Maplewood resident Brad Jackson has filed law suits against the city of Maplewood; Maplewood Mayor Barry Greenberg; Kate Bethel, owner of Maven Bath and Candle Co., and Isaac Chosich, an employee at Maven.
Details of the suits are posted on casenet, case number 24SL-CC03556.
All of the allegations are in the petition.
Jackson is being represented by attorney and Maplewood resident Mark Edward Blankenship of the Ott Law Firm.
Greenberg has been on vacation and said he needs to talk to legal counsel before making a statement.
Bethel has commented on the claims, per her attorney: “The claims made are untrue and I will be taking the steps necessary to reach a just outcome.”
Jackson has had no comment other than to say that a statement would be coming from his attorney.
Lying, Cheating, and Stealing: A Moral Theory of White-Collar Crime (Oxford Monographs on Criminal Law and Justice)
by Stuart P. Green (Author)
Understanding of white-collar crime is best understood through a framework of everyday moral concepts that include not only lying, cheating and stealing, but also coercion, exploitation, disloyalty, promise-breaking, and other forms of deception.
Such crimes are committed by society’s success stories, by the rich and the powerful, and frequently have no visible victim at their root. The problem of marrying these disparate pictures has led to a confusion of the boundaries of white-collar crime. How is it possible to distinguish criminal fraud from mere lawful “puffing,” tax evasion from “tax avoidance,” insider trading from “savvy investing,” obstruction of justice from “zealous advocacy,” bribery from “log rolling,” and extortion from “hard bargaining?” How should we, as scholars and students, lawyers and judges, law enforcement officials and the general public, distinguish the lawful from the unlawful, the civil from the criminal?
A quick CaseNet search of the petitioner shows a long history not paying traffic fines, taxes, rent, etc. Wasn’t he also the subject of sexual harassment allegations a few months ago? I wonder if he is seeking a financial payout? I can’t imagine the city can afford it after the ridiculous settlement that occurred last year.
In any event, trouble seems to find him wherever he goes. Best of luck to everyone and hopeful the truth comes out.
There are a group of people in this community who once publicly supported Mayor Knapper, then a few years later publicly and repeatedly lambasted her and attempted to discredit her with misinformation……so they could then publicly support the current mayor (who they all once publicly and/or privately lambasted).
And now? The mayor they championed has used his MAYORAL EMAIL to target a citizen and interfere with an investigation.
They have nothing to say.
Very interesting.
Beth, you sound like TRUMP, 4 months later still crying about the election.
Misinformation? Got any examples?
The small handful of Knapper supporters trying to control the narrative isn’t working any longer, I would venture to say you are now hurting her chances in the next election.(hint: time for a new strategy).
Maybe we can have Colin write an opinion piece.
Maybe we can have Gina LaRose teach us how to navigate websites.
“Are the allegations against the Mayor clearly understood to the average reader”. What’s an average reader? I think I”m an average reader, I understand.
I read through it and am taking it all with a big grain of salt. The dude making the claims is suspect at best.
Watch salt intake, not healthy. lol,
Making a claim is something we do often in daily conversation.
A robust understanding of claims and evidence is fundamental,
strong claims that are backed with solid evidence will be convincing.
The glue that holds claim and evidence together is warranted. Thus a logical connection between the evidence and the claim. It explains why a certain piece of evidence accurately supports the particular claim being made.
A grain of salt might be appropriate if you’re questioning the claims of the petition. But did you see the actual emails written by our Mayor? There is solid evidence here.
The emails are attached as “exhibits” on the casenet site — you have to go clicking around through the (first) link attached to find them. It’s not very streamlined.
I was shocked that our Mayor would inject himself into an investigation to target a private citizen, leak content shared in confidence, then apparently offer up a position of power in return for another private citizen to act as his proxy.
WiLd.
Why am I not reading about this recent Maplewood scandal in the Post-Dispatch? Where are you Joe??
Wasn’t this the man who called everyone who didn’t vote for the defeated mayor a racist? The man who loves nothing more than dreaming up conspiracy theories and imagined smear campaigns? The man who slings more insults and nonsense than just about anyone in town? The guy who accused at least 2 people of being predators and yet won’t present any evidence to back it up? The same dude that sex-shamed a council member on Facebook? A guy whose behavior was the reason the city council ethics policy was created?
Gross.
What irony to see Maplewood taxpayer money defending a lawsuit brought by a man who is on audio bragging about not paying taxes or car registration.
When our taxes go up further we can thank nuisance and retribution lawsuits like this from someone who claims he is “all about our community.”
Correct on ALL counts. And you barely skimmed the surface. And he STILL sits on one or two boards for the city. How is that even possible?
Shameful and the people rigorously defending him are just awful. It’s a shame the person being publicly accused of pedophilia hasn’t filed suit…maybe that’s the next shoe to drop?
It sounds like the defamation conspiracy claimed in this petition sure has worked!
I’m sad that civic and business leaders have behaved in such a manner that is exposed here in the attached documents (though not well communicated in the article).
It’s sad and disappointing.
The allegations are clearly spelled out in the petition, which the article links to. I didn’t think it necessary to repeat them.
Sure! Assuming people take the time to click through and read the 15 page petition, then click through each exhibit…it’s absolutely clear.
I was curious enough to do that, but it did take awhile; and it helped to some prior knowledge of how to navigate casenet.
Pretty sure that Doug is a one man operation and not a big media conglomerate. I’m glad to be given a link. We are lucky to have this service. Just my 2 cents.
You take the time to summarize the allegations against Bethel, but not Greenberg or the City. Seems incomplete reporting at best, and biased/unfair reporting at worst.
Good point. I’m not very comfortable summarizing legalese so I’ve decided to summarize nothing. All details are in the links, as before.
I’m not understanding which explanation we should settle on.
Are the allegations against the Mayor clearly understood to the average reader in your links, or are they too confusing to summarize?
I understand that being a trusted source for true and unbiased information is important to you, but this blog entry is not that. Surely you could’ve reached out to one of Mr Jackson’s attorneys if you needed some help understanding the petition?
I contacted both of those attorneys on August 7 but haven’t received a response. Brad Jackson told me they would have a “press release.”
Lol, ok, Don.
My favorite thing about Don is how he won’t comment using his own name.
Just like the letters he sends.
We see you, Don. Call Bevis.
This article gives concerningly short shrift to the allegations against our current mayor. The petition alleges Mayor Greenberg made false accusations against Mr. Jackson, and improperly leaked confidential documents during the ethics investigation. It also alleges that Greenberg engaged in an quid pro quo with Ms. Bethel. And it attaches records that support these allegations: Exhibit C to the petition is an email from Greenberg to Bethel, forwarding the Google drive containing confidential information. Exhibit F is the script Greenberg sent Bethel so she could file a complaint against Jackson in the first place.
This should be shocking and concerning for anyone who cares about integrity and transparency in local government. Barry is dirty, self-serving, and dumb enough to do it with his official email account, making it all Sunshine-able.