Carl H. Lindner (with Edyth)
March 5, 2001 Since 1994, Carl Lindner and his Chiquita banana empire have been Exhibit A in the fight to reform campaign finance. Through his insurance company, American Financial Group, Lindner controls nearly 40 percent of Chiquita. And through his millions in campaign contributions to both parties, he has persuaded the nation's top politicians to marshal U.S. foreign policy to fight Chiquita's trade war against the European Union.The Clinton administration went out of its way to punish European nations for blocking imports of Chiquita's bananas, imposing tariffs on everything from French cheese to Scottish cashmere sweaters. But even normally staid observers were stunned last October, when Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott tried to insert language into an appropriations bill that would have given Chiquita veto power over any settlement of the trade dispute. The Wall Street Journal called the move "extraordinary." The Los Angeles Times termed it a "mockery of the government's trade policy." Noting that Lott's move would have put Lindner on a near-equal footing with the president, the Washington Post called it a "caricature of bad trade policy." The language never made it to law, but the episode showed what a private citizen can purchase for several million dollars in lobbying and contributions. Chiquita has a long history of counting on American might to get its way in international affairs. The United Fruit Company, Chiquita's corporate predecessor, relied on U.S. military aid to virtually colonize Central America during the early 20th century. More recently, a 1998 investigation by the Cincinnati Enquirer uncovered internal company records detailing Chiquita's elaborate efforts to circumvent government restrictions and monopolize farmland in Central America. "Using more than one bank in Honduras and more than one country to establish offshore trusts further obfuscates the ownership of the farms," a Chiquita executive noted in one internal memorandum. In a recorded voice mail, a company lawyer described "wink, wink" strategies for denying ownership of a front company in Guatemala. Mike Gallagher, the lead reporter on the investigation, later pleaded guilty to stealing the company's voice mail messages for use in his stories. The Enquirer renounced the stories as "false and misleading," fired Gallagher, and paid Chiquita more than $10 million in damages. But many of Gallagher's central charges remain uncontested. "No one has disputed the authenticity of the voice mail and internal Chiquita records that formed the basis of the most sensational allegations," notes the New York Times. Chiquita has also been criticized for endangering the lives of farmworkers with its pesticides, an allegation the company denies. In addition, the firm has been accused of covering up a bribery scheme in Columbia; three employees linked to the scandal have been forced to resign. Back in Cincinnati, Carl Lindner remains an advocate of a clean, ethical life. A practicing Baptist, he does not swear, smoke, or drink. In 1990, he lobbied to shut down a Robert Mapplethorpe exhibit that contained sexually explicit photographs. He has been known to hand out cards that read, "only in america. gee, am I lucky." -- Michael Scherer | | |
