« previous | MUCK HOME | next »
Today's Must Read
Courtesy of The New York Times, I'm proud to present to you a brand new member of the Bush Administration War Profiteer Hall of Shame: 22 year-old Efraim Diveroli, whose company AEY has been awarded approximately $300 million in contracts by the Pentagon.
How does a 22 year-old get a multi-million dollar defense contract? you ask. “AEY’s proposal represented the best value to the government," the Army tells the Times. (Never mind that AEY was headed by a guy who'd been busted by the police for carrying a fake ID.)
AEY's fattest contract came in January of last year, when a Pentagon contract made AEY, "which operates out of an unmarked office in Miami Beach,... the main supplier of munitions to Afghanistan’s army and police forces." AEY's VP is 25 and a licensed masseur. AEY also had a $5.7 million contract for rifles for Iraqi forces, among others.
As the Times found out, AEY fulfilled that contract by dealing with a variety of shady arms dealers (one Czech, one Swiss) to get their hands on ammo stockpiles in the old Eastern bloc. And as far as ensuring the quality of the munitions? Here's how it went in Albania:
Albania offered to sell tens of millions of cartridges manufactured as long ago as 1950. For tests, a 25-year-old AEY representative was given 1,000 cartridges to fire, according to Ylli Pinari, the director of the arms export agency at the time of the sale.No ballistic performance was recorded, he said. The rounds were fired by hand.
Not surprisingly, the Afghan army has been unhappy with the product. AEY shipped the decades-old ammo in cardboard boxes -- apparently to save money on shipping charges. And the Times reports that the boxes arrived in Afghanistan spilling out of the boxes, "revealing ammunition manufactured in China in 1966." It's illegal to deal in Chinese arms.
In response to the Times' questions, the Army has suspended AEY "from any future federal contracting, citing shipments of Chinese ammunition and claiming that Mr. Diveroli misled the Army by saying the munitions were Hungarian."
But surely the most memorable details of the story (which is well worth reading in full) have to do with a kid trying to wiggle out of legal trouble on the basis of his work fighting terror:
By [2005, when Diveroli became president of the company at the age of 19, taking over from his father], pressures were emerging in Efraim Diveroli’s life. In November 2005, a young woman sought an order of protection from him in the domestic violence division of Dade County Circuit Court….Mr. Diveroli sought court delays on national security grounds. “I am the President and only official employee of my business,” he wrote to the judge on Dec. 8, 2005. “My business is currently of great importance to the country as I am licensed Defense Contractor to the United States Government in the fight against terrorism in Iraq and I am doing my very best to provide our troops with all their equipment needs on pending critical contracts.”…
On Dec. 21, 2006, the police were called back to the condominium. Mr. Diveroli and AEY’s vice president, David M. Packouz, had just been in a fight with the valet parking attendant.
The fight began, the police said, after the attendant refused to give Mr. Diveroli his keys and Mr. Diveroli entered the garage to get them himself. A witness said Mr. Diveroli and Mr. Packouz both beat the man; police photographs showed bruises and scrapes on his face and back.
When the police searched Mr. Diveroli, they found he had a forged driver’s license that added four years to his age and made him appear old enough to buy alcohol as a minor. His birthday had been the day before.
“I don’t even need that any more,” he told the police, the report said. “I’m 21 years old.”
Diveroli would have been prohibited from dealing in contracts if he'd been convicted of possession of a forged document, which is a felony, the Times reports, but "to avoid a conviction on his record, Mr. Diveroli entered a six-month diversion program for first offenders in May 2007 that spared him from standing trial."
Unfortunately, it seems that AEY is unwinding with all this public attention:
[I]n Miami Beach, even before the suspension, AEY had lost staff members. Michael Diveroli, the company’s founder, told a reporter that he no longer had any relationship with the company. Mr. Packouz, who was AEY’s vice president, and Levi Meyer, 25, who was briefly listed as general manager, had left the company, too.Mr. Meyer offered a statement: “I’m not involved in that mess anymore.”
So it seems pretty clear that Diveroli is a shoo-in for the Hall of Shame. But the question becomes whether he's in competition to be the champ. Is he competition for Erik Prince, Brent Wilkes?
Comments (71)
Who approved this?? My guess: some 25-year-old who landed his job in the Pentagon after stints at the Heritage Foundation and then Dick Cheney's office.
March 27, 2008 10:49 AM | Reply | Permalink
That kid either has a pituitary tumor or he abuses hormones. Paint him green and he could star as the Incredible Hulk.
March 27, 2008 11:02 AM | Reply | Permalink
How could you say that
the picture shown above is a outdated picture
even if it wasnt who the hell are you to make fun of somebody?
March 27, 2008 7:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
This story makes me so upset WFT is congress doing letting stuff like this stand. Are guys and gals are shooting rounds from some seedy arms dealer from the old Eastern bloc. People should go to jail for this and I know who is going to stop them! Nancy Pelosi.... Oh right impeechment is off the table :(
March 27, 2008 11:21 AM | Reply | Permalink
"Michael Diveroli, Efraim’s father, had incorporated the company in 1999, when Efraim was 13. In 2004, AEY listed Efraim Diveroli, then 18, as an officer with a 1 percent ownership stake.
The younger Diveroli’s munitions experience appeared to be limited to a short-lived job in Los Angeles for Botach Tactical, a military and police supply company owned by his uncle, Bar-Kochba Botach."
Ahh, Republican Family Values in action. Isn't this how prezdint Shrub got started? Daddy hooks you up in the business, son f*#ks it up, probably gets bailed out by family friends. I'll bet the GOP can wait to run this dope as governor of Florida!
March 27, 2008 11:35 AM | Reply | Permalink
War profiteers younger than I am? Jesus christ my head just exploded.
Anybody want to start an operation where I sell old musket rounds? I'm sure we could make a killing!
March 27, 2008 11:45 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'll go partners with you on a "faith-based" war profiteering venture. We get a bunch of church ladies to pray for one side to win, make a donation to their church, deposit the rest of the funds in our Cayman account.
March 27, 2008 12:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
Pun intended?
March 27, 2008 12:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thomas Kontogiannis was my first thought. Not because TommyK trafficked in weapons (don't know if he did) but because TommyK had multiple passports and managed to go overseas after the judge had confiscated what he thought was TommyK's only passport. TommyK has 3 guilty pleas for bribing public officials, yet he still has contracts with both the local school district that he ripped off and the federal government. Both rent space in one of TommyK's buildings.
March 27, 2008 11:45 AM | Reply | Permalink
Stories like this point out the value of a things like TPM Muckraker. Does anyone doubt this is one more tip of a mammoth iceberg otherwise submerged below the surface?
March 27, 2008 11:46 AM | Reply | Permalink
To be accurate, the NYT broke the story and it is on THEIR web page and paper. TPM is a great resource, but they didn't break this story.
March 27, 2008 4:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
TPM Muckraker may not have "broken" the story, but they have surfaced it.
They didn't break the original story on the US Attorney purge, either. They just surfaced its importance and followed it up when the MSM relegated the story to the trash bin.
March 27, 2008 6:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
This is just some sweet, sweet reporting.
Great work, guys.
March 27, 2008 11:50 AM | Reply | Permalink
The way these contracts worked with Wilkes and Duke is that money got kicked back as campaign contributions and other goodies. Which GOP politicians in Florida got a taste from these guys?
March 27, 2008 11:59 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'll give you 5 dollars for the movie rights.
March 27, 2008 11:59 AM | Reply | Permalink
BINGO! This is just a script written by Elmore Leonard. And, you all thought it was real! Ha! I don't recognize that actor they have playing the part of the 22 year old CEO, but give me a hint and I think I can figure it out.
April 28, 2008 4:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
I guess sometimes the lowest bid isn't the best.
March 27, 2008 12:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
HA!-- maybe they are trying to make a case for no-bid contracts by deliberately getting incompetent low-bid contractors like these guys (probably not but still a funny idea.)
March 27, 2008 3:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
You see, the Free Market has worked again!
What role do we need those Government watchdogs & administrators to play anyway? Award the contract, approve the payments, and get out of the way!
Clearly the omnipotent Free Market has solved another problem in the GWOT!
March 27, 2008 12:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
No. No. NO. You'd never make it as a Republican. You left out the critical first step without which there would never have been a deal.
First of all, before "Award the contract" is step one. The government administrator finds a wealthy individual, usually conservative or foreign, and arrange for the bribe that you are going to get when the deal goes through.
If you leave out the first step you'll be nothing but a disgusting bureaucrat all your life, the butt of Norquist's perpetual insults. Didn't they teach you that in your "free market" MBA? Marketing was sure to cover it.
In your MBA they teach "measuring risk." That's the risk that you will deliver the taxpayer ripoff you promised and not get the bribe you demanded.
Wait! It this a DEMOCRAT site?
Forget I wrote anything. I wasn't here. God! I must be having a "Duke Cunningham" naval aviator moment, writing all this down where DEMOCRATS might read it!
March 27, 2008 2:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
I am sorry if this is going to come across the wrong way, but:
Based on the names, I would be willing to bet (and I'm not a betting man), that these two are Israeli, or of Israeli origin.
It would not surprise me if this was a Mossad front.
March 27, 2008 12:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
Did a little goggling after I read the article at the NY Times and came up with this interesting little artifact:
http://www.complaints.com/directory/2004/july/14/21.htm
March 27, 2008 12:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well, my thoughts are confirmed:
"""
The younger Diveroli’s munitions experience appeared to be limited to a short-lived job in Los Angeles for Botach Tactical, a military and police supply company owned by his uncle, Bar-Kochba Botach.
"""
It's hard to believe that anyone with the given name "Bar-Kochba" could be anything but Israeli. American Jews don't tend to have given names that are too overtly hebraic...
March 27, 2008 12:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
Looking around the net, it seems like Botach Tactical has a pretty bad reputation as suppliers of extremely low quality goods, with a number of complaints against them.
And Bar-Kochba Botach is in fact Israeli.
March 27, 2008 12:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
Efraim Diveroli's MySpace page:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=31397346
March 27, 2008 12:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
Very interesting. Look at his list of preferred movies.
And his willingness to post something like this allegedly describing himself with so many misspellings is also indicative of who he is.Thanks, Denis.
March 27, 2008 4:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
Another nice tidbit:
"""
AEY Inc.*, Miami Beach, Fla., was awarded on March 13, 2007, a delivery order amount of $48,717,553 as part of a $298,004,398 firm-fixed-price contract for various ammunition for the Afghanistan Security Forces. Work will be performed in Miami, Fla., and is expected to be completed by Dec. 30, 2008. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. There were an unknown number of bids solicited via the World Wide Web on July 28, 2007, and ten bids were received. The U.S. Army Sustainment Command, Rock Island, Ill., is the contracting activity (W52P1J-07-D-0004)."""
http://www.defenselink.mil/contracts/contract.aspx?contractid=3476
The contract is dated March 19, 2007
March 27, 2008 12:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
company profilee of Worldwide Tactical
Minority Owned???
March 27, 2008 12:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
The Miami branch consists of the mom, Ateret Botach (or Boteach) Diveroli, dad Michael, and son Efraim (the other kids seem to be pretty involved in moral activities, such as blogging on the evils of MySpace etc.). They are def linked to the Hebrew community (RASG hebrew Academy, Miami) and lo, to a Michael Jackson "money for the childern" scam (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,49808,00.html). Worldwide Tactical www.wwtactical.com) is the current LLC getting FEMA and Homeland Security contracts from Nebraska to Florida. AEY has advertised as: "Established in 1999, AEY Inc. has made a name for itself in the scrap metal industry as a reliable, efficient, competitive and honest partner" (http://www.recycle.net/trade/aa1029790.html).
March 27, 2008 12:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
BlurCalif,
Thanks for this link.
This is an interesting idea for using the internet to link together recycling operations on the internet. The business model behind it is not clear, and whether it could be a profitable way to leverage the efforts of a lot of other people is not at all clear to me. But I have only looked at a few of the links. But someone is attempting to use the internet entrepreneurially.
I can see how a high school dropout from a family of entrepreneurs who himself enjoyed the Godfather and Scarface movies might try to leverage this kind of operation into arms dealing to the U.S. government. I am not sure I see (yet) how this could have led to the connections that got him the Army contracts. A relative who was a strong advocate of AIPAC would be a giveaway,
March 27, 2008 5:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hey, what's Andy Samberg from "Saturday Night Live" doing trying to sell arms to Afghanistan?
http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/bios/Andy_Samberg.shtml
March 27, 2008 12:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
You can hear the recordings of conversations between Diveroli and his Albanian supplier, Kosta Trebicka, on the CNN website. At one point, Trebicka refers to his ties to the CIA.
On March 6, 2008, Diveroli registered a Nevada corporation, Manchester Property Corporation, as Ammoworks, in Florida. According to Nevada records, Manchester Property was first registered in 2004 by Diveroli.
March 27, 2008 12:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
AEY is listed at the Miami-Dade Procurement office as offering such sundries as Body Bags, Police Uniforms, and trucks....
The address listed there is:
Street: 925 41ST STREET
City: MIAMI BEACH State: FL
Zip: 33140 Country: US
Phone: (305) 401 ext. 7222
Fax:
e.g.:
http://www.metro-dade.com/eproc/esolicit/intsol_loginrpt.asp?secr=IB6374-2%2F08-OTR
March 27, 2008 12:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
They're jews.
What's there we're not supposed to like, eh Josh!
March 27, 2008 12:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
If this story wasn't about a serious matter, it would be funny.
http://osi-speaks.blogspot.com/2008/03/arms-dealer-exraordinaire.html#links
March 27, 2008 12:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
Sorry, it is funny in any case. When given a choice between pulling out my hair or giggling myself half to death I always chose the latter.
And, I still think this is just a script written by Elmore Leonard.
April 28, 2008 4:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
I read exposes like this one and find myself simultaneously elated and profoundly sad. War has truly become an industry in this country. It is now a legitimate business, killing people half-way around the world. That this retard was almost smart enough to completely game the system and get $300 mil in contracts should win him some kind of Young Republican lifetime achievement award and a spot in their hall of fame. Did he make any political contributions with all of that money? God knows Erik Prince has...
March 27, 2008 1:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
Maybe someone should ask Michael Diveroli how Worldwide Tactical LLC came into possession of 7 million pieces of NATO ammunition manufactured in 2003-2004.
March 27, 2008 1:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
Dude, we TOTALLY scammed those ragheads in Afghanistan and sent 'em some bogus bullets and scored boo-coo bucks! And now I can claim National Security anytime anyone gives me a hard time. Just like the President.
Awesome!
March 27, 2008 1:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
A small part of me finds this awesome.
Only a small part though.
March 27, 2008 1:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
Please change "who's" to "whose."
Who's=contraction of "who is"
Whose=possessive pronoun form of "who"
I think you meant to write that the ammunition arrived in Afghanistan spilling out of the boxes.
And regarding Master Diveroli's place in the Hall of Shame, maybe you need to create a Junior division.
March 27, 2008 1:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm not surprised. This isn't the first case of our tax dollars being wasted nor will it be the last! This is what you call "pork projects" that are add to bills in the form of "earmarks." Sadly, anyone can pull this off with the right channels. Many have.
March 27, 2008 1:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
The market works! It polices itself!
March 27, 2008 2:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
Why does these guys' ethnic background bother you so much?
Did you investigate Brent Wilkes' family roots? How about Erik Prince? Did his Dutch origins give you the same orgasm/heartburn?
If anything, the Botachs/Diverolis must be naturalized U.S. citizens (based on their status as licensed Defense Contractors to the U.S. Government), who probably immigrated from Israel. (Apparently, not a great loss for Israel !) The young Efraim must have been born and raised in the U.S., which makes him as American as you are. His MySpace profile is pure apple pie.
Oh, btw, did you investigate the nice U.S. Army and Pentagon folks who approved these contracts? Are they also Jewish, or just innocent, good-natured, benevolent gentiles who were simply fooled by the evil, scheming Israelis to crucify Jesus... oops, I meant: to give AEY, Inc. $300 million worth of govt. cheese?
denisrobert, please get help.
March 27, 2008 2:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's so difficult to properly express tone via comments, email, etc. I hope that these apparently anti-Semitic sentiments are accidental. Instead, I choose to believe that these commenters intended to point out that there are a large number of Israeli-connected arms dealers.
-AF
Andrew Sullivan Is A Fraud
March 27, 2008 2:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah right, anti-Semitic sentiments are always accidental.
It's well documented that most anti-Semites became anti-Semitic after being struck by a lightning, hit by a bus or exposed to radiation. It also explains how come entire populations around the world who have never met a single Jew in their lives (e.g. most of the Arab world, many Eastern Europeans or large sections of Malaysia and Indonesia) harbor strong anti-Jewish (yes, anti-Jewish, not anti-Israeli) feelings.
Same goes for large segments of Central and South-American populations, where Catholic schools still teach that the Jews were responsible for the death of Jesus. All one gigantic accident.
March 27, 2008 3:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
Greed is good, right? I heard that in a movie.
March 27, 2008 3:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
?? Why is it so important to so many commenters that the family involved is Jewish? Just askin'...
March 27, 2008 3:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
I find it interesting and unusual that none of the principals involved in AEY appear to have a record of giving money to Republicans or Republican causes. So how were they awarded these government contracts and who did the awarding?
-AF
Andrew Sullivan Is A Fraud
March 27, 2008 3:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
The VP of the company is a licensed masseur. I'm sure there were plenty of folks along the contracting food chain with aching backs and necks that needed treatment.
March 27, 2008 4:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
All major corporations like this need VP's who are well qualified not to rub people the wrong way. Har har!!
April 28, 2008 4:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
THIS is what I'm talking about.
(When I rant back at so-called "young people" who blow up over how baby boomers have ruined tne world and should step aside. I tell them to look around again. The 18 to 49 crowd is already at the wheel, some of them married to the evil old baby boomers in power, dating them, icky, I know, and working for them faithfully, and filling their nasty shoes the minute they step out of them. There's nothing generational about all this failure and evil and hate and greed and war. If you're ALIVE today, you're either against it, or you're in on it. I don't care if you're 18 or 80.)
March 27, 2008 4:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hey aren't these the two guys from the "Dick-in-a-box" video on SNL?
March 27, 2008 4:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
IAF,
I do not in any way condone anti-Semitism. Perhaps I erred in my willingness to give these commenters a one-time only benefit of a doubt. Sadly, I'm already finding this article spun and broadcast across the web by anti-Semites.
With an apparent lack of Republican bone fides, it is worth probing what connections Botach & the Diverolis have. There is a decades-long tradition of Israeli arms dealers including Amiram Nir, Ya’acov Nimrodi, IAI founder Al Schwimmer, Shaul Eisenberg, Arcadi Gaydamak and, allegedly, Arnon Milchan. Ynetnews: The leading source for Israel news states states that:
There is some reason this family got these government contracts and it's not due to Republican campaign contributions.
-AF
Andrew Sullivan Is A Fraud
March 27, 2008 5:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
AF,
Please read my response to Richardxx re: the issue of Israel's military equipment exports. I see no reason to fault Israel for something that many other Western countries, including our own country, do as well -- on a much larger scale, and with similar or greater disregard of moral issues.
Second, you are not seriously comparing these two juvenile delinquents to your above list of Israeli arms traders. Without passing moral judgement on the entire field of arms trade, many of the above individuals were/are pioneers, captains of industry, etc. who saw/see themselves as Israeli patriots seeking to advance their small, beleaguered country's economy, and who sold/sell only Israeli made military equipment.
I don't think our Beavis and Butthead here are quite so noble or accomplished. IOW, prime Dubya stock.
March 27, 2008 8:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
Sorry to dip a fly in the ointment here but, "Juvenile Delinquents?"
I think not.
At 21 he's old enough to drink, smoke, own a gun, drive a car and vote. He's also old enough to break any law in the knowledge that if he's caught he pays the penalty.
War profiteers were shot during WWII. He can expect considerably more leniency.
March 27, 2008 8:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
Elbonian,
Sorry, didn't mean to diminish these guys' sins. If you read the original NYT article, Efraim was 13 in 1999 when AEY, Inc. was incorporated, became its Prez. in 2004, and won the first bid in 2006, i.e. not yet 20. Not a juvenile, I'll grant you, but MUCH younger than Monica Lewinsky in her prime time.
Besides, it appears that both numnuts still live with their parents... Come on, we, libruls, are supposed to be the bleeding hearts. ;-)
March 27, 2008 10:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
IAF, not meaning to jump on you. I guess I'm over-sensitive about the predisposition that age is an excuse. I just read an article in the Guardian (UK) about a 15-year old thug who kicked a girl to death (and put her boyfriend in hospital) because of her choice of dress. It's funny how the "age of responsibility" line can be blurred by the heinous nature of a particular crime.
To me these young men (but men nonetheless) may be carrying on Pop's business but they're old enough to know that corroded ammunition won't always fire when it's needed to, nor be as accurate, and that to send it into a war zone is effectively creating a disadvantage. All for a bit of money.
Anyway, pax.
:-)
March 28, 2008 8:44 AM | Reply | Permalink
Isrealis are a major force in international arms sales, in large part because it supports the domestic arms manufacturing industry they were required to develop because of (extremely justified) fear of Muslim invasion. As a nation they use export sales of weapons to lower the total cost of building those weapons, just as we do here in America.
Antisemitism appears when every Jew is accused of either being or supporting arms trading.
Reverend Wright was angry at how so many American blame all Blacks for the crimes committed by some, and he was properly angry at the clear racism that so many Americans tar all African Americans with merely because of the color of their skins.
Tim Russert demonstrated his racism when he demanded that Barack Obama explicitly deny that something the radical Louis Farrakhan said in suppoer of Obama. The only connection between the two was race. Russert might have asked Farrakhan that question and exposed Farrakhan's racism, but he didn't. He asked Obama and got insistent about it. The only racism on display was Russert's.
Is questioning whether a member of an Israeli family who is involved in arms traffic Antisemitism? The connection between Israelis and the arms trade is obvious. But it is not religious. So the issue of someone from a family with an Israeli name who is in the arms trade themselves who has clearly gotten preference with the Army is not anti-Semitic. It recognizes a clear national (not religious) and family association. And it is a rational question, not an answer (unlike Tim Russerts assumption that Obama, being Black, would support Farrakhan's racist rants.)
Efraim Diveroli appears to come from an Israeli family and apparently has some flair for self-promotion and entrepreneurism. The fact that he got a contract from the Army that nothing apparently qualifies him for leads to questions of how he got that contract. The fact that Israelis, for good reasons, have been international arms traders is another fact that should be considered.The connections need to be investigated. The answers need to depend on the acts, not religious and Semitic assumption.
March 27, 2008 6:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hes only 22 years old. dont forget that. He is still a child and all kids make mistakes. He doesnt deserve to be srutinized for every detail of his life.
I hope everthing goes well with me
March 27, 2008 7:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
I hope everything goes well with you too. And remember, take the red ones for sleep, green ones to wake up.
March 27, 2008 7:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
Sorry, Richardxx, nowhere in the original NYT article is Israel mentioned as an involved party in this particular affair. The military equipment came from Eastern Europe and Albania, and was destined for Afghanistan.
Even the persons involved were not identified as Israelis, or as ex-Israelis. Some of the commenters here deduced this from their names -- IMHO, without any good reason other than to insinuate some improper involvement of or connection to Israel. That smacks of a clear anti-Israeli sentiment, and the entire ethnic ID "research" smacks of anti-Semitism.
As far as I'm concerned and until proven otherwise, these guys, who seem to operate from their parents' basements, are small time crooks who got lucky, or they are dupes who were used as a front for a far more sinister fraud operation helmed by ??? (Your guess is as good as mine.)
In either case, a thorough investigation is warranted. The fact is that some of them may be ex-Israelis is irrelevant.
Yes, Israel is a major exporter of the military equipment which it independently develops and manufactures. However, at about $2-3 billion per annum, it's barely a drop in a bucket of worldwide arms sales. Moreover, it's not that big a share of Israel's economy either, which last year had a GDP of some $180 billion and total of $45 billion in exports of goods and services. (Ref: 'Economy of Israel' in Wikipedia.)
March 27, 2008 7:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
IAF,
I would most certainly not include these kids amongst the likes of those mentioned. But almost 8 hours Dennis Robert did ID Botach as an Israeli. With the available fact's it's neither crazy nor anti-Semitic to question whether Diveroli's Israeli arms dealer uncle introduced him to the trade. Or is it? If this young man had a Columbian drug lord uncle and he was suspected of dealing drugs would it be racist to ponder the various possible connections involved? I don't think it would.
-AF
Andrew Sullivan Is A Fraud
March 27, 2008 8:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
AF,
First, denisrobert claims that Bar-Kochba Botach is Israeli. He provided no link or reference. In fact, denisrobert speculated about Botach's (or Boteach's) ethnic origin based on his given name: Bar-Kochba. Apparently, he's never heard of an LA Rabbi Shmuley Boteach (not an Israeli), or of Hassidic jews in the U.S. -- some exceedingly anti-Zionist, who give their children Hebrew names. (I'm not even going into Hispanics named Israel.)
Is Mr. Botach, (whose web site indicates him to be a religiously observant Jew), a U.S. born Hassidic Jew? An Israeli citizen? An ex-Israeli naturalized U.S. citizen? Suppose the latter: if he came to the U.S. as a teen and has been living here for the last 30-40 years, should we still consider him Israeli ?
Second, we don't know yet whether Botach has any connection to the AEY, Inc. contracts. Why jump the gun, so to speak?
Third, Botach Tactical is an LA-based reseller of military gear whose web site lists a wide range of products, only some of which are Israeli-made. Yet, without inspecting Botach Tactical's books, you automatically label him Diveroli's Israeli arms dealer uncle. By this standard, almost every gun shop in America that carries an Uzi (which is like: every gun shop in America) is an Israeli arms dealer.
Finally, you completely lost me with the Colombians. Let's leave them to Hugo Chavez, shall we? ;-)
/IAF.
March 27, 2008 9:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
Why are we even talking about whether he's a Jew or not? It does it matter?
This is what he did wrong legally speaking:
1. Falsification of a government issued ID (his driver’s license).
2. Forged document that caused him to mislead the Pentagon.
3. It's illegal to deal in Chinese arms. I suppose it's okay to buy Hungarian weapons. When dealing with shady characters, do you ever know what your buying?
4. Assaulted a valet attendant.
So it is his actions that should be judged. Not the fact he is Jewish.
March 27, 2008 10:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
Top arms exporting countries 1999-2006 (from here) and see here for the original source)
USA $14,008m
Russia $5,800m
UK $3,300m
Germany $1,000m
China $700m
Canada $600m
France $400m
Netherlands $300m
Israel $200m
Spain $200m
Sweden $200m
So the Netherlands exports more arms than Israel, and Israel the same amount as Spain and Sweden. So in fact, Israel is a fairly average player in the world arms market. Also, Diveroli is not an Israeli name and a search of Hebrew web sites hardly turned up anything. While he may, not definitely since I never met an Israeli (I lived there for nine years) whose first name was Bar Cochba, have an Israeli uncle, what about his own dad who seems to be heavily involved in the whole thing.
March 28, 2008 12:11 AM | Reply | Permalink
IAF,
My point was that any person's background is relevant. This is especially so when they go into the "family business" and that business is tagged for ripping off US taxpayers. I don't know if there was a connection between Botach & AEY's government contracts. I never said there was. However, Ephraim Diveroli did in fact return to Miami to take control of his father's business, AEY, after working at Botach for his uncle.
As for whether or not Bar-Kochba Botach is Israeli, you've rightly flagged me for speeding. I took what Dennis said as truth. Please accept my apologies. I can only offer that being red-green colorblind, I find it extremely difficult to differentiate where links are and are not on this blasted site.
-AF
Andrew Sullivan Is A Fraud
March 28, 2008 12:56 AM | Reply | Permalink
Let me see...it appears this YOUNG man received his DoD contract while Republicans were in control of the Senate. What Senate Committee oversees DoD? The Armed Services Committee.
QUESTION: Who served as a senior member of that committee?
ANSWER: John McCain.
March 28, 2008 5:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
I agree that the ethnic background is largely irrelevant to the meat of the story.
What I do find interesting in terms of ethnicity is that this is a kid who, according to grandpa, was raised in the business. This was a family business, not specific to ethnicity, but nevertheless linked to the romance of the "Tough Jew".
On the one hand the fictional Hyman Roths and the real Meyer Lanskys upon whom they are based.
But tougher still: Isaac Babel and who knows how European/Eastern European ghetto Jews who refused to pass silently without either writing about it or confronting head-on what they were up against. In that, are they so different from any other group? Not at all, it's just the narrative is stronger.
Perhaps Efraim is a remnant of the romance of all this. The one who couldn't make it as the idealized model minority.
Unless you've never read Isaac Babel. Or felt it in the gut when Hyman Roth stated plainly:
"Someone put a bullet through his eye. No one knows who gave the order. When I heard it, I wasn't angry; I knew Moe, I knew he was head-strong, talking loud, saying stupid things. So when he turned up dead, I let it go. And I said to myself, this is the business we've chosen; I didn't ask who gave the order, because it had nothing to do with business!"
So, the myspace page pretty much kills the romance of the whole thing. These were just stupid suburban kids, some of whom spoke Lithuanian. No "Odessa Tales" from them. Throw the book at 'em.
March 28, 2008 6:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
I agree with IAF. The fact that Efraim Diveroli, David M. Packouz, and Yoav Boteach, the man behind the swindle, are all jewish should not be discussed. This "mistake" is a result of post-traumatic stress due to thousands of years of antisemitism.
March 29, 2008 3:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
Does anybody know whether there's some sort of ageism policy at the pentagon, most likely instituted to defend the senile? If yes, I thing we know what happened.
April 28, 2008 4:44 PM | Reply | Permalink