Saturday 7 February 2009

"Meaoweeow, arrruw, rauoo, meaow! Charly says......"

"Meaoweeow, arrruw, rauoo, meaow!"

"Charly says never vote for stranges or take up offers to look at their ballot box"



Labour paid sex offender for work

Russo helped the Labour Party during the 1997, 2001 and 2005 elections

The Labour Party paid a sex offender convicted in the United States more than £2,500 to help it with its 2005 election campaign, the BBC has learned.

Activist Tim Russo, 41, was a visits co-ordinator in the East Midlands but did not have a UK work visa.

The Labour Party said it was unaware of Russo's past. It said it had not hired him but only paid expenses.

Russo was convicted in 2002 of trying to arrange sex with someone he thought was a 13-year-old boy.

The person he met online was in fact an FBI officer investigating internet paedophiles.

Russo had sent him pornography and was eventually found guilty of importuning (harassment) and attempting to disseminate matter harmful to juveniles. He was sentenced to a community service order and a year on probation by a county court in Cleveland, Ohio.

..'Criminal convictions'

Spending declared by the East Midlands Labour Party after the 2005 campaign revealed that Russo received £2,560 from the party for his "consultancy services", despite having neither a work permit or a work entry visa.

Russo also helped the Labour Party in two earlier general election campaigns in 1997 and 2001.

Ghuffar Usman, a Nottingham solicitor specialising in immigration cases, said he believed Labour had acted illegally.

"They should have applied for a work permit in the first place, having secured a work permit, then Mr Russo would have been free to apply for a visa allowing him to come to the UK to undertake work in accordance with that work permit for the Labour Party."





BBC NEWS | England | Labour paid sex offender for work
Charly had something to say about the dangers of teapots too!

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