Breaking: Louisiana Attorney General: Rathke Embezzled $5 Million From ACORN
by PubliusFrom NOLA.COM:
An internal review by the board of directors of the community organization ACORN determined that the amount allegedly embezzled from the community organization was $5 million, well more than the previously reported amount of nearly $1 million, according to a new subpoena in an investigation by Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell.
The subpoena, released this afternoon, says, “It is still unclear if some of the monies embezzled are from state, federal or private funds.”
Caldwell issued subpoenas in August seeking documents related to Acorn International then-President Wade Rathke and his brother Dale Rathke, who kept the group’s books. Those subpoenas were focused on possible Acorn violations of state employee tax law, obstructing justice and violating the Employee Retirement Security Act.
Whole blockbuster story here.
Update: According to the new subpoena issued by the Louisiana Attorney General, it seems ACORN leadership was aware of the full extent of the embezzlement. That they have covered up the true figure cast doubt on their ability to truely reform the organization. In other words, they will only admit to what they get caught at.
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Jiangxi Dad. Jiangxi Dad said: RT @vadum: Breaking: ACORN Embezzlement was $5 Million, not $2 million http://is.gd/3Ze9n Good reporting, NOLA.com. [...]
This is shaping up to be more entertaining than a co-ed goat roping at the county fair,
Isn't it about time they trot out Ol' Dirty Bertie to make a formal denial? I love it when she is on camera…………..!
ACORN Chief Executive Officer Bertha Lewis said the new accusation about the embezzlement is "completely false."
False? What planet is she on?
i can hear msm now: what?! *only* 5 million? what's the hubbub, bub?
wait. maybe as whoopie concludes, the allegation is only false-false, otherwise known as a lesser offense.
Yes, ol Dirty Bertie with her fading hair-line and that shark-like smile she throws in now and then. I've been meaning to ask Bertha where are the other Butt sisters?
In a recent interview, Rathke readily correct the reporter by stating the amount embezzled was about $50,000 higher than the reporter said. He appeared to be HONEST…Turns out he was such a big liar still. I thought it was strange for him to "admit" to a higher amount…now we know why…he still understated the amount by about four million! Mmm, mmm, mmm!
Wow, the scandal is deeper than ACORN said it was.
Just wow.
Truly momentous.
I am so completely and utterly shocked.
Totally.
Oh, and the embezzlement is up to $5 million as well?
Is this mean Rathke paid the 1 million and pocketed the rest? If they misused public money they should be in prison.
KA-BOOM!!
It's going to be fun to watch the gymnastics and tap-dancing as the defenders of the indefensible in the media and government try to make this one look like it ain't no thang.
Love the "Whoopiism". I think $5M is clearly embezzlement embezzlement.
Is this it? Will this bring ACORN down?
Please change the title to Louisana or State of LA. I first thought you meant Los Angeles.
Can anyone remember back to the fall and winter of 2001, and the spring of 2002? The business collapse on Wall Street? Enron, Dynergy, Cynergy, Global Crossing, World Comm., Tyco, Adelphia Cable?
Money was embezzeled, fortunes were lost, lives were ruined, people committed suicide, and some went to jail. The Department of Justice and the FBI under the Bush Administration was on the scene, quicker than a welfare recipient in a free cheese line. They all did the perp walk, even old John Rigas at Adelphia Cable.
Where are the Federales' now?
Tick, tock, tick, tock………
Can a list of the 50 some odd board members who sat quiet and covered this theft of taxpayer dollars be obtained? We need to know who these people are.
Ditto (from Long Beach, CA)
Actually I kept seeing reports the 1 million was paid back "by an anonymous donor." A few reports said Dale (and Wade?) had repaid about $200,000 before the donation.
Generally the MSM articles were simply saying the money was paid back, then it looks like the assumption got spread that one or both Rathke brothers had done all of the paying.
Only if one gets caught-caught…………
I think they are all at the local Dunkin-Doughnuts.
I'll ask the question that nobody has yet asked: "Where did the money go…………………..?"
Who took it, and what was it used for? Whose political campaign did it benefit? Or did the Rathke Brothers use it for boob-jobs, whiskey, big houses, fast cars, boats and under age El Salvadoran girls?
Eating power rings……..
Ms. Lewis was quite vocal that the embezzlement of the $1 million had been taken care of, and was not interested in any further investigation into the matter.
Now people will be wondering if she has some of the other $4 million….
Quel surpris! Watch them start whinging that it's just a political smear attack.
Ms. Lewis was quite vocal that the embezzlement of the $1 million had been taken care of, and was not interested in any further investigation into the matter.
Now people will be wondering if she has some of the other $4 million….
Wade and Dale Rathke–these guys are two very white rats deserting a sinking ship. What's 4 million, between brothers? Gee, if Obummer had sent HIS brother–the one living in the shack–$50 for his birthday (like he'd know when his brother's birthday IS), he could have changed his whole life. No, guys like the Rathke rats and Obummer are only concerned about THE BROTHERS when THE BROTHERS can make them SLUM DOG MILLIONAIRES OR TRILLIONAIRES. Embezzlement income is TAXABLE, bros, unless you play by GEITHNER RULES.
Anybody know how Citizen Wealth has sold? I'll bet that more copies are ripped off than are bought.
Yeah, Imagine that!
These guys and their organization(s) vow to help poor people!
Sooo Deepak Bhargava…anyone listen to/watch Beck today?? Just found this, we should rip him a new one with comments…http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deepak-bhargava/sic...
Eric Holder has them Muzzled. I wonder how long it will take Jesse Jackson to blame BUSH for this?
Slick Billie Clinto is going to scream "a vast right-wing conspiracy……..!"
Jimmah Carter is going ti scream "it is RACIST………………….!"
I wonder, where are Crazy Al Sharpton and Joltin' Jesse Jackson?
I think it was Drummond Pike, founder of the Tides Foundation, a really skank group who paid the remaining $$ back.
Tides has a whiff of Soros to them, too.
Well, Well,
The Rathke Brothers not only ran AcrUm and its off shoots, but also SEIU, out of the same offices throughout the country.
Common sense says, SEIU books need to be Publicly scrutinized and investigated in every state.
The AcrUm Board needs to be HELD LIABLE and what organizations they are in charge of needs to be investigated also… Why you ask??? Once a cover up happens once, usually means other dirty deeds have been done in the past. (Once a Cheat –Always a Cheat)– Crooks get BOLDER after each crime.
They're all too busy stuffing their shares into tin cans in the backyard before the sheriff shows up.
Uh…. check out acorns website. Why are they complaining about fox news? "all the democrats say fox news is biased!!! waa." I guess it must be true then eh?
Instead of acknowledging internal issues they are spamming their front page with the opinions of democrats. Yeah… not a political organization
Like the gal at the ACORN office told Hannah, bury it………….
Hey, that still may be true…Dale Rathke may have been poor prior to embezzling all that money.
Someone from NC
You are right! A non-partisan, non-biased, non-political organization, operating with TAXPAYER dollars is using those dollars for PROPAGANDA.
http://www.acorn.org/index.php?id=12340
Joesf Goebbels would be proud!
I wonder why they don't have a comment section on Acorn's site????
Quick trivia question:
Are we actually looking at "real" embezzlement, or (now at) $5 million that bookkeeper Dale sent out but couldn't put on the books?
Criminal organizations paying off shady characters, and let's include possible bribes to public officials in there, can't exactly list all that stuff in the books. Did they jump from a 1 million noted difference between incoming and outgoing funds, to now a 5 million difference, which may yet go up to…?
I want to see a published list of ALL Acorn Board members…………
[...] ago involved $5 million, not the originally reported figure of close to $1 million, according to BigGovernment.com which cites a report from NOLA.com. StumbleUpon| Digg| Reddit| Twitter| [...]
[...] ago involved $5 million, not the originally reported figure of close to $1 million, according to BigGovernment.com which cites a report from [...]
becasue they don't have an army of bloggers to defend against our comments : /
key: deny the fight if you know you are going to lose. coverup coverup coverup.
I heard that either the Tides Foundation or the Chairman of the Tides Foundation repaid $1 million of the embezzled funds.
Can't they lock down their bank accounts and freeze their money? They owe taxes….and whatever they've got access to will disappear if they don't get it now.
I wish I was somehow shocked or surprised, this is becoming the standard fare for this corrupt org!, they are still being supported with our tax dollars!
Indeed. I was just gawking at their main page in disbelief, and a few chuckles. Flood gates are open gents but don't let up on these guys… they will try to plug the hole with anything they can find.
"ACORN Chief Executive Officer Bertha Lewis said the new accusation about the embezzlement is "completely false."
That settles it. He probably stole closer to $10million.
Wrong. It was reported as paid back. It was not only not paid back, but is being slowly repaid at the rate of 30,000 a year. Tides foundation is helpint/enabling.
The Democrat's ACORN money laundering and intimidation operation is going down.
The entire Democrat party is rotten to the core. Ever since they hide their Civil War KKK roots in the 1950s, Democrats have gone into using subterfuge for their intimidation and fraud groups. And all under the guise of helping the poor and minorities, when in fact the poor and minorities are expendable sandbags to these Democrat white racists. Still trying to keep blacks on their plantations … When will the blacks ever learn.
Because none of them are literate!
I heard the same.
Looks like everything is Tides together !!!!
Yes, supposedly was Drummond Pike at the Tides Foundation.
Embezzlement is a Federal crime, especially when it's done under the banner of a Federally chartered nationwide non-Profit, that is not made whole by paying back the money. Give it a whirl if you think it's OK.
The FBI should be investigating …
Dirty Bertie said 1 million. aparrently she knew different. Their audit last year coupled with reform was a sham.
Uncle George Soros will need to cover this. Podesta for some reason hasn't told us this.
RICO, RICO !!!! Is our government this stupid? Is our Atty General this stupid? IS the IRS this clueless?
and we they wonder why the TEA Parties were started!!!
Please keep it up everyone – 2010 is close but we have a long way to go – join a tea party and learn, learn, learn.. the left hates facts !!!
run for your local postions – the truth will set us all free!!!!
I have to admit, $5,000,000 (wow, look at them zeroes) is more than a passing embarrassment. These people are the lowest of the low, using poor people and tossing them aside when they're done. They're the worst liars, pretending to be all warm and fuzzy and all for the little guy.
The truth is, there are LOTS of little guys, and you can get VERY rich just by stealing a small amount from each one. What ABSOLUTE SCUM! Every single corporation and CEO should have refused to bow to their extortion efforts. I guess that's too much to hope for, though.
Racist!!!
One of the rats is in the whitehouse. Gaspard.
He is not one of the albino rats.
It is not OK. Children know it is wrong to steal.
who said at an acorn meeting that when i am elected you will be right there with me?
now who said i don't know too much about their operation?
As of early 2009:
ACORN’s Advisory Council includes:
* John Podesta, President and CEO, Center for American Progress
* Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Board Member, RFK Foundation, former MD Lt. Governor
* Andrew Stern, International President, Service Employees International Union
* Henry Cisneros, Executive Chairman, Cityview
* John Banks, Vice President of Government Relations Con Ed
* Eric Eve, Senior VP of Global Consumer Group, Community Relations, Citigroup
* Harvey Hirschfeld, President, Lawcash
* Dave Beckwith, Executive Director, Needmor Fund
Drummond Pike is not covering this in a lump It is being covered by Tides at the clip of 30,000 a year.
Maybe Congress does not want to investigate because too many had their hand inthe cookie jar….
***********
"It is enough that the people know there was an election. The people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything."
Joseph Stalin
Patrick "Baby Doc" Gaspard?
The "anonymous" donor came forward shortly after that was reported back then. It was Drummond Pike of the Tides Foundation. That's a whole other story…
AND…in a seemingly unrelated (but really related) story that the NY Times also brushed under the rug, Bruce Ratner (owner of the NY Times building, new NETS stadium in Brooklyn and Atlantic Yards properties, which of course includes housing units for ACORN members) also happened to "loan" Bertha Lewis of ACORN $1.5 Million around the same time the embezzlement went public.
Check it out at "ACORN Part III: From Rathke in New Orleans to Ratner in New York"
http://libertychick.com/2009/06/03/acorn-part-iii... ,
it's in the "Let's Examine the Evidence" section of my story.
Here we go, the downfall of the Dollar on the world market….
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/t...
Hey, NO-Bama, start fixing the economy by lowering taxes and NO MORE BAILOUTS !!!!
President Barry Soetero, aka Barrack Hussein Obama
Mmm, mmm, mmm
the governemtn spends that in like 5 seconds …. the MSM is clueless…
They won't, that's the sad part ….
it's strange Blacks have not seen this…. Rev Al would not make a dime if you actually stayed in school and were a vaule to this country…. Robert Bryd was a Grand Widzard – Geez!!!!
Gary,
What you posted there is the most significant piece of news in decades. Unfortunately, it will go right over most peoples heads. Back in the Nixon Administration, they cut a deal with the Saudis, that in exchange for our military protction, all oil sales would be pegged in US Dollar currency.
Turn out the light, the party's over.
I suspect there’s a disconnect here … the 985-ish K was from improper use of a CREDIT CARD … I’m guessing he used other things to the tune of the remaining 4M – just not THIS credit card.
Regrettably, The One has an agenda, a long-term plan which doesn't include a healthy, vibrant U.S. economy. I hate to say that, I really do. I hate the truth in it.
The sad thing is that they are probably getting a lot of donations to "fight the smears."
I know…..It is the begining of the end for the US as we know it. Can anybody say 10 Dollar gas?
OMG! Radke's corrupt? When did this happen? [/sarc]
Haha, isn't 5 million almost 10% of everything the federal government has given to ACORN over the past 10 years according to the numbers being thrown about by libs/progressives?
Wow, Radke stole 10% of everything ACORN got??? Yeah, I don't believe that either…
No honor among thieves, eh Rathke?
We would like our taxdollars back
Ha! I love watching her lie thru her teeth on tv; it just shows how cold hearted and evil she is being able to do it so easy and on TV no doubt.
What was Bertha's take on the funds?
Lets see if I can post this time….
I know, this is serious. Can anybody say $10 gas and 30 maybe 40 % unemployment. It is the end of the US as we know it, hopefully it will be a slow fall to a bananna republic with King NO-Bama.
This is how stupid libs are.. She will say that shit and people will see it on the news.. and believe it… Because lord knows they don't show any of the negative stuff like the police raids or anything else.
It's part of the game they play. They know she will get airtime and her job is to inject lies to confuse the truth among th court of public oppinion.. All part of the plan.
Jordan Look at his eyes during the interview–He looks away and down at lies. Thier were many lies.
Somehow the statement earlier on Twitter that O has a war chest for the 2010 elections keeps coming to mind and then this.
I saw Wade R's interview on Fox and he is one slick dude.
Bertha learned at the Massa's feet.
You are right.
Rathke is the slickest, sleaziest, slimey-est tued I've ever seen. The Grand Poop-ba od Feces.
I just realized why the FBI is not crawling all over this case. They are ALL intently FOCUSED on the Erin Andrews ESPN case………………………….
This little petty cash item was discussed at an ACORN board meeting October 17, 2008. Of course oBAMA gave them 800,000 which for the most part went to campaigning for dirty votes.
Conservatives wouldn't pick on "communi(s)ty organizations" if they were well-intentioned, HONEST, and actually HELPED people instead of exploiting them and destroying our country with our own money.
I agree Cowboy- They also covered for this guy– did they learn a lesson and not pin the embezz on just one person? My bet is they embezz on many even unsuspecting, low income emplyee's to hide the cash discovering one name would draw more attention. They had fake voter's- why not fake income? They had X-Con's who knew how too steal identies–Now, what is the real $ amont and where is it? O bama didn't ask for credit card confirmation in campaighn site etc….
Efforts to get a statement from ACORN Chief Organizer Bertha Lewis were in vain,she was last seen at Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles tunneling under her food trough to escape media scrutiny.
Show up alive or dead?
[...] Link: http://biggovernment.com/2009/10/05/breaking-acorn-embezzlement-was-5-million/ [...]
Something is rotten in the state of Lesotho.
Doesn't matter,as long as you turn up early and often..
There should be hundreds of indictments nationwide of these ACORN and SEIU criminals. If it goes all the way to to the White House the US Marshalls should arrest and drag obama out of there by his ear; throw Jarrett out too.
[...] post: Big Government » Blog Archive » Breaking: Louisiana Attorney … Share and [...]
Drummond Pike paid the $1 million penalty that ACORN charged to Rathke’s brother after he embezzled that money from ACORN. Pike is the Treasurer of Democracy Alliance, a group funded by 50 wealthy leftists. They give money to various leftist organizations. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/17/us/17acorn.html...
[...] Big Government) Posted by Darleen @ 6:50 pm | Trackback SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "One.Day.Story!!1!! — [...]
Rot roh! Somebody's acorns are going into the nut grinder. Wonder how much of that purloined money went to Doobiebama's campaign? Maybe Wade won't be continuing his international community organizing after all.
the taxpayer got rape-raped
Maybe someone has dealt with this, but Dale signed a note for $1M to ACORN and a wealthly lib bought the note from ACORN, can recall his name. Interesting to see the tax implications of it, if he forgave the note or pretends it is being collected, definitely an IRS issue (unless Bama waves them off). And if it is $5M…I bet the note wasn't for $5M…so how did the rest get "paid off"?
Bertha, you have another nose trimming appointment coming up…
That’s so ironic ACORN was taken out by failing to fund their own employee’s social programs that they seek to expand, they take care of their employees like illegal alien day laborers while their elitist executive parasites live like kings.
There is no “statute of limitations” for an ongoing criminal enterprise its called RICO.
I think a close examination of the books by IRS and 2 independent public auditors would provide plenty of evidence of an ongoing criminal enterprise with a cornucopia of criminal activities ranging from extortion to money laundering to campaign finance fraud, misappropriation, theft, loan fraud, visa fraud, immigration fraud, voter fraud, prostitution and maybe even ethnic cleansing.
ACORN has got to come up with a bitter lie. I swear, they must be swallowing dumb pills by the fistful if they think anyone in their right mind will believe that you can go for nearly a decade without noticing that a million dollars is missing. And now it's jumped to five million? "We hadn't a clue. We didn't know."
It does explain however why ACORN registered Mickey Mouse and Elvis Presley on the voter sheets. I mean, if you can't find missing money, you for sure can't find real citizens.
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