NEWS ARTICLES

August 5th 2012, ANDY'S UNPOPULAR HISTORY. Yesterday's WSJ Headline was, "Sands Probed in Money Moves."

The Sands is owned by Mitt Romney's and Newt Gingrich's good friend, Sheldon Adelson. Mr. Romney & Adelson recently went to Israel together.

As reported in the WSJ, the Federal authorities are investigating the Sands for possible aiding in the transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars of drug money, and possible money laundering, between people like Zhenli Ye Gon who's suspected of international drug trafficking, and working with the Sands to hide the money.

Mr. Zhenli has homes in many countries. Recently the US DEA raided Zhenli's home in Mexico City and found $250 million dollars.  Well...maybe it was the day to pay the gardener?

The Sands and I go back a long way. My first business trip to, and stay in, the Sands was in 1969. As a foot note, I am mathematically literate,  and I do NOT gamble in casinos. Even though I've been to Las Vegas 26 times, I have never won or lost any money gambling at the Sands, or its other Casinos, or in Las Vegas.

The world gun industry's biggest international Show is the SHOT Show in Las Vegas, in January. For years that Show was at the Las Vegas Convention Center. A good venue for Shows.

The SHOT Show is in my opinion controlled by Reed, a big international British based company. Reed has agents and bank accounts all over the world. There is in my view a front group in the USA for Reed, the NSSF composed of Americans.

A while back the SHOT Show moved from the LV Convention Center to the Sands. Supposedly because there was no room at the LV Convention Center. However, Reed NEVER booked the total LV Convention Center. The "no room" was in my opinion a phony issue.

The move was also supposedly because Reed had not made future reservations at the LV Convention Center. Reed is one of the biggest Show operators in the world, and was taking BIG fees out of the SHOT Show for managing things like long term Convention Hall reservations. The SHOT Show had already been going on for decades, but Reed supposedly didn't made reservations? Hmmm. Kind of strange - wouldn't you say?

Unlike the Las Vegas Convention Hall, the Sands Convention area was, and is, in my opinion a Cockroach Nest of separated rooms on many separate floors. A big part of the Sands Convention booth area is a PARKING GARAGE. To me, it's a giant mess.

At the time of the move, I publically said that in my opinion the real reason for Reed going FROM the LV Convention Hall, TO the Sands was because the Sands would be a lot more "user-friendly" as to where MONEY was coming from, and where the money was going, and how it get to where it was going.

I have no proof, but Reed does have agents and bank accounts all over the world. Including most of the tax havens. If Reed collects money for the SHOT Show overseas, and keeps that money overseas, but runs up its expenses in Las Vegas where the service is provide. The bottom line will look a LOT better.

In creative accounting, it's NOT that hard to hide money that was never in the USA to begin with.

When Reed transfers money from its tax havens around the world, back to England. Under the English Tax System money from "overseas profits" is taxed at a VERY low rate.

Editorially, I publically asked the NSSF, MANY TIMES, over many years, for an accounting of where the money was coming from and where it was going. I specifically asked if all of the MONEY from the MANY International exhibitors at the SHOT Show actually came to America? THE MONEY DETAILS WERE NEVER PROVIDED.

The NSSF has its "Board." They are nice people, but in my opinion they are naive and have been used. I had a very good friend who was well know and highly respected in the gun industry. A totally honest and ethical person, and a classic American. He was asked to join the "Board." However, my friend started asking some very specific questions about very specific large amounts  of money, and suddenly his "services" on the Board were no longer needed.

My suspicions, and editorial questions, about money movements go back a long way. Apparently they were causing pain for someone. In 1998 most of my staff, and myself, went to a convention in Ohio. Our home office was in Florida. A Ms. Dawne Severino was a sales person for our group. Right before everyone leaving for Ohia, Dawne said that she was sick, and couldn't go.

What I did not know at the time was is that one of the front groups had hired her as a mole. While most of my staff was in Ohio, Mr. Severino copied and/or stole my organization's: physical contracts, accounting records, future business promises from clients, supplier records and bank account records.

If they were looking for "dirt" on me, they didn't find any because there was none. However, it's common for crooks to think everyone else is a crook like them.

One of the things I did was complain to the FBI. There is a letter dated May 12, 1998, from our company, AFI Communions Group Inc. to the FBI's North Miami Branch. Then located at 16320 NW 2nd Ave, Miami 33169. If the FBI saves letters, and/or they put the letter into my file, then the details are there.

I gave a lot of thought to suing for Industrial Espionage. However, it was the Clinton years and the gun industry was under a lot of political pressure. At the time my thoughts were that an internal lawsuit was something that "the cause" didn't need. In retrospect, not suing WAS a major mistake on my part.

I do not have proof of illegal wrongdoing by the Sands. However, in my opinion, for a long time there's been a bad smell about the people and groups doing business with the Sands. In my view, for a long time, 2 X 2 was adding up to 3 and 5. Birds of a feather DO flock together.

EPILOG. Law Enforcement should never forget Harry Markopolos. TEN YEARS before Madoff turned himself in, Markopolos could see that Madoff was a crook. Markopolos said that after looking at Madoff's operation for five minutes he knew that Madoff was a fraud. Markopolos went to the SEC for YEARS and the SEC did NOTHING because the SEC was too STUPID to see the bigger picture. Through all of history there's always been some "nobody" who had the CORRECT answer.