In what might be the biggest financial-political con in history, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, ACORN, is under "The Factor" microscope.
Who are they? ACORN is a far-left organization that signs up voters, lobbies for the poor and promotes low-income housing.
Who runs them? Up until recently, Wade Rathke and his brother Dale held much power within ACORN. But last year, Dale Rathke was exposed. Apparently he embezzled close to $1 million from the organization. ACORN declined to press charges, a reimbursement deal was struck, and the Rathke brothers resigned, but Wade is still deeply involved. Right now a woman named Bertha Lewis is in charge. She is out of New York City.
How does ACORN get money? Congressman John Boehner says ACORN affiliates in just 11 states have received more than $31 million in taxpayer funding, at least $11 million last year alone.
Also, a variety of ACORN affiliates, like the American Institute for Social Justice, give money directly to the parent organization. Social Justice, for example, has given ACORN more than $7 million in grants. The far-left SEIU, the service workers union, pays ACORN on a regular basis. Recently, ACORN mounted a campaign against Wal-Mart. The SEIU paid them $500,000 to do that.
By the way, former ACORN leader Wade Rathke founded the SEIU in New Orleans. As the church lady once said, how convenient.
So it is obvious that ACORN is a huge money-generating organization. But where does the money go?
"The Factor" and the "Glenn Beck" show traced the money to an address in New Orleans on Elysian Fields Avenue, an old funeral parlor that is being used as a money depot for ACORN and as many as 268 other far-left organizations. The doors were locked when "Factor" producer Dan Bank approached, but he did find an ACORN employee.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAN BANK, "FACTOR" PRODUCER: Excuse me, ma'am? I'm trying to go into the ACORN house. I'm wondering if you know what exactly is going on in there?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I don't.
BANK: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, you need to take that off of me.
BANK: Do you normally go in there?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think it's any of your business.
BANK: Well, I have here over 270 organizations that use that as their mailing address for millions of dollars going in. Do you know what that's all about?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I don't.
BANK: Do you know Wade Rathke?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't need to answer that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
We traced that woman. She is an ACORN employee. Then Dan went over to ACORN's other building on Canal Street:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BANK: I'm looking for a Mr. Wade Rathke. We have some questions about…
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He doesn't work here anymore.
BANK: Do you know why? Was it because his brother embezzled the money? Excuse me. I have some questions about Mr. Wade Rathke. Yeah, I'm wondering where Mr. Wade Rathke is?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is not here.
BANK: Sir, we just have a couple of questions. We just have a couple questions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) I'm not a manager. And he's not going…
(CROSSTALK)
BANK: Well, we want to know what's going on at Elysian Fields Avenue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Obviously, ACORN employees were not talking, but they should be talking — to the FBI.
With millions of dollars in play — some of it tax money — we don't know where the money is. We do know that seven ACORN employees were convicted of crimes in Washington state, and a number of other criminal investigations are underway. In Nevada and Pennsylvania, charges against ACORN people have already been brought.
But all of that pales next to the millions of dollars pouring into an old funeral home in New Orleans. Something is very wrong here.
And that's "The Memo."
Pinheads & Patriots
I'm a big baseball fan, and there's a pitcher named Dontrelle Willis who has been having a very hard time. But Tuesday night he made a great comeback for the Detroit Tigers, pitching a shutout for six innings, allowing just one hit. For fighting his way back from adversity, Mr. Willis is a patriot.
On the pinhead front, stuff like this happens every few months. Jesus or Mary appears somewhere and everybody jumps up and down. The latest is Jesus in a Cheeto package, or as some cynics call it, Cheesus.
Click here to see Cheesus in "Pinheads & Patriots"!
Somebody found this Cheeto, thought it looked like Jesus, and now we are telling you about it. So I could be the pinhead here — that's possible — but I'd much rather blame the pinheads who put this out in the first place.
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