Breaking News
On the Money Trail
Is ACORN engaged in a massive money laundering scheme?
Is ACORN engaged in a massive money laundering scheme?
Although evidence abounds that the radical left-wing advocacy group-cum-organized crime syndicate is recycling funds mafia-style, government investigators and the media have paid scant attention to ACORN’s money trail.
Red flags that appear to signal unlawful activities by ACORN are everywhere yet ACORN’s collaborators in the White House, Justice Department, and House Judiciary Committee, smugly ignore them.
If senior executives at a troubled publicly traded corporation were to provide completely different accounts of their company’s financial standing, how long would it be before federal investigators stormed their offices? If federal authorities failed to act, how long would it be before the media and the public began to accuse the powers that be of complicity in their wrongdoing?
We shall see.
I have just discovered that three senior ACORN officials have recently given wildly divergent accounts of the size of ACORN’s budget.
ACORN current CEO and chief organizer Bertha Lewis claimed in October that ACORN had an “average budget” between “$20 [million] and $25 million a year for everything, all of the offices combined.”
ACORN national president Maude Hurd reported in the ACORN entry of Erica Payne’s handbook for liberal activists, The Practical Progressive, that ACORN’s annual budget last year was $50 million.
That’s double the figure quoted by Lewis, yet even $50 million seems impossibly low given ACORN’s lucrative ongoing corporate shakedown rackets and other revenue sources. The four main ACORN affiliates alone — ACORN Housing Corp. Inc., Project Vote, American Institute for Social Justice Inc., and ACORN Institute Inc — took in a total of at least $106.9 million in donations from foundations and individuals from 1993 through 2008. And ACORN takes in untold millions every year in member dues from its 400,000 members — a figure that has crept up to 500,000 in Bertha Lewis’s recent public statements.
In “Understanding ACORN,” an essay published earlier this year, ACORN founder Wade Rathke said ACORN’s annual budget was north of $100 million. “Each year we raise and spend over $100 million, of which a significant part comes from dues and internal fundraising, but big chunks come from campaign support and labor and corporate partnerships,” he wrote.
So, is it $100 million, $50 million, or $25 million?
No one seems to know just how large the entire ACORN network’s budget is. One of the reasons is that housing and community development grants administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) are difficult to track.
ACORN has received at least $53 million in federal funds since 1993, much of it through HUD. HUD often distributes the money to states and localities, which then allot the funds to many different nonprofit groups. Getting a total financial picture would require enlisting an army of Freedom of Information Act requesters and forensic accountants.
Complicating the accounting further, ACORN Housing Corp. Inc., one of the ACORN network’s largest affiliate members and ACORN’s primary recipient of federal funding, throws money around like a drunken congressman trying to get reelected.
Taxpayer dollars go into the ACORN network through ACORN Housing and then they somehow disappear. Some of the money leaves ACORN Housing in the form of huge cash transfers to other affiliates within the ACORN network.
About the Author
Matthew Vadum is an award-winning investigative journalist at a conservative watchdog group in Washington, D.C. Vadum is also author of Subversion Inc: How Obama’s ACORN Red Shirts are Still Terrorizing and Ripping Off American Taxpayers.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (73) | Leave a comment
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Pingback| 12.1.09 @ 6:14AM
Twitter Trackbacks for The American Spectator : On the Money Trail [spectator.org] o links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
S.L. Toddard| 12.1.09 @ 7:34AM
mon⋅o⋅ma⋅ni⋅a
–noun
1. (no longer in technical use) a psychosis characterized by thoughts confined to one idea or group of ideas.
2. an inordinate or obsessive zeal for or interest in a single thing, idea, subject, or the like.
Doorgunner| 12.1.09 @ 8:27AM
"moby - An insidious and specialized type of left-wing troll who visits blogs and impersonates a conservative for the purpose of either spreading false rumors intended to sow dissension among conservative voters, or who purposely posts inflammatory and offensive comments for the purpose of discrediting the blog in question. The term is derived from the name of the liberal musician Moby, who famously suggested in February of 2004 that left-wing activists engage in this type of subterfuge."
Or an ACORN employee who portrays himself as an uber-isolationist-conservative.
Ran / Si Vis Pacem | 12.1.09 @ 8:59PM
DoorGunner... Exactly. In that, Toddard reminds one of Bob.
Melvin| 12.1.09 @ 7:46AM
To coin a favorite phrase from Cheech & Chong.
" Looks like dog squeeze, smells like dog squeeze, feels like dog squeeze, tastes like dog squeeze. Must be dog squeeze."
I have had better moments of literary brilliance. But the above seems to be about the only way that rational minds can describe the description of ACORN.
daddio| 12.1.09 @ 10:46AM
:)
Hello Trolls| 12.1.09 @ 8:03AM
To sum up S.L. Toadard:
A troll, most commonly encountered on the internet, is any person who purposely causes controversy in a web community and disrupts shit for his own amusement. Trolls have been refered to in the web community as, trollers, assholes, jerks, and scum of the earth douchebags. The term probably derives from "trolling" or "trawling", a style of fishing which involves trailing bait through a likely spot hoping for a bite. Troll is fine as a verb since trawling/trolling for comments and flames is innate troll behavior. Trolling is not to be confused with the gay slang verb "to troll", which means to trawl for anal sex, unless of course it's done by Perverted Justice.
John II| 12.1.09 @ 4:06PM
I like the original definition better: a supernatural creature of Scandinavian folklore variously portrayed as a friendly or mischievous dwarf, or sometimes a giant, that lives in caves, in the hills, or under bridges.
Is "Toddard" a Scandinavian name?
Jim O'Brien| 12.1.09 @ 8:05AM
Obama and Holder cite "the rule of law" as a reason for bringing the 9/11 terrorists to NYC for trial. But they are liars. The rule of law means nothing to them when it comes to their ACORN allies. The rule of law is not important enough to do something about millions of illegal immigrants who use our services but pay no taxes. To Obama and Holder, the opinion of the UN, the terrorist enemies of Israel, and international courts are more important than the U.S. Constitution.
Clyde3| 12.1.09 @ 8:18AM
Does anyone seriously think the Obama administration will allow the criminal organization ACRON to be investigated, much less held accountable, for breaking the law.
ACRON is part and parcel of Obama’s thug administration and criminal gang.
Clyde3| 12.1.09 @ 8:20AM
Opps! that should be ACORN
Tony in Central PA| 12.1.09 @ 9:28AM
Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the original TARP plan under Bush contain a Democrat proposal to provide $200 billion to ACORN ? That item has apparently gone down the national Memory Hole.
Now the people largely responsible for the credit collapse and the malignant growth of this rotten ACORN - - Dodd, Frank, et.al - - have been rewarded as is the custom in socialist systems. Ugh.
Pingback| 12.1.09 @ 9:32AM
On the Money Trail @ Fight for Glenn Beck links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
hunter| 12.1.09 @ 9:33AM
Acorn is Obomba. Obomba is Acorn. Period.
Pingback| 12.1.09 @ 9:47AM
The American Spectator : On the Money Trail | links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Charlie Gibson | 12.1.09 @ 10:42AM
ACORN??!!! What's ACORN?
Grzmlyk| 12.1.09 @ 10:45AM
Touche, "Charlie."
Right on the money.
Grzmlyk| 12.1.09 @ 10:44AM
When it comes to "monomania," Matthew Vadum is a piker compared to two relatively unknown journalists from the 1970s. Gosh, I'm trying to recall their names.
Oh yes. Woodward and Bernstein.
I believe their "monomania" produced something called "Watergate," which, if I recall correctly, eventually forced the president of the United States to resign.
And in fact, Nixon's crimes were paltry compared to what is already known about ACORN. I'm sure the white house plumbers employed by CREEP (no, Toddard, that's not you - it was the Committee to Reelect the President) were rank amateurs when contrasted with the Chicago Mafia's hired goons.
And yet, no doubt for the criminal Toddard, the obsessive Watergate reportage was just an example of "good reporting." No monomania there.
And so it goes with liberals, frauds, posers, cretins and other forms of sub-humanity.
Margie| 12.1.09 @ 11:27AM
As if a "conservative" (as Toddard calls himself) would be saying "Ho-hum" to this reportage!
~But moving right along.. since we know that the whole banana is thoroughly criminal, and obviously Eric (knows to always hold 'em) Holder is part of it, what can be done is the question?
Since they ignore marches on the Capitol, ignore the people who they were elected to SERVE, (odd word, isn't it?) What can be done?
I truly don't see that anything can be done until we vote them all out of office, and THEN (IF the entire election process is not rigged), and we elect a President who has the guts to do it. PROSECUTE and IMPRISON them all!
While reading this article, it brought to mind the "Big Business" guys like for example the Enron guy who committed suicide because he feared what was coming down the pike.
What we need is for these criminals to have that SAME type of fear.
But unless the country unites behind a Republican candidate. guess what? Obama II and more of the same.
Am I right or what?
RAMIII| 12.1.09 @ 4:25PM
Always remember -- they used ACORN effectively to "cheat" their way into office (e.g. Al Franken vs. Norm Coleman) especially when entering a third party candidate. They do NOT fear the American Voter. This is why they act the way they do.
Whenever someone exhibits "invincibility behavior" they either live in a fantasy world or they have created a racket to protect themselves from negative consequences. However the Judge of the Earth will hold them to account for their corruption even if we fail to throw them out of office next election cycle.
God bless.
Margie| 12.1.09 @ 4:51PM
Thank you for those reminders, especially the last one. :^)
Robert| 12.2.09 @ 10:11PM
As a republican I can assure you that I will never vote for a republican president again. After they gave us the democrat mccain I decided to never support them again. 3rd party or no party for me.
Pingback| 12.1.09 @ 10:49AM
Capital Research Center: links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
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ACORN: A Money Laundering Scheme? « Blog Entry « Dr. Melissa Clouthier links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
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ACORN: A Money Laundering Scheme? | Right Wing News links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
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Money Anecdotes – The American Spectator : On the Money Trail links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
tj| 12.1.09 @ 11:47AM
Where's Elliot Ness when you need him!!!
Lord let me make it to 2010/2012 elections.
Yosemeti Sam| 12.1.09 @ 11:49AM
" ... Attorney General Eric Holder's Justice Department released a legal opinion last week that allows the Obama administration to ignore the will of Congress, which has voted overwhelmingly to suspend federal funding of ACORN until at least Dec. 18. Holder has also ignored the 88-page report on ACORN's systemic corruption and flagrant racketeering activities that was issued this summer by Republican investigators on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee...."
LOL.
What we've got here in BHOs' AG - is
chump change.
austin| 12.1.09 @ 2:09PM
thats awesome man
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Oldefarte| 12.1.09 @ 2:34PM
OMG, Matthew, your thoroughly researched information on Acorn truly makes me sick at my stomach. To think that for my 30+ years of extremely difficult worklife was spent in paying taxes to our government which has historically be financing organizations such as this makes me want to reguritate. A government entity providing public assistance is desirable and noteworthy; but one involved in using taxpayers' hard earned money for partisaned political purposes is dispicable and corrupt. Any and all government officials having a condescending and knowledgable hand in Acorn's illegal operations whould be fired, arrested, tried, convicted and sentenced to long term jail terms!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
jack| 12.1.09 @ 2:53PM
ACORN is no different from the Democrat looting of Fannie and Freddie for personal and political riches. Not a single person has gone to prison for the crimes at Fannie and Freddie cause all were Democrats. Look for the same with ACORN. As long as the Reps remain silent on Fannie,Freddie and ACORN we can only assume they have similiar scams going on
Tom| 12.1.09 @ 4:37PM
ACORN needs a little RICO
John II| 12.1.09 @ 5:37PM
Confucius say, "From small acorn large oak grow."
Okay, he never said that, but he said stuff just like that. I wanted to get Lib Reader's goat if he's bothering with this particularly discomfiting series of postings--a lib nightmare in the making.
In fact, the saying is an old Roman saw of unknown authorship: Parvis e glandibus quercus.
But Mr. Vadum inspires a revision: Parvis e glandibus exitium Obamanationis.
Ten points of extra credit to anyone who translates it correctly. And now back to my preparation of Latin finals.
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philfl63| 12.1.09 @ 9:41PM
Until we get over this insane phobia over being called RAAAACIST, no one will take on ACORN because it is another corrupt "program" run for the benefit of colored people and their DemocRAT conspirators.
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Ed Schill| 12.2.09 @ 1:26AM
It seems you are all about 15 years late to play a part in stopping "american transformation". While you were pondering the (m)oral gravity of Bill Clintons sexual proclivities the wheels of transformation were silently rolling along. Your delicate sensibilities and sanctimonious moral compass led you too far astray to notice your tax dollars padding the lifestyle of the likes of bertha "buy me" lewis and wade "I would sell my little brother to john wayne Gacy" ratke. When you compromised your freedoms for some comforts or assuaged the guilt you adopted by falling for fabricated social injustice. While you accused the slightest hint of radical, forward leaning thinking as conspiracy banter and fanaticism transformation had begun.
It's time you start crawling into your fallout shelters or heading out to buy a few pounds of precious metal and don't forget to stock up on canned goods. If your scared don't be, it's already too late.
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