A lot of people are familiar with S&L crook Charles Keating's illegal contributions to John McCain in the 1980s. What most don't know, however, was that Keating was implicated in the BCCI takeover of a number of S&Ls, including his own. With me, so far?
Carl Lindner, an Ohio billionaire with CIA and underworld connections who owned Chiquita Banana Co., was Charles Keating's original partner, banker, and mentor. Lindner, a BCCI principal, got Keating wrapped up with BCCI's schemes. Keating was always a sort of pass-through guy, without any real money of his own. Lindner who finances Right-wing death squads in Colombia, is still giving big, dirty money to McCain. Now, that's a story that the American people need to hear.
The public should get a view into the background of Lindner, Keating and McCain, which essentially boils down to big Mafia money that has flowed into the GOP and various extreme Rightist groups around the world since Meyer Lansky made a deal with the Republicans in the mid-1940s. In exchange for their legalized gambling concession, Lansky and Giancana straightened up the mob's image in the southwest, in exchange the GOP (along with elements of the CIA) got a piece of the action. See,
http://www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv.aol.com/msg20418.html
During the high points of Keating's reign the
big man in Arizona was Kemper Marley. Marley was the first and
only billionaire in Arizona. His wealth was based originally on
a liquor monopoly conferred upon him by Sam Bronfman of the
SEAGRAMS family. In Arizona Marley was all powerful.
In 1948, fifty two employees of Kemper Marley's wholely
owned company, UNITED LIQUOR, went to prison on federal liquor
violations -- including Gene Hensley, the father-in-law of
Arizona Senator John McCain. Gene Hensley was Kemper Marley's
UNITED LIQUOR general manager. On the basis of so many
prosecutions some people might feel UNITED LIQUOR could qualify
as organized crime. The slick attorney who kept Marley out of
this trial and sent McCain's father-in-law to prison in his place
was William Rehnquist -- currently the Chief Justice of the U.S.
Supreme Court.
It was the judgement of the court that Gene Hensley would
be prohibited from ever working in the liquor industry. Of
course such judgments meant nothing to Marley. When Gene Hensley
got out of prison Marley arranged a BUDWIESER distributorship for
Hensley which is now in the hands of Senator John McCain and
reported to be worth $50 million!
The best source for an introduction to the environment of
total political corruption in Arizona is the book, THE ARIZONA
PROJECT: HOW A TEAM OF INVESTIGATIVE REPORTERS GOT REVENGE ON
DEADLINE. In graphic detail journalist Michael Wendland links the
most prominent people in Arizona with various organized crime
king pins. Wendland was part of the group called INVESTIGATIVE
REPORTERS AND EDITORS who came to Phoenix in the wake of the
fatal car bombing of the ARIZONA REPUBLIC's investigative
reporter, Don Bolles. It was the conclusion of this group that
Marley, by far the wealthiest man in Arizona, was behind this
murder.
According to intelligence sources of the Phoenix police, who
prepared a background profile of Kemper Marley the week following
the Bolles murder, Marley was at one time directly connected to
the remnants of the old Al Capone mob.
When Marley died July 1990 he owned 5 square miles of
Carefree )*) the highest priced real estate in Arizona. The
smallest lot in this most exclusive township is zoned for one
acre. By some coincidence the Tax Accessor made the same mistake
evaluating Marley's properties as he did on Charlie Keating's
properties. This oversight was saving Marley a million dollars a
year. Of course the official investigation showed no wrongdoing
in either case.
For the last 45 years Marley bankrolled the Republican Party
which doled out Marley's great wealth to a slate of Republican
candidates who were almost universally successful in obtaining
high political office. Marley was able to control the Democratic
party as well. Every current congressman and every senator in
Arizona owes his position to the Marley machine. These office
holders include "Keating Five" Senators John McCain and Dennis
DeConcini as well as former State Attorney General, Bob Corbin.
At one point Marley served as Chairman of the Board of the
VALLEY NATIONAL BANK. When Bugsy Siegel, on instructions from
Meyer Lansky, built the FLAMINGO CLUB, Las Vegas's first casino,
the money was borrowed from the VALLEY NATIONAL BANK.
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