Air America- or "Con" America?

various FR links & blogs | 08-02-05 | the heavy equipment guy

[backhoe]

  Air Enron (Michelle Malkin) 

-- According to Lombino's latest article, Air America's current owners have known about ... a large cash infusion from Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club, a non-profit organization funded primarily by government grants.

 Despite the near-total MSM blackout, this story just keeps getting more and more interesting.

 Previous:
Air Deadbeat: the saga continues
The Air America loophole
Air America is scrambling
Air America: Don't blame us
Air America: Stealing from poor kids?!

 

 RADIO MAN CATCHES $TATIC (con man blamed for Air America $500K snafu) -- A top staffer at the Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club in The Bronx "conned" the organization into lending nearly $800,000 to the left-wing radio network Air America — a move that eventually doomed the youth group...

 Err America.... founded by a con artist, and staffed by con artists.

 But remember,  it's  "for the children"...

 

  Bigger Than We Thought; Air America, Cohen Got More Than $800,000? -- The question now is, "How much of the money embezzled from needy children and seniors went directly into the pockets of bleeding hearts Franken, Rhodes and Garafolo?"

 

  Funds of a Bronx Youth Group Allegedly Lent to Air America (Scandal Now Tops $800,000)

 

  'CAMP AIR AMERICA' STILL SOLICITING --Flap's got a great round-up of links for the beginner to the story, which means all MSM reporters. Wizbang looks at the Drobnys. Macho Nachos talks to lawyers.
Thus far only the New York Dail News has run any news story on the debacle.
We know every twist and turn in Rush Limbaugh's medical history, but no one in MSM has the time to follow the Air America money, even when bloggers have laid out the roadmap?

 

  Air America: MSM Doesn't Follow The Money

 

 Captains Quarters:

http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/archives/005096.php

 

 Inside Air America's Troubles: Optimism and Shaky Finances

 The Wall Street Journal ^ | June 21, 2004

 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1157198/posts

 

 

 Michelle Malkin has the continuing FLAP about Air America radio, THE AIR AMERICA LOOPHOLE.

 Blogger Leon H. takes a hard look at Air America’s latest explanation for the public funding mess involving NYC non-profits.

 MSM has finally picked up the story.

 Some others following the money:
The Captain - pay the money back!
Macsmind - Stealing from poor kids?
Danny Carlton - Air America has taken to embezzlement.
Venomous Kate - it’s not just the programming that stinks.
Michelle Malkin with LOTS more detail
Isn’t it rich? - Outrage, anyone?
BizzyBlog - Wonders if the liberal network will even be around six months from now.
ItsAPundit
Interested-Participant - Air America possibly in the cross hairs of an embarrassing scandal.
Basil’s Blog - Breakfast Special
The Pirate’s Cove - How low can you go?
Two Babes and a Brain - Sorry kids, guess you’ll have to make due with deflated soccer balls.
Decision ‘08 - Sure looks like Air America benefitted from diverted funds intended for inner-city youth.
Mrs. Greyhawk - Why isn’t the NYT covering this scandal?
Cannuckistan Chronicles - …if you’re “Air America”, you hijack funding that was supposed to go toward inner city kids.
JunkYardBlog - Stealing from the poor to make themselves rich?
Red State Rant - out of the mouths of babes.
The Llama Butchers - Al Franken is a big fat thief.
Ace of Spades HQ - Are you kidding me?
Commonwealth Conservative - Air America stealing from poor kids?
Jeff the Babtist - Answer to Air America’s funding problems - fraud.
Say Anything - Air America could be in big trouble.
Almost Daily - There’s a stink in the Air America
Independent Sources - Air America’s Failings No Longer Funny
Literal Barrage - Al Franken Is A Big, Fat Liar Who Steals From Poor Kids And Old People
Jeff Gannon - Liberal radio more important than inner-city kids’ programs?
Michelle Malkin, Double Toothpicks,

 

 

Be sure to check out the simplified version of this post and also further analysis here and here!

In tracking the recent Air America fiasco, it came to me that there was much to this story that I didn't properly understand.

 

Air America Steals Half Million Dollars From Bronx Kids Charity

And the kicker is they're not sorry... Here's the short version of the story, covered first by Brian Maloney with followups from Michelle Malkin and Captain Ed. The leader of the Bronx-based Gloria Wise Club, Charles Rosen, reportedly loaned $480,000 in the startup Air America radio network, at the request...

[Full Story]

 

 Here's the transcript of the CNN "Inside Politcs" segment on Air America's Children's Crusade:

 

 Franken Unaware Of Ex-Colleague's Alleged Loans (Err America $$$ Scandal)

 

 Robin Hood and Air America - ($480K transferred from public funds to Franken's Air America!)

 

 AIR AMERICA: STEALING FROM POOR KIDS?!

 

 Report: Air America Funding Probed

 KEYWORDS: AIRAMERICA; ALFRANKEN;

[Holicheese]

Please note that when they found the 800 FBI files in the Clinton White House, they called that a SNAFU too. Sandy Berger...SNAFU.

[Liz]

On another thread FREEPER LIBSTRIPPER posted an incisive analysis of this blatant fraud, as follows:


There's a lot here for the feds to get involved in. First of all, there's a good chance that a lot of the money NYC dolled out to Gloria Wise was Federal money.


If so, it's Federal money that was being stolen.


The IRS has a lot to be interested in. Gloria Wise is a 501(c)(3) public charity. Its directors and officers are prohibited by the U. S. Internal Revenue Code from engaging in self dealing.

Cohen, the development director of Gloria Wise, was also the founder of Air America; he worked for and authorized the $800,000 of "loans" to Air America.


Even if they were bona fide loans, that would still raise serious issues of self dealing as far as Cohen and Gloria Wise are concerned and, at a minimum, would jeopardize Gloria Wise's tax exempt status.


However, it's highly doubtful that the $875,000 was ever loaned by Gloria Wise to either Air America or Cohen; rather, it was probably stolen.


As of now there's no indication that Gloria Wise took any
of the normal due diligence steps generally necessary to support such a loan, including: (a) obtaining a business plan from Air America, (b) getting a promissory note at
a market interest rate, (c) obtaining a security agreement, and (d) getting personal guarantees from Air America's principals.


Absent such conventional loan paper work, it looks strongly like Gloria Wise embezzled the money from NYC grants and Air America knowingly, through Cohen, its agent and founder, stole the money from Gloria Wise and used it.


Since NYC probably got a lot of that money initially from the Federal government, The U. S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York ought to start an investigation.


The situation is just about as bad with Cohen personally, since it's likely that Gloria Wise provided him with medical insurance to cover his cancer treatments and the $35,000 "loan" was actually a personal embezzlement.

[backhoe]

 Sitting Out The Scandal; Comparing Coverage: MSM, Talk Radio, Blogosphere -- If you're running Air America Radio right about now, are you

A) horrified your dirty secrets are being aired by bloggers and others, or

B) thrilled, knowing it will shortly be back to business as usual, since the mainstream media has decided to look the other way at your network's past dirty dealings and recent conflicting statements.

[MplsSteve]

I agree with you. This is something the IRS ought to look into.

But so far, the MSM has done a stellar (as usual) job of ignoring the scandal.

That's what irritates me so much.

[pointsal]

ANYONE CALLED DAN RATHER TO SEE IF HE CAN HELP WITH THE DOCUMENTATION?

[Ann Archy]

FUBAR is what ALL the Dems are.

[libstripper]

Thanks for giving me the credit.

[backhoe]

 Franken Finally Speaks; What Took So Long? Is He Credible?

[Liz]

Great job----keep it up.

[Fido969]

March 2004:

---

Inside Air America's Troubles: Optimism and Shaky Finances
The Wall Street Journal ^ | June 21, 2004 | JULIA ANGWIN and SARAH MCBRIDE

Posted on 06/21/2004 3:36:36 AM PDT by visagoth


On March 30, the night before Air America went on the air, the liberal radio network threw itself a $70,000 party at Manhattan's hip Maritime Hotel. More than 1,000 guests, including Yoko Ono and Tim Robbins, drank red, white and blue vodka cocktails as they toasted the network's bid to challenge the dominance of conservative talk radio.

---

Oh, gosh, I love it. I just love it. There is the Boys and Girls Club money - $70,000 of it. Come on, Tim and Yoko, give it back!

Squirm, Al Frankenberry, squirm.

[Liz]

If you are so inclined, here's the AIR AMERICA toll-free PHONE NUMBER........ 1-866-303-2270.

[backhoe]

Thanks for the info- libstripper, that's a good take on the situation. These folks are going to have to do some fancy dancing to skate out of this scandal without facing criminal charges.

[processing please hold]

Bookmarked. Damn you're good.

[backhoe]

 Air America and the race hustlers -- But the raging reverends are nowhere to be found as a scandal involving the liberal radio network Air America and a Bronx, N.Y.-based inner city charity for poor children brews... Race hustlers care about only one color: green.

[backhoe]

Thanks for the

Bring
Up
My
Post

[backhoe]

 The Continuing Scandal At Air America (potential wire fraud, forgery, fraud by deception, more) -- The New York Sun takes on the Air America story today and advances it by leaps and bounds -- Now we have potential wire fraud, forgery, and fraud by deception, and  a host of other potent charges...

[backhoe]

 No laughing matter (Air America steals from poor children and Alzheimer's sufferers)

[backhoe]

Here's the link: http://www.nysun.com/article/17846. Its date is August 1, 2005. Gives the best summary of the scandal of any of the articles to date.

[backhoe]

 Transcript of Michelle Malkin on Hugh Hewitt's show discussing the Air America scandal -- Once again doing the job of mainstream media, these two biggies of the blogosphere, Michelle Malkin and Hugh Hewitt, spent a couple of segments earlier this afternoon comparing notes on the Gloria Wise/Air America scandal...  as some bloggers have pointed out, Leon H. at Macho Nachos has pointed out, and Stephen Bainbridge pointed out earlier, even previous to this last scandal, that the former people who were involved in Progress Media, which was run by Evan Cohen, many of them were still retained when Piquant LLC was formed. So this whole alibi that Air America has been giving, that this was new ownership, and they had no idea what was happening, it just strains credulity.  And there was a lawyer who commented over at Captain's Quarters today, who said that a lot of the financials from Gloria Wise should be available to any mainstream media person who wants it. So, I'm going to start looking into that angle.

[backhoe]

 Missing the Perfect Storm [MSM silence to 'Air America' rip-off]