Vatican Lawsuit Liability exceeds $1 billion in USA Courts
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Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit
source - "Jon" <jle...@cinci.rr.com>
California Law Offices of Tom Easton & Jonathan Levy
Contact: Jonathan Levy
Tel. 513-528-0586
Jle...@cinci.rr.com
For Immediate Release - May 19, 2002
Vatican Lawsuit Liability exceeds $1 billion in USA Courts
The Vatican, which has long claimed immunity to lawsuits, is now
facing claimants seeking more than $1 billion.
Insurance commissioners from Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee,
Okalahoma, and Arkansas have joined Holocaust victims and victims of
pedophile priests in filing lawsuits against the Vatican and Vatican
Bank. The Insurance commissioners are seeking over $600 million in a
RICO (Anti Racketeering) lawsuit that has named several top Cardinals
including two former Papal Nuncios to the United States and the
Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Sodano, as co-conspirators with
convicted financier Martin Frankel in an unsuccessful attempt to
launder an incredible $150 billion in insurance assets.
Frankel who has plead guilty to 20 counts of wire fraud and one count
each of securities fraud, racketeering, racketeering conspiracy and a
forfeiture charge has been cooperating with the government in
retrieving $200 million in missing insurance assets. Frankel faces
150 years in prison and will be sentenced next year.
Vatican officials allegedly received pay offs from Frankel and his
associates in exchange for use of a Vatican operated charity as money
laundering conduit. A Vatican monsignor, Colagiavanni, who also is
facing racketeering charges, assisted Frankel in taking over
unsuspecting insurance companies. Cardinal Laghi, former Vatican
Nuncio to the USA, received $100,000 from Frankel. The Vatican Bank,
which is controlled by Cardinal Sodano, issued a key letter of credit
that Frankel used in his insurance schemes.
The Vatican's legal problems in the US first arose in November 1999
when California attorneys Tom Easton and Jonathan Levy filed a class
action lawsuit seeking return of gold and funds looted from
Yugoslavia during WWII and laundered by the Vatican bank post war.
The wartime treasure is valued at several hundreds of millions.
Earlier this year sexual abuse victims in the US sued the Vatican and
now the insurance commissioners are seeking restitution and penalties
of over $600 million. All the lawsuits are pending.
According to co-counsel in the WWII case, Jonathan Levy, all the
cases have an excellent chance of beating Vatican immunity defenses:
"The Vatican used up its goodwill long ago, it has violated too many
international laws and laundered too much money for anyone to believe
its wholesale denials anymore. They stand to lose more than a billion
dollars due to a lifestyle of crime and corruption by their top
officials."
For more information see:
http://www.vaticanbankclaims.com/press.html
http://www.vaticanbankclaims.com/links.html
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nytact-05.20.02-15:20:29-21325