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Mobsters put together businesses that are really just front businesses to bring money from drugs, and other things into the legitimate money world. Without accounting for the money, the government starts getting suspecious.
rack·et·eer (rk-tîr)
n.
A person who commits crimes such as extortion, loansharking, bribery, and obstruction of justice in furtherance of illegal business activities.
intr.v. rack·et·eered, rack·et·eer·ing, rack·et·eers
To carry on illegal business activities that involve crimes.
Mobsters put together businesses that are really just front businesses to bring money from drugs, and other things into the legitimate money world. Without accounting for the money, the government starts getting suspecious.
Either way, Delay's political future in the GOP is DEAD!
Delay's troubles have only just begun.
The Abramoff tarpit will pull him down.
washingtonpost.com
Judge Upholds Some Charges Against DeLay
By APRIL CASTRO
The Associated Press
Monday, December 5, 2005; 5:21 PM
AUSTIN, Texas -- A judge dismissed the conspiracy charges Monday against Rep. Tom DeLay but refused to throw out the money-laundering counts, dashing the Texas congressman's hopes for now of reclaiming his post as House majority leader.
Judge Pat Priest, who is presiding over the case against the Republican, issued the ruling after a hearing late last month in which DeLay's attorney argued that the indictment was fatally flawed.
When he was indicted in September, DeLay was required under House rules to relinquish the leadership post he had held since early 2003. While Monday's ruling was a partial victory for DeLay, he cannot reclaim his post because he remains under indictment.
"The court's decision to dismiss Ronnie Earle's numerous charges against Mr. DeLay underscores just how baseless and politically motivated the charges were," DeLay spokesman Kevin Madden said, referring to the Democratic district attorney who brought the case.
"Mr. DeLay is very encouraged by the swift progress of the legal proceedings and looks forward to his eventual and absolute exoneration based on the facts and the law."
DeLay and two Republican fundraisers, John Colyandro and Jim Ellis, are accused of illegally funneling $190,000 in corporate donations to 2002 Republican candidates for the Texas Legislature. Under Texas law, corporate money cannot be directly used for political campaigns, but it can be used for administrative purposes.
In asking that the case be thrown out, DeLay lawyer DeGuerin argued that one of the charges _ conspiracy to violate the Texas election code _ did not even take effect until September 2003, a year after the alleged offenses occurred.
Prosecutors, however, said the crime of conspiracy was already on the books, and could be applied to the election code even though such uses were not explicitly in state law at the time.
The judge was unpersuaded by that argument, and dismissed the conspiracy charge.
© 2005 The Associated Press
This is a serious blow to Ronnie Earle. If looses on the remaining charge he's toast..
Only a democrat would be dumb enough to try to charge someone with a crime that was not even on the books and is the same thing they do themself with money.
Ronnie Earle launders money? Does the State Bar of Texas know about this?
The State Bar is a racket
Money laundering only refers to illegally gained money. The money collected by Delay's PAC was perfectly legal and legitimate.
If the conspiracy charge was dropped, I have a hard time understanding how they are going to prove money laundering.
Money laundering is usually done by the mob (gambling, pros ution money) and drug dealers. They take the proceeds from their illegal activities and run it through a legitimate company and then they take the "laundered" proceeds.
This has nothing to do with Delay - it will be interesting to see how this trial unfolds.
You're a racket.
"Money laundering"
the ML was sending legal TX PAC money to the Repug national level, which then sent it back down to TX.
Ronnie Earl deserves the setback. The jurors on that jury already were biased against TOm delay and couldn't make a trial fair because so.
SO in effect, the justice system is intact.
.
My cousin is a coke head...
Actually the source of the money is inconsequential, only that the trail of the money was concealed in the commiting of a crime. Since giving corporate contributions to TX state candidates is illegal, that was the crime. Try to be a little more informed.
Wikipedia bullet statement:
Money laundering is the practice of engaging in financial transactions in order to conceal the iden y, source and/or destination of money.
Last edited by exstatic; 12-05-2005 at 08:26 PM.
Oh, and supposedly former Rep. Duke Cunningham cut a deal to reduce jail time and will name names in a corruption investigation. Stay tuned.
Last edited by exstatic; 12-05-2005 at 08:40 PM.
I know it is not right and I shouldn't judge based on appearance but.....this Delay just plain looks crooked to me.
Is it just me?
No, it's not just you. I don't trust anyone who's smile doesn't reach their eyes. He's reptillian.
What a great mugshot.
You know Democrats were hoping he would come out looking like Nolte.
^^^ i know someone can photoshop Delay with that Nick Nolte hair,
I was hoping someone got this reference!.
My cousin is a coke head...
I haven't been able to figure out where I've heard it ... but I've heard it...
I haven't been able to figure out where I've heard it ... but I've heard it...
it's cuz you had a case of the Mundayz
The conspiracy indictment was dismissed because the law didn't exist when the offense was alleged to have occurred. Pretty straightforward.
The judge didn't "uphold" the remaining indictment of money laundering, he merely stated that he was still reviewing the allegations of prosecutorial misconduct (upon which those indictments hinge).
If the judge finds prosecutorial misconduct, the money laundering indictment will be tossed as well.
Most lawyers believe the Ronnie Earle is toast. The first grand jury refused to indict Delay for money laundering but did give him an indictment for a non-existent crime. When Earle realized this, he went to a second grand jury that also declined to indict for money laundering. Finally, and without informing them of the previous two grand jury no-bills, Ronnie Earle corralled a brand spankin' new grand jury on a Monday morning and cajoled them into issuing an indictment for a crime they had a mere 4 hours to review -- that is, when they weren't picking up their parking passes and keys to the jury room. This is the same crime that Earle insisted the previous grand jury needed almost two years to pore over.
Yep, I think Ronnie Earle is headed for a Hutchinson-sized smack down...once again.
^accrording to elwhoro, justice is shattered.
washingtonpost.com
Likelihood of Battle Increasing Over DeLay's Future as Leader
By Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 7, 2005
A Texas judge's decision to let stand a felony indictment against former House majority leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) has emboldened the congressman's opponents and raised the likelihood that one of the architects of the House GOP's rise to power will not be returning to the leadership, lawmakers said yesterday.
Acting House Majority Leader Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) sought to reassure members that DeLay would return to prominence, telling reporters he still believes DeLay will beat the charges before an election to replace him is necessary. If an end to DeLay's case is in sight next month, members will not pe ion for a leadership shake-up.
But yesterday opponents who have remained largely anonymous began to speak out.
"If it becomes clear in January that the trial is not going to start for several more months, I think there will be a call from members to hold elections," said Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.). "We can't simply muddle along with this interim arrangement and think we can accomplish the major things we want to accomplish. And we need to get this off the front pages of the newspapers for those members in close districts."
He added, "It's pretty clear it's not going to be resolved in January."
Rep. Charles Bass (R-N.H.) released a statement demanding that leadership elections be conducted as soon as possible: "The House Republican Conference should now elect a permanent leadership structure for 2006, so that we can move forward with a positive agenda that focuses on issues, not personalities."
Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.), a longtime critic of DeLay's ethical practices, lit into the Republican leadership as a whole: "Ethical leadership is the foundation of trust with our cons uents, and my leadership is not hearing that."
DeLay spokesman Kevin Madden said that lawmakers are "en led to their opinion," but that the judge's decision to throw out the original conspiracy charge against DeLay proved the congressman is the victim of a partisan prosecutor. "It's been very clear that there's a lot of support for Mr. DeLay to fight these charges," Madden said.
The likelihood of a showdown next month over DeLay's political future seemed to increase as House Republicans returned from a two-week break and assessed the damage from the mushrooming scandals. During their absence, former DeLay aide Michael Scanlon pleaded guilty to bribery charges and promised to cooperate with a federal corruption investigation. Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Calif.) tearfully confessed to accepting millions of dollars in bribes from defense contractors with ties to several other lawmakers, including DeLay.
On Monday, a Texas judge dismissed a conspiracy charge against DeLay but upheld felony charges stemming from alleged money laundering in connection with the 2002 Texas election.
DeLay aides and leadership officials continue to say the congressman has the calendar on his side. House leaders intend to adjourn for the year by Dec. 20. Lawmakers are expected to return at the end of January for President Bush's State of the Union address, then probably will return to their districts until mid-February. With so much time away from Washington, opponents will have little time to organize the 50 signatures necessary to move for a shake-up, and at the moment there are no more than 30 willing to publicly call for DeLay's replacement.
Meanwhile, DeLay's lawyers will move to have the remaining indictment tossed out on grounds of misconduct by Texas prosecutor Ronnie Earle, a Democrat. If that fails, they will press for a court date early next month that probably would produce a verdict within two weeks.
But by January, opposition to DeLay's return is likely to become more public, LaHood said, as other investigations move closer to the former majority leader, especially that of Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff and Scanlon, his business associate.
"Scanlon, I'm sure, is singing like a canary," LaHood said.
Democrats are pushing legislation to curtail the influence of lobbyists on Capitol Hill, and soon Republicans will feel pressure to join that movement, LaHood and Shays said.
"January will be a time when people talk about new leaders and talk about some reforms to get us back to the party that we were when we were elected to a majority," LaHood said. "I think in January you'll see a lot of courageous people around here. I really do."
Already, GOP leaders are scrambling to distance themselves from the rash of corruption investigations, while circling around the leadership structure. Last night, Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds (N.Y.), who has often been named as a possible challenger in a majority leader's race, said he would not be leaving his post as chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (Ill.) rushed out a note of thanks.
"If there were to be a leadership race, Tom Reynolds would be considered a very serious contender," Hastert spokesman Ron Bonjean said. "However, he has chosen to be a team player, and the speaker greatly appreciates that."
Meanwhile, Blunt, Hastert and House Republican Conference Chairman Deborah Pryce (Ohio) released statements yesterday denouncing Cunningham's behavior, upon formal receipt of his resignation letter.
"Today is a sad day for the U.S. House of Representatives and Duke Cunningham. How a decorated war veteran sank to the level of bribery and corruption is a personal and public tragedy," said Pryce, deploring what she called "an isolated event."
© 2005 The Washington Post Company
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