under First Amendment Fair Comment and
Criticism, blog post by John Hoff
Tempest, Meet Teapot
A previous article here on Johnny Northside has, I am told, caused quite a stir in certain neighborhood circles and the ripples have reached as far as Minneapolis City Hall where (I am told) tough questions are being asked about Ishmael Israel (formerly known as "Sean Cory Brunswick") and what is, precisely, his role at NRRC? And is there any conflict of interest?
Apparently at least a few highly involved citizens were quietly rumbling about what was happening with NRRC but the blog article was sort of a catalyst for conversation.
Glad to help.
Layers Of Delicious Oniony Goodness, Um, Wait, Just Make That Delicious And Oniony
One source told me Israel has so many onion-like layers that getting to the bottom would be a massive project, but my source tipped me off that the key to unlocking "Israeli history" would be to learn Israel's name before he changed it to "Israel Ishmael."
Well, click here. His former name of "Sean Cory Brunswick" is on a Consent Order of the State of Minnesota Commissioner of Commerce denying Israel a real estate salesperson license because of criminal history.
Other searches using "Sean Cory Brunswick" easily turn up other interesting stuff, enough to have "neighborhood types" concerned about this guy...
...and the "neighborhood types" were concerned already. But, to be completely fair, as far as criminal charges go, there isn't anything recent. This is not an example of somebody who is "just starting to turn his life around" but whose life has been, APPARENTLY, turned around for a while. (Except for a pile of fat civil judgments which were, um, rather recent)
Also, Israel admitted his "criminal past" when running for Park Board and a brief article appeared in the Southwest Journal mentioning that Israel changed his name after being released from prison where he served 17 months for felony assault. An attempt at an appeal was summarily denied.
The Southwest Journal article also says Israel was also convicted of felony check forgery in 1992.
Upon running this guy's record on MNCIS under "Sean Brunswick," all I turned up was the check forgery conviction which took place in Blue Earth County.
It's interesting, however, that MNCIS has "Kory" for a middle name instead of "Cory" like on the Consent Order linked above.
Here, see for yourself:
It should be noted that on the DWI, Sean "Kory" Brunswick pled guilty, and on the speeding ticket, well...
It's a speeding ticket. This blogger refuses to get worked up over a speeding ticket.
But I still wonder why the middle name is "Kory" one place and "Cory" another and then, well, "Sean Brunswick" one place and "Ishmael Israel" another. Searching under "Ishmael Isreal" on the criminal side of MNCIS turns up...
A lot of nothing. Two more traffic charges.
Judgments, Judgments, Judgments
On the civil side of MNCIS, I turn up no cases at all with "Sean Brunswick." Which is odd...I would think, at the very least, I would see the actual court proceeding with a legal name change? Was there no actual proceeding? The record leaves me to ask that question.
It is with the new post-prison name of "Ishmael Israel" that things get really interesting on the civil side of MNCIS. And, just to make sure we're talking about the same guy and not another "Ishmael Israel," please note that SOME instances the middle name "Shakur" appears or "S S" for "Sean Shukur."
So, yes, we're talking about the same guy at least some of the time. Where there is a tiny degree of uncertainty, I have noted that, accordingly.
Here's the whole MNCIS history, copied and pasted, with discussion about the resolution of individual items:
27-CO-99-0802049AMERICAN ACCOUNTS & ADVISERS INC vs ISHMAEL ISRAEL
08/02/1999
- Hennepin Civil
Conciliation
Closed
No "middle name identifier," so a small possibility exists this is NOT "our" Ishmael Israel. There was also another defendant named "Nicole Stewart." This was "conciliation court" and there's an indication of a "judgment" on September 17, 1999 but no indication what, exactly, that judgment was.
09/21/1999
- Hennepin Housing
Eviction (UD)
Closed
Ouch. Ishmael "S" Israel trying to put Latrice Young out in the street.
09/24/1999
- Hennepin Housing
Eviction (UD)
Closed
More of the same. That's land lording, for you.
10/22/1999
- Hennepin Civil
Transcript Judgment
Closed
No middle name or initial identifier. There was a judgment of $2,529 which was satisfied (paid).
06/30/2003
- Hennepin Civil
Conciliation
Closed
There was a judgment but it's not clear what that was, though this is Ishmael "S" Israel, the same guy.
02/11/2005
- Hennepin Civil
Conciliation
Closed
Judgment. Not clear what that was. No middle name identifier present. There was an unusual notation I've never seen before: The Minnesota Supreme Court is listed as an "interested observer."
06/09/2005
- Hennepin Civil
Transcript Judgment
Closed
"SS" middle name identifier present. There was a judgment against Israel of $2,813 which has been satisfied. (Paid)
10/23/2008
- Hennepin Civil
Poston, Janet N.
Contract
Closed
"SS" middle name identifier present. There was a judgment of $13,693.61 which has never been satisfied.
05/29/2009
- Hennepin Civil
Blaeser, Robert A.
Contract
Closed
"S" middle name identifier present. There was a judgment of $52,814.08 against Israel which has never been satisfied.
10/30/2009
- Hennepin Civil
Default Judgment
Closed
08/25/2011
- Hennepin Housing
Eviction (UD)
Closed
Here's Ishmael SHAKUR Israel, facing an eviction action by Federal National Mortgage Association. The last thing to happen in this case was an order denying an In Forma Pauperis petition in April of 2013...not THAT long ago.
There was a judgment in the case, but no judgment amount is listed so most likely this was just a case of the mortgager getting control of the property...
Or not. Who won the case is not listed, either.
Would You Want This Man Running Your Neighborhood Association?
The question--and it's been the question from the beginning--is whether this is the kind of guy who should be the ("kind of, sort of") executive director of NRRC? Not whether he should PARTICIPATE, not whether he has a pleasant personality, not whether a person can overcome their past and do some productive things...
But whether Ishmael Israel should be RUNNING the NRRC.
In our tough Northside neighborhood, leadership positions with purses full of public monies involved attract all kinds. We've seen it before with JACC. Unsavory situations tend to be tolerated for a while until a certain level of dissatisfaction builds up, and then somebody boldly commits themselves to providing new leadership...
As we saw with JACC in 2009.
Is this another "JACC civil war" a-brewing?
2 comments:
A source to this story forwarded a link to a mug shot for Ishmael Isreal's 2002 drug arrest:
http://www.bustedmugshots.com/minnesota/minneapolis/sean-kory-brunswick/105109401
He "owns" the house next to mine through the nrcc.org non profit. They don't keep it up, no one lives there, heard some rumors of it being foreclosed, and they are just terrible neighbors.
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