-Caveat Lector- --- Robert Weissman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > From: Robert Weissman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: [corp-focus] The Insurance Industry/FBI Connection > Date: Wed, 3 Jan 2001 15:45:00 -0500 (EST) > > The Insurance Industry/FBI Connection > By Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman > > Wouldn't it be great if environmentalists could have a close working > relationship with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), so that > anytime the local industrial polluter spouted cancer-causing > chemicals > into the air or water, the FBI agents would bust into the corporate > executive suites and haul away the perpetrators? > > Or when insurance companies rip off policyholders, or fail to pay out > on > insurance policies, wouldn't it be great if consumer groups had a > working > relationship with the FBI -- just pick up the phone and call your > local > FBI agents, and have them knock on the door of the CEO of the > insurance > company, and begin asking questions? > > Wouldn't it be great if law enforcement sided with individuals > against > corporate criminals in our midst? > > In the area of insurance fraud, at least, it might balance the scales > of > justice. Right now, the FBI has developed a very close working > relationship with National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB). The Chicago > area > crime-busting group is funded by the insurance industry to > investigate > crimes against insurance companies -- for example, to crack down on > individuals who stage auto crashes to cash in on insurance policies. > > Last year, the property and casualty insurance industry pumped $28 > million > into the NICB. And NICB has developed a very close relationship with > the > FBI. Robert Bryant, a former number two man at the FBI, is now the > president of NICB. Gene Glenn, a former special agent in charge of > the > Salt Lake City Division of the FBI, is now the NICB's vice president > for > field operations. > > The FBI has a series of written memorandums of understanding (MOU) -- > at > least three -- outlining in detail the working relationship. > > According to Jim Spiller, NICB's executive vice president, one deals > with > "a very highly sensitive covert operation" that he could not reveal > to us, > one deals with a joint FBI/NICB crackdown on the theft and export of > automobiles, and the third addresses "the sharing of information > about > stolen vehicles." (The NICB refused to let us see copies of the > MOUs.) > > The FBI/NICB relationship was exposed by Bill Conroy, the editor of > the > San Antonio Business Journal. Over the past 18 months, Conroy has > written > a series of articles that have been ignored by the mainstream media. > > In his series, Conroy reported that: > > * A national FBI/NICB operations called Sudden Impact involved joint > interrogation of suspects, joint search warrant raids and joint > access to > medical records through an insurance industry database. > > * Operation Sudden Impact netted minorities at a rate of nearly 8 to > one. > > * A lawyer whose San Antonio office was raided by the FBI as part of > Sudden Impact was never charged with a crime. The FBI told Conroy > that it > has no records indicating that the attorney has "ever been of > investigatory interest to the FBI." The lawyer claims that the raid > destroyed his practice and reputation. > > * A former FBI informant claims that the FBI was targeting Iranians > in San > Antonio as part of Operation Sudden Impact. > > * An Assistant U.S. Attorney who was removed from an FBI/NICB case > after > making allegations of misconduct against her fellow attorneys > involved in > the case is now claiming that she is being persecuted by the U.S. > Attorney's office. > > (The San Antonio Business Journal is owned by American City Business > Journals, which is owned by the Newhouse chain. American City > Business > Journals owns about 40 business journals around the country. > Interestingly, after the articles appeared in print, insurance giant > AIG > took out ad space on the web site of the American City Business > Journals > (www.bizjournals.com). The series of articles describing the NICB/FBI > connection were never picked up by the other business journals in the > chain.) > > Two members of Congress -- Charles Gonzalez, D-Texas, and Cynthia > McKinney, D-Georgia -- are looking at possible Congressional > inquiries > into the NICB/FBI connection. > > The NICB denies targeting minority groups. "Our criminal > investigations > are conducted based on the criminality, not the culture of any > individuals," Spiller said. "It's unfortunate that the people > involved in > this investigation were minorities. We follow the money." > > Would the NICB investigate insurance companies who were ripping off > consumers? "No," Spiller said. "That would be a job for state > insurance > regulators." > > But Doug Heller of the Los Angeles-based Foundation for Taxpayer and > Consumer Rights says he wishes the FBI and NICB would pay some > attention > to insurance industry rip-offs of consumers. > > "The level of consumer fraud against insurance companies is minuscule > compared to the insurance company fraud perpetrated against insurance > policyholders around the country," said Heller. "But law enforcement > rarely pays attention to insurance industry crimes perpetrated > against > consumers. We would love to have an agreement with the FBI to go > after the > insurance industry. We have plenty of leads for them." > > The FBI says that it works closely with some public interest groups, > like > the American Association of Retired Persons, to crack down on > telemarketing fraud, for example. > > But FBI spokesperson Angela Bell could not say whether or not > detailed > written agreements -- like those hammered out between the FBI and > NICB -- > exist for non-industry groups. > > Every year, the FBI puts out its "Crime in the United States" report, > which informs the nation about street crimes. There is no equivalent > for > corporate and white collar crime. > > The FBI is cooperative with industry groups who want to crack down on > street thugs. Isn't it time to show a little cooperation with public > interest groups that want to crack down on corporate and white collar > crime? > > > Russell Mokhiber is editor of the Washington, D.C.-based Corporate > Crime > Reporter. Robert Weissman is editor of the Washington, D.C.-based > Multinational Monitor. They are co-authors of Corporate Predators: > The > Hunt for MegaProfits and the Attack on Democracy (Monroe, Maine: > Common > Courage Press, 1999). > > (c) Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman > > _______________________________________________ > > Focus on the Corporation is a weekly column written by Russell > Mokhiber > and Robert Weissman. Please feel free to forward the column to > friends or > repost the column on other lists. If you would like to post the > column on > a web site or publish it in print format, we ask that you first > contact us > ([EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED]). > > Focus on the Corporation is distributed to individuals on the > listserve > [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe to corp-focus, send an > e-mail > message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the text: > subscribe > > Focus on the Corporation columns are posted at > <http://www.corporatepredators.org>. > > Postings on corp-focus are limited to the columns. 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