As Michael said in Godfather I, "If history teaches us anything, it teaches us that anyone can be killed". Where is Frankie Pantangelo {Five Angels}? s/off
Posted on 03/29/2006 7:47:32 AM PST by doug from upland
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RODHAM WATCH Top donor seeks to expose 'Hillary's Chappaquiddick' Business mogul to file fraud complaint with FEC, proceeds with civil suit
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: March 29, 2006 1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Art Moore © 2006 WorldNetDaily.com
Sen. Hillary Clinton greets Peter Paul at Hollywood gala (Courtesy Hillcap.org) Claiming Hillary Clinton pulled off the biggest campaign-finance fraud in history, business mogul Peter Franklin Paul is preparing to file a complaint with the Federal Election Commission charging the Democratic senator with submitting a false report – for a fourth time – that hides his personal donation of a multi-million dollar Hollywood gala and fund-raiser that helped put her in office.
Calling the case "Hillary's Chappaquiddick," Paul is trying to air his charges – amid virtually no media coverage – by producing three different documentaries, including a theatrical release planned for the third quarter of 2007 that aims to have the kind of election-season buzz generated by Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11." A website, the "Hillary Clinton Accountability Project," documents his accusations.
"I am exposing the frauds Hillary directed, and I witnessed, that won her seat in the Senate on her march to the White House," Paul told WorldNetDaily. "It has become my penance to warn the American people of the real threat to our republic posed by this power-hungry sociopath."
Paul insists Clinton's new amended report finally acknowledged his contributions but falsely classified them as being from his companies and from his business partner, Marvel Comics creator Stan Lee, instead of from him as personal gifts. Clinton should have refunded the money according to federal law, he contends, because it was intended for her national senatorial campaign, and the limit for such donations is $25,000.
Clinton's Senate office did not follow up WND's request to respond to Paul's claims. President Bill Clinton celebrating business deal with Peter Paul and wife Andrea (Courtesy Hillcap.org)
Represented by the public-interest law firm U.S. Justice Foundation, Paul also alleges, in a civil suit, former President Bill Clinton reneged on a $17 million deal to promote Paul's Internet businesses, causing one of his public companies to collapse by diverting his Japanese partner's investments.
Paul claims he was asked to fund the Hollywood event in exchange for the former president agreeing to be his "rainmaker."
Hollywood bash
The charges in the FEC filing and civil suit arise from a lavish Aug. 12, 2000, event at a private Brentwood estate that featured tributes to the Clintons from A-list actors such as Gregory Peck, Jack Lemmon, Michael Douglas, Goldie Hawn and John Travolta, topped off with performances by Cher, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Paul Anka, Toni Braxton, Patti LaBelle, Melissa Etheridge, Sugar Ray and Michael Bolton. Paul Anka performs at Hollywood tribute to President Clinton (Courtesy Hillcap.org)
But Sen. Clinton suddenly moved to distance herself from her major donor when just days after the "Hollywood Gala Salute to President Clinton," the Washington Post splashed reports of Paul's 1970s criminal convictions in a story that accused the senator of being soft on crime.
[Paul contends the Clintons were fully aware of his past legal problems, pointing out he was vetted more than eight times by the Secret Service. Under the Carter administration, he was convicted for cocaine possession and an attempt to bilk Cuban dictator Fidel Castro of $8 million. He ascribes that to politics, arguing he was embraced by Ronald Reagan's kitchen cabinet, which "realized the problems I had were more related to being gung ho about removing Castro." While still on parole, he said, he worked directly with Chief Justice Warren Burger and visited President Reagan in the White House. In 2001 he pleaded guilty to one count of violating Securities and Exchange Commission regulations on the trading of his stock.] Peter Paul and President Reagan (Hillcap.org)
Despite Paul's chief role in funding and organizing the star-studded event and the hours she spent with him in conversation at two previous fund-raisers, at the gala and the next day at actress Barbra Streisand's house, the New York senator publicly insisted she barely knew him, declaring, "We will not be accepting any contributions from [Peter Paul]."
But Paul contends the campaign's latest amended FEC report proves her pre-election promise was a "cynical lie."
"Hillary Clinton made a vow to the voters and to (senatorial opponent) Rick Lazio that she wouldn't take money from me to avoid my being a political issue," Paul said. "She continues to hide my role as her biggest contributor for political reasons. The federal election law says she can't lie about my contributions for political reasons. She is continuing to violate the federal election laws."
The FEC on Dec. 29, Paul points out, obtained an admission from an umbrella group for Clinton's campaign through which large donations were channeled – New York Senate 2000 – that it had engaged in a five-year deception, violating the federal election law by hiding the largest donation made to her campaign.
As a consequence, New York Senate 2000 and Clinton treasurer Andrew Grossman agreed in the conciliation deal to pay a civil fine of $35,000 and amend false reports to reflect failure to report a $721,000 donation by Paul.
Paul says the Hollywood event cost close to $2 million. The government acknowledges it cost more than $1.2 million to host and raised $1 million in "hard money" contributions.
In addition, Paul claims, the fair-market value of the entertainment he provided amounted to another $1 million in contributions.
Peter Paul and Sen. Hillary Clinton (Courtesy Hillcap.org)
He argues that since Sen. Clinton reported the value of gala photographer Annie Liebovitz's contributions to the event, it's impossible for her to justify not reporting the value of the performances of Cher, Diana Ross and the others used to raise hard money for her campaign.
"That is a minimum of $1 million in fair market value for their collective performances at the concert that she witnessed and knows remains unreported," Paul asserts.
But New York Senate 2000, in its first report, declared only $366,000 to the FEC.
Paul charges Sen. Clinton not only knew of the actions taken by her treasurer Grossman, she directed those actions and others in violation of federal campaign statutes and regulations. Peter Paul and Hillary Clinton at a fund-raiser luncheon(Courtesy Hillcap.org)
Then, he contends, she helped cover it up through misleading the FBI investigation that led to the indictment of her former finance director, David Rosen, on criminal charges related to the reports.
Rosen, Paul emphasized, was indicted for actions for which Grossman now has admitted responsibility.
Paul argues that while Rosen was acquitted last year, the trial established, through government prosecutors and FBI witnesses, that Paul contributed more than $1.2 million of his personal funds to Sen. Clinton's campaign in an attempt to persuade President Clinton to become a spokesman for his businesses after leaving office.
Paul asserts Grossman, de facto, committed perjury in his testimony at the Rosen trial by stating he did not know the event cost over a million dollars.
"He now admits he not only knew it cost over a million but he intentionally hid that fact from the FEC," Paul said.
'Reporting violation'
Ian Stirton, a spokesman for the FEC, told WorldNetDaily he could not comment on the allegations in Paul's upcoming complaint, but he downplayed the actions for which Clinton's group and treasurer were fined, calling it a "reporting violation" that did not result in any gain for the campaign.
Stirton said the law at the time required joint fund-raising groups such as New York Senate 2000 to report to the FEC both federal and non-federal receipts. (The FEC later abolished joint fund-raising committees).
Even though the non-federal funds did not concern the Federal Election Commission, the spokesman continued, they still had to be reported to the FEC.
That resulted in Grossman agreeing in the conciliation deal to pay a civil fine of $35,000 and to amend the false reports.
Paul's donation was considered a non-federal contribution, Stirton explained, and Clinton's treasurer, "for whatever reason," did not report it. Peter Paul gets a kiss of greeting from Hillary Clinton (Courtesy Hillcap.org)
But Paul contends the issue fundamentally is the public's right to know who a major candidate's contributors are and how much they gave.
"The reason Hillary did not report it is clear," he said. "She vowed she wouldn't take money from me; how can she report she took more than $1 million from me without admitting she lied to get elected?"
Paul points out FEC spokesman Bob Biersack testified at the Rosen trial that Congress' fundamental purpose for FEC laws was to provide the public with complete and accurate information on how a campaign is run, who funds it and how much the donors give.
Sen. Clinton violated that purpose, Paul claims, by hiding his leading role in contributing to her election.
"If she is not held accountable she will continue to hide the truth from voters in her current campaign," he asserted.
"I challenge anybody to read the general counsel's report from the FEC and not decide that the Clinton campaign has been lying and falsely accusing me of lying since I filed my complaint," he continued.
The fourth amended report, submitted by Grossman attributed contributions of $838,000 to Paul's holding companies, Paraversal and Excelsior, rather than Paul personally, and $225,000 to his business partner Stan Lee, despite Lee's denial under oath. Lee is the Marvel Comics artist who created Spiderman, the Incredible Hulk and others. President Bill Clinton celebrating business deal with Peter Paul and wife Andrea (Courtesy Hillcap.org)
Paul argues the federal government, in three different instances, has established the companies were alter egos for him personally, meaning he personally gave the money to Clinton's campaign.
"I signed the checks, yet Hillary's campaign refuses to disclose that simple fact in its reports, undermining the right of the voters to know the truth," he said.
Former Clinton aide Dick Morris, now a chief critic, believes that had Sen. Clinton reported accurately the cost of the event, she would have had almost $1 million less money to spend.
"This extra hard money was pivotal to her ability to finance her 2000 Senate campaign," he said in an editorial.
"I've worked with Hillary: She's a master of detail," Morris argued. "A decision to underreport the costs of an event like the Hollywood extravaganza by almost three-quarters of a million dollars could not possibly have been made without her knowledge and approval – probably, at her direction."
Confronted on camera
Sen. Clinton was confronted about Paul's contributions on camera in 2001 by ABC News investigative reporter Brian Ross but refused to comment. Since then her only comments to the media about the case have come through lawyers.
After her finance director Rosen was indicted and tried, Clinton said through her lawyer David Kendall: "[Mrs. Clinton's] Senate Campaign Committee has fully cooperated with the investigation. New York Senate 2000 properly reported all donations in 2000." The Pauls with the Clinton family at Hollywood gala (Courtesy Hillcap.org)
But Paul points out that after the FEC settlement with New York Senate 2000 forced it to admit omitting more than $721,000 from its reports, Kendall suddenly was replaced by attorney Mark Elias as a spokesman for Clinton's campaign.
"No explanation was given for Kendall's four years of false statements to the media," Paul said.
Meanwhile, in his civil lawsuit, Paul is preparing a response to Sen. Clinton's motion to dismiss the case based on California's anti-SLAPP law, which protects politicians from frivolous lawsuits.
He expects the discovery phase of the suit to validate his charges as Sen. Clinton and other figures are forced to testify.
The Beast and Bubba are the Teflon candidates/persons, nothing sticks to them.
All these accusations are making the accusers some $.
That's about it.
Please show me any money Peter Paul has made. He is the accuser. If you can't, and you won't be able to, then please stop it. The Clintons and their pals ruined him and his family. Thanks.
Ping
Lord, God, PLEASE insure that these hideous excuses for human garbage be removed from public life ASAP. Preferably to a solitary cell in Leavenworth . . . if the courts decline to keel haul them under the carrier The Ronald Reagan.
At the very least, Lord, cause their great criminal activities to be thoroughly exposed such that even their worshippers shake their heads in shame.
Only you, Oh, Lord, can effect what the courts and other evil powers that be seem so resistent to doing. In your Name, Lord. Amen.
Well, I think the point is that Peter Paul knew the Clintons to be dogs, lay down with them, and is now complaining he has fleas.
It's not like he was a "true believer," thinking they were great for the country.
Ergo, it's hard to feel sorry for him. He's just as big of a crook (or perhaps "user" is the better word) as the Clintons.
The Clintons were just smarter and better-connected crooks.
But he's still dirty.
sounds like this guy, Paul tried to sleep with the dogs and now is complaining about the fleas.
Too soon!
Wait until she gets the dimocratic presidential nomination, then destroy her.
If she's removed from contention now the dims may accidentally find someone electable!
You do know that all major corporations give money to both sides, don't you? It is about business. Peter was so busy trying to build a business that he did not pay attention as we did to what Clinton was all about. He was working for the stockholders to build a global company. Unfortunately, he learned a lesson that destroyed everything for which he had worked.
Part of him being "dirty" was a sting of Fidel Castro for $8.7 million in the attempt to build a wedge between Castro and the Soviets over subsidized coffee. j Castro was cheating the Soviets, and Peter was asked to be part of an operation to expose it and harm Castro. Had Jimmy Carter not been the president, he would have been given a medal of freedom instead of being incarcerated. Really, you do not know the whole story.
You are free, however, to attack him rather than join the cause to help him stop Hillary. That's fine.
Once she gets the nomination, she is home free. The press will not confront her. George Soros, behind the scenes, will fund $200 million if that is what it takes to get her elected. If she is not accountable for this fraud, she will be bulletproof for the next one. That one will be huge, and she will have no fear. Once she has the office, who will do anything?
Just curious. Have you paid attention to the entire story I have worked on for over a year?
sorry Doug, but I feel absolutely nothing for a Clinton hanger-on who got caught in his own petard. I know you worked hard on this, and that this guy is sleeze. I also know that the Clinton's are perhaps the nastiest folk ever to soil American dirt, but this story is really going to go nowhere.
People just don't get fired up over fiscal corruption by a democrat.
You, on the other hand do great work, and I pray for your continued success in ferreting out the weasels.
No, I don't know his story at all.
But I do run (and own) a fairly large independant oil company, an drilling and workover company, and sit on the boards of several other companies and banks, including several publically-traded companies and a very large non-profit.
I've had some clunker, crooked, partners, and lost money getting rid of them rather than be associated with them.
I have made it a clear goal to run my business --- and the businesses I am involved with --- ethically and to support only those politicians who are good for the USA, regardless of what it does to my company on the short term.
Taken some hits as a result (especially at the non-profit --- which is too dependant on government grants) but, overall, I sleep well at night and have gotten far ahead of where I would have, if I had dealt with the ilk of the Clintons --- or many Republicans.
He may be --- and probably is --- a wronged man. I wish him well.
But I do not follow the enemy-of-my-enemy is my friend, and, even if true, what he has stated is pretty much what one gets when dealing with someone scummy like the Clintons.
There are other ways to get a business going.
I feel compelled to explain that nothing I did with the Clintons was illegal. In fact, I blew the whistle on their frauds as soon as I discovered their efforts to make me a co-conspirator with them in hiding my contributions to her campaign from the FEC. I became a whistle blower in February, 2001, and was coincidentally indicted on a 10(b)5 violation four months later.
When you are building a global business with an American pop icon who is 80 years old, it helps to have an ex-President who is popular around the world to expedite the growth process. Keep in mind the business I was building was based on creating inspirational and motivational character franchises that enriched and uplifted the lives of millions of adolescents around the world absorbing positive American values in the process of being entertained and inspired.
My efforts to hire a former President (not unlike George HW Bush's employment with the Carlyle Group- except I was selling super heroes like Spider Man, not super weapons systems) were legal. What then President Clinton did to abuse a legitimate employment offer, and how his partner in crime, Hillary R Clinton, helped him, is the subject of my law suit, FEC complaint and a documentary I am producing.
In the process of fighting the first ever fraud and coercion suit filed against a President and a Senator, I will expose the criminal misconduct Hillary engaged in to win her seat in the Senate and to obstruct the FBI investigation into her criminal actions.
I am doing a service for you and all Americans who dont get off their a**es to do something to stop this power hungry sociopath from regaining the White House.
When you do decide to do more than sit back and criticize other people's commitments to protect and defend this republic through civic activism, then I might take your criticism and characterizations more seriously.
excuse me for butting in, but you knew who and what Clinton was/is when you entered this deal. had tit been successful you would have been associated with him and all that he is/was. not being a fool, you must understand that and that must have entered into your calculus for the deal.
so, knowing Clinton, you proceeded regardless, and he did what he does - like the snake who bites the woman who saves him ("you knew all along I wass a snake before you took mem in") you cry foul.
sorry, but you aren't getting a whole lot of sympathy from me.
This is not over yet. It would have been nice to have Rosen roll over on Hillary (a disgusting visual indeed), but there is still plenty of ammunition here. Andrew Grossman should be indicted. We are working to try to see that it happens.
If you read the article that World NetDaily uniquely wrote about Hillary's latest false FEC report, filed January 30, 2006, you will see that this matter is not ancient history- and when the trial discovery proceeds against Bill and Hillary, it will bring the whole thing into focus in time for the 2006-2007 preparation for the next prrsidential campaign.
In the latest false report, Hillary has suddenly declared her largest personal contributor was the creator of Spider Man-Stan Lee, who has testified under oath he didnt give her a nickel. So, she has opened the whole thing up again with a new set of lies.
Between that, and her obstruction of the FBI investigation leading to Rosen's wrongful prosecution, (not dissimilar to Lewis Libby's indictment for misleading FBI investigators) this is not a stale story- but an unfolding and enriching story.
If everyone in this nation's history, like you in your "critique", took the attitude that any great and seemingly insurmountable challenge is not worth meeting, we would still be governed by England and we would have allowed the South to seceed without a fight.
Peter Paul is still alive, I am shocked.
I have never sought anyone's sympathy. I have appreciated the support I received from thinking people who recognize that its irrelevant what they thought of the business deal that placed me in the unique situation of getting the goods on Hillary, but once having the goods, I stood up and risked everything to present those goods to the American people.
I could care less about your sympathy, but am more concerned about your mental acumen and dedication to protecting the nation from a psychopath like Hillary. You dont have to like me or respect me personally to appreciate that I am the only person in America who currently has a civil fraud suit against Hillary in court, who has filed a successful FEC complaint against her that forced her to admit her campaign took more from me than anyone while she publicly vowed not to take anything. I have unique video tapes that show her private behavior in a way no one has shown before.
So, for those reasons, and the fact I have survived death dungeons in Brazil because of my whistle blowing. Based on the personal arrangement made by Bill when he coincidentally visited Brazil for the first time, a few weeks after I was detained to STOP me from returning to the US, not to ensure my return, he spent a day at the Embassy and then the fun began.
I dont want your sympathy, but I have earned your respect for five years of fighting the evil you idly moan about and do nothing to stop.
PP,
I'm sorry you took it that way. It's definitely not what I meant and I think you know it.
Now, that said...what can i do to help ?
you sound like a woman who moved in with a known abuser and got abused, and now wants to be congratulated for turning him in.
the more you take pot shots at those who are at least minimally on your side, the less real support you will garner.
politically, this is a non-issue. there is no traction out there, and people are sick of hearing how corrupt Clinton is/was.
we need more and better reasons for the great middle of the road-er to not vote for Hillary. For people like me, it'll never happen, but for a lot of folk, they don't understand what all the fuss is about - some legalistic paperwork thingie (according to them, not me).
I'd dearly love to see her prosecuted, but that isn't going to happen, either.
i do wish you the best of luck, and I hop you prove me wrong. I'd like to see her hide drawn and quartered, and if you can, then God bless you.
As Michael said in Godfather I, "If history teaches us anything, it teaches us that anyone can be killed". Where is Frankie Pantangelo {Five Angels}? s/off
I wish you well in your endeavor.
In follow up, I know nothing about you dealings, other than what I have read here on this very thread, so you are correct to take my armchair quaterbacking with a grain of salt.
And I certainly agree that having Clinton could be a draw; that is a very legitimate business purpose.
And I certainly have no opinion or belief that you did anything dishonest or illegal. If I implied that (or said that), I apologize.
That said, Clinton is known to be dishonest. Heck, the man lied under oath and directly to the American people -- repeatedly.
Every political position he has ever taken is for personal gain, not moral belief.
When you go into business with people you know to be crooks and amoral (which everyone in America that was alive during his administration knows), for whatever purpose, you get burned.
It's like picking up a rattlesnake. You just don't do it.
That is my only point. I suppose the point can be boiled down to "I told you so," which is neither charitable, nor Christian, and so I apologize for that, as well.
And I do wish you well.
I am also shocked. Hillary thought he would die in Brazil and everything would end.
The people who are blasting you aren't thinking; everyone has 20-20 hindsight. Years ago, who knew the clintons are poison.
A good example of not knowing everything about someone: Today Abramoff got a 70 months sentence to a federal prison. Are we to believe everyone, Democrats and Republicans, who accepted his donations knew about his activities?
BTW, thank you very much. Your bravery hasn't gone un-noticed.
FOR NIGHT IS COMING WHEN NO MAN CAN WORK.
"FOR NIGHT IS COMING WHEN NO MAN CAN WORK."
And how few seem to realize it . . . or even realize that there might be such a thing . . .
though it seems that more and more realize that things are not quite right and that there's a general sense of unease and a feeling that
SOMETHING
is looming on the not too distant horizon.
Have you noticed that?
Seems like a greater variety of people are talking in such terms.
Hey, glad to see you back. I've missed you. Love, Mxxx
OMG, how could you STAND to have BJClinton grab and kiss your wife as in the photos?? YUCK!!
Thank you for all you do. From what I have read, you are a true American Hero.
Please be very careful. We all know what usually happens to those who oppose the Clintons.
"Keep in mind the business I was building was based on creating inspirational and motivational character franchises that enriched and uplifted the lives of millions of adolescents around the world absorbing positive American values in the process of being entertained and inspired."
Oh, For Gods sake! You were trying to get rich! Nothing wrong with that. But you swim with sharks and sometimes you get bit. You are a lib, right? And you come to a conservative web site and expect sympathy?
Roll over on the scum. They damn sure deserve it. But bitching and moaning about it here is kind of pitiful.
Sure missed all my loved ones hereon, too!
Thanks Thanks.
Prayers for your health, Mary. God's wholeness, peace and comfort be yours.
Please keep me posted.
PETER PAUL AND HILLARY: No. 17 - BWAHAHAHAHA! Fidel Castro Thinks Peter Is a Very, Very Bad Man
Peter Paul, DFU, Time Mag | 6-13-05 | Doug from Upland
Posted on 06/13/2005 11:00:45 PM PDT by doug from upland
Edited on 06/14/2005 3:35:08 PM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
11- $2,000 Returned, We Keep the 2 Mil, Meet Bill on AF One with More
12 – Hillary’s Laundromat at 88 3rd Avenue, Brooklyn, NY
13 - How Is David Rosen Like Sally Field?
14 - Lying Chart of Sandler Was Like Unwelcome Visiting Relative
15 – If Rosen Didn’t Do It, Who Did It?
No. 16 – The Civil Trial Is Coming (in song)
NOTE: This is the 17th episode in a series of stories regarding the events surrounding Hillary Clinton’s 2000 Hollywood fundraiser, and the business relationship of entrepreneur Peter Paul, the impeached William Jefferson Clinton, and Hillary Rodham Clinton, perpetrator of the largest campaign finance fraud in the history of Western civilization.
*** A TIME MAGAZINE article about this story will appear in its entirety below and after this episode. ***
As many of you have read from the usual suspects in the mainstream media since 2001, you don’t see Peter Paul's name without the word "felon" or "convicted felon" preceeding it. I actually prefer something more accurate. Whistleblower.
So how bad a guy is Peter Paul anyway? Fidel Castro thinks he’s bad enough to try to assassinate. Those who know how dangerous he is to Hillary want to make him look as bad as they can—but not so bad that she shouldn’t have taken $2 million from him. Let's go back in time and get a little taste of the story of this bad guy Peter Paul.
It's 1978. The economy of Fidel Castro's communist island paradise is being propped up by the Soviet Union, which is overpaying for the price of Cuban coffee. It was, of course, in the Soviet interest to see that Castro's communist experiment in the Western Hemisphere didn’t collapse.
Peter was a rather famous international lawyer at the time in Miami. Even before the age of thirty, he was doing some amazing things. But we'll try to stick to the coffee caper in this episode.
It seems that Castro was scamming his Soviet benefactors by secretly buying black market coffee and adding it to his shipments of subsidized Cuban coffee. Because Peter was an avowed anti-communist and one very opposed to Castro, he was ripe for certain intelligence agents to recruit him for an economic sting that would expose Castro’s fraud on his Russian sponsors, creating a schism between them.
At the time, Peter was a major player with the leaders of more than five South American and Caribbean governments. Someday soon, the story will be told in book form of his anti-communist exploits.
For the Coffee Caper, Peter organized, supervised, and got the project funded. It began with the purchase of a cargo ship for $800,000.
One of the most intriguing parts of the story is that Peter pulled it off while he was on bail. An operative in the coffee string tried to sabotage the deal and planted cocaine in his garage. A half hour later, a SWAT team was there to make an arrest. Even though the Justice Department knew of every detail of the intended international incident, because of the pressure by certain factions in the government, it was allowed to proceed while Paul was out on bail for the cocaine charge.
The story that appeared in TIME MAGAZINE is below. Although the details were accurate as far as the story went, it was part of a disinformation campaign Peter conducted to divert attention from the government’s role in catalyzing and then facilitating its success. The upshot is that Peter pulled off a scam against Castro in which Fidel lost 8.7 million bucks. What was aboard the cargo ship that was supposed to have the coffee? Only the crew. Peter bit the bullet and did time without blowing the whistle on others who were conducting ongoing anti-Castro operations. Sometimes you have to do that or it can be very dangerous for you. As it was, Castro detailed two Cuban agents in Miami to assassinate Peter a few weeks after Castro discovered he was had. An unsuccessful attempt on Peter’s life occurred one night in a restaurant parking lot next to Miami Airport in November of 1978.
The scam gets even sweeter. A few million dollars from the caper managed to find its way to South America to help fight communist insurgents. That WAS a very good thing.
The Carter Administration allowed Castro (Banco Nacional de Cuba) to sue Peter in federal court in Miami. Peter laughed when he first told me a little about this story, noting that the judgment Castro has against him is probably over $20 million now with accrued interest.
When he was released from prison and while on parole, Peter participated in another government operation. A government operative for various agencies set him up at the Canadian border, where he was using the operative’s brother’s I.D. to cover his meeting with Contra representatives in Canada. That was the origin of Peter’s third guilty plea—making a false statement not under oath to a border agent about his name.
In a previous episode, you read the story of how Hillary made sure everyone knew, through the WASHINGTON POST, that she would not take money from this "convicted felon" Peter Paul. She gave back the only donation she ever reported from Paul, a $2,000 check for another fundraiser. Did Hillary ever report the in-kind contribution for putting on that fundraiser? Who are you kidding?
As we also chronicled earlier in this series, the refund of the $2,000 was followed eight days later with a fax request from David Rosen on Hillary official stationery for another $100,000, payable in stock. Of course, she has neither reported nor refunded Peter’s $1.9 million cash in-kind contribution. Hillary made that illegal by hiding it from the FEC and the voters. She will have to answer for that in a Los Angeles courtroom when Peter’s civil fraud case against both Clintons is finally heard. Discovery in that case may not be far away.
Is Peter Paul a bad guy? You decide. What if he had defrauded Hitler during World War II rather than defrauding the current communist murdering thug in Cuba during the Cold War? Remember that Castro’s Cuba was the only enemy of the United States at the time under the Trading with the Enemy Act. Had Peter pulled off the coffee caper since the creation of FreeRepublic, I would have proudly promoted him for FReeper of the Year. It was one helluva FReep.
Work on the Bicentennial.
Peter's friend Frank Sturgis is an American hero. Not only did he try to have Castro whacked about 10 times, he discovered a plot in Angola about six Libyans coming to the U.S. to assassinate President Reagan. He alerted the Justice Department and may well have saved the Gipper's life.
Peter with his friend, Lech Walesa
(Nation section of TIME MAGAZINE, 2-12-79)
THE CUBAN COFFEE CAPER
How Castro paid $8.7 million and got not a single cupful
As Cuba’s ruler for the past 20 years, Fidel Castro obviously wasn’t born yesterday. He has triumphed over attempted invasions, coups and assassinations. He has felt confident enough to send troops to Africa to stir up trouble. Yet he has now been taken, in a huge swindle brought off by a group of men accused of selling Cuba a cargo of nonexistent coffee. The ruse, involving transactions from Canada to the Caribbean, ultimately collapsed, but not before Cuba was relieved of about $8.7 million—perhaps the worst sting the Cuban dictator has ever suffered.
The Cuban government, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the FBI, and the U.S. Justice Department’s Strike Force are all involved in the attempt to untangle the swindle. Authorities have arrested one man, a West German commodities broker named Karl Fessler, charged three more, and are seeking others.
In an attempt to support Castro’s faltering economy, the Soviet Union has been buying much of the coffee Cuba grows at a price higher than on the world market. In fact, Cuba has even been accused in some anti-Castro quarters of mixing imported coffee with home-grown and then selling the spurious blend to the Russians. Be that as it may, Cuba does import cheaper coffee for domestic consumption.
Knowing the Cubans’ need for coffee, Karl Fessler, a jet-hoping high roller, is said to have made them an attractive offer in late 1977. According to the Cuban government, Fessler told its trade representatives that he would sell them 3,000 metric tons of “Barahona,” a choice Arabic blend grown in the Dominican Republic, at a bargain price. Reportedly, Fessler and some cohorts produced all the documents attesting to the availability of the coffee, and the deal was clinched last October on the Caribbean island of St. Martin. The Cubans agreed to a price of $1.39 a lb. vs. $1.54 on the world market. In a later meeting, the Cubans asked if they could inspect the coffee. No need for that. Fessler assured them. Everything was fine.
Except that not a single coffee bean existed. Companies were set up in the Caribbean and an aging freighter of Panamanian registry was bought for $700,000. The culprits proceeded to payoff anybody who might hinder the swindle. The Justice Department estimates that hundreds of thousands of dollars were paid out.
The ship with the coffee was launched near Santo Domingo last November. The plan was to sink it en route to Havana. The gang expected to collect twice: once from the duped Cubans, a second time from the company that insured the ship. When the freighter was at sea, Fessler and a confederate are said to have marched into the Bank of Nova Scotia in Toronto. All sorts of papers were shown verifying that the coffee was on its way: a telex from the ship’s captain, complete invoices, bills of lading, inspection receipts. Following the instructions of Cuba’s brokers, the bank promptly disbursed the $8l7 million as Fessler directed.
Then came a hitch. Someone had apparently neglected to bribe a port official in Santo Domingo: he retaliated by refusing to let the crew that had been hired to scuttle the ship to board the vessel. So the freighter had put out to sea with its original crew, who were unaware of the plot. En route, they evidently realized that something was wrong. They sailed into Puerto Limon, Coast Rica, and left the ship. At first, when the coffee failed to arrive on time, Cuba’s representatives were not alarmed. They received a telex explaining that the freighter had been delayed at sea because of mechanical problems. Finally, the brokers involved in the deal decided to check. They flew to Costa Rica and found the freighter empty.
By then the swindlers were long gone. Fessler showed up in Miami, where he went on a spending spree. He bought a $17,000 Cadillac and $70,000 in jewelry, made a down payment on a Key Largo condominium, invested $850,000 n securities, and moved into a Coral Gables hotel suite. Fessler lived so openly, it seems, because he though he had not committed a crime liable to prosecution in the U.S. He also did not figure that Canadians would press so vigorously for his extradition. FBI agents, who had been tipped off by the outraged Cuban brokers, arrested Fessler in December. On him they found $40,000 in cash, travelers checks and around-the-world air tickets. Fessler is the only one of the gang who has been arrested. He was charged with fraud. The others remain at large. So does most of the money. Last week FBI agents and Canadian Mounties island-hopped around the Caribbean looking for the funds, which were laundered in a series of bank-account transfers. “They did everything to make it vanish,” says Martin Raskin, an attorney for the Justice Department Strike Force.
Even if the money is found, Castro may not get it. In an extraordinary action, Cuba’s Banco Nacional filed a suit in Dade County Circuit Court against Fessler for the return of the money. But by doing so Cuba has made itself vulnerable to lawsuits from property owners whose assets were seized when Castro took power. In addition, the U.S. Treasury has tied up the roughly $1 million recovered on the grounds that the Americans involved in the scheme violated the Trading with the Enemy Act.
If the Cubans do not get their money, they are determined to get Fessler. Currently jailed in Dade County without bail, he intends to fight extradition to Canada. His attorney, Samuel Bare, who calls his client “strictly a broker, a dupe in the whole thing,” fears that if Fessler is extradited to Canada, he might somehow wind up in Cuba. In that case, says Bare, “he would be looking at a firing squad.” Even so, the Justice Department dropped the fraud charges against Fessler in January, to clear the way for extradition hearings this month. Meanwhile, Castro’s agents, who have no great respect for due process, are said to be on the prowl for him and the others. Says a source close to the investigation in Miami: “Everyone in this thing is in jeopardy of his life.” That is a high price to pay, even for coffee.
Thanks, Quix. I am feeling better after they put in the stent but my chest feels heavy and there's fluid accumulating in there that dialysis takes out. Please pray that stops and that I can get my strength back. I can't do much right now. I'm operating on 40% of my heart. I'm grateful that the swollen lymph glands weren't cancer but a result of all the fluid and congestive heart failure. Much love, Maryxxx
It must be great to have a totally simplistic view of the world where everything is comfortably black and white. where once you choose your "side" you never have to think again.
I wish I could join your "club" of simple thinkers.
Maybe you can tell me how a "Lib" can be so helpful in secretly providing valuable information to Ronald Reagan's campaign manager, significantly helping behind the scenes to ensure Carter's defeat, that in spite of his felony convictions, Reagan's "team" arranges to set the "Lib" up with all the major conservative supporters of the Gipper to run a Constitution educational foundation established by a Republican Governor.
OK. Maybe you can tell me how a conservative can give $2,000,000 to Hillary?
And BTW I'm sure Reagan appreciated your help. But I think Carter gave him all the ammunition he needed to win.
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