Sunday Open Thread [4.28.13]

Comments (11)

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1. John Manifold says:

   April 28, 2013 at 2:52 pm

   Which wins Schmuck of the Day?

   A. Ajit George
   B. David Grimaldi
   C. Nelly Jordan

2. mediawatch says:

   April 28, 2013 at 9:06 pm

   Ajit, without question. He has made a career of enriching himself while presumptively in the service of nonprofits, and he finally got called on it. An editor I know once inadvertently referred to his business as Strongarm Marketing. She didn’t realize it when she said it, but oh how right she was.

   Grimaldi a distant second. He’s already broken the rule that the most successful second-in-command should neither be seen nor heard — and most definitely should not upstage the boss at the start of his tenure. His credibility in government is already shot.

   Nelly deserves our praise. She will keep the state GOP in the wilderness of confusion for two more years.

3. Jay says:

   April 29, 2013 at 6:32 am

   I think Grimaldi would be first on this one. Besides being seen AND heard, he just won’t let the story die. Every time their is a day where we don’t hear about it he has to bring it back to the forefront with his “did I mention his…” defense. If it wasn’t for him defending himself, it would have probably died two weeks ago. Instead, he draws attention to it again by bashing a media organization that has been favorable to the Gordon administration this time around and gives it life yet again.

4. cassandra m says:

   April 29, 2013 at 9:29 am

   And he keeps changing his story. Which also keeps highlighting the fact that he has a police report he shouldn’t have AND that he called in the NCCo PD Chief which looks like an abuse of resources to me.

5. El Somnambulo says:

   April 29, 2013 at 9:57 am

   AND he displays the same entitled arrogance that probably attracted Tom Gordon to him in the first place.

   The guy apparently didn’t even move to Delaware until 2009. Background as a ‘financial advisor’ and worked for a Chinese conglomerate. Just how did he hook up with Gordon? Enquiring minds want to know.

   (That last paragraph full of rampant speculation is dedicated to Nancy Willing, who usually asks those types of loaded questions, but not this time.)

6. Nancy Willing says:

   April 29, 2013 at 10:43 am

   As a concerned board member, Tom brought Grimaldi in to oversee the internal investigation of the PAL Center’s finances back when friends of friends of the then Board Chair, Vince D’Anna were running it into the ground. Someone probably recommended him to Tom because of his background. Grimaldo uncovered problems, suggested the replacement of staff and procedures and became friends with Gordon. The PAL story was well covered – google it.

   Grimaldi isn’t changing his story as far as what he has told me from the first discussion I had with him. He didn’t want me to repeat the details of the racial slurs so I didn’t here or anywhere else but it is scribbled on the notes on my desk.

   What is interesting to me is how, once the subject was broached, the paper refused to ask Arcaro if he he had a verbal altercation with the man he was running against for the Wilm. DEM City Committee, Kevin Holmes. And did Arcaro’s belief that Holmes would help Gary Hutt beat the incumbent for the City Committee Chair harbor all of this anger and lead him to use some misguided racial slurs that night because of this resentment?

   I hear that Kevin Holmes would be happy to tell his side of the story but he is being ignored. Adam Taylor also failed to get comments from Izqueirdo after he had an extensive interview on WDEL explaining his initial reluctance to speak out about what had been a fight between people he is friends with. Izquierdo was forthright about Arcaro getting ugly and using racial slurs about Gordon’s hiring city blacks, presumably because Gordon was also teamed up with city blacks to win the county election and now the blacks might take over the City DEM Committee.

   The vote is tonight.

   Was Carl Arcaro really bent out of shape with the idea that the City Committee might be back in control of the blacks? And his district to boot. Sure looks like it. I just don’t know much about any city politics so I have no idea of what is what.

   Carl Arcaro is a family friend of Izquierdo. The crux of the “mysterious” silence on Arcaro’s heinous behavior is summed up: “Nobody was trying to get this guy in trouble. We all thought he would sleep it off and apologize to everyone and life would go on.”

   I think it would be great for NCC admin. to clear up how the chief was well within protocol to look into the call from Grimaldi reporting a criminal injury and the subsequent access to the official report. That isn’t for me to say one way or the other but I would welcome an official statement to that effect…..too bad the reporter is unable to report the story accurately. It has been mangled to death.

7. cassandra m says:

   April 29, 2013 at 11:05 am

   🙄

8. geezer says:

   April 29, 2013 at 11:25 am

   Also, too, these CPR attempts on Grimaldi’s credibility are helping keep the story alive.

9. El Somnambulo says:

   April 29, 2013 at 11:32 am

   “Someone probably recommended him to Tom because of his background.”

   Thanks for clearing that up…

10. El Somnambulo says:

    April 29, 2013 at 11:43 am

    Here is Grimaldi’s background, according to Adam Taylor of the News-Journal:

    “Grimaldi, 34, of Clay­mont, was a financial ad­viser for Morgan Stanley in New York City from 2005 to 2009, when he came to Delaware to work for Minmetals Inc., one of his clients at Morgan Stanley. Minmetals trades in iron and steel products, has recycling operations and invests in real estate. Grimaldi was the head of the company’s real es­tate investment group. He also was the president of the Firestone Hotel Group, which owns the Crowne Plaza Hotel, for­merly a Holiday Inn, on Naamans Road. He left the positions to run Gordon’s campaign. Grimaldi also is the chief financial officer and treasurer with the Police Athletic League of Dela­ware. Gordon is the presi­dent of PAL’s board of di­rectors.”

    So. He’s hired by one of the companies whose stock he touts. This one:

    http://usa.minmetals.com.cn/outline.jsp?column_no=01

    He ‘resigns’ his position to become Tom Gordon’s campaign manager.

    Again, just how does his background qualify him to be the #2 NCC official? His expertise on employee smoking policy and/or restaurant etiquette?

    I must’ve missed his governmental expertise. Or, perhaps he did.

11. Roland D. Lebay says:

    April 29, 2013 at 10:53 pm

    Thanks for clearing that up…

    His expertise on employee smoking policy and/or restaurant etiquette?

    I must’ve missed his governmental expertise. Or, perhaps he did.

    Awesome!

    El Som gets the Honesty Via Sarcasm award for the day.

    Still waiting for Nancy Willing to tell us about Grimaldi’s forensic accounting qualifications (PAL fiasco) and governmental expertise.

    And really, could someone give me a reason why Hockessin needed a PAL center in the first place? Wasn’t the original purpose of the Police Athletic League to serve/help poor children?

    My kids are members of the Hockessin PAL. I’m not rich by any definition, but I’m far from the PAL’s original target demographic, as are MOST members of the Hockessin PAL. The Hockessin PAL exists for one reason: Tom Gordon wanted it. It is his personal monument to the “awesomeness” of Tom Gordon.