Eric Hovde better call Saul because he’s laundering Mexican drug cartel money

“Wealthy folks have no need to steal or engage in corruption.” - Larry Kudlow

Worst Tom Selleck impersonator

It must be nice knowing that no matter how big of a scumbag you are, you are guaranteed 45% of the vote by simply putting an (R) after you name.

Colossal criminal and rich asshole Eric Hovde running for US Senate in Wisconsin on a platform of being too rich too bribe has been laundering Mexican drug cartel money;

MADISON, Wis. — A bombshell report this morning from Dan Bice of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel revealed that Banco Azteca, a bank reportedly tied to the Mexican cartel flew $26 million of cash across the U.S.-Mexico Border to Eric Hovde’s bank in California.

As the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel detailed, Banco Azteca was cut off by several other U.S. banks over “risk and compliance concerns” after reporting linked it to cartel activity. An executive of the bank was recently implicated in a federal indictment detailing his attempts to bribe a member of the U.S. Congress to get U.S. banks to once again do business with the bank. Despite this, Eric Hovde’s bank in December, flew $26.2 million of cash on four airplane flights from Mexico City to Irvine, California as part of a deal with Banco Azteca.

This revelation of laundering drug cartel money comes on the heels of the California Banker Hovde brazenly dismissing concerns about all the foreign money being moved into his banks by foreign governments and companies.

Sunwest Bank, a commercial bank for entrepreneurs based in the West Coast worth $3 billion, began reporting foreign government deposits totaling nearly $250,000 in December 2023, coinciding with Hovde’s confirmation as a Senate candidate.  

This disclosure follows a trend seen on the company’s call reports since March 2017, indicating holdings of more than $118 million from undisclosed foreign banks, which began only after Hovde assumed the role of CEO. 

Again it must be nice to be a billionaire asshole and know you can engage in money laundering and financial crimes and absolutely have no fear about being arrested (let alone being asphyxiated to death over a phony $20) and have a shot at winning a spot in the Senate all because you stick that Scarlet R after your disgusting puke name.  Fortunately, Senator Tammy Baldwin retains a 6-7 point lead over Better Call Saul Hovde.

Conservative Fury! Senate Democrats to take away flavored Cigars

Democratic Senators, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Dick Durbin of Illinois, Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut wrote FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg on Thursday urging her to ban flavored cigars. Brown joined by his Democratic Party colleagues Senators noted "these products pose a serious threat to public health" and "Flavored cigars are putting children's health at risk and increasing nicotine addiction and tobacco use among young people."

ROAR! You can pry my Hibiscus-Passion Fruit flavored cigarillo from my cold dead, nicotine stained fingers!

"Tobacco companies embody the adage ‘if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again,’" Senator Brown said in a statement. "From Joe Camel to tobacco candies and now flavored cigars, Big Tobacco is always trying to find new ways to hook young, impressionable customers—and those customers are our children.”

Faux News promoted this as more nanny-state regulation run wild and ran a story that The International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association authored a petition asking Congressmen, Senators and FDA officials to: Please don’t regulate premium cigars like cigarettes! Of course, No such petition to Congress would be complete without this type of language: And As an adult I want to make my own choices in life and not have a bureaucrat at the FDA making those choices for me.

Damn FDA bureaucrats! If I want to sell cigars soaked in formaldehyde shouldn't I have that choice?

People see what they what to see. Conservatives have created an alternate history for themselves with which they must view every issue as a left/right dichotomy.

It is incontrovertible that Tobacco Companies appeal to the youngest demographic possible, with the exception of those which cater to a different niche or audience. Thus what Senator Brown is saying is true "Big Tobacco" is always trying "to find new ways to hook young, impressionable customers". It's merely good business to get customers attracted to your product as soon as possible.

But what this really shows is those who are offended and up-in-arms over Nanny State Over Regulation have no idea what they are angry about, if they did they would know the main market for funky flavored 6-for-a-dollar gas station cigars are marijuana smokers. You see "dope-smoking criminals" remove the tobacco from the cigar, pack the now empty leaf with weed and have thus created a blunt.

So, if this regulation had been targeted against Hookah Lounges or Head Shops the reaction from Faux and it's bevy of conservative genuflecting sycophants would have been much different.