American Green Beret Vet TED MAHER Held HOSTAGE by Monaco for 629 Days (Thread 10)

American Green Beret veteran and accomplished neonatal nurse Ted Maher has now been held 537 days without trial in Monaco's prison on trumped-up and false charges -- charges of causing the deaths of billionaire banker Edmond Safra and Ted's fellow nurse, Vivian Torrente on December 3, 1999. In truth, Ted fought valiantly against two armed, masked intruders to defend Edmond and Vivian and save their lives. During the struggle, Ted suffered severe knife wounds that required one hundred staples to close.

Billionaire banker Edmond Safra was cooperating with the FBI, who was investigating the IMF/Russian loans. Needing a convenient scapegoat for the murder of Safra, Monaco police subjected Ted to three days of grueling torture designed to extort a false confession from him. (see description in "BASIC TIMELINE" in Thread 1 - http://206.112.97.70/forum/a3ad8b097272d.htm ).

Monaco continues to hold Ted incommunicado, preventing him from sending or receiving mail. In fact, they restrict his communication with his family to one telephone call a week. This call is only allowed to last a few minutes and is always monitored closely to prevent any discussion of the case. Ted is forced by his jailers to take a psychotropic medication and is regularly "interrogated" by the Monaco judge -- Patricia Richet. Reports have been received that Judge Richet is a violent person who has displayed unstable behavior in the past. She allegedly has a history of assaulting a fellow judge, putting him in the hospital for a week. She also tears up letters from Ted's children in front of Ted rather than let him read them.

Hundreds of family, friends, work associates, parents of patients, and Army veterans who served with Ted have vouched for him as being a loyal husband, loving father, and an exemplary professional of great skill and compassion. Ted has also been defended by then-chairman of the House International Relations Committee Ben Gilman and Ted's congresswoman Sue Kelly, who have written Prince Rainier III of Monaco on Ted's behalf. Monaco has no evidence of any crime by Ted; they have no witnesses and no credible case against him. Even worse, Monaco has planted false evidence and suppressed vast amounts of exculpatory evidence -- even passing a special Monaco law that enables them to hold Ted four years without trial.

The Geneva prosecutor has said that Safra was killed for his cooperation with the FBI regarding the laundering through Safra's Republic National Bank of $4.8 billion in IMF loans to Russia.

Regardless of the reason "why," it is obvious that Ted Maher is a scapegoat for a murder by others. We are working to obtain his release and to correct the grave injustice being done to an American Green beret veteran and medical professional.

To read the "BASIC TIMELINE" that describes the events surrounding the night of December 3, 1999, click here:

President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 PennsylvaniaAvenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

E-mail: President George W. Bush - president@whitehouse.gov
V.P. Dick Cheney - vice.president@whitehouse.gov
First Lady Laura Bush - first.lady@whitehouse.gov
Mrs. Lynne Cheney - mrs.cheney@whitehouse.gov

Congresswoman Sue Kelly
1127 Longworth House office Building
Washington, DC 20515-3219
Phone: 1(202)225-5441
E-mail: dearsue@mail.house.gov
Assistant - Phyllis Coleman - phyllis.coleman@mail.house.gov

Amnesty International
322 8th Ave.
New York, NY 10001
Phone: 1(212)807-8400
FAX: 12124639193 or 12126271451
E-mail: admin-us@aiusa.org

House on International Relations Committee
Phone: 1(202)225-4561
Assistant: Aaron Blaine - blaine.aaron@mail.house.gov
Europe - Kelly McDonald - kelly.mcdonald@mail.house.gov

Senator George Allen (he helped obtain the release of Chinese scholar Gao Zhan)
website - "http://allen.senate.gov/"
FAX: 12022245432

His Serene Highness
Prince Rainier III
Palais Princier
Place du Palais
B.P.518
MC 98015 Monaco Ville
Principality of Monaco

Consulate General of Monaco
565 Fifth Avenue -23rd Floor
New York, NY 10017
Phone: 1(212)286-0500
FAX12122861574
E-mail: info@monaco-consulate.com
Hon. Maguy Maccario-Doyle, Consul General

Monaco Guest Book
(You can write in English on the French page and scroll down to read. Please note they have a tendency to delete messages regarding Ted - not "fairytale-correct.")

September 21, 1999. Witness list. Anne Williamson author of CONTAGION: THE BETRAYAL OF LIBERTY; RUSSIA AND THE UNITED STATES IN THE 1990s.

She spoke to the committee about the laundering through Bank of New York. Stanley Arkin defended Natasha Kagalovsky formerly of Bank of New York in that matter. Arkin is representing Lily Safra.

She speaks to the committee about Boris Yeltsin the usurper and his use of IMF funds. The Geneva chief prosecutor said Safra was killed for cooperating with the FBI regarding the laundering through Republic of $4.8 billion in IMF loans to Russia.

Pavel Borodin was allegedly paid kickbacks in the Swiss Mabetex Kremlin scandal through Banco del Gottardo which still has a branch in the building which housed Safra's penthouse death chamber, La Belle Epoque at 17 Avenue d'Ostende. The Israeli journalist who told us of this says Banco del Gottardo did the jobs "too shady for Republic". While Borodin was arrested en route to Bush's Innauguration, Putin bailed him out of Swiss jail for three mill.

I queried Ann Williamson re Ted, and after some time she responded.

She knew when she picked the newspaper up with the first news of Safra's death that it was a hit, and she knew that Ted was a scapegoat when his arrest and "confession" was announced.

She offered to help Dunne investigate the Russian aspects, but he's apparently not pursued that.

Those people don't operate in the glittering arenae. They kill and slash, and if you call them a**holes as he did me, why, I'm sure you don't even see it coming.

Henry Kissinger said Safra was killed in a "vindictive act".

And isn't it odd that Monaco's Inspector Jude, a key figure in this abomination of kidnapping Heidi, stealing her passport, threatening her and the children, the whole extortion of Ted's false confession under duress completed the FBI National Academy in March of 1999?

Congressional Testimony by Arnaud de Borchgrave on Russian Money Laundering:

Russia's much touted instant market economics and democratic politics were little more than a sham. Prosecutor-General Yuri Skuratov ridiculed President Yeltsin's seven major crackdowns on organized crime and corruption in 1997 as a Potemkin village. "It is a charade," Mr. Skuratov said in an interview, "there is neither the will at the top nor the resources to do much about it."

Mr. Skuratov was framed in a sex scandal by the security service earlier this year and then suspended by Mr. Yeltsin for poking around the Kremlin's labyrinthine financial structure. But the Russian Parliament twice declined to endorse the suspension and Mr. Skuratov continues to speak out in interviews. He now says that $3.9 billion of the IMF's $4.8 billion loan last year never reached Russia but was sold by the Russian Central Bank directly to 18 commercial banks controlled by the oligarchs.

~~~

He stated publicly that his life was in danger as a result of this cooperation.

The founder of the Republic National Bank of New York, the mysterious Edmond Safra was the subject of countless rumors and speculation throughout his life. He was dogged by unsubstantiated accusations that he was involved in drug trafficking, the Iran-Contra scandal and the Russian mafia.

It is known that Edmond Safra cooperated with the FBI's 1998-1999 probe of links between U.S. banks and Russian organized crime. He stated publicly that his life was in danger as a result of this cooperation. He maintained an elaborate security system at his home and employed a security staff composed mostly of former Israeli army commandos.

The rumors have continued since the Safra murder, and several media reports - most prominently a series of articles in the U.S. glossy Vanity Fair - have cast doubt on the case against Maher, who remains jailed in Monaco pending trial.

~~~

Representative of Republic testifies before House Financial Services Committee 9-22-99:

On behalf of Republic National Bank of New York, I would like to thank you for inviting me to appear at today’s hearing. I am a Managing Director and Deputy General Counsel of Republic, where I have been employed for nine years. As part of my duties at Republic, I am responsible for the development of Republic’s global anti-money laundering policy. Prior to joining Republic, I served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York where I prosecuted money laundering, narcotics and organized crime cases.

...

In August 1998, as a result of its wire transfer monitoring, Republic discovered that substantial amounts of funds were being transferred from one particular Originator to four Beneficiaries. From the information supplied in the wire transfer message, it appeared that the Originator was a corporation, which had an account at a Russian Bank. The Russian Bank had an account at Republic and the four Beneficiaries had accounts at three other U.S. banks located in New York City. One of the four beneficiaries was Benex, which had an account at Bank of New York. In one month, the total amount of the wire transfers from the common Originator to the four Beneficiaries was approximately $22 million.

Note: BONY's Natasha Kagalovsky was defended by Lily's Stanley Arkin--who defends Lily against Heidi's NY suit re the Monaco kidnapping and passport theft

~~~

To Center for Defense Information, Russia List Editor, from Israeli journalist:

Date: Sat, 04 Dec 1999
From: Israeli journalist name deleted by Phil
Subject: Safra murder

Dear David,

Has anyone noticed the following detail in Bloomberg's report on the death of banker Edmond Safra in Monaco on Friday?

The entire top floor of the building -- which houses offices of Republic Bank, along with Paribas and Banque Du Gothard -- was gutted.

"Banque du Gothard" is the French form of the Italian "Banca del Gottardo." JRL readers hardly need a reminder what that is.

Add that to Robert Friedman's report on Safra's Republic National Bank and its airlift of $100 bills to Russia (New York Magazine, Jan.22 1996); to Republic's implication in the Bank of New York affair (House Banking Committee Chairman Jim Leach's opening statement in hearing, Sept. 21 1999 and USA Today, August 26); to the fact that Safra, after taking heavy losses in Russia, was about to close the sale of Republic to the British HSBC at a considerable discount, which would presumably have given the buyers access to documentation of the above; and finally to the very Russian style of the killing itself -- and there is a very promising direction for the Monegasque police's investigation.

~~~

Russian Leader Faces £3bn Questions

According to yesterday's report, on August 14, 1998, the $4.8 billion was transferred from the New York Federal Reserve to accounts at the Republic Bank of New York, controlled by Edmund Safra, the billionaire Lebanese banker who died in a fire at Monte Carlo last year. The Russian Central Bank defaulted on most of its short-term debt three days later, triggering the crash.

In the chaos that ensued, Mr Safra received instructions from the Central Bank and the Russian Ministry of Finance to move the $4.8 billion quickly to "other foreign accounts" through a tortuous series of international transfers, the report claims.

Afraid that the investigations that followed would tarnish his name, Mr Safra allegedly decided to co-operate with the FBI and Swiss officials, setting out in detail the mechanisms by which Russians had been using American banks to launder their money.

Mr Safra's death soon afterwards has been blamed on his male nurse. But the chief prosecutor in Geneva has reportedly said he believes the murder was a result of Mr Safra's decision to help the FBI.

~~~

U.S. Embassy in Romania interested to know: 1) Schumer vouches for bulk currency shipments; 2) SARs on Benex by Safra's bank complicate picture.

REP. LEACH: As you may recall, there is a recent article in New York magazine -- actually, several years ago -- by a journalist named Robert Friedman. And he described your bank's role in shipments of dollars to Russia. And the article contained allegations that a large chunk of these funds were funneled through imperfect Russian banks and used to finance activities of imperfect Russian institutions. Are you familiar with this article? Does it carry legitimacy? Is it --

MS. VITALE: Mr. Chairman, that was in January of 1996. In February of 1996, New York magazine issued a two-page response. It contained six letters from the Department of Justice, from the Manhattan DA's office, from the OCC, New York State banking FINCEN, and I forget the sixth one. At that time, Senator Schumer -- Congressman Schumer -- had them placed in the Congressional Record. So they are a matter of public record.

Each of the agencies said that they were not only aware of the banknote shipments that Republic made, but that there was nothing illegal about them, and that the information in that article was not accurate. When this article was reprinted in Paris, Republic sued and obtained a judgment for defamation on that article.

REP. LEACH: So you're suggesting that sometimes journalists are wrong.

MS. VITALE: Yes.

REP. LEACH: Well, France has some very interesting defamation laws. And I think anyone in public life somehow identifies with judgments against journalists. But that's a little unfair to suggest. Anyway, it has been publicly reported that your bank was responsible for the initial reports suggesting that there is an account that involved the Bank of New York that should be looked at. Is that valid?

MS. VITALE: Well, we filed an SAR, and before checking whether I could say that, I ran it by the Department of Justice in New York and the FBI, because as you know, there's a criminal sanction against divulging whether you filed an SAR. But they said yes, I was already on the record -- on the public record,. Republic did file. It filed, as I mentioned in my testimony, because it saw one originator sending -- I think it was over $20 million in one month to four beneficiaries, one of which was Benex. And we could not find anything on the public record about Benex that would justify that sum of money, or about any of the others in the wire transfers we reviewed.

~~~

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Bump for Ted Maher!