I. Overview and Setting
- Location: Omaha, Nebraska — a seemingly quiet Midwestern city.
- Backdrop: The Franklin Community Federal Credit Union, established in 1968 to serve the African American community of North Omaha, became the epicenter of a massive scandal involving embezzlement, child trafficking, satanic ritual abuse, and political blackmail.
II. Key Individual: Lawrence E. King, Jr.
- Role: Manager of Franklin Credit Union (from 1970), GOP rising star.
- Public Persona: Socialite, GOP figure, Republican National Committee anthem singer (1988), board member of charitable groups including Boys Town and the Omaha Girls Club.
- Private Allegations: Embezzled $39 million; orchestrated child trafficking, blackmail operations, and alleged satanic ritual abuse.
- Lifestyle: $16,000 salary but owned luxury cars, penthouses, and chartered jets. Claimed “family wealth”; later proven fraudulent.
III. The Financial Crime Layer
- Modus Operandi:
- High-interest CDs (2–3% above market) attracted massive deposits.
- Ponzi scheme structure—used new deposits to pay maturing ones.
- Leveraged “success” to gain political favor and funding.
- Institutional Enablers:
- National Credit Union Association (NCUA): Failed to audit between 1984–1988 despite warnings.
- Corporate donors & religious charities: Gave millions in grants.
IV. The Political Network
- National Ties:
- Ronald Reagan: King sang national anthem at a GOP gala attended by Reagan (1982).
- George H.W. Bush: Named by child witnesses as a participant in abuse parties.
- GOP Position: Chair of the National Black Republican Council, mobilizing Black voter outreach in 17 states.
- Key Affiliates:
- Harold Andersen: Publisher of the Omaha World-Herald.
- Peter Citron: Columnist for World-Herald, later convicted of child sex abuse.
- Chief Robert Wadman (Omaha Police): Accused of rape and fathering a child with a minor.
- Judge Theodore Carlson, Superintendent Deward Finch, Businessman Alan Baer: All implicated by victims.
V. Institutional Infiltration
- Boys Town: Orphanage worth $500M; supplied children under guise of opportunity.
- Omaha Girls Club: Source of vulnerable children for “modeling” and “employment.”
- Foster Care Network: Used to funnel abused children via the Webbs (Barbara & Jarrett).
VI. Testimonies of Victims
- Nellie & Kimberly Webb: Foster children; claimed repeated abuse, named King, parties with politicians, cross-country flights.
- Shawnetta Moore: Described satanic rituals, candles, blood sacrifice, demonic imagery. Named King and others.
- Alicia Owen (incarcerated at the time): Described parties with minors, pornography, drugging, and rapes. Named high-ranking officials.
- Troy Boner: Initially corroborated Owen’s story, then recanted under FBI pressure.
- Danny King: Same trajectory as Boner; corroborated initially, later recanted.
- Paul Bonacci:
- Diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID).
- Testified to being abused by King, Baer, and others.
- Claimed involvement in Johnny Gosch kidnapping (Des Moines, 1982), alleging political blackmail operations via child rape videotapes.
VII. Suppression and Threats
- Evidence Suppression:
- FBI agents warned Senator Schmidt not to implicate Chief Wadman.
- Victims discredited as mentally ill, drug users, or criminals.
- Investigators like Officer Carmine were reassigned or silenced.
- Death of Investigator Gary Caradori:
- Had collected photos from photographer Rusty Nelson.
- Plane exploded midair (1990); briefcase with evidence missing.
- FBI subpoenaed his files immediately after the crash.
- Colby (ex-CIA Director) investigated; later died mysteriously on a canoe trip.
VIII. Suspicious Deaths (A Pattern)
| Name | Connection | Cause of Death |
|---|---|---|
| Sean Boner | Brother of Troy Boner | Gunshot to head, ruled accidental |
| Aaron Owen | Alicia Owen’s brother | Found hanged in cell, 1990 |
| Claire Howard | Sec. to Alan Baer | Died in sleep, 1991 |
| Dan Ryan | Franklin business associate | Suffocated in vehicle |
| Curtis Tucker | Education official | Gunshot wound |
| Harmon Tucker | Supervisor | Found 1400 miles from home, shot |
| Bill Baker | King associate | Shot in back of head |
| Mike Lewis | Shawnetta Moore’s caregiver | Diabetic death |
| Kathleen Sorensen | Foster mother of Webb girls | Died in car crash |
| Bill Skoleski | Omaha police investigator | Cardiac event |
| Joe Malak | King associate | Gunshot wound |
IX. Judicial & Governmental Failure
- Douglas County Grand Jury (1990):
- Called it a “carefully crafted hoax.”
- Indicted victims: Alicia Owen (8 perjury counts), Bonacci (3), and Baer (pandering).
- Claimed no evidence of interstate child trafficking—despite prior flight manifests and victim accounts.
- Media Complicity:
- World-Herald stripped names from reports.
- Discovery Channel pulled the Conspiracy of Silence documentary in 1994 before airing.
X. Continuing Legacy
- King: Convicted of embezzlement, sentenced to 15 years (1991).
- Rusty Nelson: Photographer disappeared; said to hold blackmail material.
- Johnny Gosch: Allegedly visited his mother years later in hiding; confirmed by Bonacci.
- Paul Bonacci: Won a $1 million civil case against King, but money never recovered.
- Noreen Gosch: Still searching for justice and answers.
XI. Conclusion: Echoes Through Time
The Franklin Cover-Up represents the horrifying intersection of institutional corruption, systemic abuse, and elite impunity. Long before Jeffrey Epstein, there was Lawrence King—embedded in the political elite, using institutions like orphanages and foster care to exploit children, with implications stretching to the highest offices of the land.
Whether the truth was buried under Satanic Panic hysteria or deliberately suppressed by those in power, the Franklin case remains a haunting question mark in American history.
Who guards the guardians when the guardians are part of the cult?
