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Councilman Polensek's letter threatens drug suspect, mother says
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Susan Vinella Plain Dealer Reporter


The mother of a drug-trafficking suspect accuses City Councilman Mike Polensek of threatening her son in a letter that refers to the 18-year-old as a "crack dealing piece of trash" and closes with "go to jail or the cemetery soon."

Polensek sent the letter earlier this month after Arsenio T. Winston was arrested and charged with selling drugs near a convenience store in Polensek's East Side neighborhood.

The longtime councilman said in a telephone interview Wednesday that he often writes blunt letters to troublemakers in his neighborhood and makes no apologies for the one to Winston.

"I'm fed up and the people in my neighborhood are fed up," Polensek said. "There's no political correctness left in me."

Winston's mother, Tonya Lewis, said she plans to speak to her attorney, former City Council President George Forbes, about filing a lawsuit against Polensek. She said she also has written a letter to black activist the Rev. Al Sharpton.

Lewis said she views Polensek's letter as a death threat against her son because the councilman said "he didn't care which one came first, that he went to jail or the cemetery."

She also complained that the letter referred to Winston as "dumber than mud," which she considers a racist remark because mud is black and dirty.

Polensek defended his letter.

"If my letter was offensive, fine, so be it," he said. "If my letter is going to make his mother and family think about what he's done, I'm glad."

But he said his words were not intended as a death threat.

"I don't wish that he dies," he said. "I don't wish that any young person dies. What I'm saying is, this is what will happen to him - it's either the cemetery or jail - unless he changes his life."

Polensek said Winston has been causing problems for a couple of years.

Court records show Winston was charged with aggravated assault in May 2005 and spent three months in an Ohio Department of Youth Services detention center.

Winston lives with his mother in another part of the city, but stayed with a friend in Polensek's ward previously, Lewis said.

The councilman said he confronted the teen and his friends about a year ago after residents complained that the group was trashing a park.

He said he asked them to clean up after themselves. Winston refused, he said, and mouthed off.

Winston, who is out on bail on the trafficking charge, was unavailable for comment. His mother said Wednesday evening that he was at work and could not be reached.

Lewis said she heard her son was disrespectful to the councilman. At a meeting with Polensek, she said, her son apologized.

"I'm from the old school," she said. "You get smart with an adult, you've got to apologize."

Polensek said the three met and Winston apologized.

Lewis said her lawyer advised her not to discuss any legal matters involving her son. But she said she does not condone criminal behavior.

"If he did the crime, he has to do the time," she said. "If he has to go to jail or probation, then that's what he has to do."

But she said it's not Polensek's place to tell him to "go to jail or the cemetery soon."

"It's not acceptable," she said.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

svinella@plaind.com, 216-999-5010


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Maybe I'm missing something but I don't see where he threatens him at all.

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She also complained that the letter referred to Winston as "dumber than mud," which she considers a racist remark because mud is black and dirty

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Are you freaking kidding me? So does that mean black people are dirty, I don't understand there? If he was white I guess it's racist because crack is white? The guy is trash, no matter the skin color. And doesn't Sharpton have better things to do? He's supposed to be a man of God and he's one of the biggest douches around.

Maybe if he said "I am going to send him to jail, or a cemetary soon" But sure does not look like he said that to me.

First off, I'm not a Polensek fan, and in fact, I think he is an arrogant donkey.

Then there are my thoughts on running to the NAACP, Rev. Al, the news, etc, etc, etc, etc any time an incident happens between a white and a black person. Personally, I've been in this situation, with an employee who was taken the wrong way, and it did nothing more than fester my feelings on this situation.

I admit that there is still a strong sense of racism and profiling in this Country. However...there are plenty of fights between white and whites, probably 10x the amount there are between whites and blacks. Rarely do the white on white disputes go through agencies, the media, people with megaphones (Clevelanders know who I'm talking about) to settle the dispute. If it gets to a certain point, then simply get a lawyer, and let those swine (sorry legal dawgtalkers, I know there are good lawyers out there) deal with it.

Was Polensek wrong for writing what he did - yes. Is he wrong for writing letters to the criminals in Glenville/Collinwood - his district, telling them to shape up or get out.......I actually like it. I used to drive through that area everyday to work, and it's just short of despicable. It's about time someone cleaned up the community from a city/community position. No one else has stepped to the plate in umteen years.

Would it be different if a black councilman, say Zach Reed did the same thing?

I don't get it. What's the problem?

It wasn't a death threat. The kid is a drug dealer. Drug dealers deal at their own risk.

And she's calling him a racist because he said her son was "dumber than mud," and mud is black and dirty? LMFAO! What a stupid ass woman. Her and her son. Comments like that are just idiotic and without merit. Someone needs to smack her upside the head.

We need more councilmen like him.

This mother whose threatening this lawsuit, calling this letter a death threat, with racial overtones, is a complete idiot. Absolutely moronic and out of touch with any sense of reality.

Maybe if your son wasn't out DEALING CRACK he wouldn't get letters like this.

And as for the jail or cemetery comment. Guess what, if you are out on the streets, selling crack; then you are most likely going to end up in one of two places----figure it out.

This mother is an ignorant piece of trash. The son is probably a piece of garbage too. This article made me sick. I had to post it. I usually don't get angry at stupid "news stories," but this one genuinely upset me.

Yeah, I agree completely. You have all the trash and worthless POS in this world, then you have the idiots who stick up for them like her. The article ticked me off as well.

Maybe the apple didn't fall far from the tree on this one. Stupid greedy mother, stupid greedy son.

LMFAO, you gotta love these people. On the sports talk radio down here in Tampa, a caller came in and talked about how the white man is out to take the black man down and nothing more (about the current Vick case). The radio DJ went off after that and said he's sick of that excuse and went on a racial rant about it. Basically he said if he wasn't stupid enough to do something so highly illegal, then there wouldn't be a problem.

Maybe it was due to the fact that he pointed out how Pete Rose was white and is banned for life or maybe because people just flat out agreed with him, but there has been no complaints about his rants.

To repetitively paraphrase my old standby,....you reap what you sow. Here we have a "parent" "defending" her crack-dealing punk "son" by "attacking" someone else ??

How close is this neighborhood to Lake Erie ?? GO JUMP IN IT !! Mrs. Winston,....

The letter is probably a stupid thing to do and in the end, accomplishes nothing other than making this councilman feel better, but it's not a death threat and it's not racist

I applaud the councilman, but it could have been handled in a better way. For one if your going to send a letter like that, don't do it on city stationary. Second, I don't find anything he said racist, bad language, but being a public figure you have to assume (especially if your white and they are black) that they are going to try and paint you as the bad guy.
I am sick and tired of people running to that fool Al Sharpton. First, that guy even saying he is a reverend is a f'in joke. He was ordained when he was like 10 or something. My daughter can become a minister like that tool. And what does he ever accomplish but make a lot of people irritated?

This has been all over the media and talk radio here. I do like what he did in a way, but the way he did it was a little unprofessional for a public figure.

The only thing I gathered from reading this was the fact that the guy writing it was a politician. And being such,probably doesn't have a lot of room to throw stones.

JMHO

Here, write him a letter or phone him and ask him if he's ever been arrested for crack dealing or assault..... I would wager that he hasn't.


Michael Polensek
» Ward 11 Collinwood
» City Hall: 664-4236
» Home: (216) 531-7648
» Address: 17855 Brian Ave.
Cleveland, OH 44119

LINK

Let's vote this man as President!!!

Or commited "any acts" that might constitute a felonious act? That's my point.

Often times people "rate their crimes or activities as being less harmfull" to rationalize their behavior, while still being able to feel they are somehow better than others.

The fact of the matter is,they're not. And politicians are often much that way. You don't have to "sale crack" in order to be detrimental or take away from your community. But I'm sure he wouldn't own up to that even if it were so.

But we don't know....

We do know the guy who received the letter is a burden to society.

This is near where I grew up.

I applaud what Polensek did :clap clap:

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Often times people "rate their crimes or activities as being less harmfull" to rationalize their behavior, while still being able to feel they are somehow better than others.

The fact of the matter is,they're not. And politicians are often much that way. You don't have to "sale crack" in order to be detrimental or take away from your community. But I'm sure he wouldn't own up to that even if it were so.

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Pit, while I agree that pretty much everybody has things in their past (or present) they may not be proud of, whether they were illegal, unethical, whatever... people still have to take a stand. A lot lawyers and judges probably have things going on in their lives to (or did at some point), does that mean they can't do their job or accusing, defending, and judging others?

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Since the guy is a "suspect" and has not yet been "convicted" of anything,I think this was done more for political gain and publicity than anything else. Or are you guilty untill proven innocent?

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He spent 3 months in a juvenile detention center for assault in 2005.....and people just don't get charged with dealing drugs for the hell of it.

He's a burden to society....one of many. You portray the councilman as having issues we don't know about....maybe he does and maybe he doesn't, but again- we don't know.

Once again,I'm looking at the rule of law. He has "not been convictede" of what this counselman is asserting.

You see it your way,I see it mine.

I don't think verbaly assulting someone for a crime they have not yet been convicted of is a "positive character trait". Seems as though you do.

We simply disagree.

Cleveland City Councilman's Letter Tells Teen 'Go to Jail or the Cemetery'
Thursday , July 19, 2007
CLEVELAND —

A city councilman fed up with crime told a teenager with a record that goes back two years to "go to jail or the cemetery," prompting the young man's mother to complain that the letter was threatening.

Was the letter from Councilman Michael Polensek a threat or a warning from a public official to a thug to get out of the neighborhood?

"I think of it as a death threat to my son. It's real simple," Tonya Lewis, mother of Arsenio T. Winston, 18, said Thursday. She said her son wasn't available for an interview but might be reached at another time.

Click here to read more from MyFoxCleveland.com.

Polensek, Cleveland's longest-serving council member with 28 years, wasn't backing down.

"I'm not wrong on this issue," he said Thursday. He said the letter wasn't intended as a threat.

Polensek, who has had four vans stolen, mailed the letter last week after learning that Winston had been arrested in the blue-collar Collinwood neighborhood on July 3 on drug-trafficking charges.

"You are a `thug' and you know what," the letter said. "There are only two places you will end up at the rate you are going — that is, prison or the nearest funeral home."

The letter said Winston "must be dumber than mud" to get arrested, called him "you crack dealing piece of trash" and said "only a moron" would get involved in an alleged assault on a police officer.

The letter was signed: "Go to jail or the cemetery soon — Michael D. Polensek." Polensek said the signoff was meant to highlight the likely outcome of Winston's lifestyle.

Winston, who was charged with aggravated assault in 2005 and spent three months in juvenile detention, was arrested last year in the alleged assault on an officer but the case was dismissed. He is out on bond on the drug trafficking charge.

Polensek and Winston have a history. Polensek told Winston and his companions last year about complaints of broken glass and drug-dealing in a playground and asked them to clean up after themselves.

Winston, then 17, refused to shake hands, told Polensek to kiss his rear end and said he was heading for an NFL quarterback's job, Polensek said.

"I am so glad that you are now 18 years of age, because now you are an adult and can no longer hide behind the juvenile court system, Mr. Quarterback, loser," Polensek said in the letter.

Polensek made sure the letter got maximum exposure, sending copies to the mayor's staff, police commanders and to The Plain Dealer.

Polensek said he often writes blunt letters to troublemakers in his neighborhood and makes no apologies for the one to Winston.

Winston's mother said she wouldn't defend his lifestyle. "I don't approve of anything, any illegal activity," she said.

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Heading for an NFL QB job he says......better move to Cincy if he wants to live his dream.

He would fit right in if he was the 3rd Vick brother too

Here's the entire letter:

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0719071cleveland1.html?link=rssfeed

Interesting whom he CC'd on the letter.

Phillip Morris: Polensek's letter is inappropriate
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Phillip Morris
The Plain Dealer

Councilman Michael D. Po lensek first met Arsenio Winston last year, when he stopped by the R.J. Taylor playground in response to constituent complaints about broken glass and drug dealing.

The long-serving Collinwood leader walked up to a group of young black men including Arsenio and introduced himself. Polensek told them of the complaints. He asked them to help keep the park clean.

Arsenio, then 17, refused to shake hands, according to Polensek. He stared down the diminutive, white councilman, and suggested that he kiss his "black" posterior.

He then contemptuously informed Polensek that he would soon be playing in the NFL.

At least that's how Polensek recalls the encounter.

It was the start of an unlikely relationship, which included an August meeting between Polensek, Arsenio and Arsenio's mother - a meeting designed ostensibly to help get Arsenio, who once played football for Glenville High School, on track.

The relationship didn't gel.

It culminated last Thursday with Polensek writing Arsenio an extraordinary letter that closed thusly:

"Go to jail or the cemetery soon."

The letter, written on city stationary, was sent to the Glenville home where Arsenio lives with Tonya Lewis, his mother. It was written after Polensek discovered that Arsenio had been arrested - again - in his ward.

"You are a thug," the long-serving councilman wrote.

"There are only two places you will end up at the rate you are going - that is prison or the nearest funeral home. Quite frankly, I don't care which one you get to first."

The letter should be archived.

It was inappropriate in every conceivable way.

An elected leader should never stoop to this sort of incendiary constituent "service."

But if you think Polensek is having second thoughts, you don't know Polensek.

Arsenio is a troubled youth. He was arrested last year after assaulting a police officer. The charge was dropped.

Two weeks ago, he was charged with dealing drugs in front of a convenience store. Like so many young, black men, he seems intent on fashioning a steel cage future.

But Polensek's taunting letter wasn't a warning shot or even an advisory. It was a gleeful stomp on a young man's mounting self-inflicted calamity.

Polensek is a highly proactive councilman. He cares passionately about the quality of life in his ward.

He daily combs arrest reports and fires off letters to anyone arrested for violence or drugs. He warns them to get their acts together. If not, he invites them to leave Ward 11.

His aim is to hold people accountable.

But the point of the letter to her son was lost on Tonya Lewis, who fired off her own letters to the Urban League, NAACP and the Rev. Al Sharpton.

"I won't enable or condone what my son has done. But Polensek was wrong. There are just certain things you shouldn't say."

She says the councilman is a racist.

He says her son's a moron and a thug.

One charge does not necessarily cancel the other.

To reach Phillip Morris:

pfmorris@plaind.com, 216-999-5086

I read the letter and thinks it's great. He is standing up for his community, and using terms that should get people's attention.

I have mixed feelings about this. I hate crack dealers as much as the next man, and I actually think this man's heart is in the right place. However, as a public representative, he has to be smarter than that.

First of all, it's not "his" ward, it's the people's ward. Secondly, that letter, regardless of the true sentiment felt, was completely inappropriate from a man in his position. If he wanted to write it as a citizen, and not an elected official, go for it. But when he used city stationary, he crossed the line...IMHO.

I have no problem with how he feels, and don't think it came from a racist place. He just should have used different language, or wrote an anonymous letter, or personal, just not one representing the city.

I applaud his tenacity though, lord knows Glenville/Collinwood needs someone who cares!!!

As for those who want to insult his mother...that's not kosher. It's hard raising a boy, as a single mother, in a neighborhood like that. I don't think Al Sharpton, and a lawsuit are necessary...but neither was the letter. It was obvious to me, that she worked with Polensek in the past to try to turn his life around. So to say she's this or she's that, she's greedy...walk a mile in her shoes first. It aint easy!

In case you missed it Shep,the charges of assulting the officer,were "dropped".

Caring about your community is a fine thing. Having pride in your community is a fine thing. Wanting thugs out of your community is wonderfull.

Good thing those "arrested for rape" in the Duke case didn't "live in his district" huh? Since rape is a violent crime. How would you feel if he had sent similar letters to them Shep? Since he "does it all the time" and obviously bases these letters on "charges" (accusations) and not guilty verdicts.

Look at the "big picture" Shep. It's not "just this case". It's how a man automaticly "assumes" guilt because someone is "charged" with a crime. How he labels and degrades them without the finding of guilt. Those boys in the Duke rape case are prime examples of why this procedure is improper and very dangerous ground to be walking on. You can paint it any way you want to,but "presuming guilt" and attacking someone verbaly based on that,isn't something I find to be a "noble act".

As I said,you seem perfectly fine with a guy attacking someone based solely on "charges". An elected government official no less.

You seem perfectly fine that he forwarded that message to the press in an "attempt" to get press and publicity for this. I don't. I see it as nothing more than a self serving political move. If not,why are you sending a copy to the press?

Go ahead Shep,applaud a guy who "presumes guilt" based on accusations. Which is exactly what "charges" are. Like I said,the "charges were dropped" in the case of assulting an officer. If the same happens in this case,or even reduced,his willingness to "presume guilt" could cost him and the city BIG TIME.

While others have blindly supported certain politicians no matter what they've done.

We live in a world of extremes Blade.

From blasting people of crimes they haven't been convicted of,to not trusting politicians further than we can throw them.

Yes,I'm guilty of not trusting politicians. It's served me pretty well.

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In case you missed it Shep,the charges of assulting the officer,were "dropped".

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I didn't miss it. However, I realize that charges are never brought against someone for chits and giggles....but they are often dropped due to money reasons as well as various other reasons out of necessity. The fact that the charges were dropped do not make him "innocent" of the crime, it simply means he was not convicted.

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You seem perfectly fine that he forwarded that message to the press in an "attempt" to get press and publicity for this. I don't. I see it as nothing more than a self serving political move. If not,why are you sending a copy to the press?

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To show his constitutents that he is attempting to do what he told them he would do........get rid of crime in their neighborhood.

What do people want?
-Crime free area to live in
-Jobs
-Health care

If you address or make a worthwhile attempt to address those issues, then people will vote you back in again and again.

The kid is a thug and will (as the politician said):
a) Go to prison
b) Die

He needs to do the third option...
c) Get a job

I will bet you 100 dollars to 1 that he dropped out of school and doesn't have a job....yes, I am absolutely fine with having an elected official "attack someone" based on charges. No problem at all.....I wish more would have the balls to do it.