Drug trade linked to Bush family
Richard Moore
been run by Britain and American governments ever since Queen
Victoria forced China to allow opium imports, in order to improve
Britain's balance of payments deficits.
-rkm
__________________________
From: Don Stacey
Subject: DRUGTRAFFICKING: HYENA PACK owned DC9 Busted in Mexico
Date: 14 April 2008 05:18:39 IST
Well worth a careful read!
Don Stacey
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
----- Original Message -----
From: Lifeforce
To: AB
Sent: Sunday, April 13, 2008 10:45 AM
Subject: Fw: HYENA PACK owned DC9 Busted in Mexico
April 09, 2008
by Daniel Hopsicker
An organized crime ring fronted by a former Republican operative,
who claims to have learned the 'art' of money laundering as part of
the Iran-Contra operation, was behind a massive drug move two years
ago this week which ended with a DC9 airliner from St. Petersburg Fl
busted in Mexico carrying 5.5 tons of pure cocaine, the
MadCowMorningNews has learned.
The crime ring backing the flight of the DC9 was led by self-
described Iran Contra insider Marc Harris, whose associates number at
least three convicted drug traffickers of note.
Harris is a former staffer for Senator Jesse Helms, and his ties to
the national Republican Party go back to at least 1988, when he was
the Florida manager for former US Army General, National Security
Advisor and White House Chief of Staff Alexander Haigbs
presidential campaign.
According to a newspaper in Panama, where he operated while on the
lam, many of Harris' biggest clients were prominent Republican
politicians.
Iran Contra "Blast from the past"
In addition to drug trafficking, the ring is also accused of looting
dozens ofpublicly-held companiesfor a period spanning almost two
decades,duping investors in 'small cap' publicly-held companies using
'pump and dump' stock fraud schemes.
According to experts in financial crime, the ring operates as a so-
called bhyena pack"responsible for bankrupting dozens of public
companies like SkyWay Communications.
Until he was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison for felony
fraud, Harris operated from a roost offshore in Panama during the mid
'90bs.
In addition to General Al Haig, Harris also boasts a more than
passing acquaintance with Iran Contra stalwarts like Gen. Jack Singlaub.
And as befits anyone engaged in global organized crime, his spook
connections are multinational, extending from Chile to Peru.
Our Man in Lima: Peruvian Flake
Former Peruvian spymaster VladimiroMontesinos, for example, narrowly
avoided arrest, and subsequent public disclosure of the CIA's role
over a decade in support of now-deposed and disgraced Peruvian
President Alberto Fujimori, by fleeing Peru in Marc Harris' jet.
Ironically, when, under pressure from the United States, Harris was
seized by Nicaraguan authorities in Managua and summarily expelled
from the country, he was flown back to Miami to be formally arrested
on a US Department of Homeland Security plane which looked much like
the DC9 involved in the 5.5 ton bust.
Although Harris is currently in federal prison, his associates are
still active, and control SkyWaybs successor company, now poised,
under a new name, World Capita, to repeat the pattern of fraud.
"Typical Caribbean crime."
The ring controlled SkyWay Communications, as well as the firm's twin
DC9's, and is known informally to law enforcement officials as the
Orlando Mafia (with no known ties to the more famous Italian Mafia.)
Among the members of the bhyena packb are Skyway
Communicationsb Chairman Glenn Kovar and his son and partner-in-
crime, Skyway President Brent Kovar, the last true owners of the
busted DC9 airliner.
bIt's typical bCaribbean crime,bb explained one financial
expert who has tracked the group for a decade. bThe group has a
strong base in Florida, and offshore in Costa Rica and Panama.b
The Orlando-based ring maintains connections to political figures in
Florida and Texas, as well as to well-known former Iran Contra
operatives, and operates with seeming official impunity.
Bush Pioneer Led Secret Life
It includes such well-known fraudsters as Saudi arms dealer (and CIA
fixer) Adnan Khashoggi, himself no slouch when it comes to busting
out public companies. Khashoggi made off with 300 million from
GenesisIntermedia, court documents reveal, in the Stockgate fraud.
One of the three companies used in the swindle, Holiday RV, was owned
and run by Michael Farkas, who founded SkyWay, and a secretive
Midwestern media baron and Bush "Pioneer," Stephen Adams, who
personally bought one million dollars worth of billboard ads in
support of Bush's 2000 run for the Presidency.
Even though no one seems to be trying very hard to find him,
Khashoggi is currently a fugitive from justice in the case.
At one time, Khashoggi's chief lieutenant and fellow Saudi swindler,
Ramy El-Batrawi, former President of Jetbourne, a Miami CIA
proprietary which flew Oliver North's TOW missiles to the Iranians
during the Iran Contra Scandal, owned both DC9's later owned by SkyWay.
Small world.
Also, apparently, difficult to police.
"In an American Scandal, the bodies pile up."
While it is well-known to law enforcement officials, the group
nonetheless operates with apparent official impunity, perhaps
bolstered by strong relationships with prominent politicians and
national Republican figures like Florida Senator Mel Martinez and
former Florida Governor Jeb Bush.
bThese guys have very openly looted public company after public
company,b said one financial fraud expert we spoke to. bIbve
seen a list of as many as seventy small public companies looted, or
bbusted-out, by this one bhyena pack.b"
"Yet theybve somehow managed to escape criminal prosecution.b
The financial expert we spoke with insisted on anonymity. He was
concerned, he said, over the mysterious disappearance 18 months ago
of a disgruntled investor who had mounted a challenge to the group...
Until his disappearance, Chris Ford was one of the hyena packbs most
vociferous critics. One person we spoke with, who has personal
knowledge of the case, suspects foul play.
"Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss."
The April 11 2006 bust in Cuidad del Carmen in the Mexican Yucatan
kicked off the current drug trafficking scandal. It went into high
gear eighteen months later, with the discovery of 4 tons of cocaine
on anotherairplane from St. Petersburg, this one a Gulfstream II
business jet.
The subsequent corruption and drug smuggling scandal has been roiling
Mexico, but not yet the U.S., and has led to the seizure of a fleet
of over 100 drug planes which were purchased, say U.S. and Mexican
authorities, with drug money from Mexicobs dominant Sinaloa Cartel.
Although this Friday marks the second anniversary of the seizure of
the DC9 airlinerb dubbedbCocaine Oneb because it was painted to
look like official U.S. planes owned by the Dept. of Homeland
SecuritybU.S. law enforcement officials seem no closer than before
to arresting Americans who may have assisted the cartel's efforts.
Even though the Americans who sold drug smuggling aircraft to
Mexicobs Sinaloa Cartel comprise a virtual Whobs Who of
politically-powerful players, many with links to U.S. military
intelligence, the CIA, and the Dept of Homeland Security, the FBI and
the DEA have not considered any of the American sellers to be
suspects in the case.
"Mum's the word" at the St. Petersburg Times
The Americans were unaware of who they were selling their planes to,
law enforcement officials continue to insist. Its a point of view
with which the owners are only too happy to agree.
For example, the St. Petersburg, FL-based DC9 was registered to--but
not owned by--Frederic Geffon, a man who claims he is innocent of any
wrongdoing because, before its seizure in Mexico, he sold the plane
to an "aircraft broker" in California.
Days later, after the plane had already been busted in Mexico (and
the horse already out of the barn) Geffon faxed a bill of sale to the
FAA. Yet neither the FAA nor any law enforcement agency have taken
Geffon to task for clearing himself after the fact.
Also, a check of FAA records shows that "aircraft broker" Jorge
Corrales has no discernible history of buying and selling airplanes
for a living. Yet despite this transparent ruse, no Americans have
yet been charged with any crime.
St. Petersburg is home to two airports currently receiving scrutiny
for their associations with as many as 11 planes which found their
way into drug cartel fleet, according to a story by Bill Conroy in
NarcoNews.
And The Tampa Tribune reported that St. Petersburg-Clearwater
International Airport is a focus of an international investigation
into the purchase of airplanes by a Mexican drug cartel.
However, according to the hometown paper where the story takes place,
the St. Petersburg Times...Mum's the word.
"Back-dated sales documents? No problem!"
This apparent lack of official enthusiasm for prosecution of the
possible American partners of Mexico's dominant Sinaloa drug cartel
extends to investigating their financial crimes as well.
The official in charge of SkyWaybs bankruptcy, for example, told us
he had gotten a court order ordering Frederic Geffon not to sell or
even move, the DC9.
Geffon, according to the bankruptcy official, blatantly ignored the
court order, replaced SkyWaybs name with his own on the DC9bs FAA
registration, and sold the plane.
To date, Frederic Geffon has not been charged with any crime.
Similarly, the bankruptcy official told us, he had informed airport
officials in St. Petersburg of the court order preventing the plane
from taking off.
All to no avail.
The Homeland Security Inc. Scandal
When Conroy's NarcoNews story fingered a man named Donald A. Mitchell
as a close associate of SkyWay fraudsters Glenn and Bernie Kovar, our
interest was piqued.
"(SkyWay's) Glenn Kovar has another interesting business associate,
according to a check ofFloridabs corporation records. Glenn Kovar is
listed as an officer in an inactive Florida company called Homeland
Security Tracking Enforcement Inc., along with his wife Joy and
another businessman named Donald A. Mitchell," Conroy reported.
Mitchell, along with both Kovars, was also a director of a cookie-
cutter successor fraud scheme to Skyway, another Homeland Security-
related scam company called Homeland Security Tracking Enforcement.
To change corporate shells and continue his career in felony fraud,
SkyWay President Brent Kovarbs business card merely changed the
lettering around the bogus seal designed to resemble that of the Dept
of Homeland Security.
"Dilley-Dally Your Way to Riches"
Donald Mitchell, the article also revealed, was a long-time associate
of Marc Harris in Costa Rica and Panama. So was another SkyWay
insider, named Carl Dilley.
While the SkyWay bankruptcy fraud cost investors in that company over
$40 million, Dilley was close to the action as SkyWaybs stock
transfer agent, and a key player in the scheme.
During the mid-1990's Dilley worked with Harris in Central America.
More recently he was the President of E-Rex, another sham company,
like prior sham companies the ring has successfully looted: Satellite
Access Systems, SkyWay, E-Rex, and Adnan Khashoggi's Genesis Intermedia.
It's the ultimate scam: A company with no purpose other than to
defraud investors.And they've worked it to perfection, numerous
times, helped along by a 'wink and a nod' from the SEC and law
enforcement authorities.
In a February 2, 2002 e-mail responding to an unflattering article, E-
Rex President Carl Dilley wrote: "I have no control over the gamblers
of the world that would be so foolish as to put their life savings in
any OTC stock, including ours."
Dilley avowed, "No one should put one penny in this company that they
are not prepared to lose."
Duly noted.
"Hyena pack" defined
"Very small publicly-held companies can be looted by people
controlling other small companies," explained Larry Lindsey of
SageGroup, a company which has tracked Harris' ring's activities for
disgruntled investors whose stock is now worthless.
"Together, they form a "hyena pack," secretly conspiring while
appearing to be independent of each other."
The MadCowMorningNews has previously reported, with some puzzlement,
that SkyWay, despite being an obvious fraud with no product, received
glowing endorsements in press releases in the weeks before it went
bankrupt from seemingly reputable entities, including a major U.S.
defense contractor, and the State of Florida's Dept. of Transportation.
Now we knew why we'd been puzzled. Without knowing it, what we'd
been witnessing was the operation of a hyena pack.
A Hyena Pack-and-a-half
Nothing, however, has so far been offered by anyone that can explain
SkyWaybs curious associations with top Republican operatives and
politicians... everyone from Texas Bush-backer and kingmaker Richard
Rainwater, who leased the company an aviation repair facility at DFW
International Airport in Dallas (it didnbt need one, at least not
for aircraft repair) to Florida Senator Mel Martinez, who used the
DC9, gratis, during his run for the Senate four years ago.
Another Republican "hyena pack" link is San Diego defense contractor
Titan Corp., which issued a press release in 2004, the biggest
campaign contributor of Republicans Randy Cunningham and Duncan
Hunter, only one of whom is (as yet) in jail.
Just before Skyway went bankrupt, the company's stock price got a
boost from a fawning press release about a deal between SkyWay and
Titan Corporation...
bSkyWay Communications Holdings Corp Announces New Business Strategy
as the Result of Agreement with Major US Defense Contractor,b read
the press release headline.
"We are excited about the possibilities Sky Way Aircraft System
technology offers," said Titan's David Stinson.b
The clearly pleased David Stinson, before signing on with Titan, was
Exec VP at Intergraph in Annapolis Maryland, whose Original Equipment
Manufacturer (OEM) deal with convicted Republican fraudster Brent
Wilkes opened a money spigot which clearly remains open.
Felony Fraud by Major U.S. Defense Contractor
The press release reveals that felony fraud was being committed by
people with national security clearances.
Titan Corp., which had an undisclosed financial interest in SkyWay
( because of its suspicious early investment in what was then only a
'paper' company) was announcing it was buying a half-billion dollars
worth of a product which didn't exist, from a company Titan must have
known was soon to go bankrupt.
The outcome? Mom and pop investors, including a teacher's pension
fund in Tennessee, were left holding the bag, and lost all their
money. ALL their money. The stock ended up trading at a fraction of a
penny.
And the outcome for 'the boys' at SkyWay?
It was time for drinks all around.
Nor is this the first time Titan has been implicated or convicted of
major crime. If Titan Corp were a person, instead of a corporation
its convictions for illegal activities would have invoked most
state's three strikes laws.
The Other White Bush
But it is SkyWaybs connection to former Governor Jeb Bush which may
ultimately prove to be the fraudsters most interesting Republican
link...
Just two weeks before SkyWay's biggest stockholders sued company
management for fraud as the firm lurched towards bankruptcy, Gov.
Bushbs Florida Dept. of Transportation issued a glowing press
release touting the firmbs bright future in Homeland Security while
announcing SkyWay had been chosen to be the statebs primary provider
of airport security applications.
"I participated in the installation at the FDOT (Florida Dept of
Transportation)," one of Skyway's earliest employees told us. "The
guy in charge there told us that airports in Florida were all told
the state would reimburse them 100% for any airport upgrades we
performed that had to do with security."
"From "lock and load" to "pump and dump"
In another unexplained financial move, Titan Corp., although located
3000 miles away, was one of Skyway's earliest investors, putting
$70,000 into what was then just a shell corporation.
And perhaps therein resides the answer. From aMay 31, 2005 in the
New York Times story headlined "C.I.A. Expanding Terror Battle Under
Guise of Charter Flights."
"The controversy (over CIA rendition flights) has breached the
secrecy of the agency's flights in the last two years, as plane-
spotting hobbyists, activists and journalists in a dozen countries
have tracked the mysterious planes' movements," the paper reported.
"Behind a surprisingly thin cover of rural hideaways, front companies
and shell corporations that share officers who appear to exist only
on paper... the Agency has concealed its ownership behind a web of
shell corporations that appear to have no employees and no function
apart from owning the aircraft."
The "national security override"
While it goes unmentioned in the Times story, SkyWay founder Michael
Farkas even incorporated a company a few years back that was called
"Shell Corporation."
At least they have a sense of humor.
So, there's that.
But these people are powerful, and untouchable, and unscrupulous, and
there is, about them, more than just a whiff of some sort of extra-
constitutional "national security override" of any and all other
considerations.
This is troublesome for more reasons than we can count, chief among
them because (and even'they' might agree)...
The Sisters of Mercy they're not.
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