40kg Of Cocaine Found On Mitch McConnell’s Father-In-Law’s Boat

[PADemD]

James Chao, father of Mitch McConnell’s wife Elaine, has a lot of questions to answer after 40 kilograms of cocaine (about $6.7 million worth) was found on the Ping May, a ship owned by the Foremost Group, a company James Chao founded and led to a tidy fortune. But was that fortune built on honest movement of legitimate bulk trade goods, or has Mr. Chao been trading in less than legal goods?

The cocaine, found in 40 separate packages, was discovered during a routine inspection hidden among a load of coal bound for Europe from the port of Santa Marta, Columbia onboard the Ping May, one of 15 ships Foremost currently operates, with another 8 under construction. The final destination for the ship was to be the Netherlands, likely one of the port cities surrounding Amsterdam. It is known that the Ping May has been witnessed at the port of Zaanstad, one of these cities, in the past.

Foremost Group is the source of most of Senator McConnell’s fortune through gifts and inheritance from his in-laws. It is a shadowy corporation, utilizing a complex scheme of shell companies to skip out on millions in taxes annually.

They fly their ships under the flag of Liberia, a west African nation known for its lax labor protections, allowing Foremost the opportunity to exploit its ships’ workforce with little fear of recrimination. However, this status as an employer-friendly anti-labor nation also allowed western African nations, such as Liberia, to become one of the epicenters for drug smuggling through legitimate channels. By working to extract every red cent of profit at the cost of the laborers who make their fortunes possible, Foremost may have sewn the seeds of its own downfall.

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/10/31/mcconnell-cocaine/
Author: Nathaniel Downes October 31, 2014 1:30 pm

[truebluegreen]

1. That's not a "boat" as the title indicates,

it's a ship, which creates a lot of distance from the owner visavis smuggling contraband on board.

I hoped this would be a whole lot more interesting, i.e. an immediate problem for McConnell.

[LittleBlue]

3. Yeah I was expecting to read about it on his yacht

This comes across as a last-ditch desperation move.

[pscot]

7. Still, it is his boat.

[Recursion]

116. It's not a boat, is the point. It's a ship

(And, yes, that is actually pretty important.)

[ChisolmTrailDem]

29. This ship:

[bobclark86]

68. That's not a boat

If by boat we mean bulk carrier with a deadweight of 178,000 tons and a deck that could play three NFL football games at a time, then yes, a boat.

[nikto]

98. Thank goodness it is a large ship!

That makes it ok, then.



Whew!
Dodged a bullet on that one.

[customerserviceguy]

110. Large ship, small story

Small boat, big story. Not "OK", but way too removed from McTurtle to pin anything on him that could possibly stick.

[JaneyVee]

59. Has that company donated drug money to Mitch campaign?

[csziggy]

70. That is the main source of McConnell's money

From the OP:

Foremost Group is the source of most of Senator McConnell’s fortune through gifts and inheritance from his in-laws. It is a shadowy corporation, utilizing a complex scheme of shell companies to skip out on millions in taxes annually.

[marble falls]

106. Just like any other offshore flagged ship moving contraband or not.

[riderinthestorm]

2. Wow! Outstanding read. BIG K&R

[yortsed snacilbuper]

4. Follow the money,

and see who it leads too!

[ThoughtCriminal]

5. Is he sure he brought enough for everybody?

[PatrickforO]

6. I'm not a Mitch McConnell fan by any means, but

it seems like we need to get some more facts here. Just because the drugs were on a guy's boat does not necessarily mean that he knew or was involved in any way.

My beef is actually with the forfeiture laws, which are blatantly unconstitutional. If this guy wasn't a US Senator's father in law, you can bet the DEA would seize his entire fleet and freeze all his other assets. Then, because they do it under CIVIL law, the onus of proof would be on Chao. With no money and frozen assets, he would have to prove his property wasn't knowingly used in the commission of a crime.

That said, my guess is the Chao probably didn't know about it.

[George II]

27. I'm not a McConnell fan either, but....

...I disagree somewhat.

The ship, registered in Liberia, was leaving Colombia bound for the Netherlands. Even though the parent company is located in NYC, I don't think US forfeiture laws or the US Constitution apply here.

Also, this incident happened in August. I don't know why it took two months for it to come out.

Strange story indeed. Here is the report from The Nation:

http://www.thenation.com/article/186689/mitch-mcconnells-freighted-ties-shadowy-shipping-company?page=full

[bluedigger]

40. It probably took some time to connect all the dots in the ship's registry to McConnell.

Even if they sat on it for a few weeks for political effect it is still current and relevant to the race. If Mitch's father in law is also one of his main financial backer's then he is certainly open to public scrutiny. McConnell has been a hard line antidrug crusader his whole political career and he should address it. I would have made it public much earlier if I had the information as it may be too late to have much effect.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

42. Liberia is where there's Ebola,...so that links McConnell to Ebola....

[ut oh]

51. So Beeker....

seems to have gotten into that stash somehow...

[rgbecker]

60. Liberiagazi!

Best connecting of dots so far this century.

Thanks Spitfire!

[JDPriestly]

46. Whether Chao's company has a side business dealing in cocaine is a question

that should be answered. As you point out, Chao is going to need to explain in terms that a jury will believe just how that cocaine got on a boat owned by his company.

While this may or may not suggest that McConnell and Chao are or have been involved in cocaine trafficking, it certainly raises questions about how carefully Chao's business is run, how careful he is to make sure that he and his company and employees are obeying the law.

The tax avoidance by a senator's father-in-law raises questions about the patriotism, honesty and ethics of the senator in question. Birds of a feather flock together.

[Scootaloo]

53. At just 90 pounds, I would be inclined to say no.

I really think this is some small-timer operation which used this ship simply becuase a gu knew a guy on the crew of this one instead of hte next one at the port, nothing more.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

112. Expect to see a claim that it was a setup to swing the election.

[onecent]

55. YOUR GUESS??????? OMG now I have heard it all!!!! and I QUOTE?

"Just because the drugs were on a guy's boat does not necessarily mean that he knew or was involved in any way."

WHAT THE HELL are you smokin??????? Yeah I was holding it for my buddy.....
6 MILLION??????????????? BWWAAAAAAAAAA

[Hugin]

62. I'd think that 90 lbs was worth at least as much as the rest of the "freight"on that ship. n/t

Coal is what? $0.50 a ton?

[Alittleliberal]

81. Idk those ships can hold 10s of millions of dollars

Also I don't care where you are 40 keys of blow doesn't cost 6.7 millions dollars. It doesn't even cost that much at street value. Wholesale blow costs maybe 30g a kg which would put the cost at about 1.2 million.

[valerief]

66. Your halloween mask is slipping. nt

[Rex]

71. How do you not know there in 90 pounds of blow on your yacht!?

Nice try! No really...nice try!

[Alittleliberal]

82. Do you know how much space a pound of coke takes up?

You could almost fit 90lbs in a suitcase...

[Rex]

83. I'm sorry, but no sane person will ever believe 90 pounds of coke is unnote worthy.

You can try all day long, it won't matter. Most people know that is a dealer level amount of coke.

[Alittleliberal]

84. It's not an international trafficking level of coke

No matter how many times you try to claim it is. Coke is a big game homie. That shit gets shipped up 1000 lbs at a time. Not 90.

[Rex]

85. Who said anything about international trafficking, is that how desperate you are now!?

Please, go on with your bad self, this apologizing for the Mitch Family is amazingly funny to watch!

[Alittleliberal]

86. I'm not apologizing for the family

Just getting facts in. No one is going to risk there business over barely over a million in product. The money it takes to buy off officials to get a shipment out of one country and into another would be well over that. 90lbs is a very small amount of blow when it comes to trafficking. It would be easy to hide it on a large ship without the knowledge of the ships owner.

[Rex]

87. Nobody is going to ride around with 90 pound of coke in their ship and not know it.

Try as they might.

[Alittleliberal]

88. I could hide that much coke in your car

And you would never know.

[Rex]

89. Of course I would, that is nonsense.

[Alittleliberal]

90. How often do you pull your dashboard off?

????

[Rex]

91. You would smell 90 pounds of coke in a car.

Do you know anything about drugs? Doesn't seem like it.

[scarystuffyo]

111. Sounds like it's a crew member that had some side deals going on

[nikto]

99. 90 lbs of coke? Chump change

90 pounds of coke doesn't count---Too small an amount.
Obviously insignificant.

[truebluegreen]

92. Who said anything about a "yacht?" It's a SHIP.

Unless Mr Chao is in the habit of shipping COAL on board his YACHT.

[Rex]

95. Sorry, ship. He has a ship with a lot of blow on it.

I wonder how many times Mitch has buried his head in a pile of coke Scarface style!


Say hello to my little turtle!

[PatrickforO]

113. Not a yacht. It is a freighter, and if you look at some pics of freighters nowadays, it is quite

easy to see how someone could hide 90 lbs of something on board without the captain, and certainly without the owner knowing.

[northoftheborder]

8. I didn't think the Turtle could be any slimier.

Why did this just come out today?

[Matariki]

75. Going for the Meth Head vote?

[TheCowsCameHome]

9. Nice cozy boat.........

......all 950 feet of it.

[Historic NY]

10. Its an old crusty scowl like mitch..

http://www.thenation.com/article/186689/mitch-mcconnells-freighted-ties-shadowy-shipping-company?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

[Cha]

50. That's a BOAT alright.. wow.. thanks for the link, Historic NY

[blm]

11. Yep - This is typical of the BFEE.

.

[TNNurse]

12. I disagree

If you own a business (ship) and it is involved in illegal activity, you as the owner are liable for said activity.

[Travelman]

67. For an entire shipping company? How ridiculous.

If some passenger on a JetBlue flight is found to have a bunch of meth in his suitcase, does that somehow make Jeff Barger a drug trafficker?


Ludicrous.

[TNNurse]

79. If it was cargo, I disagree with you.

[SmittynMo]

13. McTurtle sure has been in the news lately.

And none of it good.

[homegirl]

65. Second wife Miss Chao

Does anyone now how McConnell's first marriage ended? Was he a widower or a divorced man when he married Miss Chao?

[Raine1967]

73. Divorced man. nt

[kelliekat44]

14. Quick, call Rachel, Wolf, and HANNITY!!!! nt

[librechik]

15. October Surprise?

too ad it's not Mitc or Mrs.Mitch themselves., sigh.

[OldRedneck]

16. So it really is the Coke Brothers who are paying his bills!!!

[Blue Owl]

34. Those turtles and their beaks...

n/t

[freshwest]

44. Yes it is!

[karynnj]

17. One thing the dad could not say was not him --- the ships fly under the Liberian flag!

How patriotic!

[Fred Sanders]

18. So the guys ships are registered in Liberia, the centre of the ebola fear.....interesting.

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

19. Mitch sure looks like he's on something!

[SmittynMo]

22. Random piss test ahead

It's your turn turtle boy.

[JEB]

114. Corruption junkie.

[Man from Pickens]

20. Very interesting

I have long suspected that the reason why certain substances are illegal is because they provide profit opportunities for the select elite who are above the law. Wonder who he forgot to pay off, that he got caught?

[Dustlawyer]

21. Mitch's campaign and lifestyle funded by drugs! Ha ha! I think Mitch needs to be quaranteened,

his father-in-law has been to Liberia! Wouldn't that be ironically sweet! I can dream.

[SmittynMo]

23. Isn't there an issue with....

funds being sent to McTurtle for his campaign, from James Chao?

[Dustlawyer]

24. This is the first I heard about his wife's side of the family. I had no idea he got his money from

his wife's dad. I am sure he has feathered his nest while in office as well.

[riversedge]

26. ah yes--it would be a lovely SWEET dream

[TBF]

25. He'll blame whomever was staffing the boat -

executives/owners are very good at blaming underlings.

[wyldwolf]

28. Liberia? EBOLA!!!!!!

[Glassunion]

30. Amateur...

[sammy750]

31. Proof of McConnell being a crook.

And they were funding McConnell elections for decades. McConnell winning elections on drug money.

[Blue Owl]

32. Ever ride the white turtle?

n/t

[salib]

64. Too funny.

[PeteSelman]

33. Turtleman is like 75, how frigging old is his father-in-law ?

These are some really old people, I can't imagine they have anything to do with the day to day operations of the ships.

[Octafish]

36. Perhaps his wife, she is young?

That might make her father younger than a turtle, say?

The thing about the story, the father in law owns a fleet of "capesize container" ships too big for the Panama and Suez canals. Perhaps the drugs are some corrupt officer or seaman's.

http://louisvillecourant.blogspot.com/2014/08/how-many-ships-are-in-mitch-mcconnells.html

On the other hand, going by his voting record alone, yeah, Mitch is a crook.

[MADem]

54. Probably in his early eighties--Elaine (oldest of 6 daughters) is only 61.

If he was a young dad, he could be in his late seventies. He keeps his age under his hat.

[Raine1967]

76. She was born in 1953. nt.

[UTUSN]

35. R#84 & k for, well I'll kick this!1 n/t

[Octafish]

39. The Nation has the story: Mitch is BFEE Pals with Corrupt Elite of Red China

Mitch McConnell’s Freighted Ties to a Shadowy Shipping Company

After drugs were found aboard the Ping May, a vessel owned by his wife’s family’s company, Colombian authorities are investigating.

by Lee Fang
The Nation, October 30, 2014

Before the Ping May, a rusty cargo vessel, could disembark from the port of Santa Marta en route to the Netherlands in late August, Colombian inspectors boarded the boat and made a discovery. Hidden in the ship’s chain locker, amidst its load of coal bound for Europe, were approximately 40 kilograms, or about ninety pounds, of cocaine. A Colombian Coast Guard official told The Nation that there is an ongoing investigation.

The seizure of the narcotics shipment in the Caribbean port occurred far away from Kentucky, the state in which Senator Mitch McConnell is now facing a career-defining election. But the Republican Senate minority leader has the closest of ties to the owner of the Ping May, the vessel containing the illicit materials: the Foremost Maritime Corporation, a firm founded and owned by McConnell’s in-laws, the Chao family.

Though Foremost has played a pivotal role in McConnell’s life, bestowing the senator with most of his personal wealth and generating thousands in donations to his campaign committees, the drug bust went unnoticed in Kentucky, where every bit of McConnell-related news has generated fodder for the campaign trail. That’s because, like many international shipping companies, Chao’s firm is shrouded from public view, concealing its identity and limiting its legal liability through an array of tax shelters and foreign registrations. Registered through a limited liability company in the Marshall Islands, the Ping May flies the Liberian flag.

McConnell’s ties to the Chaos go back to the late 1980s, when James Chao began donating to the senator. In 1993, McConnell married James’s daughter, Elaine Chao, a Republican activist and former Reagan administration official who would later serve as secretary of labor in the George W. Bush cabinet. James Chao emigrated to the United States from Taiwan, and founded the Foremost Maritime Corporation upon settling in New York. The company has grown significantly over the years, from acting as maritime agent during the Vietnam War to controlling a fleet of approximately sixteen dry-bulk cargo ships in operation today.

Foremost acts as a shipping agent, purchasing vessels made primarily in China and coordinating shipment of commodities. Records reviewed by The Nation reveal that Foremost transports corn, chemicals and other goods to cities throughout the world. The company has offices in New York and Hong Kong.

Some of the goods shipped by Foremost echo themes of the McConnell campaign. At a Young Professionals Association of Louisville event this month, McConnell stressed his opposition to carbon dioxide limits imposed by the federal government that would impact the domestic coal market. He argued that such efforts would be fruitless given the role of coal in developing countries and the rising coal trade. Foremost ships routinely transport coal from ports in Australia and Colombia, countries with cheap coal, for export to Asia and Europe.

CONTINUED...

http://www.thenation.com/article/186689/mitch-mcconnells-freighted-ties-shadowy-shipping-company#

If Kentucky were to learn this stuff, it would sink Mitch.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

37. Uh oh...

Someone's coke straw just fell out of their nose...

[SmittynMo]

56. Ya know, cocaine is one hell of a drug

[Orrex]

38. When transporting 40kg of cocaine on your boat is outlawed

Then only outlaws will transport 40kg of cocaine on their boats.

[Recursion]

117. Mr. Chao, I volunteer to get rid of this 90 pounds of cocaine for you... (nt)

[ClassyCaptain]

41. We're gonna need a bigger boat

[Volaris]

43. I want to know why the Senator from the State of Kentucky (GO USA COAL!!!!!!)...

has a father-in-law that's enough of a dick to IMPORT the stuff.
Is AMERICAN COAL not good enough?
Why does he hate America, Mitch?
WHY?


In all seriousness though, people generally tend to think the worst of politicians, even if they are willing to support them with their vote. If the voters in his State decide he's even DISTANTLY related to this, (which, actually, HE IS) he's FINISHED, even among his supporters.

Yesterday, this was a tight race. Now I think Grimes has this LOCKED.

[Midnight Writer]

45. Under our drug-forfeiture laws

It doesn't matter if the owner was aware of the drugs. The property (in this case, the ship) is subject to confiscation.

In my neighborhood, a landlord lost an apartment building because a tenant was selling drugs out of his apartment. The landlord was not charged and never accused of knowledge of the drugs, but he still lost his apartment building.

There was another case in Florida in which an elderly couple lost their property because a drug smuggler had used an old dock on their oceanside property to offload a shipment of drugs. The couple were not accused of any wrongdoing, but tough luck for them.

[AverageJoe90]

47. Keep on muckraking, y'all! Spread this far and wide. =) nt

[Puzzledtraveller]

48. This is why we lose.

We think this is something, pathetic, look, a huge ass ship, gotcha Mitchy!! This story means nada!

[MoonchildCA]

49. Who cares about cocaine?

How much Ebola was on board?

[bearssoapbox]

52. Guilt by association.

If President is a terrorist, according to the Snowbilly Grifter Palin and other reTHUGS, for palling around with terrorists, is McTurtle a drug dealer by the same reasoning?

[CanonRay]

57. "Behind every great fortune lies a great crime"

Balzac...and he was spot on.

[JaneyVee]

58. How much of that drug money has been funneled...

To the Mitch campaign?

[True Blue Door]

61. On a boat that size, 40kg = a crew member did it.

If the shipping company were in the smuggling business, it would be barrels full - hundreds or thousands of kg.

[Rex]

72. 90 pounds of blow is worth a lot of money, nice try and playing this down.

Nice try...really, nice try.

[NorthCarolina]

63. I have not heard anything about this at all in the MSM...on hold till next Wednesday?

[W T F]

69. Well at least we know who Mitch's campaign contributor is.

[Rex]

74. I Love watching 'posters' try and play this down! Your halloween mask is slipping!

[truebluegreen]

94. Reading comprehension in your friend.

A boat may be a yacht, but a coal ship isn't either one.

[WinkyDink]

101. Ahem.

[brooklynite]

77. UNREC

There are plenty of things to hate Mitch McConnell for. What someone who's related by marriage did isn't one of them.

[PADemD]

78. Foremost has played a pivotal role in McConnell’s life

Though Foremost has played a pivotal role in McConnell’s life, bestowing the senator with most of his personal wealth and generating thousands in donations to his campaign committees, the drug bust went unnoticed in Kentucky, where every bit of McConnell-related news has generated fodder for the campaign trail. That’s because, like many international shipping companies, Chao’s firm is shrouded from public view, concealing its identity and limiting its legal liability through an array of tax shelters and foreign registrations. Registered through a limited liability company in the Marshall Islands, the Ping May flies the Liberian flag.

Snip

Some of the goods shipped by Foremost echo themes of the McConnell campaign. At a Young Professionals Association of Louisville event this month, McConnell stressed his opposition to carbon dioxide limits imposed by the federal government that would impact the domestic coal market. He argued that such efforts would be fruitless given the role of coal in developing countries and the rising coal trade. Foremost ships routinely transport coal from ports in Australia and Colombia, countries with cheap coal, for export to Asia and Europe.

CONTINUED...

http://www.thenation.com/article/186689/mitch-mcconnells-freighted-ties-shadowy-shipping-company#

[WinkyDink]

102. Hahahaha! Yeah, okay. "Foremost Group is the source of most of Senator McConnell’s fortune...."

[marble falls]

80. As much as I loath Sen Ertle McTurtle and look forward to him losing on Tuesday, this article has...

nothing to do with him and sort of resembles the way Teapublicans try to splash mud.

It is legitimate news, no doubt, otherwise. It does beg a question about what James Chao knows about this.

[WinkyDink]

103. "Foremost Group is the source of most of Senator McConnell’s fortune...." Do you think he's naive?

[marble falls]

105. That's a stretch. McConnell's a goofball and its been shown any number of times. Prove the drug....

lord thing or that Chao was in on the drug running. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have it be true that McConnell smuggles drugs, but its a long stretch from what this article says.

This is about Chao:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_S.C._Chao

44 kilos sounds like a crew member.

[santamargarita]

93. Where is the citizen forfeiture now?

[nikto]

96. IOKIYAR

If this were associated with Democrats in some way, it would be big nooz all over the media.

But since it involves a GOPer?

Nothing to see here, move on.

[woodsprite]

97. Well, he said most of his wealth came to him because he married into money.

Guess that's one thing he told the truth about. He just forgot the pesky fact that it was illegal money.

[WinkyDink]

100. Gee, let's contemplate this situation....CRIMINAL ENTERPRISE. (Nobody will go to prison, though.)

[Dont call me Shirley]

104. Can we seize Mitch's campaign money?

That would be awesome!

[supercats]

107. So, Mitch Is A Coke Head....

[rocktivity]

108. What's Chinese for "Ooops -- under an Ebolan, I mean, Liberian flag

and just in time for my son-in-law's Election Day!"


rocktivity

[reACTIONary]

109. No worry...

...it's the CIAs cocaine.

[Roland99]

115. If Alison Grimes' third cousin twice-removed had smoked a joint in high school....

CNN, Faux, M$RNC et al would be going on for days about it.