harmony wrote:I'm not seeing a connection to an organized criminal enterprise, which is what I thought RICO was supposed address. What exactly is illegal about what the church does?
first, if I had the whole equation there would be big trouble for the church but I do not - it has to do all with illegal aliens. If you take out the illegal alien then there is no issue except some would say there is still fraud but that is more a civil thing. The fact that they are profiting from illegal work. If that person has been deported and is now back in the country, that person has committed a felony. The one thing the feds always get the people is the transfer of funds over state lines as that brings in federal laws. I'm sure illegal aliens in a U.S. stake and ward are having their tithing funds sent electronically to Salt Lake. Again, I don't have the whole connection or people would want the Church prosecuted as an entity.
harmony wrote:I'm not seeing a connection to an organized criminal enterprise, which is what I thought RICO was supposed address. What exactly is illegal about what the church does?
first, if I had the whole equation there would be big trouble for the church but I do not - it has to do all with illegal aliens. If you take out the illegal alien then there is no issue except some would say there is still fraud but that is more a civil thing. The fact that they are profiting from illegal work. If that person has been deported and is now back in the country, that person has committed a felony. The one thing the feds always get the people is the transfer of funds over state lines as that brings in federal laws. I'm sure illegal aliens in a U.S. stake and ward are having their tithing funds sent electronically to Salt Lake. Again, I don't have the whole connection or people would want the Church prosecuted as an entity.
There is no connection, that's why. If an illegal alien pays his tithing, the money is no longer his. It doesn't matter where the church sends it after that. That would be like arresting every store owner that sells a piece of fruit to an illegal. There is simply no crime. None. Zero. Nada.
Again, this is a ridiculous line of argument.
I may be going to hell in a bucket, babe / But at least I'm enjoying the ride.
-Grateful Dead (lyrics by John Perry Barlow)
I know what was bothering me: it came to me when I was driving to the post office to mail some fabric to Thailand so they can make me a suit (real cool pink, beige and white stripes). The Church is taking money that was obtained through fraud. Then they wire that dirty money all over the world. Not honoring, obeying and sustaining the law is something members of the Church have done since day one. Here they are just following history - I guess. I would love to mail that fabric to mexico city - to have the suit made as that would employ workers there - but many of those people (members too) disregard the United States law and falsify a Social Security Number, sneak across the border - obtain a paycheck through fraud and then give the money to the church. I wonder if God will bless them.
thestyleguy wrote:The Church is taking money that was obtained through fraud.
So is the grocery store where illegals shop, the apartment building where they live, the gas station where they fill up their car, etc. It's not the merchant's responsibility to trace the legitimacy of the source of the money.
Last edited by Yahoo MMCrawler [Bot] on Sat Feb 23, 2008 3:30 am, edited 1 time in total.
thestyleguy wrote:The Church is taking money that was obtained through fraud. [/quotes]
So is the grocery store where illegals shop, the apartment building where they live, the gas station where they fill up their car, etc. It's not the merchant's responsibility to trace the legitimacy of the source of the money.
is the Church a merchant? Plus I hold the Church to a super high standard that it's money is not obtained illegally.
thestyleguy wrote:The Church is taking money that was obtained through fraud. [/quotes]
So is the grocery store where illegals shop, the apartment building where they live, the gas station where they fill up their car, etc. It's not the merchant's responsibility to trace the legitimacy of the source of the money.
is the Church a merchant? Plus I hold the Church to a super high standard that it's money is not obtained illegally.
I was simply giving more examples of people who take money from illegals, not implying that the church is a merchant. The point is, the crime doesn't lie with whoever is the recipient of the illegal's money spent to live. I'm not even sure the crime lies with the person who pays the illegal for work rendered. The illegal alien issue is complex and there are no clear lines in the sand.
And you may hold the church to a higher standard, but the law doesn't.
Well, today I heard that they increased the fine in California to five grand for hiring an illegal alien. They are getting into areas now where you need to show citizenship to rent. The Church should take note that this serious in this country and members of the Church should be honoring, obeying and sustaining the law and if you can't do that then pull there little recommend.