Mitt Romney should be flying the Skull and Bones as his campaign flag. The man is a pirate, pure and simple.
"In 1992, Mitt Romney was running Bain Capital, a private equity firm. Bain Capital bought American Pad & Paper Co. (Ampad) for $5 million.
Over the next several years Romney's firm bled the company dry. Hundreds of workers lost their jobs. Stockholders were left with worthless shares. Creditors and vendors were paid less than 50 cents on the dollar. While they were exploiting the company, Romney's firm charged Ampad millions of dollars in "management fees." In all, Romney and his investors reaped more than $100 million dollars from the deal." (Source)
That $100 million dollars had to come from someone. For a Pirate, no victim means no booty. In this case everyone lost except for Romney and Bain Capital. The following is from an article by Amy Contrada and Mass Resistance. (Source)
"1992: Bain buys American Pad & Paper from Mead Corp. They invest $5 million.
· 1993: After Bain takes control, Ampad pays advisory fees to Bain under a management agreement.
· 1994: Bain acquires plant in Marion, Ind. Workers strike over layoffs and wage benefit cuts. The events become a campaign issue in Romney's challenge to Senator Edward M. Kennedy.
· 1995: Bain shuts down the Marion, Ind., plant. Roughly 200 lose jobs. Bain gets at least $2 million in annual fees, plus additional fees for each acquisition Ampad makes. Ampad borrows more to acquire an envelope and stationery maker and uses some of the proceeds, about $60 million, to pay Bain investors.
· 1996: Ampad completes an initial public offering. Bain sells about 3 million shares, reaping about $45 million to $50 million for investors and itself. It also takes $2 million in fees for arranging the IPO, plus other fees.
· 1998: With Ampad struggling, Bain agrees to cut the annual fee $1.5 million a year. It also agrees to start forgoing payment until the company turns around.
· 1999: Revenues continue to slide. Ampad closes a plant near Buffalo, with up to 185 losing jobs.
· 2000: Creditors force Ampad into Chapter 11 bankruptcy to reorganize.
· 2001: Judge puts Ampad into Chapter 7 to liquidate assets and pay creditors. Senior secured lenders get less than 50 cents on the dollar."
Once again, "Mitt the Pirate" follows the same old pattern used by the Robber Barons of old.
1. Invest a minimum amount of cash ($5 million).
2. Leverage the purchase by borrowing against company assets and future revenues.
3. Massive job cuts to boost profits and swell the balance sheet before taking the company public.
4. Pump and then dump the stock on investors that actually believe the ratings agencies that, in my opinion, are in Bain and Romney's pocket.
Here is the history of Ampad Stock:
July 2, 1996: $15.13 - IPO Price
Jan. 27, 1997: $26.00 - Peak
Sep 16, 1997: $13.13 - Stock loses 42% of its value
Nov 1, 1999: 35 cents - Ampad looks to sell assets to reduce debt
Jan 14, 2000: 15 cents - Ampad forced into bankruptcy (Ibid)
In other words, after Bain and Romney sold their stock holdings, making an estimated 45 million dollars, The stock plummets and, more than likely, Romney's Hedge Funds make millions more by shorting the stock (buying Put Options) on the collapsing stock.
The make millions when the stock goes up, and they make millions as the stock plummets. Hedge Funds can also purchase Call Options on a stock. This means that they can realize hundreds of millions, and even billions, trading on inside information. I am sure that the SEC is investigating. I was told that they had their best man, Inspector Clouseau, pouring over Bain's balance sheets. Rumor has it that Romney's dog does indeed "bite".
Interestingly enough, the company is currently located at 3101 E. George Bush Hwy in Richardson, Texas. From what I understand, the George Bush highway is a road that leads to nowhere. Forget the fact that Bush Senior ran the CIA, and that the CIA used offshore accounts and hedge funds, like Mitt Romney's, to launder drug money. Also, forget the fact that Pump and Dumps were also used by the CIA to fund its covert operations.
Most importantly, forget the fact that Bush endorsed Romney.
Interestingly enough, Frank Morse, one of the kidnapped Civil Rights workers in the 1960s, ended up as being the lead attorney to Howard Hughes:
"Morse became general counsel to Howard R. Hughes and Summa Corporation, and a member of the board of directors of Summa Corporation. Hughes learned about Morse in a Los Angeles Times article --- one in which Morse was described as an indomitable young attorney who had just won fifty-two cases in a row. “Get me that lawyer!” Hughes is reported to have shouted to his chief of staff. In addition to being Chief Legal Officer for the umbrella corporation for the holdings of Howard Hughes, Morse served as legal counsel to the President of Summa Corporation which had businesses ranging from airlines, to helicopter manufacturing, to resort hotels. Morse is still legal counsel to the estate of Howard Hughes, which remains open." (Source)
Frank also managed resources for Adnan Kashoggi, the pump and dump maestro linked to the Florida Flight School that trained the 911 hijackers and laundered money for Iran-Contra:
"In the 1980s and 1990’s, as a partner in the law firm Sandler, Rolnick & Morse, Morse served as Chief Legal Advisor for Adnan Khashoggi in the United States and Europe. Morse was responsible for complex litigation and business transactions for Khashoggi, personally, and for Khashoggi's Triad Group of Companies." (Ibid)
Morse has done other work for the intelligence community:
"Morse was the attorney for Larry Kolb during, among other times, the American businessman and intelligence operative's troubles which stemmed from Kolb’s involvement in the St. Kitt’s Affair, a political imbroglio involving Kolb's friend, Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, and various cabinet members of the government of India. Kolb credits Morse with being the brightest attorney he ever met..." (Ibid)
And also for Jon Huntsman Sr, Mitt Romney and Bain Capital:
"From 1996-2003, Morse was Chairman of the Board of BLI Holdings Corp., a company financed and partially owned by Bain Capital. The company was a contract manufacturer for Paul Mitchell Systems and Victoria's Secret and other cosmetic and hair care products in the United States. The company had factories in California and New Jersey totaling over 750,000 square feet (70,000 m2). The company had approximately 1,000 employees and gross revenues of over one hundred and thirty million dollars when it was sold for a significant profit in 2003." ....
In 2007, Morse was named a Managing Director of H&G Capital Advisors. H&G Capital Advisors is part of Huntsman Gay Global Capital. With its principal offices located in Palo Alto, California, this new private equity fund was started by Jon M. Huntsman, the famed Utah industrialist and philanthropist, and Robert C. Gay, the long-time Managing Director of Bain Capital and former chief of staff of Howard Hughes. H&G focuses on middle market leveraged buyouts, growth capital investments, restructurings and strategic investment in mid-cap public companies. The Fund has in excess of $1 billion dollars in limited partner commitments..."
