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.
Your explanation makes so much sense I'm sending it to a friend who is convinced the entire story smells.
BTW, we got a phone call from California last night by someone who had seen the video. They think the video is staged: the body is not twitching and not enough blood.
Anyone who has seen the video - comments?
Yes indeedy.
Mr. Berg just had a lesson in reality, and he doesn't like it. Giving aid and comfort to the enemy has unpleasant consequences. He's a sixties idiot. He'll never face the fact that he played a big part in his son's brutal murder, and every time he appears in public, he makes a bigger fool of himself.
Yes, I think that's true. I also thought Daddy Berg's activities are based on the principle that the best defense is a good offense. I don't think Nick Berg was intentionally doing anything sneaky, but I'm sure his father probably was, or at least was involved with people who were. I am sure they were using Nick Berg, who sounds like one of the world's most well-intentioned and gullible people, unfortunately.
I don't think Daddy wants to be investigated, and he's attacking publicly to forestall this possibility. And I agree, I think he's very much aware of his guilt in his son's death.
This has been analyzed a lot, and the video is genuine. There is screaming but you can't see him when they make their initial cut (the one that would have spattered blood) and the rest of it is a picture of them sawing his head off, by which time he was nearly dead. They had obviously moved him around to get the "best" camera angle, etc., as they did with Daniel Pearl (where they reenacted the beheading to make it clearer).
The cinematography course at OBL university ("Filming Beheadings 101") is just not a very good one, I'm afraid.
Thanks for the info.
The guy holding a gun to Daniel Pearls' head had on a gold ring.
It is too much of a coincidence to have an 'email trail' leading back to terrorists. There may have been a purpose such as 'letting it' happen.
No, Mr. Charm extraordinaire, I didn't know how old Nick was in '96, since I haven't been able to keep up with all the details the past couple of days. I was asking questions so that I might learn something.
Apparently young Nick was worldly enough to make the trek to Uganda just two short years later in the Spring of '98.
The indictment against Moussaoui, 35, who was arrested in Eagan shortly before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, alleges he trained at al-Qaida's Khalden Camp (Afghanistan) in April 1998.
I suppose it would be impossible for the two to meet at some point during their '98 Spring travels?
You ask if I'm losing my mind yet you think that AQ wasn't EVEN well established here in '96? Ever hear of Al-Arian, USF professor (must of slipped that all knowing mind of yours)?
Al-Arian, had been a USF professor since 1986. Al-Arian was no stranger to federal scrutiny. The Kuwaiti-born professor was the focus of a federal investigation in the mid 1990s, when agents suspected that an Islamic think tank he operated at USF was a front for Middle Eastern terrorists.
Al-Arian also was accused of raising money for Palestinian groups with ties to terrorism. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he made fiery speeches that denounced Israel, including one in which he said: "Victory to Islam. Death to Israel."
FBI charges Florida professor with terrorist activities
Seven others named in 50-count indictment.
Don't forget about John Walker Lindh, he managed to get to the AQ training camps by the time he was 18-20? Left home at 16 to find Islam, mom and dad probably could have found a nice group for Johnny here but they sucked as parents, so off Johnny went to hang with OBL and learn how to kill Americans.
Call me crazy bub, but I'm going to guess those nasty bastards were very, very busy here in America. Like your mama told you, just because you don't know about something doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
Moving on to Berg being Jewish, so what? If AQ can recruit a good Jewish boy it strengthens their propaganda? There are self hating Jews that can be just as whacked out as your local inmate at the mental institution.
Heck, I can't figure out how these terrorist scum think, that's why I ask questions.
That pathetic ball is in your court.
Nick Berg's Dad, Michael, is a very, very far left kind of guy.
ANSWER, MoveOn.org kind of guy maybe.
http://www.prometheusradio.org/projects_inter_volunteer.shtml
some interesting reading......
The answers wouldn't hurt W. or the Repubs - so of course no interest in getting the truth.
I can see that in a way --- children born to leftists are going to be raised with the belief that no one except Republican Americans is bad, all people are good, especially people who would kill us --- really they're all good, we just did something to make them mad. When you're in college, it's easy to want adventure, to be naive about the dangers and intentions of people from other places --- at least if you're raised by Conservative types, you have a little better upbringing that tells you all is not good in this world. I can see how Nick being from very liberal parents could be so extremely naive and gullible --- but also because of technical ability could be seen as very useful to those who might befriend him for their own ulterior motives.
But the dad said he was an idealist --- that dad hates the USA too much that if he suspected his son was actually helping the USA, he would have disowned him.
Maybe he was one of those really naive types who can't see the bad in anyone who helped the enemy without really intending --- it's just too much coincidence that he had already somehow connected with terrorists that they obtained his password from him directly. Because of his liberal background, he might have wandered around believing everyone is good. Something about him makes me think he really might have been naive --- which doesn't mean the other side wouldn't have found uses for him.
Possible but unlikely, considering Nick's age at the time.
If the dice keep landing on 7 every time, they're loaded.
But the video isn't critical. The State Dept was positive it was Nick before they passed the body to the hostile Mike Berg. If it wasn't Nick, or if the body showed signs of old torture etc, Mike would be screaming his head off. So video examination won't be a great line of investigation.
Thanks for keeping the thread bumped to the top. You're helping to almost double this thread's exposure, and I sincerely thank you for your help.
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