Archive for the 'Joe Albero' Category
It has been a while since we heard about Prince George’s Senator Ulysses Currie (D-Dist. 25) who is currently under a federal microscope considering between his elected office and his off-session job with Shoppers Food Warehouse, specifically whether he was hired for his influence on some of the company’s projects. Remember, he did not disclose his position with the company on ethics forms. The Baltimore Sun’s blog says that Currie used his campaign account to pay his legal bills from Miles Stockbridge to the tune of nearly $42,000.
If the name Miles Stockbridge sounds familiar, that was the law firm of choice for former Salisbury Mayor Barrie P. Tilghman and soon to be former Salisbury police chief Allan Webster when they took on Salisbury News Publisher and Maryland Politics Today Eastern Shore Correspondent Joe Albero. Webster’s case was settled in 2008 with no money changing hands. Tilghman’s lawsuit against Albero was scoreboard in favor of Albero (read: she lost). Both sued for the non-normal amount of $9,999.00.
As far as Webster goes, the soon to be former part is due to him announcing his retiring effective this June. WMAR-TV (Channe l 2) says that a feud with current Mayor Jim Ireton had nothing to do with his decision. Last month, WBOC-TV (Channel 16) reported that Ireton asked for the chief’s resignation following several armed robberies and shootings in the city. Guess what the chief said. With Webster announcing his retirement, he withdrew his lawsuit against the city following receiving the first reprimands of his career; while at the same time, Ireton withdrew the four repreimands against the chief (hhhhmmmmmm….)
Salisbury News publisher Joe Albero, who is also MarylandPT Eastern Shore Correspondent, was sentenced to one year probation before judgment via an Alford Plea over a 2005 land deal in Pittsville.
When the deal was done, the papers said at that time Albero was a resident in Maryland when actuality he was a resident of Delaware. Being an out of state resident, Albero has to pay taxes when buying land in Maryland. Special Prosecutor Henry Dove tells The Daily Times that the Comptroller’s Office became less interested in the case after it was overlooked that Albero reinvested that land in the free state, three weeks after the purchase which earned hyim a tax deferment and owed no money.
If anything, the best that our Comptroller’s office can do is get someone on a clerical error, even though they followed procedures. Nice job at taking a petty, bitter victory guys! Joe, if I were you, I would keep the ol’ powder dry because you know that the mayor and police chief will look for any reason to screw you over.
It should be noted that I am a contributing editor to Salisbury News. By the way, let me shill for an upcoming piece I will be writing about on WBOC-TV’s News Plex which I toured last month. Here is a preview.
The case involving Salisbury News Editor and MarylandPT Lower Shore Insider Joe Albero and Salisbury Police Chief Allan Webster has been resolved with no money changing hands.
That means Webster v. Albero will not be decided as scheduled at the Worcester County Courthouse in Snow Hill.
Now here is what I think, Webster did not have a leg to stand on because he is a public official and as such, he is up to public scrutiny. Also, a judge ruled that while Albero was not protected under Maryland’s press shield law because he does not draw a salary from his site. However, Albero is afforded the right to protect his sources making Webster’s case a little bit harder to prove.
Let’s refer to this as a settlement where both sides can claim victory if nothing else to keep up a face in public. I believe however that Albero won, and I am not saying that because I know him and we contribute information to each other’s site. I am saying this base on common sense and the press. I would love for Governor Martin O’Malley to sue Chip Franklin for criticisms made. Stuff like this does not happen in big markets.
In the interest of full disclosure before I relay this story, Joe Albero from Salisbury News has been MarylandPT’s Eastern Shore Insider for a year. In addition, I contribute commentaries to his blog. As he and I have stated on numerous occasions, he is not a journalist. However, as I stated many times, many of his stories have panned out which is why I give him the benefit of the doubt on stories he reports on his own blog. However, as I go through the end of the semester drag, I was completely out of the loop on this one. But in any event, it should be reported…and fairly.
Albero was arrested by Maryland State Police Salisbury Barrack because of what is being called an ongoing investigation involving the Comptroller’s Office. Perjury is the case they are giving him. According to The Daily Times, It surrounds the sale of a parcel of land in Pittsville, Wicomico County, in which Albero allegedly had a Maryland address listed on the sale record. Albero lives in Delmar, Delaware and according to The Times, he has been registered to vote in the first state since 2005.
Yesterday, Albero claimed his innocence on his blog. He also has been quoted widely by the local media that these are only charges and that he has not been convicted. A spokeswoman from the state comptroller’s office declined to comment on the case.
I will do the public a favor and not rehash Joe Albero’s history which is unrelated to this case.
I took a quick diversion leaving Ocean City, Maryland last night and made a quick stop at the home of MarylandPT Eastern Shore Insider Joe Albero from Salisbury News. Joe lives insanely close to the state line in Delmar, Delaware and has one of the finest homes that I toured…and one of the hottest cars that I’ve seen upfront.
This visit comes on a day where Albero made the front page of The Daily Times (above the fold might I add.)Â He was featured in an article about the test of the first amendment when it comes to bloggers.
Good news for those of use on the western shore…PAC 14, the public access station serving Wicomico County, streams their signal on the web. This establishes two things:
1. We can see the unbelievable circus that is the Salisbury City Council meetings
2. It makes Burns’ job a little bit easier in learning and covering some lower shore politics.
With that in mind….
Watching a meeting a couple of weeks ago I saw MarylandPT Contributor Joe Albero with Salisbury News ask the city council one simple question…Who is paying the legal fees in the civil suits against him?
It’s plural now because on The John Robinson Show heard on WICO (1320AM) following that meeting that Mayor Barrie P. Tilghman said she is suing Albero.
Now comes the details from The Daily Times. The same law firm that is representing Salisbury Police Chief Allan Webster in Miles and Stockbridge, is also representing Tilghman (albeit with a different person.) This case was also filed in Wicomico County, and the amount of money being sought…$9,999.00. Which leads to one asking what in the hell is the fascination with asking Albero for $9,999.00. Anyway, it’s a defamation lawsuit in which the Mayor said that Albero made statements that were not true, like committing perjury and giving friends preferential treatment.
Albero, talking to the local media, said that he was not defaming Tilghman, but expressing his first amendment rights. He also called the lawsuit frivolous and that he can say anything that he wants as long as it’s true.
Her lawyer on the other hand said that if Albero wants to represent himself as a journalist, he needs to be held accountable and believed that he is more into sensationalism than truth. And to answer the question Albero had at that meeting, Tilghman says that she is paying for it from her own personal funds.
More from WBOC-TV (Channel 16)
Joe Albero (left) publishes the Salisbury News blog and has earned the title of MarylanPT’s Eastern Shore Insider, at least for the lower shore.Outside of this blog, he has earned the title of cancer. That’s a bit harsh, but in normal terms, he has pissed off Salisbury Mayor Barrie Tilghman, former City Council members Mike Dunn and Lynn Cathcart, current City Council Vice President Gary Comegys and his wife and Salisbury Police Cheif Allan Webster.
Webster and Tilghman have sent letters in February of this year asking Albero to shut up. Webster’s lawyer, Richard De Tar, asking Albero to stop saying that Webster is stalking Albero. Tilghman’s Lawyer, asking Albero to stop saying that the Mayor is dishonest, among other things. Both letters came from Law Offices of Miles and Stockbridge.
Webster actually carried out his threat, only he might have gotten a real lawyer because the one representing the Chief as quoted in The Daily Times is not named Richard.
Webster has filed suit against Albero towards the end of May, seeking the “untraditional” dollar amount of $9,999.00. I’m surprised he didn’t add on an additional 99 cents on the sum being asked.
The lawyer’s name representing Webster is named Jesse Hammock, who tells the Times that everything that needs to be said publicly is “properly said in the suit papers.” Webster said that he decided the suit is the best way to fight Albero after discussing it with his attorneys.
I caught up with Albero this afternoon, who tells me that he has yet to receive any papers to his home base in Delmar, DE. He believes that Webster is a guinea pig for Tilghman, if she decides to sue him. He also tells me that this is not the first time that Webster had sued someone in civil court. In 2003, Webster had filed a civil suit against former City Councilwoman Rachel Polk. That case was dismissed with prejudice.
Albero told WMDT (Channel 47) that if it’s a frivolous lawsuit, he would not only counter sue Webster, but the city as well.
The Trial Date has been set for October 5 for in the afternoon.
