Alleged Murder-For-Hire Rattles Small Town

CBS Evening News Exclusive: Placid Midwest Town Turned Upside Down By Alleged Hit List And Secretive Group

(CBS)  At the annual holiday parade in scenic Shawano, Wisc., for the first time someone was missing this year. The long-time mayor was nowhere in sight. She was afraid for her life, CBS News cheif investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian reports.

"To have this happen, who would - who would think it?" said Shawano Mayor Lorna Marquardt.

So unthinkable that Marquardt's open-door policy is now officially closed, and she had bulletproof glass installed on her office door.

It's all part of a once-quiet town that's been turned upside down.

"We have weapons in our home now," Marquardt said.

All a reaction to news of an alleged hit list and claims by a so-called hit man, now telling his story for the first time.

"And I said, 'you want me to kill 60 people? You want me to kill the whole town of Shawano?" said Canadian businessman Bob Cameron.

Keteyian asked: "They were hiring you as a hit man?"

"Yes, they were," Cameron said.

"You're talking about the mayor, the city administrator, the city treasurer, the city attorney, the police chief, judges, investigators, fire commissioners," Keteyian asked.

"Uh huh," Cameron assented.

Cameron says in late October he received $175,000 in wire transfers from people known to be part of a secretive group long run out of a house near Shawano called SIST.

Minutes later, Cameron says his fax machine spit out this list of 60 names - with the city's Mayor at No. 1 and at the top of the page the word REDRUM. That's "Murder" spelled backwards.

"And he could get me guns and he had a place to buy them and everything," Cameron said. "And that's when I realized that I was in over my head. And I sent this to the authorities right away."

Sources tell CBS News both the FBI and Royal Canadian Mounted Police consider Cameron's claims about the hit list to be both serious and credible.

For 30-plus years the group now known as SIST has been led by a man once named Rama Behera, now called Dr. Avraham Cohen.

The group says it's an educational non-profit, but over the years news reports, public records and former members have characterized it as a religious cult, a charge a lawyer for the group strongly denied.

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Special reports from CBS affiliate WSAW: Secrets In Shawano.
Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV

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"There is not and has never been a cult, anymore than CBS is a cult, although there are people who believe that CBS is a communist organization, which you deny," said Alan Eisenberg, an attorney who represents SIST.

Cameron would appear to be an unlikely choice for a hit man. He said the only reason he got mixed up with SIST was because they owed him more than $100,000 from a business deal three years ago involving high-end go carts.

"I was looking for an opportunity to, you know, get money, my money back from them," Cameron said.

So Cameron claims he played along with key members of the group for a couple months, spinning stories about himself and agreeing to help them find loans, when one day they asked if he could help with their "political problems" with some people in the town.

Keteyian asked: "You're a motor sports owner in Canada. How can you help them with their political problems in Wisconsin?"

"I have an Italian wife, and of course, which means that there were Italian ties, and Italian mafia ties," Cameron said. "So, I advised that I knew people that knew people - you know, that could really help them with that."

Eisenberg calls Cameron's story nothing but fiction.

"This is sheer, unadulterated fantasy. I've never heard anything like this from Mr. Cameron or reported by him," Eisenberg said.

SIST and the city of Shawano have been at odds for years, after the group and some of its members began buying up property in and around town - more than $13 million worth today. But several of their storefronts now sit empty - and thousands of dollars in property taxes remain unpaid.

"I think they may have some financial issues," Marquardt, the mayor, said. "They seem to want to blame the … city for those things. So I think the more problems that are occurring for them the angrier it seems they become."

Lately some of that anger has boiled over into a series of attacks on the Mayor.

Like this press release issued by SIST that claims Cameron told the group he was a "hired gun" for the Mayor and the FBI "to rob" SIST. And YouTube videos like these decrying the "cult of" Mayor Lorna Marquardt.

Part of what makes folks in Shawano so nervous is what the local sheriff called the unknown, secretive nature of the group. The blue and red tarps draped over the main building, people videotaping those who simply drive down the street. Or, like when a CBS News correspondent, producer and cameraperson were standing on a public street.

In fact, within 15 minutes of Keteyian's arrival, he was confronted downtown.

Two men showing up to videotape our meeting with reporter Mikel Lauber of CBS affiliate WSAW, who has done a series of stories on the group.

A man approached them, asking: "Why are you standing here on this sidewalk?"

"It's a public street," Keteyian replied.

"What, what made you choose this location?" the man asked.

"I chose it because it's a nice shot of Shawano," Keteyian said. "You guys seem really kind of aggressive."

"You're associating with a person that is very, very evil. He's like the minister of propaganda and lies," the man said.

Keteyian asked if the man was referring to the local reporter, who had repeatedly reported on the group.

"Yes," the man said.

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Read and watch more about the tense encounter on Main Street.

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In an interview with Eisenberg, Keteyian asked: "Are there any people in Shawano who are afraid of SIST?"

"There are people in Shawano who are afraid of CBS. That's my answer. Nobody from SIST has been accused: nobody from SIST has been questioned; nobody from SIST is being investigated," he said.

But law enforcement sources tell CBS News that the FBI is actively investigating what it calls "a person of interest" within SIST - but no one has been named.

So far no arrests have been made, which only adds to the state of fear felt by so many in the idyllic little town.

As someone who has been in Keshena for a long time, I can tell you that this is crap and nobody here believes it except those who can profit from it. Cameron and SIST have been bitter enemies for years. The idea of hiring your worst enemy to kill sixty people is just as stupid as it sounds. SIST is a wacky religious cult, but if we went around taking out cults just because they are wacky, 90% of America would be gone. We have one guy alleging that his worst enemy has a hit list, and the FBI spends over twenty seven million dollars investigating it. Why? It's because the FBI only researches people they don't like, and SIST doesn't pay taxes on most of its business because all of its internal business is via a Communist economy, just like the Davidians in Waco. If Wisconsinites were as stupid as Texans, we would have had another Waco on our hands, but we let the FBI know, very firmly, that they would be taking on ALL of us, not just SIST. There are some things we can't allow in our community. We are not going to sit by and let the FBI murder little children, even if their parents are Communist. Let it never be said that Wisconsinites are as weak as Texans.

[ramaobama]

.I haven%u2019t seen anything he has done to make Shawano a better town, ever, another Waco, wouldn%u2019t surprise me. If rama were to spend his follower%u2019s money paying his taxes instead of buying more empty buildings, not only on Main Street but Green Bay Avenue as well, and elsewhere, he might get a permit, but his intentions are to make Shawano a ghost town and run the people out, about time the FBI is involved. Seeing how the road he thinks he owns, is the road that leads to the casino in Keshena, how about some help Keshena / Neopit? Between the mafia and the natives he should hide, the officials in Shawano are too nice to him/them. How come the rama men harassing people on the road out of town and downtown aren%u2019t arrested for harassment? Why did he pick these bible loving quiet easy going people in this city and location to start his ***, why not Harlem or Iran or say China? Because nice people and a easy safe place to live is easer to get away with it. Anywhere else they would be hung out to dry but that is why people of %u201Cchange%u201D always stand on top of the good to sling there ***. After it%u2019s safe for everyone, they want to change things.

[ramaobama]

Growing up and living in Shawano%u2026
The citizens of Shawano have a reason to be concern. Do you know
what neighborhood watch is? Digging outside their compound at 2am for their underground town? Seven dead squirrels on your door step in the morning isn%u2019t exactly a friendly neighborly gesture. The followers/victims, (being a child of rama and/or follower) blend in only because the Amish are in the area also. If you lived there you would see the difference, white shirts, pastel skirts and plastic boots, no stockings. Remember this is Wisconsin where the temperature can get below zero. Amish people dress much better than rama allows his followers to, mainly women and children. And the Amish display themselves as a religion, not a cult. They can get along with the community. WE THE PEOPLE OF SHAWANO KNOW MORE THAN YOU THINK WE DO rama. Men in black robes hiding in the ditches along the roadside.
If you don%u2019t want to be known as a cult, DON%u2019T ACT LIKE ONE.
Women come into the grocery store Saturday night (a quarter to close) to buy
white bread, heads of lettuce and red grape juice for their Saturday night feast.
About the only time you see them out. rama does not live in Shawano, he only comes in for their Saturday night rituals. He hides out in New York City, (chicken ***) go Mafia, this sicko has been allowed to go on for far too long, thirty plus years that I know of

[qwerty000123]

...God talks to their leader Posted by SusanHelit
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The description of a cult here fits most mainstream churches. Posted by perk235
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The first poster was not describing a cult, but was describing one characteristic of a cult. Which mainstream church believes their one leader only has the keys to Heaven and God and that the common people have to consult the leader in order to know God''s will? The Catholic Church is the only one that might come close to that because they have a pope who is supposedly infallible regarding questions of faith. Protestant churches, however, encourage their members to have their own relationship with God. But even the Catholic church has more than one leader as it has priests, bishops, cardinals, etc as leaders. All other mainstream churches have more than one person in control of the church; there is a system of checks and balances so that not one person dominates ie the preacher preaches and a financial committee controls the financial books which are open for church members to see where their money is going. Members, oftentimes, vote on where money should be spent. Did any of the SIST members who wired large sums of money to Cameron know where their money was going? Did any of Rama''s followers know they were paying for his daughter''s funeral when he asked the brethren to cough up money for "a cause"? This extreme level of secrecy is another characteristic of a cult.

[missingamerica]

Obviously seeing Brett Favre playing for the Jets has been psychologically traumatic.

[cry4usa]

I plead with all residents of Shawano to ask for the facts from the horse''''s mouth. Only then will the histeria end.
Posted by helinmat at 10:08 PM : Dec 18, 2008

The horse is in hiding and refuses to talk. He sends out his brainwashed stooges who had a chance to give their "facts" to a CBS reporter and sidestepped the questions.

[rrozsa-2009]

NADAUT - I think Red Rum was from Stephen King''s novel "The Shining". You''re right -- whether the whole story is on the level or not, it does sound like the list was put together by my 13-year old son, except he might have titled it "Urder-may", which is just about as cryptic as Red Rum! lol

[rrozsa-2009]

NADAUT, good post!

[perk235]

When a group believes they are above everyone else, that God talks to their leader, when they have that cultish belief that no matter what, they are right - anything is possible - including a hit contract on an entire town. I find this very plausible, and very chilling, and I hope they get to the bottom of it quickly.
Posted by SusanHelit at 12:59 PM : Dec 18, 2008
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The description of a cult here fits most mainstream churches.

[qwerty000123]

The guy from Canada makes a lot of sense. SIST owed him money and he wanted to get it back, and he was going to do what it took to get it back, even if it meant he had to believe what they believed and tell stories about himself. After he got the 175k and realized they were serious about murder, mentioning guns and all, he went to authorities. It''s amusing to see Rama the con man meet his match with another con man - only this con man''s goal was just to get the money back that was owed him.

Also, if Rama wants Shawano officials to say nice things about them, he should give them a reason to. He shoudl be an upright citizen and pay his taxes. He he has a problem with the officials he shoudl talk to them and work out the problems instead of sending out defamatory flyers. This tactic only angers people and gets him nowhere and earns him no favors.

[lookingin2]

Repsonding again...the story from this guy from Canada not making sense...listening you can''t really even follow the story. "They owed my money...so I did more work for them...and then it sounded like a way to get some more money from them.." it really just doesn''t sound valid. SECONDLY....if you have had to live around here and listen to the Shawano "officials" they do make rude, snide, and biased comments on this group ALL THE TIME! The tourism council refused to promote their race track several years back for no real reason. This business brought hundred of people to spend nights in the city''s hotels. It killed that Tourism council to admit that later. Again....listening to both side and their stupid arguments FOR YEARS....is sickening!

[runningralph]

An unfortunate consequence of having a free society is that freedom fosters the growth of freaks and screwballs. Freaks and screwballs prosper in isolation and secrecy. Exposure to the light of publicity is poison to freaks and screwballs.

[helinmat]

I plead with all residents of Shawano to ask for the facts from the horse''s mouth. Only then will the histeria end.

[hopeful27]

Are you familiar with the compound? What the deal with that?
Posted by JJinWI1 at 04:28 PM : Dec 18, 2008

The compound is what they call the place where some live. There is a house and then a huge area that is covered by tarps. And when I say huge I mean huge. It is a big shed/garage that is covered, they do this for overhead reasons and taping. They are on the corner of a busy road that leads out of town and it is confined with tall trees and gates. At the one entrance there is a car that sits at the edge of the road, behind the car is a huge log that is there (Im guessing to block the driveway). There is someone in that car 24/7 and there has been rumors to them having guns in the car. Scary situation most definately and am glad that it is being brought to the national news.

[qwerty000123]

The guy you interviewed claiming to be the one who was asked to "take care" of a list of people? His story doesn''''t even make sense...re-listen once.

Posted by lookingin2 at 05:15 PM : Dec 18, 2008

How does this guy not make sense? I thought he sounded very credible, and evidently so do the FBI and Canadian Mounted Police.

[lookingin2]

I mean the county board of supervisor even PAYS to send 2 of their official to this groups annual conference. A LOT more going on in this way less than Idyllic town. What''s it all about? Money...SIST always wits until the last minute to pay their local taxes and this "idyllic town" can''t handle that. Never mind there are others on that list doing the same thing.There are a LOT MORE people than SIST that have felt this mis-treatement from Shawano & Shawano County for years.

[lookingin2]

Wow...Shawano "turned upside down?" This is a crazy comment. Living nearby Shawano and watching these two groups argue and fight against each other over the last few years, makes me sick. Both the Government of Shawano and Shawano County and SIST are acting ridiculous! The guy you interviewed claiming to be the one who was asked to "take care" of a list of people? His story doesn''t even make sense...re-listen once. Listening to this report really makes me doubt the validity of CBS.You should have tried to speak to others in this community. I mean a lot of us have been reading these headlines and laughing at both sides. Anyone living in or near Shawano County who isn''t from there, is a threat to their "idyllic" little town. You want to investigate something? Try investigating C.E.R.A. and look into the fact that one of Shawano "home town boys" Curt Knoke--who hides behind doing volunteer work-- and the Shawano County Chairman of the board of Supervisors, Marshall Giese, and their association with this group. This is one of the biggest HATE groups in this country and they are based right here in the Shawano area! Curk Knoke is even the President of the fundraising portion of this HATE and RACIST organization. www.citizensalliance.org/

[Justmyvoice]

I live two minutes from the Ramas. Say what you will, these people are sick. I would like to see SIST run right out of Shawano County. These people are Bible beating Jesus freaks. Why don't you go into the PeoEx and eat the free popcorn and coffee. Be my guest; I sure wouldn't.

[jjinwi1]

Theres more to the story of City officials not issuing permits. SIST is behind some $270,000.00 in taxes on multiple locally owned businesses. Why should a small town city continue to issue permits, when theres no actions being made BY THEM to get taxes caught up. Every U.S resident owning property is responsible for taxes. No exceptions. Im tickled pink that this has finally made it nationally, and everyday forth coming SIST is continuing to give themself a bad reputation.

Posted by ShawanoMan at 04:18 PM : Dec 18, 2008


Thanks for chiming in ShawanoMan! You''re right, the amount owed by them is a real concern. Is that the reason why they aren''t being granted the permits?

This looks bad for both groups involved, SIST and the city officials. SIST is not doing themselves a favor putting all those crappy videos up on YouTube, they are pretty much a joke in my view...and that lawyer of theirs....he''s something special, too. When is Naomi Isaacson''s hearing? How long can Green Bay hold her for an outstanding Maryland warrant?

Are you familiar with the compound? What the deal with that?

[jjinwi1]

The inactivity of the Feds is concerning. Apparently the SIST compound is feared to be heavily fortified and there isn''t a clear idea of their compound. Reports of massive tunneling has taken place, I guess they plan to bunker down good if the Feds try to approach the compound. I don''t think anyone outside the group has a clear picture of what''s inside their compound, and the lack of information coming out makes on assume that the Feds are pretty worried and making sure they don''t walk into a really nasty situation.

I''m surprised this story made it out of Wisconsin.

[shawanoman]

Theres more to the story of City officials not issuing permits. SIST is behind some $270,000.00 in taxes on multiple locally owned businesses. Why should a small town city continue to issue permits, when theres no actions being made BY THEM to get taxes caught up. Every U.S resident owning property is responsible for taxes. No exceptions. Im tickled pink that this has finally made it nationally, and everyday forth coming SIST is continuing to give themself a bad reputation.