Know the Facts before reporting

[Guest guest]

I sent this letter to 20/20 a few days ago. With it I attached copies of the court transcripts of ABC "expert" Mr. Elliot and his client Mr. Cattaeno. The client does a perjury number and Elliot admits he works for the state of Massachusetts. In Cross he admitted he was a hired gun fir the builders. I doubt if ABC cares that they use these types of "experts'" in their news reporting. Here are state employees that ABC says are experts that are protecting corrupt builders that are ripping off citizens and banks. I invite ABC to report on Toxic Mold from my home.

December 10, 2002

Ms. Walters

20/20

ABC News

New York, NY

Dear Ms. Walters;

Several years ago, 20/20 did a segment on home inspectors and what can happen to home owners from corrupt inspectors. At that time I contacted you and asked you if you were aware of the "expert" ABC used as your inspector. You never bothered to reply.

The Mr. Elliot that you used admitted in sworn court testimony that he was a hired gun. He admitted it was his job to downplay the illegal construction he was testifying about. The case was against the builders of our Centerville Massachusetts home.

For your review, if you care about the TRUTH and ACCURACY in reporting, I have attached Elliot 1 - 5. These are the Court Transcripts of your "expert" witness in our trial. You'll notice he works for the state of Massachusetts yet represents builders that break the law he is paid to enforce.

If you care to know the rest of the story, you can get a copy of his cross-examination in which he states he is a hired gun and admits that his clients built our home with many building, fire and safety code violations. The case is 94-433 in Barnstable Massachusetts Court.

His clients weren't much better as witnessed in CATT 1 - 2. Under oath he states that they did no building and never told anybody they did. I guess they forgot about their loan application to a Federally licensed bank and the Town Building permit. I think to lie under oath on a major matter is PERJURY.

The sad part is that our Attorney knew of the perjury and remained silent. His silence and negligence cost my family hundreds of thousands of dollars. I'm told our Attorney is related to one of the parties in our case but the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers refuses to make him state if there is any relationship. So much for Justice in Massachusetts!

A jury knew that Elliot's clients had built the home in violation of local, state and federal laws and found in our favor. It seems he was paid before his clients went bankrupt so they never paid us. If the Jury had been allowed to know the TRUTH, our award would have been required to be much higher.

We learned a few years ago that this illegal construction led to the growth of Toxic Mold. This Toxic Mold is the worst of the worst, Stachybotrys atra. The US Army calls it a cousin of anthrax and deadly. The CDC recently told me in writing, in response to the President, that the Mold is a health danger.

It seems that you and ABC never let the truth get into your reporting. It seems you used only the experts that furthered your agenda rather than confirming the truth. You fail to alert Americans to a health danger that can cause injury to them and their children! With Freedom of the Press comes a responsibility to tell the TRUTH!

If you doubt those of us that have suffered the dangers health effects from Toxic mold, I suggest you ask President Bush. As Governor of Texas, his family became ill from Toxic Mold in the Governor's Mansion. Texas paid 500 thousand dollars to remove the danger. Is this not NEWS? Review the CDC2 letter that I have attached.

On October 28, 2002 my family and I became homeless. Neither fire, an act of God nor natural disaster forced us from our home and into the street. Instead, it was the combined illegal actions of our builders, Town and State that are responsible.

Corrupt builders, officials and their illegal acts have done more harm to my family than any natural disaster, armed thieves, terrorists or foreign invader. They have stolen our health, home and possessions. We refuse to surrender our dignity and integrity.

Sadly, while all this has been happening to us, our community has remained silent. No one has bothered to come forward with words of hope, anger or action to help. We find ourselves alone. Our American dream has been ruined.

To understand what has caused our situation you need to know our story. It is a tragedy that didn't have to happen and shouldn't have happened. It shows that our local and state government was more interested in protecting themselves and their jobs and pensions than hard working citizens.

Our home was falling down on us due to illegal and unsafe construction knowingly allowed by our town and performed by our state and the original builders. Due to this illegal construction, high levels of dangerous Toxic Molds invaded our home, our bodies, our lungs and our blood.

When I first saw the mold growing, I contacted my local insurance agent. I had told them of the illegal construction earlier. I wanted to know, as I had been told by others, if we had coverage in spite of the mold and illegal construction. I read the policy and it seemed there was no coverage and the agent agreed.

It wasn't until about a year later, after putting my request in writing that an adjuster came to our home. They said the Toxic Mold was a byproduct of the illegal construction of the original builders, the illegal modifications made by the state and the failures of the town to inspect at any time of any of the construction.

They said nothing was covered. In spite of this they continue to bill us for homeowners insurance on a home they said has no value and must be destroyed. They said all of our belongings, also not covered, must also be destroyed. They are ruined by the Toxic Mold. We received our latest bill a week after they said our home, land and belongings have no value.

While fighting for our lives and health, I took the time to write State and Federal Toxic Mold and Construction Lemon Laws. If our State and Federal politicians cared about the safety of Americans, Laws such as this would be unneeded because they would have been passed years ago. Instead, we get politics as usual.

There are many stories similar to ours but ABC does not find them "NEWS WORTHY". Instead, you allow people with no background or first hand knowledge to pollute America's air waves. You fail to allow anybody that has suffered from Toxic Mold to show the truth.

This is unfair and Un-American. It is not what those in professional journalism should be doing. Has ABC forgotten about fairness or are your ratings more important than people and families?

Ken Moulton

Lawton, OK

580-581-1657

formerly of

Centerville, MA