Free Republic

WOODLAWN — The Obama Foundation is asking the four construction teams vying to build the presidential center to set high standards for local and minority hiring. The foundation announced four finalists Thursday morning and also the standards for hiring the foundation is setting for each. Each of the firms has to lay out how it would meet a commitment to awarding half of its subcontracts to “diverse suppliers,” which expands the normal definition of firms from women and minority-owned firms to also include veteran-, disabled- or LGBTQ-owned firms. As the definition of inclusive hiring is broadened, the foundation is specifying...

The state appeals court on Thursday overturned the Sheldon Silver's 2015 corruption conviction for pocketing $4 million in kickbacks from a cancer researcher and real estate developers. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison in May 2016. But he appealed earlier this year after the Supreme Court narrowed the definition of "official act" for the purposes of proving corruption cases. That Supreme Court case centered on alleged criminal conduct by former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell. In Silver's case, the court ruled his jury was given a too-broad definition of what constitutes an "official act" in light of the Supreme...

Guccifer 2.0, has released files pertinent to the Clinton Foundation. Banks that received TARP fund sent kickbacks to Democrat polls to bribe them to vote for the TARP bailouts.   When Obama demanded that congress approve more bailouts between 2009 and 2011, it seemed as if kickbacks were offered to Democratic politicians from the big banks, but through the Clinton Foundation. This included Hillary, who was to ensure that the bailout got approved. Clinton aided the big banks in bribing the Democrat politicians. “Democrats funneled tarp funds back to their PACs! That’s taxpayer bailout money that went right to...

"U.S. Transportation department executive approved grant days before taking job with rail contractor" A top Obama administration executive at the U.S. Department of Transportation approved a $647-million grant for a California rail project in mid-January and less than two weeks later went to work for a Los Angeles-based contractor involved in the project, The Times has learned. The grant provides a significant part of the money required to install a $2-billion electrical power system on the Bay Area’s Caltrain commuter rail system, allowing the rail to retire its diesel locomotives.

This case is unusual as it is rare for an Admiral to even face criminal proceedings Source: http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/San-Diego-Navy-Admiral-Guilty-Plea-Navy-Bribery-Scheme-382400401.html#ixzz4B8MhpHYZ Follow us: @nbcsandiego on Twitter | NBCSanDiego on Facebook A rear admiral in the U.S. Navy plead guilty to one felony charge in connection with a multi-million dollar bribery scheme that has led to the arrest or imprisonment of more than a dozen U.S. Navy officers and Pentagon employees. Rear Admiral Robert J. Gilbeau appeared in court Thursday in the downtown San Diego federal courthouse. Gilbeau entered a change of plea to one count of providing false statements to federal investigators and...

The head of the city’s sergeants union accused Police Commissioner Bill Bratton of hypocrisy Sunday and called for his resignation. “What I am seeing on a regular basis now in the NYPD lately is, it’s a ‘do as I say, not as I do’ attitude, and this is coming directly from Commissioner Bratton,” Sergeants Benevolent Association President Ed Mullins said on John Catsimatidis’s radio show on AM 970. […] The union chief complained that everyone in the department was aware of ticket-fixing before that scandal broke and that it was part of the culture — but now that it has...

After a successful attack on corruption in New York’s state government, the hard-charging federal prosecutor in Manhattan appears to have set his sights on New York City. Over the past few weeks, a series of loosely related public corruption investigations coordinated by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara have spilled into public view, with targets including high-ranking New York Police Department officials, the union representing city jail guards, and the political fundraising activities of several people with ties to New York City’s mayor. Already an embarrassment to the nation’s largest police department, it remains unclear whether the widening probes could do damage...

As Bob Dylan told us long ago, “You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.” These days, a foul wind blows from City Hall. With subpoenas issued, investigations spreading and at least one federal grand jury at work, the question isn’t whether Bill de Blasio’s administration has a corruption problem. The questions are how big is the problem, how many agencies are tainted and how high up the pecking order does it go? […] The two biggest and most recent scandals involve lucrative gifts and cash given to current and former top officers in the NYPD,...

Four senior New York City police officials have been transferred amid a corruption probe into whether officers took free trips, meals and other perks, and Commissioner William Bratton said Thursday police and federal investigators will “follow the leads wherever they take us.” “The public has an expectation of a high degree of trust and integrity in its police department,” he said. “This is not a particularly good day for the department.” The corruption investigation by the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau began in 2013, Bratton said in a statement. In early 2014 the FBI and Department of Justice became involved in...

Five individuals who have donated to Democratic politicians pleaded guilty to a scheme that drained Medicare out of $33 million dollars. Two physicians and three owners of hospice and home care companies based out of Detroit, Mich., were charged on June 18, 2015 as part of the largest Medicare fraud case in history for submitting fraudulent claims for home health care and hospice services that were either not provided or deemed medically unnecessary.The elaborate operation revolved around Muhammad Tariq, Shahid Tahir, and Manawar Javed—the owners of the home health care and hospice companies—paying kickbacks and bribes to physicians for referrals...

The New York Times is declaring that disgraced private equity mogul Steven Rattner has gotten his reputation back in the Manhattan lunch circles that matter. This was probably only a matter of time given that it was the Times itself that played a leading role in his rehabilitation. It’s Andrew Ross Sorkin, naturally, who pronounces the cleansing complete, even wondering aloud if Rattner could be a Treasury secretary someday. This about a guy who just two years ago paid $16 million to settle SEC and New York lawsuits against him for taking part in a kickback scheme with public officials...

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services secretly paid out over a billion dollars in improper hospital claims earlier last month, despite auditors labeling them unnecessary previously. The payments, which were quietly announced on June 1 by CMS, totaled $1.3 billion and involved 1,900 hospitals and 300,000 claims that had been already denied by CMS auditors on two different levels as medically unnecessary. The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals settled hundreds of thousands of appeals for 68 cents on the dollar. The money used to cover the claims will be taken from the...

Three recruiting assistants for the Minnesota National Guard have been indicted for what the military has described as a "widespread scheme." They were indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury in Minneapolis and are accused of illegally taking bonuses for signing up new recruits. According to the indictments, Timothy Stafford is accused of fraud in kickbacks on the enlistment of 25 soldiers, and Terry Wosmek and Quinton Jones are accused of receiving kickbacks for four recruits each.

West New York mayor accepted $250K in bribes in medical kickback scheme West New York Mayor Felix Roque was indicted Tuesday on charges he accepted approximately $250,000 in bribes in return for referring patients to a medical imaging company, state authorities said. Christopher Baxter updated June 10, 2015 at 7:06 AM TRENTON — The mayor of West New York, Felix Roque, was indicted Tuesday for accepting approximately $250,000 in bribes in return for referring patients to a medical imaging company whose owner has admitted running a massive kickback scheme, state authorities said. From 2007 to 2012, Roque, 59, a Democrat...

The head of Brazil's state-run oil giant Petrobras and five senior executives have resigned in the wake of a huge corruption scandal. Maria das Graças Foster's departure follows the arrest and testimony of some three dozen executives at Petrobras and many of its suppliers. The board of Petrobras is due to meet on Friday to elect new executives. The scandal involves alleged price-fixing, bribes and kickbacks, which implicates Brazil's ruling party. Prosecutors have uncovered around $800m in bribes and other illegal funds. More than 200 businesses are being investigated and more than 80 people, including three former executives from Petrobras,...

The contest to succeed longtime New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was supposed to be an open process, giving lawmakers two weeks to mull their options. Instead, it's looking increasingly likely that the decision will be made before Silver’s resignation from the post takes effect Monday night, an outcome that would dash the hopes of some lawmakers and reformers who pushed for a departure from Albany’s usual backroom politics.Assemblyman Carl Heastie of the Bronx has emerged as the clear favorite from a field that just a few days ago featured five contenders. Three of them quickly backed out and threw...

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who bent state government to his will for more than 20 years as one of New York's most powerful and canny politicians, was arrested Thursday on charges of taking nearly $4 million in payoffs and kickbacks. The 70-year-old Democrat was taken into custody by the FBI on federal conspiracy and bribery charges that carry up to 100 years in prison and could cost him his political seat. He was released on $200,000 bail.

The murder of Dr. George Tiller was rightly condemned by every reputable pro-life group in America including Live Action. Dr. Tiller has been hailed as a hero and martyr by the pro-choice community. He performed third trimester abortions on women who came to him from all over the country. Tracey Jones was the former administrative director of Dr. Tiller’s clinic. She would later file suit against Tiller, claiming she was denied overtime wages for menial tasks she was instructed to do around the office. Her testimony was published in The Tiller Report, a publication by Operation Rescue which exposed disturbing...

A Chinese businessman paid $500,000 to have dinner with Bill and Hillary Clinton. But when he asked if his kids could join, the former first couple demanded another half-million, the New York Post reports. One witness said Holzman regaled guests with a tale that “lunch for two with Bill and Hillary went for $500,000 to benefit the Clinton Foundation.” And the winning bid came from “a Chinese business mogul who then asked if he could bring his two children along to the meeting.” But, our spy said, the high bidder was then told by the Clinton camp he could only...

There is a new Clinton paid to deliver speeches — Chelsea, the former first daughter — and she is commanding as much as $75,000 per appearance. Aides stressed that while Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton often address trade groups and Wall Street bankers, Ms. Clinton, now 34, focuses on organizations whose goals are in line with the work of the family’s philanthropic organization, the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation. Organizers said her star power helped sell tickets and raise money. And unlike her parents’ talks, Ms. Clinton’s speeches “are on behalf of the Clinton Foundation, and 100 percent of...