by @ 2:26 pm on September 20, 2007.
By Debbie Schlussel
An interesting exhibit is scheduled to be admitted into evidence, today, in the ongoing federal trial of The Coastal Corporation CEO, billionaire and oilman Oscar Wyatt: His Little Black Book.
But at least one person has already seen what's in it: Me. And I'm about to tell you the contents, which I've known for some time. The document dates back only a few years.
Not On Blackberry: From the First Page of Oscar Wyatt's Address Book
Oscar Wyatt's address book has been the subject of much speculation and failed objections by defense attorneys in Wyatt's ongoing trial for illegally doing business with Saddam Hussein and taking kickbacks in the oil for food scam.
And since I've long known what was in the book, I can see why. Home phone numbers and addresses for top Saddam officials, such as Tariq Abdul Aziz (Saddam's loyal Prime Minister and second in command) populate the book. Ditto for Abdul Al-Takriti [sic] of Saddam's Ministry of Oil and a cousin of his (Al-Tikriti, as it is actually spelled, means "The Tikriti" or from Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown). Saad Al-Takriti [sic], another Saddam cousin and top Oil Ministry official, is also listed. Saddam's U.N. Ambassador, Nizar Hamdoon, has all of his home and business contact info prominently listed in a long entry in the Wyatt address book.
Gen. Amir Rashid, Saddam's Minister of Oil, is in the book. Then, there is Saib B. Majid, the contracts manager and consulting engineer of Saddam's Ministry of Oil. And there are many other top Iraqi oil officials listed. There is also a Saddam Hassein listed, though it's not clear if it's a typo and, indeed, the guy now rotting in hell, or just another Ba'athist Iraqi with a similar name.
Just as troubling are the many addresses and home phone numbers of top Iranian officials, including H. Ghanimi Fard, Director of International Affairs for the National Iranian Oil Company in Tehran, S. M. Hosseini, Director of Exploration for the same company, and Dr. A. Honardoost, also of Tehran. That hints that Oscar Wyatt was also doing business with Khomeini's Iran and post-Khomeini Iran–both in apparent violation of the Iranian embargo.
And then there are the Libyans listed. Top guys like Musa El-Arbi and Dr. Ahmed A. Frejani, both with Tripoli, Libya business addresses and phone numbers. It sure looks like Wyatt was violating our then-embargo on doing biz with Libya.
Notable in the book are entries for Mohammed Saidji and Carlos "Catalina" Miguel, both of Switzerland, with whom Wyatt allegedly deposited millions into a Jordanian National Bank account in Amman controlled by Saddam, as a "surcharge" paid in the Iraqi oil-for-food scam.
Very disturbing to me is the presence of the name Richard L. Crocker, U.S. Customs Service, at a Sterling, Virginia address. A 24-hour number is listed for him. Why did Wyatt need a contact on-call 24 hours a day from the then-U.S. Customs Service? Was he trying to get something into the country or out of it that he shouldn't have been?
I'm told that Mr. Crocker is now the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Assistant Special Agent in Charge for Memphis. He worked at the U.S. Customs Service headquarters in 1999 and 2001. At the time of the listing, Sterling, VA was the location of a U.S. Customs Service Resident Agent in Charge office. It is now the location of the Washington, DC Customs Special Agent in Charge office for ICE, and ICE's Cyber Crimes Section is located there, too.
Then, there is the presence of Sheikh Khalid Bin Mahfouz in the Oscar Wyatt directory. Bin Mahfouz, a top Saudi financier accused of funding Al-Qaeda, has silenced and obtained questionable retractions from many writers regarding what is well-documented involvement in a suspicious chain of money, including his Muwafaq Foundation, which the Treasury Department designated as an Al-Qaeda front.
Bin Mahfouz has been cited as part of the "Golden Chain"–the Al-Qaeda finance network–and was part of the scandal-ridden BCCI. He was once married to and then divorced from Osama Bin Laden's sister. Despite this, he repeatedly denies the claim and has obtained fraudulent retractions from the Wall Street Journal and others on this. And he sued noted author and terrorism-financing expert Rachel Ehrenfeld, trying to silence her book in Britain, since he could not get away with doing so here. She turned the tables on him and sued him here.
What was Oscar Wyatt doing with him? Was he paying off Al-Qaeda? Would love to know the details of those deals.
And amidst the parade of Gulf State royalty in the Wyatt phone book– the ruling Al-Khalifa family of Bahrain, Al-Sabah family of Kuwait, and Al-Thani family of Qatar all made the book, as did Saudi billionaire Prince, Islamofascist, and major FOX News shareholder Prince Al-Waleed Bin Talal (listed as Prince Tallal)–is the questionable American "royalty":
* The Honorable Edward M. Kennedy and his nephew, the Honorable Patrick J. Kennedy, are the only Members of the Senate and Congress in the book. Did they know about Wyatt's illegal dealings with Saddam? Did they help facilitate it? We don't know for sure, but it's suspicious . . . especially since their direct phone numbers, and home addresses and phone numbers are listed. Even Ted Kennedy's many paramours–like the waitress en flagrante delicto on the floor of La Brasserie–don't get that kind of information. Illegally dealing with Saddam apparently has more cache than pillow talk at Club Ted.
* The Rev. Jesse Jackson and his Rainbow PUSH Coalition made the book. And strangely, in addition to Jackson's "Business" number, "Business Fax" number, and "Home" telephone number, there is a phone number listed as "Other." Is it the number of his extramarital girlfriend with whom he fathered an illegitimate kid and to whom the Rainbow PUSH Coalition made illegal, fraudulent pay-offs? Don't bet against it.
* ABC celebrity interviewer and "The View" Hostess Barbara Walters and her home address and phone number are in the Wyatt book. Other than a Kuwaiti journalist's contact info, she is the only other "journalist" so noted. Why? Did Ms. Walters know about Mr. Wyatt's illegal dealings? Clearly, with her home contact info, Mr. Wyatt knew her on far more than a professional, journalistic basis. Her close friendships with a lot of her potential interview subjects is troubling.
* Marc Rich–Remember him? That was Bill Clinton's fugitive friend, pardoned from millions in federal tax evasion, while he lived the high life and went skiing in Switzerland. He sold oil to Iran and Iraq in violation of our embargoes. Was Oscar Wyatt consulting him on how to get away with the same? Sure seems like it. Rich's Swiss mansion is listed, complete with phone number.
Others in the book: Henry Kissinger, Adnan Khashoggi (listed under Khasoggi), Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, Mrs. Pat Buckley (wife of William F.), designer Bill Blass, former Senators Lloyd Bentsen and Bob Dole, former Texas Gov. Ann Richards, James Schlesinger, Clark Clifford, media exec Barry Diller, Edsel Ford, Roger Smith, Robert Strauss, defense attorney Brendan Sullivan, Steve Forbes, H. Ross Perot, T. Boone Pickens, members of the Niarchos Greek shipping magnate family, and famed heart surgeon, Dr. Michael E. DeBakey.
Very interesting is a listing,
Nigerian Scams c/o U.S. Secret Service Financial Crimes Division.
Just watch Wyatt's attorneys use this in his defense, claiming that his illegal trade with Iraq, Iran, and Libya was okay because he was "helping the government." I called it, first.
And finally, a notation under the name Carroll Groen:
He has moved permanently to Arizona. If we need hunting licenses, he has a son and daughter who live in Colorado. Call him and he will let his son/daughter know we need licenses.
Hopefully, after the trial, Oscar Wyatt won't be in a place where he'll be needing a hunting license anytime soon.
The URI to TrackBack this entry is: http://www.trinastich.com/wp-trackback.php?p=5432
No comments:
Post a Comment