Posted on 04/04/2011 6:43:27 PM PDT by Laurentius
Chicago Democrats with close ties to Barack Obama have been implicated in a massive cover-up of sexual abuse and human trafficking (1) targeting black children in poor neighborhoods. The allegations have emerged from a series of lawsuits brought by abuse victims and their families.
The crimes span a period of at least 40 years, and involve torture, kidnapping, gang rape and sexual enslavement of hundreds of African-American children.
Through the years, victims coming forward to report these crimes have faced harassment and threats from private investigators (2) and city police. (3)
These abuses unfolded during the long reign of the “Daley Machine” – a period when two Richard Daleys, father and son, ruled over the Windy City, with near-dictatorial powers. Each held the reins for more than 20 years (Richard the Elder from 1955 to 1976 and Richard the Younger from 1989 to 2011).
We now know that the Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program — established by Richard the Elder in 1969 — long served as a federally-funded playground for child molestors. Pedophiles working in the program preyed on black children from poor neighborhoods, often placing them on government payrolls as “phantom” or “ghost” employees, with no other duties than to satisfy their tormentors’ sexual appetites.
The widening scandal threatens to become an embarrassment for President Barack Obama, whose political career largely grew from Daley’s patronage, and whose White House is filled with Daley operatives, including William Daley, brother of the former mayor, whom Obama has appointed chief of staff.
Targeting Black Children in Poor Neighborhoods
The scandal came to light mainly through the efforts of Seattle attorney Phillip Aaron, who has been fighting Chicago’s pedophile mafia since 2001.
Aaron, who is African-American, discovered a veritable epidemic of sex abuse against impoverished black children in Chicago.
He has brought suit against the City of Chicago, the Chicago Archdiocese and Chicago Archbishop Francis George, among others. He also founded African-American Advocates for Victims of Clergy Sexual Abuse (AAVCSA), a victim support group headed by Ruby Harris.
Aaron commissioned a study which shows that the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago has pursued a long-term policy of transferring child-abusing priests to African-American neighborhoods. (see box labeled “DOCUMENT LEAK” below)
The study shows that priests in Chicago who were "credibly accused" of molesting children - that is, priests who were identified as likely pedophiles in the Church's own documents - were systematically pulled from white neighborhoods and transferred to poor, black communities, over a period of several decades. The results were horrific. Perverted priests preyed on black children at will. City and church officials turned their backs on the problem, and cooperated in covering up these crimes.
In court filings, Aaron has accused the Daley political machine of working hand-in-hand with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago to obstruct investigations, intimidate witnesses and suppress media coverage of the scandal.
|
SUPPRESSED
View the Report [Google Cache]
Download the Raw Data |
An Unholy Alliance of Church and State
In November 2006, Church lawyers settled out of court with three of Aaron’s clients for an unusually large sum, totalling seven figures. The victims – now grown men – claim they were abused, as children, by one Father Terence Fitzmaurice.
Fitzmaurice was more than a priest. He was also a city official – a supervisor for Mayor Daley’s Summer Youth Employment Program (now known as "Youth Ready Chicago"). Each summer Fitzmaurice supervised hundreds of teen workers for the city.
Mayor Richard J. Daley – father of Mayor Richard M. Daley – launched the program in 1969 to provide training and summer jobs for impoverished black and Hispanic youth. Catholic parishes around the city took part in the program, which was run in partnership with the Archdiocese of Chicago School Board.
Fitzmaurice, who was white, would scour poor neighborhoods, seeking black and Hispanic teens in need of work. Many got legitimate jobs, such as painting walls, doing yard work and helping the elderly. Others were selected for a different sort of “work.”
Court papers allege that Father Fitzmaurice maintained a “clubhouse” near his church where he invited young recruits to hang out, play air hockey or watch TV. Some were taken to a back room where they were seduced or raped by Fitzmaurice and other priests.
Aaron alleges that Fitzmaurice placed many of his young recruits on the city payroll, with no duties other than to provide sexual services for priests. In many cases, Fitzmaurice had to falsify their ages on official documents, because they were not yet 14 – the minimum age for participation in the city job program. Several of his underage recruits lived at the rectory, available round the clock for sexual abuse by Fitzmaurice and other priests.
Court filings say that one African-American boy named Peter Collins was kidnapped from a playground at the age of ten, “forced to ingest alcohol,” then gang-raped by four priests, including Father Fitzmaurice. Collins was one of the three Fitzmaurice victims, mentioned above, who received a six-figure settlement in 2006.
More than 220 victims have come forward, claiming they were molested by priests who recruited them through the Mayor’s summer work program.
Fitzmaurice retired in 1988, and died in 2009. He never faced criminal charges.
|
SUPPRESSED
Aired August 16, 2009 |
Obama Judge Shoots Down Federal Racketeering Lawsuit
On December 10, 2009, Aaron filed suit on behalf of more than 40 victims. Defendants included the City of Chicago, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, and Chicago Archbishop Francis George, among others.
Aaron charged the defendants with racial discrimination, alleging that the Catholic Church deals more harshly with black victims of sexual abuse than with white victims. He alleged, among other things, that the Church holds black victims to a higher standard of proof, gives them smaller settlements and subjects them to intimidation at the hands of lawyers, private detectives and police.
Aaron also alleged federal racketeering, stating that federal funds had been used to facilitate pedophile activity and to pay bribes and hush money to victims and their families.
When Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman was appointed to hear the case, it seemed a good sign. A black woman who had worked in the child protection division of the Illinois Circuit Court, Coleman was nominated to the federal bench by President Barack Obama on February 24, 2010 . She seemed more likely than most to empathize with Aaron’s mostly African-American clients.
But, on January 10, 2011, Judge Coleman dismissed the suit, on dubious grounds. She denied that the crimes Aaron alleged fell under federal jurisdiction.
The Daley Connection
Perhaps the result was predictable. Born and raised in Chicago, Judge Coleman came up through the ranks of Mayor Daley’s political machine.
In fact, Daley was her boss for nearly five years. During Daley’s seven-year tenure as Cook County State’s Attorney (1981-1989), Coleman served as Assistant State’s Attorney, from 1984 to 1989.
She was a product of the Machine. Her decision on January 10 reflected that.
Regarding the Daley Machine, Chicago writer Ben Joravsky observed in 2007, “With the exception of a few political oddballs and misfits, almost everyone around here is part of Daley's team. They really have no choice. For better or worse, Daley controls the schools, parks, and police, not to mention hundreds of pay rollers and billions of property-tax dollars. If you want a zoning change, building permit, or a business license, you have to go to Daley, or at least to people he has appointed or hired. The attitude in Chicago is you can't beat him — so you might as well succumb.”
As Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel prepares for his May 16 inauguration, many Chicagoans hope the new regime will rise above the corruption of the old. But the Daley Machine has deep roots in Chicago. Emanuel himself is a Daley operative from way back.
|
|
Criminal Charges May Lie Ahead
Aaron’s allegations could lead to criminal charges, if proved. Prosecutors have begun dealing more harshly with clergy sex abuse, as recently demonstrated in the case of Monsignor William Lynn, an official of Philadelphia’s Roman Catholic Archdiocese. Lynn has been charged with two felony counts of child endangerment, for transferring abusive priests to other parishes while keeping mum about their crimes.
If the Chicago cases are treated with the same strictness, church and city officials who took part in the cover-up may face jail time.
|
CARDINAL GEORGE ANNOUNCES RESIGNATION A front-page story in the Chicago Tribune on March 18 announced that Chicago Archbishop Francis George will submit his resignation to the Vatican -- but not until January of next year. It's a routine procedure, said the Tribune. Cardinal George turns 75 in January. All Cardinals must submit resignation letters at age 75.
All well and good. But if the procedure is routine, why did the Tribune play this story on the front page – a full ten months in advance of the Cardinal’s anticipated resignation?
One explanation may lie in the Archbishop's mishandling of sex-abusing priests.
In a January 30, 2008 deposition, George admitted under oath that he allowed Father Daniel McCormack to stay on as pastor of an African-American parish, despite repeated warnings that McCormack was a likely pedophile, including a recommendation from the Archdiocese’s own Independent Review Board to suspend McCormack from ministry.
McCormack was considered a "rising star" in the Archdiocese, a white man with a unique “passion” for black culture. The Chicago Tribune reports that McCormack would preach to his African-American parishioners “in the rolling cadences of a black Baptist clergyman.”
McCormack was arrested in January 2006 and sentenced to five years in prison for sexual abuse of children. At least 23 alleged victims of McCormack have come forward.
The Cardinal's resignation announcement may be calculated to put some distance between George and the McCormack scandal. Perhaps it is also intended to lower his profile on law-enforcement radar screens.
No doubt, Cardinal George is keeping a wary eye on Philadelphia, where prosecutors have charged an Archdiocesan official with felony child endangerment, for keeping pedophile priests in ministry. Cardinal George and his retired colleague Bishop Raymond Goedert, have done much the same thing, as they admitted in sworn depositions. Deposition of Cardinal Francis E. George OMI, January 28, 2008 |
2. In court filings, attorney Phillip Aaron has alleged that some of his clients have been “followed and investigated by defendants’ investigators,” and that “Said investigators interviewed victims’ neighbors, friends, acquaintances…” See Jane Doe 1 et. al. v. Father Anthony Vader et. al., Complaint for Damages and Demand for Jury Trial, United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Case No. 1:09-cv-02842, May 8, 2009, paragraph 65.
3. Morgan Lord, “Alleged Sex Abuse Victims Accuse Chicago Police of Wrongdoing,” Chicago Defender, July 20, 2005
4. John Doe 1 et al., v. The Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, et al., United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Case No. 1:09-cv-07656, 12-10-09, paragraphs 62-64
I have been a Freeper since 1999. I created this new screenname, with Jim Robinson’s personal permission, in order to protect my identity, for the purposes of this post, and some other important posts which will follow.
Chicago is so corrupt you have to pull back the curtains and see what might be hiding.
Coming out just as Obambi says he will run again.
mark
“...congratulations on fine reporting and formatting?”
Thank you.
I wouldn’t even post that. There will be people combing through trying to track it down.
“This poster has been checked out, all is kosher.”
Thank you!
Thanks
Actually it was a question on what response you would get with such a new registration date.
The formatting was great though. Something a noob would have trouble doing. It appears you back up all your points with links. Wished it would have stayed in breaking. Big proponent of original Freeper reporting.
10-4. Just trying to be careful.
My apologies if I offended.
My hat goes off to you. Good reporting, I understand completely your wish for anonymity. Confronting evil head on can be dangerous to your health.
“Credibly Accused Priests” is the new buzzword. Who is behind the “credible”?
It would seem the MSM would run with this because of the priest angle. They will be tempted, but I think the urge to ignore will overcome. They would rather “expose” Sarah Palin’s assisting Alaskan citizens when she was governor and twist into a scandal.
Welcome to Free Republic, Laurentius.
PFL
You sure throw out a lot to digest at once.
Just wow.
Interesting ping
BFL.
Sounds interesting. But I would imagine nothing will come out of this information seeing the light of day. Current elected Republicans lack enough spine to do anything.
Good job. I'm calling you LaurentiWikiLeaks from now on. :)
I love you.
I really, really love you.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.