Saturday, May 13, 2017

Biggest Paper In State Fails To Report On Biggest Slumlord


Last fall, 17 people were poisoned by carbon monoxide in Mantiwoc, Wisconsin. The three buildings in which the people were poisoned are owned by Republican State Representative Paul Tittl:
The incident took place Oct. 31, 2016, and affected Susie Kay’s Café at 1110 Washington St., the Republican Headquarters office at 1112 Washington St. and the five apartments at 1112 Washington St., all owned by Tittl.

Ten people from the apartments and seven from Susie Kay’s Café were taken to the hospital to be treated for carbon monoxide poisoning. Four of those people were taken to Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center in Milwaukee to be treated with a hyperbaric chamber. Another one was in serious condition and had to be flown to Milwaukee by helicopter.

Susie Kay’s Café was reopened and the families returned to their apartments after Nov. 8, 2016.

During the police investigation into the incident, a detailed examination of the boiler servicing the apartments and the café was performed. According to the police report, a couple pipes coming from the boiler had been blocked with various materials, including insulation, which could have affected the combustion in the boiler. Another possible cause for the carbon monoxide buildup was a cracked heat exchanger or having no water in the boiler tank.

When the boiler was checked for carbon monoxide after everyone had been evacuated from the buildings, it was giving off 700-800 ppm (parts per million) when it should have been giving off zero ppm.

The boiler was later confiscated by Manitowoc police as evidence.
Not reported is that at least one person suffered severe brain damage and is still in a nursing home.

To make the story even worse, Tittle barely got a slap on the wrist for endangering all these lives, having to face three minor citations.

One would think that the biggest newspaper in the state, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, would have covered the story.

One would be sorely mistaken. At the time of this writing, the paper has not even mentioned it once.

It would have undoubtedly been a different matter if Tittl had been a Democrat, African-American and/or a woman. If they had done what Tittl was done, they would have hounded the person until they resigned or were charged.

For example, let's look at what the paper breathlessly covered, getting the story out before they got all the facts straight.

Democratic State Representative Christine Sinicki got into a financial bind when she had to help her in-laws get and stay in an assisted living center, something that many people, including myself, can relate to from personal experience. I'm sorry, but I just don't see any shame in getting into a hole in taking care of one's family because the state wasn't willing to help. The reporter, Dan Bice, tried to make it seem that way.

Bice went after Sinicki another time because she got mileage reimbursement for driving from Milwaukee to Madison and back while her license was suspended. She didn't even know her license was suspended until it was brought to her attention and she paid her fine immediately and got the licensed reinstated.

The kicker to this attack was that Bice's source was Media Trackers, a right wing propagandist group with a horrible track record for hyping false narratives and getting their facts wrong. But that never slowed Bice down for a minute.

And the Journal Sentinel wonders why their circulation has dropped to a mere fraction of what it used to be.

Remind me again, how is the corporate media liberal? By only slamming Democrats, women and African Americans while letting Republicans get away with almost killing people?

6 comments:

  1. This is also an example of how the Bradley Foundation GOPper-ganda machine slants the "legitimate" media. Media TraKKERS is entirely a Bradley creation, and Media TraKKKers boss Jerry Bader would have been all over Tittl's slumlording on his radio show in GB if he was a Dem.

    These fake Bradley news outlets also get it "out there", so Bice and others feel they have to "look into it" and legitimize that garbage.

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  2. I own a building less than a block away and I get inspected all the time because the right wing crazy in the glass show next door doesnt like me. If I so much as put an appliance out for pickup by the trash hauler there is a sticker on it the same day and I get a nasty letter from city haul with a threat of a fine usually after the thing is long gone!
    Naturally Ive been following this with great interest and have not had any success getting the Green Bay TV stations to cover it at all! So far only NBC 26 has done a story that mentions Tittl by name but just about his intent to challenge the current set of fines.
    But I have also been garnering documents from the city with Freedom of Information Act requests (make that demands) Here is what the City attorney Kathleen McDaniel finally responded with this week. It seems that Pauly is in bigger trouble than it might seem...

    Mr. Starzewski,

    My office has three currently pending cases with Mr. Tittl directly related to that incident. It is our policy not to comment on pending litigation. You can make threats about going public, but the local media is already aware that I do not comment on pending litigation. This was also the policy of City Attorneys Boston, Ruenzel, Wyss, and Willis. Please be aware that the City Attorney’s office has no authority to prosecute felonies or misdemeanors, and that such authority is vested solely in the District Attorney for each County.

    The Manitowoc County District Attorney has referred this case to the Fond du Lac County District Attorney for review for criminal charges. You may contact their office for any questions you have regarding criminal charges, but I expect that their answer may be the same.


    Kathleen M. McDaniel
    Manitowoc City Attorney
    900 Quay Street, Manitowoc, WI 54220
    (920) 686-6990 | kmcdaniel@manitowoc.org

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    Replies
    1. FYI, I thought her comment about my "threat" was cute. In fact my entire purpose for badgering her for information is so that I could take it public! :P

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  3. This is the crap that the local Gannett paper published about Tittl just today.

    http://www.htrnews.com/story/money/2017/05/13/manitowoc-a--w-wayne-bonfigt-tittl-lemahieu/101599310/

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  4. That an elected city official gets away with this is beyond understanding. I hope that some of those affected by his malfeasance sue the pants off his portly ass.

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