Free Republic

A Texas state representative is accusing a Las Vegas-based Honorary Consul of Lebanon of providing private air travel for Texas Democrat lawmakers who fled the Lone Star State to block an imminent vote on Republican-crafted Election Integrity legislation. “A coalition of members of the Texas state House boarded private planes purportedly owned by Philippe Khalil Ziade, a Lebanese-American entrepreneur and honorary consul of Lebanon in Nevada, according to Texas State Representative Briscoe Cain (R-Deer Park),” reports Kenny Webster of KPRC Radio. “Ziade is the founder and chairman of Las Vegas based Growth Holdings and is highly engaged in Lebanese politics...

Former Ptech Officer Arrested for SBA Loan Fraud Indictment Unsealed Charges Former Ptech President with Dealing in Assets of Specially Designated Global Terrorist BOSTON—A former resident of Somerville, Mass. who has been living in South Korea was arrested today after arriving at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York. An indictment, originally returned on March 1, 2007, was unsealed today charging Buford George Peterson and Oussama Abdul Ziade, both former officers of Ptech, Inc., a computer software company that was principally located in Quincy, Mass., with making false statements to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) in connection with a...