Keyword: kickbacks

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  • Did Reid Make a $100 Million Bribe or a Billion Dollar Bribe? (update)

    12/20/2009 6:16:12 PM PST · by jessduntno · 18 replies · 1,058+ views
    Multiple | Today | JessDuntno
    Republicans poring over the bill Democrats released Saturday found this on page 328: “(a) APPROPRIATION.—There are authorized to be appropriated, and there are appropriated to the Department of Health and Human Services, $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2010, to remain available for obligation until September 30, 2011, to be used for debt service on, or direct construction or renovation of, a health care facility that provides research, inpatient tertiary care, or outpatient clinical services. Such facility shall be affiliated with an academic health center at a public research university in the United States that contains a State’s sole public academic medical...
  • Senatorial Bribery - A Very Troublesome Precedent

    12/20/2009 3:26:32 PM PST · by Desperado67 · 33 replies · 855+ views
    Examiner.com ^ | 12/20/09 | Rob Binsrick
    Back on November 21st, Senator Mary Landrieu provided the 60th vote for the Senate Democrats to cut off a GOP filibuster and start the debate on a healthcare reform bill. In exchange for that vote, the Democratic leadership offered her a $300 million ‘bribe’ in the form of additional Medicaid benefits for her home state of Louisiana and for other states ravaged by Hurricane Katrina. Now a month later Senator Ben Nelson has announced that he will provide the 60th vote to cut off debate on the healthcare reform bill. In exchange for his vote, the Democratic leadership offered him...
  • Interesting Provisions That Recently Appeared In Senate Health Bill

    12/20/2009 4:02:48 PM PST · by jessduntno · 31 replies · 863+ views
    Interesting Provisions That Recently Appeared In Senate Health Bill ? $100,000,000 For “Health Care Facility” “At A Public Research University In The United States That Contains A State’s Sole Public Academic Medical And Dental School.” NEBRASKA “As Part Of The Deal To Win Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson's Support, The Federal Government Will Fund Nebraska's New Medicaid Recipients.” (“Ben Nelson's Medicaid Deal,” Politico, 12/19/09) VERMONT “The Health Care Overhaul Taking Shape In Congress Includes A Provision Pushed By Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy To Increase The State’s Medicaid Payments By $250 Million Over Six Years. The Provision, Also Supported By Sen. Bernie...
  • Paying Off 'La Raza'

    12/17/2009 8:11:37 AM PST · by opentalk · 4 replies · 406+ views
    Townhall ^ | December 16, 2009 | Ben Shapiro
    If you were president of the United States, would you hire an alleged former spy for Fidel Castro to be ambassador to El Salvador, a country teetering on the brink of hard-core socialism? President Obama just did. On Dec. 9, Obama nominated Mari Del Carmen Aponte to be ambassador to El Salvador, despite the fact that in the late 1990s, the FBI discovered that she was working with Cuban intelligence officers. According to Insight Magazine, "When the FBI eventually questioned her about her involvement with Cuban intelligence, she reportedly refused to cooperate." Why would Aponte escape the Obama administration's scrutiny?...
  • Murtha Acknowledges He Is Subject of Ethics Inquiry

    11/02/2009 12:51:03 PM PST · by smoothsailing · 18 replies · 559+ views
    CREW ^ | 11-1-09 | Paul Singer
    Published on CREW's Most Corrupt Members of Congress (http://www.crewsmostcorrupt.org) Murtha Acknowledges He Is Subject of Ethics Inquiry By Paul Singer, Roll CallNovember 1, 2009After years of allegations that he improperly lavishes federal dollars on local supporters and campaign donors, Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense Chairman John Murtha (D-Pa.) acknowledged for the first time last week that ethics investigators are looking into his earmarks.After the Washington Post disclosed a leaked list of Members being investigated by the House ethics committee, formally known as the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, and the Office of Congressional Ethics — including seven members of...
  • Sen. Dodd serves himself

    09/30/2009 1:51:51 PM PDT · by Graybeard58 · 5 replies · 647+ views
    Waterbury Republican-American ^ | September 30, 2009 | Editorial
    It would be next to impossible to fact-check everything Democratic Sen. Christopher Dodd says. Lord knows the endeavor would be worthwhile; after all, politicians such as Sen. Dodd inspired the joke: "How do you know politicians are lying? Their lips are moving." Sen. Dodd's reason for staying on as chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Development Committee, rather than taking over the late Ted Kennedy's Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, is one of his more recent statements that fails the smell test. "We have important work to do on the Banking Committee, and I intend to...
  • Ominous times for Murtha

    07/22/2009 7:14:12 PM PDT · by smoothsailing · 27 replies · 708+ views
    Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ^ | 7-22-09 | Timothy McNulty
    Ominous times for MurthaTimothy McNulty | July 22, 2009 The feds are drawing closer to Jack Murtha, say these stories in Roll Call and TPM..... SNIPOminously, O'Hair has said he will cooperate with the Feds. Coherent's CEO, Richard Ianieri, who earlier this month pleaded guilty to soliciting kickbacks, has also indicated he'll cooperate.
  • Feds Investigating ANOTHER MURTHA CONTRACTOR

    07/15/2009 10:24:49 AM PDT · by Shellybenoit · 3 replies · 175+ views
    Washington Post/The Lid ^ | 7/15/09 | The Lid
    Congressman John Murtha reminds me of Big Julie in play Guys and Dolls, who boasts: “I got a poifect record: thoity-three arrests, no convictions.” Months ago, the FBI raided the offices of the PMA group. What they found suggested that Murtha and his buddies at the PMA Group operated their own little Earmark Factory. But that was just the tip of the iceberg, another one of John Murtha's most favorite contractors was charged for taking $200,000 in kickbacks, the FBI is Investigating Multi-Billion-Dollar Murtha favored Defense Contractor With Tax-Exempt Status, Murtha has even gotten family into the earmark business, and...
  • Fox News Alert - Car Czar (Steven Rattner) Stepping Down

    07/13/2009 1:22:53 PM PDT · by edpc · 101 replies · 7,293+ views
    Fox News ^ | 13 July 2009 | Fox News
    Reported during Your World that Steven Rattner would step down and be replaced by a member of the Auto Task Force. No print story currently available at site.
  • Cheers to USA Today: 'Billions In (Stimulus) Aid Go to Areas That Backed Obama in 08'

    07/09/2009 12:28:45 PM PDT · by UnalienablyRight · 15 replies · 1,146+ views
    NewsBusters.org ^ | 07/09/2009 | Seton Motley
    Is this what Time magazine meant with their July 6th cover, What Barack Obama Can Learn From FDR? Not one to let "a serious crisis to go to waste," Franklin Delano Roosevelt used the onset of the Great Depression as an excuse to immediately begin delivering New Deal dollars in unprecedented amounts - with laser-like political precision to electorally important parts of the country. He sailed to landslide reelection in 1936 on a federally-funded tailwind. The New Deal is now an old one - as direct mail guru Richard Viguerie describes it, "We've got money, you've got votes, let's talk."...
  • Defense Contractor Charged With Kickbacks Helped Fund Murtha's Campaigns

    07/07/2009 7:21:04 PM PDT · by JohnKSmith · 11 replies · 464+ views
    Hawaii Free Press ^ | 7-7-09 | Lindsay Renick Mayer www.OpenSecrets.com
    Richard Ianieri, the defense contractor charged today with accepting $200,000 in kickbacks from a subcontractor, was president of a company that gave more money to Rep. John Murtha than any other lawmaker. That company, Coherent Systems International, received millions of dollars in earmarks from Murtha, and continued giving money to the Pennsylvania Democrat after Ianieri left Coherent and Argon ST bought it. The criminal complaint filed yesterday reportedly did not name the subcontractor, according to Roll Call. In total, the employees of Coherent, and employees and political action committees of Argon and its subsidiaries, have given $81,950 to Murtha's campaign...
  • John Murtha-Linked Contractor Indicted for Taking Kickbacks

    07/07/2009 9:50:23 AM PDT · by Shellybenoit · 3 replies · 145+ views
    Newsmax/The Lid ^ | 7/7/09 | The Lid
    Congressman John Murtha, the King of Congressional Pork acts may be losing his Teflon coating and his friends are getting a bit nervous. A few months ago, the FBI raided the offices of the PMA group. What they found suggested that Murtha and his buddies at the PMA Group operated their own little Earmark Factory. A later report suggested that the FBI may be zeroing in on the relationship between Murtha and PMA. No worries for Mr. Murtha, despite the FBI putting the heat on his PMA relationship, the Porkmeister is is still accepting money from PMA clients and still...
  • Former Home Depot Employee Sentenced to Prison (Kickback Scheme)

    06/11/2009 3:43:35 PM PDT · by Larry381 · 2 replies · 306+ views
    Department of Justice ^ | June 11, 2009 | United States Attorney's Office Northern District of Georgia
    ATLANTA—Anthony M. Tesvich, 42, of Atlanta, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Richard W. Story to serve over six years in federal prison on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and filing false tax returns, in connection with a scheme to defraud Home Depot. United States Attorney David E. Nahmias said, “This defendant and his co-conspirators inside Home Depot took payoffs from certain foreign vendors in exchange for giving those suppliers’ products an unfair advantage in the company’s many stores across the country. This corruption hurt competing vendors who played by the rules, Home Depot, and its...
  • FBI Eyes Charity Linked To Rep. Murtha

    06/02/2009 4:48:25 PM PDT · by jazusamo · 34 replies · 922+ views
    CBS News ^ | June 2, 2009 | Sharyl Attkisson and Laura Strickler
    FBI Investigating Multi-Billion-Dollar Defense Contractor With Tax-Exempt Status In Congressman's HometownCBS News has learned the FBI is investigating a little-known not-for-profit organization called Commonwealth Research Institute. It's located, like a lot of Rep. John Murtha's, D-Penn., pet projects, in his hometown, Johnstown, Penn. Commonwealth gets the same benefits as the Salvation Army or any other charity: It doesn't have to pay taxes. But its line of work may be surprising. It's a defense contractor. "It certainly raises a question," says Dean Zerbe, a former top Senate investigator. He questions Commonwealth's tax exempt status, saying it seems to do business just...
  • Kickbacks to Realtors Prohibited by Law (Obama appoints another criminal)

    05/03/2009 7:23:31 AM PDT · by narses · 34 replies · 2,312+ views
    CDA Press ^ | Kim Cooper
    David Stevens, the administration's pick for an assistant secretary for the Department of Housing and Urban Development failed to pass muster and his confirmation delayed as it was disclosed that the real estate brokerage he operates as chief is facing several class action lawsuits. The charges against Long & Foster, a Virginia real estate brokerage, allege that their agents steered homebuyers to affiliated mortgage and title companies, which then shared their profits with the real estate brokerage. We often advise our readers to contact a Realtor as their best source of information. Regularly we Realtors are asked for referrals to...
  • Trial begins in Tobyhanna Army Depot computer scheme

    03/31/2009 7:11:37 PM PDT · by Born Conservative · 1 replies · 222+ views
    The Times Tribune (Scranton PA) ^ | 3/31/2009 | Erin Nissley
    A Virginia man is on trial this week in federal court, fighting accusations that he participated in a large-scale kickback scheme that involved several Tobyhanna Army Depot workers. Derrick Jackson, 47, of Stafford, Va., was indicted in March 2008 along with a Hazleton man in an 18-count indictment alleging conspiracy, public corruption, wire fraud and related charges. Federal authorities began an investigation into contracts New York-based ComputerGiants.com had with Tobyhanna Army Depot. From 2001 until 2005, ComputerGiants.com set up a slush fund for several people — including Mr. Jackson, who worked at Fort Belvoir Army Base in Virginia — who...
  • ...WHILE ROLLING IN THEIR CASH (Frank, Kerry, Rangel, Schumer, Rahm got TARP fund kickbacks?)

    03/01/2009 2:58:52 PM PST · by Libloather · 22 replies · 1,334+ views
    NY Post ^ | 3/01/09
    ...WHILE ROLLING IN THEIR CASHPosted: 1:55 am March 1, 2009 Meanwhile, if Frank, Kerry & Co. truly want to do something about wasteful spending by banks that got TARP money, maybe they ought to look at their own campaign donations. And then give some of it back. (Right.) According to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan research group that tracks political giving, banks that got TARP funds spent more than $114 million on 2008 lobbying and campaign contributions. Since 360 institutions got bailout funds, that averages nearly $320,000 a pop. Even last fall, as the banks begged for handouts,...
  • None Dare Call It Enronesque

    09/09/2008 9:12:03 AM PDT · by SeafoodGumbo · 8 replies · 97+ views
    NRO's The Corner ^ | 8-9-08 | Jonah Goldberg
    Top recipients of Fannie/Freddie donations: #1 Chris Dodd #2 John Kerry #3 Barack Obama #4 HIllary Clinton For the record, that's two Democratic presidential nominees, two also-ran presidential candidates including Hillary Clinton, at least the second most significant Democrat in the country.
  • Investing in Obama: Government favors for Chicago benefactors

    08/25/2008 11:43:54 AM PDT · by mojito · 1 replies · 108+ views
    NRO ^ | 8/25/2008 | David Freddoso
    When state Senator Barack Obama cosponsored legislation creating and increasing subsidies for low-income housing developers in Illinois, and wrote letters to get $14 million specifically for two of them (one was Tony Rezko), his official acts benefited several friends and donors in that industry. A similar thing happened when Obama earmarked $200,000 for Jesse Jackson’s investment fund in Chicago and $225,000 for Father Michael Pfleger’s neighborhood ministry. Those are just a few among dozens of examples of how, when Senator Obama governs, his friends do well. Such arrangements give the lie to Obama’s self-projected image as a reformer who wants...
  • Mr. James Goes to Washington

    06/19/2008 9:18:38 AM PDT · by Captain McAllister · 6 replies · 82+ views
    The Daily Grind ^ | 6/19/2008 | ALG News
    We thought Jessie James rode a horse. But apparently he now sits in a House office building. And instead of robbing banks, he bankrolls robbers. Enter Representative James Clyburn (D-SC), the Majority Whip. He has come under fire in the past week for revelations by The Sun News, based out of Myrtle Beach, that some of his earmarks have directly benefited friends, business associates, political allies, family members—and anybody else he apparently has taken a special liking to. The November 2007 Citizens Against Government Waste “Porker of the Month” winner is at it again. And for this year, he has...
  • S.D. lawyer(Clinton Donor) sentenced in scheme involving class-action lawsuits

    02/11/2008 2:59:30 PM PST · by radar101 · 9 replies · 128+ views
    San Diego Union ^ | February 11, 2008 | Jacob Adelman
    LOS ANGELES – Famed San Diego class-action attorney William Lerach, a former partner at a prestigious New York law firm, was sentenced Monday to two years in federal prison for his role in a lucrative kickback scheme involving class-action lawsuits against some of the nation's biggest corporations. Lerach, 61, was also sentenced to two years probation, fined $250,000 and ordered to complete 1,000 hours of community service. “This whole conspiracy corrupted the law firm and it corrupted it in the most evil way,” U.S. District Judge John Walter said during the hearing. Authorities said Lerach's former firm, now known as...
  • Rudy would appoint federal judges who adhere to Conservative Principles

    11/16/2007 8:48:43 PM PST · by Senator Goldwater · 109 replies · 206+ views
    Associated Press ^ | November 16, 2007 | Jim Kuhnhenn
    WASHINGTON (AP) - Rudy Giuliani assured a conservative legal group Friday that if elected president he would appoint federal judges who adhere to their principles. He also praised a judge who declared the capital city's gun ban unconstitutional and ridiculed efforts to eliminate the words "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance. In a speech marking the 25th anniversary of the Federalist Society, Giuliani spelled out a conservative legal agenda in which he cited Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts as models for the judges he would appoint to the federal...
  • Lerach admits role in kickback scheme (Prison sentence for big Hillary donor)

    09/19/2007 11:33:06 AM PDT · by Uncle Miltie · 44 replies · 2,203+ views
    San Diego Union Tribune ^ | 09/19/07 | Bruce V. Bigelow
    The fall of San Diego trial lawyer William S. Lerach may end his reign as Wall Street's king of pain, but the class-action lawsuit industry he helped create has become an established reality for corporate America. William S. Lerach: "I ... crossed a line and pushed too far.” Lerach, 61, admitted in a plea agreement that prosecutors filed yesterday that he participated in a scheme that secretly paid kickbacks to recruit plaintiffs for more than 150 class-action lawsuits brought against U.S. companies. As part of the deal, Lerach agreed to forfeit $7.75 million in unlawful gains, pay a $250,000 fine...
  • Texas oilman accused of paying Iraq kickbacks (Democrat!!)

    09/10/2007 2:56:32 PM PDT · by rfp1234 · 14 replies · 657+ views
    Reuters ^ | 9/10/2007 | Daniel Trotta
    Prosecutors promised on Monday to prove that Texas oilman Oscar Wyatt paid millions of dollars in kickbacks to Saddam Hussein's government, earning him a privileged position in Iraq. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Miller told jurors at opening arguments of Wyatt's trial that prosecutors would present photos, audio tapes, bank records, U.N. records and Iraqi government records proving Wyatt paid kickbacks to win Iraqi oil contracts . "Oscar Wyatt's years of assistance to the Hussein regime earned him a privileged status in Iraq," Miller said. Wyatt, an 83-year-old self-made oil tycoon, faces five counts in Manhattan federal court including engaging in...
  • In NY Court, Oil Exec Admits to Conspiracy in Iraq Oil Scheme

    08/17/2007 9:34:22 PM PDT · by Calpernia · 14 replies · 769+ views
    1010wins ^ | Friday, 17 August 2007
    A Texas oil executive pleaded guilty Friday to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a scheme to cheat the United Nations oil-for-food program out of millions by paying kickbacks to Saddam Hussein's Iraq regime. David Chalmers, the sole shareholder of Bayoil USA Inc. in Houston, was set to go on trial next month on charges he used a cozy relationship with Iraq in the 1980s to secure oil contracts. He could have faced more than 60 years in prison if convicted. Under a plea agreement, prosecutors will recommend a 37- to 46-month term when he is sentenced Nov. 19. Chalmers...
  • Home Depot fires four merchandising associates

    08/01/2007 6:33:16 PM PDT · by xcamel · 1 replies · 502+ views
    Reuters ^ | Wed Aug 1, 2007 9:23AM EDT | staff
    CHICAGO, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Home Depot Inc. (HD.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Wednesday it had fired four merchandising associates who violated the company's ethical standards and said the matter is under investigation by federal authorities. CBS News reported that four purchasing managers are alleged to have taken kickbacks totaling millions of dollars to make sure that certain flooring products got onto Home Depot's shelves. The company said in a statement, "The Home Depot has terminated four merchandising associates for infractions of our ethical standards. We're cooperating with authorities and because this matter is under investigation, we can't comment...
  • Lawyer admits to kickbacks(Big Dem contributor)

    07/10/2007 7:27:54 PM PDT · by radar101 · 11 replies · 849+ views
    L A times ^ | 10 July 2007 | Molly Selvin
    A former senior partner of a pioneering law firm that won billions for clients in securities fraud cases pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy. The plea agreement by Milberg Weiss ex-partner David Bershad in what the government has described as a kickback scheme ratchets up the pressure on William S. Lerach and co-founder Melvyn I. Weiss. The New York-based firm made its name launching shareholder suits against major corporations and recovered more than $45 billion for investors in such cases. Lerach left Milberg in 2004 to open a San Diego-based practice that quickly became one of the top securities class-action firms,...
  • Lawyer pleads guilty in LA class action kickback case (filed bogus shareholder lawsuits)

    07/10/2007 3:30:45 AM PDT · by Liz · 2 replies · 739+ views
    AP ^ | 7/10/07 | GREG RISLING The Associated Press
    A former partner of a major New York law firm pleaded guilty to conspiracy in connection with kickbacks the firm is accused of paying to plaintiffs in class action and shareholder lawsuits. David J. Bershad, 67,........pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy.......obstruction of justice and making false statements under oath. Prosecutors believe the firm, now known as Milberg Weiss, received more than $200 million in fees from such lawsuits filed over the past 20 years......... ........one of his attorneys said "His efforts to right these wrongs, together with his many good works throughout his career, should be remembered along with...
  • CA: Lottery official terminated for hotel contract

    06/14/2007 3:00:34 PM PDT · by BurbankKarl · 6 replies · 281+ views
    Glendale News Press ^ | 6/14/07 | Jason Wells
    The California Lottery's broadcasting director was fired Tuesday over allegations he signed an unauthorized contract last year with the Hilton Glendale using state funds that earned his personal hotel account at least 97,000 member rewards points. Richard Leeson's termination came after a two-month administrative investigation into the matter, and on the same day a special state Senate hearing was convened seeking an explanation from state lottery officials. The August 2006 contract for about 80 rooms a month was signed by Leeson to house lottery contestants appearing on the "Big Spin" television show for the 2007 calendar year at the Hilton...
  • Oil execs plead guilty in (Alaska) political kickback scandal

    05/08/2007 8:27:06 AM PDT · by Zakeet · 45 replies · 912+ views
    CNN ^ | May 8, 2007
    ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- The founder of a multinational oil services company and one of his top executives have admitted to illegally paying more than $400,000 to Alaska lawmakers in a widening political corruption scandal. Bill J. Allen, chief executive of Anchorage-based VECO Corp., and Rick Smith, a vice president, pleaded guilty Monday to bribing state legislators with cash and the promise of jobs and favors for their backing on bills supported by the company. Allen, 70, and Smith, 62, appeared separately in U.S. District Court to plead guilty to extortion, bribery and conspiracy to impede the Internal Revenue Service....
  • Decorated N.J. soldier indicted in Iraq theft, Reservist accused of reaping thousands in kickbacks

    02/08/2007 6:53:31 PM PST · by Coleus · 14 replies · 625+ views
    Star Ledger ^ | 02.08.07 | WAYNE WOOLLEY
    Army Reserve Lt. Col. Debra Harrison returned to New Jersey after 17 months in Iraq with a Purple Heart and vivid descriptions of at least two brushes with death in the combat zone. A federal indictment unsealed yesterday alleged she also returned with $330,000 in stolen cash earmarked for Iraq reconstruction projects and played a key role in a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme that netted her a Cadillac Escalade, two handguns, prescription drugs and enough money to install a deck and hot tub at her home in Trenton. The 25-count indictment accused Harrison and two fellow soldiers, Col. Curtis Whiteford of...
  • William J. (Cold Cash) Jefferson / Karen Carter Election Thread

    12/09/2006 5:28:01 PM PST · by Zakeet · 72 replies · 2,207+ views
    Self ^ | December 9, 2006
    You may recall that William Jefferson was the Rat congressman nailed a few months ago with a freezer full of cold cash. Naturally, both Rats and Pubbies condemned the FBI for raiding the Congressman's office and coming up with the goods. And even more naturally, MSM pretty much gave the Rats a free pass over the incident -- while focusing on the far more serious Mark Foley e-mails. Well, it just so happens that Jefferson was not turned over his slight moral lapse -- maybe. William was forced into a runoff against a black female lawyer. The election was held...
  • Area man had role in kickbacks (Iraq reconstruction)

    07/08/2006 5:08:08 AM PDT · by leadpenny · 4 replies · 575+ views
    AP, The Free Lance-Star and The NYT ^ | 08 Jul 06 | TONI LOCY, AP Writer
    Former Army reservist will admit guilt in bidding scheme related to Iraq reconstruction. _____ WASHINGTON--A former U.S. Army Reserve officer from Spotsylvania County has agreed to plead guilty to playing a key role in a kickback scheme that steered millions of dollars in Iraq-reconstruction contracts to one businessman. Bruce D. Hopfengardner, 46, served as a special adviser to the U.S.-led occupation forces, recommending funding for projects on law-enforcement facilities in Iraq. Documents filed yesterday in U.S. District Court said that Hopfengardner will plead guilty to conspiring with Philip H. Bloom, a U.S. citizen with businesses in Romania, Robert J. Stein,...
  • Still On the Waterfront

    06/30/2006 11:33:46 AM PDT · by DogByte6RER · 6 replies · 644+ views
    The Village Voice ^ | June 27th, 2006 | Tom Robbins
    Still On the Waterfront: Long plagued by Johnny Friendlys, dockworkers fight to take back a mob-infested union by Tom Robbins June 27th, 2006 12:21 PM Just south of the Statue of Liberty, the huge white shipping cranes of New Jersey's container terminals arch into the sky. Even in the summer haze, the cranes still dominate the horizon. Their 200-foot-tall white hoists slant up and east, offering a kind of silent salute to the torch clenched in the statue's upraised arm. Most of New York's shipping is conducted on the Jersey side of the harbor now. More than $130 billion in...
  • Red-faced Canadian politician returns kids' money (Same old political corruption)

    06/02/2006 7:21:25 PM PDT · by sully777 · 15 replies · 684+ views
    Reuters ^ | Fri Jun 2, 2006 10:07am ET | By David Ljunggren
    OTTAWA (Reuters) - Some children in Canada are so well-off and so keen on current affairs that they donate thousands of dollars to politicians -- at least, that's what one contender for the leadership of the opposition Liberal Party seems to believe. Former Immigration Minister Joe Volpe hit the spotlight this week after it emerged that a pair of 11-year-old twins and their 14-year-old brother had each donated C$5,400 ($4,900) to his leadership campaign. The parents of the children -- who also donated C$5,400 to Volpe's campaign -- are related to the chairman of generic drug maker Apotex Inc. In...
  • THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY: how decades of clinton double-dealing compromised our national security

    03/09/2006 9:44:24 PM PST · by Mia T · 123 replies · 3,774+ views
    various | 03.10.06 | Mia T
      THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY:HOW DECADES OF CLINTON DOUBLE-DEALING COMPROMISED OUR NATIONAL SECURITY by Mia T, March 8, 2006     ld habits die hard. Bill and hillary and their fixers in the press and DC are up to their old tricks.1 The clintons trade our national security for their power and treasure2 while old media and the DC establishment--pre-9/11, 20th-century relics all--do nothing.3 But this time the betrayal is happening in real time, right before our very eyes. Aided and abetted by the usual useful-idiot suspects in the press, allowed to operate with impunity by a Congress cowered...
  • BREAKING! (video)-CLINTON IS A PAID AGENT OF THE CROWN PRINCE OF DUBAI: Dick Morris

    03/03/2006 7:07:54 PM PST · by Mia T · 214 replies · 8,039+ views
    O'Reilly Factor | 3.03.06 | Mia T
    DICK MORRIS: CLINTON IS A PAID AGENT OF THE CROWN PRINCE OF DUBAI by Mia T, 03.03.06   A CALL TO IMPEACH CLINTON IN ABSENTIA by Mia T, 11.17.05         id you see it? More to the point, did the American press? bill clinton made page one of Al Jazeera today. A schizophrenic mix of schadenfreude and agitprop, it was the story of an impeached ex-president of America trashing America--to standing Os--in the Arab state of Dubai--in the middle of a war zone--only several hundred miles from the American troops. And, to rub it in, the...
  • Road to Nowhere - (FBI probes Perata,a $40 million roadway project,kickbacks,PeRataGate)

    03/03/2006 11:09:51 AM PST · by NormsRevenge · 3 replies · 430+ views
    East Bay Express ^ | 3/3/06 | Robert Gammon
    Ron Cowan wiped away his tears, but they wouldn't stop flowing. The flashy developer who once crashed his helicopter into San Francisco Bay held his breath and muttered "Goddammit" as he stepped up to the microphone. It was June 11, 2004, and many of his longtime friends were on hand to sing his praises and name a road after him. He had helped put most of them in office. But Cowan knew something many of those in the sizable audience did not: He'd paid a steep price to get his road, the Ron Cowan Parkway. The man had gambled everything...
  • Iraq kickbacks widespread, says shipping exec

    02/23/2006 10:33:49 PM PST · by HAL9000 · 1 replies · 519+ views
    The general manager of a shipping company based in the United Arab Emirates has made an extraordinary claim at the oil-for-food inquiry. The executive said the British embassy, US Navy and the Royal Navy were all aware of kickbacks to Saddam Hussein in 2001. The statement from Michael Wallbanks, the general manager of P&O Nedlloyd only arrived at the commission this morning. He said that when he arrived in Dubai in 2000, he became aware that Iraq imposed a 10 per cent tax on all goods shipped to the country. The commission was told that most exporters chose to...
  • Whistle-Blower Suit Says Device Maker Generously Rewards Doctors

    01/29/2006 10:59:53 PM PST · by STD · 6 replies · 437+ views
    NY Times ^ | Published: January 24, 2006 | REED ABELSON
    Whistle-Blower Suit Says Device Maker Generously Rewards Doctors A prominent surgeon in Wisconsin was paid $400,000 a year by Medtronic for a consulting contract requiring him to work just eight days. Another doctor in Virginia received nearly $700,000 in consulting fees from Medtronic for the first nine months of 2005.
  • 218 Reasons NOT to vote For Liberals (Long But Good Canada Voters' List To Dump Ruling Party Alert)

    01/22/2006 4:46:26 AM PST · by goldstategop · 10 replies · 793+ views
    Toronto Sun ^ | 01/22/06 | Linda Williamson
    After 12 years, we at the Sun think it's self-evident that the Liberals have to go, and polls show most Canadians agree. But just in case you're still not sure, we've compiled a list of the lowlights of Liberal rule since 1993. There's plenty more where these came from, but we've narrowed it to 218 reasons not to vote Liberal. Take your pick: You really only need one. THIS ELECTION -- WE DID NOT MAKE THIS UP 1 Pre-election spending: $22.2 billion, according to Canadian Taxpayers Federation. 2 Pre-election tax relief: $30 billion -- about $323 per taxpayer; up from...
  • Tracing the case (Jack Abramoff's kickbacks, in a NYT graphic)

    01/04/2006 8:03:36 AM PST · by summer · 102 replies · 3,017+ views
    The NYT ^ | Jan 4, 2006 | Anne E. Kornblut
  • Annan Lays Out Plans, Lashes Out at Media

    12/22/2005 9:07:39 AM PST · by george76 · 17 replies · 798+ views
    Associated Press ^ | Dec 22, | EDITH M. LEDERER
    UNITED NATIONS - Secretary-General Kofi Annan lashed out at the media after a year of unrelenting attacks on the United Nations and criticism of his management of the $64 billion oil-for-food program in Iraq, calling one critic "an overgrown schoolboy." He criticized reporters Wednesday for what he said was unfair coverage of his role in the oil-for-food program and insisted reporters missed the big story. That, he said, was the more than 2,200 companies and invididuals from some 40 countries that paid kickbacks or illegal surcharges to Saddam Hussein's government to get contracts. An 18-month investigation led by former U.S....
  • DIRTY LOUISIANA AND IT'S LAZY CITIZENS

    12/04/2005 8:31:45 PM PST · by Liberty911 · 73 replies · 3,084+ views
    Self ^ | December 4, 2005 | Self
    POLL HERE: http://www.wwltv.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=25953 Please excuse the subject, this is a call to action, it was meant to get YOUR attention. Read on while witholding judgment. Citizens of Louisiana, WE THE PEOPLE need easier and more effective methods and administrative and legal procedures and remedies to remove elected, appointed and other public officials and employees, IN ALL BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT, from their positions of trust (GIVEN TO THEM BY THE PEOPLE of our good and historic state) when they are involved of suspected or proven undesirable activity. The endless days of graft, corruption, miscondcut, looking the other way, making perpetual excuses...
  • Councilman booked in extortion sting

    11/17/2005 7:48:05 PM PST · by Bogey78O · 6 replies · 370+ views
    The Times-Picayune ^ | 11-17-05 | Paul Rioux
    St. Tammany Parish Councilman Joe Impastato was arrested Tuesday for allegedly extorting a $100,000 kickback in connection with a Hurricane Katrina debris removal contract, a case that authorities called the opening salvo in a corruption crackdown by a task force weeding out fraud in storm-related contracts worth tens of billions of dollars. Impastato was arrested during an FBI sting as he accepted two cashier's checks totaling $85,000 from a subcontractor cooperating with authorities, U.S. Attorney Jim Letten said at a news conference Wednesday. Impastato, 33, who represents the Lacombe area, is accused of extorting 50 cents on the dollar from...
  • Army Employee Charged With Profiting From War Deaths

    11/03/2005 4:50:31 AM PST · by Abathar · 9 replies · 328+ views
    The Indy Channel ^ | November 3, 2005 | AP
    SEATTLE -- The FBI has arrested a civilian employee at Fort Lewis, Wash., who is accused of soliciting kickbacks from funeral homes in return for business generated by the deaths of soldiers. The FBI said Rolf Evans is facing an extortion charge. He worked as an Army casualty affairs officer and was responsible for awarding contracts to funeral homes. The FBI said he threatened to withhold contracts if he was not given cash payments of $100 to $300. The practice had allegedly been going on for five years, but one of the funeral homes turned him in last month after...
  • Half oil-food firms said to pay kickbacks (UN Oil-F0R-Food)

    08/09/2005 3:44:04 PM PDT · by NormsRevenge · 41 replies · 1,931+ views
    AP on Yahoo ^ | 8/9/05 | Edith M. Lederer - AP
    UNITED NATIONS - Half the 4,500 companies that took part in the U.N. oil-for-food program in Iraq paid kickbacks or illegal surcharges and are being given a chance to respond to the accusations, two top investigators told The Associated Press. The U.N.-backed probe is expected to release a major report in early September on the $64 billion operation and a final report in October on the companies involved in the purchase of Iraqi oil or sale of humanitarian goods under the program, the investigators said. "We will report on the management and the corruption," former U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Paul...
  • Oil-For-Food Chief Accused of Kickbacks

    08/08/2005 9:37:51 AM PDT · by NormsRevenge · 26 replies · 873+ views
    AP on Yahoo ^ | 8/8/05 | Nick Wadhams - AP
    NEW YORK - Investigators probing claims of wrongdoing in the Iraq oil-for-food program accused its former chief, Benon Sevan, of corruption for taking illegal kickbacks and recommended his immunity be lifted for prosecution. The investigators said a former U.N. procurement officer sought a bribe and should have his immunity lifted as well. Alexander Yakovlev also was accused of collecting nearly $1 million in kickbacks outside the oil-for-food program. The third report by the Independent Inquiry Committee, led by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, was a new blow to the scandal-tainted $64 billion program. For the first time, it gave...
  • Tale of docks and mobsters gets new life, Crime figure’s vivid testimony fuels U.S. case

    08/06/2005 5:57:35 PM PDT · by Coleus · 3 replies · 710+ views
    Star Ledger ^ | 05.01.05 | TED SHERMAN
        John Bowers, the aging president of the International Longshoremen’s Association, had gone to meet a local union official at the Smith & Wollensky in Miami Beach. Inside, he was surprised to discover George Barone seated amid the polished brass and dark wood decor of the pricey waterfront steakhouse.     Barone was no stranger. A Genovese family member, he once controlled ILA locals in New Jersey and Miami. He also had coldly killed at least 10 people, by his own count, as a mob enforcer.     In a sworn deposition, Bowers recounted the conversation:     ‘‘You’re doing a wonderful job,’’ Barone told him. ‘‘We...
  • Millionaire charged with taking kickbacks from teachers' pension fund (Big RAT indicted)

    08/03/2005 5:45:19 PM PDT · by Libloather · 7 replies · 689+ views
    ABC Local ^ | 8/03/05 | Andy Shaw
    Millionaire charged with taking kickbacks from teachers' pension fund By Andy Shaw Stuart Levine August 3, 2005 — A politically connected businessman has been indicted for a second time on federal fraud charges. Stuart Levine is linked to a scam involving the Illinois Teachers Pension Fund along with one of the Democratic party's biggest fund raisers, Joseph Cari. The message from the feds Wednesday is crystal clear: Chicago City Hall is only one of the fronts in the war on government corruption. It also appears to be rampant at the boards and commissions that oversee billions of dollars in state...