Update 7/12/2011: U.S. Congressman Chris Smith, representing New Jersey’s Fourth District, authored the  “Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (P.L. 106-386)” or TVPA.

Equality Now, a humanitarian group dedicated to protecting and promoting women’s rights around the world, has just announced their coordination of unprecedented legal efforts to represent four Brazilian Indian girls in a complaint filed today in U.S. District Court, Gainesville Division, against former fishing tour operator and real estate salesman, Richard Schair of Gainesville, Georgia. (1)

The complaint alleges that Schair caused the underage girls to engage in commercial sex acts and describes them as victims of sex trafficking, with one as young as twelve.

The complaint further alleges that Schair, “by and through his agents and employees, engaged in international commerce and sex trafficking of children by recruiting customers in the United States to engage in ‘sex tourism’ in Brazil.” Court documents from cases in both the U.S. and Brazil suggest that these customers included members of the Shriner’s secret sub-group, the Royal Order of Jesters, currently under investigation for human trafficking, prostitution and child sex tourism.

The complaint continues that Schair and associates used fraudulent and coercive means to recruit, obtain, harbor and transport “young girls under the age of eighteen aboard the Amazon Santana and used fraudulent means to solicit and coerce Plaintiffs into commercial sex acts with his customers aboard the Amazon Santana.”

According to the Equality Now:  

“Initiated and coordinated by international human rights organization Equality Now, the landmark civil case will be filed by Atlanta law firm King & Spalding. The case is noteworthy because it is the first time that the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) will be used by alleged victims of trafficking to seek damages from a sex tour operation.”

John Harbin, a partner in the law firm, will lead the pro-bono litigation, stating “With this lawsuit, we hope to shine a spotlight on such conduct and the real harm it does to the victims, and to get justice for the victims.”

King and Spalding has been in business for 125 years with over 800 lawyers in offices in Abu Dhabi, Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Dubai, Frankfurt, Geneva, Houston, London, Moscow, New York, Paris, Riyadh (affiliated office), San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Singapore and Washington, D.C.. According to their website, “King & Spalding represents half of the Fortune 100 and, according to a Corporate Counsel survey in August 2009, ranks fifth in its total number of representations of those companies.”

The U.S. Department of State states:

“It is a crime for a United States citizen or permanent resident to travel abroad for the purpose of having sex with a minor and it is a crime for a United States citizen or permanent resident to actually have sex with a minor while abroad… It is a criminal activity to knowingly arrange, induce, procure or facilitate for profit the travel of a person when you know that the person is traveling for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with minors.”

The girls are seeking damages for trafficking them to engage in commercial sex acts while (1) under the age of eighteen and (2) by means of force, fraud or coercion, in the State of Amazonas, Brazil, aboard the vessel Amazon Santana in an amount to be determined at trial.

Schair was indicted by the Brazilian Federal Police in 2009 for rape, corruption of minors and operating a prostitution network. The Brazilian Public Ministry began prosecuting him and five Brazilians on April 29, 2011 for operating a house of prostitution, story here.

Brazilian attorney, Dr. Washington Cesar Rocha Magalhaes, anchors the legal activity in the Amazon as he represented the girls when they testified in June, 2007 as part of a federal investigation into the sexual exploitation of minor Indian girls living along the Amazon by North American foreign tourists. The girls' statements can be read here.

Dr. Magalhes can be seen in this YouTube video of the Brazilian news Rede Record report “Childhood in Danger” by Carlos Azen. He reported that the FBI had been in jungle villages interviewing the same girls and showed the Amazon Santana fishing boats used by Schair on his fishing trips. The video was posted with closed captions by ECPAT-USA, working to form a global network for the protection of children.

The TVPA was passed by Congress in 2000 to prevent and protect against sex trafficking by punishing the traffickers and protecting the victims.

Equality Now chooses their cases “based on their significance and the prospects of finding restitution for the victims and reshaping the rule of law by setting precedents or highlighting the need for equal protection under the law. Cases are brought to the public’s attention and foster public debate and more widespread rights-seeking. Equality Now is currently supporting three cases through the Adolescent Girls’ Legal Defense Fund.”

Ethiopia - Marriage by abduction, a common practice in parts of Ethiopia, occurs when a man kidnaps a woman or girl, rapes her and then pressures her to marry him. In 2005, following advocacy efforts by the Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association (EWLA), supported by an international Equality Now campaign, Ethiopia abolished the law that provided for exemption from punishment in these cases of abduction and rape, if the rapist subsequently married his victim.

Zambia - The “defilement” or rape of minors is rampant in Zambia. Equality Now has been actively supporting a case involving the rape of a 13-year-old girl by her teacher. Two other teachers confirmed her allegations, and the girl’s aunt/guardian reported the incident to the school. The teacher admitted she was his “girlfriend”, and remarks reportedly made by the head teacher indicated that this was not the first such incident involving this teacher. The teacher went into hiding, and his parents tried to negotiate with the aunt, who refused and reported the matter to the police. The teacher was arrested but was released on bond and has not been prosecuted. As a result, the aunt consulted a lawyer she knew who agreed to handle the case pro bono as a civil matter.

Kenya - The AGLDF is monitoring the case of a young Maasai girl who bled to death after being subjected to Female Genital Mutiliation  in Kenya. The circumciser and the girl’s father were arrested and are facing manslaughter charges. This may be one of the first prosecutions of a circumciser and a parent in the Maasai community. The AGLDF retained a lawyer to help the prosecution bring a successful case (public prosecutors in Kenya are often not lawyers themselves), and we will follow the case until a judgment is rendered.

Taina Bien-Aime, Executive Director of Equality Now explains that:

“This unprecedented case focuses on the criminal links between human trafficking and the sex tourism industry operating from the United States with impunity. We hope it sends a loud and clear message to all sex tour operators in the United States that sex trafficking victims anywhere can bring a case against those who exploit them by pressing for damages in the U.S.”

Equality Now reports that UNICEF estimates about a quarter of a million children are forced into the commercial sex industry in Brazil, the second largest number after Thailand. The 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report by the U.S. State Department reports that officials are concerned about Brazil’s “serious official complicity in trafficking crimes at a local level” and that “police have turned a blind eye to child prostitution and potential human trafficking activity.”

“It is time for the U.S. federal government to take all forms of sex tourism seriously,” Bien – Aime continued, “and apply the law to the fullest extent to punish the perpetrators and protect the victims of American sex tourism around the world.” 

(1) The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, article 11, states: "Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which they have had all the guarantees necessary for their defence."

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The Brazilian Public Ministry filed notice yesterday that federal attorneys are prosecuting the indictment against former fishing tour operator Richard W. Schair of Gainesville Georgia for allegedly operating a house of prostitution. Schair is the only North American among a group of Brazilians charged in this criminal action including Jose Lauro Rock Da Silva, Juscelino Of Souza Motta, Daniel Geraldo Lopes, Admilson Garci’a Da Silva, Adilson Garci’a Da Silva, Silvo Pettengill Neto.

Five Indian girls went to the Brazilian Federal Police in July, 2007, alleging that "Richard" illegally lured them off their reservation to work as underage prostitutes for his North American fishing clients. One girl testified that she was left pregnant at age 13 after one such fishing trip, then, with her baby, was ostracized from her village.

The Federal Police then gathered enough evidence to file public notice of their investigation on August 8, 2007 “that minor Indian and other girls living near the rivers in the regions of Autazes became victims of sexual exploitation by North-American foreign tourists.”

Schair was originally indicted for rape, corruption of minors and operating a prostitution network. His clients included nineteen members of the Shriners’ secret sub-group, the Royal Order of Jesters, currently under investigation for sex trafficking, prostitution and child sex tourism. These Jesters were expected to testify in a related case about their first hand knowledge of sex with minor prostitutes while on one of Schair’s fishing trips, including Samuel “Scutter” Newton, a national Jester director.

This Rede Record newscast was posted to YouTube by ECPAT-USA last October and shows reporter Luiz Carlos Azen questioning the girls.

“How many men did you make sex with on this ship, the Amazon Santana?” Azen asks.

“With two,” one girl answers.

“Would you recognize them?” he asks.

“With certainty,” she answers.

“That nationality was?” he asks.

“Not from here, Brazilians were not.”

“They spoke what language?” he asks.

“They said everything in English,” she answered.

The producer then showed the girls some pictures of the accused, recognizing those who had been aboard the Amazon Santana. One girl said that one of them took her by force to one of the cabins.

“They just forced, understand?” she said. “But I did not do, no because I cried, I squirmed, yelled and he went and opened the door. And later because he was not able, he accused me of stealing from him.’”

The second girl stated “It was for me to use a drug that they were using called marijuana. It compelled me to make sex in a private room in the same motor boat, in a berth.”

“The name of the boat,” Azen asks.

“Amazon Santana,” she replies.

Azen then asks one of the girls “What is the name of your enticer/inveigher/seducer?”

“Richard” she answered.

“That nationality he was?” he asks.

“Wasn’t Brazilian, not. Was of the United States.”

Azen reports that the next girl was interviewed by the FBI.

“Do you know the father of your son?” he asks.

“No,” she answers.

“Then there is a possibility that one of the two Americans is the father?” he asks.

“That possibility exists,” she answers.

“What would you like?” Azen concludes.

“So that they pay,” she answers.

Azen's report that the FBI had been in Brazil interviewing the girls implies close cooperation between both countries.

Will U.S. investigators use evidence gathered on their trip to Brazil to charge Schair or his Jester clients with violating the Protect Act of 2003? Will they be charged with engaging in illicit sexual conduct of any commercial sex act in a foreign country with anything of value given to or received by a person under the age of 18?

According to the U.S. Department of State:

“It is a crime for a United States citizen or permanent resident to travel abroad for the purpose of having sex with a minor and it is a crime for a United States citizen or permanent resident to actually have sex with a minor while abroad… It is a criminal activity to knowingly arrange, induce, procure or facilitate for profit the travel of a person when you know that the person is traveling for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with minors.”

“Brazil Child Sex Tourism Resource with Timeline” provides links to eleven previous articles as well as associated documentation.

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This is an editorial in response to comments from “Mavis” left after “Fourth Jester Sentenced.”

Dear Mavis,

Thank you for sharing your rage and passion because the Jesters do nothing but hurt people, exploit women and girls and rip the rest of us off with their devious little tax schemes.

I felt the same way after reading the depositions of those five Brazilian Indian girls who told the Federal Police that they’d been lured off their reservations into prostitution by a former fishing tour operator for sex with his North American clients. I then went on to read about the state of Indigenous rights in Brazil, that the Indians were put on “reservations” as wards because they were viewed as too dumb and too uncivilized to take care of themselves. Today, their resources are stolen with little or no compensation.

I knew then that I had to give voice to these girls. You can watch them on this Brazilian news video. It reports that the FBI interviewed them, including one who was left pregnant after one such trip at age 13. Let’s hope to hear about our own federal investigation sooner than later because the situation is definitely heating up.

According to the Brazilian Federal Court system, a decision was made on April 11, 2011 in the case of Richard Schair, charged and indicted by the Brazilian Federal Police with corruption of minors under 18, attracting the girls and facilitating the prostitution of the same, maintaining locations (boats Santana’s) destined for the prostitution, taking advantage of the prostitution and using it for support in part by using said services to attract clients and promoting the recruitment, transport to the cities of Autazes and Barcelos, and lodging on the boats for the girls that go there to practice prostitution, among other conducts. It has yet to be revealed what that decision is, but the judge in charge had a chance to dismiss the case in June, 2009 after Schair submitted a failed habeas corpus request asking for just that.

ECPAT-USA has a new Protect Children in Tourism project in Brazil. From the site:

ECPAT groups throughout Brazil met together to discuss the work plan for ECPAT Brazil for the year. Participants were the 23 of the 27 affiliated organizations from the Northeast, Southeast and Central Western Regions, including World Childhood Foundation. Groups were informed about the planned actions of ECPAT Brazil for the next two years including the Project in partnership with ECPAT USA.

One of those who had been expected to testify about his knowledge of sex with minor prostitutes while on a fishing trip to Brazil is a national Jester officer. The plea agreements of the former Judge and Erie County Sheriff state that they worked with national Jester officials to get prostitutes over the Canadian border to a national Jester meeting in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

This does not bode well for those Jesters who are currently trying to reverse a decision against their property tax exemption application and avoid paying over $50,000 in property taxes. The national Jester office hired attorneys to advance their claims of being a Masonic fraternity to gain the tax exemption, though the Jesters somehow convinced the IRS that “museum” qualified them as a “charity.”

The problem is that the Marion County Assessor didn’t believe the building was a museum and denied the exemption. The matter is before state tax authorities as they try to figure out who is telling the truth because the assessor’s decision contradicts the IRS decision to grant the Jesters charity status as a “museum.”

What will happen after state investigators Google “Royal Order of Jesters” and identify court and tax documents linking prostitution and child sex tourism to that same building?

Questions emailed to the Masonic Grand Master of Indianapolis, Kenneth Willis, Jr., remain unanswered, including his recognition of the Jesters as a Masonic group? Does he support their fraternal claims so they get the property tax exemption? Is he aware of any Masonic activities held in the Jesters' HQ building?

Maybe I shouldn’t have emailed it last April 1.

Back to those Jesters who party with prostitutes at tax payer expense, like your husband.

He’s certainly no different than other Jesters whose status as Master Mason and Shriner puts them next to “hypocrisy” in the dictionary. Who vows love, charity and brotherhood and gets caught driving an illegal alien prostitute to a Jester party or is pictured partying with underage prostitutes in Brazil?

The things you are going through, Mavis, are the certainly among the worst.

Your golden years ruined because your husband wants to be a pimp instead of a husband. But if he had been one of those Jesters who went fishing for girls over 13 in Brazil, he’d be facing calls for death and castration.

This discussion about American pedophiles in the Amazon has been going on since March 13, 2008. Words like “monsters,” “pigs,” “mf+ckers,” and “a-holes” describe those who prey on Brazil’s children. One posted:

According to the indigenous Guaraní culture that inhabited from the South to the Midwest the parent or responsible for a son or daughter who were abused or assaulted by another Indian or person had the right to decide whether such an aggressor would be castrated or suffer the same aggression committed.

Another wrote:

What would you do if you discover that a Stallion abused if your little girl of 11 or 12 aninhos? Certainly this kind of criminal, mentally ill, in my opinion had to be arrested and immediately, castrated, cut all off to serve as examples.

And, finally, about the Lesinski sentencing? He basically screwed his brothers by fighting the first charge of violating the Mann Act by pleading guilty to knowing about a felony and not reporting it. This sets precedent for and provides prosecutors with the template to go after these guys nationwide.

Hang in there, Mavis, and thank you for being a voice for Jester wives.

Sandy

All copies of material reprinted or duplicated from "by Sandy Frost" must include the following credit line: From Copyright © 2011 by Sandy Frost. Used by permission.http://sandyfrost.newsvine.com/

Editor’s Note and Adult Content Warning: This article includes references to prostitution, human trafficking and sex slavery. It’s also kind of long. I thought it best to provide as much background as possible because it’s kind of hard to wrap your head around the fact that this is about those in positions of power who believe their vows of secrecy and brotherhood will protect their nationwide network of prostitution, operated at tax payer expense.

Happy Holidays and thanks for being here,

Sandy Frost

Starbucks, WA

January 2, 2011

This is about the retired Erie County Deputy Sheriff who recently pleaded guilty to knowing about the felony of transporting prostitutes from the Buffalo International Airport to a national Royal Order of Jesters (ROJ) national convention in Ontario, Canada and hiding the crimes by not reporting them.

This is part of the case involving three Jesters who got caught in an FBI human trafficking sting out of Buffalo, NY. These include a retired police captain, a former New York State Supreme Court judge and his law clerk. All three pleaded guilty to violating the Mann Act after confessing to driving an illegal alien prostitute from Buffalo to a weekend Jester party in Ashland, Kentucky.

The ROJ is a secret sub-group of the Shriners, best known for operating a network of 22 hospitals that used to provide free care to burned and crippled children but now takes insurance. One must first be a Master Mason before joining groups like the Scottish Rite, the Knights Templar and the Shriners.

Today’s news is that Michael Lesinski, a retired Erie County Deputy Sheriff and member of the Royal Order of Jesters, admitted last November 19 that he knew that others were committing felonies, such as the transportation of prostitutes in interstate and foreign commerce, and concealed it by not reporting the crimes as soon as possible to law enforcement.

The technical term for this is “misprision of a felony.”

According to Lesinski’s plea agreement:

“The defendant did not report any of the above facts to any judge or civil or military authority under the United States. Also, when returning to the United States from Canada, the defendant then had knowledge of the purpose of the women’s presence at the Jesters organization meeting and lied to United States Customs officials as to the true purpose of his visit to Canada in a deliberate attempt to conceal the crime.”

Lesinski was released on personal recognizance without bail according to his conditions of release, filed on December 4, 2010 with the U.S. District Court of the Western District of New York. He was previously charged last June with conspiring with others to violate the Mann Act after driving a carload of six to seven prostitutes from the Buffalo International Airport to a hotel in Ontario, Canada for a ROJ national meeting.

The first federal criminal complaint states that:

“between April 18, 2005 to on or about April 24, 2005 that the defendant, MICHAEL LESINSKI, did knowingly, willfully and unlawfully combine, conspire and agree together with others, including Ronald Tills, to commit an offense against the United States, that is, to knowingly transport women in interstate and foreign commerce, with the intent that said women engage in prostitution, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2421; and that at least one overt act was committed in furtherance of the conspiracy, in that the defendant, MICHAEL LESINSKI, on April 18, 2005, did rent limousines in order to transport said women from the Buffalo airport to Niagara Falls Ontario, Canada, with the intent that the women engage in prostitution.”

Ronald Tills is the former New York State Supreme Court Judge who was caught w/his law clerk, Michael Stebick and retired police captain John Trowbridge in an FBI human trafficking sting last October, 2007.

The first Lesinski complaint described the statute violated as the Mann Act.

The next section describes “The Royal Order of Jesters,” as previously reported in “Feds Define Jesters.” This is significant because the Jesters are, for the first time, defined in their own little section of this criminal complaint as:

“The Royal Order of Jesters (ROJ) is a world wide fraternal organization whose membership is limited to individuals invited to join by other members. The motto of the ROJ is ‘mirth is king.’ The ROJ has local chapters or ‘courts.’ On occasion, a local court or group of local courts in the same geographical location sponsor social gatherings known as ‘books of the play’ or ‘books.’ The sponsoring courts organize the ‘books’ and arrange for food, lodging, and entertainment at the ‘book.’ Jesters from all over the country may attend the local ‘books.’ The ROJ also sponsors a yearly national ‘book,’ the equivalent of a national convention. In April, 2005, the Jester's national ‘book’ was held in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. As set forth below, a typical feature of a ‘book of the play’ is the presence of prostitutes (‘Jester Girls’) who engage in commercial sex acts with members of the ROJ. Arrangements for the prostitutes are generally made by the organizer of the ‘books,’ or the region hosting the national ‘book.’ On occasion, individual Jesters may make arrangements to transport prostitutes to ‘books.’”

Here is a copy of a script for the “Book of the Play.”

This recent Department of Justice press release includes the Jesters in this headline:

“Former Erie County Sheriff’s Deputy Pleads Guilty in Connection with Jester Prostitution Case.”

According to the first complaint, investigators began interviewing several Jesters in January and February of 2008 including Trowbridge, a retired captain with the Lockport, New York, Police Department. He described a nationwide network of prostitution as he admitted travelling to “books” in both the U.S. and Canada. He described occasions where Buffalo Court Jesters, including Tills and Stebick, made arrangements for Jester Girls to attend “books.”

Tills was in charge of getting the prostitutes to the Jesters’ national “book” across the border in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. According to his plea agreement, Tills admitted to coordinating the prostitutes’ travel with national Jester officers, in or about spring, 2006.

Trowbridge then stated that Tills asked Michael Lesinski, a deputy sheriff with the Erie County Sheriff’s Department, to take care of it. Trowbridge then disclosed that Lesinski rented a limousine to transport about a dozen prostitutes from Buffalo to Canada.

The complaint then includes co-conspirator Michael Stebick’s description of how Jester “books” are typically held in hotel hospitality rooms where members can pick from a list of Jester Girls.

It continues that in April, 2008, Trowbridge provided investigators with contact information for the 13 prostitutes as he’d spoken with each of them as they gathered at the Buffalo airport though there were other prostitutes he’d not spoken with.

In June 2008 Tills told investigators that there were about 30 women at the national book and “described a network of members who had the ability to supply such women.” It was then that he identified Lesinski’s renting of two limousines that took the prostitutes to Canada.

This all started when the FBI began surveillance from August, 2007 to November, 2007 of massage parlors suspected as being fronts for prostitution.

It turns out that Len Wah Chong pleaded guilty to running four brothels, partially staffed with illegal aliens who travelled through an international human trafficking network.

This application for the search warrant includes information from FBI wiretaps and includes Chong talking about the “judge” and “police captain.”

The only “judge” associated with this has been former Judge Tills. And the only “police captain” associated with this has been retired police captain John Trowbridge.

Here are descriptions of phone conversations found in the Chong complaint that mentioned the “judge” and the “police captain.” The information in the complaint was gathered by the FBI.

“in cooperation with the U.S. Border Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE and the Niagara County Sheriff’s Department. It was gathered through interviews, physical surveillance, background investigations, consensually monitored meetings, wire intercepts and while examining financial records, pen registers and trap/trace data, and telephone subscriber/toll records pertaining to the investigation of the offenses described above.

This application was also filed to obtain arrest warrants for:

1. Keeping, maintaining, controlling, supporting or harboring an individual in any home or place.
2. The purposes of prostitution, conspired to keep and control female aliens for the purposes of prostitution, or any other immoral purpose.
3. Knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that said individual is an alien.
4. Failing to file the required statement concerning the individual within five business days of commencing such activity with the relevant immigration authorities.

This fifteen month investigation was initiated in September, 2006, by the FBI and U.S. Border Patrol on a tip that one of the acupressure businesses was a front for prostitution. Per the document, “full sets” refers to sexual intercourse and “half-sets” can be used to refer to either oral sex or hand-jobs (that is, anything less than intercourse). Other terms used are “mouth” or “oral,” both meaning oral sex.

Court ordered wire intercepts on three telephones revealed the following, to include references to other law enforcement officers as well as the judge and police captain. The following has been edited to include specific references to the “judge,” the “police captain” and other law enforcement officers.

19. On August 23, 2007, CHONG placed a telephone call to premises 1. CHONG told an unknown Asian female (UAF) that the “police captain” is on his way to Premises 1. She instructed the UAF to give him a 45 minute service and wanted to know whose turn it was in the rotation. The UAF told CHONG it was an Asian female whom CHONG referred to as “Lala’s” turn. CHONG told the UAF the “police captain” does not count in the rotation. It should be noted that the “police captain” was coming from Premises 5.

20. On August 24, 2007, CHONG received a telephone call from Premises 1. An Asian female whom CHONG referred to as “Jenny” told her the propane tank is out of gas and they are unable to cook their food. It should be noted in human trafficking cases, victims are required to cook in the locations where they conduct the prostitution to limit their movement and thus maintain greater control over them. They use hot plates fueled by combustible gas charged canisters which are not designed to be used indoors. Some of these canisters have been recovered in the trash from Premises 1.

22. On September 05, 2007, CHONG placed a telephone call to Premises 1. CHONG told an Asian female whom CHONG referred to as “Jenny” the “Police Captain” was on his way to Premises 1. CHONG told “Jenny” the “Police Captain” just visited her husband and his service will not be counted on the normal rotation.

23. On September 06, 2007, CHONG placed a telephone call to Premises 1. CHONG told an Asian female whom CHONG referred to as “Jenny” the “Judge” was on his way to Premises 1. CHONG told “Jenny” to charge him for one hour even though he wanted a one and half hour service.

27. On October 1, 2007, CHONG made a telephone call to Premises 1. CHONG spoke to XU and told her to listen carefully. CHONG said they are on action (or alert), the government won’t give girls tips intentionally. CHONG told XU she just got back from seeing the Sheriff because he was looking for her. CHONG told XU that law enforcement is not intentionally giving tips to the girls to see their reactions.

31. On October 16, 2007, CHONG placed a telephone call to Premises 1. CHONG told an unknown Asian female (UAF) the “Judge” called and could not make it to Premises 1 that day. CHONG told the UAF that Xiu LIN aka “Coco” went to New York City and told everyone if you get arrested in Buffalo, NY, you can get legal immigration status. CHONG told the UAF the “Judge” was also upset with LIN due to her conversations in New York City about obtaining legal immigration status after being arrested in Buffalo, NY. Chong stated the “Judge” advised her to have people from a church provide the girls with a letter in order to help their immigration status.

35. On November 3, 2007, CHONG made a telephone call to Premises 1. CHONG told XU that “Da Quan” called her and informed her that a shop in Buffalo got raided and one girl without legal status was detained and that the two who were released are Da Quan’s friends. CHONG told XU when the Sheriff arrived later he reminded the girls to be cautious and not to ask for tips.

46. On September 5, 2007, CHONG made a telephone call to Premises 3. CHONG spoke to a prostitute named “Amy” and told her that customers who are friends of the Judge called her to complain about “Mary.” Chong told Amy she was at Golden and that Judge told her Lockport is a high class spot, and that girls should not solicit for tips and if they do, he (the Judge) will not help her out. CHONG added that the Judge informed her Mary offended every customer. CHONG said she told the Judge she fired Mary and that the Judge agreed with CHONG’s actions and commented that if she had not fired Mary, she would have made trouble. CHONG advised Amy she should do a good job.

58. On August 20, 2007, CHONG placed a call to Premises 4. CHONG told Feng Xian LI other massage parlors offer half hour service for $30 and $60 for “full service.” CHONG complained that Feng Xian LI charges $65 for a “half set” massage. CHONG stated she doesn’t want to run an ad because safety is first. CHONG believes the prior arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement were a result of the advertisements each brothel placed in the Artvoice newspaper. CHONG told the girls that a lot of her customers are police officers and public officials.

65. On September 5, 2007, CHONG received a call from Premises 4. Feng Xian LI told CHONG she was considering bringing her son to the United States from China. Feng Xian LI said her divorce papers were filed but she is unsure if she can bring her son over. CHONG told Feng Xian LI to ask her regular customer, who is an INS officer, to help her bring her son to the U.S. Feng Xian LI said she should provide the INS officer a “full set” if she is going to ask him for assistance. CHONG stated she has a friend that knows this officer and he is scared about being caught since one of his friends was caught and fired.

69. On October 21, 2007, CHONG placed a call to Premises 4. CHONG told Feng Xian LI the “Judge” is mad at Feng Xian LIN because she was talking too much lately concerning her situation. Xiu LIN is a victim/material witness in an ICE investigation which was taken down in March, 2007 in Buffalo , New York. CHONG stated that Xiu LIN told a lot of people that if you come to Buffalo, NY, you can get arrested and obtain legal immigration status. CHONG also stated another government agency is contacting the “Judge” now.

87. On October 18, 2007, CHONG placed a call from Premises 5 to Premises 1. CHONG told an Asian female whom she referred to as “Jenny” the “Judge” and his friends will be going to Premises 1. CHONG told “Jenny” some of them wanted sex and they were to be treated as good customers no matter what.

98. On September 4, 2007, CHONG made a telephone call to Premises 6. CHONG spoke to an unidentified prostitute she called Coco and asked if Coco did the Judge’s friend who is short, and is claiming he did not get good service from Coco after he paid the sixty dollar house fee plus a tip. Coco told CHONG the guy wanted a full set (sexual intercourse) for forty dollars.

102. On September 30, 2007, CHONG made a telephone call to Premises 6. CHONG spoke to an Asian prostitute named Lily and told her that the police left. CHONG told Lily that the police officer said he would like to try massage sometime. CHONG said the Judge and his friends he brought over wanted it for free and they were bad tippers.

138. The investigation has continued to date and the pattern of activities described supra has continued. All brothels continue to appear operational. As this has been consistent throughout the 15 month investigation, your affiant submits that the offenses have continued and are continuing and therefore there is probable cause to believe the fruits, instrumentalities and evidence of said crimes will be located in the places to be searched as described in this affidavit.”

A copy of this document can be read here.

In spite of such investigations, the Jesters are still at it. Though their brothers are being convicted and are under investigation for sex trafficking, prostitution and child sex tourism, the first fifteen or so flyers in this online file show they’re still partying on, as if nothing is wrong.

Remember, the Jesters, like the Shriners, are organized into two nonprofit groups. The fraternal 501c10 tax exempt classification was granted to the Jesters by the IRS as to how the 22,000 Jesters are organized into “courts” that:

“Held annual events which were devoted to fraternalism and spreading the gospel of mirth and good cheer.”

In other words, their tax exempt purpose is to party.

And according to federal charging documents and the IRS, with prostitutes at taxpayer expense.

This 2006 tax return shows that nearly $600,000 was spent on one of their weekend “books,” signed by executive director, Alex Rogers.

The IRS granted the Jesters a 501c3 “charitable” classification in 2004 after a handful of them somehow convinced the taxing agency that the new national headquarters building in Indianapolis, Indiana also housed a museum. The IRS’ application for tax exempt status is otherwise known as a form 1023 and is subject to public disclosure within 30 days of receiving a written request. Three years of written requests for the Jesters 1023 application for their 501c3 “charitable” classification remain unanswered as well as emails to the Texas attorney who seems to have put it all together, Ron Pruitt.

The Jester claim of housing a museum was rejected by the Marion County property assessor and affirmed by the Marion County Tax Assessment Board of Appeals on December 16, 2005. The initial application stated the Jesters “charitable” exempt purpose as:

“Spreading mirth and cheerfulness, promoting good fellowship, assistance and good cheer to others promoting fraternalism, and providing a museum for items and articles of mirth, comedy and laughter.”

The group’s business manager and director, Alex Rogers, appealed the “charitable” denial and convinced the Indiana Tax Appeals board that the Jesters building deserved a property tax exemption because they’re part of the Masonic fraternity. This denial letter includes notes stating that the Jesters support the Shriners hospitals, contrary to the Jesters’ stated exempt purpose, bylaws and articles of incorporation.

Back to the prostitution; charitable, fraternal, federally defined or otherwise.

Len Wah Chong was sentenced to six years in prison, five years parole, forfeited property worth $350,000, and was fined $350,000 as restitution for ten sex trafficking victims.

John Trowbridge was sentenced to 2 years probation and fined $10,000 for violating the Mann Act.

Michael Stebick admitted to driving the Jesters and the prostitute and was sentenced to two years probation, four months house arrest while wearing an ankle bracelet, fined $5,000 and forfeiture of his motor home.

Ronald Tills was sentenced to a year and a half in federal prison and fined $25,000. He is scheduled to be released from the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Community Corrections Office in three weekjs on January 24, 2011.

Michael Lesinski is scheduled to be sentenced on April 5, 2011 at 9:00 am by the same judge who sentenced the previous three Jesters, United States District Judge William M. Skretny.

All copies of material reprinted or duplicated from "by Sandy Frost" must include the following credit line: From http://sandyfrost.newsvine.com/ Copyright © 2011 by Sandy Frost. Used by permission.

Most of my articles are down so I can finish my second book, “The Vampires of Charity, Nonprofit Blood Suckers Gone Wild,” subtitled "Exercises in Online Investigative Journalism."

I thought it was bad enough to hide behind little burned and crippled kids and:

• Get caught transporting illegal alien prostitutes in a FBI human trafficking sting.
• Act all Machiavellian in an attempt to rehire a fundraiser who kept $43 million out of $47 million raised for the kids.
• Go fishing in Brazil for girls over 13.

The focus here, for the past four years, has been on the Shriners and Jesters as “nonprofit groups.” There are certain levels of nonprofit transparency, accountability and disclosure that pre-empt oversight by law enforcement.

I know that the nonprofit part is really, really boring. It’s nearly impossible to lively-up tax returns unless I’m reporting how the Jesters reportedly spent nearly $600,000 on one of their weekend parties.

Journalistically, I write for the 138 million U.S. taxpayers who’ve been “hoodwinked” into subsidizing these crimes.

See, we make up for the taxes these nonprofit groups don’t pay. Property tax. Income tax. These “tax exempt” groups can take in charitable donations as well as take advantage of things like discount postal rates and public service announcements. They are supposed to provide a service or benefit to society and, in exchange, don’t pay taxes.

There are two types of nonprofit groups here; charitable and fraternal. The Shriners charity is their network of 22 hospitals that now take insurance for otherwise “free” medical care for burned and crippled children. The Shriners fraternal are the red fezzed guys who drive wild in parades as they “have fun while helping the kids.” There are about 350,000 Shriners who support the hospitals.

The Jesters tried to convince the Marion County assessor their new headquarters was a “charitable” museum. When he denied the tax exemption, the Jesters’ executive director convinced the tax appeals board that they were an appendant group of Masonry, so they got the property tax exemption. Curiously, this doesn’t match what’s on the Jesters’ 501c3 tax returns that still state that their charitable purpose is a “museum.”

Stay with me here.

The “fraternal” nonprofit classification provides for groups that govern and organize the members into headquarters, temples and clubs for the Shriners and “courts” for the Jesters. There are 191 Shriner temples and about 122 Jester courts, each tied to a nearby temple.

The Jesters tell the IRS that their exempt purpose is to spread mirth and merriment.

Must be secret code for “partying with prostitutes.”

Memberships go like this.

One must first be a third degree Master Mason before joining groups like the Scottish Rite, the Knights Templar and the Shriners. One must be a secretly invited Shriner before being initiated into the Royal Order of Jesters, currently under federal investigation for Mann Act violations.

Initiation is supposed to be some sort of sex act performed in front of your brothers.

Sounds like rich old guys getting all pimped out for their grade school circle jerks.

Eww.

All at tax payer expense.

I’m also publishing this because a Jester wife wrote that she wanted a place to post what she and other Jester wives know. Here’s what I wrote back to her:

“I can't imagine the shame, humiliation or pain of finding out.

Or the unimaginable fear that the FBI might be after your husband. Your retirement dollars gone in fines, attorney fees and who knows what else.

I mean, here you are, any Jester wife, probably into a great retirement life style then worst case scenario. Everything upside down. I can't imagine the emotional meltdown or backlash at someone so selfish. I don't understand the mindset and if you can provide any background, I'd appreciate it.”

If anyone has any substantiated allegations about the Shriners and/or Jesters, please email me at sandyleefrost@yahoo.com. Documentation is required.

So, the comment section is open. Please make sure you comply with Newsvine’s Code of Honor.

Back to work and thanks for being here,

Sandy

All copies of material reprinted or duplicated from "by Sandy Frost" must include the following credit line: From http://sandyfrost.newsvine.com. Copyright (c) 2010 by Sandy Frost. Used by permission.

The June 7 criminal complaint in the case of United States of America v. Michael Lesinski paints a clear picture of “Mirth and Merriment,” Royal Order of Jesters style.

That’s how they describe their activities to the IRS, you know.

The Jesters tell the IRS that their tax exempt mission is “promoting fellowship and fraternalism and extending good cheer to others” and that they hold annual events “devoted to fraternalism and spreading the gospel of mirth and good cheer.”

Apparently, this is code for renting a limo to get about a dozen “Jester Girls” from the Buffalo, New York airport to work as prostitutes at a Jester national meeting held in Niagara Falls Ontario, Canada.

Lesinski is charged with “knowingly, willfully and unlawfully combining, conspiring and agreeing together with others, including Ronald Tills, to commit an offense against the United States, that is to knowingly transport women in interstate and foreign commerce, with the intent that said women engage in prostitution, in violation of Title 18 (Mann Act) and that at least one overt act was committed in furtherance of the conspiracy, in that the defendant, Michael Lesinski, on April 18, 2005, did rent limousines in order to transport said women from the Buffalo airport to Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, with the intent that the women engage in prostitution.”

The Royal Order of Jesters is an appendant body of Masonry. Once one becomes a Master Mason, they can join other groups such as the Scottish Rite, Knights Templar and Shriners. The Shriners are best known for their red fezzes and supporting a network of 21 hospitals that provide free medical care to burned and crippled children. One must first be a secretly invited Shriner before joining the Jesters.

This all started when Dan Herbeck and Aaron Besecker of the Buffalo News reported on March 9, 2008 that three Jesters were under investigation after getting caught in an FBI human trafficking sting. All three confessed and pleaded guilty to either conspiring to or violating the Mann Act after they were caught driving an illegal alien Asian woman from a Buffalo massage parlor under surveillance for prostitution to a weekend meeting of the Royal Order of Jesters in eastern Kentucky.

Lesinski’s complaint begins by listing agencies that make up the New York Human Trafficking Task Force and Alliance that are investigating the Jesters. These include the FBI, Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE, and deputies from the Erie County Sheriff’s Office. It then lists the criminal statute allegedly violated, that being the Mann Act.

Next, and for the first time, the Royal Order of Jesters are defined in their own self-titled section.

It begins:

“The Royal Order of Jesters (“ROJ”) is a worldwide fraternal organization whose membership is limited to individuals invited to join by other members. The motto of the ROJ is ‘mirth is king.’ The ROJ has local chapters or ‘courts.’ On occasion, a local court or group of local courts in the same geographical area sponsor social gatherings known as ‘books of the play’ or ‘books.’ The sponsoring courts organize the ‘books’ and arrange for food, lodging, and entertainment at the ‘books.’ The ROJ also sponsors a yearly national ‘book,’ the equivalent of a national convention. In April, 2005, the Jester’s national book was held in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.”

“As set forth below, a typical feature of a ‘book of the play’ is the presence of prostitutes (‘Jester Girls’) who engage in commercial sex acts with members of the ROJ. Arrangements for the prostitutes are generally made by the organizer of the ‘books,’ or the region hosting the national ‘book.’ On occasion, individual Jesters make arrangements to transport prostitutes to ‘books.’”

According to the complaint, investigators began interviewing several Jesters in January and February of 2008. Jester John Trowbridge, a retired captain with the Lockport, New York, Police Department, told investigators about how he attended a number of “books” throughout the United States and Canada that provided prostitutes for those members in attendance.

Trowbridge described a number of occasions where members of the Buffalo Court, including Ronald Tills, then a New York State Supreme Court Judge, and his law clerk, Michael Stebick, made arrangements for Jester Girls to attend “books.” Tills was in charge of getting the prostitutes to the Jesters’ national “book.”

According to his plea agreement, in or about spring, 2006, Tills admitted to coordinating the prostitute’s travel with national Jester officers.

Trowbridge also described how Tills was in charge of getting the Jester Girls to the national meeting and that the judge asked Lesinski to take care of it.

Lesinski, at the time, was a deputy sheriff with the Erie County Sheriff’s Department.

Trowbridge then disclosed that Lesinski rented a limousine to transport about a dozen prostitutes from Buffalo to Canada.

The Jesters’ 2005 tax return lists $70, 049 for transportation. The complaint includes a receipt from Lakeview Limousine that indicates a deposit of $980 was paid for by check, with a total cost of $1,175.

The complaint then includes co-conspirator Michael Stebick’s description of how Jester ‘books’ are typically held in hotel hospitality rooms where members can pick from a list of Jester Girl prostitutes. It continues that in April, 2008, Trowbridge provided investigators with contact information for the 13 prostitutes as he’d spoken with each of them as they gathered at the Buffalo airport though there were other prostitutes he’d not spoken with.

In June 2008 Tills told investigators that there were about 30 women at the national book and “described a network of members who had the ability to supply such women.” It was then that he identified Lesinski’s renting of two limousines that took the prostitutes to Canada.

According to “Sex Traffic Rises, Along With Scramble for Solutions” by We-news correspondent Rich Daly:

“These (2010 United States Human Trafficking Report) statistics come out as Rep. Chris Smith, a New Jersey Republican and co-chair of the Congressional Human Trafficking Caucus, is co-sponsoring a bill to establish an international registry of known sex offenders to help foreign and U.S. law enforcement agencies crack down on underage sex tourism also linked to trafficking.

‘This is modern day slavery and it's a winnable war,’ Smith said in an interview with Women's eNews.

The Smith bill, called the International Megan's Law, was approved by the House Foreign Affairs Committee on April 28 and could come up for a House vote in the next few weeks, Smith said.”

Representative Smith’s bill can be found here. In summary, H.R. 1623:

• Requires registered sex offenders to notify appropriate jurisdictions of their intent to travel not later than 21 days before their departure or arrival in the United States. Imposes a fine and/or prison term of up to 10 years for failure to report such travel.
• Requires diplomatic or consular missions in each foreign country to establish and maintain a countrywide sex offender registry for sex offenders from the United States who temporarily or permanently reside in such country.
• Directs the Commissioner of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to issue directives for the assessment of sex offenders whose travel is reported to determine whether such offenders are high risk sex offenders.
• Directs the President to establish the International Sex Offender Travel Center to monitor the travel of high risk sex offenders.
• Authorizes the Secretary of State to rescind the passports of individuals awaiting trial for a sex offense against a minor or a permanent resident who has been convicted of such an offense.
• Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to make convicted sex offenders inadmissible to the United States.

If passed as written, these new international sex offender laws would rescind the passports of any Jesters on trial for things like child sex tourism and require any other registered sex offenders to report their intention to leave the country at least 21 days before doing so.

All copies of material reprinted or duplicated from "by Sandy Frost" must include the following credit line: From http://sandyfrost.newsvine.com. Copyright (c) 2010 by Sandy Frost. Used by permission.

BeaShrinerNow.com fails to mention the main attraction of their secret sub-group, the Royal Order of Jesters!
If the Shriners promoted their sub-group's involvement with prostitution, they'd probably get more members!
The Shriners continue to stick their heads in the sand, hoping the Jester prostitution scandals will go away, Things are going to get much more worse before they get better. I'm working on a story about the leader of a Jester court who not only coordinates the parties from his house and work, his court's tax forms are mailed to his local Shriner temple.
Maybe they didn't see the ABC News report that the FBI and ICE are investigating the Jesters for prostitution and child sex tourism.
I wonder who came up with this bright idea for PR and how much it cost the donors?
Sandy

Updated on 4/6/2010:

There are now links to the same depositions referred to by ABC News so you can read what five Brazilian girls told the federal police as well as links to the original Schair v Marsteller defamation complaint that produced the witness list that called for 19 Jesters to testify about sex w/minor prostitutes. There are also links to depositions from fishing guides who claim to have seen all of this. As a public service, here is a link to a file folder with examples of documents that I spent a week translating from Portuguese, the Schair v Newsvine.com complaint that he withdrew after it was moved to federal court, Exhibit B - Plaintiff's Original Complaint, Schair v Marsteller, Notice of Removal of Action granting Schair's motion to withdraw his libel complaint against Newsvine.com from federal court. Also linked is a story about how an internal Shriner investigation revealed a fund raising scam where Vantage Marketing raised $46 million for the children and kept about $43 million. Top leaders were investigated for lobbying to rehire this same fundraiser to the point of firing those so opposed and for admitting to taking free trips from the fundraiser.

Thank you,

Sandy

Adult Content Warning:

The following includes graphic references to prostitution, child sex tourism and nonprofit tax fraud. Do not read if adult language and sexual references offend you.

Thank you,

Sandy Frost

“ABC World News Tonight with Diane Sawyer” has confirmed that the FBI and ICE are continuing their investigation into fishing tour operators who facilitate “child sex tourism” for their high paying customers. This report includes a blurred picture of a member of the Royal Order of Jesters partying with a young Brazilian girl on his lap, confirming that the Jesters and the former fishing tour operator who organized their Brazilian fishing trips have been, at the very least, questioned by the FBI. This is the same former fishing tour operator who was indicted last year by the Brazilian federal police for prostitution, rape and violating Indian protection laws.

Over two years ago, “Jesters to Testify about Illegal Drugs, Child Prostitution?” described the unsuccessful defamation lawsuit filed by Richard Schair against competitor Philip Marsteller. Both offered Peacock Bass fishing trips along the Amazon. Marsteller began observing fishing boats with both North American fishermen and young Brazilian girls aboard, began learning about the prostitution of underage Indian girls and began blowing the whistle on what he describes as “a cancer on this industry.”

The case caught my attention because the defense called 19 Jesters, as witnesses who were expected to testify about their first hand knowledge of sex with prostitutes, some minor, while on fishing trips to Brazil. Photographic and depositional evidence motivated the plaintiff to pay the defendant $15,000 to settle out of court.

ABC News went undercover at a Dallas Safari Club convention and secretly filmed a nervous outfitter as he implied that he could hook the “customer” up with fishing trips and “girls.”

One fishing outfitter currently promotes Brazilian fishing trips aboard the Amazon Santana; the same Amazon Santana described in depositions that five Brazilian Indian girls provided to the federal police as they investigated the sexual exploitation of minors along the Amazon for North American tourists. These girls told the police that a man named “Richard” illegally lured them off their reservations to work on his fishing boat, the Amazon Santana, to find that they were expected to get drunk and have sex with the fishermen. The girls needed the money to help their families, initially agreed to work on the fishing boats after “Richard” promised to pay them a set amount and then told the police that he never paid them what he promised.

There is a natural news transition here from covering the supply side of how child sex tourism works to further investigating those who go on these trips year after year. The timing is right because the feds are not going to come up empty handed after spending two years investigating the Jesters for prostitution, sex trafficking and child sex tourism.

Thanks to Dan Herbeck and Aaron Besecker, the Buffalo News first reported three Jesters had been caught in a FBI human trafficking sting, including a former NY State Supreme Court Judge, his law clerk and a retired police captain. Page 21 of this plea agreement describes how the judge got a reduced sentence for providing information about the Jesters’ involvement with prostitution, sex trafficking, the sexual abuse of minors and international travel for those purposes. This page shows that the former judge was arranging a “Book of the Play” trip to Costa Rica, sponsored by the Buffalo Jester Court #27.

After investigating the Shriners for nearly four years, it’s pretty safe to say that corruption is everywhere and that the Jesters' lust for prostitutes is just a part of it. Apparently, some leaders think it’s OK to use their unsuspecting Shriner brothers as a front, creating the warm and fuzzy image that they’re just a bunch of Grandfatherly do-gooders who work hard to raise money to support their network of 22 hospitals that provide free care to burned and crippled children. The corrupt act as if they are above the law, probably because their bylaws state that “Shrine law does not include the law of the land.”

This is no excuse for treating these Elders, especially the veterans, with such disrespect, especially after they have dedicated their golden years to wearing their red fezzes with pride while working so hard to help the kids.

Instead of sharing their vast and valuable life experiences to build a fabulous fraternity of unparalleled charity, these faithful Shriners, these successful business men, government leaders and dedicated family men, are sued into silence for asking questions like “Where does all the money go?” and “Why are your tax returns so messed up?” The members who truly want to embrace the most basic concept of “making good men better” are instead threatened, retaliated against and punished by their corrupt leaders for trying to do so.

What’s worse is the horrific possibility that little burned kids have been used as guinea pigs in clinical research studies for a burn treatment heading to market while still under an unresolved warning letter issued by the FDA.

But that’s another story.

"Bad Medicine" advances the randomly coincidental possibility of insider trading.

ABC News did a good job of providing interviews, pictures and video that show how fishing tour operators provide prostitutes.

I’ve heard that there are videos of Jesters from national “books,” used to blackmail the newly initiated into silence. It’s an “If you squeal, we’ll show this video of you doing this prostitute to your wife” kind of deal. These videos are probably in the custody of those on the Jester’s background investigation committee, tasked with obtaining self-incriminating confessions from prospective Jesters as they further seal vows of silence and protection. Such oaths are part Jester memberships, the first being that of Master Mason who can then join groups like the Scottish Rite, the Knights Templar and the Shriners. The Jesters are made up of those secretly invited from Shriner leadership.

Not only have Jesters been pictured partying with young Brazilian girls, their activities were further described in federal court depositions. From his Tuesday, April 15, 2008 deposition, current PACER document 83-3, former fishing guide Admilson Garcia Da Silva was asked:

“Q: Did you ever witness any of the Wet-A-Line customers engaging in sex acts with these women that were on the Wet-A-Line boats? (PP30)

A: Yes

Q: What did you see?

A: I saw five, five of them, five and five men and two of the women were minors.

Q: I'm sorry. You said you saw five men and five women and two of the women were minors. Is that what you said.

A: That's right.

Q: And what did you see the men and women doing with each other?

A: There was one woman having sex with a man and the other - the other woman only gave them a blow job. (PP 34)”

What would I give to be a fly on the wall as some genius Jester attorney tries to explain to an IRS agent that their exempt purpose of “spreading the gospel of merriment and mirth” includes writing off blow jobs as tax deductions. Payments for the prostitute’s rooms are hidden in finance statements under lump sum payments to hotels for Jester weekend parties.

Seriously, now, what type of nonprofit group mandates that members embrace blackmail to prevent them from ratting out a bunch of guys who think that operating a nationwide network of prostitution and going on fishing trips to party with underage Brazilian girls are nothing more than write offs?

This is the juxtaposition between nonprofit groups who are supposed to provide a benefit to society while operating in secret. A public group should be just that, hiding nothing while embracing the highest standards of nonprofit transparency, accountability and disclosure. After investigating the Shriners and the Jesters, it’s clear that if they just followed the rules, there would be nothing to report.

The Jesters are a self-described men’s luxury organization that, according to this tax return, spent nearly $600,000 on one of their weekend parties. All Jesters, even as Shriners and Master Masons, are all sworn to protect each other, especially those in law enforcement, the judiciary and other positions of authority, though it didn’t work out too well for those Jesters busted in that FBI human trafficking sting out of Buffalo. Details of how they got caught, are in this FBI application for arrest warrants.

I’ve spent the past month trying to get answers from various Louisiana officials about a law enforcement official who is also a Jester, but no one will respond. Maybe they’re too busy dealing with the corrupt cop Katrina case where two New Orleans police admitted to conspiring a cover up of how they, and others, shot six and killed two civilians, including one with special needs, post Katrina. Or maybe the PR people are tied up with the case of the Louisiana federal judge impeached by Congress for corruption.

Here’s the situation.

Governor Bobby Jindal appointed a top law enforcement official as representative to a think-tank that focuses on sharing all types of information regardless of venue or jurisdiction with an emphasis on Homeland Security. My question has to do with the Governor’s appointment process because there is really no way he could have known that this law enforcement official is also part of a group being investigated by the FBI for prostitution, human trafficking and child sex tourism.

The individual in question was not only appointed by Governor Jindal to SEARCH.org, he’s the head of the state’s sentencing commission and, as such, represents Louisiana on the National Association of Sentencing Commission and is also an advisor to the state’s law enforcement commission.

The question is:

Does the Governor’s appointment process provide the prospective appointee the opportunity for self disclosure to prevent conflict of interest and the appearance of impropriety?

It stands to reason that if this individual disclosed his Jester membership, the governor would never have appointed to him to a position with unlimited access to information that could be used to protect his brothers.

In the mean time, I hope that ABC News can get a hold of these Jester sex tapes so they can next report how members of the Royal Order of Jesters have conspired to hijack our nonprofit tax system so they can party with prostitutes at taxpayer expense.

All copies of material reprinted or duplicated from "by Sandy Frost" must include the following credit line: From http://sandyfrost.newsvine.com. Copyright (c) 2010 by Sandy Frost. Used by permission.

Update: 11/11/2009: The author of the Royal Order of Jesters "Mirth Missives" newsletter, Mack "Tazmack" Gooding, filed a second copyright infringement notice with Newsvine today, incorrectly claiming that I edited out his copyright notices on the newsletters as well as the subscription lists previously linked to in this article. FYI, here is a copy of the first notice he filed last March. For those of you in possession of past "Mirth Missives" as well as the subscriptlon lists, you know that there are no copyright notices anywhere on these documents. Here's a question for the rest of you. What kind of a nonprofit group has members who will go to any length to hide their newsletter and subscription list? What kind of a tax exempt group has members who threaten to drag a journalist to federal court because they are desperate to discover the sources who have provided these materials because that is what this is all about. Therefore, I am removing the links in question to protect my sources.

Thank you,

Sandy Frost

Adult content warning: Links to the Jesters official publication, the "Mirth Missives," make public material of a sexual, racist, misogynistic and otherwise offensive and derogatory nature. If you don't want to be offended, don't click on the links. Seriously.

Editor's Note: I've been investigating allegations of Shriner tax fraud and misuse of charitable donations for three and a half years. We're way beyond that now as their secret sub-group, the Royal Order of Jesters, is under investigation for operating a nationwide network of prostitution and child sex tourism. That's going to other countries to have sex with kids. As a matter of clarification, the Shriners, those goofy old guys in the red fezzes who work hard to support their beloved network of 22 hospitals that provide free medical care to burned and crippled children, are first Master Masons. Most have no idea that their charity has been compromised by those Shriners who accepted secret invitations to join the Royal Order of Jesters. This is the biggest nonprofit scandal of our time; that some Shriners hid behind burned and crippled children and conspired to convince the IRS to grant tax exempt status to their own nonprofit group so they could throw huge parties at tax payer expense. Like a nearly $600,000 weekend party. The IRS grants tax exempt status in exchange for providing some social or community benefit. The Jesters exempt purpose is "Promoting fellowship and fraternalism and extending assistance and good cheer to others" though they fail to detail their program accomplishments on their tax returns. So, when the Jesters don't pay certain taxes, fees and other obligations in exchange for providing program services, they are the only ones who benefit. This is illegal. When the Jesters don't pay taxes, the rest of us make up for it. That's how nonprofits work. It is my hope that the Shriners can somehow clean up their fraternity, to include denouncing, disassociating from and severing all ties to the Royal Order of Jesters, because oversight by law enforcement is no way to help the kids.

Sandy Frost

October 23, 2009

The Shriners secret sub-group, the Royal Order of Jesters, continues partying with prostitutes at tax payer expense, in spite of being investigated for interstate prostitution and child sex tourism.

It's business as usual for who have sex with hookers like Misty LaSweet because they think that their Jester brothers in law enforcement and the judiciary system will protect them above all else.

Remember, those Jesters caught by the Buffalo FBI in a human trafficking sting included a former New York Supreme Court Judge, his law clerk and a retired police captain. All pleaded guilty and were sentenced for taking an illegal alien prostitute from the Buffalo area to a Jester party in Ashland, Kentucky.

Doesn't look like anyone went to bat for those guys. Instead, national Jester leaders like Gary N. Martin tell reporters that the Buffalo bust was an isolated incident, implying that the Jesters don't participate in prostitution.

This invitation from the Jesters of Texas 2008 announces that the group will honor Royal Director Gary N. Martin at a Stag bash and that "Mirth - It's Bigger and Better in Texas!"

This party was scheduled two weeks after Hurricane Ike closed the Shriners Hospital for Children (SHC) in Galveston. Nowhere on the invitation does it ask these Jesters, invited from the ranks of Shriner leaders, to help their hospital rebuild or raise money to again provide free medical care to burned children.

In addition to being Royal Director of the Jesters, Martin is also on the board of the Mexico Shriners hospital.

In mid-August 2009, Jesters were meeting in Montana for their Book of the Play.

It's their initiation for the 13 new Shriners invited each year. That's after the candidates tell a review board ten self-incriminating secrets that no one else knows about them. For the privilege of joining the Jesters, the prospective members blackmail themselves by admitting to embezzlement and anything and everything else to keep them from squealing on their brother Jesters.

If they talk, these secrets are then used against them.

Here's an announcement for a Jester event in Yosemite put on by Fresno Court #157.

Here's a copy of the Jester newsletter, (Link Removed 11/11/2009) "Mirth Missives" from Super Bowl Sunday 2008. It includes a Jester wide warning about me and an offer from the then- publisher for free pharmaceuticals.

Here's another (Link Removed 11/11/2009) "Mirth Missives" with a picture that advises: "Play Dumb - If she looks TOO young, just assume she is 18."

According to sources, the then publisher replaced his computer last August because it "crashed," destroying all evidence of Jester records, confidential subscription lists and archived "Mirth Missives" in the process. He later demitted from the Royal Order of Jesters last October "for personal reasons."

Here are "Mirth Missive" subscription lists from April, 2006 (Link Removed 11/11/2009) and February, 2008 (Link Removed 11/11/2009).

As you scan the lists to see if you can recognize any of the names, you'll find no copyright marks on either the subscription list or the "Mirth Missives."

According to sources, the Jesters also traffick prostitutes around the country for their weekly meetings.

The U.S. Attorney"s office describes the Royal Order of Jesters as:

"This organization maintained chapters throughout the United States, including in Western New York, and it was the custom of these chapters to host periodic meetings, usually on weekends, for their members. At most of these meetings, some members of the organization would be tasked to arrange for the presence of women at the meetings, for the specific purpose of utilizing the women to engage in sexual intercourse and other sexual activity with the organization's members in exchange for money."

Sources claim that these "Books" include hospitality rooms for high stakes gambling, with as much as $100,000 in the middle of the tables.

They also allege that the Jesters pay for the prostitute's expenses, to include one who regularly accompanies a married member of the Royal line from state to state. These expenses are then hidden on the Jesters' tax returns as un-itemized expenses for the "Book of the Play" and payments to hotels on financial statements.

Additionally, sources identified a Jester doctor who certifies that the prostitutes are disease free.

It's also been alleged that most Masonic Grand Lodges across the country will not throw out Jesters involved with prostitution or any other crimes except for murder or treason. Sources say that Masonic committee members responsible for prosecuting such crimes instead quash investigations to protect themselves and/or their Jester brothers.

All copies of material reprinted or duplicated from "by Sandy Frost" must include the following credit line: From http://sandyfrost.newsvine.com. Copyright (c) 2009 by Sandy Frost. Used by permission.

I was puttering around the other night and got the urge to find the Jesters most recent tax returns.

I found them on Guidestar and armed with a yellow highlighter, sticky notes and legal pad, began scanning the categories, dollars and answers reported.

My brain started screaming "WTF?" until I got up and started pacing around as I couldn't believe what I was reading.

You'd fall asleep.

I was nearly running in place.

Over three years ago, I was contacted by a Shriner who'd been working with a former IRS agent. He asked me to investigate his own because expert analysis of Shriner tax returns revealed "discrepancies."

This all started with allegations of the misuse of charitable donations, retaliation and tax fraud.

We're WAY beyond that now.

So, the Shriners sued these guys, my sources, for defamation after one claimed the charity was being investigated by the state of Pennsylvania. The Shriners, among other things, named me as a secondary party of interest and used "production of documents" in an attempt to get their paws on otherwise protected communications between me and the whistleblowers to see if they were telling me what to write and/or if they were writing articles for me.

What an insult.

Then, I began wondering "What are the Shriners so desperate to hide?"

The lawsuit was settled out of court and today, you're reading about the Shriners' secret sub-group, the Royal Order of Jesters and prostitution.

I've been at this since April, 2006, digging into all sorts of documents as well as countless tax returns and have reached a bizarre conclusion that ends, for the first time, at a dead end.

Well, except for an unfounded rumor.

Based on officers named on tax returns as well as in a secret directory, my bizarre conclusion is that:

The Shriners are controlled by their secret sub-group, the Royal Order of Jesters. And Jester tax returns reveal that the Royal Order of Jesters is controlled by their secret sub-group, the Secret Order of Brothers in Blood or S.O.B.I.B.

I have no idea what this means except for the possibility that the Shriners are controlled by a bunch of guys who belong to a nationwide group described by a U.S. Attorney as having members who get prostitutes for their weekend meetings.

Or if the unfounded rumors are true, the Jesters are controlled by a bunch of guys who have a thing for menstrual blood. Or girls. Or maybe both. But really, I have no idea as this is just a wild rumor.

Interestingly, the Jesters report on their latest tax return that they spent over $13,000 on "Rituals."

What we do know is that three Jesters were convicted after getting caught in an FBI human trafficking sting for taking illegal alien prostitutes to their weekend parties.

One of those caught, a former judge, will soon be heading to federal prison for 18 months. He pleaded guilty to violating the Mann Act and got a reduced sentence for cooperating with an investigation into the Jesters for the sexual exploitation of minors and travel out of the country for those purposes.

He's a S.O.B.I.B. too.

We also know that the former fishing tour operator who took 19 Jesters fishing on the Amazon was indicted by the Brazilian federal police last April for allegedly providing underage prostitutes for his North American fishing clients.

Per "Newsitorial: Schair's Failed Application for Habeas Corpus Confirms Indictment, Implicates Jesters" :

"A failed application for habeas corpus has made public a court file that details the evidence for which former fishing tour operator Richard W. Schair was indicted by the Brazilian federal police as they investigated the sexual exploitation of minor Indian girls living along the Amazon. The file includes a client manifest that names three members of the Shriners secret sub-group, the Royal Order of Jesters (ROJ)."

Schair had sued a competitor for defamation for alleging his involvement with prostitution. A witness list for the defense names 19 Jesters who were expected to testify about their first hand knowledge of fishing trips to Brazil and sex with underage prostitutes. Eye witness depositions in the case testify that the Jesters asked to be called "Masons" and asked for girls over 13.

One must first be a Master Mason to join groups like the Scottish Rite, the Knights Templar and the Shriners.

One must be an invited Shriner to join the Royal Order of Jesters.

And at this point, I have no idea about how a Jester joins the S.O.B.I.B. or what they do at their meetings other than meet as "Brothers in Blood."

As evidence mounted against him, Schair paid the defendant $15K to settle out of court.

One guy on the witness list, Samuel "Scutter" Newton of Las Vegas, Nevada links this case to the Jester National Court, as he's listed on their 2007 tax return as an officer.

A comparison of the Jester's national officers to a secret directory reveals that eight out of nine national officers are also members of the S.O.B.I.B., including Newton, who is named on both.

All the officers listed on the Jesters' 2006 tax return are also in the S.O.B.I.B. and all but two listed on the 2005 tax return are in the S.O.B.I.B. including:

William Siders

Robert M. Haynes

John T. Stafford

James M. Lake PRD

Taylor E. Best

Gary Martin

Dennis R. Schueler

Raymond Grannis

Paul A. Stradman

John T. Stradtman

Robert C. Davis

Alex Rogers - Business Administrator

Now, back to the tax returns.

Nonprofit groups file tax returns like everyone else because they're corporations, just nonprofit. That means they don't make any money and no one is supposed to benefit. These groups get these tax breaks because they're supposed to benefit society like helping the needy or finding homes for animals.

The Jester's exempt purpose is:

"Promoting fellowship and fraternalism and extending assistance and good cheer to others."
"Management by Mirth" reports that:

* Eleven out of twelve of Shriner Hospitals for Children (SHC) trustees are Jesters.

* Fourteen out of twenty one of those listed on the SHC 2006 tax returns are Jesters.

* Nine out of fourteen of those listed on the 2006 fraternal tax return are Jesters.

This could help explain the hospital's financial woes that nearly led to closures. Which, for those faithful Shriners who have dedicated their lives to supporting the hospitals, was worst case scenario. The last Shriner national convention saw a vote to keep the hospitals open as well as throw out former SHC CEO, Ralph Semb.

An internal investigation investigated Semb and Imperial Treasurer Gene Bracewell and, among other things, recommended that they be reprimanded for lobbying on behalf of a fundraiser who kept $43 millin out of $47 million raised for the hospitals.

Last I knew, both were Jesters and Semb's pictured here in the S.O.B.I.B. directory.

Now, the Shriners are made up of two nonprofit components, a 501c10 fraternity made up of members and a 501c3 charity of 22 hospitals that provide free medical care to burned and crippled children.

Same for the Jesters, who somehow convinced the IRS to grant them a 501c3 charitable classification for operating a "museum" out of their new headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana.

The Marion county assessor rejected the Jesters application for a property tax exemption because they didn't buy it but on appeal, the exemption was granted because executive director Alex Rogers convinced the tax board that the Royal Order of Jesters was an appendant group of Masonry.

So, what kind of a museum lists it's worth as $1.4 million but has no employees, phone or computers; nor does it pay for utilities?

The museum's directors all are in the S.O.B.I.B. including:

Hugh Libby

Ray Thagard

George Burt

Ray Grannis

James White

Henry Everett

Here's the S.O.B.I.B. Toast:

"A Few Good l\len and A Few Good Times"

To the Chap who seeks

Those of his kind

Who treasure the drink

And savor the wine.

An Evangel of Mirth

Time and again

Found in the company

Of a Few Good Men.

A Toast to the One

Who reveres the food.

Cursed by his wife in "surly" mood

For quite often he's mocked

By those who malign

That Fellow who cherishes

A Few Good Times.

So here's to our Order

And those we call Brother.

To the bond that binds us

One to the other.

For there are "Traveling" groups of admirable intent

With glossy mottos and rhymes

But as for us, it's the simple notion

Of a Few Good Men, and a Few Good Times.

A copy of the S.O.B.I.B directory, including members' pictures and contact information, can be found here.

All copies of material reprinted or duplicated from "by Sandy Frost" must include the following credit line: From http://sandyfrost.newsvine.com. Copyright (c) 2009 by Sandy Frost. Used by permission.

Disclaimer and Adult Content Warning: This is called a "newsitorial" because investigative journalism doesn’t need to be dry, dull and boooring. Reporting the news with voice will make it easier to understand and follow along as I’ve been tracing out this tangled web of Shriner corruption since April 2006. Plus, I don’t want Newsvine to get sued for defamation/libel again, though last time the plaintiff tucked tail and ran after his complaint was moved to federal court. And I can’t tell you how many day’s I’ve spent translating legal documents from Portuguese to English using Yahoo Babel Fish. Finally, legal documents refer to the sexual exploitation of underage Indian girls so if you consider this type of material offensive or disturbing, consider yourself warned.

Thank you,

Sandy Frost
Starbuck’s Washington
9/9/09

A failed application for habeas corpus has made public a court file that details the evidence for which former fishing tour operator Richard W. Schair was indicted by the Brazilian federal police as they investigated the sexual exploitation of minor Indian girls living along the Amazon. The file includes a client manifest that names three members of the Shriners secret sub-group, the Royal Order of Jesters (ROJ).

Exclusive coverage of this and the conviction of three other Jesters who were caught in a FBI human trafficking sting can be found here.

Schair's application was an attempt to avoid prosecution as he asked a Brazilian judge to throw out the case against him.

His application included customer lists that named clients who’d submitted affidavits claiming they never witnessed any girls or prostitution while on his Wet-a-Line fishing trips.

One of these lists (photo 1) includes three members of the Royal Order of Jesters, guests of Schair’s from August 31 - September 9, 2005. They are Donald W. Anderson, R.W. Keers and R.R. Kirby, all members of the ROJ Albuquerque court # 24.

They provided no such affadavits.

These statements were solicited in an attempt to discredit depositions provided by five Indian girls who told the Brazilian federal police that a North American named "Richard" illegally lured them off their reservations into prostitution with tourists aboard his fishing boats. One girl testified that she'd been left pregnant at age 13 after such a trip.

The Jesters involvement with Schair was first reported here. Schair had sued a competitor, Philip Marsteller, for alleging he was involved in prostitution. A witness list for the defense named 19 Jesters who were expected to testify about their fishing trips to Brazil and:

"their first hand knowledge of prostitution, minor prostitution, use of illegal drugs and/or entry into Indian reservations by Schair (plaintiff) and/or his customers."

Schair's application for habeas corpus in part blamed Marsteller for his legal troubles but the judge didn’t buy it. Her first decision to deny alludes to Schair's pleas that he not endure further financial and psychological hardship, including the scrutiny of his parents. She continues that though Schair claimed his application was urgent, she failed to see why because the police report she had asked for spelled out why he'd been indicted. She decided Schair's application lacked urgency and the evidence proved it lacked merit so she denied it.

The police report (photos 2 and 3) explains that they'd been investigating how Schair allegedly used underage prostitutes to attract tourists to his fishing business in Brazil.

The report continues that the materially criminal information included police files, declarations, audiovisual materials and registered documents that support penalties and sanctions against Schair for:

• having sexual relations with a minor under 14

• enticing minors under age 18

• attracting the girls to facilitate prostitution

• keeping boats as destinations for prostitution

• promoting the recruitment, transport of and lodging of girls on the boats to practice prostitution, among other things

The judge's five page final denial cites these violations in addition to those of Brazil's Statute of the Indian, using words like sexual violence and Indians.

Indigenous rights were first legislated in 1811, nine years after Brazil became independent of Portugal. According to "Indigenous Rights in Democratic Brazil" by Maria Guadalupe Moog Rodrigues published in Human Rights Quarterly 24, the Portuguese Crown had authorized a "total war" against indigenous peoples to wipe them out and claim their resource rich lands. The new Brazilian law was a step toward protecting Indian's rights but really considered them too stupid to make their own decisions, thus legislating that the Indian's material and personal rights be protected under the "Justice of Orphans" and be administered by the government.

In 1919, the Brazilian Civil Code included "Indians" and considered them "relatively incapable" of exercising their rights as they were lumped together with minors and the mentally ill. The 1973 Indigenous Peoples' Statute exerted more control over their property, income and land, to include mineral rights. This changed in 1988 with a new Brazilian constitution as they abandoned military regime in favor of democracy.

Today, indigenous rights groups continue to fight for citizenship rights that protect all of Brazil's first peoples.

So, in the end, what does this all mean?

Richard W. Schair is in a lot of trouble, especially if the extradition treaty between Brazil and the United States is enforced. His attempt to clear his name in Brazil blew up in his face. His attempt to proclaim his innocence made public evidence that, indeed, he'd been indicted and, if the police report and judge's denials stand up in court, he'd probably be found guilty as charged for luring underage Indian girls into prostitution for his customers in addition to having sex with one under the age of 14.

As this was unfolding in Brazil, Schair attempted to clear his name in the United States by suing Newsvine for defamation and libel. His complaint focused on my articles, especially the one that reported he’d been indicted in Brazil.

This was his second such lawsuit after Schair sued a competitor for alleging that he was involved with prostitution. Mounting evidence substantiated the defendant’s claims so Schair settled out of court by paying him $15K.

Likewise, Schair withdrew his lawsuit against Newsvine after his complaint was moved to federal court.

None of this bodes well for the Royal Order of Jesters, especially since the last of three who pleaded guilty to violating the Mann Act was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison. The three, a former New York state Supreme Court judge, his law clerk and a retired police captain, were caught in a FBI human trafficking sting out of Buffalo, NY for taking illegal aliens to weekend parties in Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Florida so their Jester brothers could have sex with them. The judge’s plea agreement states that he worked with national court officers to coordinate prostitutes for a national meeting in Ontario, Canada.

The Jester's constitution and bylaws state that members must first obtain a letter of approval from the national court before taking trips overseas, so logically, somewhere exists such a document sanctioning these fishing trips to Brazil.

Then there are other issues such the violation of Indian rights and nonprofit abuse, since the Jesters, the Shriners and their Masonic parent groups are all classified by the IRS as tax exempt or nonprofit.

Above all else, these guys are Master Masons, sworn to defend and protect each other in the name of charity, love and brotherhood except in the cases of murder and treason. One of the depositions from Schair’s first lawsuit was from a fishing guide who stated that the Jesters asked to be called Masons and asked for girls over 13.

Things could get a little messy once federal investigators identify Jesters who are supposed to enforce the law instead of using their positions of influence to protect those who break it.

I suspect that in this case, the cover up will be worse than the crime since these guys think they are above the law.

In fact, Shriner bylaws state that their law does not include the law of the land.

At this point, it’s just a waiting game to see if there is a convergence between the investigation, prosecution and conviction of those Jesters busted in Buffalo for the prostitution of illegal aliens and those Jesters associated with Schair, especially since the denial of his habeas corpus application makes possible his extradition to Brazil for the prosecution of prostituting of underage Indian girls to attract more business.

All copies of material reprinted or duplicated from "by Sandy Frost" must include the following credit line: From http://sandyfrost.newsvine.com. Copyright (c) 2009 by Sandy Frost. Used by permission.

Former Judge Ronald Tills is being sentenced tomorrow for pleading guilty to violating the Mann Act. He was caught with two others in a FBI human trafficking sting for taking illegal alien prostitutes to weekend meetings of the Royal Order of Jesters so their Master Mason brothers could have sex.

The Jesters, like their parent organizations, the Shriners and Masons, are nonprofit groups, so it's like partying with prostitutes at taxpayer expense.

In his defense, pre-sentencing memoranda and letters of support have been submitted and are available on the United States federal court record system AKA PACER.

A few things bear discussion here but let's first review what happened.

The FBI had been watching four massage parlors near Buffalo, New York that were fronts for prostitution except that the girls working there were Asian illegal aliens. As agents watched and listened to phone conversations, they heard then Judge Ronald Tills calling the boss lady for appointments with the girls and to giving advice on how to keep them from talking because one had discovered that if she was arrested, she could become a legal resident.
Not only did Tills frequent the prostitutes, he began taking them to weekend meetings of the Royal Order of Jesters, a secret sub-group of the Shriners.

Yes, the Shriners.

They're best known for their red fezzes and driving goofy little cars in parades as they raise money to support their network of 22 hospitals that provide free medical care to burned and crippled children.

Most people can't wrap their heads around the fact that this secret group, the Jesters, descends from Freemasonry, a group of men who try to make themselves better while preaching brotherly love, tolerance and family values.

So, Judge Tills was busted with two other Jesters who have already been sentenced to probation, fined and must now register as sex offenders.

He's being sentenced tomorrow, Friday, August 7 and most likely will spend about two years in the slammer.

Either way, if he's in prison or somehow sentenced to probation like the other two, he's pretty much screwed.

Or maybe the better way to put it is marked for death.

Why?

As a judge, he sentenced many of the guys he might be hanging out with if he's sent to prison. His pre-sentencing memorandum states that he's had quadruple bypass surgery, has high blood pressure and is in poor health overall.

No one will need to shank him.

All they'll have to do is scare him to death.

I've been investigating the Shriners for over three years now and one of the most shocking things I've learned is that their bylaws state that Shrine law does not include the law of the land. And, like the Masons, if their secrets are revealed, bad things will happen.

Masonic secrecy vows state "I swear... binding myself under no less a penalty than that of having my throat cut from ear to ear, my tongue torn out by its roots..."

The Masons swear to protect each other and even lie except in the cases of murder and treason. Other than that, anything goes. If you break them, they will cut you in half and burn your intestines and scatter you to the wind or something equally warm and fuzzy.

The Shriners will pierce your eyeball with a three bladed knife and flay your feet and send you out to walk the burning sands.

Judge Tills has cooperated with the government's investigation into the Royal Order of Jesters for sex trafficking and child sex tourism, much like the articles that have been written about Richard Schair, the former fishing tour operator who's close to being prosecuted in Brazil for rape, operating a prostitution network and corruption of minors. Schair came to my attention because he filed a defamation lawsuit against a competitor who produced a witness list in his defense that named 19 members of the Royal Order of Jesters who, as Schair's customers, were expected to testify about their first hand knowledge of sex with minor prostitutes.

Tills' pre-sentencing memorandum states that when he joined the Royal Order of Jesters, "the group's practice of inviting women, called 'Jester girls,' to the meetings for sexual activities was already a long-standing tradition. Every few years, a letter was sent out advising members that women should not be brought to Jester functions, but everyone knew that the letters were window dressing and not to be taken seriously. Indeed, women always were at Jester functions. The behavior was not isolated to the Buffalo group of Jesters. In fact, it was reported to have occurred at Jester meetings across the country. The motto taught to newcomers 'What you hear here, what you see here, stays here when you leave here' evidences the sort of activity expected at Jester meetings."

According to the memorandum, the judge recognized that what he saw at the time as friendship and camaraderie in a national organization really was morally bankrupt and often criminal. The judge arranged for women to travel to the various Jester meetings not to make money for himself or even for the organization but only because it was part of his "job description" as the Director of the Buffalo Chapter of the Jesters.

Judge Tills is the first to testify this extensively against this group and for doing so, is risking his life.

His attorneys probably should have asked for witness protection because there are 24,000 Jesters wishing he'd never been born.

Or if you look at it another way, Tills may have helped uncover the biggest front for prostitution ever, with over 20,000 potential "Johns" neatly recorded in membership rosters filed away at national headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana. If these Jesters didn't participate in or arrange for the prostitution, they at least knew about it and, as such, are accessories who should have reported these crimes.

Instead, these Master Masons have protected each other.

Tills cooperation has opened up the floodgates and if the FBI continues investigating, they will find Jesters as deputy directors of law enforcement commissions, high ranking elected officials and even among their own.

One would think that there would be a huge outcry among the leaders of Freemasonry for the Jesters bringing such shame and bad PR to their doors. But the problem is that many of them attend the same weekend prostitution parties and even arrange for the girls to be there, just like Tills admitted to.

There is a good part in all of this and that is he's getting help for his alcoholism.

This next Saturday, I will celebrate 27 years of sobriety.

I know that we do things we're not proud of while drunk.

One of the most interesting things from Tills' memorandum is a letter from a service coordinator who works with Alcoholics Anonymous.

This is an unusual break from tradition but speaks highly of Tills dedication to living sober one day at a time. It's guys like this, who hit rock bottom, who can help other alcoholics recover more than anyone else.

More than doctors and chemical dependency counselors, it's the reaching out to another alcoholic, sitting down with them and a cup of coffee and letting them know they're not bad, just sick, and by going to meetings and living lives of service and gratitude, there is hope for recovery.

The United States position is that Tills didn't take prostitutes across state lines once or twice, like the other two he was caught with, but that he did it for years and should spend a couple years thinking about it in prison.

But what about his cooperation to help investigators uncover a nationwide network of prostitution that is part of the biggest nonprofit fraud of our time?

Even the U.S. Attorney's office describes the Royal Order of Jesters as an organization that "maintained chapters throughout the United States, including in Western New York, and it was the custom of these chapters to host periodic meetings, usually on weekends, for their members. At most of these meetings, some members of the organization would be tasked to arrange for the presence of women at the meetings, for the specific purpose of utilizing the women to engage in sexual intercourse and other sexual activity with the organization's members in exchange for money."

Judge Tills has risked his life and the lives of his loved ones by standing up to a group of men who want to see him dead for betraying their dirty little secret.

Remember, the Jesters are invited from the ranks of Shriner leaders who ruthlessly retaliate against those who expose the fact that they have long abused their positions of public trust for personal gain.

Yes, Judge Tills should indeed pay his debt to society.

But society will be better off if he's made an example of by suffering in public as the one who exposed the Royal Order of Jesters instead of spending the rest of his life locked away to suffer in silence.

.
All copies of material reprinted or duplicated from "by Sandy Frost" must include the following credit line: From http://sandyfrost.newsvine.com. Copyright (c) 2009 by Sandy Frost. Used by permission.

Adult content warning and disclaimer: Linked court documents describe acts and images of an adult nature and were legally and lawfully obtained while publically available on the United States Federal Court PACER system. Linked documents have been available online since initial publication and remain unchallenged. Portuguese to English translation done by Yahoo Babel Fish.

Sandy Frost

Monday, June 29, 2009

On June 23, 2009, Brazilian federal judge, MARIA LUCIA GOMES DE SOUZA, denied a June 19, 2009 Habeas Corpus request filed on behalf of former fishing tour operator Richard Wayne Schair of Gainesville, Georgia. If granted, this would have protected Schair from unlawful detention upon entering Brazil after being charged with rape, corruption of minors and operating a house of prostitution.

Brazilian Federal Police, Amazon division inquest #410/2007 led to filing legal proceedings against Schair on August 8, 2007 as they investigated "that since the year 2000, minor Indian and other girls living near the rivers in the region of the Municipality of Autazes/AM became victims of sexual exploitation by North American tourists."

Until recently, Schair operated Wet-A-Line Tours that provided Peacock Bass fishing trips along the Amazon. On May 11, 2007, he filed a defamation lawsuit against competitor Philip Marsteller, owner of Amazon Tours, after he alleged Schair was involved with illegal drugs and prostitution. As evidence seemed to support these allegations, Schair withdrew his complaint and settled out of court on December, 9, 2008.

Evidence included depositions from two Brazilian fishing guides who, in February, 2008, went to the Brazilian Federal Police and the American Embassy in Brasilia to testify about and provide pictures of Schair's clients having sex with underage Indian girls. Both were encouraged to further testify in the United States in mid April, 2008, provided depositions for the defense.

From his Tuesday, April 15, 2008 deposition, current PACER document 83-3, Admilson Garcia Da Silva was asked:

Q: Did you ever witness any of the Wet-A-Line customers engaging in sex acts with these women that were on the Wet-A-Line boats? (PP30)

A: Yes

Q: What did you see?

A: I saw five, five of them, five and five men and two of the women were minors.

Q: I'm sorry. You said you saw five men and five women and two of the women were minors. Is that what you said.

A: That's right.

Q: And what did you see the men and women doing with each other?

A: There was one woman having sex with a man and the other - the other woman only gave them a blow job. (PP 34)

On Tuesday, April 15, 2008, Adilson Garcia Da Silva was asked in current PACER document 83-2:

Q: Who asked you to purchase drugs for Wet-A-Line's customers? (PP56)

A: Mr. Richard would ask, would ask me to buy.

Q: What did he specifically ask you to buy?

A: Every time he would go to Brazil, he would ask me to buy.

Q: What did he specifically ask you to purchase?

A: It was marijuana. As a matter of fact, before I left, he wanted to order marijuana. He wanted more.

Q: What are - did you ever hear anything that occurred on the Wet-A-Line boats that you thought were somewhat unusual with respect to customers having sex with these prostitutes? (PP 89)

A: Yes.

Q: What were some of the things that you saw from these customers with these prostitutes?

A: Oral sex during the day, especially, and the strip at night. Dancing and exaggerated drinking, drugs. (PP90)

Q: What is the youngest age that you're aware of girls being prostitutes on Wet-A-Line boats? (PP100)

A: They said that there were 18, but some of them were 16, 17.

Q: What is the youngest age that you're aware of a girl being on the boat as a prostitute?

A: My brother would pick up a group of girls in Autazes, and would take by boat to an American. One was 13, one was 14, and there was one who was even 9 years old. (PP101)

Q: Was there ever a certain age group that you were asked to retain the services of meeting, a certain age group of females that you were ever asked to retain the services of while working at Wet-A-Line tours for specific - for a specific group of customers? (PP 23)

A: Yes. They always wanted the young ones.

Q: Was there ever a specific age group that you were asked to hire for a specific group of customers?

A: They would ask from 13 up. (PP 24)

Q: Was there a specific group of customers, of Wet-A-Line customers that you were aware of that wanted a certain age group of women?

A: It was more so the group of Masons (sic) that would ask for that.

Q: And was that the group of people that are indentified in the pictures that you have provided in this case?

A: Yes

A witness list for the defense named 19 Masons who were also members of the Shriner's secret sub-group, the Royal Order of Jesters or ROJ. The Shriners are best known for their network of 22 hospitals that provide free medical care to burned and crippled children and have been the subject of investigation here since June, 2006 for their lack of nonprofit transparency, disclosure and accountability.

The first ever article written about the ROJ can be read here.

"Jesters Exposed" details a complaint that asked the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Texas to investigate the Jesters for:

- Actions which disgrace Masonry

- Indulging in the intemperate use of intoxicating liquor

- Gambling

- Profane swearing

- Willfully abandoning their families

- Cohabiting with lewd women

The investigation yielded no prosecutions.

"Jesters To Testify about Illegal Drugs, Child Prostitution?" can be read here.

This article names those 19 Jesters who were expected to testify about fishing trips to Brazil and "their first hand knowledge of prostitution, minor prostitution, use of illegal drugs and/or entry into Indian reservations by Schair (plaintiff) and/or his customers."

These include:

William Dewane Meeks, address unknown.

Ferrel Harrison Adams, Jr., ROJ Court #24, Albuquerque, NM.

Robert Rex Lee, M.D., ROJ Court # 76, Wichita, KS.

Robert Rex Lee, II, ROJ Court #76, Wichita, KS.

Thomas Raymond Lee, address unknown.

Don Anderson, ROJ Court #24, Albuquerque, NM.

Douglas Allan Boynton, ROJ Court #161, President, 2005, Long Beach, CA.

Norman Lee Broschous, Peoria, IL.

Robert George Duncan, ROJ Court #161, Long Beach CA.

Phillip Carl Spellens, ROJ Court #161, Secretary, 2005, 2006, Long Beach, CA.

Claude William "Bill" Grimes, ROJ Court #168, Tyler, TX.

Carl Wayne Mixon, Sr., ROJ Court #36, New Orleans, LA.

Walker Jenkins, ROJ Court #161, Long Beach, CA.

Samuel Emmett "Scutter" Newton, Jr., ROJ Court #181, Las Vegas, NV.

Roy Edward Pennington, ROJ Court # 36, New Orleans, LA.

Roy Edward Pennington Jr., ROJ Court #36, New Orleans, LA.

Edward Beynroth Schwimg, Address unknown.

Edward William Sparks, Address unknown.

Harry Howlett Waldron, ROJ Court #90, Jacksonville, FL.

"Brazilian Fishing Trip Depositions: 'Masons' Pictured Having Sex with Teen Prostitutes?" can be read here.

This describes depositions that identify pictures of "Masons" having sex with underage girls.

These articles were published around the same time that Dan Herbeck of the Buffalo News broke the news about how three members of the Royal Order of Jesters were caught in a FBI human trafficking sting as they took illegal alien prostitutes to weekend Jester bashes in Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Florida and Canada.

These Jesters included a former New York state Supreme Court judge, his law clerk and a retired police captain. All three pled guilty to violating the Mann Act, with the law clerk and retired police captain being sentenced to house arrest and probation. The judge's sentencing date has been extended to August 7, 2009 for providing proactive cooperation with respect to the unlawful transportation of individuals for prostitution or other sexual activity prohibited by law, and that includes sex trafficking, sexual exploitation of minors or any international travel for that purpose."

"Royal Order of Jester (ROJ) Resource & Poll" can be read here.

This describes the Jester national court's nonprofit status and how they reported to the IRS on their 2007 tax return that they spent nearly $600,000 on one of their weekend bashes.

That's about $12K a minute, which is over four times the per capita income of $2842.36 per Brazilian.

"Child Sex Tourism: Brazilian Teens Testify About Being Lured into Minor Prostitution for American Tourists" can be read here.

This article makes it clear that there is no direct link between these Brazilian Indian girls and those Jesters who were also clients of Richard Schair and Wet-A-Line Tours. It reports that five "Jane Does" provided depositions to the Brazilian Federal police on June 13, 2007 and alleged that a North American named "Richard" illegally entered their Indian reservation to lure them into prostitution aboard his fishing boat, the Amazon Santana. The girls testified that two were 13, two were 14 and one was 16 at the time of first contact with "Richard."

One of the 13 year olds reported she was left pregnant after one such fishing trip.

According to the U.S. Department of State, child sex tourism (CST) involves travelling out of country to pay for sex with children. This results in "mental and physical consequences for the exploited children, that may include disease (including HIV/AIDS), drug addiction, pregnancy, malnutrition, social ostracism, and possibly death."

United States citizens or residents who engage in sexual activity abroad with a child under 18 and/or those who organize such trips can face up to 30 years in prison.

Two time offenders can be sentenced to life.

And there is no statute of limitations.

Specifically, from the Department of Justice:

"Those who profit from victimizing children and adults in the sex trade are only one half of the problem. The other half is those who patronize this exploitive industry. Federal statutes hold those who travel to do so, and those who benefit from arranging that travel, accountable. For example, 18 U.S.C. § 2423(b) prohibits traveling across state lines or into the United States for the purpose of engaging in any illicit sexual conduct (which includes any commercial sex act with a person under 18) and carries a 30 year maximum sentence, while 18 U.S.C. § 2423(c) prohibits an American citizen or national engaging in illicit sexual conduct outside the United States and carries a 30 year maximum sentence. 18 U.S.C. § 2423(c) does not require that the citizen have traveled outside the country with the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign country. 18 U.S.C. § 2423(d) prohibits arranging or facilitating, for financial gain, another person's travel to engage in illicit sexual conduct and carries a 30 year maximum sentence."

All copies of material reprinted or duplicated from "by Sandy Frost" must include the following credit line: From http://sandyfrost.newsvine.com/ Copyright © 2009 by Sandy Frost. Used by permission.

Retired police captain John Trowbridge got off light for his part in the Buffalo Royal Order of Jester prostitution ring.

Editor's Note:
This resource was created as a public service for those wanting to know more about the Shriners' secret sub-group, the Royal Order of Jesters. The intention is to provide more information in advance of the April 29 UTMB v Shriners hearing in Galveston, Texas and the May 6 and 7 sentencings of those two Jesters caught by the FBI in a human trafficking sting out of Buffalo, NY.
Thank you,
Sandy Frost
Starbucks, WA

The buzz at this year's Shriner Fourth of July convention is going to be how their endowment lost $3 billion in less than a year, on top of losing $1 million a day since 2001, as everyone was blindsided by the news that the joint boards are considering closing six of their hospitals "because of the economy."

If anyone asks Shriner leaders "Where did all the money go?" they will be hushed up or threatened or told to leave or brought up on "charges" before an internal kangaroo court or sued for defamation or otherwise retaliated against.

There is a bigger problem, however, that the Shriners should address. It is one that leaders will never acknowledge and one that members will never be allowed to discuss and that is the Shriners secret sub-group, the Royal Order of Jesters and their prostitution/sex crime scandals.

Though the Jesters are holding their annual meeting at the same time as the Shriners convention in San Antonio, they will be persona non grata and swept under the rug.

Why?

Because the majority those who control the Shriners joint boards are also Jesters. Why would they implicate themselves and invite more scrutiny when the media is already asking about hospital closures? What if anyone factored mismanagement, corruption and a lack of ethics into the "blame the economy" equation to hypothesize a corporate model that either allowed or facilitated these staggering losses?

So what does the Shriner/Jester family tree look like?

The Shriners and the Royal Order of Jesters are appendant groups of Freemasonry. One must first be a Master Mason before being able to join sub-groups like the Scottish Rite, Knights Templar and the Shriners. However, one must first be an invited Shriner before joining the Royal Order of Jesters, a self-described "luxury organization for only those who can qualify and who can afford it."

There are about 23,500 Jesters organized into "courts" that correspond to the 191 Shriner temples located across North America.

Below is a list of Jester related articles, beginning with "Jesters Exposed," the first article ever written about the ROJ.

It was published on February 15, 2008 and was mostly about nonprofit tax technicalities and how the nonprofit group's leaders ordered that the internet be scrubbed of ROJ information to "minimize to the extent possible, our public exposure or its access to Jesters information" because it had been alleged that their weekend meetings were nothing more than prostitution parties where they drank and played high stakes poker at taxpayer expense.

A few days after that, I learned about how 19 Jesters were named on a witness list for the defense in a defamation action between two fishing tour operators who took groups to fish the Amazon in Brazil. "'Jesters' To Testify about Illegal Drugs, Child Prostitution?" was published about three weeks later, on March 6, 2008, and reported how these Jesters were expected to testify about "their first hand knowledge of prostitution, minor prostitution, use of illegal drugs and/or the alleged illegal entry of one of the tour operators into Indian reservations by the plaintiff and his customers."

Three days later, on March 9, 2008, The Buffalo News reported "Former Judge Tills resigns amid FBI prostitution investigation."

Reporters Dan Herbeck and Aaron Besecker wrote:

"A retired State Supreme Court justice resigned his post as a hearing officer as federal agents investigate his alleged role in taking a local massage parlor worker across state lines for purposes of prostitution. FBI and U.S. Border Patrol agents are investigating allegations that retired Judge Ronald H. Tills, his former law clerk and a retired police captain took the female massage parlor employee in a motor home to a gathering of members of a nationwide group called the Royal Order of Jesters."

Turns out the judge, his law clerk and the retired police captain got caught in a FBI human trafficking sting and pleaded guilty to taking, or conspiring to take, illegal alien prostitutes to Jester parties in Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Florida as well as a national meeting held in Ontario, Canada. The law clerk was sentenced last December to four months home confinement, fined $5,000, ordered to 250 hours of community service and put on two years probation.

The former judge and retired police captain are scheduled to be sentenced May 6 and 7 for violating the Mann Act.

Below is a chronological list of Jester articles, with links to those documents being described including Jester tax returns that show how they spent nearly $600,000 on one of their weekend parties, a revised constitution that shows the interdependence between the Shriners and Jesters, a list of meetings, ceremonies like "The Book of the Play," depositions and plea agreements.

http://sandyfrost.newsvine.com/_news/2008/02/15/1304754-jesters-exposed”">Jesters Exposed Fri Feb 15, 2008 9:35 PM EST

This is the first article ever written about the Shriner secret sub-group, the Royal Order of Jesters or ROJ. It reports:

• ROJ 2005 tax returns AKA the 990s show that the Jesters fraternal brought in over $1.3 million dollars with assets totaling over $1.8 million dollars.

• ROJ 2005 tax returns show that Jesters charitable brought in over $420,000 with assets totaling $835,000, for a combined worth of about $2.65 million dollars and that charitable contributions went toward building their new $1.2 million 5,000 square foot HQ/museum in Indianapolis, Indiana.

• In 2006, ROJ executive director Alex Rogers, who is also an attorney and past potentate, submitted an application for property tax exemption to the Marion County Assessor that was initially denied because tax authorities were not convinced that the Jesters qualified as a charity, based on the museum claims, under Indiana law.

• Rogers appealed the decision and convinced the Indiana Tax Assessment Board of Appeals that the Jesters are an appendant body of Masonry. Both parties entered into a Settlement Agreement in January, 2007 that stipulated a 100% fraternal tax exemption for the year 2005, otherwise the Jesters would have had to cough up about $12,000 in property taxes.

• Two ROJ executive directors appear to be practicing law out of Jester HQ in Indiana and Texas. IRS nonprofit laws state that no one shall benefit personally from a nonprofit group.

• “Royal Stage Manager” Dennis Schueler sent a letter to Jester webmaster Frank Baillie, informing him that the Jesters had “directed the abolition of all Jester-related bulletin boards and internet sites. The primary reason behind such action was the desire of the Board to minimize to the extent possible, our public exposure or its access to Jesters information.”

• ROJ functions have always been listed on the Imperial Council’s annual session agenda.

• Shriners’ corporate communications director, Alicia Aargiz-Lyons failed to respond to phone messages and emailed questions about the Royal Order of Jesters.

"Jesters" To Testify about Illegal Drugs, Child Prostitution?
Thu Mar 6, 2008 1:35 PM EST

This article is about how 19 Jesters were named on a witness list for the defense in a federal defamation lawsuit and associated court documents. It reports:

• Federal court documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Miami Division regarding a defamation lawsuit between two fishing tour operators, Richard Schair and Phillip Marsteller, includes a defense witness list that names 19 witnesses who are members of the ROJ and are expected to testify about fishing trips to Brazil and “their first hand knowledge of prostitution, minor prostitution, use of illegal drugs and/or entry into Indian reservations by Schair (plaintiff) and/or his customers.”

• The ROJ was investigated by the Masonic Grand Lodge of Texas in 2005 after they received a complaint alleging Jester parties revolved around sex with prostitutes, illegal gambling and alcohol. It ended with no “prosecutions.”

• The Wichita Jester Court #24 reported to the IRS that they spent $122,102 in 2006 for the exempt purpose of “recreation, entertainment and companionship.”

• The Long Beach Jester Court #161 reported to the IRS that they spent $82,543 in 2006 as “benefits paid to members.”

• Five girls gave statements to Brazilian federal police officers last year as they were investigating “minor Indian and other girls living near the rivers in the region of the Municipality of Autazes/AM who became victims of sexual exploitation by North American foreign tourists.”

• These depositions described how the girls were, at the time of the alleged minor prostitution, aged 13, 14, 16.

• One of the 16 year olds stated that her 14 year old sister was also recruited.

• All the girls state they were lured onto the fishing boat by someone named "Richard."

• These depositions describe the crime otherwise known as “child sex tourism.”

Judge Central Figure in FBI Probe, the S.O.B.I.B. and the Jesters' Half Million Dollar Weekend Parties
Sat Apr 12, 2008 1:30 PM PDT

This article describes how Shriner/Jester and former New York Supreme Court Judge Tills has become the focus of the FBI’s investigation, exposes a clandestine Jester sub-group called the S.O.B.I.B. and details shocking data found on Jester tax returns. It reports:

• Tills is listed as a member of an inside Jesters group called the "S.O.B.I.B." The acronym allegedly stands for something like "Secret Order of Brother/s in Blood."

• Ralph Semb, chairman of the board of trustees for the Shriners Hospitals for Children, is both a Jester and a member of the S.O.B.I.B.

• The International Royal Order of Jesters, Inc. and the National Court of the Royal Order of Jesters fail to list the S.O.B.I.B. on line 80b of their 2003, 2004 and 2005 tax returns. Line 80a asks "Is the organization related (other than by association with a statewide or nationwide organization) through common membership, governing bodies, trustees, officers, etc., to any other exempt or non exempt organizations?" Line 80b asks “If 'Yes,' enter the name of the organization."

• The Jesters further fail to correctly answer questions about their exempt purpose.

• Tax returns report that in 2003, the Jesters' weekend ritual “The Book of the Play” (BOP) expenses were $226,268, with income of $400,548. In 2004, they spent $545,806 on the BOP, with income of $584,661. In 2005, they spent $307,345 with income of $454,783.

• Three years of ROJ tax returns report that director's expense as $31,116, $24,778 and $31,865 respectively, though these expenses are not reported in Part II.

• Three years of ROJ tax returns list $0 for Program Services.

• Three years of ROJ tax returns report gross receipts of $1,208,146, $1,394,551 and $1,310, 539.

• A Thursday, December 20, 2007 request for the ROJ 2006 990 and Form 1023 remains unanswered. (The Form 1023 is a group's application for tax exempt status. IRS regulations state that the organization must provide the requested document/s within 30 days from the date it received the request.)

Brazilian Fishing Trip Depositions: "Masons" Pictured Having Sex with Teen Prostitutes?
Sun May 25, 2008 3:55 PM PDT

This is the second article requiring an “Adult Warning.” What began as a defamation lawsuit between two fishing tour operators has led to the possibility that “Masons” participated in child sex tourism and minor prostitution. It reports:

· Two fishing guides, previously employed by the plaintiff, were deposed by the Brazilian federal police to describe what they witnessed as part of their same investigation into the international crime of “child sex tourism.”

· These guides spent three days in Miami with attorneys from both sides, interpreters, a videographer and both parties as they testified about what they witnessed in pictures of “Masons” allegedly having sex with teen prostitutes on “Wet-a-Line” fishing boats, some underage.

· Brazilian teens lured into prostitution told fishing tour guides that they had “sex of all kinds” with those on “Wet-A-Line” tours.

· Tour guides described going by fishing boats as the girls engaged in oral sex with the fishermen.

· Tour guides identified groups of American men who went on these tours year after year to party, drink, watch strip contests, have sex and take drugs.

· Tour guides said that girls as young as 9, 13, and 14 were used as prostitutes on the fishing boats.

· Tour guides identified those who returned each year as “Masons.”

· “Masons” were pictured with two underage prostitutes at a party on the fishing boat.

· The “Masons” asked for girls over 13.

Child Sex Tourism: Brazilian Teens Testify About Being Lured into Minor Prostitution for American Tourists
Mon Jun 2, 2008 5:58 PM EDT

This is the third of three articles related to how 19 Jesters were called as to testify for the defense in a federal lawsuit about their alleged firsthand knowledge of minor prostitution while fishing trips to Brazil. It reports:

· Child sex tourism is in the news.

· Five girl’s depositions were taken by the Brazilian Federal Police that allege how same man named

· “Richard” went to the same village every year, luring girls to help him with housekeeping and cooking on his boat.

· Upon arriving at the boat, the girls discover they were to drink whiskey and have sex with the fishermen.

· The girls report that they are victims of sexual abuse perpetuated by a group of North American tourists.

· One 13 year old reported that was left pregnant.

· These Indian families live way below poverty.

· “Richard” failed to pay the girls what was promised.

Jester Confesses to Wife He Organized Prostitutes
Mon Aug 25, 2008 4:10 PM EDT

This is an interview with a wife who discovered that as her husband became more and more involved with the Jesters, he was getting prostitutes to Jester functions. It reports:

· The ROJ is a strictly stag, luxury organization for no purpose other than to “spread mirth.”

· Wives are allowed at only two events a year.

· The husband said that the Jesters have a “pool” of girls.

· Certain Jesters request their favorite girls.

· Each court's director assigns the job of inviting the girls.

· The Jesters have a doctor who checks the girls “papers.”

· Every court has a member who organizes the girls for their BOP.

· The U.S. Attorney's office describes the Royal Order of Jesters as organization that “maintained chapters throughout the United States, including in Western New York, and it was the custom of these chapters to host periodic meetings, usually on weekends, for their members. At most of these meetings, some members of the organization would be tasked to arrange for the presence of women at the meetings, for the specific purpose of utilizing the women to engage in sexual intercourse and other sexual activity with the organization's members in exchange for money."

Judge Tills Pleads Guilty, Admits Coordinating Prostitutes with Jester National Representatives
Thu Sep 11, 2008 10:14 PM EDT

This article is based on a Department of Justice press release that reports “Terrance P. Flynn, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York, announced today that RONALD H. TILLS, 73, a former State Supreme Court Judge from Hamburg, New York, pleaded guilty to Information charging him with knowingly transporting a female in interstate commerce with the intent that the female engage in prostitution (Mann Act).” It reports:

• The 9/11 terrorist attack did not deter Judge Tills from getting prostitutes to a weekend Jester party because air traffic was delayed or suspended.

• Judge Tills arranged for the transportation of prostitutes from the Buffalo airport to the Jesters’ national meeting then being held in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.

• Tills agreed with representatives of the Jesters’ National Court that members of the Buffalo Court #22 would get the women from the Buffalo airport to the hotel in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, where the national Jesters meeting was being held.

• Judge Tills paid one of these prostitutes to engage in sexual acts with him at a massage parlor.

• Tills and Trowbridge knowingly transported a different illegal alien from New York to a Jester meeting in Pennsylvania to engage in sexual intercourse and other sexual activity

• Judge Tills arranged for a woman from Buffalo to attend a Jester party in Florida to engage in sexual intercourse and other sexual activity and be paid for it.

• Judge Tills arranged for several women from New York, Ohio and Texas to attend a Jester meeting in Brantford, Ontario, Canada to engage in sexual intercourse and other sexual activity and be paid for it.

• Judge Tills held high offices in the Masonic Grand Lodge of New York and the Ismailia Shriners.

• ROJ bylaws show that they are closely related to the Shriners, with national events being held together as well as ROJ courts dependent on where Shriner temples are located.

Jester Prostitution Updates, Stebick Sentenced
Sun Dec 7, 2008 7:11 PM EST

This is the last story of the year and the headline sums it up. It reports:

· Michael Stebick, 61 was put on probation for two years, ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and directed to provide 250 hours of community service.

· According to sentencing Judge Skretny, the victim in the case was put up in a hotel by the Jesters, with a sign stating '$70-an-hour' posted outside her room.

· Pictures show Jesters fishing, drinking and cuddling with Brazilian girls.

· John Trowbridge’s sentencing November 4 date was been again rescheduled for May 6, 2009.

· The owner of the “massage parlors,” Len Wah Chong, was sentenced on November 19 to six years in federal prison for enslaving as many as 11 illegal alien prostitutes. She pleaded guilty early last April to "Sex Trafficking of Persons by Force, Fraud and Coercion." She forfeited two properties, $70K in cash and jewelry seized and now must pay $350,000 in restitution to those she kept as sex slaves.

· The Richard W. Schair and Wet-a-Line Tours LLC v Phillip Marsteller and Amazon Tours, Inc. defamation lawsuit was settled out of court on Friday, December, 5.

· Defendant Marsteller was honored on Monday, September 15, 2008 at a ceremony held at the Church Center of the UN. He, on behalf of his Peacock Bass fishing business Amazon Tours, Inc., took a public stand against child sex tourism by signing "The Code" AKA Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism. The event was sponsored by ECPAT, which stands for "End Child Prostitution Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes."

· On Wednesday, December 3, 2008, Imperial Potentate Douglas Maxwell, Chairman of the SHC Board of Trustees Ralph Semb and Corporate Director of Public Relations Alicia Aargiz-Lyons were emailed the following questions "What is your reaction to the latest news articles about those members of the Royal Order of Jesters pleading guilty in Buffalo to violating the Mann Act?” and “Those Jesters allegedly involved with child sex tourism?" To date, no response.

Results: The plaintiff in the defamation lawsuit between two fishing tour operators settled out of court with the defendant.

Tills' Sentencing Rescheduled in Jester Prostitution Case
Mon Jan 12, 2009 4:17 PM PST

This article reports that:

· Judge Tills’ sentencing was rescheduled from January 12, 2009 to May 7, 2009.

· Questions about these matters repeatedly phoned and emailed to the Masonic Grand Lodge of New York remain unanswered.

· On Wednesday, December 3, 2008, Imperial Potentate Douglas Maxwell, Chairman of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Board of Trustees and member of the Royal Order of Jesters, Ralph Semb and Corporate Director of Public Relations Alicia Aargiz-Lyons were asked “What is your reaction to the latest news articles about those members of the Royal Order of Jesters pleading guilty in Buffalo to violating the Mann Act?" To date, all three have failed to respond.

The Shriners & "Management by Mirth"
Sat Mar 14, 2009 5:31 PM PDT

This editorial points out that the majority of those on the Shriners joint boards are also members of the Royal Order of Jesters and reports:

· Eleven out of twelve on the SHC board of trustees are Jesters.

· Nine out of fourteen of those listed on the 2006 fraternal tax return are Jesters.

· By the end of 2008, four key executives had "resigned" because they opposed recontracting with a fundraiser as not being in the hospital's best interests and may have personally benefitted some board members.

· With the hospital's executive vice president, director of corporate development, controller and senior attorney gone, those Jesters in charge were free to run things without much, if any, corporate oversight.

· The corporate model of "Management by Mirth" could prove fatal because it's based on undisclosed conflicts of interest. It's based on deception because the Shriners have hidden this affiliation with the Royal Order of Jesters from the IRS by not listing them as an affiliated group on their tax returns.

All copies of material reprinted or duplicated from "by Sandy Frost" must include the following credit line: From http://sandyfrost.newsvine.com/ Copyright © 2008 by Sandy Frost. Used by permission.

This Buffalo News article about lack of prosecution in the Spitzer case mentions how Judge Ronald Tills pleaded guilty to violating the Mann Act for getting prostitutes to parties of the Royal Order of Jesters, the secret sub-group of the Shriners.

Note: Updated with links 9/30/08.

Celebrities who support charities have been in the news lately.

Passionate philanthropist Paul Newman passed on last Saturday.

MSNBC ran a story last Friday about celebrities and their charities. It explains:

“For today’s celebs, charity work is almost as much a part of the job as walking the red carpet. Famous names have become affiliated with preventing domestic violence, curing breast cancer, fixing smiles and saving farms from development.”

The article continues:

“You have to care about something other than what’s going to make you money,” said Morris L. Reid, managing director of Westin Rinehart, a firm that does brand strategy for public figures. “You have to be charitable. It shows that you care about someone other than yourself. It also shows that you are in touch with the average American’s needs and plights.”

Charity groups like the Shriners Hospitals for Children (SHC) work hard to attract sponsors and donors.

Who doesn’t want to help the $8 billion network of 22 hospitals that provides free medical care to burned and crippled children?

Two celebrities have recently thrown their hats, or helmets, into the Shriners ring.

Grammy winning pop star Justin Timberlake is sponsoring a Shriners PGA tournament scheduled for October 13 - 19 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

NASCAR driver David Ragan recently named the Shriners Hospitals for Children as his official charity. He began racing in a Shriner-themed helmet last weekend and will soon show off his car’s new Shriners Hospital themed paint job.

When asked about how celebrities are supporting the Shriners, presumably without knowing about their links to theft, mismanagement and related sex crimes, Reid responded “You have to do your homework. Whether you’re a celebrity or someone brokering deals like this, you need to dig a little deeper.”

“Ultimately, the client is only as reputable as the brands that they are associated with,” he explained. “But it’s a two way street. The celebrity and the charity can’t go into this blind. Both must exercise due diligence and dig and ask the hard questions. You can’t just rely on what each says. Both must look for the obvious. It’s just the smart thing to do.”

On the surface, the Shriners are those all American pillars of the community who proudly wear their red fezzes as they support their hospitals.

Such pillars include a former New York state Supreme Court judge, a retired police captain and a former Erie county prosecutor. It just so happens that these pillars were caught by the FBI in a human trafficking sting. The judge, the police captain and prosecutor all pleaded guilty to transporting prostitutes across state lines to meetings of a Shriner secret sub-group, the Royal Order of Jesters.

According to their plea agreements, the U.S. Attorney describes the Jesters are a nationwide group with guys in local chapters who get prostitutes for their weekend parties.

The judge, Ronald Tills, admitted, among other things, to working with representatives of the Jesters’ National Court to get prostitutes to the same Canadian hotel where their national meeting was being held.

No wonder the Shriners spent millions of dollars the past year trying to convince their members, donors, and the public that they are “the world’s greatest philanthropy” because they may soon be known as “the world’s greatest non profit scandal.”

If they had a history of submitting complete and accurate tax returns, the IRS and the public would know that seven out of twelve on the Shriners Hospitals Board of Governors are also Jesters.

And who convinced the IRS that the Jesters qualify as a non profit group? Their 2006 tax return shows that though they lost $14,000, Jesters national spent over $575,000 on one of their weekend parties.

I know.

Some of you are thinking "Partying with prostitutes at tax payer expense? Where do I sign up?"

First, you apply to your local Masonic lodge. If you are accepted into "the craft," you can complete three “degrees” to become a Master Mason who can then join sub-groups like the Knights Templar, the Scottish Rite and the Shriners.

The Shriners are those red fez wearing secret hand shakers who “have fun while helping kids,” most of whom have no idea that their leaders are involved with such things.

Selected Shriners are then secretly invited to join the Royal Order of Jesters.

So, famous guys, who did your homework? What would you have done if you had known:

• An internal committee investigated Shriner leaders for allegedly retaliating against an executive by firing him for not hiring a fundraiser who kept $43 million out of $47 million raised on behalf of the hospitals, who only got $2.5 million?

•Over a million dollars in personal mortgages was not reported to the IRS?

•The Jesters are being investigated by the feds for coordinating prostitution nationwide?

But wait! There’s more!

What about the retaliation, cultural misappropriation, warning letters from the FDA and Office of Human Research Protection, civil rights violations, and child sex tourism?

Retaliation?

The Shriners retaliated against Shriner whistleblower Vernon Hill and former IRS agent Paul Dolnier by suing them for defamation after they asked questions like “Where does all the money go?” and “Why are your tax returns so messed up?”

Cultural misappropriation?

The Shriners greeting "Es Salamu Aleikum" is Arabic for "Peace Be To God." They meet in mosques with names like Bagdad, Mohammed, Moslem, Syria and Tehran. Have the Shriners hijacked symbols of Islamic unity, costumes, and ceremonial practices in ways that could be viewed by others as offensive forms of ridicule, mockery or disrespect?

Warning letters from the FDA and Office of Human Research Protection?

Two Shriner Hospitals received three FDA warning letters after pre-market inspections found that they failed to obtain informed consent, failed to report adverse effects, failed to follow protocols, and failed to keep accurate patient and device records. Ten letters sent by the Office of Human Research Protection cited similar violations.

Civil Rights Violations?

Two Hispanic women filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against the Chicago Shriners Hospital after the EEOC found that hospital staff had violated their civil rights, discriminated against them and retaliated against them.

Child sex tourism?

Nineteen members of the Royal Order of Jesters were called as witnesses in a federal lawsuit between fishing tour operators to testify about their first hand knowledge of sex with minors while on a sanctioned fishing trip to Brazil.

But hey, don’t take my word for it.

Check the FBI press releases, documents in the PACER federal court system, AP, MSNBC, Newsday, the Buffalo News, and the New York Times.

So, Justin, maybe you should have asked “What You Got?” because, it looks like the Shriners got you and the PGA by the, uh, golf balls.

Need to take a mulligan?

And David, you said it when you proclaimed “I don’t think there is a better way to tell the world about amazing organization than to display their name on my helmet and car.”

The Shriners spent over $12 million this past year convincing everyone just how amazing they are.

Dudes, you're sponsoring a charity associated with white collar crime, prostitution and human trafficking.

I’ve done my homework.

Too bad you didn’t do yours.

All copies of material reprinted or duplicated from “by Sandy Frost” must include the following credit line: From http://sandyfrost.newsvine.com/ Copyright © 2008 by Sandy Frost. Used by permission.

Warning: Adult Content.

Download Alert! Get a cup of coffee, put your feet up and prepare for lengthy downloads.

Editor’s Note: This is not about those faithful Shriners who get up at zero dawn thirty to put on their clown makeup and drive to the hospital to put a smile on the face of burned and crippled children. This is not about those hardworking Shriners who spend their Saturdays building porches or putting on a fish fry or marching proudly in parades. The focus of this investigation has been on non profit transparency, disclosure and accountability and those who abuse their positions of public trust for private gain.

Sandy Frost
Starbucks, WA
Thursday, September 11, 2008

A September 4, 2008 Department of Justice press release reports that:

“Terrance P. Flynn, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York, announced today that RONALD H. TILLS, 73, a former State Supreme Court Judge from Hamburg, New York, pleaded guilty to Information charging him with knowingly transporting a female in interstate commerce with the intent that the female engage in prostitution (Mann Act). The charge carries a maximum penalty of ten (10) years in prison, a fine of $250,000 or both.”

The Mann Act was born of the United States White-Slave Traffic Act of 1910. It prohibited white slavery, banned the interstate transport of females for “immoral purposes” and addressed prostitution, immorality, and human trafficking.

On March 9, 2008, The Buffalo News first reported that Judge Tills had resigned after it was learned that the FBI was investigating him, retired police captain John Trowbridge and Tills’ former law clerk, Michael Stebick, for taking prostitutes across state lines to parties held by a nationwide men’s group called the Royal Order of Jesters.

On March 20, 2008, Trowbridge pleaded guilty to one felony count of violating the Mann Act, article here. His plea agreement can be read here.

On August 7, 2008, Stebick pleaded guilty to one felony count of conspiring to violate the Mann Act, article here. His plea agreement can be read here.

On September 4, 2008, Tills also pleaded guilty and you’re reading about that now. His plea agreement can be read here.

The Royal Order of Jesters is a secret sub-group of the Shriners, best known for their red fezzes, secret handshakes and running a network of 22 hospitals that provide free medical care to burned and crippled children.

Memberships go like this.

A man must first become a Master Mason before he can become a Shriner, who then must be invited to become a member of the Royal Order of Jesters. There are approximately 2 million Masons, 350,000 Shriners and 24,000 Jesters in America.

The IRS has classified both the Shriners and Jesters as non profit organizations. The Shriners exempt purpose is to support their hospitals. The Jesters exempt purpose is to “Hold annual events which were devoted to fraternalism and spreading the gospel of mirth and good cheer.”

Here is the Jester mascot, Billiken.

Here’s what Tills’ plea agreement says.

The parties agree that in or about September, 2001, Tills was the Director of the Buffalo chapter of the Royal Order of Jesters Court #22 and was responsible for arranging for the presence of a number of prostitutes from outside New York State to attend the Jester’s meeting in Dunkirk, New York in order to have sex with the members for money. Tills made several calls to women for this purpose and also gave a list of names and telephone numbers of additional women to Michael Stebick to do the same. Although some of these women were unable to attend due to flight cancellations following the national tragedies on September 11, 2001, other women drove to the Dunkirk meeting by car at Tills’ and Stebick’s invitation, including one from Toronto and one from Minnesota and did engage in various sex acts, including sexual intercourse , with the Jesters in exchange for money.

In other words, after nearly 3,000 died in the horrific suicide attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, these officers of the court didn’t think to cancel their weekend bash. Tills and Stebick were instead more concerned about getting the prostitutes to their meeting because the 9/11 tragedy messed up their transportation plans.

The parties also agree that in or about Spring, 2006, Tills arranged for the transportation of prostitutes from the Buffalo airport to the Jesters’ national meeting then being held in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. The women came from various parts of the United States to the Jesters’ meeting to have sex with the members for money. Tills agreed with representatives of the Jesters’ National Court that members of the Buffalo Court #22 would get the women from the Buffalo airport to the hotel in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, where the Jesters were meeting. Jesters then took the prostitutes from the Buffalo airport to their national meeting in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, where the women engaged in various sex acts, including sexual intercourse, with the Jesters for money.

According to the Jesters 2006 tax return, the national court spent nearly $600,000 on their annual Book of the Play weekend, which may or may not have been this same national meeting. Their 2005 tax return coincides with this same meeting and lists those Officers of the National Court of the Royal Order of Jesters who may have worked with Tills.

They include William Siders, Royal Stage Manager, Robert H. Haynes, Royal Leading Lady, Paul A. Stradman, Royal Heavy Man, John T. Stradtman, Royal Property Man, James M. Lake, P.R.D., Royal Treasurer, Robert C. Davis, Royal Director, Dennis R. Schueler, Royal Leading Man, Taylor E. Best, Royal Tragedian, Gary N. Martin, Royal Impresario, Raymond Grannis, Royal Prelate and Alex Rogers, Executive Director.

Rogers has been quoted as saying the Jesters try to take the "highest caliber Shriners we can get" who distinguish themselves in the community and that they try to keep the “cream of the crop.” Rogers has also said that he had no information about Tills, or whether he still holds a leadership post in the Buffalo Jesters group.

Tills also admitted to and the parties agreed that:

• On or about October 28, 2005, Tills, along with John Trowbridge and Michael Stebick, knowingly transported an illegal alien from New York to Kentucky to engage in prostitution.

• Tills paid this same woman sums of money to engage in sexual acts with him at a massage parlor named Golden Acupressure, located in North Tonawanda, New York.

• During the weekend of October 28 - 30, 2005, Tills knowingly transported, along with Trowbridge and Stebick, a woman from New York to a Jester meeting in Kentucky to engage in sexual intercourse and other sexual activity and be paid for it.

• In or about Fall, 2006, Tills and Trowbridge knowingly transported a different illegal alien from New York to a Jester meeting in Pennsylvania to engage in sexual intercourse and other sexual activity and be paid for it.

• Tills and Trowbridge had engaged in various sexual acts with the same illegal alien at the Golden Acupressure massage parlor and paid her for it.

• In or about Fall, 2006, Tills arranged for a woman from Buffalo to attend a Jester party in Florida to engage in sexual intercourse and other sexual activity and be paid for it.

• Tills and other Jesters flew with the same woman from Buffalo, New York to the Florida Jester meeting.

• In or about October, 2007, Tills arranged for several women from New York, Ohio and Texas to attend a Jester meeting in Brantford, Ontario, Canada to engage in sexual intercourse and other sexual activity and be paid for it.

• Tills arranged for the women to be transported from the Buffalo airport by other Jesters who then transported them to the meeting in Canada to engage in sexual intercourse and other sexual activity and be paid for it.

On Thursday, December 8, 2005, New York Congressman Thomas Reynolds (R - NY) cited Tills’ accomplishments to Congress in honor of his retirement including being:

• A veteran of the United States Army Reserve

• An assistant town attorney and town justice

• A New York state assemblyman

• Chairman of the Assembly’s Select Committee of the Assembly’s Select Committee for Revision of Corporation Law

• Nominated by Governor George E. Pataki and confirmed by the NY Senate to the State Court of Claims, July, 1995

• An acting Supreme Court Justice

• A member of the Lions, Chamber of Commerce, Hamburg Volunteer Fire Company

• Potentate of the Ismailia Shrine Temple

• Director and President of the Shrine Oasis

• Director of the Buffalo Court #22 of the Jesters.

• Proctor of the Grand Lodge of the State of New York

In 2005, Tills was appointed to the Commissioners of Appeals for the same Grand Lodge. According to the Grand Lodge’s 2008 “Be It Known” pronouncement, Tills resigned from this position midterm. Questions to the New York Grand Lodge about Tills’ Masonic status and possible disciplinary actions remain stonewalled.

According to the current potentate of the Ismailia Temple, he signed Tills demit from the Shrine in March, 2008. This means Tills was not expelled and instead was given the option to rejoin at any time in the future as long as he catches up on past dues.

Tills is scheduled to be sentenced on January 12, 2009.

So, how closely related are the Royal Order of Jesters to the Shriners?

Like brothers.

The Royal Order of Jesters bylaws state:

• The Annual Meeting of the National Court of the Royal Order of Jesters shall be held on the day preceding the annual meeting of the Imperial Council, A.A.O.N.M.S., at the city chosen for such meeting, or at such time or place chosen and voted by the National Court.

• A subordinate court may be established by the National Court in a jurisdiction where a temple of A.A.O.N.M.S. is located and where a Subordinate Court does not exist upon petition there for by not less than (13) Nobles of the Mystic Shrine all of whom shall be actual residents of and who maintain their domiciles in the jurisdiction of said temple of A.A.O.N.M.S.

• Upon action of the Imperial Council A.A.O.N.M.S. issuing a dispensation for a new temple A.A.O.N.M.S., the National Court may, upon application of the required number of Nobles of the A.A.O.N.M.S. for a new Subordinate Court and the recommendation of the Charters and Dispensations Committee, and the approval of the Royal Director and Royal Impresario, issue a dispensation for a Subordinate Court of Royal Order of Jesters.

• After one year under dispensation and upon recommendation of the Charters and Dispensations Committee, the Royal Director and Royal Impresario shall issue a charter to said Court under dispensation after a Charter for a Shrine Temple has been granted.

• The territorial jurisdiction of a Subordinate Court shall be the same as that provided by the By Laws of the Imperial Council A.A.O.N.M.S. for the Temple of that Order located at or nearest to the City in which the Subordinate Court was granted a charter to hold such Court, as of July 1, 1999.

• The jurisdiction of the Subordinate Court shall be exclusive in the Oasis of the Temple, A.A.O.N.M.S. where the Subordinate Court is located and in the city in which such Subordinate Court was granted a Charter to hold such Subordinate Court, as of July 1, 1999.

• A Member of the Royal Order of Jesters must be in good standing in a Temple of the A.A.O.N.M.S. Termination of membership in his Temple likewise terminates his membership in the Royal Order of Jesters.

• If a Noble is and for at least six (6) months has been an actual resident and has maintained his domicile in the jurisdiction of a Subordinate Court of the Royal Order of Jesters, as defined by Article VII, Section 10, he shall be eligible for election to membership in that Subordinate Court, providing he is in good standing in his own Temple A.A.O.N.M.S.

So, are other Jesters in positions of Shriner leadership?

Yes.

And they also appear to be in trouble.

Ralph Semb, Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Shriners Hospitals for Children, is not only a Jester; he’s a member of the secret Jester group, the SOBIB, which stands for “Society of Brothers in Blood.” There are no copyright marks or any other indications that this "Confidential Membership Directory" is in any way proprietary.

Last year, Semb and fellow Jester and Imperial treasurer Gene Bracewell, were investigated by a committee of Shriner leaders for allegations that:

•Semb and Bracewell violated the Shriners Code of Ethics

•Semb retaliated against the hospitals’ Director of Development, Edgar McGonigal, by firing him over a fundraising contract dispute.

•Semb and Bracewell both used subterfuge to negatively influence McGonigal’s employee evaluations so he could be fired again.

•Semb knowingly executed a fraudulent tax return.

•Bracewell got a free trip from the fundraiser he was lobbying for.

•Controller Willard Fawcett resigned because "improper reimbursement of expenses that did not further the exempt purposes of SHC and contracts that were not in the best interests of SHC and may have involved self-interest on the part of members of the Joint Boards."

•Executive vice president James Full violated employment confidentiality to "in part, avoid a confrontation with Mr. Semb."

The Interim Report revealed how both Semb and Bracewell pushed hard to reinstate contracts with one specific fund-raising company, Vantage Direct Marketing Services. Vantage raised over $46 million between 1999 and 2003 on behalf of SHC and kept $43 million, with only $2.5 million going to the hospitals. In other words, if someone donated $100 during these campaigns, Vantage kept $95 and the hospitals got only $5.

The committee’s interim report can be read
here.

The committee members also described how headquarters personnel worked under the threat of being fired in a culture of fear if they did not bend to the wills of leaders like Semb and Bracewell.

The committee’s presentation was booed down last July during a business meeting at the last Shriner convention and Semb was ceremoniously “re-elected” by those members who failed to review report’s findings.

“Internal Shriner Report Confirms Corruption?” Can be read here.

Additionally, seven of twelve on the Shriners Hospitals for Children Board of Trustees are also Jesters. In addition to Semb and Bracewell, they include W. Brandt Bede M.D., Charles A. Claypool, Raul L. Frevel, Sr., Immediate past Imperial Potentate Bernard J. Lemieux M.D., and Gary Dunwoody.

Gene Bracewell also sits on the Imperial Divan and is the current Imperial Treasurer.

In addition to Bracewell, others on the Imperial Divan who are also Jesters include:

Alan W. Madsen, current Imperial High Priest and Prophet and Director of the Royal Order of Jesters Court #109 in Charlotte, N.C.

Jack Jones, current Imperial Recorder and member of the Royal Order of Jesters.

Jerry Gantt, current Imperial Second Ceremonial Master, chairman emeritus of the Houston Shriners Hospital Board of Governors and past director of Houston Court #136 Royal Order of Jesters.

Other influential Jesters include the head of a law enforcement organization in Louisiana, the vice president of a commercial bank in Maryland, and a judge and regional planner in Florida

One Jester who arranged for prostitutes confessed all after he was caught by his wife. Her interview can be read here.

The long arm of this international human trafficking investigation may also be reaching out to those 19 Jesters called as witnesses in a libel/slander lawsuit between two fishing tour operators. They were expected to testify about their first hand knowledge of sex with minors while on a Jesters’ sanctioned fishing trip to Brazil.

“’Jesters’ To Testify about Illegal Drugs, Child Prostitution?” can be read here.

“Brazilian Fishing Trip Depositions: ‘Masons’ Pictured Having Sex with Teen Prostitutes?” can be read here.

“Child Sex Tourism: Brazilian Teens Testify About Being Lured into Minor Prostitution for American Tourists” can be read here.

And what about this investigation?

It is being conducted by New York Western District's Human Trafficking Task Force and Alliance.

According to a Department of Justice announcement, the task force was created in November, 2006 and "is a collaboration of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies and non-government service organizations working together to identify, rescue and assist victims of human trafficking, human smuggling and other civil and human rights offenses in the 17 counties of the district, through aggressive investigation, prosecution, training, education and outreach to law enforcement, non government organizations, vulnerable and affected persons and the general public."

These groups include the FBI, Erie County Sheriff's Office, Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE, Custom and Border Protection, United States Border Patrol with the assistance of the Niagara County Sherriff's Office and the Tonawanda Police Department. The investigation is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert C. Moscati, who is also in charge of the task force. When asked about the investigation, Moscati said "We will go wherever the evidence leads us."

At the end of the day, these guilty pleas beg the following questions:

• Did Officers of the Royal Order of Jesters hustle the IRS and manipulate the non profit system so they could party with prostitutes at tax payer expense?

• Do the Royal Order of Jesters rely on their influential members to operate and protect an international prostitution syndicate that specializes in human trafficking?

• Do these Shriners AKA Jesters act as if they are above the law because “Shrine law does not include the law of the land” and they are, above all else, sworn to protect the brotherhood?

• Are the Shriners ongoing problems with theft, embezzlement and mismanagement because they are run by a bunch of Jesters?

Only the FBI, the Human Trafficking Task Force and IRS can know for sure.

All copies of material reprinted or duplicated from “by Sandy Frost” must include the following credit line: From http://sandyfrost.newsvine.com/ Copyright © 2008 by Sandy Frost. Used by permission.

Editor’s Note: This is the third of three stories that links the Royal Order of Jesters to prostitution. The first one, published here, reported how 19 members of the Royal Order of Jesters were called as defense witnesses in a federal lawsuit to testify about their first hand knowledge of illegal drugs and minor prostitution while on a fishing trip in Brazil. The second one, published by the Buffalo News three days later, reported that three Jesters, a former New York Supreme Court Judge, a former Erie County prosecutor and a retired police captain, were caught in a FBI prostitution/sex trafficking sting. Two of the three Jesters caught have pleaded guilty to one felony count each of violating the Mann Act after admitting they drove illegal alien prostitutes across state lines to Jester parties. The Jester wife will be referred to as JW. The Jester husband will be referred to as John.

Sandy Frost

Monday, August 25, 2008

Starbucks, WA

Imagine that you are a wife whose husband joined a social club and was happy with all the networking and activities it offered like golf, poker and recreational weekends. But, after a while, he begins acting way different as he starts travelling more and more. It’s as if you’re just left home while he lives it up because prior to him joining this club, you did everything together. Then, when he’s at one of his club’s weekends, you get a call from a girl on your home phone who is asking about who is going to drive her from the train station to the hotel.

Then the confrontation.

Then the discovery that yes, indeed, your husband is the guy who lines up the girls for the parties.

You know.

Gets the prostitutes to the hotels where the club members are staying.

The club is the Royal Order of Jesters.

Here is an interview with this wife.

Sandy: You are married to a member of the Royal of Jesters?

JW: Yes.

Sandy: How long?

JW: Married 35 years.

Sandy: Was there a pattern of behavior changes as your husband got more and more involved with the Jesters?

JW: When he first got involved with the Jesters, I thought it was the best thing for him. He met many, many men who became close friends. They have a saying, “There are no strangers in the Realm, just friends you haven't met.” He also started to collect Jester and Billiken memorabilia, some dating back to the early 1900's. He now has a very extensive collection of which he is very proud.

He didn't “travel” much at first. That is going to 3-4 day weekend “Books” in other cities.

Note: The Royal Order of Jesters’ parties are called “Books” that involve the members performing the “Book of the Play.” It can be read here. Apparently, the “Book of the Play” revolves around the murder of William Shakespeare. This, according to the Jesters’ website, is how they obtained IRS status as a “charity”:

“The Royal Order of Jester's museum is 5,000 square feet. Founded in July 2003, the museum's purpose is to do research and education relating to the history of the Royal Order of Jesters and Jesterdom focusing on humor, laughter, and mirth, with particular emphasis on the works of William Shakespeare.”

Now, back to the interview.

JW: He maybe attended two a year for the first two years, but by his seventh year, he had 14 trips planned. Finally, I said “enough, where do I fit in anymore?” In all of our married years, John never stopped at a bar after work with the guys. He took, maybe, one golf trip a year without me. We were a team and did everything together.

Everything he did now or anywhere we went was associated with the Jesters.

He was completely obsessed, though he couldn't see it. I noticed how he bragged about being a member. Jesters are not supposed to advertise themselves as being Jesters, as it is kind of a secret organization. But John would wear purple, carry purple emblemmed golf bags, license plates, and boast about it being a strictly stag, luxury organization for no purpose other than to spread mirth. The more I heard that, the more disgusted I became. I also noticed that he was not taking cell phone calls in front of me, or he would go outside to talk. He used to let me answer his phone.

Wives are allowed at only two events a year. One is the Christmas Party run by each local court and the other is the National Meeting. That is where I got to meet some of the friends. I would even meet the local Jesters after a day of recreation and sit at the bar with them. A lot of them knew me very well. I could tell that John was rising in the local ranks.

Sandy: Did you discover this information after lingering suspicions or after one specific incident?

JW: I had no lingering suspicions. I had heard about the girls by accident, about the second year that John was in. He certainly played it down, and told me he had nothing to do with them, they were kept separate, no contact at all. I believed him. I didn't ask any more questions. The Jesters oath is “What you hear here, what you see here, stays here when you leave here.” Every new member must take that oath. He was a bit open with me about some of the things that went on, I guess telling me just enough not to arouse any suspicions. So I definitely discovered our problem after a specific incident.

Sandy: Would you please describe that incident? In other words, what prompted you to search for information?

JW: It happened at the same time I realized how many trips he was taking. As a matter of fact he was at his court’s book, when I received a phone message:

“Hi John, this is Jane from St. Louis. I'm at the Union Station in downtown Chicago and wonder if you're sending a Jester to pick me up of if I should get the shuttle.”

I called him on his cell phone and told him he should train his Jester girls better so they don't call the wife. He of course didn't know what to say. This was on a Thursday. I thought he would come home right away, as the hotel was just 1/2 hour away. He didn't come home until Saturday night, although he did call me later to try to explain.

Sandy: Did you confront your husband?

JW: Yes.

Sandy: What happened after you confronted him?

JW: When I confronted him, he explained to me how it works. The Jesters have a “pool” of girls. Certain men have their favorites and make requests to have them at the books. It is up to each court's Director to assign the job of inviting the girls, a number based of the number of attendees. (1) In this case, eight girls were invited for between 180-200 men. He says that only about 20% of the men use the girls, but a friend said it's more like 70%. I really don't know. They get $100 an hour. In my calculations, to make it worthwhile, it would have to be more than 20%!

He was asked to do the job because he travelled so much and knew who the girls were and who the favorites were. I believe with all of my heart that he never had sexual relations with any of them. He emailed them, called them or asked them in person to come to this book. He also confessed that he had helped with the scheduling the previous year. They also have a doctor who checks the girls “papers.” John’s Jester court does not pay for plane or rooms. Some courts do pay for rooms. I didn't know all of this went into it. I just thought the guys who used the girls called them and they came on their own.

Sandy: Did he or anyone else threaten you?

JW: I have never been threatened and don't expect to be.

Sandy: Did you report this to law enforcement?

JW: I saw no need to report this, as it was, as I considered, a personal problem. Off duty cops act as guards for the secure floors, so they already know about it. I did however lose all respect for any of the Jesters I have met in the past.

Sandy: What was the most startling thing you found? What was the most startling thing you realized?

JW: What I found and realized is that the Jesters have something that I can't put my finger on. I'm almost thinking in our case that it was because it is a “luxury” organization. It's like at Halloween when you dress up and are something you would never be any other day. That is the closest I can analyze how he felt with the Jesters. They drink only top shelf, money is no object, stay at the best places, dress in tuxedos and get away with whatever.

My husband was a fun loving good husband before this. He didn't need the Jesters to create “mirth” in his life, yet it happened when he was 60 years old. It was like something was always missing from his life. I am not looking to myself, as I gave and did everything to him possible.

Sandy: What impact has this had on you personally?

JW: I did have three appointments with a psychologist. After blood tests, doctor's appointments, and some sleeping medication, he released me and said I am a strong woman. He wanted to prescribe anti depressants, but I refused. After these appointments, the doctor said that he thought that I could make the right decisions. I was so close to divorcing. If we had any money, I would have walked out. I am glad now that it did not get to that.

Sandy: What would you like to tell other Jester wives?

JW: I don't want to talk to other Jester wives. I talked to one, and she was as appalled as I was and also confronted her husband who has been a Jester for 25 years, telling her there are no women at any events. I want to put all of this behind me and move on from here. John and I are doing just that.

Sandy: From what you found, please describe what goes on at these Jester functions?

JW: Other than girls, there is a lot of high stakes poker, low stakes gin, and 24 hour hospitality rooms. The initiation involves “stunts” which I know include nudity, but I don't know much about it. John says they don't involve the girls...anymore!!! They also provide sightseeing, golf, etc. There is a lot of good stuff going on. They end with a black tie Royal Feast on Saturday night.

Sandy: From what you found, is this widespread? In other words, are there others who facilitate prostitution for other Jester functions?

JW: Every court lines up the girls to come to their books once a year. I never knew about any other functions that include them. There is not any other function that John’s court has. They have a monthly business meeting and a yearly book. That is it.

Sandy: Did your husband tell the Jesters that you had found this proof?

JW: Here is the crowning blow. John promised me that he would turn his “files” on the girls over to someone else. I found the girls’ business cards. After four months, I found that he still had it. I was furious. Now there is an edict from Jester HQ that no girls may be at any of the books. The guys were sweating it out not, that not only the wives would find out, but also the authorities.

Sandy: What would you like to see happen? Why?

JW: I am not sure what I want to happen. I think these men need to know that they are not special, even though they think they are. This group is not alone in doing things like this.

Sandy: Why do you want to go public with this information? In other words, why should the public know about what you found?

JW: I just thought before anymore relationships are ruined, it needs to stop. I did my part in stopping the girls coming to books...don't know how long that will last. I also did my part in getting my husband out of the grips of the organization. He harbors no ill feelings for anything I did and never felt embarrassed in front of the fellow Jesters because of it. We have worked together to get our relationship mended.

Sandy: Do you know how the money worked?

JW: I know nothing about the finances or handling of the money. I have told you now everything I know.

The Royal Order of Jesters is a secret sub group made up of invited Shriner leaders. There are about 24,000 Jesters who are organized into about 200 “courts” that are, in turn, organized in relation to Shrine temples. This sameness is spelled out in their bylaws, that can be read here. The Jesters applied to the IRS and were granted two non profit classifications, one fraternal and the other charitable. The charity was formed so the National Jester Court could build a new million dollar museum/headquarters, from which to oversee the fraternity.

The Shriners are classified the same, as the Shriners fraternal raises money for the charity, that is their network of 22 hospitals that provide free medical care to burned and crippled children. The current leaders of the Shriners fraternity and charity are also Jesters.

To be a Shriner, one must first be a Master Mason.

(1) According to court documents, the U.S. Attorney's office describes the Royal Order of Jesters as:

"This organization maintained chapters throughout the United States, including in Western New York, and it was the custom of these chapters to host periodic meetings, usually on weekends, for their members. At most of these meetings, some members of the organization would be tasked to arrange for the presence of women at the meetings, for the specific purpose of utilizing the women to engage in sexual intercourse and other sexual activity with the organization's members in exchange for money."

All copies of material reprinted or duplicated from “by Sandy Frost” must include the following credit line: From http://sandyfrost.newsvine.com/ Copyright © 2008 by Sandy Frost. Used by permission.

Note: Insert Adult Disclaimer here.

An attorney and member of two Masonic sub-groups has pleaded guilty to one felony count of conspiring to violate the Mann act after admitting to driving a prostitute across state lines so she could be sold for sex to members of the Royal Order of Jesters at one of their weekend stag parties.

Michael R, Stebick, a former prosecutor for the Erie County district attorney's office, a former New York State Supreme Court law clerk and former Impressario or leader of the Jesters Buffalo Court #18 was caught with a retired police captain and a former New York State Supreme Judge, both also Jesters, during a fifteen month federal investigation into human trafficking.

Human Trafficking is defined as "the recruitment, transportation, harboring, or receipt of people for the purposes of slavery, forced labor and servitude."

Stebick has agreed to cooperate with the Human Trafficking Task Force/FBI investigation into the scandal plagued Jesters.

Before a man can be a Shriner or Jester, he must first become a Master Mason. He can then join other sub groups like the Scottish Rite, the Knights Templar or the Shriners. So, a man who is a member of the Royal Order of Jesters was first an invited Shriner who was first a Master Mason. (1)

Stebick is the second Jester to enter into a plea agreement with federal prosecutors for Mann Act violations. His plea agreement can be read here.

Last March 20, retired police captain John Trowbridge pleaded guilty to one felony count of violating the Mann Act by transporting prostitutes to Jester parties in Kentucky and Pennsylvania. Trowbridge was originally scheduled for sentencing on July 31, but will now be sentenced on November 4 due to being a witness in other cases. His plea agreement can be read here.

Ronald Tills, the former New York Supreme Court judge, has yet to go public with any cooperative agreements though federal court documents reveal that he was recently added as a defendant in an unrelated RICO complaint.

"Cooperation" for both Stebick and Trowbridge is spelled out in both their plea agreements as:

* Providing complete and truthful information regarding the defendant’s knowledge of any and all criminal activity, whether undertaken by the defendant or others, in any way involving or related to the unlawful transportation of individuals for prostitution or other sexual activity which is prohibited by law.

* Submitting to interviews by government attorneys and agents.

* Testifying truthfully and completely before grand juries and at such pre-trial and trial proceedings.

* Testifying truthfully and completely in local, state, and federal courts in jurisdictions which have agreed to abide by the plea agreement.

* Providing proactive cooperation to the government regarding individuals involved in criminal activity involving unlawful transportation of individuals for prostitution or other sexual activity which is prohibited by law.

* Providing cooperation to any local, state, or federal authorities designated by the government.

In exchange, Stebick could be imprisoned from four to ten months, be fined from $3,000 to $30,000 and be on supervised probation for two to three years.

The plea agreement's factual basis is based on facts that both Stebick and U.S. Attorney's office agreed to. It states that in October, 2005, the defendant, Michael R. Stebick, together with John Trowbridge, Len Wah Chong, a former New York State Supreme Court Judge AKA "Judge" and others whose identities are known to the parties, agreed to knowingly transport a woman who was an illegal alien from New York to Kentucky.

Chong owned four "massage" and "acupressure" businesses that were fronts for prostitution and kept as many as 11 illegal aliens as sex slaves. She pleaded guilty to a Felony Information early last April, charging her with "Sex Trafficking of Persons by Force, Fraud and Coercion." More details can be read here.

Stebick's plea states that Trowbridge picked up the prostitute from Chong's Golden Acupressure business and then "drove her to a parking lot of Leisure Land in Hamburg, New York to board a motor home driven by Stebick to transport her, the co-conspirators and others known and unknown to the U.S. Attorney's office, to Ashland, Kentucky" so she could:

"engage in sexual intercourse and other sexual activity in exchange for money with members of a men's organization of which the defendant, John Trowbridge and the Judge were members, and which organization was holding a gathering in Kentucky the weekend of October 28 - 30, 2005. This organization maintained chapters throughout the United States, including in Western New York, and it was the custom of these chapters to host periodic meetings, usually on weekends, for their members. At most of these meetings, some members of the organization would be tasked to arrange for the presence of women at the meetings, for the specific purpose of utilizing the women to engage in sexual intercourse and other sexual activity with the organization's members in exchange for money...The facts set forth above are those about which the government had independent information prior to the time the defendant indicated a desire to cooperate with the government and agreed to give statements regarding the defendant's involvement in criminal activity. It is understood and agreed to by the parties that additional information provided by the defendant cannot be used against the defendant."

Part of Stebick's plea agreement was to "immediately criminally forfeit" his 2000 Challenger 335 MHA motor home. It will be sold, with the proceeds also forfeited.

This is the second sex scandal to hit the Royal Order of Jesters after it was reported last March that nineteen members were also called as witnesses in a separate federal lawsuit to testify about their first hand knowledge of sex with minors while on a sanctioned Jesters fishing trip in Brazil.

Additionally, these three will most likely face disciplinary actions overseen by the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of New York, which could result in expulsion from the worldwide order. The Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of New York, Gilbert Savitzky, referred questions about the disciplinary process and the Grand Master's reactions to the Lodge's public relations firm, with no answers yet.

Stebick and Tills, both attorneys and members of the New York Bar Association, also face automatic disbarment upon pleading guilty to federal felonies.

A call placed to the Royal Order of Jesters headquarters to get reaction from executive director Alex Rogers was unsuccessful because their phone number has been disconnected.

This investigation is being conducted by New York Western District's Human Trafficking Task Force and Alliance.

According to a Department of Justice announcement, the task force was created in November, 2006 and "is a collaboration of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies and non-government service organizations working together to identify, rescue and assist victims of human trafficking, human smuggling and other civil and human rights offenses in the 17 counties of the district, through aggressive investigation, prosecution, training, education and outreach to law enforcement, non government organizations, vulnerable and affected persons and the general public."

These groups include the FBI, Erie County Sheriff's Office, Custom and Border Protection, Unted States Border Patrol with the assistance of the Niagara County Sherriff's Office and the Tonawanda Police Department. The case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert C. Moscati, who is also in charge of the task force.

In closing, Moscati said "We will go wherever the evidence leads us."

(1) The Royal Order of Jesters is an invitation-only fraternal sub-group of the Shriners, best known for operating a network of 22 hospitals that provides free medical care to burned and crippled children. The Revised Constitution and Bylaws of the National Court of the Royal Order of Jesters spells out the close relationship between the two groups. It can be read here. Both groups have been classified as "non profit" or "tax exempt" by the IRS. A Shriner committee that was tasked with investigating the alleged unethical conduct of hospital leaders Ralph Semb and Gene Bracewell. The committee's report revealed, among other things, that Semb may have knowingly executed a fraudulent tax return. Semb and Bracewell are also Jesters. The Interim Report can be read here.

All copies of material reprinted or duplicated from "by Sandy Frost" must include the following credit line: From http://sandyfrost.newsvine.com/ Copyright © 2008 by Sandy Frost. Used by permission.

Editor's note: Insert Adult Disclaimer here. Twenty years ago, the Orlando Sentinel reported that whistleblowers had alerted them to how a Shriner circus ticket scam was reported to police who failed to investigate allegedly because they were also Shriners. One of the main themes of this investigation is how some Shriners, those who are also sworn to uphold the law, turn a blind eye to crime though they learn of it or participate in it. It seems that this conduct may be the result of Shriner by-laws that state "Shrine law does not include the law of the land." Here is an update as to how the law of the land is being applied to a member of the Royal Order of Jesters, which is a secret sub-group made up of invited Shriner leaders. This Jester, retired police captain John Trowbridge, got caught by the FBI and pleaded guilty to one felony count of violating the Mann Act. The following is, in part, about his sentencing date. The rest of the article describes how a FBI application for a search warrant reveals how those Jesters caught by the FBI were involved with more than prostitution.

Sandy Frost
July 29, 2008
Starbucks, WA

Federal court documents reveal that there will be a delay in the sentencing of John Trowbridge. It had been scheduled for this Thursday, July 31 at 0900. The DOJ press release on Trowbridge's plea can be read here.

Item 33 of Trowbridge's plea agreement states:

"At the time of sentencing, the government will make the nature and extent of the defendant's compliance with this agreement known to the court. The government and its defendant will request that sentencing be adjourned until full satisfaction by the defendant of the terms of this agreement."

The "Government's Affidavit In Support of Motion to Adjourn Sentencing" can be read here.

It states that:

"While the defendant has assisted the Government fully and completely to date, he has not completed all of the terms of his contemplated cooperation at this time. At this point, Mr. Trowbridge's testimony in related proceedings is still possible and would be required by the Government. Accordingly, the Government respectfully requests the defendant's sentencing date be adjourned sine die with the Government."

Sine die means at an unspecified future date.

So, as long as Trowbridge cooperates with investigators about what he may or may not know about Jester involvement with these or any other crimes, nothing he says can be used against him. There is no word yet about the other Jesters caught by the FBI, former Judge Ron Tills and his law clerk, Michael Stebick.

Investigators and other members of the Western District of New York Human trafficking Task Force and Alliance have had to absorb the nuances of the "Mason," "Shriner," and "Jester" relationships, which can be confusing.

Once a man joins his local Masonic lodge, he can complete three levels to become a Master Mason who can then join other "appendant" groups, such as the Shriners. Within the Shriners is a secret sub-group called the Royal Order of Jesters, made up of invited Shriners. The Jesters have been linked not only to this prostitution scandal but to the possibility that 19 others may have first hand knowledge of child sex tourism after a fishing trip to Brazil.

According to a Department of Justice announcement, the task force was created in November, 2006 and "is a collaboration of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies and non-government service organizations working together to identify, rescue and assist victims of human trafficking, human smuggling and other civil and human rights offenses in the 17 counties of the district, through aggressive investigation, prosecution, training, education and outreach to law enforcement, non government organizations, vulnerable and affected persons and the general public."

The following information is from a FBI complaint and application for a search warrant and will explain how the former judge and the retired police captain were not only caught visiting the prostitutes, but were actually helping Len Wah Chong operate her four brothels with illegal aliens.

The information in the complaint/application was gathered by the FBI "in cooperation with the US Border Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE and the Niagara County Sheriff's Department. It was gathered through interviews, physical surveillance, background investigations, consensually monitored meetings, wire intercepts and while examining financial records, pen registers and trap/trace data, and telephone subscriber/toll records pertaining to the investigation of the offenses described above."

This application was also filed to obtain arrest warrants for:

a. Keeping, maintaining, controlling, supporting or harboring an individual in any home or place.

b. For the purposes of prostitution conspired to keep and control female aliens for the purposes of prostitution, or any other immoral purpose.

c. Knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that said individual is an alien.

d. Failing to file the required statement concerning the individual within five business days of commencing such activity with the relevant immigration authorities.

This fifteen month investigation was initiated in September, 2006, by the FBI and US Border Patrol on a tip that one of the acupressure businesses was a front for prostitution. Per the document, "full sets" refers to sexual intercourse and "half-sets" can be used to refer to either oral sex or hand-jobs (that is, anything less than intercourse). Other terms used are "mouth" or "oral," both meaning oral sex.

Court ordered wire intercepts on three telephones revealed the following, to include references to other law enforcement officers as well as the judge and police captain. The following has been edited to include specific references to the "judge," the "police captain" as well as other law enforcement officers. A Department of Justice official confirmed that these are, in fact, Tills and Trowbridge.

On August 23, 2007, CHONG placed a telephone call to premises 1. CHONG told an unknown Asian female (UAF) that the "police captain" is on his way to Premises 1. She instructed the UAF to give him a 45 minute service and wanted to know whose turn it was in the rotation. The UAF told CHONG it was an Asian female whom CHONG referred to as "Lala's" turn. CHONG told the UAF the "police captain" does not count in the rotation. It should be noted that the "police captain" was coming from Premises 5.

On August 24, 2007, CHONG received a telephone call from Premises 1. An Asian female whom CHONG referred to as "Jenny" told her the propane tank is out of gas and they are unable to cook their food. It should be noted in human trafficking cases, victims are required to cook in the locations where they conduct the prostitution to limit their movement and thus maintain greater control over them.

On September 4, 2007, CHONG made a telephone call to Premises 6. CHONG spoke to an unidentified prostitute she called Coco and asked if Coco did the Judge's friend who is short, and is claiming he did not get good service from Coco after he paid the sixty dollar house fee plus a tip. Coco told CHONG the guy wanted a full set (sexual intercourse) for forty dollars.

On September 05, 2007, CHONG placed a telephone call to Premises 1. CHONG told an Asian female whom CHONG referred to as "Jenny" the "Police Captain" was on his way to Premises 1. CHONG told "Jenny" the "Police Captain" just visited her husband and his service will not be counted on the normal rotation.

On September 5, 2007, CHONG made a telephone call to Premises 3. CHONG spoke to a prostitute named Amy and told her that customers who are friends of the Judge called her to complain about Mary. Chong told Amy she was at Golden and that Judge told her Lockport is a high class spot, and that girls should not solicit for tips and if they do, he (the Judge) will not help her out. CHONG added that the Judge informed her Mary offended every customer. CHONG said she told the Judge she fired Mary and that the Judge agreed with CHONG's actions and commented that if she had not fired Mary, she would have made trouble.

On September 5, 2007, CHONG received a call to Premises 4. Feng Xian LI told CHONG she was considering bringing her son to the United States from China. Feng Xian LI said her divorce papers were filed but she is unsure if she can bring her son over. CHONG told Feng Xian LI to ask her regular customer, who is an INS officer, to help her bring her son to the U.S. Feng Xian LI said she should provide the INS officer a "full set" if she is going to ask him for assistance. CHONG stated she has a friend that knows this officer and he is scared about being caught since one of his friends was caught and fired.

On September 06, 2007, CHONG placed a telephone call to Premises 1. CHONG told an Asian female whom CHONG referred to as "Jenny" the "Judge" was on his way to Premises 1. CHONG told "Jenny" the "Judge" to charge him for one hour even though he wanted a one and half hour service.

On September 30, 2007, CHONG made a telephone call to Premises 6. CHONG spoke to an Asian prostitute named Lily and told her that the police left. CHONG told Lily that the police officer said he would like to try massage sometime. CHONG said the Judge and his friends he brought over wanted it for free and they were bad tippers.

On October 1, 2007, CHONG made a telephone call to Premises 1. CHONG spoke to XU and told her to listen carefully. CHONG said they are on action (or alert), the government won't give girls tips intentionally. CHONG told XU she just got back from seeing the Sheriff because he was looking for her. CHONG told XU that law enforcement is not intentionally giving tips to the girls to see their reactions.

On October 16, 2007, CHONG placed a telephone call to Premises 1. CHONG told a UAF the "Judge" called and could not make it to Premises 1 that day. CHONG told the UAF that Xiu LIN aka "Coco" went to New York City and told everyone if you get arrested in Buffalo, NY, you can get legal immigration status. CHONG told the UAF the "Judge" was also upset with LIN due to her conversations in New York City about obtaining legal immigration status after being arrested in Buffalo, NY. Chong stated the "Judge" advised her to have people from a church provide the girls with a letter in order to help their immigration status.

On October 18, 2007, CHONG placed a call from Premises 5 to Premises 1. CHONG told an Asian female whom she referred to as "Jenny" the "Judge" and his friends will be going to Premises 1. CHONG told "Jenny" some of them wanted sex and they were to be treated as good customers no matter what.

On October 21, 2007, CHONG placed a call to Premises 4. CHONG told Feng Xian LI the "Judge" is mad at Feng Xian LIN because she was talking too much lately concerning her situation. Xiu LIN is a victim/material witness in an ICE investigation which was taken down in March, 2007 in Buffalo , New York. CHONG stated that Xiu LIN told a lot of people that if you come to Buffalo, NY, you can get arrested and obtain legal immigration status. CHONG also stated another government agency is contacting the "Judge" now.

On November 3, 2007, CHONG made a telephone call to Premises 1. CHONG told XU that "Da Quan" called her and informed her that a shop in Buffalo got raided and one girl without legal status was detained and that the two who were released are Da Quan's friends. CHONG told XU when the Sheriff arrived later he reminded the girls to be cautious and not to ask for tips. CHONG told a lot of her customers are police officers and public officials.

This application led to Chong's arrest, with three others, on December 10, 2007. On April 17, 2008, she pleaded guilty to Sex Trafficking of Persons by Force, Fraud and Coercion and faces penalties including a minimum 15 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison.

A copy of this application can be read here.

All copies of material reprinted or duplicated from "by Sandy Frost" must include the following credit line: From http://sandyfrost.newsvine.com/ Copyright © 2008 by Sandy Frost. Used by permission.

Buffalo area experts learn more about human trafficking after the FBI discovered a massage parlor full of prostitutes in slave-like conditions. These are the same girls visited by those members of the Royal Order of Jesters AKA a former judge, his lawclerk and retired police captain caught by the FBI.

Editor’s Note: Apology to those who are reading this editorial and already know the complex organizationals. I am explaining these relationships for those who don’t. – Sandy Frost, Starbucks, Washington

The Shriners seem to have launched a massive PR campaign, as well as settled a defamation lawsuit they filed against two whistleblowers, right before the ninth worldwide conference of Masonic Grand Lodges that is taking place from May 7 to 10 in Washington, DC. Over 800 Masonic leaders will be joining the Grand Masters from over 100 countries for three days of sessions, receptions and ceremonies for the first time in our nation’s capitol.

Before getting into this analysis, let’s look at how these groups are related.

First, a man applies for membership at a local Masonic lodge, also known as the Blue Lodge. Once accepted, he must pass tests and complete rituals to advance through three degrees to become a Master Mason.

In North America, Masonic lodges are grouped by state and are governed by one Grand Lodge. There is no Grand Lodge of America; rather the Grand Master of each state’s Masonic Grand Lodge has supreme authority over all Masons in that state. Some international grand lodges oversee a country or a region. There are about three million Masons in North America and about two million worldwide.

In North America, a Master Mason can branch out and join other “appendant” groups such as the Scottish Rite, the Knights Templar or the Shriners.

Once a Master Mason becomes a Shriner, he joins the Red-Fez wearing fraternity of 350,000 or so who meet in 191 North American temples. Though they are Master Masons, some seem to disconnect from and turn their back on Freemasonry to become “Shriners first,” who then dedicate their lives to overseeing and supporting their $13 billion network of 22 hospitals that provides free medical care to burned or crippled children at tax payer expense.

Both the Shriner hospitals and fraternity are non profit groups that are overseen by their own board of directors, with some board members sitting on both boards at the same time for unlimited terms. This is more commonly called a “conflict of interest.”

This joint board of directors calls the shots for both the Shriners hospitals and the fraternity.
The Imperial Potentate is the leader of the fraternity, a Shriner who has risen up through the ranks, including the fraternities’ governing body, the “Imperial Divan,” to serve a one year term as he governs the 191 temples who, in turn, govern the 2,000 clubs under them.

In February, 2008, the joint boards published their newsletter, “Between Sessions,” that tells the world about the great job they are doing.

The Shriners Hospitals for Children recently released “Biomedical Research Highlights, Volume 2:1, March 2008.”

In April, 2008, Imperial Potentate Bernard Lemieux issued a statement about the most recent joint board meeting, highlighting a consultant’s plan to “more efficiently structure Shriners Headquarters” and how the board approved a new Strategic Action Plan (SAP).

On May 1, 2008, court documents were recorded after the Shriners settled a lawsuit instead of pursuing two whistleblowers for “defamation.”

Why would the Shriners be working so hard on putting out the good word and getting rid of the defamation lawsuit before the world’s Grand Masters meet in DC?

Are they are trying to wave their hands like Obi-Wan Kenobi and tell the Grand Masters “These are not the headlines that you’re looking for.”

Headlines?

Who said anything about headlines?

Before we go there, let’s look at the Shriners chain of command.

The ambitious Shriner can work his way up until he may be invited to join a secret Shrine sub-group called the Royal Order of Jesters, another non profit group with both charitable and fraternal components. The Jesters claim that their fraternal exempt organization purpose is to “spread of the gospel of merriment and mirth.” They also claim they deserve charitable status because they built a “museum” inside their new $1.2 million dollar head quarters in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Recent articles about the Royal Order of Jesters began on February 15, 2008, when I published “Jesters Exposed.”

It asked:

“Have the Jesters hustled the feds by convincing them that raising millions for partying is a legitimate exempt purpose because the IRS has had no problem classifying them as both a nonprofit fraternity and charity?”

This article described how the Jesters’ executive director, Alex Rogers, submitted an application for property exemption for the new headquarters and how it was initially denied by the Marion County Assessor because they were not convinced that the Jesters qualified as a charity, based on the museum claims, under Indiana law. The Jesters appealed to the state board of tax appeals and were granted the property tax exemption after convincing the state that they were an appendant body of Masonry.

My next article, “Jesters to Testify about Illegal Drugs, Illegal Child Prostitution,” ran on March 6, 2008.

This article described how 19 Jesters were called as witnesses in a federal libel/slander lawsuit to testify about “their first hand knowledge of prostitution, minor prostitution, use of illegal drugs and/or entry into Indian reservations by Schair (plaintiff) and/or his customers” while on a ROJ sanctioned fishing trip to Brazil. This article describes the testimony of underage girls provided to Brazilian authorities who are currently investigating the possibility that the girls were involved in child sex tourism. One of the girls claimed she was 13 at the time and was left pregnant.

Three days later, on March 9, the Buffalo News ran:

“Ex-judge target in interstate sex case.”

Reporter Dan Herbeck wrote:

“A retired State Supreme Court justice resigned his post as a hearing officer as federal agents investigate his alleged role in taking a local massage parlor worker across state lines for purposes of prostitution. FBI and U.S. Border Patrol agents are investigating allegations that retired Judge Ronald H. Tills, his former law clerk and a retired police captain took the female massage parlor employee in a motor home to a gathering of members of a nationwide group called the Royal Order of Jesters…”

“Ex-officer admits facilitating prostitution” ran on March 21, 2008 and Herbeck wrote:

“A retired Lockport police captain pleaded guilty Thursday to transporting women over state lines on two occasions to work as prostitutes at gatherings of a fraternal club. John Trowbridge, 60, also admitted to a federal judge that he paid the women for sexual favors at a Wheatfield massage parlor. His felony guilty plea could result in as much as 18 months in prison for him as well as serious legal trouble for a former state judge and a former state law clerk who are under investigation.”

“Judge Tills traveled with woman he jailed on prostitution charge, Former state justice is a central figure in probe of activities of Buffalo Jesters,” ran on April 6, 2008 and Herbeck wrote:

“A woman who faced drug and prostitution charges in State Supreme Court Justice Ronald H. Tills’ courtroom later accompanied him on an out-of-state trip for a fraternal organization called the Jesters. Investigators are trying to determine whether the woman offered her services as a prostitute at the convention or whether she was just a guest of the judge, who has since retired… Tills, 73, is a central figure in a federal probe into the activities of the Buffalo chapter of the Jesters, a nationwide club that says its goal is to spread ‘mirth and merriment’.”

My latest article, “Judge Central Figure in FBI Probe, the S.O.B.I.B. and the Jesters' Half Million Dollar Weekend Parties,” ran on April 12, 2008.

It reported how Judge Tills has become the focus of an investigation by the FBI, the US Attorney’s office and a human trafficking task force and that he, along with Alex Rogers and Ralph Semb, chairman of the board of trustees for the Shriners Hospitals for Children, are members of a Jester’s sub-group, the SOBIB. The acronym supposedly stands for “Secret/Sacred Order of Brothers in Blood.” Tax returns show that the Jesters fail to report this sub-group on their tax returns and that in 2004, the International Royal Order of Jesters spent $545,806 on one of their weekend celebrations of “merriment and mirth,” otherwise known as the “Book of the Play.”

So, you might be asking, have the Shriners denounced any of the Jesters involved in these prostitution/child sex tourism/felony scandals?

No.

Have the Shriners tried to disassociate themselves from the Jesters?

No.

Have the Shriners made examples of those Jesters bringing disgrace upon the brotherhood by either trying them for “conduct unbecoming a Shriner” or throwing them out?

No.

Not a word.

It’s as if their silence condones it.

Or maybe they are hoping that if they keep quiet, this whole Jesters’ thing will just blow over.

After all, seven out of twelve who currently sit on the Shriners Hospitals for Children Board of Trustees are also members of the Royal Order of Jesters, including current potentate Bernard LeMieux, chairman Ralph Semb, Charles Claypool, Timothy E. Morris, Raoul L. Frevel, Nicholas Thomas and Gene Bracewell.

I mean, how could these guys blow the whistle on their own “boys gone wild” group while trying to tell everyone how good they are and what a great job they are doing? Instead of drawing a line in the sand, the joint boards are spinning the benefits of a major reorganization, selling themselves in a new “Between Sessions” newsletter and touting their “Biomedical Research Highlights.”

And what about the Shriners' defamation lawsuit?

The last thing they wanted is for Shriner whistleblower Vernon Hill and/or current IRS agent Paul Dolnier to show up at the Grand Masters conference and hand out copies of the defamation complaint filed against them in retaliation for asking questions like “Where does all the money go?” and “What is wrong with your tax returns?” as well as for implying that the Shriners were being investigated after Dolnier met with Pennsylvania officials for half a day as he explained irregularities he’d found through his professional analysis of their tax returns.

The last thing the Shriners wanted was for a jury to hear all about and for reporters to explain how they retaliate against those who want to report crimes instead of prosecuting those who commit the crimes.

The last thing the Shriners wanted was for the world to know how they demanded all communications between Vernon Hill, Paul Dolnier and me in an effort to circumvent federal and state reporter shield laws that have recognized a journalists’ privilege to protect “the identity of sources and unpublished information collected or prepared during newsgathering.”

All we know is that the case has been dismissed since the clerk of the Hillsborough County circuit court posted the settlement notice online on May 1, 2008, six days before the Grand Masters conference.

Back to the reorganization announcement.

It seems really out of whack.

Why would a non profit group hire a company that “provides innovative solutions in the areas of human capital strategy, program design and management, and in the areas of risk and capital management, reinsurance intermediary services and actuarial consulting” instead of turning to non profit consultants, the IRS or their parent group, the Masons, for guidance?

According to the announcement, the consultants recommended a 7% spending cap that was accepted when the joint boards unanimously approved a strategic action plan.

Why did the Shriners spend charitable donations on another expensive study when, according to the minutes of their February 27 – March 1, 2005 Shrine Treasurers Association seminar, the treasurers heard about a Price Waterhouse study that also recommended a similiar 7% spending cap to support hospitals that were operating at only 1/3 capacity?

The treasurers also heard about an option combining both a 7% spending cap and the acceptance of third party pay. It was rejected because “if we take third party pay under NIH funding for our research program we’re going to have to jump through the hoops of all the federal regulations pertaining to affirmative action. And we’re going to have to comply with state laws that you wouldn’t believe.”

What type of a “culture” would be adversely affected by following federal regulations pertaining to affirmative action and by complying with state laws?

And why would the joint board spend only one day reviewing something as important as reorganization, though the consultants worked for over a year on it? What was it that needed reorganization? In other words, what was so broken that it needed fixing?

The announcement failed to mention any inclusionary activities such as focus groups or surveys of either the families served by the hospitals or the Shriner membership. Did the Imperial Divan consult the members for their input on the reorganization or did they just decide to keep the consultants secret and decide what was best for everyone without asking them?

The joint board published their most recent newsletter “Between Sessions” in February, 2008, that tried to describe all their good deeds but instead painted a confusing picture of how they are spending millions on facilities, new construction and IT projects that look good on paper but may be a huge waste if the fraternity becomes extinct due to plummeting membership. Articles also described how:

•Consultants were hired to figure out how to recruit and retain 16 physicians needed at 12 Shriners hospitals.

•The Research Advisory Board needed to be reorganized.

•The medical research department needed to be streamlined.

•The grant management review process needed to become more efficient.

•Each scientist’s performance would be evaluated to see if they were spending their funding productively.

•The PR department was being reorganized.

And what about the 46 page Biomedcial Research Highlight publication?

The information presented in this document should be part of Part III of the exempt organization tax return, the 990.

The tax return states:

“All organizations must describe their exempt purpose achievements in a clear and concise manner. State the number of clients served, publications issued, etc. Discuss achievements that are not measureable.”

The Shriners use the same boiler plate answer year after year, while plugging in different numbers. They usually sum up their activities as:

"a.Treatment of pediatric burn victims admissions: 2,779, outpatient clinic visits: 213,277 at 2 burns hospitals.

b.Treatment of orthopedic patients admissions: 19,462 outpatient clinic visits: 213,257 at 16 orthopedic hospitals (including one dual use hospital)."

That’s it.

Why would the Shriners hide the details of research projects, publications, patents or millions given for research grants from the IRS, yet release such a glowing report two months before the Grand Masters meet?

Maybe it’s because if this information was disclosed on their tax returns, they’d also have to disclose the fact that the Cincinnati Shriners hospital received two warning letters from the FDA and ten letters from the Office of Human Research Protection after both agencies found that those conducting clinical studies had violated human subject protections, disregarded protocols and failed to keep adequate medical records?

So what does any of this have to do with the world’s Grand Masters?

I came across a paper written by India’s Grand Master that was presented at the 7th world conference of Masonic Grand Lodges held in Santiago, Chile. Arun Chintopanth spoke about “Freemasonry, Universalism and World Society at the Beginning of the XXI Century” one particular phrase he used caught my eye.

It’s the “breakdown of spiritual order.”

From where I sit, it appears that the Shriners have been hijacked by those who have violated their Masonic vows; hijacked by those wanting to run their non profit hospitals like a money making business; hijacked by those who abuse their positions of public trust for private gain; hijacked by those who may have suffered a personal “breakdown of spiritual order” by acting as if “Shrine law is above the law of the land” to the point that they get busted by the FBI in a prostitution sting and have been called as witnesses to testify about their alleged involvement in child sex tourism.

A statement issued by the Grand Lodges of Scotland, England and Ireland in 1938 states:

“Everyone who enters Freemasonry is, at the outset, strictly forbidden to countenance any act which may have a tendency to subvert the peace and good order of society, he must pay due obedience to the law of any state in which he resides…..”

It's time for those Shriners AKA Jesters involved with these crimes to answer to someone.

Someone like the Grand Masters who are currently meeting in Washington DC.

All copies of material reprinted or duplicated from by Sandy Frost must include the following credit line: From http://sandyfrost.newsvine.com/ Copyright © 2008 by Sandy Frost. Used by permission.

Investigators are trying to determine if Tills took the woman he imprisoned to Jesters parties as a guest or as a prostitute.

Talk about getting caught with your pants down.

Not only were three members of the Royal Order of Jesters AKA Shriners busted in a FBI investigation into prostitution, but one of them pleaded guilty to a felony and is in the process of cutting a deal in exchange for what he knows.

The FBI had been investigating prostitution in the Buffalo area for 15 months and, according to a March 9, 2008 Buffalo News article, three Jesters have been caught in the cross fire. These include a NY Supreme Court Judge Ron Tills and his law clerk Michael Stebick, who both recently resigned, and a retired police captain, John Trowbridge, who pleaded guilty in federal court last Thursday, March 20, to felony charges that he helped transport girls across state lines to Jesters functions for the purposes of prostitution.

Buffalo media has reported that retired police captain and member of the Royal Order of Jesters, John Trowbridge, 60, retired from the Lockport Police Department in 2002 after 29 years of service. He admitted to and pleaded guilty to a felony charge of unlawfully transporting an illegal alien woman, identified as “Jane Doe No. 1,” on October 28, 2005 from Buffalo to a Royal Order of Jesters party in Kentucky.

In the case of the United States of America v John Trowbridge, he was charged with one felony count of transporting a female in interstate commerce to engage in prostitution. The United States Attorney charges can be read here.

According to the plea agreement, Twobridge waived indictment and pleaded guilty to a 1 count felony, for which the maximum possible sentence is imprisonment for up to 10 years, a $250,000 fine, a mandatory $100 special assessment and three years probation. The plea agreement can be read here.

Trowbridge admitted in the plea agreement and factual basis that he knowingly transported an individual in interstate commerce, that he aided or abetted another to engage in prostitution. He agreed to the following facts that:

* Trowbridge did on or about October 28, 2005, with a now former New York State Supreme Court Judge (Ron Tills), an attorney (Michael Stebick) and others transported an illegal alien to Kentucky to engage in sexual intercourse and other sexual activity for which she would be paid a fee.

* It was customary for these men and others, who are also members of a men's organization (The Royal Order of Jesters), to bring women to some of their meetings, intending for the women to engage in sexual intercourse and other sexual activity with the organization's members in exchange for money.

*The parties further agree that in the fall of 2006, the same men transported a different woman from New York to Pennsylvania and that prior to the trip, the retired judge had paid this woman to engage in sexual acts with him at the Golden Acupressure massage parlor.

The court document further explains that the government had independent information prior to the time the defendant indicated a desire to cooperate with the government and agreed to give statements regarding the defendant's involvement in criminal activity. It is understood and agreed to by the parties that additional information provided by the defendant cannot be used against or further incriminate him.

If Trowbridge fully complied with all terms and conditions of the plea agreement, the government will move the court at sentencing to impose a sentencing range of 0 to 6 months.

Trowbridge agreed to provide the court with all relevant information concerning his background, his character and involvement in the offense charged. He also may have the right to request DNA testing of evidence in the possession of the government.

Additionally, he agreed to cooperate with the government by providing complete and truthful information regarding his knowledge of any and all criminal activity, whether undertaken by himself or others, in any involving or related to the unlawful transportation of individuals for prostitution or other sexual activity which is prohibited by law.

In exchange for Trowbridge's plea of guilty and cooperation, he will not be prosecuted by the Office of the U.S. Attorney for any other federal criminal offenses.

This process involves a "Waiver of Indictment" and it can be read here.

U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny accepted Trowbridge’s guilty plea and scheduled sentencing at 9 AM on July
31.

There is no news yet if Tills or Stebick are planning to cooperate with the U.S. Attorney.

The FBI, the U.S. Border Patrol and members of a human trafficking task force are also investigating other allegations that the Royal Order of Jesters have been using prostitutes at their national or international events, normally called "The Book of the Play."

The Royal Order of Jesters is a 501c10 non profit fraternity, with 23,500 members organized into 191 chapters. Their members include high profile public servants like former judge Ron Tills, as well as Duval County, Florida, Circuit Court Judge, David M. Gooding.

All copies of material reprinted or duplicated from by Sandy Frost must include the following credit line: From http://sandyfrost.newsvine.com/ Copyright © 2008 by Sandy Frost. Used by permission.

Editor's note: On Wednesday, March 26, the headline was corrected as the Jester who pleaded guilty was a retired police captain, not a retired police chief. Article follows.

“The Buffalo News (1) has reported that the FBI is investigating retired New York state Supreme Court justice Ron Tills, retired police captain John Trowbridge and former law clerk Michael Stebick for allegedly transporting a woman, for the purposes of prostitution, to an out-of-state meeting of the Royal Order of Jesters (ROJ). As a result, Tills resigned from his position as a hearing officer. Stebick resigned from his position as a part-time law clerk.

Trowbridge will plead guilty to an unspecified charge in federal court tomorrow, Thursday, March 20.

The Buffalo News has also reported that:

“Law enforcement officials said the woman was allegedly paid to perform sexual favors and that those involved could face criminal charges for transporting her over state lines for the purposes of prostitution…Members of the human trafficking task force in Buffalo are also investigating other alleged incidents involving prostitutes at Jesters’ events in other cities.”

The Royal Order of Jesters is made up of invited-only Shriners who, in turn, must be Master Masons. The ROJ is organized into two non profit corporations, each classified by the IRS as a 501c10 fraternity and a 501c3 charity. The fraternity has approximately 23,500 members who are organized into 191 "courts" for the exempt purpose of "holding annual events which are devoted to fraternalism and spreading the gospel of mirth and good cheer."

The charity was formed to "extend assistance and good cheer to others, and to provide a museum for items and articles of mirth, comedy and laughter." When Alex Rogers, executive director, applied to the Marion County Assessor for a property tax exemption and claimed that the new ROJ headquarters also housed a museum, officials denied the application because they decided that the ROJ failed to meet the state's charitable standards.

After county officials denied Rogers' application for property tax exemption based on claims of being a charity, he appealed the decision and convinced the Indiana Tax Appeals board that the ROJ was a fraternal appendant body of Masonry and the property tax exemption was granted.

The Buffalo News quotes Rogers as saying that "Since each Jester is already a Shriner, the group (Jesters) supports the 22 Shriners Hospitals for Children in the United States, Canada and Mexico" and that "Most of our work is charitable in nature."

The Jesters' tax returns, for both the fraternity and charity, fail to list their relationship to the Shriners or the Masons in question 80a, which reads "Is the organization related through common membership, governing bodies, trustees, officers, etc, to any other exempt or non exempt organization?" This question is consistently marked N/A, though Rogers told the Buffalo News that the Jesters are related to the Shriners.

Additionally, the Jesters' tax returns call into question Rogers' claims that their "work is charitable in nature." The most current charitable and fraternal tax returns can be read here and here.

The fraternal tax return fails to list any charitable activities or contributions to the Shriners or any other group.

The Royal Order of Jesters revised constitution and bylaws explains the close relationship between the Jesters’ courts and Shrine temples and can be read here.

For example, seven out of twelve Shriners who currently sit on the Shriners Hospitals for Children Board of Trustees are also members of the Royal Order of Jesters. These include current potentate Bernard LeMieux, chairman Ralph Semb, Charles Claypool, Timothy E. Morris, Raoul L. Frevel, Nicholas Thomas and Gene Bracewell.

One of these members of the hospital Board of Governors is named on a subscription list for the Mirth Missives, which is a Jesters only e-mail.

The Mirth Missives disclaimer states :

“Mirth Missives is not for everyone. Particularly in business settings, some of the material may be problematic, possibly leading to sexual harassment or unlawful discrimination charges. To protect you and me, please do not receive Mirth Missives on a computer at your place of employment, or on a computer owned or installed at any fraternal or civic organization site. If you decide to print a copy of Mirth Missives, treat it as you would any other confidential mail and do not leave it lying around for prying eyes.”

The Mirth Missives author described it as containing “stories of interest to Masons, much of which is taken from Masonic publications such as The Scottish Rite Journal, The Northern Light and The York Rite Magazine.”

The author is claiming that the Mirth Missives is copyrighted but this webpage states:

“The material contained herein is solely the responsibility of the author. 'Mirth Missive,' 'Mirthster' and 'Jest Phor Phun' are not registered trademarks or service marks and are not copyrighted by the author.”

When I asked for a copy of the Mirth Missives, I told the author that I got the information from the above linked webpage and he acknowledged that he’d read it. If he truly had copyrights for the Mirth Missives and associated subscription list, which is not marked as copyrighted, he would have had this webpage corrected but, to date, has not.

I have found the Mirth Missives to be pornographic as well as so sexually, racially and religiously offensive, that I will not link to it. Additionally, in one version, the author is attempting to illegally distribute prescription drugs and I did not want some narcotics officer knocking on my door, asking why I linked to something that may be prosceutable?

This subscription list includes not only those under FBI investigation but also ten out of the 19 Jesters called to testify in a federal lawsuit about their first hand knowledge of illegal drugs and minor prostitution that allegedly took place during a Royal Order of Jesters fishing trip to Brazil.

Tills email address, which is easy to figure out as it’s the employee’s first initial then the next seven letters of their last name, is rtills@courts.state.ny.us, so he could have received and read the Mirth Missives in his judicial chambers on work time. This violates government, educational and corporate e-mail policies because as employees receive prohibited e-mails, their employers become liable for creating a hostile work environment, especially if the e-mails constitute sexual harassment or are offensive.

According to “Email, Adult Content, and Employment Law: Reducing Corporate Liability with Filtering and Policy Tools” By Michael R. Overly, Esq.:

“Material that is harassing, embarrassing, sexually explicit, profane, obscene, intimidating, defamatory, or otherwise unlawful or inappropriate, including any comments that would offend someone on the basis of race, age, sex, sexual orientation, religion, or political beliefs, national origin, or disability, must not be sent by other form of electronic communication, viewed on or downloaded from the Internet or other on-line service, or displayed on or stored in our computer systems. Users encountering or receiving such material must immediately report the incident to their Supervisor. Violations of this Policy may result in disciplinary action, up to and including possible termination, and potential civil and criminal liability.”

If Tills is found guilty of this, he could face disbarment for violating the New York State Bar Association's Code Of Judicial Conduct.

It states:

“The Code of Judicial Conduct is intended to establish standards for ethical conduct of judges…”

Applicable sections include:

•A JUDGE SHALL UPHOLD THE INTEGRITY AND INDEPENDENCE OF THE JUDICIARY. Public confidence in the impartiality of the judiciary is maintained by the adherence of each judge to this responsibility. Conversely, violation of this Code diminishes public confidence in the judiciary and thereby does injury to the system of government under law.

•A JUDGE SHALL AVOID IMPROPRIETY AND THE APPEARANCE OF IMPROPRIETY IN ALL OF THE JUDGE'S ACTIVITIES. A judge shall respect and comply with the law and shall act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary. A judge shall not hold membership in any organization that practices invidious discrimination on the basis of age, race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, disability or marital status.

•A JUDGE SHALL PERFORM THE DUTIES OF JUDICIAL OFFICE IMPARTIALLY AND DILIGENTLY. A judge must refrain from speech, gestures or other conduct that could reasonably be perceived as harassment of any kind, including sexual harassment.

•A JUDGE SHALL SO CONDUCT THE JUDGE'S EXTRA-JUDICIAL ACTIVITIES AS TO MINIMIZE THE RISK OF CONFLICT WITH JUDICIAL OBLIGATIONS. Expressions of bias or prejudice by a judge, even outside the judge’s judicial activities, may cast reasonable doubt on the judge’s capacity to act impartially as a judge. Expressions which may do so include jokes or other remarks demeaning individuals on the basis of their age, race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, disability, marital status or socioeconomic status.

This means that Tills’ fairness and impartiality could be challenged and his decisions as a Supreme Court judge appealed if it is discovered that he received the Mirth Missives regularly. This could also cast doubt on his capacity to act impartially if he viewed pornography or read something considered as sexual harassment prior to hearing a case involving a woman. Or if he read something discriminatory prior to hearing a case involving a protected class. Or if he helped transport girls to a Jesters event prior to hearing a case involving prostitution.

Likewise, attorneys who are Jesters and are found guilty of violating bar association ethics and professional standards could also face disbarment.

Another Jesters publication, the Billiken Royal Board, is a calendar of Jesters functions and lists each event’s coordinator with their contact information.

It is not marked as copyrighted or confidential. Since the Jesters claim to be a 501c10 fraternal non profit or tax exempt organization, they tell the IRS in Part III, “Statement of Program Service Accomplishments “ that their primary exempt purpose is:

“promoting fellowship and fraternalism and extending assistance and good cheer to others.”

One would think that their calendar, or at least each specific Jester court's party, would be listed on their tax returns in Part III, "Statement of Program Service Accomplishments" that also asks for an explanation of:

“their exempt purpose achievements in a clear and concise manner. State the number of clients served, publications issued, etc. Discuss achievements that are not measurable. ”

The Jesters answer that they "held annual events which were devoted to fraternalism and spreading the gospel of mirth and good cheer" with no further explanation of these events.

Additionally, Part VIII, "Relationship of Activities to the Accomplishment of Exempt Purpose" asks the Jesters to:

“Explain how each activity for which income is reported in column (E) of Part VII contributed importantly to the accomplishments of the organization’s exempt purposes.”

None of their partys are listed.

Additionally, statement 9 of their tax returns explains that their events support their exempt purpose of “holding annual events which are devoted to fraternalism and spreading the gospel of mirth and good cheer” without listing specific events.

One would think that the IRS would want more details about the Jesters' events, as the 2005 tax return for the National Court of the Royal Order of Jesters reports that they spent $38,523 on their annual banquet and spent $307,345 on their annual party called "The Book of the Play." Additionally, this same return lists on one of the back pages a "Director's expense" of $31,865, which is not properly listed on page two under item #25, "Compensation of officers, directors, etc."

Their calendar can be seen here, here, here and here.

The Billiken Royal Board lists the Royal Order of Jesters National Court officers as:

•Gene Best, Phoenix Court 17, Royal Director, Editor-in-Chief

•Gary N. Martin, Galveston Court 97, Royal Leading Man

•William Siders, Cincinnati Court 7, Royal Tragedian

•Robert H. Haynes, Los Angeles Court 84, Royal Impresario

•John T. Stafford, Sarasota Court 189, Royal Stage Manager

•S.E. “Scutter” Newton, Las Vegas Court 181, Royal Heavy Man

•Robert R. Armstrong, Rockford Court 69, Royal Property Man

•James M. Lake, P.R.D., Crescent Court 64, Royal Treasurer

•Ray W. Grannis, P.R.D., Lewiston Court 62, Royal Prelate

•Dale Klauss, P.D., Des Moines Court 46, Editor

•Alex Rogers, Indianapolis Court 15, Business Administrator, Assistant Editor, National Court Office

•Richard Koch, Jr., Des Moines Court 46, Publisher

Tills is also listed on the Billiken Bulletin Board as an event coordinator so Jesters can contact him at rtills@courts.state.ny.us about the upcoming Buffalo Court 22 trip to San Jose, Costa Rica, scheduled for April 10-14.

Also listed are events sponsored by the Buffalo court #22, which may have been investigated by the FBI for prostitution. Another Jesters' event involving the Long Beach court #161 names Phil Spellens as coordinator. He was also named as a witness in the federal libel/slander lawsuit who is expected to testify about his first hand knowledge of illegal drugs and minor prostitution alleged to have taken place during a ROJ fishing trip to Brazil.

Like Tills, there are those who receive their Mirth Missives at their government, educational and corporate domain addresses, including state governments, the military, colleges and universities, Masonic and Scottish Rite groups, major pharmaceutical companies, internationally known financial management and investment companies, insurance companies, grocery corporations, major health and beauty product companies, banks and major computer companies.

So is any of this, besides the allegations of interstate prostitution and abuse of government resources, illegal?

According to the US Code, TITLE 18 > PART I > CHAPTER 71 > § 1462

Whoever brings into the United States, or any place subject to the jurisdiction thereof, or knowingly uses any express company or other common carrier or interactive computer service (as defined in section 230(e)(2) [1] of the Communications Act of 1934), for carriage in interstate or foreign commerce—
(a) any obscene, lewd, lascivious, or filthy book, pamphlet, picture, motion-picture film, paper, letter, writing, print, or other matter of indecent character; or Whoever knowingly takes or receives, from such express company or other common carrier or interactive computer service (as defined in section 230(e)(2) [1] of the Communications Act of 1934) any matter or thing the carriage or importation of which is herein made unlawful— Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both, for the first such offense and shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both, for each such offense thereafter.

According to the US Code, TITLE 18 > PART I > CHAPTER 71 > § 1466:

(a) Whoever is engaged in the business of selling or transferring obscene matter, who knowingly receives or possesses with intent to distribute any obscene book, magazine, picture, paper, film, videotape, or phonograph or other audio recording, which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce, shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than 5 years or by a fine under this title, or both.

Could the “interactive computer” distribution of the Mirth Missives be considered as “Engaging in the business of transferring obscene matter,” which may violate federal statutes as well as government, educational or corporate e-mail policies?

Could the “interactive computer” distribution of the Royal Billiken Board be considered as “Engaging in the Business of transferring obscene matter,” if it lists Jesters events that have been investigated by the FBI for interstate prostitution?

Are those Jesters receiving these e-mails at the above mentioned domain addresses putting their employers at risk by creating a hostile work environment?

And, finally, if any Jesters are caught deleting these emails, could they be charged with destruction of evidence and obstruction of justice after the investigators found these same emails that are permanently stored on the organization's server?

Only the investigators can know for sure.

(1) Herbeck, D., Bescker, A. (2008, March 9). “Former Judge Tills resigns amid FBI prostitution investigation.” The Buffalo News, pp. 1A.

Herbeck, D. (2008, March 15). “Retired Lockport police captain to plead guilty in ‘Jesters’ prostitution case.” The Buffalo News, pp 1A.

All copies of material reprinted or duplicated from by Sandy Frost must include the following credit line: From http://sandyfrost.newsvine.com/ Copyright © 2008 by Sandy Frost. Used by permission.

FBI investigates Royal Order of Jesters for prostitution.