
A Canadian priest in Ontario has admitted to losing significantly more than CDN$500,000 (US$386,000) in charitable funds that were supposed to assist Iraqi refugees seeking asylum in the eastern province that is canadian.
Canadian priest Amer Saka gambled away more than $380,000 in funds raised that were said to be used to aid Iraq refugees. No charges were filed against the Ontario man of the cloth.
Father Amer Saka regarding 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 dates back to the 1st century, though Saka’s parish in London, Ontario was launched less than five years ago with Pope Benedict XVI’s blessing.
‘We believe Father Saka has a serious gambling issue and that these funds may happen utilized for that function,’ Shaleta told the Toronto Star. ‘I was called by hi . . . and said he lost all the money.’
Unholy Happenings
The roughly $386,000 had been deposited into a free account entrusted to Saka by families belonging to St. Joseph’s. The finances were supposed to be safeguarded by the church and utilized to assist refugees that are incoming Iraq.
The Chaldean refugee sponsorship program requires donors to guide migrants for at the least one after they arrive in Canada year.
‘They didn’t provide this money as a contribution for his or her church,’ Shaleta said. ‘They trusted him, this money was not for him. It would be to get back once again to the refugees [once they arrived right here].’
It’s unclear what Saka’s game of preference 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 organization. Simply this month, a state grand jury in Pennsylvania discovered that more than 50 priests and religious leaders into the Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona intimately abused and raped children more than a period that is 40-year.
No formal charges have been levied on Saka, but an investigation by the London Police provider is ongoing. Saka has since checked into the Southdown Institute, an Ontario addiction and health that is mental center for clergy members.
Are Church Donations Safe?
While Saka tries 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 might be miniscule should alternative priests try their hand at the casino with money that’s not theirs.
In February, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCBC) announced a campaign that is joint the Canadian Catholic Organization for developing and Peace, Aid towards the Church in want Canada, and the Catholic Near East Welfare Association Canada, by 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 put in place, if any, to guard the donations and make yes they reach refugees is unclear.
With regard to the donors and refugees, we are able to only pray that the $3.5 million is being better secured than the contributions collected by St. Joseph’s.
It should get without saying that priests aren’t allowed to take https://wheresthegold.org/5-dragons/ part in gambling activities, especially with parishioner monies, but to reinforce that notion, Shaleta explained that ‘it’s against the rules’ associated with Catholic priesthood.
Washington, D.C. Always a Political Gamble, But Could a casino that is actual to Nation’s Capital?
Washington, D.C., is a powerhouse of intrigue, bluffs, and gambles, but that reality could 1 day expand to a real land-based casino in the District, if a group funded by the anonymous corporation in Delaware get its method.
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 called 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 governmental activist and businessman, wants to put poker, blackjack, and other card games in the historic district of Anacostia, named for the river located to its eastern.
The location had been originally a stronghold for the Nacochtank Indian tribe, whom were forced out by Colonial settlers as far right back as 1608, whenever Captain John Smith of Pocahontas fame moved through. Fast-forward 400 years, as well as the wampum that is latest might be in the form of casino potato chips to enhance the area’s coffers and job options.
‘It’s about job training, real jobs, new income for the city, plus an elevated, regulated gaming experience for visitors,’ Jerrels told WAMU 88.5, the first socket to report regarding the casino developments. ‘Our objective 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 of the city’s poorest, and house to a good amount of crime and drug activity.
Based on data compiled from the US Census Bureau and FBI Uniform Crime Reports, Anacostia possesses 207 percent higher crime price than the national average, and a resident of the area includes a one in 11 possibility of becoming a victim of a nasty crime.
Regional residents additionally don’t appear too thrilled about bringing casino gambling towards the community.
‘It just generally seems to me that the intersection that has name that is such nearly as good 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 said.
Many Obstacles to Overcome
Numerous hurdles stay in Jerrels’ course before he can bring his 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 his reported financial backer, US Virgin Islands-based gambling businessman Shawn Scott.
According to filings that are legal by Jerrels, Anacostia Redevelopment, an LLC registered in Delaware, is bankrolling the video gaming push. Jerrels and Scott were also in paired up in 2006 to legalize video slot machines during the Anacostia that is same location but that measure failed.
Scott includes a past that is checkered it comes down to the gaming industry, though. He’s been rejected licenses in various states, and had been slapped with a $600,000 fine for forging signatures in 2004.
This time around might be the MGM National Harbor, which is scheduled to open in the second half of 2016 though Jerrels’ and Scott’s previous attempts failed, one asset for their campaign. Seven miles due south of Anacostia, it could be a compelling selling point that as long as video gaming is coming to the area anyway, it will make sense to help keep those revenues within town limits.
But the price of bringing gambling towards the city does not, during the moment, have widespread support. Gambling the way that is old-fashioned been illegal in the nation’s money for many years, and it doesn’t appear that will be changing anytime soon.
Phil Mickelson Gambling Pal Gregory Silveira Withdraws Guilty Plea in Money Laundering Case
Golfer Phil Mickelson refuses to comment about any potential involvement in the money laundering case against ex-handicapper Gregory Silveira. (AP Photo/Mike Groll, File)
Gambler Gregory Silveira, proven to have ties to golfer (and gambler) Phil Mickelson, has been facing charges of money laundering in a la court. But now Silveriera, who had formerly plead guilty towards the costs, desires to improve his plea not to.
The 56-year-old former activities handicapper from La Quinta, California this past year admitted to three charges of laundering almost $3 million between an ‘unnamed gambling client,’ who ended up being later on identified by ESPN as Mickelson, as well as an illegal offshore sports guide.
Mickelson, who is recognized to have a fondness for gambling, is perhaps not named in court documents or accused of any criminal activity.
In March 2010, in accordance with court documents, Silveira received a wire transfer of $2.75 million from the customer into his own bank account. He then transferred $2.475 million, as well as the remaining $275,000, into two separate bank accounts, both in their name.
PM Me
According to ESPN’s Outside the Lines (OTL), a show that focuses on American sports dilemmas ‘both on and off the field,’ an early on variation of Silveira’s plea agreement contained a guide to ‘money laundering of funds from P.M.’ When OTL inquired in regards to the initials, the prosecution had the document stricken from the records, filing an amended variation the day that is next.
But now Silveira wants to withdraw their guilty plea, claiming that he was merely seeking to guard ‘an individual who did perhaps not wish his wagering activity to become public.’ The ex-handicapper claims he had been offered advice that is bad his past protection lawyer.
Court documents filed Tuesday 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 these funds constituted money laundering. These suggestions was incorrect.’
Duff adds within the court filing that the amount of money had been not ‘tainted’ and that Silveira was merely paying down a friend’s ‘gambling financial obligation with lawfully earned money.’
No (Sensical) Comment
Mickelson, meanwhile, refused (via his counsel) to provide an official statement on the instance, although when confronted on it all about it directly by a journalist at last year’s Scottish Open, he offered the following rather oblique comment.
‘People are going to say things good; they are going to say things bad; they go to state things real; they go to state things perhaps not real,’ he said. ‘The reality is, I’m comfortable enough with who I am as an individual that I do not feel like i want to comment on every little report that comes out.’
Mickelson is famously known for betting large on the Super Bowl, as well as in 2001 was reprimanded by the PGA for wagering on the upshot of a padraig harrington shot at the NEC Invitational, in breach of the association’s strict policy that is anti-gambling.
Now, in January, he chastised 17-year-old pro that is australian Ruffles for publicly disclosing the details of a bet the two had made while sparring on the course. According to Ruffles, Mickelson offered him 2:1 on 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 Following US Appeals Court Decision
The Desert Diamond West Valley Casino started to less-than-stellar reviews last December, but that should change after the Arizona tribe managing the Glendale facility won its lawsuit against hawaii to offer Class III games. (Image: foxcarolina.com)
An Arizona tribe received the blessing associated with US that is 9th Circuit of Appeals this week to expand its Glendale casino to add Class III gaming and feature slot machines and table games. 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, 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.
State lawmakers and the two opposing tribes argued that Tohono doesn’t always have the legal directly to operate a casino on land that wasn’t under their ownership whenever Indian community reached its video gaming compact with Arizona in 2002.
The 9th Circuit Court rejected the state’s arguments and ruled, ‘The Tohono O’odham Nation’s plan to build a casino and conduct Class III gaming on a certain parcel of land did not violate a gaming compact between the Nation and the State of Arizona in a unanimous decision. The Compact expressly authorizes Class III video gaming ( table card games and slots) in the ‘Indian Lands’ of the Nation.’
Decision Best For Western Valley
Located less than 20 miles northwest of downtown Phoenix, the Desert Diamond West Valley Casino opened December that is last under scrutiny.
The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian and Gila River Indian communities opposed the resort due to their very own self-interests, as the two tribes run gambling enterprises within the Phoenix regions of Chandler and Scottsdale.
Following many court decisions, the Tohono Nation was permitted to progress with its Glendale resort.
To date, the West Valley location has only been allowed to offer Class II games. The category is defined by the Arizona Department of Gaming as being ‘limited to games or gambling products based on the game of bingo, and card games in which players perform just against each other, and the homely house cannot win.’
The lack of slots and other popular commercial casino games has generated the West Valley Casino being panned by site visitors. Bringing Class III variants to the casino floor should rejuvenate fascination with the center, and, in turn, produce more significant revenues.