Long suspected, but never unmasked, former county employee John Chapman revealed Monday in federal court that he was once the anonymous online personality known as "Grant Street 99."
"I posted about issues I felt the public should know about and didn't," Chapman testified in the first day of his civil trial against Allegheny County, former County Manager Glenn Cannon and former Assistant County Manager Paul Leger. "Cronyism, nepotism, the abuse of public officials, stuff like that."
Cannon was frequently targeted by Chapman, both as himself and his cyberego.
Chapman, 40, of Greenfield, accused Cannon of hiring friends, including his son's football coach, at inflated salaries; giving cases of soft drinks donated to the county by Pepsi-Cola for public fundraisers to the Ancient Order of Hibernians' state convention in Pittsburgh; and hooking up the alumni association for his alma mater, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, with discounted rentals of county facilities.
As "Grant Street 99," Chapman also said Cannon drove on Port Authority busways instead of fighting city traffic like other drivers.
Chapman's lawsuit claims Cannon and others retaliated against him for his criticism, ultimately eliminating his position as the county's special events manager in July 1999. He seeks $130,000 in back pay and benefits and an unspecified amount in damages.
"The motivating factor for his job elimination was his protected speech," defense attorney Paul Boas told the eight jurors during his opening statement.
Like about 1,800 other county employees who have lost jobs in the past decade, Chapman was let go because of an ongoing budget crisis, said Assistant County Solicitor Caroline Liebenguth.
She cited a number of infractions and allegations against him, including driving on county business with a suspended license, a co-worker's complaint that he had pornography on his work computer and his suspension for a day for not following his responsibilities in handling money after county concerts.
Chapman began working in the county's employment relations department in 1984. After testifying in a civil suit filed by other county employees who claimed their positions were eliminated in 1993 for supporting a losing candidate for the Prothonotary's Office, Chapman said he, too, was discriminated against. He sued, and the county settled for $6,500 and a transfer to the Special Events Department.
Chapman now works as an auditor for a Downtown hotel.
Cannon is a lawyer with Kennedy, Cannon and Devinney, in the Strip District. Leger is the finance director for the city of Pittsburgh.
Superior Court Judge Joan Orie Melvin filed a lawsuit in 1999 to find out the identity of "Grant Street 99" after the anonymous critic denounced her online for claiming that she lobbied then-Gov. Tom Ridge to appoint a friend of hers to a vacant judicial seat. The case was dropped last year.
Melvin's attorney, Jack Orie, said he doubts Chapman is "Grant Street 99."
"I don't know if I honestly believe it," Orie said, adding that Chapman was one of numerous people deposed years ago. "He never came forward before when he had numerous chances. Now he can try to make a buck off it."
