Thoughts.com Blogs - Camden Association of Street Properties

If any readers have information on these crooks contact me at caspcrooks_inc@yahoo.co.uk

IN October 2004 I was elected as treasurer of a newly set up borough wide residents group named the Camden Association of Street Properties (CASP).

I later discovered that casp is a housing mafia 'initiative' to 'show' that camden council has in place a borough wide group such as 'casp'. The housing directorate did try (and fail) to 'formally' set up casp in 2002 because residents were not interested.

In 2003 david rodgers and petra dando (two tenant 'thugs') offered to take on casp and get it set up for camden council. Also enlisted were a few like minded cronies who could be counted on to do as they were told, including backing rodgers and dando up when complaints are made about their conduct.

Casps 'success' at being set up is partly due to the help of casps now arch enemies cftra, who gave casp £15,000 to 'relaunch' itself. This is over and above what cftra normally gives to tenant groups but cftra were prepared to do this. It is also due to a report given by a past cftra tenant support worker, who 'sexed up' casp and the attendance levels at various informal open meetings.

There was however a 'falling out' between the 'leaders' of cftra and the casp 'leaders' rodgers and dando and casps funding was handed back to the council. CFTRA is the main outsourced (or arms length) body responsible for providing tenant groups with set up and admininstration costs.

Dando and rodgers were given a housing transfer to a street property flat around the same time they took on casp. Dando's mother was also given a transfer to a sought after street property flat with garden in belsize park. Dando and rodgers were given ANOTHER housing transfer 2 years later. Another crony committee member geoff smith also obtained a transfer to a street property flat. All four were estate based in Gospel Oak.

I would suggest anyone who has been on or is currently on camden councils long housing waiting list and have been for years, to ask camden council why these casp committee members and their families managed so easily to obtain these transfers especially when the demand for suitably social housing in camden far outstrips the supply and has done for years.

I had never been involved with a residents group before and was when I joined the casp committee was very naive to the politics of resident participation and the general 'working practices' of residents 'reps' and soon realised that responsibility, transparency, accountability, decency and professionalism are ideals very much lacking within the working structures of resident participation. I was and still am very disappointed by how these so-called tenant reps behave. They beleive it is right and just to mimic the bad practices of housing officers and that is ok to habitually abuse others. It isn't ok.

The casp chair rodgers and secretary dando (who live together) and who have been very active in tenant participation for many years, were and still are very much in the driving seat as far as casp is concerned and spent casps first year and a half maneuvering casp (themselves) into a position of 'authority' within the hierarchy of tenant participation. This was fully supported by the housing department and successive housing executives despite complaints about how this group operated.

August 2005 casp committee meeting
Things came to head at the Aug 2005 casp committee meeting when nearing its end the casp secretary petra dando became very 'distressed' about how 'hard' she was working and that no one appreciated her, etc etc etc (get the violins out) and at first I was taken in by her 'distress' until she complained about not receiving any help - I had previously helped her by writing up the results of a small survey carried out at a casp general meeting of residents main housing concerns.

However when she read them out to the committee at a meeting the results did not tally with what I had written up - this surprised me and did make me wonder why was she 'altering' the facts? When I again at a later date offered to help her she had refused me. I believe she did not want me to have access to any information concerning casp and this again was evident when 3 requests I made to her to see the complaints she claimed she was receiving from residents were ignored.

Why then was she acting the victim and claiming to be hard done by? very odd indeed. I was later to discover that acting 'distressed' and making outrageous and false allegations is a manipulative habit of dandos. I would suggest therapy.

Dando then threw an allegation at a committee member that he was 'looking at her funny' whatever this meant. It was said in what I thought was such an aggressive demeaning and dramatic manner that this committee member visibly sank back in his chair. I felt sorry for him as he was a mild mannered and quiet man and I could see how embarrassed and assaulted he looked by her attack. He left casp a few months later.

This accusation was backed up by ms dando's crony ziata collins, again in what I thought was an aggressive and spiteful manner. Dando then turned on me over a half joking remark I had previously made about 'justifying the pages' of the minutes and then went on to belittle me in front of the committee by saying amongst others things, that I was not experienced enough to help her! HUH! Not sure of what she means by 'experienced enough' as all she had to do as secretary was type up the minutes once a month and send out the occasional letter and judging from the appalling way she does the casp accounts, I'd say she needs all they help she can get.

Prior to dando's outburst the then housing executive raj chada was at the meeting to give a talk about the restructuring that was going on in the council (this was rodgers/dando version as to why he was there). I thought this odd as he had already given one at a previous casp meeting. As the meeting went on it became evident that what he was really there for was to sort out the personal housing problem of casp committee member ziata collins, who had complaints about the capital works carried out at her home. She had already been awarded £12,000 in a settlement and was even set up in a hotel for a month paid for by the council.

Despite the casp constitution stating that committee meetings were not for the benefit of individual members, cllr chada agreed to become personally involved. So much for procedures and constitutions when even the housing executive was willing to ignore them.

C.A.S.P. CODE OF CONDUCT
For Committee, District and Borough-Wide Meetings
1. Conduct of meetings
f) Remember that the purpose of the meeting is to benefit residents generally and not specific individuals

A reporter from the CNJ was also invited to the meeting but was hurried out by ziata collins when he entered the room. Despite collins claiming to be severely disabled she was able to quickly jump up out of her chair without aid and usher him out of the room. Wow its a miracle shes cured? (caught on cam 'severely disabled' ziata collins) I later phoned up the reporter who informed me that he was asked to the meeting by the casp chair david rodgers as there was a possible spring grove story (the contractors who had carried out the work on ziata collins home). At a later committee meeting rodgers lied to the committee as to why the reporter was there.

When collins first joined casp she would attend meetings with a collar brace on, bandages on ankles, wrist supports plus walking stick, and would speak with a very hoarse voice. Most of these 'disabilities' have since been discarded. Ms collins has a blue parking badge and a disabled parking bay directly outside her home and a mobility car, all because she is claiming to be severely disabled.

Whats remarkable though is that ms collins can jump out of chairs and quickly usher reporters out of the room, walk up stairs without aid as I have witnessed and is often seen by her neighbours striding along the street where she lives, at quite a remarkable speed! I have seen this speed walking myself - shes walks faster than I do! From all evidence I believe that ms collins is not as disabled as she claims to be. What is camden council doing about this fraud? NOTHING as usual.

Following this disgraceful August 05 committee meeting I emailed the chair to put forward my concerns about what had gone on at the meeting.

September 2005 casp committee meeting
At the following committee meeting in September 05 I 'had to' relay to the committee what my concerns were. I'm not a great orator or experienced public speaker and did feel quite nervous about having to 'address' the committee. This was not helped by david rodgers who to my surprise when he read out the email I had sent about my concerns mis-quoted much of what I had said, which I believe he did deliberately to 'turn around' my concerns to make me look unreasonable. I felt very much frowned upon for 'daring to complain'. I also felt that the casp chair and secretary did their utmost to intimidate me through out the meeting and to make me look bad. I was not able to fully express my concerns.

Later events were to produce the same 'blocking tactics', when another committee member attempted to bring his concerns about them to the committee.

He informed me that following the AUGUST 2005 meeting where dando had belittled me and the other member, dando phoned him up and preceded to 'slag me off' and to pursuade him of what a 'nasty person' I am. He was not interested in listening to her and informed her so. This lead to an argument to which he informed her that he was not happy with her and the chairs general behaviour and that he was going to bring his concerns to the committee.

He also informed me that david rodgers the casp chair had come to his home the day before the September 2005 meeting and that they had argued and rodgers had called him 'ungrateful' as he (rodgers) had gotten £4,000 taken off his leaseholder bill for capital works carried out. Was rodgers saying that he could influence david padfield, then head of Home Ownership now AD Housing Management into 'favouring' this committee member because of his membership on casp?

Whatever rodgers was saying this committee member informed him he was not going to be bribed into being silent.

At the casp committee meeting the following day david padfield entered the room and dando jumped up from her chair and whisked him out of the room. The next day the committee member phoned up padfield who just happened to have his file in front of him. Needless to say this committee member did not receive a discount on his bill.

A few months earlier dando had enlisted this elderly, disabled, Indian man at a casp general meeting. Dando promised to 'lighten his burden' and help with his housing problems. How kind is she? They became very friendly, but this turned sour when he disagreed with rodgers and dando over how they were behaving.

Shortly after rodgers home visit to this committee member dando and rodgers used holborn CID to intimidate him into being silent. Dando was very 'distressed' when she went crying to cid and told them a pack of lies about how this committee member was harassing them and that she was in fear for her life!

This committee member was visited at home by two police officers from Holborn CID who informed him that he was being accused of harassment and that he was not to contact rodgers or dando or any other committee members!, that he was not to go anywhere near them! They were quite gruff with him and did not want to hear his version of events. This police visit took him by complete surprise and scared him considerably, and he was duly intimidated! The casp thugs plan had worked.

I was later to discover that enlisting the help of various 'obliging' police officers in camden is dando and rodgers usual mode of operation when wanting to intimidate others. This is a tactic also used by housing officers.

I will point out that this committee member is an elderly, disabled gravely ill gentleman who is still recovering from a triple heart bypass and stroke plus various other debilitating illness's to which have steadily deteriorated.

These two thugs knew full well how ill is was/is and his vulnerability yet this did not stop them stitching him up by telling malicious lies to the police in order to intimidate him, and to which caused him much distress and upset. These two thugs have no boundaries to how low they will stoop to protect the little and craved after 'authority' they think they have. They really are dispictable.

What kind of people do this sort of thing to a vulnerable member of their community? one they claim they are a 'lifeline' to - just to protect their 'position' on a piddly tenants group ? To this day I remain utterly disgusted and outraged that they would stoop so low as to treat a vulnerable person this way.

I am also disgusted that despite this incident being reported to the police and housing officers responsible for casp it was ignored and covered up. And of course well done to holborn cid for faciliating these two thugs.

Hustings to oust us from the committee
In October 05 a 'hustings' was arranged by dando and rodgers, to which myself and the other committee member did not attend. On my part because of intimidation and because the other committee member had just come out of hospital following an eye operation. I thought it vital that both of us attend or not at all.

What a hustings this turned out to be! We were both discredited by dando and rodgers and from the minutes its seemed that the rest of the committee had turned against us. A vote was taken to 'expel' us from the committee.

Dando as secretary that same night send out idential letters to us asking for our resignations, without any reasons given. We did not comply with her request and did not resign. However we did not attend further casp committee meetings due to this obvious hostility and intimidation and because at that time we were not equiped to 'effectively fight our corner'. Committee members were blocking our emails and dando and rodgers were issuing all kinds of legal threats against us which is their usual MO.

Fiddling the casp accounts
Information gathered from a very reliable source (a then camden councillor) informs that david rodgers and petra dando were investigated by the council in late 2005 for 'inappropriate use of the funds' that were given to casp and continue to be given to casp, as well as rodgers having his taxi card (discounted taxi service paid for by the council for severely disabled people) taken off him for again mis-use. He and dando now have to take the bus - how distressing it must be for them.

Rodgers isn't actually disabled in the sense that he can't get around and use public transport or even walk up and down stairs and is another casp committee member who is 'swinging the lead'. What is it with these scrongers and freeloaders?

This fraud was not relayed to the full casp committee.

Jan 06 casp agm
In Jan 06 at casps 2nd AGM casp failed to produce their Annual Statement of Accounts. CASP were allowed to get away with this by camden council and went on to receive more funds. Producing the accounts is a requirement of funding and is clearly stated in casps constitution.... in fact it is stated twice in casps constitution!

Perhaps the casp constitution needs to be written BIG AND BOLD because both council officers and casp obviously have problems reading it.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGS
A. The Association shall hold an AGM once each calendar year and not more than 15 months shall pass between the date of one AGM and the next.
B. The AGM shall:
• Receive an Annual Report from the Committee;
• Present a Statement of Accounts to Members;
• Elect Officers and Committee Members;
• Vote on amendments to the Constitution (if any);

FINANCE
1) A simple record of Income and Expenditure must be produced each year at the AGM and be available to all members on request.
6) Proper records of all financial transactions must be kept.
7) An independent person will review the books annually.

Why were the casp accounts being withheld? because they had fiddled them.

I did eventually receive a 'statement of sorts' by 'sorts' I mean a rvery sloppy and obviously fraudulent set of accounts and when this was queried with the council it was denied that there was any wrongdoing and a nonsensical reason was given as to why the statement I had received from a housing complaints officer was invalid. I felt very much that things were being covered up.

Nov 2005 letter of warning to casp chair
In Nov 2005 the then AD Housing Management catherine illingworth (now in Renewals) sent a warning letter to casp.

This warning letter was not known about until months later when a councillor made an enquiry about the behaviour of david rodgers and petra dando.

Management of CASP - MSU11034

I am writing in response to your Enquiry regarding conduct of CASP representatives. We have heard several complaints from various residents about conduct of CASP members, much like the complaints that you have forwarded as part of your enquiry.

Residents are advised that if they do have concerns about the conduct of CASP members, then they should be reported to the CASP committee to investigate. As the committee does have its own code of conduct that members are required to adhere to.

Officers have also had some concerns with the way that CASP members have conducted themselves towards Council Officers and other members of CASP.

As a result, the Chair of CASP has been sent a letter asking him to remind the CASP committee of their responsibilities under the code of conduct, and that if any incidents recur in the future that action is taken under the code of conduct.

He has also been advised that failure to do so will be taken seriously by the Council and could affect Casps status and funding arrangements.

With regard to the funding and servicing of CASP, we are currently working with members to agree a CASP Local Compact and to determine their funding level for 2006/7. This is an on-going discussion and will clearly need to consider the on-going conduct of the organisation to ensure that it can function and act in a way that is acceptable to the Council if it is to be provided with funding by the council.

Yours sincerely
Catherine Illingworth

This letter is not being acknowleded by casp or council employess, if it was to be acknowledged action would then need to be taken.

Moira gibb chief executive officer and neil litherland housing mafia bossiosa want casp in place no matter the cost, even at the cost of damaging the 'good' name of Camden council and tenant participation. Professionalism is sadly lacking in camden council.

Despite this letter, when official complaints were made about the behaviour of dando and rodgers they were not investigated properly by complaints officers and when this was challenged I was informed that the council has 'no jurisdiction' over casp and later on I was informed that the council do not fund casp.

I was not allowed to precede with my complaints and was 'advised' by camdens central complaints head officer that if I wasn't happy with the way the council had dealt with it I could go to the LGO...... (as is widely known the LGO are biased in favour of local councils when dealing with residents complaints)

Dando's disgraceful lies and behaviour have not been addressed and to this day remains an outstanding issue and concern.

Heroin involvement
It was brought to my attention by a number of concerned Camden residents who knew david rodgers and petra dando very well from when they lived and operated in Gospel Oak, before they 'got casp, that rodgers has at least two criminal convictions (was imprisoned) for heroin trafficking (used his council home as a 'safe house') and was still participating in his drugs activities whilst chair of Gospel Oak District Management Committee (DMC) period approx 1998-2004.

Many people do not want to believe or choose not to believe or simply ignore, that rodgers who likes to portray himself as a honourable, decent and kindly human being would be involved in such a heinous trade. Isn't that how many crooks and villians portray themselves to the general public? Incidently, for a third drug trafficking offence the Crime [Sentences] Act 1997 states a 7 year prison term is to be given.

Petra dando his girlfriend is alleged to even have informed the police at Kentish Town of his involvement and gave a statement to them, but then withdrew her statement. Allegedly complaints were made about david rodgers heroin activities by concerned residents to the council and police but they were ignored.

As an ongoing concern I brought these allegations to dando when our paths met by accident in the street, and she did not deny them.

Shortly after this I received two anonymous phone calls to my home, from a woman (possibly dando's sister) who firstly relayed something that was kept on my CONFIDENTIAL DATA PROTECTED housing files (obviously not in this case!) the second phone call was left on my answer service and threatened "We're out to get you bitch!".

I believe the person behind these phone calls to be petra dando. I did report these phone calls to the council and the police but they weren't interested. Seems that Camden council and the police aren't interested in much if it doesn't suit them to be.

I also brought the allegations to david rodgers at a dmc meeting and he was not very pleased. "Who told you this?" he demanded as he waved his walking stick around- I thought he was going to hit me with it and asked him to put it down. With all the menace he could muster rodgers informed me "I'm going to have you arrested and imprisoned!"

Stitch me up you mean rodgers?
Make false allegations about me to the police?

I knew by his threat and his lack of denial that the allegations were true. Rodgers has never denied these allegations despite being given ample opportunities to do so.

Why was he allowed to continue being a tenant representative?

Why despite concerns from residents about this heroin involvement was nothing done?

Sabotage by dando
In 2002 petra dando sabotaged the local council election campaign of a rival political member of her Wendling estates residents group. She was thrown off the group because of this. Dando true to her MO involved the police and managed to get the member arrested!

Apparently dando was so 'distressed' by this other member that she claimed to be in fear of her safety! (shes always claiming this and you would think that camden police would have sussed this out by now) She then used her contact in the CNJ to publish the 'story' over a number of weeks and got some of her cronies to write in and back her up. This sabotaged member was successfully elected councilor in the May 2006 council elections.

However, dando again caused this councillor trouble by making a complaint to her party when she 'dared to' speak out in an email about dando/rodgers being up to their 'old tricks'.

You need a good f**king shag
At a public meeting a few months before casp was 'officially' set up at the Oct 04 AGM petra dando verbally abused an elderly woman at a public meeting in Highgate Newtown where dando and rodgers then lived. Ms dando repeatedly screamed at this woman "You need a good f*cking sh*g".

This disgusting outburst was witnessed by many and complaints were made about it to Kentish Town DHO and the complaints were upheld. Ms dando was however merely given a slap on the wrist and was allowed to continue with her aims at getting casp set up. This 'incident' was kept from the then unofficial casp committee members, to which I was one.

Cllr Jill Fraser
Dando is also alleged to have harassed and intimidated Lib Dem cllr Jill Fraser for many years to the point of near emotional breakdown.

False allegation made AGAIN by dando
In Nov 2006 petra dando AGAIN made false allegations to the police, of being harassed and intimidated by myself and another resident.

She was 'very distressed' when she made her allegations and a kind and obliging police officer again at the Holborn branch, assisted her in her attempt to intimidate us by sending us identical emails stating that 'despite no evidence' he was warning us to 'keep away' and that he would be 'monitoring the situation'. WHAT!! I hadn't 'harassed' and 'intimidated' anyone!

I did argue against the utter nonsense of this email and made my own complaint to the police about ms dando's nasty habit of making false allegations to them but they weren't interested. Seems that ms dando can manipulate the police by giving numerous false reports against numerous residents and they seem only to willing to oblige, but when a complaint is made against her they aren't interested!! how is that fair and just? how is that not discrimination? why are they protecting her? Very bad practice by Camden Police Officers.

Please note that by the time casp held its 2nd agm in Jan 06, six committee members had chosen to not put themselves up for re-election, two of them because of the conduct of the casp chair david rodgers and casp secretary petra dando, possibly all.

Casp AGM April 2007
Casp held their 3rd agm on 24th April 07 to elect a new committee and to give the casp annual report and accounts to their members.

However yet again these minutes and reports are not being made available to the public by the casp committee (namely the casp 'leaders' rodgers and dando). When I requested them through karen orr she sent my request to the FOI unit, without explaining why. This lead me to believe she was deliberately obstructing me.

If she had bothered to explain that she had sent my request to FOI because casp (rodgers and dando) were refusing me access to them, claiming protection under the data protection act, it would have saved me a lot of time and bother.

I guess ms orr didn't think I warranted being provided with an explanation and does again show the contempt many of camden councils housing officers show for tenants, especially tenants who are not in 'favour'.

I can't imagine what could be in the agm minutes that could possibly be so personally 'sensitive' and cause them 'harm' as they are stating and therefore be exempt from public readership. Maybe they were discussing national security at the agm and signed up to be secret agents or something. They hold a public meeting, in public, and paid for out of public money but will not make the minutes public - very authoritarian and Macavelian indeed.

PS
Another nasty habit dando, rodgers, collins and ewing have and which is over and above the 'call of duty' and decency is that of deliberately approaching their 'victims' neighbours to stir up trouble, particularly if they know you are having a dispute with a neighbour. This has been done to quite a few targets of theirs including myself.

They also like to offer 'legal' advice to victims neighbours on how they can stitch you up with the police and the council. This behaviour is plain nasty and vindictive. Sending out malicious anonymous 'information' about 'their targeted' victim is another nasty trait of these thugs. I understand they plan such things very strategically.

End thought
At a casp meeting dando shouted at the then housing executive raj chada that she was going to sue the council over alleged drug dealing problems that she claimed were happening outside her home, she was clearly 'distressed' about the matter. Lets hope the nasty and highly addictive drug heroin wasn't involved, as one might be forgiven for thinking 'the garden gnome is up to his old tricks again'.