http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=2610
http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=327
http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=1847
By John Shiffman
Philadelphia Inquirer
With a hidden FBI camera rolling inside a New York hotel suite in 2003, an unsuspecting Rev. Al Sharpton, Democratic candidate for president, spoke candidly.
Sharpton offered to help Philadelphia fund-raiser Ronald A. White win a multimillion-dollar business deal, if White helped him raise $50,000 for politics.
White offered $25,000. “If you bring my guys up on this hedge fund, and I have the right conversation,” White said, “I’ll give you what you need.”
“Cool,” Sharpton said.The Inquirer obtained an account of the May 9, 2003, conversation, which was recorded as part of the Philadelphia City Hall corruption case. The tape helped spark a separate inquiry into Sharpton’s 2004 campaign and his civil-rights organization, the National Action Network. The FBI-IRS probe resurfaced publicly Wednesday, when Sharpton aides received subpoenas.
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/homepage/12529201.html
http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=2244
From a Western Voices reader: Al Sharpton’s appearance on a federal surveillance video is not his debut in this medium, not surprising given his addiction to attention, and his experience in what some would call criminal racial blackmail. According to The http://www.realchange.org/sharpton.htm:
BUSTED: Caught on an FBI Surveillance Tape Discussing a Cocaine Deal
The television show HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel showed a 1983 FBI videotape in which Al Sharpton is seen talking about laundering drug money with former mobster Michael Franzese, a Mafioso-turned-undercover-FBI informant posing as a cocaine dealer. Now you might think something like this might be bad news for a presidential candidate, but to hear Sharpton talk about it, there’s nothing unseemly about it.
Now, to be fair, no indictments were issued and the sting operation was never completed. But those are pretty thin excuses for a president of the United States. (At least he didn’t blame a DUI on his political enemies.)
Sharpton got into this mess through his friendship with boxing promoter Don King, a longtime friend of his. Franzese, a former Colombo family captain, alleges that a South American drug dealer looking to launder money through boxing promotions approached him. According to Franzese,Sharpton was going to arrange a meeting between the dealer and King.
But the drug dealer was really an undercover FBI agent in a probe of boxing corruption. Sharpton claimed the tape was a “total attempt to set up and criminalize people,” that it was leaked to scuttle his possible presidential bid, and that HBO distorted the evidence by showing only selected portions of the tape. He also clamed that a second tape existed that exonerated him.
Sharpton sued HBO for defamation and asked for $1 billion in damages. (As if he had a billion dollar reputation before the tape aired.) HBO Sports spokesman Ray Stallone described the suit as “so silly that it is unworthy of comment.” Nothing has come of it since it was filed.