How 'bout them apples, Dick?

MSM? (4.00 / 1)

Has this been anywhere or do you have another scoop?

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by: dkmich @ Fri Oct 13, 2006 at 04:51:49 AM CDT

MSM Use Google and the State Website? (4.00 / 2)

That would be hard work.

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by: DemWave @ Fri Oct 13, 2006 at 05:02:35 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Rub-a-dub (4.00 / 4)

Michigan's campaign finance law prohibits money laundering:

A contribution shall not be made by a person to another person with the agreement or arrangement that the person receiving the contribution will then transfer that contribution to a particular candidate committee.

It would have to be determined in a criminal trial, with Terri Lynn Land and Mike Cox bringing the charges, whether Saur and Tubergen and their individual family members used their own funds, or if they got dollars from Dick, all sudsed up and rinsed squeaky-clean.  It's not that hard to follow the money:  bank statements, check clearings, large withdrawals of cash at once.  Cox was trying to pin the exact same charges on Fieger back when our AG was having his Jimmy Swaggart Moment.

But for some reason, convictions for money laundering are fairly rare when politicians are involved.  Must be because they're all so honest.

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by: eartha651 @ Fri Oct 13, 2006 at 09:30:40 AM CDT

Most Execellent Work... (4.00 / 2)

... you have here DemWave.  This is one of the best research pieces up so far (and there have been many execellent pieces up so far).

Part 5 is the story of the apple concentrate dumped here from China directly and who gained from those transactions. Somewhere there is a record of these imports, and a legal action initiated by Apple Growers to stop the dumping.

This rabbit hole has more depth. We would say keep digging, but you've done quite a bit so far, and that takes work, in your case, and others here too, excellent work.

The MSM and several reporters have been notified of this story and pointed to it, but they remain silent. What are they doing? Sitting there looking at the longest list of scandals and sleezy dealings of DeVos & Co. sipping coffee thinking, "better not" that's "too risky".

There is NO WAY this story will not break, and those in the MSM that are not leading these investigations should be embarrassed that citizens of Michigan have to do their own reporting. It's shameful.

Waiting breathless for the other shoe in this story.

Rotten to the Core, these people are... they don't care about Michigan, our economy, our institutions, our children, our future, their very own communities and neighbors... it is all about personal PROFIT, period.

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by: Hector Solon @ Fri Oct 13, 2006 at 10:29:05 AM CDT

Additional tunnels of this rabbit hole... (4.00 / 2)

... can be found here:

The bottomline from some web chatter:

"That's because your probably a hobby farmer. It's not always what you have, but trying to get a fair price, and then paid for it after it has been sold. The farm market use to only compete among other states. Now it has to compete with other countries like China that can use slave labor and all the cheap chemicals banned in the USA. The countries South of us aren't much different . Right near Sparta, Michigan the center of our states fruit industry we have Old Orchards Juice Company. It got very large when Amway put a lot of money into it. It's my understanding that China doesn't let Amway take money out of their country. Amway is given Apple Concentrate instead that is bottled at the Old Orchards Juice factory. By the way, Old Orchards bull dozed out their old orchard like many others who have been forced to because of the cheap juice prices."

The mysterious Dick DeVos' Bermuda company "Apple Hold Co., L.P.” (SEC filing):

This Rule 13e-3 transaction statement on Schedule 13E-3 (this "Schedule  13E-3") is being filed jointly by New AAP Limited, a Bermuda corporation ("New AAP"), Apple Hold Co., L.P., a Bermuda limited partnership ("Apple Hold Co."), Amway Asia Pacific Ltd., a Bermuda corporation ("AAP"), Richard M. DeVos, Jr.

(Break)
On November 15, 1999, Amway Asia Pacific, New AAP and Apple Hold Co. entered into a tender offer and amalgamation agreement providing for the tender offer, the principal shareholders, other than the charitable foundations that tendered their shares pursuant to the tender offer, contributed 46,814,950 shares to Apple Hold Co. As a result of the tender offer, the principal shareholders, as limited partners of Apple Hold Co. indirectly beneficially own 97.4% of the shares. 

(break)
“Apple Hold Co., L.P.” has been a Group Member with the following 10 Group Members:
Amway Asia Pacific Ltd
Amway Corporation
Ap New Co. LLC
Jay Van Andel
Jay Van Andel Trust
New Aap Limited
New Aap Ltd
RDV Corporation
Richard M. DeVos, Jr
Stephen A. Van Andel

Aside: Just how many of DeVos' companies are registered in Bermuda anyway?

Stories appear across Michigan on Chinese Apple Juice dumping (September 30, 1998):

"Apple imports could be hurting West Michigan orchards. Apples are rotting on the ground of several large area orchards, just because it costs more to harvest them than growers can get paid for juice apples. China is the world's number one apple grower. U.S. apple growers fear China is dumping boatloads of concentrate at ridiculously low prices, wrecking the world market. The Michigan Agriculture Department may soon ask the governor [Engler] to complain to President Clinton, who in turn could request the U.S. International Trade Commission to investigate. That body could impose tariffs or import quotas."

And the imported commie juice starts to take effect, a couple examples:

"National Fruit Company closes Kent City processing plant. The plant, which was Kent City's largest employer, is a victim of "corporate down-sizing." It employed up to 160 workers during harvest season and processed nearly one-twentieth of Michigan's total apple crop. National Fruit Company operated in Kent City for almost forty years, beginning operations there in 1959."

"Going, going, gone! It was an apple orchard in Sparta: sixteen parcels of property and an auction later, the Reister family orchard is gone, sold to the highest bidders."

Another part of the dumping history from the Fruit Growers News in "Michigan legislators boost country-of-origin juice labels" (April, 1999):

"Ten members of the U.S. Congress sent a letter to the U.S. Customs Service urging an investigation of improper country-of-origin labeling. The letter was drafted following a February visit of growers to Washington arranged by Michigan Farm Bureau."

(break)

"Since 1995, China has increased its export of Apple Concentrate to the United States from 900,000 gallons to almost 69 million gallons. The average price paid for imported apple concentrate was $10 per gallon in 1995. Today, it is about $4.50, with the Chinese concentrate selling for even less - $3.50. The break-even point for U.S. produced apple concentrate is $7.50, making the current situation a losing proposition for growers."

The story continues in "Fruits and Vegetables: Issues for Congress" a CRS Report Updated September 4, 2002:

Chinese Apple Juice Concentrate. Because of increasing Chinese apple juice imports between 1995 and 1998 and declining prices that resulted from those imports, the U.S. apple industry filed an antidumping petition against China in June 1999. The U.S. Apple Association asked the U.S. Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission to impose a duty on Chinese apple concentrate, arguing that it was sold at below the cost of production. On May 15, 2000 the ITC ruled that apple juice concentrate imports from China were being sold in the United States at less than fair value and were economically harming U.S. apple producers. On June 5, 2000, the Department of Commerce imposed antidumping duties of 51.74 % on most Chinese apple juice concentrate imports. News reports have indicated that prices for U.S. apples significantly increased once the duties on Chinese apple juice were in place. In July 2001 the U.S. apple industry petitioned the Department of Commerce contending that semi-frozen apple juice concentrate from China was within the scope of the antidumping duty. The apple industry charged that Chinese concentrate suppliers were evading the U.S. antidumping duties by chilling non-frozen concentrate to a semi-frozen state and declaring it “frozen concentrate.” The Commerce Department found on October 1, 2001, that “semi-frozen” apple juice concentrate is classified as “frozen” and therefore does not fall within the scope of the antidumping order which applies only to non-frozen apple juice concentrate."

And more recently, in 2005 Rep. Dave Camp in a Congressional Hearing on China (Richard Holwill, Alticor's China Lobbyist was also there pushing Amway's China agenda BTW):

"The estimate is 210,000 jobs since 1995 to counterfeit parts worldwide, not just China, $12 billion a year to the industry alone.  The time for reports is over.  We would like to see some action on this area.  Then if you move into the agricultural area, for example, with regard to apples.  We have a similar situation where there has been no action, and the flood of cheap imports of apple concentrate and fresh apples that are really undercutting the livelihood of Americans.  So, I guess I would just echo the comments of some of my colleagues that not enough is being done, and I think that we are going to need to see some action as soon as possible.

Interesting story isn’t it? Keep sqeezing, there's Chinese juice in there somewhere.

Maybe someone at the MDA (in 1995-99 under Engler) knows the rest of the story. Someone at MDA must know there is more than just those nasty "Asian Long Horned Beetles" in the bushes near Sparta & Ada, and bet they are wearing "I love Amway" hats.

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by: Hector Solon @ Fri Oct 13, 2006 at 13:36:04 PM CDT