Doolittle, Delay, Pombo, NorCal Scammer's Trinity Collapses

The right-wing's hold on Northern CA began dissolving as a series of scams emerged linking Pombo, Delay, Doolittle to lobbyist Jack Abramoff, all of whom recieved generous campaign donations form this professional scam artist. However, the layers of deceit go deeper when looking at connections between 4th District Congressional candidate John Doolittle and Maxxam/Pacific Lumber CEO Charles Hurwitz..

Charles Hurwitz is most remembered for his role in the collapse of Texas Savings & Loan. Following the Texas Savings and Loan collapse Micheal Milken, Ivan Boesky and Charles Hurwitz were all recognized as collaboraters in this white collar criminal heist of pensions for junk bonds. Two of the three served time in federal prison for their criminal activity, one Charles Hurwitz remains free and now heads the Maxxam holdling corporation, who took over Kaiser Aluminum and Pacific Lumber during the eighties, then raiding worker's pensions to pay off junk bond debts from previous white collar criminal activities..

We can only wonder what would have happened if John Doolittle would have not interfered with federal banking regulaters (FDIC) who were investigating Maxxam's CEO for his involvement in the Texas S&L collapse that cost taxpayers billions. Would the ecologically destructive clearcutting acts of PL following Maxxam's takeover have ceased if Hurwitz was arrested in joined Milken and Boesky in their federal prison cells??

Here's some background of the Texas S&L collapse involving Hurwitz & Maxxam corporation;

"Junk Bonds, Looted Pensions and Ancient Forests

In October 1985, junk bond king Charles Hurwitz's global corporation MAXXAM took over Pacific Lumber with a $900 million deal that saw the notorious Ivan Boesky pocket $3 million. Boesky later, along with Michael Milken and broker Boyd Jeffries, was convicted and sentenced to two years time in federal prisons. PL's Directors were given hundreds of thousands as a result of their vote for the takeover.

MAXXAM quickly sold off many PL assets - Victor Welding Co. ($300 million); the San Francisco Pacific Lumber building ($35 million); and $55 million of PL's workers' pension funds was looted. The remaining $35 million in the pension fund was transferred to Milken's aptly named Executive Life Insurance, which then went bankrupt. Executive Life had purchased $300 million of PL junk bonds at the time of the takeover. PL's workers and the US Department of Labor sued MAXXAM successfully and got the pension funds restored.

From 1982-1988, Charles Hurwitz was the CEO of United Financial Group, the holding company for the United Savings Association of Texas. During that time the Savings and Loan (S&L) lost over $1.6 billion of depositors' money. The lawsuit that saw Milken plead guilty to mail fraud and other crimes (FDIC vs. Milken) showed that money from the S&L was diverted into the PL takeover. Hurwitz still owes the government $1.2 billion as a result of the collapse of the S&L.

Immediately upon the takeover, PL tripled the rate of logging; liquidating over 100,000 acres. MAXXAM has refinanced PL's debt several times. In 1998, PL collateralized $860 million of debt with Timber Bonds and now owes approximately $735 million -- just $15 million less than it owed in 1985. Which means that despite all the logging, the selling off of assets AND the public's purchase of 7500 acres for the whopping sum of $480 million, the company is worth pretty much the same now as at the time of the takeover."

read on @;
http://www.counterpunch.org/donnelly05142004.html

For ecoactivists following the traditions of Judi Bari, North Coast Earth First! and their allies were responsible for reporting on this info, originally uncovered by two LA Times reporters, though generally ignored by corporate media lackeys. Hurwitz is a great friend of GW BushCo., and is given a coat of immunity by most in the corporate media..

"Reps. John T. Doolittle and Richard W. Pombo joined forces with former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas to oppose an investigation by federal banking regulators into the affairs of Houston millionaire Charles Hurwitz, documents recently obtained by The Times show. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was seeking $300 million from Hurwitz for his role in the collapse of a Texas savings and loan that cost taxpayers $1.6 billion.

The investigation was ultimately dropped.

The effort to help Hurwitz began in 1999 when DeLay wrote a letter to the chairman of the FDIC denouncing the investigation of Hurwitz as a "form of harassment and deceit on the part of government employees." When the FDIC persisted, Doolittle and Pombo — both considered proteges of DeLay — used their power as members of the House Resources Committee to subpoena the agency's confidential records on the case, including details of the evidence FDIC investigators had compiled on Hurwitz."

entire article @;
http://voiceoftheenvironment.org/oldgrowth/article.php?id=742

This prompted NCEF! activist Karen Pickett to write additional articles exposing the multiple levels of corruption that enable white collar corporate criminals to remain in positions of power;

"Because of the PL connection, the savings and loan failure caught the attention of activists, and intrepid citizen investigators uncovered Hurwitz's slimy manipulations for federal banking agencies. It ultimately caught the interest of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of Thrift Supervision, which filed claims against Hurwitz and Maxxam, charging violations including gross negligence and reckless investing. Proposals for settlement at the time included the innovative "Debt for Nature" swap idea, where Hurwitz would make good on the money he owed taxpayers through the transfer of PL assets-forest acreage that would be transferred into public hands. But this wasn't sufficient for Hurwitz and his allies.

DeLay and Pombo came galloping in to rescue their buddy Hurwitz. After scathing letters from DeLay denouncing the investigation, Pombo and California Representative John Doolittle used the HFTF's subpoena power to obtain confidential FDIC documents. The FDIC objected, and it asked the HFTF for assurances that those internal documents would not end up in Hurwitz's hands. But that is exactly what happened when Pombo and Doolittle quietly entered confidential documents into the Federal Register in 2001, shortly after the World Trade Center attacks. That was enough to damage the FDIC's case sufficiently, and the case was dropped in 2002.

But even that's not the end of the story. Hurwitz continued his counter-action against the FDIC, and against long odds, he prevailed last Summer. Judge Lynn Hughes, another right-winger from DeLay/ Bush country with ties to Hurwitz, awarded the corporate raider an incredible $72 million for having to suffer through being investigated, which "dampened Hurwitz's entrepreneurial energies." Part of the tit for tat here, of course, are the contributions Hurwitz made to these clowns. He donated not only to DeLay's campaign fund, but also to DeLay's legal defense when he was called up on money-laundering charges. Hurwitz has also slid money across the table to Pombo and Doolittle."

entire article @;
http://www.earthfirstjournal.org/articles.php?a=890

For people involved in saving the redwoods from Maxxam/PL's relentless chainsaws of clearcutting destruction, we seriously wish for the success of 4th District Democratic candidate Charles Brown, the only reasonable option available in this election year to dethrone the criminal John Doolittle..

"Breaking News – Another FBI Probe of Doolittle

November 3rd, 2006

The Washington Post reports this morning that yet another Federal investigation of John Doolittle is underway.

In a front-page story, the Post details how John Doolittle accepted a $29,400 luxury junket from a group that was acting as a front for the Korean and Malaysian governments. This group also paid Doolittle’s wife $30,000 directly for “book keeping,” a payment that has drawn the scrutiny of FBI investigators. The Justice Department is conducting an on-going investigation of the web of direct payments made to spouses of Members of Congress directed through phony nonprofit groups controlled by convicted briber Jack Abramoff and disgraced Congressman Tom DeLay.

Doolittle is also under investigation for other payments made directly into his personal bank account from front groups controlled by Abramoff and funded by Abramoff’s clients."

read on @;
http://www.charliebrownforcongress.org/index.php

(NOTE- EF! activists and author personally does not believe that Democrats will solve our problems for us either, however the 'lesser evil' option of choosing Democrats like Charles Brown on Nov 7th, 2006, who are often easier to negotiate with and maintain some levels of reasonableness and integrity not found at all within these three individuals discussed above)