Ace of Spades HQ

July 20, 2011

O'Keefe Medicaid Sting Hits NYC, South Carolina
— Ace

The videos are just up, right now. I haven't watched them yet, but O'Keefe promised hilarity to come and tipster Igor says they're hilarious.

Tease:

In the latest video, filmed in several Medicaid offices in New York City, an undercover reporter, who identifies himself as Â“MarioÂ” seeks to apply for Medicaid for himself and his pregnant girlfriend, Â“Peach.Â”
When Mario is asked about his income, he intimates that he was a plumber, but does not earn a steady living and his source of income may not be legal, specifically the sale of Â“Mushrooms.Â” When the conversation turns to his income, the Medicaid worker says, Â“I donÂ’t want to know nothing. I know youÂ’re trying to survive, but you canÂ’t tell me these things, okay?Â” Mario presses with, Â“If they come, IÂ’m going to get arrested.Â” The Medicaid case worker also tells Mario to obtain a letter from a legitimate company saying that he is employed.

Funny: I didn't get it until I heard the Mario Brothers theme, but he claims he's named Mario, is an unemployed plumber, has a girlfriend named Peach, and deals in illegal mushrooms.

And of course he's looking for Magic Coins and Secret Passages.

Note: I took my gay marriage post down because I'd like it to have time to breathe but I have to put up breaking news in favor of it. I'll put the gay marriage post up later.

Posted by: Ace at 08:58 AM | Comments (87)
Post contains 249 words, total size 2 kb.

1 Winning!

Posted by: Ducatisti at July 20, 2011 09:00 AM (KYE7u)

2 The Scourge of the Bureauleftists, bringing the truth to light one office at a time.

If we get out of this with a Republic worth having, there should be statues of the man.

Posted by: AoSHQ's *second* worst commenter, DarkLord© at July 20, 2011 09:00 AM (GBXon)

3 Homophobic fears?

JK.

It is a good post. I read it. Before you killed it, that is.

Posted by: Marcus at July 20, 2011 09:00 AM (CHrmZ)

4
Can we go a week without gay friggin marriage?

Posted by: soothsayer at July 20, 2011 09:01 AM (G/zuv)

5 I want to legalize gay marriage so I can finally marry Rahm Emmanuel.

Posted by: King Barry I at July 20, 2011 09:02 AM (zgZzy)

6 BTW.

With all this individual freedom stuff- I am starting to wonder; Did you have lunch with Ron Paul???

Posted by: Marcus at July 20, 2011 09:02 AM (CHrmZ)

7 O/T: Ace, this goes with the previous post but can also go with this one. "NOTHING ILLEGAL, NOTHING ILLEGAL"

Posted by: curious at July 20, 2011 12:30 PM (k1rwm)

Posted by: curious at July 20, 2011 09:04 AM (k1rwm)

8 Note: I took my gay marriage post down because I'd like it to have time to breathe but I have to put up breaking news in favor of it. I'll put the gay marriage post up later.

And this helps your migraine how....?

Posted by: laceyunderalls at July 20, 2011 09:04 AM (1xB5r)

9 This kid is going to need more security than Rupert Murdoch.

The unions will kill him if they can.

Posted by: sifty at July 20, 2011 09:05 AM (ECjvn)

10 And the post you're holding was good, though I had a quibble I'll go into after you've let it age properly.

Posted by: AoSHQ's *second* worst commenter, DarkLord© at July 20, 2011 09:06 AM (GBXon)

11 I love the name M A R I O and the choice of music....too funny

Posted by: curious at July 20, 2011 09:07 AM (k1rwm)

12 _{With all this individual freedom stuff- I am starting to wonder; Did you have lunch with Ron Paul???}

Naw. He just scored some really good weed and bought an album of The Band. He'll be cool once it runs out.

heh.

Posted by: sifty at July 20, 2011 09:07 AM (ECjvn)

13 How dare you James! Exposing bureaucratic corruption isn't very Christian of you

Posted by: Glenn Beck at July 20, 2011 09:07 AM (nHsuA)

I the magnificent have conviened a bi-partisan panel to look into these minor infractions.

If these govt agencies were not so strapped for cash by the evil and stupid rethuglicans they would not be under so much pressure to perform and thus be so impotent,

Taxing the richest among us will go a long way to solving this dilema.

Oh and OReefer, i mean ah Okeefe acted stupidly.

Posted by: Barrak the Lyin King OBlahBlah at July 20, 2011 09:07 AM (vXqv3)

15 Oh, man, Princess Daisy is gonna be ticked off!

Posted by: BlackOrchid at July 20, 2011 09:07 AM (SB0V2)

16 The first thing I thought about when I saw this was "does andrew have a temper or high blood pressure" cause you know someone is showing this to him right now. And I'm not talking breitbart, i'm talking the gov.

Posted by: curious at July 20, 2011 09:09 AM (k1rwm)

17 I was gonna put up a gay marriage post, but then I got high

Posted by: not really Ace at July 20, 2011 09:10 AM (GTbGH)

18 Golly, it's almost like our public services are riddled with corruptocrats and corruptominions that are determined to spend us into bankruptcy? Say, I wonder if this have any bearing on us already nearly there?

No, I don't get out much - why do you ask?

Posted by: sherlock at July 20, 2011 09:10 AM (BKPeM)

19 And this is new because no one thought that huge government beaurocracies weren't corrupt? 47% of this nation depend on this kind of corruption for their living.

Posted by: Soona at July 20, 2011 09:10 AM (PZiqP)

20 New Medicaid Advisory Committee:

Jeffrey Imelt, Warren Buffett, plus three Harvard professors.

Next!

Posted by: snnnooooooorrrrt President Obama at July 20, 2011 09:10 AM (ECjvn)

21 You know what would help - strong, independent IGs. Tie this to O.

Posted by: Jean at July 20, 2011 09:10 AM (WkuV6)

22 I hear in the South Carolina video that Lindsey Graham tries to buy some mushrooms off of him

Posted by: Ben at July 20, 2011 09:11 AM (wuv1c)

23 Did he have Yoshi parked outside?

Posted by: Anony at July 20, 2011 09:12 AM (7ahtU)

24 Posted by: Barrak the Lyin King OBlahBlah at July 20, 2011 01:07 PM (vXqv3)

you forgot the private jet guys. recently attended one of their parties, they do it "obamastyle".....man no expense was spared.

Posted by: curious at July 20, 2011 09:12 AM (k1rwm)

25 Dammit, how come no one mentioned me? I NEVER get any bit of the spotlight!

Posted by: Luigi at July 20, 2011 09:13 AM (JqpkY)

26 I am wondering about this. If it had been me personally I would have asked the guy if this was a joke. His accent was phony and everything he said was patently stupid.

However, if the worker gives him forms to fill out that determine qualification without making any pre-judgement on that qualification, is she really breaking any rules?

The fraud occurs when the applicant enters false information on the form, or if the workers assists them in entering false information on the form.

Posted by: Vic at July 20, 2011 09:13 AM (M9Ie6)

27 O'Keefe's incredible exposure of all that is so terribly wrong with lib-rats makes me want to go all Mrs. Robinson on his fine self.....

Posted by: Cat at July 20, 2011 09:13 AM (zqvGX)

28 CAT-scans have nothing to do with cats, you know.....but they can detect brain tumors

migraines could also be a sign from God ( indicating his displeasure )

and yes, the entire bureaucracy at all levels is fundamentally corrupt. Dog bites man....

Posted by: SantaRosaStan, Master of the Pan flute at July 20, 2011 09:13 AM (UqKQV)

29 Oh, whatever anyone thinks of his methods and demeanor, you gotta hand it to O'Keefe. Mario! Seriously. I'll bet if he showed up at a Medicaid office somewhere calling himself "Sonic" and claimed he was an unemployed hedgehog farmer, the Medicaid drones would swallow it whole.

Posted by: George Orwell at July 20, 2011 09:15 AM (+vkOU)

30 I hear in the South Carolina video that Lindsey Graham tries to buy some mushrooms off of him I would have pegged Graham as being into amyl nitrate.

Posted by: George Orwell at July 20, 2011 09:16 AM (+vkOU)

31 My mother is a hooker and her pimp won't give us any drug money. Can I haz some of that Obama stash?

Posted by: Basement Bug at July 20, 2011 09:18 AM (PZiqP)

"Funny: I didn't get it until I heard the Mario Brothers theme, but he claims he's named Mario, is an unemployed plumber, has a girlfriend named Peach, and deals in illegal mushrooms.

And of course he's looking for Magic Coins and Secret Passages."

the use of the game theme is fabulous because if something is "a game" it's thought to be benign/harmless/a victimless crime. Getting money from the monolithic government is a game. Figuring out loopholes in the tax code to pay less tax, is a game. If it's a game the thought is "no one is getting hurt, so why not". Like the folks who take "cash only" and don't report the income or the offshore savers who pay no tax at all. So the kids part is simply the whole thing but the adult part goes way deeper.

Good on you James......

Posted by: curious at July 20, 2011 09:18 AM (k1rwm)

33 No Hannah, wtf James. You replaced Hannah with a kilt.

Posted by: Jean at July 20, 2011 09:22 AM (WkuV6)

34 Year-round training! We must remain vigilant so that these outrages never happen again...

Posted by: The SEIU at July 20, 2011 09:22 AM (FcR7P)

35 The videos simply serve to enrage me more.

Posted by: Jane D'oh at July 20, 2011 09:23 AM (UOM48)

36 Uhoh our Peaches is infamous now.

Posted by: The Great Satan's Ghost at July 20, 2011 09:23 AM (UrPTC)

37 I suspect the retraining of the Medicaid employees involved will require several days on an Xbox or Playstation.

Posted by: George Orwell at July 20, 2011 09:24 AM (+vkOU)

38 Yeah, more training will fix it.

Posted by: blaster at July 20, 2011 09:25 AM (Fw2Gg)

39 I am distressed at the lack of Hannah Giles in these videos.

To whom shall I address my concerns?

I signed all three, btw. You know what three.......

Posted by: Roger Sherman at July 20, 2011 09:25 AM (UqKQV)

40 you forgot the private jet guys. recently attended one of their parties, they do it "obamastyle".....man no expense was spared.

Posted by: curious at July 20, 2011 01:12 PM (k1rwm)

Who would those "guys" be? Gulfstream is based here, and the friends we have who work for them don't report lavish "obamastyle" parties.

Posted by: Jane D'oh at July 20, 2011 09:25 AM (UOM48)

41 Ace!
How can you put this up and not put this VID with it.

Posted by: MikeTheMoose at July 20, 2011 09:27 AM (0q2P7)

We have to admit that coruption is endemic and that we've lost the war on it. We can't stop it, and the time, money and effort we expend to stop it isn't paying off. These videos show that it readily available to all Americans It's practically legal, so we should just legalize it. Besides, there are medicinal benefits, and it's not nearly as bad as tobacco. Which we for some bizarre reason all hate.

And if you disagree you're a puritan statist fub.

Posted by: Rosa Chong Parks at July 20, 2011 09:27 AM (6rX0K)

43 I tried to get some assistance in paying for my Valtrex but Medicaid turned me down.

Posted by: Ms. Pac-Man at July 20, 2011 09:28 AM (+vkOU)

44 >>>The fraud occurs when the applicant enters false information on the form, or if the workers assists them in entering false information on the form. The intake people are specifically telling him what not to put on their forms. They are giving him professional advice in how to defraud the government. This may not be illegal, but it's certainly a "service" the taxpayer does not wish to pay for.

Posted by: ace at July 20, 2011 09:30 AM (nj1bB)

45 High Speed Training!!!

Posted by: cherry π at July 20, 2011 09:31 AM (OhYCU)

O'Keefe needs to push it up a couple of notches and start going after congressional representatives.

"Hello, congressman. I'm the northeastern representative of the Erectoid Bilateral Bipeds Association and we're needing a sizable grant to study the Cleveland steamer crisis.

Posted by: Soona at July 20, 2011 09:31 AM (PZiqP)

47 What tickles me about the MFM non-coverage of the O'Keefe vids is that future O'Keefe "victims" don't know they are in play as possible on camera examples of bureaucratic dysfunction.

Posted by: The Poster Formerly Known as Mr. Barky at July 20, 2011 09:32 AM (qwK3S)

48 The woman in the Charleston video keeps repeating how she doesn't want to go to prison. Good grief.

I've no sympathy whatsoever for these gubmint "workers". They need to be made examples. Prison.

Posted by: Jane D'oh at July 20, 2011 09:32 AM (UOM48)

49 22I hear in the South Carolina video that Lindsey Graham tries to buy some mushrooms off of him Posted by: Ben at July 20, 2011 01:11 PM (wuv1c) Incorrect. I do not eat mushrooms. I was simply introducing myself.

Posted by: Sen. Lindsey Graham at July 20, 2011 09:34 AM (qwK3S)

50 O'Keefe needs to push it up a couple of notches and start going after congressional representatives.

Uh, he tried that and subsequently found himself before a judge. For now he should probably stick to these types of sting operations.

Posted by: laceyunderalls at July 20, 2011 09:34 AM (1xB5r)

51 The woman in the Charleston video keeps repeating how she doesn't want to go to prison. Good grief.

I was actually surprised she had some fear of that.

Posted by: Tami at July 20, 2011 09:34 AM (X6akg)

52 Mushrooms give you big toofs.

Posted by: Sen. Lindsey Graham at July 20, 2011 09:34 AM (qwK3S)

53 Hey, I'm Jay and this is my life partner Silent Bob.

We're involved in agriculture within Red Bank, New Jersey, but don't have any reported income. Could we maybe get Medicaid, a farming subsidy, and in on that Pigford settlement with Dept. of Ag?

Posted by: Jay at July 20, 2011 09:35 AM (JqpkY)

54 ...we're needing a sizable grant to study the Cleveland steamer crisis. Wait... are these steamers coal-fired? Because even clean coal ain't gonna fly, not with this green administration, and that's a big fucking deal. I have a higher IQ than you, anyway.

Posted by: Joe Biden at July 20, 2011 09:35 AM (+vkOU)

55 These videos show that it readily available to all Americans It's practically legal, so we should just legalize it. What are you talking about, graft (this thread) or marijuana (previous thread)? Either way, your point stands.

Posted by: t-bird at July 20, 2011 09:35 AM (FcR7P)

Who would those "guys" be? Gulfstream is based here, and the friends we have who work for them don't report lavish "obamastyle" parties.

Posted by: Jane D'oh at July 20, 2011 01:25 PM (UOM4

ok, but that doesn't mean there aren't other folks in the space.

I wish I was so confident that I knew everything there was to know about everything, maybe that will happen when I get old and cranky.

Posted by: curious at July 20, 2011 09:36 AM (k1rwm)

57 These videos show that it readily available to all Americans It's practically legal, so we should just legalize it.

What are you talking about, graft (this thread) or marijuana (previous thread)? Either way, your point stands.

Posted by: t-bird

Wait.....You can hear my thoughts? That's amazing man.

Posted by: Rosa Chong Parks at July 20, 2011 09:38 AM (6rX0K)

58 I say we replace all of the social worker parasites with Philadelphia impound lot employees. They take no prisoners. In addition give them a $50 bonus for every applicant they turn down.

Posted by: Buffalobob at July 20, 2011 09:38 AM (Gr0Op)

59 The intake people are specifically telling him what not to put on their forms. They are giving him professional advice in how to defraud the government.

This may not be illegal, but it's certainly a "service" the taxpayer does not wish to pay for.

Posted by: ace at July 20, 2011 01:30 PM

Conspiracy to defraud a government agency?

Posted by: huerfano at July 20, 2011 09:39 AM (ZJ2JH)

60 Mushrooms?!?

Did you say mushrooms?

Posted by: Some of the new posters from the Pot Thread at July 20, 2011 09:40 AM (MMC8r)

Anthony Weiner: I want to apply for Medicare.

Government Bureaucrat: Are you currently employed?

Anthony Weiner: No. That's why I'm applying. Are you stupid?

Government Bureaucrat: Do you have any job skills?

Anthony Weiner: *squirt*

Government Bureaucrat (writing): "Genetic Engineer."

Posted by: Harsh Reality at July 20, 2011 09:40 AM (w41GQ)

62 it's dead Jim

Posted by: The Great Satan's Ghost at July 20, 2011 09:41 AM (UrPTC)

63 The sad part of this whole thing is that you would think the employees would hear Mario and Princess peach and that he's a plumber and wonder about the guy sitting there and adjust their "counsel" accordingly. But, they don't.

Posted by: curious at July 20, 2011 09:41 AM (k1rwm)

The entire Mario Bros gaming franchise is nothing but a huge drug related in-joke. A very profitable one, I might add.

Besides, if these gov't employees knew anything, they would have called foul right away as Forbes has reported that Princess Peach's net worth is a cool billion plus.

Posted by: Kratos (Ghost of Sparta) at July 20, 2011 09:41 AM (9hSKh)

65 Uh, he tried that and subsequently found himself before a judge. For now he should probably stick to these types of sting operations.

Posted by: laceyunderalls at July 20, 2011 01:34 PM (1xB5r)

Wasn't he trying to abscond with some congressional paperwork or information or trying to take pictures of such? He needs to be a little more imaginative in his approach.

Posted by: Soona at July 20, 2011 09:41 AM (PZiqP)

66 Teats! Getcha fresh, hot, milky TEATS!

Plenty O' TEATS! No waiting!

Posted by: A Gummint Bureaucrat Workin' The Crowd at July 20, 2011 09:42 AM (MMC8r)

67 Hey, I'm Jay and this is my life partner Silent Bob.

The Committee for the Liberation of Itinerant Tree-dwellers would also like in on this government money.

Posted by: Walt Flannigan's Dog at July 20, 2011 09:43 AM (tqwMN)

68
(Salivating) Are any more vids coming? He usually does a five-day drip-drip so the MSM can jump right on the story.

Posted by: arhooley at July 20, 2011 09:44 AM (3n2lK)

69 I wonder how much maalox and mylanta and tums are delivered to government offices after they watch these videos? I bet cuomo is drinking it right out of the bottle now. Agita is a pain, literally.

Posted by: curious at July 20, 2011 09:45 AM (k1rwm)

70 George Orwell: "I suspect the retraining of the Medicaid employees involved will require several days on an Xbox or Playstation."

That's funny I don't care who you are.

Posted by: AnonymousDrivel at July 20, 2011 09:45 AM (r4t7/)

71 Conspiracy to defraud a government agency?

Posted by: huerfano at July 20, 2011 01:39 PM (ZJ2JH)

Conspiracy occurs when 2 or more people hatch a plan to commit a crime and when at least one of them completes some concrete action in forwarding that plan.

IOW the fake applicant would have to complete one of those forms fraudulently and submit it for the worker to be involved in a conspiracy. If the from was "approved" she could then be charged with aiding and abetting.

Posted by: Vic at July 20, 2011 09:52 AM (M9Ie6)

72 Anyone here part of the "cult fringe"?

Posted by: curious at July 20, 2011 09:54 AM (k1rwm)

73 @69: I have no doubt there are more - he learned well from Breitbart how to do the drip-drip-drip.

I figure the next one will have a guy named Ken and his Chinese girlfriend Chun Li looking for benefits.

Posted by: Ian S. at July 20, 2011 10:01 AM (tqwMN)

74 Gee rumor has it that andy will be the running mate in 2012 and that joe will step away, do you think stuff like this will change that?

Posted by: curious at July 20, 2011 10:05 AM (k1rwm)

"Wasn't he trying to abscond with some congressional paperwork or information or trying to take pictures of such? He needs to be a little more imaginative in his approach.'

Ah Senator McStupid, I am professor Dumbledoor and I have a project to create green enery by installing little windmills on the entire US fleet of Planes, Trains and Automobiles....and storing the energy in duracell good solid B+.

excuse me I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue.

In return for your very generous grant of say 35 Million US Gold non-currency I will deliver to you 10,000 skulls full of mush votes and the same for Miss Lindsay over in N.C. if she wants to get onboard.

What say you mr senile senaster from AZ?

Posted by: Barrak the Lyin King OBlahBlah at July 20, 2011 10:15 AM (vXqv3)

76 OOPs forgot to change my name from BarrackTLKOBlahblah

Posted by: Undercover OReefer at July 20, 2011 10:17 AM (vXqv3)

77 I notice this isn't getting much airtime anywhere. Those Acorn videos which were even less a basic American institution that was bankrupting the country got way more attention.

Guess its hard to compete for attention during a chaotic landslide of shit from so many directions.

Posted by: Shiggz at July 20, 2011 10:20 AM (mLAWK)

78 And of course he's looking for Magic Coins and Secret Passages.

Aren't we all, Ace. Aren't we all. Made me laugh out loud. Another donation coming your way!

Posted by: government supplied hammers at July 20, 2011 10:22 AM (71LDo)

79 He should have told the lady that he was afraid of gorillas throwing barrels at him. Maybe then she might get the joke.

Posted by: MrTea at July 20, 2011 10:22 AM (dmGxc)

80 73Anyone here part of the "cult fringe"?

Posted by: curious at July 20, 2011 01:54 PM (k1rwm)

I am part of the cult fringe who keeps trying to vote Harkin out but the liberals in Iowa City and des Moines are of the exceptionally stupid variety and keep puttin him back in.

Posted by: Concealed Kerry or submit at July 20, 2011 10:23 AM (vXqv3)

81 Gee, journalism AND entertainment.

No, no, we can't have any of that.

Posted by: MSM at July 20, 2011 10:35 AM (T0NGe)

82 O'Keefe is 1UP on the competition.

Posted by: Rod Rescueman at July 20, 2011 10:42 AM (HwE/1)

83 O'Keefe is pretty awesome. But methinks the lad's gettin' just a wee bit cocky.

Posted by: Another IRA member wearing a Riverdance costume and tap heels at July 20, 2011 10:58 AM (whMsz)

84 I'm not surprised by how corrupt our government workers are. I'm not surprised by how dishonest our government workers are. But I'm motherfrackin gobsmacked by how STUPID they are...

Posted by: richard mcenroe at July 20, 2011 10:59 AM (qvify)

But he claims he's named Mario, is an unemployed plumber, has a girlfriend named Peach, and deals in illegal mushrooms.

You think'a he coulda get his ol' brother a cut ofa the action eh? I tella him "Hey Mario, wassamattaforyou, eh? How 'bouta little sumpthin' sumpthin' for your brother Luigi, eh? I lika the sweet free monies too, padrone"

Posted by: Luigi SuperMarioBrother at July 20, 2011 11:04 AM (Hb/ve)

I assume Mario and Peach are already registered to vote?

Posted by: malclave at July 20, 2011 11:34 AM (OCRaO)

87 test

Posted by: Have Blue at July 20, 2011 11:26 PM (XPwyF)

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