Jenn Pae and City Hall's $100 Million Lie

[Brian Essi]

This past week, City Hall’s Director of Finance Jenn Pae made the following false statement concerning the Issue 64 referendum challenge to the Cleveland Clinic agreement: “At risk is more than $100 million of investment in healthcare currently under way.” In fact, the bad agreement pushed by City Hall and Pae results in $107 million in healthcare leaving Lakewood. This can ONLY be stopped by voting AGAINST Issue 64.

Here are the facts that expose City Hall’s $100 million lie:

I. LAKEWOOD OWNED $157 Million in Healthcare Investments prior to the Master Agreement with CCF:

1. $54M market value of liquid investments on the balance sheet of the Lakewood Hospital Association’s (LHA), per audited LHA financial statements.
2. $33.5M market value of liquid investments by the Lakewood Hospital Foundation (LHF) on the LHA balance sheet, per audited LHA financial statement.
3. $70M going concern value of Lakewood Hospital (per LHA and Clinic paid consultant).

II. LAKEWOOD LOSES $157 Million in Healthcare Investments that are leaving Lakewood:

1. $54M LHA Investments – GONE. The entire portfolio of investments was given to the Clinic for the mysterious and unexplained “wind-down costs”. It’s all gone.
2. $33.5M LHF investments – GONE. Immediately upon signing the Master Agreement the LHF’s $33.5M dropped off the LHA balance sheet, per the audited 2015 financial statements. LHF immediately ceased being for a hospital and ceased being a Lakewood investment. Wealthy family trusts controlled by the Cleveland Foundation immediately pulled their money out of Lakewood because we no longer had a hospital to support. Indeed, LHF president Ken Haber publicly announced “the LHF does not belong to Lakewood.” Wow.
3. $70M Hospital going concern – GONE. City Hall continues to lie, but the fact is the hospital is GONE and the Clinic took everything except an empty gutted building that can’t be used by other healthcare providers due to a non-compete gifted to the Clinic. Further, the empty shell of the hospital building is no longer a healthcare investment.

III. Healthcare Assets OWNED by Lakewood are Privatized – and ONLY $50.5 Million:

1. $34M Family Health Center. The Clinic will invest $34M in a new Family Health Center PRIVATELY OWNED by the Cleveland Clinic.
2. $16.5M Private Foundation. City Hall and Jenn Pae boast about a new $32M “community-run health and wellness foundation.” But that won’t be controlled by Lakewood, and it won’t be fully funded until 2026. The present value of the funding is only $16.5M. Just last week Law Director Kevin Butler said it will be a PRIVATE foundation that won’t repeat the mistake of having public trustees---they will be private/secret trustees.

Conclusions:

1. Jenn Pae’s claim of $100M “investment in healthcare” is an outright lie.
2. Lakewood OWNED $157M worth of investments in healthcare – GONE per the Master Agreement.
3. The Master Agreement leaves us with only $50.5M of PRIVATE healthcare investments.
4. BOTTOM LINE: A NET amount of $107M in healthcare investments were taken from Lakewood and City Hall is LYING about it.

[Bill Call]

The Mayor and his supporters like to pretend that the City did not already own the Hospitals assets.

They are trying real hard to convince people that the assets of the Lakewood Hospital Foundation have nothing to do with the deal. $34 million has just disappeared and there attitude is: What Foundation?

[Bridget Conant]

So the hospital was worth at least 70 million and now we are getting a 34 million dollar health center. Wooo Hoo.

What about the value of the parking garage and office tower that are being torn down? Who is paying for the demolition of the two structures? Is the city paying for the infrastructure improvements for that parcel for the Clinic?

None of the figures add up or make sense - a hallmark of a shell game.

At taxpayer expense.

Vote AGAINST Issue 64 and let them know we aren't that stupid.

[Jim O'Bryan]

Listen, they lied about the hospital closing, they lied about the $120 million in new development, they lie about all of it.

It is the craziest thing I have ever seen.

.

[Bridget Conant]

And they flip out when questioned.

Imagine that, taxpayers and citizens asking questions!

It's resulted in a lawsuit meant to shut everyone up. Asking for identities of posters who exercise their First Amendment right to criticize the mayor and the hospital deal!

This administration is duplicitous, vindictive, secretive, manipulative, just downright DIRTY.

Dimora and Russo look like altar boys next to these miscreants.

Think this will make it into the lawsuit filings?

[Dan Alaimo]

For more like Jenn Pae's op-ed piece, see the Lakewood Voters for Progress Facebook page. It looks like they are not allowing comments of any kind, but I'm sure there are workarounds.

[m buckley]

This past week, City Hall’s Director of Finance Jenn Pae made the following false statement concerning the Issue 64 referendum challenge to the Cleveland Clinic agreement: “At risk is more than $100 million of investment in healthcare currently under way.” In fact, the bad agreement pushed by City Hall and Pae results in $107 million in healthcare leaving Lakewood. This can ONLY be stopped by voting AGAINST Issue 64.

Here are the facts that expose City Hall’s $100 million lie:

I. LAKEWOOD OWNED $157 Million in Healthcare Investments prior to the Master Agreement with CCF:

1. $54M market value of liquid investments on the balance sheet of the Lakewood Hospital Association’s (LHA), per audited LHA financial statements.
2. $33.5M market value of liquid investments by the Lakewood Hospital Foundation (LHF) on the LHA balance sheet, per audited LHA financial statement.
3. $70M going concern value of Lakewood Hospital (per LHA and Clinic paid consultant).

II. LAKEWOOD LOSES $157 Million in Healthcare Investments that are leaving Lakewood:

1. $54M LHA Investments – GONE. The entire portfolio of investments was given to the Clinic for the mysterious and unexplained “wind-down costs”. It’s all gone.
2. $33.5M LHF investments – GONE. Immediately upon signing the Master Agreement the LHF’s $33.5M dropped off the LHA balance sheet, per the audited 2015 financial statements. LHF immediately ceased being for a hospital and ceased being a Lakewood investment. Wealthy family trusts controlled by the Cleveland Foundation immediately pulled their money out of Lakewood because we no longer had a hospital to support. Indeed, LHF president Ken Haber publicly announced “the LHF does not belong to Lakewood.” Wow.
3. $70M Hospital going concern – GONE. City Hall continues to lie, but the fact is the hospital is GONE and the Clinic took everything except an empty gutted building that can’t be used by other healthcare providers due to a non-compete gifted to the Clinic. Further, the empty shell of the hospital building is no longer a healthcare investment.

III. Healthcare Assets OWNED by Lakewood are Privatized – and ONLY $50.5 Million:

1. $34M Family Health Center. The Clinic will invest $34M in a new Family Health Center PRIVATELY OWNED by the Cleveland Clinic.
2. $16.5M Private Foundation. City Hall and Jenn Pae boast about a new $32M “community-run health and wellness foundation.” But that won’t be controlled by Lakewood, and it won’t be fully funded until 2026. The present value of the funding is only $16.5M. Just last week Law Director Kevin Butler said it will be a PRIVATE foundation that won’t repeat the mistake of having public trustees---they will be private/secret trustees.

Conclusions:

1. Jenn Pae’s claim of $100M “investment in healthcare” is an outright lie.
2. Lakewood OWNED $157M worth of investments in healthcare – GONE per the Master Agreement.
3. The Master Agreement leaves us with only $50.5M of PRIVATE healthcare investments.
4. BOTTOM LINE: A NET amount of $107M in healthcare investments were taken from Lakewood and City Hall is LYING about it.

Good Ol' Jenn Pae, always there to shovel more manure on the pile.

[Brian Essi]

The City Hall lies are piling up so fast it is hard to knock every one down.

That pretty much says what our elected officials and public servants think of the people of Lakewood who they are sworn to serve and protect.

[Lori Allen _]

Brian,

I just read the print version of your article in the paper. Wow! Holy crap! In my opinion, this appears to have some characteristics of money laundering, similar to what appears to be happening with the housing in Lakewood.

For those of you that are unfamiliar with money laundering, I can briefly explain it, as the term is sometimes misused and can be confused with other forms of financial crimes.

In my understanding, money laundering is the process of "cleaning" "dirty" money that is obtained from an alleged criminal or otherwise dubious act. It can be anything from drug dealing to illegal business deals, to political corruption, etc, hence the term "launder". Allegedly "dirty" money obtained from allegedly criminal acts must be "cleaned" so that it does not raise red flags when going through the financial world. Therefore, alleged money launderers often put allegedly "dirty" money through seemingly legitimate transactions or deals to "clean" or "launder" the allegedly dirty money. A fairly common way that alleged money launderers clean allegedly dirty money is to put it through seemingly legitimate real estate transactions. A good example can be seen at this link:

http://www.mintpressnews.com/how-to-lau ... te/168778/

Another way that alleged money launderers clean allegedly dirty money is using a process called bank capture. In this method, alleged money launders purchase a whole bank or otherwise exert great control over it (e.g. through membership on the bank's board of directors, trustees, friends, etc.). Once alleged money launderers have control over a bank, they can typically move allegedly dirty money through this bank to avoid bank staff becoming suspicious and so red flags are not raised.

This is just a tad bit of information, since we are discussing millions of dollars and alleged lying. I can't say for sure that it is money laundering, but it does not smell 100% clean to me. Read up on money laundering and draw your own conclusions.

I guess if I am silenced or somehow go missing soon, well, draw your own conclusions.

[Lori Allen _]

Does anyone else believe that there is the possibility of a certain bank in Lakewood being involved with what appears to be a city take over by money laundering? Perhaps an investigation is in order. They all can run, but they can't hide! I believe it is in Jen Pae's best interests to start singing like a bird!

[Jim O'Bryan]

For those of you that are unfamiliar with money laundering, I can briefly explain it, as the term is sometimes misused and can be confused with other forms of financial crimes.

In my understanding, money laundering is the process of "cleaning" "dirty" money that is obtained from an alleged criminal or otherwise dubious act. It can be anything from drug dealing to illegal business deals, to political corruption, etc, hence the term "launder". Allegedly "dirty" money obtained from allegedly criminal acts must be "cleaned" so that it does not raise red flags when going through the financial world. Therefore, alleged money launderers often put allegedly "dirty" money through seemingly legitimate transactions or deals to "clean" or "launder" the allegedly dirty money. A fairly common way that alleged money launderers clean allegedly dirty money is to put it through seemingly legitimate real estate transactions. A good example can be seen at this link:

http://www.mintpressnews.com/how-to-lau ... te/168778/

Lori

I posted some time ago the definitions of money laundering, and RICO. The term money laundering is applied even by the FBI as moving money through a variety, of means, usually two or more, that disguises, or camouflages where the money came from.

I do believe this community needs to look at over lapping boards. Legal or not, perception is troubling.

.

[Lori Allen _]

Thanks Jim,

I have gotten a pretty good education of crime from my relatives.
I have one relative in Homeland Security now and one retired from the FBI. Without looking over the evidence, they would not give a definite answer. However, they both believe that Summers and Company's activities appear to look very suspicious and require looking into. Hmmmmm. Who knows what the future will bring?

[Brian Essi]

Summers was in my neighborhood an Saturday and out did Pae's $100M lie.

Summers is distributing literature with a $120 M lie and a $51.6M lie.

So Summers out-lied Pae by $71.6 M.

Summers is the bigger liar.

[Lori Allen _]

Wow! Summers was actually walking, and not stumbling? I'm in shock! I believe this must be the first time in a while!

I wonder when Mike Summers will go down on Newman and in Birdtown to deliver literature? If anyone happens to run into Summers, please ask him for me. I believe the only time he goes there is when he is looking for another home to allegedly steal from a poor, elderly, terminally ill, Black, Hispanic, or Arabic person.

This man, in my opinion, is a joke.

[Patrick Wadden]

Lori, does Summers still have Lakewood people or possibly FBI stationed in front of your house?