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Federal Government Throws Its Weight at Individuals Who Dare to Defraud a Bank, Rather Than Prosecuting Bankers for Defrauding Homeowners, Investors and Courts
http://www.hulu.com/watch/525589
The Real Housewives of New Jersey – The Fears Come Out
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In the video clip above from season 5 episode 14, Joe Giudice admits in front of everyone in a therapy session at Miraval Spa in Arizona in March 2013 that he is worried about legal issues (at the time, he was dealing with identity theft charges in the state of New Jersey for allegedly obtaining a driver’s license with his brother’s ID – the federal indictment for money fraud was not handed down until July 29, 2013, four months after episode 14 was taped). Joe tells the therapist: “I just think everybody has a little fear of something, you know what I mean? I just got lawyers involved and stuff like that.”
The following is a partial transcript of another video clip (below) from season 5 episode 14, where Teresa and Joe discuss the earlier therapy session.
Teresa to Juicy: I have to say that was really big of you to say that, like, in front of everyone, what your fear was.
Teresa’s TH: It takes a man to talk about issues that they normally don’t talk about. My husband is a truthful guy, and he doesn’t deserve any of this.
Joe: Yeah, you know, it’s always there. You get up thinking about it. And, so, um, when you let that out, you’re a little relieved, you know what I mean?
Joe: It’s not like I’m a fuckin’ criminal, where I’ve been in prison, you know, a million fuckin’ times. Never killed nobody, never fuckin’ did anything, you know, to hurt anybody, so I don’t belong there and I don’t fuckin’ wanna go there.
http://www.hulu.com/watch/525590
The Real Housewives of New Jersey – Joe Doesn’t Belong in Prison
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Joe Giudice is distraught at the idea of having to go to prison. Meanwhile, the banks—who have lied to homeowners, courts, investors, and bankruptcy trustees—have escaped prosecution entirely (most of the mortgage brokers have avoided jail, too).
The amount of false documents peddled by the banks in various foreclosure fraud scandals easily number in the millions, if not tens of millions. And yet no bank executive faces a maximum penalty of 180 years in prison for mortgage fraud the way the Giudices do.
Eleven leading banks illegally foreclosed on as many as 244,000 borrowers, who had either not actually defaulted on their loans, were approved for a loan modification, or were supposed to be protected by various federal laws. And in nearly all of these cases, the banks proved their standing to foreclose in court by presenting false documents, exactly what the Giudices stand accused of.
Mega-banks like JPMorgan Chase have been accused in class action lawsuits of producing false evidence in “tens of thousands” of bankruptcy proceedings. Banks have been found to systematically lie to bankruptcy courts, yet they commit these crimes with impunity.
During the Obama Administration’s two terms, a commitment to fighting mortgage fraud has mostly meant a commitment to prosecuting people who lie to banks. In the case of the Giudices, four separate agencies contributed to their indictment – the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Inspector General, the IRS, the U.S. Bankruptcy Trustee and the U.S. Attorney’s office in New Jersey. Are the resources spent on prosecuting the Giudices outsized compared to the resources spent on prosecuting bankers for defrauding homeowners, investors and courts? I don’t see how you could say no.
But no bank executive has spent a day in jail for systematic abuses which, by the way, helped sink the economy and prolong the misery of the foreclosure crisis. If banks get cited for their myriad crimes at all, they buy their way out of trouble with settlements for negligible sums.
The focus on small fry in financial fraud enforcement serves two purposes. First, it gives the Justice Department a talking point, however cockeyed, to prove their worthiness in prosecuting financial malfeasance… this sends a subtle yet chilling message that the federal government will throw its weight at anyone who dares to defraud a bank, rather than securing justice against banks that defraud customers.
A high-profile indictment like the Giudices will produce lots of headlines and send the message loud and clear that cheating banks is not tolerated in America. The federal government is telling us that the real “irresponsible” parties of the financial crisis are homeowners who lied on loan applications, not mortgage brokers who sold what were actually called “liars’ loans” and committed documented falsification of applications to fool underwriters.
Everyone has an obligation to tell the truth when standing before the courts, paying taxes and dealing with loans or mortgages…but the fact is, the federal government enforces this obligation on everyone except the largest financial institutions in America.
The following is the full article by David Dayen from which the excerpts above were taken; a video of an interview with Truman Wolfe, author of Crisis By Design: The Untold Story of the Global Financial Coup and What You Can Do About It; and an article on the effect the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act in 1999 and the enactment of the Commodities Futures Modernization Act of 2000 had on the financial industry (as well as the price of food and gas).
Did the Gorgas Help Monica Chacon, the Hizas and Kim G “Nab the Giudices” for the Feds?
xjrsygrl7733 commented at Fame-Whorgas on August 27, 2013 about Monica Chacon and her helping the feds investigate the Giudices (she herself told RadarOnline that she had been working with federal investigators over the past four years to help them nab the Giudices):
This women I was speaking to told me that when the first season of RHONJ aired and Teresa became the breakout star, her sister-in-law Melissa and her lovely brother Joe began contacting Monica Chacon and Kim Granatell. Melissa and Joe and the Marco sisters were the ones feeding Monica all the dirt on the Giudices finances!!!
Melissa did the same thing to Danielle but she didn’t take the bait. Monica Chacon did.
During season 3 when Melissa tried to pretend she didn’t know Monica, it was just to hide the fact that she DID know her! For years Melissa and Joe Gorga told Monica everything the Giudices did. When they got mortgages, when they were building on, when they went shopping and bought expensive clothes and furniture, when Teresa had appearances and if she got paid for them!
We all know Melissa Gorga is a pathological liar, including lying about not knowing Monica Chacaon, the lawyer who prides herself on helping the feds nab the Giudices.
Monica and Kim were compiling all of this information to make a case against the Giudices for fraud!
It was Melissa who has done all of this to Teresa! She was the one telling them the house was in foreclosure and that the Giudices lied on taxes and mortgage applications and that Teresa made more money then she was admitting to.
All of this shadiness was going on during seasons 1 and 2 and then on season 3 there was the devil herself… Melissa!! She then preceded to play victim and act like Teresa did something wrong to her when it was the Gorgas who purposefully lied to Monica and Kim to take Teresa down!!
The Gorgas have known this whole time that there was a case being made against his own sister to put her in jail. WHO DOES THAT TO HIS SISTER and NIECES!!!!!!! The Gorgas fed all of this info to Monica Chacon and Kim Granatell! And half of what Melissa told Monica was not even true.
Monica’s husband is the one suing the Giudices, and it was Melissa and Joe who were telling Monica and Kim G about the Giudices finances. Melissa did the same thing with Danielle Staub and wanted to film with her. She told Danielle about Teresa’s finances and that her house was in foreclosure.
Monica’s husband, William Saracino of Totowa, NJ, is the attorney for Joe Giudice’s former business partner, Joseph Mastropole, who sued Joe and Teresa in 2007 for $260,000, the debt due in a business divorce agreement. Mastropole accused Juicy of forging his signature on documents to discharge a mortgage on property they jointly owned for the purpose of refinancing the property to garner funds.
Kim G was on the show in the first two seasons, and Monica made her appearance in season 3 at the Gorga’s party when Melissa denied knowing her, but Monica said she knew Melissa and Joe.
Kim G and Monica Chacon sat at a table with Kathy, Melissa and Melissa’s sisters at the Posche fashion show (PFS) in season 3 episode 2 (photos below). This was at the very beginning of the Gorga’s and Wakile’s first season – how did they get so close to Kim G so quickly? Because they had known her for a while, although earlier in the same episode Melissa and Kathy pretended to have met her for the first time at the Posche boutique (first photo below), where Kim G said to them about Teresa, “She doesn’t know who she’s messing with,” and neither of them defended Teresa or were shocked by the statement.
Melissa also told Monica about the magazine articles and said Teresa gets paid for them. I was also told that Joe Giudice’s ex business partner, who filed a suit first and was represented by Monica’s husband, was also in cahoots with Melissa and Joe Gorga. The Gorgas went to the business partner and that’s how they met Monica and told her they would help her take the Giudices down!! Then low and behold suddenly Melissa got cast on the show!!!
When Teresa saw Kim G sit down at Melissa’s table at the PFS, she asked Jacqueline and Caroline:
“Why is Kim G talking to my sister-in-law? It’s just weird that my sister-in-law’s friends with her.”
In the same episode (season 3 episode 2), before the PFS, Kim G came over to Melissa’s home (photo below), and they went clubbing on Halloween, Kathy included – Melissa and Kathy talked smack about Teresa with Kim G the entire time.
Bob and Kim Hiza are mortgage brokers who were credited in season 3 as being the Gorga’s accountants, but in reality Bob Hiza co-owns with Joe Gorga at least 10 low-end properties in Paterson, NJ.
The Gorgas and Wakiles dined with the Hizas in their home during season 3 episode 6, at which time they talked about the Giudice’s bankruptcy.
The following are excerpts from recaps by StarPulse and the MontvillePatch about the dinner at the Hiza’s home (click her for a full recap by Eudie Pak):
“After leaving his meeting with Teresa, Joe and Melissa meet at their accountant Kim and Bob Hiza’s house and have dinner with them along with cousins Kathy and Rich. Not long after beginning the meal, the conversation turns to Teresa and her troubles. Melissa, Kathy, Rich and Bob start to gossip about Teresa’s problems with her brother and the upcoming auction on her belongings. Although the relationship between Joe and his sister is strained he defends her saying she is going through a rough time right now and they shouldn’t be discussing it.”
“After the meeting, Joe and Melissa meet up with Kathy and Rich Wakile at the home of family friends and accountants Bob and Kim Hiza. ‘The Hizas are not traditional Italians,’ Wakile said. ‘They had a chef prepare the meal. It was nice, it was very nice. I told Kim, I have to cook for her. I have to teach her a few things.’ Melissa refuses wine, saying she was sick from being worried over Joe. He tells them about the meeting with Teresa. ‘Everything went OK,’ he said. ‘Did she apologize? Yes. Was she sincere? I’m not sure.’ Melissa tells Kathy that when everything is peaceful between her and Teresa, she is going to talk to her about Wakile. Wakile tells Gorga not to worry about it. ‘If she wants to have me in her life, she’ll have me in her life,’ Wakile said. ‘Listen, she’s going through some hard times,’ Joe said. Again, the topic of the auction comes up, this time from Bob Hiza. Rich Wakile says he absolutely would have helped his ailing cousins-in-law if he had known they were in bankruptcy. Gorga agrees.”
The following is an excerpt about the dinner with the Hizas from Melissa’s Bravo blog:
“Anyway, I’m glad you get to see our dinner with Kathy and Rich at Kim and Bob Hiza’s house. You can clearly see that we had the perfect opportunity to discuss Teresa and Joe Giudice’s financial problems, but we took the high road as we always do when that topic is brought up in the press, on the show, and around other people. We are not out to get Teresa or talk about their legal issues. When I say I want this family to get back together, I truly do mean it. I want our kids to play together, and I want us to spend time together as a family. I never sat down with Teresa face-to-face until now, but I stand by what I wrote above. Let’s sit down talk about our issues and fix them, for real.”
Kim Hiza, Kim G and Monica Chacon attended the Gorga’s 2010 Christmas party in season 3 episode 10. The producers invited Monica and Kim G unbeknownst to the Giudices but Melissa was fully aware that they would be attending, even though she feigned knowing Monica at the time. Teresa became upset that Monica was there because earlier that day she had a confrontation with her at the courthouse during a break in a fraud case that Juicy’s former business partner had filed against him.
Kim Hiza is a member of Kim Granatell’s crew, “The New Jersey Socialites“, which is a reality show Kim G was trying to get picked up in January 2013.
Kim Hiza was with Kathy Wakile and Kim G attending Kim D’s holiday party in December 2010. The event was sponsored by illluminationPR.com, which represented Melissa Gorga at the time and now represents the Wakiles.
Kim G is Jacqueline’s friend and neighbor – could Jacqueline have been helping Monica Chacon and the federal investigators?
During the taping of season 4, Jacqueline and the other cast members tried very hard to get Teresa to admit to being paid for magazine covers and articles and consistently asked her about financial matters when Bravo’s cameras were rolling.
Kim G’s tweeted to Jacqueline on October 20, 2011, saying, “So glad Jacqueline, myself and Tom Murro converse everyday… oh, I forgot, Monica too!”
Monica is the attorney for Joe Giudice’s former business partner, Joseph Mastropole, who sued him in 2007 for debt due him in a business divorce. Mastropole accused Juicy of forging his signature on documents for property they jointly owned. Juicy admitted that he forged the signature but testified that on any occasion Mastropole had authorized him to sign his name to documents, which Mastropole denied, testifying that Juicy signed his name without his knowledge or authorization (Juicy also admitted to forging the notary’s signature and the notary seal). Juicy was found liable in court for the debt due Mastropole of $255,000, but public records show that there is still an open judgment for that amount, meaning he has not paid Mastropole. [Read the opinion letter here on the case written by the bankruptcy judge.]
Monica spoke with RadarOnline again on July 31, 2013, and said the following about the Giudices:
According to attorney Monica Chacon, who represented Joe’s former business partner Joe Mastropole in a 2007 fraud case, Joe allegedly used “gang” tactics to intimidate her and her client.
“Someone blew out seven windows at our office the same day we filed in court,” she claims. “They were shooting slingshots with marbles. Of course we didn’t catch Joe doing it, but my and my husband’s office and Joe Mastropole’s office were both targeted the same day we filed in court. It wasn’t a coincidence.”
“You see a lot of different types of people when you’re a lawyer, but these two … I don’t know if they’re just that dumb, or if they’re crazy smart.”
“They just don’t care!” Chacon says. “They do what they want, and they say what they want, and figure that someday they’ll deal with the implications.”
“Even Al Capone didn’t go down for murdering people, he went down for tax evasion!” Chacon laughs.
But despite rumors, she says that Joe and Teresa definitely don’t have mafia ties.
“They have an inner-city, gang mentality,” Chacon explains. “They’re like people who have nothing to lose. That’s what you’re dealing with. It’s crazy.”
The following is an excerpt from the July 30, 2013 RadarOnline article where Monica says she has been working with the feds to nab the Guidices.
A lawyer who worked to have them found liable for fraud back in 2007 tells RadarOnline.com that she feels vindicated — and even a little bit pleased.
“It does feel good,” attorney Monica Chacon tells RadarOnline.com exclusively. Chacon represented Joe’s former business partner Joe Mastropole when he sued Giudice for fraud in 2007.
“The work we put in to make sure the judge recognized they were committing fraud ultimately resulted in them withdrawing their petition [and tipping off the feds],” she explains. “It’s been a long road.”
In fact, Chacon says, she’s been aiding federal investigators in their work to nab the Giudices for years. “Our office has had calls from some federal agencies over the past four years,” she reveals. “You don’t think it’s gonna come to anything and then finally [it happens].”
Still, she says, “Teresa and Joe’s true day of reckoning is yet to come. The federal case is still ongoing. To actual vindication, I think it will be a long road.”
“But finally it feels like people are opening their eyes to the situation after so many years,” Chacon says. “Little by little, the truth is starting to come out. They’re starting to show who they really are and what they are about.”
“Everybody around her knows they’re sleazy,” Chacon insists. “I think that their fans must be from anywhere but New Jersey!”
Monica was Kim G’s guest at the Gorga’s Christmas party in their home during season 3 episode 10 (photos below) – she introduced herself as “the lawyer suing Teresa.” She is the “lawyer” the Gorgas like to boast about kicking out of the party to appease Teresa – Teresa was upset that Monica was there, in her brother’s house, because the two had a verbal altercation at the court house earlier that day. According to an insider, both Bravo and Melissa invited Monica to the party, although, during the episode, Melissa denied even knowing her.
During season 3 episode 10 (Melissa’s Christmas party), Melissa first claimed, “I don’t even know who the woman [Monica] is, so why is she in my house?” Then she feigned surprise recognition when Kim G said to Melissa, “Say ‘hi’ to Monica again.” Melissa quickly regrouped and said, “I think I met you at the fashion show.”
Monica Chacon and her husband, the lawyers taking crediting for working with the feds and helping to uncover alleged fraud by Juicy, appeared on Showbiz Tonight on August 2, 2013. The following is the link to the video and the accompanying article from HLNTV.com.
If Teresa Giudice needs someone to blame for her serious legal troubles, she might be able to look to her nemesis from “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” — and we’re not talking about that poor table she infamously flipped over back in the show’s first season.
Lawyer Monica Chacon was part of a fraud lawsuit that indirectly led to this week’s 39-count federal indictment against Teresa and her husband, Joe Giudice. In one episode during season 3, Teresa had Monica kicked out of a party (she had sparred with Teresa at a courthouse earlier that day).
Nowadays, Chacon must be doing a happy victory dance, right? Not exactly. In their first TV interview since the Giudices’ indictment, Chacon and her husband/fellow attorney, William C. Saracino, stopped by Showbiz Tonight to share their thoughts on the massive misfortune of their longtime adversaries.
http://www.hlntv.com/video/2013/08/01/joe-and-teresa-giudice-whistleblowers
Monica Chacon is a title examiner and owner of Chacon Title Agency, which specializes in researching records for real estate transactions. Certainly she assisted the feds in their investigation of the Giudices.
According to the NY Daily News on December 16, 2010, Teresa demanded Monica talk to her during a courtroom break in the case filed by Joe Giudice’s former business partner, Joseph Mastropole, but Monica, the wife of his attorney, refused, and Teresa exploded, screaming, “You need to stop telling people my business!” Though Joe is at the center of the drama, it was Teresa who got heated during a break in the proceedings, when she reportedly picked a fight with Monica Ciccone, the wife of William Saracino Jr., Mastropole’s lawyer. She exploded at Ciccone in a hallway during the break, according to RadarOnline.com, screaming, “You and me gotta talk!” When Ciccone ignored her, Giudice reportedly insisted, “I need to talk to you!” Ciccone continued to brush off the reality hothead, saying, “I don’t have to talk to you, we both have lawyers.” This was the last straw for Giudice, Radar reports, who seemed to channel her history of hallway fighting by going after Ciccone the same way she fought with “Real Housewives” castmember Danielle Staub last season. “You need to stop telling people my business!” she reportedly yelled. Unlike Staub, Ciccone stood up for herself, saying, “I’m not talking to you, you’re a bully!” Joe Giudice had to extract his wife from the situation, the gossip site reports.
Kim G’s friend Monica Chacon told RadarOnline on July 30, 2013, that she has been working with federal investigators over the past four years to nab the Giudices.
The Teresa Giudice Legal Defense Fund
In December 2008, Al Manzo hosted a fund-raiser at The Brownstone to raise money for Bernie Kerik’s legal defense – Bernie was scheduled to face trial in October 2009 for federal charges of fraud but instead pleaded guilty in November 2009.
In August 2013, a month after Teresa and Joe were indicted for money fraud, Teresa considered taking the same route as Bernie by scheduling a fundraiser at the Maliblue Oyster Bar to “collect donations to support her legal defense,” but when she was called out on it by bloggers, she claimed the press release was a PR stunt to drum up business for the restaurant.
On August 28, 2013, Teresa Giudice tweeted that she would be making an appearance at the Maliblue Oyster Bar in Lido Beach, NY from 7:30 to 8:30 PM on August 29, 2013 – she misspelled the name of the restaurant in her tweet:
Although neither Teresa’s tweet or the ad stated that the event was a fundraiser for her defense, the press release clearly stated it was for her defense fund. Plus, the name of the restaurant also was misspelled in the press release (it was misspelled in the same way as it was in Teresa’s tweet).
The following is the press release:
NEW YORK, Aug. 28, 2013 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — A group of bartenders and staff from a legendary Long Island beach resort and catering facility are collecting donations to support the legal defense of Real Housewives of New Jersey star Teresa Giudice.
They strongly believe Teresa will be vindicated soon and will be collecting funds to aid her defense. They are seeking donations from compassionate fans of the reality TV star, who has four young children. The Bartenders, servers and other wait staff work at Malibu Beach Club, where Teresa is making a special appearance tomorrow night, Thursday, August 29, 2013.
Malibu Beach Club is an iconic New York area oceanfront facility where the biggest names in show business have performed over the last 50 years including Sammy Davis Jr., Billy Joel, Frank Sinatra, U2 and Pat Benatar.
The group is dedicated to helping Teresa stay out of prison and also help pay any fines or other restitution that Teresa and Joe are ordered to pay.
Teresa and her husband Joe Giudice are facing 39 counts of fraud, which could result in up to 50 years in jail. The Giudices are charged with an alleged conspiracy to defraud lenders and illegally obtain mortgages. In addition, they are also accused of hiding assets and income while declaring bankruptcy.
“I am committed to my family and intend to maintain our lives in the best way possible, which includes continuing my career. As a result, I am hopeful that we will resolve this matter with the Government as quickly as possible,” stated Teresa Giudice.
For interviews or further information please contact the Teresa Giudice Legal Defense Fund at 646-571-3131.
SOURCE Malibu Beach Club
After bloggers caught onto the story, Teresa went on Twitter on August 29, 2013 at about 4:30 PM EST to say, “I am just hearing this – what???,” and denied any involvement in raising money for her defense, claiming that staff from the restaurant, without her knowledge, released the press release. Instead, she encouraged people to support her by donating to a charity she promotes, the Nephcure Foundation (notice how she correctly spelled the restaurant name in her tweet on August 29):
PR agent Johnny Donovan also went on Twitter shortly after Teresa, saying that her appearance was a “meet and greet to kick off Labor Day weekend” and claimed that other press about the event was “false information”:
With the name of the restaurant being misspelled in both Teresa’s tweet and the press release, you have to wonder if she was behind it since, obviously, the restaurant knows how to spell its name, unlike Teresa’s team.
The other ad for the event on Maliblue Oyster Bar’s Facebook page shows a full line-up for the Labor Day weekend – Teresa is among several others scheduled to make an appearance at the restaurant.
FAMEWHORGAS 