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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)
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!
