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Thursday, January 18, 2007

Code Enforcement Officer Steve Schiller Deposition Continued

Please look in the comment section for a continuance of the deposition. I deleted Officer Schiller's address.The first excerpt from the deposition can be found below under the topic "Code Enforcement Helped Send My friends To The Grave".

7 Comments:

Blogger Bob said...

MS. HAMPTON-FLOWERS: Objection as to form.
3 BY MR. SHOEMAKER:
4 Q. Go ahead and answer.
5 A. The question isn't clear to me.
6 Q. Do you feel that there was -- that the code enforcement
7 was unfairly applied to Ms. Rodriguez?
8 A. Because of her health, yes.
9 Q. Was it your opinion that there wasn't enough time
10 allowed her to do the repairs?
11 A. She met with the social worker and we wanted to make
12 sure she had the cognitive skills to understand the
13 letter she got.
14 Q. Did she have anybody helping her with day-care or a
15 live-in nurse or anybody like that?
16 A. I'm not sure.
17 Q. Was that property -- once she passed away and Mr. Tanzer
18 committed suicide, was it put on the vacant buildings
19 list?
20 A. Correct.
21 Q. Who was involved in that?
22 A. Dennis Senty.
23 Q. Do you know if any of the inspectors for the City of St.
24 Paul, and that includes NHPI and LIEP inspectors or fire
25 inspectors, have ever purchased homes from home owners
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1 A. Not that stuck out.
2 Q. Problems with the roof?
3 A. Maybe some painting.
4 Q. Do you know a renovation contractor by the name of Wally
5 Nelson?
6 A. No. Oh, Wally. The only Wally I know --
7 Q. With Renovations, Inc.?
8 A. I knew it as something else.
9 Q. What was the name you knew him by?
10 A. I don't remember.
11 Q. Do you know where he resides?
12 A. No.
13 Q. Isn't he out of Lake Elmo -- Wally Nelson?
14 A. I really don't know where he resides. I only met him
15 once.
16 Q. When did you meet Wally Nelson?
17 A. When I was a west side inspector -- a house up on the
18 west side. I take that back. He told me about another
19 house down on Ann Street.
20 Q. That he purchased?
21 A. Yeah, that they were going to renovate.
22 Q. Now, that 785 Butternut where the disabled woman lived
23 at the time that it was targeted for code enforcement --
24 MS. HAMPTON-FLOWERS: Objection as to form.
25 THE WITNESS: Oh, yes.
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1 Q. Do you currently live at ****?
2 A. Correct.
3 Q. Is there three levels to your home?
4 A. Four.
5 Q. And you have bedrooms on how many levels of your home?
6 A. All levels, except the first floor.
7 Q. So there is a main floor and three levels above it?
8 A. Main, two levels above it, and then there's a finished
9 basement.
10 Q. Obviously you have a bedroom on the third floor?
11 A. Correct.
12 Q. Does anyone live in that bedroom?
13 A. My daughter.
14 Q. Earlier you stated you were given a directive -- if we
15 can call it that -- by Dawkins on the Butternut
16 property; is that correct.
17 A. I was given a directive by the Mayor.
18 Q. A direct order by the Mayor?
19 A. Through Dawkins.
20 Q. Do you recall -- have you attended a legislative appeal
21 hearing as part of your duties?
22 A. Through the stuff that's done with Marcia Moermond where
23 people appeal?
24 Q. That's correct.
25 A. Yes.
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190
1 Q. Do you recall making a statement in a legislative
2 appeals hearing about being under direct orders of Andy
3 Dawkins and Mayor Randy Kelly?
4 A. I could have, but I don't remember directly.
5 Q. Have you ever gotten any other directives or orders from
6 Andy Dawkins or Randy Kelly?
7 A. Not from Randy Kelly. From Andy Dawkins.
8 Q. What were those directives?
9 A. Just general how's it coming with the property, that
10 type of thing. I called it interest in the property.
11 Q. Do you think you have been given any other directives
12 because of other political reasons?
13 MS. HAMPTON-FLOWERS: Objection, calls for
14 speculation.
15 THE WITNESS: That's not real clear to me. Can
16 you restate?
17 BY MR. ENGEL:
18 Q. When we were talking about the Butternut situation you
19 had talked about getting your directives and how you had
20 thought there was a fabrication in that situation.
21 Do you feel you have been given any other
22 directives or orders based on reasons that weren't
23 legitimate?
24 A. No.
25 Q. Any orders for political reasons?
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1 A. No.
2 Q. Any orders because of district council members?
3 A. District council -- I know them as like the West Seventh
4 Street Federation, yeah. They put complaints in for
5 West Seventh Street.
6 Q. Did Mayor Randy Kelly ever tell you to issue orders on
7 other properties like he told you on the Butternut
8 property?
9 A. No.
10 Q. How about Dawkins?
11 A. No.
12 Q. When you said a story was fabricated about the
13 President, who do you think fabricated that story?
14 MS. HAMPTON-FLOWERS: Objection, calls for
15 speculation. He's described the incident already.
16 BY MR. ENGEL:
17 Q. It was his statement. I'm just asking him about it.
18 A. I believe the person had left a voice mail on Andy
19 Dawkins' phone is the one who made that up -- made that
20 story up.
21 Q. You think the person who left that voice mail was Mayor
22 Randy Kelly?
23 A. I know it was.
24 Q. Do you think it was fair to "call everything" on Ms.
25 Rodriguez' property?
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1 A. It was in the code.
2 Q. It was in the code; but my question is, do you think it
3 was fair?
4 A. The time lines were not fair.
5 Q. Why were the time lines not fair?
6 A. They were dictated to me.
7 Q. Can you recall a specific example?
8 A. I was directed to get this property taken care of as
9 soon as possible.
10 Q. From your testimony, that typically wasn't your way of
11 operating?
12 A. Not for somebody in such poor health -- extreme poor
13 health.
14 Q. What changes occurred in your office when Kelly and
15 Dawkins took over?
16 A. The big one is on the record. Excessive consumption.
17 Q. So the whole excessive consumption structure was
18 implemented when Dawkins and Kelly came in?
19 A. Through the city council.
20 Q. And you had also testified that it was through the
21 excessive consumption that your orders were to "call
22 everything"?
23 A. Correct.
24 Q. Is it fair to say that after Dawkins and Kelly came into
25 the office, you issued more orders than you did prior?
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1 A. Yes.
2 Q. Do you know why things changed?
3 A. I didn't make the policy. I don't know why.
4 Q. Why do you think they changed?
5 A. I don't know.
6 Q. Do you have an opinion?
7 A. They changed it and the city council changed it, too.
8 Ask those three people. They all went together on it.
9 Q. When you say, "three people," you're talking --
10 A. Three entities.
11 Q. Those three entities being?
12 A. The Mayor, Andy Dawkins, and the City Council.
13 Q. How have things changed since Mayor Kelly and Andy
14 Dawkins left?
15 A. The office is more relaxed.
16 Q. Why?
17 A. There isn't such a push for excessive consumptions.
18 Q. Why would there be a push for excessive consumption
19 during Mayor Kelly and Dawkins tenure?
20 A. Them and the city council felt it was a necessary tool
21 for us.
22 Q. Did Andy Dawkins have a graph or chart in his office at
23 NHPI for excessive consumption?
24 A. I don't believe so.
25 Q. Did he ever talk about generating revenue through
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1 excessive consumptions? Did he say why he wanted to
2 generate revenue through excessive consumption?
3 A. Because it was part of the ordinance that the city
4 council passed.
5 Q. Did you ever question using orders in "calling
6 everything" to raise revenues through excessive
7 consumption?
8 A. It was out of our hands when the city council passed it.
9 Q. Do you agree with it?
10 MS. HAMPTON-FLOWERS: Objection as to form and
11 relevance.
12 THE WITNESS: Personally, no.
13 BY MR. ENGEL:
14 Q. Has Mayor Kelly forced you to do anything else that you
15 didn't agree with?
16 MS. HAMPTON-FLOWERS: Objection as to form.
17 THE WITNESS: Personally, he did not. It was a
18 one-time thing.
19 BY MR. ENGEL:
20 Q. How about Andy Dawkins?
21 A. Yes.
22 Q. Tell me more of what Andy Dawkins made you do that you
23 didn't agree with?
24 A. Standard procedure when there is a death at the property
25 is to give everyone time and to give the courts time to
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1 settle it and time to grieve and all that, that the file
2 is closed.
3 Q. Dawkins came down on which side of that? Don't close it
4 or do close it?
5 A. The Mayor said he couldn't close it.
6 Q. What else?
7 A. That was my major objection. It was the highlight of my
8 career.
9 Q. Explain to me the highlight of your career that --
10 relating to the death situation?
11 A. Two of my clients died.
12 Q. Two of your clients died and you weren't allowed to
13 close the file?
14 A. Two of my clients died and nobody listened to me to even
15 start it in the first place.
16 Q. What was the result of you not being able to work on
17 that?
18 A. What do you mean?
19 Q. Did the properties end up condemned or vacant?
20 A. They ended up vacant.
21 Q. Both of them?
22 A. There was only one property down on Butternut.
23 Q. Anything else?
24 A. No.
25 Q. So you said, "the highlight of my career," and so the
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1 examples are the Butternut property, and then closing a
2 file when there has been a death?
3 A. I could not do that in this case. I mean this was the
4 lowest thing that has ever happened to me.
5 Q. Treating the Rodriguezes as they were forced to be
6 treated?
7 A. Correct.
8 Q. Did you talk to Mr. Dawkins about not wanting to do that
9 to them?
10 A. Initially I told him it was not a good idea because she
11 was in ill health.
12 Q. You said you had a fairly decent relationship with Mr.
13 Dawkins. Why didn't he work with you on this?
14 MS. HAMPTON-FLOWERS: Objection, calls for
15 speculation, no foundation.
16 THE WITNESS: He had direct voice mail orders
17 from the Mayor of St. Paul. I heard it myself.
18 BY MR. ENGEL:
19 Q. You heard the voice mail?
20 A. Correct.
21 Q. Were you in Andy's office?
22 A. I was in the doorway.
23 Q. Did he know you were there?
24 A. Oh, yes.
25 Q. Did he play it for you?
EXHIBIT E

1:23 PM  
Blogger Bob said...

Renovations Inc. is the same people Magner wanted Nancy to sell to!

1:24 PM  
Blogger Bob said...

It looks as if KELLY & Dawkins could of cared less if an elderly woman, a retired teacher, a mother, mate, and friend to others was sent to her grave sooner due to stress over the threat of losing her home.

Dawkins, Kelly, your thinking was a perversion.. You are PERVERTS.

One last thing, Steve Schiller.. Your a stand up guy.. A real man.

I hope something else doesn't come up to change my opinion of you because I sure appreciate the good Lord put some of us here to balance things out so to speak.

2:11 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

is this RICO?

18 Q. Why would there be a push for excessive consumption
19 during Mayor Kelly and Dawkins tenure?
20 A. Them and the city council felt it was a necessary tool
21 for us.
22 Q. Did Andy Dawkins have a graph or chart in his office at
23 NHPI for excessive consumption?
24 A. I don't believe so.
25 Q. Did he ever talk about generating revenue through
EXHIBIT E
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194
1 excessive consumptions? Did he say why he wanted to
2 generate revenue through excessive consumption?
3 A. Because it was part of the ordinance that the city
4 council passed.
5 Q. Did you ever question using orders in "calling
6 everything" to raise revenues through excessive
7 consumption?
8 A. It was out of our hands when the city council passed it.
9 Q. Do you agree with it?
10 MS. HAMPTON-FLOWERS: Objection as to form and
11 relevance.
12 THE WITNESS: Personally, no

4:38 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Maybe a few of the others will break down and tell the truth when they are under oath giving their depositions... Thats one thing I can say for myself even while under the influence of narcotics I had the respect to speek the truth to the officials and the courts. Now lets see what kind of respect the officials have, now that its their turn to be questioned.

Nancy

7:37 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Steve Schiller why don't you be the stand up guy Bob is calling you and spill all the beans you know.You know what you know and not comming clean now could bite you in the ass later.Make your kids proud and fix this broken wheel so no more people get hurt.

12:44 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Schiller is the only inspector to tell the truth. He should be commended. The rest of these bums are just closing their eyes and doing business as usual.

11:26 AM  

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