MLA Director Paul Smith Trial Continues

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA
Calendar of Proceedings For
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2009

HONORABLE ROBIN J. CAUTHRON
9:00
CR-08-272-C USA v. Paul L. Smith Jury Trial Crtrm #501

Paul L. Smith is the Executive Director of the Mille Lacs Academy in Onamia, MN. He is on trial for crimes he allegedly committed while acting as Director of the Marie Detty juvenile detention center in Oklahoma, prior to his appointment with the Nexus corporation. Original charges included theft, fraud, mail fraud, embezzlement, and lying to federal authorities and carried a penalty of up to 30 years in Federal prison.

In spite of the seriousness of the allegations, Nexus released a statement of support of their indicted director who has apparently continued to perform his duties at the juvenile sex offender correctional facility. Recently, the Mille Lacs Academy distributed propaganda through an insert in the Bargain Hunter Shopper, with a picture of the new sex offender facility with the word "Honesty" printed in bold letters. There was a photograph of Smith in the literature, as well as quotations, but nothing written about his indictment and upcoming trial.

Former Nexus CEO Jim D'Angelo is suing me for saying many things against him as well as the unwanted sex offender facility forced down our throats by the Onamia city council who knowingly put sex offenders next to day cares, children, elderly widows, and vulnerable adults.

The city council officials who went to great lengths to keep the sex offender institution in our community, who changed ordinances to accommodate a private corporation while ignoring the safety of their citizens, and who caved in to Nexus demands including 15 years of tax abatement were Mayor Larry Milton (dead), Councilmen Robert Mickus (unelected acting mayor), Bill Hill, (former president of the Mille Lacs Community Development Corporation), Mark Loch (who quit and moved away), and Jerome Kryzer (who did not reside in Onamia during winter months). They were assisted by the Onamia Zoning Guy Mickey Carter who proceeded to misclassify the correctional facility as R2 and allow spot-zoning without a Comprehensive Municipal Plan, bonnified City Planning Commission or Board of Adjustments. Is it any wonder that such a council would make such mistakes?

One of the things I'm being sued for is my statement (in my blog) that we think he's [D'Angelo] running a crooked company. D'Angelo claims that my statement was defamation. (According to the law, it is not.) I claim that it was a warning; apprehension based on disturbing data we found and presented to the Onamia city council and Mille Lacs county board who ignored both our concerns as well as the discovery of discrepencies in questionable financial figures supplied to them by Nexus in order to obtain tax exemption and tax abatement. Perhaps your elected officials should have paid attention to Hannabelle and as we requested, checked out the Nexus corporation before eagerly handing over your tax dollars to them. Who would have known that Nexus would use your tax dollars to pay for a lawsuit against a private citizen who opposed them, i.e. your friend and neighbor - me.

My Friends, as time goes on, Hannabelle is not only becoming vindicated, she is being proved correct in her assessment of this ruthless corporation that bullied its way into a private neighborhood against the wishes of American citizens whose Constitutional Rights have been abolished by the Onamia city council. The statement we think he [D'Angelo] is running a crooked company was not stated as fact, but as speculation within a humorous story. Should I have said such a thing? I don't know. When one is fighting to protect her home, one may have a tendency to react emotionally, especially when trying to keep sex offenders away from her mom. Was D'Angelo's lawsuit an overreaction? Or did Hannabelle touch a nerve? It may be too soon to tell what lies beneath the tip of this iceberg. But if the felony charges against Mille Lacs Academy Director Paul Smith pan out and he is convicted, perhaps a serious investigation into this corporation is in order.

I welcome your thoughts and comments on the Paul Smith matter. If you use this forum to make personal attacks and threats against me, (as so many have in the past), I will not post your comments. Let's keep it smart and civil.