Rat  blew  the  whistle

Richard Hurlburt (PC) has been convicted and slapped on the wrist,as expected, by the judge who sentenced him to twelve months of “house arrest”. YOU will still pay him an ample pension even though he has been shown to be no better than a common criminal, and, by  his actions, a liar. This is how “the system” and network of “good ‘ol boys” takes care of their own in Nova Scotia. Perhaps, Hurlburt’s “judge” is a card carrying member of the Progressive CONservative party, or was appointed to the bench during the many years they formerly were “government” in this province. You would have to “waterboard” THEM in order to ever get a straight answer from any of these people who run things in this province. 

As Ron Popeil is often fond of saying when flogging his inventions on TV, “…but wait, there’s more!”

Yes, there is SOOO much more to this story. If it ever comes out we will all have a better idea as to why a small province like Nova Scotia has debts that are in the BILLIONS as the populace continues to support one crooked politician after another. Political corruption and theft by politicians of all political stripes is rife, if not endemic in the way business is done here.

Our friends at the Herald ran this story a few days ago :  

RCMP to probe agency's spending          ( it's about time)

August 3, 2012 - 2:16pm By PAUL McLEOD Ottawa Bureau

Nova Scotia Economic Development Minister Percy Paris listens to a reporter's question during a news conference on Friday. Paris announced the RCMP will review a forensic audit of the defunct South West Shore Development Authority. (TIM KROCHAK/ Staff) 

Updated 3:27 p.m. Saturday  (August 4, 2012)

The South West Shore Development Authority held back hundreds of thousands of dollars from local businesses as its CEO routinely double-dipped on expenses, an explosive new audit alleges.

After receiving the forensic audit from Ernst & Young, Economic Development Minister Percy Paris announced Friday he was handing the files over to the RCMP.

Auditors found SWSDA wrote $468,748 in cheques to suppliers that were never sent out. This was despite authority CEO Frank Anderson telling the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency in 2010 that SWSDA had paid out 90 per cent of that amount.

Auditors found Anderson double-dipped a total of 180 times by expensing meals while at the same time receiving food per diems. He expensed $24,707 in meals while receiving $3,060 in per diems.

The 92-page audit is littered with such examples.

Paris has convened a four-person panel of business and community leaders to review the province’s regional development model.

SWSDA, a not-for-profit group set up with public money to boost the economy of southwest Nova Scotia, was shut down by the NDP two years ago. The agency left behind debts of $475,000 to the province and more than $2.3 million to dozens of unsecured creditors.

“It is an astonishing report,” said Kevin Lacey of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

Lacey said SWSDA “spent like drunken sailors while the government kept plying them with booze.”

He praised the NDP for shutting down the authority shortly after they came to power.

But he said the SWSDA situation and a new investigation into the Cumberland Regional Development Authority show that concept is irreparably broken.

“It’s time to axe these groups entirely,” said Lacey. “It’s obvious that, having these arm’s-length organizations, the government cannot provide the oversight that will protect taxpayers.”

The audit reveals SWSDA faced little review by the province and internal controls were loose.

Anderson received a $500-per-month travel allowance that was never reported on his income tax. This worked out to $44,500 in unreported income from 2002 to 2009.

There was also an unauthorized pension plan set up solely for Anderson. Auditors could not find any approval by the board of directors for the pension fund, yet SWSDA paid $74,459 into it.

Anderson expensed a $1,268 dinner for 16 people in Paris without explaining who he was meeting with or how it related to SWSDA business.

Anderson brought his wife on the trip. Though he reimbursed SWSDA for part of her plane ticket, auditors calculate the authority paid for over $300 of Anderson’s wife’s expenses.

From 2003 to 2010, SWSDA lost money every year except 2008.

The one year in the black was due to the sale of the Shelburne naval base to Seacoast Entertainment Arts Inc. But the $1.8-million surplus that year was wiped out by repeated six-figure losses.

In total, SWSDA lost $806,000 from 2003 to 2010.

Despite this, local municipalities repeatedly stepped in to support SWSDA. Eight municipalities issued loan guarantees in 2006 to back up SWSDA’s $500,000 loan. Two years later, nine municipalities loaned another $200,500 to the authority.

Those municipalities were on the hook when SWSDA was shut down and have had to pay $588,000 to the bank.

Auditors concluded the SWSDA board had little to no expertise in law, economic development or project management.

The report says Anderson earned between $79,000 and $90,000 annually between 2003 and 2009. However, the auditors were unable to find references to board approval for his base salary, and Anderson confirmed there was no employment contract.

Anderson could not be reached for comment Friday.

With The Canadian Press

We looked at this and concluded there appears to  be a pattern emerging that warranted  further investigation. So we asked questions of people in the area who are only too familiar with the likes of Frank Anderson  and how he is reputed to operate ..... and it ain’t pretty. 

 One source said :
"I know Frank Anderson quite well and was at loggerheads with him on many occasions. He was deeply involved with another of questionable business practices... Richard Hurlburt. I watched both manipulate the banks, the Town, and the Municipality of Yarmouth ... of which Hurlburt was Warden.”

So, we may not have heard the last of Richard Hurlburt. The apparent connection between him and Frank Anderson, who is currently in shit as the story develops about his apparent defrauding of the South West Shore Development Authority unfolds on the heels of Hurlburt’s conviction might not be just a coincidence. 

BITTER, UNBOWED ... and  CAUGHT!

There are those who are wondering if Richard Hurlburt may have blown the whistle on Frank Anderson’s operations in order to cut a deal on his own conviction ... with the  resultant light sentence for his thefts.

The Herald story cites: “After receiving the forensic audit from Ernst & Young, Economic Development Minister Percy Paris announced Friday he was handing the files over to the RCMP.”

As things often evolve, we were discussing this story with an ex-CRA person who offered this cogent observation: “It’s not the RCMP he has to worry about. Already CRA will have opened a file and, basically, the RCMP can fuck off as far as CRA is concerned. There is not much worry about fabrication of records because if this turns out to be a web it’s almost impossible to do, … especially if you have a whole lot of people involved. Normally one of the things CRA will do is hit the banks etc. with what is called a Requirement and CRA have carte blanche. I can guarantee you that if CRA gets involved, Mr. Anderson’s life will become an ongoing, living hell…….the RCMP has nothing like CRA for power.”

I asked if  Hurlburt could possibly come under the same scrutiny. The reply: “I think the RCMP will unwind a real ball of yarn this time. I think Anderson may have a real problem on his hands.”

FURTHER .....

“I have been involved in cases with CRA THAT STARTED WITH ONE INDIVIDUAL AND WOUND UP WITH A FEW DOZEN INVOLVED. This may take take some years to resolve.   If Hulbert cut a deal it still doesn’t matter to CRA, because their action is entirely mutually exclusive of the RCMP action.”

“The reason CRA always waits until a trial is over is because when they raise an assessment and/ or lay a charge;  is because part of the trial is that the money end of it is CERTIFIED by the forensic audit as evidence. So then when CRA moves, the defendant in a CRA action cannot appeal the FACT of the money … as he has either pleaded guilty or was found guilty. CRA will always await the end of the statutory thirty limit of an appeal. Been there done that. The RCMP doesn’t enforce nor police the criminal part of the Income Tax Act.

The RCMP are only prosecuting for a fraud on the Government, they could care less about the money issue. CRA wants the money and the RCMP want the body. Quite often, what happens is that a defendant will take advantage of the amnesty programme with CRA. If they voluntarily come forward and file an amended return and pay all the tax, penalty and interest forthwith … CRA will not proceed. That’s how MULRONEY avoided prosecution.

Based on this learned assessment, Richard Hurlburt’s star may well be linked to Frank Anderson  … and it couldn’t happen to two “nicer” people. Maybe now, those Hurlburt supporters who flooded the talk shows will shut the hell up and quit trying to convince taxpayers in this province of what a great guy he was while in office. Better yet, maybe CRA will connect them … and make them part of a scenario you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy. Then, again, I have no sympathy for these guys. If that’s what it takes to convince politicians and those with political aspirations that stealing is not what you’re there for, then so be it.

 These "development associations" exist in a number of other regions of Nova Scotia ... and you can bet there are others who haven't been caught yet ... as they rip off taxpayers.  These scams, and successive incompetent "governments" are why this province's deficit is near 16 BILLION dollars and the current bunch of liars and thieves are jacking your taxes and service fees ... as they cut your kid's education and emergency health care and anything else they can think of to offset the rape of the provincial treasury.

  

Can anyone remember when ORGANIZED CRIME took over government(s) in this country?

Preposterous?  Look at Quebec and listen to the leaks coming out of Ottawa and tell me that the Mafia ain't runnin' things.  MONEY = POWER, always has ... and they have more than most governments. With that money they can buy any politician,outright,or otherwise coerce them into anything they want.

We just heard the latest pearl of wisdom from that arrogant arsehole, Peter Kent, "Minister" of something or other ... who now wants businessmen who are trying to make a buck and are located near our national parks to kick in $$$ toward the operation of said parks. WHY?  Because Kent and his fellow cabinet members would like to free up more money for salaries, pensions and swell trips FOR THEMSELVES.   You may remember Peter Kent as the smarmy and aloof news reader on CBC TV and other places of employment ... who now makes "important" pronouncements in an effort at self aggrandisement.

BTW, only three more years of Herr Harper's bullshit, if he and his "government" don't completely run this country into the ground before then. 

JOSÉ,  CAN YOU SEE, YET ?

R&R: None of the quality and an unfathomable cost if they gain POWER!

Meanwhile, below the border, in the Excited States, the new R & R  "team" are challenging Oh Bama.

Romney & Ryan .... or, RETRO and REGRESSIVE  are bullshittin' Americans about how they are gonna put Americans back to work. HOW? "Mitt" Romney, who is far better known for putting Americans out on bread lines, must have inherited a gold and jewel encrusted magic wand from his daddy, because he and Paul Ryan can't (won't) do it any other way. These two clowns are laying all the blame for the current condition of the country on Obama. BULLSHIT!  Obama did not create the current economy in America ... other, very elite Americans ( like MITT) did!

 For that matter, when are Americans going to come to the realization that the President is not royalty and certainly not God ... he does NOT act of his own accord and couldn't if he wanted to .... the real power in the United States is BIG money. Who has the BIG money?  ORGANIZED CRIME!  The MOB is still alive and well and calls the shots on governments, both State and Federal.

 Drug cartels take in more money than the National Debt. The President does what he is told by the MONEY. Elections are simply a sham to manipulate all of the little TAXPAYERS into believing THEY control government and "picking a president" is all part of that con. No one controls government(s). THEY and their elite members control you, the 99%   through fear mongering and very sophisticated manipulation tactics that are still secret. This situation is reminiscent of  the Jews in the Nazi death camps .... who outnumbered the Nazis but were held in place by starvation and other privations that made them easy to control with just a few armed men until they were slaughtered. Just like today in the United States ... with thousands homeless and hungry and jobless .... while elites like Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan live in big homes and are denied little. These are not men of the people. They don't give two shits for you if they win and will make your lives even more worthless .... unless they can get a good war going with somebody. That's how they'll create those  "jobs" and thin the herd of  indigent and unemployed ... without compunction.

CLIT'S BIT 4 MITT

Hey Clint, You really "made my day" with that bit the other night on Mitt's Show .... with that " Clint does Jimmy Stewart with early dementia, playing to HARVEY, the invisible wabbit."  It was bloody hilarious!
.... Oh, You were SERIOUS?

MEANWHILE, CLOSER TO HOME ....

Our guy says he ain't comin' back .... goin' on to more lucrative things ...maybe.

... and the MONEY keeps rollin' out the door, courtesy of YOU, suckers:

"WORLD TRADE CENTER"   APPROVED  .... with a mix of money from HRM  (YOU) and more from the Province of Nova Scotia  (YOU).
MILLIONS more for that bogus paper mill in Port Hawkesbury .... that will pull out as soon as the $$$ is no longer forthcoming.  Yet another " DEXTER DEAL"  from this one term wonder.

In addition to closing Emergency Medical facilities and hospital beds, schools, laying off and cutting back teaching staff and school programs .... while still taking care of himself and friends, this modern day BOSS TWEED ( more like Boss Hawg) continues to kiss ass at Nova Scotia Power and Rape  and exercising great largesse ( on YOUR behalf ... because YOU ARE paying for it all) as he gifts any and all corporations who come looking for a handout. And, of course, if anyone dares complain, he and his liars and thieves will drag out that old BULLSHIT phrase that Hamm and Buchanan,before him, used. YOU should know it by heart now : JOBS,JOBS,JOBS!

 What this really means is YOU will have to work at least two (or three) jobs in order to survive in this province to cover the losses that Lumpy and his fuckups will create ( and leave you to pay) when people finally wise up and turf his fat, useless ass out of office  ... to be replaced by a (Liberal?) MAJORITY, or, depending on how stupid ya really are .... another  CONservative "government". Either way they'll do the same thing and expect you to pay for it all as the skim and the DEFICIT aggregates and grows.

WHAT  WILL "YOU"  ELECT NEXT ?

 Considering the choices ... between "experienced" incompetents, or, " secretive" candidates that,so far, have revealed little about themselves or where they want to take us, this farce is just another crap shoot. Or, does anyone really "consider" when voting?

When all the dust settles, "STAFF", the nameless, faceless power behind the facade, will still call the shots as YOUR "taxes" continue to escalate. Nice future to contemplate, huh?

STOP

In more recent years, with the advent of newer automotive engineering, ABS has been the acronym to denote the Antilock Braking System found on today’s modern vehicles.

For the next few weeks,  as the clock ticks toward the upcoming election in the Halifax Regional Municipality, everyone should THINK and remember ABS as ANYONE BUT SAVAGE for the Mayor of the “Boardwalk Empire”. Why? Because the last thing this fcuked up mess needs is to provide a super, well paid job for yet another indigent indolent who struck out as a Federal MP when people came to the realization he talked a better game than he played.

We’ve always said here,”Follow the MONEY ” … if you can.  Good advice once again. “Mikey” has some expensive looking “designer signage”, a web site and, obviously, heavy hitting PR people working on his behalf …. Not to mention “poll results” that, ostensibly, show HIM as the front runner. This is the same,sophisticated manipulation of the public mind that  Herr Harper has used in the past. Evidently, any politics in Nova Scotia is more lucrative than working for a living … like everybody else.

Just remember, the people turfed his arse out before … because he wasn't doing the job... just another two faced bullshitter takin' the $$$, and if they’re smart, they’ll keep SAVAGE out as mayor of the Boardwalk Empire in Halifax.

FINALLY:

The "Dear Leader" continues to shit on the people of Canada from great heights as he communes with the gods here on the planet at the highest levels ...  fulfilling his role as Canada's  liquidator.

"We do everybody" ... Herr HARPER

Recently, it is intimated, he met with the Chancellor of Deutschland, to discuss, among other things, the sale of your potable VASSER !

The latest act from Chancellor Harper is to screw members of the Canadian military ... by having them provide their own bullets and field rations in the event of being involved in any action.Battle injuries have long been the responsibility of  the various provincial health and social authorities that YOU are required to fund through your "taxes". It is all part of a grander plan to cut costs ... while making more money available for government PENSIONS, PERKS and OFFSHORE ACCOUNTS.

Any and all dissenters could be interned in the new prison facilities the Dear Leader has arranged to have built and managed by his partners in the corporate world who currently operate similar institutions in the United (Police) States.

This is for Vic Big Toes ... who trashed some T-shirts that prison inmates were selling
for some annual demonstartion they conduct each year as they do THEIR time. Big Vic, who is a Minister of something in Herr Harper's "government" claimed some lofty ( bullshit) reason for crapping on the
con"s parade.  Big Vic is a real paragon of virtue and morality : In 2005 he was
 charged with violating Manitoba's Election Finances Act in the 1999 provincial election. During the election cycle, it was discovered that his election campaign had spent $7,500 more than the allowed limit. Toews pleaded guilty, and was later convicted and fined $500.

Toews divorced from his wife of 30 years, Lorraine Kathleen Fehr, after it was discovered that he had fathered a child with a much younger woman.This incident later became publicized in February 2012, when an anonymous Twitter account (later discovered to be a Liberal Party staffer) began posting information from Toews' divorce affidavit (that were on the public record, filed with the Court of Queen's Bench of Manitoba).      If his wife couldn't trust him ... why should anybody else?

(For those who aren't aware, a ship in distress will fly its flag inverted to indicate such. )

Considering the incompetency and outright meanness of the current "government", what could be more apropos?

COMING NEXT :  Nova Scotia ... who can afford to live there?