Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Correction: Make That $5 Million

Oh, boy. This doesn't look good for ACORN, not that much does these days. You may recall that Dale Rathke, one of the two founders of ACORN, had embezzled $1 million dollars, according to this NY Times article. That became the widely accepted amount, not that that embezzlement stopped our government from giving them millions of our dollars.

Well, it turns out that figure of $1 million is just a little low. By $4 million dollars, that is. Holy smokes. In this article, ACORN Embezzlement Was $5 Million, LA Attorney General Says, that figure is revised way up, and not by a reporter, or a politician with an ax to grind, as ACORN would not doubt claim, but the State Attorney General:
Louisiana's attorney general has broadened the scope of an investigation of ACORN to include a possible embezzlement of $5 million a decade ago within the community organization, five times more than previously reported.

ACORN Chief Executive Officer Bertha Lewis said the new reported amount is "completely false."

Attorney General Buddy Caldwell has been conducting an investigation of ACORN since June. He issued subpoenas in August seeking documents related to former ACORN International President Wade Rathke and his brother Dale Rathke, who kept the group's books. Those subpoenas were focused on possible ACORN violations for non-payment of employee withholding taxes, obstructing justice and violating the Employee Retirement Security Act. No charges have been made.

The attorney general had inquired in June into an alleged embezzlement within ACORN that happened 10 years ago. The group last year dealt with an internal dispute and a lawsuit involving accusations that Dale Rathke made nearly $1 million in improper credit card charges in 1999 and 2000. The brother and a donor repaid the money.

Did you catch that? A "donor" helped pay back the money. Dale was not formally charged, nor did he have to spend any time in prison. None. Now we know it was so much more money than previously thought:
Caldwell said last month that the statute of limitations presented obstacles to prosecutors taking action on the embezzlement, and that his investigation was not focused on that issue. The subpoena issued Monday changed the tone of the investigation and put a new emphasis on the embezzlement issue.

"Current high-ranking members of ACORN have publicly acknowledged that embezzlement did in fact occur, but the exact amount of the embezzlement was unknown until it was recently acknowledged in a board of directors meeting on Oct. 17, 2008, by Bertha Lewis and Liz Wolf that an internal review had determined that the amount embezzled was $5 million, " the new subpoena says.

The subpoena says, "It is still unclear if some of the monies embezzled are from state, federal or private funds."

The subpoena requests documents from Citizens Consulting Inc., a financial arm of ACORN, and from various accounting and legal consultants in New Orleans. Investigators are trying to verify the issues raised in the subpoena.

"We're going to follow the evidence where it leads us and try to do the right thing," said David Caldwell, head of the attorney general's public corruption and special prosecutions divisions. "We are actively investigating the case, whatever the outcome might be. This is something we are devoting our full attention to."

Wade Rathke, who was in Bangkok, Thailand, on Monday, referred questions to ACORN officials. Lewis said she would comment further after she and ACORN attorneys had a chance to review the subpoena.

ACORN board member Vanessa Gueringer, chairwoman of the Lower 9th Ward Chapter, said she had not seen the subpoena but that the accusation about the larger embezzlement was untrue.

"I believe it is another lie, another witch hunt, " Gueringer said.

ACORN, which provides counseling on housing and other assistance to low and moderate income families, has been reeling from national negative publicity in recent weeks. Actions have been taken on the federal level and by many states, including Louisiana, to end public contracts with the group. (Robert Travis Scott can be reached at rscott@timespicayune.com or 225.342.4197.)

Now that's some Major League Denial going on there, isn't it?? The Attorney General of the State isn't just making stuff up. He has actually been INVESTIGATING ACORN, and rightly so.

Let's just do the math here. ACORN has received $53 Million of our taxpaying dollars. Dale Rathke embezzled $5 million from ACORN. Sure they get donations, but honestly - you don't think some of that money was OURS???? And why is he NOT IN PRISON?? That's what I'd like to know. Hopefully, he will be soon, thanks to the LA State Attorney General.

And that begs the question - where has everyone ELSE been on this issue? It's not like it wasn't public knowledge, and not like it hasn't been reported in major newspapers across the country. I'm glad someone is doing his job.

And speaking of the Rathke Brothers, don't forget that Wade is also the one who co-founded the SEIU, yes, the union that held California hostage. Well, you are not going to believe where their name pops up in connection to the White House. Check out this video, beginning at the 1:45 minute mark:



Holy smokes. The SEIU is working with the Wite House and the NEA to spend YOUR/OUR money on propaganda.

And we thought the Bush Administration was bad about the whole propaganda thing...

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

ACORN Chief Executive Officer Bertha Lewis said the new reported amount is "completely false."

Yeah, it's probably twice that amount, more like $10 mil.

The brother and a donor repaid the money.

So, as long as you repay embezzled money, it's okay? Good to know. I wonder who the donor was???

And, just our of curiosity, what was Obama doing with Acorn 10 years ago???

Just asking.

It never ends, does it?

Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy said...

Yeah, well, she went to NYC to be an actress - I'd say she's a pretty good one, wouldn't you??

It appears that Drummond Pike, who founded the Tides Foundation, paid off the debt: http://www.citycaucus.com/2009/03/know-your-donor-drummond-pike

Nice to have friends like that, but it still doesn't explain why there was no JAIL TIME for Dale. He's gone on to rack up a big chunk of change on an American Express card, too. How nice of you to help him have the niceties, SF!

And no, it doesn't seem to end. We KNEW this, though - we knew that Obama had all of these nefarious connections. His minions just refused to open their eyes, preferring instead to sing, "Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm..." BLECH.

Mary Ellen said...

You know, I keep thinking about how angry the "progressive left" was during the Bush administration when they were screaming "Propaganda!" at the top of their lungs. Heck...I was one of them! But now, they sit idly by and encourage propaganda to the point that they think it's ok for our tax dollars to pay for it.

I knew, from the bottom of my heart, I KNEW that the Obama administration was going to be corrupt, but I had no idea to what extent. And yet...they continue to get away with it. The news media doesn't care (except for Fox--never thought I'd say that!) and I read the progressive blogs and they are so incredibly blind to the fact that they are no different from the people that they hated so much one year ago.

Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy said...

Mary Ellen, I know EXACTLY what you mean. I cannot believe the way that having a (D) after the name means that all of the things we were genuinely angry abt at Bush is now just peachy keen. We were FURIOUS abt the fame commercials and all that stuff that Bush did.

But hey, as long as they look like that "Nope" poster why should we complain??

I'm with you, Nunly - I knew he was going to be corrupt, too. There is no way on this green earth that someone could rise up the way Obama did and NOT be corrupt. From getting everyone thrown off the ballot, including his MENTOR, to the Rep. contender magically having his sealed divorce records released shortly before the election. And you know all of the shenanigans he pulled in the Primary, and with his favorite Gang of Thugs, ACORN.

Unbelievable. Just unbelievable...