Rack & Roll Scandal Category Archives
The MJM Covers Ruttenberg’s Appeal
23 June 2007 | Rack & Roll Scandal | 3 Comments
Today’s edition of the Manassas Journal-Messenger includes a rather lawyerly article describing David Ruttenberg’s appeal and a recent ACLU brief that was filed in support of his position. If you have a legal education, the article will probably be very informative about the specific claims and case law being argued. If you don’t happen to […]
Read ‘The MJM Covers Ruttenberg’s Appeal’
What “Justice” Looks Like In The Park
15 June 2007 | Rack & Roll Scandal | Comments Off
It’s not only enraging that the City of Manassas Park engaged in a concerted and unlawful effort to destroy Rack n Roll Billiards and Dave Ruttenberg, but the lengths that the city has gone to to lie about and cover up their unlawful behavior are alternatively comical and stunningly brazen. In “The Raid That […]
Read ‘What “Justice” Looks Like In The Park’
ACLU Weighs In On Ruttenberg’s Case
14 June 2007 | Rack & Roll Scandal | Comments Off
The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a amicus brief in support of Dave Ruttenberg’s case against the City of Manassas Park. Often, I tend to disagree with some of the things the ACLU does, but in this instance they certainly seem to be making a strong argument in support of what should be […]
Read ‘ACLU Weighs In On Ruttenberg’s Case’
Ruttenberg Files 4th Circuit Appeal
8 June 2007 | Rack & Roll Scandal | 6 Comments
Dave Ruttenberg, who had filed a five million dollar lawsuit against the City of Manassas Park and several police officers last year, and who lost that court case in what seems like a terrible miscarriage of justice, filed an appeal with the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday. The appeal claims that Ruttenberg was […]
Read ‘Ruttenberg Files 4th Circuit Appeal’
The Raid That Wasn’t
2 June 2007 | Rack & Roll Scandal | 4 Comments
In 2004 there was a paramilitary-style raid on Dave Ruttenberg’s business by about 90 police officers under the guise of an administrative inspection by the Alcoholic Beverages Control Board. That wasn’t the first time the police planned a raid, however. About a year earlier, a plan to drive drug dealers from Dumfries all […]
Report A Crime, Get Punished
9 May 2007 | Rack & Roll Scandal | 8 Comments
Radley Balko of The Agitator has once again picked up on a component of the Rack & Roll scandal in Manassas Park, this time diving into not just police harassment of Dave Ruttenberg’s business, but an attempt to prosecute Ruttenberg himself for a crime he didn’t commit. This involves an incident that I heard […]
Read ‘Report A Crime, Get Punished’
Manassas Park’s Permitting Malfeasance
7 May 2007 | Rack & Roll Scandal | 1 Comment
One of the more controversial elements in Manassas Park’s “generous” settlement offer to Dave Ruttenberg, before he prevailed in court, was that the city would promise to give a buyer a conditional use permit. This is sort of a strange element in the agreement, given that the city council is required to evaluate all […]
Read ‘Manassas Park’s Permitting Malfeasance’
The Big Picture
9 March 2007 | Rack & Roll Scandal | 3 Comments
With all of the different posts I’ve written on the various facets of the Rack & Roll scandal it’s been hard for readers to grasp what the big picture is amongst all the bizarre pieces of this disturbing puzzle. Now it’s time to take a step back and provide an overall perspective on the […]
MJM Updates On Rack & Roll
2 March 2007 | Rack & Roll Scandal | 5 Comments
The Manassas Journal-Messenger has an article today about the cease and desist letter I recieved from the City of Manassas Park, which also covers recent legal developments in the Rack & Roll scandal. It’s an interesting read for those who might be somewhat amused that a newspaper can bring itself to mention the […]
Read ‘MJM Updates On Rack & Roll’
Round One Goes To Ruttenberg
1 March 2007 | Rack & Roll Scandal | 5 Comments
David Ruttenberg scored a pretty important minor victory in his battle with the City of Manassas Park yesterday when Judge Millette overturned the City’s denial of his Conditional Use Permit (CUP). It’s a bizarre story that has surprisingly ended well, and might perhaps signal that the chances of justice being served in Manassas […]
Read ‘Round One Goes To Ruttenberg’
Breaking: Ruttenberg Wins One In Court
28 February 2007 | Rack & Roll Scandal | 6 Comments
I just got a call that Dave Ruttenberg just won his appeal regarding the denial of his Conditional Use Permit by the City of Manassas Park. This definitely puts legs under case in the 4th Circut and is a major setback for Manassas Park’s efforts to bury him.
More to follow…
Read ‘Breaking: Ruttenberg Wins One In Court’
Who Exactly Is Deluded? - Part 2
26 February 2007 | Rack & Roll Scandal | 2 Comments
Last Saturday’s Manassas Journal-Messenger article on the Rack & Roll scandal (see part 1) featured a number of key players in the Colonial Downs referendum dismissing the idea that Dave Ruttenberg’s troubles had anything to do with them or the proposed sattelite wagering facility that was planned in Manassas Park Shopping Center. I always […]
Read ‘Who Exactly Is Deluded? - Part 2’
Who Exactly Is Deluded?
24 February 2007 | Rack & Roll Scandal | 9 Comments
Today’s rather amusing Manassas Journal-Messenger article on the Rack & Roll scandal tiptoes towards the question of the degree to which referenda in 1996 and 2004 on whether to allow Colonial Downs to operate an off-track betting facility in Manassas Park might figure into this strange tale. Predictably, a host of public officials assert […]
Read ‘Who Exactly Is Deluded?’
Batter Up!
24 February 2007 | Rack & Roll Scandal | 15 Comments
Today’s Manassas Journal-Messenger article on the Rack & Roll scandal gives a lot of rope to officials of Manassas Park, which they dutifully use to hang themselves. It’s pretty stunning when you’re sitting on the mountain of evidence I’ve collected on this story to see city officials say some of these utterly inane things. […]
MJM’s Second Rack & Roll Article
23 February 2007 | Rack & Roll Scandal | 5 Comments
Today’s Manassas Journal-Messenger article on the Rack & Roll scandal covers a lot of territory, reducing what could easily be a John Grisham novel down into a few sentences, and unless the MJM had the opportunity to run a story every day for the next six months there’s not much chance they could adequately delve […]
Read ‘MJM’s Second Rack & Roll Article’
The MJM Body Slams Manassas Park
23 February 2007 | Rack & Roll Scandal | 9 Comments
In part two of the Manassas Journal-Messenger’s story on the Rack & Roll scandal, reporter Alex Granados delivers a withering fire against the actions of Manassas Park which I am certain will be driving Manassas Park officials to distraction today. Included in the article are quotes from family members of Manassas Park Police Chief […]
Read ‘The MJM Body Slams Manassas Park’
Rack & Roll Gets Media Attention
22 February 2007 | Rack & Roll Scandal | 5 Comments
Today’s Manassas Journal-Messenger article on the Rack & Roll scandal is the opening article of a three part series, and introduces some issues that I expect will be explored at greater depth over the next few days. This installment focuses on the denial of a Conditional Use Permit for Rack & Roll in 2006 […]
Read ‘Rack & Roll Gets Media Attention’
MJM Starts Coverage of Rack & Roll Scandal
22 February 2007 | Rack & Roll Scandal | 4 Comments
The Manassas Journal-Messenger has started it’s long-awaited multi-part article on the Rack & Roll scandal with a somewhat curious opening piece in today’s edition. There are a few references in the article that probably need some explanation, which I hope to provide tomorrow morning. Stay tuned…
Read ‘MJM Starts Coverage of Rack & Roll Scandal’
Rack & Roll Carnival
20 February 2007 | Rack & Roll Scandal | 1 Comment
The Rack & Roll scandal has generated a burst of interest these days, and I’d like to give a shout out to all the other websites that have picked up the story and are weighing in, as well as give folks an opportunity to see what others, both local and nationwide, are saying on this. […]
Cleanup In Aisle Four
20 February 2007 | Rack & Roll Scandal, Manassas City | 3 Comments
The evening that the story broke about the “VCDL 7″, as I’m calling them, I was talking to David Ruttenberg and the conversation drifted to a discussion about that story. After I related the story, and entirely out of the blue, he asked me if an “Officer Hittle” was involved. We looked at […]
Loading ...
