Posted on 02/22/2010 10:55:22 AM PST by jazusamo
Washington - In a landmark RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) lawsuit certain to have far-reaching implications for the animal rights movement, Feld Entertainment and the Ringling Brothers circus sued the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), its lawyers, and several other animal rights groups last week. The nonprofit Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) unearthed the lawsuit in federal court records today. CCF is making the lawsuit available online at its newest website, www.HumaneWatch.org
"America's farmers, ranchers, hunters, fishermen, research scientists, fashion designers, and restaurateurs have seen for decades how the animal rights movement can behave like a mobbed-up racket," said CCF Director of Research David Martosko. "But it's still shocking to see the evidence laid out on paper. In a treble-damage lawsuit like this, a jury could actually do the humane thing and finally put HSUS out of business completely."
In its February 16 lawsuit, Feld leveled bribery, fraud, obstruction of justice, and money laundering charges against HSUS and two of its corporate attorneys; three other animal rights groups; the Washington, DC law firm of Meyer Glitzenstein & Crystal; and all three of that firm's named partners. On December 30, 2009, Federal Judge Emmitt Sullivan ruled that these defendants collaborated to pay more than $190,000 to Mr. Tom Rider, a former Feld employee who was an elephant "barn helper" for two years in the late 1990s, in exchange for his impeached testimony against Feld in an earlier lawsuit-testimony Judge Sullivan declared "not credible" and disregarded in its entirety. That lawsuit was dismissed.
Feld is also suing Mr. Rider, and a nonprofit "Wildlife Advocacy Project" charity, claiming that Meyer Glitzenstein & Crystal used it to funnel money from their plaintiff clients to Mr. Rider. These clients included the Fund for Animals, which merged with HSUS in 2004.
"The new HumaneWatch website is the only place the public will be able to read this lawsuit," Martosko added. "We're publishing a treasure trove of information about the Humane Society of the United States, including lots of surprising documents that HSUS would rather remain hidden from its contributors."
Last week CCF launched www.HumaneWatch.org,an online watchdog project dedicated to analyzing HSUS's activities and keeping the group honest. It includes a blog, an interactive document library, and a growing body of information about HSUS-related organizations and staff.
The Center for Consumer Freedom is a nonprofit coalition supported by restaurants, food companies, and consumers, working together to promote personal responsibility and protect consumer choices.
I’m glad somebody powerful is finally fighting back. This “animal rights” stuff is completely insane and out of control. Nobody objects to treating animals decently, but giving them human legal rights (which is already being done in Europe) and preventing people from using them in any way - carriage driving, racing, performances, etc. - is absolutely nuts.
HSUS Ping!
When do they go after ACORN?
Agreed...HSUS has avoided the crazy tactics of PETA but are probably more dangerous in that their budget approaches $100 million a year from donations and practically none of it goes for animal welfare. It’s spent on salaries, advertising, fund raising and litigation to stop animal agriculture, hunting and anything to do with animals.
What is even more telling about their goals are their 2008 expenditures: They spent almost $20 million on campaigns, legislation and litigation; more than $ 24 million on fundraising; over $30.9 million in salaries, wages and other employee compensation; and less than $500,000 - that's just one-half of 1 percent of its total budget - in grants to organizations providing hands-on care to dogs and cats, which is where most donors probably believe their donations are going.
HSUS raises nearly $100 million annually from Americans who largely believe their donations filter down to local pet shelters and improve the lives of dogs and cats. But in 2008, less than one-half of one percent of HSUS’s budget consisted of grants to actual hands-on “humane societies”
http://drovers.com/news_editorial.asp?pgID=675&ed_id=6900
Took their management lessons from United Way.
Yep, those comments reflect the comments of the majority after articles in the print media. Time after time people recommend donating to local hands-on shelters.
A good observation and most certainly true.
Maybe this will start a trend of suing other phoney liberal non profits like the Green Weenie Clubs, Gorebull Warming Clubs and other worthless pseudo non profits.
That would certainly be a welcome surprise!!!
Here ya go, Carry_Okie!!!
YES! That’s what needs to be done, they’re not used to being on the suee side.
From your lips to God’s ears!
Charity Navigator guides you to the best way to empty your wallet, while maximizing the destruction of our culture.
They like Red Doublecross, and United (queer)Way too.
Great.
Amazingly similar modus operandi to the Milberg Weiss "class action" scam. Read on.
NYP---June 3, 2008 -- Mel Weiss, co-founder and chief trial counsel for the securities law firm Milberg LLP, was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for illegally paying clients to file shareholder suits that prosecutors said earned $251 million in lawyer fees. Weiss pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy, admitting he helped secretly pay a stable of plaintiffs to file suits 1979-2005. By using them to sue first, the firm was more likely to lead cases and reap larger fees.
"Weiss was widely recognized as the king of the plaintiffs' securities bar," said Jacob Frenkel, a former federal prosecutor. Yesterday's sentence, along with a similar prison term for Weiss' ex-partner, Bill Lerach, caps a victory for the Justice Department in its effort to combat shareholder litigation and the two men who pioneered the modern securities fraud class action.
Weiss, Lerach and their counterparts engineered cases and paid litigants to sue that forced companies to pay $45 billion.........,and damaged millions of stockholders.
Milberg became so feared by corporations that Congress passed a law making it harder to file such suits. Weiss's former law firm dropped him from its name when he pleaded guilty. Lerach made a plea deal in a scheme prosecutors alleged involved kickback payments to plaintiffs in class action lawsuits he and his former law firm brought. Court papers say that the two employed the scheme for more than two decades in 150 cases that brought their firm more than $200 million in fees (that we know of).
Milberg Weiss, the NY law firm where was indicted on conspiracy, mail fraud and money laundering charges in May 2006. In Lerach's agreement to plead guilty to a conspiracy charge, Justice Department lawyers agreed not to prosecute him over "election, campaign, or other political contributions" related to shady donations to the John Edwards campaign.
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