Lawsuit Asks Who Owns the Vatican Bank? Vatican refuses to say.

A lawsuit, Alperin v. Vatican Bank, filed in November 1999 by Serb, Jewish, and Ukrainian Holocaust survivors against the Vatican Bank seeking return of Nazi loot from wartime Yugoslavia has run into an apparent wall of silence. Thomas Easton and Jonathan Levy, who represent the 28 plaintiffs suing the Vatican Bank have asked a Federal Magistrate in San Francisco to order the Vatican Bank to divulge information about itself including its ownership.

Easton and Levy have stated that a veil of secrecy surrounds the operation of the Vatican Bank also known as the Institute for Religious Works. The plaintiffs’ attorneys say that literature suggests the reigning Pope in his personal capacity owns the Vatican Bank. According to Jonathan Levy, the question of ownership of the Vatican Bank is the threshold issue in the case, "There may be certain defenses available to the bank if it is owned by the Vatican City state but if it is owned by an individual or individuals the situation is completely different."

The Vatican Bank however has refused to provide information about its ownership claiming in legal papers filed yesterday in San Francisco that plaintiffs’ request is burdensome, premature, and in the public domain. The plaintiffs’ attorneys and expert witnesses however claim information about the Vatican Bank’s ownership is a closely guarded secret. "If the information is out there, and so easily accessible, why don’t they just produce it?" counters Easton and Levy, "We’ve researched this issue for over year and have yet to find a definitive answer. We would like to know just who we are dealing with here."

The concentration camp survivors bringing the lawsuit, some of whom are in their eighties, hope the answers to the Vatican Bank’s ownership are forthcoming soon so the lawsuit may proceed.

For more information contact:

Jonathan Levy
Tel. 513-528-086
Jlevy1@cinci.rr.com
www.vaticanbankclaims.com

EASTON & LEVY

NEWSLETTER TO CLAIMANTS

No.9 ~ August 1, 2000

Dear Friends:

We are pleased to announce several interesting development in the case as of August 1, 2000:

1. We are asking the court for permission to add the Swiss National Bank to the list of defendants. The Swiss National Bank accepted deposits of Ustasha loot during the Second World War but has never accounted for much of the gold and other stolen property. As you may know, the Swiss National Bank recently settled claims against it and other Swiss banks for 1.25 billion dollars, however that settlement did not address the Ustasha treasury.

2. The Franciscan Order has been quite aggressive in their denials of collaboration and participation in Ustasha atrocities. We have submitted additional details of the Franciscans complicity in genocide to the court.

3. The nature and ownership of the Vatican Bank remains a mystery, we have asked the court for an order requiring the Vatican Bank to supply us with this key information about itself.

4. We are pleased to announce that David Guyatt of London, England has been retained as our expert in international banking. David has twenty four years experience as an international banker and is now an author specializing in plundered WWII assets.

5. We welcome two new individual plaintiffs, Dr Daniel Pyevich of Hillsdale, IL (whose parents were born in Citluk, near Gospic, Lika, and who lost many relatives there in WW2) and Koviljka Popovic of Smederevo, Yugoslavia (daughter of Bozo Kolak, a farmer of the village of Tulje, Trebinje, murdered by the Ustashi), as well a new organization, The International Union of Former Juvenile Prisoners of Fascism which represents Nazi victims in the former Soviet Union including Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus.

Dear Friends:

The scope of the class action lawsuit against the Vatican Bank and other defendants is worldwide. Any person or organization that lost property or was a victim of the Ustasha regime in Croatia is eligible to participate, this includes heirs. Since the lawsuit process is at its very beginning, the Court has not yet decided if this matter may proceed. Therefore it will be important to demonstrate to the Court the worldwide class is both numerous and diverse, we need potential claimants to come from forward from all groups of victims in as many states and countries as possible. We especially need claimants from Yugoslavia and California.

We are STILL gathering the stories of WW2 Ustashi atrocities. We anticipate that the defendant Franciscan Order may deny its participation with the Ustasha regime despite the well documented historical evidence to the contrary, any stories or testimonies about the Franciscans or Catholic Church in Croatia during 1941 to 1945 would help our case. Indeed all stories are important because they demonstrate to the Judge the importance of our cause.

If you would like to write yours for us, and sign it as a Declaration Under Penalty of Perjury for our eventual use in federal court, we will be very appreciative.

It can be faxed to us at 707-465-5389, and/or the original sent by mail to 1335 Pebble Beach Dr, Crescent City CA 95531-3350.

If you would NOT like it used in any media, please make a notation at the end:

DO NOT USE WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION.

DECLARATION OF _______________________[your
name]_______________________

IN SUPPORT OF ALPERIN et al. v. VATICAN BANK et al., USDC NO.
C9904941 MMC.

[ your story with as much detail as you can recall]

I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that
the foregoing is true and correct and executed this ____ of January, 2000, in
__[city]___, ___[state}____, ____[country]______________________
[signature]

[Your Printed name] ______________________________

[Your address & telephone & fax & email]
________________________________________________

If you would like us to represent you as plaintiff/claimant please use the form
below as well:

ATTORNEY CLIENT REPRESENTATION AGREEMENT

The undersigned, _____________________________, CLIENT does hereby retain and employ the LAW OFFICE OF THOMAS DEWEY EASTON, Tom Easton and Jonathan H. Levy, ATTORNEYS.

1. EXTENT OF REPRESENTATION. ATTORNEYS shall represent CLIENT to recover a settlement or judgment for money or other compensation for injuries and damages suffered by the CLIENT as the result of the taking of property during WW2 by the Ustasha and placed in the Ustasha Treasury.

ATTORNEYS shall have authority to prosecute all entities or persons, including the Vatican Bank and the Franciscan Order, that received or profited from the use of the Ustasha Treasury by making them defendants in a class action, and to enforce any judgment or award for CLIENT. CLIENT understands and acknowledges that ATTORNEYS may associate with other attorneys or class action law firms for the prosecution of this class action.

2. FEES AND COSTS. The attorney's fees and costs in this class action will be set by the Court and will not in any event be payable by CLIENT.

All costs will be advanced by ATTORNEYS to prosecute the class action. All such advanced costs and expenses attributable to CLIENT'S case shall be reimbursed to ATTORNEYS from the recovery, if any, but will never be owed by CLIENT unless ATTORNEYS win a recovery.

3. SUBSTITUTION OF ATTORNEYS. In the event that CLIENT terminates this ATTORNEY/CLIENT relationship and substitutes another attorney in this action, ATTORNEYS shall be entitled to full compensation for the reasonable value of services rendered to the date of substitution from any recovery; but if no recovery ATTORNEYS are entitled to nothing.

4. WITHDRAWAL. ATTORNEYS may withdraw from this case at any time by giving reasonable notice.

5. NO GUARANTEES. ATTORNEYS cannot and do not make any guarantees regarding the successful resolution of this case and all expressions relative thereto are the opinions of the attorneys only. CLIENT understands that ATTORNEYS do not carry any errors & omissions insurance.

________________________________________
Client Signature

Client name and address: _______________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
Date: ______________________

LAW OFFICES OF THOMAS DEWEY EASTON & JONATHAN LEVY

         Copyright 2000 Easton & Levy