Dallas Morning News: Local outfitter's crusade against Amazon sex tourism: true or fish tale?

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/021410dnprosextourism.400de7b.html

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Brazil Fishing Trip Entrepreneur Probed

From www.garyengbergoutdoors.com ~ Friday afternoon, a stunning news release from the Dallas Safari Club reporting a small portion of...hunters and anglers (in foreign countries) have apparently been indulging in sidetrips - participating in “child sex tourism."

The first story surfaced in a series of investigative reports on an Atlanta television station after (allegations about) the owner (Richard Schair) of Gainesville, Georgia based Wet A Line Tours (and others).

According to (those allegations), someone hired 13-to 18 year old Brazilian girls to “party” with Wet A Line clients while fishing in Brazil.

[Word of the allegations against Schair has created a wave of talk in Oklahoma because it was Schair's Wet A Line Tours that Governor Brad Henry, trial lawyers and members of the Judicial Nominating Commission used for a 2007 Amazon River fishing trip in Brazil as first reported by The McCarville Report Online. There has been nothing to tie this trip to any of the allegations. Asked about the allegations on Friday by KTOK reporter Jacqueline Scott, Henry said he's had no contact with the FBI: "I have no idea what you're talking about," Henry said.]

Schair's name was the first to emerge from a lengthy joint U.S./Brazilian investigation, but a second Georgia tour operator is now named in the case. That operator is charged with possession of child pornography for the purpose of soliciting sex with a minor. He was extradited to Pennsylvania on state charges, but the charges were later amended to put the case in federal court.

The Hiawassee, Georgia operator is apparently cooperating with the international investigation in an effort to help his own case. His counsel has confirmed his “full cooperation” with United States and Brazilian authorities.

Privately, officials say they’re not surprised at the offer of cooperation. A lawsuit between the two tour operators was the impetus of the investigation. In that suit, Schair sued for slander, alleging the other operator had made unfounded charges against him.

That suit was settled after a Texas businessman obtained undercover videos, photographs and sworn statements from Brazilian teens confirming they had been hired to work the tours, only to find out later they were expected to have sex with the guests.

Those pieces of evidence were the foundation for what has become an ongoing investigation in the United States and Brazil.

Dallas Safari Club is the first organization to publicly acknowledge the investigation, saying it will “aggressively enforce zero tolerance for those participating in these types of activities.”

“Our Club has a well-established track record of banning outfitters for hunting ethics violations,” says Ben Carter, DSC executive director, “but this deplorable activity goes beyond ethics and into criminal liability.”

“Dallas Safari Club will not stand by while human decency is assaulted, either at home or abroad. I cannot overstate our condemnation of this appalling exploitation of minors.”

According to Carter, DSC will continue to support ethical guides and outfitters, legitimate hunters and anglers - and “the industry as a whole” - for their invaluable worth to global conservation. DSC has a longstanding policy of banning outfitters who commit criminal wildlife violations from membership or participation in club events.

In the meantime, officials involved in this investigation say that their pursuit of this case is far from over, warning “the whole story is only now starting to come to light.” When it does, companies, organizations, individuals and politicians may find themselves under the bright light of public and legal scrutiny that will make their heretofore secret activities entirely too-public.

http://www.garyengbergoutdoors.com/blog/2010/02/01/international-hunting-questions-raised-by-jim-shepherd-2-1-2010/

Read all of TMRO's stories on the Brazil trip by clicking on the label below.

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West: Nothing Fishy About Trip

Shawnee attorney Terry West tells The Oklahoman's Michael McNutt there's nothing fishy about the Brazilian fishing trip West and other trial lawyers took with his longtime friend Governor Brad Henry. The trip has stirred considerable comment. Read McNutt's article at http://www.newsok.com/.

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NAM, WSJ Comment On Henry Fishing Trip

From The National Association Of Manufacturers ~ Stephen Moore in the Wall Street Journal's Political Diary e-mail (subscription) catches us up on Governor Brad Henry's support for legal reform. By support, we mean, kill:

Five months ago Governor Brad Henry of Oklahoma vetoed a tort reform bill to bring common sense litigation changes to the Sooner State. That veto infuriated business and taxpayer groups because Mr. Henry had campaigned for governor promising "a Texas-plus" lawsuit reform bill. In the event, Oklahoma trial lawyers made sure any such reforms, including caps on punitive damages, never saw the light of day. They put a full-court press on the governor. Mr. Henry said he vetoed the bill because of a $300,000 "hard cap" on pain-and-suffering damages. That was a key feature of the Texas lawsuit reform bill he said he supported.

Now it's payback time. Last week Governor Henry went on an exotic fishing cruise off the coast of Brazil with more than a dozen trial lawyer pals. They booked into the Tropical Manaus Hotel in Ponta Negra, Brazil, a highly-rated venue for deep-sea fishing tours. The governor insists he's paying his own way: $4,500. But this is a group of long-time contributors to the Henry for Governor campaigns. Moore notes that one of Henry's shipmates was Shawnee attorney Terry West, the former president of the Oklahoma Trial Lawyers Association, and members of the Oklahoma Judicial Nominating Commission, which is supposed to keep an arm's length from the governor.

KTOK radio had a report last week: “I’m shocked that he would do it under any circumstances,” said [state Sen. James] Williamson, the author of the tort reform bill vetoed by the Governor five months ago. “But it’s doubly shocking after him vetoing this legislation not too many months ago.”

In our experience, shots of beach resorts have ways of ending up in campaign commercials.

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GOP's Jones Tees Off On Henry's Fishing Trip

Republican State Chairman Gary Jones today teed off on Governor Brad Henry's Amazon River fishing trip of last week in a posting on the state GOP website: "We learned last week that Governor Brad 'Blackjack' Henry is on a Brazilian fishing trip with some of Oklahoma's most prominent trial lawyers. On the current trip are a member of the Oklahoma Judicial Nominating Commission and two former members, and three past presidents of the Oklahoma Trial Lawyers Association. So does Henry's three-hour tour signal a future third tort reform veto?

"After promising Oklahoma taxpayers Texas-plus tort reform, Henry proceeded to veto tort reform legislation last session...twice. Seems like Henry's trial lawyer buddies are getting a good return on their investment. In Henry’s first campaign for governor in 2002, Lawyers accounted for over 27% of Henry’s receipts, far outpacing his second most lucrative source, a category referred to as 'Self.' In 2006, trial lawyers came through again, with 20% of his contributions, outpacing the number two category – healthcare – by an almost 4-1 margin.

"'For him to be vacationing with the leaders of the Trial Lawyers Association just tends to show that he is way too close to that organization,' said State Senator James Williamson, the author of the tort reform bill vetoed by the Governor just five months ago. 'He should show impartiality in this issue and there's a standard of trying to avoid even the appearance of impropriety.'

"With Henry chummy as ever with Oklahoma's most powerful trial lawyers, it looks as if we are set for another tort reform showdown next legislative session. Republican lawmakers shouldn't back down from this fight, but Henry's current schmooze-cruise doesn't make the fight any easier."

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The Oklahoman: Up The (Amazon) River

Editorial In The Oklahoman ~ By taking fishing trips with his chums in the trial bar, Gov. Brad Henry makes himself an easy target for those who criticize his lack of leadership on lawsuit reform. That Henry's camp doesn't seem to understand that, or simply refuses to consider it, is troublesome.

Henry's spokesman was quick to pooh-pooh critics of the governor's latest outdoor adventure, to the Amazon River in Brazil, just as happened four years ago when Henry made a similar trip. "It's just a fishing trip,” spokesman Paul Sund said.

No, it's not just a fishing trip. Not when you're the governor of a state that is in bad need of lawsuit reform, and you just spiked a solid reform bill in the last legislative session, and now you're hanging out for several days with men who have benefited greatly from the status quo and are in no hurry to see any changes made.

Sund said the chartered trip was put together by attorney Terry West, a longtime Henry family friend and former president of the Oklahoma Trial Lawyers Association. West is one of three men on the trip who once ran the OTLA.

Twenty-four people made the trip, not all of them lawyers. So, the governor's office could say the trip was nothing but a vacation with friends, not a forum for business to be discussed. That was the standard line among those in the traveling party four years ago. It was a stretch then and would be now as well.

Henry has spent his five years in office talking a good game about the need for lawsuit reform. His actions have said even more — settling for small changes after promising "Texas-plus” reform in 2004, scuttling a good bill this year, floating the Amazon with trial lawyers. Sund said simply that Henry and West "share a common interest in hunting and fishing.” That's not all.

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Coffee: Henry Trip 'Smells A Little Like Catfish Bait'

Oklahoma Senate Co-President Pro Tempore Glenn Coffee said Friday that Governor Brad Henry's Brazil fishing trip with trial lawyers gives the appearance of a conflict of interest, and highlights the need to reform Oklahoma’s judicial nominating process.

“In Oklahoma, the Judicial Nominating Commission is supposed to be independent in its recommendations of judicial appointments to the governor,” said Coffee, R-Oklahoma City.

“But when you have current members of the commission – including a non-attorney member – on an exotic fishing trip with the governor and several influential trial lawyers, it gives the appearance of a conflict of interest. It smells a little like catfish bait,” he said.

Coffee said the South American fishing trip highlights the need for reforms in Oklahoma’s process for nominating judges and justices. Coffee said a wide range of reforms could be considered, such as requiring Senate confirmation for judicial appointments, to prevent conflicts of interest and to ensure a good system of checks and balances is in place.

“There needs to be a better system of checks and balances in place, and that’s something the Legislature should perhaps look at during the 2008 session” Coffee stated. “Senate confirmation of judges has worked pretty well at the federal level for more than 200 years, so it would make sense for us to look at that here in Oklahoma,” he said.

Regarding Henry’s fishing expedition, Coffee wished the governor luck: “Maybe he’ll catch something he can hang on the wall next to his tort reform veto.”

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Williamson: Henry Trip Doesn't Pass The Smell Test

By Jerry Bohnen, NewsRadio 1000 KTOK ~ It doesn't pass the smell test. That's what Tulsa Republican State Senator James Williamson says after learning of the Brazilian fishing trip taken this week by Governor Brad Henry who traveled with his trial lawyer friends.

"I'm shocked that he would do it under any circumstances," said Williamson, the author of the tort reform bill vetoed by the Governor five months ago. "But it's doubling shocking after him vetoing this legislation not too many months ago."

Williamson said the trip to the Amazon along with nearly two dozen trial lawyers and a member of the State's Judicial Nominating Commission shows the Governor is not neutral on the issue and that, "he is totally on the side of trial lawyers."

Governor Henry waited until the last day to legally veto the measure and did it on a Saturday when few reporters were around to record the move. A spokesman for the governor said Henry and his chief of staff Gerald Adams had paid for their portion of the trip but it didn't set well with Williamson.

"Whether he's paying his own way or what, for him to be vacationing with the leaders of the Trial Lawyers Association just tends to show that he is way too close to that organization. He should be trying to be impartial," added Williamson. "He should show impartiality in this issue and there's a standard of trying to avoid even the appearance of impropriety."

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Henry, Trial Lawyers, Judicial Nominating Commission Member Take Brazilian Fishing Trip

UPDATED ~ Five months after he vetoed a tort reform bill described by its advocates as comprehensive and by its trial lawyer opponents as flawed, Governor Brad Henry today is on a Brazilian fishing trip with some of Oklahoma's most prominent trial lawyers who opposed the measure. He took a similar trip in 2003. On the current trip are a member of the Oklahoma Judicial Nominating Commission and two former members, and three past presidents of the Oklahoma Trial Lawyers Association.

A document obtained by The McCarville Report Online shows that on September 21st and 22nd, Henry and 23 others were among those in a Wet-A-Line Tours group booked into the Tropical Manaus Hotel in Ponta Negre, Brazil, an outlying part of the city of Manaus. The hotel is a jumping-off point for Amazon River charter fishing tours that last up to a week.

Paul Sund, Henry's spokesman, confirmed that the governor is on the trip along with his chief of staff, Gerald Adams, and an Oklahoma Highway Patrol security trooper, Patrick Mays. Sund said Henry and Adams paid for their portions of the fishing charter, as well as for surface and air transportation to Brazil. He said the state will pay the costs of Trooper Mays.

Wet-A-Line Tours' normal charge for the Tropical Manaus fishing trip, its website shows, is $4,250 per person. Wet-A-Line Tours is owned, documents show, by Richard W. Schair and is based in Gainesville, Georgia.

The Tropical Manaus Hotel listed 24 persons in the Wet-A-Line Tours group, among them at least 10 Oklahoma trial lawyers as well as Henry, Adams and Mays.

Among those listed are Shawnee attorney Terry West (pictured), two-time past president of the Oklahoma Trial Lawyers Association, one of Henry's earliest supporters. West, a longtime friend of the Henry family, was the roommate of Brad Henry's father in college. The governor, also an attorney, calls him "Uncle Terry."

Also listed are Oklahoma Judicial Nominating Commission member and former Oklahoma Trial Lawyers Association President Jimmy D. Loftis, and fellow attorneys Blake Virgin, John R. Hargrave, John W. Norman, John B. Norman, 2006 Oklahoma Trial Lawyers Association president Brad West, Bart West (Terry West's sons), former Judicial Nominating Commission member William E. Woodson, oilman Paul Hale, Robert D. Bell, Robert L. Bell and Mike Oliver. Hale, Oliver, Loftis, Virgin, Woodson and the Bells also took the 2003 trip based on a report in The Oklahoman at the time. Also listed is Richard R. Dunning, a member of the University of Oklahoma Board of Regents, appointed by Henry earlier this year. Sund said Dunning resigned from the Judicial Nominating Commission earlier this year.

Said Sund: "It is similar to the 2003 trip. It is a charter fishing trip planned by Terry West, an old family friend of the Henrys from Shawnee. Terry West organized everything and invited the various participants. The group is fishing on the Amazon River for a week. They left last weekend and will return Monday. As I understand it, there are more than a dozen people in the group, but I do not know all of the names of the participants other than Governor Henry, Gerald Adams, Terry West and, I believe, some members of the West family. The governor would prefer that security not accompany him on such trips, but as you know, state law requires DPS to provide security to the governor and his family at all times. DPS Commissioner Kevin Ward could address any costs associated with the accompanying security officer or procedures involved in providing security to governors. The governor and the chief of staff are paying for the cost of their trip. No state funds are being expended on them."

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