ANOTHER TKC EXCLUSIVE: MAYOR FUNKHOUSER HONORED COUPLE WHO FACED INDICTMENT IN NEW JERSEY AND ALLEGEDLY HAD MAFIA TIES!!!

Mayor Funky still isn't doing his research, he still hasn't learned.

Last week the Mayor's "State of the City" speech was full of mostly BS and completely ignored crime in Kansas City . . . Or at least that's what I thought at first.

Through my awesome investigative skill (Google) . . . And the complaints of quite a few City Hall insiders it turns out that The Mayor honored somebody who was at one time thought to be connected to the mob by the authorities in New Jersey!!!

First, here's the passage from the media that simply reports the Mayor's acknowledgment.

Thursday afternoon, the mayor delivered his first State of the City address. He talked a lot about quality of life issues and introduced a Northland couple who moved to Kansas City in January from New Jersey.

The came to taste some barbeque and decided to move here and open a business.

"I think some people don't know how good it is here," Debra Engravalle said. "Because of coming from the east coast and seeing what it is back there."

And then with a simple Google search you'll find that the guy was indicted in New Jersey in 2005.

Here's the heading to the details of the court case:

DIVISION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE CHARGES NORTH JERSEY THIEVES WITH FENCING $1 MILLION IN STOLEN MERCHANDISE THROUGH UNDERCOVER STING OPERATION

Operation “Enterprise” Purchased Stolen Weapons, Construction Equipment, Motorcycles, High-End Clothing & Electronics, Medical Supplies, Toys, Cosmetics, and Other Commodities...

Brokers of Stolen Goods Maintain Self-Professed Ties To North Jersey Faction of Genovese Crime Family

Here's the guy's listing:

Daniel Engravalle, 32, 58 Alana Dr., Hawthorne, Passaic County. Charged with Count 1 - Conspiracy (2nd degree - 5-10 years/150,000 fine); Count 2 - Insurance Fraud (2nd degree - 5-10 years/150,000 fine); Count 3 - Theft by Deception (3rd degree - 3-5 years/$15,000 fine); Count 4 - Tampering With Public Records (3rd degree - 3-5 years/$15,000 fine);

There's also a listing for somebody who named Debra who might also be the dude's wife. I hope not but ouch.



UPDATE: It's them, and they even have a wedding gallery online which is cute and should give us all some insight about the difference between media glamorized depictions of life for people with alleged connections to the mob/Jersey and how they differ from reality. And for those who don't think the alleged criminal past of these people is any of our business . . . Not only is it all public record but IF the Mayor is going to use them as an example of the future he sees for Kansas City THEN how they were or weren't living large in North Jersey prior to coming here is pertinent information that the Mayor's people probably should have checked out for themselves.

I called the Mayor's office to see if they knew . . . Surprisingly, one of the Mayor's Communication people Joe Miller (my old buddy - hehe) took my call and when I asked him about it . . . He hung up on me. Luckily, I had a very intelligent person point me in the direction of Miller's latest appearance on the Walt Bodine show this morning. When asked about the inclusion of the Engravalle couple in the speech Miller said:

"I DIDN'T DO A GOOGLE SEARCH" he said and forgot to add the word "duh" to his response. He then goes on to say, "That was an addition that came in right in the last minute."

It took me approximately 2 minutes to find it. Miller then goes on to stumble over his words and then try and switch the subject to Former Mayor Kay Barnes - A tried and true tactics of all Mayor Funky supporters.

But make no mistake, this isn't speculation, the Engravalle couple were indicted and Mayor Funky's clueless staff let him get embarrassed once again.

Somebody please fire Joe Miller!!!

Honestly, I think if the Mayor switched up his communication staff once again and got rid of the most incompetent member of his office (Miller) there might be a little hope, Heaven knows I'd certainly see the Mayor's office in a different light.

What does this mean? First of all Miller seems to still be holding a grudge (unlike me) and his incompetence knows no bounds . . . Also, either the Mayor is really forgiving or he's holding up people with "self-professed mob ties" as example of the kind of folks Kansas City is trying to attract . . . Or, more likely, MAYOR FUNKY AND HIS PEOPLE HAVE ONCE AGAIN BEEN PROVEN LAZY WHEN IT COMES TO DOING BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR PEOPLE AFFILIATED WITH HIS ADMINISTRATION!!! He has had a year to learn and he still is so stubborn that he has yet to change . . . I'm all for forgiveness and I certainly don't think an indictment alone is enough to shun a person, but I realize that I'm a lot more understanding than most people and once again this embarrassment proves that Mayor Funky and his media people don't know what they're doing.