Catholic Church Exposed For Sending Pedophile Priests To Safe Havens In South America

GlobalPost has a disturbing investigative report that uncovered scores of Catholic priests who sexually abused children in the United States and elsewhere being reassigned to safe heavens in South American countries where they are now in charge of churches in mostly poorer parishes and can avoid being held accountable for the children they abused. The report gives the impression Pope Francis' supposed reforms is really more about the church continuing its sordid practice of protecting child abusing priests and covering up their crimes.

 . . . Even as Pope Francis has touted reform of the Vatican’s safeguards against child abuse, GlobalPost has found that the Catholic Church has allowed allegedly abusive priests to slip off to parts of the world where they would face less scrutiny from prosecutors and the media.

In a yearlong investigation, we tracked down and confronted five such priests. All were able to continue working for the church despite serious accusations against them. When we found them, all but one continued to lead Mass, mostly in remote, poor communities in South America.

Some of these men faced criminal investigations, but went abroad without charges being brought against them. One of the priests admitted to GlobalPost that he had molested a 13-year-old boy, and acknowledged that he can never work again in the US. He continues to preach in a small Peruvian fishing village. Another is currently under investigation by authorities in Brazil for a string of alleged molestations, including accusations in the poor neighborhoods where for two decades he ran a home for street children — with the support of the Catholic Church.

GlobalPost interviewed one diocese leader in these communities, but was otherwise not granted interviews with local church officials. And despite protracted efforts and discussions with church press officers, neither the Vatican nor the chairman of a new papal commission set up specifically to tackle church child abuse would speak with us.

For advocates and attorneys who have studied abusive Catholic priests for decades, the flight of these fathers overseas represents just the latest chapter in a long story of deceit, collusion and church-sponsored impunity for child abusers . . .

One of the priests GlobalPost tracked down in Lima, Peru admitted to sexually abusing a 13-year old boy in Jackson, Mississippi. The priest explained his crime by saying he had gotten drunk for the first time in his life and woke up in bed with a boy.

Blue Indy Claims Electric Car Sharing Service Has Exceeded Expectations To Date

You have to go searching to find one of those Blue Indy cars being driven around town by anyone other than an employee ambassador of the electric car sharing service, but the company says the mostly-idle cars parked around downtown and elsewhere consuming the most valuable public parking spaces stolen from Indianapolis taxpayers has so far "exceeded expectations." At least that's what the folks at the French-based Bollore are telling Bloomberg.

. . . Its BlueIndy car share, backed by the same French company that runs Autolib', was launched on Sept. 2 with an initial fleet of 52 cars, which will expand to 500, with 200 recharging stations planned. BlueIndy's general manager, Scott Prince, says demand has "exceeded our expectations," with more than 500 people signing up in the first two weeks. BlueIndy users register on its website, then can opt for a one-time rental costing $8 for the first 8 minutes and 40¢ a minute after that, or a weekly, monthly, or annual membership offering per-minute costs as low as 20¢. 

Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard has said he's "delighted to welcome BlueIndy as a clean, affordable transit option" for residents and visitors to Indiana's capital, which like many midsize U.S. cities doesn't have much mass transit. Ballard ponied up $6 million in city funds to top off the $41 million being spent on the program by Groupe Bolloré, the French manufacturer of the four-seat, battery-powered cars, which have a range of 150 miles between recharges.

BlueIndy will be an important test for Groupe Bolloré, which hopes to create a worldwide market for the lithium metal polymer batteries that power the cars. Bolloré spent more than €3 billion ($3.4 billion) to develop the technology, and Vincent Bolloré, the chairman and chief executive, has said he is keen to test its performance in Indiana's cold winters and hot summers. "Indiana shouldn't be more complicated than Paris," he told Bloomberg News this year . . . 

The story goes on to concede there has been local opposition to Mayor Ballard breaking numerous state and local laws before trying to illegally wire $6 million in city funds to the company as additional start-up capital, although the Bloomberg story doesn't describe it in those terms.

BlueIndy has gotten off to a bumpy start in this city of 850,000, host to America's most famous auto race. Local business owners have groused about recharging stands taking up parking space outside their establishments, while disgruntled taxpayers complain about the expenditure of public funds on a project run by a French company. Some city council members, angry that the mayor didn't seek their approval for the outlay, have even threatened to have BlueIndy cars towed off the streets. Autolib' has drawn little criticism in France.

Bollore tells Bloomberg the local opposition will "die down" once people see the benefits of the "silent, zero exhaust" cars on the streets. There's no mention of the problems people are having in communicating via satellite hook-up to the support staff in Paris since the company won't spend any money hiring local employees to provide support services. When does the Indianapolis media plan to investigate the use of a nonprofit's employees to serve as ambassadors for the electric car sharing service? I'm pretty sure that's not kosher. But then again our local media has shown little interest in investigating the fact that officials would have been indicted in almost any other city in America for doing what Mayor Ballard and members of his administration did to foist this electric car sharing service on Indianapolis residents. Politicians don't break a bunch of laws just for the hell of it unless there's something in it for them.

Check out the Lindedin profile of Blue Indy's GM Scott Prince:

Vice President and General Manager

BlueIndy

2015 – Present (less than a year)Indianapolis, Indiana Area

Owner/CEO

Expansion Resources LLC

1998 – Present (17 years)Carmel, IN

Single member LLC to manage secondary affiliations below

General Manager / AVP Sales / VP Strategic Sales

Shoutlet

2013 – 2015 (2 years)

Shoutlet enables clients to manage and measure their social marketing efforts to enhance their brand, provide a personal level of customer care, gain market insights to ultimately drive increased revenue and customer conversions.

EVP, Chief Sales & Marketing Officer

Blue Pillar, Inc.

2011 – 2013 (2 years)Indianapolis, Indiana Area

Executive Director

EnerTech Capital (Co-Founder Clean Wave Ventures)

2006 – 2011 (5 years)

Carly Said What About Barbara Boxer's Hair?

Carly Fiorina has exploited Donald Trump's "Just look at her face" quip in criticizing her candidacy. "I think women heard very clearly what Mr. Trump said," Fiorina said in last night's Republican presidential debate in response to his face comment about her. During Fiorina's disastrous California Senate campaign in 2010 against Sen. Barbara Boxer, Fiorina was caught on an open mic making fun of Boxer's hair. "God what is that hair," Fionina said. "So yesterday." Is it okay for a woman candidate to make fun of another woman candidates's appearance?

Butler Assistant Police Chief Back On The Job Already Following Drunk Driving Arrest

It looks like Butler University's Police Chief Andrew Ryan's job is still secure after he was arrested by Indianapolis police for operating a vehicle while intoxicated and crashing into another vehicle, causing harm to that driver, during the Labor Day weekend. The Indianapolis Star reports Ryan is already back on the job after being placed on administrative leave for a very short time period following his arrest.

Ryan, whose blood alcohol level registered more than three times the legal limit, is also seeking permission to have his driver's license reinstated because driving is essential for his job. His driver's license was automatically suspended following his arrest. The Star also reports that Ryan is still employed by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department's Academy as a teacher.

Todd Young Airs Ad During CNN Republican Presidential Debate

The Senate campaign of U.S. Rep. Todd Young (R) dropped some big bucks to air this ad during last night's live Republican presidential debate aired on CNN. Did he get a big bang for the buck?

Citizens Energy Wants Rate Hike To Pay For Water Main Breaks

Average water bills for Citizen Energy's Indianapolis customers will rise $6 a month next year if the IURC grants its latest rate increase. Officials of the supposed nonprofit utility say it needs the rate increase to pay for water main break repairs. Many of the water mains the utility says are nearly 100 years old, and it's experiencing about 700 breaks a year. Citizens says it costs $6,000 to repair a broken main, or about $4.2 million a year.

So Citizens Energy finds itself in a pickle of its own making. Here's why. When Citizens Energy agreed to buy the water utility from the City, it paid a premium of nearly a half billion dollars so Mayor Greg Ballard would have a slush fund to dole out pork barrel projects to reward his campaign contributors prior to his re-election campaign in 2011. The City overpaid for the utility when it bought it from NiSource under Mayor Bart Peterson. NiSource bought the water company from the Indianapolis Water Company, and then proceeded to sell of its most valuable assets while ignoring long-overdue infrastructure repairs.

Inexplicably, Mayor Peterson and the City-County Council agreed to pay NiSource more than it had purchased the water utility from IWC a few years earlier, minus some of its most valuable, money-producing assets. The City then privatized the management and operation of the water utility, turning control of it over to the French company, Veolia, another bad deal for ratepayers. The City had to pay a $29 million break-up fee to Veolia to terminate its agreement with the City, a cost passed on to ratepayers as part of the purchase price Citizens Energy paid. That money could have been better spent repairing over 4,800 water main breaks over a 7-year period. In the course of these transactions, the water utility ran up debt well north of a billion dollars. There was absolutely no basis for paying the City of Indianapolis that half billion dollar cash premium. These were all sham transactions undertaken to make multi-millionaires of several political insiders at the cost of the ratepayers.

The IURC had the power to reject the Citizens Energy deal. It knew or should have known the utility was paying too much for the debt-strapped water utility. The evidence also showed all of the prior owners had failed to keep pace with maintenance of the utility's key infrastructure components, which would have to be addressed at some point. Now ratepayers are being slapped regularly with double-digit rate increases to pay for all of these past, sham transactions used to enrich a group of political insiders.This is what happens when you put the foxes in charges of guarding the chickens at the IURC.

If the IURC cared about ratepayers, it will order Citizens Energy to stop spending millions of dollars annually on phony, feel-good ads blanketing local TV and radio stations and make it give up those costly suites and tickets at Lucas Oil Stadium and Banker's Life Fieldhouse. A nonprofit utility has no business spending money entertaining at sporting events and concerts. Slashing the ridiculous salaries of its overpaid executives and eliminating unnecessary, top-heavy management jobs should also be demanded. Then maybe it will have some spare change to afford necessary repairs rather than constantly sticking it to the ratepayers.

American Senior Communities Says It's In Compliance With All Laws Regulating Its Nursing Homes

A day after a team of FBI agents, IRS agents and investigators with the federal Department of Health & Human Services participated in a raid on American Senior Communities' offices and the sprawling Carmel mansion of its CEO, James Burkhart, the company released a statement to the media saying it was in compliance with all federal, state and local regulations and was "fully cooperating" with the government's "review to ascertain the relevant facts":

American Senior Communities’ most important priority is to continue to provide excellent care to our patients and residents. ASC has been contacted by the federal government in connection with an investigation into certain individuals or practices. ASC is fully cooperating with the government and is conducting its own review to ascertain the relevant facts. ASC is in compliance with all federal, state and local laws and regulations and will continue to conduct its business in accordance with the highest standards of integrity.

Late yesterday, a statement released by Burkhart's high profile criminal defense lawyer, Larry Mackey, describes the government's investigation of his client and his company as a "cost review":

Thorough oversight of health care costs in this nation is in every citizen's interests and ASC will be an active partner with the government in this investigation. ASC cares for thousands of residents in scores of facilities across Indiana and has built a decade long record and reputation for excellence in caring for those most in need. We will keep our focus on our residents while we cooperate fully in this cost review.

Interest in the investigation is peaked because of ASC's important role as a private sector partner in operating the Marion Co. Health & Hospital Corporation's 59 nursing homes scattered across the state. That partnership enables the nursing homes operated by ASC on HHC's behalf to receive significantly enhanced reimbursements from the government for Medicaid/Medicare services compared to the reimbursement rates allowed to other long-term care facilities. The nursing homes are owned and controlled for all practical purposes by ASC, but by creating a fiction HHC is the proprietor, the higher reimbursement rates apply because of HHC's status as a publicly-owned hospital for the poor. HHC officials have always maintained this legal arrangement is perfectly legal. In a statement issued yesterday, HHC insists neither it nor its employees are target or the subject of the investigation.

Chuck Brewer Unveils First Campaign Ad

Indianapolis Republican mayoral candidate Chuck Brewer unveils his first television ad of the political season. It emphasizes his military and business background.

In Case You Doubted Where Gannett Stands On Trump's Candidacy

According to a loaded survey question put to its readers, USA Today says Mexico would be the most popular destination to flee the United States in the event Donald Trump is elected president. Would any mainstream news media organization have asked such a question of their readers when Barack Obama first ran for president? Here were the top responses to the unscientific survey:

• Mexico: 75,000
• General: 69,000 (“I’m moving if Trump is elected” but no location specified)
• Canada: 25,000
• United Kingdom: 11,000
• Australia: 6,000
• Alaska: 5,800
• France: 2,000
• Hawaii: 1,500
• Jamaica: 1,200
• Ireland: 1,100
• Sweden: 1,000
• Brazil: 1,000

Apparently some of the respondents mistakenly believed Hawaii and Alaska are not part of the United States. Hat tip to Gateway Pundit.