Where's Elliot Ness

Come on. Admit it.

You have been wondering just as I have whether the FBI has been looking into this Tunnel deal with all of its strange goings-on as part of their investigations. Have Canadian police forces been involved also?

After all, we are dealing with a key international border crossing and Governmental approvals are required before the deal can be completed---if it ever gets done now since supposedly the negotiations and loan application to Infrastructure Ontario are "on hold" now. They have to have some role because it has been called a unique security risk.

We know that the Mayor of Detroit sent out thousands of text messages. Unfortunately for him, some of those messages have caused problems that could result in him being removed as Mayor.

We also know that our Mayor sends out text messages.

What we do not know is whether the Mayors sent messages to each other about the Tunnel deal and, more particularly, about the meeting in Windsor.

If they did, has anyone been able to capture them and read them? Wouldn’t it be fun to find out, if there were such messages, what they said?

I have to tell you that I am still shocked by the Star Editorial. A number of people either called or e-mailed me and their reactions were the same.

Why did the Star do it? Does this mean that the Star’s attitude towards the Mayor has changed? Only time will tell.

By the way, we may have our own Mayor/Council dustup in Windsor starting now.

Did you read Councillor Halberstadt's BLOG re the canal project and in particular about the spending $10,000 of taxpayer money through a CAO approval.

If not go here for the full BLOG http://www.alanhalberstadt.com/index.php

• "I am becoming increasingly concerned about the penchant for Mayor Eddie Francis to conceal information from Windsor City Council (Read today's Windsor Star editorial entitled Tunnel Talks -- Taxpayers deserve full story).
  
  My bone of contention involves the Mayor's July 29th press conference in which he released pretty pictures from a Toronto consulting firm -- Brook McIlroy -- on a proposed canal/marina on the City Centre West lands. It turns out these Buck Rogers Cartoonish drawings cost Windsor taxpayers $10,000 and were commissioned without Council's approval or knowledge on May 20 by CAO John Skorobohacz under Delegation of Authority protocols established a couple of years ago...
  
  It remains unclear to me, however, whether the Delegation of Authority rules should cover an expenditure on such a significant initiative without Council being informed about it until well after the fact. In my view, that was not the original intent of this policy. It was created to save Council the time of dealing with more trivial matters of city governance, not to be used as a tool to manipulate public opinion and place Council in a subservient role."

I have already suggested that the process whereby a subordinate can approve a request of his superior be changed.

Of course, you know how well our Mayor takes criticism. Here are some of his comments that he made with respect to the Ward 3 Councillor on Eh-News (Actually it is A-news, A-Channel's silly new name)

• "Councillor Halberstadt will always find a way to take a position against an issue.
  
  Councillor Halberstadt has made a career of ensuring that the facts don't get in the way of a good story."

I wonder if Eddie would dare make these remarks at Council. If he did, would he be in violation of the City's Procedural By-law:

PART 14 – CONDUCT OF MEMBERS - BUSINESS OF COUNCIL

14.1 Members of Council shall:

b) not use indecent, offensive words or insulting expressions at any time toward other Members of Council, Civic Administration, delegations or members of the public

Can you spell D-Y-S-F-U-N-C-T-I-O-N-A-L C-O-U-N-C-I-L?