Gosh Beav, I'm not sure; let's get on the internet and check it out.
Sorry, I couldn't resist that. Why I thought of the Wally and Beaver is beyond me. It's not something I normally do.
Let's answer the question though. This is the definition of money laundering according to Wikipedia:
If a person is making thousands of dollars in small change a week from his business (not unusual for a store owner), and he wishes to deposit that money in a bank, he cannot do so without possibly drawing suspicion. In the United States, for example, cash transactions and deposits of more than $10,000 are required to be reported as "significant cash transactions" to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), along with any other suspicious financial activity as "suspicious activity reports". In other jurisdictions suspicion based requirements are placed on financial services employees and firms to report suspicious activity to the authorities. [snip]
One method of keeping this small change private would be for an individual to give his money to an intermediary who is already legitimately taking in large amounts of cash. The intermediary would then deposit that money into his account, take a premium, and write a check to the individual. Thus, the individual draws no attention to himself, and can deposit his check into a bank account without drawing suspicion.
Another method involves establishing a business whose cash inflow cannot be monitored, and funneling the small change into this business and paying taxes on it. All bank employees however are trained to be constantly on the lookout for any transactions which appear to be an attempt to get around the currency reporting requirements.
By the strictest definition of the term, anyone who assists in concealing the proceeds from his transactions is considered a money launderer. An individual therefore may be unwittingly employed by money launderers, and may still be criminally liable in many jurisdictions.
So in a nutshell, Wally and Beav;
1) Somebody gives money to a person or group, but they don't want to attract suspicion that the money may have been from an illegal source or a legal sources, but is intended to be used for illegal purposes.
2) The person who received the money takes a percentage (maybe not, maybe they're doing this as a favor and not taking any payment) and then deposits the money into another account.
3) Then, the money is returned to the original person, or to other people, having been "laundered".
And boys, it's not just for laundering drug money anymore. It's been used for tax evasion and other purposes as well.
Let's get serious now.
How do the charges against DeLay stack up against the Wikipedia definition of money laundering? This is from the Democratic Party site, and deals specifically with TRMPAC and DeLay.
TRMPAC Indicted. "A grand jury has indicted a political action committee formed by U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and a Texas business group in connection with 2002 legislative campaign contributions. The five felony indictments against the two groups were made public Thursday... The charge against Texans for a Republican Majority alleged the committee illegally accepted a political contribution of $100,000 from the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care." [AP, 9/8/05]
DELAY CLOSELY INVOLVED IN TRMPAC FROM THE BEGINNING
DeLay Closely Involved With TRMPAC. DeLay was a founder of TRMPAC, serves on its advisory board and has helped with its fundraising. . . . Some documents in the civil case suggested he may have been actively involved in gathering corporate donations. [AP Online, 3/17/05]
National GOP Leader Founded Texas Republican PAC. US House GOP Leader Tom DeLay founded the political action committee Texans for a Republican Majority (TRMPAC) to elect Republicans to the Texas state legislature. DeLay contributed $75,000 from his federal 'leadership' PAC, Americans for a Republican Majority, (ARMPAC). In addition, the executive director of ARMPAC, Jim Ellis, co-founded and served as a paid consultant to TRMPAC. [Dallas Morning News, 3/21/2004; Austin American-Statesman, 4/6/2004]
Subpoenaed Documents Show DeLay Had Direct Involvement With Fundraising Campaign.
* According to the New York Times, "Documents, which were entered into evidence last week in a related civil trial in Austin, the state capital, suggest that Mr. DeLay personally forwarded at least one large corporate check to the committee, Texans for a Republican Majority, and that he was in direct contact with lobbyists for some of the nation's largest companies on the committee's behalf." [New York Times, 3/9/05]
* In one e-mail from August 2002, RoBold tells John Colyandro, the Texas committee's executive director, to create a "top 10 list of givers" he could ask for a large contribution. . . . "I would then decide from response who Tom DeLay others should call. If this is more successful, I will do more of them," the e-mail said. . . . In a September 2002 e-mail between RoBold and Drew Maloney, a Washington lobbyist and former legislative director for DeLay in the House, Maloney said he had two checks from Reliant Energy. "Will deliver to T.D. next week probably," the e-mail said. [AP Online, 3/10/05]
* An e-mail exchange from the computer files of a member of the committee's advisory board notes that a ''finance committee'' conference call in October 2002 was postponed at Mr. DeLay's request ''because of action on Iraq.'' . . . Other documents show how often Mr. DeLay's name was cited by the committee's fund-raisers when they were seeking donations. An e-mail message sent by Mr. Colyandro on Sept. 20, 2002, asked that a telephone call be made to a prominent Texas lawyer for his help at a fund-raising event the following week. ''He needs a push,'' Mr. Colyandro wrote. ''Please tell him how important he is and how important this is to T.D.'' [New York Times, 3/10/05]
TRMPAC LAUNDERED CORPORATE DONATIONS THROUGH THE RNC
TRMPAC Laundered $190,000 of Corporate Money Through the RNC. TRMPAC contributed $190,000 to the Republican National State Elections Committee on September 20, 2002 that included corporate money. Within two weeks, the RNSEC contributed the same amount back to TRMPAC targeted candidates. [CQ Weekly, 3/20/2004; San Antonio Express-News, 3/15/2004; Austin American-Statesman, 2/26/2004; FEC, www.fec.gov, 4/8/2004; Texas Ethics Commission, www.ethics.state.tx.us, 4/8/2004]
* TRMPAC Collected $190,000 In Corporate Contributions. Recently indicted documents conclude six "corporate donations totaling $190,000 were made to TRMPAC." [Washington Post, 3/4/05]
* TRMPAC Director Donated $190,000 To Republican National Committee. According to The Washington Post, TRMPAC Director, John Colyandro sent $190,000 in one lump sum to the RNCs Republican National State Elections Committee. Jim Ellis, the director of DeLay's national PAC, Americans for a Republican Majority, "delivered the check to the RNC and gave the committee a list of names and the check amounts, totaling $190,000, to be mailed back to the Texas legislative candidates in noncorporate money." [Washington Post, 3/4/05]
* RNC Donated $190,000 To TRMPAC Supported Texas Candidates. The RNC's State Election Committee then transferred $190,000 to seven TRMPAC supported Texas House candidates. "Three weeks later, the committee sent checks in the equivalent amount that had been raised from individual donors to seven Republican statehouse candidates supported by TRMPAC. Texas law prohibits the use of corporate funds in election campaigns." [Washington Post, 3/4/05]
So let's try to answer the boys' question with what we have here.
1) Somebody gives money to a person or group, but they don't want to attract suspicion that the money may have been from an illegal source or from an legal source but will be used for illegal purposes. Did DeLay do this?
* According to the New York Times, "Documents, which were entered into evidence last week in a related civil trial in Austin, the state capital, suggest that Mr. DeLay personally forwarded at least one large corporate check to the committee, Texans for a Republican Majority, and that he was in direct contact with lobbyists for some of the nation's largest companies on the committee's behalf." [New York Times, 3/9/05]
* TRMPAC Director Donated $190,000 To Republican National Committee. According to The Washington Post, TRMPAC Director, John Colyandro sent $190,000 in one lump sum to the RNCs Republican National State Elections Committee. Jim Ellis, the director of DeLay's national PAC, Americans for a Republican Majority, "delivered the check to the RNC and gave the committee a list of names and the check amounts, totaling $190,000, to be mailed back to the Texas legislative candidates in noncorporate money." [Washington Post, 3/4/05]
* In one e-mail from August 2002, RoBold tells John Colyandro, the Texas committee's executive director, to create a "top 10 list of givers" he could ask for a large contribution. . . . "I would then decide from response who Tom DeLay others should call. If this is more successful, I will do more of them," the e-mail said. . . . In a September 2002 e-mail between RoBold and Drew Maloney, a Washington lobbyist and former legislative director for DeLay in the House, Maloney said he had two checks from Reliant Energy. "Will deliver to T.D. next week probably," the e-mail said. [AP Online, 3/10/05]
The answer? It certainly looks like DeLay had an active role in this.
2) The person who received the money takes a percentage (maybe not, maybe they're doing this as a favor and not taking any payment) and then deposits the money into his account. Did someone take DeLay's money and deposit it into another account?
* TRMPAC Director Donated $190,000 To Republican National Committee. According to The Washington Post, TRMPAC Director, John Colyandro sent $190,000 in one lump sum to the RNCs Republican National State Elections Committee. Jim Ellis, the director of DeLay's national PAC, Americans for a Republican Majority, "delivered the check to the RNC and gave the committee a list of names and the check amounts, totaling $190,000, to be mailed back to the Texas legislative candidates in noncorporate money." [Washington Post, 3/4/05]
I'd say the answer to this question is obviously yes. Not only was the money from TRMPAC send $190,000 to the RNC, but they also gave a list of names and check amounts that were to be mailed back to specific candidates.
3) Then, the money is returned to an intended recipient, having been "laundered". Was this done?
* RNC Donated $190,000 To TRMPAC Supported Texas Candidates. The RNC's State Election Committee then transferred $190,000 to seven TRMPAC supported Texas House candidates. "Three weeks later, the committee sent checks in the equivalent amount that had been raised from individual donors to seven Republican statehouse candidates supported by TRMPAC. Texas law prohibits the use of corporate funds in election campaigns." [Washington Post, 3/4/05]
Again the answer is yes. Because Texas law prohibits the use of corporate funds in election campaigns, by taking the corporate donations deposited into TRMPAC, sending the to the RNC State Election Committee, then the RNCSEC send the money back to the TRMPAC chosen candidates, it made it appear that the money did not come from a corporate source, but directly from RNCSEC.
So you see, Wally and Beav, there is evidence of money laundering. I guess we have to wait for the trial to see if the judge and jury agree.
GO RONNIE EARLE!
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