Sunday, April 06, 2008

Durham rewards Hero with more Harassment


In the DC Comics "Superman", there exists “Bizarro World.” It’s a place where good is bad, evil is good, right is wrong, as their society is ruled by the Bizarro Code which states "Us do opposite of all Earthly things! Us hate beauty! Us love ugliness! Is big crime to make anything perfect on Bizarro World!".

Welcome to Durham, errh... Mahrud! The City where innocent players were falsely accused of a crime which never happened, where angry marchers opined over the non-injuries of an "exotic" dancer while she stripped at a local club, where the PD violated its own procedures openly and the Chief defended a line up as it wasn't a real line up, where notes were written months later, where exculpatory evidence was hidden by the DA & PD, where criminals are let loose over & over again, and now Heroes are harassed.

On March 27, 2008 Durham resident Moezeldin Elmostafa was awarded Reader’s Digest Hero of the Year on the national Today show. Two weeks later he has turned in his cab permits in a dispute with the City.

Durham Herald-Sun reporter Ray Gronberg reported on this latest of Bizzaro events.

Lacrosse cabbie gives up on taxis

DURHAM -- A taxi company co-owned by a figure in the Duke University lacrosse case has turned in its city-issued permits in the wake of a run-in with administrators and a regulatory board.

Moezeldin Elmostafa said Friday evening that his company, On Time Taxi & Transportation, gave up its three taxi permits last week because it wants to focus on shuttle and limousine services that aren't as tightly regulated by the city.

The taxi business -- which the city views as being different from shuttle services -- "is too much of a headache," he said.

The company's decision followed a November move by the city to revoke the three permits, in response to complaints from other taxi operators who alleged the firm was unfairly competing with them for the business of Duke students.

A city administrator agreed with the complaint, and so in December did the members of Durham's Passenger Vehicle for Hire Commission. They held that officials should strip the company of its right to operate three taxis in the city.

Elmostafa's company appealed the ruling to the City Council, and was going to receive partial support from administrators who doubted the chances of sustaining a move against the company in court.

City Manager Patrick Baker had recommended that elected officials ask the Passenger Vehicle for Hire Commission to reconsider its decision.

He reasoned that the enforcement of the city's tax regulations has been uneven enough through the years that a judge might not see a move against the company as being fair.

In addition, officials felt revocation of the permits "may have been a harsh penalty" for the alleged violation, said Mark Ahrendsen, the city's transportation manager.

But any move against the company is fraught with risk for the city because of Elmostafa's role in the Duke lacrosse case. He was an alibi witness for Reade Seligmann, one of three lacrosse players falsely accused two years ago of rape.

Elmostafa was going to testify, with backing from photos and receipts, that Seligmann and another lacrosse player, Robert Wellington, were in his vehicle on the way to an ATM, a restaurant and their dorm when the rape supposedly occurred.

His potential testimony became controversial as soon as his name surfaced when police responded by arresting him on a 3-year-old shoplifting warrant. A lawyer for the cabbie, Tom Loflin, labeled the move an act of retaliation.

The shoplifting charge went to trial, and Elmostafa was found not guilty of helping a woman steal merchandise from Northgate Mall.

The city is now facing three federal civil-rights lawsuits in connection with its handling of the lacrosse case. Elmostafa isn't a party to any of them, but all three echo Loflin's original claim and count it among the city's misdeeds.

Ahrendsen said Elmostafa's role in the lacrosse case was "something we were aware of" but that "really didn't have a bearing on our initial action" on the permits.

Elmostafa agreed.

"I don't think there's a relation to the lacrosse case," he said when asked Friday if he thought officials were targeting him over that continuing controversy. "This is going in a different direction."

The permit dispute stems from the fact that in the city's eyes, Elmostafa's company was both a taxi operator and a shuttle service.

Under Durham law, shuttles can only take people on a "pre-arranged trip," meaning that clients have to call for a pick-up and that the ride has a fixed price, Ahrendsen said.

Taxis use meters to charge by the mile, or by the minute of waiting time, and have the right to loiter at the curb outside hotels, motels and other places.

Only the vehicles for which On Time had city taxi medallions had the right to wait at the curb for business at Duke, but some of the company's competitors felt it was playing fast and loose with the rules by allowing drivers of its 12 shuttles to join in.

An Ahrendsen subordinate, Gracie Chamblee, said in a memo that she caught three On Time shuttle drivers doing just that on Nov. 21, as students were leaving for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Ahrendsen said taxi companies don't like shuttle operators because they don't "go through the same regulatory process as taxis" and don't have the same financial burdens.

Many economists, however, see permit systems like Durham's as being little more than a racket designed to stifle competition. The most famous medallion system, New York City's, dates from the Depression and was expressly designed to reduce the number of taxis on the road.

Durham law allows officials to issue up to 180 taxi permits, but at most recent count it had given out only 139. Local taxi operators have asked administrators not to issue more than that, Ahrendsen said.
Herald-Sun

So there will be no Key to the City, no proclamation from the Mayor and the City Council praising this nationally recognized Hero.

"Mahrud" has sunk to a new low.

38 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm going crazy over Baldo's cartoons.

They're great!

Anonymous said...

Durham has become a national disgrace. How could anyone hurt this Hero?

Anonymous said...

Durham is the sewer of the North American continent.

Anonymous said...

I don't think the regulations are personal to Elmo but appears to be for all Taxi owners. Been to inner Detroit lately???

LieStoppers said...

Tiorted is Mahrud's sister city!

...officials felt revocation of the permits "may have been a harsh penalty" for the alleged violation"

Violations happen everyday in city government, it's how the "slaciffo" enforce them that makes Mahrud, Mahrud!

Baldo

Anonymous said...

Another example of the insanity better known in the Twilight Zone as Durm. This place makes my head spin more than Linda Blair's did in the Exorcist, which by the way this unholy place could use a visit from.

For some wimpy officials to say this was not related to the Lax case is lying through their Copenhagen stained teeth! You had better believe it is a deliberate attempt to as always, throw some dirt on the victims to divert attention and time from themselves. Oh, they think they are masters of deceit, and I must say though they are far more guilty in their sins, and will reap what they sow.

People need to read the Constitution, and wake up and see what our own government is doing to US! IMO, the war, and a plethora of crimes against humanity have destroyed this nation long enough, and is way past time for people with any character to speak up and against the tyranny of a government that has not just run amuck, it has taken our very lives!

The times we live in now would cause Washington to turn back to England and spit on this land. The people had better protest and not be deaf to the reality.

Durm is just ONE city that has captured the attention of the world, there are many just as vile, and since media is more yellow in it's journalism and duty to inform us, we must seek the truths ourselves, and UNITE to protest!

There has, and never will be change unless there are people willing to become martyrs for the very lives of society. If there is no restoration to this chaos, nothing will change.

Rhonda Fleming
Durham SURVIVOR!

Anonymous said...

SPAM ALERT!!!

SPAM ALERT!!!

Anonymous said...

"Clean-up in aisle 4!"

Anonymous said...

5:50 pm-

There's not a damned thing wrong with this country, you spamming fool.

Except that we have to sometimes put up with insane filth like you who harass others and abuse your freedom of speech in order to get some attention.

Go crawl back under your rock, troll.

We've had enough.

Anonymous said...

Some people just cannot handle the TRUTH!

We are living in a police state, and it is no small affair!

Rhonda Fleming
SURVIVOR!

Anonymous said...

Some people just cannot handle the TRUTH!

We are living in a police state, and it is no small affair!

Rhonda Fleming
SURVIVOR!

Anonymous said...

The truth is that you are an insane hag.

Someone needs to handle that and remove you from any public forum.

You make me puke!

Anonymous said...

Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease get rid of Rhonda.

Anonymous said...

10:24 Second that plea.

Anonymous said...

I like


I like Rhonda. She seems intelligent and quite thought provoling except in the minds of the small belligerant trolls who obsess over her observations. Not to worry about "Mahrud." The city will learn nothing and forget nothing and waiting a hundred years still "screw" the guy to the wall when no one is . . . er, a . . . looking.

Anonymous said...

"Go crawl back under a rock, you troll." I ask you, is that anyway to practice freedom of speech? What is a troll? What is a troll to you? Perhaps it was something you shared a taxi with while riding around Durham . . . trying to find a hospital no doubt or perhaps an honest policeman or a well trained admitting nurse. Excuse me, could you get this troll off of my shoulder . . . doctor.

Anonymous said...

"Go crawl back under a rock, you troll." I ask you, is that anyway to practice freedom of speech? What is a troll? What is a troll to you? Perhaps it was something you shared a taxi with while riding around Durham . . . trying to find a hospital no doubt or perhaps an honest policeman or a well trained admitting nurse. Excuse me, could you get this troll off of my shoulder . . . doctor.

Anonymous said...

The 12:24 and the 12:29 comments are from the spamming hag Rhonda.

You can smell her a mile away.

Stop trying to stage a support system for yourself on this blog, fool. Everyone has had enough of you and the story of your brother's "murder".

He was a loon like you and committed suicide!!!

The authorities have told you this but you want to harass everyone to get attention.

GO AWAY!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Mr Saacks has confirmed he does not believe my brothers death was a suicide, and told my brothers best friend as much and that he "Did not know what to do?!"

Now, this is the District Attorney?! He is supposedly off today, and am awaiting his call tomorrow, ANXIOUSLY!

Well we want answers and long overdue JUSTICE! Who killed Jack? Where did they take his body parts to? Why take 3 years of making us suffer KNOWING this from the start?!

One word, CORRUPTION! Dead people do not roll over, nor shoot themselves after being dead, have BLUE blood, and NEGATIVE GSR results!

For media interested, please contact him, and the governor and ask "What are you going to do?!
DA David Saacks 919-564-7100
Contact the Governor's Office
You may contact the Governor's Office by sending a letter to Governor Easley,
by e-mailing the Governor's Office or by calling the Governor's Office at:
1-800-662-7952 valid in North Carolina only
(919)733-4240, or (919)733-5811

Rhonda Fleming
Fighter For TRUTH And SURVIVOR!

Anonymous said...

PLEASE GET RID OF THIS BITCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Im with Ronda on this one, there is no need for profanity or harassment on a thread about harassment. I would like to know how this all plays out so why don't you let the woman be.

Anonymous said...

3:19

Then take that abusive creep home with you.

You've got to be as sick as she is to justify what she does on every blog where she plants her hind end.

Something's got to be done about this.

Most normal people are sick of that hag and her spamming the same old things over and over.

Anonymous said...

I don't know Rhonda. At some point I'll admit I began to skip over her posts (mostly because of length and redundancy). I do not, however, see how allowing her to have her say hurts anything. Attacking her seems unnecessary and the above attacks seem particularly inappropriate.

Anonymous said...

My posts all have merit and are extremely serious! I am talking about a man who was MURDERED and 3 needless years of unimaginable suffering to seek the TRUTH from government in Durham, which they have fought us every inch of the way.

The same conspiracy to make innocent men look guilty was done to take my beloved brother's life and body, and for the love of God, all we want is the TRUTH and JUSTICE for him, and as the world has now seen, CANNOT trust the "Powers That Be" to unravel, because of the same LIES and plotting. Only this time they did not count on us getting the crime scene and morgue photos that PROVED this was not a suicide, but indeed MURDER!

I want to restore his memory, dignity, respect, and have the guilty punished! He was a great man, and nobody deserves what was done to him!

Nobody wants me here more than myself, but I KNOW how many people read this site in both our Government and Media, and cannot turn my head and do nothing, my God people, could you if this was your family?

I mean no disrespect to anybody, but fully have the right to lay blame on those who have perpetrated this hell into our lives.

Rhonda Fleming
justice4all2005@yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

I hope you choke on it, you pathetic and inconsiderate fool.

And I hope that someone arrests you for harassment.

Anonymous said...

"My posts all have merit and are extremely serious!"

If you had any merit or credibility you wouldn't be stalking different blogs and posting this crap every day.

You'd be involved with reality.

The police and others know that you have no credibility and you use strangers for this continued pretense.

I find you repulsive and hideous when you laugh and talk about your "fans".

With any luck you will suffer for this behavior.

Anonymous said...

I think YOU have gone far enough, and ask administration to do something about YOU harassing me!
Rhonda Fleming

Anonymous said...

SPAM HAG ALERT!!!

SPAM HAG ALERT!!!

Anonymous said...

I know who you are, and as always so predictable. You have no shame, no morals, and no conscience or heart.

You must have a pretty pathetic life to try to keep me from seeking justice, may God have mercy on YOU!

Rhonda Fleming
SURVIVOR!

Anonymous said...

SPAM ALERT!!!

SPAM ALERT!!!

Anonymous said...

Rhonda, a word of sanity for you.

If you think you are seeking "justice" by showing up on various blogs with this same old story and spam, then you are truly an idiot of the highest order.

Why don't you just get a life, get a hobby, or better yet, go get laid before it atrophies on you..

Just leave.

Anonymous said...

Not a chance, that would make you happy and that is not why I am here.

Rhonda Fleming
justice4all2005@yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

Thanks for revealing with every fart-infested word your true purpose.

You are a crazy person and it was a grave mistake for any of us to ever be kind to you.

Anonymous said...

I, for one, intend to ignore Rhonda. Writing abourt or to her only increase the madness.

Anonymous said...

9:29-

Of course you are right.

I have just become so tired of her that I thought if she had an ounce of humanity she might stop her behavior.

I was wrong. I truly think that woman is a type of criminal herself and that the police and authorities avoid her rants.

It's becoming unbearable just to have her around.

Anonymous said...

Please ban her. I will be so good.

Anonymous said...

Many would like nothing more than to quash another injustice done. I am sure banning me would make you happy, evil prefers the dark.

But the truth about Jack's murder and organ stealing WILL be heard before the courts, and world to see! If his wife, her family and friends and law enforcement do not like me going public with the facts, too bad! If I am telling a lie, charge me! But, I am not, and the city is not liking my quest to out the truths of murders for hire, and organ stealing!

Sickening, and disturbing truths many know and profit from are worried will be exposed! And they SHALL be!

Stomp your feet like a child all you want, you do not intimidate me, nor frighten me. I also refuse to play these games with you. All it does is show more of a conspiratory effort to keep us from seeking truth and justice. We know, you know, and God knows what happened, and soon the city and world will too.

Rhonda Fleming
justice4all2005@yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

The only thing that God knows is that he created an idiot on this earth who needs mental help.