From a conversation I had with an employee of the VA public info office, I learned that if the current lease holder of Ft. Howard fails (he is failing) to produce development of the property, it goes to the General Services Administration. Then it will be given to a different entity than the VA. The government policy is, 'two strikes and you're out.'
This is not fair, because the VA signed leases with two separate individuals who never intended to do the work. Those two used, and are still using, their VA leases to con investors out of large sums of money. The VA did not sign leases with legitimate developers, therefore it is not right that we American veterans loose our use of our very valuable property.
Three-and-a-half weeks ago, I was driven to the entrance of the Fort Howard Veterans Affairs property. No security guards for the property were seen. The gate appeared to have a cheap lock on it. I was sickened by the sight of the old VA Hospital grounds rotting away - about a decade-and-a-half after the promised development of a veterans focused residential community was supposed to have begun.
The person driving the car had been on the VA grounds about a week before that. The driver (we'll call them Sam) deeply desires to be a volunteer at the Ft. Howard VA helping veterans. On the VA property, Sam encountered a man who was staying there as security. A ridiculous excuse for the 24/7 security that Tim Munshell - who has the lease to the property - is legally bound to provide.
As Sam had walked onto the property, they heard a dog barking. Sam thought the dog may be stuck in one of the old empty buildings there, so they went looking to help it. It was a pit bull tied to the front of a small brick building, where the developer's office is. I had done photography work at numerous events in Ft. Howard Park, which splits and shares the North Point Peninsula with the VA. Most events held in the park are allowed to use the VA grounds for parking. Numerous times, this facilitated me seeing a little red light lit on a box on the brick building's front, which is to signal to people that a burglar alarm is on. Sam said the security identified themselves as an off duty police officer living there. Security said his name is Officer (?) Fink (?).
Before Fink knew Sam was there, Sam had calmed the noisy dog down and was rubbing its belly. When Fink came out to the scene, he became very angry; not only for Sam's trespassing, but also for petting his watch dog. Security has the authority to have trespassers arrested, and I know of nearly 60 arrests for trespassing that had occurred a year or more before Fink became security. Sam was not arrested, but Fink verbally tore into them. Then let Sam leave.
Having only one guard there is nearly no security at all.
Sam and I rode along the VA property's fence line. I looked into the VA where we could see through the massive overgrowth of trees and bushes. I saw enough to know that no construction work is being done on the VA property.
Everyone who has been on that property, in the past decade or so, sees that every building, but the one with a burglar alarm, has been severely vandalized. The worst being complete destruction by arson of three large, 1900-era, grand old houses that had stupendous views of the Chesapeake Bay. Munshell is responsible to restore those houses to their original form.
Firefighters who extinguished those three fires - plus four other fires there - found that fire hydrants on the property did not work. Baltimore County hit Munshell with a $43,800.00 fine for that and not maintaining a 24/7 fire watch. The fine probably remains unpaid. Munshell was also court ordered to repair the fire hydrant system, but I doubt he has.
I have proven that both Munshell and the first fake developer who held the lease to Ft Howard - International Super Scammer John David Infantino - would never begin construction on the project. Proven by my investigative research, writings and photography, which is well over a thousand hours of hard work.
A VA official once emailed me saying that I "have it all wrong," concerning the fiasco of the Ft Howard development project. I am the only one in the world who has it all right. My published writings and photography prove that.
Do a blog search on here for Fort Howard to access the bulk of my writings about it. The search box is up in the left corner.
Photography by David Robert Crews
{a.k.a. ursusdave}
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