Thomas Barr Jr.'s Blog, page 6
January 7, 2016
African political corruption
10 Leaders Most Known For Their Corruption In Recent History
Article by www.toptenstip.com
History books are full of stories of corrupt leadership but are things really any better today? Here is a list of probably the 10 most corrupt leaders in our modern times.
1. Mohamed Suharto, Indonesia (1921 – 2008) –
The second President of Indonesia, held office for 31 years from 1967-1998 when he resigned after huge protests to his rule. During his time in office it is thought that he and his family amassed funds of somewhere between US$15 billion and $35 billion.
2. Ferdinand Marcos, Philippines (1917-1989) – As the tenth President of the Philippines, Marcos was in office from 1965 – 1986 and although many think that achieved a lot politically and diplomatically in that time, one of
his achievements is now known to have been illegally depositing between US$5 billion and $10 billion in the US and Switzerland for him and his wife.
3. Mobuto Sese Seko, Democratic Republic of Congo (1930 – 1997) – He was
the second President of this country and for much of his time in office from 1965 – 1997, the country was known as Zaire. Prior to his other throw and exile in Togo and Morocco, he had managed to acquire US$5 billion through corruption, making him the
most corrupt leader in Africa.
4. Sani Abacha, Nigeria (1943 – 1998) – The tenth President of Nigeria was in office from 1993 – 1998 during which time he was responsible for several human rights abuses. According to
Swiss authorities, his family was a criminal organization that managed to acquire between US$3 billion and $5 billion.
5. Slobodan Milosevic, Yugoslavia (1941 – 2006) – Three time leader of Serbia and Yugoslavia from 1989
– 1997, he was also President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 – 2000. He was arrested in 2001 for crimes against humanity and accused of illegally using US$ 2.1 billion.
6. Jean-Claude Duvalier, Haiti (born
1951) – the thirty third President of Haiti was in office from 1071 to 1986, during which time he enjoyed excellent relations with the United States because of his rejection of communism, however whilst in power he and his friends made millions of dollars
from the suffering of Haitians and the drug trade. Still awaiting trial in Haiti, he is said to have elicited funds to the value of somewhere between US$300 million and $600 million.
7. Alberto Fujimori, Peru (born 1938) – In
office from 1990 to 2000, he was the 90th President of Peru. Initially fleeing in exile to Japan, he was later arrested in Chile and deported back to Peru where he is currently serving time for his crimes, among which was the illegal gain of some
US$600 million.
8. Pavlo Lazarenko, Ukraine (born 1953) – Although only in office as the Prime Minister of the Ukraine from 1996 – 1997, he was arrested in the US in 2000 for fraud and extortion to the value of US$200 million
whilst in office.
9. Arnoldo Aleman, Nicaragua (born 1946) – This, the 81st President of Nicaragua, serving from 1997 to 2002, is currently serving 20 years imprisonment for illegally acquiring US$100 million whilst
in office.
10. Joseph Estrada, Philippines (born 1937) – originally a film star, Estrada was the 13th President of the Philippines, serving from 1998 – 2001. Although accused of looting between US$78 million and
$80 million, he was given an unconditional pardon in 2007 by President Arroyo and so ran again, unsuccessfully, in the 2010 elections.
November 24, 2015
New York Today: Capital of Corruption
The
new possible faces of corruption in Albany.Credit Left, Sam Hodgson for The New York Times; right, Seth Wenig/Associated Press
Story
by Tatiana Schlossberg
Corruption has a long
and distinguished history in Albany, but it’s doing particularly well for itself this year.
Among the state lawmakers convicted or sentenced this year alone,
two are from the city.
And the corruption trial of Sheldon Silver, the former Democratic leader of the State Assembly, continues
in its third week, but the prosecution may wrap up its case today or tomorrow.
In Federal District Court in Manhattan, the government has made much of Mr.
Silver’s connections to Dr. Robert
N. Taub, an oncology specialist who ran a cancer research clinic at Columbia University.
Over the years, the doctor sent patients to Weitz & Luxenberg, where
Mr. Silver was “of counsel” and which handled cancer-related lawsuits.
Mr. Silver, according to the charges, got a cut of any settlement made from those referrals
— possibly totaling around $3 million.
And this week also sees the start of the trial of Dean G. Skelos, the former Republican leader of the State Senate who represents
part of Long Island, and his son, Adam.
The two are accused of using the elder
Mr. Skelos’s position to their mutual advantage: getting the younger Skelos a job; pressuring another firm to hire him as a consultant; and using pending legislation to encourage a firm to pay him $20,000.
The concurrent trials mark a corruption milestone for Albany: it’s the first time that cases
against two lawmakers of their stature will play out in court at the same time.
To any doubters of Albany’s reputation as a destination for deception, a Museum of Political Corruption there is in the works.
October 30, 2015
New city manager Steve Shiver accused of demanding bribe
Story by Derek Joy
Financial woes and perpetual
allegations of criminal wrongdoing continue to plague the city of Opa-locka.
The latest is that recently hired City Manager Steve Shiver has been accused of an extortion attempt.
George Howard, president of United States Association of CDC Inc.
(USACDC), is demanding payment in the amount of $272,602.14, for a change order for Pump Station 5, dated May 22, 2014, according to City Clerk Joanna Flores.
Following a private meeting with Shiver, after twice failing to win consent for payment from
the City Commission, Howard then launched a written salvo at Shiver, accusing the city manager of demanding a $150,000 payment be made to Mayor Myra Taylor.
“I stand by my letter to the city manager 1,000 percent. I refuse to take back any of
that,” said Howard. “There is a bigger issue here. If I hadn’t put it in any writing, who would have believed me?” said Howard.
Howard waivered when asked whether the meeting with Shiver was before or after he had been twice
denied payment. Shiver recalls the meeting with Howard occurred after the City Commission failed to approve a payment for the second time.
This installment of another raunchy political saga raises more questions than concrete answers.
The city
recently parted ways with City Manager Kelvin Baker, replaced him with Opa-locka CRA Director Ed Brown on an interim basis, hired former Homestead Mayor and Miami-Dade County Manager Steve Shiver, who then engineered Brown’s ouster from the CRA.
That was a bit of drama that paled in the shadows of the city’s penchant for running budget deficits. Shiver balanced this year’s budget, staving off a deficit for a third consecutive year just weeks after being hired, only to be accused of
demanding a bribe.
According to Howard, he entered into a contract with the city Opa-locka in 2012 to work on Pump Station No. 5, located at 2331 NW 135th St.
He said there were no design plans when he entered into the contract, while noting,
that complications delayed the project, which was completed April 6, 2015. Howard said the project took three years because the city didn’t have any money in 2012, among other factors contributing to the delay.
Shiver emphatically denied the allegations
in Howard’s letter.
“That’s false. Absolutely no merit to it. I will be completely cleared,” said Shiver. “If I had contrived an illegal payment to the mayor, I would have said pay him at the first meeting, the second meeting.”
Shiver is no stranger to questionable financial/business practices. Brown, during proceedings to oust him from the CRA, cited Shiver’s questionable business dealings in public and private sector that were well chronicled by the Miami Herald.
There
were never any formal charges against Shiver in any of his financial failures in the public or private sector. Still, those escapades raised valid questions for opponents of Shiver’s hire as city manager.
It is unclear whether or not the $272,602.14
Howard is demanding was included in the $1.8 million in unpaid vendor contract carried over to this fiscal year. It is also unclear of the origin of Howard’s contract.
“The work was completed April 6, 2015. The station is functional,”
said Howard,
Meanwhile, Howard is threatening legal action against the city. Shiver is steadfast in his denial of the extortion attempt.
October 15, 2015
SAME SEX MARRIAGE
Ex-U.S. House Speaker Hastert to plead guilty in hush-money case
Story by David Bailey
Former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert has reached a deal with prosecutors and is expected to plead guilty
to wrongdoing in a hush-money case, his lawyers told a federal judge in Chicago on Thursday.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys did not say to which charge he would plead, or whether Hastert, the Republican speaker from 1999 to 2007, would serve time
in prison.
He was charged in May with trying to hide large cash transactions as part of a hush-money scheme and with lying about it to the FBI.
The agreement is expected to be submitted to U.S. District Judge Thomas Durkin on Monday, attorneys
for Hastert said during a brief court appearance.
Hastert, 73, who is free on bond, was not required to attend Thursday's hearing and was not in court. He pleaded not guilty in June to the two charges.
Hastert has not spoken publicly since his
indictment. He is scheduled to plead guilty on Oct. 28.
Hastert was the longest-serving Republican speaker leading the House for eight years before leaving Congress in 2007 and becoming a powerful lobbyist.
After his indictment, Hastert resigned
from the Dickstein Shapiro lobbying firm in Washington and from the boards of exchange operator CME Group Inc and REX American Resources Corp.
His alma mater, Wheaton College in suburban Chicago, removed his name from a policy center.
Federal
prosecutors allege he promised to pay $3.5 million to an unnamed individual from his hometown of Yorkville, Illinois, to conceal past misconduct.
The individual who was allegedly receiving hush money from Hastert has not surfaced publicly. But anonymous
law enforcement officials have told several media outlets that Hastert was trying to cover up sexual abuse of a male decades ago when he worked as a high school teacher and wrestling coach.
Hastert has not been charged with any past misconduct. He was
a teacher at Yorkville High School in the 1960s and 1970s.
Lawyers for both sides said in September they were negotiating a plea deal to keep the case from going to trial. Durkin had asked both sides to bring him an agreement this week, or he would
set a trial date.
According to the indictment, Hastert withdrew $1.7 million in cash from his bank accounts from 2010 to 2014. He is charged with "structuring" $952,000 of the withdrawals, taking the funds out in increments of under $10,000 to evade
a requirement that banks report large cash transactions.
Hastert then told the FBI he was keeping the cash for himself, which the indictment said was a false statement.
Each of the charges carries a possible maximum sentence of five years in
prison and a $250,000 fine.
Former House Speaker Jim Wright, a Democrat from Texas, became the target of an inquiry by the House Ethics Committee over alleged financial improprieties and resigned as speaker in 1989 over the controversy. Wright died
earlier this year
