HSUS Racketeering lawsuit filed

[ER12]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

RACKETEERING LAWSUIT FINGERS HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES

Multi-Million Dollar Animal Rights Group Accused of Corruption; Lawsuit Available at www.HumaneWatch.org

Washington – In a landmark RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) lawsuit certain to have far-reaching implications for the animal rights movement, Feld Entertainment and the Ringling Brothers circus sued the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), its lawyers, and several other animal rights groups last week. The nonprofit Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) unearthed the lawsuit in federal court records today. CCF is making the lawsuit available online at its newest website, www.HumaneWatch.org.

“America’s farmers, ranchers, hunters, fishermen, research scientists, fashion designers, and restaurateurs have seen for decades how the animal rights movement can behave like a mobbed-up racket,” said CCF Director of Research David Martosko. “But it’s still shocking to see the evidence laid out on paper. In a treble-damage lawsuit like this, a jury could actually do the humane thing and finally put HSUS out of business completely.”

In its February 16 lawsuit, Feld leveled bribery, fraud, obstruction of justice, and money laundering charges against HSUS and two of its corporate attorneys; three other animal rights groups; the Washington, DC law firm of Meyer Glitzenstein & Crystal; and all three of that firm’s named partners.

On December 30, 2009, Federal Judge Emmitt Sullivan ruled that these defendants collaborated to pay more than $190,000 to Mr. Tom Rider, a former Feld employee who was an elephant “barn helper” for two years in the late 1990s, in exchange for his impeached testimony against Feld in an earlier lawsuit—testimony Judge Sullivan declared “not credible” and disregarded in its entirety. That lawsuit was dismissed.

Feld is also suing Mr. Rider, and a nonprofit “Wildlife Advocacy Project” charity, claiming that Meyer Glitzenstein & Crystal used it to funnel money from their plaintiff clients to Mr. Rider. These clients included the Fund for Animals, which merged with HSUS in 2004.

“The new HumaneWatch website is the only place the public will be able to read this lawsuit,” Martosko added. “We’re publishing a treasure trove of information about the Humane Society of the United States, including lots of surprising documents that HSUS would rather remain hidden from its contributors.”

Last week CCF launched www.HumaneWatch.org, an online watchdog project dedicated to analyzing HSUS’s activities and keeping the group honest. It includes a blog, an interactive document library, and a growing body of information about HSUS-related organizations and staff.

To read this explosive federal racketeering lawsuit, visit www.HumaneWatch.org.

[Freakie_frog]

OOOps I guess when you hire witness and pay people to sue other's then pay..excuse me donate to lawmakers that then find sympothy for your cause its a bad thing..LOL

I think the more this group is made to open their books the mor we'll start to see the foundation crumble..It might not be in the next 10 years but you'll see the HSUS fall. They can'tm operate honestly and still make the kind of waves they are..

[ParmleyStyle]

WOW!! this one thing could set a whole new prescedent for the ways NPO's are run... we could actually start getting the paper trails to and from political ppl... if there are people out there who can dig up the public info of NPO's that politicians are associated with, then we could break down some corruption, of course im being modest.... PEACE....

[Hulihzack]

[Tim Mead]

That makes us as happy as a pig in a puddle..,,Thank you..

[singingtothewheat]

Oh how wonderful!!! H.S.U.S. may finally have outworn their welcome!!!

[steveboos]

I can't wait untill all those people sucked in to the HSUS finally realize what they have been doing for years and getting away with it. I feel a corrupt organization like the HSUS just gets by on sympathy, not anything legitimate cause they don't help anyone!

[Vypyrz]

OOOOOhhhh! RICO... That's what they use to prosecute "organized" crime syndicates. I'll bet there is more than one politician who has the shredders working over time in the back room. Stand-by for the Puppy-gate Scandals..

[crusher]

makes me happy that this helps to discredit the lobbying that theyre doing for the reptile ban.

[Foschi Exotic Serpents]

Oh YAY!!!!!

PLease please please!! Let Animal Planet see this and remove those horrible commercials from the air. Let Petsmart see this and remove the HSUS from their list of "charities". AND let PETA see this and take it as warning and a lesson learned to not walk in the footsteps of such a corrupt unorganization.