Posted by This year’s election cycle 2010 – voters are paying attention! Like it or not, they are learning quickly that the political process is not pretty. Laden with power structuring, job making, back slapping deals, the electorate is more than disappointed, if they were a pot of hot water they’d be boiling over by now.
Electing the most liberal Senator in Congress to the Presidency, together with a Democrat controlled Senate and left-leaning House of Representatives; a strong reaction from the right leaning public was bound to happen. Add in the audacity of a government that feeds a parroting press, and thinks they can continue to do what they want (massive spending, forcing unfunded debt, take-over of private industry) when they want (despite cries for restraint), and you have the making of a revolution!
Restore principled leadership in Congressional District 17
Here we have two congressional candidates who will petition for a primary race against each other to challenge incumbent progressive Democrat Elliot Engel. Engel voted for all of the wild spending measures the tea party is against and since no incumbent is safe this year (it’s best to be optimistic), the strongest conservative Republican in the right circumstance should come out on top.
Republican Anthony Melé (candidate no. 1) is an Army Veteran, Patriot and Constitutionalist, who has strong support in the tea party movement, but not so much support from the big-wigs of the Republican Party.
Republican York Kleinhandler (candidate no. 2) was supported from Day 1 by the Republican Party machine (possibly as a stand-in for non aggression pacts with Democrats) is a typical moderate Republican incapable of motivating the base (nothing new here). What you will read next, however, will alarm you.
Stealing money from Grandma
York Kleinhandler, his brother David, and their front-financing company Phoenix and/or Platinum (“Phoenix”) is being accused in Federal Court (dated May 28, 2010), in the Southern District of Florida of “participating in a highly profitable scheme involving the premium financing of life insurance policies.”
The Complaint says that Phoenix issued a $5 million life insurance policy to an elderly client that was unable to pay an annual premium of $270,000. Using the policy as collateral, York and company financed the premium payments via their dummy company—Phoenix.
According to the policy, when and if the client dies within the first two years of premium payments, the Complaint alleges, the benefit first pays the financing company (Phoenix) with up to 90% commission or more, plus interest, and distributes the remainder of the funds to the beneficiaries.
If the client does not die within the first two years of the policy, the Complaint alleges, the policy is sold to the financing company or a third party, keeping a substantial commission, plus interest. The beneficiaries profit from the sale, and the financing company or third party pays the premium until insured dies, and the financing company gets paid.
When the plaintiff in this action dies within the two year time period, and his family trust tries to collect on the $5 million policy, the complaint alleges, the policy cannot be verified due to the fraudulent documentation that York and company compiled.
Republican Party backs a fraud
The standard bearer choice of the Republican Party in District 17 is candidate no. 2, the individual being charged with one count of “Fraudulent Inducement” one count of “Breach of Fiduciary Duty” and one count of “Civil Conspiracy” in a lawsuit praying for over $300,000 in judgment, is not even a credible candidate and may end up in jail.
CALL TO ACTION
Tea Party: Keep your eye on the ball. Liberty candidates are being shunned left and right by Party Leaders, and even though you might be dismayed by the corruption, the fight must go on!
The only logical solution here is that Kleinhandler gets out of this race and attends to his very serious legal problems, and that Anthony Melé gets a fair shake from the Party Leadership.
The Republican Party needs to hear from you – the voters – loudly and clearly.
District 17 represents parts of three counties, Bronx, Westchester and Rockland, respectively. Contact your County Chair and let them know that York Kleinhandler is not worthy of the Republican nomination nor your support.
I have known Anthony for years. He is the real deal.
By Awaiting Revolution on Jun 2, 2010
Raquel, I’ve surfed into your site a couple of times now from Free Republic and enjoy reading what you write. Unfortunately it’s a little late for this post. I met Anthony. Great guy but he didn’t win the Republican nomination for NY 17. That went last week to York. I met both at the New City Tea Party. York is a former Green Beret and Army Reservist. He gave a great speech talking about fiscal restraint. Unfortunately this district includes the Bronx, Mt Vernon and Yonkers and is represented by the very liberal Democrat Elliot Engel. York needs all the support he can get. I’d love to see Engel thrown out but unless we conservatives get our act together and support one candidate that will never happen.
By Bill Rich on Jun 2, 2010
Raquel, thank you for publishing this article. I scratch my head seeing that someone insists on saying that York is a former Green Beret, Army Reservist, and appears to ignore that this information shows that he and his brother committed fraud. I understand that a person is innocent until proven guilty, but since I have a very good understanding of the insurance industry, since I’ve worked for one for 25 years, this behavior would not be tolerated and anyone caught doing this would be fired and prosecuted. Why would we want someone in Congress to represent us who would do something like this? I respect the fact that he is a veteran, but I’m sorry, I cannot ignore this. He will NOT get my support.
Tony Mele continues to get my 150% support. Let’s support someone who can beat Engel and isn’t involved in corrupt business practices.
By vh on Jun 2, 2010
Hi Bill, thanks for reading my blog!
In normal circumstances I would agree that nomination by the Party is important, and that a unified front is necessary to win anywhere in New York.
In this case, however, York is being charged with cheating old people for money. The allegations put York’s ethical motives in question.
I favored Tony in this race previous to the nomination, read here: http://raquelokyay.com/?p=160.
With the information that has been recently uncovered, it’s obvious that York will have a problem in a primary race against Mele.
The Westchester vote in Distict 17 was a very slim victory for York. In the Bronx, Mele never saw the count, so numbers could not be verified. In Rockland, Mele delegates were given the wrong date of the convention, so their vote was not properly accounted for.
Anthony Mele is by far the better candidate, and he has alot of supporters on the ground. I seriously believe York CAN NOT survive this scandal.
By Raquel on Jun 2, 2010
To York:
Do the honorable thing and pull out now. Even if your innocent you can’t expect to win this race with this suit hanging over your head. You will look foolish if you stay in and will be defeated by Elliot Engel. Either way you will not win.
By nancy on Jun 2, 2010
I agree with Nancy. York should step aside. This matter is too distracting and although innocent until proven guilty, it speaks volumns about honesty and integrity. Tony Mele is without question the best candidate.
By vh on Jun 3, 2010
I am a supporter of Tony Mele. The whole issue here is about electability. Tony has had to withstand having everything thrown at him but the kitchen sink by some members of his own party, and yet, he has not fallen down. If anything, it has made him stronger. With that said, to hear someone who says that York needs all the support he can get, I’m sorry, I disagree. In order for us to truely be a unified Republican party, we need to support the person who can beat Engel and that would be Tony Mele.
York cannot beat Engel and with this matter lurking over him, how could anyone trust him, especially sending him to Washington to represent us? Think about it. Would you trust this man? While the court of law hasn’t occurred yet, the court of public opinion has.
Let’s support someone who will fight for us. We don’t need someone who will stoop so low and cheat senior citizens.
Tony Mele is worthy of our support and the nomination to be Congressman for the 17th District of NY.
By Amanda on Jun 3, 2010
Thank you everyone. We are in it – to win it. Our campaign is about new ideas, solutions, and an adherence to the US Constitution. Our common goal is to take back this seat and restore it to a Constitutionalist Candidate. I am the only electable candidate and challenger in this race. Let’s move forward to retake this Congressional seat. I am asking for all of your support in this endeavor.
By Tony Mele on Jun 4, 2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXzQUBT9oa4
By Tony Mele on Jun 5, 2010
You have my support Tony – no doubt!
Let me be clear: York et al. offered two sets of policies for their elderly clients, one with an expectancy of dying within two years, the other with an expectancy of dying after two years, each option is a win for York et al. because each is set up to make 90+% commission with either outcome.
What went wrong is York et al. got greedy, they stopped paying the high cost premium wagering that the customer would live beyond two years, where the policy would be sold and the loan would be paid.
When the customer dies within the two years and tried to materialize on the policy, the insurance holder looked into the agreement, and found no documentation that the customer could afford the premium, this in itself is criminal within the insurance industry, because one cannot write policies for individuals who cannot prove that they can afford the premium.
What York did was provide the financing for the policy, this is unethical, and possibly illegal.
This is bad news for York, and his actions are highly suspect, I don’t see how he explains this away. He’s cheating old people for money, lots of it!
Support the only electable candidate with the spirit, energy and determination to draw people to the Republican Party, and bring a win for November.
Anthony Mele for Congress!!!
By Raquel on Jun 5, 2010
Raquel, you are correct. Within the insurance industry a request for a policy that clearly shows that the customer does not have the means to pay the premiums would have been denied. It is called “suitability”. We all make mistakes but with York and his brother being licensed to sell insurance, they both were very much aware that this was wrong. Why would someone want York to represent them in Congress?
Let’s go with someone who has integrity, and is electable. That person is Tony Mele.
By vh on Jun 7, 2010
Raquel your naivete comes out in your postings. When a wealthy investor decides to buy a $5 million dollar life insurance policy, you can’t say the business transaction involved stealing money from poor old people. I’ve done some reading about these types of transactions and someone doing this type of deal (the insured) would have sold the policy to investors and walked away with $100,000-$200,000 in cash. In this case, it sounds like the insured may have lied on his insurance paperwork in order to get the deal he wanted. So, it looks like Kleinhandler may have been the victim of an unscrupulous customer.
By M. Brown on Jun 14, 2010
I find two instances where facts were misinterpreted or ignored completely in your comment, M. Brown. One is that, according to Raquel, it was discovered that the “insured” was incapable of affording the policy he was sold by the Kleinhandlers. That suggests that he was NOT a wealthy investor. The other fact as I remember reading it in the original complaint is that evidence exists that the Kleinhandlers engaged in this same type of business scheme prior to the time involving this particular senior citizen. So I SERIOUSLY doubt that it was the Kleinhandlers who were the victims here.
By jv on Jun 14, 2010
Welcome to my blog M. Brown!
Me naive? Sometimes! But not now, rather your naivete goes beyond the pale. You are asking me to believe that a 75 year old man on his death bed conned an insurance expert like Kleinhandler into issuing a $5 million life insurance policy, something that is incredible if were true.
The type of predatory lending that Kleinhandler has been accused of is well publicized and frowned upon in the insurance industry. It’s stealing from Grandma, no ifs, ands or buts!
By Raquel on Jun 14, 2010
How about a 75 year old man who was desperate to make up for losses he sustained due to risky investments that probably came crashing down on him with the market? Wouldn’t that account for his willingness to claim to the other parties involved that he was worth more than he really was? I smell rat on this one. I guess I’ve been around a little longer and seen how greedy folks work.
Since this is such a big problem, what is Mr. Mele’s solution? How do you punish the dead?
By M. Brown on Jun 15, 2010
M. Brown,
The only thing dead old man did wrong was trust a crooked insurance broker and crooked loan officer.
The estate in this lawsuit simply made a claim for a policy that it thought was being paid (Kleinhandler stopped paying policy).
When the insurer figured out that the customer had no money to pay policy, it understood that the policy should not have been issued in the first place, that’s Kleinhandler’s fault 100%.
In fact, there is pending legislation in Congress that thwarts the type of predatory lending Kleinhandler is being accused of. Hmmm I wonder how he would vote if he were to make it to Congress.
Support for Kleinhandler is support for a swindler — a guy who cheats old people. It looks bad on Kleinhandler, and it looks bad on the Republican Party.
My solution is that the district support Republican Anthony Mele the only candidate with the charisma and integrity to run a formidable race against Engel.
By Raquel on Jun 15, 2010
So if this is such a big issue, how come there haven’t been any other lawsuits? Don’t you know that every lawyer out there is looking for a class action lawsuit? Unfortunately the facts don’t bear out your arguments. Unfortunately Mr. Kleinhandler is being sued by the estate of a wealthy (or most likely formerly wealthy) individual and they are trying to suck money out of the pockets of anyone they can. Mr. Mele is unfortunately rather naive about how business works in this litigious society we live in. Maybe the first time he gets sued he will come around and realize that his opponent should not be small business owners, but rather the Democrats that take every penny they can from the plaintiffs’ attorneys. Until Mr. Mele comes to that realization he will remain the man from Ramapo that nobody listens to.
By M. Brown on Jun 16, 2010
M. Brown,
Kleinhandler at some point decided to stop making premium payments on a policy he issued from funds that was a loan he prepared.
Can you read? Don’t you see that Kleinhandler not only acted as insurance agent, but also as financial loan officer, unethical in itself?
It was only when the customer’s estate tried to claim the funds in the policy did the insurer recognize that the life insurance policy did not include a record of customer’s ability to pay high cost premium. This is what the Complaint says, you cannot invent your own facts.
As for the “man from Ramapo” Anthony Mele is a U.S. Veteran, border-security expert, military analyst, tea party favorite, conservative leader!
I know who Anthony Mele is, that means s-o-m-e-t-h-i-n-g, right Tony?
By Raquel on Jun 16, 2010
Who is running these campaigns? All I can find out about these candidates is the Mr. Mele wants to thrown mud, true or not, and Mr. Kleinhandler wants to move on. Will somebody please talk about issues that matter. At least with Congressman Engel, I can tell he stands for everything that is wrong in America. The only thing I know about Mr. Mele and Mr. Kleinhandler is that they don’t like each other. These campaign tactics are a tried and true recipe for getting conservatives to stay home this November.
By Joe on Jun 29, 2010
I do agree with Joe on this, Mele only wants to throw mud because he realizes he can’t win. is he such a perfect angel that he has done NOTHING wrong? Is he and honest man? I’ve read articles about Mele calling York a racist and yet, according to his website, his wife is Hispanic!
Mele i only discrediting himself by spreading rumors like this. He’s trying to force a primary and its only hurting York in the long run If Mele really cares about the party, then he would try to work with York to ensure that the District is represented by a Republican rather then a Democrat who lets Steven Colbert Comb his mustache (his priorities are set.) Its fights like these that hurt parties.
And lets be honest, even with this suit hanging above York’s head, he’s still better then half of the already elected congressmen with DUI’s and Domestic abuse accusations.
I say that we need party cooperation instead of letting the Democrats run us into the ground.
By V.Mars on Jul 11, 2010
Dear VMARS: I agree with you 100%. York is the best candidate to run. I promise I won’t say anything about his alleged predatory practices against the elderly. I for one, will not compare his excruciating explanation to running over the elderly with a bus in Florida cause its legal there and not in NY. I hope York Klienhandler runs against me because if Vincent Reda says York Klienhandler is the best he has the same way he did about the other 11 candidates he hand picked for me; I have him to thank for my 22 years of service to all of you. In my opinion, Vincent Reda is the best Republican Chairman the Democrats ever had. A vote for York Klienhandler now is a vote for EliOT ENGEL later. My Name is ELIOT ENGEL and I approve of this message.
By exfirefighter on Jul 12, 2010
Dear VMars, you are right, we do need party cooperation. We need to support Anthony Mele. This isn’t about throwing mud, what Kleinhander and his brother did was wrong, Also, if you haven’t already, please check out Kleinhandler’s recent videos on prutube. Someone in the audience asked him questions regarding the life insurance policy that he and his brother sold and he is visibly nervous. His body language speaks volumes regarding his lack of honesty regarding the matter. Actions speak louder than words.
By vh on Jul 14, 2010
Dear VH,
And what of the POW network proving Mele a liar about his military record? That to me is worse. By forging documents, he insulted the men that are defending our country including my late husband. Everything that I have seen from the Mele camp only attacks character. If Mele thought that he would have been a better candidate, then why not let Kleinhandler fail and take the Assembly seat that was offered to him? Why not have just built up his credibility to have a stronger campaign?
Only now its too late. He and His lazy eye have been depicted on the lohud website for having taken a small bit of false information and then blowing it up. If He’s going to represent the 17th, then I’m moving.
http://www.prlog.org/10820751-kleinhandler-statement-on-the-anthony-mele-pow-network-allegations.html
By V.Mars on Aug 29, 2010