On May 8, 1995, the State of Wisconsin, Plaintiff, began the prosecution – or, depending on your perspective, persecution – of Leo E. Wanta, Defendant, in Case Number 92-CF-683.
The trial (or Kangaroo Court if you know what really transpired in Judge Torphy's courtroom) ended on May 11, 1995. Leo E. Wanta was found guilty of several tax violations in the State of Wisconsin. He was sentenced to serve 22 years for a non-existent crime he didn't commit. Didn't we fight a Revolutionary War because of things like the British concept of Debtor's Prison?
Was Leo Wanta guilty? The court records tell a good story – but that's what it is: a story. The difficult part about reading the Wanta court transcripts from his criminal trial is that the prosecution does prove its case. The problem is, the story the prosecution proves is filled with lies cleverly presented as facts. If you look at the skewed evidence, lies told and misrepresentations given by an agent of the Department of Revenue, Judge Torphy accepting jury instructions from the prosecuting Wisconsin Assistant Attorney General, and failing to give proper ones of his own – it’s hard to fault the jury. It is not hard to fault the Department of Revenue, the Governor at the time, Tommy Thompson, and the Attorney General, Jim Doyle (who later became Governor of Wisconsin). This one case establishes that Wisconsin has a totally incompetent legal staff and taxing authority; or, it establishes fraud perpetrated on an innocent man.
All of the unlawful activity surrounding this trial has been provided to Wisconsin's current Governor, Scott Walker. So far, the information sent via Registered Mail is being ignored. Why should he concern himself with an 18-year old miscarriage of justice? Because, Governor, this case so obviously wipes away all pretense of a legitimate legal system in Wisconsin, it stinks. If you ignore it, you are or will become part of it. Or, you will be ineffective. The Rule of Law is a necessary ingredient to good governance. You need it on your side.
It all began when multiple court cases were filed against Leo E. and Joanne E. Wanta in the 1980s. All cases filed had to do with a company called “Falls Vending Services, Inc., d/b/a; Falls Food & Vending Service, Regency Catering, Vendor Leasing Service, QuarterHouse, Ltd.” located in Wisconsin. Unless a specific case is being quoted, it will hereinafter be referred to as "Falls Vending."
Here is a list of some of the cases filed against Leo E. and Joanne E. Wanta. As was explained in a blog entry dated August 10, 2011, titled The Shadow Knows… A Wisconsin Mystery (article link here), numerous judges found Leo E. Wanta had no responsibility for debts or taxes due from a bankrupt company called Falls Vending (or any of its other “doing-business-as” names). He had no position of ownership. He and his wife, Joanne E. Wanta, had at one time offered to buy the company, but no money or shares of the company had exchanged hands and the decision to purchase never got off the ground.
One of the judges who found Leo E. Wanta not responsible in any way for the debts or taxes due from the bankrupt Falls Vending was Chief U.S. District Court Judge John W. Reynolds (Order, Case 84-C-359, 7 September 1984 – link here. Another was Judge Robert T. McGraw, Circuit Judge, Waukesha County, WI (Order for Dismissal in Case 83-CV-452. 4 April 1985 – link here). Several other judges made similar decisions: Leo E. Wanta was not responsible for the debts or taxes due from the bankrupt Falls Vending. Regardless of the Court Orders for Dismissal involving Leo E. Wanta, all charges against him and his wife, Joanne E. Wanta, were not dropped.
Falls Vending filed for bankruptcy (Case No. 83-02386, United States Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin). As a part of that bankruptcy, a document signed by an Assistant United States Attorney said “Leo E. Wanta should be named to serve as the party responsible to perform the duties of the debtor(s)as set forth below, unless the Court, with a copy to the Internal Revenue Service…” (Milwaukee address given) changed that arrangement. Wanta, in other words, was to act on behalf of the bankruptcy court as an accountant for Falls Vending... pay their bills and taxes in compliance with bankruptcy laws.
“The debtors should be required to segregate in a separate bank account and maintain adequate and accurate accounting records with respect to…” F.I.C.A. and F.U.T.A. taxes, sales and withholding taxes, etc. That is what Leo/Lee Wanta was assigned by the U.S. Federal District Bankruptcy Court to do: Use Falls Vending funds to pay the company’s taxes (first) and bills (second). A sane person with no ownership interest in a company would never personally assume financial responsibility to pay the company's bankruptcy bills and taxes. However, a large number of lawsuits that tried to use the Wisconsin court system to force Wanta to do just that were filed. Why? Probably because he was paying their bills and taxes as requested by the bankruptcy court... he was signing the Falls Vending checks.
Neither the courts nor the Department of Revenue did anything to stop the onslaught – or even to oversee that it stayed within the bounds of the law. Yet, with all of that information filed as a matter of record at both the Federal District Court and the Waukesha County Circuit Court levels, in 1987 numerous delinquent sales, withholding and income tax warrants left unpaid by Falls Vending et al were filed against Leo E. Wanta. View examples of cases filed here.
In the many cases filed from 1982 through 1984, both Mr. and Mrs. Wanta were named. Suddenly in 1987, Joanne E. Wanta’s name was dropped like a hot potato from the tax charges filed against Leo E. Wanta. Like magic… even though all state taxes had, for the time in question, been filed jointly. If any taxes were owed, both husband and wife filing jointly owed them. Could it have anything to do with the fact that the couple separated in 1984 and separated legally in 1985? Did what appears to be a series of tax errors by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue and a lot of case hungry Wisconsin lawyers in the early 1980s morph into an overt attack in 1987 by a rejected wife feeling sorry for herself and determined to take it out on a husband who now lived abroad? Did she ever ask herself what he was supposed to do after finding she was sleeping with his personal lawyer who handled (some would say mishandled) the Falls Vending tax cases filed against both Mr. and Mrs. Wanta between 1982-1984?
This same “personal lawyer” (it gives an entirely different meaning to the word “personal,” doesn’t it?) also wrote Wanta’s Last Will and Testament. He knew about the hundreds of billions of dollars Wanta controlled in overseas accounts… evidently he did not know about the $27.5 trillion. Or, maybe he did. Maybe she did, too. Maybe they wanted to live the rest of their lives in comfort and ease and the expense of the American people. There are too many “maybes” to count in the life of Leo/Lee Emil Wanta.
Leo Emil Wanta became a legal resident of Vienna, Austria in June of 1988, remember. No. He did not relinquish his American citizenship. He just became a legal resident in a foreign city and did so as Director General of New Republic/USA Financial Group GES.m.b.H. in Vienna, Austria. It's kind of like a landed alien in the United States being gien a Green Card to run a company business here.
Here is a list of things to remember if you want to understand the complexities of what happened to Leo (baptism certificate) Lee (birth certificate) Emil Wanta.
1. Prior to President Elect Ronald Reagan’s Inauguration, Leo Wanta was meeting with a group of high-powered intelligence operatives to create a plan of action on how best to weaken the Soviet Union. This was done at Reagan’s request and included former CIA Director Bill Colby, William Casey (CIA Director 1981-87), Leo Wanta, and various military intelligence services. This further proves Wanta’s assertion that he was working as an undercover agent at Falls Vending. Specifically, he was investigating Frank (Bals) Balistrieri, a thug thought to be affiliated with the Chicago - Las Vegas mobs. When the investigation succeeded, Wanta was standing at the FBI counter wearing his service weapon when Balistrieri was arrested. If Balistrieri knew about Leo Wanta's status as an undercover agent, the mob knew about it, too.
2. Though George Soros loves to take credit for bringing down the Soviet ruble, it was Leo Wanta who went into Moscow and did it. Soros, it is rumored, was KGB (Soviet Intelligence) and Stasi – Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS), commonly known as the East German Secret Police. Wanta being the key to devaluing the ruble has been clearly documented in Claire Sterling’s book, Thieves’ World (Simon & Schuster, 1994). When the ruble failed, the Iron Curtain came down. For that, this nation owes Leo/Lee Wanta a debt of gratitude. Though in Thieves’ World Sterling mischaracterized Wanta as a common crook or mafia-related agent, it is understandable. That is what his researchable background at the time was made to look like – had to look like to gain and maintain the credibility required for the job. Anyone who has watched a James Bond movie knows how easily intelligence agencies create appropriate backgrounds for agents.
3. Most people who are familiar with Wanta are also familiar with the words “$27.5 trillion man.” People uninvolved in the huge frauds perpetrated on the citizens of the world react to idea of “$27.5 trillion” with the thought: “There isn’t that much money in the world!” Until recently, that is. The greater the debt of the American government – currently hovering between $14 trillion and $16 trillion – the greater the understanding that such huge sums of money do exist. Those left with any doubts should read the early October 2011 news stories about the (approximate) $240 trillion in derivatives held by five Wall Street investment banking firms. By comparison, $27.5 trillion sounds like a dime to a dollar… it practically is.
4. In most of the non-court transcript data published by or about Ambassador Leo/Lee Emil Wanta, the term “Title 18 Section 6” is frequently used in reference to the many corporations which Wanta owned. What is a Title 18 Section 6 corporation?
On December 4, 1981, President Ronald Reagan signed Executive Order 12333, titled ‘United States Intelligence Activities’. This EO authorizes U.S. intelligence operatives to establish cadres of corporations owned by the US Government for intelligence purposes and allowed intelligence operatives to deny their intelligence community connections.
The relevant text reads as follows: “23. Contracting: Agencies within the Intelligence Community are authorized to enter into contracts or arrangements for the provision of goods or services with private companies or institutions in the United States and need not reveal the sponsorship of such contracts or arrangements for authorized intelligence purposes.”
Corporations established under EO 12333 are called "Title 18 Section 6 corporations." Several thousand of them exist and many have bank accounts with large sums of money accrued – money that belongs to the U.S. Government. Leo/Lee Wanta’s New Republic/USA in Vienna was a Title 18 Section 6 corporation. Wanta had numerous such corporations and it is into those corporations the $27.5 trillion flowed. Of the total, $4.5 trillion of the funds belonged to Wanta, $23 trillion belonged to the American people. To date, the U.S. Government has “taken” both sums. Lee Wanta has been unable to gain lawful access to his funds – and the American people have done nothing to gain access to theirs. How can they when they don't know about the money? Instead, while Wanta was hidden in various prisons from 1993 until 2001, the money intended for the American people was kidnapped by what Wanta calls “agent provocateurs.”
Title 18 Section 6 covers the establishment of onshore or offshore corporations by American intelligence operatives from any of the 18+ agencies ‘controlled’ by the Central Intelligence Agency and also such U.S. intelligence participations as are not supervised by the CIA, which is subordinate to the National Security Agency (NSA) in practice. Within the enormous US intelligence community, the colossal offshore fund accruals belonging to the US Government were waiting in mid-2006 for the legal environment to be adjusted to facilitate their repatriation to the US Treasury, and for funds stolen by various parties to be traced. It is said that some of the warring US Intelligence factions are committing treason by working for foreign powers.
To date then, the history provided by court documents regarding Ambassador Leo/Lee Emil Wanta tells us that in the early 1980s, somewhere between 35 and 50 tax cases were filed against him in the State of Wisconsin by those to whom Falls Vending owed money, Outagamie County filed phony Delinquent Tax Warrants, and a couple of cases were filed by Wisconsin regarding unemployment insurance -- which they lost. Most of those cases were filed before the Dismissal Order handed down by Chief U.S. District Court Judge John W. Reynolds (Order in Case 84-C-359, 7 September 1984), and by Judge Robert T. McGraw, Circuit Judge, Waukesha County, WI (Order for Dismissal in Case 83-CV-452, 4 April 1985) wherein both Judges determined Wanta had no personal liability for the debts or taxes of Falls Vending. All of the cases filed against Wanta had to do with Falls Vending (et al). Copies of other court dismissals will be made available as time for scanning legal documents permits. Many cases, however, were filed after these court decisions were made… it is almost as if the State of Wisconsin doesn’t understand that when a U.S. District Court Judge says a man isn’t responsible for the debts or taxes of a company, that’s the ruling that must be followed by the court system unless an appeal is filed and a reversal is obtained. There was no reversal of Judge Reynolds’ or Judge McGraw’s Decisions.
Leo/Lee Wanta was not responsible for the debts or taxes of that company but was treated by the State of Wisconsin as if he were. Why lawyers would continue to file cases when clients sought their services for litigation is understandable: They, at least, are earning money… well, perhaps "earning" is a bad choice of words. But the biggest filing offender against Wanta was the State of Wisconsin. It issued Delinquent Tax Warrant after Delinquent Tax Warrant, insisting that Wanta pay the Withholding and Sales taxes for Falls Vending. These filings occurred in 1987, two-to-three years after the Court Decisions were made… and each of them was costing the State of Wisconsin money to litigate. So why would they want to bear the expense of litigation... this illogical behavior? Hmmmm…
The court documents on these cases filed provide some interesting data: An attorney by the name of E.N. Rotter filed a Garnishment Complaint on behalf of Friedman Tobacco Corporation in the Waukesha Circuit Court (11/18/1992). The Garnishment was against the Outagamie Bank (which is in Outagamie County, so why was it filed in Waukesha County?). It is filed as "Friedman Tobacco Corp. vs Leo Wanta & Falls Food & Vending Service, Inc., d/b/a Regency Catering vs Outagamie Bank."
Mr. Rotter tells the Court “That the Defendant(s) is indebted to the Plaintiff in the sum of $36,685.99” and that the Circuit Court of Waukesha County, State of Wisconsin, had entered a judgment in favor of the plaintiff and against the Defendants and references Case 82-CV-1781 on 10/25/82. In other words, Friedman Tobacco’s lawyer insists the Outagamie Bank garnish any funds in bank accounts Leo Wanta or Falls Vending has with the bank. He claims he has a Waukesha County Circuit Court Decision giving him the right to garnish funds from either Wanta or Falls Vending.
There was a problem because the Wantas did not have an account with Outagamie Bank – but Falls Vending did (in overdraft).
On October 17, 1984 – two years later – Judge Wollenzien, Circuit Court Judge, Branch 5 – issued an Order of Dismissal. Attorney Rotter had not pursued prosecution. If, indeed, Rotter had a judgment – as he stated – in Outagamie County, he would have filed in that county. Instead, he filed in Waukesha County. Did he tell a lie? Was it a mistake? We’ll never know.
Another lawyer, Frank F. Pikofsky, on April 30, 1982, filed on behalf of his client, Pioneer Sales & Service, Inc., against Leo Wanta, d/b/a Falls Vending Services (Case 82-CV-1121). Judge Wollenzien dismissed the case on June 29, 1982. Interestingly, it was dismissed again October 18, 1982 by the same judge.
On May 22, 1982, the Milwaukee law firm of Kohner, Mann & Kailas filed for its client, Sweetheart Cup Corporation (a foreign corporation), against Leo Wanta and Falls Food & Vending. In this case, the Plaintiff voluntarily dismissed the case.
On February 18, 1983, Terence P. Cahill, Assistant Corporation Counsel for Waukesha County filed charges against Falls Vending on behalf of the Wisconsin Department of Industry, Labor & Human Relations for James Doro who said the company owed him back wages. Attorney Cahill states that “…Leo Wanta, as president and shareholder of Falls Food & Vending Service, Inc. is personally liable for all debts owing to employees of said corporation for services performed for said corporation…” This case was re-filed by attorney Terry Wex on March 18, 1985 (Case No. 83-CV-452) – the case for which Judge Robert T. McGraw wrote the Dismissal.
Some of these cases still appear as active cases on the books of Wisconsin's various County Circuit Court Records. No wonder the state verges on the brink of bankruptcy. With erroneous records like that, how would state treasurers ever be able to determine expected future tax revenues? Can you imagine the legal costs involved in these nonsensical cases filed – and, it appears, encouraged by the Wisconsin courts and lawyers? No one did their homework (or maybe they did and justice wasn’t on their minds). How hard is it to pick up the telephone and call the Secretary of State’s office to find out the owners and stockholders of Falls Food and Vending Services? Duh…
No. This was intentional harassment – for whatever reasons.
The serious fraud against Leo Wanta began in 1987 when Jerome S. Engle, the actual owner of Falls Vending (et al), filed against Leo and Joanne Wanta, Defendants, along with Robert Pyzyk and Northwestern National Insurance Company, Garnishee Defendants.
Since Engle was the official owner of record of Falls Vending et al, it is safe to assume he knew Leo and Joanne Wanta were not the owners and had no liability for the debts of his company. Engle, himself, had liability. This was a fishing expedition to see what information he might get from Pyzyk and Northwestern National Insurance Company.
It’s interesting that Robert G. Pyzyk, Esq., of Niebler and Niebler, handled the defense of this case for both Falls Vending and Leo E. Wanta… interesting because on August 12, 1981, Mr. Pyzyk wrote a letter to Mr. Robert Klink of the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department introducing himself as Leo Wanta’s lawyer and informing Klink that “Mr. Wanta acted as part-time Deputy Sheriff for the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department” between 1973 and 1979.” Mr. Wanta took a leave of absence, Pyzyk told Klink, and now, in 1981, wished to return to his part-time duties. One reason this is interesting is because in Wanta's 1995 criminal trial, the prosecutor, Assistant Attorney General Haag, makes statements that Leo Wanta never had any affiliation whatsoever with the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department.
The letter to Klink was written just prior to the time the tax filings against Wanta began. Mr. Pyzyk states in his letter… “Mr. Wanta, in the last six months, has been cleared by the United States Justice Department prior to receiving his appointment as Inspector General of the Defense Department. He has received his security clearance…” and his credentials go unquestioned. Obviously, Pyzyk knew who Leo Wanta was. So did Klink. Hmmm….
Hardball replaced softball when Outagamie County began filing Delinquent Tax Warrants. A link to some of these tax forms appears at the beginning of this article. The amounts Outagamie County says Wanta owed were for withholding and sales taxes for Falls Vending.
It was September 30, 1987 when Case 87-CV-2941 was filed by Attorney Paul R. Schwartz. What’s really interesting about this name is the involvement of a Susan Schwartz. She is the Assistant Wisconsin Attorney General who on May 8, 1992” witnessed the statement of Department of Revenue agent Dennis Ullman – a man of many distortions of truth if not outright lies (called perjury outside of Wisconsin) – lies in the Wanta trial in 1995. In the sworn statement Susan Schwartz witnessed, Ullman said “that defendant’s (Wanta’s) taxable income for the years 1988 and 1989 was unreported, that defendant’s tax returns for those years were false and fraudulent, and that defendant intentionally evaded assessment.” You’ll hear more about Ullman's intentional misstatements in the next article discussing testimony given at Wanta’s May 8 - 11, 1995 criminal tax trial.
The truth was, Leo/Lee Wanta moved to Austria in 1988 and had no Wisconsin income to file. He and his wife were legally separated – a fact Ullman never seemed to “get.” If you moved from wherever you live today to another state and began paying the new state’s taxes, would you think it reasonable or fair for the state you used to live in to file criminal charges against you because you stopped declaring taxes in that state? That’s what this amounted to!
Even more interesting regarding the Schwartz name is the fact that Assistant Attorney General Susan Schwartz was also the person who removed Joanne E. Wanta’s name from the cases filed against the husband and wife who had filed joint returns. It would be interesting to know if Susan and Paul R. Schwartz are related and what Joanne Wanta traded for being let off of the Wisconsin tax hook. All charges agsint her were dropped and she was never prosecuted... only her husband faced prison for the tax charges filed... even though the tax returns were filed jointly. You don't suppose they held possible prosecution over the head of Mrs. Wanta when she testified at his trial, do you? Surely they wouldn't threaten to prosecute her if she didn't say exactly what they wanted!
Then, on April 4, 1988, F&M (Farmers & Merchants) Bank filed in Waukesha County a garnishment action against Leo E. and Joanne E. Wanta and AmeriChina Global Management Group, Inc. (88CV1043). Did F&M Bank have a court decision giving them the right to file for garnishment? None that this investigator can find – though they say they had one in Outagamie County (does that sound like a familiar strategy?). I requested and paid for all court records in Outagamie County that pertain to Leo Wanta and the decision F&M Bank claims it had. It cannot be found. And, if they had a judgment in Outagamie County, why would they file this case in Waukesha County? It makes no sense. One thing that becomes totally clear as an independent observer looks at these court cases is how the lawyers and Department of Revenue played the county game. Suits were filed in five different counties... and it appears the court trying a case often had no real jurisdiction.
Since AmeriChina is a name that came up as critical evidence eight years later, in the 1995 Wanta criminal tax trial, this case can be seen as a stepping stone to give the State of Wisconsin access to information that should have never been brought out in a civil or criminal Court of Law. Why should the AmeriChina name never have been brought up? Because Leo Wanta was President of AmeriChina, a Nevada corporation – more significantly, it was a Title 18 Section 6 company. AmeriChina had nothing to do with Wisconsin or F&M Bank or Falls Vending – and by 1988, Wanta had nothing to do with any of them. He became a legal resident of Vienna in June of 1988… one must live there for several months or a year to gain that status. AmeriChina was a Title 18 Section 6 company owned by an intelligence operative named Leo Emil Wanta – a company that was audited quarterly by the General Accounting Office of the U.S. Government.
Do you remember the stink made about the name “Valerie Plame” that caused liberals who wanted Dick Cheney’s head (but got Scooter Libby’s instead) for making her name as a former CIA agent public when it was mentioned one time? If so, you will understand that by mentioning AmeriChina, a company owned by an intelligence operative on behalf of the United States Government as stipulated under Executive Order 12333, a violation of federal law occurred (a much bigger no-no than mentioning a once was but no longer is CIA agent’s name in public). By putting this name into a 1988 court document that had no relationship whatsoever to F&M Bank and is recognized by F&M Bank in its filing as “a foreign corporation,” F&M Bank made public intelligence information that should have landed it in Federal Court.
Interestingly, F&M Bank was a “secured” (meaning it held collateral) lender to Falls Vending owned by Jerome S. Engle – who either was on the Bank’s Board of Directors or was personally very close to those who were (I'm waiting for information from the Wisconsin Secretary of State's Office). When Engle's company, Falls Vending, went bankrupt, F&M lost access to a very valuable piece of property owned by Falls Vending. Who was it the U.S. Bankruptcy Court appointed to pay the debts of Falls Vending? Leo Wanta. Who, in all likelihood, cost F&M Bank its collateral position on that property? Leo Wanta. F&M knew who owned Falls Vending: Jerome S. Engle. It knew Leo E. Wanta had absolutely no liability for Falls Vending’s debts. F&M also knew, however, that Wanta couldn’t talk about AmeriChina in public without violating his Oath of Office… they had found a weakness.
In their Exhibit A, F&M Bank requested that Leo Wanta bring for Deposition all corporate records including Articles of Incorporation, By-laws, Minutes of Meetings of Incorporators; Stock Ledger; and other items that could not, under Title 18 Section 6, be made public. Leo Wanta had Contempt charges filed against him for failure to appear before the Court Commissioner and for failure to produce documents. The fact that the federal government did not come to his aid in this matter is evidence that Wanta was being set up in 1987 for his arrest in Switzerland in 1993.
An Order was issued in favor of F&M Bank on June 30, 1988, signed by – guess who? Judge Robert T. McGraw, the same Judge who signed the Dismissal against one of the Falls Vending claims (link to McGraw Order). In that Decision, McGraw himself had declared that Leo Wanta had no ownership interest in Falls Vending. In this Order, however, Judge McGraw (without ever having reversed his former Order absolving Wanta from payment for Falls Vending as a non-owner) found in favor of F&M Bank and granted the bank $428,244.95. If you don’t find that very strange, something is wrong with you.
With all of the above on the record, when the primary intelligence agency for the United States Government was directed by those in the highest levels of government to get Ambassador Leo Emil Wanta out of the way so they could get their hands on the $27.5 trillion dollars sitting in banks around the world, it was a piece of cake. It was a cake walk, in fact. Of course, they needed the help of a Governor (who, if he agreed to help, would be well-rewarded with an important appointment... say, Secretary of Health and Human Services).
Next blog: The Wanta criminal trial – and criminal, it was.
