chubbyblack
baltimore,#2UPDATE EX-employee responds
Wed, August 21, 2013
Although I take no sides in this matter, I would like it duly noted That Marcus Pollock is an upstanding citizen whose continuous genoristy has reached many lives. His mission of helping Ex-offenders develop the skill set necessary to transition from the unemployed rolls to functioning productive members of society should be praised and appluaded. He is an excellent mentor.
Marcus E. Pollock
Maryland,#3REBUTTAL Individual responds
Thu, April 11, 2013
Irvin Bowser and his girlfriend tried to take advantage of what was a very positive oportunity to become a homeowner and it turned on them. Mr. Bowser is a recovering drug addict who was a part of an experimental social enterprise that took ex-offenders and provided them an opportunity to develop their skills and contribute to the local economy. The high point of this experiement was homeownership.
I bought the house, paid him and others to renovate it and he was to live in it. The only requirement was that he would assume and take care of the property, pay the mortgage, get counseling, become qualified get a mortgage and take me out of the deal. The proceeds of which would be used to buy another house and allow another seemingly worthwhile individual to do the same.
This worked for a while, until his girlfriend occupied the house and children came to the relationship, he decided that he had paid enough (he was unfamiliar with mortgages in that they can go for thirty years and now more). He did not take care of the house, which I urged him to do and lead was an issue. He called the Health Department and thank God the lead levels of the child was not suffiicient to warrant a costly settlement.
Not only was he not paying me, but he was not paying Baltimore Gas and Electric and had hooked up illegally the gas such that the fire department gained entry to the house because of a dangerous gas leak and BGE turned off the service at the subsurface becuase it had previously turned off the service at the meter. As it was now cold Bowser and his family could not stay in the house, nor was BGE going to provide service to this address.
Consequently I took control of the house and made the costly changes that BGE required to get service to the house so that it could be inhabitated. If I had not been paying the mortgage, the mortgage company would have taken the house the same as I did. This construction business that gave rise to this homeownership opportunity came out of my passion to meet the challenge of ex-offenders have in getting employed in Baltimore City. More than 70 percent of black men have had some connection with the "system". Thus they have a difficult time getting legitimate employment.
My work as the executive director of the Governor's Council on Offender Employment Coordination and my considerable community work to change the conditions of underserved communities is substantial and well documented. Despite the pain, consternation, frustration and disappointment that I felt with Mr. Bowser and this unfortunate situation, it does not take away the essential requirement of my life: "to whom much is given, much is required". I wish him and his family well.
Marcus E. Pollock
[email protected]