Birkbeck wins for “A Price Too High”

Congratulations are in order to Matthew Birkbeck of the Pocono Record for winning the Investigative Reporters and Editors award for his investigative series:
A price too HIGH“… blowing the Home Builder/Inflated Appraisal scandal in the Poconos wide open.

It’s been long known as the Poconos’ “Dirty Little Secret”, where creative financing is used to lure New Yorkers to buy homes which end up worth a fraction of the cost by a real appraisal. The end result is you have a house you can’t afford, and no way to refinance for a better rate. (And you know how I was burnt!)

The news report focuses primarily on Raintree Homes (who sued the Pocono Record and lost…BIG TIME.), but I can assure you there are many more uscrupulous home builders just like them. New Yorkers really need to do their homework, before considering a move to the Poconos.
(Check out this spoof site of Raintree’s… it’s hilarious!)

Congratz, Matt!!!!

Other Great Links:

  • IRE Awards2001 Winners
  • N.Y. Daily News – Poconos a Ripoff Haven, Suit Alleges
  • WABC News – 7 On Your Side: A Home Buyer’s Nightmare
  • Eric Brooks

    Musician, Programmer, Graphic Designer, Evil Clown - A thorn in the Internet's side since 1997 with no intention of stopping any time soon.

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    Tales from a dead shaman

    GO FIGHTING WHITIES!!!!
    (Hee hee… it’s about fucking time!!!)

    Sometime in 1995, I was half asleep, in my apartment in Maspeth, Queens, with the spirit of a Massapequadi Shaman sitting on my bed telling me a story….

    Not that this is anything out of the ordinary. We had the landlord’s dead mother in law there all the time too (She loved us. We took turns torturing the assholes upstairs.). And I’m sure this kind of stuff happens to you guys too (‘cuz you’re a bunch of pschizophrenic fruitcakes!). But I thought the story was cool, and I have nothing better to post, and it’s been on my mind for two weeks now for some reason.

    The story begins thousands of years ago, with a ferocious, unstoppable beast roaming the land… devouring everything (or anyone) in his path.

    Tribal hunters were commissioned to go out there, intercept the creature, and protect their villages… But the beast was too smart to ever become “the hunted”, and they all met their horrible fates, along with their villages.
    Continue reading “Tales from a dead shaman”

    Eric Brooks

    Musician, Programmer, Graphic Designer, Evil Clown - A thorn in the Internet's side since 1997 with no intention of stopping any time soon.

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    Hell is for Children

    A lot of people ask me what is the horrible thing that we’ve done that brought C&Y into our lives and why they’ve decided to stay as long as they have.

    This probably the most-asked question I get. Well, I owe you guys this much:

    Considering we “claim” that we don’t drink, do drugs, physically, mentally, verbally or sexually abuse our children… I guess it’s only natural for you to wonder this.

    Fair enough. I’ll tell you.

    Are you sitting down?

    A year and a half ago, my eldest daughter didn’t want to go to school.
    Her guidance counselor sicced them on us after repeated warnings.

    *GASP!*

    Whaddya mean, “That’s it???” ??!!??
    It’s big shit out here. Schools lose big bucks from the state, based on student attendance. They have their own police that show up at your door (anyone remember “Truant Officers”?). Parents get fined, parents go to jail, kids get taken into protective custody.

    Our case worker at the time: “I can’t wait to close this, so I can go back to *REAL* cases”.

    When we moved out of Monroe County, and into Pike… my wife decided to Home School them ( Hi, Ruminator! ). We worked closely with the East Stroudburg School District and Pike County C&Y on how to go about doing this. My wife was handed applications for “Homebound Instruction”, the caseworker approved it, and it sat in the doctor’s office for over a month, unsigned.

    Guess what? Do you know the difference between “Homebound Instruction” and “Homeschool Instruction”? We didn’t. “Homebound Instruction” is when your child can’t go to school because of mental or physical disabilities.

    The dumbass woman at the district handed us the *WRONG* papers.

    Once the superintendent of the district got word of this, he had our caseworker’s ass *NAILED* to the wall. She should have known the difference. I understand she was driven to tears with the reaming she got for her share of the incompetence.

    That caseworker eventually became our CASE SUPERVISOR a month or two later.

    …. and a lightbulb flips on over everyone’s heads! Now you get it?

    Our lives have been living hell ever since. Then the “Animal Abuse” saga happened over the summer, that was all she needed to hook her claws in …and good! The case was supposed to close in March 2001.

    Visits twice a week, surprise visits, court–ordered counseling, parenting courses… and all sorts of ludicrous demands in a “family plan” that we signed under duress, because they had our kids hostage at the time.

    My personal favorite is the fact that I had to pay them “Child Support” through this.

    We have to remake the kids beds, because it’s not up to their standards. They’ll flip if they see so much as a crumb on the rug. God forbid there’s a toy on the floor… that’s “clutter”.

    Our psycho landlord stopped paying her mortgage in May, 2001. The house we’re renting is in foreclosure.

    July, 2001, on a cell phone call to the court house, when we were *this* close to getting our kids back… she told our case workers we owed three months rent, and eviction papers were drawn up. No one ever bothered to ask her the name of the law firm handling it… ‘cuz the sheriff’s department knew nothing about this. We paid psycho landlord all that money (some of you helped!). We paid rent faithfully until we were served by the sheriff at the end of September 2001 and *advised* not to pay rent, and save up for a new place.

    We have less than a month to find a home, approved by them, or the kids are spending a minimum of 6 months in foster care.

    I have a “Wanted to Rent” ad in the paper. I have friends calling and emailing leads. Our names are listed in every Real Estate in the Poconos. We look at at least 2–3 houses a week. Either they’re ridiculously–priced, dumps, we have too many kids…,

    Or if we manage to get as far as “when can you move in?”, C&Y calls and verify things with the landlord. Suddenly the landlord has “other people looking at the house/moving in”.

    The case is confidential. They can’t discuss the details with the landlord. I wouldn’t rent to a pack of child abusers, would you???

    Now you know the *WHOLE* story. At least as much as you need to.

    Btw, my eldest daughter was in the paper last week as she made honors. Last month, another was cited for her community service in the Girl Scouts. Another just asked me today if I can take time off next week to see her honored in assembly as “Student of the Month“….

    Of course, that’s all irrelevant.

    Just something for you to think about…
    With all the time they spend on us, there’s a little Kare, a little Deborah, or a little Matt Rossi out there being beaten, raped, and/or murdered by subhuman trash who had no right to reproduce. In the time it took you to read this blog entry, a child died in the United States. Four more will be dead in the next 24 hours.

    … and those sadistic bastards at Children and Youth are nowhere to be found to help any of them.

    Breaks your heart, doesn’t it?

    Hell is for Children.

    Eric Brooks

    Musician, Programmer, Graphic Designer, Evil Clown - A thorn in the Internet's side since 1997 with no intention of stopping any time soon.

    More Posts - Website

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