NLA Election Ballots - ALERT!!!!!!

Surprise, suprise! NLA election ballots arrived in the mail today bearing a metered postmark of January 6, 2001. The election is NOT by region. The ballots did not include either the report of the Nominating Committee, or the notice of the annual meeting, which the by-laws require. Alan Fisher is not on the ballot, although the report of the Nominating Committee had him as a nominee.
Here's the best part - the ballots were received today (January 8) and the ballots must be postmarked by January 15. Soooooooo - the ruling junta is making sure nobody has time to coordinate who is going to be supported in the election and that nobody has time to campaign and advance a platform - surprise, surprise. Also, we will have no time to stop the election, so the lawsuit will be filed to set aside the election, among all the other things that this rogue board has done or not done.
Watch out for one thing in addition to having a return address on the envelope, the ballot says "postmarked" by January 15, 2001, but most business mail is not postmarked anymore. For example, look at your ballot when you get it and you'll find that NLA "metered" the mail on January 6, but there is no "postmark." Best way to get a "postmark" is to send it certified, return receipt requested, and then there can be no question.
Any questions

James H. Joseph
Pegasus Chauffeured Motor Cars
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
jhj@pegasus-pittsburgh.com

Dear Jim: I havenot seen the ballots yet,but I am amazed that after my conversation with the president on Friday that we are back to non regional votes. They have changed this election too many times and that is a very confusing thing for members. I will let you know my response when all my companies get their ballots. I am curious to see if they arrive on time because if they dont there will be a big surpirse for all!

JHJ I still have not recieved my voting ballots as of yet. Is there a mandatory amount of time that these must be provided to the members by so that they can take the proper time to make a wise voting decision?

Day 1 I have received NO ballot, I did recieve an envelope with a survey and directory information update along with a show information.
Scott your getting a real taste of what has been going on and why members are dropping.
Oh yea this is for the little guy's, I was to late getting my reservation at the Venetion so I was sent to Harris next door "my NLA rate was $125.00 per nite" My friend Mr. K just booked in the Harris with no mention of the NLA and got the same type room for $79.00 per nite. THANKS NLA now thats taking care of the little guys, isn't it.

The only rules relating to ballots are those which they make up as they go along, and those provided in the by-laws which they totally ignore. I've already pointed out what the by-laws say and how and why they are being ignored, and there are no written rules as to ballots. There is nothing in the by-laws about return addresses or dates for mailing, etc., EXCEPT that the ballots are supposed to be mailed ALONG WITH the notice of the annual meeting (there has never been a notice or a legal annual meeting) and the notice of the annual meeting has to be sent at least "30-45 days" before the annual meeting, whatever that means. They are leaving members less than 7 days to vote and return their ballot, requiring a postmark (there is also no by-law or rule about "postmarks"), which is ridiculous. Most members are on vacation in January during the slowdown this month. We'll be filing our suit between next week and the Las Vegas Show. Tom Mazza, I'll have a copy available for you as soon as it is off the presses. Last call for members willing to join in this suit. E-mail if you will join in - we'll decide how to use your company as a party in the suit

James H. Joseph
Pegasus Chauffeured Motor Cars
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
jhj@pegasus-pittsburgh.com

Scott-
I'm glad to see that we are at least on speaking terms. I think we have to transcend our differences and I hope you understand now why I have been so adament in what positions director candidates have to take - we are fighting a real scourge. I support your candidacy and election and hope that you have become more radical in your approach toward these people. Please don't disappoint me.
- Jim

James H. Joseph
Pegasus Chauffeured Motor Cars
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
jhj@pegasus-pittsburgh.com

JHJ
I have not received my ballot form yet and I learned by a fax that the voting will take place by regions as in prior years.
The confusing part here is why the replacement for Bob Bellegamba was not chosen by the same region which is how the voting for new board members is taking place.
It once again appears that rules can be bent when the mood strikes.
I will be calling a number of people today to enlighten me on what I'm missing.
The saga continues.
Ron Sorci

Jim:

I just received my NLA ballot and it is by region.
It says they will pick the most votes from the region by candidate. It also has an address to a CPA firm in Nevada.

Wade Randolph

Yes I received the ballot today. Yes it is by regions. No its not by regions. Yes it is, how can you tell with there explanation of who gets in.
Well its here for what its worth.

Just got my ballot in the mail.

Jim - did we ever arrive at a list of recommended candidates??????

I am planning on voting for Solombrino, Sorci and Kensey. Is there anyone else deserving of a vote??

Goldberg and Rozen - NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!!!!!!!!!

We have not received our ballots. I guess they went out by mule pack over the Oregon Trial.

John Sinibaldi
NLA Board Member

Hey John: Dont feel bad none of my offices around the country have gotten any ballots either. This is becoming a joke! I am hard at work on the trail so I will keep going till the end. PS. You are very funny. http://limos.infopop.cc/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_mad.gif

I wouldn't get too excited about any of the ballot stuff because I see no way that this election won't get invalidated by the Court. The cavalry is suiting up, mounting and getting ready to head to Washington. Just can't believe that NLA is going to end up spending most if its reserve funds onthis mess - but, so be it. We expect to file suit the last week of the month because of how many irregularities there are.

James H. Joseph
Pegasus Chauffeured Motor Cars
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
jhj@pegasus-pittsburgh.com

What are you guys smokin!
the vote is in fact by region, the following appears on the ballot that I recieved today

please note:
to ensure the regional make up of the board< the first and second canidates in the central and east regions and the first canidate in the west region with the highest number of votes will automatically be placed on the board

So, looks like we are back on regions, but wait a minute, Bob B was from the east and George J is from the central, What happened here? Oh, I know, its what worked at the time, how stupid of m

Yes, David, but what I looked at originally was the bio sheet which does not identify them by region, and you can't conclude anything just by their city, and it doesn't say on the ballot to vote for "n" number per region. The end result is that you'll get overvotes and undervotes by region, and that is another reason this election will be set aside by a court. I see what they're saying, but how will the member-voter know what to do. Those of us close to this have some idea, but not the 2-car operator in Dubuque, IA. Whoever was in charge of this is a moron, as I have said from Day 1 in July of 2000. But, of course, the largest question is that nothing in the by-laws permits a restricted election by region, so this election will go out the window in a few weeks. So nobody get too excited that you've been elected an NLA director since this will be done again in the Spring, probably under court supervision since the staff and certain directors can't be trusted.

James H. Joseph
Pegasus Chauffeured Motor Cars
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
jhj@pegasus-pittsburgh.com

[This message was edited by JHJ on January 10, 2001 at 12:35 PM.]

Jim,
Thanks for setting up all these polls, I am excited to see the results. I agree with your position on the election, very confusing, I just think enoung is enough already. This is starting to get perssonel, I received some threatining letters yesterday and today, very sick people out there, I have hired a private investigator to try and figure out who is sending this stuff to me.
Amazing how many people come and look, but dont talk, isnt it?
David

Are you serious? What kinds of threatening letters have you received?

http://www.limos.com/limoforumgraphics/bbtitle_small.gif

David -
I've been called a lot of things in my life, but "stupid" is not one of them. I've also spent 30 years practicing business law and pride mysrelf on being rather astute in evaluating certain actions when I see them. I haven't penetrated to the bottom of this yet, but I know that NLA is in the hands of people who will stop at nothing to maintain their control. I don't know whether there are criminal acts at the bottom of this, or just money, or both - but there is something serious going on here. NLA could have easily adapted to its by-laws, but this would have opened the association to possible changes in control. There are people whose careers and reputations, and perhaps their liberty, depend on keeping NLA in their clutches. Tom Mazza doesn't like what he calls my "conspiracy" theories, but Tom is naieve about what we are dealing with at NLA. Scott has yet to fully understand what is going on. I feel like the Lone Ranger, but at least people are paying attention now that weren't paying attention last summer. The present strategy is to force good people off the board. I don't think that Scott has a prayer of winning, and if he does they will attempt to bring him into the fold and, failing that, they'll try to force him our also. I can't say whether the root of this problem is Host, or Carey, or Ford, or Cadillac, or all of the above, or who - but I do know that there are very entrenched interests here and they intend to stop at nothing to keep control. It is imperative that we get a court to either take control of the NLA governmental process, or dissolve it

James H. Joseph
Pegasus Chauffeured Motor Cars
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
jhj@pegasus-pittsburgh.com

David,
As I said to you, I also have received anonymous mail and threatening messages on a variety of subjects. The "hot buttons" for me have tended to be long car issues. So far, I have not received anything but positive feedback on the NLA issue.

Now, I would like to tell you guys what I am up to. I faxed a letter to all 16 Board Members and the letter was as follows:

Dear NLA Director,
I have been confused by some of the activity of the current Board. In order to provide our readers accurate information, I would like you to answer some specific questions and fax me back your answers within the next day.
1. Did you vote on 12/12/00 to extend the Host contract for 2 years?
2. If yes, why?
3. Do you believe the rank and file NLA members should have a say in who is granted the ass. management contract?
4. Did you vote for a change in the current bylaws?
5. If yes, when did this vote take place?
6. Would you support a policy to eliminate any future closed door NLA meetings?

The results of this survey will be the basis for a March lead news story. So far, I have received 6 responses from Board members and I will work diligently to obtain 16 answers.

Remember, the vast majority of LCT readers are not interested in the NLA so any perceived lack of coverage is simply a reflection of what our readers want.

Tom,

Isn't that story a story in itself? Why aren't the vast majority of LCT readers (mostly limo companies/operators) not interested in the NLA?

This alone is a good story -- perhaps we can find out why?

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Dear readers: I now beleive that there is something very wrong with the entire situation. I am also not stupid but we must have more information. I am working hard to root out the correct story and I am hot on the trail. Jim I thank you for the vote but please remember that I am much too independent to be sucked into anyones agenda. Dont worry about me doing the wrong thing. I will do what is right because I dont need any more money so I can not be bought. The story is about what certain people think the value is of being perceived to be in control of the NLA. I think the value for me is a negative because it takes too much of my time but others think that it elevates them to a higher value. We will uncover the real deal soon. I got a call today from a person who said that a board member was going to get me in control. That is a joke!!!! They have no idea what they are in for when I get to Las Vegas win or lose! Something is rotten in Denmark!!!!!! Hang in for another month and we will all get to the truth. If anyone tries to steal this election they will pay a hudge price,mark my words. " sometimes smart people can act dumb but Dumb people can neverrrrrrr act smart" Let this play out and we shall see the results!!!!!!!

Michael,
The majority of our readers are home-based operators with less than 5 vehicles. Overwhelmingly, they want to know how to make more money or how to save money. The politics of the national association are much less important then economic issues.

NLA has now promulgated fraudulent minutes that purport to represent that the board voted on November 9, 2000 to authorize and approve Darryl "President for Life" Norman to sign the Host contract renewal. Funny, but no one remembers voting on that date either. Is NLA a criminal enterprise? Tom, they will quibble with you that they voted, but not on 12/12. When you try to nail them down, they just invent another fraudulent story. Isn't it time for LCT to blow the whistle on this rogue's gallery?

James H. Joseph
Pegasus Chauffeured Motor Cars
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
jhj@pegasus-pittsburgh.com

Scott -
Make no mistake, I am not trying to suck anybody into any agenda. My analysis of NLA from the beginning has been 100% correct. Eventually you will end up at the same place as I. All I'm trying to do is open the NLA to member democracy, but that is apparently a major threat to someone. I don't care who rides the horse, who carries the banner, or how it happens, but somebody has got to quench the odor coming out of Lexington, Kentucky, and it's not the forse farms that you can smell - that would be sweet and fragrant by comparison

James H. Joseph
Pegasus Chauffeured Motor Cars
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
jhj@pegasus-pittsburgh.com

The Greater Orlando Livery Association Inc., supports the following canidates.
Jeff Green, Don Kensey, Scott Solombrino, Ron Sorci, and Alton Hagen.

Thank you for all the support and lets hope we get the best result! This is your last chance to vote so do it now!! Thanks for all the help!

Well our ballot finally arrived today by mule pack. The post mark was January 6th but that was a meter postmark. Don't really know when it was placed in the mail.

We were not given a pre-addressed envelope to the CPA's. Another oversight from Host. We had to call another member to get the address of the CPA firm. I guess being an outside NLA board member means getting the same kind of service.

Be sure to vote, and put your return address on the envelope.

John Sinibaldi
NLA Board Member