The Pimpernel doesn't often promote shows or products. On occasion I will however promote documentaries if they tell a story I think my readers should know. I don't remember why or how; but, recently I came across a series of videos on YouTube which appear to be credible and a little disturbing.
According to the videos, a couple of guys wanted to fix up some properties in Shamokin, Pennsylvania. One of the gentlemen claims to be an investor from Florida and the other was involved in renovations. The second gentleman is named Scott J. Binsack. According the them, when they tried to talk to the City Council about a renovation plan for the City, they were harassed and ignored. At least until they began filming things in an attempt to highlight alleged corruption in the town.
I did some research and there is a web presence for Mr. Binsack going back a bit and indicting that he had indeed been a house remodeler. According to a local paper in Shamokin, Mr. Binsack and his associate did indeed donate $2,500 to God's Chuckwagon, a charitable soup kitchen in the area.
I decided to see if there were any updates of the videos and there was. Mr. Binsack has apparently been charged with violating his parole and was set to turn himself in; but, has chosen to run. He is claiming that he has been told if he turns himself in he may be injured. He also claims that the charges are not valid charges.
With the technologies available today, it is possible that the whole thing is some sort of publicity stunt to raise awareness of the area and bring in some investment; however, I believe they may actually be sincere and are just attempting to raise awareness. I leave it to my wonderful readers to decide for yourself. I am going to leave links to the videos and to the Facebook page, now, I don't use Facebook so I do not know what the page shares with friends, there may be additional information.
YouTube - Something's Smokin in Shamokin
Facebook - Something's Smokin in Shamokin
Two thoughts. One, Mr. Binsack should turn himself in. The video was a good idea because if anything was to happen to him, lots of questions will be asked including by me. In my opinion, he should turn himself in to the Chief of Police who he accuses of corruption and make sure there are plenty of witnesses. The second thing is about why it interested me in the first place. Since the housing bubble burst, there has been more corruption going on involving real estate than I have witnessed in my whole life and I spent 30 years around that industry. The smaller the town, the more simple it is to take advantage of the market.
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Update,
I have contacted someone that knows these people and have done some follow-up. The way I see it, this guy, Scott, was prohibited from owning businesses, he recruited some people that did own businesses and offered to be a consultant, probably with participation points. That is not illegal and would not violate his parole, he just cannot have true ownership.
My best guess is that these guys are being taken advantage of. My readers know, if I didn't believe it, I wouldn't say it. What convinced me was just some simple logic. The guy made millions, knows home remodeling and is OCD, he keeps records of everything. I know people like him. He would have to be really stupid to push a small town Police Chief when he could have his parole violated.
Again, my best guess. The guy had problems in a bigger city (as he states), he wanted to get out of the limelight and start over. He has skills in remodeling and understands the permitting process and laws. He found a City he thought had opportunities and recruited others to invest. In exchange he expects them to pay him based on what they make from the deals he finds them. That is not ownership, that is being paid only when your efforts are successful. These investors, whoever they may be, can always find their own deals and not pay him, that is why it is not ownership of the companies.
He went to this small town thinking he was a big player and would overcome the hicks; but, he discovered that they were tight and helped their friends. The old boy network.
What he found was corruption and insider deals. They went after him. He tried to publicize it and they went after him more.
Now here is the thing. He may have done bad things in the past, my guess is that he did, he says he did. Still, if you are on parole, you don't go after the chief of police in the town you live in and he did. It really makes me think he is telling the truth about what is going on in that town.
I think I will follow this story as it progresses. If the man dies, I think I will investigate quite a lot and who knows maybe those who read my blog regularly might investigate also.
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