In massive COVID-19 relief fraud, gangs
used millions in government aid on guns,
drugs, feds say
Posted By: AltaD, 10/7/2023 11:26:23 AM
When COVID-19 struck in 2020, the government quickly put together massive aid programs to help struggling businesses, along with the people who lost their jobs. But other kinds of enterprises with names like the Traveling Vice Lords and the Wild 100s — criminal street gangs in Chicago and across the country — soon figured out how to take advantage of that safety net. They defrauded those programs of millions of dollars that they used to buy guns and drugs, according to the U.S. Justice Department and court records. Incarcerated crooks were in on the act, too.The government estimates that, across the country, at least one-quarter of a billion dollars
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In massive COVID-19 relief fraud, gangs
used millions in government aid on guns,
drugs, feds say 8 replies
used millions in government aid on guns,
drugs, feds say 8 replies
When COVID-19 struck in 2020, the government quickly put together massive aid programs to help struggling businesses, along with the people who lost their jobs.
But other kinds of enterprises with names like the Traveling Vice Lords and the Wild 100s — criminal street gangs in Chicago and across the country — soon figured out how to take advantage of that safety net. They defrauded those programs of millions of dollars that they used to buy guns and drugs, according to the U.S. Justice Department and court records.
Incarcerated crooks were in on the act, too.The government estimates that, across the country, at least one-quarter of a billion dollars
The captains of an elite Virginia college swim team say they feel cheated and abandoned at having to accept a transgender competitor who until recently had competed for the men’s team. In a case being compared to the Lia Thomas controversy, the swimmer joined the women’s swim team at Roanoke College after sitting out the previous season during her transition, her teammates told the Daily Mail.
The captains of the sophomore, junior and senior squads — Kate Pearson, 19, Lily Mullens, 20, and Bailey Gallagher, 20 — say it tore the team apart as they felt abandoned by the school and the NCAA.
Suella Braverman warned that global migration is 'a hurricane' that threatens to hit Britain with 'millions' of new arrivals today as she delivered a tubthumping Tory conference speech.
In a red meat address to the party faithful the Home Secretary accused politicians of all shades of being too 'squeamish about being smeared as racist' to act on illegal immigration over the past 30 years. (Snip) vowed that sex offenders will no longer be able to change their name or gender to evade monitoring, while foreign offenders will be 'booted out' of Britain at the earliest opportunity. She also lashed out at trans rights and 'woke', attacking
Former Chicago gang kingpin Jeff Fort
loses First Step Act bid for freedom after
40 years in prison 8 replies
loses First Step Act bid for freedom after
40 years in prison 8 replies
The last time Jeff Fort was seen outside prison walls during the late 1980s, he was the defiant leader of one of Chicago’s most violent street gangs who once offered to commit terrorist attacks for a Libyan dictator.
After nearly 40 years in virtual solitary confinement in a federal supermax prison, the 76-year-old Fort has appealed for leniency,(Snip)U.S. District Judge John Tharp tossed Fort’s request, ruling that Fort deserved the 80-year sentence handed down in 1986 after his conviction for offering to bomb buildings in the United States in exchange for $2 million from Libyan strongman Moammar Gaddafi.
As the judge noted, Fort had coordinated the Libya
Sherrice Barnett listened in disbelief as Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty explained that a teenager charged in her son's murder would be spared prison.
"I couldn't breathe," Barnett recalled. "I said, 'I just got to get up out of here.' I never would have imagined in a million years that it would have went that way."
She assumed the only reasonable outcome for the killing of her son Derrell Freeman, 27, was significant time behind bars — as suggested by state guidelines. (Snip) a pattern with Moriarty's administration. The families are told that instead of seeking prison, prosecutors want probation.
Illinois politicians and members of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party have raised concerns about the sizeable subsidies being granted to the Chinese electric vehicle battery maker, Gotion.
Gotion is linked to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and aims to build a $2 billion plant in Illinois while receiving $7.5 billion in federal tax credits, (Snip) “And to give that money to a Chinese company that is already subsidized by the Chinese government is a serious mistake. China’s goal is to dominate the global battery industry, and forcing American taxpayers to unwittingly fund the CCP’s ambitions is a direct threat to U.S. economic and national security.”
Migrant Crisis Solutions: Advocates propose
shelter at former Illinois government building 12 replies
shelter at former Illinois government building 12 replies
Chicago - Community organizations across Cook County and the city of Chicago have come together to take on the migrant crisis. They say they don't want spending on the migrants to cause residents' taxes to increase. (Snip) "We come not only with the challenge of Mr. Johnson and Ms. Preckwinkle's policies, but we come with solutions and here it is. Here, ladies and gentlemen is the former Illinois Government Building called the Thompson Center. It is 425,000 square feet, and it's right across from City Hall and the county building where Johnson and Preckwinkle's offices are," said Roger Romanelli, Volunteer Coordinator from Hillside Neighbors Volunteers.
Chicago — Business owners and residents in Bucktown say they are concerned about an increase in crime following a brazen attack and robbery on Monday afternoon that left a man injured. The broad daylight robbery, which involved two men, was caught on surveillance video. (Snip) Data from the Chicago Police Department shows robberies have increased 96% since 2019 and 53% since last year.
“People are super upset. People want to storm city hall, they want to protest in front of the mayor’s house,” Jensen said. “I’ve seen different social media posts, the anger, the disgust, this is city-wide. When’s it going to stop?”
Johnson & Johnson is signing off on a new logo, more than 130 years after creating the old one.
The health care giant said Thursday that it will replace the well-known signature script with a modern look that reflects its sharpened focus on pharmaceuticals and medical devices.
The original script dates to the 1880s and was based on the signature of a company co-founder. (Snip) Many children no longer learn to write cursive in school, noted marketing consultant Laura Ries.People may recognize the signature, but they weren’t necessarily reading it, she said.
Mayor Brandon Johnson announced Wednesday that the city of Chicago is facing a projected $538 million budget deficit for 2024 – a financial burden his administration blamed in part on the growing cost of caring for migrants. (Snip) One invoice from the now-closed shelter at Truman College shows a facility manager made $14,000 in one week last December.
Another invoice shows a nurse earned $20,000 during a week in December.
That same week – that shelter manager’s invoice billed for more than $14,000. All those employees’ figures included the employees being paid for overtime. The hourly rate for the registered nurse was $195 an hour. The facility manager earned $135 an hour.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez might want her followers to believe inflation is “propaganda” — but her constituents aren’t buying it.
The firebrand Democratic congresswoman used her Instagram stories to share a video from New Zealand’s left-wing Aotearoa Liberation League in which an activist claimed the “propaganda” surrounding inflation was designed to protect “greedy shareholders,” who are truly to blame for the rising cost of living.
But when The Post visited Ocasio-Cortez’s constituents in the 14th district, which comprises areas in both Queens and in the southeastern part of the Bronx, all of them reported economic pain and many said the Biden administration should not be left off the hook.
Chicago to move migrants from police stations
to tent camps before winter under mayor’s plan 17 replies
to tent camps before winter under mayor’s plan 17 replies
Chicago - Nearly 1,600 migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. will be relocated from Chicago police stations to winterized camps with massive tents under a plan by Mayor Brandon Johnson, according to a report released Thursday.
The relocations will occur “before the weather begins to shift and change,” Johnson said in an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times. The tents could hold up to 1,000 migrants, he said, and the camps would provide meals and recreational and educational programming.
Most Active Articles (last 48 hours)
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that none of the $6 billion released by the U.S. for humanitarian aid in Iran was used to help fund Hamas’ attack against Israel on Saturday, which resulted in hundreds of deaths.
Anchor Dana Bash said, “While we’re talking about Iran, I have to ask you to, if you want to respond to what we’re hearing from Republicans who are over and over since this happened using word appeasement when it comes to Iran and they criticized the decision to unfreeze $6 billion in Iranian funds. I know and want to state that that money has not yet
Israel's military has declared a 'state of war' after Islamic militant group Hamas fired a claimed 5,000 rockets into the country early on Saturday.
Forces in the country have ordered residents to remain indoors and air raid sirens are sounding in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem after Hamas militants 'infiltrated' the country in several locations near the Gaza border in southern Israel.
Hamas supreme military commander Mohammed Deif said the operation, Al-Aqsa Storm, was a declaration that 'enough is enough' as he urged Palestinians to confront Israel.
The Western world awoke Saturday morning to war in Israel, images of Hamas terrorists slaughtering Israeli civilians in the streets, and Hamas rockets raining down on Israeli neighborhoods. Israeli families were (and, as of this writing, still are) fleeing for their lives.
On social media, Hamas posted horrifying videos — a dead, naked Israeli woman being paraded through the streets, plainclothes Hamas fighters slitting the throats of civilians in their cars, and women and children being kidnapped and carried away to a fate worse than death.
The situation is fluid and developing, and there will be much to say in the days and weeks to come —
The FBI lets MAGA know they're watching them
30 replies
With the vast expansion of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, you can bet that there are a lot of agents twiddling their thumbs and trying to figure out something to do with themselves, conscious that only political work, not hard-slog investigation, gets rewarded. So this came out from Newsweek: The federal government believes that the threat of violence and major civil disturbances around the 2024 U.S. presidential election is so great that it has quietly created a new category of extremists that it seeks to track and counter: Donald Trump's army of MAGA followers.
A scheduled “picnic” sponsored by the University of Nevada Las Vegas law school’s Environmental Law Society has been renamed “Lunch by the Lake” due to “diversity and inclusion” concerns.
According to a memo obtained by Libs of TikTok, the law group informed members that the word “picnic” has “historical and offensive connotations,” and apologized for “any harm or discomfort” caused by its use.
The group’s view mirrors that of the University of Michigan’s IT department from several years ago: “Picnic” was included in a “Words Matter Task Force’s” list of offensive words and phrases along with “brown bag,” “blacklist” and “long time, no see” among others.
Hillary Clinton is an evil person
26 replies
“Sociopaths are attracted to politics because the see it as a sphere in which you can be ruthless and step all over people. That fact that some politicians can tell such awful lies is another example of sociopathy. Sociopaths lie—they see nothing wrong with it.”
― Alexander McCall Smith, The Revolving Door of Life
An evil person is someone who engages in malevolent behaviors. They are frequently immoral, depraved, wicked and/or mentally ill.
Each of those words can easily be attributed to Hillary Clinton. The many crimes she committed while the First Lady of Arkansas are well-known old news
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Qatar Release
Statements Holding Israel Responsible
for Hamas Attacks 24 replies
Statements Holding Israel Responsible
for Hamas Attacks 24 replies
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the State of Qatar have released official statements concerning the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian factions, including Hamas. Both nations have expressed deep concern over the escalation of violence and have called for immediate de-escalation and the protection of civilians. Interestingly, both statements hold Israel responsible for the current situation, albeit with nuanced differences in their approaches. Qatar’s Statement: A Direct Accusation Against Israel
The State of Qatar’s statement is more direct in its accusation against Israel. It holds Israel “solely responsible for the ongoing escalation” due to its “ongoing violations of the rights of the Palestinian people.
Hillary just won’t go away
24 replies
Hillary Clinton has to be the Rasputin of 21st century American politics. Grigori Rasputin – the “Mad Monk” -- was a Russian religious fanatic who managed to worm his way into the Russian imperial family with a claim that he could alleviate the hemophilia suffered by Tsarevich Alexei. In short order he was exercising personal control over Tsarina Alexandra, the boy’s mother, who in turn influenced the easily-led Tsar Nicholas II. Rasputin’s erratic behavior led to extreme alarm among the Russian nobility. At last, late in December 1916, Prince Yusupov invited Rasputin to his St. Petersburg palace, where Rasputin was fed a lethal dose of poisoned cakes
Kamala Harris was recently speaking to Democrats in St. Louis when she launched into a bizarre laughing fit.
At the time, she was talking about the Biden/Harris economic policies, which are obviuously terrible.
Why does she do this? Is it a nervous tic?
RedState reports: People Wonder if Kamala Harris Was High After Hysterical Laughing Fit...Kamala Harris may be the most uninteresting major politician on the scene right now. It’s hard to express how terrible of a politician she is, and somehow, she continually manages to get worse.
The surprise attack by Hamas on Israel suggests a massive intelligence failure as the Israeli government appeared blindsided by the infiltration of Hamas fighters across the southern border and the launch of thousands of rockets.
The Hamas assault by air, land and sea also raised questions as to why U.S. intelligence agencies apparently did not see it coming, experts and former intelligence officials said. U.S. officials said that if the Israelis knew an attack was imminent, they did not share it with Washington.
“We were not tracking this,” one senior U.S. military official told NBC News.
An adviser to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran expressed support for the Palestinian terrorist attacks against Israel that have left dozens dead and hundreds more injured.
“We congratulate the Palestinian fighters,” said the adviser to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, as quoted by the semi-official ISNA news agency. “We will stand by the Palestinian fighters until the liberation of Palestine and Jerusalem.” The news comes after President Joe Biden unfroze $6 billion in Iranian oil revenues in exchange for the release of five U.S. citizens who were being held in false imprisonment in Tehran. Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism
Democrat presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. will headline a Conservative Political Action Conference event in Las Vegas later this month.
Kennedy is running as a Democrat now but is expected to announce a change to independent next week.
“Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has a unique voice in advocating for the defunding of the weaponized bureaucracy and ensuring the constitutional right of medical freedom,” CPAC Chairman Matt Schlapp said in a statement.