Gravy Train Hookup - First Pass at the MZM/ Xybernaut Link

By: Kathy Gerber
Published On: 8/22/2006 12:17:06 PM

I was surprised that there is such obvious linkage between these two storefront concerns.

Courtesy Campaign Money in 2002 Lt. General Harry Soyster contributed $250 to Elizabeth Dole.  At that time he listed MZM as his employer.  Soyster is connected to Mitchell Wade and James C. King, President and Chief Executive Officer of Athena Innovative Solutions, Inc., formerly MZM. 

Along with George Allen, Soyster was (is?) on the Board at Xybernaut.  There is a handful of good ol' boys who are doing very well for themselves at our expense.
I need to get back to work, but this does merit further research if anyone has time to pick up on it.

Here's the full Board of Directors of The Sure Foundation accessible via http://web.archive.o...

Mrs. Christiane S. Wade, President
Mr. Joseph W. Cornelison, Vice President
Mr. Mitchell J. Wade, Treasurer
Mrs. Ella C. Cornelison
Mr. Douglas A. Evalenko
Mrs. Sandra M. Evalenko
Mr. Daniel L. Gray
Mrs. Vesta S. Gray
LTG James C. King, USA (Ret.)
Mrs. Jeneane C. King
MG Bernard Loeffke, USA (Ret.)
Mr. L. Parks Shipley
Mrs. Micheline O. Shipley
LTG Harry E. Soyster, USA (Ret.)
Dr. Gary D. Stoner
Mrs. Natalie J. Stoner
Ms. Tatiana Strajnic
Mr. Lou E. Tice
Mrs. Diane B. Tice
LTG Sidney T. Weinstein, USA (Ret.)
Mrs. Pauline M. Weinstein


Comments



Mitch Wade, eh? (Lowell - 8/22/2006 1:50:22 PM)
That guy really gets around.  Or, at least he used to get around before he he pleaded guilty to paying Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Jail) more than $1 million in bribes in exchange for millions more in government contracts.


Looks like a "hobby" charity for the Wades (Bubby - 8/22/2006 2:05:22 PM)
This Sure Foundation looks like a crooked charity front of some sort for the Wades (or the one not in jail). It pays for trips, expenses, and galas for the listed board of directors.  The ratio of expenses to charitable donations is terrible. The Shipleys are Christiane Wade's parents. Deep pockets.

I can't link through the wayback...



MZM and Sure (Kathy Gerber - 8/22/2006 3:43:28 PM)
See here for What Sure Foundation was all about -

http://www.democrati...

Douglans Evalenko listed MZM as employer for 2004 when he contributed to MZM PAC.  Here's Josh Marshall on Evalenko:
http://www.commongro...



Excellent Summary (Kathy Gerber - 8/22/2006 11:47:58 PM)
Garance Franke-Ruta's article is an excellent overview of Xybernaut.


George Allen, "Financial Gigolo" (Bubby - 8/23/2006 10:17:35 AM)
(George Allen as a member of the Board of Directors at Xybernaut)... What sort of board was this -- and what sort of director was he -- to allow these shenanigans to go on while they were allegedly (as board directors are supposed to do) protecting the interests of the shareholders? Did Allen know that the company was selling far more stock than actual computer units? Was he aware of the reputations of the some of the firms that arranged financing? What did he know about the firing of PricewaterhouseCoopers after it had the audacity to tell the truth about the company’s financial health? Did he privately express any concern about the company’s actions? And how long did he continue to promote such an obviously shady operation?

During the Great Depression, the late Supreme Court Justice William Douglas coined the term “financial gigolo” to describe someone with a prominent name who serves on a board of directors in order to add a veneer of respectability to a questionable enterprise. It’s a term of derision that could have found new meaning in dot-com boom era Virginia.

Is George Allen a goof-off, do nothing guy, or is he "willfully ignorant"? 

Virginia Deserves Better.



Another Name (Mark - 8/23/2006 2:11:41 AM)
for the MZM side....Dr. Kathleen Kiernan
Senior Executive Vice President for International Law Enforcement, MZM, Inc.

I started researching on this story in August of 2004, but couldn't find the traction. I am very pleased that it is all coming out now. Virgil does not qualify for the job of Congressman.

And Dr. Kiernan? She was giving seminars about what to do in case of 'civil unrest' in the US. (To DHS, etc./2004) MZM did some seriously black ops shit, and also belonged to an industry trade group that also counted among its members Blackwater, Inc.  Ah, those were heady days of torture and mercs doing the dirty work, whether they were asked to or not.

Do you feel wistful? I didn't think so.



Board of Directors (Mark - 8/23/2006 10:01:55 PM)
had changed by early 2005:

Mrs. Christiane S. Wade, President Emeritus
Ms. Tatiana Strajnic, Acting President
Mr. Mitchell J. Wade, Treasurer
Mr. Douglas A. Evalenko
Mrs. Sandra M. Evalenko
Mr. Daniel L. Gray
Mrs. Vesta S. Gray
LTG James C. King, USA (Ret.)
Mrs. Jeneane C. King
MG Bernard Loeffke, USA (Ret.)
Mr. L. Parks Shipley
Mrs. Micheline O. Shipley
Mr. Lou E. Tice
Mrs. Diane B. Tice

Mr and Mrs Cornelison; LTG Harry E. Soyster;
Dr. Gary D. Stoner, Mrs. Natalie J. Stoner;Sidney T. Weinstein, Mrs. Pauline M. Weinstein.

These are the missing folks from the board as of April 2005. The other significant change is that Ms. Tatiana Strajnic was appointed Acting President. Mrs. Wade was now 'President Emeritus', whatever that means in this situation.

Link



It means; (Bubby - 8/24/2006 1:58:05 PM)
Her financial and tax records are being carefully scrutinized and she has been advised to not engage in any activity that would suggest an ongoing criminal activity.  It complicates the sentencing phase.


Sure Foundation - Tatjiana Strajnic (Mrs Panstreppon - 9/23/2006 11:56:34 AM)
I wrote about again in another TPM Cafe blog entry.

Strajnic is or was in charge of approving funding for a DOE program. The Sure Foundation sent her on two trips to Europe that look liked junkets to me.



Oops! (Mrs Panstreppon - 9/23/2006 12:00:06 PM)
I don't know what I did wrong when I posted that last entry. I did two posts at the TPM Cafe about the Sure Foundation and Tatiana Strajnic and the links did not post correctly.

Let me try again:

http://www.tpmcafe.c...

http://www.tpmcafe.c...