A tangled web we weave

Some may have not noticed this news, but it has possible implications on the A's; Terry Gregory, a councilman from the 7th district in San Jose, resigned Tuesday amidst controversy surrounding gifts and conflicts of interest. When one looks at the list, there is a blaring item: 4 tickets to a June 2003 Oakland A's game. That should be enough for an A's fan to be a little curious.

But it goes further... much, much further. Mr. Gregory's friend, Christopher Schumb, described to the council, in detail, how he received these tickets. Apparently, Mr Schumb was not a fan of baseball so he asked an associate if he knew how he could get tickets to the highly-sought after game. That associate turns out to be Mr. John DiNapoli; that name may not seem too familiar with you, but it should, for you see John turns out to be the brother of Mr. J. Philp "Phil" DiNapoli, president of JP DiNapoli Companies INC. This company is firmly rooted in San Jose. So what does that mean? How is that relevant? Well, it goes even further, because Phil just so happens to be co-partner of Wolff-DiNapoli. Hmm, so that's what you are getting at.

Of course, it could just be a case of coincidence, but one has to question, is there any motivation to give him tickets? Well, I don't think so, but it is possible. Had Gregory not been uncovered, he would have finished his last term in office by 2006; of course not enough time to do anything with a stadium. But the last time his former district was re-zoned was in 2001; whether time was coming to re-districted it, I am not sure. But the northern-most edge of his district is just a few short blocks away from the potential site of an A's stadium; being able to redistrict that site to allow a "business-friendly" councilman could have been the agenda. Because fellow councilman, Ken Yeager, sure doesn't seem to be one.

I also want to point out that Wolff-DiNapoli is described as a "privately-held investment and real estate acquisition, development and management company." Sounds like just the people to call when you want to develop a plot of land.

Again, I do not accuse of any wrong-doing, for all I know, Mr. Gregory was sincere in wanting tickets to see the A's. But the investigative part of me had to throw this out there: according to the Metro, he didn't even go to the game.

Though Mayor Ron Gonzales did want Terry to resign, he appointed Cindy Chavez as the vice-mayor and current councilwomen of District 3 which includes the possible site. She now has the ability to lead any pursuit of the A's; a change in plans? You be the judge.