LA Times: "How a stockpile of 39 million masks was exposed as fake"

[Hekate]

Apr. 11, 2020

How a stockpile of 39 million masks was exposed as fake

A powerful California union that thought it had made a deal to purchase 39 million masks for healthcare workers fighting the coronavirus was duped in an elaborate scam that originated overseas, federal prosecutors say.

Authorities who stumbled onto the scheme while looking to seize the masks for the Federal Emergency Management Agency found there were in fact no masks.

This showed up from the LA Times in my email today. Just read and re-read this snippet from a Kafkaesque world.

[getagrip_already]

1. ojk, obvious questions....

How did the feds know the state had contracted for the masks?

Why were they going to seize them and what were they going to do with them?

What are states supposed to do when the feds won't provide any and seizes what they buy on their own?

[OnDoutside]

2. Remember the seized those 500 ventilators for Colorado too ?

[Marthe48]

3. I hope CA duped the feds

and got their masks.

CA probably got scammed, but I can't help hoping otherwise.

[Hekate]

4. The feds "know" because never in our history have we ever had to make such a purchase secret

Ask Kushner what they're doing with what they're stealing, because it's happening all over.

This is a waking nightmare.

[LiberalArkie]

6. I would guess they know because of the patriot act.

[Make7]

5. Link to story:

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-04-11/coronavirus-seiu-masks-fraud-fbi

[Hekate]

8. Thank you

[JHB]

9. And a link to the DU thread on the SEIU announcement on Mar. 26

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100213178957

[stillcool]

7. clear as mud..

I'm just going to note the authors of this piece and the DA that's involved...in case I get bored later. But with that 80-pg pdf from the NYTimes I think I'm covered.


By MELODY GUTIERREZ, ADAM ELMAHREK

U.S. Atty. Scott Brady