Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert Indicted On Federal Charges of Tax Evasion & Lying to the FBI

Former GOP Speaker of the House indicted  …

Former Republican Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-IL) was indicted on federal charges of tax evasion and lying to the FBI. As reported at the WAPO, in 2010, Hastert agreed to give an unnamed person $3.5 million “to compensate for and conceal his prior misconduct against Individual A.”  The “prior misconduct” occurred before Hastert entered politics in 1981 as he was elected to the Illinois state House in the election of 1980. It would appear that Hastert was paying $3.5 million in  hush money to an individual and got busted.

Read the Indictment HERE.

The Justice Department has indicted former House Speaker Dennis Hastert on reporting evasion charges and lying to the FBI as part of an effort to conceal paying off the victim of “prior bad acts.

In an indictment handed down in the District Court of Northern Illinois, the Department of Justice and IRS charged Hastert, 73, with illegally transferring funds in an effort to avoid detection by the IRS, a scheme known as “structuring.”

In the indictment, Hastert is accused of agreeing to pay one individual $3.5 million.

Although the indictment does not specify the “bad acts,” sources said they could be from before Hastert, who is now a lobbyist in Washington, entered politics in 1980. The indictment does, however, claim that Hastert agreed to make the payments “[d]uring … 2010 meetings and subsequent discussions.” In at least one of those meetings, according to the indictment, Hastert and the individual “discussed past misconduct by [Hastert against the individual] that had occurred years earlier.”

UPDATE I: A federal magistrate set preliminary bail at $4,500 for former House Speaker Dennis Hastert.

The bail amount, included in court documents made public Friday, will allow Mr. Hastert to stay out of custody until he is scheduled to appear in court for an arraignment. An arraignment hasn’t yet been scheduled, but will probably take place in the coming days.

Mr. Hastert hasn’t appeared in public or commented on the charges. The case was assigned to U.S. Judge Thomas Durkin.

UPDATE II: So what is the law that Denis Hastert broke?

* The law Hastert allegedly broke dictates that any cash withdrawal over $10,000 be accompanied by a Currency Transaction Report filed by the bank to the federal government. “The federal law requiring these reports was passed to safeguard the financial industry from threats posed by money laundering and other financial crime,” according to the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FINCEN). “To comply with this law, financial institutions must obtain personal identification information about the individual conducting the transaction such as a Social Security number as well as a driver’s license or other government issued document. This requirement applies whether the individual conducting the transaction has an account relationship with the institution or not.” These regulations grew out of the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970, which is formally known as the “Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970.”

* The federal investigation into Hastert’s withdrawal practice began in 2013 due to concerns that Hastert was “structuring” withdrawals to avoid the reporting requirements. Structuring, which is also called “smurfing,” is a purposeful attempt to break up large cash withdrawals to keep them from drawing scrutiny. It’s a common practice in money laundering and gambling. Between June 2010 and April 2012, Hastert took $50,000 out of his bank accounts on 15 different occasions.  When questioned about those practices by bank officials, Hastert began taking out less than $10,000 at a time to avoid detection, a classic case of structuring or smurfing, if true.

* When confronted about his withdrawals by federal officials in late 2014, Hastert allegedly lied — insisting that he was keeping the cash for himself. Hastert said that he “did not feel safe with the banking system,” adding: “Yeah … I kept the cash. That’s what I’m doing.” Lying to federal officials is, obviously, a crime.

UPDATE III: Hastert resigns lobbying position after indictment.

Former Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) has resigned from his position as a lobbyist at law and lobby firm Dickstein Shapiro following a federal indictment released Thursday, according to a firm spokesman.

“Dennis Hastert has resigned from the firm. Scott Thomas will continue to lead the Public Policy & Political Law Practice,” a firm spokesman said in an email to The Hill.

UPDATE IV: Hastert also resigned from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange board.

Hastert’s biography was removed from the firm’s website Thursday. In a statement issued late Thursday, a Dickstein Shapiro spokesman said only that “Dennis Hastert has resigned from the firm.” Hastert also resigned Thursday from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange board, according to reports.

7 FIFA Officials Arrested on Corruption & Bribery Charges (Update: 14 People Indicted)

WHAT A SHOCK, FIFA IS CORRUPT …

Seven top FIFA officials were arrested overnight in a posh Zurich hotel. The raid was conducted as a part of a corruption probe allegations of bribery totaling more than £100m over past 25 years.

The most significant arrest was that of Jeffrey Webb, the vice president of the executive committee, who has previously been hailed by Blatter as a potential successor.

Other officials held by Swiss police include Eduardio Li, President of the Costa Rica Football Association, and Rafael Esquivel, President of the Venezuelan Football Federation, Jose Maria Marin, vice-president of the Brazil Football Federation, Costas Takkas, a former general secretary of the Cayman Islands Football Association, and Jose Maria Marin, vice-president of the Brazil Football Federation.

VIDEO – CNN

New York Times:

Swiss authorities conducted an extraordinary early-morning operation here Wednesday to arrest several top soccer officials and extradite them to the United States on federal corruption charges.

As leaders of FIFA, soccer’s global governing body, gathered for their annual meeting, more than a dozen plain-clothed Swiss law enforcement officials arrived unannounced at the Baur au Lac hotel, an elegant five-star property with views of the Alps and Lake Zurich. They went to the front desk to get room numbers and then proceeded upstairs.

The arrests were carried out peacefully. One FIFA official, Eduardo Li of Costa Rica, was led by the authorities from his room to a side-door exit of the hotel. He was allowed to bring his luggage, which was adorned with FIFA logos.

The arrests were carried out peacefully. One FIFA official, Eduardo Li of Costa Rica, was led by the authorities from his room to a side-door exit of the hotel. He was allowed to bring his luggage, which was adorned with FIFA logos.

The charges, backed by an F.B.I. investigation, allege widespread corruption in FIFA over the past two decades, involving bids for World Cups as well as marketing and broadcast deals.

CNN – U.S. arrests officials, Switzerland opens separate investigation.

Department of Justice announced the unsealing of a 47-count indictment in a federal court in Brooklyn, New York, that detailed charges against 14 people of racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy. They include FIFA officials accused of taking bribes totaling more than $150 million and in return provided “lucrative media and marketing rights” to soccer tournaments as kickbacks over the past 24 years.

“The defendants fostered a culture of corruption and greed that created an uneven playing field for the biggest sport in the world,” FBI Director James Comey said in a news release. “Undisclosed and illegal payments, kickbacks and bribes became a way of doing business at FIFA.”

UPDATE I: Fifa corruption live: David Cameron calls for Sepp Blatter to stand down.

UPDATE II: Sepp Blatter’s FIFA Reign of Shame.

It is not true that everything has gotten worse in global soccer under Blatter. Safety has improved and, yes, the World Cup has been held in Africa. But just about everything has. To conclude that Blatter should quit rather than embark on a fifth term as FIFA president (assuming his seemingly inevitable election to a fifth term on Friday) feels so blindingly obvious that it’s not worth saying. But then the FIFA president is so thick-skinned it’s actually worth saying twice: Mr. Blatter, your time is up.

Why? Because the corruption charges against current and former FIFA vice presidents and others reflect an organization rotten to its core, operating in the absence of any meaningful oversight, without term limits for a president whose salary is of course unknown (but estimated by Bloomberg to be “in the low double-digit” millions), overseeing $5.72 billion in partially unaccounted revenue for the four years to December 2014, governing a sport in which matches and World Cup venues and in fact just about everything appears to have been up for sale, burying a report it commissioned by a former United States attorney into the bidding process for the next two World Cups, and generally operating in a culture of cavalier disdain personified by Blatter, whose big cash awards to soccer federations in poorer countries have turned the delegates from many of FIFA’s 209 member associations into his fawning acolytes.

UPDATE III: FIFA Arrests: Meet the 14 People Indicted by the Department of Justice.

The 14 people indicted in the global crackdown of FIFA corruption covers a dozen nationalities, although authorities allege the crimes and payments were carried out in the U.S. via American banks.

Seven were arrested in Zurich by Swiss authorities at the request of the U.S. Four other individuals and corporate defendants Traffic Sports USA Inc., Traffic Sports International Inc. and Brazilian sports marketing conglomerate the Traffic Group have already pleaded guilty, according to an indictment unsealed today.

1. Jeffrey Webb, 50, Cayman Islands:
2. Jack Warner, 72, Trinidad and Tobago:
3. Aaron Davidson, 44, USA:
4. Nicholas Leoz, 86, Paraguay:
5. Eduardo Li, 56, Costa Rica:
6. Alejandro Burzaco, 50, Argentina:
7. Eugenio Figueredo, 83, USA and Uruguay:
8. Jose Maria Marin, 83, Brazil:
9. Julio Rocha, 64, Nicaragua:
10. Rafael Esquivel, 68, Venezuela:
11. Costas Takkas, 58, United Kingdom:
12. Hugo Jinkis, 70, Argentina:
13. Mariano Jinkis, 40, Argentina:
14. José Margulies, 75, Brazil:

Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) Indicted on Corruption Charges

Even Democrats who go against the Obama agenda appear to be on Barack’s enemies list …

New Jersey US Senator Robert Menendez was indicted today with on corruption charges in that he used his office to help advance the business interests of a longtime friend and political supporter in exchange for luxury gifts, vacations and campaign donations.?  In total, Menendez faces a 14-count indictment consisting of 1 count of conspiracy, 1 count of violating the travel act, 7 counts of bribery, 3 counts of honest services fraud, and 1 count of making false statements.  Menendez has denied any wrongdoing and vows to fight the charges, stating that he will be vindicated.  While he will not leave office, Menendez will step aside from his position as the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee as he fights the charges.

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) was indicted on federal corruption charges Wednesday, accused of using the influence of his office to advance the business interests of a longtime friend and political supporter in exchange for luxury gifts, lavish vacations and more than $750,000 in campaign donations.?

Federal prosecutors laid out the charges in a 14-count indictment charging Menendez with using his office to help Salomon Melgen, a Florida-based eye doctor with whom Menendez had maintained a long personal and political friendship. Menendez intervened on Melgen’s behalf in at least two disputes, one with federal regulators over Medicare charges and the other involving a bid by Melgen to secure a port security contract in the Dominican Republic, according to the indictment.

Prosecutors say that over a seven-year period, Menendez relied on Melgen for free private jets to weekend getaways at resorts in Florida, the Dominican Republic and Paris.

Menendez has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. He was defiant Wednesday night before a boisterous crowd of supporters, saying that Melgen’s gifts were a result of friendship dating to the early 1990s and not in exchange for political favors.

Just curious, how much of the DOJ’s investigation and indictments against Menendez have to do with political wrongdoing and how much has to do with the fact that he has been a political thorn in Obama’s side? The Democrat Senator has been extremely vocal against Obama’s policy in Cuba and with Iran. Obama probably did not appreciate it when Mendeez said in a Senate Foreign Relations Committee back in January 2015, “the More I hear from the Obama administration and its quotes, the more it sounds like talking points that come straight out of Tehran.”  As much as I am not a big fan of Robert Menendez, his words have proved to be profound as we witness Obama’s disastrous nuclear plan with Iran.

Speaker of the House John Boehner’s Former Bartender Michael Hoyt Indicted on Charges of Threatening to Kill the Congressman by Poisoning His Drinks … Believed Boehner was the Devil & Responsible for Ebola

BOTTOMS UP … Ebola, evil voices and the devil.

44 year old Michael Robert Hoyt was indicted Wednesday on charges of threatening to kill Speaker of the House John Boehner by poisoning his drinks. Hoyt, obviously operating a couple of cards short of a full deck, heard voices that Boehner as evil, was the devil and responsible for the Ebola virus. The 44 year old, nut job Butler County, Ohio, man was indicted last week on charges that he planned to murder Boehner. A plan that he reportedly made after being fired from the Wetherington Golf & Country Club in West Chester.

 A plot to poison the House Speaker by his Ohio bartender was thwarted when his aspiring killer called 911 to report his sinister plans and belief that Boehner is the devil, the FBI claims.

Michael Robert Hoyt, 44, was indicted Wednesday on charges of threatening to kill the congressman after serving him drinks for more than five years at a West Chester country club, WCPO reported.

“Hoyt told the officer he was Jesus Christ and he was going to kill Boehner because Boehner was mean to him at the country club and because Boehner is responsible for Ebola,” U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) Special Agent Christopher M. Desrosiers stated in the indictment.

Just a note to Michael Robert Hoyt, Speaker Boehner (R-OH) was not responsible for the Ebola virus, although he is responsible for helping fund Obamacare and Obama’s illegal amnesty after he and Republicans campaigned against both of them in 2014. Boehner may not be the devil, but pretty damn close.

VIDEO – CNN

Boehner’s bartender planned to poison him.

“Hoyt told the officer he was Jesus Christ and he was going to kill Boehner because Boehner was mean to him at the country club and because Boehner is responsible for Ebola,” United States Capitol Police Special Agent Christopher Desrosiers reported. “Hoyt advised he had a loaded Beretta .380 automatic and he was going to shoot Boehner and take off.”

Police said Hoyt also emailed Boehner’s wife, Debbie, twice.

“If I had any intention of hurting Mr. Boehner, I could have poisoned his wine at Wetherington many, many times,” police said he wrote in one of his emails.

Police said Hoyt told them he heard voices that told him Boehner is evil, and that he wanted to expose the Ohio Republican as the devil. He blamed Boehner for the Ebola outbreak and believed the speaker was among a group of country club patrons who complained about his service and cost him his job.

Ben Franklin John Boehner is the Devil!

FBI says John Boehner’s West Chester bartender planned to poison him.

Hoyt called police on Oct. 29, a week after being fired from the club, and blamed Boehner for his woes, police said.

When officers visited Hoyt at his home on Matson Avenue in Deer Park, they said the plot thickened.

“Hoyt told the officer he was Jesus Christ and he was going to kill Boehner because Boehner was mean to him at the country club and because Boehner is responsible for Ebola,” United States Capitol Police (USCP) Special Agent Christopher M. Desrosiers said. “Hoyt advised he had a loaded Beretta .380 automatic and he was going to shoot Boehner and take off.”

Following the NYC Grand Jury Decision on Eric Garner, Barack Obama Fans the Flames … “When Anybody in This Country Is Not Being Treated Equally Under the Law, that’s a Problem”

Following today’s grand jury decision in NYC not to indict NYPD officer President Obama weighed in on a grand jury’s decision Wednesday not to indict a New York City Police Department officer in the choke-hold death of an unarmed black man, calling the episode an “American problem, not just a black problem.” Hmm, an American problem, eh?

Earlier Wednesday, a grand jury opted not to bring charges against the officer for his role in the death of Eric Garner, which was captured on video. It represented the second racially-charged case in recent weeks that required the president’s attention, following the lack of an indictment against Ferguson, Mo., police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting of teenager Michael Brown.

“We’re seeing too many incidences where people do not have confidence that folks are being treated fairly,” Obama said. “This is an issue we’ve been dealing with for too long, and it’s time for us to make more progress than we’ve made.”

Obama declined to comment directly on the grand jury’s decision, saying only that Attorney General Eric Holder would address the matter more extensively.

VIDEO Hat Tip – The Gateway Pundit

The WAPO has an interesting take on the NYC grand jury no indictment of officer Daniel Pantaleo … ‘With Eric Garner, Obama’s body camera argument just took a big hit.’

President Obama announced this week that, in response to Ferguson and other cases of cops killing unarmed black men, the White House would call for $75 million to make 50,000 body cameras available to police departments across the country.

But on Wednesday, a grand jury declined to indict New York police officers in the choking death of Eric Garner — a case in which there was footage. And the timing couldn’t really be worse for the White House.

One activist who attended a White House meeting with Obama on Monday and talked with NBC News suggested that cameras weren’t exactly a cure-all: