EZ READING MONEY MATTERS: 3 Rip-Off Amigos In Florida Steal $800 Million

March 27, 2008

Elaine Meinel Supkis

Yet another strange story about arms dealers, this time, who were young Jewish men under the age of 21 who were selected by the Pentagon to supply ammo for Afghanistan. Seems they went into the murky world of Albanian and other arms dealers in order to buy out of date, dangerous ammo. The Pentagon then paid huge price hikes on this ammo which had to be destroyed. The NYT has covered this story today and it is making very tiny waves in the media. The rapine of the American taxpayer by traitors continues, of course. We aren't supposed to talk about this, of course. But this is what is bankrupting us? We don't make ammo anymore? What the hell?

22-year old awarded $300m Pentagon contract, according to report

The Pentagon entrusted a 22-year old previously arrested for domestic violence and having a forged driving licence to be the main supplier of ammunition to Afghan forces at the height of the battle against a resurgent Taliban, it was reported today.

AEY, essentially a one-man operation based in an unmarked office in Miami Beach, was awarded a contract worth $300m to supply the Afghan army and police in January last year.

But as the New York Times reported in a lengthy investigation, AEY's president, Efraim Diversoli, 22, supplied stock that was 40 years old and rotting packing material.

"Much of the ammunition comes from the aging stockpiles of the old Communist bloc, including stockpiles that the state department and Nato have determined to be unreliable and obsolete, and have spent millions of dollars to have destroyed," the paper said.

I do hope these three young traitors and the dad who sponsored them are arrested. The looting of the US taxpayer has gotten entirely out of control. On top of this, the fact is, we are bankrolling the world's most inept and expensive military on earth. And we used to not only be a manufacturing giant, we supplied most of the ammo during WWII as well as the Vietnam war. So why do we have to hire middle men or in this case, middle juvenile delinquents in order to supply ammo? What on earth has happened to the military/industrial complex? IS IT GONE????

House panel to examine Afghan arms contract

The army suspended AEY from future contracts during the course of the investigation - although it continues to fill existing orders. The Times said Diversoli was unaware of the action although he was to be formally notified yesterday.

Until then, however, Diversoli appears to have had a good run. He told the Times his firm had won contracts worth $200m each year since 2004. AEY also supplied weapons and ballistic vets to US government agencies, as well as rifles to Iraqi forces.

$800+ million???? To these infants? And he thinks this is funny? The US has turned itself over to not only offshore pirates who then are being rescued by us after they sink our economic banking system, we also are supplying funny money to a bunch of rapacious arms dealers??? Arrest everyone involved in this!

How DARE the Pentagon destroy our own arms markets by offshoring our military purchases! How DARE they outsource our arms in this fashion! How DARE anyone in Congress allow contractors to loot the public purse in this outrageous fashion! How DARE they!

My fury over this is for obvious reasons: the right wing neo cons, many of whom are supporters of Likud, have assured us that we would save money and be richer if only we outsource much of our military procurement and even the troops. Under cover of this program, a looting expedition has been mounted by all and sundry. In this case, it is totally insane and outrageous. But across the board, it is the SAME! ALL of the corporations and entities and people involved in looting the taxpayers has used wars in the Middle East as cover for enriching themselves at our expense. And boy, is it ever expensive!

Now, nearing a trillion dollars a year! The neo cons keep pointing to Social Security as the place where we will get into financial trouble. But that keeps Americans safe and alive! The military spending, on the other hand, is totally destructive. Our inept military can't win battles nor wars. They are spread across the earth as targets and aimlessly mill around until they are blown up. Meanwhile, the suppliers think this is an excellent opportunity to rip us off and hand off defective goods that kill our soldiers. How many soldiers died because of this trio of traitors, for example?

My Space page for this craven young pirate:

The details in this story are infuriating. The kid was probably told, 'You can make lots of money cheating America. Have fun.' What sort of father would say that to his child? As the US can't raise troops for these useless wars, these traitors protect their own children and then loot us! Arrest them.

All My Sons: Crook Sells defective Arms To Afghan Anti-Terror Forces Under Bush's Auspices

Michael Diveroli, Efraim’s father, had incorporated the company in 1999, when Efraim was 13. For several years, a period when the company appeared to have limited activity, Michael Diveroli, who now operates a police supply company down the street from AEY’s office, was listed as the company’s sole executive.

In 2004, AEY listed Efraim Diveroli, then 18, as an officer with a 1 percent ownership stake.

The younger Diveroli’s munitions experience appeared to be limited to a short-lived job in Los Angeles for Botach Tactical, a military and police supply company owned by his uncle, Bar-Kochba Botach.

Mr. Diveroli cut off an interview when asked about Botach Tactical. Mr. Botach, reached by telephone, said that both Michael and Efraim Diveroli had briefly worked for him, but that after seeing the rush of federal contracts available after the wars began, they had struck out on their own.

“They just left me and took my customer base with them,” he said. “They basically said: ‘Why should we work for Botach? Let’s do it on our own.’ ”

As Efraim Diveroli arrived in Miami Beach, AEY was transforming itself by aggressively seeking security-related contracts.

It won a $126,000 award for ammunition for the Special Forces; AEY also provided ammunition or equipment in 2004 to the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Transportation Security Administration and the State Department.

By 2005, when Mr. Diveroli became AEY’s president at age 19, the company was bidding across a spectrum of government agencies and providing paramilitary equipment — weapons, helmets, ballistic vests, bomb suits, batteries and chargers for X-ray machines — for American aid to Pakistan, Bolivia and elsewhere.

YOU CAN BET, POLITICIANS WERE BRIBED! And the connections that gained these fraudulent contracts were paved by many 'contributions' to the appropriate people. The complex of relations involved probably are very deep and should be pursued. Who introduced whom? Is AIPAC involved? How about anyone in the Israeli government? No ordinary person can go into international arms trade without letters of introduction or Mafioso-type connections. And within the Jewish community, there is a lot of this. In spades. Ask Mossad.

The international arms business operates partly in the light and partly in shadows, and is littered with short-lived shell companies, middlemen and official corruption. Governments have tried to regulate it more closely for years, with limited success.

As Mr. Diveroli began to fill the Army’s huge orders, he was entering a shadowy world, and in his brief interview he suggested that he was aware that corruption could intrude on his dealings in Albania. “What goes on in the Albanian Ministry of Defense?” he said. “Who’s clean? Who’s dirty? Don’t want to know about it.”

The way AEY’s business was structured, Mr. Diveroli, at least officially, did not deal directly with Albanian officials. Instead, a middleman company registered in Cyprus, Evdin Ltd., bought the ammunition and sold it to his company.

The local packager involved in the deal, Mr. Trebicka, said that he suspected that Evdin’s purpose was to divert money to Albanian officials.

The purchases, Mr. Trebicka said, were a flip: Albania sold ammunition to Evdin for $22 per 1,000 rounds, he said, and Evdin sold it to AEY for much more. The difference, he said he suspected, was shared with Albanian officials, including Mr. Pinari, then the head of the arms export agency, and the defense minister at the time, Fatmir Mediu.

(Mr. Mediu resigned last week after the ammunition depot explosions; Mr. Pinari was arrested.) The Albanian government has been infuriated by Mr. Trebicka’s allegations. Sali Berisha, the prime minister, Mr. Mediu and Mr. Pinari all denied involvement in kickbacks. But Mr. Trebicka said that after he raised his concerns about Evdin with the Defense Ministry, his company was forced from the repackaging contract.

On June 11, 2007, Mr. Trebicka and Mr. Diveroli commiserated by phone about problems with doing business in Albania. Mr. Trebicka surreptitiously recorded the conversation, and later gave the audio files to American investigators.

The conversation, he said, showed that the American company was aware of corruption in its dealings in Albania and that Heinrich Thomet, a Swiss arms dealer, was behind Evdin.

Just the other day, Steve Forbes, one of the stupidest rich people on earth, praised Albania as a shining model for the US to follow. Indeed, we certainly are following Albania...down the drain. The recent explosion in Albania killed people. And these cashes of unstable weapons were being exploited by Jewish arms dealers to cheat the Pentagon. And see how that looks? It looks awful. Where are our patriots? Why aren't they howling about this?

The silence on the right is amazing. They love to wave flags but collapse whenever real treason is done. Like when Reagan ran off to Japan to collect his $2.5 million in bribes. Asleep at the wheel, they are.

This isn't raising huge waves. As usual. Of course, I must thank the NYT for breaking this story. If only they also connect all the dots. Maybe some day they will have a great story about the USS Liberty attack!

Out of the shadows

As the head of Mossad, Efraim Halevy presided over some of the most ruthless and controversial decisions in Israeli history. Now retired from the elite intelligence agency, he tells Con Coughlin in Jerusalem about those murky years of spying and assassination - and why he has no regrets

I include this because the boy in the fraud/rip off story is probably named after this guy. I suspect there are other connections but right now, they are hidden from view. So time to talk about Israel in the news! Indeed, it is often in the news...overseas. Here is a Jewish news story written by a liberal Jew in Israel:

Israel Update
Situation in Gaza is complicated.

Israeli public opinion on the Gaza dilemma is coming into focus thanks to a Ha'aretz-Dialog poll published on Wednesday. 64% of all those asked support holding direct talks with Hamas in order to obtain a ceasefire and the release of captive soldier Gilad Shalit. This includes a surprising 48% of Likud voters and an overwhelming 72% of Labor voters.
*snip*
Regarding the Israel-Palestinian negotiations, presentations by Olmert, Livni and Peres followed a consistent mantra. There are close to equal numbers of Jews and Arabs between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. With that reality in mind, the only path to a Jewish, democratic state is a two state solution. As Livni told the delegation: "We are not doing it for the sake of the Palestinians and not even for the sake of the Americans. We are doing it for our own sake and future." That statement, along with a sense of urgency, really sums up the thinking of the current government. Remembering the days when the proponents of a two-state solution where in the Israeli and Jewish political wilderness, it does feel good to belong to the majority.

Deputy Prime Minister and Shas leader Eli Yishai spoke to the Conference while through the newspapers Netanyahu and other leaders of the Israeli right were calling on him to bring down the Olmert government by leaving the coalition. When pushed by questioners after his presentation as to why indeed he won't pull out of the government and block the peace talks, he had ready answers. First of all he said, Shas stayed in the government while then Prime Minister Netanyahu was negotiating with the Palestinians at the Wye Plantation talks, so why is it so urgent that they leave now. He then gave the answer that ends the conversation and drives a secular democrat crazy: Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the Shas Ultra-Orthodox spiritual leader, will decide when it is time to bring down the government, not him.

Palestinian Prime Minister Dr. Salem Fayad's presentation drew particular interest as it was the first time the Conference has ever hosted a high-ranking Palestinian figure.

The Jewish people are very concerned about creating a 'democratic' state that gives them a majority lock on the laws. The fear is obvious: they have to create some sort of 'state' so they can expel the remaining Palestinians. But if they do this, Palestine will be stronger. So they want a ghettoized Palestine under their collective thumbs. This cruel solution means destroying democracy in Palestine. The vote for Hamas has to be nullified somehow. The rump state Israel is willing to give Palestinians is similar to the rump state Hitler gave the Czechs. A meaningless, militarily helpless half-state. Then, wiping their collective hands, the Jews who eliminated the natives can sit down and have a feast. Perhaps, they can sell us lousy bullets at double the price they paid to Albania.

Shiite militia counters army offensive in Iraq

Thousands of supporters of the powerful Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr and his Mahdi army militia took to the streets of Baghdad on Thursday to protest the Iraqi Army assault on the southern port city of Basra, as intense fighting continued there for a third day.

In Basra, there seemed to be no breakthrough in the fighting by either side. As much as half of the city remained under militia control, hospitals in some parts of the city were reported full and the violence continued to spread. Clashes were reported all over the city and in locations about eight kilometers, or 12 miles, south of Basra.

Militants also attacked the U.S-protected Green Zone in central Baghdad on Thursday, and the U.S. Embassy said one American government employee was killed, The Associated Press reported. It was the second death inside the Green Zone since frequent attacks against the area began Sunday, when an American financial analyst was killed. The State Department ordered all personnel at the U.S. Embassy to remain inside reinforced structures.

The US occupation of Iraq, on the other hand, is collapsing. The US pushed the Shi'a President to confront al Sadr. And this seems to not be working. Probably due to crummy weapons bought at a tremendously high mark-up. The Green Zone is being hammered now. I suppose, this is due to the insurgents having better international arms dealers.

Thursday: 222 Iraqis, 1 US Soldier, 3 US Contractors Killed; 338 Iraqis Wounded Every day, American soldiers, despite all the armor, are dying. Many more are wounded. This charade will go on forever. If we don't stop. It seems so utterly hopeless. On top of this, the war is costing us an arm and leg at home. And not just due to craven youth playing international arms dealers with taxpayer dollars.

Gunmen blow up oil pipeline in Iraq's Basra

Gunmen blew up an oil pipeline in Zubair area west of Basra on Thursday morning, a local security source said.

"A powerful explosion rocked the town of Zubair, 20 km west of Basra, in the morning when unknown gunmen blew up a major oil pipeline," the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

A huge fire was ignited by the blast while a column of black smoke rose over the area, the source said.

Fire fighters rushed to the area to put out the fire, while Iraqi security forces cordoned off the area to secure the scene, he said.

Every month, our rulers assure us that oil prices will go down. War criminal Cheney and his gang of neo con men and Condi Rice trot off to the Middle East to crawl on their bellies before the royals there, begging for cheap oil. And then turn around and push for more war on behalf of Israel. Israel is very keen on us cornering and attacking Iran. And since we get to pay for all of this, they are content. But we are going bankrupt. When oil hits $200 a barrel due to our wars on behalf of people who don't care if we live or die, meaning, the Israeli Jews, the Sunni kings and other dictators we support, eventually we will figure out that we are gaining nothing and losing our shirts here.

OIL FUTURES: ICE Brent Crude Up $1 On Iraqi Pipe Blast

Crude oil futures climbed over $1 in London trade Thursday as traders reacted to news of an explosion on a southern Iraq pipeline that is expected to crimp the country's oil exports.

Prices had been trading lower ahead of the news from the Iraqi oil hub of Basra, with traders continuing to follow moves in the U.S. dollar as the main driver of crude oil prices.

But any further weakness in the dollar, combined with developments in Iraq, could add considerable upside pressure to oil prices Thursday, analysts said. "The Basra headline came out as the dollar is coming under some intraday pressure," says Oliver Jakob of Petromatrix.

"Basra will add fire to fire if the dollar continues to be pressured." At 0933 GMT, the front-month May Brent contract on London's ICE futures exchange was up $1.12 at $105.11 a barrel.

The US stock market, after some joy over a $400 billion bail out, is now heading back downwards as we expect. And gold, which soared to $1025 before the bail out and then collapsed to nearly $900 is now heading back upwards rapidly. The people who bought at the bottom are probably grimly happy over the windfall this commodity collapse gave them. I hope they enjoy it.

I, on the other hand, have to watch the bottom line. And that is bad news, all around. I say, we should withdraw our troops from the entire planet, bring them home, stop all the contracts to war mongering teenagers and their craven fathers and rethink how one must run a military. The present system is destroying America, not protecting us. And the ONLY reason to have ANY military is to protect us, isn't it?

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