Things to Keep an Eye On
Mormon abuse lawsuits, U.S. negotiates with Hamas, FT on Gail Slater, money laundering via sheet metal business in UK, former Michoacan governor arrested, Dagestanis in DC and out a Moscow window
A lot of things going on this last week! Worth reading this San Diego Tribune story starting to cover the wave of sex abuse lawsuits hitting the LDS Church in California. In Yaacov Apelbaum’s suit against me in EDVA, a judge granted my motion to extend time.
U.S. is negotiating with Hamas
Hamas is holding Americans, and despite Israel’s objections, it is justifiable and right to work on a deal to get them out, because ours an Israel’s interests diverge. We should have been doing this a long time ago, but we couldn’t because for many years U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East has been outsourced to Israel:
The Trump administration has been holding direct talks with Hamas over the release of U.S. hostages held in Gaza and the possibility of a broader deal to end the war, two sources with direct knowledge of the discussions tell Axios.
Why it matters: The talks — held by U.S. presidential envoy for hostage affairs Adam Boehler — are unprecedented. The U.S. had never before engaged directly with Hamas, which it designated a terrorist organization in 1997.
SKDK, the well-known Democratic-aligned PR firm, also registered this week under FARA to represent Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
FT on Gail Slater
It sounds like Gail Slater is going to be great on antitrust enforcement:
Omeed Assefi, acting head of the DoJ’s antitrust unit, said Slater will focus on “promoting robust competition”, but a top deal banker said corporate leaders fear that under Trump, antitrust may be used to punish enemies and reward friends in ways that are unpredictable.
“Under Khan and Kanter we knew they had a specific agenda. It was coherent even if . . . Wall Street disagreed with them. You could navigate it. Now it’s a mess,” he said.
IHOPKC chaplains dismissed in Kansas City
Fallout from the ongoing scandal there:
All Grandview police and fire chaplains associated with the International House of Prayer-Kansas City have been dismissed in the fallout from a third-party investigation into a sex abuse scandal involving the 24/7 global ministry, according to local officials. “I can confirm we severed ties with several of our public safety chaplains who had past or present connections to IHOPKC,” Grandview Police Chief Charles Iseman told The Star in an email.
Caste-based activities coming to Texas!
One of the consequences of the increasing role of the BJP in public life, through institutions like the Hindu American Foundation:
They are consciously imitating the Israel lobby with the way their public advocacy works, inventing the concept of “Hinduphobia” and running candidates with both parties.
Indian-Israeli sheet metal money laundering business
This case in the UK is notable for being yet another instance in which defendants skip town, with one going to Israel:
During the sentencing hearing, Judge Stubbs said Babber had attempted to leave the country before the trial and later checked himself into The Priory when his attempt failed.
When a warrant was issued for his arrest, his family "spirited him away", the judge said, adding that Priory staff had wrongly refused to allow the police access.
Richard Littler KC, representing Frankel, said he lives in Israel with his family and was employed by the Israeli Ministry of Defence there, adding: "Custody, when it begins for Mr Frankel, will be a difficult experience for him."
Former Michoacan governor arrested
For cartel ties:
Former Michoacán Governor Silvano Aureoles Conejo was arrested on March 1, 2025, just two hours after the issuance of his arrest warrant. This swift action came as part of a broader investigation by the Federal Attorney General's Office (FGR) concerning allegations of corruption during his administration from 2015 to 2021.
Kroger CEO resigns
A lot going on in Ohio right now:
Kroger Chairman and CEO Rodney McMullen has resigned after an internal investigation into his personal conduct.
Kroger, the nation's largest grocery chain, said Monday that the investigation into McMullen's personal conduct was unrelated to the business, but was found to be inconsistent with its business ethics policy.
Top Russian Dagestani official catches window cancer
One to watch:
49-year-old former State Duma deputy and assistant to the head of Dagestan, wrestler Buvaisar Saitiev, died in Moscow, said Mikhail Mamiashvili, President of the Wrestling Federation of the Russian Federation (FSBR). According to Baza, he fell out of the window of his apartment on Minsk Street.
It’s interesting to note that the Russian oligarch Suleyman Keremov, who is linked to a DOGE staffer in Jackie Sweet’s reporting this week for Rolling Stone, also represents Dagestan in the upper house of the Russian Federal Assembly.
WSJ on Amit Forlit and Justin Peterson of DCI
What a scummy firm DCI is:
Forlit also worked with DCI during the Argentine debt crisis, and prosecutors are investigating whether Forlit orchestrated the theft of emails from Argentine officials as Elliott’s nearly 15-year battle reached a fever pitch.
The documents say Forlit’s work for DCI related to the Argentine debt crisis began around December 2013, which was during Elliott’s efforts to recover hundreds of millions of dollars from its investment in the country’s bonds. The trade ultimately yielded more than $2 billion.
“No one at Elliott is aware of anyone at the firm ever having authorized, commissioned or paid for any hacking activities,” a spokesman for Elliott said.
House Ways and Means to threaten credit union tax exemption?
This would be extremely bad for federal workers:
Recognizing the growing and impending threat to credit unions’ tax exemption, the Defense Credit Union Council is rallying support from its members to send letters to Capitol Hill about why the tax break should be preserved.
As CUToday.info reported, The House Ways and Means Committee held a 20-minute discussion on the credit union tax exemption during yesterday's luncheon.
“As a result, there are several indications that the credit union tax exemption is at risk. This is a direct threat to the future of defense credit unions and the millions of service members, veterans, and their families who rely on our institutions for safe, affordable financial services,” said DCUC Chief Advocacy Officer Jason Stverak.
ActBlue money laundering operation thrown into chaos
It’s almost certainly very bad:
ActBlue, the online fundraising organization that powers Democratic candidates, has plunged into turmoil, with at least seven senior officials resigning late last month and a remaining lawyer suggesting he faced internal retaliation.
The departures from ActBlue, which helps raise money for Democrats running for office at all levels of government, come as the group is under investigation by congressional Republicans. They have advanced legislation that some Democrats warn could be used to debilitate what is the party’s leading fundraising operation.
Gladiator fights in LA juvenile detention
Are the winners offered wooden swords? From the venerable ABC 7:
Thirty Los Angeles County detention officers have been charged for their alleged role in facilitating "gladiator fights" between youth detainees at a juvenile hall in Downey, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Monday.
An indictment alleges that the officers "allowed and, in some instances, encouraged" 69 fights among youth inmates at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall between July and December of 2023, according to a statement by the California Department of Justice. More than 140 victims between the ages of 12 and 18 were involved.
Big human trafficking indictment in LA
This one of Guatemalans:
An illegal immigrant from Guatemala has been arrested on a four-count indictment alleging he led one of the largest human smuggling organizations in the United States, a ring that smuggled approximately 20,000 illegal immigrants from Guatemala to destinations nationwide over a five-year span, holding some of them hostage in stash houses and ultimately resulting in the deaths of seven illegal immigrants – including a 4-year-old child – who were killed in a November 2023 car accident in Oklahoma, the Justice Department announced today.
Eduardo Domingo Renoj-Matul, 51, a.k.a. “Turko,” of the Westlake neighborhood near downtown Los Angeles, was arrested Friday morning along with his alleged right-hand man, Cristobal Mejia-Chaj, 49, also of the Westlake neighborhood. These defendants were arraigned Friday and ordered to stand trial on April 22. A federal magistrate judge also ordered them jailed without bond.
Renoj-Matul allegedly led one of the largest human smuggling organizations in the United States, moving approximately 20,000 illegal immigrants from 2019 through July 2024.
California man sentenced over Indian human smuggling scheme
Seems like California has a lot of these!
A Santa Rosa, California resident, who is a citizen of India, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to six months in prison for Conspiracy to Bring in and Transport Certain Aliens for Profit, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller. Sushil Kumar, 35, and three others were indicted in connection with a scheme to smuggle non-citizens across the northern border for profit. The group was connected to two smuggling episodes in November and December 2023. At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge Tana Lin noted that those smuggled into the country are vulnerable. “That they wanted to be in the country doesn’t mean they were not exploited. Each was charged $5,000 to $10,000 which is months or years of their salary in the country from which they were coming… Human smuggling undermines our country’s ability to regulate the border at a real cost,” Judge Lin said.
25 Canadians arrested over grandparent scam
The absolute scum of the earth:
According to the Indictment, which was unsealed on March 4, 2025, between the summer of 2021 and June 4, 2024, the defendants engaged in a “Grandparent Scam” involving phone calls made from call centers in and around Montreal, Québec. During these phone calls, defendants falsely claimed to be an elderly victim’s relative, typically a grandchild, who had been arrested following a car crash and needed money for “bail.” Other defendants posed as an “attorney” representing the elderly victim’s relative. Elderly victims were often told that there was a “gag order” in place to prevent the elderly victim from telling anyone about their family member’s supposed arrest. Elderly victims were convinced to provide bail money to an individual falsely posing as a bail bondsman, who would come to the elderly victim’s home to collect the money. This money was later transmitted to Canada following cash deliveries and financial transactions, sometimes involving cryptocurrency, which, the Indictment alleges, obscured the source of the money and the identities of defendants.
Jury convicts Nassau County Detective for lying to FBI
Over his work for the Bonnano family:
Hector Rosario, a former detective with the Nassau County Police Department (NCPD), was found guilty today by a federal jury in Brooklyn of making false statements to Federal Bureau of Investigation agents about his work for the Bonanno crime family. The verdict followed a seven-day trial before United States District Judge Eric N. Vitaliano. Rosario was fired by the NCPD after he was indicted in August 2022. When sentenced, Rosario faces up to five years in prison.
State Department employee arrested over espionage charges
One to watch:
Michael Charles Schena, 42, of Alexandria, Virginia, was arrested on criminal charges related to his alleged participation in a criminal conspiracy to gather, transmit, or lose national defense information.
According to court documents, Schena is employed by the U.S. Department of State (DOS) working out of DOS Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Schena held a top secret security clearance and had access to information up to the secret level within his DOS workspace. Beginning in or about April 2022, Schena allegedly communicated with people he met online through various communication platforms and provided them with information they were not authorized to receive. In return, Schena received payments. On Feb. 27, Schena allegedly used a cellphone to take images of multiple documents, which were displayed on the monitor of his classified computer and marked as “SECRET.” Schena then allegedly left work and returned to his home in Alexandria, where the cellphone was seized.
Chinese espionage conspiracy at Joint Base Lewis-McChord
Also this week:
Jian Zhao, and Li Tian, active-duty U.S. Army soldiers stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, along with Ruoyu Duan, a former U.S. Army soldier, were arrested today following indictments by federal grand juries in the District of Oregon and the Western District of Washington. Tian and Duan were charged in the District of Oregon for conspiring to commit bribery and theft of government property. Zhao was charged in the Western District of Washington for conspiring to obtain and transmit national defense information to an individual not authorized to receive it, and also for bribery and theft of government property.
“The defendants arrested today are accused of betraying our country, actively working to weaken America’s defense capabilities and empowering our adversaries in China,” said Attorney General Pamela J. Bondi. “They will face swift, severe, and comprehensive justice.”