Update: Be sure to see the even juicier story from Buffalo. Muslim convenience store owner charged with ripping us off to the tune of $2 million and his wife and daughter flip the bird to news camera (to America)! You can’t make this up! Click here.
I haven’t written about food stamp fraud in awhile, but darn it I wish someone would!
If you don’t know how trafficking in EBT benefits works, I’m going to send you to dozens and dozens of posts I’ve written on the subject over the years, click here.
Thanks to my friend Diana for bringing this gigantic one to my attention. Mayor Rawlings-Blake with her pals at Islamic Relief USA. She has been a leading proponent of bringing more Muslim refugees to Baltimore.
From CBS Baltimore: 14 arrests and $16 MILLION fraudulently obtained by trafficking in food stamps. Are these stores part of Mayor Rawlings-Blake’shighly touted immigrant entrepreneur project?
Here are the names of those arrested (see a pattern?):
Walayat Khan, 36, of Reisterstown
Barbara Ann Duke, 50, of Owings Mills
Shaheen Tasewar Hussain, 60, of Ellicott City
Kelym Novas Perez, 34, of Baltimore
Jose Remedio Gonzalez Reyes, 50, of Baltimore
Mulazam Hussain, 54, of Windsor Mill
Mahmood Hussain Shah, 57, of Catonsville
Muhammad Rafiq, 58, of Reisterstown
Mohammad Shafiq, 50, of Gwynn Oak, Maryland; and his daughter,
Alia Shaheen, 24, of Baltimore
Mohammad Irfan, 59, of Nottingham
Muhammad Sarmad, 40, of Nottingham
Rizwan Pervez, 38, of Essex
Kassem Mohammad Hafeed, a/k/a Kassam Mohammad Hafeed, 51, of Baltimore
I swear this is connected to the Investor visa program and it makes me wonder if they have training programs abroad in how to buy convenience stores in the US and rip off the dumb (infidel) Americans!
How much do you want to bet some of your $16 million left the country!
Editor: As regular readers know, Rutland, VT citizens are not taking kindly to a plan to resettle 100 Syrians in their town—a plan the mayor made in secrecy with a federal resettlement contractor. For background, please click here for our Rutland archive. And, for future reference, this post is filed in our ‘Comments worth noting/Guest posts‘ category.
With grateful appreciation to Ann Corcoran and Refugee Resettlement Watch, it is with pride and pleasure that I attempt, here, to provide you all with the saga of RUTLAND VERMONT, a struggling, proud community facing the importation of even more needy refugees when our welfare overload is choking us even now.
STRAIGHT TALK—–with Don Chioffi
VERMONT’S AREA 51—THE SECRET RESETTLEMENT PROJECT
The proud, struggling city of Rutland, Vermont has been fighting against seemingly insurmountable odds to even get public information about the secret Refugee Resettlement Program since late April. Here it is now in late August and we have no more information than in April, despite numerous FOIA requests. The arrogance, impudence, and outright defiance by the USCRI, the secular agency responsible for this Refugee resettlement Program, with the compliant secret help of Mayor Chris Louras and his crony President of the Board of Aldermen, William Notte, would be more appropriately associated with some third world country, in fact it is headed by a woman that is, in fact, from one of those countries. Amila Merdzandovic, one of Lavinia Limon’s dutiful henchman, has stonewalled, lied outright, and threatened even those in our own state government for releasing even the most pitiful of information to the citizens of our state and of Rutland, and our mayor vowed to reject a lawful petition submitted by his own citizens requesting a moratorium on this program until facts were forthcoming.
Our three state senators from Rutland county, Peg Flory, Kevin Mullin, and Brian Collamore (all Republicans) have even tried to gain information from the State Health and Human Services department and were met with the response that even HHS was not provided with the complete Application and Abstract, a document that is supposed to have the coordination and cooperation of state and local government bodies and the public prior to even being sent to the US State Department. Our state senators were not even informed that this program was being instituted at the state level by our ultra liberal governor, Peter (lame duck) Shumlin. They were also rebuffed by US Sen. Patrick Leahy, who, to date, has also refused to produce the documents. It sure looks like all the Democrats at every level are closing ranks to protect the secrecy of these documents.
The Application has all the back-up information concerning Rutland’s ability to sustain the number of refugees intended for resettlement during 2016 and forward. Information on housing availability, law enforcement, medical capacity, social service capacity, the burgeoning drug problem in our community, the availability or lack of jobs in our community, and the severe drop in population over the last 15 years are all supposed to be in that document—-yet no one, I repeat, no one, has been able to see what has been put into that document as justification for hundreds and hundreds of refugees from a war torn country infested with terrorists being planted like seeds in our community.
Rutland City Treasurer, Wendy Wilton, shocks Rutland with a 35% tax increase prediction in 5 years if USCRI gets its way.
Indeed, USCRI (US Committee for Refugees and immigrants) AND VRRP (Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program) have treated the refugees like a commodity, at around $4,000 each, that will sustain their own taxpayer funded VOLAG (90% government funding), while adamantly refusing to release Rutland’s own application data, which we the people cannot even therefore verify as being accurate and appropriate as justification for the settlement of hundreds of needy individuals into an already impoverished region with a staggering welfare load and severe unemployment or under employment problem.
We, the people, constituted as RUTLAND FIRST, have been struggling on our own to do the research necessary to answer questions and develop information relative to this invasion of our community in the guise of “welcoming humanitarianism”. We have been battling for four months now against the “welcome wagon” which has literally shut its eyes to the costs, the security challenges, and the lack of quality jobs in our region, while at the same time labeling us as racists, islamophobes, or any other vile descriptive adjective in their lexicon of “Global Worldspeak” that they can conjure up, including un-American. This, in spite of the fact that our group boasts several retired and active service personnel who have fought for their country, professional leaders in the community, and active government personnel in both elective and appointed office in our community.
So, yesterday, August 29th, RUTLAND FIRST conducted a forum to attempt to inform our local legislators, state senators, candidates for higher office, and also the general public. Attended by well over a hundred people, the dynamic presentation was riveting in its focus on facts. That alone put it in great contrast to the so called forums presented by the Mayor and the settlement agencies, which characteristically were devoid of anything but emotional statements of support. Today the Rutland Herald had not one word on the dramatic presentation—but managed yet another full column welcoming editorial.
Rutland City Treasurer, Wendy Wilton presented some pretty startling financial impact data, including the most shocking prediction based on present and future costs associated with these programs. When she told the crowd there that based on her calculations, within five years City property taxpayers would be facing an increase of 35%, there were visible signs of multiple jaw dropping in the audience. With a steadily declining population base in the City, the remaining property taxpayers have been facing the high tax burden with no signs of a break and an ever increasing unmet Pension Benefit obligation. Recent comparative studies done by the city have shown that based on its population the number of city employees far exceeds other cities in Vermont. The very dramatic decrease in population has not, however, been met with anywhere near such a proportional drop in personnel.
Gary Shattuck, a local lawyer and a former prosecutor and investigator who worked for the US Department of Justice in Kosovo and Iraq as a legal advisor, presented a pretty bleak picture of any prospect that Syrian Refugees could be properly vetted, citing many qualified opinions by high level US officials specifically stating that there is no empirical data base left in Syria with which to compare any biometric, historical, or verifiable sociometric information. In other words, no matter what name they give the fact checkers, there is no data left in Syria to even check that name, let alone relatives, friends, operatives, or terrorists who may or may not have been associated with the applicant. Shattuck spent substantial time and expertise setting up a system for vetting Iraq’s 850 judges and prosecutors following the breakdown of order in that country to determine if they were, in fact, friend or foe.
David O’Brien, former VT Public Service Commissioner former director of the Rutland Economic Development Corporation (REDC) and presently a consultant in the Energy industry, presented some economic data relevant to the job prospects for refugees, and it was not a pretty picture. Dave cited the dramatic loss of manufacturing jobs in the entire Rutland Region and the tremendous shift from quality long term employment to a model featuring under-employment and service oriented jobs exclusively.
There were letters at the event to be signed by citizens and presented to the State Department, and a local attorney, Judy Barone, Esq. and Don Chioffi, as Rutland First committee members, presented a stinging letter*** to the local and state legislators demanding that they get answers to all the questions posed at the forum. Those present left with plenty of finally answered questions and the clear impression, if not a mandate, that this program should be stopped right now, in its tracks, until and as when the cloak of secrecy is removed and Rutland’s ability to assimilate hundreds of refugees is fully justified.
RUTLAND FIRST—-is—-RUTLAND STRONG!
For those of you in ‘pockets of resistance,’ Rutland citizens’ work should serve as a model for you to use to craft strategies where you live. If you have questions, you can reach Mr. Chioffi at this e-mail address: donsreelsports@comcast.net
***Here is the letter sent today to local and state lawmakers demanding they get answers and express their opposition to a plan created in secrecy! Your local and state elected officials may be telling you they can’t stop the federal government and its NGO contractor, but they sure can add their voices in demanding their constituents be given all the facts and that the federal government follows the law!
Mr. Don Chioffi of Rutland Town has worked with me to compose this letter and address you as our State Legislators, understanding your responsibility for representing the people of Rutland City and surrounding communities on matters affecting State Government.
We herein seek your attention and ask for your help to ensure that the Application for Resettlement of Refugees in Rutland is opposed by the State of Vermont for the reason that the Application is flawed.
Mayor Louras’ ‘letter of support’ submitted with the Application was without legal authority from the Rutland Board of Alderman, the governing entity. The Mayor misrepresented himself as having authority to act for the City as the City’s governing entity when nothing was further from the truth. The planning, information about Rutland and ‘letter of support’ signed by the Mayor alone, was done behind the backs of the City’s governing entity (the Board of Aldermen), secretively. The Mayor was not authorized to provide his ‘letter of support’ misrepresenting that the ‘City’ had a cooperative relationship with the Resettlement applicants, which relationship did not exist.
It is important that each of you act quickly on your oath to uphold the law and insure the Mayor’s unauthorized misrepresentations are not relied upon by the State due to lack of your complaint.
A collaborative effort between federal, state and local authorities is required for successful refugee resettlement and the governing entity’s cooperation is required to insure ongoing support. It is the responsibility of the Vermont Agency of Human Services (AHS) (Ms. Lamoureux), to ensure coordination of public and private resources in refugee resettlement in the State of Vermont. (See; U.S. Code, Title 8 and State Plan forVermont Refugee Resettlement, AHS Refugee Office, AHS Refugee Office, AUGUST 12, 2017). You may not be aware, but access to Ms. Lamoureax has not been possible on this issue and it needs to be made clear that the State of Vermont will not support the flawed application, and the secretive process under which it was orchestrated, planned and submitted.
We ask that each of you make clear to the Governor and Ms. Lamoureax and the State’s Agency of Human Services (AHS) AND our U.S. Senators that no resettlement can or should be approved for Rutland on the pending flawed Application being there is no support or cooperation of the Rutland City’s governing entity. The Board of Aldermen has been denied information it has sought including a copy of the FULL Application to examine and vet the facts represented about Rutland (apparently provided by some people in Dorset Vermont) upon which the Application will be judged.
Failing your intervention under the power of your offices, the Application, as flawed as it is, could be funded anytime in September even where it fundamentally fails to meet the requirements of Federal law and the Vermont Plan for Refugee Resettlement. Your surveillance and intervention is urgent and important to assure nothing is funded and the State is not called upon if the Application has not met the required standards in the law.
Failure on your part to intervene could well be interpreted as your support for the flawed Application and the secretive process that has left Rutland City and the City’s government in disorder and confusion. There is division, fear and mistrust in the City’s government and in our community concerning how government has acted.
Should you have information different than we herein represent, we ask that each of you please contact me or Don Chioffi and explain. On behalf of the people we write soliciting each of you to help us protect our government under the rule of law and afford the cities in our state the process instrumental to good governance .
Kindly copy me with any correspondence you have with AHS and the Governor, U.S. Senators, and others on this request made of you.
Thank you for your anticipated quick attention to this matter as it is urgent before the Application is decided on facts not vetted for accuracy about Rutland. If you can obtain the full Application, we ask that you send that to us, too.
We anxiously await your work, your questions and your replies.
Consider this Part II of my previous postbecause here we learn that Hamdi Ulukaya (Chobani Yogurt empire) was busy earlier this year talking with Bill Clinton at the Clinton Global Initiative about the joys of hiring (Muslims in the case of the Syrians) over American workers.
This idea of rebuilding Detroit with thousands of Syrians isn’t new, remember the Republican governor of Michigan was spouting that same idea here in May of last year. The Clinton Global Initiativevideois from February of this year, so I wonder if Clinton stole the cockamamie idea from Snyder? (I guess I will have to watch the thing!).
In a previously little-noticed video from February at the Clinton Global Initiative, former President Bill Clinton suggested that the U.S. use Syrian refugees to rebuild Detroit.
“The truth is that the big loser in this over the long run is going to be Syria. This is an enormous opportunity for Americans,” Bill Clinton said about the Syrian migrant crisis.
It is unclear from the video why Clinton seems to think it would be better to fill these Detroit jobs with imported foreign migrants rather than unemployed Americans already living there, who could perhaps benefit from good-paying jobs.
In the video, Clinton discusses the migrant crisis with billionaire and mass migration enthusiast Hamdi Ulukaya of the Chobani yogurt empire.
Ulukaya has become a figure of controversy for his decision to fill his yogurt plants with foreign refugees rather than unemployed Americans. At the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier this year, Ulukaya encouraged other global elites to follow his lead.
The unearthed video seems to underscore Donald Trump’s recent declaration that, “Hillary Clinton would rather provide a job to a refugee from overseas than to give that job to unemployed African-American youth in cities like Detroit who have become refugees in their own country.”
Continue reading to hear more about Bill, Hillary, Ulukaya, Twin Falls, Idaho and crony capitalism by clicking here. (Don’t you ever wonder if the Syrians know they are being used as pawns?)
BTW, expect to see more of Mr. Chobani (with other corporate big wigs) and the Clintons at Obama’s big UN refugee shindig on September 20th!
They are, in short, needed for labor for multinational corporations and as we have been saying ad nauseum for years the US Refugee Admissions Program serves as an important piece of a business model that allows big corporate honchos to wear the white hat of humanitarianism while taking advantage of labor that can’t easily afford to quit and walk away from the meager wages. You, the US taxpayer, subsidize those wages with welfare payments to try to keep families afloat as the companies get various government tax incentives to assure their business plan is lucrative for them. World’s largest yogurt plant in Twin Falls, Idaho. Local politicians are responsible for bringing Chobani to Idaho. Beware! Large food processing=refugee resettlement not far behind. Here is another in a series of investigative pieces (I missed this last week) from Lee Stranahan writing at Breitbart. For background see some of our earlier posts on Twin Falls and Chobani by clicking here.
TWIN FALLS, IDAHO – Hamdi Ulukaya, the Turkish-born billionaire best known for having founded the United States’ largest greek yogurt company, Chobani, has ties to both Bill and Hillary Clinton, the Clinton Global Initiative, Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, and a host of other globalist corporatist figures including Warren Buffet.Chobani’s factory in Twin Falls – the world’s largest yogurt factory – has been at the center of Breitbart News’ investigative series into the small town’s refugee resettlement program.
According to CNN Money: starting in 2008, Chobani began to hire refugees to work in its upstate New York plant – and listening to Ulukaya speak at events like the Clinton Global Initiative and Davos, one can tell that the issue closest to his heart is refugee resettlement.
The Chobani billionaire’s many speeches and soliloquies on the issue of refugees combined with his extensive political connections may explain why establishment politicians, both Republican and Democrat, have swooned over Ulukaya, positively giddy to form “business / government partnerships” with him and to support his position on refugees.
That is a tease, continue here, to learn about Chobani, Clinton, and cronyism! There is some great information in here which may help you understand the strategy known as corporatism where you live!
And, get that idea out of your head that resettling third worlders in your towns and cities is all about saving the downtrodden. It’s not! It is about money.
I wonder do they tell refugees before they get on the plane that they are headed to dirty and dangerous work for a wage that cannot support a family?
For new readers, go here, for many many posts about Twin Falls which is turning into the poster city for what can go wrong when your town ‘welcomes the stranger.’
They still have a month to reach the end of Fiscal Year 2016 refugee admissions and they will likely bring in at least another 1,000 Syrian (mostly Sunni Muslims) for your towns and cities.
Here is ABC’s take on the news we reported the other day when we linked a World Net Daily story in our post about the Rally4Refugees event that fizzled and flopped in Washington, DC on Sunday.
Ambassador Alice Wells says bye! bye! to Syrian families headed to the American heartland. Note the Obama T-shirt on the bulletin board in the background. And, you should know that IOM, another federal refugee contractor, has recently been absorbed into the United Nations.
I had to laugh when I saw how ABC news characterizes Church World Service (a federal resettlement contractor) as working closely with the US government. I guess if you are a paid contractor for the government that is working closely, but it shows me that the mainstream media has really no clue about how PERMANENT*** resettlement works in America.
Check out that photo of our Ambassador to Jordan (above) and the little PR stunt as she sends off these latest Syrians to your town (see the bulletin board behind her). And, for those who have forgotten it was Ambassador Wells last spring who reported that the normal 18-24 months of supposed security screening had been reduced to 3 months to make Obama’s 10,000 goal. So every time you hear an elected official parroting the lie that the screening is 18-24 months tell them they are misinformed.
Here are Syrian numbers that the Refugee Processing Center reports as of August 29th (for fiscal year 2016 that began on October 1, 2015):
Total Syrians admitted: 10,177 (again in this fiscal year)
Suni Moslems: 9,988
Shiite Moslems: 20
Moslems: 90
Total of all Moslems (their spelling btw) admitted: 10,098
Percentage of Syrian Muslims admitted to the US by the Obama Administration this year: 99%
They are being resettled in the US (with money appropriated by the Republican Congress) by Catholic Charities, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, Church World Service representing many mainstream Protestant faiths, Episcopal Migration Ministries, and World Relief which are Evangelicals. Does not one of those (GUTLESS!) so-called ‘religious’ charities ever say—WHAT ABOUT THE PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS!
***You know there are still some uninformed people, some in the media too, who think that we bring Iraqis, Syrians, Somalis etc. here on a temporary basis and that they are then sent home after their countries calm down—that is not true. Refugees admitted in this program are here forever and are actually encouraged to make their status permanent as soon as they can. (The Dems need the voters! And, the Republicans want the cheap labor!).
