Page 33 - kpa sept 4,2015
P. 33
A6
U.S. NEWSFriday 4 September 2015
Clinton camp urged ex-State Dept. employee to testify Trio charged with
running $54M green
MATTHEW DALY Former Clinton chief of staff during her tenure as secretary of cluding the U.S. ambassa- energy Ponzi scam
Associated Press state, Cheryl Mills, right, arrives to be interviewed before a House dor to Libya. The investiga-
WASHINGTON (AP) — Aides panel on the Benghazi investigation on Capitol Hill in Washing- tion has widened in recent PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Three
to Democratic presiden- ton, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2015. Others shown are unidentified. months to focus on Clin- people were charged
tial candidate Hillary Rod- ton’s use of a private email Thursday with running a $54
ham Clinton urged a for- (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) account and server. million Ponzi scheme built
mer State Department Clinton has dismissed both on promises of a green
employee who helped set spoke only on condition of asked not to be identified controversies as “partisan energy technology that
up her private email server anonymity. when discussing personnel games.” would turn trash into fuel
while she was secretary of Attorneys for Pagliano sent matters. She also has said she re- and “carbon-negative”
state to appear before a the committee a letter Rep. Elijah Cummings, grets using a personal housing developments,
congressional investigative Monday saying their client the top Democrat on the email account to conduct neither of which were ever
panel, but the former staff- would not testify at a hear- Benghazi panel, said he government business. fully developed, federal
er has said he will assert his ing planned for next week. was not surprised that Pa- Nick Merrill, a spokesman prosecutors said.
constitutional right not to The panel subpoenaed Pa- gliano would refuse to tes- for Clinton’s campaign, Troy Wragg, 34, of Geor-
testify. gliano last month. Pagliano tify, given the “wild and un- said in a statement Thurs- gia; Amanda Knorr, 32, of
Clinton, the Democratic was a State Department substantiated accusations” day that Clinton and her Pennsylvania; and Wayde
front-runner for the 2016 employee from 2009 to against Clinton. team “have been confi- McKelvy, 52, of Colorado
nomination, has been 2013 and is now a private The special committee was dent from the beginning were charged with wire
dogged by criticism about contractor working in the established last year to in- that Clinton’s use of a per- and securities fraud and
her use of a private email department’s Bureau of vestigate the Obama ad- sonal email was allowed conspiracy.
server for government busi- Information Resource Man- ministration’s response to and that she did not send Prosecutors said the trio
ness during her tenure as agement, according to a the Benghazi attacks that or receive anything marked lied to investors that their
secretary of state, and she department official who killed four Americans, in- classified, facts confirmed “biochar” technology and
has struggled to explain her by the State Department “carbon-negative” hous-
decision. and the inspector general” ing in Tennessee made mil-
The response of Bryan Pa- for the department. lions, but they had almost
gliano to a committee sub- Clinton “has made every no earnings and used the
poena was unwelcome effort to answer questions money to repay earlier in-
news to Clinton aides who and be as helpful as pos- vestors and for themselves.
had pressed him to be in- sible, and has encouraged The scam allegedly ran
terviewed by the Repubi- her aides, current and for- from 2005 until 2009, even
can-led panel investigat- mer, to do the same, in- after the Securities and Ex-
ing the deadly 2012 terrorist cluding Bryan Pagliano,” change Commission filed a
attack in Benghazi, Libya. Merrill said. civil lawsuit against Wragg
The aides were not autho- Clinton is set to testify be- and Knorr’s Mantria Corp.
rized to publicly discuss fore the Benghazi commit- They were ordered in 2012
private conversations and tee next month.q to pay $37 million each.
“The scheme alleged in
Report: Church shooting suspect to face death penalty this indictment offered in-
vestors the best of both
MEG KINNARD state, adult and juvenile in that system. U.S. Attorney A federal indictment says worlds — investing in sus-
Associated Press criminal record and other General Loretta Lynch has Roof planned for months tainable and clean energy
COLUMBIA, South Carolina conduct, as well as his ap- said federal charges were to increase racial tensions products while also mak-
(AP) — The white man ac- parent lack of remorse for necessary to adequate- throughout the country ing a profit,” U.S. Attorney
cused of killing nine black the killings. ly address a motive that and seek retribution for per- Zane Memeger said in a
churchgoers during a Bible Roof faces state charges in- prosecutors believe was ceived wrongs he thought news release. “Unfortu-
study will face the death cluding nine murder counts unquestionably rooted in had been committed nately for the investors, it
penalty, according to court in the June 17 slayings at racial hate. South Carolina against white people. was all a hoax and they
documents filed Thursday. Emanuel African Methodist has no state hate crimes And when it came to pick- lost precious savings. These
The documents said pros- Episcopal Church. law. ing a target, he purpose- defendants preyed on the
ecutors would pursue the He is expected in court Roof is white and purport- fully selected the historic emotions of their victims
death penalty against again on those charges in edly wrote online of fo- church — a centuries-old and sold them a scam.”
Dylann Roof, 21, because October. menting racial violence, religious institution rooted The investors got back
more than two people He also faces federal and federal authorities in South Carolina history — about $6 million in June as
were killed, and that oth- charges including hate have said he used a per- “in order to make his attack part of a class-action law-
ers’ lives were put at risk. crimes and obstruction of sonal manuscript in which more notorious,” according suit against former Mantria
Prosecutors also said they the practice of religion, he decried integration and to the indictment. Survivors employees, according to
intended to present evi- some of which are also eli- used racial slurs to refer to told police he used racial attorney Patrick Howard.
dence on Roof’s mental gible for the death penalty blacks. insults during the attack.q Wragg and Knorr were not
part of that suit.q
