lahanas Archives - Public Response

re: Response to Mr. Bellfy // Phil Bellfy

July 26, 2018

Reply to Ruth Beier:

There is no nice way to say this, but it is simply not true that “the property owners gave up valuable property so that the sidewalk could be widened to improve pedestrian safety.”

Number 1: The sidewalk was not “widened to improve pedestrian safety.” Please look at the attached email which lays out the City’s rationale for replacing the retaining wall. Here’s the relevant part of that email, and it should be noted that this is the oldest document I … Read more →

re: Response to Mr. Bellfy // Eliot Singer

July 25, 2018

Cronyism is not a “mistake.” Doing favors for those with connections is cronyism. No one familiar with government in general and East Lansing government in particular thinks retaining wall gate was an innocent mistake. That’s why it was called retaining wall gate in the first place.

Remember this happened in the context of even worse government misconduct with City Center II and St Anne’s Lofts and all the lies and cover up.

I said long ago the only way to restore credibility is accountability.

… Read more →

re: Response to Mr. Bellfy // Alice Dreger

July 25, 2018

This is a response to Council Member Ruth Beier’s post this morning to Public Response.

Before responding to that, please note that East Lansing Info (ELi) provides sourcing (with links and PDFs) for all of its reporting on Phil Bellfy’s lawsuit against the City and City Attorney under the federal False Claims Act, so you can check our reporting for links to things like the settlement agreement, the City Manager’s request for a waiver from the federal conflict of interest rules, and HUD’s determination … Read more →

Response to Mr. Bellfy // Ruth Beier

July 25, 2018July 25, 2018

There is no question that the City of East Lansing made a mistake when it made its application to HUD to use CDBG funds for the project in question. Specifically, the city should have disclosed to HUD that one of the four properties abutting the sidewalk housed the City Attorney. This was the city’s error. People make mistakes, and the city owns this one.

The problem with Mr. Bellfy’s accusation and the reporting by ELi is that both imply that the City Attorney was … Read more →

FRCP 60(b)3, 18 U.S. Code § 1001, and “fraud upon the Court” –Part 2 // Phil Bellfy

July 25, 2018

Phil Bellfy
“Abott Road Project” Qui Tam Relator

The three elements in the title of this post might be considered the three legs of the legal “truthfulness” stool.

Rule 60(b)(3) states that a judgment may be set aside if an “opposing party” lies to a federal official (which clearly includes federal judges) “fraud, misrepresentation, or misconduct.”

§ 1001 might be called the “Don’t Lie to a Federal Official” Act.

And the charges of committing a “fraud upon the Court” strictly deal with lawyers … Read more →

FRCP 60(b)3, 18 U.S. Code § 1001, and “fraud upon the Court” –Part 1 // Phil Bellfy

July 18, 2018

Phil Bellfy
“Abott Road Project” Qui Tam Relator

The three elements in the title of this post might be consideredthe three legs ofthe legal “truthfulness” stool.

Rule 60(b)(3) states that a judgment may be set aside if an “opposing party” lies to a federal official (which clearly includes federal judges) “fraud,misrepresentation, or misconduct.”

§ 1001 might be called the “Don’t Lie to a Federal Official”Act.

And the charges of committing a “fraud upon the Court” strictly deal with lawyers who lie to the … Read more →