Global Environmental Energy Corp

[scion]

Albert ain't no mobster. Capisce?

THEY MADE Albert Reynolds an offer he couldn't refuse. Dot.com merchants came bearing gifts, and now Albert finds himself attached to a company being investigated by the FBI.

And not alone is Albert linked to the dodgy company so is Marlborough, the company in which Bertie Ahern's buddy and erstwhile fundraiser, Des Richardson, is a director (Des is the chap who didn't offer Liam Lawlor £100,000).

It was inevitable that sooner or later, as the Celtic Bubble expanded at an ever-faster rate, that the Irish business world would connect with the New York mafia. But who would have thought that the collision would embarrass such prominent movers and shakers and provide such entertainment for us all?

We had better say, before Albert reaches for a lawyer, that Albert and the Marlborough people were entirely ignorant of the criminal behaviour that is being alleged against the people with whom they became entangled.

We had better further make it clear that we're not just saying that to legally cover ourselves. Lest there be any mistake: Albert Reynolds is not a made man with the mob. He got involved with these people out of sheer ignorance.

A company named E-pawn came calling, with offers of shares. Albert became an advisor to the company. In a press release dated May 17 last, Albert was described as the chairman of E-pawn's advisory committee. E-pawn, an internet auction site, has been announcing link-ups with various outfits this jewellery company, that real estate company, the other Swiss investment company as it expands into Europe. Albert helped the company connect with Marlborough. He said in that May 17 press release that the link would be an ``excellent opportunity for both companies''.

Meanwhile, the FBI was about to bring Operation Uptick to a climax. This was a lengthy investigation, involving 600 agents, into the involvement of New York's notorious and battered five crime ``families'', chiefly the Bonanno and Colombo outfits, in a company called DMN Capital Investments.

Allegedly, this was a front for the mob. US Attorney Mary Jo White last week described DMN as ``an investment bank to the crooked and corrupt''. It bought shares in lacklustre companies. Then it bribed stockbrokers to tell their customers how great these companies were. Fools rushed in, the mob sold the shares, took the profits, the fools lost out.

Stockbrokers who had second thoughts received visits from big men whose names have not yet been revealed but who will almost certainly turn out to be called something like Louis the Butcher, Frankie the Axe and Joey the Crusher. (Business tip: never get involved with people whose middle name is ``the''.)

People who didn't co-operate were beaten. There is one allegation of solicitation of murder.

The mob is estimated to have taken $50m from eejits, mostly elderly, rushing to pour money into the latest get-rich-quick scheme. For example, people were enticed to invest in a chain of day-care centres worth $90m. The company had assets of $2,000. The mob had projects in hand to strip two pension funds (including one for New York detectives). Joseph's Ristorante, near Wall Street, and the upmarket St Regis Hotel were venues for the kickbacks of mob profits.

So far, 120 people (in New York, Illinois, Connecticut, Texas, Florida and several others states) have been arrested, with 21 of them connected to the Bonanno and Colombo families. There are charges of fraud, violence and threats of violence, racketeering, extortion, money laundering and witness tampering (sounds like Louis, Frankie and Joey have been busy). Last year, a Bonanno associate got eight years on similar charges.

Two executives of a fast-food chain called Ranch 1 have been arrested (they are said to be Colombo associates), and trading in the shares of two companies Wamex (worth $184m) and E-pawn (worth $198m) has been suspended, while the ownership of the companies is examined. E-pawn was allegedly controlled by ``a convicted felon'', say the Feds.

Last week, Wamex launched an Internet advert for a share-trading system. The flashy presentation came complete with no kidding sound effects that could be mistaken for gunshots.

Marlborough immediately distanced itself from E-pawn. Albert, not alone ignorant but innocent, explained to Marian Finucane on Friday that he was just doing research for E-pawn, looking into companies that they thought might be worth looking into. And, presumably, providing them with a ``one-sheet'' analysis (old Beef tribunal joke; forget about it).

By GENE KERRIGAN

http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=9&si=...