By Emerson Drake
7/17/11
As Puzo’s fictional character Don Fanucci points out "all I want to do is wet my beak” and you won't get into trouble. The money makers who are movers and shakers here in Modesto don't like to get directly involved so they have their minions do it. Joseph Bondi who was SCAP's designated real estate agent was and is also working for Mike Zagaris' very own PMZ. And if Joseph Bondi was a member of the SCAP Board of Directors, his appointment as official agent couldn't have been easier.
Now when we find out that the same companies who have been performing the appraisals for the rest of the houses SCAP purchased and the title companies processing the purchases are tied together with a common thread then the picture will become much clearer.
Shades of the real estate boom prior to 2008, once again appraisals are just a matter of getting a willing company to go along to get along. Who needs building inspections prior to purchase when Federal money is involved and local companies will get the work? After all, the new city charter makes it much easier to put pressure on city workers if they desire to keep their jobs. And of course, what's a blind eye among friends.
But we can't forget that much of the local money went to line the pockets of the same people who are now being hit up for campaign contributions.
SCAP's claim that Gibb's exorbitant payout wasn't coming from federal monies was probably true. But only because Gibbs had agreed to a series of $75,000 a year in lieu of a one time payout. And this money could come from home and apartment rental payments.
From the Godfather to All in the Family, SCAP’s entire existence has been one long almost fictional story. Except as a work of fiction no one could possibly believe it.
Only in Modesto could the media have kept the public so completely in the dark. Well maybe after Rupert Murdochs London adventures that might not be completely true.
