Posted on 05/14/2004 3:43:32 AM PDT by calcowgirl
Prometheus Methods Tower Services Inc., the business that cost Nick Berg his life in Iraq, has no records with the Pennsylvania Department of State.
The company that specialized in building communications towers never registered with the Pennsylvania Corporation Bureau, said Brian McDonald, spokesman for the state department.
McDonald conducted a search of the bureau’s online list of registered businesses, but found no matches.
The same search done by a Daily Local News reporter produced the same results -- several businesses contained the word "Prometheus" in their names. Only one is located in West Chester, and it is not related to Berg’s business.
Companies are not legally required to register with the state, but McDonald explained it is usually the first step an owner takes.
"You’d be very foolish not to register your business with the department," he said. "It is nearly impossible to exist without doing it."
Registering allows an owner to set up his business’s tax structure. It also establishes how the business is run, for example, whether or not it is for-profit or nonprofit.
"It is basically the infrastructure by which businesses are set up in the commonwealth," McDonald said.
McDonald added it is possible the business could be listed in the bureau’s records under a different name.
Searching the statewide yellow pages online found two company names containing the word "Prometheus" in Philadelphia. One is an Internet consulting business.
An employee at the second one, which is called Prometheus Radio Project, said it was not affiliated with the business owned by the local man slain in Iraq by members of al-Qaida.
Officials at the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue and the Internal Revenue Service said state and federal laws prohibited their agencies from providing any records they had of Prometheus Methods Tower Services -- even whether the company had ever filed a return.
"Any information that we get or is contained on a tax return I can’t release," said Steve Kniley, press secretary for the state revenue department. "It is considered confidential under tax law."
Tax records become public information only if a lien is filed against a business. According to Kniley, there are no liens against Berg’s company.
Bill Cressman, spokesman at the IRS’s Philadelphia office, said the only companies with public tax records are nonprofit corporations.
At least one person claims he can confirm Prometheus’ existence.
Jay Shur, who works at the radio station WCHE 1520 AM in West Chester, said on Wednesday he was in the process of hiring Berg to build a communications tower for the station when news of his death came out.
The station was awaiting approval of plans from both the borough and an environmental agency before construction could begin, according to Shur.
"There’s a lot of paperwork to go through, and the area we were looking at was a marsh- land so we had to get clearance," he said."When I do get the OK, I’ll have to look for another contractor."
Michael Berg briefly spoke about Prometheus during a press conference Thursday morning outside his home.
"My son was not over there to make money," Michael Berg said. "My son’s business, which was very profitable before he went to Iraq ..I will make good on anything the company owes anybody, but it’s pretty much going to be defunct."
It is unclear how many employees Prometheus had. Michael Berg spoke of a "foreman" during the press conference. However, Nick Berg traveled to Iraq alone.
Staff Writer Jill Nawrocki contributed to this article.
Nick Berg may have been a spook or "walk on" spook working for any number of principals. Maybe he will even get an anonymous star on the wall in the lobby at Langley.
But to try to tell us all that all these coincidences in a row are just happenstance is to insult our intelligence.
You need to use a better line of misdirection than that. It ain't working. It just makes your motives suspect.
I had a business for many years without having a business license. The business license would only be good in the city in which I did business. Technically I needed a business license for each city in which I did work, and since I travelled all over the state to do business, the cost would have been prohibitive. So I simply ran the business without a license. And what would have happened had I gotten caught? Maybe a $500 fine. Whoopee.
What sinister motive can you attribute to that?
His father made Nick's death political.
Since the father is a known Leftist,
just what do you expect P-M?
Too many coincidences merit further investigations.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1137039/posts
It is interesting that the A.N.S.W.E.R. petition that Doug From Upland first introduced last month listed Michael Berg and his Prometheus Methods Towers affiliation. That's intriguing, since all media accounts have said that the company belonged to Nick. If the Fellow Traveler father was just some outside advisor, why would he list the company in his signature and not "retired teacher"? 651 posted on 05/17/2004 12:07:31 PM PDT by Barlowmaker
"Next."
Just a minor point, since you pinged me - I don't think anyone here is trying to prove that Nick Berg was doing anything treasonous, wrong, or deserving of hatred. It's just odd that there should be so many coincidences.
It's Nick Berg's own father who is not blaming the true enemies of America, and seems to be going out of his way to make excuses for them. Since Michael Berg is the one who, in a sense, started this by blaming Bush rather than AQ for his son's death, I think we have a right to ask questions about him and his motives. You will note that many of the questions on this thread concern Michael Berg, and not Nick Berg.
I still think that Nick Berg was an idealistic and perhaps excessively gullible man who was lured or stumbled into a trap. I also think it's very possible that his father, no doubt inadvertently, was involved in it in some way. It would not surprise me to see a leftist really believe that all AQ needed in order to set them right was just a little heart-to-heart with Americans who also believe that Bush is evil, just a little bridge-building between cultures, yada yada. That appears to have been what the Japanese hostages (released earlier) had been doing there before they were captured.
That's going across the line, TM.
My internet presence and right-wing credibility is easily established. My mother posts here as well.
P-Marlowe is a long time poster and for you to ask "who he works for" is an absurd charge.
Believe what you want, but maybe you should retract that.
Unless you'd like to throw that grenade in my direction?
Like I said, I did leave DC before 9/11 and one year before the Sniper struck. And I moved to the Seattle area, which was his point of origin. And I lived in Norman when I was 5. I give money to a Christian child overseas sponsorship organization--hey, maybe that little girl is a cover for Communist terrorists!
I have olive skin and I used to be a leftist(I was extremely young, but how do we KNOW I'm not still a leftist?)
I also lived in Philly for 10 years, up the age of 20--maybe I am in league with the evil Lord Mike Berg and his wife and Prometheus Radio? Ya never know right?
A leftist using their child as a political platform?
Ever seen the Wellstone funeral?
Come on, that's not evidence of anything.
ANd these coincidences are as much manufactured and honestly, there ARENT that many coincidences. If Mike Berg wasn't a raging leftist, no one would be trying to connect these other dots. And any explanations are discarded by the tinfoil smear Brigade.
I am working to undo the damage that I did to this man's reputation when I started getting involved in all this silly speculation. I have participated on both sides of this thread. Once I realized that Nick Berg really was a tower guy with a documented history of legitimate work in the US and abroad, I realized that I had sinned against Nick Berg.
I now see Nick Berg for what he was. A great guy. A magnificently brave tower man who probably had a dual motive in Iraq, to get in on the ground floor in the communications business and to really help the Iraqi people to rebuild their country. I have seen no EVIDENCE to the contrary and as you know I examine EVIDENCE for a living. There is nothing here to suggest that Nick Berg was anything other than a great American. I would have been proud to know him. Everyone who has been interviewed who knew anything about him says he was a great guy. Who are we to dispute that? And what are we going to use to do it? Innuendo? That's all you've got. Admit it.
To discover the truth.
I am NOT claiming there's any evidence.
A beheading by Islamo-fascists is more serious than Wellstone's death.
Further investigation is warranted.
Too many coincidences fueled by the father's
outrage toward Bush and Rummy, NOT the people
who murdered his son in front of the camera.
Just don't blow smoke in our faces and tell us it's perfume. All of these coincidences need an explanation, not just the "Nothing here! Move along!" non-answer you want to shove at us.
Maybe P-Marlowe has the best of motives for trying to shut donw this line of inquiry, which he is clearly trying to do. If he or you private mail me your official US Govt bona fides, with your proof that Nick was working for the good guys, I'll accept it.
Otherwise, stop treating us like foolish children. When the dice land on 7 every time, don't try to tell us it's just a coincidence.
To discover the truth.
No one's treating you like children. We're talking to you like men.
Who ever said "move along?" The problem is when certain "facts" have been debunked, or words misheard, taken out of context or chopped off from teh completed statement, when people begin to make their OWN connections outside of the evidence, it becomes nothing but a speculation game.
I mean, we might as well talk about UFOs and such because there's far more connection and 'evidence' there than in this case.
A man associated(in what way--we dont know the extent of the association)TWO YEARS LATER uses Nick's account. OK.
Michael's dad is an a-hole leftist. TO me, this would explain his listing of his company on the ANSWER petition. It's not as if someone like that wouldn't think he was entitled to represent a company of 2-3 employees, esp if he was a financial backer.
Also, Nick may have sold his idea on investment(or working for it) by saying these tower modifications were going to make it easier for Iraqis to communicate FREELY with each other. Something even a lefty like Mike Berg, might have approved.
As for the Iraqi uncle, to me, this is post hoc ergo proctor hoc'after the fact, therefore because of the fact.' It is more likely that his decision to go to Iraq was influenced by his acquaintance with this man. There's ZERO evidence the man had anything to do with anything. Your side is portraying his Iraqi uncle as some kind of AQ operative or sinister figure, and trying to draw connections after the fact.
But what connections, what direct evidence do you have?
The circumstantial links aren't even good enough to build a case in court, not even the dumbest jury would fall for them. There are way too many MORE PLAUSIBLE explanations and some outright debunkings of these so-called coincidences.
In many ways, Berg is being punished in this discussion for being in Iraq and being killed. If he were instead in Africa building something, the email account would be but a terrible coincidence.
But what if the truth is out and nothing more is forthcoming because there IS NO MORE?
The man is dead and we have zero testimony from his actual FRIENDS AND FAMILY to demonstrate anything other than he was what he was, including that reporter in Baghdad who knew him.
It's unlikely he was "working for us" because to travel in that manner would seem counterintuitive(let me have fun speculating now)
And what leftist commie-symp have you met that is into bodybuilding and is cheery and loved by everyone? most of the leftists are all negative and are described as "Passionate" but not kind and welcoming.
His entire personality description doesn't fit into the sinister profile some are trying to CONCOCT.
"Carol Berg has been involved with Prometheus project has been in battle with the FCC which would already put the berg family on a FBI watchlist via the 'NAZI' patriot act [BM's note: Major BARF alert]...... Nick Berg originally went to Irag under his own name not mentioning his company in order to scout for work involving technical support and 'Free radio' for Iraqis... " My suspicions are starting to be confirmed. I suspect that Nick was duped into doing the bidding of Prometheus Project / ANSWER.
You need to relax. I am not asserting that Nick might have been a spy. I am asserting that his father's actions and affiliations are suspicious and that it is conceivable that evil people in ANSWER may have duped Nick into meeting certain people in Iraq and participating in activities there which were 100% technical, and which may have unwittingly served other purposes. It's called false flag recruiting, and ther person recruited is not aware of the fact they have been recruited.
Indeed, Michael Berg should be asked this question by the FBI.
Do you have a dog in this hunt? You are really reacting to this, almost as if you yourself, or someone you know, is somehow threatened by this. If you have a conflict of interest, let it be known.
2:04-cv-01497-MAM BERG et al v. RUMSFELD MARY A. MCLAUGHLIN, presiding Date filed: 04/05/2004 Date terminated: 04/09/2004 Date of last filing: 04/09/2004 Case Summary Office: Philadelphia Filed: 04/05/2004 Jury Demand: None Demand: Nature of Suit: 530 Cause: 28:2241 Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (federal) Jurisdiction: Federal Question Disposition: County: Outside the U.S. Terminated: 04/09/2004 Origin: 1 Reopened: Lead Case: None Related Case: None Other Court Case: None Flags: CLOSED, HABEAS Petitioner NICHOLAS EVAN BERG represented by ALFRED A. GOLLATZ Phone: 610-692-9116 Fax: 610-692-9177 Email: agollatz@ggelaw.com Petitioner MICHAEL S. BERG represented by ALFRED A. GOLLATZ Phone: 610-692-9116 Fax: 610-692-9177 Email: agollatz@ggelaw.com Petitioner SUZANNE CAROL BERG represented by ALFRED A. GOLLATZ Phone: 610-692-9116 Fax: 610-692-9177 Email: agollatz@ggelaw.com Respondent DONALD H. RUMSFELD
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