Pittsburgh Photos: A Colorful Building in Wilkinsburg

A colorful building in Wilkinsburg. Full pic here.

Lying Blackmailing Wilkinsburg Code Enforcer Jim Frank trails me for a block in a white city vehicle and calls me a "lazy fat bastard".

Lying Blackmailing Wilkinsburg Code Enforcer Jim Frank trails me for a block in a white city vehicle and calls me a "lazy fat bastard". His superiors have been notified.

So whatever happened to lying blackmailing Wilkinsburg code enforcer Jim Frank? The bad tempered grumpy old man (attempted representation of Mr. Frank at left) who stars in this story (Jim Frank: Wilkinsburg Code Enforcement or sleazy 70s Mafia-style goon demanding payment "or else".) and this one (Where Wilkinsburg Code Enforcer Jim Frank lies about blackmail attempt and runs away from me like a little girl.) and this one (Where I answer friendly comments by Patio and Vinny about lying blackmailing Wilkinsburg code enforcer Jim Frank...).

Well, for a long time, nothing had happened since the last story had been printed on August 3rd. I figured out that they had figured out that they didn't have much of case of forcing a tenant to pay for the landlord's property upkeep. I might also note that they probably also figured out that they could still use that law to intimidate more gullible people who can't research case law. If that ordinance were to ever be used against me, then I would kill it. Fair enough.

That changed last Wednesday morning Sept. 8, between 11:30 and 11:45 AM, when Mr. Frank approached me while driving a white City of Wilkinsburg vehicle and started shouting at me from his driver's window. I think I gave him an acknowledgment of sorts and walked away from him. Afterall, I tend to think that he's a jerk and not the brightest opponent I've encountered. So, and this is where it gets interesting. This nutjob follows me down the left side of the street for an entire block, occasionally yelling inanities and odd requests. (Would you give this guy a copy of your lease without a court order?) There was also this odd complaint about his bosses asking him questions about this particular case. Well, I would hope so. I reminded him, as I was striding away from this fruit loop, that I didn't go to his house and threaten him on his porch. Then the street ends at Wood so he can't stalk me anymore on a two way street so he jumps out of his car and calls me: "a lazy fat bastard." I then responded "Hey, can I quote you on that you fuckin' moron?"

His response sounded to me like he didn't care which is just fine because I was going to quote him anyway. Its okay I checked with my imaginary rich white male editor. He has my back unlike other editors I've had.

Now yesterday afternoon I spoke to Wilkinsburg Fire Chief Owen McAfee, who is supposed to be Frank's "boss" (Does he have one? I mean, really.) and I asked him is that the sort of behavior that he encourages in his code enforcers? And if it is can I please work for him because that sounds like a very cool job.

To McAfee's credit he said "No." Now, I have to complete the complaint form for the Wilkinsburg Borough Manager Marla Marcinko, which should be turned in Wednesday. But will Jim Frank receive any punishment at all for this? By the way, I put this into the very big box I call "Things white folks get away with at work that I could never get away with." Stay tuned...

Related: One odd thing about this: as soon as Jim finished describing me, inaccurately as I have noted in the past that I'm Forest Whitaker Ghost Dog fit, another white guy drove up right beside him. I have to admit that he looked more intimidating than Frank, who looks to be near death and as you can imagine I certainly wish him well. This other guy was the kind of guy you would cast in a Sons of Anarchy episode. He was a bald guy, tattoos on both of his forearms, drove a brown pickup of some kind. Let me guess: Frank provokes me, for after all we are all violent negroes who can't control our tempers, and this guy just happens to come along and what, shoots me..? Frank claims to the police. "Tragic officers jus' tragic. This big negro starts to strangling me fer no good reason as I was just minding my business trailing him down the street in my car and yellin' obscenities at him out the winda'...good thing my friend came along and shot him six times. Yep what luck.. Self defense all the way officers. Self Defense."

Ha ha ha. Nah. My speculation sounds far fetched. I would say that other guy arriving then and there was 99 percent coincidence. However, its that other one percent that nags at me...well, ready when you are. Hurm. More Related: If ever attacked, then I would vigorously defend myself.

WhereWilkinsburg Code Enforcer Jim Frank lies about blackmail attempt and runs away from me like a little girl.

Well, I think its time I update my private little war with Wilkinsburg code enforcer Jim Frank. Four things have happened since July 21st, or the publication of my last story:

Jim Frank: Wilkinsburg Code Enforcement or sleazy 70s

Mafia-style goon demanding payment "or else".

1. I had a less than sedate encounter with Mr. Frank the morning of July 21st where I confronted him and told him that threatening to evict me over a messy lawn (that I don't own as a tenant) was a criminal act. He denied that he ever did it which I could sort of believe if he hadn't told me to my face and on my porch that he was going to "going to getcha out of here." He was even nice enough to explain his tactics: trumped up code violations. He was supposed to walk me through the local ordinance but instead pouted, said "I don't want to talk to you, sniff" and ran away, or walked away as fast as a broken down old white man can move. He's plus 50 at least...

2. After informing Mr. Frank that I was an online writer (with many outlets for publication) on July 21st, and yes his jaw did drop, I received what could only be called a "warning of a possible citation" in the mail Friday, July 23rd. This is not unlike receiving "warning of a possible traffic ticket". The only time they give you warnings is when law enforcement officials are in a charitable mood (rare) or when they're not sure you're actually guilty. Well, being that Jim had already threatened me with eviction (for someone else's messy lawn) let's rule out one. I might also note that this citation had no compliance date and he lied to me again (Or was it incompetence? Probably both...) about how many days I had to appeal this decision to the Board of Appeals.

I must confess that I found this "warning of a possible citation" somewhat weak. It certainly isn't the trait of a true tough guy. Its almost like another kind of running away...

3. I sent Jim Frank, Wilkinsburg solicitor Pat McGrail and Wilkinsburg Mayor John Thompson a "Formal request for a board hearing on the matter of violation number 627 and the accusation that a renter can be in violation of section 302.4" by way of email and fax. I haven't ruled out mail and personal delivery, either. I'm going to publish the entirety of this request for a formal hearing here.

4. This morning I had a very civil chat with representatives from the Allegheny County District Attorney's office, Mike Ball and Courtney Butterfield. Short verdict: Not enough for a criminal claim, yet. I will try to provide them with more.

I'm going to comment more on 1, 2 and three here. I'm going to save 4 for yet another story.

By the way, if you're going to research your own case law at the state level and you're fighting against the Wilkinsburg code enforcer you want to concentrate your initial efforts in two places.

I looked at the record of WIlkinsburg city ordinance they had at the Wilkinsburg library but those records aren't complete. I was, however, able to find a complete record over at the Wilkinsburg borough website, or here. And yes the Wilkinsburg ordinance does say that a landlord or tenant is responsible for the lawn. But does that reflect the state's landlord tenanct act? No it doesn't. I might also note that its not a very attractive slogan for the city: "Come to Wilkinsburg where we'll sue you for the crimes and misdeeds of your landlord. Because, you know, you're working class and poor and you'll buy anything code enforcer Jim Frank says."

It has to do with the responsibilities of landlords vs. tenants and which group controls "common areas".

You can find a copy of the landlord tenant act here. But what about the case law? Is there a state case where the tenant has been found by either a judge or a jury to be responsible for the landlord's property, absent an express agreement within the original lease? I couldn't find one and I challenged and still challenge Wilkinsburg Solicitor Pat McGrail to find one. You can research Pennsylvania commonwealth court decisions here. Its not as good as Westlaw or Lexis Nexis but its a start.

Here's the formal request I wrote:

Attn:



Jim Frank

Pat McGrail

Mayor John Thompson



FORMAL REQUEST FOR A BOARD HEARING ON THE MATTER OF VIOLATION NUMBER 627 AND THE ACCUSATION THAT A RENTER CAN BE IN VIOLATION OF SECTION 302.4



First, I believe that this is the appropriate law where I'm allowed a board hearing:



"F-106.9 Application for appeal: Any person shall have the right to appeal a decision of the Code Official to the Board of Appeals. A written application for appeal must be filed within 10 days after the day of the decision, notice, or order was served. An application for appeal shall be based on a claim that the true intent of this code, or the rules legally adopted thereunder, have been incorrectly interpreted, the provisions of this Code do not fully apply, or an equivalent form of construction is to be used."



My anticipated defenses will include but are not limited to:



Defense one: Citation order improperly filled out.



There is no compliance date listed in the two orders that I've received in my mail therefore there is no proper way for me to be in compliance.



Defense two: Bad faith and/or incompetence by Code Enforcer Jim Frank, part one.



Jim Frank gives the wrong time frame for when I can appeal. According to the law that I've found on Wilkinsburg's very own website I have but 10 days to request my board hearing. Yet in both letters sent to me by Mr. Frank he gives me the date as "20 days". Let me guess: if I didn't know that Mr. Frank is a liar and a blackmailer and I had actually taken his word for it (ha) and filed a request for appeal on the 19th or 20th day then I would have been notified, probably sarcastically by Mr.Frank, that my time had run out. (Just for the record: the date on both of the letters I've received is July 21st. This means that I have at least until July 31st to request a board hearing. This is being written on July 26th, well within the deadline.)



Defense three: Extreme Bad faith by Wilkinsburg Code Enforcer Jim Frank, part two.



What Jim leaves out, somewhat inexplicably, is that he threatened to try to evict me if I didn't play ball. He made it very very clear that other code violations would miraculously appear (He even was nice enough to show me how this would work by pointing out that he was pretty sure that a cable going to the upstairs was a violation...) His exact quote in a face to face meeting with me on my porch was "I'm going to getcha out of here." I take that as a threat. In fact, I take that as a criminal threat and severe misuse of Mr. Frank's office that would certainly rise to the level of justly depriving him of both his job and pension.



While I'm not certain of what civil complaints I shall make, I can guarantee you that criminal complaints will be made, probably no later than the end of the business day this Friday. The preliminary claims would seem to include blackmail, extortion, threats, improper influence in public matters and malfeasance.



Defense four: Wilkinsburg code is in open and blatant conflict with the state's Landlord Tenant Act.



The landlord tenant act clearly defines the responsibilities of both tenants and landlords. Tenants are not responsible for "common areas" under the state's landlord tenant act. Here is a definition (a common definition actually) of "common areas".



"common area in landlord-tenant law, a common area is shared by all owners of a condominium or cooperative housing unit or owned by the management organization, rather than being owned by an individual owner. Common areas may include recreation facilities, outdoor space, parking, landscaping, fences, elevators, laundry rooms and all other jointly used space."



I believe the key word there is "landscaping". Please don't try to pin this on me. By the way, just as a common sense defense, I'm not responsible for other people's crimes, period.



Defense five: Landscaping not consistent with original lease or with any oral agreement I've made with the owner of this property.



Landscaping and lawn maintenance is nowhere to be found in the original lease that I signed with my landlord. Furthermore, if you can take Mr. Frank's word for it (and you can't) he has expressed the opinion, on the morning of July 21st at the Wilkinsburg public library when I told him that his attempted blackmail of me was a criminal offense among other things, that I'm now living under an oral contract. Under an oral contract, according to the case analysis I've read, all responsibility falls to the owner, not the tenant. Not a good counterargument. This means that Jim doesn't read the case law for himself or that his comprehension of reading materials is severely limited. Either way Wilkinsburg borough loses.



Defense Six: I have offered smarter and friendlier solutions that don't involve blackmailing me.



In a story published online July 21st I offered these counter proposals. These aren't as much fun as threatening me but they'll solve the problem.



First, there's the perfectly legal one: Wilkinsburg can cut the grass and cite my landlord for the expenses and send her the bill, which is perfectly legal under state law. Yeah I know Jim said he couldn't find her even though I have her email address and phone number but tough luck. This is her property. I'm not liable for that BP spill, either.



Two, Wilkinsburg has a Weed and Seed program. I would have no problem if someone came over and cut stuff and planted pretty flowers, not only in the front, but also the backyard. I'm sure my landlord wouldn't mind, especially if it got her out of yet another fine and citation/arrest warrant. I'll email the coordinator right after having a chat with the DA about the wonderful tactics of Wilkinsburg Code Enforcer Jim Frank...



Three, or the city could just pay me a hundred bucks to cut the lawn twice a summer. (By the way, it would probably cost no more than 100 bucks, each time, to do that. Or I could find somebody through Craigslist. I might note that there have been almost a record number of demolitions in Wilkinsburg over the last three months. Each one costs, I believe, around 13 thousand dollars each at least--I'm guessing this is stimulus money. You would think they would have the money to cut the landlord's lawn...)



By the way, for three, this would be conditional upon the borough, in writing because we just can't believe anything that Jim says, noting that I'm not responsible for landscaping on the property or major repairs that involve the city. I would be doing this out of the goodness of my vast and generous heart.



I look forward to my day in front of the board or in front of an appropriate court of law.



Sincerely,



Philip Shropshire

www.threeriversonline.com



PS: I challenge the Wilkinsburg solicitor to name a single case where a tenant, absent specific direction from a written lease, has been found liable for the upkeep of the landlord's land. I make this challenge not out of hubris but humility because I can't find a single case with a judge or jury where that decision has been reached in a Pennsylvania courtroom. And no people who don't fight back or can't read case law or miss filing deadlines don't count. I hit back.

Jim Frank: Wilkinsburg Code Enforcement or sleazy 70s Mafia-style goon demanding payment "or else".

You know I can't say I have much respect for the Tea Party and their openly racist fellow travelers. But there is a kernel of truth to some of the arguments that they make against the evils of big government. I agree with McGovern that the only thing that can countervail Big Business is Big Government, although I would be interested in his opinion when Big Business essentially owns Big Government. I am horrified about the relationship that BP has with our current government. And that has to change.

(that's an artist's rendition of Jim Frank...possibly.)

However, there is some truth to the idea that government officials, pretty much with a casual malicious glee, can pretty much ruin your life if they decide to enforce rules that you've never heard of before or if you tell them that their interpretation of the law is wrong and that both contract law and settled state law overrides the Wilkinsburg ordinance.

I'll give you a personal story of how this works. Several months ago Wilkinsburg code enforcer Jim Frank had told me that I needed to cut the lawn. I told him that I was a renter and that cutting the lawn was my landlord's responsibility. I mean, I'll take out the garbage, clean up loose trash and in the winter I'll even remove the snow. But as a renter, for over 26 years even going back to college and through several towns, I've never had to cut the lawn and my current lease is very clear that lawn care isn't one of my responsibilities. I might also mention that I hadn't been approached about the lawn the previous several years that I had lived here, which makes me think that there might be some outside forces at work. (I've made enemies, powerful....) My money is on the rich landlord right across from me or it might be the black church...Who knows. I will destroy you all.

By the way, for all you legal beagles out there, landlord-tenant contracts are considered mostly contracts of adhesion. That's a fancy way of saying that as an average tenant that you don't have much say over the average landlord contract. You usually have to take it as is. What this also means is that if there's a laundry list of responsibilities within the lease agreement then that's all there is. The landlord can't later say "Oh, and I wanted him to cut the lawn as well..." The landlord gets one shot at the apple because they're considered the powerful person in this relationship. I'm also sure the code enforcement officer can't say it after several years especially as a Third Party without standing, and super especially after ignoring the problem for the previous three summers....

Now, and this was either Friday morning of last week or Monday morning of this week, he knocks on my door again. He gives me the same spiel and I tell him that I am within the law of my signed lease (and also, as I discovered later, well within the law of the state's Landlord Tenant Law, which trumps local ordinances, especially if they're in conflict and I'm talking to you Miss or Mrs. Wilkinsburg Borough Solicitor Pat McGrail...) and this is where it gets interesting. I don't mind him for doing his job. He certainly has a right to point out what the code is. What he doesn't get to do is play favorites or make it very clear that if I don't cut the lawn he's going to look for code violations in order to evict me. Now, I don't remember the exact sequence or words spoken in the next minute afterward but then he pointed out that he thought he was pretty sure that a cable going to the upstairs was a violation (what he didn't know is that it wasn't plugged in and that I've received no complaints from my landlord since moving here in 2007.). Then that devolved into we'll talk about this in a week. And then, after that, and I took this to be a threat he said, and I quote: "I'm going to getcha out of here."

So let's review. The penalty for not cutting my lawn is a citation and maybe a fine if I don't obey the citation. There's also penalties for having a cord run up to the upstairs. I don't know I guess I'll find out. I don't think there's anything in the Wilkinsburg book of code, that I have since browsed through and made some copies of, that declares that Wilkinsburg Code enforcer (much like Al Capone enforcer Frank Nitti) Jim Frank has the right to threaten and blackmail me with eviction if I don't cut my landlord's lawn, in accordance with the original intent of my own lease. I felt like that some poor shop owner being told about "consequences" and "We wouldn't want anything to 'appen to your nice military base now would we?" if I didn't pay the mob's protection money.

Well, Jim, I'm not paying you the racket money. I didn't run from the Klan and I don't run from the gang leader who lives four or five doors down from me. Take your best shot.

I'll see you in a court, probably as both a defendant and a plaintiff. I'm filing a criminal charge of extortion and blackmail against you in the next ten days. Civil claims will probably follow. I can write my own briefs. Sometimes I even win.

I'll see you in court. I'm also going to send this to the Wilkinsburg Solicitor tonight by way of her website.

Respectfully but without fear,

Philip Shropshire

www.threeriversonline.com

Related: Just for the record, there are some intelligent and law abiding solutions to the lawn problem, as opposed to blackmailing me with eviction if I don't cut my landlord's lawn or manicure her toes or whatever.

First, there's the perfectly legal one: Wilkinsburg can cut the grass and cite my landlord for the expenses and send her the bill, which is perfectly legal under state law. Yeah I know Jim said he couldn't find her even though I have her email address and phone number but tough luck. This is her property. I'm not liable for that BP spill, either.

Two, Wilkinsburg has a Weed and Seed program. I would have no problem if someone came over and cut stuff and planted pretty flowers, not only in the front, but also the backyard. I'm sure my landlord wouldn't mind, especially if it got her out of yet another fine and citation/arrest warrant. I'll email the coordinator right after having a chat with the DA about the wonderful tactics of Wilkinsburg Code Enforcer Jim Frank...

Three, or the city could just pay me a hundred bucks to cut the lawn twice a summer. (By the way, it would probably cost no more than 100 bucks, each time, to do that. Or I could find somebody through Craigslist. I might note that there have been almost a record number of demolitions in Wilkinsburg over the last three months. Each one costs, I believe, around 13 thousand dollars each at least--I'm guessing this is stimulus money. You would think they would have the money to cut the landlord's lawn...)

I know these are all civilized and imaginative solutions and not nearly as much fun as threatening to break my knees if I don't pay Fat Tony the weekly "tribute" money but that's just how I roll.

More Related: Just to end with this government thing: when you see government abuse by arrogant government officials for god's sake write about it. Bring their evil into the light of day. That's the one major weak link with "Evil Big Guvmint" types. You can at least vote these guys out, for now anyway. You'll never have a say over what multinationals like BP do.