President Was Right: “Devil’s Highway” from Massachusetts to NH Brought Drugs to Granite State

09/25/2019 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ 3 Comments

This week the feds busted 38 individuals they say are responsible for addiction and death in New Hampshire.

The operation dubbed “Devil’s Highway” once again brought attention to Trump’s words about how Lawrence, Mass. is a hub for the distribution of dangerous opioids and other drugs throughout New England.

And, it sure looks like ‘new Americans’ are responsible….

MSN News:

President Trump’s Lawrence comments back in spotlight after massive drug bust

“For anyone who said Lawrence is not a hub for distribution, how you looking now?” said N.H. state Rep. Fred Doucette, who was a state co-chair for Trump’s 2016 campaign.

“This definitely solidifies some statements that people took offense to,” Doucette added.

“Incidents like this are proof positive of the fact that Lawrence is a hub.”

The 10-week enforcement operation in the Merrimack Valley targeted drug distribution in Lawrence, and trafficking between Lawrence and destinations in New Hampshire.

These U.S. attorney prosecutions should resonate with New Hampshire voters, said Republican activist Fran Wendelboe.

For details on the bust see Monday’s US Justice Department press release:

Merrimack Valley Operation Results in Arrest of 38 Individuals

See the names of those arrested (no mention of their immigration status).

During the operation, the following defendants were arrested on federal charges:

Jason Medlen, 32, of Methuen, charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl;
Louis Delvecchio, 51, of Methuen, charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl;
Santos Obispo Guerrera Lara, 35, of Lawrence, charged with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl;
Douglas “Sunny” Grasso, 34, of Lawrence, charged with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl;
Brian Brae, 35, of Lawrence, charged with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl;
Enel Alfredo Mendez-Aquino, 29, of Lawrence, charged with distribution of fentanyl and cocaine;
Jorge Alexander Andujar Romero, 29, of Lawrence, charged with distribution of and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl;
Edward Jesis Mar Carmona Ortiz, 42, of Lawrence, charged with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl;
Steven de Jesus de Leon Trinidad, 22, of Lawrence, charged with distribution and possession with intent to distribute a heroine/fentanyl mix;
Luis Felix Franco Herrera, 21, of Lawrence, charged with distribution of and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl;
Jose Rodriquez-Walker, 32, of Lawrence, charged with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl;
Johanny Mejia-Nunez, 43, of Lawrence, charged with possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl;
Ronyel Pena, 18, of Lawrence, charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl;
Joe Martinez, 24, of Lawrence, charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl;
Ysrael Nunez, 37, of Lawrence, charged with conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl; distribution of and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl; distribution of and possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl; and aiding and abetting;
William Cabrera, 30, of Lawrence, charged with distribution of and possession with intent to distribute heroin; and possession with intent to distribute heroin and oxycodone;
Oscar Guadalupe Martinez, 37, of North Andover, charged with conspiracy with intent to distribute and distribution of 400 grams or more of fentanyl and 1 kilogram or more of heroin;
Stiven Torres Martinez, 21, of North Andover, charged with conspiracy with intent to distribute and distribution of 400 grams or more of fentanyl and 1 kilogram or more of heroin;
Jason Jimenez, 24, of Bronx, New York, charged with possession with intent to distribute over 40 grams of fentanyl;
Milton Elias Lara, 42, of Lawrence, charged with distribution of and possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl;
Alexsander Padro, 28, of Methuen, charged with distribution of 40 grams or more of fentanyl;
John Mena, 24, of Lawrence, charged with possession with intent to distribute and distribution of 10 grams or more of acryl fentanyl, a controlled substance analogue;
Yunior Darismir Prandys Torres, 22, of Lawrence, charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute a controlled substance, to wit, fentanyl;
Juan Perez Diaz, 22, of Lawrence, charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute a controlled substance, to wit, fentanyl;
Jose Ventura, 37, of Lawrence, charged with distribution of and possession with intent to distribute 10 grams or more of fentanyl;
Leisy Baez-Zapata, 21, of Lawrence, charged with conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl; distribution of and possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl; and aiding and abetting;
Erick Alberto Paulino Amador, 28, of Lawrence, charged with possession with intent to distribute and distribution of fentanyl;
Bernardito Carvajal, 28, of Haverhill, charged with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl;
Alfredo Rivera, 31, of Haverhill, charged with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl;
Julio Esthil-Cifre, 30, of Lawrence, charged with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl;
Edgar Castro, 45, of Revere, charged with conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine;
Julio Ortiz-Chaparro, 47, of Boston, charged with conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine;
Crishanty Aybar Arias, 22, of Lawrence, charged with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl;
Cesar Lara Castillo, 36, of Lawrence, charged with possession with intent to distribute a Schedule I controlled substance; false representation of social security number, and aggravated identity theft;
Santiago Rubel Guerrero Tejeda, 22, of Bani, Dominican Republic, charged with possession with intent to distribute and distribution of fentanyl;
Jesus Maria Aybar Franco, 34, of Lawrence, charged with distribution and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl;
Marino Amador Baez, 34, of Lawrence, charged with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl; and
Willin Arias-Castillo, 35, of Lawrence, charged with possession with intent to distribute and distribution of fentanyl.

Good Summary at Powerline Blog on Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Apparent Scam on America

09/24/2019 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ 3 Comments

As regular readers know, I have off-and-on reported on the life and times of Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, see my archive here.

The folks at Powerline blog have been doing incredible investigative work attempting to unravel Omar’s ‘story’ and thereby demonstrating the enormous value citizen journalists are in this age when the mainstream media ignores evidence that, yes, some ‘new Americans’, are frauds and crooks.

From Scott Johnson at Powerline yesterday (hat tip: Paul):

STAND BY YOUR SHAM: DATAPOINTS

As I have observed previously in this series, everything about Ilhan Omar is a fraud, including her name. We have seen a plethora of congressional scandals in our history, yet we have never seen scandals like Omar’s in Congress. Here we have something new under the sun.

I would like summarily to set out datapoints supporting the Omar frauds in this almost unbelievable case. Anyone seeking to address the case needs to deal with the following:

Go to Powerline and see over a dozen outstanding concerns Omar refuses to discuss.

Omar is the poster girl for why so many of us are cynical about the refugee admissions program, about Democrats and their hypocrisy, and yes, about the media that refuses to investigate when one of their chosen ones is clearly hiding something!

Election Fraud Charges Brought in Michigan

09/24/2019 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ 1 Comment

I know that by now you might be thinking this blog could be renamed Michigan Frauds and Crooks.

Is it Michigan or is it that papers like the Detroit News are doing their jobs?

And, to one of my critics—you see I do write about American crooks when the news interests me!

Thanks to reader Cathy for this story published yesterday:

Southfield city clerk charged with 6 felonies tied to November election

Detroit — Southfield City Clerk Sherikia L. Hawkins was charged Monday with six felony counts over “unauthorized and inaccurate” changes to absentee ballots in the November 2018 election.

Sherikia L. Hawkins

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson made a joint announcement of the charges in Detroit, calling it a “rare” case.

“Voting is fundamental to the very essence of our democracy,” Nessel said during a Monday news conference. “It is incumbent upon state governments to safeguard the electoral process and ensure that every voter’s right to cast a ballot is protected.”

Allegations that Hawkins altered 193 absentee voter records came to light during the 14-day canvass following the election. Benson said the Oakland County Clerk’s Office reported with the Bureau of Elections “the potential for these irregularities and from there we began our investigation.”

[….]

Hawkins, a Democrat who just a few months ago was honored by the state party with the Dingell/Levin Award at its Legacy Dinner in Detroit, could not be reached Monday at her office for comment or a number listed in public records. Her attorney also could not be reached.

[….]

After taking office in January, Benson and Nessel, both Democrats, wanted to make sure the state’s elections were protected from “every conceivable threat,” Nessel said.

“Every citizen must know that when they enter the ballot box, the vote that they cast will be counted and that the collective will of the voters will be carried out,” Nessel said.

Hawkins,38, was arraigned Monday in 46th District Court in Southfield on the charges, which include election law-falsifying returns or records, forgery of a public record, misconduct in office and multiple counts of using a computer to commit a crime.

Forgery of a public record is a 14-year offense, Nessel said.

[….]

“After the city has examined the underlying facts of this matter, we will explore all appropriate and legal avenues to protect the voting process and rights of the Southfield Citizenry,” the statement issued by [City Council] spokesman Michael Manion said. “Mrs. Hawkins will be on administrative leave with pay at this time.”

Hawkins is paid $101,500 per year in Southfield as the city’s clerk.

[….]

Hawkins made history in November 2017 as the first African-American elected as city clerk, according to the clerk’s page on the city’s website. She formerly served as Pontiac’s city clerk.

More here.

Just for fun, see my tag for ‘Michigan’ to see how often the state has been the scene of some criminal activity reported here at Frauds and Crooks.

Feds Bust Huge ($258 million!) California Medicare/Medicaid Fraud Networks

09/23/2019 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ 7 Comments

“Sticking taxpayers with a bill for unnecessary healthcare services will never be tolerated”

(HHS Office of Inspector General)

Perhaps even worse than the millions of taxpayer dollars lost to these alleged cheats—medical doctors and other medical professionals—is the fact that they diagnosed people with major illnesses that the patients didn’t have!

Here is the Justice Department’s press statement on the bust last week.

All I could think of as I read the long statement from the DOJ was, just imagine what a run on the treasury there will be if the Dems get Medicare for all!

Here we see that one of the alleged crooked doctors (Dr. Negash Shetty) has a long record of defrauding us. Of course I couldn’t find a picture or any information on his immigration status, but his name is a common Indian name.

LOL! I did find that in 1996 he hired “celebrity lawyer and law professor Alan M. Dershowitz” to get him out of one of his run-ins with the law.

Here is the Daily Pilot giving us a chronology of Dr. Negash Shetty’s storied career as an on-again, off-again medical doctor in trouble with the law!

H.B. doctor indicted in $135-million Medicare fraud scheme

A Huntington Beach doctor with a history of legal and disciplinary problems is one of seven healthcare professionals accused of participating in a Medicare fraud scheme that netted about $135 million through fraudulent insurance claims, according to federal prosecutors.

See glowing reports from patients about GCC founded by Sara Soulati who was also charged. https://www.yelp.com/biz/global-cardio-care-inc-inglewood-2

Nagesh Shetty, 74, was indicted Wednesday in connection with the scheme, which involved “medically unnecessary” cardiac treatments and testing through an Inglewood healthcare provider, Global Cardio Care, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

[….]

Shetty was first licensed by the California Medical Board in 1979 and has operated practices in Costa Mesa, West Covina and the West Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, according to documents and online records.

In 1994, Shetty was indicted in federal court on 28 counts of mail fraud on allegations of defrauding a Minnesota-based insurance company through “nonexistent, medically unnecessary or excessive medical treatment.” That case was later transferred to a California district court and charges were eventually dropped, court records show.

In 1996, Shetty was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison and fined $40,000 for filing false income tax returns and failing to report more than $400,000 in income over a three-year period in the 1980s, court documents show. At the time of the crimes, Shetty was owner and attending physician of Harbor Newport Medical Clinic in Costa Mesa.

While in prison, Shetty was indicted in 1998 on federal charges alleging that he defrauded military and private health insurance programs.

More charges, then this!

The California Medical Board revoked Shetty’s license in 2000, according to board records. His license to practice medicine also was revoked in New York in 1999 and Washington state in 2001, records show.

In 2005, Shetty petitioned the California board to reinstate his medical certificate. At the time, Shetty was bagging groceries and stocking shelves at a store and said his inability to practice his profession had caused emotional and financial strain for his wife and four children.

He was granted a probationary license, according to a decision by an administrative law judge, with the conditions that he complete an ethics course and a clinical training program, undergo monitoring and be barred from practicing solo, supervising physician assistants and handling any billing matters.

In 2009, Shetty completed his probation and the board reinstated his license.

They reinstated his medical license and he went right back to scamming us!

More here.

Lebanese ‘New American’ Indicted for Terrorist Activities

09/22/2019 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ 11 Comments

Editor: Thanks for your patience as ‘Frauds and Crooks’ has been moved from wordpress.com to a new secure host. I think we are back in business this morning! There might be a few glitches that still need to be fixed or features that need to be returned, but thanks to all who helped make the move possible my speech is again free speech here and at Refugee Resettlement Watch.

Today’s story is all over the media, but it seems the most complete version of how a Lebanese man, long connected to the Jihadist group Hizballah, came to live among us and plotted against the country that ‘welcomed’ him is at the US Justice Department.

Here is the headline at the DOJ:

New Jersey Man Indicted for Terrorist Activities on Behalf of Hizballah’s Islamic Jihad Organization

Alexei Saab Allegedly Was Trained by Hizballah’s External Terrorist Operations Component in Bomb-Making and Conducted Intelligence-Gathering in New York City and Elsewhere in Support of Hizballah’s Attack-Planning Efforts

I searched around and even my usual go-to publication for photos of perps, the UK Daily Mail, did not have a photo of Saab.

The Department of Justice today announced that Alexei Saab, 42, of Morristown, New Jersey, also known as Ali Hassan Saab, Alex Saab, or Rachid, was charged today in a nine-count indictment for offenses related to his support for Hizballah and separate marriage-fraud offenses. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Paul G. Gardephe.

“According to the allegations, while living in the United States, Saab served as an operative of Hizballah and conducted surveillance of possible target locations in order to help the foreign terrorist organization prepare for potential future attacks against the United States,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers. “Such covert activities conducted on U.S. soil are a clear threat to our national security and I applaud the agents, analysts, and prosecutors who are responsible for this investigation and prosecution.”

“As a member of the Hizballah component that coordinates external terrorist attack planning, Alexei Saab allegedly used his training to scout possible targets throughout the U.S,” said U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman. “Even though Saab was a naturalized American citizen, his true allegiance was to Hizballah, the terrorist organization responsible for decades of terrorist attacks that have killed hundreds, including U.S. citizens and military personnel. Thankfully, Saab is now in federal custody, and faces significant prison time for his alleged crimes.”

[….]

According to the Indictment and Complaint unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:

Hizballah is a Lebanon-based Shia Islamic organization with political, social, and terrorist components. Hizballah was founded in the 1980s with support from Iran after the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, and its mission includes establishing a fundamentalist Islamic state in Lebanon. Since Hizballah’s formation, the organization has been responsible for numerous terrorist attacks that have killed hundreds, including United States citizens and military personnel. In 1997, the U.S. Department of State designated Hizballah a Foreign Terrorist Organization, pursuant to Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, and it remains so designated today. In 2001, pursuant to Executive Order 13224, the U.S. Department of Treasury designated Hizballah a Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity. In 2010, State Department officials described Hizballah as the most technically capable terrorist group in the world, and a continued security threat to the United States.

The Islamic Jihad Organization (IJO), which is also known as the External Security Organization and “910,” is a component of Hizballah responsible for the planning and coordination of intelligence, counterintelligence, and terrorist activities on behalf of Hizballah outside of Lebanon.

[….]

Saab joined Hizballah in 1996.

Now here is the part that is so maddening.

He waltzes in to the US in the year 2000 and becomes a citizen in 2008!

Through what means did he enter the US? What program? What visa? Why the hell are we never told how he apparently legally got here and quickly became a citizen?

Saab surveilled UN headquarters in NYC as a possible target for attack.

In 2000, Saab lawfully entered the United States using a Lebanese passport. In 2005, Saab applied for naturalized citizenship and falsely affirmed, under penalty of perjury, that he had never been “a member of or in any way associated with . . . a terrorist organization.” In August 2008, Saab became a naturalized U.S. citizen.

[….]

While living in the United States, Saab remained an IJO operative, continued to receive military training in Lebanon, and conducted numerous operations for the IJO. For example, Saab surveilled dozens of locations in New York City—including the United Nations headquarters, the Statue of Liberty, Rockefeller Center, Times Square, the Empire State Building, and local airports, tunnels, and bridges—and provided detailed information on these locations, including photographs, to the IJO.

The DOJ press statement is much longer than usual, go here to read all of the allegations against Saab.

You might also want to look at an interesting story about the alleged terrorist as a college lecturer in New York.

Chilling thought—so how many more like Saab are among us!