It’s been a pattern in Dayton for decades: well-connected developers scoop up blighted property for a song, let it rot, skip their taxes, and then get rewarded when the City swoops in to buy it back at a premium. But the latest sweetheart deal to buy the crumbling DP&L Steam Plant and an adjacent dilapidated diner for $1.4 million from a known speculator—who paid just $383,000 total—might be the most brazen yet.
Let’s be clear: these two properties are liabilities, not assets. The former DP&L steam plant hasn’t had a functioning roof in years. It’s structurally unsound, with likely environmental contamination. The diner next door had its kitchen gutted years ago. Together, the sites have racked up years of unpaid taxes and liens. County Treasurer John McManus was preparing to foreclose. That should have been the City’s leverage to acquire these properties for what they’re truly worth: less than $400,000 combined. Instead, City Manager Shelley Dickstein is paying nearly four times that amount. Where’s the emergency?
Manufactured Urgency
Major Paul Saunders of the Dayton Police Department took the podium on May 7 to make the case for an emergency ordinance to push the deal through. But what he offered was nothing more than scripted vagueness. He referenced a recent shooting at the RTA bus hub as justification for rushing the purchase. And yet, the Dave Hall Plaza, which is closer to the RTA hub, City-owned, and shovel-ready, wasn’t even considered.
Note, the last time the city built a new substation on Salem opened in 1991, it came along with a huge demolition contract to do away with the public housing projects Edgewood Courts and Yuma Place nearby in the following 2 years.
Saunders dodged every question about costs, timelines, or whether any due diligence had occurred. When asked about appraisals? None. When asked about alternative sites? Silence. He stated, incredibly, that it was urgent to act now because otherwise they’d have to wait two more weeks. Two weeks. For a property that’s been rotting for 20 years.
If I was paid to do this, and I wasn’t recovering from a hip replacement, I’d edit a liars highlight reel from the commission meeting. I’d also showcase Mims being rude AF to Shenise Turner Sloss, and treating Darryl Fairchild like a child. You can watch the whole debauchery of a “Public Meeting” here:
Meanwhile, Commissioner Darryl Fairchild tried to delay the vote. He was ignored. Shenise Turner Sloss could have forced a reconsideration by voting no—but didn’t. Only Fairchild voted against the deal.
Please note: DPD officer Jordan Wortham was fired over “lying” about a personal domestic issue, why both Saunders, Dickstein aren’t fired for this is proof positive that the Monarchy of Montgomery County protects its own (because we’d need an entirely new jail to house all the criminals in office in this county). Speaking of which, I’m still working on another video exposing the Montgomery County Jail which should be the final nail in the coffin of Sheriff Streck and his House of Horrors.
Shelley Dickstein’s Demolition Legacy
City Manager Shelley Dickstein’s real estate track record is a trail of taxpayer-funded wreckage. She:
- Paid $800K for the burned-out Ecki building at Wayne and Wyoming after it had been on the market pre-fire for $250K. After sitting vacant for 20 years- they are giving it away for $80K to Liberty Charter School. There was never a for sale sign on the site.
- Bought the KeyBank Paru Tower for $500K without a public use plan (May 18, 2016). The building that just dropped its parapet in a windstorm causing the city to have to spend $1.9M in repairs.
- Spent millions acquiring parcels for a new Kroger on Wayne/Wyoming, without securing Kroger’s commitment (see Ecki building and posts on this site for background).
- Presided over the demolition debacle at the Schwind and Dayton Daily News buildings, which cost double and included unauthorized demolition by Steve Rauch Inc.
Steve Rauch, the city’s former go-to demolition contractor, was later indicted for fraud. Now the only demo game left is Bladecutters, making every “redevelopment” decision an automatic win for one firm. Whaley long ago sunk a really good demolition company because they didn’t pay here off. This is not economic development. This is a demolition racket.
Dirty Deals Done Dirt Cheap
This same playbook has been used before. The former Patterson Co-op site—an entire greenfield city block downtown—was sold to CareSource for $1M, despite being worth twice that. No competitive bidding. No appraisal. Just another taxpayer-funded subsidy for the insiders.
The Steam Plant deal is even worse. This St. Clair site is far worse off. Even if the city takes ownership, it will be years and at least $1M in site remediation and demolition before construction could begin.
FBI: Where Are You?
We’ve seen this before. In 2019, the FBI ran an operation they called “Demolished Integrity”, exposing a “Culture of Corruption” in Dayton. But their indictments curiously only targeted Black officials. Commissioner Joey Williams served time. White political figures like Nan Whaley, who reportedly received cash via intermediaries like Willis Blackshear Sr., were never charged. Whaley dropped out of her mayoral re-election last-minute and let Jeff Mims step in, and then raised over $8M for a failed gubernatorial run. Note: Commissioner Williams was caught by the FBI accepting bribes, became a Confidential Source, and was allowed to stand for re-election with an agreement to step down, if he won. Supposedly, he was going to be a witness to prosecute Whaley and others. Whaley now is the CEO of Planned Parenthood of SW Ohio and still in the backroom doing deals. If she has nothing to hide- release the FBI tapes that were played to the Grand Jury- and let the public decide.
We have the unsealed FBI warrants, wiretap evidence, GPS tracking orders—all pointing to broader corruption. But no action. Why? Because the players today look an awful lot like the players then. And one of the lead FBI agents, Lance Kepple, now gets paid by the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s office.
Conclusion: Fight Now or Pay Forever
This deal reeks. It rewards tax cheats and speculators. It ignores shovel-ready, publicly owned sites. It lacks appraisals, cost projections, or public oversight. It funds demolition over revitalization. And it sets up a new wave of insider profiteering right in time for an election.
If the FBI, the Auditor of State, or the voters of Dayton don’t act now, we’ll be here again in five years. Another shady sale. Another fake emergency. Another taxpayer-funded blank check for demolition and decay.
This isn’t public service. It’s public theft.
Timeline of Transactions for the Diner & Steam Plant Properties
| Date | Seller | Buyer | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000-03-23 | Dayton Diner Inc | Fourth & St. Clair LLC | $401,000 | Sheriff’s deed sale (Diner only) |
| 2004-10-26 | DP&L | Dellsa Development Corp | $300,000 | Off-market sale (Steam Plant) |
| 2006-02-22 | Fourth & St. Clair LLC | Dellsa Development Corp | $501,000 | Internal flip (Diner) |
| 2016-12-29 | Dellsa Development Corp | Hats Off Investment Group | Land Contract | Combined Diner + Steam Plant |
| 2019-03-06 | Dellsa Development Corp | Hats Off Investment Group | $283,138 | Land contract fulfilled (Diner) |
| 2022-02-01 | Dellsa Development Corp | Hats Off Investment Group | $100,000 | Final transfer of Steam Plant |
| 2025-05-07 | Hats Off Investment Group | City of Dayton | $1,400,000 | Approved via emergency ordinance for both properties |
PROPERTY TIMELINE & OWNERSHIP FLOW
Diner: 101 S. St. Clair Street
- 2000: Bought at sheriff’s sale for $401K by Fourth & St. Clair LLC (Edsall).
- 2006: Sold internally to Dellsa Dev. Corp for $501K (inflated flip).
- 2016: Land contract signed with Hats Off Investment Group (Cheri Hathaway).
- 2019: Final sale recorded for $283,138.
- 2024 Auditor value: $350,510 (after a drop to $228K in 2018 from Board of Revision)
Steam Plant: 118 E. 4th Street
- 2004: Sold off-market by DP&L to Dellsa Dev. for $300K.
- 2022: Sold to Hats Off for $100K.
- 2024 Auditor value: $131,200 (down from $391K in 1999, dropped to $265K in 2010 after “building destroyed” tag)
FINANCIAL GAMBIT: ARTIFICIAL INFLATION ? DETERIORATION ? PUBLIC BAILOUT
| Owner | Paid | Year | Sold For | Year | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DP&L | – | – | $300K | 2004 | – |
| Dellsa (Edsall) | $300K | 2004 | $100K | 2022 | –66% loss |
| Edsall LLC to Edsall Inc | $401K ? $501K | 2000–06 | – | – | Internal flip |
| Hats Off (Cheri) | $383K (total) | 2019–22 | $1.4M (City) | 2025 | 266% profit |
ENTITY & ACTOR MAP
| Entity | Key Player(s) | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Dellsa Development Corp | B. Scott Edsall | Original acquirer, flipper, tax scofflaw |
| Fourth & St. Clair LLC | Millard & B. Scott Edsall | Initial purchase vehicle |
| Hats Off Investment LLC | Cheri Hathaway & Greg Dart | Final holder, used to offload assets to City |
| Sparkle Holdings LLC | Hathaway + Atty Joseph Lucas | Likely shell for other real estate plays |
| Infinity Labs LLC | City/ED/GE/Infinity Labs | Got $250K ED/GE grant as “Project Bluebird” |
| City Manager Shelley Dickstein | – | Pushing these deals; pattern of land deals favoring demo firms |
| DDP (Downtown Dayton Partnership) | Mims, Shaw, Wick, Dickstein | Conflict of interest in advocating for this deal |
SUPPORTING PATTERNS & EVIDENCE
- Court Dockets: B. Scott Edsall has an extensive history of civil and financial judgments, including debt-related certificates and foreclosures
- Auditor Valuations: Both parcels were drastically devalued over time, driven by neglect or strategic abandonment.
- Tax Patterns: Powerhouse taxes were chronically unpaid for more than a decade (2008–2023). The diner faced a tax lien sale
- Sale Listings: A 2023 commercial listing tried to push the price to $1.7M, despite documented disrepair and environmental risks
- City Involvement: No other properties were considered. The City rushed the deal in May 2025, with no RFP or appraisal transparency.
- Political Ties: Mims and Wick are running together, with Beckham on the ticket. Mims, Shaw and Dickstein are involved with DDP—along with Wick, a blatant conflict during the vote. But again- DDP is a quasi-governmental slush fund that somehow escaped prosecution by the Feds.
I have a tranche of public records on the properties, too many to post here. If you are the FBI or the State Auditor- or any anti-governmental corruption task force, I’ll be glad to share.
The timing on this whole deal, surfacing a day before the primary, and the vote, the day after, is no coincidence. If voters vote for Mims, Wick or Beckham, and any of them get elected- they will work along with Commissioners Matt Joseph and Chris Shaw to keep the corruption going.
UPDATE
May 20, 20215
The Edsall Money Trail: Mortgages, Shells, and Delayed Foreclosures
Digging through more of the recorded documents paints a clearer picture of how B. Scott Edsall and associates used a series of internal mortgages, long-delayed releases, and ownership flips to maintain control over two blighted downtown properties—the DP&L Steam Plant and the adjacent diner—until the City rushed last week to buy them back at a premium.
The Steam Plant Mortgage Shuffle
Key Documents:
- “2004 10-21 Mortgage, Dellsa Dev Corp to Lorenz Properties LLC – $330,000 (DP&L Powerhouse)”
- “2010 08-26 Mortgage Amendment, Due Date Extended to 2015”
- “2011 10-29 Mortgage Assignment, Lorenz Properties LLC to Geoffrey Lorenz”
- “2017 06-14 Mortgage Release (Paid in Full), Geoffrey Lorenz to Dellsa Dev Corp”
In 2004, Dellsa Development Corp (Scott Edsall) took out a $330,000 mortgage on the steam plant from Lorenz Properties LLC (Weston Lorenz). The due date was extended in 2010. Then in 2011, the mortgage was reassigned to Geoffrey Lorenz (possibly a family member), and ultimately released in 2017. That’s over 12 years of debt floating around without enforcement or foreclosure—despite the building being inactive and likely non-performing.
The Diner’s Mini-Mortgage Game
Key Documents:
- “2011 10-26 Mortgage, Dellsa Dev Corp to Lorenz Properties LLC – $40,000 (Diner Only)”
- “2017 06-14 Mortgage Release (Paid in Full), Geoffrey Lorenz to Dellsa Dev Corp”
A similar pattern played out with the diner. A small $40,000 mortgage was taken out in 2011 and not released until 2017, again with Geoffrey Lorenz releasing it—another example of financial ties that delayed foreclosure or forced sale.
A History of Fraud? The 2004 Steam Plant Mortgage Was Already Under Federal Scrutiny
The same $330,000 mortgage that helped Dellsa Development Corp (Scott Edsall) acquire the DP&L Steam Plant in 2004 was later cited in a federal bankruptcy case as part of a fraudulent scheme.
In In re: Weston A. Lorenz, No. 09-31913, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, S.D. Ohio (March 8, 2011), the court denied motions to dismiss and allowed the Trustee’s claims to proceed against Weston Lorenz, Geoffrey Lorenz, and Lorenz Properties, LLC. The Trustee alleged:
- The mortgage from Lorenz Properties to Dellsa was funded by a personal loan taken out by Weston and his father, then laundered through shell entities.
- Post-petition payments on that mortgage were improperly collected and transferred, instead of being turned over to Weston’s bankruptcy estate.
- The entities involved were alter egos, not independent companies—making it a textbook case of fraudulent conveyance and preferential insider transfers.
The court found the Trustee had shown enough evidence that these were deliberate efforts to shield assets and defraud creditors, including the reassignment of the mortgage to Geoffrey Lorenz just weeks before Weston filed for bankruptcy.
In short, the foundation of the city’s $1.4M land deal rests on property that was already at the center of a federal ruling involving insider loans, bankruptcy abuse, and unpaid debts to creditors.
Internal Paper Shuffle Between Edsall Entities
Key Document:
- “2018 03-30 Mortgage Release, Fourth & St. Clair LLC to Dellsa Dev Corp (DP&L Powerhouse)”
A 2018 mortgage release shows a debt held by Fourth & St. Clair LLC being “released” to Dellsa Dev Corp. Both were controlled by Edsall. This appears to be an internal document designed to clear up liens or make the property look cleaner for resale—without any external financing involved.
Final Flip to Hats Off Investment Group
Key Documents:
- “2018 03-10 Deed, Dellsa Dev Corp to Hats Off Investment Group (Powerhouse only, recorded 2022)”
- “2019 03-04 Deed, Dellsa Dev Corp to Hats Off Investment Group (Diner only)”
These deeds confirm that the Diner and Powerhouse were conveyed to Hats Off Investment Group (controlled by Cheri Hathaway) for a total of $383,138. But the recording of the Powerhouse sale was delayed until 2022, long after the deed was signed in 2018—raising serious questions about why the sale was kept off-record until the city started expressing interest.
What It All Shows
- Edsall kept control of the properties through a combination of unpaid internal mortgages, delayed releases, and friendly shell company transactions. There’s no indication of market-rate interest, regular payments, or external arms-length lending.
- The Lorenz entities (Weston and Geoffrey) acted less like lenders and more like enablers. Mortgages weren’t enforced. No foreclosures occurred, and all were conveniently “released” years later—just in time for the public buyout.
- The properties were effectively warehoused—kept in limbo until they could be offloaded to the City of Dayton. The long delay between the date of sale and recording of the deed to Hats Off (in the case of the Powerhouse) indicates this was a calculated maneuver to obscure ownership and valuation while negotiations or speculation occurred.
This is not how redevelopment is supposed to work. These documents point to a carefully orchestrated timeline of decay, manipulation, and strategic withholding of paperwork—all culminating in a grossly overpriced public buyout. Every step of the process delayed transparency, preserved control, and maximized profit at the taxpayers’ expense.
If the City had acted when the County Treasurer was ready to foreclose—or insisted on a clean, competitive process—none of this should have happened. And now, with the city paying $1.4M for properties last transferred for $383K, the paper trail leads right to the people who profit when Dayton fails.
The Last Word
The FBI and DOJ and the Ohio Attorney General failed miserably in the 2019 investigation. It’s time for a new one. Now.
SONG: Dirty Deals Done in Dayton, by David Esrati
get well we need you
This is some story, David, and a true financial mystery!
How does one arrive at a $1.795 million valuation/sales price for these parcels, knock it down to $1.7 million, then $1.5 million, then $1.4 million, then sell it to the City of Dayton (taxpayers) for $1.4 million, when it is only worth $354,330 and has unpaid delinquent real estate taxes owed of $78,598.20 (county auditor online)?
What do all of these Republicans, realtor Tracy Herron, Dayton PD Major Paul Saunders, Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce President/CEO Chris Kershner (Warren Co resident), and Interim Director of the Downtown Dayton Partnership Steve Stanley, know that Dayton and Montgomery County taxpayers do not? It seems like the entire Democrat Dayton City Commission members and City Manager Shelley Dickstein are in on it or ignorant of it – which is it?
https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/St-Clair-E-4th-St-Redevelopment-Sale/27858439/
https://www.loopnet.com/viewer/pdf?file=https%3a%2f%2fimages1.loopnet.com%2fd2%2fClOvE8Q3Junmpy5_eOngEEHBu4sDCBKjFCYj-NFs34M%2f101%2520S%2520St%2520Clair%2520St%2520and%2520118%2520E%25204th%2520Street%2520Corner%2520For%2520Sale%2520Dayton%2520OH.pdf
If Shelley Dickstein received paperwork 37 days before the May 7, 2025 Dayton City Commission meeting date, and the entire City Commission members first received their copy on April 24th, and the community learned of it for the first time a mere 3 days prior to the May 7th city commission meeting, AND the resolution to buy the two abutting properties was presented as an emergency measure with two back-to-back readings or dire consequences would befall Dayton (per Major Saunders), then one has to seriously question what is really going on here.
“… Commissioner Darryl Fairchild voted against the property purchase after asking for more time to consider it. … “Not passing this could jeopardize this deal,” said Major Paul Saunders of the Dayton Police Department. …”
https://www.daytondailynews.com/local/dayton-may-build-new-downtown-police-station-on-former-diner-vex-nightclub-site/WV2QOWFEBZAIZPWJ6TRLDAHUSI/
It appears some more digging for public records are needed. That Central Business District (CBD) Feasibility Study would be a start. And, the Lorenz family bankruptcy? What about the Lorenz Company’s own bankruptcy and downtown property? WHY is the diner / steam plant site the ONLY suitable PD station site?
Me: OpenAI, please summarize.
OpenAI: Career Democratic politicians are bad.
Me: Thank you.
” … AI models are not the real world, and never will be. Don’t rely on them during important moments when you need support and advice. This is what friends and family are for. If you don’t have those, reach out to a trusted colleague or human experts such as a doctor or therapist.
…
Please don’t use ChatGPT for deeply personal advice. And don’t depend on a single computer system for guidance. Instead, go connect with a friend this weekend. …”
https://www.businessinsider.com/openai-chatgpt-mistake-big-lesson-explained-only-connect-2025-5
Good advice, Potter!
Do your own research. Trust, but verify (Russian proverb / Reagan).
Totally agree with Milissa’s comments. Where are the watchdogs? Get well, David.
There is already a City of Dayton police building and presence downtown in the Safety Building, 335 West Third Street, downtown. The building is currently owned by the City of Dayton, is valued at $4.5 million (per County Auditor), and has been in operation since it was built in 1954. I wonder if Major Saunders considered this.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/330998710746354/posts/the-safety-building-built-in-1954-at-335-w-third-street-in-1934-it-was-the-third/1973570393155836/?_rdr
Courtesy of writer and academic librarian, Andrew Walsh, here is some online history and background information on the diner and power house lots (among other great historical treats in this fascinating body of work – thanks, Andrew!).
Diner:
https://daytonvistas.com/the-diner-on-st-clair-a-history-and-an-uncertain-future/#comment-22982
Power House:
https://daytonvistas.com/major-development-could-revive-historic-downtown-power-house/