UP Ibalon Bicol: trafficking of organs

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Putting Obama on notice: a clue to more brazen graft and corruption in America?

7/24/2009 | Posted by mesiamd | Edit Post

There is a time lag between identifying crime, the arrest of criminals and their prosecution. In the case of the New Jersey, it took 10 years of surveillance to apprehend 44 individuals, among them government officials and members of the Jewish clergy. Probably the biggest graft and corruption incident ever reported in the state, they are accused of serious crimes including money laundering, bribery, extortion, and the illegal transport and sale of human organs.

“Five rabbis were among suspects, along with the mayors of Hoboken, Secaucus and Ridgefield, the Jersey City deputy mayor and council president, two state assembly members, and numerous other politicians, prosecutors said.” AFP (07/24/09, Smith, S.)

The organized crime was busted in a stunning after-dawn raid shown in television. Acting US attorney Ralph Marra said the apprehensions showed the pervasive nature of public corruption in the state.

In a scale that rivals the legendary mafia, the crime ring allegedly operated internationally from New Jersey and New York to Israel and Switzerland.

Among those taken by police was rabbi, Levy Izhak Rosenbaum who was believed to be part of a notorious group of corrupt, shameless, and greedy people with strong government connections (said to be mostly affiliated to the Democratic party) that procure kidneys from poor people and sell them for $160,000 for transplant to ailing patients. He used religion as a cover.

The decade-long illegal activity was cracked open by the efforts of Republican Chris Christie, a former US attorney who had been against the administration of NJ Gov. Jon Corzine (D). The crusading prosecutor and many New Jersey citizens had been critical of the governor whose leadership was blamed for the poor handling of the state’s economy.

The graft and corruption is getting rampant and freely laid in the open in the United States. There is a shift in the ethical and moral standards of the nation as secular progressives and believers of relativism influence the psyche of the nation. If not corrected, America is in danger of losing its long-held values---its credibility, leadership, and moral standing in the world. (Photo Credit: AP/ Mel Evans x 2) =0=

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Labels: "hot money", Chris Christie, crime, Gov. Jon Corzine, graft and corruption, Jewish, money laundering, New Jersey, rabbis, trafficking of organs, USA

Illegal kidney donation foiled

7/21/2009 | Posted by mesiamd | Edit Post

Though there is no evidence that the money received from organ sale can make anyone rich, many Filipinos, because of poverty, are lured to selling their kidneys. Desperate ailing patients with renal disease are attracted to buy organs, sometimes setting up elaborate schemes to circumvent the law.

“In 2007, out of 1,046 kidney transplants performed in the country, 81 percent were from living, non-related donors and 51 percent of the recipients were foreigners, said the doctors' group Philippine Society of Nephrology. It wasn't clear that all of those transplants involved an organ sale, but the statistics raised suspicions.

The government has been trying to curb the trade. It recently adopted strict rules restricting foreigners from receiving organ transplants from Filipino donors. The new rules added to a 2003 law that already prohibited organ sales, which are punishable by up to 20 years in prison.”----GMANews.TV (09/20/09)

Recently, an ailing Saudi Arabian tried to get a kidney by marrying a Filipina donor. However Philippine health authorities suspected the marriage was a fraud---- a scheme of a foreigner so he can get a transplant in the country. They believed the giving of the kidney by the wife had more “commercial intent” rather purely for charity.

Recently married, the “wife” couldn’t speak Arabic and the “husband” didn’t know any English or Tagalog. They couldn't communicate to each other. As a result the application to transplant was rejected. The woman didn’t admit she was paid to do the job.

In 2007, Philippines was listed as 5th among nations with rampant kidney trafficking. With many patients waiting to get a kidney, there are recruiters and brokers for the kidney trade which compensates paid donors from P100,000 to P150,000.

Like prostitution, the kidney sale problem illustrates the difficulty of stopping illegal sales. Aside from ethical and moral considerations of commercial kidney donation, even the rules of those who decide which transplants get approved or denied can be questionable and flawed. (Photo Credit: ___) =0=

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Labels: donations, kidney disease, kidney transplant, laws, renal, Totie Mesia, trafficking of organs, transplant

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Putting Obama on notice: a clue to more brazen graft and corruption in America?

Illegal kidney donation foiled

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