Post by Swamp Gas on Feb 27, 2006 15:19:26 GMT -5
www.circuses.com/ringlingupdate.asp
Circus Spies: Trial Begins for Ringling Bros. CEO and Coconspirators for Illegal Acts Aimed at Stopping Circus Campaign
UPDATE February 2006
The highly anticipated trial of Ringling CEO Kenneth Feld begins on February 27. The Circuit Court of Fairfax County (Virginia) will hear how Feld and his operatives, including the former head of covert operations for the CIA, used misrepresentation, illegal electronic surveillance, and stolen PETA documents as part of a conspiracy designed to destroy PETA and other animal protection organizations.
UPDATE December 2005
Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge David T. Stitt imposed sanctions against Kenneth Feld for failing to turn over evidence to PETA in a timely manner. The judge ordered Feld to disclose his net worth and provide an unredacted copy of a 30-page document called “Ringling Bros. Long Term Animal Welfare Plan Draft 5.” The document appears to spell out Ringling’s plans to attempt to discredit PETA and join forces with cockfighters and members of other industries that oppose PETA’s efforts.
UPDATE November 2005
In a major break in PETA’s lawsuits against Kenneth Feld and his coconspirators, the Circuit Court of Fairfax County (Virginia) has entered a judgment against Steven Kendall, a top Feld operative. Kendall has admitted in public documents to PETA’s allegations against both himself and Feld, including theft and an extensive conspiracy to discredit the animal rights group. The trial of Kenneth Feld and a hearing to determine an award of damages against Kendall is scheduled for February 2006. As a result of the judgment, Kendall is deemed to have admitted the following:
• Feld operatives were aided in the conspiracy by former CIA Covert Operations Director Claire George.
• Kendall stole a PETA computer and its files. Feld operatives also stole information and confidential documents from PETA.
• Kendall and circus operatives used illegal means—including extortion, burglaries, theft, and surveillance—to accomplish their tasks.
• Kendall has attempted to blackmail Feld in exchange for his silence about his illegal activities by demanding that Feld pay him $6 million.
UPDATE September 2005
In a victory for PETA in its lawsuit against Kenneth Feld, Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge David T. Stitt has imposed sanctions totaling $51,305 to be paid to PETA against prominent Washington, D.C., law firm Williams & Connolly as well as Fairfax, Virginia, law firm Blankingship & Keith, which represented Feld in the lawsuit. Judge Stitt ordered the payments after Feld’s attorneys accused the court of misconduct and interfered with a court-ordered deposition. One of Feld’s attorneys was also held in contempt of court for violating court orders compelling the deposition of self-confessed Ringling spy Steven Kendall of Pittsburgh. The judge removed a second attorney from the case, stating, “[T]he conduct of the defense of this case generally to date has reflected a very inadequate understanding of Virginia’s ethical requirements.”
May 2002
Ringling Bros. and Feld Entertainment, which owns Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, have been waging an illegal dirty tricks campaign to try to discredit those who criticize the circus’s dismal treatment of animals. Now PETA is fighting back.
PETA has filed suit in Fairfax County (Virginia) Circuit Court against Kenneth Feld, chair and CEO of Feld Entertainment, parent company of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, and three others for "surreptitious and illegal behavior with respect to surveilling and investigating individuals and entities such as PETA." PETA contends that Feld and three others named in the suit improperly conspired to obtain business documents belonging to PETA and illegally tap telephones as part of a campaign to thwart criticism of their abuse of animals including retaliation for PETA’s campaign to expose Ringling’s cruel separation of baby elephants from their mothers and other forms of abuse.
So desperate was Ringling to improve its tarnished image that it even hired former Central Intelligence Agency operative Clair E. George, who was once responsible for the CIA’s covert operations worldwide. Now George has come clean. In sworn court testimony and published reports, he and other operatives say that Feld Entertainment officials ordered and paid for illegal spying, wiretapping, videotaping, harassment, and theft of private documents. Among their targets: PETA.
George’s job was to review reports from other spies "based on their surveillance of, and efforts to counter, the activities of" PETA and other groups. These spies wrongfully took hundreds of pages of private documents, including personnel and payroll records, and attempted—unsuccessfully—to gather information to harm our work to end animal suffering.
Among the evidence
• Ringling indicated that it would support Bobby Berosini, a tawdry Las Vegas hotel performer who repeatedly beat orangutans with a metal bar before taking them on stage (click here to see video). When PETA exposed Berosini’s vicious treatment of these sensitive primates, Feld urged Berosini to sue PETA and promised that Ringling Bros. would pay any damages.
• Ringling secretly supported the activities of the now-defunct Putting People First, an outfit whose sole aim was to discredit animal rights activists.
• Feld hired another spy, according to court testimony, who, with George’s help, successfully kept a freelance writer from publishing a tell-all book exposing Feld family and Ringling Bros. Circus secrets. According to a lawsuit filed separately, Feld’s hired gun "befriended" the writer to persuade her to stop working on the Feld book and write a different one. George even found a publisher for this other book and funneled a cash "advance" from Feld through the publisher to pay the unsuspecting writer. This publisher also approached PETA asking to collaborate on an inside look at the animal rights movement—an offer we refused!
Circus Spies: Trial Begins for Ringling Bros. CEO and Coconspirators for Illegal Acts Aimed at Stopping Circus Campaign
UPDATE February 2006
The highly anticipated trial of Ringling CEO Kenneth Feld begins on February 27. The Circuit Court of Fairfax County (Virginia) will hear how Feld and his operatives, including the former head of covert operations for the CIA, used misrepresentation, illegal electronic surveillance, and stolen PETA documents as part of a conspiracy designed to destroy PETA and other animal protection organizations.
UPDATE December 2005
Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge David T. Stitt imposed sanctions against Kenneth Feld for failing to turn over evidence to PETA in a timely manner. The judge ordered Feld to disclose his net worth and provide an unredacted copy of a 30-page document called “Ringling Bros. Long Term Animal Welfare Plan Draft 5.” The document appears to spell out Ringling’s plans to attempt to discredit PETA and join forces with cockfighters and members of other industries that oppose PETA’s efforts.
UPDATE November 2005
In a major break in PETA’s lawsuits against Kenneth Feld and his coconspirators, the Circuit Court of Fairfax County (Virginia) has entered a judgment against Steven Kendall, a top Feld operative. Kendall has admitted in public documents to PETA’s allegations against both himself and Feld, including theft and an extensive conspiracy to discredit the animal rights group. The trial of Kenneth Feld and a hearing to determine an award of damages against Kendall is scheduled for February 2006. As a result of the judgment, Kendall is deemed to have admitted the following:
• Feld operatives were aided in the conspiracy by former CIA Covert Operations Director Claire George.
• Kendall stole a PETA computer and its files. Feld operatives also stole information and confidential documents from PETA.
• Kendall and circus operatives used illegal means—including extortion, burglaries, theft, and surveillance—to accomplish their tasks.
• Kendall has attempted to blackmail Feld in exchange for his silence about his illegal activities by demanding that Feld pay him $6 million.
UPDATE September 2005
In a victory for PETA in its lawsuit against Kenneth Feld, Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge David T. Stitt has imposed sanctions totaling $51,305 to be paid to PETA against prominent Washington, D.C., law firm Williams & Connolly as well as Fairfax, Virginia, law firm Blankingship & Keith, which represented Feld in the lawsuit. Judge Stitt ordered the payments after Feld’s attorneys accused the court of misconduct and interfered with a court-ordered deposition. One of Feld’s attorneys was also held in contempt of court for violating court orders compelling the deposition of self-confessed Ringling spy Steven Kendall of Pittsburgh. The judge removed a second attorney from the case, stating, “[T]he conduct of the defense of this case generally to date has reflected a very inadequate understanding of Virginia’s ethical requirements.”
May 2002
Ringling Bros. and Feld Entertainment, which owns Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, have been waging an illegal dirty tricks campaign to try to discredit those who criticize the circus’s dismal treatment of animals. Now PETA is fighting back.
PETA has filed suit in Fairfax County (Virginia) Circuit Court against Kenneth Feld, chair and CEO of Feld Entertainment, parent company of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, and three others for "surreptitious and illegal behavior with respect to surveilling and investigating individuals and entities such as PETA." PETA contends that Feld and three others named in the suit improperly conspired to obtain business documents belonging to PETA and illegally tap telephones as part of a campaign to thwart criticism of their abuse of animals including retaliation for PETA’s campaign to expose Ringling’s cruel separation of baby elephants from their mothers and other forms of abuse.
So desperate was Ringling to improve its tarnished image that it even hired former Central Intelligence Agency operative Clair E. George, who was once responsible for the CIA’s covert operations worldwide. Now George has come clean. In sworn court testimony and published reports, he and other operatives say that Feld Entertainment officials ordered and paid for illegal spying, wiretapping, videotaping, harassment, and theft of private documents. Among their targets: PETA.
George’s job was to review reports from other spies "based on their surveillance of, and efforts to counter, the activities of" PETA and other groups. These spies wrongfully took hundreds of pages of private documents, including personnel and payroll records, and attempted—unsuccessfully—to gather information to harm our work to end animal suffering.
Among the evidence
• Ringling indicated that it would support Bobby Berosini, a tawdry Las Vegas hotel performer who repeatedly beat orangutans with a metal bar before taking them on stage (click here to see video). When PETA exposed Berosini’s vicious treatment of these sensitive primates, Feld urged Berosini to sue PETA and promised that Ringling Bros. would pay any damages.
• Ringling secretly supported the activities of the now-defunct Putting People First, an outfit whose sole aim was to discredit animal rights activists.
• Feld hired another spy, according to court testimony, who, with George’s help, successfully kept a freelance writer from publishing a tell-all book exposing Feld family and Ringling Bros. Circus secrets. According to a lawsuit filed separately, Feld’s hired gun "befriended" the writer to persuade her to stop working on the Feld book and write a different one. George even found a publisher for this other book and funneled a cash "advance" from Feld through the publisher to pay the unsuspecting writer. This publisher also approached PETA asking to collaborate on an inside look at the animal rights movement—an offer we refused!