Wyclef Jean is claiming that he was shot in the hand the other day just outside Port-au-Prince in Haiti on the eve of the presidential elections in the country but police are saying his hand was just grazed with glass and not a bullet.
Wyclef, who originally was a candidate in the elections but was then ruled out because of residency issues, says that when he got out of his car he heard gunfire and then all of a sudden he saw blood on himself. He said he doesn’t know if he was the target of the shooting and he doesn’t know who the shooter was.
A rep for Wyclef said “He’s fine now. It happened late yesterday night and he was released after a couple hours.” But police in Haiti are saying that he wasn’t shot and it was just glass that cut him, they say “we met with the doctor who saw him and he confirmed Wyclef was cut by glass.”
I guess there’s no real way to prove this without video footage or ya know, an actual bullet. But this is the exact reason I would never get into politics – too many people want your head.
Wyclef Jean, who appears ready to be Haiti’s new president, owes the Internal Revenue Service more than $2.1 million, according to federal tax liens filed against the musician, The Smoking Gun has learned.
In May, the IRS filed a $724,332 tax lien against Jean. Last July, the agency filed a $599,167 lien against the performer. And a $792,269 lien was lodged against Jean in July 2007. The liens cover taxes due on Jean’s individual 1040 returns for 2006, 2007 and 2008. Copies of the liens, which were filed at the Bergen County clerk’s office in New Jersey, can be viewed at left.
In 1998, Jean–whose given name is Nel Wyclef Jean–purchased a $1.85 million home at 8 Cameron Road in Saddle River, where he lives with his wife Claudinette and their family. The three IRS liens were filed against Nel W. Jean at the Cameron Road address.
Other records show that Jean, 37, has previously been the subject of two smaller tax liens filed against him by the State of New Jersey and the New York State Tax Commission, both of which were eventually satisfied.
Following the Haitian earthquake, TSG reported on Jean’s questionable handling of the finances of his charitable foundation. Along with filing tax returns years late, Jean used his foundation to pay himself and a business partner more than $410,000 for rent, production services, and Jean’s appearance at a benefit concert.
Though the Wyclef Jean Foundation had operated at a deficit and experienced cash flow problems, Jean actually paid himself and a partner (his cousin Jerry Duplessis) $65,000 in upfront rent payments for space at a Manhattan recording studio the duo owns. The prepaid 25 months worth of rent covered the foundation’s use of a café table in the studio’s kitchen. Jean’s foundation has received millions in donations since the Haiti tragedy, but it is unknown how the group has spent those funds.
Along with attempting to rebuild a devastated country, the next Haitian president will be in charge of handling foreign aid payments as well as the nation’s own limited financial resources.
Sheds a whole new light on him wanting to flee the country and become the president of Haiti, no?
source: IRS Hits Wyclef With $2.1 Million In Tax Liens [the smoking gun]
Musician Wyclef Jean is set to announce his candidacy for president of Haiti this Thursday on CNN’s ‘Larry King Live,’ a source close to the singer told CNN Tuesday.
And the former head of Haiti’s Chamber of Deputies confirmed the move, telling the Associated Press that Jean will soon announce his run for president.
Jean’s rep wouldn’t confirm the reports but did acknowledge the singer will be making an announcement Thursday. She wouldn’t comment on what Jean will discuss at that time.
It’s been speculated for months that the hip hop artist would run for president–Jean even released a song titled ‘If I Was President.’ And though the singer’s never confirmed the rumors, he’s never denied them either.
Jean, 37, was born in Haiti but left soon after and was raised in Brooklyn, New York. The singer is a popular figure in Haiti nonetheless; his music and charity work after the devastating January 12 earthquake has made him a favorite among many locals.
To run for president, Jean must prove he’s resided in Haiti for five consecutive years, that he owns property in the country and that he has no other citizenship but Haitian.
All candidates must register with the country’s electoral council by this Saturday and so far, Jean hasn’t filed his bid yet.
Humanitarian Coco sent a call to action to all of her Twitter followers today: “Get this shirt & lets start a Haiti movement! WE GO HARD! WE DON’T PLAY!â€
The National Enquirer says Anderson Cooper and his boyfriend will adopt a Haitian baby. Even crazier than that, the National Enquirer is talking about Cooper’s boyfriend on the front page.
Unlike when Page Six made a veiled reference to his relationship with Benjamin Maisani, this story is putting it out there in every supermarket checkout and news stand in America.
After saving one on national television, Anderson is said to be bringing home a Haitian orphan of his own and will raise it with Maisani.
You know, the whole “adopting a baby” thing is just a front, so the Enquirer has a reason to talk about his personal life.
source: Anderson Cooper’s Casually Outed in Haitian Adoption Tale [gawker]
“We were covering another story when we heard shots being fired. We ran toward the sound and found a store being looted. Two Haitian police officers were occasionally firing into the air to try to keep order, but that only worked for a few moments, then the looting would begin again.
They were stealing boxes of candles. An American businessman named Tony who owns two stores nearby barricaded one street to keep looters away. He had armed the two Haitian police with automatic weapons, and they were assisting him, but they were not able to control anything beyond their barricade.
It quickly became a free-for-all. Young men began fighting one another for the stolen items. A number of young men had knives, and planks of wood, screwdrivers and rocks. They were using their improvised weapons to threaten and injure others who had stolen items from the store. The robbers were now being robbed. One group of looters whipped another man with a leather belt. They punched him as well, and they stole the sack of goods he’d just stolen.
I was in the midst of the melee with Charlie Moore, my producer, Neil Hallsworth my cameraman, Vlad Duthiers, my translator, and there was a still photographer from Getty Images with us, photojournalist Jonathan Torgovnik. As things got really out of control, I saw a looter on the roof of the store they’d broken into throw what I think was part of a concrete block into the crowd. It hit a small boy in the head.
I saw him collapse. More chunks of concrete were being thrown at the looters on the roof. The injured boy couldn’t get up. He’d try and then collapse again. Blood was pouring from his head. He was conscious but had no control over his body. I was afraid someone on the roof would see him lying there and throw another cinder block piece onto him. I was afraid he’d get killed. No one seemed to be helping him.
I ran to where he was struggling, and picked him up off the ground. I brought him to a spot about a hundred feet away. I could feel his warm blood on my arms. I stood him up, but he was clearly unable to walk. He wiped his bloody face, and I tried to reassure him. He had no idea where he was, and he clearly couldn’t walk, so I picked him up again and handed him over to someone behind that makeshift barricade. Tony, the American businessman, gave the boy a wet towel. He was then taken away by someone else. We don’t know what happened to him.
I hope he’s ok.”
[Click thumbnails for a larger view]
[WARNING: Graphic Video]
The response to Anderson Cooper’s brave and unselfish act has been overwhelming. It’s best described by the comment below:
Anderson Cooper as a Haitian – American you are a God Sent, you are Truly an angel on earth… Thank you so much for Being there for my people. That little boy could of died…(crying), but you risked your life to save him… Haiti will be rebuild and you will always be remembered for your Heroic effort.
While I know it crosses the line between being part of the news and or covering it, you and Sanjay are certainly stepping up. How could you not be involved, really. Be careful.
