AP: Tribe Told to Reroute DeLay Checks

[maddezmom]

ELTON, La. - A casino-rich tribe wrote checks for at least $55,000 to House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's political groups, but the donations were never publicly disclosed and the tribe was directed to divert the money to other groups that helped Republicans, tribal documents show.

Lobbyist Jack Abramoff, now under criminal investigation, told the Coushatta Indian tribe, a client, to cancel its checks to the DeLay groups in 2001 and 2002 and route the money to more obscure groups that helped Republicans on Medicare prescription drug legislation and Christian voter outreach.

DeLay's Texans for a Republican Majority and Americans for a Republican Majority never reported receiving any checks from the Louisiana tribe to federal or state regulators, their reports show. The donations, however, are recorded in memos and ledgers kept by the tribe.

"Enclosed please find a check for $10,000 to the Texans for a Republican Majority. This check needs to be reissued to America 21," Abramoff wrote the Coushattas in a May 2002 letter obtained by The Associated Press.

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050621/ap_on_go_co/delay_tribal_donations;_

[The Backlash Cometh]

1. Geez. The scary part is that this goes on from the bottom on up.

[NYC]

2. Related story. (Jack Abramoff)

http://www.madcowprod.com/

June 21, 2005 Venice, FL--The MadCowMorningNews recently learned exclusive new details about the gangland-style murder in Florida which figures so prominently in lobbyist Jack Abramoff’s rise to power...

As the scandal embroiling House Major Domo Tom Delay and Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff grows hotter, there may be new revelations about the 9.11 attack.

Less than one week before the 9.11 attack, for example, Atta and several other hijackers made a still-unexplained visit onboard one of Abramoff’s casino boats.

What were they doing there? No one professes to know.

What does a scandal involving Indian casinos, gambling boat “cruises to nowhere” & pay-for-play government officials have to do with the story of 19 hijackers planning a mass murder in supposed isolation in Florida?

[UpInArms]

9. absolutely chilling

http://www.madcowprod.com/06202005.html

excerpt:

A man in a BMW was driving down a quiet side street after an evening meeting at his Fort Lauderdale office when a car slowed to a stop in front of him. A second car boxed the BMW in from behind, then a dark Mustang appeared from the opposite direction. The Mustang's driver pulled alongside and pumped three hollow-point bullets into the BMW driver's chest.

“Boulis was murdered in the exact same way as Don Aronow, Bush’s other partner,” he stated.

Bush’s other partner? The question hung in the air.

“Something is really going down bad here,” Tiller stated. “Don Aronow. Gus. Jim Shore…All tied in to Bush.”

then on to:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/04/30/AR2005043001147.html

It was a gangland-style hit straight out of "Goodfellas."

A man in a BMW was driving down a quiet side street after an evening meeting at his Fort Lauderdale office when a car slowed to a stop in front of him. A second car boxed the BMW in from behind, then a dark Mustang appeared from the opposite direction. The Mustang's driver pulled alongside and pumped three hollow-point bullets into the BMW driver's chest.

The dead man was Konstantinos "Gus" Boulis, a volatile 51-year-old self-made millionaire, a Greek immigrant who had started as a dishwasher in Canada and ended up in Florida, where he built an empire of restaurants, hotels and cruise ships used for offshore casino gambling. Boulis's slaying, still unsolved four years later, reverberated all the way to Washington. Months earlier he had sold his fleet of casino ships to a partnership that included Republican superlobbyist Jack Abramoff.

then to:

http://www.tarpley.net/bush20.htm

Aronow was reportedly a close friend of George Bush. In his book-length account of the life and death of Aronow which is the basis for the following analysis, Thomas Burdick quotes an unnamed Justice Department official relating the comments of one of his friends on the Bush-Aronow relation: "My friend said, 'I guarantee you I know what the connection was between him and Bush. It's the boats. The guy loves fucking boats." A Secret Service agent also referred to Bush as a "boat groupie." But does this exhaust the topic?

Over the years, Bush had apparently consulted with Aronow concerning the servicing and upkeep of his Cigarette boat. During 1983, Bush began to seek out Aronow's company for fishing trips. The original engines on Bush's Cigarette boat needed replacement, and this was the ostensible occasion for renewing contact with Aronow. Aronow told Bush of a new model of boat that he had designed, supposedly a high-performance catamaran. Bush planned to come to Florida during the New Year's holiday for a short vacation during which he would go bonefishing with his crony Nick Brady. During this time he would also arrange to deliver an antidrug pep-talk.

<snip>

Don Aronow was murdered by Mafia-style professional killers on February 3, 1987. During the last days of his life, Aronow is reported to have made numerous personal telephone calls to Bush. Aronow had been aware that his life was in danger, and he had left a list of instructions to tell his wife what to do if anything should happen to him. The first point on the list was "#1. CALL GEORGE BUSH." Lillian Aronow did call Bush, who reportedly responded by placing a personal call to the MetroDade Police Department homicide division to express his concern and to request an expeditious handling of the case. Bush did not attend Aronow's funeral, but a month later he sent a letter to Aronow's son Gavin in which he called the late Don Aronow "a hero."

and then:

http://www.wildnesswithin.com/ed.html

and:

http://www.cybersleuths.com/news/00__2002news/02072002.1120.htm

Tues Feb 5 2002 07:10:41



Hollywood, Florida
Seminole tribe lawyer who was shot now in hiding -- (Naples Daily News) Jim Shore, a lawyer for the Florida Seminole Tribe was shot several times last month. He has now been released from the hospital and is holed up in a secret location, police said.

[tkmorris]

13. Hmmm........

I don't recall hearing of this Aronow character before. This might bear some looking into.

[magellan]

19. Geez louise

Take a gander at this:

http://www.btinternet.com/~nlpwessex/Documents/WATcolby.htm

Drugs And The Bogus 'War Against Terrorism'

What Do The 1996 Sudden Death Of Former
CIA Chief William Colby
And The Current Expanding Heroin Production In Afghanistan Tell Us About The Bush Administration?

...

"Bush has been choosing people from the most dubious part of the Republican stable of the 1980s, those engaged in the Iran-Contra affair... Armitage served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs in the Reagan years, but a 1989 appointment in the elder Bush administration was withdrawn before hearings because of controversy over Iran-Contra and other scandals. Armitage was one of the main architects behind US covert support to the Mujahedin and the militant Islamic base, both during the Afghan-Soviet war as well as in its aftermath. US covert support was financed by the Golden Crescent drug trade. This pattern has not been fundamentally altered. It still constitutes an integral part of US foreign policy by the Bush Administration and the basis of CIA covert operations."
The Role of Pakistan's Military Intelligence (ISI) in the September 11 Attacks
Centre for Research on Globalisation (CRG), Montréal, 2 November 2001
...

"Aronow's role in marijuana smuggling was reportedly confirmed by Bill Norris, head of the Major Narcotics Unit at the Miami US Attorney's office and thus the top federal drug prosecution official in south Florida..... Aronow was reportedly a close friend of George Bush.... As one local resident recalled of that time, 'everyone in Miami knew that if you needed a favor from Bush, you spoke to Aronow.' It was proverbial among Florida pols and powerbrokers that Aronow had the vice president's ear.... Don Aronow was murdered by Mafia-style professional killers on February 3, 1987. During the last days of his life, Aronow is reported to have made numerous personal telephone calls to Bush. Aronow had been aware that his life was in danger, and he had left a list of instructions to tell his wife what to do if anything should happen to him. The first point on the list was '#1. CALL GEORGE BUSH.' .... Starting in 1985, and with special intensity during 1987-88, more than two dozen persons involved in various aspects of the Iran-contra gun-running and drug-running operation met their deaths... the overall pattern of these deaths strongly suggests that they are coherent with a damage control operation by the networks involved, a damage control operation that has concentrated on liquidating those individuals whose testimony might prove to be most damning to the leading personalities of these networks. The death of Don Aronow occurred within the time frame of this general process of amputation and cauterization of the Iran-contra and related networks. Many aspects of Aronow's life suggest that his assassination may have been a product of the same 'damage control' logic...."
The Phony War On Drugs
'George Bush: The Unauthorized Biography'
by Webster G. Tarpley & Anton Chaitkin

[Al-CIAda]

28. .

[Monkie]

38. don't people read the news?

its like the DSM its old news and common knowledge yet nobody knows or sees or reads or remembers?

[R Hickey]

34. Saudi hijackers on Abramoff's boat and Norquist's Saudi roomates

Something about Grover Norquist is starting to smell fishy.

Who did the Saudi hijackers meet with on Abramoff's floating Casino? Was Norquist at the meeting? If not where was he?

Was Grover Norquist the "money-man" for the Saudi princes that occupied ajoining offices with his tax reform organization?

What is the Abramoff-Norquist-Saudi connection and does it lead to 9-11?

[0007]

35. After reading the article, it sure makes one wonder about the connections

with Enron and Cliff Baxter's death. This is organized crime right out of the White House.

Jack Abramoff and Ben Waldman, are walking examples of the strange alliance between the family-values party and the gambling industry. Both men have strong ties to Pat Robertson’s Christian Coalition, which is adamantly opposed to gambling; Waldman was Robertson top aide in the televangelist's run for the presidency.

Abramoff, who perhaps wisely only took the title of vice president (less heat) has been connected to the Christian right since a student at Brandeis University, where as head of the College Republicans he enlisted Top Christian Ralph Reed as his top deputy. The two have remained close friends ever since.

[LightningFlash]

41. Wow.....I'm not even surprised.

[jasmeel]

3. Rate this story up!!!! n/t

[Alizaryn]

4. Done

[maddezmom]

5. I keep thinking "it's the last nail"...but I'm hoping this may be it

thanks for the kick :D

[billyoc]

7. Surely even the most uneducated of Delay's constituents

must know what money laundering is, you may be right on this one. :)

[dalloway]

10. done

[lovuian]

6. I thought Gambling was the devil's business!!! and Tom is

helping!!! this is disturbing !!!

[Rose Siding]

8. DeLay's assistant asked Abramoff to re-route the cash

specifically so casino money wouldn't appear on DeLay's rolls. -"Anonymous" sources, but it sounds like this is part of the grand jury's focus.

[alfredo]

11. Love their "Christian Values."

And they look down us as being immoral.

America 21 calls on Americans to "repent" and says September 11, 2001, showed "America has lost the full measure of God's hedge of protection."

[Donailin]

12. o man, this is huge -- just nominated

[EC]

14. I hope some of these payoffs can be traced to the Swifties.. n/t

[AwakeAtLast]

15. I love the smell of freshly laundered money.

:eyes:

<sniff> Ah! Refreshing! :D

[snot]

16. Kick nt

[lala_rawraw]

17. Hmmm... John seemed to have report this

Oh, ages ago... are we in a time vortex?????

[maddezmom]

20. could you link to the article?

[Al-CIAda]

29. Yes I do recall something on Vitter as well. n/t

[lala_rawraw]

40. Well if we had some tech help with our stupid archive

I could find it... I googled, but for some reason, all of the results focus on one particular story in a series of several that he did.

Someone find it please?

[DoYouEverWonder]

18. Here's the AP version

AP: Abramoff's Web of Influence in Capitol

June 22, 2005, 2:36 AM EDT

ELTON, La. -- Though far removed from Washington, the Coushatta Indian tribe quickly learned the cost of influence in the Capitol: "Wire all funds. Professional Services. $3,405,000.00," one of the tribe's lobbyists, now under investigation, wrote the Coushattas in 2002.

Other invoices such as this one from Michael Scanlon, a business partner of lobbyist Jack Abramoff, carry similar commands for large sums. Before it was all over the tribe had spent $32 million of its casino profits on a lobbying effort that many now question as exorbitant, and tribal members had ousted their leadership.

Along the way, Abramoff directed the tribe to make tens of thousands of donations and once directed tribal leaders to cancel $55,000 in checks to House Republican leader Tom DeLay and divert them to other groups.

DeLay's Texans for a Republican Majority and Americans for a Republican Majority never reported receiving any checks from the Louisiana tribe to federal or state regulators, their reports show. The donations, however, are recorded in memos and ledgers kept by the tribe.

http://www.newsday.com/news/politics/wire/sns-ap-delay-tribal-donations,0,2964595.story?coll=sns-ap-politics-headlines

[leftchick]

21. AP: Abramoff's Web of Influence in Capitol

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050622/ap_on_go_co/delay_tribal_donations;_ylt=AiuullMxgJKwJJjhQ_wNfaeyFz4D;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl

ELTON, La. - Though far removed from Washington, the Coushatta Indian tribe quickly learned the cost of influence in the Capitol: "Wire all funds. Professional Services. $3,405,000.00," one of the tribe's lobbyists, now under investigation, wrote the Coushattas in 2002.


Other invoices such as this one from Michael Scanlon, a business partner of lobbyist Jack Abramoff, carry similar commands for large sums. Before it was all over the tribe had spent $32 million of its casino profits on a lobbying effort that many now question as exorbitant, and tribal members had ousted their leadership.

Along the way, Abramoff directed the tribe to make tens of thousands of donations and once directed tribal leaders to cancel $55,000 in checks to House Republican leader Tom DeLay and divert them to other groups.

DeLay's Texans for a Republican Majority and Americans for a Republican Majority never reported receiving any checks from the Louisiana tribe to federal or state regulators, their reports show. The donations, however, are recorded in memos and ledgers kept by the tribe.

[rainbow4321]

24. McCain says inquiry focusing on lobbyist, not on lawmakers

From a 4/2005 article:

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0428indian-casinos28.html

Sen. John McCain on Wednesday said that his Senate Indian Affairs Committee's investigation into disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff's dealings with Native American gaming tribes will not delve into the conduct of lawmakers who may be linked with those activities.

"The responsibilities of my committee are to investigate allegations that have been brought to us which are fairly well substantiated as rip-offs of tribes," said committee Chairman McCain, R-Ariz.

"That's the responsibility of the Indian Affairs Committee. And that's the limits of the Indian Affairs Committee. If there are questions about the ethical behavior of others, we have a (Senate) Committee on Ethics. That's their responsibility."

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, took several trips abroad, including one on which he golfed at the famed St. Andrews course in Scotland. Ohio GOP Rep. Bob Ney also accepted a golfing trip to St. Andrews. Also, several representatives, including Republican J.D. Hayworth of Arizona, failed to report some of the fund-raising assistance arranged in their behalf by Abramoff.
----------------------------

How convenient...so he will go after the tribes but not his fellow repukes who were/are involved.

[Judi Lynn]

32. Just checked.Voinovich is the chairman of the Senate Ethics Committee

Here are the members:http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/cgi-bin/newcommittee.cgi?site=ctc&lang=&commcode=sethics

Pat Roberts, (gack!) is on it. I don't know about Akaka, but unless he's a strong character, there's not a strong Democrat on it. Figures.

[UpInArms]

22. kick

:kick:

[Robbien]

23. DeLay took casino money

ELTON, La. -- The Associated Press reported a casino-rich tribe wrote checks for at least $55,000 to U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's political groups.

The AP also reported the donations were never publicly disclosed and the tribe was directed to divert the money to other groups that helped Republicans.

. . .

Abramoff told the Coushatta tribe to cancel its checks to the DeLay groups in 2001 and 2002. He advised the tribe to route the money to more obscure groups that helped Republicans on Medicare prescription drug legislation and Christian voter outreach.

DeLay's Texans for a Republican Majority and Americans for a Republican Majority never reported receiving any checks from the Louisiana tribe to regulators.

The donations are recorded in memos and ledgers kept by the tribe.

http://www.news8austin.com/content/headlines/?ArID=139933&SecID=2

[underpants]

25. Hahahaha

:bounce:

[powwowdancer]

26. Lobbyist May Have Cost Tribe Millions

Thank you again, Tom Delay. Here's the the story in it's entirety

:dem:
powwowdancer out

[Al-CIAda]

27. Ralph Reed is also involved up to his eyeballs, dig into this. n/t

[Al-CIAda]

30. .

[Al-CIAda]

31. .

[Judi Lynn]

33. Anyone who wants to look at C-Span's online replay of McCain's committee's

session on Abramov yesterday, go here: http://www.c-span.org/

It's at the top of the list of "Recent Programs:"

Senate Indian Affairs Committee Oversight Hearing on Indian Lobbying (06/22/2005)

Quite interesting.

[Supersedeas]

36. and Reed....and Norquist....and Noe...and the list goes on

[Al-CIAda]

37. .

[Al-CIAda]

39. .

[Al-CIAda]

42. .