Hank Asher

Hank Asher (born "c." 1951) is a businessman with a reported fortune of around US$500 million earned as the founder of several data mining companies that compile personal information about individuals from different electronic databases.

Asher dropped out of school at the age of 16 and worked as a draftsman in a local factory. Later he worked in a union job painting radio towers, with a house painting business on the side. Asher moved to Florida to avoid the seasonal shut down in painting, soon establishing a business painting condominiums on Florida's Gold Coast. By the age of 21, he had 100 painters working for him and was reportedly grossing US$10 million a year. [* [http://www.vanityfair.com/ontheweb/features/2004/12/matrix200412 When maverick cyber-pioneer Hank Asher invented MATRIX] , "Vanity Fair", December 2004, loaded 14 March 2007]

Asher retired at 30, but eventually spent his fortune while living a lifestyle that included a fast boat and aerobatics in a twin-engine Aerostar plane. During the mid-1980s, Asher smuggled cocaine while living in the Bahamas over a seven week stint, flying to Colombia and Belize in his plane. Later he joined F. Lee Bailey and the Drug Enforcement Agency convincing other Americans in Bahama to exit the drug trade. [* [http://www.vanityfair.com/ontheweb/features/2004/12/matrix200412 When maverick cyber-pioneer Hank Asher invented MATRIX] , "Vanity Fair", December 2004, loaded 14 March 2007]

Enters data mining business

Unemployed, Asher began operating as a freelance computer programmer. In 1992, he started a business Database Technologies that used clusters of PCs to provide parallel supercomputing in place of more expensive mainframes and mini computers. His first contract was a data mining application for the insurance industry performed on records bought from the Florida's Department of Motor Vehicles.

DBT Online bought Asher out for US$147 million in 1999 after the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration suspended their contracts following revelations with Asher's involvements in drug dealing in the Bahamas and concerns that the company could potentially monitor targets of investigations. [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20030805062509/http://www.naplesnews.com/03/08/florida/d923085a.htm State contracts with company founded by man linked to smuggling] , "Naples Daily News", 3 August 2003, loaded 2 April 2007]

Asher blames his ouster from Database Technologies on board member Kenneth Langone who joined the company at his invitation. [ [http://southflorida.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2005/03/21/story1.html Database pioneer ready for new adventure] , "South Florida Business Journal", 21 March 2005, loaded 2 April 2007]

After departing DBT Online, Asher founded Seisint in 1999 by merging two companies.

ChoicePoint Public Records filed a law suit against Asher and Seisint in 2001 at Palm Beach County Circuit Court, alleging alleged Seisint stole technology, including source code and computer hardware. Asher counter-sued in 2001 in the Fort Lauderdale US District Court alleging unfair business practices by ChoicePoint Director Kenneth Langone and sought more than US$1.6 billion in damages. Both suits were dismissed on 8 March 2005 after ChoicePoint settled with Asher.

While at Seisint, Hank Asher played a leading role in developing the Multistate Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange (MATRIX) datamining system for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, described as a tool to help state law enforcement officials identify potential terrorists. The Matrix program was shut down in June 2005 after federal funding was cut in the wake of public concerns over privacy and state surveillance. [ [http://www.privacyinternational.org/article.shtml?cmd%5B347%5D=x-347-205261 MATRIX data mining system is unplugged] , "Privacy International", 5 June 2005, loaded 30 March 2007]

In August 2003, Asher left Seisint after his past caught up with him again and a series of critical newspaper reports pointed out has past links with drug dealers and the role of Database Technologies in the 2000 Florida elections. [ [http://www.alternet.org/story/16985/] , "Alternet", 16 October 2003, loaded 30 March 2007]

Seisint was later sold to Anglo-Dutch publishing giant Reed Elsevier in July 2004, for US$775 million and combined with its own data aggregation subsidiary, LexisNexis. [ [http://excite.brand.edgar-online.com/EFX_dll/EDGARpro.dll?FetchFilingHTML1?SessionID=HETZIDYNNDFSfHh&ID=3815282] , [http://www.gnn.gov.uk/content/detail.asp?ReleaseID=134074&NewsAreaID=2&NavigatedFromSearch=True] ] Asher had retained a large stake in the company and said in an interview that he would earn more than $250 million from the sale. [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50577-2004Jul14.html LexisNexis To Buy Seisint For $775 Million] , "Washington Post", 15 July 2004, loaded 2 April 2007]

Asher has made considerable donations to US political parties and candidates amounting to US$735,000 from 1999 to 2004 including US$505,000 to the Democrats. [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20030805062509/http://www.naplesnews.com/03/08/florida/d923085a.htm State contracts with company founded by man linked to smuggling] , "Naples Daily News", 3 August 2003, loaded 2 April 2007]

In 2004, Asher formed JARI Research Foundation a philanthropic endeavor to support breakthrough cancer research. [ [http://www.jari-research.org/management/hank_asher.html Jari Research] loaded 2 April 2007] The foundation evolved into JARI Research Corporation a year later, in cooperation with the Mayo Clinic.

References

External links

* [http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Talk:Hank_Asher Sourcewatch biography of Hank Asher]
* [http://www.sptimes.com/Channel10/2003/08/02/State/FDLE_hires_former_dru.htm FDLE hires former drug smuggler] , "St Petersburg Times" article by Lucy Morgan, August 2, 2003, loaded 30 March 2007
* [http://www.vanityfair.com/ontheweb/features/2004/12/matrix200412 When maverick cyber-pioneer Hank Asher invented MATRIX] , "Vanity Fair", December 2004, loaded 14 March 2007
* [http://southflorida.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2005/03/21/story1.html Database pioneer ready for new adventure] , "South Florida Business Journal", 21 March 2005, loaded 2 April 2007
* [http://www.jari-research.org/management/hank_asher.html Jari Research,] loaded 2 April 2007
* [http://www.gulfshorelife.com/Articles/Gulfshore-Life/2005/Summer/Tracking-Hank-Asher.asp?ht=asher Tracking Hank Asher] , "Gulfshore Life", Summer 2005, loaded 2 April 2007