Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Penn State Abuse Cases Handled Well Compared to Nebraska’s Infamous Sex Scandal
A few years ago what became known as the “Franklin Cover-up” consumed the state of Nebraska.  It was a story of financial misdeeds and organized child sexual abuse.  But it became even better known as an example of how insider power structure can go out of control and violate all of the American institutions we take for granted. 
The local Franklin Credit Union had grown from obscurity to become a national money-making phenomenon.  When the financial facade came crashing down, the fall out revealed accusations of a pedophile ring that encircled leading citizens in Nebraska, prominent politicians in Washington D.C., and beyond.
Pennsylvania’s handling of the recent sex scandal has led to many victims coming forward for a public cleansing.  That is in great contrast to the Nebraska case.  Spearheaded by the state’s only daily newspaper, the Omaha World-Herald, a news block out set the tone.  And when the newspaper was forced to finally acknowledge that something was going on, the reporting was a protective cocoon wrapped around prominent citizens.  The message to victims became clear:  come forward and you will be ridiculed, jailed, institutionalized, and if that fails, killed.
Early on as the case seemed about to break open, a private investigator, Gary Caradori, took his son to a ball game in Chicago where he was following up on some leads.  Before getting on their private plane to return to Omaha, Caradori called a State Senator to inform him that he had "found the smoking gun."  Later, thirty minutes into flight, the plane exploded and both died instantly.  An investigation concluded that the cause was pilot fatigue.
Caradori was the first of many mysterious deaths where eighteen teenagers connected to the case died in a twenty-four month period. 
The victims had made statements that they had been abused by the Chief of Police, the credit union manager, and some of Omaha's and Nebraska's leading businessmen.  Many claimed that they had been residents of the famous Boys Town home for boys when they had been recruited for sexual encounters with businessmen and prominent politicians while being transported to cities around the United States.
Some information suggests that the sex ring was decades-old, tying back to a CIA psychological brainwashing program called "Operation Monarch".
In Nebraska, with no journalistic coverage, no police protection, no local, county or state protection services, the cases finally ground to an exhausted close.  Most Nebraskans feel that a lot of wealthy people got away with committing awful deeds, including murder.  Unlike in Pennsylvania, the message to victims was clear:  keep your mouth shut.

New Cover Design for "Operation Monarch"

Many thanks to Renee Barratt for redesigning the cover to Operation Monarch for the e-book editions. 

When the book was first published, not many had heard of Operation Monarch (the covert operations code name).  A great deal of information has surfaced now, but most will still be surprised how the top secret enterprise still impacts current events.