Two articles from the Star Tribune: http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/792993.html Search of Sabri property finds fire code violations Rochelle Olson Star Tribune Published Oct 30 2001 Minneapolis inspectors found numerous fire code violations Monday when they toured Suuqa Karmel, a minimall in south Minneapolis owned by Basim Sabri. Sabri, a key figure in the city inspections scandal involving former City Council Member Brian Herron, forced the city to get a court warrant for the routine inspection of his property. Fire inspector Mike Rumppe says the violations are extensive and range from unlit exit signs and the lack of emergency lighting, to the absence of a sprinkler system and a nonfunctioning alarm system. Rumppe, who has been on the job for eight months, called it the worst building he has ever seen: "Easy. No sweat." While Fire Marshal Tom Deegan said it wasn't the worst building he has ever seen, he added, "There are some life-safety concerns in there that are very serious." Sabri said: "It sounds severe. We'll immediately comply. ... I don't sit on orders that the city of Minneapolis issues for me if they're legitimate orders." Sabri, a developer and landlord who lives in Shorewood, was indicted in August on a charge of offering bribes to Herron, who pleaded guilty in July to extorting bribes from another businessman. Sabri's trial has been delayed and will start no later than Dec. 4. Fire code violations are misdemeanors and each carries a possible penalty of a $700 fine and 90 days in jail; however, jail time is rare. "Usually we're able to gain compliance; they just need to fix it," said assistant city attorney Burt Osborne. The mall, at Pillsbury Av. and W. Lake Street, was designed to help immigrant entrepreneurs and houses 30 business, many of them run by Somalis. Deegan said Sabri was present and cooperative for part of the inspection. Within a couple of weeks, the city will send Sabri notice of the most serious violations and direct him to hire a fire protection engineer. Deegan said he will then expect Sabri to submit a plan for addressing the issues. To conduct the routine inspection, Sabri forced the city to get an administrative search warrant. Sabri said he did so because firefighters have repeatedly visited his building for what he said they described as walk-throughs to acquaint themselves with its layout. He said he doesn't object to such visits, but he feels the repeated visits and the way they were conducted constituted intentional harassment of his Somali tenants. The city annually inspects buildings with hazardous materials, and inspects regular buildings once every three years, according to Deegan. Fire Chief Rocco Forte said this was only the second time in his 27 years of service that a property owner required inspectors to obtain a warrant. Osborne said the city first attempted to enter Sabri's property in June but Sabri denied inspectors access. Sabri "was real recalcitrant and real obstinate that he wasn't going to let us in," Osborne said. The inspectors spent months corresponding with him before going to Hennepin County District Court for a warrant. "We give folks all the chance in the world to let us in," Osborne said. -- Rochelle Olson http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/795834.html Minneapolis releases more data in Herron investigation Published Oct 31 2001 Minneapolis city officials Tuesday released 6,650 more pages of documents subpoeaned by federal authorities in the investigation related to former City Council Member Brian Herron. Twenty-three bound volumes of city inspection records and e-mails from City Council members and their staffs were made available and joined an estimated 10,000 pages of similar material that was made available on Oct. 3. The two sets of volumes, city officials said, represents the total material subpoened by federal authorities in the investigation. Herron, who represented the city's Eighth Ward, abruptly resigned in July after pleading guilty to extortion. He pleaded guilty to extorting $10,000 from Selwin Ortega, a south Minneapolis business owner whose stores were being scrutinized by city health inspectors. Another Minneapolis businessman, Basim Sabri, has been charged with offering bribes to Herron. He is awaiting trial on the federal charges. -- Mike Kaszuba ______________________________________________________________________ The information contained in this message is private and confidential information which may also be subject to the attorney-client privilege and work product doctrine. This information is intended only for the individual or entity named above. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any use, dissemination, distribution or copy of this message is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender by return e-mail and destroy all copies of the message. Thank you. _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
