The best way to rob a bank is to own it...

THE MAFIA, THE CIA AND GEORGE BUSH (PART I)

0r.. The Best Way To Rob a Bank Is To Own It.

Former reporter for the "Houston Chronicle," Pete Brewton
tells of one of the most momentous stories of the past 50
years and how it has been suppressed by the establishment
media and the Congress. Pete's book "The Mafia, CIA and
George Bush," shows the incredible complexity of the
relationships in the operation of the destruction of
hundreds of Savings and Loans at the hands of the CIA and
the Mafia, stealing many billions of dollars in the process,
and leaving the taxpayers to bailout the banks. Big names
at the state and national levels of power are involved,
including Lloyd Bentsen, the Bush family, and power
brokers in Houston. People such as Kenneth Keating
(with the able assistance of Senator John McCain), and
Don Dixon, who are mentioned prominently in the press in connection with the S &L debacle, were merely front men or"cutouts" for the main movers. Keating and his ilk only took millions;the CIA and the Mafia looted billions.

Recorded November 21, 1992
Copyright December, 1992



That is the introduction of the players and the strategies of the CIA in collusion with the Mafia is the complex conspiracy to successfully loot our banking system. In the next installment we will show more about that history and then update the "nefarious looting mechanisms" to today and our current crises, so that a true investigation by our Congress, (after an informed citizenry of the United States can bear enough pressure on our unwilling government) can bring to justice the criminals that are the root causes of our national financial crisis.

484. THE MAFIA, THE CIA AND GEORGE BUSH (PART II)

Pete continues his story, emphasizing how he unraveled it and
how the press and the Congress have conspired to cover it up.


http://ia351432.us.archive.org/2/items/AV_483_484-THE_MAFIA_THE_CIA_AND_GEORGE_BUSH/AV-484_512kb.mp4?AV_483_484-THE_MAFIA_THE_CIA_AND_GEORGE_BUSH/AV-484_512kb.mp4

Please copy/paste this URL into your browser..there is no
imbed code for part two.

http://ia351433.us.archive.org/2/items/AV_483_484-THE_MAFIA_THE_CIA_AND_GEORGE_BUSH/AV-484_512kb.mp4


Recorded November 21, 1992
News: December 10, 1992
Copyright December, 1992

This movie is part of the collection: Alternative Views

Producer: Frank Morrow
Production Company: Alternative Information Network
Audio/Visual: sound, color
Language: English
Keywords: Alternative Views; progressive media; alternative media; public access television; Frank Morrow; Doug Kellner; Austin Community Televison; establishment media; Bush; CIA, Mafia







The Power Elite: Enron and Frank Wisner

by Vijay Prashad is Assistant Professor of International Studies at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.

Source: People's Democracy, 16 November 1997
http://www.igc.org/trac/feature/india/profiles/enron/enronwisner.html

Frank Wisner Junior was well-known in the CIA and he worked as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and Under Secretary of State for International Security Affairs; his current boss, Kenneth Lay, Chief Executive Officer of Enron Corporation, also worked for the Pentagon during the US war in Vietnam. With "economic espionage" as a task for the CIA (see PD, 12 October 1997),

On 28 October 1997, Enron Corporation announced the entry of Frank G. Wisner Jr. onto its board of directors. Most of the business press did not find this untoward and it certainly did not emerge as part of the US discussions on corruption at the highest level. Frank Wisner, as we know in India, was the US Ambassador from 1994 until this year and his entry into Enron must be seen in light of the scandal of Dabhol. Enron, like most US corporations, uses its close association with the state (both its elected and bureaucratic arms) for its own ends. US campaigns are financed by corporations whose money not only enables politicians to win elections, but it also buys businesses the state's power both for domestic subsidies and for the use of US power in the international arena.
Frank Wisner, Jr. was a big catch for Enron Corporation. His lineage is impeccable, since his father, Frank Wisner Sr., was a senior CIA official (from 1947 until his suicide in 1965) who was involved in the overthrow of Arbenz of Guatemala (1954) and Mossadeq of Iran (1953). Wisner Junior was well-known in the CIA and he worked as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and Under Secretary of State for International Security Affairs; his current boss, Kenneth Lay, Chief Executive Officer of Enron Corporation, also worked for the Pentagon during the US war in Vietnam. With "economic espionage" as a task for the CIA (see PD, 12 October 1997), there is little doubt that Wisner used this instrument during his long-tenure as Ambassador in Asian nations. A Wisner staffer told InterPress Services this year that "if anybody asked the CIA to help promote US business in India, it was probably Frank".

When Wisner was US Ambassador to the Philippines (1991-92), Enron was in the midst of negotiations to manage the two Subic Bay power plants. When Wisner left Manila in July 1992, Enron won the deal and began to manage the plant in January 1993. During Wisner tenure in India, he fought long and hard to secure various deals for Enron. He went so far as to boycott the "India Power '96 -- Beyond Dabhol" summit, despite being scheduled to give an address (this was part of a US advisory to companies to avoid India for six-months, a pressure tactic on India during the winter of 1995-96). Wisner left India earlier this year only after it seemed like Enron's place was secure.

Enron, like most monopoly corporations in the US, uses money as a means to buy influence and power. To gain access to a lucrative contract to rebuild the Shuaiba power plant in Kuwait, Enron hired former US Secretary of State James Baker as a consultant who travelled to the oil kingdom to negotiate with his Gulf War allies for his new employer. The sons of George Bush also helped Enron win this contract despite a lower bid from Deutsche Babcock, a German firm. The Bush brothers also helped Enron in their deal to win a contract to build a pipeline from Chile to Argentina in 1988. Finally, Wendy Gramm (wife of Senator Phil Gramm) joined Enron's Board of Directors in 1993 after she resigned from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. This Commission, just days after Gramm's resignation, deregulated energy futures, thereby allowing Enron to earn 10% of its profits by adventures on the financial markets. Beside all this evidence, it appears hypocritical for Rebecca Mark, Chairperson of Enron Development Corporation, to declare that "Enron's reputation is being attacked, and we do not do business under the table".

The story does not end there. In 1991-92, Enron donated $28,525 to the Democratic Party and in 1993-94, it gave $42,000. These monies enabled Enron to send its executives on international tours with the late Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown in January 1995 (when Kenneth Lay came to India) and in March-April 1994 (when Chief Executive Officer of Enron International, Rodney Gray came to Russia). In the former, Enron was in negotiation for the Dabhol plant among other things (such as the $1.1 billion offshore holdings) and in the latter, Enron was interested in the marketing of Russian gas in Europe. President Clinton noted that Brown's trips resulted in "expanded opportunities for American business in [the USA] and abroad". The "pay to play" project of US "democracy" is once again in evidence. The example of Enron and Wisner proves beyond a reasonable doubt that the US state is not a neutral actor in world affairs and that US transnational corporations are part and parcel of the corruption within the US Empire. The hearings in Washington on "campaign finance reform" do not bother with this level of corruption, for most of those who are running the investigation are beholden to business interests. Enron, for instance, will not be a part of the investigation, since it is deemed to be a patriotic US entity out to create jobs for US workers and to accumulate wealth to defer the costs of the US's mercenary army.

Vijay Prashad is Assistant Professor of International Studies at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.

Source: People's Democracy, 16 November 1997
http://www.igc.org/trac/feature/india/profiles/enron/enronwisner.html

Drug money saved banks in global crisis, claims UN advisor

Drug money saved banks in global crisis, claims UN advisor

Drugs and crime chief says $352bn in criminal proceeds was effectively laundered by financial institutions

Drugs money worth billions of dollars kept the financial system afloat at the height of the global crisis, the United Nations' drugs and crime tsar has told the Observer.

Antonio Maria Costa, head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, said he has seen evidence that the proceeds of organised crime were "the only liquid investment capital" available to some banks on the brink of collapse last year. He said that a majority of the $352bn (£216bn) of drugs profits was absorbed into the economic system as a result.

This will raise questions about crime's influence on the economic system at times of crisis. It will also prompt further examination of the banking sector as world leaders, including Barack Obama and Gordon Brown, call for new International Monetary Fund regulations. Speaking from his office in Vienna, Costa said evidence that illegal money was being absorbed into the financial system was first drawn to his attention by intelligence agencies and prosecutors around 18 months ago. "In many instances, the money from drugs was the only liquid investment capital. In the second half of 2008, liquidity was the banking system's main problem and hence liquid capital became an important factor," he said.

Some of the evidence put before his office indicated that gang money was used to save some banks from collapse when lending seized up, he said.

"Inter-bank loans were funded by money that originated from the drugs trade and other illegal activities... There were signs that some banks were rescued that way." Costa declined to identify countries or banks that may have received any drugs money, saying that would be inappropriate because his office is supposed to address the problem, not apportion blame. But he said the money is now a part of the official system and had been effectively laundered.

"That was the moment [last year] when the system was basically paralysed because of the unwillingness of banks to lend money to one another. The progressive liquidisation to the system and the progressive improvement by some banks of their share values [has meant that] the problem [of illegal money] has become much less serious than it was," he said.

The IMF estimated that large US and European banks lost more than $1tn on toxic assets and from bad loans from January 2007 to September 2009 and more than 200 mortgage lenders went bankrupt. Many major institutions either failed, were acquired under duress, or were subject to government takeover.

Gangs are now believed to make most of their profits from the drugs trade and are estimated to be worth £352bn, the UN says. They have traditionally kept proceeds in cash or moved it offshore to hide it from the authorities. It is understood that evidence that drug money has flowed into banks came from officials in Britain, Switzerland, Italy and the US.

British bankers would want to see any evidence that Costa has to back his claims. A British Bankers' Association spokesman said: "We have not been party to any regulatory dialogue that would support a theory of this kind. There was clearly a lack of liquidity in the system and to a large degree this was filled by the intervention of central banks."