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"Greek Cypriot friend, Attorney General Charlie Crist, is running for Governor of Florida", screams the headline in The Hellenic News of America, serving the Greek American community.
The Greek Cypriot community held a fund-raiser for Florida's attorney general Sunday in St. John's in Tenafly, NJ, Sunday, and if you couldn't attend, "a monetary contribution will be appreciated", said The Hellenic News. Just why are Greeks in New Jersey holding fund-raisers for Florida's attorney general quest to become Governor?
Is this yet another case of hang together or we'll all hang separately---just another good ole boys club---with club members Crist, Felos, Bambakidis and Bilirakis?
As Paul Harvey says, "and now you know……the Rest of the Story".
While Michael Schiavo and his attorney, George Felos relentlessly persisted in their quest to cause the death of disabled Terri Schiavo by judicial homicide in consort with Pinellas County probate Judge George W. Greer, Florida's Attorney General Charlie Crist stood idly by, allowing federal and state civil rights laws to be grossly violated and failed to protect one of Florida's most vulnerable persons from egregious discrimination.
From the time of March 18 when Terri's nutrition and hydration was stopped by judicial order of Greer until she died 13 days later, Charlie Crist kept a low profile, leading many to charge that he was neglecting the duties of his office.
Maybe it was that "good ole boy" club of Greeks and cronyism that kept Charlie Crist from performing his duties as attorney general in protecting the rights of Terri Schiavo.
Just how tight in that Greek fraternal organization are Charlie Crist, George Felos and Florida Rep. Gus Bilirakis along with Gust Bambakidis, older brother of "expert" witness Peter Bambakidis who was the tie-breaking physician, Greer's choice, in arbitrarily determining that Terri Schiavo was in a persistent vegetative state and should die.
It looks like that the members of that Greek fraternal organization, whose mission is to defeat bigotry and racism and to bring the ideals of ancient Greece---philanthropy, education, civil responsibility, family and individual excellence to the community---instead united to work against family values and civil responsibility, worked together to feather their own political beds and line their pockets.
The Hellenic organization embraces Charlie Crist, is raising money for him. Somehow we don't think that the intent of the philantrophic mission of AHEPA includes buying politicians. Crist has already stashed $5.3 million in his war chest for the Sept. 5 Republican primary for Governor in what will be the costliest governor's race in Florida history. Crist raised about $1.5 million in the last quarter from July 1 to Sept. 30, holding 71 fundraisers. Just where is Crist going to spend this $5.3 million plus? Who is going to financially benefit from his candidacy?
AHEPA is a Greek fraternal organization that counts among its members Gust Bambakidis, chairman of the physics department at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.
These Greek fraternity "brothers" played a key role in the Schiavo case. At the time that Felos, a former AHEPA governor, sought to amend the state law with House Bill 2131 to change the legal definition of life prolonging procedures to add including artificially provided sustenance and hydration which sustains, restores or supplants a spontaneous vital function", bill co-sponsor, Rep. Gus Bilirakis was a member of the board of directors of the Hospice of Florida Suncoast, the board which Felos chaired. Although Felos was no longer hospice chairman in 1999, during the time that the revisions were being formulated, he was still on the board of the Hospice of Florida Suncoast and so this puts the legality of Chapter 765 into question. These revisions were also applied retroactively to Terri's case.
Earlier this year, it was reported that Bilirakis attended two fundraising events in New York organized by the Greek American Community with many prominent members of the Greek American Community present. Why is Bilirakis, running for office in Florida, raising money in New York?
In 2002 when Dr. Peter Bambakidis was assigned by Greer to be an independent examining physician in the Schiavo case, charged with providing an independent medical review, Terri's parents and supporters charged that Bambakidis had a personal relationship with Felos, an allegation which Felos refused to address.
The supporters based their accusation on marketing materials distributed by Felos in which he listed some of the professional and social organizations in which he holds membership. The materials stated that "A member of the Florida Bar and Clearwater Bar Association, Felos served as a member of the Clearwater Bar Appellate Law Committee, as governor of the American Hellenic Education Progressive Association (AHEPA), and as chair of numerous National Association of Securities Dealers arbitration panels".
In his position, not only is it likely that he was familiar with the Bambakidis family, but that fellow board member Bilirakis was familiar with the Bambakidis family. It is yet unexplained how George Greer came to choose a doctor from Ohio was the court appointed physician as part of the five-doctor panel to make a decision as to whether or not Terri Schiavo was PVS.
It was learned that the Ohio chapter of the AHEPA was managed by Gust Bambakidis. He maintained that his younger brother who testified at the Schiavo trial was not a member of AHEPA. Schindler supporters maintained that Felos should have disclosed his membership in the same organization as that of Bambakidis's brother and relationship with the Bambakidis family.
Five doctors testified regarding the cognitive state of Terri Schiavo. The doctors split 2-2 with Bambakidis, the court-appointed attorney, testifying that he knew of no treatments that would improve Terri's condition leading Greer to rule that the brain damaged woman was in a persistent vegetative state with no hope for recovery, a finding that has been disputed by numerous medical professionals.
During testimony in 2002, Bambakidis was asked repeatedly by Schindler attorney Patricia Anderson if he had any personal relationship with Felos. Bambakidis insisted that he did not know of Felos prior to being appointed by Judge Greer but he could not provide sufficient explanation how he came to be appointed, especially considering he had never testified in any similar court case prior to the 2002 trial of Terri Schindler-Schiavo. He was not an established expert witness.
Despite repeated pleas for an investigation of Michael Schiavo, the alleged abuse and exploitation of Terri Schiavo, and alleged Medicaid fraud, all within the statutory duties of Crist, he refused to become involved. Crist simply turned his head to all allegations and even proof of wrongdoing. Was he enticed to look the other way because he was protecting his fraternal brothers, did promised political contributions play a role?
Crist steadfastly refused to get involved in the Schiavo case, ignoring complaints from the public and pleas from her parents, Mary and Robert Schindler Sr., to investigate allegations of domestic abuse of Terri Schiavo. The seriously disabled woman was condemned to die by order of Sixth Circuit Court judge Greer on petition and demand of her alleged abuser, her estranged husband, Michael Schiavo----at Crist stood silent.
In March, when the Justice Coalition of Jacksonville and the Schindler family joined in calling for a special prosecutor to be appointed to investigate allegations of abuse of the disabled woman Crist again refused to get involved, saying the matter was in the courts. In October, 2003, when a federal judge asked Crist to address the question of the constitutionality of Terri's Law, passed by the Florida Legislature to save the life of Terri, Crist said the law was constitutional but said he wouldn't get further involved. Why not? Why didn't Charlie Crist do his job. Is that the type of individual that Florida wants and needs for its next Governor?
Charlie Crist became involved in the case after Terri had died, lauding the judges, labeling them as heroes for their role in killing the disabled woman.
Crist was the keynote speaker at the 8th Annual Convention of the Florida Chapters of the American Board of Trial Advocates held July 13-17 in Coral Gables, on hand to honor the ABOTA jurists of the year, Sixth Circuit Court Judge George W. Greer and U.S. District Court Judge James Whittemore of Tampa, the two judges most responsible for the death of Terri Schiavo. One only needs to look at his campaign contributions to see how Crist is profiting from attorneys.
Crist said he was "proud" of both judges. "You are heroes to all of us, and your defense of the judiciary and what is right is beyond admirable" Crist said.
What Charlie Crist didn't do in the Schiavo case wasn't admirable.
10-16-05
© 2005 North
Country Gazette
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