Fausta's Blog

American and Latin American Politics, Society, and Culture

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Florida felon caught trying to flee to Ecuador with money laundering to-do list

Claiming he was granted asylum in Ecuador, Florida man was caught at the airport with a money laundering to-do list while awaiting sentencing,

[Nikesh] Patel, of Windermere, Fla., pleaded guilty in federal court in Chicago in 2016 to five counts of wire fraud, admitting in a plea agreement with prosecutors that he sold tens of millions of dollars in fraudulent loans to an investment firm in Wisconsin and blew the cash on a lavish lifestyle and to buy hotels, court records show.

He had a money laundering to-do list when he was stopped at the Kissimmee airport while trying to flee to Ecuador,

he was carrying a document that laid out an elaborate escape plan, from applying for political asylum in Ecuador to marshaling ill-gotten assets to buy $30 million in diamonds from a merchant in Dubai.

The document, which was titled “What we are doing,” appeared to be written to an unidentified person aiding him in the escape attempt, according to the prosecution filing made last week.

“I have got my final asylum approval and need to move things along and cannot just sit around here and wait any longer,” Patel wrote. “I managed to get a few more dollars (don’t ask how) so as of today, I have a total of $35MM in ‘dirty’ money.”

The document went on to detail how Patel was finalizing the purchase of a 104-carat “fancy dark” diamond — “one of the rarest diamonds in the world and very sought after” — through a merchant he trusted in Dubai, according to the court records.

Patel’s wife and children had already fled to Ecuador after his arrest. He had obtained a new passport from a friend in India late last year and applied for political asylum in Ecuador. He used to own a hotel in Peoria.

If you’re going to be crook, Fleeing to South America? Leave the incriminating to-do list at home

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Miami judge overturns mayor’s order

Judge Hirsch found it unconstitutional, and calls the U.S. “a sanctuary coountry.”

Judge shoots down Miami-Dade deportation policy adopted to follow Trump immigration order

The judge’s ruling was a rebuke of Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez’s much criticized decision to allow county jails to hold immigrants awaiting deportation by federal agents, a measure that has sparked protests and anger by many immigration advocates in South Florida

Money quote,

“Miami is not, and has never been, a sanctuary city,” Hirsch wrote. “But America is, and has always been, a sanctuary country.”

The Feds have 48 hours to pick up inmates held in the Miami-County jail.

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Ft. Lauderdale shooter indicted on 22 charges

Ft. Lauderdale Airport shooter Esteban Santiago has been Officially Charged in Case

The 26-year-old faces two charges each for the five people killed during the incident near the baggage claim of Terminal 2. Santiago also faces two counts each for the six people wounded in the shooting.

Santiago is due back in court Monday, where he will enter a plea on all charges. He confessed to planning the shooting following interrogation from officials with the Broward Sheriff’s Office, FBI and other agencies, authorities said.

As you may recall, Santiago allegedly Converted to Islam, Identified as Aashiq Hammad Years Before Joining Army, according to Judicial Watch’s investigation.

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Say something? FBI does nothing

Not only was the murderer of the Pulse patrons an employee of a global security firm the DHS uses as subcontractor to provide security to federal buildings, had been questioned twice by the FBI, was licensed as a security guard, and his wife knew of his plans; It so happens that, when  a gun shop which refused to sell him body armor and bulk ammo told the FBI about him, the FBI didn’t follow up.

Read my article, Say something? FBI does nothing



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Three links on the Orlando massacre

1. Anyone arguing that the killer had “free access” to firearms is mistaken. The man an armed security officer for G4S, with a security officer firearms license

FBI Special Agent in Charge Ronald Hopper said today that the FBI had taken an interest in Mateen twice: first in 2013 after he made “inflammatory” comments to co-workers and then again the next year after he was linked to another U.S. radical who became a suicide bomber in Syria.

2. Terrorist’s father: “I don’t think he was radicalized”

Siddique Mateen also hosts a show on a US cable outlet, Afghan TV, aimed at Western audiences. On both platforms, Mateen has campaigned for the Taliban, and at times has promoted himself as the leader of a government in exile.

3. Richard Fernandez:

Historically it is state failure which drives civilian armament and not the other way around. Perhaps the clearest example of this trend is Lebanon where the inability of the central government to protect the sectarian communities has led each to protect itself. While America is not Lebanon, the same principles hold true: competence inspires confidence and there is precious little competence in the administration.

AND
Reminder: More Than 500 AR-15’s Were Smuggled in Eric Holder’s Fast and Furious Scheme

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News from windy Miami

It’s 75f, sunny, with 22mph winds in lovely Miami, Fla. Here are a few political headlines:

Yesterday:
Following a rally in Jupiter, Donald Trump’s campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, pulled Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields towards the ground when she asked The Donald his position on affirmative action,

I wasn’t called upon to ask a question during the televised press conference, but afterwards Trump wandered around, stopping at every reporter to take their questions. When he approached me, I asked him about his view on an aspect of affirmative action.

Trump acknowledged the question, but before he could answer I was jolted backwards. Someone had grabbed me tightly by the arm and yanked me down. I almost fell to the ground, but was able to maintain my balance. Nonetheless, I was shaken.

The Washington Post’s Ben Terris immediately remarked that it was Trump’s campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, who aggressively tried to pull me to the ground. I quickly turned around and saw Lewandowski and Trump exiting the building together. No apology. No explanation for why he did this.

Lewandowski should be fired, right now.

Marco Rubio held a rally in Hialeah to a mostly empty stadium,

Ted Cruz’s rally downtown was announced the day before and it was full to capacity. Carly Fiorina announced her endorsement

Mark Levin endorsed Cruz, too.

Bernie and Hillary took turns pandering to the Univision audience at Miami-Dade college, in a debate that featured pro-illegal immigration/open borders advocate Jorge Ramos, whose daughter works for the Hillary campaign. I have written in the past how Univision is not the way for the GOP to outreach Latinos. Holding a debate where the moderators won’t speak English does not sit well by me, either.

Today:
The Cruz South Florida Campaign is holding a pre-debate rally Thursday, March 10th @ 5pm
Bank United Center, University of Miami, 1245 Sauer Drive, Coral Gables, Fl. 33146. They’ll live-stream the GOP debate itself.

The Republican debate is scheduled to start at 8pm Eastern.

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The 9/11 al-Qaeda guy who lived in Florida and hid in Mexico

In spite of the federal government denials that Islamic militants may have tried to cross the Mexican border to conduct operations in the U.S., a Judicial Watch investigation reveals that al-Qaeda terrorist Adnan G. El Shukrijumah (also spelled Shukijumah in Spanish-language reports), whose mom still lives in Miramar, FL, hid in a Mexican border city across Douglas, Arizona in 2004.

El Shukrijumah was connected to Mohammed Atta, and both were with another man at the Miami immigration office on May 2, 2001,

Adnan G. el Shukrijumah, an al-Qaida terrorist leader once based in South Florida, hid in northern Mexico with two other Arab militants in a border city across from Douglas, Arizona, in 2004, newly released State Department cables say.

One of the cables noted that the information about Shukrijumah, killed in Pakistan in 2014, came from a trusted confidential source who had a relative involved in migrant smuggling.

This matters because

In the case of the Shukrijumah cables, they suggest that the federal government was wrong to deny that Islamic militants may have tried to cross the porous Mexican border to conduct operations in the United States.

The Shukrijumah case has attracted wide attention since the 9/11 Commission in 2004 published a report quoting an immigration officer as saying that she was “75 percent sure” she saw the Miramar resident with hijack leader Mohamed Atta and another man at the immigration office in Miami on May 2, 2001 — four months before the plane attacks. Atta piloted the first plane to crash into the World Trade Center twin towers in New York on Sept. 11, 2001. The second man with Atta, the commission report said, was possibly Ziad Jarrah, the pilot who crashed his plane into a field in Pennsylvania after passengers rebelled and tried to storm the cockpit to recover control of the aircraft.

The possible presence of Shukrijumah with the 9/11 pilots stirred speculation that the terror leaders received assistance from U.S.-based militants while they plotted the attacks.

Read the whole thing.

Related:
The Miami Herald article reports that Shrukrijumah’s mother has said her son left for Trinidad in January 2001. Here is a report on Jihad in Trinidad.

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