When Economic Development Becomes A Closed Door

A plain envelope on the porch. Lawsuits and 990s inside. And a blunt question: why would public officials sign NDAs to sit on the board of a nonprofit that doles out economic development loans? We take you through the claims surrounding the Fay Penn Economic Development Council—allegations that insiders received below-market loans while local businesses were turned away—and we lay out what true transparency and accountability should look like when public-purpose funds are at stake.

We don’t rely on rumor. We walk through the federal lawsuit alleging retaliation against a finance director who raised red flags, the reported use of a building where politics and money cross paths, and the troubling picture that emerges when people with public roles appear to benefit from grants, loans, and government salaries at the same time. If small businesses are competing with a system that favors connections over merit, the result isn’t growth—it’s a quiet exit of talent and jobs from Fayette County.

So here’s the plan we’re pushing: a full, independent, third-party audit of county finances and any deal touching Fay Penn. That means opening the books, releasing board minutes, exposing NDAs, testing loan terms against market rates, and documenting every recusal and vote. Good governance isn’t partisan. It’s a promise that public dollars fuel broad opportunity, not closed-door advantage. If there’s nothing to hide, there’s nothing to fear. And if there’s rot, sunlight is step one to repair.

Subscribe, share this with a neighbor who cares about fair growth, and leave a review with your take: should the county release the minutes and NDAs now? Your voice helps push real accountability forward.

Transcript

Allegations Against Fay Penn

Insider Loans And Community Impact

The Anonymous Envelope Arrives

Calls For An Independent Audit

NDAs And Accountability Demands

Nonpartisan Stand And Closing

SPEAKER_00 1:31

Hey everybody, this is John Marietta, and I am the Hillbilly, and I'm coming to you from my brand new studio over here in uh Green County, Pennsylvania. I want to thank you all for tuning in, and this video uh is going to be going out on Saturday the 7th. I want to get started with this. My sponsors are today Burhand's Kraus Funeral Home, Advanced Equipment and Rentals, Solid Foundation Ministries, Thundering Hills Feed and Supply, JB's Market, Fayette Recovery Storage in U-Haul, Bung's Auto Body and Repair, Meuser's Garage and Tire Center, Humber's Sanitation and Septic Service, The Ink Spot, High Line Motorsports, Southwestern TA, Logging and Tree Service, Fire Line Speedway, Mary Beth's Towing, and Pine Creek Structure. I'm just going to get right to it. This is going to be a short uh video we're doing, and we're going to we're going to pass it on. But there's some things going on in Fayette County that everybody needs to know about. And we we found these out just here in the last few hours or actually last 24 hours or so. And I'm going to call this when the money changers took over the storehouse. I'll tell you what, Fayette County, I don't come to you today with gossip or rumor. I come with something far heavier. There's a storm brewing over this place we call home. And it's swirling right over a nonprofit that's supposed to be serving our people. Faye Pen Economic Development Council, from the looks of it, they've been serving themselves more than they've been serving you. There is a federal lawsuit now filed in the U.S. District Court. The complaint says Fay Penn's own director of finance, Belanie Reed, was shown the door after she dared to shine light into the dark corners of their books. She says board members, the very people sitting in judgment of loan applications, were getting sweetheart deals below market loan and below market loans for their own businesses, while hardworking folks from the Q from the community got turned away. Friend, you and I both know what that is. That's insider dealing. That's self-enrichment on the backs of taxpayers when roughly 70% of the loans are going to insiders and only 30% to the broader community. That's not an economic development, that's a country club with a checkbook paid for by we the people. And where is this all happening? The building in Lemount Furnace, the same place where political meetings have been held behind closed doors. When government money, party politics, and private profit all meet under the same roof, that's not progress. That's a powder cake, and it's sitting right in our own backyard. State Representative Charity Grim Krupa has already called for an investigation, and God bless her for it. She said that even if this crew didn't technically break the law, the law itself may be too weak. And I say amen to that. Because when the foxes write the rules for the hen house, the hens, it's the hens that disappear. And around here, those hens are working families of Fayette County. And we're losing people every every day, literally. People are leaving Fayette County, they're leaving Green County. But this is about Fayette County. They're leaving because there's not no good jobs here. That's in Hillbilly terms. And now let me tell you what showed up on my doorstep. No return address, no fancy label, just a plain envelope. Kind a neighbor might slip under your door when they're scared but sick and tired of being quiet. Yeah, it was there. Inside that envelope were copies of federal lawsuits, stacks of IRS forms, 990s, page after page, naming names. Folks right here in Fayette County drawing paychecks from grant money. Think about what I'm telling you. Folks right here in Fayette County drawing paychecks from grant money, taking loans from FayePen, and at the very same time pulling down salaries from government-funded positions. Think about that for a minute. We're talking about people who are elected, people who hold county jobs, people who sit in positions of power, getting paid with taxpayer-backed grants, benefiting from FAPEN loans, and then turning around, cashing government paychecks on top of it. They are standing on both sides of the table, one hand signing the checks, the other hand cashing them. I tell you how a regular small business owner in Fayette County is supposed to compete with that. How does the mom and pop shop, the local contractor, the young entrepreneur just trying to get off the ground stand a fair chance when the insiders are double and triple dipping from the same public trough? That envelope was a message. And I got the envelope, no return address, it was on my porch. People inside the system are fed up too. They're seeing things they can't stomach anymore. And they're reaching out. The only way they feel safe quietly with documents, hoping somebody will finally say what they can't say out loud. We the people have had enough. Enough of the backroom deals, enough of the no-bid contracts, enough of watching insiders walk away with public money where our communities keep slipping deeper in, keep slipping deeper into struggle. It's past time for a full independent audit of Fayette County's finances, top to bottom, line by line, led by a third-party firm that answers only to the taxpayer. No political ties, no conflicts of interest, no friends doing favors for friends, just truth, transparency, and yes, accountability. Because this isn't just about one nonprofit, this is about a whole culture of secrecy that treats your tax dollars like private poker chips on a table you're not even allowed to sit at. And that's gotta end right here and right now. And now let's quit dancing around it and ask the question the good old boys hope you never say out loud. Why on God's green earth would Scott Dunn and Vince Vasities, two men sitting in high office, raising your taxes and spending your money, agree to sign strict non-disclosure agreements with Fay Penn while serving on its board? I need to repeat that they signed non-disclosure agreements with Faye Penn so they could serve on their board. What business do public servants have puzzling themselves about what's being done with the public's money? If everything is clean, and I hope it is, if everything is honest, why the gag orders? Why the secrecy? When commissioners have to sign hush papers just to sit at the table, you tell me, are they guarding you or are they guarding someone else? And let's press this just a little bit farther. Just how connected are Senator Pat Stefano and former Representative Matt Dowling all to this Fay Pen mess? They were in office when many of these loans, contracts, and special deals were flowing. They were were they cheering it on, looking the other way, or were they claiming they saw and heard nothing at all? Did they ever question why insiders were getting loans while ordinary Fayette County businesses were being turned away? Or were they too busy cutting ribbons and collecting campaign photos to notice what was happening with your taxpayers supported funds? Yes, these grants are taxpayers supported funds, my higher how you look at it. We the people are done with carefully worded statements and no comment at this time. If your name is on the ballot and your buddies' names are on the loan on the loan papers, then your name belongs on the list of people who need to answer in public, on the record, and under oath if necessary. And it's common. And why are we calling? Why are why are we calling not asking? I want to say that again. I tore that up. That is why we are calling, not asking. Calling for a full independent third-party audit of Fayette County's finances. And every single deal, touching Fay Pen, every loan, every contract, every non-disclosure agreement, every board vote. No more insiders investigating insiders. No more, trust us, it's all fine. We the people want the books open, the minutes released, the NDAs exposed, and the truth laid bare. There's nothing to hide, and there then there's nothing to fear. And if there's nothing to hide, then it's time for it to come out and time for some folks to step down or be thrown out. This isn't about Republican or Democrat. This is about right and wrong. This is about whether the folks we elect are feeding the sheep or fleecing them. You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. That's what the Bible says. It's time Fayette County heard the truth. And if that truth makes some makes some people squirm, maybe it's because they've gotten too comfortable at the trough. We the people are awake now. We're done watching from the sidelines while a handful of insiders treat this county like they're private estate. Let the audit begin. Let the light shine and let justice roll down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream. More to come, and yes, there is more to come, and it's coming fast. I am John Marietta, and I am the hillbilly, and I am fighting for we the people. I'm glad everybody that watched this clear through. I appreciate y'all. And uh keep it, we're gonna keep updating this as time goes on. We're gonna do some short videos just like I just did about things, but uh I the envelope's pretty thick, and I haven't got to got through it all, but I will, and uh, we'll take time to examine it all. So thank you so much for tuning in today, and God bless each and every one of you. And what a great country we live in, but we we gotta we gotta make these people accountable for the money they spend. God bless.