This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Category: Crime

  • Ongoing Pattern of Fraud? Sure Looks Like It to Me.

    What would you think of an organization that did the following:

    • apparently sought out lower-income individuals;

    • solicited funds from them via small credit-card donations, purportedly on a “one-time basis”;

    • on a recurring basis, processed multiple such “one-time” donations against donors vice the single donation that was authorized;

    • did all of the above to a number of individuals every month;

    • gave these individuals the “run-around” regarding returning unauthorized donations when they complained; and

    • appeared to take great pains to keep the unauthorized total received through such shady actions from any single individual below the known thresholds ($100 on a given account) at which credit card companies begin to investigate fraud?

    Oh, and did I mention that this is reputedly precisely the method used by some shady pr0n companies to scam extra money from their customers?

    Don’t know about you, but it certainly looks to me like “an apparent pattern of ongoing and repetitive small-scale fraud.”  And I might call the folks doing it sleazy bastards who were running a scam targeting those who can least afford the financial hit.

    Now, what would you think about a national political campaign that did that? Hypothetically speaking, of course?

    Well, maybe you don’t have to think hypothetically. According to this article from Observer.com, apparently the Clintoon Campaign appears to have been doing exactly this during the current election cycle.  (FWIW:  the publisher of Observer Media, which owns Observer.com, is related to Donald Trump by marriage.  That fact is fully disclosed in the linked article.  That fact is also completely irrelevant if what’s reported is true.)

    It’s not the first time the Clintoon Campaign has done something along these lines, either. As reported by that charter member of the “vast right-wing conspiracy” the New York Times back in 2007, there’s some indication that Clintoon’s campaign might possibly have been doing something similar back then, too.  Hell, even the       Useful Idiots       “Progressives” over at Daily KOS were raising a stink concerning the issue back then.

    In contrast, the Trump campaign doesn’t appear to be doing anything similar.   Per the article, Wells Fargo – whose customers have reported extensive problems along these lines from the Clintoon Campaign – has reportedly received no such complaints from Trump supporters.

    Sheesh. You or I would have been in jail by now.

  • Hiding the Truth? Sure Looks Like It to Me.

    The DHS claimed earlier this year that they prevent roughly 81% of adults trying to sneak into the US across the southwestern border from doing that.  Specifically, they claimed an interdiction rate (defined as apprehension or forcing the individual to turn back) of 81.01%.

    Now, having lived in that part of the country for a while myself . . . IMO that claim doesn’t pass the “smell test”.  But regardless, that was their claim.

    If that number seems suspiciously low to you too, well, there may be a good reason.

    It seems in last year’s Fiscal 2016 Omnibus Bill required DHS to provide Congress a report on the matter.  The report still hasn’t been provided to Congress.  DHS says the report “isn’t finished”.

    Sources familiar with the situation say that is bull.

    Instead, those familiar with the subject say such a report was completed last November by a contractor for DHS – specifically, the Institute for Defense Analyses.  Apparently DHS already had such a study underway when Congress demanded one from them.

    Those knowledgeable  further indicate that the report is unclassified and is not marked to preclude public release.  They further say it’s also reportedly the “most extensive survey” of US illegal immigration and enforcement along our southwestern border conducted to date.

    Contrary to DHS claims, the report apparently shows that the actual interdiction rate (apprehension or turned back while attempting to cross) for adults attempting to cross the US border illegally is about 50% – not the 81% DHS claims.   The DHS figure was produced by “padding the numbers”.  It was calculated after including unaccompanied children and those who voluntarily surrendered (likely because they were either lost or in severe distress) vice being apprehended.

    In short, that “81%” number simply isn’t accurate.  DHS did not apprehend or force back 81% of adults attempting to cross the US southwestern border illegally; the actual fraction is far lower.  They’re engaging in intentional spin and dissembling.  Again.

    Gee, you don’t think maybe that’s why they’re “stonewalling” release of the report that exposes the truth – do you?  Why, this Administration would never do something like that!  (I trust the sarcasm in the preceding two sentences was obvious.)

    Fox News has an article giving more details.  It’s worth a read.

    “Most transparent Administration in history.”  Yeah. Right.

     

  • Dian Zeemin and Joe Rosko rip off WWII vet

    Dian Zeemin and Joe Rosko rip off WWII vet

    Dennis ferk

    Jilly sends us a link to the Santa Fe New Mexican which tells the story of 95-year-old Dennis Ferk, a World War Two veteran who was ripped off to the tune of $340,000 by Dian Zeemin, 69, and Joe Rosko, 62, who Ferk hired to help him with his finances after his wife died in 2010.

    During the roughly four years that followed, police allege, Zeemin obtained about a dozen credit cards under her name and Ferk’s. Investigators claim Zeemin and Rosko maxed out some of the accounts, running up tens of thousands of dollars in charges, including at a shop that only sells women’s clothing. To pay off the credit cards, police allege, the couple tried to take out loans on Ferk’s home.

    Investigators also accuse the couple of cashing in some of Ferk’s life insurance policies.

    Meanwhile, according to police, the couple got a recreational vehicle and wrote checks for thousands of dollars from Ferk’s bank accounts for equipment.

    Martinez says the couple took Ferk on trips in the RV, traveling to historical sites and veterans memorials, but also allegedly spending substantial sums of money on themselves along the way.

    Ferk was left unaware of the spending, the credit cards and the loans, he claims.

    At Ferk’s request, a friend, Gilbert Martinez, delved into his books and found the stupefying truth – they had spent about $340,000 of his money on themselves while Dennis’ bills went unpaid. A warrant has finally been issued for Zeemin’s and Rosko’s arrests while Dennis is living in public housing with his daughter.

  • Vote Fraud is “Insignificant”, Eh?

    “Vote fraud is insignificant.”  We hear that all the time from certain circles.

    Well, Norm Coleman would be virtually certain to disagree – and if he’s willing to be honest, so would Al “Felon’s Choice” Franken.  But I digress.  (smile)

    Back on topic:  I guess it’s at least theoretically possible that vote fraud is indeed “insignificant” today.  But IMO that also depends on what you consider “insignificant”.

    How about having 2.7+ million people being registered to vote in more than one state? If that were the case, would you call that “insignificant”?

    I certainly wouldn’t consider 2.7+ million potential multiple-voters to be an “insignificant” issue.  But that – along with numerous other problems – is precisely what Pew Center found when they studied US voter registration back in 2012. 

    Pew Center found over 2.688 million US voters to be registered to vote in 2 different states.  Over 68,700 were registered in 3 states.  And over 1,800 were registered in more than 3 states.

    Yeah, it’s unlikely that all of those folks voted in more than one state.  Some of them were doubtless dual-registered due to the individuals concerned having moved in the year or two prior to the election and their former state not removing their name from the list of registered voters.

    But I’ll guarantee you that some of those with multiple registrations did vote more than once.  As this Fox News article documents, there have indeed been a number of prosecutions for exactly that during recent years .

    My guess is that merely the blatantly stupid or a handful of unlucky few got caught.  I’m thinking the cases prosecuted are barely the tip of the iceberg.

    Short of requiring voting “in person only” and using indelible ink on a finger afterwards as proof of voting, requiring a prospective voter to produce a valid photo ID to allow reasonable verification of identity in order to vote is the logical first step in fighting vote fraud.  And even that’s not sufficient in and of itself when it comes to multiple registrations; some way to detect and flag duplicate registrations in multiple states would also be required to stop people from voting in multiple states.

    But for whatever reason some just won’t support requiring a prospective voter to prove he or she is who they claim before they vote.  Apparently they’re fine with leaving open a loophole that enables this kind of fraud.

    Kinda makes you wonder why.

  • More Evidence of Clintoon “Pay for Play”? Sure Looks Like It – Part II

    I’ve written about this subject before (and before, and before).  But it’s the “gift that keeps on giving”.

    Or perhaps that should read that it’s the “corruption that reeks to high heaven”.  Because at first glance, that’s exactly what it looks like.

    We know that Clintoon Foundation donors and/or executives appear to have gotten “preferred access” when it came to personal meetings with a certain SECSTATE between 2009 and early 2013.  But it seems that they may have gotten some other perks, too.

    In particular, it appears that one of those “other perks” in some cases may have been unwarranted diplomatic passports.  Unwarranted, as in “issued to private individuals who do not travel on diplomatic business for the United States”.

    And yeah:  as was the case with preferred access, it looks like Clintoon’s “protégé” Huma Abedin was involved hip-deep in this as well.

    Predictably, Clintoon’s        naive sycophants and/or paid “spin doctors”         supporters have sought to downplay this latest revelation.  They’ve claimed that some of those folks “were actually at times engaged in diplomatic efforts”.

    Yeah, right.  Sure they were.  Just like I’m the freaking King of Siam.

    The Daily Caller has a short article giving a few details; Fox News has a longer one giving more.  Both articles IMO are worthwhile – if disgusting – reading.

    You or I would be in jail by now.

  • Art Pollard and his medals

    Art Pollard and his medals

    Art Pollard

    Bobo sends us a link to the story about Art Pollard, a 68-year-old Navy retiree. When he retired to Alabama, he gave his medals to his daughter who lived in Modesto, California. A short time later, her apartment was robbed and the thieves took Art’s medals with them.

    The medals were found in a stolen car shortly afterward and they’ve been sitting in an evidence room for years until officers in Modesto decided to return the awards to their rightful owner;

    Recently, Modesto police said their Property and Evidence Technicians were going through items ready to be trashed when they discovered the military medals.

    Police said one of their technicians did some research and tracked Pollard down. When the detective called him, he was shocked.

    “I couldn’t believe he went to all that trouble, just to find me,” Pollard said.

    Pollard said the Modesto Police Department mailed the medals to a local Alabama police department where he was reunited with his medals.

  • The Clintoon “Private” Email Saga Continues . . . .

    Well, Clintoon’s “private” email is in the news again.

    Yeah, so what else is new?  Hell, I’ve written about it so many times now that a Google search of this site for the terms “Clintoon” and “email” turns up more than two pages of previous stories.

    In any case:  a few days ago I wrote that even more previously unreleased Clintoon email had been recovered recently by the FBI.  “Even more”, as in about 50% of the amount previously turned over by Clintoon’s lawyers.

    Supposedly, only non-work-related email wasn’t returned by Clintoon’s lawyers to the State Department 2 years ago.  You know, stuff about yoga, recipes, vacation plans and the like.  But rather obviously that claim now . . . seems suspect.  Highly suspect.

    Anyone wanna guess what I’m about to tell you today?

    Well, that’s actually a trick question; today you might well be wrong if you guessed.  No, there hasn’t been yet another batch of Clintoon “private” email located or recovered.

    However, it seems that some of the newly-recovered emails appear . . . interesting. Some of these new emails appear to be from mid-September 2012.  And among the new stuff around 30 emails – including some from mid-September 2012 – appear to concern something called “Benghazi”.

    Yeah, that Benghazi.  The same Benghazi where 4 Americans died while the Federal government sat around for hours with its thumb firmly inserted, doing nothing.

    I somehow just don’t think the Clintoons were planning a North African yoga vacation or discussing a local restaurant serving “Benghazi couscous” in those mid-September 2012 emails.  And of course all of those newly recovered emails that weren’t previously turned over were deleted “by accident” – not to cover up anything.

    Oh, and it also appears that Clintoon continued to send and/or receive classified email at that “private” account months after she left the State Department.

    Damn.  You or I would be in jail by now.

     

  • Bye, Corrine. Don’t Let the Door Hit You On the Way Out.

    Remember that       manifestly corrupt drooling idiot       esteemed US Representative from Florida, Rep. Corrine Brown?  You should; Jonn and TSO have written about the individual here multiple times – first here, then here, then here, then here, and finally here.  And I might have missed an article or two.

    In case you’ve forgotten:  she was recently indicted, along with her chief-of-staff, on fraud and other Federal charges – as in more than 20 total counts.  And she also had some, um, interesting things to say about the Orlando Pulse terrorist shooting incident.

    Well, Rep. Brown ran for reelection in yesterday’s Florida primary election.

    She lost.

    Gee.  That’s too bad.

    But at least it doesn’t look like she needs to worry too much about future employment.  I’m guessing that’s pretty well already arranged.

    Wonder how she’ll look in an orange jumpsuit?  (smile)