Free Republic

PART I A GLOBAL THREAT EMERGES How Hezbollah turned to trafficking cocaine and laundering money through used cars to finance its expansion.

Documentary Service Fees: A 2009 change to state law increased the documentary service fee from $50 to $150. In order to charge a documentary service fee, the dealer must include a disclosure about the fee in its advertising. Absent proper disclosure of the fee in print, radio and television advertisements, a dealer cannot charge a documentary service fee of any amount. A dealer may use in its advertisements the statutory language, “a documentary service fee in an amount up to one hundred and fifty dollars may be added to the sale price or the capitalized cost of a vehicle” or...

Debbie Wasserman Schultz employed Pakistani IT staffers and brothers who were paid over $4 million dollars over the course of their employment even though they were accused of a cyber-security breach.   Imran Awan was arrested as he attempted to flee the U.S. after wiring approximately $300,000 to Pakistan. Fox News is the only cable network covering this huge scandal.  When Imran Awan was arrested he was carrying $12,000 in cash on him. His wife was carrying $12,000 of cash when she fled the country too. Imran and his Muslim brothers, Abid and Jamal accessed unauthorized computers while acting as IT specialists. The three brothers were...

The IRS scandal that revealed targeting of conservative groups by the Treasury Department has reopened speculation that the Obama-orchestrated auto bailouts unfairly targeted Republican-leaning dealerships for closure. Republican Congressmen Mike Kelly (PA) and Jim Renacci (OH) have penned a letter to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew requesting documentation so that an investigation can determine what criteria was used to shutter dealers that appear to have had one thing in common: their political affiliations. The outrageous behavior of the IRS in targeting non-profit organizations with conservative roots, like the Tea Party, for extra scrutiny came at around the same time that General...

Two Congressmen are asking the Treasury Department if it inappropriately scrutinized conservative-owned businesses the same way it targeted Tea Party groups filing for tax-exempt status. Republicans Mike Kelly (PA-03) and Jim Renacci (OH-16) circulated a letter Thursday requesting Treasury Secretary Jack Lew release documents detailing the process and methodology the Automotive Task Force used to shut down General Motors dealerships in 2009 during the automotive industry crisis. Renacci's Northeast Ohio Chevrolet dealership was closed in 2010 after losing a battle with General Motors. Congress loaned General Motors $50 billion in 2009 after declaring bankruptcy, which resulted in the federal government...

Drug Enforcement Administration agents have raided an Oklahoma car dealership that the government suspects may be one of about 30 such businesses in the U.S. involved in funding the terrorist group Hezbollah. DEA agents say the car lot of Ace Auto Leasing in Tulsa is part of a huge network that is selling cars and drugs -- and then using the money to support terrorism against the U.S., myfoxphoenix.com reports. During Friday's raid, agents could be seen carryout out filing cabinets and other items. They also questioned employees and took inventory. "They're making big time money and it's going right...

Attorneys from a Texas law firm file a class action lawsuit against Toyota over the company’s gas pedals. They are filing the suit on behalf of a Texas family. WATCH VIDEO...

Kidnapping. Falsified documents. Hooters nights. Meet the sleazebucket car dealers who prey on our troops. —Photo: Matt Eich/Aurora SelectONE DAY in April, a 19-year-old sailor named William Kirkgaard was walking to the store at the Norfolk naval station when a man in a black Ford Mustang pulled up and asked for directions to the main gate. Kirkgaard indicated the way, whereupon the man, who said he was a former Marine, began asking questions: Why don't you have a car? Are you a member of the Navy Federal Credit Union? Claiming he worked there, Kirkgaard says, the man then offered him...

Since we last checked in, here are the latest developments in the rope line of strange occurrences Doug Ross has dubbed Dealergate (Some bloggers prefer Mopargate, but many non-motorheads won't get it. Dealergate it is). In another of the many pesky coincidences to be found in this story, car czar Steven Rattner, the real head of President Obama's auto task force, is married to Maureen White, a former fundraising chair for the Democratic National Committee. Need dealer donor data? No problem... Chelsea Schilling examined the political donations made by dealers on Chrysler's closing list, data for whom are now in...

Why the closing of car dealers matters to Christians! I am sure most people don't fully appreciate what is really happening with the closing of nearly 2,000 auto dealerships around the country. THIS IS A HUGE DEAL AND PEOPLE NEED TO PAY ATTENTION!!! The reason this is a big deal is because these are vibrant, active, PROFITABLE businesses that are only being closed because King Obama is forcing the auto makers to close them!!! At first glance, this may seem impossible. After all, the goal of the government is to stimulate business, not shut it down. However, now that the...

Some high-risk borrowers now get car loans with a digital leash attached: if they don't pay up, they can't drive. High-risk borrowers now get car loans come with a digital leash attached: if they don't pay up, they can't drive. (ABC News Photo Illustration) More PhotosElliot Munoz loves driving his Jeep Liberty around his hometown outside St. Louis, Mo. He particularly likes the four-wheel drive for the snow in his hilly town. But when a red light on his dashboard starts flashing, Munoz knows he needs to get out his checkbook or else he won't be able to start the...

Across America, car dealers are getting desperate. Now Uncle Sam is going to put many of them out of business. ~snip~ These are desperate times for auto dealers. Some will do anything to escape their crushing debt. Others are barely holding on to longtime family businesses. Into this maelstrom comes the federal government, which has given taxpayer-supported General Motors ( GM) until May 31 to develop a new restructuring plan, with bankruptcy looming as an option. Overhauling GM's capital structure is the priority, but the government wants other changes, too. Its directives include one to prune the dealer population, now...

The national wave of auto dealership closures has come crashing down on thousands of people who are on the hook for used-car loans that dealers were supposed to absolve. When a car buyer still owes money on a vehicle he is trading in, the dealer promises to pay off the outstanding loan, then resells the vehicle. But as more dealers go out of business, some are sticking consumers with the bill. Lenders can then go after the previous owner who thought the debt was paid, or repossess the car from the new owner who assumed it came with clear title."It's...

An Ohio auto dealership, declaring that "terrorists are fair game," is promising to launch "a jihad in the automarket" with an Islamic-themed promotional campaign, despite several radio stations' rejection of its ad for being "insensitive." Keith Dennis of Dennis Mitsubishi in Columbus, who appears in the ad, promises prospective customers that the salesforce "will be wearing burqas all weekend long." One of the featured vehicles "can comfortably seat up to 12 jihadists in the back," he says. "Our prices are lower than the evildoers' every day. Just ask the pope!" the ad continues. "Friday is fatwa Friday, with free...

Hard sell for soft heads BY DAVE BARRY (This classic Dave Barry column was originally published on Sept. 15, 1996.) So I turned on my car radio, and the first thing I heard was the Shouting Car-Dealership Jerk. You know the one I mean. He sounds like this: ``BELOW DEALER COST! MAX SNOTWICK FORD DODGE ISUZU CHEVROLET NISSAN STUDEBAKER TOYOTA IS SELLING CARS AT BELOW DEALER COST! WE'RE LOSING MONEY ON THESE CARS! WE HAVE TO MAKE ROOM FOR MORE CARS! SO WE CAN LOSE MORE MONEY! WE HAVE PROCESSED CHEESE FOR BRAINS! THAT'S WHY WE'RE SELLING CARS FOR BELOW...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - With state Senate hearings scheduled to analyze a struggling procurement program, a Sacramento-based auto dealer accused the Department of General Services Monday of improperly awarding a $21 million police car contract. An attorney representing Downtown Ford, which is filing a formal protest, said state officials violated their own bid policies in giving the contract last month to a rival dealer after Downtown Ford won an initial auction to sell the state up to 1,000 police cars. The protest comes as lawmakers and other officials are paying more attention to the state's "strategic sourcing" program, which has delivered...

Car dealers put support behind Tony Sanchez DALLAS (AP) - Texas car dealers - a mostly Republican group that has not supported a statewide Democratic candidate in more than a decade - are shifting their support from Gov. Rick Perry to Democratic challenger Tony Sanchez. Interviews and campaign finance records suggest a shift among the state's 1,300 car dealers, The Dallas Morning News reported in Thursday's editions. "The dealer support for Sanchez is going to surprise a lot of people," said Sam Pack, the owner of three Dallas-area Ford dealerships and a Republican serving as a co-chairman of the Sanchez...