Chicago's Sin Censura dot net Becomes Victim Of Cyber Attack

Hackers attempted to infiltrate the Sin Censura Internet page on Thursday. So far, an $18,896.84 discrepancy is showing in the Fiestas Patrias 2014 El Grito fiscal report.

By H. Nelson Goodson

Hispanic News Network U.S.A.

April 30, 2015

Chicago, WI - On Thursday, Vicente C. Serrano, the radio host for Sin Censura, a Spanish language news investigative program on 750 AM radio reported that the Sin Censura dot net page on the Internet had experienced a cyber attack and an attempt to hack it. Serrano said, that hackers attempted on early Thursday to take over the Sin Censura Internet news page, but had failed. The cyber attack has been reported to authorities, according to Serrano.

Currently, Serrano has gained recognition for his consistent manner to press for transparency from the Consulate General of Mexico in Chicago to release totals of funds, if any that were provided by the Mexican government geared for the Grito Independence Day Celebration event in 2014. So far, the fiscal report from the Fiestas Patrias 2014 El Grito event under the direction and sponsorship of Mexican Consul Carlos Jiménez Macias in Chicago has not included the total amount it received from the Secretary of Foreign Affairs for the event.

Yesterday during the Sin Censura radio program, Serrano confirmed that more than $18,896.84 in discrepancy exists, including a pending sponsorship payment of $10K from the Walgreens Corp. and two transactions of $3.5K paid directly from a tourism source to Elemento L2 and a direct payment from Comcast to Elemento L2 of $5K, which were not included in the fiscal report tabulation released to Hispanic News Network U.S.A. (HNNUSA) by former Fiestas Patrias Committee 2014 President Carlos Tortolero, who is the Director and Founder of the National Museum of Mexican Art whose no -profit status was used as the fiscal agent for the Mexican Consulate's project to sponsor the Grito event. 

Serrano says, that Omar López, a spokesman for the Fiestas Patrias Committee 2014 on January 30 confirmed that a contract between Elemento L2 who managed the Grito event and the Committee totaled $78,793.59, but the fiscal report released by Tortolero only reported it paid $59.896.75 to Elemento L2 and that the Committee still owed Elemento L2 $6K and it owed $2K for publicity to a service provider from the state of Guanajuato.

López claimed in an interview with Serrano that there was a long list of contributors that included local businesses, corporations and companies, but the fiscal report by the Fiestas Patrias 2014 doesn't show that many contributors.

According to the fiscal report for Fiestas Patrias, the total donations received were $61,541,74 and the total disbursement was $60,777.83, with a remaining profit of $763.91.

The Fiestas Patrias fiscal report indicates it only made $61,541.74 in donations, but according to López the contract with Elemento L2 totaled $78,793.59, a negative or deficit of $17,251.85.

The Elemento L2 break down of the services it provided to the Fiestas Patrias 2014 to charge $78,793.59 was not included in the release of the fiscal report by Tortolero to HNNUSA.