Author: muckety

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At first glance, the business plan hatched by Raffaello Follieri and his father, Pasquale, would make lemonade from lemons.

The Italian father and son founded the Follieri Group in 2003 to purchase underused Catholic Church properties in the United States.

Follieri, a member of Legatus, the Catholic organization of CEOs, told the National Catholic Reporter that two trends sparked the company’s interest in church-owned real estate. American dioceses, in financial crisis because of the widespread sex abuse scandals, were forced to sell holdings to pay lawsuit settlements. And the church’s shifting demographics, with Catholics moving out of the cities, left many empty churches and schools in urban areas.

According to the company’s web site, the Follieri Group intended to renovate the sites as low- and middle-income housing, community centers, places of worship, offices and retail spaces. The Follieris also formed a foundation to help surrounding communities and third-world countries.

The plan drew support from heavy hitters. The Wall Street Journal reports today that Bill Clinton’s personal aide, Douglas Band, helped Raffaello Follieri find investors. Yucaipa Companies, a California firm where Clinton has been an adviser, agreed to put as much as $100 million into the venture.

However, things have gone terribly sour. Ron Burkle, Yucaipa managing partner and a friend of Clinton, has sued Follieri in Delaware state court, claiming misappropriation of $1.3 million. The lawsuit accuses Follieri of using the money to enjoy a lavish lifestyle that included an expensive penthouse and a private chef.

Follieri denies the allegations. The Journal reports that he’s now looking for new investors.

([Muckety](https://createpositivechange.org/2007/09/26/follieri-venture-turns-sour/26)

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Members of the International Peace Operations Association will have plenty to talk about at their October summit in Washington.

The trade group with the Orwellian name is an association of private military contractors, including besieged Blackwater USA, which faces investigations abroad and at home.

The association was formed in 2001, and has grown rapidly with the increased use of private contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan. Its mission is to “promote high operational and ethical standards of firms active in the peace and stability industry.” One of its stated aims is to combat the perception that its members are war profiteers.

“Although we have come a long way, there is still an unfortunate level of suspicion leveled at the private sector in our field,” association President Doug Brooks wrote in the May edition of the group’s journal. “Effective stability and peace operations require a proactive and engaged private sector with appropriate rules, transparency and oversight.”

The industry is likely to get much more oversight than it bargained for, in the wake of the recent deaths of Iraqi civilians fired upon by Blackwater guards.

As the Associated Press reports today, North Carolina Democratic Rep. David Price has been trying for years to strengthen regulation of private contractors. The GOP-controlled Congress wasn’t interested, he said.

Price has proposed legislation requiring government contractors to be covered by federal criminal codes. His bill would also establish FBI investigative units in war zones.

But another Democrat, House Oversight Committee chairman Henry Waxman has promised hearings on Blackwater, calling the shootings “an unfortunate demonstration of the perils of excessive reliance on private security contractors.”

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