ACORN to play a role in the census

[Stylerod]

Originally Posted by JaJae

Reid's corruption knows no bounds. It's so blatant. They aren't even attempting to appear ethical. I wonder if any news organization will sit his ass down in the hot seat and ask him about these things or if they'll continue to hand him fluff interview after another.

We see it all the time. And we hear it here from our left posters. If Democrats break the law, or if the law is broken in order to help Democrats then it's no big deal.

[kinggovernor]

ACORN embezzlement was $5 million, La. attorney general says
By Robert Travis Scott
October 06, 2009, 5:46AM
Michael DeMocker / The Times-Picayune

The former ACORN headquarters at 1024-26 Elysian Fields Ave. is up for sale; the organization, which was founded in the New Orleans area, has moved its headquarters to Washington, D.C.

Louisiana's attorney general has broadened the scope of an investigation of ACORN to include a possible embezzlement of $5 million a decade ago within the community organization, five times more than previously reported.

ACORN Chief Executive Officer Bertha Lewis said the new reported amount is "completely false."

Attorney General Buddy Caldwell has been conducting an investigation of ACORN since June. He issued subpoenas in August seeking documents related to former ACORN International President Wade Rathke and his brother Dale Rathke, who kept the group's books. Those subpoenas were focused on possible ACORN violations for non-payment of employee withholding taxes, obstructing justice and violating the Employee Retirement Security Act. No charges have been made.

The attorney general had inquired in June into an alleged embezzlement within ACORN that happened 10 years ago. The group last year dealt with an internal dispute and a lawsuit involving accusations that Dale Rathke made nearly $1 million in improper credit card charges in 1999 and 2000. The brother and a donor repaid the money.

State Attorney General Buddy Caldwell Caldwell said last month that the statute of limitations presented obstacles to prosecutors taking action on the embezzlement, and that his investigation was not focused on that issue. The subpoena issued Monday changed the tone of the investigation and put a new emphasis on the embezzlement issue.

"Current high-ranking members of ACORN have publicly acknowledged that embezzlement did in fact occur, but the exact amount of the embezzlement was unknown until it was recently acknowledged in a board of directors meeting on Oct. 17, 2008, by Bertha Lewis and Liz Wolf that an internal review had determined that the amount embezzled was $5 million, " the new subpoena says.

The subpoena says, "It is still unclear if some of the monies embezzled are from state, federal or private funds."

The subpoena requests documents from Citizens Consulting Inc., a financial arm of ACORN, and from various accounting and legal consultants in New Orleans. Investigators are trying to verify the issues raised in the subpoena.

"We're going to follow the evidence where it leads us and try to do the right thing," said David Caldwell, head of the attorney general's public corruption and special prosecutions divisions. "We are actively investigating the case, whatever the outcome might be. This is something we are devoting our full attention to."

Wade Rathke, who was in Bangkok, Thailand, on Monday, referred questions to ACORN officials. Lewis said she would comment further after she and ACORN attorneys had a chance to review the subpoena.

ACORN board member Vanessa Gueringer, chairwoman of the Lower 9th Ward Chapter, said she had not seen the subpoena but that the accusation about the larger embezzlement was untrue.

"I believe it is another lie, another witch hunt, " Gueringer said.

ACORN, which provides counseling on housing and other assistance to low and moderate income families, has been reeling from national negative publicity in recent weeks. Actions have been taken on the federal level and by many states, including Louisiana, to end public contracts with the group.

ACORN embezzlement was $5 million, La. attorney general says | Louisiana Politics & Government - - Louisiana Politics | State Legislature News - NOLA.com

The federal statue of limitations has not expired, bring on a RICO investigation. Its interesting that ACORN moved to Washington after they got their guy elected.

[kinggovernor]

Justice Department Says Acorn Can Be Paid for Pre-Ban Contracts
By CHARLIE SAVAGE
Published: November 27, 2009

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has concluded that the Obama administration can lawfully pay the community group Acorn for services provided under contracts signed before Congress banned the government from providing money to the group.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/28/us...s/28acorn.html

usually they try to disguise a payoff better than this

[JaJae]

As much as I dislike ACORN and this administration's close relationship/alliance with them I kind of agree here. If ACORN performed services for Obama they should get paid for them, however, no future work should be paid for by our tax dollars or this administration.

On top of that, our DoJ should stop worrying so much about ACORN's finances and start investigating them for illegal behavior. And if they find anything (which I'm sure they would if they cared to look) they should sue the organization to recoup the money paid out by taxpayers.

The problem I have with this is the knee-jerk reaction to continue paying ACORN while turning a blind eye to their behavior. That should not go hand in hand.

[kinggovernor]

Originally Posted by Ron Burgundy

WASHINGTON – An internal investigation of the community-organizing group ACORN found no pattern of intentional, illegal conduct by ACORN staffers on undercover videos shot by conservative critics of the group.

In a 47-page assessment that former Massachusetts Attorney General Scott Harshbarger was commissioned by the organization to do, he criticized ACORN's management as not moving fast enough to institute reforms after an alleged eight-year coverup by ACORN founder Wade Rathke of an embezzlement by his brother.

ACORN's leaders are "now reaping what Rathke sowed," wrote Harshbarger, who was brought in to investigate.

The organization's leadership has made reforms in finances and governance a priority, the Harshbarger report stated. However, it added, this focus has not yet been matched by similar attention to delivering services to ACORN's clients.

The videos of ACORN staffers offering advice to a woman and a man posing as a prostitute and her boyfriend triggered a firestorm of criticism this fall, with some ACORN employees appearing willing to support illegal schemes involving tax advice, misuse of public funds and illegal trafficking in children.

The videos "feed the impression that ACORN believes it is above the law," stated the Harshbarger report, intended as an independent examination of the issues.

"We did not find a pattern of intentional, illegal conduct by ACORN staff involved; in fact, no action, illegal or otherwise, was ever taken by any ACORN employee on behalf of the videographers," Harshbarger said in a statement. "Instead, the videos represent the byproduct of ACORN's longstanding management weaknesses, including a lack of training, a lack of procedures and a lack of on-site supervision."

Harshbarger's report says ACORN, which stands for the Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now, should return to its roots, focusing on community organizing and should hire an independent ethics officer to oversee an internal governance program that is already under way.

ACORN CEO Bertha Lewis called the report "part vindication, part constructive criticism and complete roadmap for the future" on behalf of "the interests of the communities we represent — low- and moderate-income, African-American and Latino families."

source: AP - http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091207/ap_on_go_ot/us_acorn_videos [link]

color me SHOCKED

[Donkey®]

Originally Posted by kinggovernor

color me SHOCKED

You are all for the military "self polioing" yet this is a problem for you?

[kinggovernor]

Originally Posted by Donkey®

You are all for the military "self polioing" yet this is a problem for you?

I thought polio was pretty much eradicated

[motivez]

ACORN cleared after video "evidence" shown to be edited

B'klyn ACORN cleared over giving illegal advice on how to hide money from prostitution

[Scrum]

The whole thing was a scam.

[kinggovernor]

Originally Posted by motivez

ACORN cleared after video "evidence" shown to be edited

B'klyn ACORN cleared over giving illegal advice on how to hide money from prostitution

the source? If that were true why didn't the DA say that?

[Donkey®]

Well well well...I guess when I said "if this little douche broke into the office to fuck with phones it calls his previous ventures into question" I was once again correct.