WHAT’S UP WITH THE DORMANT STERLING INN PROPERTY?

If you’ve driven by the ramshackle, deteriorating Sterling Inn during recent months you’ve noticed that nothing is happening there except sporadic grass-mowing.

The Sterling Inn property was auctioned off, with some fanfare, back in December 2021, for non-payment of property taxes, the inn and restaurant having been unused for many years, the utility connections shut off.

As for the auction itself, what an utterly amazing coincidence it was indeed that the Aponte Brothers, whose other brother JUST HAPPENED to be Town of Sterling Accountant and Acting Town Administrator at the time, Fred Aponte, prevailed with a bid of $600,000, just $25,000 more than the runners-up! SEE https://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/2021/12/14/sterling-inn-auctioned-off-for-600000-to-local-business-partner-brothers/

Thereafter, in March 2022, good ol’ Fred Aponte moved on to greener pastures– https://www.telegram.com/story/news/local/the-item/2022/03/18/sterling-looks-financial-position-administrative-transition-continues/6986641001/ What exquisite timing! Was that just another coincidence?

With the cost of lumber and other construction materials and supplies having skyrocketed under Dementia Joe Biden’s entirely malevolent, corrupt, and destructive regime– Lumber Is Crazy Expensive Right Now. Biden Is About To Make It Worse. (reason.com) — the Aponte Brothers, perhaps, may be waiting for more favorable times before commencing restoration work on the old inn.

OR, perhaps the delay in work can be explained by the Massachusetts Ethics Commission actually doing its job– for a change — and investigating the Aponte Brothers’ glaring, apparent conflict of interest. I don’t know about that but one can always hope….

J. G.