
A Canadian priest in Ontario has admitted to losing more than CDN$500,000 (US$386,000) in charitable funds that were supposed to assist Iraqi refugees seeking asylum into the eastern province that is canadian.
Canadian priest Amer Saka gambled away significantly more than $380,000 in funds raised that were supposed to be utilized to aid Iraq refugees. No charges were filed against the Ontario man of the cloth.
Father Amer Saka associated with the St. Joseph Chaldean Catholic Church told Bishop Emanuel Shaleta in that he had gambled away all the money, which had been collected through parishioner donations february. The Chaldean Church is headquartered in Baghdad, Iraq, and goes back towards the century that is 1st though Saka’s parish in London, Ontario was established less than five years ago with Pope Benedict XVI’s blessing.
‚We believe Father Saka has a serious gambling problem and that these funds may have already been utilized for that purpose,‘ Shaleta told the Toronto Star. ‚I was called by hi . . . and said he lost all the cash.‘
Unholy Happenings
The roughly $386,000 was deposited into a merchant account entrusted to Saka by families belonging to St. Joseph’s. The finances were allowed to be safeguarded by the church and utilized to assist incoming refugees from Iraq.
The Chaldean refugee sponsorship program requires donors to aid migrants for no less than one after they arrive in Canada year.
‚They didn’t offer this cash as a contribution due to their church,‘ Shaleta said. ‚They trusted him, this money wasn’t for him. It would be to be provided with back once again to the refugees [once they arrived right here].‘
It’s unclear what Saka’s game of choice was at the casino, or which place or venues he frequented.
Regardless, it’s just one more black eye on the Catholic Church, while the religion remains coping with persistent claims of intimate abuse within its company. Simply this month, a situation grand jury in Pennsylvania unearthed that more than 50 priests and religious leaders within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona sexually abused and raped children more than a 40-year period.
No formal charges have been levied on Saka, but an investigation by the London Police provider is ongoing. Saka has since checked in to the Southdown Institute, an Ontario addiction and mental health rehabilitation center for clergy members.
Are Church Donations Secure?
While Saka attempts to overcome his gambling addiction, parishes across the country might want to take a closer look at their bank accounts, since the St. Joseph incident could be miniscule should alternative priests try their hand during the casino with money that isn’t theirs.
In February, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCBC) announced a joint campaign with the Canadian Catholic Organization for developing and Peace, help to the Church in Need Canada, and the Catholic Near East Welfare Association Canada, in which it had raised over $3.5 million.
The CCBC charity funds will apparently be distributed to Syrian refugees seeking safety in the Middle East and components of Europe. What type of safeguards have actually been applied, if any, to guard the donations and also make certain they reach refugees is unclear.
With regard to the donors and refugees, we could only pray that the $3.5 million is being better secured than the contributions collected by St. Joseph’s.
It should go without saying that priests aren’t permitted to participate in gambling activities, especially with parishioner monies, but to reinforce that notion, Shaleta explained that ‚it’s against the rules‘ regarding the Catholic priesthood.
Washington, D.C. Always a Political Gamble, But Could A actual casino come to Nation’s Capital?
Washington, D.C., is a powerhouse of intrigue, bluffs, and gambles, but that reality could one day extend to a real casino that is land-based the District, if your group funded by the anonymous firm in Delaware get its way.
Maybe not the many glamorous location to pull tourists to, but backers of the Washington, D.C., casino are pressing an initiative in hopes of revitalizing the bad and crime-ridden (but historic) Anacostia neighborhood. (Image: elevationdcmedia.com)
A group referred to as the people Committee to get the Limited Gaming Initiative of 2016 is trying to place a referendum on the ballot this November in the District of Columbia, asking area voters to determine whether casino-style gambling should be legalized in the downtown area.
Committee Chairperson Berry Jerrels, a longtime Washington activist that is political businessman, wants to spot poker, blackjack, and other card games in the historic district of Anacostia, named for the river located to its eastern.
The area was originally a stronghold of this Nacochtank Indian tribe, who were pushed out by Colonial settlers as far back as 1608, whenever Captain John Smith of Pocahontas fame moved through. Fast-forward 400 years, and also the latest wampum can be in the shape of casino chips to enhance the area’s coffers and job options.
‚It’s about job training, real jobs, new revenue for the city, and an elevated, regulated video gaming experience for visitors,‘ Jerrels told WAMU 88.5, the very first outlet to report on the casino developments. ‚Our goal is always to target the population that is visiting of District.‘
Anti-Anacostia
Jerrels‘ desire to attract and profit off tourists visiting the capital seems fine in some recoverable format. However, the reality is that few sightseers venture throughout the Anacostia River away from the downtown National Mall area.
A DC-based realtor that is commercial us that the Anacostia neighborhood is one associated with city’s poorest, and home to a good amount of crime and drug activity.
According to data compiled from the US Census Bureau and FBI Uniform Crime Reports, Anacostia includes a 207 percent higher crime price than the nationwide average, and a resident associated with the area has a one in 11 chance of becoming a victim of a crime.
Local residents also never appear too thrilled about bringing casino gambling to your community.
‚It just appears to me that the intersection that has such name recognition of the same quality Hope and MLK . . . [it doesn’t make sense] that you would decimate that boulevard with some gambling facility,‘ Anacostia Economic Development Corporation President Stanley Jackson stated.
Many Obstacles to Overcome
Numerous hurdles stand in Jerrels‘ path before he can bring their proposition to ballot.
First, the D.C. Board of Elections must accept the effort throughout a hearing scheduled for May 4. if the board do therefore, Jerrels would then need to collect still 25,000 signatures to place the initiative on the ballot.
Another problem standing in their way lies with the background of their reported financial backer, US Virgin Islands-based gambling businessman Shawn Scott.
According to legal filings made by Jerrels, Anacostia Redevelopment, an LLC registered in Delaware, is bankrolling the gaming push. Jerrels and Scott were also in paired up in 2006 to legalize video clip slots at the Anacostia that is same location but that measure failed.
Scott includes a checkered past when it comes to the video gaming industry, though. He’s been rejected licenses in numerous states, and ended up being slapped with a $600,000 fine for forging signatures in 2004.
Though Jerrels‘ and Scott’s past attempts failed, one asset for his or her campaign this time around may be the MGM National Harbor, which is planned to start into the 2nd half of 2016. Seven miles due south of Anacostia, maybe it’s a compelling attempting to sell point that so long as gaming is coming to your area anyhow, it will make sense to help keep those profits within town limits.
But the cost of bringing gambling to your populous city does not, at the moment, have widespread help. Gambling the old-fashioned way has been illegal into the country’s capital for many years, and it doesn’t appear which will be changing anytime soon.
Phil Mickelson Gambling Pal Gregory Silveira Withdraws Guilty Plea in Money Laundering Case
Golfer Phil Mickelson declines to comment about any involvement that is potential the money laundering case against ex-handicapper Gregory Silveira. (AP Photo/Mike Groll, File)
Gambler Gregory Silveira, known to have ties to golfer (and gambler) Phil Mickelson, has been facing costs of money laundering in a la court. Nevertheless now Silveriera, who had previously plead guilty towards the costs, wishes to change his plea never to.
The 56-year-old former activities handicapper from La Quinta, California last year admitted to three charges of laundering almost $3 million between an ‚unnamed gambling client,‘ who was later identified by ESPN as Mickelson, and an illegal offshore sports book.
Mickelson, who’s recognized to have a fondness for gambling, is maybe not named in court documents or accused of any criminal activity.
In March 2010, according to court documents, Silveira received a wire transfer of $2.75 million from the customer into his bank that is own account. He then transferred $2.475 million, along with the remaining $275,000, into two split bank accounts, both in his name.
PM Me
In accordance with ESPN’s Outside the Lines (OTL), a show that focuses primarily on American sports issues ‚both off and on the field,‘ an early on variation of Silveira’s plea agreement included a reference to ‚money laundering of funds from P.M.‘ When OTL inquired concerning the initials, the prosecution had the document stricken through the records, filing an amended version the day that is next.
But now Silveira wishes to withdraw their guilty plea, claiming that he was merely seeking to guard ‚an individual who did not wish their wagering activity to become public.‘ The ex-handicapper claims he had been offered advice that is bad his past defense lawyer.
Court documents filed by Silveira’s new attorney, James Duff, stated: ‚Silveira’s original counsel had told him that the money Silveira received from the gambler was ‚tainted‘ and that Silveira’s transfer of those funds constituted money laundering tuesday. This advice was incorrect.‘
Duff adds into the court filing that the money was maybe not ‚tainted‘ and that Silveira had been just paying off a friend’s ‚gambling financial obligation with legitimately earned money.‘
No (Sensical) Comment
Mickelson, meanwhile, refused (via their counsel) to offer an official statement on the instance, although when confronted about it directly by a journalist at last year’s Scottish Open, he offered the following rather oblique comment on it all.
‚People are planning to say things good; they will state things bad; they go to state things true; they are going to say things perhaps not real,‘ he said. ‚The fact is, I’m comfortable enough with who https://queenofthenilepokie.com/ I will be as a person that I do not feel like i want to comment on every little report that comes out.‘
Mickelson is famously known for gambling large on the Super Bowl, as well as in 2001 was reprimanded by the PGA for wagering on the upshot of A tiger woods shot at the NEC Invitational, in breach of the association’s strict anti-gambling policy.
More recently, in January, he chastised 17-year-old pro that is australian Ruffles for publicly disclosing the details of a bet the 2 had made while sparring on the program. According to Ruffles, Mickelson offered him 2:1 for a $2,500 bet that the game would be won by him, but Mickelson lost by one shot. a disgruntled mickelson later said that the sum had been exaggerated.
Arizona Tribe Can Move Forward with Glendale Casino Expansion US that is following appeals Choice
The Desert Diamond West Valley Casino opened to less-than-stellar reviews last December, but that should change after the Arizona tribe handling the Glendale facility won its lawsuit against the state to provide Class III games. (Image: foxcarolina.com)
An Arizona tribe received the blessing for the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals this week to expand its Glendale casino to include Class III gaming and mix slots and table games. The court ruled on Tuesday that the Tohono tribe has every right to operate its Desert Diamond West Valley Casino and Resort in Glendale, Arizona in a lawsuit between the Tohono O’odham Nation vs. the State of Arizona, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, and Gila River Indian Community.
State lawmakers and the two opposing tribes argued that Tohono does not have the right that is legal operate a casino on land that wasn’t under their ownership if the Indian community reached its gaming compact with Arizona in 2002.
In a unanimous choice, the 9th Circuit Court rejected their state’s arguments and ruled, ‚The Tohono O’odham Nation’s want to build a casino and conduct course III video gaming on a certain parcel of land did not break a gaming compact between the world additionally the State of Arizona. The Compact expressly authorizes Class III video gaming ( table card games and slots) on the ‚Indian Lands‘ of the country.‘
Decision Good for West Valley
Located not as much as 20 miles northwest of downtown Phoenix, the Desert Diamond West Valley Casino opened last December under much scrutiny.
The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian and Gila River Indian communities opposed the resort due to their self-interests that are own as the 2 tribes operate gambling enterprises into the Phoenix areas of Chandler and Scottsdale.
Following numerous court decisions, the Tohono Nation was allowed to move forward with its Glendale resort.
Up to now, the West Valley location has only been permitted to offer Class II games. The category is defined by the Arizona Department of Gaming as being ‚limited to games or gambling devices on the basis of the game of bingo, and cards in which players play only against one another, and the house cannot win.‘
The lack of slots along with other popular casino that is commercial has generated the West Valley Casino being panned by visitors. Bringing Class III variants to the casino floor should revitalize interest in the facility, and, in change, produce more substantial revenues.
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