Democratic Underground Latest Greatest Lobby Journals Search Options Help Login
Google

TH: "Why is the whistleblower going to jail while the fat cats and banksters can buy their way out?"

Printer-friendly format Printer-friendly format
Printer-friendly format Email this thread to a friend
Printer-friendly format Bookmark this thread
This topic is archived.
Home » Discuss » Archives » General Discussion (1/22-2007 thru 12/14/2010) Donate to DU
 
omega minimo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jan-08-10 02:38 PM
Original message
TH: "Why is the whistleblower going to jail while the fat cats and banksters can buy their way out?"
&h=150&w=150&zc=1
http://www.thomhartmann.com/
Hour Three: Why is the whistleblower going to jail while the fat cats and banksters can buy their way out? Dean Zirby, attorney for Bradley Birkenfeld, UBS whistleblower, joins Thom.

http://www.whistleblowers.org
The National Whistleblower Center, through its TAKE ACTION advocacy program, is urging people to contact the Attorney General and request that the Birkenfeld case be reviewed and the decision to imprison him be reconsidered. 

Whistleblower News: UBS Whistleblower Enters Prison

Minersville, PA. January 8, 2010. At 2 pm today UBS whistleblower Bradley Birkenfeld surrendered to U.S. authorities and commenced serving a three-year and four-month sentence at the Schuylkill County Federal Correctional Institution in Minersville, Pennsylvania. Stephen M. Kohn, the Executive Director of the National Whistleblower Center and one of Mr. Birkenfeld’s attorneys issued the following statement:

“An American tragedy.  A disgraceful miscarriage of justice. An insult to every honest American who must work hard and pay their taxes.  The imprisonment of Bradley Birkenfeld, the most important tax whistleblower in history, is shocking and unjustified. This decision is not only grossly unfair and personally harmful to Mr. Birkenfeld, it will also have a radical chilling effect on the willingness of other bankers to step forward and expose fraud. This is devastating to any efforts to expose the use of illegal offshore bank accounts by criminals who want to avoid taxes.” 

“After a careful investigation, we have now demonstrated that the justifications provided by the Justice Department for this unprecedented act of retaliation against a whistleblower were not true.  Justice Department lawyers misled the public and a court in justifying their reasons for indicting Mr. Birkenfeld and asking the Court to sentence him to a long prison term.”

“Mr. Birkenfeld’s 40-month sentence is a direct result of blowing the whistle on one of the largest tax fraud schemes in U.S. history, which has resulted in UBS bank paying a $780 million penalty to the United States, and over 14,000 "taxpayers" voluntarily disclosing their illegal offshore accounts. Mr. Birkenfeld's disclosures have resulted in a multi-billion dollar net-gain to American taxpayers, and have forced UBS bank to shut down a massive illegal offshore banking practice.  He is a hero, not a criminal.  He did the right thing in voluntarily stepping forward and exposing these massive frauds.  He deserves our thanks and praise, not the terrible fate that awaits him in prison.”


Read more...
http://www.whistleblowers.org

Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
omega minimo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jan-08-10 02:43 PM
Response to Original message
1. Direct link to take action. He goes to prison TODAY for 40 MONTHS!
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Craftsman Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jan-08-10 02:47 PM
Response to Original message
2. Because he dared to inform on the bankers!!
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
EFerrari Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jan-08-10 02:48 PM
Response to Original message
3. Right on. The message is: don't mess with the real criiminals!
:wtf: is this DoJ THINKING?


Link to my thread the other day:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7413998
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
omega minimo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jan-08-10 02:58 PM
Response to Reply #3
4. Thanks! Thom's show was the first I'd heard about this. OutRAGEOUS!!
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Ignis Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jan-08-10 03:12 PM
Response to Original message
5. K&R
Removing or weakening what little whistle-blower protection we have in the US is reprehensible.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
omega minimo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jan-08-10 09:34 PM
Response to Original message
6. .
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
JackRiddler Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 11:40 AM
Response to Original message
7. kick
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
omega minimo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 06:29 PM
Response to Original message
8. please visit link and Take Action
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
malaise Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 06:38 PM
Response to Original message
9. Bravo Bradley Birkenfeld
You'll be the people's hero.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
BlueJazz Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 06:40 PM
Response to Original message
10. Can't Obama just give him a Presidential Pardon ??
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
dems_rightnow Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-09-10 06:45 PM
Response to Reply #10
11. He certainl;y could
And he should. This is just craziness.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
DU AdBot (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view 
this author's profile Click to add 
this author to your buddy list Click to add 
this author to your Ignore list Sun May 05th 2024, 06:25 PM
Response to Original message
Advertisements [?]
 Top

Home » Discuss » Archives » General Discussion (1/22-2007 thru 12/14/2010) Donate to DU

Powered by DCForum+ Version 1.1 Copyright 1997-2002 DCScripts.com
Software has been extensively modified by the DU administrators


Important Notices: By participating on this discussion board, visitors agree to abide by the rules outlined on our Rules page. Messages posted on the Democratic Underground Discussion Forums are the opinions of the individuals who post them, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Democratic Underground, LLC.

Home  |  Discussion Forums  |  Journals |  Store  |  Donate

About DU  |  Contact Us  |  Privacy Policy

Got a message for Democratic Underground? Click here to send us a message.

© 2001 - 2011 Democratic Underground, LLC