Last week, FOX-9 reported,
Brooklyn Center City Council unanimously revokes licenses for hotels subject of sex trafficking raid.
Um. What?
The Brooklyn Center City Council unanimously revoked the licenses for the Super 8 and Travelodge on James Circle Drive. A September 9 raid led investigators to identify at least 18 trafficking victims and uncover drugs, guns and cash at the hotels.
Details,
According to police, images from the Super 8 showed hundreds of condoms at the front desk and unwrapped inside a room. There were also photos of drugs, garbage piled high and a smoke detector covered with a Dot’s Pretzels bag.
You may recall that September raid. KSTP-5 reported at the time,
23 arrested as police raid 4 Brooklyn Center hotels; long-term guests displaced in trafficking probe
“Long-term guests”? From KSTP,
Officials said support is underway for both trafficking victims and hotel guests who were displaced. Advocates, social workers, and housing partners — including Hennepin County Public Health and Safe Harbor — were on site to help people access shelter, services and temporary lodging.
I’m sure that there’s a bigger story there, but perhaps for another time. Back to the sex-trafficking,
The coordinated operation involved more than 250 personnel from local, county, state and federal agencies. Police executed 31 court‑authorized search warrants at the Travelodge, Super 8, Baymont and Suburban Studios, according to Brooklyn Center Police Chief Garett Flesland.
The two hotels shut down by the city had long been problem properties, generating 3 to 4 police calls per day. Another category of real estate taking up lots of police resources in Brooklyn Center and neighboring Brooklyn Park is group homes. MPR News has been on the case for months, reporting back in April,
Group homes licensed by the Health Department drive growth — and problems — in Brooklyn Park
MPR notes that group homes are licensed by the state Dept. of Health (MDH), under the category of “assisted-living facilities.” The Health department licenses 2,550 such facilities across Minnesota, a figure up by about two-dozen since late August. At times this year, MDH has been approving new group homes at a rate of more than one per day. Of course, you the taxpayer are paying the costs of operating these facilities.
Some numbers to consider:
- Hennepin County’s population is about 1.3 million, around 22 percent of the state total
- Hennepin County has 1,069 licensed assisted living facilities, 42 percent of the state total
Within Hennepin County:
- Brooklyn Park has a population of about 84,000, around 6 percent of the county total
- Brooklyn Park has 237 licensed-assisted living facilities, 22 percent of the county total
And,
- Brooklyn Center has a population of about 32,000, around 2 percent of the county total
- Brooklyn Center has 149 licensed assisted living facilities, 14 percent of the county total
To recap: taxpayer-funded group home/assisted living facilities are disproportionately located in Hennepin County. Within Hennepin County, they are disproportionately located in the adjacent cities of Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center.
And it’s the fake group homes that you really need to worry about. From MPR News last month,
Liberian official’s Minnesota group home accused of overbilling Medicaid
MPR adds,
A group home in Brooklyn Center run by a government official in Liberia billed the state for numerous services its residents did not need or did not receive, a state investigation found.
Yes, you read that correctly. A Liberian government official, who lives in Liberia, is somehow running a group home in Brooklyn Center, while living in Liberia, that’s overbilling Medicaid. America truly is a great nation. MPR reports,
Over the past decade, Dukuly has had a hand in 24 group homes in the Twin Cities metro area, mostly in the northwestern suburbs. During that time, the state paid companies linked to him nearly $44 million.
As they used to say, “Champagne wishes and caviar dreams.”