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July 26, 2008 at 10:07:55

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Bloody Toto Guilty of Mortgage Fraud

by Carola Von Hoffmannstahl     Page 1 of 1 page(s)

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Go Brooklyn. A jury in that fair borough has found Emmanuel "Toto"- Constant guilty of mortgage fraud and grand larceny. Emmanuel Constant is the former founder and leader of FRAPH, the Haitian paramilitary group that in the early 90's, systematically tortured and murdered thousands of supporters of deposed President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Gang rapes and mutilation by ax were FRAPH specialties. The majority of victims lived in Haiti's slums. Aristide, a Catholic priest enamored of liberation theology, was prone to totalitarian temptation. Some say he dabbled in drug traffic. Still, he was democratically elected by a desperately poor populace.

Try telling that to the CIA.

During the Clinton years Toto Constant got CIA jack. When Aristide returned to power (briefly) Toto snuck out the back. Entering the USA through Puerto Rico on a tourist visa. When Toto's stateside presence was discovered it was kinda embarrassing for the Clinton admin. Threats of deportation were made. Supposedly Toto beat that rap by offering to reveal the details of his CIA deal on TV. Whatever. The Bloody One settled down in a lovely home on a quiet street in Queens. Though his residence in the USA remained legally dicey neither Clinton nor Bush deported him.

Eventually Toto became a licensed Realtor and mortgage broker. (In New York State having a rep for paramilitary excess doesn't disqualify a person from becoming a real estate pro.) By the beginning of the new millennium Toto's mortgage fraud career was flourishing. He was working with several overlapping groups of organized white collar criminals based in New Jersey and New York-- zeroing in on low-income and/or Caribbean immigrant neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens. Toto also flipped out on Long Island, a regional hot spot of the national mortgage biz. Constant & crew employed all the tricks the FBI has been hollering about for years. Straw buyers, collusive bank officers, phony appraisers, forged docs, invisible rehabs, etc. One player bragged that their fraudulent appraisals had inflated the values of an entire down-at-the-heels neighborhood. Turning it into a pair of Manolo Blahniks. On paper.

Some of the biggest names in the mortgage game went for paper cranked out by Toto and his twisted business associates. One prime example: EMC Mortgage, son of Bear Stearns.

You can read all about Bloody Toto in Mortgage Fraud Land at Blogger News Network or NowPublic. Detailed trial coverage can be found at the Center for Constitutional Rights. Incidentally, Toto was warned about intimidating witnesses. He'd been making creepy phone calls. You can take the boy out of FRAPH but--

Carola Von Hoffmannstahl-Solomonoff
Mondo QT

"Se bon ki ra"-
Good is rare
Haitian proverb

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After several years of NYC go-go dancing and wacky radical fun (including a trip to the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago) Carola Von H. became a No Wave band leader and Mail Artist. Picking up change as a free lance writer. Her pen ranged (more...)
 

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2 comments


Smacks of Al Capone!

Smacks of Al Capone! Prosecute a murderer for white collar crimes.  At least, they went to jail. 

by Amanda Lang (23 articles, 14528 quicklinks, 442 diaries, 731 comments [17 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Saturday, Jul 26, 2008 at 4:25:41 PM

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Reply: Bloody Toto/Al Capone

Emmanuel Constant originally accepted a plea deal supported by the Feds, the New York State Attorney General's office under Andrew Cuomo, and the Department of Homeland Secutity. "Toto" would have been sentenced to time served (10 months) and deported to Haiti. But the Center for Constitutional Rights and Haitian activists objected. Perhaps fearing Toto would once again, slip out the back. And the judge, after reviewing Constant's history, rejected the plea deal. Hence the state was forced to proceed with the prosecution. Come September, Toto could be sentenced to 15 to 45 years. Not enough for his FRAPH activities, but a whole lot better than 10 months followed by a possible holiday in the sun.

by Carola Von Hoffmannstahl (16 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 16 comments) on Sunday, Jul 27, 2008 at 8:16:38 AM

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