Northampton County continues its govern behind closed doors, as demonstrated in today’s edition of The Morning Call. “Northampton turns over two audits to state to qialify for new grants.”

The county used the grant money to study sinkhole problems and to redevelopment brownfields along the Bushkill Creek, without county council approval and as a direct subsidy to Lafayette College and Arcadia Properties for the construction of a new urban center, Bushkill Village, in the Delaware River and Bushkill Creek floodplain.

I reported on the Bushkill Creek project on this blog yesterday, in an article titled “Betrayal.”

I commented heavily on the fall issue of The Elucidator, on the newsstands this week, which also features an article on Bushkill Village and the threat by the Easton Redevelopment Authority to “take” 33 privately owned properties on the creek from 13th Street to Larry Holmes Drive for the village’s construction.

The Redevelopment Auhority, run by its solicitor Easton attorney Daniel Cohen, executive director Barbara Kowitz, and member Richard “Mac” McAteer, have threatened to “take” these properties on behalf of Lafayette College and Arcadia Properties, which lack the power of eminent domain.

Other alarming news in today’s edition of The Morning Call’s was last night’s vote by the Bethlehem City Council approving a slot machine gambling casino in South Bethlehem; that is, the Las Vegas Sands owned by Sheldon Adelson.

Sheldon Adelson, who has built a private Jewish school in the Poconos, where casinos are also planned, called a chabad, has financed the trips of 75 Congressional lawmakers to Israel in an attempt to persuade the government of Ariel Sharon to allow slot machine gambling casisnos in Israel, where they are illegal.

Adelson had better luck with lawmakers here in Pennsylvania, including those representing Northampton County and the Moravian Christmas City of Bethlehem.

On January 3, 2005, accompanied by my friend John Todero of Palmer Township, I attended that evening’s Northampton County Council meeting, held in downtown Easton’s historic Jacob Bachmann Publick House, and asked the Republican-controlled council to conduct public hearings on the proposed Sheldon Adelson’s and BethWorks Now’s proposed casino.

The Republican majority complied, and the first, and only, public meeting was held in Moravian College’s Foy Hall on June 28, 2005.

The hall was packed, a court-style transcript recorded the meeting, and opposition to the casino was overwhelming.

The’s when the Democrat-controlled Bethlehem City Council in collusion with Democratic Mayor John Callahan and loyalists of the corrupt, discredited, and defeated in the May 17, 2005, Democratic primary election, launched a shameless public relations campaign in support of the casino.

A principle casino supporter was Democrat Ann McHale, who represents District 2 - Bethlehem and Hellertown Borough - on county council, and whom the voters in those two jurisdictions will have the opportunity to get rid next year when she stands for re-election.

Bethlehem City Council, having wrested the public hearings from county council through political dirty tricks, held its own “public hearing” July 5, 2005, with all kinds of violations of the Sunshine Law, in Bethlehem City Council chambers.

Council-elect member Karen Dolan labeled county councilman Ron Angle a “demagogue” and urged people not to listen to him.  Dolan replaced Ismael Arcelay on council, whom she defeated in the primary, while promising like Arcelay to oppose gambling in Bethlhen, but then voting last night to allow it.

Dolan is faithless.

At the July 5, 2005, “public hearing,” Councilwoman Magdelena “Maggie” Szabo denigrated the Morvavian Church and its founder in 1722 Count Nicholas Von Zinzendorf.

Bethlehem City Council President J. Michael Schweder, the President of AT&T in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and a lobbyist registered in NJ but not in PA, since PA has no lobbyist registration law, negotiated with Lehigh-Northampton State Representative and Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chairman T. J. Rooney the transfer of 500 acres of former Bethlehem Steel property to Majestic Realty of Los Angeles California.

Schweder and Rooney made numberous plane trips to Los Angles for these negotiations and Majestic representatives never appeared once at a Bethlehem planning or city council meeting.

Majestic Realty also has connections in Las Vegas, where it owns the Silverton Casino.

It was to build Commerce Center Boulevard from Route 412 to the Majestic parcel of property on the former Bethlehem steel tract that Northampton County’s illegal General Purpose Authority allocated $13.1 million.

I have the documented proof that the the GPA and its $111 million bond are illegal, and when I’ve returned to Easton from Philadelphia for my operation for cancer, I will present this documentation to the authorities - with updates to the public on this blog.

The Northampton County audits for the Bushkill Creek projects are not reliable.  The county controller’s office of John Schimmel, former fiscal affairs director Jean Mateff, and D.A. John M. Morganelli covered up the firing of two Affiliated Computer Services as “whistleblowers” who reported the hacking of the county’s computers, a federal offense.

The controller also covered up the illegal use of telephones by Northampton County officials.