The Shadow
I want to begin by saying thank you. Because of your tenacity and voice, you have affected good changes in your local government. You’ll see what I mean towards the end, so hear me out.
Yes, change is messy, has a price, and is uncomfortable at times, especially when it deals with questionable behaviors that have gone unchecked for so long that most people have normalized and accepted them as “it’s the way it’s always been and always will be.”But here’s the issue: regardless of how it’s been sugar-coated, unethical behavior and corruption do not serve the community. It serves the privileged, the favored, the connected, and the power-hungry. And through bullying, coercion, and deceit, they convince others to join in on the grift, and the ones who see fact as clear fact, are cast as radicals and ‘crap stirrers,’ and punished with discrimination and retaliation.
I have heard that some folks think the Shadow hates Covington because he loves being mean and has no business sticking his nose into things. Nothing is farther from the truth. Covington has been a part of my life since I was a young kid. My words aren’t spiteful, they are simple facts. I am here to observe and report facts. And if someone gets upset over my words, that’s usually a telling sign that they’ve been caught with their hand in the cookie jar.
Before we begin I want to ask you this, and it will be probably one of the toughest questions you will ever ask yourself. If you saw a friend, a coworker, or even a devout religious person involved in unethical or illegal behavior that is proved by clear fact, who do you believe? Friend or fact?
Previously on The Shadow…, the Shadow received official records from the City of Covington for the old Gordman’s building called “Project Sparkle.” This fabulous project gave the building to DNA Holdings LLC for free in exchange for the promise of a $250,000 investment in renovation and infrastructure, and operating a viable business in the building for at least three years. It was a win for everyone.
Upon examining the Performance Agreement and the Deed of Gift to the building, it became apparent that the documents were irresponsibly assembled without any common, professional rigor in fact-checking and due diligence. For example, in the Performance Agreement, there was a seemingly innocuous, simple name change of the Grantee. Why didn’t Mr. Popovich, the City Attorney, quickly fact-check the WV Secretary of State’s official records to validate that DNA Holdings LLC did indeed officially change their name to Mountain Hospitality LLC?
A simple, 5 minute search on the WV corporate database and a quick text message directly to all the owners of DNA Holdings, LLC would have proved otherwise. That’s what the Shadow team did, and easily proved 100% that DNA Holdings did not change its name. Instead, Popovich (or his staff) apparently took it at face value, and therefore only validated that Mountain Holdings, LLC was based in Virginia, and verified their official registered address was in Abington, Virginia.
There’s more. Popovich then officially signed and “Approved as to legal form” that allowed a representative from a completely different company that was not DNA Holdings LLC or Mountain Hospitality LLC listed in the contract to officially sign and execute the document on behalf of these two companies.
This leads us to the heart of this kerfuffle-filled brouhaha. Is the use of “formerly known as” in the contract intended to address a company with a previous name or could they be attempting to deceive or mislead one of the parties about the true nature of the ownership or control of the contract? If the latter is the case, then both the party and the presiding attorney could potentially be considered as a participant in apparent fraudulent or unethical conduct.
Excuse my ignorance, but what owner doesn’t know their own company’s official legal name and location? What attorney allows unprofessional mistakes like this to proceed so far as to be officially recorded at the county courthouse? Where were the other attorneys to fact-check and redline these issues before the contracts were executed?
This leads to the question, did Popovich truly not know and simply failed to perform his due diligence as an attorney? Or maybe he knew, and was party to the apparently illegal and unethical transaction? The Shadow’s research team reached out to Mr. Povovich for clarification, but he was “gone for the day.”
[Update Feb 27, 2024: The City Attorney finally responded with a summary of what happened. The information he provided is protected under client privilege. So in essence, Mr Popovich confirmed what the Shadow had already anticipated, that there was an intentional company change in the contract to a completely different company other than DNA Holdings LLC. But what’s odd is, Mr. Popovich seemed to contradict his statement by also confirming that it was a simple name change of the Grantee.
If Mr. Popovich had done his due diligence, he would have found that DNA Holdings LLC did not change their name, nor their location, and secondly, according to the DNA partners directly, it requires 2 signatures out of the 3 partners in order to officially transfer assets. So, unless the other DNA Partners are incorrect, and Bostic has in his hand, the official corporate resolution document from the DNA Holdings Member meeting officially transferring the property 100% to Mr. Bostic directly, the other partners most likely still own 50% of the building.]
The team also contacted the City Manager, Allen Dressler for clarification, which he happily confirmed that it was just a simple mistake of a business name. “Everything has been fixed and taken care of,” stated Dressler.
And that’s it? Could it really be just a simple case of applying some white-out correction fluid to official records and deeds, changing the names around, then presto, all is fixed? Another FOIA is on its way to find out.
Regardless of what procedures the city has taken to address the ownership issues, there’s more than the tip of this iceberg surfacing now. Mountain Hospitality LLC, located in Abington, VA is listed on the deed as the official, taxable owner for most if not all of 2023. One would assume that tax notices would go to their official registered office address in Abington, VA. However, the official contact address on the Deed has been changed, and now Mountain Holdings LLC’s official tax address is listed as PO Box 404, Covington, VA.
Hopefully, Mountain Hospitality LLC, or owners Hatel and Samir Patel owns the PO Box 404 in Covington. Otherwise, we now enter into the arena of a potential Federal Crime. Federal Law indicates that when a person or business intentionally receives or redirects mail for a business that is not legally owned by that person or business, it is a federal crime under US Code 1341 that prohibits using the mail system to carry out mail fraud, identity theft, and deception schemes.
Geesh, just when you thought it was safe to travel on the Titanic, those darned icebergs keep showing up.
Enter the Mega Iceberg, formerly known as the 410 Main St Building Permit. The shadow team also received official documentation and statements for the 410 Main St property building permit issued on October 30, 2023, to “David Bostic.” Under the contractor name, Bostic had listed “Self”, claiming that he was entitled to do the renovations without a Class A contractor license because it was for “his own use.”The City also confirmed his exemption, as quoted from a FOIA document, the “Building permit for 410 West Main was for an individual.”
However, the original application confirms the fact that a corporation “David Bostic / 410 on Main Corporation” applied for the permit. The Shadow’s research team reached out to the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR) to confirm whether an individual or commercial company, renovating a commercial building with more than $130,000 in costs, that will be open to the public, can in fact, perform all mechanical, electrical and plumbing work without any contractor or trade licenses.
The official replied and indicated that an individual could be considered as exempt from having a licensed contractor overseeing the work under the “his own use” exemption clause, assuming that the work undertaken was for the owner’s direct benefit, not for lease, rent, or use by others. “However,” the official continued, “subsection C of the same section provides that… any person who is exempt from the provisions of this chapter shall comply with the provisions of the Uniform Statewide Building Code.”
This means regardless of whether Mr. Bostic is exempt under the “his own use” clause or not, he still has to conform to all VA building regulations to ensure that the construction adheres to the safety, ADA accessibility, fire prevention, and building standards as mandated by the state. And since the value of the construction is north of $120,000, a Class A licensed contractor is normally required to perform or oversee any electrical, mechanical, and plumbing changes or additions.
But, according to the FOIA documents, the City of Covington’s Building Official also officially accepted and approved Mr. Bostic’s exemption without acknowledging or enforcing compliance with Subsection C and the Uniform Statewide Building Code. As a result, construction on the 410 Main Street building has been apparently out of compliance for four months now, with the construction performed by workers who also apparently do not have the proper licenses.
So, the question again, was the city’s Building Official really that unknowledgeable about what code applies to whom? Or was he party to the apparent illegal activity, or told by someone to “look the other way?”
The FOIA documents also show the owners stated and confirmed to the City, “[We] Only removed bricks that were added to enclose the windows, not removing any of the original walls, floors, roofing etc. Therefore asbestos testing not needed.”
Out of the many alleged infractions that multiple sources have reported about the company’s construction activities, including unlicensed electrical and plumbing work, breaching old walls that were most likely painted with lead paint, and apparently paying workers under the table, one issue stands out in particular. Photographic evidence shows that floor tiles were removed on the stairs while allegedly several workers were still in the building breathing the dust created by their removal. This is most concerning, as since this building was built before asbestos and lead paint use was illegal (1989 and 1978 respectively), and the owners claimed they did not need any asbestos testing, this unabated removal of flooring might be considered as a serious OSHA violation involving a potentially unsafe workplace.
So how did we get here, in a position where the city apparently enables illegal construction activity and refuses to acknowledge and enforce Virginia Code laws? Could it be they simply don’t know the law or are not certified to perform those functions?
If official public records stand as fact, then the City of Covington’s Building Department is, and has been in direct violation of the VA code for years. More specifically, the department officials apparently do not possess the required, mandated certificates and experience to officially and legally perform their duties. As stipulated by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), and Virginia Code 13VAC5, the city’s building official shall have at least five years of building experience as a licensed professional engineer or architect, building, fire or trade inspector, contractor, housing inspector or superintendent of building, and must hold certificates and perform continuing education hours in electrical, mechanical and plumbing. Once a building official is hired, he or she has 180 days to obtain the basic set of requirements.
The City’s Building Official has none of these certificates according to the State DHCD database, and on the DPOR site for registered contractors and tradespersons, apparently only holds a Journeyman Electrician’s license, which doesn’t appear to be enough to satisfy the experience portion of the requirements. According to a June 2023 Virginia Review news article, the City’s Building Official assumed the position on July 1, 2023, or exactly 241 days ago from the date of this publication. That means he has already operated for 61 days in violation of the law.
For verification and full transparency, the Shadow’s team reached out to Mayor Sibold and City Manager Dressler for comment. Sibold and Dressler seemed surprised about their building department situation and hearing about the potential infractions going on at the 410 building. They promised to immediately look into the matter and respond.
A couple of days later, Mr. Dressler responded and acknowledged the city’s building officials were indeed out of compliance, and indicated their building official is now “studying” to rectify the situation. “Until then, stated Dressler, “Thomas Seabolt, the Bath County Inspector will be performing our inspections.”
Mr. Dressler also stated and confirmed that the 410 on Main Corporation was also in violation of the Virginia Code and were now immediately taking steps to correct their compliance issues. Dressler confirmed 410 on Main Corporation had just hired a Class A plumbing contractor within the past day or two and was in the process of finalizing a Class A electrical contractor. Dressler further stated, “An asbestos inspector did a walk-through and found no issues.” Dressler stated, “The City of Covington has good relations with the owners, and is in full support of the 410 on Main St Project.” The Shadow was able to confirm a new Building Permit dated Feb 22, 2024, on the door of the 410 Main St building indicating a Chuck White Heating and Air would be handling the plumbing work, but no electrical contractor has been engaged at the time of publication.
Oddly, last Friday afternoon Feb 23, Covington’s citizens were abuzz with discussion around the issuance of a “Stop Work” order. Some said it was for the 410 on Main St property due to code violations. Others said it was issued by the Virginia DHCD to the city for violating their requirements. The Shadow team reached out to Mr. Dressler, the City Manager to confirm the rumors, and Mr. Dressler stated, “I cannot speak on the matter.”
The Shadow team then reached out to Gray Lane, co-owner of 410 on Main Corporation to confirm whether he had received a stop work order. As of publication, Mr Lane has not responded. Interestingly, 410 on Main Corporation is now also claiming ownership of the property, though the official Deed still lists the owner of the building as Mountain Hospitality LLC (VA company). This makes a third company with a potential ownership claim to the building.
Shadowers, what is troubling here isn’t the potential illegal and unethical actions performed by individual staff in the city’s legal and building departments, nor the apparent construction violations at the 410 Main Street property. These are just fragmented reflections of a much larger, systemic problem at hand. This seems to be a leadership problem starting at the very tip of the iceberg.
Are we witnessing our elected public officials, who have full knowledge and power, approving and allowing their building department and construction sites to continue to operate while apparently in clear violation of the Virginia Code? Or knowing and allowing their City Attorney to apparently perform legal functions that may show instances of gross negligence in due diligence, and fact-checking and could possibly be considered a participant in illegal and unethical activities?
Does this not warrant a public accountability outcry to the officials we elected into office to represent us? Doesn’t this potentially demonstrate a failure to uphold the responsibilities entrusted to them by the public and the state, showing a lack of commitment to the basic tenets of their offices? Aren’t local and state laws and regulations established for a purpose, designed to ensure the safety, health, and welfare of the public, and not for fostering shortcuts and side deals to a select few?
The Shadow is incredibly disheartened about having to constantly report on such negative topics. But, because of your voice, the community voice, the good news is, you have been the catalyst of change. The city is finally addressing its building department issues. They are finally enforcing code compliance on construction sites. This is real progress.
However, why did it take your loud, brave voices to affect this change? Shouldn’t our officials inherently “do the right thing” from the onset? Why have we been accepting for years that our elected officials can allegedly operate above the law? Are we looking the other way because they are a friend, a religious person, or a coworker? So far I’ve not been able to find any paragraph in the Virginia code that says, “These laws apply to everyone, except the officials from the City of Covington.”
I’m out of time, out of coffee, but never out of hope that one day soon, the Shadow’s stories will turn clear and sparkle once again like your favorite, charming, babbling brook.
