RE: “Blogs like this that cry corruption and foul, feed information to the press (oftentimes false) and drag elected officials and PD personnel through the mud all in name of “justice”. ”

The mainstream press does not come close to the level of research that has gone into the Rack ‘n Roll postings on this blog.

A good man…Dave Ruttenberg…has had his life destroyed by “some” MP officials, as the publicly available evidence has clearly shown. Why would Greg L. and the posters of this blog just sit and wait? Let this man get destroyed even further? I am shocked that Mr. Ruttenberg has been able to hang on this long….but to his credit he has (he believes that truth and justice will prevail for those who have done the right things).

I’d like to think it is mainly because of the hard work of Greg L. (and others who make use of his research and pass them on to the proper authorities) are what is saving a good man’s life, so like Dave Ruttenberg, we can all still believe in the ideal that justice will prevail as long as the truth gets out. A month or so ago, I had lost that faith. Now that faith has been restored.

And let me tell you Mom…if such an injustice were ever to occur to you at the hands of a government entity gone amuck, these same people would come to your aid to see that you got the same fair treatment and justice that you deserve. That is GETTING THE TRUTH OUT, which to me is the battle cry of this blog and many like it who are responsible in their research and reporting.

I’m tempted to post a response on how each of your entries is full of contradictions, but I think responses to your posts have taken up quite enough space. I’d rather see more of Greg’s good documentation that you opine that he puts so much time and effort into this issue because he has “little more motive than personal animosity or pursuit of personal gain.”

I already had my suspicions about you and my intuition was starting to tell me you might have a dog in this fight. My gut is telling me you have some kind of ties to the bad guys in all this, especially when you think everybody should back off and take a wait and see approach. That suspicion was reinforced when you said “It is you who should read more (when all materials are available) and commentate less, lest you appear a horse’s ass. That is why my commentary has been limited to pointing out that taking a position such as your is premature at best.”

Premature? So, you think maybe this should drag on for 14 more years? Hmmm Mom…want to come clean on something? What’s your involvement in all this? You are starting to echo some of the same things the guilty parties are spewing…”Everyone just back off.”

Mom…why is the truth so threatening to you?

I’ve heard that cry before in other jurisdictions. Blogs like this that cry corruption and foul, feed information to the press (oftentimes false) and drag elected officials and PD personnel through the mud all in name of “justice”. The sad thing is that more often than not there is little more motive than personal animosity or pursuit of personal gain. And when its over, after personal and professional reputations are sullied what is found, bupkus, nada, nothing. And then, do those responsible for libelous blog postings or for that matter irresponsible articles in the MJM/PN or WAPO afford their sincere apologies, no, they skulk back into the undergrowth.

It is you who should read more (when all materials are available) and commentate less, lest you appear a horse’s ass. That is why my commentary has been limited to pointing out that taking a position such as your is premature at best.

RE: “…..(again full disclosure by the city is probably not in the city or residents interest at this time). ……”

You might be right. “Full disclosure” is not in the city’s best interest. That’s why they are working so feverishly to cover this matter up. Oh…yes…..and it’s just SO BAD for the residents to know everything that THEIR elected officials are up to. We wouldn’t want to do something so terrible as to have a full and open investigation into their activities. That would be just too much like democracy. We CAN’T have that.

My suggestion to you is go back through the archives, read more and commentate less until you’ve done that. Then when justice is finally served in Manassas Park we’ll await your sincerest apology.

RE: “it appears that you (Greg L.) know or understand little about government operations or its interaction with public and private entities”.

Greg L’s probem isn’t that he “knows or understands little about Government operations…..” It’s Manassas Park government’s problem that HE DOES !!

RE: “You, and others, have presented an extraordinarily one-side version of events with the apparent express intent of destroying the careers and reputation of MP representatives and employees and/or causing fiscal ruin not only to the city but by extension its residents and business owners”.

Transcripts, audio tapes, video tapes, multiple corraborating witnesses risking everything to get the truth out? That’s not one sided — it’s court admissable evidence (and it will be in a court one day). The FBI knows how to sort through this evidence (and thankfully they are now involved). It’s been presented in an organized fashion so those of us who have the ability to reason and use logic can draw our own conclusions. As far as MP representatives and employess, those involved in this scandal have detroyed THEIR OWN careers and reputations, but I’m sure since you so blindly support them they’ll really appreciate it when you come in visit them during their stays in a Federal Prison.

I like your plan. Forward to Washington Times and O’Reilly. Maybe they will dig much deeper and use more of Greg’s documentation.

The Ruttenbergs would like nothing more than hard evidence that OTB is the motive for the destruction of their business. Please e-mail Greg with any such evidence that you might have. It would be much appreciated.

The only facts I have seen are 1. the dismissal of the owner’s complaint, presumedly by a judge and not by Ebert or the city, 2. issues regarding the owner’s payment of business and meals taxes, and 3. an admitted contract to sell the business.

I’m accused of swallowing large doses of spin or acting as a shill for the city. First, I’m not swallowing anything, merely questioning whether a conclusion of any sort can be reached without full disclosure by both sides (again full disclosure by the city is probably not in the city or residents interest at this time). Second, in general I’m nobody’s shill and in this particular instance have no dog in the fight and could give a rat’s ass what happens to or in MP. Lastly, has it ever occured to you that it may be you who is the shill or worse a tool of those with an axe to grind after all you are the only one I know of facing issues of libel, purportedly for the actions of another.

The Ruttenberg’s position is that the City and other state actors violated the Ruttenberg’s constitutional rights under the 1st, 4th and 14th Amendments to the Constitution. It is alleged that these state actors deprived the Ruttenberg’s of their property without due process of law and monetary compensation in damages is sought. The Ruttenbergs’ suit does not mention OTB or Colonial Downs.

The MJM has addressed evidence of official attempted, and falsified, criminal implication of David Ruttenberg as well as evidence of the state actor’s set up of RnR culminating in the June, 2004 raid (Gary Evans, Jeffery Price, Tom Kifer, etc.). There is extensive overwhelming additional evidence of these matters, including evidence of perjury, which the Ruttenbergs wish to address to a jury in the Eastern District of Virginia. While I find the “coincidences” surrounding Colonial Downs interesting, it matter not a wit with respect to the alleged unconstitutional activities of these state actors. Further, such unconstitutional activites are what should concern us all including Mom. If state actors can frame honest small businessmen (or anyone for that matter) resulting in the loss of their property and get away with it, much has been lost.

While I would agree that OTB and Colonial Downs be investigated, do not let that matter distract you. Continue to push for protection of your constitutional rights. Continue to work for the Ruttenbergs’ ability to present these matter to a federal jury.

Congratulations on your tremendous ability to swallow whole large doses of spin which is entirely unsupported by any facts, though. I’d have thought you would have noticed that nothing city officials said in that article is substantiated at all, and much of it contradicts actual evidence that I’ve presented before.

But if you read it in the newspaper, it must be true, right?

As I have stated elsewhere, I am not giving MP a pass on this issue, rather I am reserving judgement on the issue until both sides of the story have been presented (hardly an unreasonable position), understanding that a municipal jurisdiction is unlikely to jeopardise its position or the interests of those it represents with the premature release of information that might jeopardise ongoing criminal investigations and/or create or jeopardise its position in civil litigation.

Congratulations on achieving a level of “journalistic” integrity on par with the National Enquirer. Clue to Greg, neither Santa nor the Easter Bunny exist and wishing that this “scandal” were true will not make it so, ultimately only the facts will.

Congratulations on selecting a group of targets that, as public officials, cannot easily avail themselves of measures to seek redress for slander and libel. I trust the implications for you would be different had you chosen to attack the business owner instead of the municipality. When you go to bed tonight, I hope you tuck a copy of the Sullivan decision under your pillow to keep you safe in the future.