many years back “your slip is showing” ... in more ways than one.

Twisted in Trappe by Collegeville

Happy Columbus Day! If you have the day off, enjoy it.

More stuff on Trappe. I have reviewed the meeting minutes for the last two years from Trappe Borough, CTMA, and CTJPW over the weekend and I believe that the majority of the current Trappe Council has done quite a bit to try and clean up Trappe and have the Borough comply with state laws and the MPC. It appears from the meeting minutes that the representative members from Trappe for CTMA and CTJPW think that there have been some inequities between Trappe and Collegeville. I will have those inequities in a future post as soon as I can outline them from the meeting minutes.

The actions of these council people to clean up Trappe Borough and the CTJPW (Public Works) have been met with fierce opposition by a small group of people from Trappe and Collegeville. Some of these people had been running the Borough and with little to no oversight from the past Borough Councils. They were running the Borough in such a manner as to violate the Municipal Planning Code (MPC) in every which way they could.

Case in point is most of the appointments of the various positions. I learned that apparently the former Planning Commission Chairman Fred Schuetz (part of the “Trusted Team”) had instructed the Borough Secretary, Pat Katona, to alter the appointment dates for various positions so the current council could not take action on those positions and so the people Fred had endorsed would stay in place even though their term had expired. This was caught by the Borough Manager and a councilperson who questioned Ms. Katona and she admitted that it was indeed Fred Schuetz who had told her to do so. This information was then turned over to the Borough Solicitor and with great time and expense the Solicitor had to go through over five (5) years of records to reconstruct who should be where. Boy, talk about a mess!

Then there is Matthew Watson, another one of the "Trusted Team", who is a licensed real estate agent. At his employer’s web site, 1st Patriot Realty he advertises himself as "as a Borough Councilman in his town and works in-depth with the Planning Commission and Zoning Board. He also sits on the Board of Public Works and the Sewer Authority. As an Accredited Buyers Agent, he looks forward to helping you find just the right investment, land or home transaction to best fit your needs".

According to the Trappe Borough records Mr. Watson does not sit on either the Board of Public Works or the Sewer Authority and has not since March 2006. Now, I don’t know about you but I see an appearance of Mr. Watson selling his influence. By the way, I heard a that this will change once the "Trusted Team" is seated in January 2008 and that the “Trusted Team” will restore Mr. Watson’s power to those committees. Wait and watch.

I am still waiting for much more information from several sources. One bit of information is regarding Collegeville Council and a gentleman named Ernest Schmitt, and the support that Collegeville Council Vice-President Terry Stagliano gave to Mr. Schmitt when Trappe Borough Council Members challenged his Trappe residency in early 2006 (apparently including having his legal bills paid out of public funds). I am promised it will make very interesting reading and will include a letter from Bruce Castor, Montgomery County District Attorney, wherein Mr. Schmitt is threatened with legal action if he does not resign sighting him as a non-resident of Trappe Borough and Mr. Schmitt refusal to resign.

I hope to have more of this in my next posting.

Our New Look

You may have noticed that my blog has a new look and a new site address. Many of you have written to me asking me what happened to the prior content. Well when we migrated from the old site address to the new one we had no way of (easily) porting all of the new and archived posts. So we start with a fresh look today. I am backlogged with posts and will be catching up soon.

Have a great weekend and we will have a new post on Monday.

Verizon FIOS Now Available in the Collegeville CO

Great news! I just got notification from Verizon that FIOS Cable TV is available if you are served out of the Collegeville central office.

Go here to see if you qualify.

Duped in Trappe by Norristown

For those of you who don't know Stan Huskey he the editor of the Norristown Times Herald. As an editor one would hope that Mr. Huskey would use better judgement and exercise professional ethics when he accuses a local elected official of misconduct. But apparently not Mr. Huskey. When his bosses at the newspaper were informed about the misinformation and hearsay that Mr. Huskey had posted on his blog, his bosses replied that he had their full support. Mr. Huskey, on his blog does not identify himself as the Editor of the Norristown Times Herald. But when asked who he was he acted like everyone should know. Well I didn't until he identified himself in a posting.

A recent post to Stan Huskey's Blog was titled "Trapped in Trappe" wherein Mr. Huskey writes "What I'm hearing is Trappe council member Mark Carrig doesn't live in Trappe anymore". Mr. Huskey offers nothing to support these allegations and does not disclose his source for this "information". He appears to carelessly spread rumors about an elected official. This is irresponsible journalism. Period! But Mr. Huskey does not care. Why you may ask? Because of his best friend, Mark Marino. Here is that story.

A recent investigation has uncovered that "Trappe's Trusted Team" (who in May 2007 won the Trappe Borough Republican Primary) has been backed and financed by a PAC controlled by Mark Marino and David Kane. Here are some facts on Mark Marino and David Kane:

• David Kane is the Limerick Township BOS Chairman


• David Kane works as a developer for the Skippack firm he founded‚ Kane Core Inc.


• Kane Core’s co-founder‚ according to the firm’s Web site‚ is Mark Marino‚ who is chairman of the Skippack Township Board of Supervisors


• Mark Marino recently became chairman of the Area 4 Republican Committee‚ a district that includes Limerick‚ Collegeville‚ Lower Providence‚ Perkiomen‚ Royersford‚ Skippack‚ Trappe‚ Upper Providence and Worcester


• Marino’s father is former District Attorney and former County Commissioners Chairman Michael Marino‚ who was recently appointed county solicitor


• Michael Marino also keeps an office at Kane Core and does occasional legal work for the group On Jan. 3‚ 2006‚ Traffic Planning & Design was named the new traffic consultant in both Skippack and Limerick townships

Are all of these relationships a mere coincidence? What is the "Quid Pro Quo" for Mark Marino and David Kane. The old PV School at 1st and College Avenues in Trappe. That is the quid pro quo.

The current Trappe Council have uncovered disturbing business practices in Trappe Borough and their appointed representatives to the committee at the Collegeville Trappe Municipal Authority (CTMA) and the Collegeville Trappe Joint Public Works (CTJPW) have as well. And it appears that they they have upset the powers to be in Collegeville who have a conspiracy with some members of the current Trappe Borough Council, the employees of CTJPW and others to oust the current Trappe Council. Why? They have saved thousands of dollars for the Trappe and Collegeville residents and ratepayers and brought back integrity to the Trappe Borough government.

Which brings us full circle. Why would Mr. Huskey print hearsay regarding Mr. Carrig when it is hearsay? Why not contact Mr. Carrig for his comments as any responsible journalist would do? I don't know this guy Carrig but a whole group in Trappe has been going after him regarding his personal life. And I know one thing ... when you attack someone for their personal life you take the focus off the issues. I say stick with the issues and the heck with their personal life. Mr. Huskey should stop doing the dirty work for Mr. Marino and his cronies.

Why don't you ask Mr. Huskey for what facts he has regarding Mr. Carrig's residency on his blog? Post your comment. Most likely you won't see your comment posted as Mr. Huskey has full editorial control and from what I am told he "cherry picks" what is posted.

I say if this represents the Norristown Times Herald and their journalist integrity it is time to cancel my subscription. How about you?