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 Meet
the staff
City Council candidate Harbhajan Singh Ahluwalia (aka Harry Walia) has been paying
Ed Taylor, the husband of sitting councilwoman Vicki Noren-Taylor, and Taylor's
ex-girlfriend out of donated campaign funds. Taylor and Heather Skeffington
(mug shot photo at
right, from Florida Department of Corrections, click on pic to enlarge)
have so far received checks from campaign funds for just under $2400, this according
to Ahluwalia's
campaign reports on file at city hall.
The filed reports only cover funds disbursed prior to September 25 of this year.
Skeffington is
currently on community control (house arrest) probation with the Florida Department of Corrections for burglary.
The bulk of the disbursed funds went directly to
Taylor for reimbursement for food, while $600 went to Skeffington in
several checks for "catering," this according to the campaign financial
reports.
Taylor, the husband of outgoing Councilwoman Vicki Noren-Taylor,
has been confirmed by reliable sources as having been
romantically linked to Skeffington, a 38-year-old Indiana native. The pair
reportedly have recently broken up.
Skeffington was charged earlier this year with burglary
and several counts of using a stolen credit card. According to an
article in the
Bradenton Herald, dated April 12, 2009 (scroll down to
last story on page, is continued on page 2), Skeffington "...was accused of
taking an elderly man’s credit card and using it at numerous businesses
throughout [Manatee] county." The article states that Skeffington was
arrested in January of this year on two counts of burglary of an
unoccupied dwelling, followed by an arrest in April on charges that
included five counts of fraud and one count of exploiting the elderly.
In an account of one of the two burglaries in
January, Beth Burger of the Bradenton Herald wrote: "Skeffington
allegedly took a Sony laptop and two tennis rackets from a residence in
Promenade at Riverwalk in the 800 block of Third Avenue West.
Surveillance footage showed Skeffington and a man carrying the
items into an elevator."
In a plea bargain arrangement in June of this year, the
charges against Skeffington were consolidated to one count of burglary of an
unoccupied dwelling. Skeffington was placed on 18 months of probation in June.
Terms of her probation include community control, more commonly known as house
arrest.
Skeffington has also had numerous legal problems in her
home town of Gary, Indiana, including
a conviction of passing worthless checks.
Here's your keys
Ahluwalia has been using Skeffington for a variety of
functions, including organizing a fund raiser at Ahluwalia's house
back in July, plus as eye candy in handing out literature at various campaign
functions.
Ahluwalia and Taylor gave Skeffington access to the house
keys and cars of their friends and political supporters when the pair had Skeffington parking cars as a
valet at the July fundraiser that took place at Ahluwalia's house.
Skeffington's probation officer at the Department of
Corrections, Kent Davenport, stated he
was unaware that Skeffington was working for the campaign as a caterer. He
refused to answer any further questions until he could get clearance from the
department. He
deferred to DOC's press officer, who has yet to return a call.
As of this writing, we can find no link between
Skeffington and a licensed catering company. Ahluwalia has already stated that
he will answer no questions from Venice Florida! dot com.
You've been watching yet another fine Ed Taylor
production -- thanks for tuning in
Taylor has been the front man for Aris Mardirossian, the
would-be builder of a Marriott on city airport land. Taylor has been working
hard on Ahluwalia's campaign in the hope that Ahluwalia will replace Taylor's wife on
Seat 4 of the Venice City Council. Ahluwalia has formed a corporation two years
ago, Green Apples Hotels, presumably aimed at bringing a hotel to Venice Airport.
In spite of being separated from his spouse and
and that he has been dating
other women, Taylor has been receiving free health insurance from the city as the spouse of a
sitting city council member. Taylor will continue to receive free health
insurance until November when his estranged wife steps down from her seat on
city council.
NOTE: An earlier version of
this story had Skeffington parking cars as a valet at the Tiger bay Club
function at the Venice Yacht Club instead of at the fundraiser at Ahluwalia's
home. The above text has been changed to
reflect that correction.
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Ahluwalia's campaign meltdown -- Three Mile Island
comes to Venice
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More scandals to be unveiled in coming days
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P.R. nightmare problems are surrounding City
Council candidate Harbhajan Singh Ahluwalia (aka Harry Walia), threatening to
derail his entire campaign. For an investigative news reporting site like Venice
Florida! dot com, Ahluwalia is the gift that just keeps on giving. New
revelations about the shady politician are surfacing daily as more and more
people are contacting Venice Florida! dot com to tell their Ahluwalia horror
stories.
Previous revelations included a DUI arrest in 1996 and a
recent countersuit brought against him by Florida Flight Training Center. Ahluwalia is suing the FFTC for breach of an oral contract, FFTC's countersuit claims Ahluwalia is nuts and
accuses Ahluwalia of several counts of fraud and inducement to fraud
(PDF
document, pops in new window).
One new scandal this web site has just uncovered involves a
check-swapping scam that Ahluwalia participated in, this in an attempt to
defraud a local doctor out of a measly $92.00. In that case, Ahluwalia was sued
for the original amount plus a huge amount more in attorney fees. That story is
upcoming on this web site.
Then there is Ahluwalia's attempt at swindling a local
landscaper out of two days worth of work. Ahluwalia accused the landscaper of
deliberate sabotage in a complaint filed with the Venice Police Department
earlier this year. Police found the complaint to be without merit and closed the
case with no further action. Meanwhile, the landscaper has filed a construction
lien against Ahluwalia's house for $900. That story is also upcoming on this web
site.
Ahluwalia is currently being sued
for millions of dollars in three separate lawsuits filed in Hillsborough
and Sarasota Counties. Add that to all of the other lawsuit that we have
uncovered, and it looks like over the past four years, Ahluwalia has
personally been involved in twice as many lawsuits as the city with
roughly three times as much at risk.
You just can't make stuff like this up. One wonders what
the hell was going through Ahluwalia's head (and the heads of his close
supporters, for that matter) when he thought running for office would be a good
idea.
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