Article & (Audio) Interview with D.Hopsicker (2/7/06)

by **BannedfromDU** » Sat Feb 11, 2006 2:49 am

(Audio) Interview with Daniel Hopsicker About the Venice Florida Cover-up (2/7/06) February 7, 2006: FTR #516: Interview with Daniel Hopsicker About the Venice Florida Cover-up | Listen (RealAudio) <a href="http://wfmu.org/listen.ram?show=17989&archive=25573">wfmu.org/listen.ram?show=...hive=25573</a> | Listen (MP3 (128K)) <a href="http://wfmu.org/listen.m3u?show=17989&archive=25574">wfmu.org/listen.m3u?show=...hive=25574</a> ================= Archives for Dave Emory <a href="http://wfmu.org/playlists/DX">wfmu.org/playlists/DX</a> Recommended listening. ======================================================== Jack Abramoff and the Republican Black Hand FEB 07 2006--Venice,FL. by Daniel Hopsicker When Jack Abramoff showed up looking like an old-time Mafia don complete with black fedora and matching trench coat last month, to plead guilty to felony fraud charges in a Federal Court in Washington D.C., puzzled observers were asking: what could he possibly have been thinking? But the beleaguered Republican lobbyist may have been making more than a fashion statement... Abramoff’s garb may have suited his station in life better than the American press was ready to admit. The ‘Disgraced Lobbyist’ job description with which he was incessantly tagged might be less accurate than that of 'Gangland Kingpin.’ And for that role, it must be said, he was impeccably turned out. Because whatever else Abramoff is remembered for, he is sure to go down in history as the man who gambled the reputation and prestige of the national Republican Party on the uncertain outcome of a murder trial that Court TV's Nancy Grace should really sink her teeth into, placing the GOP squarely in the middle of somebody's deadly earnest Mob War. To get some idea of the immensity of Mr. Abramoff's accomplishment, one need only picture Ed Meese and Dick Cheney going to the mattresses. Full- <a href="http://www.madcowprod.com/">www.madcowprod.com/</a>

by **sunny** » Sat Feb 11, 2006 12:42 pm

Look, Hopsicker is great, but why not a single citation or link, ever, in any of his articles? His stories always sound plausible,and they are certainly exciting, but how can one take anything he says seriously when nothing is offered to his readers that they may check the authenticity of his research?

by **Qutb** » Sat Feb 11, 2006 2:26 pm

Hopsicker does his research in the real world, not on the internet or in libraries. He talks to people who know things, who have seen things. IMO, that makes his research more interesting than that of someone who writes "well researched" articles packed with links to his favorite conspiracy blogs. Internet-based parapolitical research is in many ways a closed system - Hopsicker, at his best, brings in new information from outside the "echo box". Of course, given the nature of Hopsicker's research, it's difficult for readers to check the authenticity of his claims. That's where you have to use your "rigorous intuition", in the end it's a question of whether it's someone you feel is telling the truth, and the track record as far as stories "panning out". Hopsicker was writing abut the Gus Boulis murder and the connection to Abramoff months before the story broke in the "MSM", which definitely helped his credibility with me (and I already "intuitively" found him credible). Sometimes, though, he's a bit quick to jump to conclusions based on rather flimsy evidence. But he definitely deserves credit for what he does.

by **Dreams End** » Sat Feb 11, 2006 2:46 pm

Hopsicker needs an editor! His stuff is very good, but sometimes the style is hard to read. I can NEVER find a particular piece of information I might want on his website. Also, original research can be handled with some explanation of where the info was obtained. Even "in a conversation with someone in the company who didn't want to give his name" is better than nothing. And sometimes it's clear his info comes from public records and that sort of thing (such as his information on the "Saudi Genesis" company and it's connections to all kinds of familiar people. Most of it looks like simply looking at incorporating docs and websites, etc but you can't always tell. And, for other researchers out there doing original research and interviews, you should always make it clear if you are citing an interview you did or taking quotes from elsewhere. That said, he has so much detail that he has always seemed credible to me. I don't know exactly what his "big picture" view of things is, but surely there's a lot to the whole Venice connection.

by **sunny** » Sat Feb 11, 2006 3:20 pm

DE said: Also, original research can be handled with some explanation of where the info was obtained. **************************************** From Hopsicker: In newspaper interviews in the early 80's, Seminole Chief Billie had acknowledged as much. "There might be some semblance of truth," he said, to the allegation that Organized Crime helped capitalize the tribe's first bingo hall. ____________________________________________________ Perhaps a citation to the newspaper, date of article? ___________________________________________________ Hopsicker: Even the Inspector General's Office for the U.S. Department of Interior—never known to be an eager beaver outfit—reported ties between one of the companies managing the Seminole casinos' operations and an organized crime family. ~snip~ “The Seminole Indians of Florida, who run four gambling operations in the state, also have a stake in a St Maarten casino. Their original entry into gambling came via a Meyer Lansky associate named James (Skip) Weisman,” they reported. ____________________________________________________ A citation to the report would be helpful. ___________________________________________________ She was told to keep her mouth shut if she wanted to keep her legs," testified investigator Roger Odom, a former Seminole police officer, in a deposition. ____________________________________________________ What deposition? From what case? ____________________________________________________ Just a few examples. I'm quite sure Hopsicker does original research, gumshoe style. That's great. But where he could cite documentation, he doesn't usually do so. This is one of the things we are always critisizing msm for doing, not to mention their use of anonymous sources. Edited by: <A HREF=http://p216.ezboard.com/brigorousintuition.showUserPublicProfile?gid=sunny@rigorousintuition>sunny</A> at: 2/11/06 12:21 pm

by **Dreams End** » Sat Feb 11, 2006 7:02 pm

Good examples, sunny. The level of detail and internal consistency gives it some credibility, but it's so simple to source that info...and really nice people, like Jeff, usually even include a link if the info is online.

by **sunny** » Sat Feb 11, 2006 8:34 pm

I was thinking in terms of people who are new to the information Hopsicker is writing about. DE: The level of detail and internal consistency gives it some credibility, but it's so simple to source that info I agree, and am inclined to believe him for just that reason. But as I said, people new to the info might be leary.Who is to say he didn't just make up the quotes from newspaper articles from the '80's? People are under no obligation to believe unsourced information. Many people don't believe the NYT and WaPo anymore for just that reason. Sourcing such as I have suggested would lend his information more credibility.

by **Qutb** » Sat Feb 11, 2006 10:21 pm

Yes, I have to agree about that. As a researcher it would give him some additional credibility. I don't think he identifies himself as a researcher though, more of a "hard boiled" independent investigative journalist, and citations would interfer with his gonzo style.

by **starroute** » Sat Feb 11, 2006 10:55 pm

I have to say for Hopsicker that to the extent his stuff can be cross-checked, it's almost always accurate. For example, I spent an afternoon googling Wally Hilliard once, and though I didn't come up with Hopsicker's specific information, everything I did find held together and matched up. His current piece seems very credible to me because it fits in with things I've already seen about mob and other dubious connections to casino gambling. For example, here are some paragraphs from an article about the Seminoles from the Baltimore Sun which backs up parts of Hopsicker's story. <a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/realestate/bal-te.cordish15mar15,1,7632356.story?coll=bal-realestate-headlines-1&ctrack=1&cset=true">www.baltimoresun.com/busi...&cset=true</a> <blockquote>Quote:<hr>Enigmatic partners pursue a rich deal Casinos: The Seminole chief is dismissed and a lawyer shot, but Baltimore's Cordish Co. completes the difficult project. By Robert Little and Mike Adams Sun National Staff Originally published March 15, 2004 Second of two parts Two Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino complexes developed by the Cordish Co. - the fruits of a deal that Fields initiated, according to tribal officials - will be finished in the coming days. The resort-style facility near Tampa that opened fully on Thursday, and the flagship project in Hollywood expected to open in May, are among the most envied and potentially profitable casinos in the Indian gambling industry. Their 3,800 gambling machines, bingo and poker games, hotels and restaurants are expected to generate more than $4.76 billion in net revenue over the next 10 years, with more than $1.3 billion going to a Cordish Co. subsidiary, making the firm one of the highest-paid casino developers to ever strike a deal with an Indian tribe. An examination of the Seminole Tribe's casino development deal, including a study of financial documents and court records, offers a revealing glimpse inside the boardrooms where the multibillion-dollar casino deal was crafted. Fields was the first of many enigmatic characters that Baltimore's celebrity development firm embraced during its three-year plunge into tribal gambling and politics. The Cordish Co. eventually signed the deal with James E. Billie, the Seminole Tribe's alligator-wrestling chief, who was later ousted from office amid allegations of embezzlement, corruption and sexual harassment. Tribal official Timothy W. Cox - engaged as a Cordish Co. business partner - was arrested by the FBI, accused of squandering Seminole riches through shadowy businesses in Nicaragua and Belize, and later cleared after an abortive federal trial. The tribe's general counsel, one of the Cordish Co.'s primary contacts, was shot three times as the deal neared completion. . . . The Cordish Co., developer of the Power Plant at Baltimore's Inner Harbor, is one of the nation's specialists in designing and building urban retail and entertainment projects. The only five-time winner of the Urban Land Institute's prestigious development awards, the company has carried out successful projects in Houston, Charleston, S.C., and other cities. . . . The new Cordish Co. gambling team also made an aggressive push with the Seneca Nation of New York, and soon had a deal for exclusive rights to build Seneca casinos in Niagara Falls and Buffalo. Members of the Seneca Tribe say they were lavished with dinners, theater tickets and trips - to President Bush's inauguration in Washington, shows in New York City and the Seminole casino site in Hollywood - though they are uncertain who paid for what. Cox's contract with the Cordish Co., which he provided to The Sun, promised him $1 million if he could land a deal with the Senecas. . . . But the Cordish Co.'s problems were just about to begin, and Billie's long reign as tribal chief was just about to end. Billie and Cox had been losing favor with the tribal leadership and would soon be the subjects of an internal audit. An Internet gambling operation Cox was engineering in Belize was catching FBI attention, as was his hotel deal in Nicaragua. And an 18-year employee of the tribe was about to go public with allegations that she had had a sexual relationship with Billie, was forced to have an abortion, and that he fired her then gave her more than $100,000 to keep quiet. The Cordish Co. had taken a chance signing a contract with the Seminoles, who even then faced a lawsuit filed by the U.S. attorney in Tampa, who contended that the tribe's gambling machines were illegal under Class II regulations. And while everyone was smiling at the groundbreaking, financing for the new hotel-casinos was far from assured. . . . There is no evidence that the Cordish Co. played any role in removing the tribe's chairman. But for more than a year, the Hard Rock development team was meeting and negotiating with the tribal attorneys and officials battling with Billie. Fields and Weinberg spoke with the tribe's lawyers and others involved in the deal nearly every day for long stretches, and sometimes several times a day. All shared a common interest - keeping Billie and his associates from causing more damage to their fragile project.<hr></blockquote>

Article & (Audio) Interview with D.Hopsicker (2/7/06)

Article & (Audio) Interview with D.Hopsicker (2/7/06)

Re: Article & (Audio) Interview with D.Hopsicker (2/7/0

"Citations and links"

Re: "Citations and links"

Re: "Citations and links"

Re: "Citations and links"

Re: "Citations and links"

good examples

Re: good examples

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