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@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ Dyer Grossman served as a key figure in child exploitation networks during the 1
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Dyer Grossman co-drafted the incorporating charter for [[Brother Paul’s Children’s Mission]] after traveling to Michigan to meet [[Gerald Richards]]. This charter enabled the mission to function as a non-profit subsidiary of his fabricated church, facilitating the transport of boys to [[North Fox Island]] for exploitation. Grossman corresponded with Richards on establishing foster homes in Michigan to house runaways and problem children for government payments, explicitly noting the financial benefits of such arrangements.[^1]
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### Connections
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Dyer Grossman connected directly with [[Francis Shelden]] as a principal in [[Brother Paul’s Children’s Mission]], both sought by state and federal authorities on criminal sexual conduct charges. He collaborated with [[Adam Starchild]] in linking the mission to [[The Church of New Revelation]]. Grossman procured a 12-year-old boy through a Big Brother program, describing him as innocent and planning camping trips to alter that status, while the church linked to operations at [[Father Bud's Boys Farm]] run by [[Cladius Vermilye]].[^1]
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Dyer Grossman connected directly with [[Francis Shelden]] as a principal in [[Brother Paul’s Children’s Mission]], both sought by state and federal authorities on criminal sexual conduct charges. He collaborated with [[Adam Starchild]] in linking the mission to [[The Church of New Revelation]]. Grossman procured a 12-year-old boy through a Big Brother program, describing him as innocent and planning camping trips to alter that status, while the church linked to operations at [[Father Bud's Boys Farm]] run by [[Claudius Vermilye]].[^1]
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### Footnotes
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[^1]: Dovey, S. (2023). Eye of the Chickenhawk. United States: Thehotstar.
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@ -3,10 +3,30 @@ category: "Belgium Scandals"
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tags:
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- Person
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- Belgium
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summary: "Jean-Claude Van Espen was a Belgian judge assigned to the reopened investigation of the Christine Van Hees murder from 1984 after Michel Nihoul was named as a suspect in 1996."
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- Dutroux
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- Judiciary
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summary: "Brussels investigating judge of the 1980s and reopened 1997 inquiries into the murder of Christine Van Hees, who suspended the X1 investigators' work in 1997 and was reported to have ties to Nihoul."
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location: "Brussels, Belgium"
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created: 2026-05-14
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updated: 2026-09-22
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---
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Jean-Claude Van Espen was a Belgian judge assigned to the reopened investigation of the [[Christine Van Hees]] murder from 1984 after [[Jean-Michel Nihoul]] was named as a suspect in 1996. Van Espen was a close friend and business partner of Nihoul but failed to recuse himself from the case. His conflict of interest was brought to light by a journalist two years later, in 1998, at which point he finally stepped down from the case.[^1]
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Jean-Claude Van Espen was an investigating judge (juge d'instruction) in Brussels. In the 1980s he directed the judicial investigation into the murder of [[Christine Van Hees]], killed and partly burned in the disused mushroom farm at Auderghem in 1984. When the statements of the anonymous witness X1, [[Regina Louf]], led to the case being reopened, the Brussels file, referred to as instruction 64/85 in the gendarmerie's correspondence with him, was returned at the end of January 1997 to the same judge.[^1] The gendarme Aimé Bille, assigned to it from the team of Patrick De Baets, found that the earlier investigation under Van Espen had "multiple gaps."[^2]
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### The Commission and the Neufchâteau Team
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The Belgian parliamentary commission of inquiry into the [[Marc Dutroux]] affair asked its councillor-investigator, Marique, to look for protection mechanisms for [[Jean-Michel Nihoul]] and Dutroux in the Van Hees case, after an anonymous witness had linked Nihoul and [[Annie Bouty]] to it. When Marique spoke with investigators of the Neufchâteau antenna, the commission learned that Van Espen "was annoyed" by the contact, and it recorded its astonishment at "the violent reaction of the investigating judge." At a coordination meeting of the magistrates handling the related files on May 22, 1997, he asked that the college of prosecutors-general be seized of the question of what attitude magistrates and investigators should adopt when invited by the commission.[^1]
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On June 22, 1997, Van Espen withdrew his confidence from the antenna's team and asked the Brussels gendarmerie to restructure it "to avoid any risk of pollution" of the investigation, ordering the suspension of "all investigative acts requested by my office or announced on initiative" and stating that he would continue the investigation provisionally without the gendarmerie's help. The commission noted that the team had by then carried out some 250 of his apostilles without any observation from him on their quality. He and the procureur du Roi of Ghent declined to work further with the team, which was removed from the antenna in August 1997; he later asked to be relieved of the investigation. In its report of February 16, 1998, the commission concluded that "the Brussels investigating judge gave particular, in fact disproportionate, attention to the contacts between the councillor-investigator of the commission of inquiry and certain investigators."[^1]
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### Press Reports
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In 2002 *The Observer* reported that a Belgian journalist had revealed about two years earlier "the close relationship between Judge Van Espen and Nihoul and his then wife": that as a lawyer Van Espen had represented Nihoul's wife, that his sister was godmother of Nihoul's child, and that he had resigned as judge of the Van Hees investigation in early 1998 "after his relationship with Nihoul was exposed." The commission's report of February 1998 does not name Van Espen in connection with any tie to Nihoul; it records that Nihoul had several times tried to make investigators believe he was protected by a Brussels investigating judge, "(ex-)brother-in-law of a former lawyer," and found "qu'il n'en était rien" (that there was nothing to it).[^3][^1]
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On April 23, 1998, the prosecutors-general of Antwerp, Ghent and Brussels closed the files opened on Louf's testimony.[^2] The Van Hees murder was never solved.[^2]
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### Footnotes
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[^1]: Dovey, S. (2023). *Eye of the Chickenhawk*. United States: Thehotstar.
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[^1]: Chambre des Représentants de Belgique. *Enquête parlementaire sur la manière dont l'enquête, dans ses volets policiers et judiciaires, a été menée dans l'affaire Dutroux-Nihoul et consorts,* rapport complémentaire, Doc. 713/8-96/97, February 16, 1998, chapter V, "the problems within the Neufchâteau antenna," pp. 150-161; quotations translated from the French. https://www.dekamer.be/kvvcr/pdf_sections/comm/dutroux/49K0713008.pdf
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[^2]: Sénat de Belgique. Proposition visant à instituer une commission d'enquête parlementaire chargée d'enquêter sur l'éloignement de deux enquêteurs de la cellule d'enquête bruxelloise « Neufchâteau », déposée par M. Frans Lozie, Doc. 2-563/1, October 9, 2000.
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[^3]: Frenkiel, Olenka. "Belgium's silent heart of darkness." *The Observer,* May 5, 2002. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/may/05/dutroux.featuresreview
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@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ Connerotte authorized the dungeon access on August 15, 1996, where Laetitia and
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Connerotte examined Katrien de Cuyper's 1991 disappearance tied to X-Kiss studio with Zandvoort connections via [[Gerrit-Jan Ulrich]] and [[Robbie Van Der Plancken]]. X3's royal claims at castles of Prince Charles, King Baudouin, and King Albert from 1950-1962 were documented, alongside X2's Mirano orgies with Princes Philippe and Laurent. The dossier mapped CSP politicians backed by [[Societe Generale de Banque]], with Dumont representing CRIES using [[UNICEF]] for porn via [[Joseph Douce]] and [[Michel Caignet]]'s [[Gaie France]].[^1]
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Judge [[Jean-Claude Van Espen]], Nihoul's partner, delayed recusal from Van Hees until 1998, interfering with Connerotte's probe. The 1997 replacement of Bourlet's team followed fabrication charges, with the dossier leaked to journalists, published in 1999 "The X-Files" book prompting King Albert's 2001 lawsuit. Connerotte testified in 2004 about murder contracts against magistrates, requiring bullet-proof vehicles.[^1]
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Judge [[Jean-Claude Van Espen]], who had directed the 1980s Van Hees investigation and was later reported to have had close ties to Nihoul, suspended the Neufchâteau team's work on the reopened file in June 1997. The 1997 replacement of Bourlet's team followed fabrication charges, with the dossier leaked to journalists, published in 1999 as *De X-dossiers* prompting King Albert's 2001 lawsuit. Connerotte testified in 2004 about murder contracts against magistrates, requiring bullet-proof vehicles.[^1]
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### Removal and Legacy
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Connerotte's removal stemmed from the fundraiser, viewed as partiality, shifting to Jaques Langlois amid protests. Exonerated from bias charges in 1999, he criticized the 2004 trial barring X-witnesses, convicting Dutroux for life but Nihoul lightly despite evidence. Connerotte advocated reopening cases like Dellaert's and Van Hees, linking to [[Operation Gladio]] networks with accused like Wathelet on the European Court. Post-trial, he highlighted institutional protections, with over twenty deaths silencing leads on elites like Vanden Boeynants.[^1]
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@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ During his presidency, Carter's human rights foreign policy in [[Latin America]]
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Jimmy Carter accepted millions from [[Agha Hasan Abedi]] and [[Bank of Credit and Commerce International|BCCI]] for charitable organizations.[^5] In August 1982, [[Bert Lance]] introduced Abedi to Carter.[^6] Abedi's [[National Bank of Georgia]] was the largest single lender to the Carter family's peanut farm in Plains, Georgia.[^7]
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In the early 1980s, Abedi donated $500,000 to help establish the [[Carter Center]] at Emory University in Atlanta and contributed millions to Carter's Global 2000 Foundation, founded in 1985 for Third World healthcare.[^7] BCCI provided $8.1 million to Carter during the 1980s, and Abedi arranged an additional $2.5 million from [[Zayed bin Sultan AL-Nahayan|Sheikh Zayed]] through the [[Abu Dhabi Investment Authority]].[^7] Carter also utilized BCCI's jet for his travels and Global 2000 Foundation used office space at BCCI's London headquarters.[^7]
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In the early 1980s, Abedi donated $500,000 to help establish the [[Carter Center]] at Emory University in [[Atlanta]] and contributed millions to Carter's Global 2000 Foundation, founded in 1985 for Third World healthcare.[^7] BCCI provided $8.1 million to Carter during the 1980s, and Abedi arranged an additional $2.5 million from [[Zayed bin Sultan AL-Nahayan|Sheikh Zayed]] through the [[Abu Dhabi Investment Authority]].[^7] Carter also utilized BCCI's jet for his travels and Global 2000 Foundation used office space at BCCI's London headquarters.[^7]
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Carter and his second wife, Rosalynn, became friends with Abedi and his wife, Rabia, and spent holidays together in Switzerland. Carter introduced Abedi to acquaintances like [[James Callaghan]].[^7] Abedi's joint appearances with Carter in various countries, including [[Kenya]], [[Ghana]], [[Pakistan]], [[Bangladesh]], [[China]], [[Thailand]], and the [[Soviet Union]], served as key targets for BCCI's business development.[^7] Carter continued to accept at least $1.5 million from BCCI even after the bank was indicted and convicted in Florida.[^7]
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@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ Dutroux boasted of Slovakian contacts for easy abductions. His 2004 life sentenc
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The X-Dossier, compiled by Judge Connerotte's team, contained testimonies from eight victims alleging elite abuse networks. X1 (Regina Louf) described childhood prostitution by grandmother [[Cecile Beernaert]] at Knokke-Heist villas near Royal Zoute Golf Club, frequented by Paul Vanden Boeynants and Counts Leopold and Maurice.
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X1 claimed witnessing Christine Van Hees' 1984 murder at a mushroom farm, details matching police files like ligature and burns. Judge [[Jean-Claude Van Espen]], assigned to Van Hees' case, was Nihoul's business partner and delayed recusal until 1998. X1 identified Carine Dellaert's 1983 murder, autopsy confirming childbirth.
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X1 claimed witnessing Christine Van Hees' 1984 murder at a mushroom farm, details matching police files like ligature and burns. Judge [[Jean-Claude Van Espen]], who had directed the 1980s Van Hees investigation and was later reported to have had close ties to Nihoul, suspended the Neufchâteau team's work on the reopened file in June 1997. X1 identified Carine Dellaert's 1983 murder, autopsy confirming childbirth.
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X1 detailed hunts at Lippens' estates and snuff films at ASCO Industries factory owned by [[Roger Boas]]. Boas linked to [[Parti Social Chretien]] (CSP) elites like Paul Vanden Boeynants and Martens. X1 described parties with blackmail, escalating to violence. X2 corroborated, naming Lippens, Jean-Paul Dumont, and de Bonvoisin at sadomasochist orgies. X2 attended hunts near Chimay castle. X3 alleged royal involvement with Baudouin and Albert. X4 identified X1's friends in porn films. Investigations reopened cold cases, but team accused of fabrication and replaced in 1997. X-Dossier leaked to journalists in 1999 book, leading to King Albert's lawsuit.
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@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ Dutroux's 1996 arrest was not his first: on April 26, 1989 he was convicted of a
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### Witness X1 Corroboration and the De Baets Team
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The investigative team under Detective [[René De Baets]] conducted extensive interviews with Regina Louf (Witness X1) and corroborated significant portions of her testimony through independent means before being removed from the case after pursuing leads toward prominent individuals; investigating judge Van Espen subsequently dismissed Louf's testimony and terminated the network investigation, which De Baets and his colleagues maintained was a political decision.[^2]
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The investigative team under the gendarme [[Patrick De Baets]] conducted extensive interviews with Regina Louf (Witness X1) and corroborated significant portions of her testimony through independent means before being removed from the case after pursuing leads toward prominent individuals; Judge Jacques Langlois ordered a rereading of all the related files in the summer of 1997, and on April 23, 1998, the prosecutors-general closed them, a course which De Baets and his colleagues maintained was a political decision.[^2][^4]
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### Gunderson, Gosch, and U.S. Parallels
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@ -77,3 +77,4 @@ Researchers including [[Ted Gunderson]], a former head of the [[Federal Bureau o
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[^1]: Dovey, S. (2023). *Eye of the Chickenhawk*. United States: Thehotstar.
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[^2]: "Paedophile Marc Dutroux and the Murders That United a Divided Belgium," *Euronews*, October 27, 2019; *Dutroux* trial verdict, Arlon Assize Court, June 17, 2004; U.S. Office of Justice Programs, "Exhausting Whiteness: The 1996-98 Belgian Parliamentary Inquiry," 2004.
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[^3]: A.B.H. Alexander, "Sex, Drugs, the CIA, MIND CONTROL and Your Children," PROBE, c. 1996; Ted Gunderson investigative reports.
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[^4]: Sénat de Belgique. Proposition déposée par M. Frans Lozie, Doc. 2-563/1, October 9, 2000, développements.
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@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ Investigators verified X1's grandmother's brothel at Elizabetlaan 83, Knokke-Hei
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X4 identified X1's friends in porn films, while X2 described Mirano club orgies with Princes Philippe and Laurent. Bourlet's team faced replacement in 1997 after fabrication accusations, with the dossier leaked to Flemish journalists in 1997, published in 1999 book "The X-Files," prompting King Albert's lawsuit in 2001. The 2004 summary detailed 300 violent tapes from Nihoul, some with elites.[^1]
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### Investigation Challenges
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Bourlet navigated interference, with Judge [[Jean-Claude Van Espen]], Nihoul's partner, handling Van Hees case until 1998 recusal. Connerotte's October 1996 removal after a victims' spaghetti dinner shifted to Bourlet, sparking White Marches of 300,000 protesters. The team was accused of feeding X1 details, leading to charges against investigators, though exonerated in 1999. Bourlet's probe linked Dumont to UNICEF porn via [[Joseph Douce]] and neo-Nazi [[Michel Caignet]]'s [[Gaie France]].[^1]
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Bourlet navigated interference: judge [[Jean-Claude Van Espen]], who had directed the 1980s Van Hees investigation and was later reported to have had close ties to Nihoul, suspended the Neufchâteau team's work on the reopened file in June 1997. Connerotte's October 1996 removal after a victims' spaghetti dinner shifted to Bourlet, sparking White Marches of 300,000 protesters. The team was accused of feeding X1 details, leading to charges against investigators, though exonerated in 1999. Bourlet's probe linked Dumont to UNICEF porn via [[Joseph Douce]] and neo-Nazi [[Michel Caignet]]'s [[Gaie France]].[^1]
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Witnesses like Chantal Storme confirmed X1's brothel abuses, tied by metal ruler beatings and gun threats. Bourlet's oversight included Abrasax Institute raids after Weinstein's "Anubis" note, uncovering police members. The dossier mapped hierarchies involving [[Paul Martens]] and CSP politicians backed by [[Societe Generale de Banque]]. Over twenty deaths, like Hubert Massa's 1998 suicide, halted leads.[^1]
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@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ According to the report of [[Nicholas J. Bua]], Barr appointed him special couns
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#### BNL
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On the [[BNL Scandal|Banca Nazionale del Lavoro]] loans to [[Iraq]], Barr declined to seek an independent counsel. "Even though an independent counsel was not required, in my opinion, because they didn't meet the statutory test, I just used my inherent authority," he recalled. He first asked former Attorney General [[Benjamin Civiletti]], who declined, and on October 16, 1992, appointed the retired judge [[Frederick Lacey]]. Barr said the position became untenable after an allegation that the CIA had withheld cables and after a White House aide's call to the Atlanta prosecutor [[Gale McKenzie]] about the case, and that Bush telephoned him from Air Force One only to ask what to say about it. Lacey reported on December 8, 1992, that there were no grounds for an independent counsel and that he had "seen nothing" to suggest that [[Brent Scowcroft]] and [[Lawrence Eagleburger]] knew of the loans; Representative [[Henry B. Gonzalez|Henry Gonzalez]] called the report a whitewash.[^1][^4]
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On the [[BNL Scandal|Banca Nazionale del Lavoro]] loans to [[Iraq]], Barr declined to seek an independent counsel. "Even though an independent counsel was not required, in my opinion, because they didn't meet the statutory test, I just used my inherent authority," he recalled. He first asked former Attorney General [[Benjamin Civiletti]], who declined, and on October 16, 1992, appointed the retired judge [[Frederick Lacey]]. Barr said the position became untenable after an allegation that the CIA had withheld cables and after a White House aide's call to the [[Atlanta]] prosecutor [[Gale McKenzie]] about the case, and that Bush telephoned him from Air Force One only to ask what to say about it. Lacey reported on December 8, 1992, that there were no grounds for an independent counsel and that he had "seen nothing" to suggest that [[Brent Scowcroft]] and [[Lawrence Eagleburger]] knew of the loans; Representative [[Henry B. Gonzalez|Henry Gonzalez]] called the report a whitewash.[^1][^4]
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#### House Bank
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@ -4,10 +4,10 @@ tags:
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- Person
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- Belgium
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- Dutroux
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summary: "Christine Van Hees was a 14-year-old girl whose body was discovered on an old mushroom farm in 1984."
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summary: "Christine Van Hees was a teenage girl whose body was discovered on an old mushroom farm in 1984."
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---
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Christine Van Hees was a 14-year-old girl whose body was discovered on an old mushroom farm in 1984. She was murdered in what became a cold case that was later reopened as part of the [[X-Dossier]] investigation related to the [[Marc Dutroux]] affair. According to the testimony of witness "X1" ([[Regina Louf]]), Christine Van Hees, known as "Chrissie," was tortured and murdered at a factory farm in 1984. The details provided by X1 matched the crime scene with such precision that they could not have been obtained from public sources or newspaper reports.[^1]
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Christine Van Hees was a teenage girl whose body was discovered on an old mushroom farm in 1984. She was murdered in what became a cold case that was later reopened as part of the [[X-Dossier]] investigation related to the [[Marc Dutroux]] affair. According to the testimony of witness "X1" ([[Regina Louf]]), Christine Van Hees, known as "Chrissie," was tortured and murdered at a factory farm in 1984. The details provided by X1 matched the crime scene with such precision that they could not have been obtained from public sources or newspaper reports.[^1]
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The crime scene revealed horrific details about Christine's final moments. Her body was badly burnt and bound with ligature fixed to the neck running down to the ankles. One wrist had a penetration wound caused by a metal nail-like object. The murder occurred in the basement of a factory on the farm, where the perpetrators set her on fire after torturing her. The brutality of the crime and the specific nature of the wounds suggested a ritualistic element to the murder, consistent with patterns observed in other cases connected to the broader Dutroux network and organized child abuse operations in Belgium during this period.[^1]
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@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ The precision of X1's testimony was so remarkable that even critics of her testi
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### Suspects and Accused Perpetrators
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X1 identified several key figures as having participated in the torture and murder of Christine Van Hees. [[Jean-Michel Nihoul]], a businessman and central figure in the Dutroux network, was named as a primary participant. [[Marc Dutroux]], the convicted serial killer and child molester, was also identified as being involved in the murder. [[Bernard Weinstein]], an associate of Dutroux who worked at a video processing company, was named as another participant. [[Michel Vander Elst]], a lawyer with ties to Nihoul and the video processing company where Weinstein worked, was also accused of involvement in the crime.[^1]
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X1 identified several key figures as having participated in the torture and murder of Christine Van Hees. [[Jean-Michel Nihoul]], a businessman and central figure in the Dutroux network, was named as a primary participant. Marc Dutroux, the convicted serial killer and child molester, was also identified as being involved in the murder. [[Bernard Weinstein]], an associate of Dutroux who worked at a video processing company, was named as another participant. [[Michel Vander Elst]], a lawyer with ties to Nihoul and the video processing company where Weinstein worked, was also accused of involvement in the crime.[^1]
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The connection between these individuals and the video processing company where Weinstein worked suggested a possible link to the production and distribution of child abuse material, which was a common thread in many cases connected to the Dutroux network. Vander Elst's position as a lawyer provided legal cover and connections that could help protect the activities of the network from law enforcement scrutiny.[^1]
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Christine had a friend who drove an American car with an eagle on the hood, matching Nihoul's vehicle. She regularly skipped school to spend time with Philippe M., who worked at Radio Arc-en-Ciel in Schaarbeek. Philippe M.'s name was found in her personal telephone book, indicating a closer relationship than casual acquaintance. These connections suggested that Christine may have been deliberately targeted or groomed for exploitation by individuals associated with the network, using social connections and trusted relationships to gain access to vulnerable young people.[^1]
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### Judicial Corruption and Cover-up
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### The Investigating Judge
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The Christine Van Hees case revealed significant judicial corruption that hindered the investigation and potentially protected the perpetrators. [[Judge Jean-Claude Van Espen]] was assigned to Christine Van Hees' murder case in 1984, despite being a close friend and business partner of Michel Nihoul. Van Espen had represented Nihoul's wife as a lawyer, and his sister was the godmother of Nihoul's child. These personal and professional connections created an obvious conflict of interest that should have disqualified him from the case, yet he remained in charge of the investigation.[^1]
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When the case was reopened in 1996 and Nihoul became a prime suspect, Judge Van Espen failed to recuse himself despite the blatant conflict of interest. He actively interfered with the investigation by ordering police officers to stay out of the case, effectively blocking progress on identifying and prosecuting those responsible for Christine's murder. Van Espen only resigned in early 1998 after his conflict of interest was exposed by a journalist.[^1]
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The investigation was directed in the 1980s by the Brussels investigating judge [[Jean-Claude Van Espen]], and the reopened file was returned to him at the end of January 1997. The Belgian parliamentary commission of inquiry recorded its astonishment at his "violent reaction" to contacts between its councillor-investigator and the Neufchâteau investigators, and his order of June 22, 1997, suspending all investigative acts by the team; it concluded that he had given "particular, in fact disproportionate, attention" to those contacts.[^2] *The Observer* reported in 2002 that a Belgian journalist had revealed his "close relationship" with Nihoul and his then wife: that as a lawyer he had represented Nihoul's wife, that his sister was godmother of Nihoul's child, and that he had resigned from the case in early 1998.[^3] On April 23, 1998, the prosecutors-general of Antwerp, Ghent and Brussels closed the files opened on Louf's testimony; the murder was never solved.[^4]
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### Footnotes
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[^1]: 'Belgium's silent heart of darkness', The Observer, May 5 2002; 'Who did not kill Christine Van Hees?', DeMorgen, September 22 1998
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[^1]: 'Belgium's silent heart of darkness', The Observer, May 5 2002; 'Who did not kill Christine Van Hees?', DeMorgen, September 22 1998
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[^2]: Chambre des Représentants de Belgique. *Enquête parlementaire ... affaire Dutroux-Nihoul et consorts,* rapport complémentaire, Doc. 713/8-96/97, February 16, 1998, chapter V; translated from the French. https://www.dekamer.be/kvvcr/pdf_sections/comm/dutroux/49K0713008.pdf
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[^3]: Frenkiel, Olenka. "Belgium's silent heart of darkness." *The Observer,* May 5, 2002. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/may/05/dutroux.featuresreview
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[^4]: Sénat de Belgique. Proposition déposée par M. Frans Lozie, Doc. 2-563/1, October 9, 2000.
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@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ summary: "Richard Halvorsen served as a scout leader in New Orleans, Louisiana,
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Richard Halvorsen served as a scout leader in [[New Orleans]], associated with [[Troop 137]]. He worked alongside other leaders including [[Harry O'Cramer]], an assistant scoutmaster. Boys from [[Troop 137]] participated in activities under the supervision of Halvorsen and his colleagues, which later came under scrutiny due to illicit involvement. Halvorsen's role in the troop positioned him in a position of authority over young boys, facilitating access that was exploited in criminal enterprises.[^1]
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### Criminal Activities
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In September 1976, film reels containing child pornography were discovered by technicians in a malfunctioning commercial film processing machine in Dallas, Texas, and traced back to Harry O'Cramer in New Orleans, revealing involvement of [[Troop 137]] boys and their scoutmasters, including Halvorsen, in depicted sex acts. Halvorsen participated in a boy prostitution ring that operated through the scout troop, producing and distributing explicit materials featuring minors. The operation connected to broader networks, including [[Father Bud's Boys Farm]] in Tennessee run by [[Cladius Vermilye]], where juveniles were drugged and coerced into orgies for filming and sponsorship by paying clients, with Halvorsen's activities in New Orleans feeding into similar exploitation patterns involving [[John David Norman]]'s international contacts.[^1]
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In September 1976, film reels containing child pornography were discovered by technicians in a malfunctioning commercial film processing machine in Dallas, Texas, and traced back to Harry O'Cramer in New Orleans, revealing involvement of [[Troop 137]] boys and their scoutmasters, including Halvorsen, in depicted sex acts. Halvorsen participated in a boy prostitution ring that operated through the scout troop, producing and distributing explicit materials featuring minors. The operation connected to broader networks, including [[Father Bud's Boys Farm]] in Tennessee run by [[Claudius Vermilye]], where juveniles were drugged and coerced into orgies for filming and sponsorship by paying clients, with Halvorsen's activities in New Orleans feeding into similar exploitation patterns involving [[John David Norman]]'s international contacts.[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
### Legal Outcome
|
||||
Halvorsen was arrested in September 1976 alongside fellow scout leaders [[Raymond Woodall]] and [[Robert Lang]] following the identification of participants on the child pornography films from the Dallas discovery. The case was prosecuted by District Attorney [[Harry Connick]] in New Orleans, who became implicated himself through testimony from one of his witnesses during court proceedings. The arrests exposed the depth of the child trafficking network tied to [[Troop 137]], leading to convictions for the involved parties in the boy prostitution and pornography ring.[^1]
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ summary: "Robert Lang served as a scout leader in New Orleans, Louisiana, associ
|
|||
Robert Lang served as a scout leader in [[New Orleans]], associated with [[Troop 137]]. He worked alongside other leaders including [[Richard Halvorsen]] and [[Raymond Woodall]]. Boys from [[Troop 137]] participated in activities under the supervision of Lang and his colleagues, which later came under scrutiny due to illicit involvement. Lang's role in the troop positioned him in a position of authority over young boys, facilitating access that was exploited in criminal enterprises.[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
### Criminal Activities
|
||||
In September 1976, film reels containing child pornography were discovered by technicians in a malfunctioning commercial film processing machine in [[Dallas, Texas]], and traced back to [[Harry O'Cramer]] in New Orleans, revealing involvement of [[Troop 137]] boys and their scoutmasters, including Lang, in depicted sex acts. Lang participated in a boy prostitution ring that operated through the scout troop, producing and distributing explicit materials featuring minors. The operation connected to broader networks, including [[Father Bud's Boys Farm]] in Tennessee run by [[Cladius Vermilye]], where juveniles were drugged and coerced into orgies for filming and sponsorship by paying clients, with Lang's activities in New Orleans feeding into similar exploitation patterns involving [[John David Norman]]'s international contacts.[^1]
|
||||
In September 1976, film reels containing child pornography were discovered by technicians in a malfunctioning commercial film processing machine in [[Dallas, Texas]], and traced back to [[Harry O'Cramer]] in New Orleans, revealing involvement of [[Troop 137]] boys and their scoutmasters, including Lang, in depicted sex acts. Lang participated in a boy prostitution ring that operated through the scout troop, producing and distributing explicit materials featuring minors. The operation connected to broader networks, including [[Father Bud's Boys Farm]] in Tennessee run by [[Claudius Vermilye]], where juveniles were drugged and coerced into orgies for filming and sponsorship by paying clients, with Lang's activities in New Orleans feeding into similar exploitation patterns involving [[John David Norman]]'s international contacts.[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
### Legal Outcome
|
||||
Lang was arrested in September 1976 alongside fellow scout leaders [[Richard Halvorsen]] and [[Raymond Woodall]] following the identification of participants on the child pornography films from the Dallas discovery. The case was prosecuted by District Attorney [[Harry Connick]] in New Orleans, who became implicated himself through testimony from one of his witnesses during court proceedings. The arrests exposed the depth of the child trafficking network tied to [[Troop 137]], leading to convictions for the involved parties in the boy prostitution and pornography ring.[^1]
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ The Ba'ath Party was ousted from government in the same year and returned to pow
|
|||
|
||||
In September 1980, Saddam launched an invasion of [[Iran]] following the instability created by the [[Iranian Revolution]]. The eight-year [[Iran-Iraq War]] (1980-1988) killed an estimated half million to one million people. Beginning in 1982, the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] began providing Iraq with satellite intelligence during the conflict. The Reagan administration extended credits, arms, and dual-use technology to Baghdad while simultaneously running the secret arms-for-hostages pipeline to Iran that became the [[Iran-Contra Affair]].[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
[[Donald Rumsfeld]] visited Saddam in December 1983 as a special envoy for President [[Ronald Reagan]], cementing the relationship at a moment when U.S. intelligence knew Iraq was using chemical weapons against Iranian forces. The arms and technology transfers to Iraq during the 1980s - including chemical and biological precursors - were later examined in congressional investigations and linked to the [[BNL scandal]] involving the Atlanta branch of [[Banca Nazionale del Lavoro]].[^3]
|
||||
[[Donald Rumsfeld]] visited Saddam in December 1983 as a special envoy for President [[Ronald Reagan]], cementing the relationship at a moment when U.S. intelligence knew Iraq was using chemical weapons against Iranian forces. The arms and technology transfers to Iraq during the 1980s - including chemical and biological precursors - were later examined in congressional investigations and linked to the [[BNL scandal]] involving the [[Atlanta]] branch of [[Banca Nazionale del Lavoro]].[^3]
|
||||
|
||||
### Arms Procurement Networks
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ After Richards's arrest in July 1976, in possession of pornographic films, he to
|
|||
|
||||
### The Wider Network
|
||||
|
||||
Richards's films led Tennessee authorities to raid Boys Farm Inc. near Alto, the [[Father Bud's Boys Farm]] of the Episcopal priest Claudius I. "Bud" [[Cladius Vermilye|Vermilye]] Jr., who was indicted on sixteen counts; its list of more than 270 "active sponsors" included Shelden. Vermilye's eldest son had disappeared on July 5, 1974. In [[New Orleans]], the leader of Boy Scout [[Troop 137]], Richard Halverson, and twelve other men, including the Massachusetts industrialist [[Richard C. Jacobs]] of Jet Spray Corporation and the realtor Hugh Scott Mellor, were charged with conspiracy; Halverson, a volunteer probation officer, had drawn up applications for state and federal money for homes for boys, and the Louisiana and Tennessee welfare departments had paid for children placed with the groups. "It seems to be like spider webs strung out all over the nation," said the New Orleans juvenile detective Mason Spong. Correspondence and films seized in the raids came "from Australia and Canada and virtually every state in the Union."[^1]
|
||||
Richards's films led Tennessee authorities to raid Boys Farm Inc. near Alto, the [[Father Bud's Boys Farm]] of the Episcopal priest Claudius I. "Bud" [[Claudius Vermilye|Vermilye]] Jr., who was indicted on sixteen counts; its list of more than 270 "active sponsors" included Shelden. Vermilye's eldest son had disappeared on July 5, 1974. In [[New Orleans]], the leader of Boy Scout [[Troop 137]], Richard Halverson, and twelve other men, including the Massachusetts industrialist [[Richard C. Jacobs]] of Jet Spray Corporation and the realtor Hugh Scott Mellor, were charged with conspiracy; Halverson, a volunteer probation officer, had drawn up applications for state and federal money for homes for boys, and the Louisiana and Tennessee welfare departments had paid for children placed with the groups. "It seems to be like spider webs strung out all over the nation," said the New Orleans juvenile detective Mason Spong. Correspondence and films seized in the raids came "from Australia and Canada and virtually every state in the Union."[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
### Amsterdam
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ Gerald Richards, full name Gerald Stewart Richards, was a high school gym teache
|
|||
On July 12, 1976, Richards took four students aged 8 to 14 to a private airstrip where [[Francis Shelden]] flew them to [[North Fox Island]] for two nights at [[Brother Paul's Children's Mission]], where Shelden performed sex acts on at least one boy and photographed him naked. Upon return, the boy reported the abuse, leading to Richards's arrest on July 23, 1976, after police found naked photos of boys and a letter to Shelden in his glove compartment warning him to move files to [[North Fox Island]]. Richards confessed to molesting boys in exchange for partial immunity and provided details on producing and distributing child pornography, including processing films from [[Father Bud's Boys Farm]] in Monteagle, Tennessee, and mailing them via Mail-O-Matic in [[North Carolina]] to F&S Distributors in California. In August 1976, he handed over a letter from [[Dyer Grossman]] dated July 19, 1976, outlining plans for foster homes in Michigan to house runaways for government payments and mentioning a 12-year-old boy procured through a Big Brother program for camping trips. Richards was sentenced on September 13, 1976, to 2 to 20 years in Southern Michigan Prison in Jackson after pleading guilty to criminal sexual conduct in the first degree, and from prison he sketched a network diagram in September 1976 detailing a coast-to-coast child pornography operation.[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
### Connections
|
||||
Richards met [[Francis Shelden]] in 1975 through Better Life Monthly, corresponded by mail, met at hotels and Shelden's Ann Arbor estate to abuse boys together, and Shelden recruited him to direct a summer camp on [[North Fox Island]] for child pornography production. Shelden connected Richards to [[Dyer Grossman]] of The [[The Church of New Revelation]] in [[New Jersey]], a fake church used to incorporate [[Brother Paul's Children's Mission]] as a non-profit subsidiary for tax-exempt status, allowing the camp to receive court-ordered juvenile delinquents for abuse and filming. Grossman, a science teacher from a wealthy Long Island family working at an exclusive New York boys’ boarding school, traveled to Michigan to draft the charter and planned foster homes for runaways, with a letter mentioning a 12-year-old boy for sexual use. [[Adam Starchild]] ([[Malcolm Willis McConahy]]) incorporated [[Brother Paul's Children's Mission]] and The [[Ocean Living Institute]], fronts for Shelden's operations; Starchild faked his death in 1975. Richards identified [[Cladius Vermilye]], an Episcopal priest running [[Father Bud's Boys Farm]] in Tennessee, as sending child pornography films for processing, where juveniles were drugged, filmed in orgies, and offered to sponsors for visits, with the farm raided in November 1976 and linked to The [[The Church of New Revelation]]. He named [[Richard Halvorsen]], a New Orleans scoutmaster arrested in September 1976 for a boy prostitution ring using [[Troop 137]], whose files connected to Vermilye's farm and [[John David Norman]]'s [[Delta Project]] via index cards on boys’ sexual preferences. Richards linked the operation to [[John David Norman]]’s [[Odyssey Network]], referring to boy exchanges as a "Cadet racket" and "fellows" supplied to sponsors, with Norman’s [[Delta Project]] using newsletters like [[Hermes]] for prostitution and pornography distribution.[^1]
|
||||
Richards met [[Francis Shelden]] in 1975 through Better Life Monthly, corresponded by mail, met at hotels and Shelden's Ann Arbor estate to abuse boys together, and Shelden recruited him to direct a summer camp on [[North Fox Island]] for child pornography production. Shelden connected Richards to [[Dyer Grossman]] of The [[The Church of New Revelation]] in [[New Jersey]], a fake church used to incorporate [[Brother Paul's Children's Mission]] as a non-profit subsidiary for tax-exempt status, allowing the camp to receive court-ordered juvenile delinquents for abuse and filming. Grossman, a science teacher from a wealthy Long Island family working at an exclusive New York boys’ boarding school, traveled to Michigan to draft the charter and planned foster homes for runaways, with a letter mentioning a 12-year-old boy for sexual use. [[Adam Starchild]] ([[Malcolm Willis McConahy]]) incorporated [[Brother Paul's Children's Mission]] and The [[Ocean Living Institute]], fronts for Shelden's operations; Starchild faked his death in 1975. Richards identified [[Claudius Vermilye]], an Episcopal priest running [[Father Bud's Boys Farm]] in Tennessee, as sending child pornography films for processing, where juveniles were drugged, filmed in orgies, and offered to sponsors for visits, with the farm raided in November 1976 and linked to The [[The Church of New Revelation]]. He named [[Richard Halvorsen]], a New Orleans scoutmaster arrested in September 1976 for a boy prostitution ring using [[Troop 137]], whose files connected to Vermilye's farm and [[John David Norman]]'s [[Delta Project]] via index cards on boys’ sexual preferences. Richards linked the operation to [[John David Norman]]’s [[Odyssey Network]], referring to boy exchanges as a "Cadet racket" and "fellows" supplied to sponsors, with Norman’s [[Delta Project]] using newsletters like [[Hermes]] for prostitution and pornography distribution.[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
### Footnotes
|
||||
[^1]: Dovey, S. (2023). Eye of the Chickenhawk. United States: Thehotstar.
|
||||
|
|
@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ Gerard John Schaefer (March 26, 1946, Neenah, Wisconsin, to December 3, 1995, Fl
|
|||
|
||||
### Teaching, Security Work and the Police
|
||||
|
||||
Schaefer grew up in Nashville, Atlanta and, from 1960, Fort Lauderdale, graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in 1964, and took a degree at [[Florida Atlantic University]] in 1968; a university psychological evaluation that year found "impairment in reality testing." He student-taught geography at Plantation High School from September 23 to November 7, 1969, when he was dismissed after complaints from students and parents, and was let go from a second internship at Stranahan High School about seven weeks after it began on April 2, 1970. His first wife, Martha Fogg, divorced him on May 2, 1970, on grounds of extreme cruelty. He then travelled in Europe and North Africa, and on his return took work as a security guard, with the [[Wackenhut Corporation]] by one account and Florida Power & Light by another.[^1][^3][^4]
|
||||
Schaefer grew up in Nashville, [[Atlanta]] and, from 1960, Fort Lauderdale, graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in 1964, and took a degree at [[Florida Atlantic University]] in 1968; a university psychological evaluation that year found "impairment in reality testing." He student-taught geography at Plantation High School from September 23 to November 7, 1969, when he was dismissed after complaints from students and parents, and was let go from a second internship at Stranahan High School about seven weeks after it began on April 2, 1970. His first wife, Martha Fogg, divorced him on May 2, 1970, on grounds of extreme cruelty. He then travelled in Europe and North Africa, and on his return took work as a security guard, with the [[Wackenhut Corporation]] by one account and Florida Power & Light by another.[^1][^3][^4]
|
||||
|
||||
Applying to the Wilton Manors police (the year is given as both 1970 and 1971), he claimed two years as a research assistant at the university and said he had recently returned from [[Morocco]]; the department did not check. He had already failed the [[Broward County Sheriff's Office|Broward County Sheriff's Department]] psychological test. Wilton Manors dismissed him after six months for what its chief, Bernard Scott, called "a lack of common sense," and Martin County hired him as a deputy in June 1972 on the strength of a forged Wilton Manors recommendation.[^1][^3]
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ In 1995 and 1996 Nihoul was an informant of the gendarmerie's BSR in Dinant; the
|
|||
|
||||
[[Achats Services Commerces]] (ASCO) was founded on July 2, 1991, at Wasmes by the operator of Le Dolo, Nihoul's companion and a third Dolo client, went into voluntary liquidation on June 23, 1995, and was declared bankrupt by the commercial court of Mons on October 9, 1995; Nihoul was at least its de facto manager in 1994, and the commission linked the company to the reports of white Mercedes cars.[^1] He had met Dutroux a year before his arrest through Lelièvre, to whom he sold drugs. [[Michelle Martin]] told investigators that Dutroux had been in frequent contact with Nihoul around the abduction of Laetitia Delhez, and Dutroux said Nihoul was looking for girls for a Belgian prostitution network. Nihoul was led from the courthouse at Neufchâteau on August 16, 1996, to shouts of "à mort." His companion [[Marleen De Cokere]] was arrested in late September. His warrant in the Dutroux case was lifted in January 1997.[^3][^5] Nihoul told *Der Spiegel* in 2001, "I have the government in hand," and offered, for a six-figure sum, a photograph of the then Prince Albert with a naked sixteen-year-old taken at the Mirano club twenty years earlier.[^6] [[Regina Louf]], the witness X1, alleged that he organized parties at which children were abused; the prosecutors-general closed the files opened on her testimony in April 1998.[^7]
|
||||
|
||||
At the trial in Arlon in 2004, Dutroux accused Nihoul of being his link to a ring kidnapping girls for prostitution, which Nihoul denied. Only seven of the twelve jurors found him guilty of the abductions, and the professional judges acquitted him of every charge connected with the children; on June 22, 2004, he was sentenced to five years for drug trafficking and criminal association. He left Saint-Gilles prison on parole on April 28, 2006, and retired with his companion to the Belgian coast, where he died on October 23, 2019.[^3][^4]
|
||||
At the trial in Arlon in 2004, Dutroux accused Nihoul of being his link to a ring kidnapping girls for prostitution, which Nihoul denied. Véronique Laurent, convicted of ordering the killing of her husband, [[Michel Piro]], testified that Nihoul had come to their bar, La Terrasse, four or five times.[^8] Only seven of the twelve jurors found him guilty of the abductions, and the professional judges acquitted him of every charge connected with the children; on June 22, 2004, he was sentenced to five years for drug trafficking and criminal association. He left Saint-Gilles prison on parole on April 28, 2006, and retired with his companion to the Belgian coast, where he died on October 23, 2019.[^3][^4]
|
||||
|
||||
### Footnotes
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
@ -52,3 +52,4 @@ At the trial in Arlon in 2004, Dutroux accused Nihoul of being his link to a rin
|
|||
[^5]: "Belgian pedophile case." United Press International, September 24, 1996. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1996/09/24/Belgian-pedophile-case/1297843537600/
|
||||
[^6]: "Im Netz der Dossiers." *Der Spiegel,* October 15, 2001, as translated in "Excerpt: Der Spiegel Interviews Michel Nihoul," Magic Kingdom Dispatch, 2017; the German original was not seen.
|
||||
[^7]: Sénat de Belgique. Proposition visant à instituer une commission d'enquête parlementaire chargée d'enquêter sur l'éloignement de deux enquêteurs de la cellule d'enquête bruxelloise « Neufchâteau », déposée par M. Frans Lozie, Doc. 2-563/1, October 9, 2000.
|
||||
[^8]: Hovine, Annick. "La cour d'assises fait la tournée des bars de Charleroi." *La Libre Belgique,* April 28, 2004.
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ W. Lee Rawls (Newport, Rhode Island, to December 2010, aged 66) was the [[Depart
|
|||
|
||||
### Thornburgh's Congress Man
|
||||
|
||||
In 1990, as Gonzalez prepared a full-scale investigation of the Atlanta branch of BNL, Rawls wrote Thornburgh a briefing memorandum: "Our best attempt to thwart any further congressional inquiry by the House Banking Committee into this case is to have you contact Chairman Gonzalez directly." Gonzalez declined to take the attorney general's call, and Thornburgh wrote to him of his "profound disappointment." In May and July 1991 Rawls corresponded on the department's behalf with the House Judiciary Committee during its INSLAW investigation.[^2][^3]
|
||||
In 1990, as Gonzalez prepared a full-scale investigation of the [[Atlanta]] branch of BNL, Rawls wrote Thornburgh a briefing memorandum: "Our best attempt to thwart any further congressional inquiry by the House Banking Committee into this case is to have you contact Chairman Gonzalez directly." Gonzalez declined to take the attorney general's call, and Thornburgh wrote to him of his "profound disappointment." In May and July 1991 Rawls corresponded on the department's behalf with the House Judiciary Committee during its INSLAW investigation.[^2][^3]
|
||||
|
||||
### Later Career
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
30
10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Michel Piro.md
Normal file
30
10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Michel Piro.md
Normal file
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
|
|||
---
|
||||
category: "Belgium Scandals"
|
||||
aliases:
|
||||
- "Michel Pirot"
|
||||
tags:
|
||||
- Person
|
||||
- Belgium
|
||||
- Dutroux
|
||||
summary: "Charleroi bar and small-zoo owner, shot dead in December 1996 after telling many people he had revelations on the Julie and Mélissa case; his wife was convicted of ordering the killing."
|
||||
died: 1996-12
|
||||
location: "Nalinnes, Belgium"
|
||||
relations:
|
||||
- type: spouse_of
|
||||
with: "[[Véronique Laurent]]"
|
||||
fn: 1
|
||||
created: 2026-09-22
|
||||
updated: 2026-09-22
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
Michel Piro, a Charleroi businessman, ran a small zoo and the bar La Terrasse at Nalinnes with his wife, [[Véronique Laurent]].[^1][^2] In 1996 he proposed holding a meal at his establishment for the benefit of [[Julie Lejeune]] and [[Melissa Russo]], the girls abducted by [[Marc Dutroux]], and, according to the testimony later heard at Dutroux's trial, told 21 different people that he would also make revelations about the case. He was shot dead a few days after saying so, in December 1996.[^1][^2][^3]
|
||||
|
||||
Laurent was convicted by the assize court of Hainaut of having ordered her husband's killing, following a marital dispute, and was held at Mons prison. The two alleged killers, both French, were tried in France and acquitted for lack of proof.[^1][^2]
|
||||
|
||||
At Dutroux's trial in Arlon in April 2004, Laurent appeared in handcuffs. Asked whether she thought her husband had been killed because he was about to make revelations about the Julie and Mélissa case, she answered: "Je ne le pense pas." She said she had seen [[Jean-Michel Nihoul]] several times between 1988 and 1991 in the bar she ran, "four or five times" at La Terrasse, but not Dutroux or [[Bernard Weinstein]]. Thirteen witnesses testified that Piro had spoken of revelations, though not all of them drew a causal link; he had confided their content to no one.[^1][^2]
|
||||
|
||||
### Footnotes
|
||||
|
||||
[^1]: Hovine, Annick. "La cour d'assises fait la tournée des bars de Charleroi." *La Libre Belgique,* April 28, 2004. https://www.lalibre.be/belgique/2004/04/28/la-cour-dassises-fait-la-tournee-des-bars-de-charleroi-WAGNOBTACJFZZN67NUYUOP6N6I/
|
||||
[^2]: B. F. "L'épouse Piro à la barre." *La Dernière Heure,* April 29, 2004. https://www.dhnet.be/archives-journal/2004/04/29/lepouse-piro-a-la-barre-UKTT2QBPARH7VCP6QJTD6HF6NI/
|
||||
[^3]: Dovey, S. *Eye of the Chickenhawk.* Thehotstar, 2023, for the month of the killing (given as December 5, 1996).
|
||||
|
|
@ -122,7 +122,7 @@ Blandón called from Miami, dropping hints about cheap cocaine. Ross had checked
|
|||
|
||||
Ross expanded methodically, first into Lincoln Heights, then Over-the-Rhine, Avondale, Mt. Airy, Bond Hill, St. Bernard, Lockland, and Walnut Hills, using the same marketing techniques from L.A.: free cocaine, smoke parties, volume discounts. "I knew the recipe. It's just like it was in L.A. If you want to get in with the blacks, you find out who the shot-caller is. And you talk to him and you get him on your side." Once operations were running, Ross called L.A. and invited friends to staff them. "The recruits were given apartments, beepers, cocaine, and instructions on how to conduct street sales," the Justice Department Inspector General reported. "Most of these people were members of gangs, most notably the Crips." Suddenly Cincinnati had two problems it had never had before: Crips and crack.[^9]
|
||||
|
||||
Ross did not limit himself to Cincinnati. His dope turned up in Toledo, Cleveland, Columbus, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Atlanta, Texas, and as far away as Seattle, where police viewed his ring as "the single most important group distributing crack cocaine in the Seattle-Tacoma area." In ten months, Ross said, he sold 300 or 400 kilos of Blandón's cocaine in the Midwest, netting around $2 million. He flew to Miami once a month to drop off cash, and met with Blandón and a Colombian named Tony in [[New York City]] to place orders. At other times, his L.A. friends stuck dope on a Greyhound bus.[^9]
|
||||
Ross did not limit himself to Cincinnati. His dope turned up in Toledo, Cleveland, Columbus, Indianapolis, St. Louis, [[Atlanta]], Texas, and as far away as Seattle, where police viewed his ring as "the single most important group distributing crack cocaine in the Seattle-Tacoma area." In ten months, Ross said, he sold 300 or 400 kilos of Blandón's cocaine in the Midwest, netting around $2 million. He flew to Miami once a month to drop off cash, and met with Blandón and a Colombian named Tony in [[New York City]] to place orders. At other times, his L.A. friends stuck dope on a Greyhound bus.[^9]
|
||||
|
||||
### The Greyhound Bust
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -1,13 +1,16 @@
|
|||
---
|
||||
aliases:
|
||||
- "Cladius Vermilye"
|
||||
- "Father Bud"
|
||||
category: "Crime & Abuse Networks"
|
||||
tags:
|
||||
- Person
|
||||
summary: "Cladius Vermilye established Father Bud's Boys Farm as a rural foster home incorporated under The Church of New Revelation in New Jersey."
|
||||
summary: "Claudius Vermilye established Father Bud's Boys Farm as a rural foster home incorporated under The Church of New Revelation in New Jersey."
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
Rev. Cladius Vermilye was an ordained Episcopal priest known by the alias Father Bud. He owned and operated [[Father Bud's Boys Farm]] in Monteagle, Tennessee, as a foster home for boys. Juvenile delinquents were sent to the farm by youth corrections and welfare agencies in Tennessee.[^1]
|
||||
Rev. Claudius Vermilye was an ordained Episcopal priest known by the alias Father Bud. He owned and operated [[Father Bud's Boys Farm]] in Monteagle, Tennessee, as a foster home for boys. Juvenile delinquents were sent to the farm by youth corrections and welfare agencies in Tennessee.[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
Cladius Vermilye established [[Father Bud's Boys Farm]] as a rural foster home incorporated under [[The Church of New Revelation]] in [[New Jersey]]. The farm served as a placement for troubled boys from state agencies, providing a supposed rehabilitative environment on his property. Vermilye, as the ordained Episcopal priest and owner, positioned the operation as a legitimate youth welfare program.[^1]
|
||||
Claudius Vermilye established [[Father Bud's Boys Farm]] as a rural foster home incorporated under [[The Church of New Revelation]] in [[New Jersey]]. The farm served as a placement for troubled boys from state agencies, providing a supposed rehabilitative environment on his property. Vermilye, as the ordained Episcopal priest and owner, positioned the operation as a legitimate youth welfare program.[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
### Criminal Activities
|
||||
Boys at [[Father Bud's Boys Farm]] were supplied with drugs and alcohol to make them pliant for participation in orgies. These orgies were filmed and photographed, with the materials distributed to a mailing list of sponsors. Sponsors could pay additional fees to arrange personal visits to the farm for direct access to the boys.[^1]
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ summary: "Raymond Woodall served as a scout leader in New Orleans, Louisiana, as
|
|||
Raymond Woodall served as a scout leader in [[New Orleans]], associated with [[Troop 137]]. He worked alongside other leaders including [[Richard Halvorsen]] and [[Harry O'Cramer]]. Boys from [[Troop 137]] participated in activities under the supervision of Woodall and his colleagues, which later came under scrutiny due to illicit involvement. Woodall's role in the troop positioned him in a position of authority over young boys, facilitating access that was exploited in criminal enterprises.[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
### Criminal Activities
|
||||
In September 1976, film reels containing child pornography were discovered by technicians in a malfunctioning commercial film processing machine in [[Dallas, Texas]], and traced back to Harry O'Cramer in New Orleans, revealing involvement of [[Troop 137]] boys and their scoutmasters, including Woodall, in depicted sex acts. Woodall participated in a boy prostitution ring that operated through the scout troop, producing and distributing explicit materials featuring minors. The operation connected to broader networks, including [[Father Bud's Boys Farm]] in Tennessee run by [[Cladius Vermilye]], where juveniles were drugged and coerced into orgies for filming and sponsorship by paying clients, with Woodall's activities in New Orleans feeding into similar exploitation patterns involving [[John David Norman]]'s international contacts.[^1]
|
||||
In September 1976, film reels containing child pornography were discovered by technicians in a malfunctioning commercial film processing machine in [[Dallas, Texas]], and traced back to Harry O'Cramer in New Orleans, revealing involvement of [[Troop 137]] boys and their scoutmasters, including Woodall, in depicted sex acts. Woodall participated in a boy prostitution ring that operated through the scout troop, producing and distributing explicit materials featuring minors. The operation connected to broader networks, including [[Father Bud's Boys Farm]] in Tennessee run by [[Claudius Vermilye]], where juveniles were drugged and coerced into orgies for filming and sponsorship by paying clients, with Woodall's activities in New Orleans feeding into similar exploitation patterns involving [[John David Norman]]'s international contacts.[^1]
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### Legal Outcome
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Woodall was arrested in September 1976 alongside fellow scout leaders [[Richard Halvorsen]] and [[Robert Lang]] following the identification of participants on the child pornography films from the Dallas discovery. The case was prosecuted by District Attorney [[Harry Connick]] in New Orleans, who became implicated himself through testimony from one of his witnesses during court proceedings. The arrests exposed the depth of the child trafficking network tied to [[Troop 137]], leading to convictions for the involved parties in the boy prostitution and pornography ring.[^1]
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@ -1251,7 +1251,7 @@ Master index of the people pages, generated from each page's `category` and `sum
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| --- | --- |
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| [[Cathy O'Brien]] | Self-described victim of Project Monarch, an alleged MKULTRA sub-project specializing in trauma-based multiple personality programming, whose 1995 book Trance Formation of America detailed claims of government-sanctioned mind control and ri |
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| [[Charles Rehling]] | Charles Rehling leased an apartment in Homewood, Illinois, to John David Norman under the alias Steven Gurwell. |
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| [[Cladius Vermilye]] | Cladius Vermilye established Father Bud's Boys Farm as a rural foster home incorporated under The Church of New Revelation in New Jersey. |
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| [[Claudius Vermilye]] | Claudius Vermilye established Father Bud's Boys Farm as a rural foster home incorporated under The Church of New Revelation in New Jersey. |
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| [[David Cram]] | David Cram was a 20-year-old employee of John Wayne Gacy's construction company, PDM, and began living with Gacy at his Norwood Park house in May 1976. |
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| [[David Owen Brooks]] | David Owen Brooks (born February 14, 1955) functioned as a teenage accomplice to serial killer Dean Corll in the Dean Corll Murders from 1970 to 1973. |
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| [[David Smith]] | David Smith was a former BBC chauffeur and convicted pedophile with 22 prior convictions against young boys, the earliest of which dated back to 1966. |
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@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ Figures involved in Belgian political and criminal scandals, including the Dutro
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| [[Gina Pardaens-Bernaer]] | Gina Pardaens-Bernaer was a Belgian activist and member of the Morkhoven Workgroup who played a crucial role in exposing international child trafficking networks in the 1990s. |
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| [[Harry Jones]] | Harry Jones was an Assistant U.S. |
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| [[Jean Manuel Vuillaume]] | Jean Manuel Vuillaume was a Belgian pornographer who headed Toro Bravo, a child pornography production company based in Bogota, Colombia. |
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| [[Jean-Claude Van Espen]] | Jean-Claude Van Espen was a Belgian judge assigned to the reopened investigation of the Christine Van Hees murder from 1984 after Michel Nihoul was named as a suspect in 1996. |
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| [[Jean-Claude Van Espen]] | Brussels investigating judge of the 1980s and reopened 1997 inquiries into the murder of Christine Van Hees, who suspended the X1 investigators' work in 1997 and was reported to have ties to Nihoul. |
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| [[Jean-Louis Delamotte]] | Jean-Louis Delamotte, a Belgian businessman, served as the manager of Achats Services Commerces (ASCO), a company owned by Michel Nihoul and involved in fraud and vehicle supply during the 1990s. |
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| [[Jean-Marc Connerotte]] | Jean-Marc Connerotte, a magistrate in Neufchâteau, Belgium, served as the initial investigating judge in the Marc Dutroux case following Dutroux's August 13, 1996, arrest for the abduction of Laetitia Delhez. |
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| [[Jean-Michel Nihoul]] | Jean-Michel Nihoul (born 1941) was a Belgian businessman, political fixer, and organized crime figure described as a 'quasi-underworld figure' who operated at the intersection of organized crime, politics, and child trafficking networks during the 1980s and 1990s. |
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@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ Figures involved in Belgian political and criminal scandals, including the Dutro
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| [[Michel Bourlet]] | Michel Bourlet, a prosecutor in Neufchâteau, Belgium, oversaw key aspects of the investigation into Marc Dutroux's child trafficking network following Dutroux's August 13, 1996, arrest. |
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| [[Michel Forgeot]] | Michel Forgeot founded Achats Services Commerces (ASCO), a company involved in fraud and vehicle supply during the 1990s. |
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| [[Michel Lelievre]] | Michel Lelievre, born 1967, met Marc Dutroux in 1995 through a mutual acquaintance and became an accomplice in child abductions for Dutroux's trafficking network. |
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| [[Michel Piro]] | Charleroi bar and small-zoo owner, shot dead in December 1996 after telling many people he had revelations on the Julie and Mélissa case; his wife was convicted of ordering the killing. |
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| [[Paul Vanden Boeynants]] | Paul Vanden Boeynants, born 1919 in Brussels, Belgium, served as Prime Minister from 1978 to 1981 and held earlier roles including Minister of the Interior. |
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| [[Philip White]] | Philip White was the Director of International Affairs for the Criminal Division of the DOJ. |
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| [[Philippe Carpentier]] | Philippe Carpentier, a former Belgian justice ministry official, served as a director in the Ministry of Justice during the 1980s and 1990s, including roles in prison administration. |
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@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ People who need further categorization.
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| [[Bruno Ristau]] | Ristau had a long career with the DOJ, serving in the Internal Security Division and Civil Division from 1958 to 1963, and as Director of the Office of Foreign Litigation from 1963 to 1981. |
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| [[Charles Rehling]] | Charles Rehling leased an apartment in Homewood, Illinois, to John David Norman under the alias Steven Gurwell. |
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| [[Chou En-lai]] | Chou En-lai was the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, serving from 1949 until his death in 1976. |
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| [[Cladius Vermilye]] | Cladius Vermilye established Father Bud's Boys Farm as a rural foster home incorporated under The Church of New Revelation in New Jersey. |
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| [[Claudius Vermilye]] | Claudius Vermilye established Father Bud's Boys Farm as a rural foster home incorporated under The Church of New Revelation in New Jersey. |
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| [[Cynthia McNamara]] | American citizen jailed in Peru on charges of aiding the Shining Path guerrilla group, whose release was secured by Ari Ben-Menashe at the request of the U.S. consul general. |
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| [[Dave Beavers]] | Beavers, a fifteen-year veteran of the sheriff's department, was ultimately forced out of the department and retired on stress leave. |
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| [[David Cram]] | David Cram was a 20-year-old employee of John Wayne Gacy's construction company, PDM, and began living with Gacy at his Norwood Park house in May 1976. |
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