Great JOB City of Toledo!

Why does this not surprise me.

People in our neighborhood are piling their storm trash onto city property so that someone else will pick it up, instead of taking care of it themselves. :-(

To be fair, I'm sure Mike Bell did not order the crew to the house.

This strikes me more as a city employee that could use a truck, got a few friends, and ransacked a vacant house. That, to me, smacks more of the misuse, abuse, and entitlement seen in the "Dept. of Neighborhoods" scandal earlier this year. If you remember, city property wasn't locked up, was stolen, other items missing, people couldn't be bothered to show up to work on time, etc. Sounds like a similar situation here.

Is someone working at the city related to the deceased? How did the "crew" have access to the house? Did the deceased have other family...and why aren't we hearing from them? Didn't the property pass on to them...and aren't they responsible (somewhat) for maintaining the property?

I swear...if you see anything unusual in your neighborhood, take your handy dandy smartphone and take a minute or two of footage or pictures...because you know this investigation is going nowhere. It's the neighbors word against the city and the city says "nope, we never sent anyone there".

Lastly, if shit has been in the street for a month, why don't the neighbors (who know the house is empty and the owner deceased) "flash mob" the damn place and at least clean up the front yard. Probably take a couple hours...and then they wouldn't have to care if the place fell in upon itself. Legally, probably not "right"...but hell, if you're living next to a garbage pile that (as noted in the article) could harm people and animals, why not just round up some folks and pitch the mold infested couch, boards, etc.?

^ The comments field with the original article has this same suggestion. Really, just do it. Make it into a work party and have a picnic when you're done.

I like how the article says, "The City says", who exactly said that? And how could anyone in any position of authority say something like, "Someone could have taken a city vehicle and went there.". That is hilarious.
After my dealings with the city, I agree. Anyone could take a city vehicle and do what they want and no one would seem to care or know about it. No accountability.

One other thought. I'd like to have the neighbors describe the vehicle better. Old city vehicles are sold and if the decal on the side isn't removed completely, it could appear as still being a city vehicle. Also, a similar circle decal could also give the appearance of being a city vehicle.
Another "loose end" story by the blade.