Saturday, November 14, 2015

Caught in a lie again UPDATED 4X

Coleen Vuono is quite a piece of work. She has submitted her THIRD statement of financial interests, and all say different things.

When serving on a board or authority, staff, or commission or running on the ballot for commission, a statement of financial interests must be filed. I asked about submitting one since I was a write -in candidate, but was told that only if I would win. I had submitted a SFI when I was on the ballot in 2011. Since Coleen was on the Parking Board, she had submitted this one. Steve Feller made a note to use it when she was appointed as a commissioner, a no-no.

When this discrepancy was uncovered, a Right To Know was filed which resulted in Coleen filing a second SFI. Of course, a nasty email from Coleen was issued to the requestor.

Noticing that her Stage 2 Sell business was not listed, a complaint was filed with the Ethics Commission. That resulted in a third version submitted by Coleen. Today, a new SFI was sent from the Ethics Commission.

Still uneasy about Coleen's eligibility as Ward 3 commissioner, I sent this to her, copied the commission, interim manager Keith McGill, and Solicitor Phil Weis:

Coleen,

I have attached several of your statements of financial interests. Does Mt. Lebanon have your latest and greatest that came from the Ethics Commission? I wanted to make sure that the municipality had your most recent SFI. I am to assume that the one that came from the Ethics Commission would be the most accurate.

Would you mind proving that you are still living in Ward 3? With the moving truck outside of 31 Woodland this past week, your dossier posted on the municipal website shows your residence as Woodland Drive. Since you have a history of submitting SFI that vary from month to month, I do not know what to believe. What street have you moved to? And will you please see to it that your dossier is updated on the municipal website? 

Thank you.

Elaine Gillen
Ward 3 resident, who is required to provide my address every time I come to the podium

I will update everyone when I hear back from Coleen. If she is not in Ward 3, she cannot vote as a commissioner!!!

Update November 14, 2015 9:14 PM From Nick Meduho:

From: Keith Mcgill [mailto:kmcgill@mtlebanon.org]
Sent: Saturday, November 14, 2015 7:55 PM
To: Nicholas Meduho Jr
Cc: Bonnie Cross <bcross@mtlebanon.org>; Commission <commission@mtlebanon.org>
Subject: Re: FW: RTK Request

Mr. Meduho,
The municipality has Commissioner Vuono's most recent form on file. The form dated November 3rd was personally provided to me by Ms. Commissioner Vuono on November 5th. No she will not need to file another form. The statement of financial disclosure is for the year 2014.
The SOFI provided by Ms. Cross was the most recent one in the possession of the municipality at the time it was provided.


On Sat, Nov 14, 2015 at 6:17 PM, Nicholas Meduho Jr wrote:
Hi Bonnie,

On October 28th I filed a right to know asking for the most recent Statement of Financial Interests form from Coleen Vuono. On November 4th you responded with her SFI form dated October 25th .

I find out today, the most recent form wasn’t the most recent form. Her most recent form is dated November 3rd. So I have to question, did you not have this most recent form available prior to you sending me the one dated October 25th?

What form do you currently have on file now? Does Mt. Lebanon have in their possession the most recent one dated November 3rd?  

Also, if you know, will Coleen Vuono need to submit a new form when she moves to a new address?


Thank you Bonnie,

Nicholas Meduho
Mt. Lebanon, PA

Update November 15, 2015 6:36 AM It continues:

From:egillen476 <egillen476@aol.com>
To:cvuono <cvuono@mtlebanon.org>; commission <commission@mtlebanon.org>; kmcgill <kmcgill@mtlebanon.org>; philip.weis <philip.weis@bipc.com>; Nicholas Meduho 
Cc:repmiller <repmiller@pahouse.net>
Subject:Re: Statements of Financial Interests
Date:Sun, Nov 15, 2015 6:30 am

I beg to differ, Coleen. I am required to provide my address every time I address the commission, which may be more than once during the course of a commission meeting. I believe it is to prove my Mt. Lebanon residency, according to the Office of Open Records. You are a public servant; commissioner of Ward 3, who sadly can't spell your fellow colleague's name correctly. I am asking you yet again, since you have a history of providing varying degrees of facts in your SFI, please prove your eligibility by stating your new address and see that your dossier is updated on the Municipality of Mt. Lebanon's website. 


Thank you.

Elaine Gillen



-----Original Message-----
From: Coleen Vuono <cvuono@mtlebanon.org>
To: egillen476 <egillen476@aol.com>; Commission <commission@mtlebanon.org>; Keith Mcgill <kmcgill@mtlebanon.org>; Philip Weis <philip.weis@bipc.com>; Nicholas Meduho
Sent: Sun, Nov 15, 2015 12:15 am
Subject: Re: Statements of Financial Interests


Ms. Gillen,
Please ask Mr. Meduho about the response he received from Keith McGill about my statement of financial interest form. It has been filed with the State Ethics Commission and with Mt. Lebanon.
You asked at the commission meeting on 11/10 if I was still a resident of the third ward. Commissioner Bromfield responded to your question. There is nothing more to say.
Since I made the proposal to add sharpshooting to our deer management program you have been harassing me via email. I'm advising you to stop.
Coleen Vuono

Update November 15, 2015 11:25 AM March 2014 Stage 2 Sell ad in mtl Magazine and asking again for information as to residency requirements. I filed a Right To Know asking for proof of Coleen Vuono's Ward 3 residency.

Update November 15, 2015 6:54 PM 31 Woodland was sold on Friday, November 13, 2015 for $375,000. It is 46 days until January 1. Coleen's term ends on December 31, 2015. If Coleen turns in her resignation tomorrow, the commission will not have to find a replacement for her. As of today, there are 45 days until December 31, 2015. Section 309 of the Home Rule Charter (http://mtlebanon.org/DocumentCenter/Home/View/3860) states that the commission must fill the vacancy within 45 days after the vacancy occurs.

8 comments:

Unknown said...

Nick M. and Barbara S. scoring some serious victories recently... we have much to learn from their approaches to important matters....

Lebo Citizens said...

Amen to that, Jason! Check out the update.
Elaine

Anonymous said...

Jason, this is just the tip of the iceberg. I was filled in on some other questionable events this evening by another resident. Also, when you dissect the PA game commission laws, the archery contract between Mt. Lebanon and White Buffalo and responses from right to know requests received by Mt. Lebanon, one doesn't need a degree from Harvard or know rocket science to figure that the whole deer archery program was born from lies and deceptions.

With all that said Jason and with all the other questionable items, we are hunting for a new manager to lead us and our community. Is this the environment we want to invite him/her in to? I think not.

Nick M.

Anonymous said...

I hope this comment isn't too off topic but since Elaine mentioned that she has to state her address when she speaks at commission meetings I thought I would add this: I don't think Mt Lebanon can protect the names/addresses of some people in Mt Lebanon while requiring every citizen that speaks at a meeting to state their name/address, which then goes into minutes that are posted on the internet. Further, have you noticed that when citizens are recommended to serve on boards, their names/addresses are left out of the agendas and instead one observes a blank space. I think this practice violates the Equal Protection Clause contained within the Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment and serves to intimidate free speech*.

*Whatever they say they don't wish to do (i.e., the newish speech by the president of the commission at each meeting), they actually do.

Unknown said...

Comment for both 9:50 and 10:02...

Nick, I completely agree. We are searching for a new Dean at the School of Education at Duquesne. The extent to which candidates think they are walking into a hornet's nest not only impacts the quality of the applicants you get, but also the work of the person entering the job from day #1.

10:02pm, I have personally experienced this. My speaking at commissioners meetings led some on the commission to conduct 'background opposition research' on me. They found that when I moved here, I misunderstood the local laws from the state I moved from and briefly had a charge against me from Scott Township police. This charge was dropped months later, but they sat on this info for years. Then, just a few months ago amidst the deer debate, someone posted on a Post Gazette Article Comment section ... they used the information of the past charge against me to silence my opinion on the deer policies in MTL.

All to say: I am living proof that speaking openly during Citizens Comments with full identification can be hazardous.

Lebo Citizens said...

I updated this post with Coleen's cease and desist letter.
Elaine

Anonymous said...

I think people should just start saying the Ward they live in... that's pretty reasonable and it's done in other communities.

Anonymous said...

In this town, we all live in the Mental Ward.