Topcat Marine Security: A Very Crowded Office Space, a Shell Corporation, or Just a Scam?
Who could resist the tale, not long ago, of a cruise ship fending off Somalian pirates with its handy sonic blaster? Well, someone somewhere just had to do something about those blasted pirates!
Today the BBC announced that the American firm Topcat Marine Security, of 545 8th Ave. Suite 401, New York, NY 10018, had gotten the job! Now you might think that chasing pirates would be too scary, but these guys at Topcat (or Top Cat, depending on which bit of their web site you look at) have strong motivation: a VERY crowded Manhattan office! Wouldn't you rather go chase pirates if you had to share an office with The Center for Risk Communication, a magazine called "Animal Fair", and a bank, Liechetensteinische-Amerikanische Union Bank Corp. (which apparently conducted unauthorized banking activities in the state of NY in 1999), a "home income" business called Maychic, a web site called NY Club Scene, MyHealingPrayer.com, HotDynamite.com, an online video store (not PTA safe, so I won't post a link), The Law Office of Gary Ruff “Defending Consumers Against Electronic Piracy Claims”TM, and much more! What a racket they must make! If I shared that office, I'd go to sea to fight pirates, too!
Topcat seems to share a web designer, and probably a few boats, with Cobra Boats. Compare the following screen shots from each site's "Reviews" page:
I wonder who's providing the guys with the guns.
In all seriousness, it seems obvious that [if this isn't just a scam] a boat company has found a private military partner who wishes to remain anonymous, and that the boat company has perhaps just made half of fifty million dollars for providing a front. I don't think the Topcat execs have ever set foot in that office any more than I believe that the babe on the HotDynamite.com site would answer if I went there and knocked. Also, it appears that Peter Casini, the executive quoted in the BBC story, has been involved with a number of corporate bankruptcies.
Who is going to provide these security services in Somali waters? Employees of these other dotcoms? Very experienced boaters? Who can tell? Why are they hiding behind a fake address? Manhattan rents are expensive, but you can rent a lot of office space for that kind of money.
Would you give fifty million to someone who can't be bothered to rent a real office and misrepresents their street address? If there's no office, how can anyone be sure actual security services will be provided?
UPDATE, 11/26: It gets better, or worse, depending on your perspective. In April, 2004, Topcat moved to Berekely County, SC. Six months later, they left:
The apparent failure of Top Cat is "very disappointing. We're in an economically depressed area when you look at the job losses balanced with what's created. It's like having the rug pulled out from under you," Mayor Hoffman said.
Rozier and Berkeley County Economic Development Director John Scarborough said it appears the finances didn't work out for Top Cat. Hoffman said he didn't know what happened to the company after its promising debut.
"I went to investigate myself a couple of times, just to drop in and see what was going on, and I haven't been able to find anybody there," Hoffman said.
He's not the only person who's been interested in Top Cat.
"A lot of law enforcement people are looking for them, and I don't think it's about buying a boat," Crosby said.
Vendors and others who find the Top Cat door padlocked often stop at the Onyx office to ask if the boat company still is in business or when its employees will be there, she said.
Nobody from Top Cat showed up Monday in small claims court in Moncks Corner to contest a complaint Onyx filed against the company for nonpayment of services, including providing electricity. Judge David Brown entered a default judgment of $5,960.45 against Top Cat.
Top Cat's vice president of sales and contracts, Marianne Gillard, 36, is due in magistrate's court in St. Stephen today following her arrest last week. Gillard is accused of writing a $650 bad check drawn on a New Jersey bank. Gillard said the day after her arrest that she didn't want to comment and referred questions to company attorneys, who couldn't be reached for comment.
It does occur to me to wonder if any actual setting up of bases or training or pirate fighting will take place even if Somalia pays out all this money. I hope Somalia hasn't cut any actual checks yet.
MEANWHILE, the EU has pledged to help foot the bill.
FURTHER 11/26 UPDATE. The Nation in Kenya has picked up on Top Cat's financial problems, and their reporters called both Casini and his publicist:
On whether the company had failed to meet its payroll, he said: "No. You may be talking about the wrong company. Our company is Top Cat Design.''
However, contacted via e-mail for comment, Maryann Johnson, Top Cat's vice president for public relations, said the story "was written years ago, by a small town reporter whose sole source of information was a convicted felon. Topcat was never contacted directly for comment on this article".
Ms Johnson said: "Topcat remains financially secure and stable, with contracts around the world with some of the largest defence contractors."
(The Nation has a tortuously difficult registration procedure. Here is a screen shot of the article.)
According to court papers I linked to earlier today, Casini actually has two corporations called Top Cat: Top Cat Design, incorporated in 2000, and Top Cat Marine Security, incorporated in 2002. (UPDATE 12/2/05: Karl E. Meyer, of Egg Harbor, the attorney that represented Casini in that case and through who Casini registered the copyrights of a number of his boats, was on on the New Jersey State list of attorneys ineligible to practice law until two weeks ago.)
The unfavorable news stories in South Carolina date from 13 months ago. These folks really have a way with words, don't they?
UPDATE, 11/28: It does occur to me to wonder how they plan to work around both a US and a UN arms embargo when providing these services. Even if all they brought to the table was really fast boats designed for security use, this looks to me like it runs afoul State Department regulations, since there is a subsection covering boats on the United States Munitions List.
FROM THE MAIL BAG: A number of people have written to me with questions that they would like to see answered.
One of the biggies is, who is paying for this? Several people have raised this point, as does Reuters. I had speculated earlier that the EU funds mentioned in the news earlier this week might go towards paying Top Cat, but I am told that is not the case. So if not the EU, then who?
Given the scope of the project Top Cat is taking on, is fifty million too much? Or is it too little? (This also gets into the question of exactly what the contract specifies that they will do, an issue about which there appears to be some confusion. Are they going to fight pirates or not? Most of the headlines about the deal take the form "American company to fight pirates off Somalia," but the guy in the comments who claims to be in the know claims there will be no guns and that Casini will provide no training.)
What ports does Top Cat plan on operating out of? (Note that this is a country in which the transition government declines to locate in Mogadishu because of security concerns.) So what will they use for ports? (Who is going to keep Top Cat's fine boats from being stolen, for that matter? I'd think an ultra-fast boat would be really useful to the pirates!)
Also, I'm told that usually when a contract of this nature is awarded, there is recruiting of ex-special forces from various countries, and that no recruiting is going on. (This is not something I'd know about one way or another.) Anyone flowing in from Defensetech know about this?
And finally, has Top Cat registered with the Dept. of State's Office of Defense Trade Control, as required? (Dotmil & PMF folks: Is there a public registry that one could check?)
11/29, AN INTERESTING THOUGHT ON THE DEAL FROM THE STRATEGY PAGE:
While no one is saying it, the United States is basically taking over coastal security duties for Somalia. The Transitional Government there has no money for this sort of thing, so it appears that the U.S. is picking up the tab. This could get interesting, for the Somali warlords who operate along the coast are not going to take kindly to some foreigners trying to interfere. The first priority of the new coast guard is to put the pirate gangs, and especially the two larger "mother ships", that are supporting attacks far out at sea, out of action.
See also The Bow Ramp and its discussion of using privateers to fight pirates; and also Eaglespeak, which remarks of the Top Cat-Somalia contract, Must be an interesting contract to read. I'll just bet.
AND FURTHER: Untravel also has a good post:
There are several reasons I think this little story is important:
First, a private military company (PMC) is engaging in independent military action. In the controversy over PMCs a few years ago, the claim was that they served a support role and did not wage war on their own. In this instance, this is clearly not the case. Topcat Marine Security is not helping the Somali coast guard. They were hired to be the Somali coast guard.
Second, American mercenaries (Topcat) have been hired to wage war at the behest of a foreign government (Somalia), independent of the foreign policy of the US government. As the practice of hiring PMCs for independent action becomes more commonplace, at what point has the nation-state lost it's monopoly on the legitimate use of force? What happens when an independent PMC and their government have conflicting objectives? If the interests of the PMC are taken ahead of that of the government, who is in charge?
Third, the Somali Transitional National Government is hardly a government in the strictest sense. They are set up in Kenya and are still debating over when and how to return to Mogadishu. Where did they get 50 million dollars? Or any money at all, really? I don't know enough about world politics to know how these sort of 'governments in exile' operate, but that 50 million has to come from somewhere. I'd like a journalist to ask who. A concerned alliance of rival warlords? One of Somali's neighboring countries, simply trying to protect itself? A country or countries concerned with keeping the link between the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean free and safe for shipping? Or a government interested in fighting terrorism without necessarily going through all the legal steps necessary to engage in military action?
This last question is not meant as a conspiracy theory, but something, from a journalistic point of view, that might be worth investigating as a possibility.
UPDATE 11/30/05: I came across a brand new blog started yesterday, consisting only of an interview with Somalia's Prime Minister. It discusses the piracy issue but does not seem to address this deal specifically.
Mountain Runner is also interested in Top Cat's profile:
Top Cat Marine Security is registered under Laura Casini, Esq. at what seems like a residential location. I mention the location because there are some interesting circumstances surrounding this company. It had moved its operations to St Stephen, South Carolina, to the great expectations of the locals. But, then in Oct 2004, things changed . . .
(According to court documents linked to earlier, Laura Casini is Peter Casini's cousin. She is registered with the New York Bar at a different [probably residential] address in Queens.)
FURTHER UPDATE, 11/30: Mountain Runner has a long, thoughtful follow-up post that I won't attempt to summarize, and suggest instead you go read.
After considering many less elaborate alternatives, he ends on a speculative note:
Or, has TopCat become a necessary cover for regional operations of the US armed forces or intelligence services? This would mean the anti-piracy line is either a cover or a secondary mission. The public diplomatic efforts of the US are meaningless in the region without virtually zero contact or interest with outside media. With media coverage nearly nil, even the humanitarian orgs are mostly gone, sightings of "US military-style" personnel would be adequately covered by this story.
If this were to be true, it would mark the end of the Bremer-style use of PMFs, out-sourcing -- perhaps excessive outsourcing, as I have argued previously -- things that are essentially government functions to private enterprise, with the (perhaps unexpected) benefit of increased secrecy and deniability. This would be a recognition that, no, using PMFs didn't really save that much money, no, re-hired contract Special Forces people were not somehow better qualified for the job that Special Forces folks already on the government payroll, that private enterprise didn't really have the bucks to have an infrastructure ready for whenever Big Government felt it needed something. But boy oh boy, was the secrecy and deniablity nice! Can you just imagine the genius, who in a different life would have been a studio executive in Hollywood, saying something like "Can't we just have a PMF that's staffed with our own guys and uses our own equipment?" Much as I dislike Bremmer's grand vision, this would mark its end.
UPDATE, 12/1: There's an interesting news story this morning that I'm sure ties into this whole subject. Another agreement signed by the Transitional Government: Ethiopia, Somalia pledge to fight terrorism in Horn of Africa
Addis Ababa - Ethiopia signed a comprehensive agreement with the transitional government of Somalia, covering security cooperation, trade and investment, transport and port services, the official Ethiopian News Agency (ENA) reported Thursday.
It was the first agreement to be signed with a neighbouring country for the transitional government of Somalia, which operates from Johar, some 90 kilometres north of the capital Mogadishu as it was unable to operate from the capital for security reasons.
The agreement was signed Wednesday between Ethiopian Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Tekeda Alemu and Somalia's Foreign Minister Abdulahi Ismael on the sidelines of a council of ministers meeting of member states of the Inter-Governmental Authority for Cooperation and Development (IGAD) in the Horn of Africa.
And then there's this bit of damage control from Top Cat's backers, posted at the Conservative Voice, austensibly authored by Jim Kouri but with material mostly from Top Cat's press releases. (Or is it merely a late entry to the field? It also appears at Voices Magazine, and in three other venues.) The prose that is new is interesting:
In response to this latest attack, the Somali government -- a government practically in exile because of warlords, Al-Qaeda and Wahhabi terrorists -- has signed a contract with an United States-based security company that specializes in marine special operations. The hope is that the security firm will put an end to the proliferating piracy in that African region.
New York-based Topcat Marine Security signed a deal worth more than $50 million with the Somali Transitional Federal Government, which is temporarily based in Nairobi, to escort ships traveling through Somali waters.
Topcat is one of the world's foremost private security agencies offering clients law enforcement, counterterrorism and marine combat specialists. Topcat's client list includes the US Department of Homeland Security. They use state-of-the-art weaponry and equipment in order to mount offensive operations against pirates or terrorists who use the high seas for their acts of terrorism and piracy.
I've highlighted the interesting bits in bold. Kouri's remarks, which probably originate with Casini or his backers, support the notion I've heard floated that our story starts with the pirate attack on the cruise ship. Also, Kouri provides a new and different account of what exactly Top Cat is going to do for this fifty million. Escort? So now they're and escort service? But if they escort, they are actually going to fight pirates, right? With, like, weapons? Right? That's what the viewing audience really wants. So, back to the subject of arms embargos, are they importing these weapons?
I believe that the third paragraph I quoted originates with Top Cat's online brochure which I can't seem to get at this morning. Interesting is how the rationale for the contract is slipping from fighting pirates to fighting terrorism. While these activities may be intertwined, the first big PR bang on this story focued exclusively on piracy.
Also, it is interesting how Kouri describes the way the pirate attack on the cruise she was repelled. The ocean liner was able to escape the attack using security countermeasures. Why doesn't he say it was an LRAD that was used? Does he have a security clearance that prevents him? And if the LRAD belonged to the cruise lines, why would its use be classified? Elsewhere, he throws a few more words at the subject, but is similarly evasive:
They assailants were repelled by the ships crew who implemented their security measures which included setting off electronic simulators which created the illusion the ship was firing back at the terrorists.
Spit it out man: Can you say sonic blaster?
And then there's this bit of entertaing reading, Somalia: National government or kids in a candy store? which begins:
Somalis all over the world celebrated wholeheartedly when the new Somali interim government was established in nearby Nairobi, Kenya last year. Likewise, it was another historic moment when it finally relocated to Somali soil. Now, the honeymoon is over and Somalia’s elected president and prime minister are at the helm without any opposition of any kind. There’s no authority above the duo to oversee and scrutinize their actions. The international community gave them a blank check with no strings attached.
Spending other people’s money is very sweet. Confined in Jowhar town limits with its members unable to visit next door towns and villages like Balcad, the interim government is signing multimillion contacts silently. No advertised tenders, biddings, and of course no independent watchdogs. There's no National Supreme Court or any other independent court for that matter.
And Mountain Runner has a meaty new post which gets into such issues as Somalia's oil resources, competition in the region with China, and much more.
Of course TopCat will be providing more than boats in this contract. Where they will base, if its in country, and remain littoral? Then won't TC be just like the pirates USED to be before they acquired their "mother ship"? Will TC acquire an expensive but highly suitable ship (probably not that expensive) for blue water operations?
If security was really a big deal, the Yemeni arms market might gain greater attention. Still, some problems continue to linger over this deal:
- Transparency. There is none. This provider has a checkered history. Purpose and design of this contract ($50m+ barrier for example) makes this opaque if anything.
- Fair play. Was TC really the best candidate for the job? Did the "local" "government" really come to the finding that this provider was superior or were there other contributing factors?
- Money and Morals. $50m+ is a lot of spending money for some boats. There is something else here.
One last comment. If active duty will be deployed, then again, it should and could have been done more discretely. If however, this is a completely private operation, then further "foreign policy by proxy" is not going to help when the our chief for Public Diplomacy is amazed that countries are larger than her state. The world is looking and so is our own military. Trust in the Executive branch is waning from abuse. Intelligence and military services are direct reports to the Executive branch. In effect, they serve at the whim, the intelligence services especially, of the President. The buck stops there, except in this Administration.
He also has a good ☠ Pirate Primer.
UPDATE 12/2: From The Strategy Page:
December 2, 2005: Somali pirates are raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars in ransoms for hijacked ships. This is big money for poverty stricken Somalia, and the warlords are not going to readily give it up because of some foreign mercenaries. There is likely to be some sharp fighting before the Topcat organized coast guard gains control of the coast with its naval and air patrols. Six ships are still being held for ransom.
And Matt Armstrong ar Mountain Runner has a good, long meditatio, Accountability of Non-State Force, which begins:
The issue of private military companies, private security companies, or private military firms brings up the question of accountability. This question can be asked in different dimensions: moral, legal, ethical, and command and control. This is a brief draft on the legal accountability of private military forces, divorced from any profit motives. It is my belief that private military forces fall into the same "loophole" (really a misnomer, it is an intentional gap) in regulation in which non-governmental forces "approved" by the international community, namely Blue Helmets, are also found.
And, in the context of the more speculative aspects of this story, I found this post from Josh Marshall interesting:
In recent days we've being seeing a lot of stories about various top-secret or 'black' programs being run out of the Pentagon. The reports about fake stories being planted in the Iraqi press are just a single example. I'm told that this matter of top secret Pentagon spending -- stuff free of almost all oversight -- may connect up with the Duke [Cunningham] investigation and may reach up higher than we might imagine in the Pentagon.
Also, Casini was on FOX News on the 27th talking about the contract. There's a little info in the TV interview, but not much. Casini is not very articulate.
FROM THE MAILBAG, someone writes in from Herndon, Virginia, IP #68.175.80.218:
If any checking of facts should come to be - it should be checking on kathryn cramer 's totally weird interest in destroying a boat company. So many questions about you kathryn- but a simple one is this- pictures of your family? Thou dost protest too much! Who and what are you really? A coast guard? If one sells a police car to a town's police force does the seller become the police?
Oh, no. My cover is blown. Since my picture shows a thin white blonde with kids, I must be none of the above. ;-) (Also, blogging about this has brought about an increase in the Nigerian Spam making its way to my inbox.)
Also, I should say that there seem to be a fair number of people to whom Casini and his operation owe a lot of money and they are very interested in having his current address. Somewhere in Virginia is my best guess at present.
AND from the Voice of America:
Energy experts say by the year 2020, about one-fourth of the oil the United States consumes could come from Africa. With this anticipation, African and U.S leaders are joining forces to help Africa reach its potential as a world energy leader.
Africa currently supplies the United States with 12 percent of all the oil it needs, but energy experts say that could jump by 25 percent over the next two decades. The Corporate Council on Africa, headed by Steven Hayes, organized an international oil and gas conference this week on exploring Africa.
Mr. Hayes says one of the goals of the forum was to give U.S. companies an opportunity to better understand a very rapidly-changing environment in Africa.
"We don't quite realize -- the broad population -- how strategically important Africa is to us, not simply on energy, but clearly more and more of our needs are going to come from Africa," said Mr. Hayes.
Mr. Hayes says he is urging the United States to recognize the importance of the U.S.-African energy partnership, especially as competition from China grows.
Regarding Somalis oil reserves, a geologist from Marathon Oil in and interview in 1993, fills us in:
Presenting their results during a three-day conference in London in September, 1991, two of those geologists, an American and an Egyptian, reported that an analysis of nine exploratory wells drilled in Somalia indicated that the region is "situated within the oil window, and thus (is) highly prospective for gas and oil." A report by a third geologist, Z. R. Beydoun, said offshore sites possess "the geological parameters conducive to the generation, expulsion and trapping of significant amounts of oil and gas."
Beydoun, who now works for Marathon Oil in London, cautioned in a recent interview that on the basis of his findings alone, "you cannot say there definitely is oil," but he added: "The different ingredients for generation of oil are there. The question is whether the oil generated there has been trapped or whether it dispersed or evaporated."
Interestingly, Somalia is emerging at the moment as an organizing issue for Republicans, trying to distinguish themelves from those "cut and run" Democrats. Whatever could the authors of Republican talking points have in mind? To send in the Marines to show that Bush is Man enough? Surely they can't think that Bush has the public support to start a third war? On the other hand, those generous folks at Marathon did give over fifty-eight thousand dollars to the Republicans in the last contribution year, and campaign contributions do make this administration frisky!
And, um, isn't the Manager of Global Security for Marathon Oil, the very same Bernie McCabe who was Bernie McCabe, U.S. Representative, Sandline International a while back? Maybe the folks in the comment section suggesting a connection with the remnants of Sandline aren't as far off the mark as I thought. It can't be. Can it? Somalia isn't supposed to be the New Iraq?
UPDATE 12/3: Matt at Mountain Runner has an interesting new post, which begins:
More information on the Somalia, Oil, and possibly TopCat continue. Reporting from Oil and Gas Investor indicates Marathon Oil, of Texas, and possibly other firms have taken over the Conoco claims, or at least is moving in on them, and bumping yet another company to boot.
SEE ALSO MY POST: Top Cat Has Security Personnel After All . . . or Do They?
UPDATE 12/6: New govt's move to tackle piracy hits a snag from NationMedia.com: In gneral, the article covers some of the same information covers here about Top Cat's financial problems. But here is Maryann Johnson's fallback position when cornered on Casini's bankruptcies:
ut the company's vice president for public relations, Maryann Johnson, said the article was written years ago, by a small town reporter whose sole source of information was a convicted felon. "Top Cat was never contacted directly for comment on this article, but rather the reporter chose to undertake a smear campaign to camouflage small-town corruption."
She said Top Cat remains financially secure and stable with contracts around the world with some of the largest defence contractors and that an employee's personal information has no bearing on the stability and structure of the company. "Mr Casini is head of research and development and has been awarded the notable honour of being named one of the top three boat designers in the world. He is an employee of and not the owner of the company. There are over 50 major stockholders," she said.
In signing the deal with Somalia, Mr Casini said his company would target a mother ship off the Somali coast that is launching smaller craft to attack commercial vessels.
Several questions come to mind:
- If Casini is not the President or CEO of the company, who is?
- If he is neither president or CEO, what authorization does he have to enter into such a contract on Top Cat's behalf?
- If Casini doesn't own Top Cat, who does? Who are its "investors"?
- How are Top Cat's investors distinct from its creditors?
UPDATE 12/6: See my new post Top Cat Marine Security Ordered to Cease & Desist. Busted.
Great reporting on this story.
As soon as I saw the $50 million price tag I got interested since the Somali minister who signed this deal has no budget whatsoever. My guess is that the pirates are simply changing uniforms and/or equipment.
Posted by: Farleftcoast | November 26, 2005 at 08:06 PM
What is your point, exactly? Topcat is a fraudulent company? There is a secret military conspiracy going on? Peter Casini is a bad guy? What?
It's not a shared office. It's a corprate answering service. See www.weanswer.com, which is the one at the address used by Topcat and the other companies you mention. Many reputable businesses use these virutal office services and you should not assume the company is a scam just because you did a quick Google search. Also, I think it is pretty obvious that there is no automatic connection (as you have made) between the many companies that might use a service like this one.Could it be possible that Cobra boats were very popular with the military and that it made sense to morph the company into a pure defense contractor? Maybe that's why they share the same website provider, no?What does this mean?So has Donald Trump, but people seem to think he is a genius at real estate. People who run their own businesses have a tendency to get sued from time to time as well. Ooooohhh...Fake address? Didn't take you long to jump to that conclusion, did it?Venture capitalists did just that with Apple Computer in the seventies. Look where it got them.Wow, really running with the conpiracy theory now, aren't we?Look, don't get me wrong. Maybe all of your suspicions are true. My problem is that you've done absolutely zero fact-checking before launching into your conspiracy rant. Now, I could jump to some conclusions of my own. Just by scrolling down your blogroll, I could assume that you are just another moonbat liberal conspiracy theorist who just wants there to be a conspiracy so badly that she's already made up her mind. Am I wrong?
By the way, the previous comment that congratulates you for your great reporting is commical.
Posted by: Longshanks | November 27, 2005 at 06:25 PM
You sound like you have some inside information you'd like to share.
You tell me what conspiracy you think I'm implying. It just strikes me as really odd that a boat company that uses an answering service as its corporate headquarters is taking in a fifty-million-dollar international military contract.
Posted by: Kathryn Cramer | November 27, 2005 at 06:33 PM
Like I said before, you may be right on all of your hunches and concerns. What is really annoying though, is how quickly you jump to conclusions. If it was an organic food company that just got a huge contract for, say, a large public school system, would you be concerned if they used an answering service? Would you be concerned if the CEO had been involved in a bankruptcy?
Posted by: Longshanks | November 27, 2005 at 07:22 PM
You think, then, that I am unfairly holding a company that proposes to operate in an industry that involves the use of weapons in a notably lawless zone to too high a standard of plausibility? Fair enough.
Posted by: Kathryn Cramer | November 27, 2005 at 07:28 PM
I never said that holding a company such as this to a high standard of plausibility was unfair. I simply said that I thought you had jumped to some pretty quick conclusions, and that I was curious about why you had come to them. My hunch is that you always come to conclusions like this when it involves anything military. That's why I asked you if you would be equally suspicious about an organic food company. Certainly the plausibility of a company that supplies food to kids warrants the same high standard, no?
Waiting for you to respond to any of questions...
*crickets chirping*
Posted by: Longshanks | November 27, 2005 at 07:47 PM
Actually, the argument I seem to be making in this case is that the company doesn't look military enough to be a plausible PMF. I may or may not llike ducks, but this doesn't quack like one.
Posted by: Kathryn Cramer | November 27, 2005 at 07:54 PM
Well I'm glad you've figured out what argument you seem to be making. That's a good step.
So it doesn't look like a typical private contractor. So what? WHAT POINT ARE YOU MAKING?
Posted by: Longshanks | November 27, 2005 at 08:08 PM
Thank you for the great report, This deal is a scam. No government awards a behind door contract to con artist without an open and international tender bidding.
Here are the case numbers and the 4 bankruptcy cases filed by Mr. Peter Casini of Topcat.
According to Court documented, Mr. Peter Casini has filed 4 bankruptcy cases for his “speedboat” companies since 1992, namely:
1. Marine Investors Inc incorporated in NJ in 1995. The company filed bankruptcy in 1999.
2. Cobra Sport Fishing Boats Inc., Egg Harbor, NJ, has filed Chapter 7 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New Jersey. The case number is 01-14277- NJ.
3. Cobra World Champion Powerboat Corp. incorporated in NJ in February 2000 along with other 2 of Casini’s companies. The case number is 01-16889-NJ.
4. Tsunami Marine Manufacturing Corporation formed in February 2000 and also filed bankruptcy on July 2001. The bankruptcy case number is 01-16890-NJ.
Thank you Mrs. Cramer.
Posted by: Amina | November 27, 2005 at 09:15 PM
Thank you for the great report, This deal is a scam. No government awards a behind door contract to con artist without an open and international tender bidding.
Here are the case numbers and the 4 bankruptcy cases filed by Mr. Peter Casini of Topcat.
According to Court documented, Mr. Peter Casini has filed 4 bankruptcy cases for his “speedboat” companies since 1992, namely:
1. Marine Investors Inc incorporated in NJ in 1995. The company filed bankruptcy in 1999.
2. Cobra Sport Fishing Boats Inc., Egg Harbor, NJ, has filed Chapter 7 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New Jersey. The case number is 01-14277- NJ.
3. Cobra World Champion Powerboat Corp. incorporated in NJ in February 2000 along with other 2 of Casini’s companies. The case number is 01-16889-NJ.
4. Tsunami Marine Manufacturing Corporation formed in February 2000 and also filed bankruptcy on July 2001. The bankruptcy case number is 01-16890-NJ.
Thank you Mrs. Cramer.
Posted by: Amina | November 27, 2005 at 09:15 PM
Ms. Cramer, This was by far the worst bit of blue journalism I have ever read. It is writers like you that give real reporters a bad name. It took me 3 days to check out my facts whereas you seemed to have them at your fingertips. Is this because you have an axe to grind. Most of what you wrote are unfounded lies. I couldn'e care one way or the other but at least report the truth. This hatchet job of yours was premeditated. First of all, the article you refer to in the paper in SC was given by a convicted felon that was fired by Peter Casini for breaking and entering and causing almost $200,000 to his home. Think he had grudge? Next I would venture a guess that there are many thousands of companys with New York addresses and phone numbers that don't actually have offices there but in the case of Top Cat they do have other offices and manufacturing facilities. You think that's a scam? You You infer that Top Cat will be suppling guns. Where do you come up with this stuff. They sell boats and gun mountings. No Guns!!! As to bankruptcies, Tsunami Marine was a manufacturing company that built boats that filed because they lost there lease because of zoning problems. Nothing to do with Casini. Cobra World Champion was a sales company that sold his boats, again nothing to do with Casini. I could go on and on but you are not worth it. You are by far the worst. Stick to your planting in Pleasantville and leave reporting to professionals.
Raymond Hoather
Posted by: Raymond Hoather | November 28, 2005 at 09:40 AM
I will make one point..... Just one....
Why would the USG or any government give a "boat Maker" with no experience in special operations $55 million to perform anti-piracy operations? Especially off the coast of Somalia..... Where if Casini thinks that taking out a mother ship will end the piracy he has no clue....
No matter if Casini filed 10 bankruptcy cases or not. The question is why would any government award a "boat maker" with zip experience in SpecOps this type of contract?
Something is a miss here......Or who is Casini fronting for?
Posted by: Tod | November 28, 2005 at 10:30 AM
Let me suggest to not intentionally go after private military firms, there is good reason why they don't keep real addresses, nor do they make public other alias they work under. This is due to the Classified information the company holds. I have a feeling your report could stir up quite a commotion in the private military sector; therefore, unless you've worked for such private firms and as to not endanger yourself (or your family), do not make such accusations or reports on such a private sector company. Perhaps you've applied with this firm in the past--if not, maybe you should, so you're more aware of what their REALLY all about.
Posted by: Subject Matter Expert | November 28, 2005 at 10:33 AM
Ah... Hey subject matter expert....
Care to tell me about Somalia and PMCs? The points raised here are legitimate questions while even Blackwater USA answers the phones..... You want to talk about OPSEC? It was really bright of Top Cat to announce to the world that they are going bad guy hunting off the Coast of Somalia.... Like the pirates are just stupid clansmen..... Nothing like an ambush...... Tell me how much you know of the AOC....
Let me suggest that you either post something worth while or go play 007 some where else....
Posted by: Tod | November 28, 2005 at 11:42 AM
Todd, you sound a lot like the Scifi writer that wrote this original personal bashing. As owner and publisher of a newspaper I had the oportunity to be at New York harbor when Casini had trial runs with different branches of the military including specops. With your vast knowledge I assume you are connected with this last group.If so, why do you assume that Casini must have specop experience to build boats. I have done extensive research and found that he was voted the third best boat builder in the world three years running and holds many world records. I couldn't care less if he got this contract or not but at least tell the truth. My understanding of the contract is that Casini will build and sell boats as well as other items to the Somali Government and once there will be outfitted as they wish. What does specops training have to do with Casini??? Top Cat is not performing any operations!! They are just selling the equipment, no hardware. The training is coming from others, not Casini. Get your facts straight Xfile man.
Posted by: Raymond Hoather | November 28, 2005 at 01:30 PM
Dear Mr. Publisher.... I guess owning and publishing a paper makes you what? A expert on Somalia? A Counterterrorism expert? Just because you watched go-fast boats sailing down the hudson makes you what? A Sea Marshall? More so it sounds like your acting as Mr. Casini's press agent......
Lets take a look at your post... First of all according to recent press reports and Mr Casini's Fox News interview. He is not just building boats but training and interdicting pirates. When asked if he had any experience to do this, to his credit he said no, but and I paraphrase, "I will leave that to those Special Forces guys".... Which leaves open a few questions;
1. What Special Forces guys?
2. Your telling us that State and OFAC have approved the building and sale of "military hardware" to the TNG a unstable government that we have no formal diplomatic ties with?
3. Where are the weapons that will be mounted on these boats coming from? Certainly not the US. And not from that weapons storage depot in Mogadishu that is own by a certain warlord. A foreign government perhaps? Maybe the Libyans?
4. Who is Mr. Casini training? The Somali Coast Guard? What Somali Coast Guard?
5. Then there is Al.... you know Al? As in Al Qaeda? Yes Mr. Publisher who has done his research, they have a strong presence in Somalia.
6. Who is overseeing all of this? the TNG?
7. Then there are the small questions like, Who is paying for this? Who was the 10 percenter who set up this deal? How much goes to the TNG retirement fund?
8. How is Mr. Casini going to ensure that all his hard work does not fall into unfriendly hands? Like the warlords?
9. Lastly, according to this article there is a lot more to this deal than just building boats.....
Mercenaries to Police Somali Coast
November 27, 2005: The growing piracy problem off the Somali coast has been solved by the hiring of private contractors to operate as a coast guard. The American firm, Top Cat Marine Security.TopCatMarineSecurity.com), has previously provided counter- terrorism and coastal security services for the Department of Homeland Defense, and other government agencies. The firm also designs and builds high speed patrol boats.
While no one is saying it, the United States is basically taking over coastal security duties for Somalia. The Transitional Government there has no money for this sort of thing, so it appears that the U.S. is picking up the tab. This could get interesting, for the Somali warlords who operate along the coast are not going to take kindly to some foreigners trying to interfere. The first priority of the new coast guard is to put the pirate gangs, and especially the two larger "mother ships", that are supporting attacks far out at
sea, out of action.
Many of the Top Cat personnel will be non-Somali, and former military. Most of the staff will eventually be Somalis. By not
sending active duty American military personnel into this, there is less for the media to grab onto and cause public opinion problems for the U.S. government. There also the opportunity for more private
security forces to be used to help pacify all of Somalia. That would be very expensive, and its not a sure thing that the United States government would be willing to absorb the entire cost, as well as the
media heat for spending all that money to try and police a bunch of uncooperative, heavily armed and, ungrateful Somalis.
Top Cat Marine Security is being paid $55 million for the first two years of the contract. Some of this will be recovered by enforcing the payment of fishing fees by foreign boats that work the lucrative
coastal waters. Warlords are now getting some of this money, by demanding protection money from fishing boats, and ransom fro boats that are seized by pirates. In reaction to the police effort, the
warlords can be expected to go after the new coast guards land bases. Top Cat will either have to establish heavily fortified and well defended land bases, or put some, or all, of them in foreign countries (like Kenya, Djibouti, and the breakaway Somaliland). But because of the extent of the Somali coat, it's unavoidable that a
base be established in central Somalia, which is thick with heavily armed, aggressive and greedy warlords. Top Cat will have to live up to its name in order to survive.
Dear Mr. Publisher, the PMC world is very small and of course many of us are very interested in anything that goes on in Somalia..... So since you have done your homework why not enlighten us?
Posted by: Tod | November 28, 2005 at 05:06 PM
Ms. Cramer, let me start by stating that I am in "the business" (maritime PMC) and have been for over 10 years. While we obviously do not share the same outlook on some topics, I must say that you are RIGHT ON THE MONEY regarding Topcat (a.k.a. Top Cat and/or Cobra Boats).
Let us look at the facts:
1. Mr. Casini has NO military experience.
2. Topcat has sold only ONE boat to the fabled Homeland Security sector. (To whomever wrote that these boats were "very popular with the military," this is just not true. Nobody within DOD has EVER purchased one of these things.)
3. Topcat, to my knowledge, is NOT registerred with the US Dept of State to provide any defense products or services.
4. ANY export of defense products or services to Somalia is ILLEGAL according to the International Trade in Arms Regulations (ITAR)
My firm has watched the pirate situation off the coast of Somalia for a number of years now. Aside from the legal issues, we have never found ANYONE that is willing to pay the type of money required to deal with the situation. (At least not any organization that actually has the funds.)
Furthermore, $50M seems pretty high to sell them a bunch of boats (that the locals would be unable to maintain, by the way)... so they would need to have a significant number of boots on the ground to justify that price tag.
I have personnaly met Mr. Casini... although I had forgotten all about him until this story popped up. He tried to sell my firm some boats back in the 90's... and he struck me as someone with no clue trying to enter into a world completely alien to him... one that was well above his abilities.
Posted by: Maritime Guy | November 28, 2005 at 05:53 PM
Oh... and as for the person who is claiming that Topcat needs a fake address to safeguard classified information... In order for a private company to receive a security clearance, they must have a REAL physical address, open to inspection by the US Gov (so they can make sure that you're not keeping state secrets in your underwear drawer.)
Posted by: Maritime Guy | November 28, 2005 at 06:05 PM
There are some things that are still unanswered, and cause one to wonder...For example, who is paying for this? The EU is not, Somalia is not, who else would put up the money; The UN and Nato have not put up the money for this...If TopCat is not qualified to run antipiracy and aren't recruiting Special Forces guys what are they going to be doing down there off the coast? Is there something else going on down there? One last question for the time being; if there are no ports that TopCat can operate out of due to these warlords that everyone mentions, where are they going to base their operations? From what I hear the only main presence out there is the US Navy; would they be running their operations from Navy ships? I am very intrigued by all of this.
Posted by: justcurious | November 28, 2005 at 09:43 PM
Who wants to bet that this is only a marriage between thieves.The TNG has no money,no real prospect of getting any money and TopCat is incompetent to the level where they are trying to rip off a bankrupt lawless country.No need to worry folks, there are no victims, only mad dash for fool's gold.
Posted by: MadProf | November 29, 2005 at 01:32 AM
MadProf, you hit the nail on the head. When I first saw this story, I couldn't decide which side was scamming the other... but I guess that it really doesn't matter.
Posted by: Maritime Guy | November 29, 2005 at 08:31 AM
Don't know about you guys but this reminds me of the Jack Idema Story..... But I really wonder who put Casini and the TNG together?
Posted by: Tod | November 29, 2005 at 10:03 AM
Certainly an interesting blog but as previous commentators have suggested there is a lot in the way of conspiracy here and very little in terms of hard facts. Like others before I have been following the piracy issue in a professional journalistic capacity for some time now if it helps there are a few things I can add.
The international media attention generated by the recent failed attack on the cruise ship Seabourn Spirit has raised the problem’s profile, but diplomatic action was being planned well before the attack. The secretary general of the UN’s International Maritime Organisation Efthimios Mitropoulos told me that he spoke with Kofi Annan on 28 October about the possibility of UN action. François Lonseny Fall, special representative of the UN secretary-general for Somalia, speaking two weeks after the meeting, revealed that the Security Council had decided to take action against the pirates and had ordered exceptions to be made in the current embargo of arms to Somalia so police can be trained. Some such training is already under way in Uganda and Kenya. Current plans suggest that these programmes will be expanded into Somalia itself – a move publicly welcomed by the transitional regime and privately expressed to me via a close contact of the transitional government currently living in London.
The IMO meanwhile has already adopted a resolution on Piracy and armed robbery against ships in waters off the coast of Somalia at its assembly meeting last week asking for UN security council assistance. In addition to “strongly urging” governments to take protective measures for own-flag ships, the document also requests its member countries to establish plans and procedures that would bring about a “speedy resolution” to any future hijackings off the Somali coast. While the resolution does not refer to specific proposals for naval intervention, it does request the Security Council to consider ‘appropriate action’. Considering Fall’s assertion that the situation in Somalia would represent “a threat to international peace and security” if not resolved, this request is likely to be taken seriously IMO diplomatic sources suggested.
While it would be entertaining to discover that the US government is covertly funding this operation I sincerely doubt that there is any evidence of this. After all they have enough military capacity of their own just round the corner if they really wanted to opt into a spot of pirate target practice. They already engage in regular patrols and don’t appear to have any qualms about it.
There has been a goldrush in dubious maritime security outfits entering the industry in recent years and I suspect that that this is just another example of people believing the hype they tend to create around themselves. Another similarly dubious operation by the name of Aegis Defence recently convinced the London insurance market that it knew what it was talking about. Another case of a rented office, pet dog, and dubious central figure running an operation that was little more than a website.
Would love to here more about this lot though – I’m sure the maritime industry would be intrigued.
Posted by: Maritime hack | November 29, 2005 at 11:01 AM
Aegis has it's own plausibility issues, but Tim Spicer is a real mercenary, a situation which carries different issues. His previous companies actually killed people, and he has a real military background, of a nature that raises its own issues.
Is there a Conspiracy with a capital C here? If I had a good theory, I'd certainly tell you, but I don't.
But the facts such as they are don't make enough sense. Metaphoricly speaking, there's a perpetual motion machine in here somewhere. Top Cat makes Aegis look ever so solid & reputable. Spicer, does, after all, have an actual reputation in these circles.
Posted by: Kathryn Cramer | November 29, 2005 at 11:14 AM
Maritime Guy,
Let me propose a scenario.I know that Peter Casini met the TNG President in New York during the UN week and also suspect that the TNG was approached by Casini.The proposal, I suspect, is exchange of services(usual kickbacks included) for fishing and possibly, mining rights.This is not the first time that the Somali President has sold fishing rights and he has done it the past in Northeastern Somalia(Puntland).I seriously doubt that Casini can come up with the resources required for this venture.Casini will try to sell the above mentioned rights to someone else and more than likely pay nothing to the TNG.This a perfect scenario for a swindle and no recourse for the TNG( a govt not recognized by the State Dept).The idea that US government is backing Casini is lucidrous to say the least.The US govt has serious assets in the Horn Africa and can some high seas policing could stop the pirates in a matter of days.The US govt's number one priority in the Horn Africa is the search for Al Qaeda and not pirates.
Posted by: MadProf | November 29, 2005 at 11:17 AM