Ed Felien wrote: The hideous blemish on my reputation seems to be a result of my association with Basim Sabri. Mr. Sabri is alleged to have tried to influence a City Council Member. Federal prosecutors indicted him in District Court. The indictment was dismissed by the judge. An appeal by the prosecution to the Court of Appeals reinstated the indictment, and, now, that decision has been appealed by the defense to the United States Supreme Court.
Chris Johnson wrote: I'm one of those people who at present do not like Basim Sabri. snip My low opinion of him comes from having friends who were his neighbors and were neighbors of properties he owned. He was the most antagonistic, arrogant, difficult, nasty, mean and troublesome "neighbor" just about everyone in my social circle at that time had ever encountered. That his name has been splashed in the press a number of times since for unsavory deeds, even if legal, just confirmed his "low" character. According to the newspaper, he doesn't even seem to be able to get along with members of his own family without resorting to fisticuffs and lawsuits. Yikes. As for the indictment being dismissed, then appealed and reinstated and now appealed again, my understanding from newspaper articles was that the original dismissal, and in fact Sabri's lawyer's entire argument against the charges is not so much based on lack of guilt, but on legal technicalities about things like jurisdiction! That kind of defense hardly gives one a warm feeling of actual innocence on his part. snip But he has yet to earn that respect. Right now, I don't feel his business success along Lake Street has absolved him of his sins. David Piehl writes: I agree with Chris Johnson. When Basim first bought property on Lake Street, I supported him and his investment. His ruthless, nasty tactics and self-serving greed caused my opinion to change. It's interesting to me that people (as Ed Felien did) argue that Basim's so-called success on Lake Street justifies the means. I've never subscribed to the idea that the end justifies the means, but beyond that I don't think too many people really understand what the "end" is. On the surface, it appears that Basim is investing and providing wonderful opportunities for folks who really need them. Sounds and looks nice, but the litigation trails paint a different picture. Remember what Sabri did to Titilayo Bediako's "We Win" Institute? Hardly a community oriented guy. I've been told by some tenants, and seen postings by others on this list, that life as a tenant of Basim Sabri is hell; tenants allegedly have to deal with various threats and incessant rent increases, among other items. Centro Legal reportedly has a whole "Sabri" file documenting his abuse of immigrant entrepreneurs. The turnover rate in Sabri buildings is also an indication of problems (though in fairness, many new businesses fail on their own). It shouldn't be suprising that the tactics used to create the developments are also employed managing those developments. As far as the FBI charges against Sabri, what Sabri challenged is the federal jurisdiction in the case based on the source of the funds affected in the bribes. If indeed the feds do not have jurisdiction, the state does and Sabri may be charged under the state anti-corruption laws. David Piehl Central BTW, I'm still waiting for a response from Peter McLaughlin - I did hear he was out of the office so hopefully he'll respond when he returns. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software http://sitebuilder.yahoo.com TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
