The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 is "the most far-reaching reforms of American business practices since the time of Franklin D. Roosevelt."
~ President George W. Bush upon signing the legislation into law ~
October 18, 2007
Mr. Christopher Cox – Chairman
Securities and Exchange Commission
SEC Headquarters
100 F Street
Washington, D.C. 20549
SUBJ: WHISTLEBLOWING UNITED PILOTS ASSOCIATION
Dear Chairman Cox,
In accordance with the provisions of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the federal protections afforded therein, on
behalf of the employees and retirees of United Airlines, I hereby declare
myself a federal whistleblower. Since 2003, I have attempted to be a whistleblower
whose rights have been denied.
The Whistleblowing United Pilots
Association is somewhat of a misnomer in that it is an independent
grassroots coalition of all airline employees and retirees from every airline
across the nation whose purpose is to help discover the truth and serve justice
on the white-collar criminals who perpetrated the crimes, which enabled the
demise of post-9/11 airlines employees and retirees in bankruptcy.
My purpose merely serves as a voice of the
many financially disenfranchised United and other airline employees and
retirees who have suffered so much at the hands of so few. An expanding whistleblowing email network was
developed to enable cross-communication amongst members. Tens-of-thousands of concerned employees are
in bcc receipt of this email correspondence and will be awaiting your legal
response.
As you well know, in the aftermath of the
exposition of white-collar corruption in the cases of Enron, Tyco, World Com,
and others, President Bush signed into law the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 where
he remarked this law to be, ”the most far-reaching reforms of American business
practices since the time of Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Strong legal evidence has surfaced in the
United Airlines bankruptcy that supports allegation of judicial corruption,
fraudulent government application processes (including redacted documents),
nondisclosure of certain assets, questionable independent accounting oversight,
and alleged collusion between government agencies, financial institutions, and
United Airlines management from 2002 to present. Although previously notified, to date, the
Department of Justice and relevant congressional committees have investigated
none of these charges. Kindly refer specifically to the attached Report of Examiner
Ross O. Silverman page 33, paragraph 9, “The Transmittal to the Officers and
Directors of United of a redacted version of the ATSB narrative” as you read
on.
It is herein that I reference relevant and
germane Titles and sections of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act within your domain of
authority.
Title I
Public Company Accounting Board (PCOAB)
Section 101 Establishment of the PCOAB
Given the allegations stated above, the PCOAB
appears to have failed to provide federally mandate oversight that might have precluded
the demise of employee stock ownership of United Airlines through the Employee
Stock Ownership Program (ESOP) during the bankruptcy.
Section 104 Inspection of Registered Public Accounting
Firms
An
inspection of the Public Accounting firm of Kirkland & Ellis should be
conducted.
Section 105 Investigations and Criminal Proceedings
James Sprayregan, an attorney at Kirkland
& Ellis at the time, and United Airlines’ lead bankruptcy lawyer, left this
firm immediately following the bankruptcy to accept a position with
Goldman-Sachs, a major creditor and investment banker of United Airlines.
Title III
Corporate Responsibility
Section 302 Corporate Responsibility for Financial
Reports
Section 302(a)(4)(B)
Fraudulent federal documentation in certain
application processes has been exposed.
The United Airlines frequent-flyer program, Mileage Plus, may not have
been disclosed as an asset during the bankruptcy process and must be thoroughly
investigated.
Section 304 Forfeiture of Certain Bonuses and Profits
Directly as a consequence of allegedly
fraudulent bankruptcy processes that included nondisclosure of Mileage Plus and
purportedly corrupt judiciary, United Airlines employees forfeited majority
ownership of the airline in bankruptcy as their ESOP stock was sold out from
under them with the blessings of the court.
Top-level United management rewarded themselves with huge bonuses on
bankruptcy exit.
Section 305 Officer and Director Bars and Penalties
Given the criminal loss of ESOP stock, United
Airlines employees demand equitable relief in accordance with the provisions of
this section.
Section 306 Insider Trading during Pension Fund Blackout
Periods
The ESOP stock was allowed to plummet to near
zero value before it was sold with the bankruptcy judge’s approval. The employees were prevented from selling
their stock during this time frame. This
action was vigorously and legally challenged in a separate Seventh Circuit
court proceeding to no avail.
Additionally, during this same time frame,
ERISA laws governing the distress-termination of employee pensions may have
been violated. Evidence has recently
surfaced (redacted fraudulent documents), which indicate that senior United
Airlines management may have been less than truthful in disclosing the
financial health of United employee pensions to the Pension Benefit Guarantee
Corporation (PBGC) in petitioning the board for said distress-termination.
Section 308(a) Fair Funds for Investors
In light of the facts stated herein, it is
requested that the Commission obtain a federal court order requiring
disgorgement against the person(s) for violations of this Act. Additionally, it
is legally incumbent upon the Commission to obtain civil penalties against such
person(s).
Title IV Enhanced Financial Disclosures
Section 406(a Code of Ethics Disclosure
The senior level management of United
Airlines allegedly failed to disclose the value of the Mileage Plus asset. Appropriate legal authority has not
investigated additional evidence, which includes redacted documents. This purported unethical corporate conduct
may have drastically impacted investors and others, thereby enabling change of
control of United Airlines from employees to outside investors and corporate
leaders.
Title VII Studies and Reports
Section 703
It is federally mandated that a study be
commenced of relevant public accountants, investment bankers, dealers,
attorneys, and other securities professionals practicing before the Commission
in these matters. In accordance with the
Act, a report should be submitted to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing
and Urban Development, and the House Committee on Financial Services.
Section 704 Study of Enforcement Actions
With the exclusion of revenue recognition of
the Mileage Plus asset through possible accounting treatment of off-balance
sheet special purpose entities, a study must be conducted and presented to the
congressional oversight authorities mentioned above.
Section 705(a)
A GAO study must be conducted on whether
investment banks and financial advisers assisted companies in manipulating
their earnings and obfuscating their true financial picture.
Title VII Corporate Criminal Fraud Accountability
Para 1519
There exists evidence that suggests
falsification of records in the United Airlines bankruptcy that must be
investigated in accordance with this provision.
Para 1520
Accountants by law (15U.S.C. 78j-1(a)), must
maintain all audit or review work papers for a period of 5 years. In light of questionable bankruptcy accounting
practices, an SEC review is mandated.
Section
806 Protection for Employees of
Publicly Traded Companies who provide evidence of Fraud
As a B-777 Captain at United Airlines in
2003, I was a whistleblower who was illegally discharged for attempting to
speak out on these and other issues. I
subsequently filed an FAA Whistleblower Protection Report that was ignored by
the Federal Aviation Administration. I
have petitioned every level of government and law enforcement for assistance to
no avail.
Para 1514 Civil Action to protect against retaliation
in fraud cases
Before expulsion from United Airlines, after
25 years of dedicated service as a pilot employee, while attempting to speak
out on allegedly criminal issues, I was suspended from line operations as a
Captain, denied legal representation by union lawyers, involuntarily placed on
sick list without due cause or physical examination, ushered into the Employee
Assistance Program (EAP), and discharged from employment as a direct result of
my attempting to comply with Federal Aviation Regulations, union charter, and
the Code of Ethics prescribed by my union, the Air Line Pilots Association
(ALPA).
I have digitally-recorded phone
conversations, copies of stonewalled federally-mandated reports, and other
correspondence, documentation, witnesses, and evidence to legally support my
allegations.
Section
807 Criminal Penalties for Defrauding
Shareholders of Publicly Traded Companies
Para 1348 Securities Fraud
Based on the evidence at hand, it is further
alleged that securities fraud has occurred and must be investigated.
Title IX White-Crime Penalty Enhancements
In accordance with the White-Collar Crime
Penalty Enhancement Act of 2002, it is further demanded, if allegations are
proven to be true, that the maximum civil penalties be imposed in accordance
with this Act.
The following Title IX Sections are germane
and relevant without further comment.
Section 902 Attempts and Conspiracies to Commit Criminal
Fraud Offenses
Section 903 Criminal Penalties for Mail and Wire Fraud
Section
904 Criminal Penalties for Violation of
the Retirement Income Act of 1974
Section 905
Amendment to Sentencing Guidelines Relating to certain White-Collar
offenses
Section 906
Corporate Responsibility for Financial Reports
Title XI Corporate Fraud Accountability Act of 2002
Section
1102 Tampering with a record or
otherwise impeding an official proceeding
Relevant and germane to the issues addressed
above.
Section
1103 Temporary Freeze authority for the
Securities and Exchange Commission
In accordance with the provisions of this
Act, and in light of the aforementioned alleged illegal activity as supported
by the evidence at hand, it is requested at the commencement of this
investigation, that the Commission seek a temporary federal court order
suspending the United Airlines directors, partners, and controlling agents from
the authority of their positions, until the results of said investigation are
reported to relevant congressional committees.
Section
1105 Authority of the Commission to
prohibit persons from serving as officers or directors
Subparagraph (F)
In accordance with the provisions of this
subparagraph, it is further requested that the Chairman of United Airlines and
other key Board of Director members who may have knowingly violated section
10(b) or rules and regulations there under, be suspended from their positions
as such, until a thorough investigation is completed.
Section
1106 Increased Criminal Penalties under
Securities and Exchange Act of 1934
In light of the alleged heinous white-collar
crimes that may have been committed against post-9/11 United Airlines employees
and retirees, investors, vendors, and the American taxpayer, coupled with the
obscene financial rewards bestowed on top-level corporate officers on
bankruptcy exit, it is demanded that the harshest financial penalties and jail
sentencing be imposed as allowed under the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act
of 2002.
Section 1107 Retaliation against informants
The Commission is hereby commanded under this
provision that my wife and two adult children, Michael Lynch, former Chairman
and CEO of McCook Metals LLC and his family, his criminal informants (who have
not yet been afforded DOJ witness protection/immunity), other informants and
their families, as well as myself, be afforded immediate legal and other
physical protections as mandated by this Act.
I have attached a signed and sworn affidavit
for your perusal. An SEC Complaint Form
has been filed both electronically and via the U.S. Postal service certified
mail and sent to the SEC Complaint Center. This letter with attachments
(including the affidavit and a copy of the complaint form) has been forwarded
to your office via certified mail also.
President Bush signed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act
of 2002 into federal law; we expect the letter of the law to be upheld in
accordance with the precepts of our constitution and principles of honest
government. Failure to do so will
constitute a serious breech of public trust and freedom of speech.
Citizens of this country have a right and
constitutional authority to speak out when crimes may have been committed. They have a legal and moral obligation to do
so as patriots. By sending you this
letter, I am merely exercising these rights and responsibilities as an American
citizen who is attempting to be patriotic.
In closing, while serving in your capacity as
the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, you have legal, moral,
and constitutional authority and obligation to respond. If the Securities and Exchange Commission
fails to act, federal law will not have been upheld; our government yet another
time will have stonewalled the Whistleblowing United Pilots Association. To date,
Congress and federal law enforcement officials have not responded to our
petitions. Will you?
Very Respectfully,
Daniel W. Hanley
Encl:
Signed and sworn affidavit by Daniel W. Hanley dtd Oct 18, 2007
Ltr dated April 12, 2006 to DOJ Gonzales, DOT Mineta, and DHS Chertoff
Ltr dated November 13, 2006 to
Congressman Henry Waxman
Ltr dated November 18. 2006 to Senators Reid, Durbin, and Obama
Ltr dated November 20, 2006 to District Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald
Ltr dated January 25, 2007 to Senator Patrick Leahy
Ltr dated February 1, 2007 to Senator Ted Kennedy
Ltr dated January 25, 2007 to Congressman John Conyers, Jr.
Ltr dated February 1, 2007 to Congressman George Miller
Ltr dated September 1, 2007 to Asst Attorney General Alice Fisher
Ltr dated September 3, 2007 to Senator Daniel Akaka
Report of Examiner Ross O. Silverman dtd March 18, 2004
SEC Complaint Form submitted by Daniel W. Hanley dtd Oct 18, 2007
Cc:
Whistleblowing United Pilots Association
President George W. Bush
Vice-President Dick Cheney
Fred Fielding – Counsel to the President
Acting Attorney General Paul Clement
Elaine Chao – Labor Secretary
Kirk Van Tine – Baker-Botts
Carlos Gutierrez – Commerce Secretary
Mary Peters – Transportation Secretary
Asst Attorney General Alice Fisher
FBI Director Robert Mueller
District Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald
Chicago FBI Director Robert Grant
Mary Jo Gillette – SEC Chicago Regional Director
Senator Harry Reid – Senate Majority Leader
Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi – Speaker of the House
Senator Patrick Leahy – Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee
Senator Ted Kennedy – Chairman, Senate
Labor and Pension Committee
Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL)
Senator Barak Obama (D-IL)
Congressman John Conyers, Jr. – House Judiciary Committee Chairman
Congressman George Miller – Chairman – Committee on Labor/Pensions
Glenn Tilton, Chairman – United Airlines, Inc.
Jake Brace, Chief Financial Officer – United Airlines
Paul Lovejoy, General Counsel – United Airlines
********************************
AFFIDAVIT OF DANIEL W. HANLEY IN SUPPORT OF CRIMINAL
INVESTIGATION OF THE UNITED AIRLINES BANKRUPTCY
I,
Daniel W. Hanley, being first duly sworn, on oath, states as follows:
1. I am of legal age and
competent. This affidavit is made
on my personal knowledge of all matters set forth and referenced
herein. If sworn and called as a
witness in this case, I could, and I would, testify competently as to each
fact set forth and incorporated herein by reference.
2.The alleged facts supported with
evidence are true and correct to the best of my personal knowledge of the
facts, evidence, information and belief.
I am of information and belief
that Michael Lynch, former CEO and Chairman of McCook Metals, LLC, with
the assistance of local and national organizations and individuals, has
turned over to civil and criminal authorities and multiple media entities
material evidence confirming the existence of an alleged organized,
nation-wide criminal enterprise involving officers of state and federal
courts who exploit litigants for their personal financial gain and who
unlawfully manipulate and exploit the judicial system at the expense of
state and federal taxpayers as well as for their personal financial gain
in violation of state and federal tax laws.
I am of information and belief
that multiple judges and lawyers are aware of and/or involved in the
alleged criminal acts by federal court agents. That in alleged violation of Illinois
Supreme Court Code of Judicial Conduct Rule 63(B)(3)(a) and/or Rules of
Professional Conduct Rules 8.3 and 8.4, these members of the bench and bar
have not reported these alleged illegal acts to the appropriate
authorities, thereby conspiring with the same, and/or have directly
committed these alleged acts. By law, all should have their law licenses
permanently revoked and/or be removed from the bench instanter.
I am of information and belief
that American citizens have been retaliated against for attempting to obey
their civil and moral duties as members of a free democracy to expose these
unlawful acts by state and federal court agents including, but not limited
to, retaliation by means of judicial kidnapping of children, false
incarceration after being “framed” by criminal elements in civil and
criminal authorities, impoverishment, coercion under duress, and serious
physical injury up to and including death.
My involvement in these matters has
created much disharmony within my loving family. We are shouldering this cross with our
faith and trust in God, our political leaders, justice system, law
enforcement agencies, and our Constitutional rights of freedom of speech.
I am of information and belief
that the Operation Greylord investigation and convictions only touched a
percentage of the total number of allegedly corrupt state and federal
court agents in Chicago.
I am of information and belief
that Seventh Circuit federal bankruptcy Judge Eugene R. Wedoff, the
presiding judge in the United bankruptcy, allegedly maintains a
$40-million ‘bribery fund’.
I have direct knowledge of, with supporting
evidence such as digitally recorded phone conversations, stonewalled
federal reports, correspondence, witnesses, and other materials in
safekeeping via USB flash drive devices at numerous undisclosed locations
to prove that I was illegally removed from employment as a United Airlines
B-777 Captain in 2003 for attempting to whistleblow on federal issues
involving safety, security, and possible RICO violations. Subsequent attempts to bring these
matters to the Federal Aviation Administration, the Department of Justice,
the Department of Homeland Security, numerous politicians and law
enforcement officials have been ignored.
I am of information belief that
senior-level United Airlines management may have redacted documents in the
post-9/11 Airline Transportation Stabilization Board (ATSB) loan
application process as well as deceiving the Pension Benefit Guarantee
Corporation (PBGC) of the true financial health of the United Airline
employee pension funds.
I am of information and belief that a major
and direct conflict of interest existed with the appointment of Robert
Gordon as one of four members of the PBGC Oversight Committee to represent
employee pension interests just four days before Judge Wedoff ruled in
favor of distress-termination of employee pensions. Mr. Gordon had previously served under
United CEO Glenn Tilton while at Texaco/Chevron and was also a close
personal friend of the President. In a review of documents procured
through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), there is no evidence that
PBGC Director Bradley Belt ever conducted the ERISA-mandated in-depth
analysis of United Airline pension funding before agreeing to said
termination.
I have direct knowledge of
increasing evidence that suggests the Department of Justice is blocking
attempts to provide witness protection/immunity from prosecution for
criminal informants and others in these matters.
Given the aforementioned, since only
$1.5-billion of the $10-billion authorized in loan guarantees by the
Airline Transportation Stabilization Act were let, and since evidence
suggests that United Airlines management was less than truthful in their
application process, the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing of United Airlines
may not have been necessary.
Further affiant sayeth naught.
__________________________
DANIEL W. HANLEY
SUBSCRIBED and SWORN before me on
This 25th day
of October 2007
_______________________________
NOTARY PUBLIC
**********************************
October
25, 2007
Senator Carl Levin
Chairman – Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
199 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-2202
SUBJ: WHISTLEBLOWING UNITED PILOTS ASSOCIATION
Dear Senator Levin,
On November 26, 2006, I wrote the enclosed letter to you on behalf
of the subject association, imploring your political intercession in the
investigation of possible white-collar criminal corruption in matters
surrounding the post-9/11 bankruptcy of United Airlines. A close review of the enclosed correspondence
will further describe the exhaustive measures employed in writing to other
relevant political and law enforcement officials in petitioning them to fulfill
the obligations and responsibilities of their offices. As you will notice, we have run the full
gamut; this should not have been necessary for ordinary citizens to investigate
potential federal criminal wrongdoing.
As evidenced by the recent Attorney General Gonzales hearings, our
system of justice and government is broken and in dire need of repair. It is for this reason that I once again call
upon your good office to assist in this regard.
The employees and retirees of United Airlines were sorely
disenfranchised before and during the bankruptcy process. Evidence exists of criminal wrongdoing that
has not been investigated by appropriate oversight authority. Like so many other American citizens, the men
and women of the subject association no longer trust this administration to do
what is right, good, and just for the tax-payers who support them. Please do not allow our plea to fall, yet
another time, on deaf ears.
Recognizing that you spearheaded the in-depth examination and
analysis into the collapse of Enron, which led to the enactment of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, coupled with your introduction and passage of the
Whistleblower Protection Act, are the reasons that I am writing you today.
In addition to existing evidence that strongly supports
allegations of judicial corruption in the United Airlines/McCook Metals LLC
bankruptcies, recently surfaced evidence was uncovered by another grassroots
organization which implicitly suggests possible White House collusion,
fraudulent accounting practices, securities fraud, nondisclosure of certain
financial assets during the bankruptcy, fraudulent government loan application
processes, questionable abidance with the requisite corporate governance
provisions of Sarbanes-Oxley, a government appointee which involves a conflict
of interest, and potentially illegal transactions between United Airlines and
the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (PBGC) in the distress-termination of
defined-benefit employee pensions.
Grassroots groups should not have had to uncover such evidence with
the Sarbanes-Oxley Act establishment of the Public Company Oversight Accounting
Board (PCOAB), which should have detected the possible criminal activity sited
above. Nor should grassroots have to beg law enforcement intervention in these
matters, including federal witness protection and immunity for informants who
hold valuable information on these crimes.
It is for these reasons, after nearly four years of frustrating
attempts to help expose possible criminal wrongdoing in the United Airlines
bankruptcy, that I resorted to the drastic measure of legally embracing the
rights, responsibilities and protections afforded by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of
2002 in declaring, yet another time, myself to be a federal whistleblower.
On October 18, 2007, I wrote the enclosed letter to Securities and
Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox declaring the same while citing
relevant Titles of the Act requiring investigation. It is a significant challenge requiring a
great leap of faith to believe that a thorough examination of these issues will
be performed by this federal agency in a just and equitable manner given the
past performance and shortcomings of the Commission. It is for this reason that I petition your
office to initiate an independent investigation through political collusion
with the Committees of Senators Leahy and Kennedy and Congressmen Conyers,
Waxman, and Miller.
The truth must be exposed and criminal justice served on the
selfish white-collar criminals who perpetrated these crimes against the honest
and hard-working employees of United Airlines who, in the post-9/11 era, were
willing to give the shirt off their backs to help survive the airline and the
industry. In the end, they gave much,
much more. I will close this letter as I
did my last letter to you.
Help me,
Senator. Get me out of my present
dilemma; I shouldn’t be here.
Very Respectfully,
Dan Hanley
Encl: My letter to you
dated November 26, 2006
Letter dated
October 18, 2007 to SEC Chairman Christopher Cox
Signed and sworn
affidavit by Daniel W. Hanley dtd October 25, 2007
Ltr dated April 12,
2006 to DOJ Gonzales, DOT Mineta, and DHS Chertoff
Letter dated
November 13, 2006 to Congressman Henry Waxman
Letter dated
November 18, 2006 to Senators Reid, Durbin, and Obama
Letter dated
November 20, 2006 to District Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald
Letter dated
January 25, 2007 to Senator Patrick Leahy
Letter dated
January 25, 2007 to Congressman John Conyers, Jr.
Letter dated February 1, 2007 to Senator
Ted Kennedy
Letter dated
February 1, 2007 to Congressman George Miller
Letter dated April
1, 2007 to Chicago FBI Director Robert Grant
Letter dated
September 1, 2007 to Asst Attorney General Alice Fisher
Letter dated
September 3, 2007 to Senator Daniel Akaka
Letter dated
October 24, 2007 to Senator Ted Kennedy
Letter dated
October 24, 2007 to Senator Patrick Leahy
Letter dated
October 24, 2007 to Congressman Henry Waxman
Letter dated
October 24, 2007 to Congressman John Conyers, Jr.
Letter dated
October 24, 2007 to Congressman George Miller
Letter dated
October 24, 2007 to Ms. Joan Currie-Leonard
Report dated March
18, 2004 of Examiner Ross O. Silverman
Cc: Members of
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations:
Senator Thomas
Carper (D-DE)
Senator Mark Pryor
(D-AR)
Senator Barak Obama
(D-IL)
Senator Claire
McCaskill (D-MO)
Senator Jon Tester
(D-MT)
Senator Norm Coleman
(R-MN)
Senator Tom Coburn
(R-OK)
Senator Pete
Domenici (R-NM)
Senator John Warner
(R-VA)
Senator John Sununu
(R-NH)
Senator Ted Kennedy
– Chairman, Senate Committee on Pensions & Labor
Senator Patrick
Leahy – Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee
Congressman Henry
Waxman – Chairman, Government Oversight Cmte
Congressman George
Miller – Chairman, House Cmte on Pensions & Labor
Congressman John
Conyers, Jr. – Chairman, House Judiciary Committee