When considering the how’s and why’s of Omaha’s nefarious past, one must always keep in mind that America- let alone Omaha- was a very different place thirty plus years ago.  For example- there were no cell phones, no internet, and personal computers where just beginning to be developed.  In other words- we were not able to access information as we do now, and as a result, the population depended on the media to inform us of current events.  Of course, considering that many of the owners of those media outlets were some of the very men accused of participating and  profiting from the drug and child trafficking that was happening here in Omaha at the time, one can guess that there was a serious conflict of interest concerning the facts that were being presented.

Back then, Omaha was a small town striving to be a big city.  Thirty years ago, it was pretty much a cow town, filled with small town people trying to make a living in the “big” city at the center of the nation.  In no way accustomed to the activities that came to light in the 80’s, the residents here had no choice but to take what the local media was presenting about investigations into the  failed credit union, child trafficking, and activities surrounding several local wealthy businessmen who were accused of being involved.  Eventually, the national media got involved and discovered that things happening in Omaha lead straight to the White House. It became apparent that the events in Omaha were well connected and heavily funded by our own government and the first Bush’s presidency.  However, all of this was vehemently fought against by our own local media, who suggested that Omaha was involved with some sort of “witch hunt” , and that all the reports of serious abuses against children were tantamount to a conspiracy theory.  Of course- this came from the very people  accused of being involved.

Historically speaking, the rich have always done what they wanted.  Very few of us will ever know what it is like to have the power to acquire anything we desire, to do what we want when we want with no real consequences to our behaviors.  Only a select few ever  truly understand the absolute freedom of having enough wealth to control the world around them- whether it be the legal system, the media, or the government. 

Power corrupts , and absolute power corrupts absolutely, as they say, and fortunes were made with the money that was generated through child trafficking and from the cocaine that was pouring in from the Contras  at the time.  Considering that much of Omaha’s past is still deemed a “conspiracy theory” today although there is ample proof of what happened shows that the media did a fine job of covering up what happened years ago, which was that the rich got richer from crimes that most of us can not even fathom.

One question that remains is why?  In my opinion, there is a psychological shift in people who have enough money to obtain whatever it is that they want.  For most of the population, survival is what we are focused on.  Working a job, paying our bills, feeding our families, these are all part of the concerns that face most of us on a daily basis.  However, when one reaches a point where they have more than they or the generations following them could ever spend in their lifetimes, life becomes more about serving the three P’s; Power, Profit, and Pleasure.   Able to do whatever one wants whenever one wants- keeping one’s life interesting becomes harder and harder.  Achieving power over others is one way some people spice up their lives.

As to how this worked- many involved used the drugs and pedophilia as a way to blackmail and control those who didn’t have a position in all of this.  Politics at its finest,  those who manipulated the system did so in order to keep their operations of profit working smoothly.  Since Omaha was a small town, keeping a handle on the situations was not as hard as it would have been had it been somewhere larger, like Chicago or New York City. 

Enamored by wealth and with those who have it, American’s have a tendency to dismiss the inappropriate behaviors of the rich, which was definitely the case in Omaha.  Heavily involved in influencing public opinion, the media outlets in Omaha  dismissed the hundreds of cases of child abuse reported and instead made those accused of such activities the victims in all of it.  Of course, these were the same men who owned the media in town, so one again is left to wonder if the “facts” were being reported, or if it was just a case of smoke and mirrors to distract the public from the truth.  Whatever the case, it is evident that the claims, for the most part, were systematically dismissed- except for the 40 million missing dollars from the Franklin Credit Union, which Larry King (not the CNN host), took the fall for.

All of this is important today for the simple reason that it is a blaring example of the evil that can be perpetrated by the rich and powerful on those that are unaware.  The truth is always exposed in time, and we have reached a point where there is a definite, defined, and documented history with regards to the events that took place in the middle of our nation during the 80’s.  Books such as Nick Bryant’s “Franklin Scandal” and documentaries like “Conspiracy of Silence” (which can be found on YouTube as well as at DavidShurter.com), detail the events that took place in a way that compel us to get more involved.  The past always repeats itself, and now that this nation is facing staggering numbers in human trafficking, it would behoove all of us to look at the granddaddy of this deplorable practice that took place decades back, and how it became hidden, and remained so, until today.  I believe that we could learn a great deal by reexamining the events that took place in Omaha during the 80s in order to discover why it fell between the cracks of justice.  Perhaps then we will learn how to stop such blatant misuses of power in the future in order to make our nation a safer place- especially with regards to human trafficking.