It was never about me having a bad night. I first figured that it was all screwed up because Mitch was just an idiot. Oh well. It wasn't til some of the 19th street business owners came in to the BBR that night after the event that I found out how pissed off everyone else was and that's when my friends from 19th told me about the non profit scheme. It's about Mitch turning a great event into a con game. The event was put on by the 19th street businesses to help the small businesses that make up most of the Heights. I have participanted every year since it started. It was run by Karen Mann and it was always a good event with no problems. Til Mitch got his greedy hands on it last year. People paid from $100-$1500 and that money was to go for services that in the end were never delivered. Everyone spent a lot of money getting ready for what is usually the best night of the year. It was a very bad year for everyone so we looked forward to what should have been a great night. Instead no one had any business except 6th Street(Pink Street) because that was the only street promoted and I suspect it was because that was where Mitch was selling alcohol in the name of the phony non profit. He did not spend the money on what it was suppose to go for, shuttles,advertizing, printing, etc. and he took money from businesses that he new he could not possibly include. They were to far a way. But most of all it's about the non profit scheme. This is the real story. When he refused to show anybody the financials I contacted the proper authorities that handle non profit frauds. There are investigations going on at this time. Out of 97 business that participated last year only 39 joined this year. That is 58 pissed off business owners. Out of the 39 that did participate I know many of the 39 hate Mitch and know he is a con artist but joined anyway because it is a great event. The other participants this year are all new to the Heights. The rest of us will come back to it when we get rid of Mitch. For the puplic this is still a great party. It was hard for John Lomax to really get the whole story out there because so many of the businesses that were involved last year and are pissed off at Mitch are afraid of the type of harassment that Mitch always engages in towards his critics. I am not. I hate scamers especially ones who mis-use charties. As for my bar since you all seem so interested, here's the story. I moved into the Heights 32 years ago way before any yuppies got here or even many artists. I moved into a great warehouse that was next door to a closed cantina. My neighbor at the time told me that it would never open again because there had been to many murders there. Good I thought. I was a young artist living by myself and working at one of Houston's many topless bars. Back then the north Heights was 100% barrio. More than a little dangerous. To my surprise the cantina open up a month later. I was constantly opening my door in the morning to drunks passed out on my door step, people doing drugs and having sex in my yard, extremly drunk drivers, blocking my driveway, parking in my driveway, shooting guns off almost every night in front of my warehouse, etc. You see back then HPD would rarely come into my hood except for emergencies. So I got sick of it and one day when somebody from the bar parked in my driveway I went over there with my machete and told the whole bar that if who ever owns the car didn't move it ASAP their tires were going to be rubber bands. After that I had a lot fewer problems with parking. After living next to the bar for 17 years the last 8 of which were really wild, my neighbors and I had enough. I looked up the property and was surprised to see my landlord was the deed holder of record. His name was Jesse Cougot and I knew he had sold it 20 years ago. I had bought my warehouse from him several years earlier and Jesse had died a few years earlier. I knew the current owner and I realized that for some reason he never registered his deed. The other people you mentioned in connection with Reina's Bar were just fronting for him. He also had never paid any taxes and owed a lot. He owned many, many bars on the north side, some of them very big and very notorious all of them cantinas. Everyone in the northside knew what he was thats how I found out and I was best friends with a former accountant of his, that helped. The fight went on for three years in court and then he agreed to take half of what the bar was worth( he could never produce the deed) and give up all claims to the bar. The neighborhood was very thankful. Of course John Lomax's use of the machete story is just a metaphor and for shock effect.By the way,Walter Shannon is my husband and El Machete Inc. is my company. Wildchild and Strangelove are our real estate companies that own the two commercial properties. Since we own most of the block and it is our homestead the bank requires seperate entities own the frontage so we can't homestead it.
White Linen In The Heights
in General Houston Discussions
Posted · Edited by JackieHarris
It was never about me having a bad night. I first figured that it was all screwed up because Mitch was just an idiot. Oh well. It wasn't til some of the 19th street business owners came in to the BBR that night after the event that I found out how pissed off everyone else was and that's when my friends from 19th told me about the non profit scheme. It's about Mitch turning a great event into a con game. The event was put on by the 19th street businesses to help the small businesses that make up most of the Heights. I have participanted every year since it started. It was run by Karen Mann and it was always a good event with no problems. Til Mitch got his greedy hands on it last year. People paid from $100-$1500 and that money was to go for services that in the end were never delivered. Everyone spent a lot of money getting ready for what is usually the best night of the year. It was a very bad year for everyone so we looked forward to what should have been a great night. Instead no one had any business except 6th Street(Pink Street) because that was the only street promoted and I suspect it was because that was where Mitch was selling alcohol in the name of the phony non profit. He did not spend the money on what it was suppose to go for, shuttles,advertizing, printing, etc. and he took money from businesses that he new he could not possibly include. They were to far a way. But most of all it's about the non profit scheme. This is the real story. When he refused to show anybody the financials I contacted the proper authorities that handle non profit frauds. There are investigations going on at this time. Out of 97 business that participated last year only 39 joined this year. That is 58 pissed off business owners. Out of the 39 that did participate I know many of the 39 hate Mitch and know he is a con artist but joined anyway because it is a great event. The other participants this year are all new to the Heights. The rest of us will come back to it when we get rid of Mitch. For the puplic this is still a great party. It was hard for John Lomax to really get the whole story out there because so many of the businesses that were involved last year and are pissed off at Mitch are afraid of the type of harassment that Mitch always engages in towards his critics. I am not. I hate scamers especially ones who mis-use charties. As for my bar since you all seem so interested, here's the story. I moved into the Heights 32 years ago way before any yuppies got here or even many artists. I moved into a great warehouse that was next door to a closed cantina. My neighbor at the time told me that it would never open again because there had been to many murders there. Good I thought. I was a young artist living by myself and working at one of Houston's many topless bars. Back then the north Heights was 100% barrio. More than a little dangerous. To my surprise the cantina open up a month later. I was constantly opening my door in the morning to drunks passed out on my door step, people doing drugs and having sex in my yard, extremly drunk drivers, blocking my driveway, parking in my driveway, shooting guns off almost every night in front of my warehouse, etc. You see back then HPD would rarely come into my hood except for emergencies. So I got sick of it and one day when somebody from the bar parked in my driveway I went over there with my machete and told the whole bar that if who ever owns the car didn't move it ASAP their tires were going to be rubber bands. After that I had a lot fewer problems with parking. After living next to the bar for 17 years the last 8 of which were really wild, my neighbors and I had enough. I looked up the property and was surprised to see my landlord was the deed holder of record. His name was Jesse Cougot and I knew he had sold it 20 years ago. I had bought my warehouse from him several years earlier and Jesse had died a few years earlier. I knew the current owner and I realized that for some reason he never registered his deed. The other people you mentioned in connection with Reina's Bar were just fronting for him. He also had never paid any taxes and owed a lot. He owned many, many bars on the north side, some of them very big and very notorious all of them cantinas. Everyone in the northside knew what he was thats how I found out and I was best friends with a former accountant of his, that helped. The fight went on for three years in court and then he agreed to take half of what the bar was worth( he could never produce the deed) and give up all claims to the bar. The neighborhood was very thankful. Of course John Lomax's use of the machete story is just a metaphor and for shock effect.By the way,Walter Shannon is my husband and El Machete Inc. is my company. Wildchild and Strangelove are our real estate companies that own the two commercial properties. Since we own most of the block and it is our homestead the bank requires seperate entities own the frontage so we can't homestead it.