This thing just keeps getting uglier. I think it is safe to say that Earth Quest is officially dead in the water and that Montgomery County got swindled a bit and is out a bunch of money. http://ourtribune.com/article.php?id=13409 Second dino-park in Jasper sunk by savvy officials Tuesday, March 06, 2012 Cynthia Calvert On Nov. 9, 2006, the Houston Business Journal reported that Don Lessem, “a Philadelphia entrepreneur and nationally recognized dinosaur expert, [had] chosen southeast Montgomery County as the site of a proposed large scale tourist attraction.” According to Lessem, “Southeast Montgomery County edged out the other finalist, [the City of] Red Oak (a Dallas suburb).” He further stated that civic leaders in the New Caney area, “[were] a more aggressive and accomplished group, [with] a personal sense of commitment.” From that moment on, the excitement and anticipation of a major, Disney-caliber resort grew to a fever pitch. Time and again, local politicians and civic leaders repeated the mantra that New Caney and southeast Montgomery County had been selected over all other regions in America, news that was almost too good to be true. In particular, the board of directors of the East Montgomery County Improvement District (EMCID) took the lead in promoting, and funding, the dream that all rural counties and municipalities long to embrace. In fact, EMCID incurred liabilities in excess of $21 million to ensure that thedream would become reality. All the while, local residents eagerly awaited updates as the project progressed. At first, Lessem’s proposal was Project Rex/Dinosaur City, a 50-acre, $50 million, EPCOT-style museum and “edutainment” center. Over time, the project would morph into EarthQuest, a 1,600-acre, $600 million world-class theme park in a mega-complex valued at $1 billion. Commercial land prices soared, hotels were built, and local citizens rubbed their hands in glee, unbelieving of their good fortune. The train to the Promised Land had left the station and nothing was going to derail it; even the sky was no limit. But now, almost six years later, EarthQuest is little more than fancy, watercolored pictures that adorn the boardrooms of EMCID. Lessem, the brainchild of this great adventure, has left the project, along with the developer, Marlin-Atlantis. No construction is planned; investors are nowhere to be found. Funding to EarthQuest consultants has stopped. The phone still rings at the EarthQuest Institute, but no one answers. And the site upon which EarthQuest was planned is under the threat of foreclosure. All the while, $7.635 million in municipal bonds issued by EMCID costs local taxpayers almost $600,000 in annual debt service. And no one wants to talk about the $2.5 million in cash expenditures made by EMCID for “other” expenses related to EarthQuest. Even still, Frank McCrady, president of EMCID, continues to believe in the dream, boldly stating, “EarthQuest will be built; it’s not a matter of if, but when.” So what went wrong? This is a nagging question that researchers for The Tribune have exhausted countless hours trying to answer. What they have discovered is, at best, distressing. And maybe most unsettling of all is the very genesis of EarthQuest. Of particular note are two revelations that portray a vastly different beginning than what has been told to the public. Revelation No. 1: There never was a national search to find the best location for Project Rex, the proposed museum and “edutainment” complex. 1. Lessem did conduct a nationwide solicitation of cities and economic development districts, asking them to respond to ‘requests for proposals’ (RFPs) to fund and construct Project Rex. In a newspaper article dated July 26, 2006, the Beaumont Enterprise quoted Lessem as saying, “RFPs were sent out to economic developers all over the country, in fact, in Texas there were 16 applicants.” The RFPs contained specific financial requirements that all applicants had to agree to in order to be “chosen” to participate in the search.The RFP stipulations mandated all bidders to: 1) issue revenue bonds for the construction of the project, at their own risk; 2) enact a ticket tax on visitors to repay the bonds; 3) pay for a ‘due diligence study’ at a cost of $100-$125,000; 4) pay for a second study at a cost of $50 - 75,000, if the first study was favorable; 5) pursue tax increment financing for items related to the project; 6) provide a land grant of 50 acres, preferably waterfront. This “national search” appears to have been little more than a thinly veiled ruse to find a municipality willing and able to agree to Lessem’s demands: take all the risk, fund all the expenses and hope for the best. In the process, Lessem and his associates would pocket hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxpayers’ funds for consultant fees, studies, etc. Whether or not the project ever came to fruition seems to have become incidental to the developers. And why not? They were getting paid no matter what ultimately occurred. Revelation No. 2: And the winner is . . . Jasper County? As mentioned in the opening paragraph of this article, southeast Montgomery County edged out the City of Red Oak in November of 2006 to become the “winner” of Lessem’s national search. But just six months earlier, in July of 2006, another East Texas town had already been crowned, ‘king of the dinosaurs.’ As reported in the Beaumont Enterprise on July 26, 2006, Jasper County, not southeast Montgomery County, was chosen by Lessem as the site for Project Rex. Lessem said, “I chose Jasper . . . because, in part, they promised to do some things [in] their RFP.” Even more amazing than Jasper’s selection was the other city Lessem said was Jasper’s competition. That city was none other than Orlando, Florida, home to Disney World, Universal Studios, SeaWorld and a host of other world-class attractions. But in Lessem’s world, Jasper County was much preferred over Orlando. Due to concerns raised in the “selection” process, Jasper officials called Orlando. When contacted, the representative at Orlando’s EDC replied that “. . . they had never heard of Lessem [or Project Rex].” Soon thereafter, Jasper County terminated all discussions with Lessem. The Tribune found the comment from the Orlando EDC to be very troubling. If Lessem had used a “stalking horse” between Jasper and Orlando, was the same tactic used between the New Caney area and the City of Red Oak? To find out, Tribune researchers contacted the City of Red Oak, the reported “other finalist” in November of 2006. The city manager of Red Oak acknowledged to The Tribune that his city had engaged in conversations with Lessem. However, he further stated “we never got to the point where we were ready to proceed with anything.” Obviously, if the City of Red Oak was the “other finalist” with New Caney, then they never knew it. So, was EarthQuest a fraud? That question has yet to be fully answered. But what is certain is that the entire process of selecting a site for the project was tainted with self-interest on the part of the developers. It seems clear that the primary intent of the “national search” was to only find the most willing, if not desperate, municipal entity that would open up its coffers first, and ask questions later. Furthermore, to ensure that their desired intent was achieved, the developers also appear to have orchestrated and manipulated the selection process, even going so far as to create false bidders. Cities who didn’t even know they were a “finalist.” But maybe the saddest revelation of all is the complete failure of local officials to exercise caution, restraint and due diligence. Where were the gatekeepers to the public trust when it was needed most? Unfortunately, the developer’s quest for a ‘willing and able party’ was, indeed, found in southeast Montgomery County.
This stunk from the very first moment it was ever heard of, and hopefully some fraud charges and jail time will be in the future of the scam artists, and the taxpayers can recover some of their money. Also, any and all public officials who were stupid enough to be conned into this should be forced to resign as soon as this thing is officially declared a fraud. The sad thing is, if some legit company would come in here with a real project, they could make a killing. Disney, Universal, maybe something different like a Lucasfilm-themed project, that would be amazing here. But this Earthquest crap was nothing more than a scam aimed at the people who have had their brains scrambled by the intrusive 'green' culture. Bleh.
What a complete joke this whole boondoggle has been from the very beginning. I can't believe anyone (Scarface281...) actually thought this would ever come to fruition. Shame on Montgomery County officials for not doing any due diligence whatsoever. Could you maybe, I don't know, call one of the other competing cities and ask if they've heard of this guy? It's laughable that some 3rd rate newspaper I've never heard of (and I live in Kingwood) had to do it for them. Anyone who still believes this place will ever be built, please PM me though the board. I have some Enron stock I'd like to sell you at $80/share. It's sure to hit $100 once broadband inevitably takes off...
Funny, I was thinking this morning how Houston must be one of the few/only cities of its size not to have amusement parks. Kemah is as close as we get, and it's of a smaller scale (although I like going there). Hell, they tore out Astroworld and, uh, WaterWorld?, because the land there is supposedly so valuable. Now it's, what?, a parking lot for the Houston Livestock Show and Radio, and "lies fallow" for 48 or 49 weeks of the year. I'd forgotten about this theme park. What a joke.
This is unbelievable. I never thought this thing would come to fruition..but I certainly didn't know that there might be elements of fraud behind it. My guess is when you follow the money you're going to find that some public officials made some cash on this deal somehow....involved in the land sale or some sort of "fees."
WOW http://ourtribune.com/article.php?id=13408 The Tribune has attempted to document the millions of dollars spent on the EarthQuest project, including past expenses and future obligations in recent articles. But what about other expenses? Consultant fees? Attorney fees? Travel, meals, etc.? The Tribune has asked for numerous documents over the last eight weeks and while some have been received, The Tribune is not confident it has all the expenses related to EarthQuest, the land developer, and other associated parties. On Feb. 6, Frank McCrady told The Tribune, in response to a request for a total of expenses related to EarthQuest, particularly regarding EarthQuest promoters Don Holbrook, Don Lessem, and Thomas Gardener of Marlin Atlantis, the failed land developer, that EMCID was hiring an accountant to do an analysis of its expenditures. To date, The Tribune has not received any information. Therefore, the financial picture related here can only be considered a partial view of EMCID expenditures. The Tribune does have the cash flow statements for 2006-2011, American Express monthly statements for McCrady and office aide Suzanne Parmer from 2007-2011, detailed mileage reimbursement forms for Parmer, and EMCID employees Sandy Seelye, Warren Mather and Tom Lewis. The Tribune looked at one year, 2009, for this article. In 2009, McCrady’s and Parmer’s American Express bills together totaled $227,000, just a few thousand dollars shy of the entire amount of money funded by EMCID for college scholarships for every graduating senior in the district. Many expenses are related office expenditures, tourism trade shows and the like. But most of the line items show when adding McCrady’s and Parmer’s American Express receipts, EMCID spent well over several hundred thousand dollars on food. No amount was too small nor too high for meals. Charges range from as little as $1 to thousands of dollars. McCrady had numerous meals at what many would consider highend, pricey establishments, including at Humble’s Chez Nous, the most expensive local restaurant. McCrady was paid nearly $100,000 as an annual salary and the EMCID board voted to award him a bonus of $50,000. Parmer and Seelye also gets hefty year-end bonuses. McCrady also gets life insurance, health benefits, a retirement contribution of thousands of dollars a year and a car allowance of nearly $25,000 annually. **update** According to McCrady's employment contract, dated June 1, 2011, and which is the 'first amendment to second amended and restated contract of employment," McCrady's 2011 compensation includes: a base annual salary of $97,515. For each year, beginning June 1, 2011, the base salary shall be increased by an amount equal to 3 percent of the prior year's actual salary as a cost of living adjustment ($,2925.45 in 2011). In addition to the base salary, he gets an amount equal to 6 percent of the base salary ($5,805.90) paid on the last day of the calendar year. The board voted to give him a $50,000 year end bonus as well. Additionally, he gets $1,750 per month for automobile allowance which is supposed to be used for "acquisition, insurance, operation, maintenance and repair and oil and gas" (although there are numerous receipts presented for reimbursement McCrady's American Express bill for payment to gas stations.) He receives medical insurance for himself and his family, a cell phone and payments, and a contribution of 8 percent of his annual salary ($7,801.20 in 2011) to a retirement plan. He also receives life insurance of $250,000. McCrady is also entitled to a discretionary bonus for "economic development" payable on May 31 of each year and a bonus of 1 percent of all money he solicits for the Education Scholarship Program. He also gets 10 vacation days, 12 personal days and not more than 17 days of military leave with pay and 12 holidays per year, or a total of 51 paid days off per year; sick days are not identified in the contract. **** EMCID employees McCrady and Parmer have their own American Express credit cards, They, along with EMCID employees Seelye, Mather and Lewis, all have Wells Fargo credit cards, too. Routine for McCrady and other EMCID staff and board members in 2009 was business-class airplane travel, limousines, expensive meals, and nights in luxurious hotels. McCrady’s statements show dozens of charges at airport bookstores, car rentals, cell phone bills, a $5,000-plus golf and dining membership at Kingwood Country Club, and several charges totaling $20,560 for Rockets tickets. Dallas Cowboys tickets, Cowboys merchandise and even Arbonne Cosmetics were all charged to McCrady’s American Express card and presented for reimbursement. In 2009, McCrady and others from EMCID made three trips to Las Vegas, one to Dallas and another to Phoenix, all trips presumably tied to EarthQuest. Holbrook lives approximately halfway between Las Vegas and Phoenix; Holbrook’s corporate office is located in Las Vegas. EarthQuest’s failed land developer, Marlin Atlantis, is located in Dallas. In December, the dino-park designers of Don Lessem, Don Holbrook and Thomas Gardener all came to New Caney. Charges from these excursions total more than $100,000. On Nov. 15, McCrady, Seelye, and board members Vickie Thumann, Leon Cubillas, Linda Floyd and her husband, Monte, all went to Las Vegas. Airfare was nearly $300 each. The group wined and dined at the Strip’s finest places: Planet Hollywood, Smith and Wollensky, Battistas, Margaritaville, Ruby D’s, the Stratta and two memorable meals – one at Morton’s Steakhouse for $1,324.95, followed by another at Joe’s Stone Crab for $1,357.91. The group stayed at the Mirage where room charges were several thousand dollars more. It is unknown if alcohol was part of these meal charges. McCrady said that EMCID does not have written policies regarding alcohol in place. McCrady provided the following written response to The Tribune’s queries: “Though no written policy is currently in place, the board has discussed with the President/CEO on the appropriate etiquette and protocol for the use of alcohol in recruiting prospects. General business etiquette guidelines and customary entertainment parameters are used in which our competitors on projects will not have any undue advantage on placing a project in their market instead of locating in East Montgomery County." “The entertainment policy is managed by the President/CEO based on recruiting businesses to the district and includes entertainment parameters that do not put EMCID in a non competitive posture in comparing our actions to others which we would be competing against in a project." Employee meals are reimbursed for actual expenses and are reviewed monthly for appropriateness prior to reimbursement. Employees attempt to utilize per diem rates when possible.” Holbrook, the consultant hired to do the EarthQuest feasibility study and to give advice about the project, The Tribune has learned, has been paid $304,000. There is, however, no dinosaur project and not a spade of dirt has been turned after approximately eight years of ‘consulting.’ Holbrook was retained for $27,000 to assist with the EarthQuest project. Additionally, he has been paid over a 5-year period $277,000 to bring EarthQuest, travel and tourism projects, and job creation projects to the district, McCrady told The Tribune last month. And what of the famed, ‘nonprofit’ EarthQuest Institute funds? TheInstitute was founded as a 501(3)c organization and is subject to the strict laws regarding charities in Texas. EMCID board chairman Cubillas is also a board member of the Institute. In December of 2009, more than 275 residents of East County attended a fundraising reception at the EMCID Building. More than $75,000 was handed to Lessem, the director of the Institute. The Institute appears to be either dead or dormant and records of the funds are not forthcoming. Probably the person who has gained the most from EarthQuest’s complex and complicated dealings including contracts, extensions, addendums, bond issuances, elections and the like is David Marks, the attorney for EMCID, who billed the district for an astonishing $318,677.48 for 2009. Marks, presumably while billing at an hourly rate, has traveled numerous times with McCrady, to Las Vegas, to Arizona and even to Paris, France, although not for EarthQuest. If the East Montgomery County Improvement District was, as it states on the EMCID website, “created to improve the economic, cultural and social conditions of the area,” there are several people, and one in particular, whose lifestyle has been enormously enriched by association with EMCID – its employees. Credit card receipts show that McCrady and Parmer often bill at least one, if not two or three meals a day to EMCID for reimbursement. In 2009, there are literally thousands of meals presented for reimbursement by the pair. McCrady submitted receipts for entertainment, gasoline, golf, purchases at bookstores and duty-free shops in airports – all paid for by EMCID. And he is not alone. Parmer also has charged the district everything from $1.83 for Chick-fil-A, to hundreds of meals, to thousands of dollars for mileage reimbursement. Both McCrady and Parmer, whose salaries have nearly doubled in a decade, received and redeemed hundreds of thousands of AmEx points, earned on the taxpayers’ dime, as well as received and redeemed thousands of Continental mileage points, again earned by charges to EMCID. And what of the community – the taxpayers footing the bills and paying the tax dollars to EMCID? Beyond negotiated, high-dollar annual contracts(EMCID contracted with the Porter and New Caney fire departments to pay them millions in order to keep them from raising the tax rate and thereby negatively affecting EarthQuest’s ability to get as much as possible from tax revenue) and the annual donations to the scholarship foundation ($245,000) and the economic development group ($50,000), McCrady and the EMCID board approved a mere handful of grants of comparatively token amounts in all of 2009. New Horizons got $2,750, New Caney Project Graduation got $1,000, the Lone Star College Foundation got $2,000, Splendora Founders Day received $550, the Splendora FFA got $1,100. Other groups receiving grants were the Splendora Boy Scouts for $3,187.21, the Lions Club for $5,000, the Historical Society received $30,000 and the Montgomery County Precinct 4 Constables Office for $94,240.80. **update** The Tribune has examined the 2009 expenses. This is a sample of what we found: McCrady's September 2009 statement, for $17,287.89, showed: Los Cucos, $50.61, Subway $5.39, McDonald's $11.45, Los Cucos $40.25, J. Christopher's pizza $23.19. Asian City Humble $77.44 and Marriott Galleria $6. Gasoline at Shell $27.07, Marriott in Point Clear, Ala., $325.06, $28.57, $100, $169.06, $2157.88; Restaurants in Alabama: $51, $32.06, $77.58, $27.15, $43.61,; Dell Computers $6792.71; $105.14 for a mac address and on line storage space; and $7100 for Rockets tickets. McCrady also used his EMCID Wells Fargo card to buy $25.27 in pizza in Alabama. The same month, Suzanne Parmer charged $4,404.36 to her American Express credit card. Website and software charges were $636.62. She charged $1.83 at the Sonic in Atascocita, $200.56 at Jason's Deli, $58.61 at Pappas Seafood, $123.05 at Pizza Hut, bought an airplane ticket to New Orleans for $447.70, spent $21.55 at Wal-Mart, and paid $2750 to attend at conference in Dallas. She also charged the district $202.06 for mileage, notary, cell phone and donuts. Other notable charges McCrady presented during 2009 were $1000 on Jan. 13 for a visit to Houston's Restaurant; $546.19 to Chimichurri's (McCrady's receipts noted he was in New York City on this date); $1000 to Houston's again on March 31; $707.86 to Chimichurri's again – the day he arrived home from a trip to Ottawa; a June 9 lunch at Joe's Crab Shack was $62.79 and dinner that same day was at Los Cucos for $54.61. On July 8, he bought 10 $100 gift cards at a Shell Gas Station in Kingwood and spent $2580 on Rockets tickets. On July 30, he spent $819.20 at Chimichurri's. On Nov. 30, he bought $1000 in gift cards from Joe's Crab Shack, Pappas Seafood and Zio's Italian restaurants. The same day he bought $1400 in gift cards from Amedeo's and had lunch there too – for $149.19. On Nov. 13, he spent $213.51 at Chez Nous. ****
And then there's this. Cynthia Calvert deserves an award. http://ourtribune.com/article.php?id=13341 A Disneyland for gun lovers Monday, February 20, 2012 Cynthia Calvert Frank McCrady, president and CEO of the East Montgomery County Improvement District (EMCID), announced last week that a preliminary agreement has been made with Front Sight Firearms Training Centers to build a facility in East County. McCrady said the project will bring significant economic impact. The firing range project, which has an interesting connection to the questionable dinosaur theme park, EarthQuest, supposedly coming to East County, also brings a controversial history. Front Sight's headquarters is located in Pahrump, Nev., the same community that former EarthQuest consultants Don Holbrook and Chris Brown have contracted with to develop a theme park in that rural area. According to the Pahrump Valley Times [10-12-2011], after the EarthQuest project stalled, Holbrook entered a contract with the rural, economically depressed Nevada community to present the efficacy of building Think Tank!, a park where visitors can drive armored tanks. Holbrook prepared a report for the town saying that Think Tank! would be a place, “Where guests would be able to drive a military tank ... in a fun, safe environment.” There would also be obstacles with special effects and explosions. Holbrook added that millions more could be gleaned from tourists if Pahrump were to expand on that idea and build 'Adventure Springs,' which would include the tank/explosion range along with a movie, a lake, a visitor center, a town, a hotel with a water park, a family entertainment center, a golf range, an event space and retail and dining space. Interestingly, this is the same situation that developed with EarthQuest, which went from a small idea called Project Rex, then became the $50 million Dino-City which eventually morphed into EarthQuest, a $600 million plus, 1600-acre resort with four “lands,” a museum, rides, special effects, a water park, hotels, conference center, restaurants, retail and office developments, with Holbrook involved every step of the way. Front Sight has a controversial history in Pahrump. Matt Ward, editor of the Pahrump Valley Times, said that while the range is part of the peaceful community, it is known as a “gun nut heaven.” The owner, a former chiropractor named Ignatius Piazzo, originally touted the idea as a residential development with a total gun focus. Piazzo, according to KLAS-TV in Las Vegas, bought 550 acres in Pahrump in the late 1990s and promised to build ''the safest town in America' by building a 'Disneyland for Gun Lovers.'” KLAS-TV investigative reporter Colleen McCarty (www.8newsnow.com) said, “Thousands of people bought in with memberships ranging in price from a few thousand to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Most were guaranteed a lifetime of weapons training and six-figure deals, called platinum memberships, and were promised a one-acre home site.” But the master-planned community never happened. Piazzo, according to McCarty and Pahrump Valley Times reporter Gina B. Good (archive.pahrumpvalleytimes.com/2005/11/18/news/frontsight.html), was eventually sued by several of those members. California attorney C. Keith Greer filed a class action lawsuit in November 2005 on behalf of several Front Sight members, alleging racketeering and fraud. Greer said Piazza de-frauded thousands for his own personal gain, Good reported. She also reported, “The action demands a jury trial under the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. The 26-page complaint against Front Sight centers on membership benefits and promises. At the organization's inception in 1998, memberships were sold to fund construction of shooting ranges. Free classes for life with memberships that could be willed to family members were attractive to gun owners who sought professional training. Additional benefits - like home sites - were promised for higher priced memberships.” Greer said, "Piazza took other people's money for investment capital to start his operation and then when he got it up and running, he hung them out to dry. Didn't follow through on the promises he made, didn't give them what they expected, didn't give them their money back." Eventually, by June of 2009, in response to Piazza's refusal to pay a multi-million dollar settlement, a federal judge ordered a receiver to take control of Front Sight, its facilities, its operations and its assets (www.pahrumpvalleytimes.com/2009). Seven days later, Piazza made a financial offer and regained control of his property. According to the KLAS-TV, Front Sight still owes more than $5 million of the class action settlement. Websites devoted to Front Site (www.thehighroad.org) have lengthy complaints that Piazza is a Scientologist or a former Scientologist. In fact, Piazza sued one of his former platinum members for writing in her blog that she believed him to be a member of the controversial organization (www.dianahsieh.com/frontsight/). Pahrump Valley Times editor Matt Ward says a mysterious death that occurred on the property, along with the recession, stopped the home development side of the operation. "A guy died out there, not by a gunshot, but it was some sort of accidental hanging. Then there was a big lawsuit and the home development just never happened,” he said. According to KLAS-TV, a range visitor died in 2007 in a zip line accident and a lawsuit did take four years before it was settled (www.8newsnow.com/story/15691632) Front Sight failed to meet Nevada state fire safety standards numerous times, according to KLAS-TV reporter McCarty. The reporter said, “Front Sight has failed again to outfit its classroom building with fire safety basics like sprinklers, fire pumps and water. It's no surprise despite claims construction was on target; Front Sight has again failed to meet its deadline. This is the fourth such failure in the last two years.” Controversy not withstanding, the Internet is also filled with glowing praise for Front Sight. Numerous blogs, letters, articles and news reports show there are many who vouch for the experience as exceptional, fun, beyond their expectations and that the gun range experience is excellent. Courses range from $1,000 to $2,000 and the website (www.frontsight.com) is filled with dozens of testimonials, course offerings, and options to learn or enhance individual firearms proficiency. Final arrangements with Front Sight is pending; the final site has not been chosen yet. As with EarthQuest, McCrady is assuring taxpayers that the development will not cost them a penny. EarthQuest developers received millions of dollars from EMCID; taxpayers were given assurance that parking fees at EarthQuest and intellectual property rights will make up for the EarthQuest costs estimated to be as high as $10-15 million (The Tribune has made numerous requests of EMCID for the total number of dollars spent to date on the EarthQuest project but no answers have been provided). McCrady said the incentives given to Front Sight will come from rebates of sales taxes and other revenues generated by the new business itself. “None of the incentives will come from any existing source or take away from current funding,” he said. “We’re looking at venue taxes to provide the incentive needed to bring these businesses to East County.”
Holy Moley... The Cynthia Calvert is making a lot of people very uncomfortable. I love it. The national news media needs people like this. Isn't this the way news was always supposed to be? Uncovering and exposing fraud and corruption?
They're too busy talking about the really important stuff. You know, like Rush Limbaugh and Snookie..... But yeah, I take back what I said about this paper being a 3rd rate paper. Unbelievable corruption uncovered by this reporter. I hope she takes down the entire board. This is the kind of stuff I suspected was going on all along, but reading the details is making my head spin. I'd like to see some people go to prison over this. FWIW, I just emailed Calvert and told her how much I appreciate her digging so deep on this issue and to keep up the good fight. I'm sure she could use some encouragement from people like us. Here's her email: ccalvert@ourtribune.com still waiting on a response from Scarface281.....
What a tremendous scam!!! http://ourtribune.com/article.php?id=13443 EarthQuest Institute: a betrayal of the public's trust? Monday, April 02, 2012 Cynthia Calvert On Dec. 8, 2009, the inaugural “Friends of EarthQuest” fundraiser was held in the grand ballroom of the stately complex that houses the East Montgomery County Improvement District (EMCID). It seemed that everyone wanted to be there, from the county judge to the county lineman. So many showed up for the festivities that some were turned away at the door, no doubt crestfallen by their inopportune misfortune. But for the fine folks of East Montgomery County that were allowed in, it was a gala affair, punctuated by diamonds and dinosaurs, Cretaceous critters and Christmas glee. All the while, the giant head of a T-Rex held sway over the proceedings, its toothy grin a warning, perhaps, for those who might venture a little too close. Most of all, this grand event was a celebration of hope for East Montgomery County and its residents. After almost five years of plans and promises, the advent of EarthQuest seemed fitting for the Christmas season. For it was a gift that vowed to keep on giving, with new jobs, new businesses, new developments . . . indeed, a whole new way of life. But the good citizens of this community didn’t just attend as well-wishers. Not at all. They came with their pocket books in hand, ready to make a tangible contribution to the dream that had been promised them by local politicians, civic leaders and, most of all, the members of the EMCID board. And on this one night alone, more than $75,000 was raised for the EarthQuest Institute (“Institute”). This Institute was a nonprofit corporation established by EMCID and the EarthQuest developers as an “edutainment” center, so that the young and the young at heart would be able to learn valuable lessons from the past. So how ironic is it, that on the very same night the ‘Friends of EarthQuest’ were reaching into their wallets to support this great adventure, the consultants hired by EMCID and the EarthQuest developers had already plundered the Institute’s bank accounts for all that it was worth. So egregious was the theft of the public’s trust that, by the night of the great ball, the Institute was already bankrupted. The Tribune has obtained copies of the federal tax returns for the Institute. A diligent review of those records has produced a sordid tale of unbridled avarice; a story that will shock even the most cynical individual. Consider the following facts, all of which are taken directly from the federal tax returns of the Institute for the three-year period of 2008 – 2010: The Institute received contributions totaling $996,667. Don Holbrook, president of the Institute (and a consultant for EMCID and EarthQuest), received total compensation of $328,255. Deborah Thomas, treasurer and secretary of the Institute (and an employee of Marlin-Atlantis), received total compensation of $218,993. (Unbelievably, as stated in the tax returns, Holbrook only worked an average of 15 hours per week; Thomas, 20 hours per week). Even more appalling, “professional fees” paid to “independent contractors” equaled $601,776. These fees were apparently paid to EarthQuest consultants, including those controlled by Don Holbrook. Although contributions totaled $996,000 for the three-year period, the salaries and benefits paid to employees and consultants equaled $1,148,370, exceeding total contributions by more than $150,000. And the forgoing figures don’t even consider “other” expenditures by the Institute's two employees. These “other” costs included $118,700 for “travel expenses,” and $37,479 for “information technology” among other things. Consequently, on the night of the great ball, the Institute had a negative cash balance of $225,034. Hence, the prior statement that the Institute was bankrupt in December of 2009 was a factual, not a figurative, assertion. But the story doesn’t end there, because it’s not easy to spend more money than one has in their bank account, unless they can borrow funds from another source. So how did the Institute spend more money than they had on hand? Simple. By borrowing $332,110 from an account payable, $222,018 of which was incurred in 2009. Unfortunately, the tax returns do not indicate from whom the money was borrowed. Of course, the logical presumption would be EMCID (or one of its affiliates), as EMCID has been the primary benefactor of the Institute since its inception. In a ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ dated January 22, 2008, EMCID agreed to donate to the Institute $300,000 in 2008 alone. What other monies may have been given to the Institute by EMCID is unknown at this time. Another intriguing fact discovered in the tax returns is that the Institute acquired a building in 2010, valued at about $300,000, with a $195,000 mortgage. Curiously, no one seems to know where the building is located or even its address. More importantly, who would have loaned $195,000 to a bankrupt organization? Did EMCID, or one of its related entities, provide the mortgage for the EarthQuest building? Again, the tax returns do not identify from whom the mortgage was received. At the EMCID town hall meeting on March 22, 2012, several questions were posed regarding the Institute. Those queries were largely deflected by board members, stating the Institute was completely separate of EMCID, that the Institute never had an office in the EMCID complex and that none of the EMCID board knew the current status of the Institute. But documents obtained by The Tribune appear to indicate that a very cozy relationship has long existed between the two entities. Even though Frank McCrady stated at the town hall meeting that the Institute has never had an office at the EMCID complex, all of the federal tax returns mentioned in this article listed EMCID’s complex as the domicile of the Institute. Furthermore, the EarthQuest Institute’s website also lists the EMCID complex as its business address, even specifying Suite No. 200. How separate is the Institute apart from EMCID? Leon Cubillas, chairman of the board of EMCID since July 8, 2004, has also been chairman of the board of the Institute since mid-2008. This dual representation would have ensured that both organizations were fully aware of each other’s activities. Lastly, the claim by EMCID board members that they don’t know the current status of the Institute seems incomprehensible. First, the dual representation of Cubillas mentioned above makes such a statement implausible. Secondly, the board of EMCID had a fiduciary duty to ensure that its $300,000 in grants to the Institute were properly disbursed. Sadly, in the final analysis, the Institute was cleaned out, and allowed to be cleaned out by the very persons entrusted with its mission and oversight.
Sounds like it's time to make a call to the district attorney's office and bring criminal charges against Holbrook, Thomas, Cubillas and other members of EMCID. They should be prosecuted heavily for this. Montgomery County vs. EMCID.
As someone that worked for Gizmondo, a lot of this seems very familiar, they will NEVER find all that money - these guys are good at hiding it...and spending it. DD
