Star Tribune Reporter: "If people will go on the record about Major Topps, I will talk to them..."

Stock photo and blog post by John Hoff

A few moments ago I spoke to Paul Walsh of the Star Tribune about his article regarding Major Topps, click here, who died of kidney failure in close proximity to a vicious beating which took place at New Bethel Baptist Church. (Another account of the incident says there was no beating, Topps was merely slapped) An online version of the article in the Star Tribune has been revised at least three times, however...


...Walsh stated this is normal for online stories. The online story matches the print version which will appear, and so these online stories get revised over and over due to--among other things--space considerations in the print version. Walsh said there was nothing out of the ordinary about these sorts of revisions and, in fact, offered to email me a copy of the original article.

When I told Walsh about concerns in the community over Major Topps and widespread, persistent rumors that Topps' interest in young boys wasn't entirely healthy, Walsh simply said this:

"If people will go on the record about Major Topps, I will talk to them."

Walsh's email at the Star Tribune is pwalsh@startribune.com

Major Topps Is Dead--More Information Comes Loose About The Assault At New Bethel Baptist Church!

Stock photo and blog post by John Hoff

As part of my recent effort to dig up information and promote necessary public discussion about Major Topps--whose recent death was announced in a richly-detailed and highly-nuanced article in the Star Tribune, click here--today while en route back to Minneapolis after a long absence, I spoke to a high-ranking police official who will remain anonymous.

According to my source...

The person who assaulted Major Topps at New Bethel Baptist Church was the husband of Topps' ex-wife. The reason for the assault and the very vicious nature of the assault remains unknown.

My source also stated he/she had heard of widespread rumors about Topp having an unhealthy interest in young boys, but had never heard of the nickname some in the community attached to Topps:

"Minor Bottoms."

A rather interesting and detailed discussion is taking place about Major Topps in other parts of the blogosphere, and this discussion can be easily turned up by Googling "Major Topps" or, for that matter, "GO LAY BY YOUR DISH DON."

Be sure to put quote marks around "GO LAY BY YOUR DISH DON" before hitting the search button.

If you just write GO LAY BY YOUR DISH DON but don't put it in quotes, it will not work.

Major Topps Is Dead--Now Let The Public Discussion Begin

Random stock photo by John Hoff

First of all, I did some quick checking and, generally, a legal claim for defamation dies with the plaintiff and heirs are not able to continue the claim. So--after trying for about two years to get a story about Major Topps, the surprising news this morning that Topps has died suddenly brings an opportunity to have an open and public discussion about this man, who has been a fixture in North Minneapolis youth circles for quite a while.

First of all...

...I know numerous individuals in North Minneapolis who--not quite jokingly--refer to Major Topps by a nickname which is a sort of play on words. Because of this play on words I have tried--for about two years--to find out if there's any fire where everybody says there is smoke. But I've turned up nobody who will go on record, though I did get an alarming secondhand report passed on by neighborhood super citizen Megan Goodmundson who knew two minors who participated in Major Topps' drum line.

Secondly, I would really love to know that back story about the assault on Major Topps described in the Star Tribune. I am strongly inclined to believe that if somebody assaulted Major Topps, there was a very good reason they were angry with him.

JNS BLOG EXCLUSIVE: Back Story On The Chanda Smith Baker Versus Rebecca Gagnon Recount Battle!

Contibuted DFL convention stock photo, xoxo, blog post by John Hoff

Today MinnPost.com published an intriguing story about the pending recount between school board candidates Chanda Smith Baker and Rebecca Gagnon, click here, who are separated not just by one percent of the vote total but also by a wide gulf of viewpoints and background.

Some of the interesting back story in this race made its way to me this morning...

First of all, as described in more detail by MinnPost, the Minneapolis School Board is phasing in a system whereby most seats would represent particular districts, and then there would also be a few at large seats. Though this "phasing in" scheme was probably not intended to temporarily deprive North Minneapolis of representation on the School Board, as events played out at the DFL convention in May it became increasingly clear how a certain combination of candidates in the race could create precisely that result in November.

Minneapolis is a DFL-dominated town. Very often, what happens at the city DFL convention effectively determines the final election because the GOP is so completely shut out. This may seem an odd thing to write this morning, as every television set in North America features news channels babbling about an overwhelming tide of GOP victories in yesterday's election, but we're just talking about this little Minneapolis school board race here, okay? The big beach of national politics is made up of many grains of sand, and I'm all over this one. Anyway...

At the DFL city convention in May, when it came to the issue of school board races, one candidate was easily and overwhelmingly endorsed. That was Richard "Dick" Mammen, who (to nobody's surprise) garnered more votes in last night's election than any other school board candidate. However, the next endorsement at the DFL convention was more of a battle. From a pool of many contenders, the race became a three-way-contest in which Rebecca Gagnon was dropped early for lack of support. The race for the endorsement at that point was between T. Williams, who is from North Minneapolis and was already an incumbent on the school board and Chanda Smith Baker, a newcomer to the school board political scene but a longtime North Minneapolis activist with deep family roots in the education system and, finally, David DeGrio, a white, openly gay, resident of Northeast. DeGrio is also a current school system employee.

In regard to T. Williams, some political analysts say he is a brilliant and fascinating man, but he just doesn't toot his own horn or campaign hard enough. Some in North Minneapolis were emotionally torn between T. Williams and Chanda Smith Baker, knowing that T. Williams is a laid back older gentleman, while Chanda seemed like the kind of energetic personality who would jump in headfirst in the battle to help North Minneapolis...an area sorely in need of help for its children, as evidenced by the recent controversy over whether to close North High.

In this three way battle between Williams, Smith Baker, and DeGrio, nobody was able to walk away with the DFL endorsement after five ballots.

The rules of the convention allowed for a motion to adjourn after five ballots and that's what the body of delegates chose to do because nobody was anywhere near 60 percent and there was no movement. One source provided numbers on the final vote and these numbers were on the Minneapolis issues list prior to being published here, and are as follows:

T. Williams, 48 percent.

David DeGrio, 47 percent.

Smith Baker had dropped out by the fifth vote, and her supporters apparently shifted to T. Williams. But this shift of support was still not enough for T. Williams to get the endorsement. The end result was an unsatisfying convention stalemate though, notably, Rebecca Gagnon wasn't even part of that stalemate. Gagnon was barely on the radar at the convention.

Right after this convention battle, an amazing thing happened. David DeGrio made a moral choice to drop out of the race and, instead, support Chanda Smith Baker. DeGrio articulated his reasoning on his website as follows: We can all do better when everyone is at the table. What this lovely thought apparently means, stripped right down to reality, is this: if DeGrio ran, he realized he would be contributing greatly to the stark possibility that North Minneapolis would be left without any representation on the school board until January of 2013. There was extensive discussion about this matter on the Minneapolis Issues List.

Meanwhile, despite a painful lack of support at the DFL convention, Rebecca Gagnon continued her campaign, most likely concentrating her door knocking in the affluent "fertile crescent" of Southwest Minneapolis, where she resides. Chanda Smith Baker campaigned all over the city, including North Minneapolis. The final results of this contest--unless anything is changed by the recount--have produced the very situation which DeGrio sought to avoid by dropping out of the race: North Minneapolis has no representation on the school board until 2013.

If the results stand, Rebecca Gagnon will become infamous as the school board member who deprived North Minneapolis of its "seat at the table."

Blogging From Wisconsin Dells

Wiped Off The Face Of The Earth: 2655 Oliver Ave. N. And 2610 Newton Ave. N.

2655 Oliver Ave. N.
2610 Newton Ave. N.

Contributed photos, xoxo, blog post by John Hoff

Though it's sad to see old houses torn down, some of these structures that stood for one hundred years, many or even most of the houses being demolished in North Minneapolis are the worst of the worst. This was undoubtedly true of 2610 Newton Ave. N. It may not have been so true of 2655 Oliver Ave. N. but, well, that one is gone, too.

Both of these houses have been featured here, previously, on Johnny Northside Dot Com. In the case of...


...2655 Oliver Ave. N., this structure featured a scary little garage which kinda sort LOOKED like it might be occupied by squatters, but apparently never was, click here. This house was empty for a number of years and often featured litter in the yard from hookers and other no-accounts who frequented that corner. The house was sometimes tagged with the name of a particular gang which this blog will refrain from mentioning by name. But now I guess the gang will have to purchase flower seeds to spell out their identity on the vacant lot.

In the case of 2610 Newton Ave. N., this house has been tracked closely on this blog.

1. The house burned up, click here for article.

2. A closer look at the damage, click here.

3. Half a year after the house burns to a crisp, eviction paperwork hits the exterior. Better late than never, click here.

4. In February of this year, nobody is clearing the sidewalk. Surprise, surprise and CLICK HERE.

So now this blog post documents the demolition of the house. Considering the house stood for so long as an ugly, burned out shell, its demolition definitely represents progress.

Yet how much of this "progress" can our neighborhood take before there is no neighborhood left?

Clearly, North Minneapolis needs certain structures demolished; first and foremost the ones burned to a crisp. But what we need much worse are home owners willing to pour resources into saving and renovating these houses.

Blogging From Wisconsin Dells

Michael Bierman Of 2701 Jersey Ave. S., St. Louis Park Arrested On Penn Ave. N.

Contributed stock photo, xoxo, blog post by John Hoff

Michael Bierman of 2701 Jersey Ave. S, St. Louis Park, Minnesota was recently arrested on suspicion of drug loitering on a notorious stretch of Penn Ave. N.

It is Bierman's bad, random luck that he will be highlighted here on Johnny Northside Dot Com as part of ongoing neighborhood efforts to clean up this sketchy part of North Minneapolis. Johns and drug seekers, be warned. If we see your vehicle picking up a hooker, you might end up right here, splattered all over the internet. If you get picked up by the police on Penn Ave. N., you and your home address might end up right here, tabloid style. KEEP YOUR CRIME OFF PENN AVENUE NORTH. This area is no longer wide open and welcoming.

And now, without further ado, the arrest report of Michael Bierman...



CASE SUMMARY:

Case Year: 2010 Case No. 268766

Incident Location: 21 AV N Penn AV N
Date and Time: 9/2/2010 2:19:00 PM - 9/2/2010 2:30:00 PM

Offenses Recorded: Loitering with intent to commit a crime - -

Public Information:
Officers observed AP1 pulled over in the listed vehicle, handing money to a black male on the sidewalk. The black male observed officers and walked away quickly, and AP1 pulled away from the curb without signaling, and turned EB on 21 Av N without signal ...

Arrested Parties, if any (name - age / Address AptNo City, State Zip):
Michael Bierman - 40 / 002701 Jersey AV S St Louis Park, MN 55391


Blogging from Joplin, Missouri.

4th Street Saloon Mural Progressing...

Contributed photo, xoxo, blog post by John Hoff

Even as the worn out mural on the nearby Kemps facility was painted over, a new mural began to a emerge not very far away on the side of the 4th Street Saloon.

The mural doesn't seem to be finished, quite yet, but looks like a great work in progress. Everybody looks forward to seeing the finished product.

Blogging From Joplin, Missouri

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Slumlord Interests Ousted From JACC Board, And Much More In A North Minneapolis "Tale Of Two Cities"

Contributed photo, xoxo, blog post by John Hoff

In the last 10 weeks, this blog has been less active than any time in its history due to employment obligations which took me across the country to Columbia, South Carolina for a long period of intense training. While I often had free time, I seldom had convenient internet access, plus other obligations (like being an outstanding designated driver to my hard-partying buddies) kept me pretty tied up.

Now, with my fingers comfortably back at the keyboard, and hot content ready to roll in the usual prolific Johnny Northside style, I thought it would be fun to review some of the amazing changes which have taken place during the last ten weeks. It's incredible how quickly our neighborhood changes, evolves, and revitalizes even in a relatively short span of time. Being out of the loop for ten weeks and then trying to catch up gives me a whole new appreciation for just how quickly our neighborhood is changing.

* First, and most recently, three nights ago the Jordan Neighborhood had its annual meeting and (for the second year in a row) managed to elect a slate of candidates to its board without any of the drama which, once upon a time, was synonymous with Jordan Neighborhood politics. In fact, the only drama was something positive: bylaws were changed so that mere property ownership in the neighborhood isn't enough to qualify individuals for board membership, not anymore. What this means, effectively, is shameless slumlords like Keith Reitman will no longer have such a powerful role in Jordan politics.

Best of all, the bylaw change took place right in front of Keith Reitman, but other than barking briefly and in a paranoid manner over whether somebody was "whispering" to the chair of the meeting--saying something, whining something about open meeting laws, blah blah blah, as though open meeting laws ever regulated whispering--Keith David Reitman was powerless to stop the change in the bylaws. As of that moment...

...Rietman no longer has a vote in JACC business. Though this seems like a relatively minor change, progress in our neighborhood is a moving mosaic made up of such minor changes. In my absence, other bloggers kept the neighborhood informed of important developments, such as these:

* Jimmy Carter's visit to the Eco Village, reported in detail by Jeff Skrenes on the Hawthorne Voices blog.

* 1564 Hillside Ave. N. was demolished, reported in detail by Hillside Chronicles.

* Decent people in the Jordan Neighborhood have grown increasingly upset with Steve Meldahl, who has been dubbed "Slumeldahl" by NoMi Passenger. WARNING: Slumeldahl has NOT been approved by the FDA for neighborhood usage, and has been known to have serious side effects, such as urban blight and low curb appeal. The fiery "Irving Inquisition" blog has been on top of Meldahl.

* Thug-on-thug homicidal violence. Yawn. What else is new? There are two different worlds in North Minneapolis, and one of those worlds is actually very safe, comfortable, and enjoyable. And then there are thuggish idiots who kill each other with whatever weapon is available, including a speeding vehicle. Outside observers should not be misled by colorful mainstream media reports of such criminal violence: the "revitalizer" lifestyle is gaining ground in North Minneapolis, and the "thug lifestyle" is retreating. It's my hypothesis that North Minneapolis thugs are killing each other over increasingly smaller territory, and increasingly more limited areas of influence. North Minneapolis is truly a tale of two cities.

* The "Tripping Cows" mural was painted over at the Kemps Dairy facility.

* NoMi resident Brian Reichow married the girl of his dreams. Brian, sorry I missed your wedding. I did get text updates through the whole wedding and reception and almost felt like I was present.

* The "thug memorial riot" took place. Some folks just can't behave themselves, even while mourning their dead. This is another good argument in favor of not allowing "thug shooting memorials" to remain on trees, fences, etc. Did I mention "a tale of two cities?" Yes, I certainly did.

* I was re-elected to the Hawthorne Neighborhood Council Board, even while not there to speak in my own favor at the annual meeting. Thank you, friends and neighbors.

* Jerome Kingrussell, the notorious "Imposter Foster" from the Larry Maxwell mortgage fraud trial, was arrested and held without bail.

* Principals of Dana D III pled guilty to mortgage fraud.

All these amazing events happened in A MERE TEN WEEKS, and I've actually left a lot of important stuff out. So what will the next ten weeks bring? What will the next year, the next five years, the next ten years bring to North Minneapolis?

These ten weeks have hammered home two lessons for me:

1. Though I intend to play a large and highly-active role in the positive changes taking place in our neighborhood, change will take place no matter what. Even if this blog grew silent, even if work forced me to leave the neighborhood or the COUNTRY for months at a time, Urban Utopia is headed toward NoMi.

Urban Utopia in North Minneapolis is unstoppable.

2. During times when this blog is unable to play a very active roll, other committed bloggers take up the slack and use grassroots media to move the revitalizer agenda forward.

Because of this--once again--Urban Utopia is unstoppable.

To all the readers who have been so loyal to this blog: I am sorry that I was gone for so long, but it was necessary so I could pay my child support and the taxes on my house. (My goodness, what will the hateful haters have to hatefully hate about in light of THIS development?) I also wish to give a special thank you to neighborhood "super citizen" Megan Goodmundson, who virtually kept my blog on life support in my absence.

But now I am finally heading back home, and tonight I am...

Blogging From Joplin, Missouri

Recycling and Reusing the House of Fraud

The real chronicle of the demolition of 1564 Hillside, a.k.a. "The House of Fraud," is taking place here.

But while celebrating this small and huge victory in person, I was able to take this informative video of the contractor telling us what sort of tedious efforts will be taken to recycle and reuse a large majority of the material from demolished houses.

For readers that aren't already familiar with 1564 Hillside, a.k.a. "The House of Fraud", here's a quick summary. This house was used in an elaborate criminal ring of mortgage and real estate fraud combined with devastating cases of identity theft. Just search 1564 Hillside in the search bar of this blog and grab a refill on your beverage of choice and read away.

It's likely that the "House of Fraud" will live on forever! In your driveway. In your garden bed. In your new stainless steel refrigerator.... in the steel bars that will lock away mortgage fraud and identity theft criminals...

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5th Ward Councilman Don Samuels Weekly Address - Lead Poisoning Prevention

5th Ward City Councilman Don Samuels continues his new venture of giving a weekly video update of a current topic from his office.  This week's installment features news on lead poisoning prevention initiatives that the city is undertaking.

The 5th Ward office can be reached at 612-673-2205 and by email at <don.samuels@ci.minneapolis.mn.us>.



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Just Like That, Criminal History Info On Maurice Meeks, Homicide Victim......

Stock photo and blog post by John Hoff

Just minutes after throwing the question out to the universe, the criminal history of Maurice Meeks made its way to me. Meeks was killed in a bizarre car-versus-porch incident, click here for more info.

Hawthorne Hawkman blogged about the criminal history of the alleged killer, but my question in a previous blog post was "what about the criminal history (if any) of the victim?"

Often, (but certainly not always) when murders take place in North Minneapolis, both the victims and the killers have rough records and long histories of mutual association. Maurice Meeks was no exception to this common pattern...

Without further ado, here is the history of no-account Maurice "Mo" Meeks, dead in an incident which was bizarre but, in its own way, hardly surprising:

MEEKS, MAURICE 04/25/1975 05/11/1993 Hennepin Criminal/Traffic/Petty Downtown Crim/Traf Mandatory Closed 2ND DEG MURDER-UNINTENTIONAL 2ND DEG MURDER 25-T0-03-001688 R 998072 R 998072 R 998072 MEEKS, MAURICE 04/21/1975 03/10/2003 Goodhue Moving - Misdemeanor Converted Closed SPEED 83/55 VIOLATE INSTRCTNL PERMIT DRIVER SM AMT MARIJUANA 25-T8-03-001857 R 098762 R 098762 R 098762 R 098763 R 098763 R 098763 MEEKS, MAURICE 04/21/1975 03/14/2003 Goodhue Driving Intoxicated Converted Closed 4TH DEGREE DWI 4TH DEG REFUSAL TO TEST PERMIT VIOLATION STOP SIGN VIOLATION SEATBELT NO PROOF OF INSURANCE 25-T9-04-000968 R 104661 MEEKS, MAURICE 04/21/1975 02/09/2004 Goodhue Moving - Misdemeanor Converted Closed DAR 25-K3-04-000335 MEEKS, MAURICE NMN 04/21/1975 03/08/2004 Goodhue 5th Degree Assault -K Converted Closed TERRORISTIC THREATS ASLT-5TH DEGREE ASLT-5TH/FEAR BODILY HARM ASLT-5TH/FEAR BODILY HARM CRIM DMG-4TH DEGREE 27-CR-04-079021 MEEKS, MAURICE 04/ 25/1975 12/01/2004 Hennepin Criminal/Traffic/Petty Southdale Crim/Traf Mandatory Closed 2ND DEG DWI -REFUSAL TO SUBMIT TO TEST 3RD DEG DWI -ALCOHOL DRIVE AFTER REVOCATION POSSESS SMALL AMT MARIJUANA-MV OBSTRUCT LEGAL PROCESS OR ARREST 27-CR-07-022697 MEEKS, MAURICE 04/25/1975 04/10/2007 Hennepin Criminal/Traffic/Petty Downtown Crim/Traf Mandatory Under Court Jurisdiction Drugs - 5th Degree - Possess Schedule 1,2,3,4 - Not Small Amount

What more can be said? Another textbook example of "He who lives by the sword, by that same sword he shall surely die."

Seeking Answers About Maurice Meeks, Homicide Victim...

Stock photo and blog post by John Hoff

Maurice Meeks is dead, killed in a bizarre car-versus-front-porch incident in North Minneapolis. His alleged killer has a long and notable criminal record as documented by Hawthorne Hawkman, click here.

However, to date nobody has written about the record (if any) of Maurice "Mo" Meeks, who was hanging around with a notorious no-account on the night he was killed, which already says plenty.

I attempted to look into Meeks' record...

...but the website where I check into criminal records is down today. Darn. And right when I had a little bit of time and a little bit of internet access, which gave me an opportunity to tackle this particular task.

I will certainly get around to digging up information about Maurice "Mo" Meeks later, but for now I just want to ask the question out loud: what kind of record did the victim have?

You see, I think North Minneapolis is a very safe place: safe for decent citizens who keep their noses clean and don't hang around with notorious criminal no-accounts. The record (if any) of Maurice "Mo" Meeks would help me support that hypothesis or, in the alternative, help disprove it. Which is it? Does anybody know?

Contrasting Information in the NRRC Staff and Property Story

Contributed Photo of Johnny Northside playing the "telephone" game

About a month ago, Johnny Northside Dot Com reported that there was a story circulating within the northside movers and shakers scene that mirrored an "Old Majority JACC" (click here for an explanation of what THAT refers to) style move in which computers and files had been not-so-legally removed from the NRRC (Northside Residents Redevelopment Council) offices. 


Today, an opposing version of the story emerged from a source close to NRRC.  So in true Johnny Northside fashion of publishing all sides of a story here is the alternate version:

NRRC has been forced to lay off all the staff members (my commentary: presumably due to lack of funds although the source did not state this reason).  The board member volunteers have been trying to keep the organization going, but have had some challenges (my commentary: understandably so, going from full and part time staff to no staff and volunteers who likely have their own full time jobs is a major challenge).  The volunteer board members have been going through paperwork that is, in some cases, decades old and no longer needed.  This is where the shredded documents rumor comes from; documents were shredded because they were old and no longer needed, not because someone did something nefarious.

One computer that was rarely used was sent off to be donated, by some misunderstanding by the last staff member on the last day of employment.  This decision was quickly reversed by the board members and the computer was returned the next day.  NRRC had a policy to store electronic documents on a web-based server and not on a hard drive, so the computer should not have had any documents on it anyways. ~NRRC volunteer

As always, anyone with additional details, information or commentary should feel free to use the comment section.  You know, it's completely anonymous.


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