Jim Hensley
Looks like Cindy McCain's fortune is based on money of dubious origins. Her dad, Jim Hensley, was convicted of fraud in connection to his alcohol business.
Interesting stuff.
Interesting stuff.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
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4 comments:
Pull up a chair, get comfortable, and read the NYTimes's looong profile of Cindy and the family from a couple of weeks ago:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/23
/us/politics/23mccain.html?
For McCains, a Public Path but Private Wealth
[...]
Back in Phoenix, [Jim] and his brother, Eugene, went into the liquor business with Kemper Marley, a businessman who had cornered much of the market in Arizona after Prohibition ended.
In March 1948, a federal jury convicted both Hensleys of concealing sales of black-market liquor. Jim Hensley’s six month sentence was suspended. A second indictment, in 1953 for falsifying records to evade taxes, was dismissed.
The Hensleys bought a New Mexico horse track in 1952. Eugene Hensley’s role at the track led to lawsuits, tax-evasion charges and prison. In 1969, he sold out to a mob-connected company with close ties to Mr. Marley, according to published reports. (The Phoenix police named Mr. Marley as the man they believed ordered the 1976 assassination of Don Bolles, an investigative reporter for The Arizona Republic. Mr. Marley, who died in 1990, was never charged.)
[...]
I understand that in US election mudding each other plays big role in defining the candidacy of the President. Still I find it funny that public needs rumors concerning parents of the second wife of the candidate to prove that he is (or his mate) not fit to run the most powerful country in the world. We discuss on these pages lack of ideology of Armenian parties, but surprisingly take it as a granted that the fate of the world depends on the opinion of candidates to US Presidency whether 17 y.o. pregnant daughter of the VP should have a choice to have an abortion or not.
Certainly, spm, there are a lot of sideshows going on. In this case, however, what Cindy McCain's business interests are of some importance--the part of the article I excerpted was deep background, so take a look at the whole thing. Below is another excerpt about McCain's wife. It's relevant to know what the candidates' true interests are--having two oilmen at the helm the last 8 years certainly has influenced energy and international policy, and the McCains are very secretive about Cindy's money and interests.
Regarding the abortion issue, it's really a hot-button topic in the U.S., like it or not.
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Her business, however, recently found itself at odds with advocates for pediatric hospital beds in Arizona’s neediest communities and for a statewide childhood education program. When the advocates proposed initiatives that would raise liquor taxes, Hensley opposed them.
Mrs. McCain has not said how she would handle her business if her husband were elected president. The federal government has domain over issues important to the alcohol industry, like excise taxes, marketing to under-age drinkers and beverage labeling.
Anheuser-Busch documents suggest that Mrs. McCain’s ownership of Hensley & Company could also create an unusual circumstance. The brewer’s contracts with wholesalers require that absentee owners supervise their managers, attend meetings and make timely decisions, meaning that the business would be overseen by the first lady. And if she chose to withdraw from ownership, Anheuser-Busch would have the right to approve whoever bought her shares, or to make an offer to buy them.
It's always good to know more about the presidential candidates than less.
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