Michelle Malkin
No Shady Banking Buddy
Left Behind
First Lady Michelle Obama's latest
overseas jaunt is getting all the headlines. But President Obama's
money-grubbing junket to Chicago may cost taxpayers far more in the long run.
With his Gaultier-clad wife sashaying around the Spanish seaside, the lonely
fundraiser-in-chief returned to Illinois to take care of some birthday-week
business. Job One: Filling the Senate campaign coffers of his
corruption-tainted political protege Alexi Giannoulias.
Mission accomplished. Obama's Thursday
afternoon campaign event for Giannoulias, the beleaguered state treasurer of
Illinois, reportedly raked in $1 million. Lagging behind his GOP opponent,
liberal Republican Rep. Mark Kirk, Giannoulias has coveted one-on-one,
grip-and-grin time with Obama for months. In addition to the cash, photo-ops
and video of the Obama fundraising event that Giannoulias will milk from now
until Election Day, the White House has dispatched Vice President Joe Biden,
White House senior adviser David Axelrod and White House campaign management
guru David Plouffe to boost Giannoulias' bid. Plouffe proclaimed Democrats
"all in" for Giannoulias, whom he described as "a great
progressive champion."
Obama gave his own personal seal of
ethical approval, telling deep-pocketed donors this week: "I appreciate
his strong sense of advocacy for ordinary Americans. You can trust him -- you
can count on him." Uh-huh. And I've got a bridge to Hope and Change to
sell you.
What would Giannoulias know about
"ordinary Americans"? Giannoulias, 34, befriended Obama during pickup
basketball games with an elite group that also included Michelle Obama's
brother, Craig; Chicago edu-crat Arne Duncan (now Education Secretary); and
hedge fund manager John Rogers (the ex-husband of the Obamas' ex-White House
social secretary, Desiree Rogers). He spread his wealth and influence around
early and often to support Obama's fledgling political career. He pitched in
$7,000 in 2003-2004 to Obama's Illinois State Senate bids. He hosted
fundraisers for Obama's U.S. Senate campaign in 2004 and for his presidential
campaign in 2007.
Where'd the cash come from?
Giannoulias' Greek immigrant family founded Chicago-based Broadway Bank, a
now-defunct financial institution that loaned tens of millions of dollars to
convicted mafia felons and faced bankruptcy after decades of engaging in risky,
high-flying behavior. It's the place where Obama parked his 2004 U.S. Senate
campaign funds. And it's the same place where a mutual friend of Obama and
Giannoulias -- convicted Obama fundraiser/slum lord Tony Rezko -- used to
bounce nearly $500,000 in bad checks written to Las Vegas casinos. This week,
the Chicago Sun-Times revealed an additional $22.75 million Broadway Bank loan
to a Rezko-owned business in 2006. Giannoulias held an ownership stake in the
bank at the time.
Giannoulias served as Broadway Bank
vice president and senior loan officer for four years. According to the Chicago
Tribune, during Giannoulias' tenure, some $27 million of Broadway Bank's funny
money went to mob crooks Michael "Jaws" Giorango and Demitri
Stavropoulos. Giorango is a hustler who fronted a nationwide prostitution ring
and was sentenced to six months in prison; Stavropoulos is behind bars for
operating a multistate bookmaking ring. Giorango ran the $400-an-hour call girl
operation out of high-rise luxury apartments in Chicago with the infamous
"Gold Coast Madam," Rose Laws. Giorango and Stavropoulos used their
Broadway Bank loans to start their own risky lending business for
nontraditional borrowers unable to secure traditional bank financing.
Despite Giorango's criminal record
exposed by the Tribune in 2004, Broadway Bank approved massive mortgages for
him. Giannoulias' brother, Demetris, explained that as a "relationship bank,"
Broadway wouldn't just throw someone under the bus because of a "bad
article." Instead, the bank went ahead and rubber-stamped a September 2005
loan for $3.4 million to buy a 32-unit Los Angeles apartment complex. The
application falsely stated that the borrower, Giorango, had "not been
convicted of a felony." Giannoulias oversaw the servicing of such shady
loans totaling $11 million. Remember: He was no low-level staffer. He was, as
he reminded supporters when he needed to deflect attention away from his youth,
top management at Broadway Bank.
In January 2010, the bank entered a
consent decree with federal and Illinois state regulators. It required Broadway
Bank "to raise tens of millions in capital, stop paying dividends to the
family without regulatory approval, and hire an outside party to evaluate the
bank's senior management." The city's former inspector general blasted
Giannoulias and his family for tapping $70 million worth of dividends in 2007
and 2008 as the real estate crash loomed. Broadway Bank was sitting on an
estimated $250 million in bad loans. In late April, federal regulators shut it
down. Cost to taxpayers: an estimated $390 million. Giannoulias refused to drop
out of the race -- and instead used the company failure to argue that it made
him (SET ITAL) more (END ITAL) qualified to serve in office: "I have a
renewed vigor and a new perspective on just how horrible it is out there for so
many people."
President Obama agrees: Abysmal failure
should be rewarded with promotion. He's leaving no shady banking buddy behind.
*
Obamanomics:
How Barack Obama Is Bankrupting You and Enriching His Wall Street Friends,
Corporate Lobbyists, and Union Bosses
BY TIMOTHY P
CARNEY
Editorial Reviews
Obama Is Making
You Poorer—But Who’s Getting Rich?
Goldman
Sachs, GE, Pfizer, the United Auto Workers—the same “special interests” Barack
Obama was supposed to chase from the temple—are profiting handsomely from
Obama’s Big Government policies that crush taxpayers, small businesses, and
consumers. In Obamanomics, investigative reporter Timothy P. Carney digs
up the dirt the mainstream media ignores and the White House wishes you
wouldn’t see. Rather than Hope and Change, Obama is delivering corporate
socialism to America, all while claiming he’s battling corporate America. It’s
corporate welfare and regulatory robbery—it’s Obamanomics.
Congressman
Ron Paul says, “Every libertarian and free-market conservative needs to read Obamanomics.”
And Johan Goldberg, columnist and bestselling author says, “Obamanomics
is conservative muckraking at its best and an indispensable field guide to the
Obama years.”
If
you’ve wondered what’s happening to America, as the federal government swallows
up the financial sector, the auto industry, and healthcare, and enacts deficit
exploding “stimulus packages,” this book makes it all clear—it’s a big scam.
Ultimately, Obamanomics boils down to this: every time government gets bigger,
somebody’s getting rich, and those somebodies are friends of Barack. This book
names the names—and it will make your blood boil.
*
Obama Is Making You Poorer—But Who’s Getting Rich?
Goldman
Sachs, GE, Pfizer, the United Auto Workers—the same “special interests” Barack
Obama was supposed to chase from the temple—are profiting handsomely from
Obama’s Big Government policies that crush taxpayers, small businesses, and
consumers.
Investigative
reporter Timothy P. Carney digs up the dirt the mainstream media ignores and
the White House wishes you wouldn’t see. Rather than Hope and Change, Obama is
delivering corporate socialism to America, all while claiming he’s battling
corporate America. It’s corporate welfare and regulatory robbery—it’s
Obamanomics. In this explosive book, Carney reveals:
* The
Great Health Care Scam—Obama’s backroom deals with drug companies spell
corporate profits and more government control
* The Global Warming Hoax—Obama has bought off industries with a pork-filled bill that will drain your wallet for Al Gore’s agenda
* Obama and Wall Street—“Change” means more bailouts and a heavy Goldman Sachs presence in the West Wing (including Rahm Emanuel)
* Stimulating K Street—The largest spending bill in history gave pork to the well-connected and created a feeding frenzy for lobbyists
* How the GOP needs to change its tune—drastically—to battle Obamanomics
* The Global Warming Hoax—Obama has bought off industries with a pork-filled bill that will drain your wallet for Al Gore’s agenda
* Obama and Wall Street—“Change” means more bailouts and a heavy Goldman Sachs presence in the West Wing (including Rahm Emanuel)
* Stimulating K Street—The largest spending bill in history gave pork to the well-connected and created a feeding frenzy for lobbyists
* How the GOP needs to change its tune—drastically—to battle Obamanomics
If
you’ve wondered what’s happening to our country, as the federal government
swallows up the financial sector, the auto industry, and healthcare, and enacts
deficit exploding “stimulus packages” that create make-work government jobs,
this book makes it all clear—it’s a big scam. Ultimately, Obamanomics boils
down to this: every time government gets bigger, somebody’s getting rich, and
those somebodies are friends of Barack. This book names the names—and it will
make your blood boil.
*
Praise for Obamanomics
Praise for Obamanomics
“The
notion that ‘big business’ is on the side of the free market is one of
progressivism’s most valuable myths. It allows them to demonize corporations by
day and get in bed with them by night. Obamanomics is conservative
muckraking at its best. It reveals how President Obama is exploiting the big
business mythology to undermine the free market and stick it to entrepreneurs,
taxpayers, and consumers. It’s an indispensable field guide to the Obama
years.”
—Jonha Goldberg, LA Times columnist and best-selling author
—Jonha Goldberg, LA Times columnist and best-selling author
“‘Every
time government gets bigger, somebody’s getting rich.’ With this astute
observation, Tim Carney begins his task of laying bare the Obama
administration’s corporatist governing strategy, hidden behind the president’s
populist veneer. This meticulously researched book is a must-read for anyone
who wants to understand how Washington really works.”
—David Freddoso, best-selling author of The Case Against Barack Obama
—David Freddoso, best-selling author of The Case Against Barack Obama
“Every
libertarian and free-market conservative who still believes that large
corporations are trusted allies in the battle for economic liberty needs to
read this book, as does every well-meaning liberal who believes that expansions
of the welfare-regulatory state are done to benefit the common people.”
—Congressman Ron Paul
—Congressman Ron Paul
“It’s
understandable for critics to condemn President Obama for his ‘socialism.’ But
as Tim Carney shows, the real situation is at once more subtle and more
sinister. Obamanomics favors big business while disproportionately punishing
everyone else. So-called progressives are too clueless to notice, as usual,
which is why we have Tim Carney and this book.”
—Thomas E. Woods, Jr., best-selling author of Meltdown and The Politically Incorrect Guide™ to American History
—Thomas E. Woods, Jr., best-selling author of Meltdown and The Politically Incorrect Guide™ to American History
*
·
Hardcover: 256 pages
·
Publisher: Regnery Press (November 30,
2009)
·
Language: English
·
ISBN-10: 1596986123
·
ISBN-13: 978-1596986121
*
ARE AMAZED AT HOW UTTERLY BRAZEN THESE CORPORATE OWNED
POLITICIANS ARE?
GET THIS BOOK!
Culture of Corruption: Obama and His Team of Tax Cheats,
Crooks, and Cronies
by Michelle Malkin
Editorial Reviews
In her shocking new book, Malkin digs deep into the records
of President Obama's staff, revealing corrupt dealings, questionable pasts, and
abuses of power throughout his administration.
From the Inside Flap
The era of hope and change is dead....and it only took six
months in office to kill it.
Never has an administration taken office with more inflated
expectations of turning Washington around. Never have a media-anointed American
Idol and his entourage fallen so fast and hard. In her latest investigative
tour de force, New York Times bestselling author Michelle Malkin delivers a
powerful, damning, and comprehensive indictment of the culture of corruption
that surrounds Team Obama's brazen tax evaders, Wall Street cronies, petty
crooks, slum lords, and business-as-usual influence peddlers. In Culture of
Corruption, Malkin reveals:
* Why nepotism beneficiaries First Lady Michelle Obama and
Vice President Joe Biden are Team Obama's biggest liberal hypocrites--bashing
the corporate world and influence-peddling industries from which they and their
relatives have benefited mightily
* What secrets the ethics-deficient members of Obama's
cabinet--including Hillary Clinton--are trying to hide
* Why the Obama White House has more power-hungry,
unaccountable "czars" than any other administration
* How Team Obama's first one hundred days of appointments
became a litany of embarrassments as would-be appointee after would-be
appointee was exposed as a tax cheat or had to withdraw for other reasons
* How Obama's old ACORN and union cronies have squandered
millions of taxpayer dollars and dues money to enrich themselves and expand
their power
* How Obama's Wall Street money men and corporate lobbyists
are ruining the economy and helping their friends In Culture of Corruption,
Michelle Malkin lays bare the Obama administration's seamy underside that the
liberal media would rather keep hidden.
• Publisher:
Regnery Publishing (July 27, 2009)
• Language:
English
• ISBN-10:
1596981091
• ISBN-13:
978-1596981096
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