Trust is an essential part of any strong relationship. And in these turbulent economic times, full financial disclosure between partners is more important than ever. Fiscal infidelity is quickly becoming as devastating a concern as extramarital affairs, if not more so. If you don’t think this is a legitimate and escalating problem, check out this article for some alarming accounts of financial betrayal. After all, if your partner is hiding economic indiscretions, what else might they be hiding?

Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2010/08/30/spouse-hiding-debt/

The following article regarding the unrelenting corruption in Florida’s Palm Beach County was brought to our attention, and we decided to share.  Quickly aspiring towards Florida’s most notorious hotbed of political duplicity, Palm Beach County may have cemented that dubious honor with the announcement of corruption charges against 18-year county commissioner Mary McCarty.  These allegations offer the proverbial icing on a cake of disgraceful activities committed by Palm Beach County officials over recent years.  Read the complete article for all the disheartening details.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1870853,00.html#ixzz0y6H3ie6o

Is political corruption on the rise in this country? Measuring corruption statistically is difficult, if not impossible, due to the illicit nature of the transaction and imprecise definitions of corruption. But it seems as if we hear and read about stories like following in the news virtually everyday.

In Florida, the Miramar City Commissioner is found guilty of two counts each of bribery and extortion in an undercover FBI investigation. In Deerfield Beach, both the city’s mayor and commissioner are arrested on charges of profiting from government business. In Illinois, a City of Chicago zoning investigator goes to jail for accepting a bribe in exchange for providing a favorable zoning inspection report. In Pennsylvania, a member of the Luzerne County Board of Commissioners pleads guilty to accepting a bribe from a developer for voting to accept the developer’s project into a government funded tax incentive program. In New York, four Nassau County public officials are arrested and charged with larceny, conspiracy, fraud and related offenses. A House panel charges a well-known ten-term California law maker with violating ethics rules. And, a high-profile member of the House of Representatives is currently being investigated for a series of allegations of ethics violations and failure to follow tax laws. This inquiry is expected to have serious implications in the upcoming midterm elections.

Fitzroy Salesman (yes, that is his name), the former Miramar City Commissioner, was sentenced to four years and three months in federal prison for taking $3,340 for steering city construction and renovation projects to undercover agents he thought were contractors. “I will never, ever be the same, it doesn’t matter what I do,” said Salesman. “The shame that has been brought on me and my family. If I could give my life to reverse it, I would.”

Mayor of Deerfield Beach Al Capellini has been charged with unlawful compensation, a felony stemming from his involvement in a development deal. He used the power of his political office not only to promote an office building project he’s backing, but to direct city and county officials to make changes that have outraged a neighborhood. The State Attorney’s Office discovered that Capellini had been paid more than $16,000 from the developer to get plat approvals from his own city and the county. The mayor also profited by having a stake in the development itself. Capellini’s arrest comes within a day of the jail booking of his nemesis in Deerfield, Commissioner Steven Gonot, who was charged by prosecutors with grand theft and official misconduct.

Anthony Valentino, a one time City of Chicago zoning investigator, received 31 months in prison for taking $500 to overlook code violations. Valentino, allegedly upset about having to jump through more hoops to get bribes to the right places, was quoted in the charges as saying, “It’s getting more and more difficult I know for everybody to do what they need to do.”

Greg Skrepenak, a former NFL offense lineman who won a seat on Pennsylvania’s Luzerne County Board of Commissioners, was charged with accepting $5,000 in gifts from a developer seeking public financing of a condominium project. Luzerne County is known for its pay –to-play politics, and Skrepenak is just one of 23 officials, including a school superintendent, three county judges, four courthouse officials, and five school board members, who have been charged in a variety of unrelated schemes.

After a three year investigation into a multimillion-dollar redevelopment project in New Cassel, Long Island, Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice indicted former county legislators Roger Corbin and Patrick Williams, former Town of North Hempstead Building and Planning Commissioner David Wasserman, and executive director of the Town of North Hempstead Community Development Agency Neville Mullings. The investigation revealed multiple scams, including an extensive bid-rigging and bribery scheme to influence the project to a preferred developer, in addition to the theft of $150,000 of public funds, according to the D.A. “The people of New Cassel envisioned a proud beautiful future for their community,” Rice said. “Instead they got corrupt officials who only envisioned dollar signs.”

Maxine Waters, a California Representative who serves on the House Financial Services Committee, has been under investigation since 2009 for assisting a bank to which she had personal ties in getting federal bailout money. In 2009, she organized a meeting between Treasury officials and executives form OneUnited Bank, where her husband was once a board member and had large investments. The bank received $12 million from the federal government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program.

And, a House ethics committee recently released a report detailing 13 charges against Representative Charles Rangel, including improper use of his office to solicit donations for a City University of New York center to be named in his honor; failure to report rental income from his villa in the Dominican Republic and to pay taxes on it; omission of some $600,000 in assets on his House financial disclosure forms; and acceptance from a Manhattan developer of four rent-stabilized apartments, one of which he used as a campaign office. Ironically, Rangel is the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives.

Has political corruption always been so pervasive? Has the advent of the 24 hour news cycle skewed our perception by making it appear that the political landscape is deteriorating more rapidly? We are interested in your opinion. Please let us know what you think by answering our poll question.

The immense risks facing government agencies in the current economic and political climates call for uncompromising and assertive actions to prevent and uncover fraudulent activities within departments and in interactions with outside entities such as vendors and taxpayers.

Kessler International has a 22 year history of providing reliable, expeditious and specialized expert services in the areas of forensic accounting, computer forensics and fraud investigations for governmental agencies. Our experienced staff is knowledgeable in the complexities surrounding governmental agencies, and the unique challenges that they face. Our specialists have been called upon to conduct in-depth reviews of governmental departments, internal control reviews, comprehensive construction audits, and computer forensic reviews of government computer systems. Kessler International has been cited as the “Corruption Hunters” in various newspapers around the country.

Recent cases for Kessler International include a forensic audit of the finances of Victorville, CA for the San Bernardino County Grand Jury, a forensic audit of the Office of Housing and Urban Development for Pompano Beach, FL, a forensic audit of the Deerfield Beach, FL Community Development Division, a forensic audit of the Compton Community College of Compton, CA, an Extraordinary Audit of the Los Gatos Union Elementary School District in Los Gatos, CA, a forensic audit relative to the Cape Coral, FL Utility Expansion Project, a forensic audit and construction project review of four different projects for the Fulton County School System in Georgia and a forensic audit of the programs administered by the Fort Pierce, FL Community Services Department.

George Graham Vest (1830-1904) served as U.S. Senator from Missouri from 1879 to 1903 and became one of the leading orators and debaters of his time. This delightful speech is from an earlier period in his life when he practiced law in a small Missouri town. It was given in court while representing a man who sued another for the killing of his dog. During the trial, Vest ignored the testimony, and when his turn came to present a summation to the jury, he made the following speech and won the case.

Gentlemen of the Jury: The best friend a man has in the world may turn against him and become his enemy. His son or daughter that he has reared with loving care may prove ungrateful. Those who are nearest and dearest to us, those whom we trust with our happiness and our good name may become traitors to their faith. The money that a man has, he may lose. It flies away from him, perhaps when he needs it most. A man’s reputation may be sacrificed in a moment of ill-considered action. The people who are prone to fall on their knees to do us honor when success is with us, may be the first to throw the stone of malice when failure settles its cloud upon our heads.

The one absolutely unselfish friend that man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him, the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous is his dog. A man’s dog stands by him in prosperity and in poverty, in health and in sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground, where the wintry winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only he may be near his master’s side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer. He will lick the wounds and sores that come in encounters with the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his pauper master as if he were a prince. When all other friends desert, he remains. When riches take wings, and reputation falls to pieces, he is as constant in his love as the sun in its journey through the heavens.

If fortune drives the master forth, an outcast in the world, friendless and homeless, the faithful dog asks no higher privilege than that of accompanying him, to guard him against danger, to fight against his enemies. And when the last scene of all comes, and death takes his master in its embrace and his body is laid away in the cold ground, no matter if all other friends pursue their way, there by the graveside will the noble dog be found, his head between his paws, his eyes sad, but open in alert watchfulness, faithful and true even in death.

George Graham Vest – c. 1855

Clients rely on Kessler International’s keen senses to guard their business’s reputation and well-being. Whatever threats to your business exist, you can trust Kessler to detect and pursue those who pose you harm. And, we develop proactive measures to prevent future harm.  The protection and attention we afford you will not be matched, unless, of course, you own a dog.

Image: federico stevanin / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

We got this email, and wanted to share:

Euthanasia is legal in Belgium only with the permission of the patient, and has to be done by a doctor.  Legal since 2002, it is said to account for 2% of all deaths annually.  A recent disturbing study found that 120 of 248 nurses surveyed admitted that they had taken part in cases involving euthanasia without the consent of the patients.  Nurses indicated that they participated in the euthanasia process even though they were not doctors and permission was not obtained.  Oftentimes, the study showed that doctors delegated the process of fatal drug administration to the nurses, showing negligence on the part of doctors and nurses.

The results of this study raise serious questions regarding not only the ramifications of legalizing euthanasia, but also the effectiveness of the basic health insurance coverage provided to Belgium’s citizens by their government.  Without accountability and internal controls, it seems that some healthcare practitioners have been granted the power to “assume” that people want to die.  More information about Belgium’s mandatory healthcare insurance can be found here: http://www.belgium.be/en/health/healthcare_costs/.

The New York State Assembly Agriculture Committee is voting TODAY on Oreo’s Law.  The bill would provide a safe haven for animals with rescue groups who would harbor animals destined to be killed in shelters.

The bill’s namesake Oreo was a one year old dog intentionally thrown from a rooftop by a cruel and abusive owner suspected of repeated abuse.  Oreo survived this tremendous ordeal and was coaxed back to health by the ASPCA.  After Oreo’s recovery, the ASPCA has said that she showed aggressive behavior severe enough to warrant her death.  A rescue facility specializing in the rehabilitation of aggressive dogs offered Oreo haven for life, including rehabilitation, socialization and the care an animal so tragically abused deserves.  The ASPCA chose to end Oreo’s life, disregarding the possibilities that could have awaited her.

According to the No Kill Advocacy Center, a survey of rescue groups found that 72% reported being denied animals, while 71% reported that shelters in turn killed the animals denied to the rescue groups.  The power to decide the fate of so many animals has been assumed by the ASPCA and animal shelters across the state, enterprises that accept the donations of animal lovers and supporters worldwide.  The ASPCA has clearly lost sight of what they stand for.  Their website states, “With your help, the ASPCA can continue working to find happy endings for all of America’s homeless pets.  Give Today!”

Clearly, Oreo’s ending was not a happy one.  Support rescue groups that truly strive to provide happy endings, and stay current with and support Oreo’s law to whatever extent you are able.  You can contact the members of the Agriculture Committee here and show your support: http://assembly.state.ny.us/comm/?sec=mem&id=2.  Your voice can combine with so many others to influence this decision.

June 6 marks the anniversary of D-Day, an oft forgotten occasion and a defining moment in World War II.  As 1944 fades into memory and fewer veterans are available to retell the tale, it is our job as Americans to make sure that the story of that day is never forgotten.

“Operation Overlord” was the given code name for the Allied invasion of western Europe, at the time controlled by Germany.  The Operation began on D-Day, with an immense all-out assault of over 160,000 troops, 7,000 vessels and 12,000 planes.  The scope and size of the initial invasion of D-Day is remarkable even today, and although the Operation is thought by many to have been the beginning of the end, the losses suffered by the allies that day were great.

The beaches of Normandy saw over 10,000 allied troops fall on D-Day in the name of freedom and the liberation of France from Nazi Germany under the reign of Adolf Hitler.  Cherished American soldiers numbering more than 6,000 were amongst the fallen, joining countless others who lost their lives in the duration of World War II.

Their bravery and courage in the face of such a tremendous battle is a lesson in history, patriotism and honor that must to be preserved for future generations.  Just before the battle began, General Dwight D. Eisenhower related to the soldiers, “I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory!”.  The duty is ours now, to not forget and to honor with remembrance those who have given their lives for our freedoms.

Remembering D-Day, 66 years ago
D-Day -- Normandy Landing -- Battle of Normandy

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-weBUzQleo

www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvZCDfhoNxA

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_qeCNg8fO0

Kessler International announced that it has received the Global Business Excellence Award for Outstanding Risk Consultancy Solution. Global Business Excellence Awards are bestowed upon exceptional organizations as a mark of business excellence by a panel of independent judges knowledgeable in the prospective winner’s area of business.

Andrew Areoff, Chairman of the Judges for the Global Business Excellence Awards said, “Kessler has built their business on good old fashioned values such as honesty, trust, integrity and professionalism. These traits are vital to the success of any business but none more so than one involved in investigative services. Whether it be financial fraud, intellectual property theft or computer crimes, the firm has built an international reputation as a market leader that can be relied upon. Kessler seems well positioned to demonstrate strength in 2010 and beyond.”

Michael G. Kessler was recently awarded the DFCP (Digital Forensics Certified Practitioner) “Founders” certification by the Digital Forensics Certification Board.  The DFCP designation is available to Digital Evidence Professionals with a minimum of five years experience related to digital evidence or digital forensics after meeting all of the boards qualifications.  The DFCB is administered by the National Center of Forensic Science at the University of Central Florida and in cooperation with the National Institute of Justice.