Another US Whistleblower Behind Bars? Investor Jailed After Exposing Corrupt Azerbaijani Oil Deal
by Juan Gonzalez and Amy Goodman
In a Democracy Now! exclusive, we look at the case of multimillionaire American businessman and philanthropist Rick Bourke, who blew the whistle on a fraudulent scheme by international criminals to gain control of the oil riches of the former Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan — only to end up as the only person sent to jail by federal prosecutors in the massive conspiracy.BIG gOILvernment smote yet another whistle blower. This story is what it is all about, folks: criminal conspiracies, oil, and war.
Frederic Bourke, philanthropist and founder of Dooney and Bourke, a handbags and clothing company, was prosecuted for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act for allegedly knowing about an alleged bribery, while everyone else who invested millions in this oily fraud and lost, such as US Senator George Mitchell, Columbia University, AIG, et al, were not prosecuted. He feels he is being unfairly victimized for exposing a deal which swindled him and other investors.
Some of the other investors tiptoed to London courts to attempt to recoup what they could, but did not make a US Federal case out of it for good reason: Rick Bourke's jailing post whistle blowing proves the old adage, He who chases justice might catch it, as Richard Tigar, the attorney representing Bourke at the request of the Government Accountability Project, pointed out.
Hans Bodmer, a German Swiss attorney, who allegedly is involved in money laundering for international crime figures, was a key witness against Bourke.
Another witness put on the stand against Bourke was Tom Farrell, bagman for the investment scheme, who was secretly filmed trying to recruit a British diplomat to spy for Russia.
Holy Cow! Layer upon layer of betrayal and lies. Are these guys credible? Should a philanthropist and successful businessman with no history of wrongdoing, who rightly reported fraud, go to jail based on these guys' testimony?
Bodmer and Farrell pleaded guilty and signed agreements to provide testimony in related cases.Bodmer is free from prosecution and sits on the board of a Swiss bank, and Farrell is also free from prosecution and owns a bar in St. Peterburg.
The US Government ignored the big picture and interrupted an effective investigation being conducted by the State of New York, where Bourke reported the crime, and went after Bourke, the whistle blower with a vengeance.
The moral to this story is do not report fraud that involves geopolitics and oil. Privatizing Azerbaijani oil fields was a hot potato which investors should not have tried to catch and cash in on. The federal gOILvernment holds all the cards and can and will prosecute you to the fullest extent of any law on which they can nail you. The OILigarchy gots the goods, wonky witnesses, and know how to unjustly exploit the injustice system as a weapon against whistle blowers who come too close to the truth and upset the oil barrels of the unctuous PTB.
High-ranking former U.S. and British officials from the CIA and MI6 have raised serious concerns about the conviction of Bourke in part because the key witnesses during his trial were allegedly intelligence assets working for the U.S. government.Whoa! Talk about a conflict of interest. CIA/MI6 "assets" generally mean that they are paid huge "assets" to act as secret agents. Shouldn't that disqualify their testimony against a whistle blower?
As usual with conspiracy stories that involve slick schtick, such as the Iraq War debacle and this intrigue in Azerbaijan, they end happily ever after for international oil companies, cui bono, molto buono.
The End.