MORGANTOWN – In February, James Giuliani appeared before both the Morgantown City Council and the Monongalia County Commission to ask each party to look into the dealings that resulted in a small parcel at 142 Richwood Ave. being removed from the East End Village project in a deal between private interests.
He returned to the commission last week to restate that request.
Giuliani was back again Wednesday to say he intends to take legal action, up to and including filing a complaint with the West Virginia State Police and the county prosecutor’s office.
“The time for investigating is over. The time for action is right now,” Giuliani said, adding, “I gave the [Monongalia County Development Authority] and yourselves a one-week deadline from June 10th’s meeting … to correct this egregious mistake and void the illegal transfer of 142 Richwood Avenue. That clock has run out without resolution. I will use every legal avenue available to freeze that title, halt construction, and force every internal email, disclosure document and backdoor agreement to be opened through legal discovery.”
Giuliani sold the parcel to the Monongalia County Development Authority in 2020. It was one of a number of properties that made up the approximately 10 acres purchased by MCDA from Giuliani for $11.8 million.
According to Giuliani, the MCDA still owes him $2.4 million, plus interest, due by Oct. 1 per the terms of the most recent extension agreement between the parties. Because money is still owed, stipulations in the deed of trust require MCDA to get a signed release from Giuliani if the public corporation wishes to transfer or sell any of the property.
And Giuliani did sign a release for that property to be sold in late 2025.
However, Giuliani said he had never been made aware that ownership of the parcel had already been transferred to CMC Company and East End Village master developer Dave Biafora in May 2024 when MCDA essentially traded the parcel to Biafora in exchange for 600 Allen Ave., another parcel in the East End redevelopment area.
“At that point in time, June of 2024, the deal goes bad. Everything that happens at that point in time forward is illegal and can be voided,” Giuliani said in February.
Giuliani previously said that despite questioning the need for the December 2025 release, he signed it believing the parcel was still under MCDA control and being moved in an arrangement with the project developer for the benefit of the overall development.
In reality, he said, the release freed Biafora to sell the .04-acre parcel to August Realty for $295,000 according to publicly available information. Samuel Chico III is listed as the manager and organizer of August Realty.
The parcel was the only piece of land inside the Richwood Avenue loop not owned by Chico Enterprises Inc.
Giuliani said the way those transactions were carried out has put the entire East End Village project in legal jeopardy.
“The Development Authority completely bypassed my signature and quietly transferred 142 Richwood Avenue, the parcel at issue in this dispute, to private entities who then flipped it for nearly $300,000. This is a direct breach of contract, a violation of the property rights and a clouding of the public land title,” he said.
Further, Giuliani said he believes legal counsel for the MCDA falsified documents in the deed disclosures in order to bypass his rights as a lien holder.
“The United Bank of Morgantown holds the primary lien position and I hold the secondary lien position under the recorded deed of trust. Falsifying public real estate disclosures to slip an unclear title past secure creditors isn’t poor judgment, it’s a fraudulent act.”
Members of the commission said the matter has been raised with the development authority and that MCDA legal counsel was given direction to address Giuliani’s concerns during last Thursday’s MCDA meeting.
“This is a very complicated project, to say the least, and I did give you my word, and I still give you my word that we’ll get to the end of this,” Commissioner Sean Sikora said, adding, “I am confident, from what I know, that everything, even though it’s not always the cleanest and smoothest, but there hasn’t been anything fraudulent that has occurred. But I am still keeping on top of it.”
A representative of the MCDA did not wish to comment for this report.
