The Observation Deck

Ukrainian Oligarchs Control Downtown Real Estate!!!!!!

How about that for a great conspiracy theory, except its not a theory.

From the article:

Using the laundered loan proceeds, Optima acquired the following Cleveland buildings:

One Cleveland Center: 1375 E. 9th St. Acquired for $86.3 million in May, 2008
55 Public Square. Acquired for $34 million in July, 2008.
Huntington Building: 925 Euclid Ave. Acquired for $18.5 million in June, 2010.
AECOM/Penton Media Building: 1300 E. 9th St. Acquired for $46.5 million in August, 2010
Crowne Plaza Building: 777 St. Clair Ave. Acquired in a joint venture with Denver-based Sage Hospitality Group.

This is the part that interested me:

"In recent years, Optima has been selling off its Cleveland properties, most of which have fallen into disrepair and suffer from high vacancy rates."

High vacancy rates? I thought downtown was booming?

Meanwhile, here in Lakewood our City government is set to spend $15 million dollars on site development for an office building. Oh, after spending the $15 million the City will sell the land to the Mayors friends and Carnegie Development for $1.

Ho, Ho, Ho

The only real reporting done in this town is found in the Lakewood Observer and Scene Magazine.

There is new money in Russia and former Soviet Republics. New business.
Usually when large amounts of it are moved to America, it gets parked in London for a while, then moved to Florida.
The Florida banks got a lot of practice moving money in the 80s.
it is no worse than when new money from taiwan or south korea or japan or hong kong or malaysia or thailand or china or saudi arabia or the UAE or dubai or the philippines started getting parked in the USA.
Optima is not guilty of crimes in Ukraine, Optima is only guilty of not being very good at managing buildings.

https://www.thenation.com/article/miami ... rty-money/

https://themoscowproject.org/collusion/ ... -russians/

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2014 ... eal-estate

Here is the wikipedia list of Ukrainian Oligarchs.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainian_oligarchs

If Ukraine exerted a modest tax on its oligarchs, the Ukraine would not require 1.6 billion dollars in military aid from the United States. Ukraine could simply buy 1.6 billion dollars in military stuff from the United States. This would leave Oligarchs with less money for investing in london and Miami. Or Ukraine could refuse to buy 1.6 billion dollars in military stuff from the United States: but then the United States providers of that stuff would have to find something else useful to do.
Miami likes both Ukrainian oligarchs and Russian Oligarchs. They seem to get along with each other pretty well.

Didn't one of these fellows sell his giant home in Lakewood within the last year?
I know the answer, but does JO?
(I'm trying to sound like JO)