[ SHOWGSD-L ] HSUS gets caught in dirty tricks AGAIN!
- From: Stormy Hope <Stormy435@xxxxxxx>
- To: freelist LIST <showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 31 Dec 2009 13:43:16 -0800
http://www.consumerfreedom.com/
The Center for Consumer Freedom
Court Decision Bullhooks HSUS Executive
The lawsuit was originally filed in 2000 and alleged wrongdoing by
circus elephant trainers, in violation of the Endangered Species Act.
It was based on information provided by a former Ringling elephant
trainer named Tom Rider. After leaving his job in 2000, Rider was paid
by animal rights groups to crisscross the country testifying about the
supposedly “bad” treatment of circus elephants. One of those groups
was the Fund for Animals, which Markarian took over in 2002.
The Fund for Animals merged with HSUS in 2005 and became the Humane
Society Legislative Fund, which Markarian continued to lead; he also
became HSUS’s Executive Vice President. (If you find this confusing,
you’re not alone: The Court referred to Markarian’s changing group
affiliations with the catch-all “FFA/HSUS”)
In his ruling, Judge Emmit Sullivan found that the Fund for Animals
paid Tom Rider $4,400 through Meyer Glitzenstein & Crystal, the law
firm litigating its case. The Fund also paid Rider $1,000 directly,
and funneled an additional $11,500 to him through the “Wildlife
Advocacy Project” (WAP), a nonprofit group founded by some of the law
firm’s attorneys.
All told, the cabal of plaintiff animal rights groups paid Rider at
least $190,000. And Judge Sullivan wrote that this was his "sole
source of income" as the case made its way through the federal court
system.
Markarian’s testimony tried to muddle the pay-for-play implications,
but the Court found it dubious at best. In his ruling, Judge Sullivan
writes:
Beginning in December 2001 and continuing until at least the beginning
of 2008, the organizational plaintiffs made payments to WAP for the
purpose of funding Mr. Rider. While FFA/HSUS (Mr. Markarian) testified
that it was not certain whether WAP used its “donations” for other
purposes as well, this testimony is undermined by the documents
underlying FFA/HSUS’s “donations,” which indicate that the money was
specifically for use in connection with this litigation. FFA/HSUS’s
testimony also is questionable given that in 2003, plaintiffs’
counsel, Ms. Meyer, specifically sent an email to the representatives
of the organizational plaintiffs, including Mr. Markarian, requesting
funds to support Mr. Rider’s advocacy efforts regarding the elephants
and the lawsuit, and expressly suggesting that the funds for Mr. Rider
could be contributed to WAP so that they would be tax deductible.
HSUS also co-hosted a July 2005 fundraiser in California, along with
the ASPCA and the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), for the explicit
purpose of raising money to “wage this battle on behalf of the
elephants.” As Judge Sullivan notes, “proceeds from the fundraiser
(more than $13,000.00) were provided by AWI to WAP, which in turn
disbursed those funds to Mr. Rider.”
It appears that Michael Markarian and a stampede of other animal
rights leaders engaged in a conspiracy to funnel money to a witness in
federal court—including help of their lawyers, who used a tax-exempt
charity as their favorite “bag man.” But Judge Sullivan smelled the
rat a mile away: “The Court finds that Mr. Rider is essentially a paid
plaintiff and fact witness who is not credible, and therefore affords
no weight to his testimony…. [T]he primary purpose [for the payments]
is to keep Mr. Rider involved with the litigation…”
It remains to be seen whether the fallout from this stinging courtroom
defeat will be significant. For starters, we’re recommending today
that the IRS immediately suspend the Wildlife Advocacy Project’s tax-
exempt status, and that HSUS suspend Markarian until it has made
public a full accounting of Markarian’s use of funds from unsuspecting
donors.
Yesterday, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit against the Ringling
Bros. circus brought by a herd of animal activist groups, including
the Fund for Animals (FFA), now a branch of the animal-rights “Humane
Society” of the United States (HSUS). While the ruling was based on a
legal technicality, the finer details indicate something sinister: a
pay-to-play conspiracy involving HSUS executive Michael Markarian.
Let’s take a look. [Click here for a copy of the ruling.]
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