The mass media have their own understanding of what the
public wants to read, view, or hear. For tv, their nameless, faceless program
consultants have a motto, "If it bleeds, it leads." So, they
are not inclined to send their high-paid reporters to cover business cases
in the federal courts, for example, which may educate the common people
to problems, to put it crudely, of the whorehouses of justice.
As an unpaid free-lance journalist, waiting to observe a case we were following,
one day in the Chicago Bankruptcy Courts, I saw something in the hearing
of another case. It was before Chicago U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Jack B. Schmetterer,
according to our inquiries apparently thick with Israeli intelligence,
the Mossad.
In front of his bench, to the left stood a short little Chinese woman.
To the right, lined up were 12 lawyers. It no longer puzzled me that they
had Jewish last names, and Christian first names. Most of them. That item
has to be explained later in this series.
The woman spoke haltingly as best she could in her poor command of English.
Chinese woman: "Judge, me family 14 Hong Kong. Work years. Save money.
Me come Chicago for family. Buy shopping center. Business okay. Dirty bank
no like me. Push me bankrupp. Lie. Me no bankrupp. No money you give for
me family. Brothers fly Chicago. No lawyer. You no money for family. Why
give 300 thousand dollar these lawyers.Me nothing? Why? (She started crying)."
Judge Jack B. Schmetterer: "The law provides that lawyers must get
their fees. I am obligated to award them fees. They presented a petition
for fees on behalf of other interests."
[Most every judge in the major federal district U.S. Bankruptcy Courts
are able to so quickly refer to the Bankruptcy statutes, they could make
ten cases brought by angels dance on a golden pin. They rapidly twist the
laws supposedly to fit the facts.]
Judge: "I am granting the fee petitions as they seem to be in order."
The 12 lawyers, practically like a choir in unison, said "Thank you,
your Honor" and rapidly departed the apparent scene of their crime.
On another day, following up a tip, we began thumbing through a huge file
marked "Rusty Jones". They once were a heavily advertised rust-proofing
firm, spraying or somehow applying their mixture of undercoating to prevent
further rusting-out of cars. We discovered a typical rusting out of justice.
A group of lawyers were shown on the docket as being paid huge fees. Part
of the docket as shown on the Clerk's Office Computer was incomplete.
Item numbers were garbled or gone. So I went to the Bankruptcy Clerk's
Office and started asking questions.
Citizen's Committee to Clean Up the Courts: "Sir, who is in charge
of the dockets on your computer?"
Deputy Bankruptcy Clerk: "The tall fellow across the hall in that
office (pointing)."
Citizen's Committee: "But, sir, there is no number on that office
door, nothing. Who is there." He refused to further answer. I knocked
on the unmarked door. No answer. So i was determined to find out what was
behind this door. I parked my wheelchair right in front of the door, in
such a way, whosoever comes out of that room will have to be quite athletic,
to jump over my wheelchair to escape me.
After about an hour, the door opens.
Tall person: "Hey, let me out!"
Citizen's Committee: "You aint getting past me, til you tell me your
title and what you have to do with the Clerk's computer."
Tall person: "I am the private consultant that sees that everything
is running."
Citizen's Committee: "How is the docket changed if it is ever changed?"
Tall person: (naming supervisor with latino name) "She has the key."
Citizen's Committee: "You mean, a key like to a lock?"
Tall person: "No, the code to get into the docket entries and change
them if necessary."
So I searched out that supervisor.
Citizen's Committee: "I have here a print-out of five different cases,
dockets. Take a look, you can see the case numbers. Each one has been altered,
where the fees were awarded to lawyers. Concealed apparently is some data.
The tall consultant from the unmarked door over there, said YOU are the
office supervisor with the code or key. WHY have the docket entries been
altered? WHO ordered YOU to do that? And WHY?"
Clerk supervisor: "I am not answering. I have to call my lawyer."
Citizen's Committee: "Ma'm, are you pleading the Fifth Amendment or
what?"
Clerk supervisor: "I have to call my lawyer." (She quickly fled
from my presence.)
We began digging into what the Rusty Jones case was all about. Funny thing,
the head lawyer of the law firm getting big bucks, was born in Israel.
We surmised, is the firm part of the split from "The Club". And
what is anyone in this place concealing? Does the IRS know that details
of the fees are made to disappear? But then, we have documented the corruption
about the top official of the Chicago District office of the Internal Revenue
Service.
One day, a Japanese national has a meeting with us.
Citizen's Committee: You told us, there is trouble with the Rusty Jones
case. What is that about?
Japanese national: "I am in America on behalf of
our auto firm."
Citizen's Committee: "So you represent (naming firm)."
Japanese national: "I am the (names his position
as top official) of the firm. This is a serious problem."
Citizen's Committee: "What is THAT problem?"
Japanese national: "Lawyers representing certain interests apparently
in the Rusty Jones case, contend we owe them forty million dollars. They
are false claims, yet they are bringing some kind of a supplementary action
in the Bankruptcy Court to tie us up in America. They keep saying it will
cost us more than forty million."
Citizen's Committee: "What remedy did you seek?"
Japanese national: "I hope you understand, in Japan we have very few
lawyers. It is a disgrace for somebody to be seen going to the courts there
to start up with another firm or a neighbor. A loss of face. Very bad.
But I have complained in Chicago to the Federal Bureau of Investigation,
the U.S. Justice Department, even to the judge himself. All the doors close
on us. There is something wrong with your courts and your system of justice.
I cannot say anything public because there is a Ministry in Japan that
would punish us for interfering with relations with the U.S. There is some
kind of a system, particularly here in Chicago, according to some of my
friends here, to extort sums of money, or cheat Asians through your courts.
Maybe I should have understood, as I had part of my business education
in a top University in the U.S."
Citizen's Committee: "Well, name some of the lawyers. By the way,
did you learn about shakedown and extortion when you attended that University
in the U.S.?"
Japanese national: "Well, the full details of the lawyers I found
out are not fully disclosed in the court record. A principal partner is
actually an Israeli. (Starts naming the law firm partners.) You know anything
about such things? In answer to your other question, no, my university
professors never said a single word about shakedown and extortion in business
relations in America."
Citizen's Committee: "Yes, we very much understand. Do you have attorneys
in Chicago representing your interests?"
Japanese national: "Yes, but they do not seem like they will really
help us. They seem to go along with some kind of a system you have in Chicago
that I do not fully understand. It would not be allowed back in my home
land."
Citizen's Committee: "Well, these lawyers that are in the Rusty Jones
case, that claim your firm owes so much. What do they want?"
Japanese national: "Well, they want us to pay a down-payment of 800
thousand U.S. Dollars, in cash, to them, away from the courthouse., actually
to accounts in the Grand Caymans. They are threatening harm against
us, just like the Yakuza in Osaka. My family is worried. But it is my task
to find out what to do."
Citizen's Committee: "Will 800 thousand end the problem?"
Japanese national: "Tell me,
is there a system in your country that I do not understand.
Is it permitted to give large gifts of money to judges in the courthouse?
It seems like these lawyers want a series of payments as gift to judges
who are not on this pending matter. What is that about? And from what they
are threatening me and my firm, the 800 thousand gift, is just the beginning
of a series of gifts."
Citizen's Committee: "Your own lawyers, did you divulge this extortion
to THEM?"
Japanese national: "No, this other group of lawyers are friends of
my local attorneys. I fear it would be unwise to tell my own lawyers what
is going on. Someone locally told me you are known for keeping matters
like this confidential. Please, for the sake of my family back home, do
not use my name publicly nor my exact title with our firm."
We found out from reliable sources that he apparently
began payments, some to the Judges and "The Club" members of
a compromised amount, of 400 thousand dollars each payment. The "book-keeper"
of "The Club" arranged to deposit the funds in the Grand Caymans
and the Channel Islands. Banks from all over the world have their units
there for clandestine dealings.The Chicago District office of the IRS Criminal
Division has the facts, but sit on their corrupt hands.[See our extensive
website series on IRS corruption.]
Some asians doing business in Chicago appear to understand the corrupt
system and simply help themselves. Several Koreans operated an electronics
supply business. They had a dispute with their bank which apparently wanted
to shove them into the hands of the Bankruptcy Club, proper claim or false
claim, it did not seem to matter. And how did the Koreans reportedly deal
with the situation?
Well, they were accused of apparently starting a fire to burn down their
own business. They escaped. But a tragedy occurred. Two Chicago firemen
lost their life when, while inside the building fighting the flames, the
roof collapsed on them.
The spy-riddled, oil-soaked monopoly press is busy with idle stories about
fires in abandoned mattress factories, or non-political murder and mayhem
locally. Informing the common people of what is really going on does not
interest the liars and whores of the press, those with the fifty dollar
hairdoes and the nickel heads.
More coming...Stay tuned.
============================================
Since 1958, Mr. Skolnick has been a court reformer and
since 1963, Founder/Chairman, Citizen's Committee to Clean Up the Courts.
Since 1991, a regular panelist and since 1995, Moderator/Producer of "Broadsides",
a one hour weekly, taped, public access Cable TV prrogram cablecast WITHIN
THE CITY LIMITS OF CHICAGO, to upwards of 400,000 viewers each Monday evening,
9 p.m., Channel 21 Cable TV.Parts of tv shows can be seen on our website,
on-line.
Office, 8 a.m. to midnight most 7 days (773) 375-5741
BUT DO NOT BOMBARD THIS LISTED PHONE with "JUST ROUTINE" calls
PLEASE.
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to Clean up the Courts, Sherman H. Skolnick, Chairman, 9800 So. Oglesby
Ave., Chicago IL 6017-4870.
WEBSITE: http://www.skolnicksreport.com/ [note "s" after name].
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