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Rick's List
Big Banks and Mexican Drug Cartels?; Tea Party Angry With Tom Tancredo
Aired July 27, 2010 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Here's what's making the LIST today.
Bell, California, citizens re-revolt.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You all need to go to jail, so that we don't have to pay you back one penny.
SANCHEZ: They overpaid themselves with their money. And they want it back.
The big banks, we know what they did during the meltdown, but do you know what some did with the Mexican drug cartel? You need to know.
Greenpeace ties up gas pumps, but where's the oil spill? No, seriously, where's the oil in the Gulf?
Why is the Tea Party movement angry at Tom Tancredo?
TOM TANCREDO (R), FORMER U.S. CONGRESSMAN: What are my options?
SANCHEZ: Director Oliver Stone on Hitler and how he says Jews have hurt U.S. foreign policy. What do you say?
The lists you need to know about. Who's today's most intriguing? Who's landed on the list you don't want to be on? Who's making news on Twitter? It's why I keep a list.
Pioneering tomorrow's cutting-edge news right now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Hey, everybody. I'm Rick Sanchez.
As begin this newscast today, I just looked at my laptop with some of my tweets here, and I see that there's almost 3,000 people who tweeted in the last 20 minutes. Sounds like this is going to be a busy show.
Here's what we're going to top the LIST with, a real-life David and Goliath story where the little guys rise up and they win. I have been taking you through this fight in Bell, California, near Los Angeles, where city leaders cashed in big-time at the expense of the regular working folks, which may be a microcosm of what's really going on in this country, which is why this story is resonating.
Take a look at this. The city manager in a town with only 35,000 residents makes almost $800,000 a year. You know that. The police chief gets $475,000, a year, again a town with some 35,000 people. Where are they getting the money? Even some members of city council make six figures and those jobs are part-time.
The people of Bell found out and last night they went ballistic. It's like the movie "Network." They're mad as hell and they're not going to take it anymore. One of the big issues, leaders who rake in cash while laying off city workers for cutting their pay. Here, just take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As an educator, you need to define the word respect and you need to teach your councilpeople that word, respect.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know so much about respect, you define it. Teach them.
It wasn't easy for me to be a teacher in the city of Bell when you wanted to underpay me and hire another teacher, that big lady (INAUDIBLE) that's not even credited. She doesn't have credentials.
I know that, because, when they hired her, she didn't have that. Again, I speak for my community. And I speak for our children, not yours. I want to remind you of that, ours. I speak for my hardworking money, my husband's, and my children that need another room and I can't even put down you (INAUDIBLE) your taco stand and your beer...
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... near the school by the park? What the hell is that? Shame on you. Shame on you, all of you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: These are Americans and they're just angry. For some people, this is really personal. They say it's a betrayal. They just don't want the council's pay cut. They want their hides. They want their butts behind bars.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You, you pretended to be my friend, Mayor. And you have no conscience, do you? You don't want to resign, we will recall you.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we would really like to do is see every one of you in jail. I would like to see all of you in the orange jumpsuits that says L.A. County Jail on the back of them.
That's the best thing that could ever happen to you. That is on my bucket list.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You, you -- hey, look at me. You go back and fleece your flock at your church if they want to. Don't fleece us anymore. Yes, yes, you. You, you're disrespectful. You're a piece of (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: These are Americans just like you, and they're saying, look, enough is enough. Get your damn hands out of my pocket. The city council voted unanimously to cut their pay by 90 percent after this citizens revolt to $8,000 a year.
The mayor says he will finish his term without any pay at all, and he ain't running again. As for the city manager and the police chief, they resigned last week. And you may recall that we talked to the California attorney general yesterday. He told us here on RICK'S LIST that he's going to be investigating.
We're all over this story. And expect to hear more from some of those folks. We have been on the phone with them. And some of them are going to be joining us right here as we continue over the next hour.
Now, WikiLeaks listed thousands of leaked war documents. We told you about these bombshells yesterday. But who is the leaker and should that person be accused of treason? It's a question being that is asked. Not everybody agrees.
And the question that is also being asked along the Gulf Coast, where's the oil? I mean, is there good news here that the institutional media and the left is afraid to report? Think about that for a minute. We have been talking about it on Twitter and I want to talk about it during this newscast.
That's next right here on RICK'S LIST coming right back at you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Wow, tweets are coming in now after everybody watched all those folks there in Bell, California. I will be sharing some of these in just a moment.
Topping the follow-up list, it's official. Tony Hayward is out at BP. He's being replaced by -- as CEO by American Robert Dudley. Dudley takes over in October, by the way. So, what happens to Hayward? He's being sent to Russia. That's right. Russia, because the Siberia of the oil industry is Siberia.
Actually, it's not known where Hayward is going to be based in his role with the -- this Russian company. But the development does seem ironic, doesn't it? As for Robert Dudley, he has more than 30 years in the oil business and most importantly from a P.R. perspective, he's an American who grew up in Mississippi.
By the way, where's the oil in the Gulf? Is there a chance that the institutional media and the left are just afraid to ask this question? Is it possible there isn't as much oil in the Gulf as we once believed there would be? And who's going to say that or ask that now? Listen to this from the government's on-scene coordinator. Take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This oil is rapidly breaking down and there's very little oil left. We have a few streamers that we located earlier off of Grand Isle that perhaps can be skimmed. But right now, we're not seeing many targets for our skimming fleet of 780 skimmers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: So, can we just take an honest approach to this, which is what we're going to do? I'm drilling down on this very question at 4:00 Eastern on RICK'S LIST. Just want to know.
President Obama talked about those thousands of leaked military documents today, showing less alarm than that Pentagon, administration insiders, and veterans advocates who slammed the Web site WikiLeaks for releasing material they say is usable by hostile forces in Afghanistan or in Iraq.
In fact, the president said so far the military documents reveal nothing the public hasn't seen already. That's the government's take.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: While I'm concerned about the disclosure of sensitive information from the battlefield that could potentially jeopardize individuals or operations, the fact is these documents don't reveal any issues that haven't already informed our public debate on Afghanistan. Indeed, they point to the same challenges that led me to conduct an extensive review of our policy last fall.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: By the way, we're going to be talking about this as well. The person who's involved in those leaks, should he be given a medal or should he be thrown in prison? I want to know what you think. I'm serious.
Also this: heroin, cocaine, Mexican drug cartels, Wachovia -- how the bank that may be counting your money may be tied to the deaths of 22,000 people. I'm serious. Wachovia and the Mexican drug cartels, where's the link? I will tell you. That's ahead.
And why is the Tea Party movement so mad at Tom Tancredo? That is just one of the stories that making Yellin's list today. She's next.
Stay with us. We're going to be right back. This is your national conversation, your LIST, RICK'S LIST.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, Rick. This is Tom from Las Vegas.
One good thing about the law that they're going to enact in Arizona, Arizona will have the safest Hispanic drivers in the country. And that's for sure.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.
Time now for Yellin's list. And we have been talking a lot about Arizona's controversial immigration law and where this country's immigration policy really stands. This is a heated topic. There's no doubt about it, to say the least. And the main point of contention really focuses on just what to do with all the people who are already here, the illegal immigrants that are already in this country.
You hear opinions that run the spectrum from round them all up and deport them to let's find a way that they can have some kind of path to citizenship, if they have done all the right things and aren't criminals, for example, et cetera, et cetera.
But I want you to take a look now at some brand-new polling -- it was done by CNN -- that makes it appear that maybe, just maybe, once we get past all the ugly rhetoric on both sides, we aren't so far apart on this issue. This is news.
When asked if illegal immigrants should stay in the country if they have a job and pay taxes, a whopping 81 percent say yes. Who's saying this? In fact, if you dig deeper into these numbers, it really gets even more interesting.
You would think it would be the Hispanics that are saying that, right? No. Look at this -- 94 percent of, you know, white non- Hispanics say they are in favor of illegal immigrants staying here if they hold a job and are paying their taxes.
To help us understand these numbers, our Jessica Yellin is live right now in Phoenix.
This is really interesting, because you intimated this yesterday in the third question of our conversation. And it stuck with me. And I was thinking, wow. Usually when we hear this, all we hear is one side screaming amnesty, the other side calling the other side names. It appears -- and I don't know what they're saying there, but it appears like this is a potential opening in this dialogue.
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: And those poll numbers track exactly with what I'm hearing from people here in Phoenix, Rick.
This morning, we talked to -- we went to a popular diner in town called 5 & Diner, interviewed a bunch of people. Almost everyone we talked to supports the law. But it didn't stop there. They also believe that while they like this law, the federal government needs comprehensive immigration reform giving people either a path to citizenship or a way to get work permits.
I would like you to listen to just some of the folks we talked to, if we could play that sound.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEN HIGGINBOTHAM, ARIZONA: They're going to have to figure out a way to citizenship for people who have children here. And whether it takes five years or six years, give them a green card, let them work, let them pay taxes, and give them the opportunity to be citizens.
But first we have got to control the border because if we announce that policy, we're going to be overwhelmed.
JERRY IANNACCI, ARIZONA: The federal government needs to have comprehensive immigration reform. I support 1070 100 percent. I know that the other states are going to jump on board with this as well. But they have failed in their responsibility.
YELLIN: So, unless the government -- unless feds do something, you think one state after another is going to pass something like...
(CROSSTALK)
IANNACCI: I absolutely believe that it's going to happen that way because they're going to see exactly what Arizona has been up against budgetarily.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YELLIN: Both those men, ardent supporters of the new immigration law, but they also think we need this comprehensive reform to change the system and to change the way immigration is working in this country, Rick. It's the second line of the story...
(CROSSTALK)
YELLIN: Yes.
SANCHEZ: Yes, because let's drill down on this a little bit. That is a 180-degree from what all the folks who battled this when George W. Bush and, might I add, John McCain of Arizona supported the comprehensive immigration reform legislation as it was proposed by Commerce Secretary Gutierrez. The same people that I hear now saying, well, if we can come up with a plan to let them stay in the country legally as long, as they're good people and pay their taxes, et cetera, et cetera, used to be heard saying, no, nobody can stay because that's giving something to someone for nothing and it's amnesty.
What's going on here?
YELLIN: I still hear some of those people. There are some people who say it's no amnesty under any circumstances, their word.
But the bottom line is, most of the people who live in communities where there are many illegal immigrants recognize that this is not a problem that can be stopped. And they even recognize that while this law might be effective in Arizona, a lot of people are just going to move to other states.
We interviewed a woman yesterday who's leaving Arizona to go to Los Angeles. So, they want a change, and they really are most angry with the federal government for lacking the political will to pass reform. And our polls bear out that most of America actually does want some sort of comprehensive reform. It's just Washington that's the problem right now, Rick.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: That's interesting. Yes, and they're right. Look, I don't think it takes a genius to figure out there is a little political cowardice when it comes to Washington and the decisions that are made there.
I want to ask you about something else. I want to get your take on what's happening in Colorado, not too far from where you are there, because Tom Tancredo who you and I have had many conversations with in the past, who, by the way, is one of the guys who represents that point of view that I just explained on television, no amnesty, these people can't stay, get them all out of here, et cetera, et cetera, he's locking horns with the Tea Party movement, when I understand -- correct me if I'm wrong -- that they used to be pretty much in unison.
What is going on between the Tea Party movement and Tom Tancredo?
YELLIN: Well, the bottom line is, is that Tom Tancredo is going to run in Arizona -- in Colorado -- I'm sorry -- on a third-party ticket.
And the Tea Party activists there are very upset and worried because they think that he will siphon enough votes away from the main Republican candidates to hand a victory to the Democratic candidate. And, so, they say everyone on the conservative end will lose.
The irony here is that Tancredo was one of the people who pushed the Tea Party into the Republicans' arms and said, don't separate, don't be a third party. So, many Tea Party activists are frustrated, saying, you told us not to. Now you are. It's just another sign about how diffuse the Tea Party is, Rick. There's no central leader, so there's no central discipline.
SANCHEZ: That's a really interesting development. And, by the way, we should just add in our conversation a little while ago regarding taxes, the key point that people were agreeing to was that people should be allowed to stay here if they paid back taxes, not obviously if they pay future taxes, just in case there was any confusion on that.
Interesting stuff, as usual. Jessica, can't wait -- look forward to seeing you tonight at 8:00. OK?
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: All right, do we win by condemning an entire religion? Does the United States of America, does the West win by saying, anybody who's a Muslim is a member of a cult? I'm going to tell you who's suggesting that and we're going to talk about it.
Also, I want you to listen to what food inspectors found when they hit ballparks across the country. Let's give you a little hint, roaches, poisonous materials stored near food, real bad refrigeration. Brooke Baldwin is looking into this disturbing report. That is ahead right here, as we look at what is trending and what you're talking about.
Stay right there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Rick. It's me again (INAUDIBLE).
I believe that these immigrants that are here in this country that have been here for a long time should be allowed to apply for a green card and citizenship. But the fact that these Mexicans come to our borders, into our country and can demand, demand things they're not entitled to...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: I want to take you to Bell, California, because the people there are screaming mad. In fact, you want to see screaming mad? Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You, you pretended to be my friend, Mayor. And you have no conscience, do you? You don't want to resign, we will recall you.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we would really like to do is see every one of you in jail. I would like to see all of you in the orange jumpsuits that says L.A. County Jail on the back of them. That's the best thing that could ever happen to you. That is on my bucket list.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You, you -- hey, look at me. You go back and fleece your flock at your church if they want to. Don't fleece us anymore. Yes, yes, you. You, you're disrespectful. You're a piece of (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Have you seen anything like that? Well, apparently you are affected by it. Let's go to the Twitter list if we possibly can. Here we go.
These are just some of the comments that have been coming in from many of you. "I thought California was in severe debt. How did the state not catch this crazy salary?"
We're asking the same question, by the way.
"Power to the people. Outstanding, Bell City."
And, also, "Who was not keeping tabs on the pay of the workers? You have checks and balances. Apparently" -- I have no idea what "ev1" means -- "was a crook."
So, and "Bell City Council domestic example of corruption as rampant as Mexico or in Afghanistan, where mansions line unpaved streets."
"Thank God for the Bell, California, residents, standing up for themselves and their community."
OK, there you go. My thanks to all of you for -- I will tell you, you are just inundating the tweet board today.
He's an admitted polygamist and, until today, a convicted rapist. Why is Warren Jeffs' conviction being overturned? That's ahead.
Also, did you hear about the tornado? This is in New York City. And that's next in "Fotos." We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: There is no such thing as a free lunch, but sometimes the price is way too high. Let's do "Fotos."
What started off as a casual meal in New York turned into a burrito brawl. I'm not sure what they ordered, but caliente is what they got. They threw fists. They threw chairs, the restaurant sign. One guy even had a chain. How's that for old school? Looks bad, but how much damage can you really do with aluminum chairs? The place is called Blockheads, but it was the patrons who actually lived up to the name.
Also, in New York, take a look at this
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BETH ALICE, CNN IREPORTER: It appears to be a tornado. The tree is entirely gone. We're in New York City.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: "We're in New York City." Did you hear that? When was the last time you heard the words tornado and the Bronx in the same sentence? It's kind of like a dog finds a tree, right?
iReporter Beth Alice sent us this dramatic video of the storm in progress. In case you're curious, the last time a twister hit the Bronx was 1974.
This is what I call going nowhere fast. Whoever said couch potatoes are unproductive? These kids from Brigham Young University are actually quite industrious. Look at their motorized cell phone. You might think it's cool, but the school did it, it banned their invention. It banned the invention -- why?
Brooke Baldwin wants to know where she can get one, by golly. These are "Fotos." You can see them all on my blog at CNN.com/RickSanchez.
A California bargain hunter paid 45 bucks for a box of film negatives. Turns out they could be worth more than $200 million. Did you ever wonder if something like that could happen to you? You buy something, you find it, and suddenly someone says, do you know what you have there?
What makes these pictures so valuable? Wait till I tell you.
Also, we've got the deputy who's not exactly Officer Friendly. He goes on a tirade that some people are saying is just very offensive, very outrageous, very weird, especially for a man in uniform, especially considering that he's in public. The target of his outburst -- religions, all of them. Brooke Baldwin's got this story. She's coming up next with what's trending, the things that you guys are talking about. And this is a good talker.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At the mayhem festival, nonetheless.
SANCHEZ: What is that?
BALDWIN: You'll find out.
SANCHEZ: I can't wait. We'll be right back.
(LAUGHTER)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SANCHEZ: Trending today, all of us know -- how do I say this? There's an inner voice and an outer voice. There's things -- there are things you think and keep to yourself. And then there are things that you say. And sometimes those two, they get mixed up. Such as the case --
BALDWIN: Case in point, my friend. Let me take you to this video. It had all of us aflutter here at CNN. It's a little mayhem outside the aptly named Mayhem Festival. It's Rick's favorite music, heavy metal, right?
SANCHEZ: Yes, big, big fan.
BALDWIN: Not so much. But watch what happened at the stop in New Mexico. There was this huge religious group protesting outside this concert hall. The sheriff's deputy on security detail was escorting them out of there. The protesters didn't want to leave.
So what did they do? They argued with this deputy. The religious group recorded the whole thing. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEPUTY JIM GOFF, BERNALLO COUNTY, NEW MEXICO, SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: I am a nonbeliever. There is no god. There is no Jesus. There is no Satan. There is no heaven. There is no hell.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're going to burn in hell and bust hell wide open.
(CROSSTALK)
GOFF: Anybody that's in hell --
(CROSSTALK)
GOFF: Hi, mom. I love you, mom.
You must have a crush on me. Are you like a gay homosexual? You keep filming me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You keep saying that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The lawyer --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Wow, right?
SANCHEZ: It's remarkable to see him say those -- now, you're at a place where all the people are gathering because they're deeply religious.
BALDWIN: Correct.
SANCHEZ: And you're going to get in their face and tell them all how you feel about religion, and you're wearing that uniform?
BALDWIN: It appears he's trying to escort them to leave. That deputy, that is Jeff -- Jim, excuse me, Jim Goff. We reached out to him, wanted to get his side. Why was he saying those things? He's not talking.
I did manage to get the chief deputy at the Berno Leo Sheriff's Department on the phone. He told me the concert property, this venue was actually private property. And he, upon looking at all the facts, believes that religious group was trespassing.
The Chief Deputy said, yes, he's disappointed, does not condone the deputy's behavior. So what are they doing? They're conducting their own investigation, trying to get any more video if it exists out there, talk to other officers who may have been out there on security.
But a lot of people troubled, obviously, by the deputy's words. You heard them -- Christian groups, gay groups --
SANCHEZ: "Gay homosexuals," he said, which I'm still trying to figure out what he --
BALDWIN: These are the kinds of things you don't often see a deputy say.
SANCHEZ: The question is here, and this is an interesting story. He's an American and he's got a right to have his opinion, and all of us do. And you can worship wherever you want or not believe if you choose to.
But because he's wearing a uniform and he's on the public dole as he's working, does that lower his standard in that regard to be able to say those things? I'm not sure what the answers are.
BALDWIN: Can he say those personal things given the fact he's got an uniform on?
SANCHEZ: It's an interesting question.
BALDWIN: On my list, the number two item, and, look, if you go to sporting events, you need to listen to this. But if you're eating lunch, do me a favor, put it down.
You've heard the jokes about stadium food, but this story is no joke. ESPN has combed through food inspection reports for every big baseball, basketball, football, hockey stadium in the country. And what they found might be enough for you to pack a snack. In some case, this could make you sick.
I want you to look at my list. Here's what they have found at some of these venues -- slime in a frozen drink machine, a fish stand where food had been sitting around for a week, rat or mouse droppings, a live cockroach in a soda dispenser, mold growing in ice machines, expired milk and hot dogs, chemicals stored next to the food, and an employee who didn't wash his hands after blowing his nose. So I have more lists for you. If you're sitting there in whatever city and you're thinking, is this where I live? Where should you eat? Where should you beware?
Here are the stadiums with the worst scores, Tropicana field ties with Verizon Center. Both of those, every single food vendor violated some kind of health code.
For some reason -- this is all Florida, look at the list. American Airlines Arena, Mr. Miami, Sun Life Stadium, Miami Dolphins, St. Pete Times Forum were not far behind. But there were also several stadiums that did not score any health violations, so you're in the clear if you're on this list.
And obviously a couple -- Wrigley Field, United Center, continuing down, Nassau Veterans, Air Canada.
SANCHEZ: This is the good list.
BALDWIN: This is the good list. Take a look at these stadiums, you're in the clear here. But it's just sort of revealing to think when you go, look, who doesn't love a good hot dog and some French fries? You may be getting a little bit more.
SANCHEZ: Well, what do you expect in a place that only serves food once every two weeks?
Those of you watching in Houston, I bet you thought the same thing when you were listening to Brooke read that, right? Remember Marvin Zindler? Marvin Zindler was a legend in our business, and he was famous in Houston, Texas, for doing reports on restaurants that didn't pass muster.
BALDWIN: Right.
SANCHEZ: And he used to have a famous saying that everyone in Houston to this day probably still says.
BALDWIN: Which is?
SANCHEZ: "Slime in the ice machine!"
BALDWIN: And he was right.
SANCHEZ: Thank you very much.
Three Bell, California, officials have already paid the price for accepting huge salaries while residents barely make ends meet. One city leader tried to do the right thing and prevail. That's coming up on our most intriguing list.
And then we have a heck of a story for you. The link between one of America's most famous banks and the bloodshed in Mexico -- true story. What Wachovia knew about moving drug money and how the whole too-big-to-fail debate apparently plays a role in this investigation. This make you feel outraged as well. Our list scrolls on. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: This is breaking news. Look at these pictures just now coming in. Here's the story as we're getting it now. You can see -- you see the booms that are set up around there? Let me tell you why they're doing that.
We at CNN have learned that's a pipeline leaking oil. It's happening in Kalamazoo, Michigan -- 840,000 gallons of oil may be spilling into a Michigan river. The leaking pipeline spilled this, or -- that comes out to about 19,000 barrels for those of you who are back into this gallons versus barrels thing that Chad loves.
This is crude oil. It spilled into a creek that leads into the Kalamazoo River in southwest Michigan Monday. This has already been confirmed by a spokesperson for a pipeline company there. The company is Enbridge Energy Partners. The pipeline has now been shutdown. No immediate injuries.
I want to bring Chad Myers in because he is our geography whiz on this kind of stuff. What do you know about the Kalamazoo River and this area?
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It goes all the way out, clearly eventually into the Great Lakes. They're not going to stop this. They said the booms had it contained for a while, but the booms were unable to contain it.
Do you realize -- not to digress a little bit, but do you realize a barge hit an oil derrick in an old well in the Gulf of Mexico again today, knocked it off and it was leaking oil -- do you realize that China put 150,000 barrels of oil into their sea in the last couple of weeks because of a giant oil spill there?
I know bad things happen in threes, but I'm counting more than three at this point in time.
SANCHEZ: It almost seems like the situation in the Gulf is all but resolved in terms of the immediacy of the actual leak. Now as that one gets resolved we're hearing about new ones.
MYERS: These are a little bit more minor than what we had in the Gulf of Mexico.
SANCHEZ: How much is 840,000 gallons?
MYERS: Enough to kill an awful lot of wildlife. This is a pristine river that runs out of the Kalamazoo and eventually into the Great Lakes. They're not going to contain this. They are going to have to do a different kind of a boom or maybe, heaven forbid, dispersant to get it to break up.
SANCHEZ: Here we go again.
MYERS: Here we go again.
SANCHEZ: We're getting ready to have a conversation about that.
What is this area -- this looks beautiful to me. This looks like pristine waters.
MYERS: It is. And it eventually gets all the way into Lake Michigan. The water fall -- this is tough. I know they said this is live pictures from WXYZ, but this is far from my old station of WXYZ. Typically, the shot wouldn't go that far. Maybe they're beaming to someplace else and then to XYZ, close.
Irrelevant -- this has been shot within the last 30 minutes, of course. This is running through a nice flatland. Because it's so flat, the water spreads out. This is water fowl.
I lived in Michigan a long time, and Detroit gets a really, really bad rap for being a very ugly, dirty city. But in fact I loved Detroit and I love Michigan, and it's hard to watch this, because it's such an underrated -- people don't want you to know how beautiful Michigan is because they don't want everybody to move there. It's a great, great place.
SANCHEZ: Kind of like part of New Jersey.
Do you know -- I know what they used in the Gulf. They used, as you said, dispersants and skimmers. Is this water deep enough to skim?
MYERS: Sure. You could put booms across it and try to get suction mechanisms out there. But, look, there aren't many access points where this oil is right now to get some type of a boom across and then to get a suction vehicle in to just skim the very top. We're talking a lot of oil. What did you say there?
SANCHEZ: I said 840,000 gallons, that's 19,500 barrels. That is a hell of a lot of water.
MYERS: I have a big pool in my backyard that's only 23,000 gallons. So you multiply that times four, they got 40 pools in there, 40 pools worth of water.
SANCHEZ: You have a big pool.
MYERS: I had a big pool -- a pool and a pond.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: We've got it down then. All right, 840,000 gallons. Nobody's hurt. That's the good news. But again, this is going to be something a lot of people are going to jump on and say, see, we've got to come up with another way of getting energy.
MYERS: Have you seen the commercial for ethanol on our TV station? It says "No ethanol spill has ever closed a beach in America" because there's never been an ethanol spill. I love that commercial.
SANCHEZ: It's all about corn, baby. Thanks, Chad.
Here's one way to get BP's attention, shut down their stations. We'll tell you who is still mad enough to protest, even though Tony Hayward's up -- did you hear? Tony Hayward's officially gone. That's ahead.
And the leaders of a blue-collar California town earning Beverly Hills salaries? We told you about them. But there's a good guy in this story as well, and he's part of our most intriguing. Stay with us. Your list is coming back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: All right, welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez. It's time now to check the list of the most intriguing people in the news on this day.
This guy makes about $8,000 a year. Who is he? Eight grand as an appointed civil servant, a city councilman in Bell, California. Does it ring a bell? You've probably by now some of his colleagues were making many, many, many times that.
Show this guy, Roger. That is Lorenzo Velez. He spent the weekend trying to convince the rest of the city council to slash their own pay. It worked. Now everyone in Bell, California, city council will receive the same pay as Lorenzo Velez -- $8,000 a year. That's a 90 percent pay cut for the rest.
Lorenzo said he wasn't aware that everyone else was making so much money. He says, what about me? So they're doing something about it, even though it's after the fact. Lorenzo Velez is on this day the most intriguing person in the news.
He's on the list. Now that some war secrets are exposed, our U.S. troops in danger? The anger at WikiLeaks grows on Capitol Hill. Should the leaker be punished, or was he just telling us what the government would not tell us? That's ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: BP has announced they're changing the boss. And I think what we want to do is to make them not just rearrange the back chairs but actually look at the whole future direction of the company.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Greenpeace protesters did more than that. They shut down the gas stations across London. Did they really hurt BP or just get a lot of people angry who were trying to get gas in the morning before going to work? That's next right here on your list. This is your national conversation. Come on back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: I want to tell you something now that I bet you just did not know. Did you know that one of the nation's biggest banks, Wachovia, is paying millions of dollars in fines because, knowingly or not, it helped drug thugs launder their money? Remember, we're talking about a Mexican drug trade that's tied to the deaths of 22,000 people just in the last four years.
So my question here is, what did Wachovia know? What did Wachovia know about its billion-dollar dealings in Mexico? And did it turn a blind eye to make a profit? Fascinating story.
Let me begin by reading from a federal court filing. Quote, "As early as 2004, Wachovia understood the risk." That's Wachovia talking. It's their court filing, and they're conceding they were warned to be worried about certain currency handlers in Mexico.
Despite these warnings, Wachovia remained in the business. Again, that's Wachovia talking. And here's what the federal prosecutor said. Wachovia's blatant disregard for our banking laws gave international cocaine cartels a virtual cart blanche to finance their operations.
I want you to hold that though, because first we need to talk about the drug trade -- marijuana, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines. They produce it down there. We want it up here. Illegal drugs in, illicit cash out. In come the drugs, out goes the money. It's not that complicated, folks.
According to the Justice Department, $39 billion a year, and every penny of it is dirty. You and I know you can't run a massive drug operation with stacks of 20 dollar bills, right? This is how people may pay for their drugs.
Just for example, you can't buy a jet to smuggle the stuff with boxes of rumpled cash. No. You have to launder the stuff. You have to launder it. You have to somehow make the money be clean or appear to be clean.
And that's where some of these banks, some of the same banks that were involved in the meltdown several years ago, including, as we said, Wachovia, were involved.
Michael Smith has done a hell of a job reporting on this story. He's written about it in the current issue of "Bloomberg Markets." You see it right there. He's kind enough to join us now. He's in Santiago, Chile. I want to welcome you, Michael.
MICHAEL SMITH, "BLOOMBERG MARKETS": Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Are you there?
SMITH: Yes, I'm here. Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Thanks, man, hob well done.
Before we take our first step, I want to read a statement. This is a statement from Wachovia, by the way, and here's what they're saying. They're saying "We have taken this matter very seriously since 2007, have invested significant resources in programs, staff, and systems to strengthen protections against the unlawful use of our system by wrongdoers.
We are committed to maintaining compliant and effective anti- money laundering practices and policies and a strong compliance culture across our organization." So there you go. There's Wachovia's reaction to all of this, their official statement, and we read it.
Now, let me go back to Michael. You did the reporting of this. Explain to us how the whole thing worked. I mean you got people who are drug dealers in Mexico. You've got what we always believed to be a legitimate drug -- a legitimate bank that would never be involved in something like this in the United States. How do you bring the two of them together?
SMITH: Well, it was quite simple, actually. It started with a money exchange house in Mexico. Anybody's gone to Mexico as a tourist knows if you bring in U.S. dollars you have to get the local currency, which are pesos in that case. And there's money exchange houses that you can go to, and they change your dollars into pesos.
SANCHEZ: Those money exchange houses, that's where ma and pa take their paychecks, for example, to get cash and then they get money, right? I mean usually in smaller -- this is not huge denominations, right?
SMITH: Normally not. But in Mexico, there were some really big money exchange houses. And in order for them to function to get the dollars that they received from Mexican citizens or companies, some legitimate, a lot not legitimate, they needed to have a bank in the United States to transfer that money in electronically or physically back to the United States.
And that's what Wachovia did. Wachovia recruited these companies quite aggressively as other American banks were getting out of the business because the U.S. Treasury and the DEA and other organizations were warning that these companies were becoming fronts for drug cartels. But Wachovia went in anyway and took them on as clients because it was a business opportunity.
SANCHEZ: So these shops where it was assumed that people were going there just to do exchanges on their legal money, that may have been what was going on in the front -- on the front door. But through the backdoor, drug dealers were bringing in the cash that they were hauling in from their deals, and they were hoping somehow they could send that to the United States and have that come back clean.
Is that pretty much what was going on?
SMITH: That's correct. You literally had -- we found police surveillance reports from Mexico documenting how, you know, agents for the drug cartels were literally walking into the branches of these companies with suitcases and bags filled with cash and exchanged them.
