[nfbmi-talk] Fw: "Amended" Payments to R. Essenberg for FY13 Information

Fri Nov 1 16:23:46 UTC 2013

----- Original Message ----- 
From: joe harcz Comcast 
To: Farmer, Mel (LARA) 
Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 12:22 PM
Subject: Re: "Amended" Payments to R. Essenberg for FY13 Information

You truncated this Mr. Farmer and Mr. Essenberg actually was the head of the wholly created Business Assistance Development Program (BSADB) with a salary to run the franchise clearly in public records and not as a BEP operator itself as one cannot serve two masters.

One is either a licensed operator or one is a civil service employee and a level 17 at that. One cannot be both at the same time under PA 260 or Federal Law.

And I don't make assertions about the fact you want to charge me for this information that is made available on other state web cites. The url is right here and even a plutocrat and abusive public servant such as yourself can read it plainly.

So put this in to the catagory of documented waste,fraud and abuse.

I'll see you in court sir.----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Farmer, Mel (LARA) 
  To: joe harcz Comcast (joeharcz at comcast.net) 
  Cc: Rodgers, Edward (LARA) ; Zimmer, Mike (LARA) ; Essenberg, Rob (LARA) ; Haynes, Carla (LARA) 
  Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 11:37 AM
  Subject: FW: "Amended" Payments to R. Essenberg for FY13 Information

  November 1, 2013

  Mr. Paul Joseph Harcz

  1365 E. Mt Morris Rd.

  Mt. Morris, MI 48458

  joeharcz at comcast.net

  Dear Mr. Harcz:

  This notice is in response to the attached copy of your October 22, 2013 email to Mr. Edward Rodgers and others regarding the information you asserted to have found on DTMB's website regarding Mr. Robert L. Essenberg's BSBP expenditures you claim to be ". for training at Tim Horton's Oakville, Ontario (Canada) facility."

  Please be informed that the DTMB information that you submitted regarding Mr. Essenberg's fiscal year 2013 expenditures is related to his regular operational duties regarding BSBP's Business Enterprise Program (BEP); not training at Tim Horton's facilities as you assert. Attached for your review is a listing of the description and explanation of these BEP expenditures. 

  As regards the other issues mentioned in your October 22, 2013 email:

  1.      Invoice of $745,000.00: LARA does recognize the legitimacy of this invoice as the alleged work you 

  performed was of your own volition and not authorized by the State of Michigan.

  2.      Abuse of Rights to Information: You have been informed many times of your remedial rights under MCL 15.240, 

  Section 10 of the state's FOIA, including seeking judicial review in circuit court, if you believe that LARA has 

  violated and/or abused your rights to obtain existing, nonexempt public records/information within LARA.

  Sincerely, 

  /S/Melvin Farmer, Jr.

  Central FOIA Coordinator

  Attachments

  From: joe harcz Comcast [mailto:joeharcz at comcast.net] 
  Sent: Tuesday, October 22, 2013 9:50 AM
  To: Rodgers, Edward (LARA)
  Cc: Zimmer, Mike (LARA); Farmer, Mel (LARA); BSBPcommissioners; Christyne.Cavataio at ed.gov; Elmer Cerano (E-mail); MARK MCWILLIAMS; BRIAN SABOURIN; Joe Sibley MCBVI Pres.; Marianne Dunn
  Subject: tim hortons essenberg payments again

  October 22 2013 Rodgers et Al Essenberg Tim Hortons Payments

  Paul Joseph Harcz, Jr.

  1365 E. Mt. Morris Rd.

  Mt. Morris, MI 48458

  joeharcz at comcast.net

  810-516-5262

  Re: Essenberg Expenses for Tim Hortons Training

  To:

  Ed Rodgers, Bureau of Services for Blind Persons

  Michael Zimmer, Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Deputy Director and BSBP DSA

  Carla Miller Haynes and Melvin Farmer FOIA

  (Via E-mail)

  All,

  As you know I've requested information related to the Tim Hortons fiasco and all that went into it including expenditures for Robert L. Essenberg from BSBP accounts for training at Tim Hortons' Oakville, Ontario (Canada) facility. Now the purpose of the FOIA is to weed out waste, fraud, and abuse by public entities and actors. Yet, this simple request was greeted with arbitrary, capricious and open ended requests for me to pay for a simple search of these records.

  But, stop the presses I found some of the information on DTMB's web site (see attached) after an extensive personal search.

  Now, clearly LARA and BSBP are embarrassed by their reckless behavior related to this but that is no excuse for hiding information.

  Moreover, I now am sending you all an invoice which totals oh say $745,000 for all my work in trying to expose the waste, fraud and abuse by your agencies over the past year. (I chose that figure as it was the ludicrous one used last year when I went after public information related to Executive Order 2012-2.)

  You folks have abused my and all people's right to information and moreover have discriminated constantly against the corollary obligation of blind persons to receive information in accessible format.

  That is documented in the now public record.

  Sincerely,

  Paul Joseph Harcz, Jr.

  Cc: NFB MI

  Cc: BSBP Commissioners

  Cc: MCRC

  Cc: MPAS

  Cc: RSA

  Cc: several legislators

  Cc: several media

  (Attachment: The most recent entry applies to the Tim Hortons training ventureJ

  URL:

  http://media.state.mi.us/MiTransparency/Vendor/Warrants?y=2013&v=ROBERT%20L%20ESSENBERG&a=641&g=Contractual%20Services%20Supplies%20and%20Materials&Column=WarrantDate&Direction=Descending

  Payments to ROBERT L ESSENBERG by LICENSING AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS for fiscal year 2013

  Table with 4 columns and 8 rows

  Agency Name

  Category Description

  Warrant Date

  Payments Total

  LICENSING AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS

  Contractual Services Supplies and Materials

  9/23/2013

  $4,702.00

  LICENSING AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS

  Contractual Services Supplies and Materials

  6/25/2013

  $933.26

  LICENSING AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS

  Contractual Services Supplies and Materials

  6/20/2013

  $1,266.86

  LICENSING AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS

  Contractual Services Supplies and Materials

  6/17/2013

  $361.41

  LICENSING AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS

  Contractual Services Supplies and Materials

  3/20/2013

  $300.00

  LICENSING AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS

  Contractual Services Supplies and Materials

  3/12/2013

  $300.00

  LICENSING AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS

  Contractual Services Supplies and Materials

  2/12/2013

  $600.00