Email John at john@depetro.com

The Celona Seven Wednesday, January 31

Operation Drugfellas? The big news of the day was not that former Sen. John A.(guess what the "A" stands for), Celona got 30 months in the can. The jaw dropping news is he will have plenty of company. The feds announce,in court mind you, there are seven more politcians and seven more corporations that John A. is helping with.

Now the guessing game begins. Who are the seven? Are they former hacks or current? Seven corporations? Does Rhode Island have seven corporations left? The best news is the investigation will continue for THREE MORE YEARS. Hooray!!!! CVS will be selling plenty of Ambien. Celona looks like the type who can handle prison. Sure. No prob.

Kramer and Carlos were in court Tuesday. Who will roll on who? Can either one roll on Ryan? Carlos is the younger guy with more to lose. Hard to believe things are playing out this way for Jack Kramer, who remains one of the nicest guys you will meet.Age 74 and possibly going to prison.

The feds are not fooling around and they had a big day. Anyone who thought this thing was going away is not laughing now. Celona looked like someone who just got out of prison, not a guy going in for two years. Questions remain about Blue Cross and CVS and the role of Billy Irons. If they go after Irons, who can he give up?

Seven more politicians and some business executives. This will be bigger than Plunder Dome.

Who is CVS Executive #1? Thursday, January 18

Take a wild guess. The CVS indictments have come down and page 5 is very interesting. The indictment mentions "CVS Executive #1", who was Jack Kramers supervisor and part of a March 3,1999 meeting. The indictments describe Carlos Ortiz and Kramer mapping out the plan for CVS.Could CVS E1 be anyone other than CEO Tom Ryan?

A picture of Jack Kramer, in the blue blazer, in happier times. The 23 count indictment should not come as a surprise. The feds feel John Celona will get better on the stand, and the indictment is pretty solid as far as a money trail. But could this become a R.I.C.O. case? If Ryan was involved, how is this not a criminal enterprise?

The indictment is pathetic in the way a powerful, corrupt, hack like Celona could be bought off so cheaply. Throw him some free golf and a few grand and he was willing to help CVS make millions. Who would have thought Johnny Celona from Nort Providence could ruin so many careers?

The game with the feds now begins.Will Kramer roll on Carlos? Or is Carlos ready to hand them Jack? Where is Bill Irons in all of this? Does the path lead to Tom Ryan? Page 19 of the indictment mentions a party on Jan.23, 2002 at the home of CVS E1, with Celona, Jack and Carlos all there. Who else would have a CVS party at their home?

Did Ryan know what these guys were doing? Was he in the dark or did he approve? When do the feds move on Blue Cross? Can Irons and Kramer give them Ryan? Put on your hard hat, it could be a bumpy ride...

« < Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 Next > »