<tt>From:</tt> <tt>
&quot;David Guyatt&quot; &lt;[EMAIL PROTECTED]&gt;</tt>
<br><br>
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Tom Easton contacted me recently to ask if my own 
research on plundered WW11 gold dovetailed in any way with his lawsuit of the 
stolen Ustasha treasury bullion.&nbsp; It seems that the Ustasha gold moved 
through Austria on its way to wherever (?) - a fact I was not previously aware 
of.&nbsp; </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>This is interesting, as Gunther Russbacher's story 
spoke of gold that had left Austria just prior to war's end, thence to Spain, 
onward to Argentine and finally to the Philippines a few years later.&nbsp; 
Fifty years later in the 1990's, the same gold was apparently shipped back from 
the P.I's to Austria - via a certain well known facilitator - with the help of 
Russbacher and his merry band of men.&nbsp; It thereafter ended its life back in 
the Austrian central bank (or even possibly the Bundesbank?) allegedly to 
support the Eurodollar -- but more likely to form part of the gold reserves that 
now back the Euro.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>One member of Gunther's "team" told me that the 
amount of gold involved was "nearly" 400 metric tonnes.&nbsp; This is a very 
interesting figure.&nbsp;&nbsp;In the international black market quantities of 
AU (gold) often are often used as an identifier to a given transaction. A wise 
seller will, if unsuccessful the first time around (as often is the case) 
will&nbsp;re-offer the bullion in smaller volumes - or in tranches - to 
camouflage&nbsp;the fact that it is the same transaction on offer.&nbsp; For 
example, a large block of gold originating from Thailand continues to re-appear 
periodically in the black market and is immediately identified by its quantity - 
marginally above 5,000 metric tonnes.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>But back to the Russbacher deal.&nbsp; 
Argen</FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2>tina's dictator, Juan Domingo 
Peron,&nbsp;was elected president in 1946,&nbsp;(re-elected in </FONT><FONT 
face=Arial size=2>1951 and again in 1954) and fled to exile to Spain in 1955 
following a military coup d'etat.&nbsp; </FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2>In Spain 
Peron retained control over 400 metric tonnes of gold that was&nbsp;placed under 
the "tutorship" of the Spanish government.&nbsp; "Tutorship" presumably meant 
that the Spanish central bank was able to lease the gold to its benefit, but not 
assume overall ownership.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Significantly, this 400 tonnes was put on sale in 
1973, the same year Peron won re-election as President of Argentina, 
allegedly&nbsp;as a result&nbsp;of&nbsp;the vital support of OPUS DEI -- and the 
year of the OPEC oil price shocks.&nbsp; Travelling in the plane back to 
Argentina with Peron was non other than Licio Gelli.&nbsp; Gelli was, of course, 
a fascist and was Venerable Master of the now infamous P2 Masonic lodge that was 
riddled with powerful right wing Catholics.&nbsp; </FONT><FONT face=Arial 
size=2>Gelli's boss was Umberto Ortolani, a member of the inner council of the 
Knights of Malta - who sometimes hawk WW11 gold on the black market.&nbsp; One 
of Ortolani's prot�g�s was Giuseppe Valori, secretary to the then newly formed 
Institute for International Relations (IIR), an appendage of the Pinay 
Circle.&nbsp; Interestingly, Valori was a dedicated Peron&nbsp;supporter.&nbsp; 
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Of considerable interest was that the code-name of 
the proposed Peron gold sale.&nbsp; This was "BOR 1345."&nbsp; This raises the 
question that the code-name might be an identifier for 
BORMANN?&nbsp;&nbsp;Despite almost five decades of disinformation to the 
contrary,&nbsp;we&nbsp;know that Martin Bormann escaped Berlin to live to an old 
age in Argentina, where as legal heir, he assumed&nbsp;control of all Hitler's 
personal assets and those of the Third Reich.&nbsp;&nbsp;In the view of some 
respected writers these&nbsp;amounted to an incredible fortune.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>No one knows for sure if the proposed 1973 Peron 
gold sale was actually consummated or not and the intermediary, a senior 
official at the Italian Ministry of Finance - allegedly operating in a private 
capacity - did not reveal the outcome of the affair.&nbsp; </FONT></DIV>
<DIV>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>David</FONT></DIV>
<DIV>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV>&nbsp;</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE 
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; 
PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px">
  <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
  <DIV 
  style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> 
  <A href="mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]" [EMAIL PROTECTED]>Brian Downing Quig</A> 
  </DIV>
  <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A 
  href="mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]" 
  [EMAIL PROTECTED]>[EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> </DIV>
  <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, February 02, 2000 12:20 
  AM</DIV>
  <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [CIA-DRUGS] VATICAN LAW SUIT - 
  circulate widely</DIV>
  <DIV><BR></DIV><TT>From:</TT> <TT>Brian Downing Quig &lt;<A 
  href="mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]">[EMAIL PROTECTED]</A>&gt;</TT> <BR><BR><FONT 
  size=-1>Tom Easton 
  
CSB#109218&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
 
  ORIGINAL</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>Jonathan H. Levy CSB# 
  158032&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; FILED</FONT> <BR><FONT 
  size=-1>Law Office of Thomas Dewey Easton JAN 21 2000</FONT> <BR><FONT 
  size=-1>1335 Pebble Beach Drive</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>Crescent City, CA 
  95531</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>Telephone: 707-464-4513</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>Facsimile: 707-465-5389</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>Attorneys for Plaintiffs and the Class</FONT> 
  <P><FONT 
  
size=-1>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
 
  UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT</FONT> 
  <P><FONT 
  
size=-1>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
 
  NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA</FONT> 
  <P><FONT 
  
size=-1>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
 
  SAN FRANCISCO</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>EMIL ALPERIN, JEWGENIJA ROMANOVA, MARIA DANKEWITSCH, VLADIMIR 
  MORGUNOV, VLADIMIR BRODICH, WILLIAM DORICH, and IGOR NAJFELD on behalf of 
  themselves and all other persons similarly situated;</FONT> <BR><FONT 
  size=-1>ORGANIZATION OF UKRAINIAN ANTIFASCIST RESISTANCE FIGHTERS; and 
  UKRAINIAN UNION OF NAZI VICTIMS AND PRISONERS, on behalf of themselves and all 
  others similarly situated,</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>Plaintiffs,</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>v.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>VATICAN BANK, a/k/a "INSTITUTE OF RELIGIOUS WORKS" or 
  "ISTITUTO PER LE OPERE DI RELIGIONE" (IOR); THE FRANCISCAN ORDER (O.F.M..) 
  a/k/a CROATIAN FRANCISCANS and CROATIAN COFRATERNITY OF</FONT> <BR><FONT 
  size=-1>THE COLLEGE of SAN GIROLAMO DEGLI ILLIRICI, UNKNOWN CATHOLIC RELIGIOUS 
  ORDERS, and their successors, UNKNOWN RECIPIENTS OF NAZI AND USTASHA LOOT, AND 
  SWISS, AUSTRIAN, ARGENTINE,</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>SPANISH, ITALIAN, 
  PORTUGUESE, VATICAN &amp; GERMAN BANKING INSTITUTIONS AND CALIFORNIA AND OTHER 
  UNITED STATES CORRESPONDENT BANKS AS DOES #1-100,</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>Defendants.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>NO. C99-4941 MMC</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>FIRST AMENDED CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT FOR:</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>1. CONVERSION;</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>2. UNJUST ENRICHMENT;</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>3. RESTITUTION;</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>4. AN ACCOUNTING; and</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>5. HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>AND VIOLATIONS OF</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>INTERNATIONAL LAW.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>&nbsp;</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>JURY TRIAL DEMANDED</FONT> 
  <P><FONT 
  
size=-1>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
 
  INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT: NATURE OF ACTION</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>1. This is a civil action arising under customary 
  international law and the laws of the United States of America on behalf of 
  named Plaintiffs and a class of all Jews, Serbians, and former Soviet Union 
  citizens (and</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>their heirs and beneficiaries), who 
  suffered physical, monetary and/or property losses including slave labor, due 
  to the systematic and brutal extermination of Jews, Serbians, and Romani by 
  the Nazi puppet</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>Regime, The Independent State of 
  Croatia (NDH) led by Pavelic&amp;rsquo;s Ustasha Regime, and as a result of 
  the occupation of the former Soviet Union by Croatian military forces in 
  concert with their German</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>occupation forces. This is 
  an action against the Vatican Bank, Franciscan Order and Unknown Catholic 
  Religious Orders, and as yet unnamed recipients of Nazi and Ustasha Loot, 
  Swiss, Austrian, Argentine,</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>Spanish, Italian, 
  Portuguese, and German banking institutions and California and other United 
  States correspondent banks for their participation in and benefit from the 
  Ustasha Regime&amp;rsquo;s acts of cruelty</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>and 
  violence.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>2. Plaintiffs (their heirs and beneficiaries) seek an 
  accounting, restitution, disgorgement and to recover damages arising out of 
  the participation of Defendant, VATICAN BANK or Istituto Per Le Opere Di 
  Religione</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>(hereinafter referred to as IOR), the 
  FRANCISCAN ORDER and Unknown Catholic Religious Orders, unknown recipients of 
  Nazi and Ustasha loot, and other banking institutions and correspondent banks 
  and</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>religious orders and organizations in a common 
  scheme and course of conduct: (a) to profit from, both directly and 
  indirectly, the inhumane and genocidal system instituted by the Nazi-directed 
  Ustasha Regime</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>in Croatia and territories subject to 
  Croatian civil or military occupation upon those peoples that it viewed, not 
  as human beings, but as subhuman according to Nazi and Ustasha ideology; (b) 
  to obtain, accept,</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>conceal, convert and profit from 
  assets looted by the Ustasha Regime and deposited in, or liquidated through, 
  the IOR, unnamed Doe Defendant Banks, and Franciscan Order during the 
  ascendancy of the</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>Ustasha Regime and following the 
  demise of the Regime at the behest of the former Ustasha and Nazi leaders 
  through the offices of the Franciscan Order; and (c) to retain and convert 
  assets deposited in their</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>institutions by the Ustasha 
  and/or the Franciscan Order and Unknown Catholic Religious Orders.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>3. Defendants committed, conspired to commit, and aided and 
  abetted others who committed crimes against peace, war crimes and crimes 
  against humanity. Defendants assisted the Ustasha Regime and its</FONT> 
  <BR><FONT size=-1>leaders as well as prominent Nazis to successfully evade 
  justice for their genocidal crimes by concealing and making available the 
  considerable assets of the Ustasha Treasury.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>4. Evidence of the extent of the Defendants&amp;rsquo; 
  participation in wrongdoing has only recently come to light as a result of the 
  disclosure and declassification of archived documents in the United States, 
  Great</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>Britain, Germany and other countries, as well 
  as from the reports of several commissions and/or task forces created in the 
  United States, Germany and elsewhere and in particular the Supplemental Report 
  of June</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>2, 1998 by the United States State 
  Department: U.S. and Allied Efforts To Recover and Restore Gold and Other 
  Assets Stolen or Hidden by Germany During World War II, "The Fate of the 
  Wartime Ustasha</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>Treasury," released under the 
  auspices of Under Secretary of State, Stuart E. Eizenstat.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>5. By the conclusion of the Second World War, all Defendants 
  were advised by the international community that the knowing use and benefit 
  from the Ustasha Treasury, and the knowing looting and plunder of</FONT> 
  <BR><FONT size=-1>assets and benefits therefrom, were violations of 
  international law and various codes of criminal conduct. All Defendants 
  nevertheless improperly retained and concealed illicit profits and withheld 
  them from their</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>rightful owners. Defendants have 
  unlawfully and unfairly profited from these practices for more than half a 
  century, thereby illegally and improperly strengthening their own economic 
  position in California, the</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>United States, and 
  throughout the world.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT 
  
size=-1>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
 
  JURISDICTION AND VENUE</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>6. This Court has jurisdiction pursuant to (a) 28 U.S.C. � 
  1350 in that certain Plaintiffs are foreign citizens who assert claims for 
  torts in violation of the law of nations. Upon information and belief, the 
  Franciscans</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>and Unknown Catholic Religious Orders, 
  with knowledge and support of Vatican representatives in Croatia and Croatian 
  representatives in the Vatican Bank, were aware of, participated in and 
  facilitated (a)</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>torture; (b) plunder; (c) 
  displacement; (d) slave labor; (e) conversion, screening and transfer of 
  assets; (f) facilitation of escape from justice of the torturers and the 
  assets plundered, using assets plundered to</FONT> <BR><FONT 
  size=-1>facilitate escape, secreting and benefitting from such plunder; and 
  (g) conspiracy to publicly and privately support and encourage the 
  above-mentioned acts. Further, Defendants may be found in this District 
  and</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>Plaintiffs are unable to exhaust remedies in the 
  place where the transaction occurred in that no adequate or available remedies 
  exist;</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>(b) 28 U.S.C. � 1331 in that Plaintiffs make claims against 
  Defendants under federal common law as it incorporates customary international 
  law and international treaties in that Defendants knowingly used and</FONT> 
  <BR><FONT size=-1>benefitted from plunder taken from Plaintiffs by the Ustasha 
  Regime, in violation of international treaties;</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>(c) 28 U.S.C. �1332 in that the amount in controversy as to 
  each claim asserted and sought to be asserted herein by certain Plaintiffs 
  exceeds the sum of $75,000, exclusive of interest and costs and certain</FONT> 
  <BR><FONT size=-1>Plaintiffs herein are U.S. residents and thus diverse in 
  state citizenship from Defendants, citizens of foreign states;</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>(d) 28 U.S.C. 1605 as to the Vatican Bank, in that (1) at the 
  time of the filing of this suit, the Vatican, and perhaps institutions and 
  facilities under its control, was a sovereign; (2) the actions Plaintiffs 
  complain of</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>involve an activity for which the law 
  provides an exception to sovereign immunity under 1605(a)(3); (3) although the 
  acts complained of occurred prior to 1952 when the exceptions to sovereign 
  immunity were</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>adopted, because the United States did 
  not recognize the Vatican as a sovereign prior to 1952, the Vatican could not 
  have expected immunity for its acts prior to that time; therefore, exercising 
  jurisdiction would</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>not offend due process principles 
  or the Vatican&amp;rsquo;s expectation of immunity; (4) the profits which 
  Defendants have incurred as a result of their plunder of Plaintiffs&amp;rsquo; 
  property have impacted</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>Defendants&amp;rsquo; 
  commercial transactions in the United States; and</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>(e) 28 U.S.C. � 1367 for any claims not otherwise covered by 
  the aforementioned jurisdictional bases.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>7. Venue is proper in this Court because all Defendants are 
  doing business and may be found in this District within the meaning of 28 
  U.S.C. � 1391(b) and/or, as aliens, may be sued in any district pursuant to 
  28</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>U.S.C. � 1391(d).</FONT> 
  <P><FONT 
  
size=-1>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
 
  INTRADISTRICT ASSIGNMENT</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>8. Venue is proper in this Court pursuant to Code of Civil 
  Procedure � 395 and Civil Code � 1780(c) because some of the acts and 
  transactions complained of herein occurred within this county, some of the 
  Class</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>members are residents of this county and, upon 
  information and belief, Defendant IOR does business, owns property in this 
  county and functions as a merchant offshore bank and does business with</FONT> 
  <BR><FONT size=-1>correspondent banks in California.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>PARTIES</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>9. Plaintiff Emil Alperin was born June 3, 1922. Prior to the 
  German invasion of Ukraine, he resided in Odessa, Ukraine at 63 Sverdlova 
  Street, Apt. 11. Germans and allied Fascists believed to be Croatians 
  looted</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>and destroyed all the household belongings and 
  personal property of Alperin. Plaintiff was held prisoner at Buchenwald 
  Concentration Camp from March 1944 until April 1945 where he was prisoner 
  #34646. He</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>currently resides in Kharkov, Ukraine. 
  Emil Alperin is Jewish.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>10. Plaintiff Jewgenija Romanova, formerly Petruchina, was 
  born December 7, 1927. Before the German occupation, she resided in Nikolayev, 
  Ukraine at 13 Kolodeznaya Street. Germans and allied Fascists, believed</FONT> 
  <BR><FONT size=-1>to be Croatians, looted and destroyed all the household 
  belongings and personal property of Romanova. Romanova was held prisoner at 
  Ravensbruck Concentration Camp from March 1944 until April 1945 where</FONT> 
  <BR><FONT size=-1>she was prisoner #33543. Romanova currently resides in 
  Kharkov, Ukraine.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>11. Plaintiff Maria Dankewitsch was born January 29, 1922. 
  Before the German occupation, she resided in Sevastopol, Ukraine in the Fudolf 
  District. Germans and allied Fascists believed to be Croatians looted 
  and</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>destroyed all the household belongings and 
  personal property of Dankewitsch. Dankewitsch was held prisoner at Ravensbruck 
  Concentration Camp from February 1943 until May 1945 where she was 
  prisoner</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>#17406. Dankewitsch currently resides in 
  Kiev, Ukraine.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>12. Plaintiff Vladimir Morgunov was born September 2, 1925. 
  Before the German occupation, he resided in Mariupol, Ukraine in the 75 
  Kotovskoogo Street. Germans and allied Fascists believed to be 
  Croatians</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>looted and destroyed all the household 
  belongings and personal property of Morgunov. Morgunov was held prisoner at 
  Buchenwald Concentration Camp from March 1943 until April 1945 where he was 
  prisoner</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>#13341. Morgunov&amp;rsquo;s current address 
  is in Kiev.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>13. Plaintiff Vladimir Brodich was born March 1, 1931 in the 
  Kingdom of Yugoslavia. As a young Serbian Orthodox boy, Vladimir resided in 
  the town of Kostajnica, Krajina. In April 1941 a German officer came to 
  his</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>home, because both of his parents were fluent in 
  German (his father having lived in Austria and his mother having received her 
  high school education in Salzburg, Austria). The officer showed them 
  photographs</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>of Ustasha atrocities, warning them that 
  they should leave immediately for Belgrade beyond the reach of the Ustasha. 
  The German officer prepared documents for the escape of the whole family. 
  Unfortunately, the</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>town mayor persuaded his father to 
  stay. In August 1941 the Ustasha took away his father Nickola, his 24 year old 
  brother Dragomir, and his older sister to a detention center. 
  Vladimir&amp;rsquo;s father and brother</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>were 
  tortured, then murdered. Before their death, his father asked to embrace his 
  son, and thus they were shot together. Five years later, their bodies were 
  exhumed and identified because still embracing one</FONT> <BR><FONT 
  size=-1>another. At the detention center Vladimir&amp;rsquo;s sister was gang 
  raped by Ustasha; she only survived by the efforts of a Chetnik partisan (who 
  was later captured, tortured, and thrown alive into an oven to die</FONT> 
  <BR><FONT size=-1>by the Ustasha), and died in 1997 without being able to bear 
  children. Vladimir and his mother survived by escaping to Belgrade. 
  Vladimir&amp;rsquo;s family lost their two homes, and because 
  Vladimir&amp;rsquo;s</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>bother was so wealthy, it took 
  the Ustasha more than two years to auction all of his murdered 
  brother&amp;rsquo;s property. Vladimir came to the United States in 1949, is 
  the only surviving heir to the family property,</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>and 
  currently resides in Arizona.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>14. Plaintiff, William Dorich was born July 17, 1939 in West 
  Virginia. Plaintiff&amp;rsquo;s father, Samuel Todorovic Sr., came to the 
  United States at the end of WWI as a "displaced person," (along with</FONT> 
  <BR><FONT size=-1>plaintiff&amp;rsquo;s brother George and their parents) from 
  the village of Vojnic in the Krajina region, having been "ethnically cleansed" 
  by Croatians who sided with Germany in WWI. Upon becoming a naturalized</FONT> 
  <BR><FONT size=-1>citizen Samuel Todorovic Sr., changed the family name to 
  Dorich just prior to the birth of his two sons, Samuel Jr., and William. 
  During WWII, the Ustasha burned to death 45 Serbian victims in the 
  Orthodox</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>Serbian church in the village of Vojnic, of 
  which 17 victims were relatives of the Dorich family. Plaintiff has spent his 
  lifetime speaking out against the Ustasha and is the author of numerous books 
  on the Balkans.</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>The only member of 
  plaintiff&amp;rsquo;s family still alive is his 83 year-old Serbian-American 
  mother, Mary Savage Dorich. Plaintiff resides in California.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>15. Plaintiff Igor Najfeld was born June 28, 1944 in 
  Yugoslavia, on the day that his mother, a Yugoslavian Jewish physician, and 
  father, a Polish Jewish physician, escaped from years of slave labor by the 
  Ustasha</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>Regime beginning in 1941. 
  Plaintiff&amp;rsquo;s parents had been living in Zagreb on April 10, 1941 when 
  the Nazi&amp;rsquo;s invaded Yugoslavia, but by December 1941 the Ustasha 
  Regime had imprisoned</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>plaintiff&amp;rsquo;s parents 
  as slave laborers in Bosnia. Plaintiff&amp;rsquo;s grandmother had a 
  department store in Slavonskibrod that was looted by the Ustasha. At least 56 
  of plaintiff&amp;rsquo;s mother&amp;rsquo;s</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>relatives 
  were killed by the Ustasha, many of whom perished in the Jasenovac 
  Concentration Camp. Many of plaintiff&amp;rsquo;s relatives were prosperous 
  and all lost property to the Ustasha looting. Plaintiff grew</FONT> <BR><FONT 
  size=-1>up in Yugoslavia and eventually emigrated to the United States, where 
  he now resides in Vermont.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>16. Plaintiff Ukraine Organization of Ukrainian Antifascist 
  Resistance Fighters is recognized by Ukrainian Ministry of Justice as an 
  official representative of 8,500 former partisans and resistors of the 
  Nazi</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>occupation of Ukraine and concentration camp 
  victims.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>17. Plaintiff Ukrainian Union of Nazi Victims And Prisoners 
  represents over 300,000 former slave and forced laborers, prisoners, 
  concentration camp, and ghetto survivors.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>18. Defendant Vatican Bank, also known by its official title 
  "Istituto per le Opere di Religione" or Institute of Religious Works ("IOR") 
  has its principal place of business in Vatican City Rome, Italy but 
  conducts</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>business and financial transactions 
  worldwide on behalf of the Roman Catholic Church, including the United States 
  and California, with total assets believed to be in excess of 3 billion 
  dollars. Defendant, IOR,</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>engages in for-profit 
  merchant banking transactions in the United States, California, and elsewhere 
  through its investments and transactions with other banks. The Vatican Bank is 
  headed by a Bishop but also</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>has an advisory panel 
  consisting of prominent European and American bankers.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>19. Defendant, Franciscan Order, also known as First Order of 
  Franciscans (O.F.M.) includes and/or included several Croatian Franciscan 
  Orders in California, the United States, Croatia, and Italy. Upon 
  information</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>and belief, it is the O.F.M. that owned, 
  operated, and managed the affairs of the College of San Girolamo degli 
  illirici and provided aid to former Ustasha after 1945.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>20. Defendants, Does One through One Hundred inclusive, are 
  unknown Catholic Religious Orders and private banking corporations who conduct 
  business in, and who are also responsible for the acts</FONT> <BR><FONT 
  size=-1>complained of herein. Plaintiffs are unaware of the true names or 
  capacities of the Defendants sued herein under the fictitious names of Does 
  One through One Hundred inclusive, and after ascertaining the true</FONT> 
  <BR><FONT size=-1>identity of a Defendant sued as a "Doe," Plaintiffs will 
  amend the Complaint accordingly.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>DEFINITIONS</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>21. "Nazi Regime" is defined as the National Socialist 
  government of Germany from 1933 through 1945, as more specifically defined in 
  "the Accused Organizations and Individuals" in The Nuremberg Trial, 6 
  F.R.D.</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>69 (1946), and persons, organizations or 
  entities which acted in furtherance of the interests of, on behalf of, or 
  under the authority of, that government (including persons, organizations 
  and/or entities of the</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>European Axis 
  countries).</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>22. The "Ustasha Regime" is defined as the German puppet, 
  fascist government of Croatia under the direction of its leader, Ante Pavelic, 
  known as the "Poglavnik" (Leader). The Ustasha Regime operated under</FONT> 
  <BR><FONT size=-1>German protectorate from 1941 through 1945 and included 
  numerous members of the Franciscan Order as both military and civil 
  functionaries.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>23. "Looted Assets" is defined as any and all personal, 
  commercial, real, and/or intangible property, including cash, securities, 
  silver, gold, jewelry, businesses, art masterpieces, equipment and 
  intellectual</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>property, that was illegally and/or 
  improperly taken from the ownership or control of an individual, organization 
  or entity, by means including, but not limited to, theft, forced transfer and 
  exploitation, during the</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>period of 1941 through 1946 
  by any person, organization or entity acting on behalf of, or in furtherance 
  of the acts of, the Nazi or Ustasha Regime, its officials or related entities, 
  in connection with crimes against</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>humanity, war 
  crimes, crimes against peace, genocide, or any other violations of fundamental 
  human rights.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>24. "Croatian or Ustasha Treasury" refers to amounts of gold, 
  silver, gems, currency, and other valuables plundered and looted from Serbs, 
  Jews, Romani, and citizens of the former Soviet Union, including</FONT> 
  <BR><FONT size=-1>Ukraine. The treasury existed independent from the Nazi 
  Regime in part as a reward for the Ustasha cooperation in the pursuit of Axis 
  goals in the former Soviet Union.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>25. The Nazi Regime maintained a policy of looting the assets 
  of its persecution targets to finance its illegal war, collecting the looted 
  assets in central depositories, and transferring the looted assets to the 
  Doe</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>Defendant Banks in return for currency needed to 
  purchase war material. The Ustasha Regime mirrored the Nazi Regime in its 
  financial policies. The Ustasha Regime, like the Nazi Regime, maintained 
  concentration</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>camps and confiscated the assets of its 
  victims. More than 700,000 victims were "liquidated" by the Ustasha in their 
  bloody campaign to clear "Greater Croatia" of Serbs, Romani, and Jews. The 
  plundered and</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>looted assets of the Ustasha victims 
  were deposited in the Ustasha Treasury.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>26. When Nazi Germany invaded Russia on June 22, 1941, the 
  Ustasha leader, Ante Pavelic, met with the military and civilian leadership of 
  Croatia to decide how best to support their German ally. All present 
  were</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>strongly in favor of the German attack, seeing 
  the invasion as a battle between the progressive forces of Europe against the 
  Communist forces in the East. All present agreed that Croatia should 
  participate in the</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>invasion alongside Germany. 
  Pavelic prepared a letter the following day, on June 23, 1941. In his letter, 
  Pavelic explained to Hitler the wishes of the Croatian people to join the 
  battle of "all freedom loving nations</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>against 
  Communism." Pavelic offered ground, sea and air forces, to be committed "as 
  soon as possible" to fight alongside Germany. Hitler responded to Pavelic's 
  letter on July 1, 1941, accepting the Croatian offer</FONT> <BR><FONT 
  size=-1>and thanking them for their service.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>27. Beginning in July 1941, Croatian ground, sea, and air 
  forces invaded the Soviet Union including Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia. 
  Croatian units wore German uniforms and provided front line and support units 
  in</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>Russian, Belarus, and Russia. Croatian air force 
  and navy units patrolled the Black and Azov Seas. Croatian ground troops took 
  part in battles in Kiev, Kharkov, and Stalingrad. In September 1942, Pavelic, 
  on</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>behalf of the Croatian government, visited 
  Croatian troops outside Stalingrad.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>28. Croatian troops assisted the German occupiers of Ukraine 
  in their systematic plunder and looting of Ukrainian resources and individual 
  property. In exchange for the Croatian assistance in Ukraine, the</FONT> 
  <BR><FONT size=-1>Ustasha were given a free hand in Croatia and Bosnia to 
  loot, plunder and terrorize the non-Croatian populace. The Ustasha Treasury 
  contained plunder from Ukraine and assets seized from the Ustasha victims 
  in</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>Yugoslavia.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>29. In addition to the property crimes and Nazi collaboration 
  committed in the former Soviet Union, the Ustasha engaged in atrocities 
  against Serbs, Jews, and Roma in Croatia.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>30. The Ustasha&amp;rsquo;s Minister of the Interior, Andrija 
  Artukovic, ordered Jews and Serbs of Zagreb to leave their homes where they 
  were liquidated immediately or sent to one of the many concentration 
  camps.</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>By late April 1941 Serbs were forced to wear a 
  blue armband with the letter "P", the initial for Orthodox (Pravoslavac). The 
  Jews had to wear the Star of David on their sleeves, and later, across their 
  backs.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>31. Serbians, Jews, and the Roma were slaughtered in their 
  villages after unspeakable tortures or burned alive in their churches. Those 
  that were not murdered were expelled to Serbia proper after being 
  despoiled</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>of all their property or forcibly converted 
  to the Roman Catholic faith by Franciscan and Roman Catholic clergy. Many were 
  used as slave laborers. The remaining people were taken to concentration camps 
  where</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>the majority perished.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>32. Jasenovac Concentration Camp complex, termed by 
  historians as the "Auschwitz of the Balkans," was the home of indescribable 
  brutality against Jews, Serbs and Roma. Historians estimate that the 
  Ustasha</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>murdered between 700,000 to one million 
  Serbs, Jews, and Roma in Croatia during this time.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>33. Many high officials of the Ustasha government were Roman 
  Catholic clergy and, in particular, Franciscans. Indeed, the Vatican 
  maintained an "Apostolic visitor" in Zagreb, the Croatian capital from 1941 
  until</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>the end of the War. Relations between the 
  Vatican and the Ustasha were cordial. The Papal legate in Croatia was Mgr. 
  Marcone, who openly blessed the Ustasha, publicly gave the Fascist salute, and 
  transmitted</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>instructions from Rome to the Croatian 
  clergy and episcopacy, principally concerning the forced conversions of the 
  Serbian Orthodox.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>33. Upon the demise of the Ustasha Regime in 1945, all or a 
  portion of the Ustasha Treasury was transferred to cooperative Roman Catholic 
  clergyman and Franciscans for transport to Rome where Franciscans</FONT> 
  <BR><FONT size=-1>sympathetic to the Ustasha were based. Intelligence reports 
  confirm that in their attempts to escape, the Ustasha were found at the 
  British-occupied Austro-Swiss border with gold valued at 350 million 
  Swiss</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>francs. Intelligence reports also confirm that 
  more than 200 million Swiss francs were eventually transferred to Vatican City 
  and the IOR with the assistance of Roman Catholic clergy and the Franciscan 
  Order.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>34. In addition to the Bigelow Report, cited above, in 1948, 
  U.S. Army Intelligence reports confirmed that 2,400 kilos of Ustasha stolen 
  gold were moved from the Vatican to one of the Vatican&amp;rsquo;s secret 
  Swiss</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>bank accounts.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>35. Many officials of the Ustasha government, including war 
  criminals like Ante Pavelic, were secretly housed by the Franciscan Order in 
  Vatican City or Rome. The College of San Girolamo degli illirici became 
  the</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>headquarters for the creation of the so-called 
  "ratlines." With the transfer of the Ustasha Treasury to the IOR and the 
  Franciscan Order, Ustasha and Nazi war criminals were given money and a means 
  to escape to</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>Spain, Argentina, the United States and 
  other countries. By 1946, the former Ustasha Treasury was being used to 
  finance the post war activities of the Ustasha government in exile and Nazi 
  fugitives.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>36. Transfer of funds and financial transactions were made by 
  IOR. Ustasha Treasury assets were banked by IOR for use in Argentine, Spain 
  and elsewhere. Not only were the IOR and the Franciscans aware of the</FONT> 
  <BR><FONT size=-1>origins of the Ustasha Treasury, but covert Ustasha 
  activities, under the guise of religious orders, were officially tolerated at 
  the highest levels in the Vatican.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>37. IOR reaped a competitive advantage in the post World War 
  II years through the Ustasha Treasury related transactions. The Ustasha 
  Treasury provided substantial assets to IOR in form of gold, silver, cash, 
  and</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>gems. As the principal post war banker to the 
  Ustasha Government in Exile, the IOR profited from Ustasha Treasury 
  transactions involving banks in various European and South American countries. 
  The</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>Franciscan Order and unknown Catholic Religious 
  Orders, reaped similar monetary benefits from their involvement with the 
  Ustasha Treasury.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>38. IOR has consistently refused requests for an accounting 
  of the Ustasha Treasury, including recent queries by the United States State 
  Department, the London Conference on Nazi Gold of December 2, 1997,</FONT> 
  <BR><FONT size=-1>and the Simon Wiesenthal Center.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT 
  
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  CLASS ALLEGATIONS</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>39. This action is brought and may properly be maintained as 
  a class action pursuant to the provisions of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 
  23. Plaintiffs bring this action on behalf of themselves and a class of 
  all</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>Jews, Serbians, and former Soviet Union citizens 
  (and their heirs and beneficiaries), who suffered monetary and/or property 
  losses or forced into slave labor due to the systematic and brutal 
  extermination of Jews,</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>Serbians, and Romani by the 
  Nazi puppet Regime, Ustasha, and as a result of the occupation of the Soviet 
  Union by Croatian military forces in concert with their German occupation 
  forces.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>40. The exact number of the members of the class, as 
  identified above, is not known to Plaintiffs, but it is estimated that members 
  of the class number in the tens or hundreds of thousands and are so 
  numerous</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>that joinder of individual members herein is 
  impracticable.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>41. Questions of fact and law common to the class predominate 
  over any questions affecting only individual members. Common questions of fact 
  and law include:</FONT> 
  <P><FONT 
  
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  a. Whether the IOR, Franciscan Order and Unknown Catholic Religious Orders 
  and/or Defendant Banks improperly retained or converted looted assets of 
  the</FONT> <BR><FONT 
  
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  Plaintiffs.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT 
  
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  b. Whether Defendants were unjustly enriched by their wrongful conduct.</FONT> 

  <P><FONT 
  
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  c. Whether Plaintiffs experienced irreparable harm by Defendants&amp;rsquo; 
  wrongful taking of Plaintiffs&amp;rsquo; property and goods, supporting a 
  claim for restitution.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT 
  
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  d. Whether Defendants have failed to account for the Ustasha Treasury.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT 
  
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  e. Whether Defendants were directly and/or indirectly involved with the 
  torture, plundering and/or conversion of Plaintiffs and their property and 
  Plaintiffs&amp;rsquo;</FONT> <BR><FONT 
  
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  labor in violation of international law.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>&nbsp;</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>42. Plaintiffs&amp;rsquo; claims are typical of the claims of 
  the other members of the Class, since all such claims arise out of 
  Defendants&amp;rsquo; actions or the actions of its agents, which resulted in 
  the deaths,</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>torture, assault, plunder and the loss of 
  Plaintiffs&amp;rsquo; and their ancestors&amp;rsquo; rightful property, which 
  gives Plaintiffs the right to the relief sought.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>43. There is no conflict as between the named Plaintiffs and 
  the members of the class which they represent with respect to this action, or 
  with respect to the claims for relief set forth herein.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>44. Plaintiffs are committed to the vigorous prosecution of 
  this action and will retain competent counsel experienced in the prosecution 
  of class actions. Accordingly, Plaintiffs are adequate representatives of 
  the</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>Class and will fairly and adequately protect the 
  interests of the Class.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>45. The prosecution of separate actions by individual members 
  of the Class would create a risk of inconsistent or varying adjudications, 
  which would establish incompatible standards of conduct for the</FONT> 
  <BR><FONT size=-1>defendants in this action.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>46. Plaintiffs anticipate that there will be no difficulty in 
  the management of this litigation. A class action is superior to other 
  available methods for fair and efficient adjudication of the controversy. 
  Accordingly,</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>Certification of the Plaintiff class is 
  appropriate under Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(b)(1), (2) and/or (3).</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>LEGAL AND EQUITABLE TOLLING</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>47. Plaintiffs&amp;rsquo; legal right to seek compensation 
  for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Second World 
  War is preserved by the Convention on the Non-Applicability of 
  Statutory</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>Limitations to War Crimes and Crimes 
  Against Humanity (26 November 1968). Accordingly, there are no statutory 
  limitations on claims of war crimes, crimes against humanity, or 
  genocide.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>48. Furthermore, Plaintiffs&amp;rsquo; legal right to seek 
  compensation for the deaths of their families during World War II was deferred 
  by the London Debt Settlement Agreement of 1953, until the German court</FONT> 
  <BR><FONT size=-1>ruled, on November 7, 1997, that the Treaty on the Final 
  Settlement with Germany had lifted the moratorium upon individual claims for 
  compensation for World War II losses. Accordingly, statutes of 
  limitation</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>upon claims for compensation for World War 
  II losses were tolled by operation of treaty from 1953 through November 7, 
  1997.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>49. No statute of limitations has begun to run on the cause 
  of action stated herein because Plaintiffs and Defendants&amp;rsquo; victims 
  have remained unaware of Defendants&amp;rsquo; misconduct during World 
  War</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>II and have been denied access to vital 
  information essential to pursue the stated claims as a result of Defendants' 
  fraudulent concealment of their misconduct, without any fault or want of 
  diligence or due care</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>on the part of Plaintiffs or 
  Defendants' victims.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>50. Evidence of the extent of the Defendants&amp;rsquo; 
  participation in wrongdoing has more fully come to light in recent years as a 
  result of the disclosure of archived and declassified documents in the 
  United</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>States, Germany and other countries, as well 
  as from the reports of several commissions and/or task forces created in the 
  United States, Germany and other countries, much of which information was not 
  available</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>prior to the reunification of Germany and 
  the fall of the Soviet Union.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>51. Moreover, knowing that its behavior violated the laws of 
  humanity and international law, at no time since the end of World War II have 
  Defendants made any reasonable attempt to compensate Plaintiffs and</FONT> 
  <BR><FONT size=-1>members of the Class for their injuries and losses. Such 
  failure should estop Defendants from interposing any time bar defense to these 
  claims.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>52. Additionally, no statute of limitations has begun to run 
  on the cause of action stated herein because Defendants' misconduct is 
  continuing; Defendants have not made any reasonable attempt to disgorge</FONT> 
  <BR><FONT size=-1>their illicit profits or compensate victims of the Ustasha 
  Regime or their Nazi supporters. Defendants have continued to reap profits as 
  a result of their actions and have refused all requests by governments 
  and</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>international organizations for an accounting of 
  the funds in question. Defendants are therefore estopped from interposing any 
  type of time bar defense to these claims.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT 
  
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  CAUSES OF ACTION</FONT> 
  <P><FONT 
  
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  FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION</FONT> 
  <P><FONT 
  
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  CONVERSION</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>53. Plaintiffs reallege and incorporate herein, as though 
  fully set forth, the allegations of all preceding paragraphs of the 
  Complaint.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>54. As a result of Defendants&amp;rsquo; failure and refusal 
  to account for, acknowledge and pay to Plaintiffs the value of the property 
  taken, Defendants, and each of them, have willfully and wrongfully</FONT> 
  <BR><FONT size=-1>misappropriated and converted the value of that property and 
  its derivative profits into their own property.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>55. As a result of Defendants&amp;rsquo; wrongful acts and 
  omissions, Plaintiffs have been injured and damaged and demand restitution and 
  judgment against Defendants, in an amount to be determined at trial.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>56. Defendants&amp;rsquo; conduct described herein was 
  undertaken by the Defendants&amp;rsquo; officers or managing agents who were 
  responsible for decisions. The aforesaid conduct of said managing agents 
  and</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>individuals was therefore undertaken for and on 
  behalf of Defendants. Said Defendants further had advance knowledge of the 
  actions and conduct of said individuals whose actions and conduct were 
  ratified,</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>authorized and approved by 
  Defendants&amp;rsquo; managing agents and by other officers, directors or 
  managing agents.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT 
  
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  SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION</FONT> 
  <P><FONT 
  
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  UNJUST ENRICHMENT</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>57. Plaintiffs reallege and incorporate herein, as though 
  fully set forth, the allegations of all preceding paragraphs of the 
  Complaint.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>58. Defendants received stolen property given to them by 
  members of the Ustasha Regime, which rightfully belongs to Plaintiffs, as well 
  as the value of slave labor performed.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>59. Defendants have failed to account for and/or pay to 
  Plaintiffs the value of their property and profits derived therefrom and the 
  value of slave labor performed.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>60. As a result of Defendants&amp;rsquo; wrongful acts and 
  omissions, Defendants have been unjustly enriched to the detriment of 
  Plaintiffs.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>61. Plaintiffs therefore demand restitution and judgment 
  against Defendants in an amount to be determined at trial, together with 
  interest, attorneys&amp;rsquo; fees, and the costs of this action.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT 
  
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  THIRD CAUSE OF ACTION</FONT> 
  <P><FONT 
  
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  RESTITUTION</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>63. Plaintiffs reallege and incorporate herein, as though 
  fully set forth, the allegations of all preceding paragraphs of the 
  Complaint.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>64. Plaintiffs&amp;rsquo; goods and property have been taken, 
  thus denying Plaintiffs the use and enjoyment thereof; Defendants have 
  wrongfully used and profited from that property; and compensation in 
  damages</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>is inadequate in that the property taken 
  cannot be replaced and the harm inflicted cannot be undone by mere 
  compensation.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>65. As a result of Defendants&amp;rsquo; wrongful acts and 
  omissions, Plaintiffs have been injured and damaged and demand equitable 
  remedies.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT 
  
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  FOURTH CAUSE OF ACTION</FONT> 
  <P><FONT 
  
size=-1>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
 
  ACCOUNTING</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>66. Plaintiffs reallege and incorporate herein, as though 
  fully set forth, the allegations of all preceding paragraphs of the 
  Complaint.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>67. Defendants have never accounted for or paid the value of 
  Plaintiffs&amp;rsquo; property or the profits which Defendants have derived 
  from that property, either during World War II or since World War II 
  ended.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>68. As a result of the value of their property having been 
  forcibly taken from them, against their will and without just payment by 
  Defendants, Plaintiffs have been unable to use or invest those assets.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>69. As a result of Defendants&amp;rsquo; aforesaid wrongful 
  acts and omissions, Plaintiffs have been injured and damaged and demand the 
  equitable remedy of accounting.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT 
  
size=-1>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
 
  FIFTH CAUSE OF ACTION</FONT> 
  <P><FONT 
  
size=-1>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
 
  HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AND VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>70. Plaintiffs reallege and incorporate herein, as though 
  fully set forth, the allegations of all preceding paragraphs of the 
  Complaint.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>71. Defendants participated in the activities of the Ustasha 
  Regime in furtherance of the commission of war crimes, crimes against 
  humanity, crimes against peace, torture, rape, starvation, physical and 
  mental</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>abuse, summary execution and genocide. 
  Specifically, the actions and conduct of Defendants, in addition to being 
  profitable, actively assisted the war objectives of the Ustasha Regime.</FONT> 

  <P><FONT size=-1>72. Defendants knowingly facilitated and aided and abetted 
  the activities of war criminals who had used torture and starvation in order 
  to further obtain victims&amp;rsquo; possessions and belongings. 
  Defendants</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>created a "ratline" or "pipeline" to help 
  the war criminals flee from prosecution. By aiding and abetting of war 
  criminals who had engaged in subjecting the Plaintiffs and the Plaintiff class 
  to brutally inhumane</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>conditions, physical abuse, 
  torture, starvation and summary execution, violated international and federal 
  law.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>73. Defendants IOR and the Franciscan Order, by assisting the 
  Nazi backed Ustasha Regime in preserving their Treasury for the purpose of 
  continuing a Government in Exile and evading justice for genocidal war</FONT> 
  <BR><FONT size=-1>crimes thereby becoming joint venturers with the Ustasha 
  with respect to these activities &amp;ndash; committed war crimes, crimes 
  against peace and crimes against humanity, and violated the laws of Yugoslavia 
  and</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>Soviet Union, state common law, and international 
  treaties and customary international law enforceable in this Court as federal 
  common law and the law of nations by purposeful and intentional Obstruction 
  of</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>Justice. The IOR abused its position as the 
  central bank of Vatican City by a clear pattern of violation of diplomatic 
  norms by protecting known war criminals and their assets from arrest and 
  seizure.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>74. Defendants&amp;rsquo; actions were in violation of 
  numerous international treaties and the fundamental human rights laws 
  prohibiting genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes against 
  peace.</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>Defendants&amp;rsquo; actions violated 
  customary international law, a law which "results from a general and 
  consistent practice of states followed by them from a sense of legal 
  obligation." Restatement (Third) of the</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>Foreign 
  Relations Law of the United States, � 102 (2)(1987). Plaintiffs cite numerous 
  treaties, court decisions and the United Nations resolutions, not as a source 
  of their substantive rights, but rather as evidence</FONT> <BR><FONT 
  size=-1>of the content of customary international law. In further support, 
  Plaintiffs cite the Genocide Convention; the 1919 Paris Commission on 
  Responsibility of Authors of the War; the United Nations Charter; the</FONT> 
  <BR><FONT size=-1>Universal Declaration of Human Rights; the Geneva Convention 
  of 1929; the supplemental Geneva Convention of the Treatment of non-Combatants 
  During World War Time; the principles of customary</FONT> <BR><FONT 
  size=-1>international law recognized by the Nuremberg Tribunals; the Covenant 
  on Civil and Political Rights; and the Hague Convention of 1907.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>75. Additionally, Defendants committed torts under the laws 
  of the United States, requiring Defendants to pay Plaintiffs and the Class 
  members appropriate compensatory and punitive damages for their 
  injuries</FONT> <BR><FONT size=-1>and losses.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs pray that the Court:</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>1. Certify this action as a class action pursuant to Federal 
  Rule of Civil Procedure 23, and designating named Plaintiffs as the class 
  representatives and counsel for Plaintiffs as Class counsel.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>2. Declare that Defendants by trafficking in, retaining, 
  disposing of and concealing assets looted from targets of the Ustasha Regime 
  with knowledge that the assets had been obtained through the systematic</FONT> 
  <BR><FONT size=-1>persecution, torture, slave labor, force, and murder, 
  violated international treaties and customary international law enforceable in 
  this Court as federal common law, the law of the nations and international 
  law.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>3. Order Defendants to make available all information 
  relating to the Ustasha Treasury in order that an accounting of assets may be 
  realized.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>4. Direct Defendants to return all identifiable property 
  looted from Plaintiffs and received by Defendants.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>5. Award Plaintiffs the value of any identified property 
  deposited by, or looted from, Plaintiffs and received by Defendants plus 
  interest compounded annually since 1941.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>6. Award Plaintiffs compensatory and punitive damages arising 
  out of Defendants&amp;rsquo; unlawful behavior in trafficking in, retaining, 
  disposing and concealing Looted Assets or profits of the Ustasha Regime</FONT> 
  <BR><FONT size=-1>with knowledge that the assets or profits were the fruits of 
  Nazi-Ustasha violations of international law and were used to assist war 
  criminals to evade justice.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>7. Order Defendants to disgorge any profits earned by 
  trafficking in, disposing of or concealing the Ustasha Treasury which was the 
  fruits of violations of international law.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>8. Grant Plaintiffs a jury trial on all issues so 
  triable.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>9. Award Plaintiffs the costs of this action, including 
  reasonable attorneys&amp;rsquo; fees and expert fees; and,</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>10. Grant such other and further relief as shall seem just to 
  the Court.</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>DATED: January 20, 2000</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>Tom Easton CSB#109218</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>Jonathan H. Levy CSB# 158032</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>Law Office of Thomas Dewey Easton</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>1335 Pebble Beach Drive</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>Crescent City, CA 95531</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>Telephone: 707-464-4513</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>Facsimile: 707-465-5389</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>&nbsp;</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>By: __________________________</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>Tom Easton</FONT> 
  <P><FONT size=-1>Attorneys for Plaintiffs and the Class</FONT> <BR>&nbsp; 
  <HR>
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