Has Montgomery County Judge Alan Sadler made a big  political blunder this close to the November election?

Judge Sadler

That could very well be, as Judge Sadler seems to have thrown caution to the wind by choosing to appear before the Conroe City Council last week to literally “tout” a contract that is reported to have immediate benefit ONLY for two of Sadler’s (many) business partners, David Angel and Michael McIver.  Yep, to my way of thinking the Judge is having trouble keeping track of his “conflicts”.  See what you think…….

According to an August 11th article written by Conroe Courier reporter, Howard Roden, Montgomery County Judge Alan Sadler thought it a good idea to appear before Mayor Webb Melder and the Conroe City Council to speak on behalf of his own business partners, David Angel and Michael McIver, urging the Council to vote in favor of moving forward on an $8.5 million road contract with Angel/McIver Interests, LP, …..an entity that Judge Sadler has disclosed  he was “employed by”  through the end of 2008 and that he accepted money from to “consult”…. whatever that entails for a County Judge.  Click to see Sadler’s 2006 conflicts disclosure and page 3 of his 2009 personal finance disclosure. 

I think it’s a fair bet to believe that “consulting” includes an exchange of money for a little “friendly” arm twisting and intimidation when necessary.  Where I come from we call that a “bribe”.  Just saying 

My “spin” on Sadler’s own handwritten 2009 Personal Financial Statement is that he wants us to believe that the most powerful land developing, real estate brokering, convenience store king, banker and (part-time) Administrative Officer of the county (a.k.a.the County Judge), sees nothing wrong with accepting money for what he likes to call “part-time consulting”.  Money, I will remind you, that has “passed through” to his wallet from Angel/McIver Interests, LP  the very same entity who was the intended beneficiary of the $8.5 mil Conroe road contract he was “pushing”. 

And how is the public supposed to know when he is or isn’t being paid to “part-time consult”??  Oh, of course, we should take his word for it!   

I think the voters have a legitimate interest in and are entitled to know the details of the exact amounts and dates of Angel/McIver Interest, LP’s payments to the judge before going to the polls this November, don’t you readers think so, too?  And how do we know that the Judge wasn’t paid a ”part-time” consultant fee to show up at the council meeting to back the passage of the contract? 

Do we think maybe the DA’s Public Corruption phone ringing off the hook about all this would be a good thing?   Just asking  :)

Voters should also probably be asking how many other times has Sadler shown up around this county (or any other) to  ”grease the way” (er, consult) on behalf of ANY of  his own (past or present)  business partner’s development plans, road contracts, land flips, licenses, property tax exemptions or special appointments, etc.?  He seems to have no qualms about doing so.

Let’s not forget that Sadler, as county judge, has at his disposal very valuable and closely-held information on county expansion plans and the “inside track” on businesses next “moves”. 

But also, during the first sixteen years of Sadler’s incumbency his two pals wheeled and dealed in undeveloped north county land under the name of Angel/McIver Interests, LP  while at the same time Judge Sadler was not-so-coincidentally ”elected” to the Appraisal District Board year after year.

A powerful board position where it was strategically possible for him to not only maintain his “facade” of just tending to the county’s business, but also where he could more easily oversee the loyal efforts of his “main man”, Chief Appraiser Castleschouldt.

Efforts that appear to have magically resulted in so many individual “property account records” (at MCAD) of properties specifically involved in Sadler’s and his cronies’ development deals which consistently lack normal public details that are part of an ordinary citizen’s MCAD records.  The result of this special treatment of Sadler-related land accounts is that it is significantly more difficult or sometimes impossible for the general public to “find and track”  those deals either online or on the public computers at MCAD headquarters.

That’s right, I feel completely confident in reporting that details of Sadler’s and his crony’s land deals are made much more difficult to track because of intentional records manipulations at the Appraisal District. 

Manipulations of records that always tends to hide pertinent  information about certain rich and powerful peoples property deals like buyers names, sellers names, exemptions, land maps, land splits, situs addresses, transaction dates, etc. and creates an environment where Sadler-connected deals are able to remain below the radar of public scrutiny at least as far as MCAD efforts and records are concerned.

It is quite disturbing that the judge apparently doesn’t perceive any problem with his own questionable actions which don’t pass the smell test.

I don’t know about you but my brain is thinking right about now that the taxpayers should probably be asking themselves, “might this entity, Angel/McIver Interests, LP, be nothing more than a “pass-through” entity used by the Judge and his cronies to collect their under-the-radar booty”?  

Oh yeah, one other important little detail, Angel/McIver Interests, LP was first set up in December 1993 after Sadler was well entrenched in the County Judge’s office and one year after being “elected” to the appraisal district board.   Can anyone say, “Good Ole Boys”?

The amazing thing to me is that Sadler went before the council to “plead” Angel/McIver’s $8.5 mil cause when he is ethically bound, as I see it, to not only refrain from, but more importantly to ”abstain” from, interfering with a governmental body’s (even his own) deliberations and/or vote, on ALL issues involving any of his myriad of private business partners, as long as he is the County Judge. 

Another Sadler business partner, Aslam Kapadia, who just happened to be charged by the Department of Justice with money laundering and wire fraud in late 2008, is listed on public documents dated in May of 2007 as the Registered Agent and a 25% partner with Angel, McIver and Sadler in a for-profit corporation named Development IV Partners, Inc. (number 3 on the list below)

I suspect that Kapadia’s troubles with the Feds caused Angel and McIver to run the other way on this particular 4-way partnership as public records show this company’s charter was “forfeited” rather quickly and remains forfeited in the Secretary of State records.

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