This is the story of a Lebanese man, Alphonse Mourad, who came to America in 1958 at the young age of fourteen to pursue the ¡§American Dream.¡¨ When he took his oath of citizenship 46 years ago, he fully embraced and supported tenets of democracy, ¡§the right of every person to pursue the blessings of liberty and justice for all¡¨.

Mourad chose to become a young entrepreneur in the City of Boston. Here he was encouraged to invest in its future, to share in building a city for the 21st century.

Mourad founded V & M Management, Inc, which owned the Mandela Development complex, which consists of 22 buildings and a potential of 276 residential units, which houses approximately 1500 tenants.

This complex which is comprised of 98% African Americans and Hispanics, had been renamed in 1987, ¡§Mandela,¡¨ after former President Nelson Mandela, the great freedom fighter against apartheid. Mourad's plan was to build a new, multicultural community over thirty acres of land that was owned by the Boston Redevelopment Authority and the City of Boston. He would rehabilitate the housing and offer its current residents and other working class poor, the right to affordable housing and the right to ¡§home ownership.

For detailed information refer to the website "History" button).

He raised his family and assisted friends and relatives through a variety of enterprises in several communities. He was recognized as a generous donor to worthy charities. He rose to a position of considerable wealth and prestige. Then, a multimillionaire, he chose to share his good fortune with those citizens whom he recognized were not included in the ¡§American Dream.

¡¨ These were the disenfranchised, excluded on the basis of ethnic origins, skin color and decades of discrimination.

By 1997, with his own money, Mourad established the Mandela Townhall, as well as a health clinic, social programs, and a community center. With his support, the residents applied for a city charter in 1990. This would empower its citizens for self-government: to collect their own taxes, provide their own services, and take their place with the surrounding communities. This was the second attempt for ¡§secession¡¨ from the City of Boston by a group of black citizens.

Mourad strongly supported the Mandela incorporation and worked with community leaders toward this effort. (See the history button and sub button entitled Incorporation) As in 1986, this new proposal for succession was also defeated.
Then, Mourad awaited the promised federal and local funds to continue building his dream.

Here is when it all started to go wrong.

Litigations and Continuing Threats of a Takeover by the Democratic Governmental Entities
He found himself attacked in the Boston Globe newspapers as a ¡§slum lord,¡¨ (see lawsuits button and sub button Boston Globe Lawsuit) while he was accurately portrayed by the LA Times, CNN, The Federalist and other national media organizations. This was clearly the beginning of a locally motivated witch-hunt to help investors and governmental entities seize control over a mulit-million dollar parcel of land ripe for gentrification.

His application for HUD development funds was refused, and, with the extended legal battles to restore his reputation and gain funding, he pushed into bankruptcy by a fraudulent note held by a junior mortgager (see the Judge Lopez Corruption).

Just prior to declaring bankruptcy, a series of incidents took place:

Most recently:
„h Mourad sought the assistance of the white house and asked that they intervene and order a federal investigation into this matter.

The Special Assistant to the President has forwarded the matter on to the Department of Justice for further review. (Refer to "Home Page--White House").

With essentially NO INCOME since 1986, Mourad was shocked to learn that he was liable for 1999 taxes on millions of dollars of profits that he had never received.

Moreover, none of his creditors had been repaid---as required by Chapter 11 ¡§S¡¨ Corporation Bankruptcy. These are just some of the issues that will be heard on September 24th.

„h Mourad has also been given a trial date of September 24, 2004 in the Boston Bankruptcy Court at 10:00 AM. Having won his bankruptcy appeal before the US Appellate Court in 2000, Mourad is finally getting his day in Court (see Worcester button). Mourad will need the assistance of a large law firm to win back his property as well as to establish a NEW precedence regarding who is the owner of the ¡§S¡¨ Corporation under a Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.
Since his tax trial in 2001, Mourad has been led through a morass of conflicting judicial decisions, unethical practices by the City Housing Commission, FBI investigations, his reputation smeared in the newspapers, treated like a ¡§dangerous criminal¡¨ and barred from access to his court documents in the Federal Building (under threat of imprisonment). Mourad had, unwittingly, reopened the longstanding debate of ¡§Gentrification vs. Affordable Housing¡¨ that unleashed a battle cry among the white community.

These formidable forces have driven him to a state of physical exhaustion and economic deprivation.

How will this American Dream end?
Will Mourad find a large, wealthy law firm who will take on his case on a contingency basis?
Will the V & M Development Corp. and all its assets be returned to Mourad, the rightful owner?

Does Declaring Chapter 11 Bankruptcy remove the original owner and not allow the assets managed by the trustee to reimburse its creditors?

Or, will he lose, for want of adequate legal support, along with the many working class poor who have earned the right to have a place in the American Dream.

ALL LEGAL DOCUMENTS PERTAINING FOR THIS CASE ARE ON PUBLIC RECORD AT THE BOSTON FEDERAL COURT HOUSE AND THE INTERNET WORLD WIDE.