Barry G. writes: Le Nautre's is going to "file for Bankruptcy and that it appears the Co was after all fraudulent enterprise according to court documents. Their audited statements show about $275mm in revenues but the court appointed custodian says they can only show sales of about $32 million. Bonds went from 100 yesterday to 5 today."
More articles on Le Nature's downfall are at:
pittsburghlive
wsj
I have known that this company had some corrupt people in it for a while now, since people from the company and their lawyers have been harassing me for more than a year. See the review I wrote more than a year ago at
http://www.mit.edu/~sil/lenatures/jaysilver/lenatures.htm
It’s too bad that it took this for people to see the naked emporor through the “tunnel pasteurization” and “pure mountain stream” water.
130 comments:
Way to go Jay! Everyone is happy they got popped! I think your 'stickin-to-it' when you knew something was wrong, helped get these bums outta' there!!...dad
And I was really thirsty for some simmering armadillo feces accessible here in the hotel for only 1.50. Guess I'll have to settle for some putrified gator guts now.
Way to go
Jay, if you only knew what went on there - they have just scratched the surface. Been there
Jay, It is no surprise to me that Le-Natures is now struggling to stay alive. I can attest to the self righteous behavior of the company's executives. It was a very bizarre work environment. Luckily, I found a new job and left the company after 6 months last May. I worked in their IT Dept (i.e Computer Fag Dept) and never understood how they afforded the equipment we used.
I do feel sorry for my ex-coworkers that will be probably lose their jobs.
I work for a company that previously did business with LeNature. From day one, we knew something was strange about the way they conducted themselves. Unfortunately, we didn't quit doing business with them soon enough and now it looks like we will have to eat about $75,000 that they owe our company. From everything I have been reading, sounds like they have just scratched the surface on the goings on in Latrobe.
out_of_work ... yes it leaves 200 family out of jobs but being a former employee, they should be relieved. What Podlucky did with fraud was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to his employees. Constant email threats and abusing his authority to make it clear his political choice was your choice. Even as far as having his secretary call homes of his employees anonymously to see who they were voting for. I do feel bad for the workers under the upper management who slaved under him to make a living, but this is a long deserving end to him. I hope he sees time.
worked for them - would like to remain anonymous - the whole exec staff is related and they are lunatics - these are mean spirited people who took pleasure in making the people in their employ by constantly threatining to fire them and going out of their way to be mean - funny thing is a lot of people knew they were lying about their sales revs - profitability etc to their investors - and we knew to the penny how bad they were funny thing is - the investors never knew anything - that is why i quit they constantly lied and left you holding the bag with customers - whatever happens to them probably wont be enough -
Hi,
My condolences to the workers that were involved with Le Nature's. If you worked for or with Le Nature's I have now made a special place dedicated for you to discuss anything about your experiences, good or bad, anoymous or otherwise. Just go to
http://lenaturesworkers.notlong.com
This doesn't mean you can't post here too, I just wanted to dedicate a place for workers to speak up.
One thing I haven't seen mentioned in any of the articles about this debacle is the fact they had audited financial statements. 2005 AUDITED revenues were $275 million, while actual revenues were estimated at $32 million. That's a big WHOOPSY! The auditor is a well respected firm and one of the largest auditing firms in the U.S., so you'd think they'd have some culpability here as well. Podlucky is a smart guy, but he has an accounting background, so he knows the auditing drill, but you'd think after Enron that such fraud would be a little easier for an auditing firm of their size and resources to detect. I'm sure lenders will have the same question.
auditors wont pay squat, they have insurance and will litigate any case until the cows come home. anybody thinking they can get a recovery out of the auditors ought to put down the crack pipe.
I purchased this water because it was on sale for much less than other brands. It taste like bottled water--not bad, just water.I find this preocupation with water stupid and boring and laught to see people paying 2, 3, 4 or more dollars for "gourmet" water. I also think that people need to get lives if all they have to do is blog about a bad bottle of water. Sheesh.
My father worked there. Now he is out of a job and on the verge of filing bankruptcy himself. He hated working there but could not afford to leave. I heard the horror stories daily from my father and I knew the fear he lived in of taking one misstep within his job. My family is going to lose its home because of Podlucky's greed. I hope the "Christ-like" figure of Greg burns in Hell.
just read yesterday that the employees in latrobe,pa were laid off - indefinitley. feel sorry for the people who worked there - now it will be fun to see taxpayer money put to good use when they go after greg podlucky and his band of thugs - you know they found money and jewelry in the safes - wonder how much greg took out of there for his own sizable stash ?
I'm from a church in Ligonier. I know that Greg Podlucky worked closely with a church from California. i dont understand why that church continued 9and possibly continues) to stick by Podlucky despite his clearly unchristian behaviour. Someone should go and question them too to see if they knew anything about Podlucky's misdeeds.
On Thursday employees of le'natures attended a work session for dislocated workers..to there amazement carol whittmore the human resoures manger was there as a displaced worker..heres a woman you couldn't go to because she ran to greg podulky as soon as you reported an abuse..there was a sexual abuse charge still pending against the personal director that was reported..and not the first one against this man..she never lifted a finger..nor did she help the many other people that reported abuse..she must of been to busy sharing the sex toys that were found in the offices up stairs..its a shame she won't her $80.000 thousand a year now..we'll she must of made greg very happy though..probally all of them for that much money..
why hasnt Greg been charged? im starting to think that maybe its because all the people he ripped off are embarrased to let the details of their stupid and naive behaviour come out in court. its sad that a man as evil and corrupt as this can still be walking around free and unpunished! when will justice start to be applied???
please keep the comments coming i just hope that the feds are smart enough to charge greg and his banditos - the maximum penalties - it would be nice to see these people in handcuffs as they are sent to prison - hopefully for a very long time - their arrogance was amazing -
it was interesting to see that the human resource director attended a work session for the dislocated employees - obviously she was there to tell greg p. what was going on - its interesting that a person whose only goal was to spy for the management would continue with this behavior - greg is probably paying her - sure he has the money - after all he left just scraps behind in the safes that were found.
thanks to podlucky i am going to lose my truck while he freaking vaction were the mouron is its pretty bad when you have something good going you have to screw it up and for the rest of the people that worked there. he a thief so called church going guy wander what they think of there church going guy know. and his mom saying he a good boy .the good boy going to a good back scruber for bubby.he treated like crap .and his so called manger you all know who iam talking about
all ways put us down making threaten
comments.if you call of sick you would be fired. they would try to find stuff to fire you with even if
they didnt like you .and a nother thing so called filler operator that woked 3rd shift she got everything she wanted she only worked there for
a year and every body else got sent home execpt for her she still working i think that bullshit because of a supervisor .they were caught holding hands he would smack
her on the ass alot she a total bitich. so i hope all from the top
to filling room suprevisor get what coming to them
can anybody fill in the details of what the story is with what drew murin had to do with all of this??
In response to the question of Drew Murin's involvement wit Le Nature's, Drew was one part of Greg's clan that masterminded the fraudulent part of the whole operation. He wasn't just there for the use of the sex toys - it went a whole lot deeper than that.
Drew was greg's right hand man and his "yes sir greg" man, his slave basically. he was around greg all the time. im absolultely sure drew knew everything about what was going on. they were inseparable. and by the way drew was not a very smart person.
Why is everyone still in such fear? Carol Wetmore was most likely sleeping with Greg Podlucky as was Tammy Andrecyzk--ever wonder who her baby's daddy was??? Brittany kept her job because of Fred and whatever they are doing (pretty sick, no matter what it is). Manny had several sexual harrassment suits against him that Jonathan covered up. He is a sick pig, and always will be.
I guess the point I'm trying to make is THEY CAN'T TOUCH YOU NOW. So don't be afraid to say what you want.
I can understand no one saying anything to Fred and Brittany when they showed up at the meeting. A lot of people need Fred as a reference, so no one wants to tick him off. But why not say something to Carol when she showed up?? Why not tell her what you are thinking? Don't be afraid--they can't touch you anymore!
I once had Le Nature's (or Le-Nature's, or Le*Nature's, or however it's spelled) lemon flavored water, and boy was it nasty. Interesting to hear that their business practices are as foul as their products.
Greg,shame on you, all that time you had everyone at the church fooled. Didn't you now God knew what you were doing? Don't you know that when you treat another human being badly you treat Christ badly? Did you even care? I'll pray for you so that you will see the error of your ways. You will ask God for forgiveness as well as apologize to all the people you misteated and disrespected.
Hey Guys..This is Freddy D Here..I'm not screwing brittney..First My penis pump doesn't work..i can't afford to get a new one now that greg did this to us..second she's a little dick tease..all she wants me for is my money..well she doesn't know i'm broke..laughs on her..
ya we know your not fred,and i really don't care,all i care about is greg&john getting what they should,but we all know ,the mobs behind it ,so they won't,so merry christmas to us,we got it good.
Greg
bubbah bouhgt you some vaseline for xmas, he said your tight ass is gonna need it.
What I don't understand is Johnathn still able to run free.he's on probation for a second DUI.isn't that a violation of probation?.not to commit more crimes..as far as Mr Barry Dwire the Wanna be soldier thats in the national guard.well when you come home from iraq.expect an ass kicking..what i like is your not sure who i am.but i know you..and i will see you..if your game to get an ass beating for those guys..i'll be more then willing..if you reply i'll give my name up..just so you can stand up for me to knock you down..i'll give you that much..goes for your buddies to..greg, johnathn ,drew and bob.even jeff teacher.they all need an ass beating..more then worth it to do the time for it.
happy new years everyone,to a better year for all of us,all be safe.
What I find amazing about this whole thing is that the product is still availible here in CA. I purchased a 4 pack of green tea at a local health food store and after removing a bottle saw some kind of mysterious algae looking mass floating around in the bottle. I contacted the company and was told that they would send a mailer so I could return the bottle to see what is in the bottle. The person I spoke to on the phone said she couldn't understand how anything could be in the tea as they only use "pure water" in their products. Obviously some of the armidillo feces leaked into the tea line also. I googled the company(C) to see what was up since I never heard back from them, and found this amazing history. Maybe I should just google all products before I buy them in the future. Thanks Jay for standing up to those bad boys...and sorry for the people who felt stuck in jobs. It is too bad that in a country as advanced as the USA people cannot earn enough money to support their families in a position that they enjoy or like.
I guess CA got stuck with this water it must have been selling somewhere
now i know,we we'er outside dumping,in rain,snow,heat,old product,we busted are ass to produce this product.it is all cleare now.boy they really made a fool out of us.hope they get there's.
No surprise to anyone from this area. Greg was an asshole in high school; walked around like "Walking Tall"-a little on his tiptoes, however, so it did make you wonder! Could it be a second generation rape of a good business with greedy, arrogant people at the helm? I seem to recall daddy did the same thing in Smithton. Mom said he's a good boy-what a joke! I was always told that if your mom couldn't tell you the truth who would? Questionable Christians!!!
Greg thought he was doing his share donating Le Nature's to an area foodbank. Must have been his Christian side coming out (I've known Greg for years and believe me that comment is said in jest)! We couldn't GIVE this shit away to our recipients!
I'm on your side pal. I know this is 2007 now that I am writing this. But a friend introduced me to the water. Well at first I thought it was cool because I was trying to watch my weight but the stuff tastes horrible. I rather drink from a hose. It probably is just tap water. I rather put five calories in there and make it taste better UGGh. And whats with these threatening people. Gee I did not know water people were such monsters. For a product thats suppose to be pure they sure do not act that way. They're just making themselves look bad. Now that I read this I dont think I want to drink it anymore. Sorry I every found out about it. I seriously do not feel bad for anyone losing their job, just did everyone a service really.
you are all full of it,le'natures water was the best water.you just must kiss alot of ass.
sorry to hear about all the crap le natures has given you,but i dont see how you can say its a terrible tasting water.i have a vending machine route in southern california and all my customers raved about how good the water was.if it really tasted like someones ass,how did they stay in business so long??nestles corp.tryed to buy them for 2.1 billion dollars because they were hurting there product sales big time.thanks for listening and good luck. dennis
sorry to hear about all the crap le natures has given you,but i dont see how you can say its a terrible tasting water.i have a vending machine route in southern california and all my customers raved about how good the water was.if it really tasted like someones ass,how did they stay in business so long??nestles corp.tryed to buy them for 2.1 billion dollars because they were hurting there product sales big time.thanks for listening and good luck. dennis
ALRIGHT DENNIS OR SHOULD I SAY GREG--ROBERT---DREW
YOU MADE YOUR POINT NOW GO GET REAL JOBS-----DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT A REAL JOB IS?!HA!HA! NOT LIKELY
ALL THESE ARTICLES BEING REPEATED MAKES ME LAUGH OUT LOUD JUST PROVES THE PODLUCKYS AND DREW(REAL BUT KISSING IDIOT)AND BOB LYNN ARE STILL ON THIS SITE INSTEAD OF WORKING REAL JOBS!!!HOW EVIDENT! ANYWAYS I WAS GONNA SAY GREG AND KARLA COULD BOTH USE LIPO , HOW ABOUT WORKING SOME HOURS AT THE LOCAL WAL MART TO MAKE SOME MONEY SINCE YOURS WILL SOON BE ALL GONE! THANKS! HAVE A NICE DAY!!!!
HEY DENNIS----YOU MUST BE REALLY STUPID IF YOU THINK WE BELIEVE YOU EVEN HAVE A SALES ROUTE, NOT WITH ALL THE TIME YOU SPEND ON THIS SITE----YOU'RE AN IDIOT
THANKS HAVE A NICE DAY!
hey jay,you need to clean this page,to much copie,paste,thanks.
HEY DENNIS----YOU MUST BE REALLY STUPID IF YOU THINK WE BELIEVE YOU EVEN HAVE A SALES ROUTE, NOT WITH ALL THE TIME YOU SPEND ON THIS SITE----YOU'RE AN IDIOT
THANKS HAVE A NICE DAY!
2/12/2007 4:55 PM
jay , i use to work for lenatures bob lynn doesnt evenwork for them anymore hies under investigation . so try not to worry .
TO 2/19/2007 4AM---
YOU ARE UP AT 4 AM DEFENDING BOB'S HONOR AND YOU COME OUT WITH A CRACK LIKE "TRY NOT TO WORRY", ARE YOU OKAY? WE HAVE ALL KNOWN A LONG TIME HE ISN'T THERE, SO "PLEASE DON'T WORRY"!
Hmm, I guess thats the reason I cant find LeNature in the stores anymore. We have a brand new hugemungus LeNature here in Phoenix Az -- I'm really suprised to hear they claimed it was PA.I always assumed (theres that ASS again!) that it was just filtered tap like all the other bottled water.
Actually, I though it was pretty good tasting, which tells you just how bad Phoenix water is.
Oops. let me edit some of that so it makes more sense -
We have a brand new hugemungus LeNature BOTTLING PLANT here in Phoenix Az -- I'm really surprised to hear they claimed THE WATER was FROM PA
WHAT IS YOUR POINT?!
Where are all the Phoenix Le Natural??? email me guys
lewishen@yahoo.com
Does anyone know what happened to Grant Street Bank? Does anyone know what happened to all the tax returns that were shredded at Mellon?
In Basile, a tax preparation firm took a kickback from Mellon Bank for arranging that customers seeking an advancement on their tax refunds use the bank. The question in the case (after federal TILA claims fell away) was whether H&R Block was the agent of Basile. If it was, then (obvious) Block violated its duty of loyalty by not disclosing the referral and profit-sharing relationship.
Does anyone know about the kickback?
I searched the Trib and no results; I wonder why it was not reported to the public?
DNC Insider said...
I heard the Clinton's are gunning for Gazarik!
from the desk of the human resource manager and sal "fatass" lobiondo dated 10/30/2006 (who by the way is still employeed along with many others):
Le-Nature’s, Inc.
Management Transition Questions and Answers
1. What exactly has happened?
The firm of Kroll Zolfo Cooper (“KZC”) has been appointed as custodian of the Company pursuant to an order issued on October 27 by the Delaware Chancery Court (the “Order”) to protect the rights of the minority shareholders.
KZC has, on an interim basis, replaced certain members of the executive management team, including CEO Gregory J. Podlucky, COO Jonathan E. Podlucky, EVP Robert Lynn and Consultant Andrew Murin, all of whom have retained their management titles and membership on the Board of Directors, but have been temporarily relieved of their management duties pending the resolution of legal issues between the minority shareholders and the Company.
The legal issues involve the minority shareholders’ right to control the Board of Directors under the terms of an agreement with the Company’s majority shareholders. Messrs. Podlucky, Podlucky, Lynn and Murin will all continue to serve on the Board of Directors during the interim period.
2. What is a custodian?
KZC’s role as custodian is to serve as an agent of the Court and the interim management team of Le-Nature’s. The Court’s order authorizes the KZC management team to, on an interim basis, take possession and control of Le-Nature’s and its business, operations and assets, to temporarily administer and manage the assets and to operate the Company’s business.
3. Why did the Court order the appointment of a custodian?
The Court ordered the appointment of a custodian, in part, based on evidence that members of Le-Nature’s management team, including the majority shareholders, had violated the terms of the Shareholders’ Agreement, and the Court believed it was necessary to appoint an interim management team to ensure that Le-Nature’s business continues to operate in the normal course until the legal issues are decided. In short, KZC is here to maintain the status quo of Le-Nature’s operations.
4. Is the Board of Directors still intact?
Yes. KZC will report to the Board of Directors. In the event the Board disagrees with any aspect of KZC’s management of the Company, KZC will ask the Court to resolve any issues.
5. Why did the Minority Shareholders pursue this legal action?
The minority shareholders took this action to protect their rights under the Shareholders’ Agreement to control the membership of the Board of Directors.
The Chancery Court ordered the appointment of a custodian, in part, based on evidence that members of Le-Nature’s management team, including the majority shareholders, had violated the terms of the Shareholders’ Agreement.
As a result, the minority shareholders have taken actions, with the full support of the Company’s outside Directors, which they believe are in the best interests of the Company, its shareholders, employees, customers, suppliers and other business partners.
6. Why was Kroll Zolfo Cooper chosen as Custodian?
KZC has a wealth of experience handling complex engagements and stabilizing businesses while protecting long-term financial growth. The KZC interim management team also has extensive experience in the food and beverage industry, having most recently served as the interim management team for Krispy Kreme Doughnuts.
7. How long will KZC act as custodian?
KZC has been appointed custodian on an indefinite interim basis to ensure that Le-Nature’s business continues to operate as usual during the pending litigation. The next hearing in the litigation involving the minority shareholders has been scheduled for January, 2007. The KZC management team will be in place until then; however, their role beyond that will be dependent upon the outcome of the legal proceedings
8. How does this affect the financial stability of the Company?
There should not be any adverse impact on the Company’s financial stability. Le-Nature’s is a strong company with great products and recognizable brand names. The current legal issues and management changes should not have an impact on the fundamental strength of the business. The Company’s lenders and other investors are aware of the situation and have indicated their support of the appointment of KZC as custodian.
9. Will these actions disrupt the Company’s operations or in any way affect the Company’s dealings with customers and suppliers?
There should be no disruption to the Company’s operations - the parties all share the common goal of preserving the value of the Company and ensuring that it continues to operate without disruption and distribute products to customers just like it always has.
10. Does this mean that the Company is going to be put up for sale?
There are no immediate plans to sell Le-Nature’s. In fact, no such transaction could even be considered until we know the outcome of legal issues scheduled to come before the Court in January 2007.
11. Does this announcement have any effect on my job and my pay and benefits?
There will be no changes to your pay or benefits as a result of this management transition.
KZC is doing everything possible to ensure that it is a smooth management transition and business as usual for employees, customers and suppliers. There should be no change to the day-to-day operations of the company, so please continue to report for work on the usual schedule.
12. Kroll Zolfo Cooper is known to do a lot of work with companies involved in financial restructurings and Chapter 11 reorganizations. Does this mean the Company is going to file for bankruptcy?
No, there is no plan to file for Chapter 11. Le-Nature’s is a strong company with great products and recognizable brand names. The current legal issues and management changes should not have an impact on the fundamental strength of the business. The Company’s lenders and other investors are aware of the situation and have indicated their support of the appointment of KZC as custodian.
13. What should I do if I am contacted by one of the four executives who have been temporarily relieved of their management duties?
Due to the legal issues involved, all Le-Nature’s employees should know that, according to the Court order, they should not communicate about the Company in any manner with the four executives who have been temporarily replaced; nor should any employee take direction from those executives regarding anything having to do with Company business. Also, the Court order prohibits the destruction of or tampering with any Company documents or books and records.
14. What are the next steps in this legal procedure? How will employees know what happens next?
The next hearing scheduled for the pending litigation is in January, 2007. During this process, the interim management team from KZC will do it’s very best to keep all employees updated on significant developments.
i challenge my former fellow production teammates and office employees to read through these and see how many points were actually true and/or intended to be followed through. it seems to me that there has been much more criminal activity at lni after the former management left.
Anonymous said...
MUCH MORE CRIMINAL ACTIVITY AFTER THE FORMER MANAGEMENT TEAM LEFT
MUCH MORE CRIMINAL ACTIVITY AFTER THE FORMER MANAGEMENT TEAM LEFT
MUCH MORE CRIMINAL ACTIVITY AFTER THE FORMER MANAGEMENT TEAM LEFT
to 3/01...we are all moving on...but we would like to know why greedy shareholders would jeopardize their interest, our lives, and the economy in general without even thinking...i think we have a right to know the outcome of this situation...we worked our asses off to build that place into what it was and now some idiot is going to auction the place off for 10% of its REAL value...the question i want answered is this...WHO WON IN ALL OF THIS???
1. EMPLOYEES LOST JOBS
2. CREDITORS LOST HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS
3. SHAREHOLDERS GET DICK
4. LATROBE/PHOENIX LOST TAX REVENUE AND JOB MARKETABILITY
DOES THAT SOUND LIKE ANYBODY WON?
NOW LETS EXPLORE OTHER POSSIBILITIES...
1. KROLL ZOLFO COOPER GOT PAID $5 MILLION TO BASICALLY DRIVE AROUND IN CORPORATE MERCEDES BENZ SUVS ALL THE WHILE NOT PAYING THE LEASE PAYMENTS (SEE TRIBUNE REVIEW ARTICLE). ALSO, A COUPLE OF EMPLOYEES THAT ARE STILL WORKING THERE TODAY (NO NAMES WILL BE GIVEN SO THAT MARRIAGES WONT BE JEOPARIZED BUT THE STOLI ELITE DIRTY MARTINI DRINKERS KNOW WHO THEY ARE) WERE SEEN DURING XMAS/NEW YEARS SEASON PARTYING WITH KROLL ZOLFO COOPER EMPLOYEES AT THE AIRPORT...WOW DID THOSE PEOPLE LOSE OUT OR WHAT?
2. THE HUNDREDS OF ATTORNEYS THAT ARE WORKING THE VARIOUS ASPECTS OF THIS DISASTER (OR PLAN) DEPENDING WHOSE SIDE YOU ARE ON. THEY ARE GETTING PAID $500-$1000 AN HOUR TO MAKE SURE THIS THING DRAGS OUT FOR YEARS...YEAH LOOKS LIKE THEY LOSE OUT TOO
obviously you are a kroll employee and it is very clear you either did not read the bullshit memo you supposedly wrote via carol wetmore or you never intended anything you wrote in it. kroll was never supposed to turn things around??? let me refresh your memory sal, i know its hard to concentrate when you havent eaten in 10 minutes:
point three of the memo:
The Court ordered the appointment of a custodian, in part, based on evidence that members of Le-Nature’s management team, including the majority shareholders, had violated the terms of the Shareholders’ Agreement, and the Court believed it was necessary to appoint an interim management team to ensure that Le-Nature’s business continues to operate in the normal course until the legal issues are decided. In short, KZC is here to maintain the status quo of Le-Nature’s operations.
is it status quo to make wild mangaerial decisions (i.e. lay people off, close down factories, and claim revenue is off by hundreds of millions)???
point six:
KZC has a wealth of experience handling complex engagements and stabilizing businesses while protecting long-term financial growth. The KZC interim management team also has extensive experience in the food and beverage industry, having most recently served as the interim management team for Krispy Kreme Doughnuts.
oops, i saw krispy kreme in there and thought sal might get hungry, sorry.
points 11 and 12:
11. Does this announcement have any effect on my job and my pay and benefits?
There will be no changes to your pay or benefits as a result of this management transition.
KZC is doing everything possible to ensure that it is a smooth management transition and business as usual for employees, customers and suppliers. There should be no change to the day-to-day operations of the company, so please continue to report for work on the usual schedule.
12. Kroll Zolfo Cooper is known to do a lot of work with companies involved in financial restructurings and Chapter 11 reorganizations. Does this mean the Company is going to file for bankruptcy?
No, there is no plan to file for Chapter 11. Le-Nature’s is a strong company with great products and recognizable brand names. The current legal issues and management changes should not have an impact on the fundamental strength of the business. The Company’s lenders and other investors are aware of the situation and have indicated their support of the appointment of KZC as custodian.
im not even going to comment on these, as the hypocritical lies behind them are gross. maybe the phrase "turn around" was inappropriate, however, when this memo was written, the company was not in bankruptcy. common sense tells me that they were in charge during the chapter 11 filing which in turn makes them responsible for a "turn around" plan of attack.
i really think it is pathetic that the big bad kroll employees such as sloppy sal and pussy panagos are going to get on here and lie about what happened at lenatures during their time in latrobe. i also think it is pathetic that they are going to compare themselves to the previous management and its tactics to justify their behavior in latrobe. if by chance the previous comment was written by somebody other than kroll (which i highly doubt), i suppose you should take a closer look at the reality of the situation:
1. why buy kroll a drink? they stole $5 million from the creditors pocket so im pretty sure they can afford their own drinks.
2. employee eyewitnesses saw panagos and lobiondo carrying gems, watches, etc. to the executive offices and never saw them come back out
3. employee eyewitnesses saw panagos and lobiondo come to and from lenatures everyday via a silver mercedes benz suv and also to denunzios restaurant at the airport (drunk) with office employees, according to the tribune review, the lease payments were three months behind
4. kroll and the shareholders responsible for the accusations face severe liablities if it in fact turns out the picture is not as they have painted it in the tribune review (which would then also face severe liabilities). for the sake of those entities, lets hope they know what they are purporting to the public.
Hillary Clinton need not fret about the return of any vast right-wing conspiracy that might upend her 2008 presidential aspirations. Heck, she's working toward that goal quite nicely all by herself, thank you very much:
Friday last in New York City, Mrs. Clinton, the former first lady and current junior senator of New York, appeared before the Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network. In a pander carefully tailored to her audience, she railed against the Bush administration's treatment of blacks and the poor.
But what was particularly egregious was that Hillary -- yet again -- affected what even The Associated Press could not ignore -- "a singsong Southern twang that she often uses in front of black audiences."
On Sunday, Mrs. Clinton was on the stump in Iowa. In Iowa City she reiterated her call for a "windfall profits" tax on big-bad Big Oil. She wants to use that money for renewable energy efforts.
Never mind that she's actually proposing price controls, the kind of disaster-in-the-making government intervention that will do nothing to lessen our dependence on foreign oil and everything to wreck the economy.
"O shame! Where is thy blush?" asked Shakespeare in Hamlet. Not on the face of Hillary Clinton, a panderer of the first class who will say, if not do, anything to get elected.
And once elected will get Gazarik!
Saturday, June 2, 2007
May Update
Let me start things off by saying that the month of May was hectic, to say the least. We have not forgotten about the major update that has been promised for the past few months, however, I would have never imagined how much time and energy is needed to be spent on this task. Back when I started this blog and KZC was custodian of LNI, the information from now former employees was so easy to gain access to. Since then, nearly all employees have been terminated and internal sources of information are non-existent. This is something that we did anticipate from the start and have since relied heavily on sources close to both the criminal investigation and the bankruptcy court proceedings. As anybody who has been involved in the court system understands, this is a long, drawn out process with tiny fragments of information being handled at a time. That being said, I want to let it be known that we are just as dedicated to this informal investigation now as we were back when we started earlier this year. My promise to all the readers of this blog is that we will have a major update as soon as possible. In the meantime, we suggest that you all keep an impartial stance regarding the very few regurgitations of inaccurate information the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review likes to call investigatory journalism. Keep in mind the characters that spearhead the so-called articles: Richard Mellon Scaife through Richard Gazarik, and a few of their “highly decorated” photogs (by the way, is it possible to get a new picture of Mr. Podlucky and his “palatial mansion” because the same three pictures that have been rotated over the past 7 months are getting quite dated).
I would like to take a minute or two to discuss the recent articles published by the PTR in the month of May. We already discussed the completely irrelevant story about the sign in Times Square, NYC. I am sure anybody with half a brain cell would ask where that story was going. But the most recent libelous attack has been a “more in-depth” description of the jewelry discovered at LNI. And by “more in-depth” I mean that Mr. Gazarik has so diligently publicized a half-dozen of boutique jewelry fabricators and claimed that approx. 24,000 rings were discovered. I am not a connoisseur of fine jewelry, but I think it is safe to say that if these 24,000 rings were made by any of the jewelers listed, the minimum price tag would be $1,000 a piece. That is an ultra conservative figure. That would put the value of the rings alone at roughly $24 million. I guess my point here is that Mr. Gazarik has placed all of his focus on “gold watches” and a “green diamond” which supposedly only have a combined value of $2 million and basically made the rings a footnote of his “investigation.” That really sparks curiosity within me, $2 million vs. $24 million? This proves one of two scenarios: either Mr. Gazarik is a grossly under qualified journalist who simply cannot seem to get the facts straight (i.e. the 250,000 square foot “palatial mansion”; seems the 10x rule is in effect again) or he intentionally exaggerates figures in an effort to bring others to his own apparent hatred for Mr. Podlucky. I am not saying that any of the four executives who stand accused are guilty—such a claim by me or anybody else would be reckless and foolish—but where and when have the articles mentioned anything about the other three? It is becoming more and more obvious with each article that is written (no matter how regurgitated it may be) that the Tribune-Review is fixated on Greg alone. When you start to put two and two together with the Podlucky-Scaife-Ligonier connection and Scaife’s history of smear campaigns (i.e. former President Bill Clinton) and his lifelong addiction to greed, jealousy, drugs, and especially alcohol, the picture starts to become ever so clear. The question I have to ask myself is what have any of the adopted Mellon kids ever done? Their philanthropy is self-embedded neatly into the provisions of their little trust funds so it’s not like they have willingly contributed anything to society. The only thing that they are good at is sitting around, like zombies, at their little Rolling Rock Country Club all day and pretending they are big shots while they openly engage in drug and alcohol use. They hire young, impressionable high school and college kids to “serve” them because they are the only people who lack the wisdom to see what is really going on. Our generation will see the eldest generation of Mellon’s and Scaife’s die off. It will be interesting to see what happens to the family fortunes and “heritage” after this generation because there is not much family left to pass it down to. They have wasted their lives away at being self-absorbed, alcoholic wannabes who have nothing better to do with the money they have not earned than to buy up a micro market newspaper and slander those who have put in the sweat, blood, and tears to make it seem that they have not. This “conquer the world or at least Pittsburgh” mentality has left very little time for family and reproduction.
Another thing I found to be quite interesting in this article was the mention of race cars and toy trains. I am not sure what kind of race cars Podlucky would own considering LNI never had a real interest in professional racing sponsorships. And it has never been established that he or any member of his family were involved in any type of racing, amateur or professional. As I mentioned back in March, I have visited the Latrobe facility on a number of occasions and I have seen some nice vehicles there, maybe even exotic, but I would not consider exotic Mercedes-Benz AMG, Hummer H1, or Cadillac Escalade race cars. We know from a past PTR snippet that Mercedes-Benz Financial was seeking to reclaim vehicles that were leased by LNI. Could these be the race cars that were supposedly stored in Hempfield Township? And if they are, why would they be stored in Hempfield Township while the toy trains were stored in Unity Township? Speaking of the toy trains, and I guess this sort of involves the vehicles as well, what is the significance of publishing this? If LNI leased cars for some of its top executives and they were reported as income, what is wrong with that? Is LNI the only company in the world that does this? Has ownership of the assets, both the jewelry and the toy trains, been established? Where is the criminal activity in storing them within the confines of the corporation? If they were corporate assets, where is the criminal activity? Large corporations invest in various commodities to hedge against future uncertainties all the time. And if Podlucky kept his own personal assets stored with corporate assets where is the criminal activity there? Especially since everything was well documented and that was even made public via the PTR. Keep in mind that Podlucky was paid a very generous, board-approved salary that would have easily paid for everything he had. I think it is very clear to see that these articles are nothing more than a mechanism to sell newspapers. If anything, Podlucky should be flattered that his name is used so frequently to sell a dismal newspaper. His articles are always the major headliner in the business and commentary sections. They just cannot seem to publish anything that has criminal substance even though they try to portray it that way. Nobody has been charged and the PTR is writing articles like they are already behind bars. They aren't, and I have not seen a shred of evidence thus far that says they will. The only thing I see is a reckless newspaper that is setting itself up for major lawsuits. But, like my grandaddy always said: no press is bad press. That said, I'll move on for now.
In closing, as we say goodbye to May and anticipate summer, I would like to challenge all of my readers to use your God-given abilities to decipher truth from error. And I direct this especially to all those who know the Podlucky family well. Think—really think—about the “facts” that are being presented to you via the PTR. We have read wild claims that $120 million is missing. Then we read another version from the same author that claims “tens of millions” were emptied from a brokerage account. Then we read that, based on Gazarik’s calculations, that approx. $30 million in jewels were discovered. Lastly, you have the “palatial mansion” in Ligonier Township that is supposedly worth another $15 million. So altogether you have, depending on your definition of “tens of millions,” roughly $200 million in fraudulently acquired assets. So if LNI is three-quarters of a billion in debt with two large bottling facilities, monthly expenses approaching $5 million, annual revenue of only $32 million, and Podlucky’s huge chunk of “stolen” assets, how did LNI manage to stay in business for nearly 15 years? Let’s suppose for one minute that we offset the “illegitimately obtained” assets and the bank loans as they are, for the sake of illustration, roughly the same figure give or take. That means that LNI somehow found a way to build a $200 million bottling facility in Phoenix, Arizona and maintain production in Latrobe on negative $28 million ($60 million in annual expense vs. $32 million in gross revenue—which would lower the already negative operations budget by even more once taxes, etc. were realized). The math does not make sense. Maybe to a guy like Rich Gazarik, who likes to play with numbers by multiplying everything by 10, it makes sense. It does not make sense to me or anybody else that takes the time to thoroughly examine what is presented to them.
Well, that was more than a minute or two, but I hope that you are starting to see the reality of what’s going on here. Many great people have a huge sense of loss because of this debacle. It is my self-appointed mission to determine the true culprits and make sure that the sacrificial lambs are presented with truth rather than fiction.
Until we meet again, your friend,
L.C.
Saturday, June 2, 2007
May Update
Let me start things off by saying that the month of May was hectic, to say the least. We have not forgotten about the major update that has been promised for the past few months, however, I would have never imagined how much time and energy is needed to be spent on this task. Back when I started this blog and KZC was custodian of LNI, the information from now former employees was so easy to gain access to. Since then, nearly all employees have been terminated and internal sources of information are non-existent. This is something that we did anticipate from the start and have since relied heavily on sources close to both the criminal investigation and the bankruptcy court proceedings. As anybody who has been involved in the court system understands, this is a long, drawn out process with tiny fragments of information being handled at a time. That being said, I want to let it be known that we are just as dedicated to this informal investigation now as we were back when we started earlier this year. My promise to all the readers of this blog is that we will have a major update as soon as possible. In the meantime, we suggest that you all keep an impartial stance regarding the very few regurgitations of inaccurate information the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review likes to call investigatory journalism. Keep in mind the characters that spearhead the so-called articles: Richard Mellon Scaife through Richard Gazarik, and a few of their “highly decorated” photogs (by the way, is it possible to get a new picture of Mr. Podlucky and his “palatial mansion” because the same three pictures that have been rotated over the past 7 months are getting quite dated).
I would like to take a minute or two to discuss the recent articles published by the PTR in the month of May. We already discussed the completely irrelevant story about the sign in Times Square, NYC. I am sure anybody with half a brain cell would ask where that story was going. But the most recent libelous attack has been a “more in-depth” description of the jewelry discovered at LNI. And by “more in-depth” I mean that Mr. Gazarik has so diligently publicized a half-dozen of boutique jewelry fabricators and claimed that approx. 24,000 rings were discovered. I am not a connoisseur of fine jewelry, but I think it is safe to say that if these 24,000 rings were made by any of the jewelers listed, the minimum price tag would be $1,000 a piece. That is an ultra conservative figure. That would put the value of the rings alone at roughly $24 million. I guess my point here is that Mr. Gazarik has placed all of his focus on “gold watches” and a “green diamond” which supposedly only have a combined value of $2 million and basically made the rings a footnote of his “investigation.” That really sparks curiosity within me, $2 million vs. $24 million? This proves one of two scenarios: either Mr. Gazarik is a grossly under qualified journalist who simply cannot seem to get the facts straight (i.e. the 250,000 square foot “palatial mansion”; seems the 10x rule is in effect again) or he intentionally exaggerates figures in an effort to bring others to his own apparent hatred for Mr. Podlucky. I am not saying that any of the four executives who stand accused are guilty—such a claim by me or anybody else would be reckless and foolish—but where and when have the articles mentioned anything about the other three? It is becoming more and more obvious with each article that is written (no matter how regurgitated it may be) that the Tribune-Review is fixated on Greg alone. When you start to put two and two together with the Podlucky-Scaife-Ligonier connection and Scaife’s history of smear campaigns (i.e. former President Bill Clinton) and his lifelong addiction to greed, jealousy, drugs, and especially alcohol, the picture starts to become ever so clear. The question I have to ask myself is what have any of the adopted Mellon kids ever done? Their philanthropy is self-embedded neatly into the provisions of their little trust funds so it’s not like they have willingly contributed anything to society. The only thing that they are good at is sitting around, like zombies, at their little Rolling Rock Country Club all day and pretending they are big shots while they openly engage in drug and alcohol use. They hire young, impressionable high school and college kids to “serve” them because they are the only people who lack the wisdom to see what is really going on. Our generation will see the eldest generation of Mellon’s and Scaife’s die off. It will be interesting to see what happens to the family fortunes and “heritage” after this generation because there is not much family left to pass it down to. They have wasted their lives away at being self-absorbed, alcoholic wannabes who have nothing better to do with the money they have not earned than to buy up a micro market newspaper and slander those who have put in the sweat, blood, and tears to make it seem that they have not. This “conquer the world or at least Pittsburgh” mentality has left very little time for family and reproduction.
Another thing I found to be quite interesting in this article was the mention of race cars and toy trains. I am not sure what kind of race cars Podlucky would own considering LNI never had a real interest in professional racing sponsorships. And it has never been established that he or any member of his family were involved in any type of racing, amateur or professional. As I mentioned back in March, I have visited the Latrobe facility on a number of occasions and I have seen some nice vehicles there, maybe even exotic, but I would not consider exotic Mercedes-Benz AMG, Hummer H1, or Cadillac Escalade race cars. We know from a past PTR snippet that Mercedes-Benz Financial was seeking to reclaim vehicles that were leased by LNI. Could these be the race cars that were supposedly stored in Hempfield Township? And if they are, why would they be stored in Hempfield Township while the toy trains were stored in Unity Township? Speaking of the toy trains, and I guess this sort of involves the vehicles as well, what is the significance of publishing this? If LNI leased cars for some of its top executives and they were reported as income, what is wrong with that? Is LNI the only company in the world that does this? Has ownership of the assets, both the jewelry and the toy trains, been established? Where is the criminal activity in storing them within the confines of the corporation? If they were corporate assets, where is the criminal activity? Large corporations invest in various commodities to hedge against future uncertainties all the time. And if Podlucky kept his own personal assets stored with corporate assets where is the criminal activity there? Especially since everything was well documented and that was even made public via the PTR. Keep in mind that Podlucky was paid a very generous, board-approved salary that would have easily paid for everything he had. I think it is very clear to see that these articles are nothing more than a mechanism to sell newspapers. If anything, Podlucky should be flattered that his name is used so frequently to sell a dismal newspaper. His articles are always the major headliner in the business and commentary sections. They just cannot seem to publish anything that has criminal substance even though they try to portray it that way. Nobody has been charged and the PTR is writing articles like they are already behind bars. They aren't, and I have not seen a shred of evidence thus far that says they will. The only thing I see is a reckless newspaper that is setting itself up for major lawsuits. But, like my grandaddy always said: no press is bad press. That said, I'll move on for now.
In closing, as we say goodbye to May and anticipate summer, I would like to challenge all of my readers to use your God-given abilities to decipher truth from error. And I direct this especially to all those who know the Podlucky family well. Think—really think—about the “facts” that are being presented to you via the PTR. We have read wild claims that $120 million is missing. Then we read another version from the same author that claims “tens of millions” were emptied from a brokerage account. Then we read that, based on Gazarik’s calculations, that approx. $30 million in jewels were discovered. Lastly, you have the “palatial mansion” in Ligonier Township that is supposedly worth another $15 million. So altogether you have, depending on your definition of “tens of millions,” roughly $200 million in fraudulently acquired assets. So if LNI is three-quarters of a billion in debt with two large bottling facilities, monthly expenses approaching $5 million, annual revenue of only $32 million, and Podlucky’s huge chunk of “stolen” assets, how did LNI manage to stay in business for nearly 15 years? Let’s suppose for one minute that we offset the “illegitimately obtained” assets and the bank loans as they are, for the sake of illustration, roughly the same figure give or take. That means that LNI somehow found a way to build a $200 million bottling facility in Phoenix, Arizona and maintain production in Latrobe on negative $28 million ($60 million in annual expense vs. $32 million in gross revenue—which would lower the already negative operations budget by even more once taxes, etc. were realized). The math does not make sense. Maybe to a guy like Rich Gazarik, who likes to play with numbers by multiplying everything by 10, it makes sense. It does not make sense to me or anybody else that takes the time to thoroughly examine what is presented to them.
Well, that was more than a minute or two, but I hope that you are starting to see the reality of what’s going on here. Many great people have a huge sense of loss because of this debacle. It is my self-appointed mission to determine the true culprits and make sure that the sacrificial lambs are presented with truth rather than fiction.
Until we meet again, your friend,
L.C.
Very factual but another great diversion if anybody even reads this crap anymore. Although the things you pointed out of context aren't crimes alone (purchased cars, jewlery, trains, etc.) They are criminal if you use someone ele's money to do purhcase. When you invite people to invest in your company as voting members and you continue to spend there money as if it was your personal fund; that will always create a problem.
The investors had a way out and they failed to take it. Better luck next time!
Investment in LeNature's: $25 million
Buyout offer: $300 million
Imploding the company with ficticious allegations and losing your entire investment: Priceless
I called Le Nature's over a year ago to let them know that there was something inside their Dazzlers drink. It looks nasty I don't know what it could be. But it looks as if it could have been a piece of body part.My three children were screaming and crying when they discovered something inside their bottle of juice. They told me and showed me. That's when I contacted Le Nature's. I have not heard from them since they wrote me a letter saying thank you for contacting me with your comment. When I spoke with them over the phone at one time they told me they were going to take care of it by sending someone out to my house to investigate the problem. No one ever called, no one ever came out to my house. I tried to find an attorney to work the case. But no one really want to go after a big company. ( So they thought was a big company) My kids are traumatized behind that. Every since then my children have been complaining of stomach aches. I take them to school the teacher's say they do nothing but complain about their stomach and also vomit. Check the school records they call me more than once a week to tell me know my child stomach is hurting. What am I suppose to do. I take them to the doctor, the doctor can't find anything wrong with them. I don't know it could be all in their mind thanks to Le Nature's Juice. I can barely get my kids to drink anything and then Le Nature's turn around and make water. What is going on? My kids pointed the water out to me when I was buying water. They said what ever you do, don't buy Le Nature's water. I said oh my I did not know they make water. Come to find out, they started off making water first in a different state. I ended up buying 3 cases of 24 pack Crystal Geyser water back in October 2006. I told my kids nothing is wrong with the water drink up it's safe. They were complaining that the water stinks, and it taste like dirt is in the water. So sure enough I tasted it and smelled it. Everything was so true. I did not know what to do. Know I can't get my kids to drink anything other than milk. So I called the Crystal Geyser company, they said take the water back to the store. I took it back only to find five more people returning the same water I am returning. I asked the clerk, why is everyone returning the same water I am returning. Then he said, they did a recall on the water. I said you have got's to be kidding me. First Le Nature's now the Crystal Geyser. What next? The milk. To this very day my children complains about stomach aches and headaches. What do I do? What should I do? What actions can be taken against these companies and who do I need to contact. These companies do nothing but brush it under the rug. I have to live with the fact that my children will not drink anything other than milk. I buy over six gallons of milk a month. That is too much and the price of milk went up. Can somebody help me please. I saved my receipt. I also saved a few bottles or more that is still sealed
As a former employee, I thought their products were okay. I've spent a lot of time in the bottled water industry, and the advice I give is to drink water that you like, regardless of its source. All water goes through several levels of filtration prior to being bottled. Water may be ozonated, chlorinated, or passed under UV light in order to kill any micro organisms. This is done in virtually every bottling facility.
Now the fun part. If Le-natures had been able to hang around a few more years, they might have been caught up in the enhanced vitamin water frenzy. Glaceau sold to Coke for 4.1 billion. However, the bad has a way of catching up with the perpetrators, and this is a great example of that. I left the company back in 2004, but I could see that something was very wrong back then. It took 2 months to get reimbursed for expenses. I am just glad I escaped unscathed. Management held on longer because they had stock warrants; warrants that they thought might be worth millions. Everyone can succumb to greed. It was and continues to be an ugly mess. Their Phoenix plant will be auctioned off tomorrow!
AS A FORMER EMPLOYEE IN PHOENIX, NOT ONLY I WAS DESTROYED PHYSICALLY
BUT MENTALLY BY UPPER MANAGEMENT.
THEY HAD NO RESPECT WHAT SO EVER
FOR EMPLOYEES, IN FACT ALL THEY WERE THINKING WAS BULLSHIT.
WELL YOU WIN SOME AND LOOSE SOME
PODLUCKY DON'T DROP THE SOAP.
AND BY THE WAY I SLEPT PLENTY OF TIMES IN YOUR PLANT. FUCKIN ASSHOLE YOU AND THE FUCKING MANAGERS AND STUPIDVISORS AND LEADS ARE FUCKING IDIOTS.
I'm an engineer who spent 30 to 40 days in the Latrobe plant. The previous poster may have slept in his plant but I slept in his secretary and when he found out he was pissed, he had me kicked out of his plant. Fuck you Greg.
The engineer here again, The root of their problems, from a process standpoint, is that they did not clean storage tanks, heat exchangers, pipes, processors and fillers. I know this because I was involved early on in this companies existence (pre year 2000) and they absolutely refused to clean their equipment. I witnessed them leave sweetened concentrated tea in pipes and heat exchangers for days and then drain the moldy contents and push more tea through those same pipes and heat exchangers without cleaning (CIP). I brought this to Fred's attention and even mentioned it to podlucky once. I discussed CIP (Clean in Place) options with them but they were not interested and never did anything to improve quality to my knowledge. I hope Podlucky and his other exec's rot in hell. Podlucky, you know who I am, I'm the one that fucked your secretary about 20 times ;) Greg, Rot in Hell just like your moldy "rotten" tea.
O yeah, if any reader of my post needs me to testify to what I mentioned above feel free to contact me, I will happily testify against Podlucky and Drew. cont.eng@spl.at
I used to work AT Le-Nature's. Not as an employee of the company, but as an outside entity. My tour there lasted about 9 months. I had access to some sensitive materials. I dealt with many people every day...one person who took a "shine" to me was one person not mentioned too often, if at all, in all these messages...Jeff Teacher. He told me that although he wasn't an "official" employee, he had keys for everywhere in the plant. No phone extension, or office I ever saw, for him...although I did have his personal cell phone number. He said his OFFICIAL title was...get this...PERSONAL ASSISTANT AND BODYGUARD to Greg. I ask you, what VP of ANY company needs a bodyguard? Even the upper management and OWNER of Kennametal doesn't have that. And that place deals with some highly sensitive materials and projects. What's the big secret about water?
Anyway...a day usually went like this...when Greg arrives, kiss his ass and open doors for him, as you would for any refined lady. Tell him any news FIRST !!! If you told the appropriate person BEFORE greg knew about it...he was on the warpath the rest of the day. I was on the receiving end of that twice. When the BODYGUARD showed up...he acted like he was extremely happy with the work I was doing...then , when you turned your back to him...you felt as if a knife was going in. He,Jeff, had Le-Nature's employees, if they wanted to, go to Greg's "house" in Ligonier, on their weekends off...to help "build and renovate" the house. For $10 an hour under the table.
Just about all the management had several different titles. Greg was Pres. and CEO, but for a time, Drew was Pres. When I was there...he was an "advisor", and not offically on the payroll! Ron Clark was the head it the IT dept...if you did anything on a computer, he knew about it. Jeff floated between the main plant, and "the house" . His big brother, Joe, was head of Logistics. They NEVER referred to it as the warehouse, or shipping. And Jesse was following in big daddy's footsteps...dodging calls and trying to cover up his mistakes, by blaming someone else.
Bob Lynn's job was to go around giving everyone bad looks. I guess that was his job, cause that's all I ever saw him do.
Jay, I'm not writing this because I was only there a short while, and I'm not out for revenge. They will get what's coming to them, all by themselves. I have nothing to gain from Le-Nature's success of failure, but simply to let others know what it was really like there. The stuff you don't read in the paper.
And to those who lost jobs there...I feel for you, but the world didn't end. I was dismissed right before a Major holiday. Did anyone think about my family? NO. As for the 200 families without an income, ( out_of_work posted on 11-3-06, said) I say to that person SUCK IT UP AND STOP FEELING SORRY FOR YOURSELF! I'd like you to show me ONE family who doesn't have one or more major setbacks in their lifetime.
Jay!
I can't believe I found this amazing site. I live in Latrobe and actually went to Catholic School with Podlucky's daughter Melissa. It's unfortunate that she has passed, but her and the brother were both spoiled and obnoxious. They constantly talked about the Bible, but NEVER practiced a word of what they read. I knew that company was in trouble a long time ago. Hell, the stuff was made in Latrobe, but you couldn't find a bottle of it in any of the local stores. There was actually an instance when Podlucky threatened to sue the city of Latrobe for $500 million because we wouldn't improve the roads for his trucks (even though there were only a few trucks a month). Anyways, thank you so much for this blog... you made my day. Podlucky and his son need it from behind.
Anonymous (Josh Hauger) @ 11/11/2008 11:26 AM:
First, how can we trust a guy that isn't working at 11:26 AM and is too busy getting his rocks off on the Internet about old news and personal vendettas from at least 15 years ago? Must be all that energy gum and steroids!
Second, no truck traffic? Hmm, read the following articles carefully (I know that's hard for a roid-head):
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/search/s_199004.html
...trucks move through "all day and all night"
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/search/s_200493.html
A lot of hoopla for "a few trucks a month"?!? Another typical Latrobe idiot can't get their story straight. Pathetic!
Sorry, Joshua 'T' Hauger. Cool pictures of yourself. That's seriously homo dude.
Anyway, I was having trouble finding your product in Latrobe/Greensburg. Can you help me out?
http://www.peppenergygum.com/where-to-buy.html
I heard you have a vendetta because you wanted to make some kind of homo smoothie drink and you tried to run it by Greg and he wouldn't give you the time of day.
It was $100 million moron, not $500 million. You need me to pull that up too. Gee, I thought you were a smart businessman.
I could go on forever about you boy but a little bitch like you is not even worth my time anymore.
Like how you used to get beat up in grade school and high school. You and your buddy Todd Falcone, yeah, I bet you guys like to take pictures of each other and send them to his mom so she can "use" them. Does she still have that fake frosted hair?
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7360/2245/0/02-18-06_2049-750988.jpg
Jay!
I can't believe I found this amazing site. I live in Latrobe and actually went to Catholic School with Podlucky's daughter Melissa. It's unfortunate that she has passed, but her and the brother were both spoiled and obnoxious. They constantly talked about the Bible, but NEVER practiced a word of what they read. I knew that company was in trouble a long time ago. Hell, the stuff was made in Latrobe, but you couldn't find a bottle of it in any of the local stores. There was actually an instance when Podlucky threatened to sue the city of Latrobe for $500 million because we wouldn't improve the roads for his trucks (even though there were only a few trucks a month). Anyways, thank you so much for this blog... you made my day. Podlucky and his son need it from behind.
Haha, I see Jay's blog is heating up again and the stupidity is better than ever.
So let me see if I can get this right---you went to CATHOLIC school and the kids talked about the BIBLE? That's a surprise! Oh, and they NEVER practiced a word of what it said? What were you kids like 8 years old? Younger? I can't believe an 8 year old didn't practice everything in the Bible! They must have been Satan's children I tell ya!
The stupidity of the people on this blog NEVER ceases to amaze me---even after all these years.
to whoever wrote the posts about josh hauger, im not sure how you are so sure that is him but it does definitely sound like something he would say. he is just another hothead saint vincent finance grad who was "programmed" by the professors to get out there with a half-cocked idea (functional gum) and make millions. then whenever you fail the people at saint vincent turn their backs on you. nobody ever really comes out of there with any level of success. they pull their little strings and get you a job that seems "exclusive" but it is glorified minimum wage shit. i used to work in the business dept. so i know all the bs that goes on there and how they use job placement as a marketing tool because they want svc to be a division I football school. i have many friends who, like me, got what seemed like a tremendous job and then 6 months to a year later we were all looking for something just to pay our bills. saint vincent def has the pull to make a scam like this happen, but so do a lot of other schools so they're not the only ones out there. anyway, i thought id add that to the pot. josh hauger isnt any different from a lot of kids from saint vincent who end up going nowhere. funtional gum may sound like a great idea but there is no market for it esp during a recession. too bad lenatures still isnt around bc beverage manufacturing is recession-proof. podlucky had the right idea, but i think he had way too many clowns working down there. he was in charge though so he has to held responsible. too bad latrobe is such a terrible place to open business and hire employees, TOO MANY DRUGS!
All of your posts sound like a bulletin board for a grade school. I'll try and make a few intelligent points. Functional gum doesn't have any place in mainstream distribution being convenience store, grocery, mass and drug. The big companies own the category and it's already been tested and tried. We just watched the energy drink category boom but now watch it decline now and shift to more "tea" and natural type drinks. Too bad LeNatures wasn't legitimate. I predict 70% of energy drink companies will be out of business in 2009 leaving a few market leaders to keep all the business. In regard to LeNatures, no matter how smart or determined people are you can't play a smoke and mirror game forever. You can't lie, steal and cheat others without it catching up to you eventually. What is the big surprise? Move on.......don't you have some Arnie Palmer stories or something you can talk about?
my parents both work in sales for the same company so ive moved alot during my lifetime. smoke and mirrors? maybe. thats all they say in the newspapers. but even still i saw lenatures product alot in different cities and different markets. i think it is sort of ignorant to think that just because it was not in the latrobe market that it was not a "real" product. ligonier/latrobe/greensburg area has a total of five grocery stores combined so i dont know. call me what you like, i think there could be other motivations behind the sudden fall of this place. i mean look how long its been and i read about this all the time in the trib but nothing has ever happened criminally. surely somebody would have got to jail by now based on the severity of the allegations. that accounting gal was supposed to be sentenced in july, what happened to that? now i think if anything was a smokescreen it was that. the federal gov. doesnt just not sentence people. extremely fishy situation if you ask me. one of the last posts talked about the trucks. there were way too many trucks going in and out of there. and anybody thats been on the road can tell the difference between empty and loaded trucks, the empty trailers bounce alot while fully loaded are very smooth and the tractor makes different sounds when pulling a load. i have a feeling when it is said and done this will be debunked.
No doubt, a lot of good points and especially related to time that has passed. No matter all the mis communicated items, there are certainly many wrong doings. I think most of them started with the fact that Le Natures used other peoples money. When it came time to use it; no problem, when it came time to report or make joint decisions or follow the rules; big problem. If it were all Le Natures money, there would be no problems. I doubt the forgery allegations are false for the wire transfer related to the equipment funding but who knows?? I only read about it. I predict most of the criminal allegations that will stick will come from a few criminal acts. No matter, Le Natures couldn't have survived this economy based on how leveraged they were. If they weren't heavily leveraged, where is the money? I also agree, local distribution is 110% irrelevant and saying that matters reveals an ignorant mind. The smoke and mirror reference holds true on a lot of instances or the credit would have never been that extended. The entire country has to turn back to brick and mortar companies that make real profit based on real sales and overhead and expenses that are in check with sales and profits. Le Natures would have never fit that bill anyway you look at it. I have to laugh every time I see Giant Eagles "Purified Water". Don't you see the irony (smoke and mirrors)? Le Natures plant produced Purified Water? Nothing natural about it except it was water.
i see where you are coming from man. the problem is that the local news has not covered these stories properly which has created alot of mythical scenarios that i believe are simply not true. the day we start believing everything that is printed in a republican tabloid is the day that we need to get our heads checked. we are smarter than that! what you have here is a classic case of two guys living/growing up in the same small town. one has the old money and has never worked a day in his life, the other had the new money and worked, worked, worked and the old money felt threatened. how else do you explain the QUANTITY of articles written? i mean if you live in this area and subscribe to the tribloid, you know that there have been at least 150 articles written about this company. and im sorry, i cant justify that esp. since all the stories are the same, the only time there is something different is when richard gazarik misrepresents figures such as the training center being 250,000 square feet, five car garage, guest house, house is finished, etc. ive been to the house and nothing he says is true. i got to go in that house one day with my father-in-law and it isnt even close to being finished. all lies! whether lenatures would have survived this economy is debatable, i think the beverage industry is a really good business to be in no matter what the economy is and the simple fact of the matter is that all lenature's lenders were throwing the money at them so they knew a) what they were getting into b) it was a good industry to invest in. obviously they would have liked to see things work out differently, but they knew that the beverage industry is quick to return a profit. personally, i think they would have been highly successful and probably would have been a wholely owned subsiderary of coca-cola by now had the preferreds not got involved. such is life though, and there is nothing anybody can do about it now. i may sound like a jackass but i am going to go against the grain and stick up for greg at least. i have friends who poured concrete with the man. he laided the floors of his own building he was in the ditch with the boys, my boys. this is not a man who cared about fancy cars or 1000 dollar suits. this is a guy who sincerely cared about his business. i wish him the best bc not too many ppl are that passionate. i never worked for somebody who got down and dirty and worked with us and i havent since. as far as the "purified water" thing, come on man, its called marketing. listen, it is true that once you 7 phase purify water, they are all the same. however, if you do a little research you will see that MANY bottled water companies cut alot of corners when it comes to the purification process. i mean msn.com has something about bottled water at least twice a year. they dont name names but i guarantee you the biggest offenders are the aquafinas and nestles of the world. lenatures was just trying to promote their quality vs. everybody else. i know it was most likely jay that wrote the last post and i think you need to get over your little vendetta with these people. they were trying to put a good product into the market, not exploit ppl. look, all i am is block layer, its all ive ever been and i ever will be. its all i know. but when you tell me that a guy who got down in the ditch was up to no good i call bullshit on that. here in penna. we played a major role in getting obama into office and we are going to believe everything we read from a repblican hypocrite like mr. richard mellon scaife. i wont. this guy has his own ppl killed off when they know too much. guess what? when you get to that point you better watch out bc for every gun you have pointed at someones back, there are 5 pointed at yours. that man is going to die a cold and horrible death i can assure you. barrack and his middle eastern cohorts wont put up with the shit scaife put the clintons through. they will send in a silent killer and that will be the end of that shit. i think its better to just keep your mouth shut and go about yor business when you have the trust money that he has. it would be better for him to not get involved in politics, it could be his demise. do your research on scaife and then ask yourself, you do you think is guilt? the man writng the stories or the man the stories are about. he's a fucked up dude if you ask me.
At least this conversation is civil. You mention that Le Natures would have survived if the "preferred"s hadn't gotten involved. My point is that Le Natures involved the "preferred" by using their money. Such is life when you use other peoples money. If you use your own money, you only have to follow laws and can make your own rules. Coke had nothing to gain except the pure utility that the plant offered as in production and distribution. There is no brand allegiance in purified water, just costs in paying for points of distribution and Coke products are already on the same shelf. So, purchasing for the pure utility would have meat a purchase price or value based on tangible variables. I doubt the books would have added up for a real value that Coke or anybody would have paid for. Politics? Guess I'm missing that entire understanding and really happy about it?
you keep bringing up the purified water. you do know that they also made iced tea, fruit juices, flavored waters, etc. they had quite a complete portfolio of products and while you are somewhat right about the brand loyalty of plain water, there is tremendous loyalty to those other products esp. products like their iced tea which was kettle brewed a process that not too many beverage manufacturers use(most use some type of powdered concoction). i was involved in the addition to their facility for the tea brewing process and it was a very impressive process and it made a huge difference in the quality of the product. the simple fact of the matter is that is the kind of guy greg is. he strives for quality and perfection and he is passionate about his businesses. i think you have somewhat ignorantly taken your one experience (the water review thing) and put this whole scenario in a box without looking at it from multiple perspectives. look at what happened after 9/11 when dick cheneys wonderful "intelligence" took us into a war that lined his pockets. the point is dont just take your single experience and the misfortune of bankrupcy and judge people. also you keep talking about other people's money. what did they do with other peoples money that was so wrong? the only thing that would be remotely perceived as wrong would be the jewelry and let's face it, companies invest in such commodities ALL THE TIME. did they find jewelry at his house? NO it was a corporate asset held at the company by the company. look at the economy and tell me that it was a bad move! of course nobody will ever write an article about it bc that would ruin the game scaife is playing. the trustee will probably get 10x the purchase price and pocket most of it. i think it comes down to you just not liking the former company and its owners which is your right as an american, but for somebody that tries really hard to act enlightened all of your comments seem very shortsighted and ignorant. the picture everybody has of that place couldnt be more wrong. it wasnt just a pretty picture outside or a mirage, there was alot of pride that went into the building and the product.i wish you could see it bc i think it would really change your view of the situation. the bottom line is that the government is not your friend. they do everything for one reason: taxes = money. how do we live in a world where public servents live like kings and we got poor people that are going to freeze to death tonight? i know greg's intentions were good and he wanted to support his church and his beliefs and help people. you want to be so nasty to somebody over a bottle of water that some burnout dist. center employee probably left outside for two months before putting in the vending machine. trust me ive hired and fired so many lazy ignorant people and thats just the country we live in. we are so free that we've become so complacent and take so much for granted. you would have gotten so much further with a guy like greg by just picking up the phone or writing a letter explaining your dissatisfaction. it appears that you were a dick first, so you shouldnt be so surprised when people pay you the same courtesy! you can get alot further in life when you arent a smartass. thats sort of a lesson this guy (me) learned along time ago when i was working for my old man's glass factory. the older guys used to beat the shit out of me because i would run my mouth and they commanded respect. every situation presents an opportunity for every person involved to learn something. what have you learned? how could of your reaction been better? is it better to gain a friend or gain an enemy? dont think because you went to a great school or have a great knowledge about computers that you cannot be taught or smug others. the higher you put yourself in life the longer and harder the fall. i hope you can take these comments for what they are without taking offense. we need to unite and build each other up. getting on this blog and destroying somebody's reputation who has not been proven guilty is just wrong. just because the tribloid does it doesnt mean we have to also.
i want to add one other point concerning the use of other people's money. when a credit card company extends a $35,000 credit line to you, do they ask you what you plan on doing with it? no, they dont care if you spend their money on porn, or beer, or college tuition, or hard hats, or car tires, etc etc. at the end of the day they care about one thing:getting paid their money back with interest. the preferreds shot themselves in the foot by suing the company. they would have got alot of money even if just relative to what they did get:less than nothing. they have actually had to spend money they will never get back. the company was making money so donnt believe the tribloid. read the articles that were posted a few posts back FROM THE TRIBLOID. so much truck activity is was day and night. come on guys which way is it? this situation is the equivalent of chase bank allowing me to run up a $35,000 balance then demanding that i go to jail before i even miss a payment! unreal, but thats exactly what has happened here. and yeah maybe my motivation to defend these people is somewhat selfish (i made alot of money working for greg and his building projects) but all the years i spent with him we learned alot about each other and each others families. these are rock solid people. any person who has ever been on his bad side has deserved it. im not sure your situation is much different.
Although it makes no difference, your guess on my identity is not correct. If it mattered, I'd gladly share it. Not one of my posts even mentioned any one person but rather a company that misappropriated funds. If I'm wrong there and they don't prove it, I'll post an apology. I never went to school past high school and have accumulated 3 successful companies and have a higher net worth than I did 2 years ago so the economy down turn didn't hurt me personally. You and I both know that business loans aren't given without details to intentions on where to spend. These weren't unsecured credit cards and comparing them to that is like mentioning that Latrobe didn't carry Le Natures products. It's ignorant. No matter, the investors weren't paid back and their entitlement to knowledge and decision making was viable. Investments in jewelery and trains may have even been smart investments but its not what the money was invested to purchase. No question about it, it was a house of cards and no question about it, innocent people paid for that house of cards and will continue to do so. Now I will say something bad about the families past business history, the family stubbornness (in my opinion) also brought down the Stoney Beer empire. It was ruined at the same time most other regional breweries exploded with success. I believe all the failures were somewhat related to a dictatorship management style and never appreciating people that could have been smarter than themselves. If you own a company and your the smartest person that works there, its a huge problem and even worse, its probably not true.
oh well more opinion based on the tribloid.
i couldnt even begin to discuss stoneys beer because im totally ignorant of it. i know their brew is horrible thats about all.
if you worked at lenatures in any capacity or knew greg i think you would have a better argument. being educated by reading extremely biased newspapers is not very wise (in my opinion). dick scaife's ex-wife has proven on multiple fronts that it is more a hobby rather than a legitimate business (he funds the whole thing out of his own pocket and has never turned a profit). check out the story on the washington post. they have all the court documents on there.
as for greg where is the indictment? why would such overwhelming evidence take so long to put a case together? i will continue to hold my opinions until PROVEN otherwise. your fighting an uphill battle until that day comes.
An up hill battle for me? I don't have any battle related to LeNatures. The media writings aren't just in the Trib, be real. It's been written about in most or all national business and related reporting medias like the Wall Street Journal, etc. This isn't a national witch hunt. It's about all the related issues that deal with; bank fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy and filing false income-tax returns. That is what Tammy pleaded guilty to in court and they aren't using her for a scape goat. They just pulled one of the legs out from the table. It can't stand on three legs and someone else will go next until they have all the prove they need. Your right about one thing, this is just my opinion and it could be a wrong one. Guess we will have to sit back and watch it unfold.
As for Stoney's, I'll give you some insight just for fun. They made a great brew and were an original, regional craft brewery much like Leinenkugel, Straub, Rolling Rock and on and on. The Stoney Brewery had the right product at the right time but insisted on cutting the throats of everyone around them that supported them. I would have to guess volume is about 20% of when it was really moving now that Iron City is brewing it. The bridges are already burnt in the industry and its too small of an industry to every change that. Volume will decline until they just quit making it. Anyway, I'm sure you can find many places to read about it.
I'm signing out for a while until perhaps there are some more updates. Good Luck!
wow......http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_600965.html
Looking for a perfect little weekend vacation this fall? Here's a travel tip you don't hear very often: Head to Pittsburgh. Right away.
Seriously, get in the car and read this story later, because when you're done reading, you'll wish you'd left 10 minutes ago. There are towns with better vistas, sure, and there are getaways with more sunshine. But only Pittsburgh is the scene of the fabulously tawdry and surpassingly vicious spectacle that is the divorce of Richard Mellon Scaife.
Remember him? The cantankerous, reclusive 75-year-old billionaire who's spent a sizable chunk of his inherited fortune bankrolling conservative causes and trying to kneecap Democrats? He's best known for funding efforts to smear then-President Bill Clinton, but more quietly he's given in excess of $300 million to right-leaning activists, watchdogs and think tanks. Atop his list of favorite donees: the family-values-focused Heritage Foundation, which has published papers with titles such as "Restoring a Culture of Marriage."
The culture of his own marriage is apparently past restoring. With the legal fight still in the weigh-in phase, the story of Scaife v. Scaife already includes a dog-snatching, an assault, a night in jail and that divorce court perennial, allegations of adultery.
Oh, and there's the money. Three words, people.
No. Pre. Nup.
Unfathomable but true, when Scaife (rhymes with safe) married his second wife, Margaret "Ritchie" Scaife, in 1991, he neglected to wall off a fortune that Forbes recently valued at $1.3 billion. This, to understate matters, is likely going to cost him, big time. As part of a temporary settlement, 60-year-old Ritchie Scaife is currently cashing an alimony check that at first glance will look like a typo: $725,000 a month. Or about $24,000 a day, seven days a week. As Richard Scaife's exasperated lawyers put it in a filing, "The temporary order produces an amount so large that just the income from it, invested at 5 percent, is greater each year than the salary of the President of the United States."
The numbers are just one of many we-kid-you-not dimensions to this tale. In late 2005, Ritchie Scaife peered through a window at one of her husband's many homes and saw him with one Tammy Sue Vasco, a woman whose colorful criminal history includes an arrest for prostitution. And this tryst was no one-afternoon stand. Ritchie Scaife describes Vasco in court filings as her husband's "mistress."
It gets better. But to fully appreciate this mesmerizing debacle, one must study it up close, for its many strategic blunders and its moments of epic brutality -- like a visit to Gettysburg, minus the gravitas. The good news, weekend travelers, is you can get close enough to most of the landmarks to gawk to your heart's content.
So buy a map and pack a lunch. And keep your hands inside the car.
Fireworks From the Start
We begin in Ligonier, 50 miles east of the city, at the Rolling Rock Club, once part of the Mellon estate, now a social center for the city's small community of super-rich, a place where Dick Cheney has gone game bird-hunting on a few occasions. The Scaifes wed here 16 years ago, with a reception that included a massive display of fireworks. The two had been openly dating for years, while Richard was married to his first wife, the former Frances Gilmore, with whom he had two children, and Ritchie was married to an attorney named Westray Battle, with whom she had a son.
Friends were not surprised that Ritchie, with her elegant cheekbones and lilting Southern accent, had turned the head of one of the country's richest men, currently No. 380 in the Forbes 400. She is known within high society as a woman who is fierce and formidable when she has a goal in mind, and in the '80s, her top priority was marrying Richard Scaife, say acquaintances.
Now, to the site of postnuptial domestic bliss, such as it was.
Head west on Route 30 to the Pennsylvania Turnpike and follow the signs to Pittsburgh. Once in the city, notice that "Mellon" is slapped on just about everything -- buildings, libraries, banks, streets, and on and on. That would be Andrew Mellon, the uncle of Richard Scaife's mother, a financial wiz who built a Gilded Age fortune through banking and oil. Income from the trusts of that estate yields roughly $45 million a year for Scaife, according to a filing by his wife. That's a gross disposable income of nearly $4 million a month, apparently just for having been born. As the lawyer of his soon-to-be-ex-wife noted, "These massive streams of income are attributable to no employment, business enterprise or other effort -- intellectual, physical, creative or ministerial -- past or present."
During the years they dated, Richard and Ritchie had lived a block and a half apart, in a moneyed section of town called Shadyside. Once the two were united in holy matrimony, for reasons perhaps only they know, the arrangement didn't change. She lived on a cul-de-sac called Pitcairn Place. He lived two blocks away, on Westminster Place, in a huge red-brick Georgian-style home, with a multi-car garage and an American flag on the front door.
Dickie, as he's known to his handful of friends, acquired a mean streak at an early age, according to his now-deceased sister, Cordelia Scaife. (She once told The Washington Post that she and her brother hadn't spoken for 25 years.) His trouble with alcohol started when he was at prep school, and he later was tossed out of Yale when he rolled a keg of beer down a flight of stairs and broke the legs of a fellow student. His father, a below-average businessman, died a year after Richard graduated from the University of Pittsburgh. His mother was "just a gutter drunk," as Cordelia put it.
Scaife owns a handful of newspapers and newsweeklies, including the Pittsburgh Tribune Review, a conservative answer to the Post-Gazette. When he isn't tending to this modest publishing empire, he's underwriting what Hillary Clinton once called "a vast right-wing conspiracy." His highest-profile expenditure is the $2.3 million he gave the American Spectator magazine in the mid-'90s, to try to unearth prurient and embarrassing details about Bill Clinton's years as governor of Arkansas. (The magazine came up virtually empty-handed.)
Though he jousts, indirectly, with public figures, Scaife seems to detest attention. He almost never speaks to the media, and on one of the few occasions he did, it was to tell a reporter, who'd sandbagged him on the street, that she was ugly and that her mother was ugly, too.
But Scaife is said to be extremely kind to his staff, which includes security, a chef, housekeepers, and a pilot for his DC-9. His lawyer did not return calls requesting comment for this story.
As for Ritchie Scaife, she was considered by her peers to be ostentatious and a touch too loud, say two acquaintances. Publicly, she was credited with helping to humanize her husband. It was she who reportedly helped him get sober after years of alcoholism, and she who persuaded him to channel some of his philanthropic largess to tsunami relief. (Richard Scaife has long given to charitable causes, but conservative politics is his passion.) Ritchie was involved with his business, too, serving on the board of her husband's publishing company. Through her lawyer, she declined to comment for this article.
At some point in late 2005, Ritchie started having suspicions about her husband and hired a private investigator named Keith Scannell, a specialist in high-end surveillance for insurance companies. In December of that year, Scannell followed Richard Scaife to nearby North Huntingdon, home of Doug's Motel, a place where the TVs are bolted to the furniture and rooms can be rented in three-hour increments, for $28. (It's now under new management and renamed the Huntingdon Inn. Head east on Route 8, then east on Route 30.) There, according to Scannell, Scaife spent a few hours with Tammy Sue Vasco.
Why a billionaire would shack up at Doug's Motel, of all places, is a mystery. Ditto his choice of companions. Vasco is a tall, blond 43-year-old mother who in 1993 was busted in a sting operation after showing up at a Sheraton hotel and offering to have sex with an undercover cop for $225, the Post-Gazette reported.
Social Register material she is not, but Vasco and Scaife seemed to have a relationship that went beyond the purely professional. The two usually met each other twice a week, for months, at the motel, says an employee of the motel. Scaife would show up in a chauffeured car, dressed in a suit, wearing cuff links, always bearing flowers. Vasco would be waiting in same room every time, Room 5 on the ground floor, facing the parking lot, said the employee. Mr. Dick, as he was known at the motel, would stay for two hours or so, then get back in the car, which had been waiting, and leave.
"He actually seemed infatuated with Tammy," says the Doug's Motel employee, who did not want to be identified because of the powerful parties in the case. "She'd talk about trips that he took her on, to California, New York City. And it was great for her. It changed her life."
Despite a long history of financial disputes and a variety of liens, Vasco currently lives in a three-bedroom house that an attorney named Patrick Derrico bought outright for $50,000 a few years ago. Her name is currently on the deed. Derrico, who practices in Washington, Pa., would not discuss the deal, or Vasco.
She has also traded up from the Jeep she once drove. She's now behind the wheel of a dark green Toyota Sequoia, a large SUV that goes for about $40,000. Attempts to reach her for comment through her father, who lives in West Virginia, and through Derrico were not successful. She did not reply to a message hand-delivered to her home.
A few days after Scannell reported the Doug's Motel rendezvous to Ritchie Scaife, she noticed Vasco's Jeep in the driveway of his mansion at Westminster Place. Gaping through a window, according to court papers filed by her lawyers, she spotted Vasco. Then the trouble started.
Private investigator Scannell, commenting on what became a much-discussed local news story, put it this way: "Mrs. Scaife acted as any loving wife would upon finding out just days earlier that her husband had a confirmed meeting, for several hours, at a $40 motel with a woman previously arrested for prostitution."
Police would later say that Ritchie Scaife began pounding on doors and windows and refused to leave, which is why she was promptly arrested for "defiant trespass." She was handcuffed and driven downtown to the Allegheny County Jail -- near the Liberty Bridge, at 950 Second Ave. -- where a woman accustomed to traveling with a personal hairdresser spent the night in what her lawyers later called a "grim" holding cell.
The trespassing charge was eventually dismissed, but as Ritchie Scaife's lawyer stated in a divorce filing, "The marriage was over!"
Baring Fangs
Both sides lawyered up, and the war over the Scaifes' considerable assets began. Ritchie started at a bit of a disadvantage: Few of her belongings were actually in her possession. In 2002, Richard had told his wife that as a birthday gift he would renovate her home, which required her to temporarily relocate virtually everything she owned. When the legal proceedings began in early 2006, Ritchie's home was still uninhabitable, and she lived around the corner from Pitcairn Place, at the home of William Pietragallo, her lawyer, and Pietragallo's wife, a friend of Ritchie's for many years.
For Pietragallo and his colleagues, one of the first orders of business was persuading Richard to cough up his wife's goods. Which took some doing. A lawsuit was filed, with Ritchie's lawyers accusing Richard of behavior "designed to harass and annoy Wife" and "to create obfuscation, chaos and uncertainty as to the existence, location, condition and ownership of the vast amounts of personal property owned by the parties."
The key word here is "vast." One of the most astounding stacks of papers in the pile that is the Scaife divorce is the inventory of Ritchie's stuff, compiled by her lawyers. The list runs for more than 80 pages, like an episode of "Antiques Roadshow" that will not end. Meat platters, sardine forks, melon forks, a circa-1804 Dutch teapot, a painting by Magritte, Victorian cream pitchers, bread trays, candlesticks, a sterling silver nutmeg grater, flatware service . . . you get the picture. Much of it was stored at Vallamont, the weekend house Richard Scaife owns near the Rolling Rock Club.
"Defendant has and continues to unlawfully hold in his possession six pairs of asparagus tongs manufactured by Mappin & Webb, Birmingham, 1926 weighing 10 ounces total," reads one of dozens of paragraphs. "The last-known location for these items was at 'Vallamont,' 132 Pheasant Circle, Ligonier, Pa. 15658. The estimated cost for these items is $1,800."
Eventually, Scaife returned this massive collection, with Ritchie's lawyers accusing him of "dumping" the stuff on her without a proper heads-up. Scaife's lawyers countered that the transfer was handled with respect and care.
The real fight, though, was not over the Shreve & Co. finger bowls. It was over the dog. Specifically, a yellow Labrador retriever named Beauregard, who Ritchie has told friends is a direct descendant of a pooch belonging to a king of England. Until March 2006, the animal was in Ritchie's hands, living with her and the Pietragallos. Then one day, Beauregard was scooped out of the Pietragallos' back yard and whisked around the corner, to Richard's house on Westminster.
This brazen canine abduction was not covered up. Quite the opposite. It was celebrated with a banner on wooden stakes posted on Richard's front lawn: "Welcome home, Beauregard," it read.
It's safe to assume that despite his lineage, Beauregard is unable to read. The point, it seems, was to needle Ritchie.
And it did.
On the afternoon of April 6, 2006, Ritchie stopped her car when she spotted a housekeeper of Richard's walking Beauregard in the neighborhood. Game on. The cops later said that Ritchie punched 51-year-old Sue Patterson, then tried to grab the dog. A secretary of Richard's, 77-year-old Genevieve Still, saw Ritchie and Patterson on the ground, with Ritchie on top, pulling Patterson's hair. When she tried to intervene, Still wound up with "a swift kick to the lower back," she told police. Then a security guard named Dennis Bradshaw got in on the action and took a slap to the head, which reportedly broke his glasses.
Ritchie did not win this one-on-three suburban cage match, nor did she manage to grab Beauregard. She did, however, get arrested, again, this time for assault. All three of Richard Scaife's employees went to the hospital, where they were treated for scratches and bruises, then released, the Post-Gazette reported. A judge eventually dismissed the assault case, though personal-injury lawsuits by the employees are still pending.
Beauregard, by the way, still lives with Richard.
The lawsuits did little, it seems, to sate Ritchie's appetite for confrontation. In September of last year, she drove to Vasco's home, located in nearby Port Vue, perhaps to get a better look at her husband's paramour. Ritchie allegedly started shouting obscenities. Many obscenities, and she caused some kind of ruckus. Enough to provoke Vasco's 20-ish daughter, Winnifred, to file a criminal harassment complaint with a local magistrate, accusing Ritchie of what might be described as carrying on.
That charge was also eventually dismissed.
A Media Magnate & Magnet
The fight for the dog is matched in intensity only by the fight for the money. The filings in this case have unveiled a scrumptious buffet of new information about Richard Scaife's riches -- where they've come from and where they've gone. Until a few weeks ago, these documents were under seal, by consent of both parties. Then the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette discovered that someone in Allegheny County's prothonotary's office had mistakenly, and briefly, posted filings in the case on a part of its Web site that is publicly accessible.
Now we know that Scaife is beneficiary of nine different trusts, including one called the "1935 Trust," with an approximate value of $210 million, and another called "The Revocable Trust," valued at $655 million. Altogether, these gushers are worth about $1.4 billion.
We learned, too, that the Tribune-Review has been a gurgling sinkhole from Day One; Scaife's lawyers say their client has pumped as much as $312 million into it over the years. And he's going to have to keep on pumping. The Tribune-Review's CEO has predicted an annual shortfall of $20 million for years to come.
These figures matter in the divorce because Scaife is arguing that the funds he forwards to the Tribune-Review should be deducted from his aggregate income, putting his annual haul closer to $17 million a year, a long way from the $45 million a year cited by Ritchie's lawyers. If true, that would of course reduce the monthly alimony check he could owe his wife once there's a permanent settlement.
Not surprisingly, Ritchie Scaife's attorneys have a different view. They say that Richard Scaife operates the Tribune-Review with so little concern for profit and loss that it's more a hobby than a business.
Viable corporation or sugar daddy's divertissement -- either way, you can take a gander at the Pittsburgh office of the Tribune-Review. It's on the third floor of the building that was once the factory where the Clark candy bar was made, near the fields where the Pirates and Steelers play. (Over the Fort Duquesne Bridge, to 503 Martindale St.)
So, plenty to see, and truth be told, plenty of time to see it. A final settlement could easily be a year away, and the meanness, for all we know, has just begun. Which is why the Scaife Divorce Tour of Pittsburgh could be the ultimate family vacation. If it doesn't bring your family together -- in mutual horror, in a group hug that says "we don't have it that bad" -- nothing will.
Drive safely!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/21/AR2007102101643.html
Just proved Jay Silver WAS on here the last few weeks. He is the only one who can delete comments. I'm really sure if it wasn't him posting all last week and before he would be on here deleting comments. Not very likely. Unless you really are that deprived. His writing style is very easy to detect also. I would be very surprised if 99% of the comments on both blog pages weren't all from him. Get a life man, you are such a freaking loser!
How this comment is responded to is going to be the tell-all. Reply with caution Jay.
The irony here is the way you post your garbled messages to hide other peoples messages and thoughts is exactly how the company in question was managed. It only works for so long and then the tables turn. Sorry, not the host of this site, nor do I know him, nor do I know anyone that knows him. I won't lead down this path of irrelevancy anyway. You should start a blog about the other topic you keep pointing everyone to. More corruption is again irrelevant to this post. One more leg form the table is pulled. Hope the two standing aren't on the same side of the table.
Jay, that was perfect. Just the kind of comment I was hoping for. You're not very good at playing dumb. Let's go over the facts: 1) you are obviously upset that your little one-liner about the tribloid's article this week was rebutted with relevant news; 2) you are the only person who can delete comments; 3) you are still stuck on this lenature thing like a pathetic loser who thinks he had some role in "bringing the company down". Get real, do you really think Wall Street cares what a poor, ugly, balding loser thinks about a company or its products? You forget that besides me, your blog is visited by pretty much you and maybe a handful of your loser friends posing as former employees regurgitating things that you read in the tribloid. I'll bet 1000 to 1 that you have Google send you alerts on this thing because you don't get the tribloid up at MIT. Pretending to know what it was like working at lenatures is sort of stupid considering that I too worked there albeit as a contractor, but everybody who worked there knows the tribloid version is false. If you did in fact work there, I would love to hear more about the place (I'm willing to bet you cannot name more than 10 employees not mentioned in the newspaper).
Here we go back to grade school...how much do you want to bet? OK, let's play psychology. I'm not Jay and I didn't work there and every time you say you worked there, you qualify it as a "contractor". You mentioned that every time which definitely means your lying and with all the information you have and the disdain you have for Scaife, we know your a family member of past ownership. The fact that the owner of this site can delete comments is 100% not logically related to the fact that anyone can post here meaning it's irrelevant. Imagine this; an owner of something can run it how they want. I'll prove I'm not Jay; personally had a tour of the Stoney Brewery back when Greg had his two cents in there; a) We drank a bold brew right of the bottling line, showed me the tap house, his mother ran the company store and just an odd tid bit showed me the corn feed that was sold off to farmers as a by-product from the brew.
Now, that is my last damn bit about your grade school games. We are all waiting to see what happens with this case and the one thing you bragged about (it taking so long) I believe is now against you. No matter, enough people were affected, we want to see how it plays out. Past that I have no other interest.
The table is getting wobbly.
Looking for a perfect little weekend vacation this fall? Here's a travel tip you don't hear very often: Head to Pittsburgh. Right away.
Seriously, get in the car and read this story later, because when you're done reading, you'll wish you'd left 10 minutes ago. There are towns with better vistas, sure, and there are getaways with more sunshine. But only Pittsburgh is the scene of the fabulously tawdry and surpassingly vicious spectacle that is the divorce of Richard Mellon Scaife.
Remember him? The cantankerous, reclusive 75-year-old billionaire who's spent a sizable chunk of his inherited fortune bankrolling conservative causes and trying to kneecap Democrats? He's best known for funding efforts to smear then-President Bill Clinton, but more quietly he's given in excess of $300 million to right-leaning activists, watchdogs and think tanks. Atop his list of favorite donees: the family-values-focused Heritage Foundation, which has published papers with titles such as "Restoring a Culture of Marriage."
The culture of his own marriage is apparently past restoring. With the legal fight still in the weigh-in phase, the story of Scaife v. Scaife already includes a dog-snatching, an assault, a night in jail and that divorce court perennial, allegations of adultery.
Oh, and there's the money. Three words, people.
No. Pre. Nup.
Unfathomable but true, when Scaife (rhymes with safe) married his second wife, Margaret "Ritchie" Scaife, in 1991, he neglected to wall off a fortune that Forbes recently valued at $1.3 billion. This, to understate matters, is likely going to cost him, big time. As part of a temporary settlement, 60-year-old Ritchie Scaife is currently cashing an alimony check that at first glance will look like a typo: $725,000 a month. Or about $24,000 a day, seven days a week. As Richard Scaife's exasperated lawyers put it in a filing, "The temporary order produces an amount so large that just the income from it, invested at 5 percent, is greater each year than the salary of the President of the United States."
The numbers are just one of many we-kid-you-not dimensions to this tale. In late 2005, Ritchie Scaife peered through a window at one of her husband's many homes and saw him with one Tammy Sue Vasco, a woman whose colorful criminal history includes an arrest for prostitution. And this tryst was no one-afternoon stand. Ritchie Scaife describes Vasco in court filings as her husband's "mistress."
It gets better. But to fully appreciate this mesmerizing debacle, one must study it up close, for its many strategic blunders and its moments of epic brutality -- like a visit to Gettysburg, minus the gravitas. The good news, weekend travelers, is you can get close enough to most of the landmarks to gawk to your heart's content.
So buy a map and pack a lunch. And keep your hands inside the car.
Fireworks From the Start
We begin in Ligonier, 50 miles east of the city, at the Rolling Rock Club, once part of the Mellon estate, now a social center for the city's small community of super-rich, a place where Dick Cheney has gone game bird-hunting on a few occasions. The Scaifes wed here 16 years ago, with a reception that included a massive display of fireworks. The two had been openly dating for years, while Richard was married to his first wife, the former Frances Gilmore, with whom he had two children, and Ritchie was married to an attorney named Westray Battle, with whom she had a son.
Friends were not surprised that Ritchie, with her elegant cheekbones and lilting Southern accent, had turned the head of one of the country's richest men, currently No. 380 in the Forbes 400. She is known within high society as a woman who is fierce and formidable when she has a goal in mind, and in the '80s, her top priority was marrying Richard Scaife, say acquaintances.
Now, to the site of postnuptial domestic bliss, such as it was.
Head west on Route 30 to the Pennsylvania Turnpike and follow the signs to Pittsburgh. Once in the city, notice that "Mellon" is slapped on just about everything -- buildings, libraries, banks, streets, and on and on. That would be Andrew Mellon, the uncle of Richard Scaife's mother, a financial wiz who built a Gilded Age fortune through banking and oil. Income from the trusts of that estate yields roughly $45 million a year for Scaife, according to a filing by his wife. That's a gross disposable income of nearly $4 million a month, apparently just for having been born. As the lawyer of his soon-to-be-ex-wife noted, "These massive streams of income are attributable to no employment, business enterprise or other effort -- intellectual, physical, creative or ministerial -- past or present."
During the years they dated, Richard and Ritchie had lived a block and a half apart, in a moneyed section of town called Shadyside. Once the two were united in holy matrimony, for reasons perhaps only they know, the arrangement didn't change. She lived on a cul-de-sac called Pitcairn Place. He lived two blocks away, on Westminster Place, in a huge red-brick Georgian-style home, with a multi-car garage and an American flag on the front door.
Dickie, as he's known to his handful of friends, acquired a mean streak at an early age, according to his now-deceased sister, Cordelia Scaife. (She once told The Washington Post that she and her brother hadn't spoken for 25 years.) His trouble with alcohol started when he was at prep school, and he later was tossed out of Yale when he rolled a keg of beer down a flight of stairs and broke the legs of a fellow student. His father, a below-average businessman, died a year after Richard graduated from the University of Pittsburgh. His mother was "just a gutter drunk," as Cordelia put it.
Scaife owns a handful of newspapers and newsweeklies, including the Pittsburgh Tribune Review, a conservative answer to the Post-Gazette. When he isn't tending to this modest publishing empire, he's underwriting what Hillary Clinton once called "a vast right-wing conspiracy." His highest-profile expenditure is the $2.3 million he gave the American Spectator magazine in the mid-'90s, to try to unearth prurient and embarrassing details about Bill Clinton's years as governor of Arkansas. (The magazine came up virtually empty-handed.)
Though he jousts, indirectly, with public figures, Scaife seems to detest attention. He almost never speaks to the media, and on one of the few occasions he did, it was to tell a reporter, who'd sandbagged him on the street, that she was ugly and that her mother was ugly, too.
But Scaife is said to be extremely kind to his staff, which includes security, a chef, housekeepers, and a pilot for his DC-9. His lawyer did not return calls requesting comment for this story.
As for Ritchie Scaife, she was considered by her peers to be ostentatious and a touch too loud, say two acquaintances. Publicly, she was credited with helping to humanize her husband. It was she who reportedly helped him get sober after years of alcoholism, and she who persuaded him to channel some of his philanthropic largess to tsunami relief. (Richard Scaife has long given to charitable causes, but conservative politics is his passion.) Ritchie was involved with his business, too, serving on the board of her husband's publishing company. Through her lawyer, she declined to comment for this article.
At some point in late 2005, Ritchie started having suspicions about her husband and hired a private investigator named Keith Scannell, a specialist in high-end surveillance for insurance companies. In December of that year, Scannell followed Richard Scaife to nearby North Huntingdon, home of Doug's Motel, a place where the TVs are bolted to the furniture and rooms can be rented in three-hour increments, for $28. (It's now under new management and renamed the Huntingdon Inn. Head east on Route 8, then east on Route 30.) There, according to Scannell, Scaife spent a few hours with Tammy Sue Vasco.
Why a billionaire would shack up at Doug's Motel, of all places, is a mystery. Ditto his choice of companions. Vasco is a tall, blond 43-year-old mother who in 1993 was busted in a sting operation after showing up at a Sheraton hotel and offering to have sex with an undercover cop for $225, the Post-Gazette reported.
Social Register material she is not, but Vasco and Scaife seemed to have a relationship that went beyond the purely professional. The two usually met each other twice a week, for months, at the motel, says an employee of the motel. Scaife would show up in a chauffeured car, dressed in a suit, wearing cuff links, always bearing flowers. Vasco would be waiting in same room every time, Room 5 on the ground floor, facing the parking lot, said the employee. Mr. Dick, as he was known at the motel, would stay for two hours or so, then get back in the car, which had been waiting, and leave.
"He actually seemed infatuated with Tammy," says the Doug's Motel employee, who did not want to be identified because of the powerful parties in the case. "She'd talk about trips that he took her on, to California, New York City. And it was great for her. It changed her life."
Despite a long history of financial disputes and a variety of liens, Vasco currently lives in a three-bedroom house that an attorney named Patrick Derrico bought outright for $50,000 a few years ago. Her name is currently on the deed. Derrico, who practices in Washington, Pa., would not discuss the deal, or Vasco.
She has also traded up from the Jeep she once drove. She's now behind the wheel of a dark green Toyota Sequoia, a large SUV that goes for about $40,000. Attempts to reach her for comment through her father, who lives in West Virginia, and through Derrico were not successful. She did not reply to a message hand-delivered to her home.
A few days after Scannell reported the Doug's Motel rendezvous to Ritchie Scaife, she noticed Vasco's Jeep in the driveway of his mansion at Westminster Place. Gaping through a window, according to court papers filed by her lawyers, she spotted Vasco. Then the trouble started.
Private investigator Scannell, commenting on what became a much-discussed local news story, put it this way: "Mrs. Scaife acted as any loving wife would upon finding out just days earlier that her husband had a confirmed meeting, for several hours, at a $40 motel with a woman previously arrested for prostitution."
Police would later say that Ritchie Scaife began pounding on doors and windows and refused to leave, which is why she was promptly arrested for "defiant trespass." She was handcuffed and driven downtown to the Allegheny County Jail -- near the Liberty Bridge, at 950 Second Ave. -- where a woman accustomed to traveling with a personal hairdresser spent the night in what her lawyers later called a "grim" holding cell.
The trespassing charge was eventually dismissed, but as Ritchie Scaife's lawyer stated in a divorce filing, "The marriage was over!"
Baring Fangs
Both sides lawyered up, and the war over the Scaifes' considerable assets began. Ritchie started at a bit of a disadvantage: Few of her belongings were actually in her possession. In 2002, Richard had told his wife that as a birthday gift he would renovate her home, which required her to temporarily relocate virtually everything she owned. When the legal proceedings began in early 2006, Ritchie's home was still uninhabitable, and she lived around the corner from Pitcairn Place, at the home of William Pietragallo, her lawyer, and Pietragallo's wife, a friend of Ritchie's for many years.
For Pietragallo and his colleagues, one of the first orders of business was persuading Richard to cough up his wife's goods. Which took some doing. A lawsuit was filed, with Ritchie's lawyers accusing Richard of behavior "designed to harass and annoy Wife" and "to create obfuscation, chaos and uncertainty as to the existence, location, condition and ownership of the vast amounts of personal property owned by the parties."
The key word here is "vast." One of the most astounding stacks of papers in the pile that is the Scaife divorce is the inventory of Ritchie's stuff, compiled by her lawyers. The list runs for more than 80 pages, like an episode of "Antiques Roadshow" that will not end. Meat platters, sardine forks, melon forks, a circa-1804 Dutch teapot, a painting by Magritte, Victorian cream pitchers, bread trays, candlesticks, a sterling silver nutmeg grater, flatware service . . . you get the picture. Much of it was stored at Vallamont, the weekend house Richard Scaife owns near the Rolling Rock Club.
"Defendant has and continues to unlawfully hold in his possession six pairs of asparagus tongs manufactured by Mappin & Webb, Birmingham, 1926 weighing 10 ounces total," reads one of dozens of paragraphs. "The last-known location for these items was at 'Vallamont,' 132 Pheasant Circle, Ligonier, Pa. 15658. The estimated cost for these items is $1,800."
Eventually, Scaife returned this massive collection, with Ritchie's lawyers accusing him of "dumping" the stuff on her without a proper heads-up. Scaife's lawyers countered that the transfer was handled with respect and care.
The real fight, though, was not over the Shreve & Co. finger bowls. It was over the dog. Specifically, a yellow Labrador retriever named Beauregard, who Ritchie has told friends is a direct descendant of a pooch belonging to a king of England. Until March 2006, the animal was in Ritchie's hands, living with her and the Pietragallos. Then one day, Beauregard was scooped out of the Pietragallos' back yard and whisked around the corner, to Richard's house on Westminster.
This brazen canine abduction was not covered up. Quite the opposite. It was celebrated with a banner on wooden stakes posted on Richard's front lawn: "Welcome home, Beauregard," it read.
It's safe to assume that despite his lineage, Beauregard is unable to read. The point, it seems, was to needle Ritchie.
And it did.
On the afternoon of April 6, 2006, Ritchie stopped her car when she spotted a housekeeper of Richard's walking Beauregard in the neighborhood. Game on. The cops later said that Ritchie punched 51-year-old Sue Patterson, then tried to grab the dog. A secretary of Richard's, 77-year-old Genevieve Still, saw Ritchie and Patterson on the ground, with Ritchie on top, pulling Patterson's hair. When she tried to intervene, Still wound up with "a swift kick to the lower back," she told police. Then a security guard named Dennis Bradshaw got in on the action and took a slap to the head, which reportedly broke his glasses.
Ritchie did not win this one-on-three suburban cage match, nor did she manage to grab Beauregard. She did, however, get arrested, again, this time for assault. All three of Richard Scaife's employees went to the hospital, where they were treated for scratches and bruises, then released, the Post-Gazette reported. A judge eventually dismissed the assault case, though personal-injury lawsuits by the employees are still pending.
Beauregard, by the way, still lives with Richard.
The lawsuits did little, it seems, to sate Ritchie's appetite for confrontation. In September of last year, she drove to Vasco's home, located in nearby Port Vue, perhaps to get a better look at her husband's paramour. Ritchie allegedly started shouting obscenities. Many obscenities, and she caused some kind of ruckus. Enough to provoke Vasco's 20-ish daughter, Winnifred, to file a criminal harassment complaint with a local magistrate, accusing Ritchie of what might be described as carrying on.
That charge was also eventually dismissed.
A Media Magnate & Magnet
The fight for the dog is matched in intensity only by the fight for the money. The filings in this case have unveiled a scrumptious buffet of new information about Richard Scaife's riches -- where they've come from and where they've gone. Until a few weeks ago, these documents were under seal, by consent of both parties. Then the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette discovered that someone in Allegheny County's prothonotary's office had mistakenly, and briefly, posted filings in the case on a part of its Web site that is publicly accessible.
Now we know that Scaife is beneficiary of nine different trusts, including one called the "1935 Trust," with an approximate value of $210 million, and another called "The Revocable Trust," valued at $655 million. Altogether, these gushers are worth about $1.4 billion.
We learned, too, that the Tribune-Review has been a gurgling sinkhole from Day One; Scaife's lawyers say their client has pumped as much as $312 million into it over the years. And he's going to have to keep on pumping. The Tribune-Review's CEO has predicted an annual shortfall of $20 million for years to come.
These figures matter in the divorce because Scaife is arguing that the funds he forwards to the Tribune-Review should be deducted from his aggregate income, putting his annual haul closer to $17 million a year, a long way from the $45 million a year cited by Ritchie's lawyers. If true, that would of course reduce the monthly alimony check he could owe his wife once there's a permanent settlement.
Not surprisingly, Ritchie Scaife's attorneys have a different view. They say that Richard Scaife operates the Tribune-Review with so little concern for profit and loss that it's more a hobby than a business.
Viable corporation or sugar daddy's divertissement -- either way, you can take a gander at the Pittsburgh office of the Tribune-Review. It's on the third floor of the building that was once the factory where the Clark candy bar was made, near the fields where the Pirates and Steelers play. (Over the Fort Duquesne Bridge, to 503 Martindale St.)
So, plenty to see, and truth be told, plenty of time to see it. A final settlement could easily be a year away, and the meanness, for all we know, has just begun. Which is why the Scaife Divorce Tour of Pittsburgh could be the ultimate family vacation. If it doesn't bring your family together -- in mutual horror, in a group hug that says "we don't have it that bad" -- nothing will.
Drive safely!
as per trib.........
It was a skim that would have made the Mafia proud.
Two men running a business out of a house in North Carolina allegedly handled millions of dollars for former LeNature's CEO Gregory Podlucky and helped him skim $110 million in financing that Podlucky used to enrich himself by building a mansion and purchasing $30 million worth of gems and jewelry.
The scheme, detailed in a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh against Podlucky, former company officers, family, friends and investment bankers, could serve as the blueprint for money laundering, bank, wire and mail fraud charges being considered by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh.
story continues below
The funds were part of more than $500 million allegedly looted by Podlucky as part of a fraud that kept the failing company afloat through forgery, deceit and questionable loans.
Evidence uncovered by forensic auditors has since been turned over to the U.S. Attorney's Office, postal inspectors and the Internal Revenue Service for use in the criminal probe, according to bankruptcy court records that detail the investigation.
Also named as defendants are Podlucky's brother, Jonathan, who was the company's COO; David Getzik of Washington, Pa., the former CFO; Robert Lynn of Ligonier, vice president; and Drew Murin, formerly of Derry, who is a friend of Podlucky's and served as a company consultant.
None of the defendants would comment on the allegations.
Here's how the scheme worked, according to Trustee Marc Kirschner's filing, which is seeking more than $1.5 billion in damages.
Podlucky hired The Pollinger Co., of Charlotte, N.C., to act as an intermediary in arranging the financing and purchase of bottling equipment that Podlucky wanted to use to expand his Latrobe plant and a sprawling plant he built in Arizona.
Podlucky and owners Donald and Paul Pollinger used a simple bait-and-switch to run the scam.
The Pollingers ordered an expensive line of equipment, then switched to cheaper machinery after the financing was in place. The company leasing the equipment ended up paying Pollinger Co. more than the Pollingers had to pay the company manufacturing the equipment, according to the suit.
When LeNature's auditors in 2006 wanted to confirm that Pollinger had the equipment deposits in a bank, the Pollingers confirmed that they held more than $200 million in deposits for Podlucky. The money was supposed to be transferred to a German company making the equipment.
As a result, "tens of millions of dollars" were funneled to Podlucky, according to Kirschner.
The suit alleges the Pollingers also helped Podlucky obtain financing for machinery that did not exist.
Kirschner said no one raised alarms when it was discovered that Pollinger was a small, two-man operation with little or no assets or credit rating. More importantly, no one bothered to check where the money was deposited, he said.
In each instance, the leasing company paid too much in financing and Pollinger sent the excess to Podlucky. In 2003 and 2004, more than $8.1 million in excess financing was transferred to Podlucky, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also details Wachovia Bank's role.
Wachovia Bank and its affiliates, Wachovia Capital Markets and Wachovia Securities, are named as defendants in the lawsuit. Wachovia, which arranged a total of $600 million in financing for LeNature's, knew the company was teetering financially yet it continued to provide LeNature's "with a steady stream of capital" by issuing more debt, according to Kirschner.
Kirschner said LeNature's should have failed financially as early as 2002 but Wachovia's steady stream of money kept the company in business, piling up even more debt, until late 2006.
Despite Wachovia's own misgivings about LeNature's financial affairs, the bank kept loaning the company more money.
Using internal company e-mails, Kirschner shows that Wachovia's investment bankers were at odds with their own analysts who had serious doubts about LeNature's and Podlucky.
One Wachovia analyst questioned why LeNature's earnings did not match its reported growth projections since its line of water and juice products were not being carried by the major stores. Its products were disappearing from shelves at places like Wal-Mart, Target, Pathmark and Kroger's.
Another analyst in Wachovia's food and beverage division asked how LeNature's could be making money by selling its product for 99 cents.
Finally, it got to the point where Wachovia analysts said LeNature's financial information was "frankly worthless" even though brokers had put out a "buy rating" on a series of junk bonds for the company.
Wachovia was able to reduce its liability to nothing by selling its debt to other financial institutions and hedge funds who never were told about LeNature's financial problems.
In the process, the bank earned more than $7.1 million in fees "for a few days' work." Wachovia's actions in that instance also are the subject of a lawsuit in federal court in Pittsburgh.
Pat Huddleston, the former chief of enforcement for the Securities and Exchange Commission, said corporate corruption "is all about the money."
"There is always a battle between the compliance department and people who make money for the investment banking firms -- the investment bankers," said Huddleston, who now operates Investors Watchdog, a Web site in Atlanta that tracks financial fraud.
"Voices get drowned out by investment banking fees, which are pretty hefty. Some officials just don't have the courage to insist that people take a harder look at these things out of fear for their job," Huddleston said.
"On one hand, you have someone raising red flags. On the other, you have someone saying, 'I can make $20 million on this deal.' "
He said creating bogus financial records and forging documents are nothing new in corporate America. Corrupt businessmen are willing to go to any length to conceal fraud.
He said he tracked a recent scam involving a company official who creating a non-existent accounting firm so it could issue fictitious financial opinions on behalf of the company to hide the businessman's misdeeds.
"Truth is stranger than fiction," he said.
Richard Gazarik can be reached at rgazarik@tribweb.com o
Podlucky Family Seeks Record Libel Damages From Tribune Review Publishing Co.
Ligonier, Pennsylvania., USA, December 19, 2008 – The Podlucky Family have retained the services of prominent officials from various international law firms, risk management companies and various high profile advisory groups to assist them in the prosecution of a $2.5 Billion libel suit against the Tribune Review Publishing Co.
Over the past two years the Tribune Review Publishing Co. has published over 135 articles and editorials smearing family members. The lawsuit remains sealed pending final review by various advisory groups who specialize in libel litigation. If the Podlucky Family is successful in the prosecution of the lawsuit the damages sought would be the largest in the history of the United States.
Additionally, the merits of the lawsuit have successfully passed a controlled panel of focus group individuals comprised of retired lawyers and judicial personalities.
The Podlucky Family maintains a private residence in Ligonier, Pennsylvania.
Contact:
Abraham Zonensein
+972986581730
Tel Aviv, Israel
Seems like everything they do is the largest in the United States. Maybe the money won can be returned to the lenders that all got ripped off if they win.
A quiet windfall for U.S. banks
With attention on bailout debate, Treasury made change to tax law
By Amit R. Paley
The Washington Post
updated 12:37 a.m. ET, Mon., Nov. 10, 2008
The financial world was fixated on Capitol Hill as Congress battled over the Bush administration's request for a
$700 billion bailout of the banking industry. In the midst of this late-September drama, the Treasury
Department issued a five-sentence notice that attracted almost no public attention.
But corporate tax lawyers quickly realized the enormous implications of the document: Administration officials
had just given American banks a windfall of as much as $140 billion.
The sweeping change to two decades of tax policy escaped the notice of lawmakers for several days, as they
remained consumed with the controversial bailout bill. When they found out, some legislators were furious.
Some congressional staff members have privately concluded that the notice was illegal. But they have worried
that saying so publicly could unravel several recent bank mergers made possible by the change and send the
economy into an even deeper tailspin.
"Did the Treasury Department have the authority to do this? I think almost every tax expert would agree that
the answer is no," said George K. Yin, the former chief of staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation, the
nonpartisan congressional authority on taxes. "They basically repealed a 22-year-old law that Congress
passed as a backdoor way of providing aid to banks."
The story of the obscure provision underscores what critics in Congress, academia and the legal profession
warn are the dangers of the broad authority being exercised by Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. in
addressing the financial crisis. Lawmakers are now looking at whether the new notice was introduced to
benefit specific banks, as well as whether it inappropriately accelerated bank takeovers.
The change to Section 382 of the tax code -- a provision that limited a kind of tax shelter arising in corporate
mergers -- came after a two-decade effort by conservative economists and Republican administration officials
to eliminate or overhaul the law, which is so little-known that even influential tax experts sometimes draw a
blank at its mention. Until the financial meltdown, its opponents thought it would be nearly impossible to
revamp the section because this would look like a corporate giveaway, according to lobbyists.
Andrew C. DeSouza, a Treasury spokesman, said the administration had the legal authority to issue the notice
as part of its power to interpret the tax code and provide legal guidance to companies. He described the Sept.
30 notice, which allows some banks to keep more money by lowering their taxes, as a way to help financial
institutions during a time of economic crisis. "This is part of our overall effort to provide relief," he said.
The Treasury itself did not estimate how much the tax change would cost, DeSouza said.
A tax law 'shock'
The guidance issued from the IRS caught even some of the closest followers of tax law off guard because it
seemed to come out of the blue when Treasury's work seemed focused almost exclusively on the bailout.
"It was a shock to most of the tax law community. It was one of those things where it pops up on your screen
and your jaw drops," said Candace A. Ridgway, a partner at Jones Day, a law firm that represents banks that
could benefit from the notice. "I've been in tax law for 20 years, and I've never seen anything like this."
More than a dozen tax lawyers interviewed for this story -- including several representing banks that stand to
reap billions from the change -- said the Treasury had no authority to issue the notice.
Several other tax lawyers, all of whom represent banks, said the change was legal. Like DeSouza, they said
the legal authority came from Section 382 itself, which says the secretary can write regulations to "carry out
MSNBC.com
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the purposes of this section."
Section 382 of the tax code was created by Congress in 1986 to end what it considered an abuse of the tax
system: companies sheltering their profits from taxation by acquiring shell companies whose only real value
was the losses on their books. The firms would then use the acquired company's losses to offset their gains
and avoid paying taxes.
Lawmakers decried the tax shelters as a scam and created a formula to strictly limit the use of those
purchased losses for tax purposes.
But from the beginning, some conservative economists and Republican administration officials criticized the
new law as unwieldy and unnecessary meddling by the government in the business world.
"This has never been a good economic policy," said Kenneth W. Gideon, an assistant Treasury secretary for
tax policy under President George H.W. Bush and now a partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, a
law firm that represents banks.
The opposition to Section 382 is part of a broader ideological battle over how the tax code deals with a
company's losses. Some conservative economists argue that not only should a firm be able to use losses to
offset gains, but that in a year when a company only loses money, it should be entitled to a cash refund from
the government.
During the current Bush administration, senior officials considered ways to implement some version of the
policy. A Treasury paper in December 2007 -- issued under the names of Eric Solomon, the top tax policy
official in the department, and his deputy, Robert Carroll -- criticized limits on the use of losses and suggested
that they be relaxed. A logical extension of that argument would be an overhaul of 382, according to Carroll,
who left his position as deputy assistant secretary in the Treasury's office of tax policy earlier this year.
Yet lobbyists trying to modify the obscure section found that they could get no traction in Congress or with the
Treasury.
"It's really been the third rail of tax policy to touch 382," said Kevin A. Hassett, director of economic policy
studies at the American Enterprise Institute.
'The Wells Fargo ruling'
As turmoil swept financial markets, banking officials stepped up their efforts to change the law.
Senior executives from the banking industry told top Treasury officials at the beginning of the year that
Section 382 was bad for businesses because it was preventing mergers, according to Scott E. Talbott, senior
vice president for the Financial Services Roundtable, which lobbies for some of the country's largest financial
institutions. He declined to identify the executives and said the discussions were not a concerted lobbying
effort. Lobbyists for the biotechnology industry also raised concerns about the provision at an April meeting
with Solomon, the assistant secretary for tax policy, according to talking points prepared for the session.
DeSouza, the Treasury spokesman, said department officials in August began internal discussions about the
tax change. "We received absolutely no requests from any bank or financial institution to do this," he said.
Although the department's action was prompted by spreading troubles in the financial markets, Carroll said, it
was consistent with what the Treasury had deemed in the December report to be good tax policy.
The notice, which relaxed the Section 382 rules only for domestic banks, was released on a momentous day in
the banking industry. It not only came 24 hours after the House of Representatives initially defeated the
bailout bill, but also one day after Wachovia agreed to be acquired by Citigroup in a government-brokered
deal.
The Treasury notice suddenly made it much more attractive to acquire distressed banks, and Wells Fargo,
which had been an earlier suitor for Wachovia, made a new and ultimately successful play to take it over.
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The Jones Day law firm said the tax change, which some analysts soon dubbed "the Wells Fargo Ruling," could
be worth about $25 billion for Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo declined to comment for this article.
The tax world, meanwhile, was rushing to figure out the full impact of the notice and who was responsible for
the change.
Jones Day released a widely circulated commentary that concluded that the change could cost taxpayers
about $140 billion. Robert L. Willens, a prominent corporate tax expert in New York City, said the price is
more likely to be $105 billion to $110 billion.
Over the next month, two more bank mergers took place with the benefit of the new tax guidance. PNC, which
took over National City, saved about $5.1 billion from the modification, more than what it spent to acquire the
bank, Willens said. Banco Santander, which took over Sovereign Bancorp, netted an extra $2 billion because
of the change, he said. A spokesman for PNC said Willens's estimate was too high but declined to provide an
alternate one; Santander declined to comment.
Attorneys representing banks celebrated the notice. One week after it was issued, former Treasury officials
now in private practice met with Solomon, the department's top tax policy official. They asked him to expand
the notice even further, so that foreign banks could benefit from the tax break, too.
Congress looks for answers
No one in the Treasury informed the tax-writing committees of Congress about this move, which could reduce
revenue by tens of billions of dollars. Legislators learned about the notice only days later.
DeSouza, the Treasury spokesman, said Congress is not normally consulted about administrative guidance.
Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), ranking member on the Finance Committee, was particularly outraged and
had his staff push for an explanation from the Bush administration, according to congressional aides.
In an off-the-record conference call on Oct. 7, nearly a dozen Capitol Hill staffers demanded answers from
Solomon for about an hour. Several of the participants left the call even more convinced that the
administration had overstepped its authority, according to people familiar with the conversation.
But lawmakers worried about discussing their concerns publicly. The staff of Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.),
chairman of the Finance Committee, had asked that the entire conference call be kept secret, according to a
person with knowledge of the call.
"We're all nervous about saying that this was illegal because of our fears about the marketplace," said one
congressional aide, who like others spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
"To the extent we want to try to publicly stop this, we're going to be gumming up some important deals."
Grassley and Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) have publicly expressed concerns about the notice but have so
far avoided saying that it is illegal. "Congress wants to help," Grassley said. "We also have a responsibility to
make sure power isn't abused and that the sensibilities of Main Street aren't left in the dust as Treasury works
to inject remedies into the financial system."
Carol Guthrie, spokeswoman for the Democrats on the Finance Committee, said it is in frequent contact with
the Treasury about the financial rescue efforts, including how it exercises authority over tax policy.
Lawmakers are considering legislation to undo the change. According to tax attorneys, no one would have
legal standing to file a lawsuit challenging the Treasury notice, so only Congress or Treasury could reverse it.
Such action could undo the notice going forward or make it clear that it was never legal, a move that experts
say would be unlikely.
But several aides said they were still torn between their belief that the change is illegal and fear of further
destabilizing the economy.
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"None of us wants to be blamed for ruining these mergers and creating a new Great Depression," one said.
Some legal experts said these under-the-radar objections mirror the objections to the congressional resolution
authorizing the war in Iraq.
"It's just like after September 11. Back then no one wanted to be seen as not patriotic, and now no one wants
to be seen as not doing all they can to save the financial system," said Lee A. Sheppard, a tax attorney who is
a contributing editor at the trade publication Tax Analysts. "We're left now with congressional Democrats that
have spines like overcooked spaghetti. So who is going to stop the Treasury secretary from doing whatever he
wants?"
© 2008 The Washington Post Company
If anybody read the Trib article today and is curious as to why they so badly need Andreycak's cooperation please raise your hand. For over two years now we have been reading stories about massive evidence of fraud. So why the need for Andreycak? Sounds like they bullied her into a sham indictment and now they need her to substantial more sham claims against the supposed 'criminals.' Very loose investigation it seems.
Now this is funny. Just think, it is a conspiracy against the old owner and its family. You know how the local community and officials like to tear apart successful businesses and prosecute the owners with federal indictments? Now they have a woman who spilled her guts? It sounds like she was the trigger person for many of the alleged crimes and holds much information about the company inner workings. She was found guilty because she was bullied into a confession? Your posts get more ridiculous each time. Darn, if that damn kid hadn't written a review on the company this would have never happened. Funny stuff. This thing took years to build and years to unravel. Andreycak can give more information than anyone and you can't understand why they need her to prosecute?
Who killed Steve Kangas?
Case overview
Steve Kangas was found dead on the 39th floor of his enemy’s doorstep at 11:30 PM on February 8 1999. In the bathroom of the offices of Richard Mellon Scaife, 2000 miles from home, — in Pittsburgh PA. Shot (twice?) in the head. Due to obstructions of justice, local police investigating the wrong circumstances quickly ruled it a suicide. There are over 1000 heated Usenet posts on this topic, dated from eleven days after his death. How did he die?
It seems much too messy for a pre-meditated hit. And too quiet for a political suicide stunt. And his death was far outside the depressed and paralyzed suicidal person’s profile — on a long trip? — it’s just not done. Suicide is normally done in, or close to the rut of daily life. Suicide counselors often recommend; “Take a long trip, and now! Break out!” It fits just right for a scuffle or the flared temper of a cold and mean man who owns the town and a small private army of “security”. Of course, anything is possible, suicide is too. But what fits best?. Where does logic and reason lead us if we toss aside the preconceptions that have been skillfully laid for us from the very first day? We shall explore one range of possibilities that one path takes us. I say “we” in part because this path is evolving quickly even now among the political newsgroups, in a huge battle between liberals and neo-conservatives. It is now mid May, 1999.
What is the entrance to this path we will follow?
1) It’s based on the fact that Scaife and/or his employees had fouled the police investigation within hours to suggest a “closed case” random suicide by concealing or withholding critical information.
2) It’s also based on the fact that Scaife’s Tribune-Review tabloid attack articles were so unfactual, and such an obvious smear that ALL information from them has been rejected.
3) It’s based on the assumption that there was a real reason for the Scaife tabloid’s news black-out, the eventual risky lies, the Kangas smear, Scaife’s nation-wide investigation, and the obstructions of justice. That is; we assume that these were not merely the frivolous ravings of a paranoid mean-spirited man, — nor a mere haphazard coincidence — as the police and mainstream press seems to have assumed as the only realistic premise. Even if Scaife is a paranoid mean-spirited man, this is hardly a rational defense.
If we establish those assumptions, only a few possibilities remain. I intend to establish them as reasonable and realistic assumptional foundations that no complete investigation should ignore.
It seems that if not for Usenet/Internet, the police would have long ago closed the case on a “random suicide by a random out-of-state drifter.” In fact, that’s what they quickly concluded within hours, and that conclusion stuck, it became an assumption unchallenged by anyone outside of Team Scaife for the next five weeks.
But, Scaife’s cover-up and his news black-out of his relationship with Steve Kangas was revealed by the boiling of dozens of ever angrier netizens in the political debate newsgroups of Usenet, and the sharp-eyed police spotted it on the front page of the Pittsburgh newspaper, the Post-Gazette.
But the cover-up bought Scaife time. The police, unaware of the Scaife-Kangas connection never made a criminal investigation. The Pittsburg Police did not request the Las Vegas Police to search Kangas’s home. During all this time Scaife had sent a private investigator traveling the country. Scaife’s employee entered and searched Steve’s home and smeared Steve’s name to witnesses long in advance of any police investigation. If Steve had any material worth being killed for, the police have little chance of ever finding it now.
Police now claim the investigation has been widened to include Scaife. The same friendly police department that has been routinely stationed in front of the billionaire’s home providing him with “security” for decades.
However exposed, Scaife’s cover-up did succeed for five weeks, it’s been cleaned up, and the body cremated. And Steve’s name has been smeared with womanizing, pornography, theft, drunkenness plus a murder attempt by Scaife’s famous dirt-manufacturing propaganda mill. In fact, despite the fact that Team Scaife’s cover-ups, meddling and steering of the evidence from the very first hours to insure a suicide verdict have recently come to light, the press as of mid-May still continues to unhesitatingly assume suicide.
This is not a banner most people would care to fight under. The squeamish, the gentle, the “reputable” need not apply, nor did they. While smearing the enemy is a common tactic, it’s just not polite. Even if nobody really believes that garbage, the knight in shining armor has been successfully destroyed, tainted.
That’s the power of first-information, of first-assumption. Perhaps Team Scaife has learned a few tricks of mind bending over the last three decades? It’s what they do. High-dollar “spin” is their claim to fame. Underestimating that power might be an error.
“To truly know a man, learn what he takes for granted.”
The players:
Steve Kangas.
Ex army intelligence, a Doctoral Candidate at UC: Santa Cruz in economics and political studies. His book was almost completed, and was working with a publisher. Once president of the local chess club in Santa Cruz for several years. Net presence: 1600 Usenet posts found on DejaNews.com, a double award winning political Web site with over 300 html pages. His most popular page was on the Great Depression: 75,000 hits. The Web site was also a “one-stop-shop”, — an armory — of liberal oriented arguments, facts, charts and tables to be used in debates against popular neo-conservative myths. (Yet while many liberals blame the great recession of ‘82-’83 on Reagan, Steve Kangas argued strongly that Reagan had nothing to do with it.) Above all, Steve Kangas was a truth-seeker. See his AboutMe.html.
In the jungle of Usenet political debates he was known for his calm reasonable arguments and facts, even when outrageously provoked. Few could touch him, and even now the rabidly attacking neo-conservative vultures on Usenet cannot present a credible, reasonable argument against his undefended Web site. “I don’t like it”, is the sum of their arguments before resorting to the ad hominem fallacy.
I’ve experienced a Web Warrior’s death before, we knew the the dreaded death dance of the mean-spirited was coming, we try to get through it as best we can, but I think everybody feels dirtied by it, and by who we have to associate with. I’d like to thank those who manage to stick with it, and apologize to Steve’s loved ones for not always meeting Steve’s high standards in this mess.
Richard Mellon Scaife.
Grand master of propaganda. Bored billionaire. Many consider him to be the hub of Hillary Clinton’s “vast right wing conspiracy.” He’s largely responsible for the “Vince Foster murder conspiracy theory.” Some even say Ken Starr was his toady.
MUCH more, for example,
Quoting TIME MAGAZINE, 21-FEB-99
New Rules Of The Road
* …outsiders and scandal prospectors of every kind,
* from the anti-Clinton tycoon Richard Mellon Scaife
* to the freelance spider Lucianne Goldberg
* and the Jupiter of sleaze, Larry Flynt. “There’s a
* cottage industry of digging up dirt and slinging
* mud,” says Kyle McSlarrow, chairman of Quayle
* 2000.
End quote
Quoting TIME MAGAZINE, 10-FEB-99:
Crazy and In Charge
*Brilliant tycoons have had a
*tendency to get eccentric, or worse
*…acute that he lived out his later years in
*double-insulated, soundproof rooms. As for Scaife,
*he spent some of his Mellon family megabucks
*(Alcoa, Mellon Bank) to buy a suburban newspaper,
*give it a Steel City moniker and publish an
*unending string of kooky conspiracy theories
*centered on the Clintons.
End quote
So Scaife and his tabloid have a reputation as dirt-slingers and known for kooky conspiracy theories. According to the May 3 Washington Post, Scaife “has given at least $340 million to fund a `war of ideas’ against American liberalism.” That is, he finances propaganda and propaganda mills.
He owns the Greensburg Pa. Tribune Review tabloid, home of the Vince Foster murder conspiracy. According to the Washington Post, Newsweek, and other publications, Yale expelled Scaife for drunken brawling and breaking the legs of a classmate with a beer keg — he is known to be a petty bully, to hold a grudge, to assume everybody wants to steal from him, and either you are for him, or you are his enemy. Most people who know him don’t think he’s particularly bright. And believe it or not, according to his ex-employees, he’s an obsessively cheap bastard too, such as in one case, he personally rejected laundry and valet expenses for an employee conducting Scaife’s business while traveling in Vietnam.
According to various officials this case will be re-opened. Many documents in the Wecht trial are being analyzed as source for the probe.
Ever been on Wikipedia, this is their information about RICO:
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (commonly referred to as RICO Act or RICO) is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization. RICO was enacted by section 901(a) of the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970 (Pub.L. 91-452, 84 Stat. 922, enacted October 15, 1970). RICO is codified as Chapter 96 of Title 18 of the United States Code, 18 U.S.C. § 1961–1968. While its intended use was to prosecute the mafia and others who were engaged in organized crime, its application has been more widespread.
It has been speculated that the name and acronym were selected in a sly reference to the movie Little Caesar, which featured a notorious gangster named Rico. The original drafter of the bill, G. Robert Blakey, refused to confirm or deny this.[1]
Contents
[hide]
* 1 Summary
* 2 RICO offenses
* 3 Where RICO laws might be applied
* 4 Famous cases
o 4.1 Hells Angels Motorcycle Club
o 4.2 Frank Tieri
o 4.3 Key West PD
o 4.4 Michael Milken
o 4.5 Major League Baseball
o 4.6 Anti-abortion activists
o 4.7 Mohawk Industries
o 4.8 Latin Kings
o 4.9 Gambino crime family
* 5 Use in popular culture
* 6 References
* 7 External links
[edit] Summary
Under RICO, a person who is a member of an enterprise that has committed any two of 35 crimes—27 federal crimes and 8 state crimes—within a 10-year period can be charged with racketeering. Those found guilty of racketeering can be fined up to $25,000 and/or sentenced to 20 years in prison per racketeering count. In addition, the racketeer must forfeit all ill-gotten gains and interest in any business gained through a pattern of "racketeering activity." RICO also permits a private individual harmed by the actions of such an enterprise to file a civil suit; if successful, the individual can collect treble damages.
When the U.S. Attorney decides to indict someone under RICO, he or she has the option of seeking a pre-trial restraining order or injunction to temporarily seize a defendant's assets and prevent the transfer of potentially forfeitable property, as well as require the defendant to put up a performance bond. This provision was placed in the law because the owners of Mafia-related shell corporations often absconded with the assets. An injunction and/or performance bond ensures that there is something to seize in the event of a guilty verdict.
In many cases, the threat of a RICO indictment can force defendants to plead guilty to lesser charges, in part because the seizure of assets would make it difficult to pay a defense attorney. Despite its harsh provisions, a RICO-related charge is considered easy to prove in court, as it focuses on patterns of behavior as opposed to criminal acts.[2]
There is also a provision for private parties to sue. A "person damaged in his business or property" can sue one or more "racketeers." The plaintiff must prove the existence of a "criminal enterprise." The defendant(s) are not the enterprise; in other words, the defendant(s) and the enterprise are not one and the same. There must be one of four specified relationships between the defendant(s) and the enterprise. A civil RICO action, like many lawsuits based on federal law, can be filed in state or federal court. [1]
Both the federal and civil components allow for the recovery of treble damages (damages in triple the amount of actual/compensatory damages).
Although its primary intent was to deal with organized crime, Blakey said that Congress never intended it to merely apply to the Mob. He once told Time, "We don't want one set of rules for people whose collars are blue or whose names end in vowels, and another set for those whose collars are white and have Ivy League diplomas."[2]
[edit] RICO offenses
Under the law, racketeering activity means:
* Any violation of state statutes against gambling, murder, kidnapping, arson, robbery, bribery, extortion, dealing in obscene matter, or dealing in a controlled substance or listed chemical (as defined in the Controlled Substances Act);
* Any act of bribery, counterfeiting, theft, embezzlement, fraud, dealing in obscene matter, obstruction of justice, slavery, racketeering, gambling, money laundering, commission of murder-for-hire, and several other offenses covered under the Federal criminal code (Title 18);
* Embezzlement of union funds;
* Bankruptcy or securities fraud;
* Drug trafficking;
* Money laundering and related offenses;
* Bringing in, aiding or assisting aliens in illegally entering the country (if the action was for financial gain);
* Acts of terrorism.
Pattern of racketeering activity requires at least two acts of racketeering activity, one of which occurred after the effective date of this chapter and the last of which occurred within ten years (excluding any period of imprisonment) after the commission of a prior act of racketeering activity. The U.S. Supreme Court has instructed federal courts to follow the continuity plus relationship test in order to determine whether the facts of a specific case give rise to an established pattern. Predicate acts are related if they "have the same or similar purposes, results, participants, victims, or methods of commission, or otherwise are interrelated by distinguishing characteristics and are not isolated events." H.J. Inc. v. Northwestern Bell Telephone Co. Continuity is both a closed and open ended concept, referring to either a closed period of conduct, or to past conduct that by its nature projects into the future with a threat of repetition.
[edit] Where RICO laws might be applied
Although some of the RICO predicate acts are extortion and blackmail, one of the most successful applications of the RICO laws has been the ability to indict or sanction individuals for their behavior and actions committed against witnesses and victims in alleged retaliation or retribution for cooperating with law enforcement or intelligence agencies.
Violations of the RICO laws can be alleged in cases where civil lawsuits or criminal charges are brought against individuals or corporations in retaliation for said individuals or corporations working with law enforcement, or against individuals or corporations who have sued or filed criminal charges against a defendant.
Anti-SLAPP (strategic lawsuit against public participation) laws can be applied in an attempt to curb alleged abuses of the legal system by individuals or corporations who utilize the courts as a weapon to retaliate against whistle blowers, victims, or to silence another's speech. RICO could be alleged if it can be shown that lawyers and/or their clients conspired and collaborated to concoct fictitious legal complaints solely in retribution and retaliation for themselves having been brought before the courts.
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human being with intent or malice aforethought, as defined in Common Law countries. Murder is generally distinguished from other forms of homicide by the elements of malice, aforethought, and the lack of lawful justification. All jurisdictions, ancient and modern, consider it a most serious crime and therefore impose severe penalty on its commission.
Contents [hide]
1 Legal analysis of murder
2 Origins
2.1 Murder in religion
2.2 Codification
3 Legal definition
3.1 At Common law
3.2 Basic elements
3.3 Exclusions
3.4 Victim
3.5 Mitigating circumstances
3.5.1 Insanity
3.5.2 Post-partum depression
3.5.3 Self-defense
3.5.4 Unintentional
3.5.5 Diminished capacity
3.6 Year-and-a-day rule
3.6.1 Abolition of the rule
4 Demographics
5 Country-specific murder law
5.1 Australia
5.2 Canada
5.2.1 First and second degree
5.2.2 Manslaughter and infanticide
5.2.3 Penalties
5.3 Denmark
5.4 England and Wales
5.5 Finland
5.6 France
5.7 Germany
5.7.1 Penalties
5.7.2 Felony murder
5.7.3 Robbery with deadly outcome
5.7.4 Attempted suicide
5.7.5 Capital Punishment
5.8 Israel
5.9 Italy
5.10 The Netherlands
5.11 Norway
5.11.1 Categories of murder
5.11.2 Other forms of murder
5.12 Portugal
5.12.1 Overview
5.12.2 Homicide
5.12.3 Manslaughter
5.12.4 Conditional liberty
5.12.5 Status of convicts and felons
5.13 Romania
5.13.1 Degrees of murder
5.14 Switzerland
5.15 Sweden
5.16 United States
5.16.1 Degrees of murder in the United States
5.16.2 Fetal homicide in the United States
5.17 Vikings (8th to 11th centuries)
6 See also
7 References
7.1 Bibliography
8 External links
[edit] Legal analysis of murder
Common law murder is defined as the:
unlawful
killing
of another human being
with a state of mind known as "malice aforethought".
The first three elements are relatively straightforward; however, the concept of "malice aforethought" is a complex one that does not necessarily mean premeditation. The following states of mind are recognized as constituting the various forms of "malice aforethought":
(i) Intent to kill;
(ii) Intent to inflict serious bodily harm short of death;
(iii) Reckless indifference to an unjustifiably high risk to human life (sometimes described as an "abandoned and malignant heart"); or
(iv) Intent to commit a dangerous felony (the "felony-murder" doctrine).
Under state of mind (i), intent to kill, the deadly weapon rule applies. Thus, if the defendant intentionally uses a deadly weapon or instrument against the victim, such use authorizes a permissive inference of intent to kill. An example of a deadly weapon or instrument is a gun, a knife, or even a car when intentionally used to strike the victim.
Under state of mind (iii), an "abandoned and malignant heart", the killing must result from defendant's conduct involving a reckless indifference to human life and a conscious disregard of an unreasonable risk of death or serious bodily injury. An example of this is a 2007 law in California where an individual could be convicted of third-degree murder if he or she kills another person while operating a motor vehicle while being under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or controlled substances.
Under state of mind (iv), the felony-murder doctrine, the felony committed must be an inherently dangerous felony, such as burglary, arson, rape, robbery or kidnapping. Importantly, the underlying felony cannot be a lesser-included offense such as assault, otherwise all criminal homicides would be murder as all criminal homicides are felonies.
There is no statute of limitations on murder.
Looks like Giant Eagle qualifies for RICO. Bankrupcy fraud and price fixing.
Now this is funny. Just think, it is a conspiracy against the old owner and its family. You know how the local community and officials like to tear apart successful businesses and prosecute the owners with federal indictments? Now they have a woman who spilled her guts? It sounds like she was the trigger person for many of the alleged crimes and holds much information about the company inner workings. She was found guilty because she was bullied into a confession? Your posts get more ridiculous each time. Darn, if that damn kid hadn't written a review on the company this would have never happened. Funny stuff. This thing took years to build and years to unravel. Andreycak can give more information than anyone and you can't understand why they need her to prosecute?
12/25/2008 3:56 AM
I don't think it's ridiculous at all. I subscribe to the Trib and I am very familiar with the contents. I have read nearly 200 articles about the subject and not one has been drastically different from the previous one. I guess my question is whether or not this is typical journalism or a vendetta of some sort? My point was not to say whether or not the people involved are guilt, rather, based on the articles written, there should be no need for witnesses because they supposedly have all the evidence they need. It is extremely old news and all you have to do is ask somebody in the little old town of Ligonier what they people think about it and the response is always similar--old news. If everything is as it is written, what is everybody so worried about? Afraid of? Based on my unofficial comparisons, no other story--local, regional, or national--has ever been covered as heavily as this story. In fact, a similar alleged fraud case a few years back was written about less than 8 times. The comment is just another insignificant jab by little Jay Silver who is so pathetic and worthless that he sits at home waiting for the day that something happens to the former management so he can have his little revenge for his bad bottle of water. How sad. What a loser--he is the only one who has been on this blog since it was created back in 2006. Spineless people use a nameless/faceless venue to say things about people they are too afraid of in reality. Even a "newspaper" that spreads narrow-minded personal views and propaganda--everything Jay Silver supposedly stands against. Hypocrite!
If anybody disagrees concerning jay, do a thorough internet search. Has been plaintiff in several lawsuits against various consumer goods manufacturers that were settled out of court collectively for hundreds of thousands of dollars. I'd be willing to bet that there was an attempt to do something similar with Le nature's and it fell apart when no money could be scammed.
This is your classic response along with the off beat articles you cut and paste hoping nobody reads this. It smells like the management style from LeNatures. Let's start with the foundation of this post and past the point of not caring, I am not Jay. I don't know if Mr. Silver writes on this post or edits them but as I pointed out before, its his post. That means HE OWNS THIS POST. We all know what we can do when we own something. Anyway....this is a post relating to the alleged issues at LeNatures. It has nothing to do with anything good bad or indifferent that Jay Silver, Scaiffe or anyone else in the world has done outside of LeNatures. Even better, you are free to disagree and write what ever you want. Want you can't do is bully people into diversions and as I said before grade school writings.
Here is a link that shows the October 28th RICO lawsuit that was filed in 2008. http://dockets.justia.com/docket/court-pawdce/case_no-2:2008cv01518/case_id-89165/
It is not even 60 days old and that isn't old news. Many of the facts of this case are still coming out. The unprecedented large amounts of alleged fraud will make this a lesson in history books if in fact any of them are true. People in the entire world are interested so it never happens again. That is the reason for the interest and writings and its all over in the wall street journal, beverage magazines, business magazines and many major news papers. It's not just the local paper. Hell, I bet we will see a Hollywood Movie. So, Mr. Anonymous, its not Latrobes ugly baby and if you think that ask the small company Wachovia about the smallness of this. It isn't about anybodys last name, any personal vendatta or any other crimes that anyone else may or may not have committed. Quit attempting to divert from the real issue here and let's see what happens.
More clueless ramblings from Jay Silver who has no idea what he is talking about.
Marc Kirschner is a bankruptcy trustee whose main job is to file as many lawsuits and retrieve as much money as he can. His power to do these things is unlimited and he can say anything he wants against anybody he wants whether it is true or not. Of course he is going to paint the picture the way he has otherwise how will he get HIS money? You seem to have thrown logic to the wind because you are blinded by your own personal grudge against the management because of your less than satisfactory purchase of their product.
You have your mind made up about the people involved in this matter and even when the dust settles and no wrongdoing is found, you will still be on here rambling about them. It's definitely a vendetta thing on two fronts, with you and your unpleasant phone call with Bob Lynn and with the Tribune Review. You do not live in the area and do not understand the people who own that tabloid so for the sake of not looking like and ignorant fool from Massachusetts you should shut your mouth because you are clueless. Just by looking at the other posts on this blog, it is clear that your world revolves around meaningless things and it is very difficult to imagine that your two cents about the business world is going to be logical.
Yeah, and the case is already in ADR. So much for that case.
ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION
A. Application. LR 16.2 shall govern actions as the Board of Judges shall determine,
from time to time, commenced on or after that date, with the exception of Social Security cases
and cases in which a prisoner is a party.
B. Purpose. The Court recognizes that full, formal litigation of claims can impose large
economic burdens on parties and can delay resolution of disputes for considerable periods. The
Court also recognizes that an alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”) procedure can improve the
quality of justice by improving the parties’ understanding of their case and their satisfaction with
the process and the result. The Court adopts LR 16.2 to make available to litigants a broad range
of court-sponsored ADR processes to provide quicker, less expensive and potentially more
satisfying alternatives to continuing litigation without impairing the quality of justice or the right
to trial. The Court offers diverse ADR services to enable parties to pursue the ADR process that
promises to deliver the greatest benefits to their particular case. In administering LR 16.2 and the
ADR program, the Court will take appropriate steps to assure that no referral to ADR results in
an unfair or unreasonable economic burden on any party.
******REMEMBER MURDER IS THE MOST SERIOUS CRIME***** WITH NO STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS. OBAMA RULES!!!!
More diversions? I'm not or do not know Jay Silver and I don't know anyone that knows him. I worked in the plant as independent contractor..ha ha. Who would know it is in ADR? Please don't answer. Point is, it isn't old news from two years ago. This probably wont be the first or last RICO charge and I would guess next one coming from FEDS. I have no motive in any of this past just watching how it unfolds. I will grant you one thing. I won't post again until I read about someone being proven innocent or guilty from the courts. Just know that your bullying and diversions don't work just like they didn't at the company.
Jay, you tipped your hand with bold type. Nobody can do that except the blog owner.
Way to go Jay! Everyone is happy they got popped! I think your 'stickin-to-it' when you knew something was wrong, helped get these bums outta' there!!...dad
What a loser! My daddy reads my blog.
Jay, do you plan on leaving school anytime soon or are you just going to continue suing companies to fund your tuition here at MIT for the rest of your life? That would be the ultimate 'stickin-to-it', huh? At least you didn't bring Jodi down, she will either be the breadwinner of your hippie family or she will get wise and realize you have no future and drop you like Plaxico Burress from my fantasy football team. Do everybody a favor and kill yourself, make sure to get your whole head in front of the shotgun. Thanks.
...when you knew something was wrong, helped get these bums outta' there!!...dad
hahahaha, what a dumbass! "hey who am i? 'you helped get those there bums outta therre.'" hey jay's dad, did you know gullible is not a word in the dictionary? i'm serious.
i'm pretty sure jay's dad has the mental capacity of a 6 year old. jay, please don't ever reproduce you will bring the mean iq of our town into the double digits.
Wow, your new lows are shocking and funny at the same time. At what point do you realize you have a lot more problems than this blog? Your writings are anti-christ and you will have to face that too some day. Sooner or later you are going to have to face all of the facts. Let me summarize a top 10 for you.
1. I'm not Jay. Eureka sucked, no pun intended.
2. ANYONE CAN TYPE IN CAPS, TRY IT.
3. Giving you the benefit of the doubt, The "alleged" fraud committed at LeNatures has nothing to do with any other criminal activities. If you ever get caught speeding just say the guy in front of you was speeding too and you will be vindicated...ha ha.
4. This isn't Latrobes or Tribs ugly baby. It has international scope and has been written about by hundreds of different medias everywhere and will continue to be.
5. Authorities don't just show up at innocent companies and shut them down and furlough the management.
6. Andrecayk confessed the truth.
7. There is no conspiracy against you or your family.
8. Hippies are nice.
9. Please don't bring unrelated family members into your ugliness or I'll share my opinions on yours.
10. This blog is the least of your worries.
Sorry I broke my promise but after reading about your desperation, I couldn't resist.
FACE THE FACTS!
During the past two years, the price tag for Sony's acclaimed SXRD display technology has dropped from $30,000 to $13,000 to a much more wallet-friendly $4000 (with the 50" KDS-R50XBR1, shown).
For me, one of the real high points of the 2005 Consumer Electronics Show was seeing Sony's 70" Qualia™ 006 rear-projection TV in action. That $13,000 set uses a Sony-developed projection technology called SXRD — Silicon X-tal (Crystal) Reflective Display. Watching high-definition movie clips fed from a prototype Blu-ray player, I saw exceptional picture clarity and detail, with vivid colors and a seamless overall look that reminded me of the finest tube-based TVs.
Until now, the only other way to experience SXRD has been via Sony's $30,000 Qualia 004 front projector, which has established a new reference for projector picture quality. When I learned that Sony was introducing 50" and 60" Grand Wega™ SXRD TVs with full 1080p resolution priced more in the mainstream of digital big-screens (like DLPs), I wondered how much of the SXRD magic Sony could preserve in models priced much lower.
Since I recently reviewed Samsung's 50" HL-R5078W DLP TV, which is also a 1080p design, I felt I had a handle on the considerable improvements in picture quality that 1080p provides compared to the more common 720p sets. The Samsung's bright, extraordinarily sharp picture had set the bar pretty high. Would the Sony be able to meet or even exceed its performance?
How SXRD works
All of Sony's previous Grand Wega big-screen TVs have been based on LCD display technology. SXRD, on the other hand, is a refined variation of LCoS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon) technology. Both types create images by manipulating microscopic liquid crystals. But here's the key difference: LCD is a "transmissive" technology where light passes through the image chip, while SXRD is a "reflective" technology that sandwiches a layer of liquid crystal between a cover glass and a highly reflective mirror-like surface patterned with pixels. Reflective displays such as LCoS and SXRD (and DLP) use the light from the TV's projection lamp more efficiently, resulting in higher picture brightness and contrast.
The other main LCoS/SXRD advantage is having the circuitry that controls the pixels positioned behind the pixel array and out of the light path, rather than on the array as with LCD. That permits SXRD pixels and the spaces between the pixels to be much smaller, resulting in pictures that are detailed yet extremely smooth and natural looking. SXRD is a "3-chip" system — there are three SXRD image panels, one each for red, green, and blue. Each panel has 1920 x 1080 pixels, allowing 1080i HDTV signals to be displayed at full resolution.
So, SXRD has some great numbers, but how do they translate to what you see on the screen? Here's my quick take on the main factors determining image quality:
* Resolution: While SXRD is not the only display technology to deliver 1920 x 1080-pixel resolution, SXRD has the highest "pixel density" and the smallest between-pixel spacing of any TV available. From a normal viewing distance, images looked remarkably smooth and seamless, and even with my face just inches from the screen, I couldn't see any sign of grid-like pixel structure (often called the "screen door effect").
* Contrast: The SXRD chips in the KDS-R50XBR1 are the latest generation, and offer higher contrast than the chips in the Qualia 006 (5000:1 vs. 3000:1). Contrast is further enhanced through the use of a motor-driven "dynamic iris" (explained below). The Sony's contrast and black level performance equalled the best I've seen from a rear-projection set: Samsung's 50" HL-R5078W.
* Color: Because there are separate image chips for red, green, and blue, SXRD provides continuous color. Compared to a rear-projection TV that requires a fast-spinning color wheel, SXRD puts more color information on the screen at any given instant. Colors look rich and deeply saturated. In fact, the color occasionally seemed a bit too lush, but while I wouldn't swear that it was always 100% accurate, it was always 100% eye-pleasing.
* Motion: Digital displays (LCD, plasma, SXRD/LCoS, DLP) build images out of pixels, and the ability to produce smooth, clean motion depends on the display's "pixel response time" (the time it takes for one pixel to switch from fully on to fully off). Sony's current LCD-based Grand Wegas have a pixel response time of 12 milliseconds, which is generally considered excellent. SXRD image panels use a much thinner liquid crystal layer, which enables a lightning-fast response time of just 5 milliseconds. You might not think the human eye could detect a difference of a few milliseconds, but it really makes a difference in how believably a screen can display fast-motion material like sports. I never saw any trace of motion smearing even while watching college football on ESPN HD.
Sony Grand Wega SXRD TV
The motorized iris includes a circuit that samples the brightness level of the video signal and responds instantly to deliver the best possible contrast and black level.
A "dynamic iris" improves black level and contrast in the blink of an eye
Like other top-performing 1080p big-screen TVs, the KDS-R50XBR1 (and its big brother, the 60" KDS-R60XBR1) employs a "dynamic iris" feature that constantly monitors and adjusts the amount of the lamp's light that passes through to the screen. Sony's approach gives the user the ability to fine-tune iris operation, providing a more customized viewing experience. On the KDS-R50XBR1, the dynamic iris is part of Sony's Cinema Black Pro system, which works in two ways:
* Iris Control: This lets you enlarge or reduce the iris' overall opening based on the amount of light in your viewing area. You can increase the overall brightness level for watching sports during the day, then reduce the brightness for a more cinematic look when viewing DVD movies at night. You can choose from 5 settings.
* Advanced Iris: This feature, which is also user-adjustable, includes a circuit that samples the brightness level of the video signal and automatically adjusts the iris opening on the fly to optimize brightness, contrast, and black level on a scene-by-scene basis.
The dynamic iris is extremely effective, and most viewers will never even be aware of its operation. Blacks were very deep without sacrificing details in dark or shadowy scenes. This has been an area where CRT-based TVs have typically outperformed digital displays, but I think even the most demanding videophiles will be impressed by the way this Sony handles dark and high-contrast scenes.
Now that you have a feel for what makes the KDS-R50XBR1 tick, how does it look? Read on.
WASHINGTON -- A proposal to create hundreds of new Internet domain names as alternatives to ".com" has suffered a setback as a key U.S. government agency warned that the plan might not benefit consumers or promote competition.
The Internet's key oversight body, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, had planned to start accepting bids for new Internet suffixes early next year in what would be the first major overhaul of a decades-old addressing system.
But in a letter sent to ICANN last week, a top Commerce Department official, Meredith Baker, said it wasn't clear "whether the potential consumer benefits outweigh the potential costs." Baker heads the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration.
The NTIA letter argues that before introducing new domain names, ICANN needs to ensure that the plan would not jeopardize the stability and security of the Internet addressing system. And it says ICANN needs to examine whether companies operating the new domain name registries would have too much market power, including the power to raise domain name prices, and whether there should be more competition in the renewal of domain names.
Michael Palage, an adjunct fellow with the free-market think tank Progress & Freedom Foundation, said consumer protection is a top concern of trademark holders, including many big corporations, which often buy up multiple Internet addresses containing their company names to safeguard their brands, avoid consumer confusion and head off cybersquatters, phishing attacks and fraud.
Addressing concerns that ICANN could censor some controversial domain names, the NTIA letter also directs the organization to focus on technical functions related to the managing the Internet addressing system and "not on matters more appropriately addressed by governments, such as adjudication of morality, public order and community objections."
In June, ICANN approved new guidelines to make it easier for organizations and groups to propose and obtain new suffixes that could cover locations such as ".nyc" and ".berlin" or industries such as ".bank." The organization now is crafting the specifics and had invited outside groups, including NTIA, to comment.
Although the NTIA technically cannot dictate ICANN policy, it has significant sway over the organization's decisions because ICANN gets its authority from the U.S. government and needs U.S. approval to add any suffixes into the Internet addressing databases.
It's unclear, though, whether the NTIA's criticisms would derail ICANN's plan given the upcoming change in administration, said Milton Mueller, a Syracuse University professor who is a member of a group representing universities and other non-commercial domain name users.
Still, the NTIA letter does mark the latest evolution in the relationship between ICANN and the U.S. government, which took steps to hand off technical coordination of Internet addressing system to the organization in the late 1990s.
While ICANN has been seeking to assert its independence in the face of international concerns that it remains an instrument of the U.S. government, the U.S. still wants to make sure that as ICANN's oversight role grows it doesn't take actions that might threaten the stability and security of the Internet or the interests of business and consumers, Palage said.
“In 1999, a journalist [Steve Kangas] who had written exposes of Richard Scaife was by all appearances murdered in the Oxford Centre of Pittsburgh, PA - the office complex of the foundation of his subject - Scaife. Richard Mellon Scaife is the heir of the Mellon fortune and a major funder of the Heritage Foundation and other right wing organizations, although, like the Coors family, Scaife also funds abortion and gay rights organizations. Shortly before his death in February 1999, Kangas catalogued the gruesome accomplishments of the CIA and issued a scathing indictment of their paymasters - the very elites who created the CNP!”
The MURDER investigation has been re-ignited!!!!
The appropriate Inspector Generals are aware of the information that is in the Wecht files that shed light on Steve Kangas' murder.
There is no statute of limitations on murder.
Podlucky knows all about the evidence.
Wow, your new lows are shocking and funny at the same time. At what point do you realize you have a lot more problems than this blog? Your writings are anti-christ and you will have to face that too some day. Sooner or later you are going to have to face all of the facts. Let me summarize a top 10 for you.
1. I'm not Jay. Eureka sucked, no pun intended.
2. ANYONE CAN TYPE IN CAPS, TRY IT.
3. Giving you the benefit of the doubt, The "alleged" fraud committed at LeNatures has nothing to do with any other criminal activities. If you ever get caught speeding just say the guy in front of you was speeding too and you will be vindicated...ha ha.
4. This isn't Latrobes or Tribs ugly baby. It has international scope and has been written about by hundreds of different medias everywhere and will continue to be.
5. Authorities don't just show up at innocent companies and shut them down and furlough the management.
6. Andrecayk confessed the truth.
7. There is no conspiracy against you or your family.
8. Hippies are nice.
9. Please don't bring unrelated family members into your ugliness or I'll share my opinions on yours.
10. This blog is the least of your worries.
Sorry I broke my promise but after reading about your desperation, I couldn't resist.
FACE THE FACTS!
hahahaha..........it's jay.......wow.........what a loser!!!!!
JAY SILVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Let's think about this: if you are somebody totally unrelated to Jay Silver or his dumbass dad, why would you feel the need to get so defensive in your reply? Why don't you just cut the bullshit and admit you are Jay Silver, it's so obvious. Also, your replies seem to indicate that I am a Podlucky which is fine other than the fact that I am not, so please do not throw the "anti-Christ" card in my face. Nothing is more "anti-Christ" than your posts. I have no problem associating with any of the Podluckys. I know this town a little better than you so I know about all the bullshit and conspiracies that go on here with the Mellon family.
Go ahead and share your opinions of the Podlucky family--it will prove my case that you are in fact Jay Silver. I think the fact that you have never been able to say anything that hasn't already been made public knowledge in the news proves you are the pathetic loser that is Jay Silver.
if you aren't jay, "unmask" yourself. who are you afraid of? if you do, i will too.
As this resorts back to a grade school post, I'll give you some information to show I'm not Jay nor do I know him.
I knew Greg and his father back in the Stoney's beer days and through the LeNatures blunder. Gabby and Greg managed companies much like each other and with no regard for other people. When they saw an opportunity, they threw all caution to the wind and pounced on it. They demanded things would be done their way and their way only and eventually all their crazy decisions were the reason they both crashed and burned exactly the same way. When the craft brew segment starting getting attention, instead of leading with the great brand of Stoneys they introduced a crappy name like Eureka at charged way too much. I guess Eureka was the name of an old brew initially made there or something...can't really remember. When they brought back Fort Pitt they ruined it too. Once again, nobody knew what they were doing. Problem was they starting pissing off all the people in the business at this point with their business ethics. I guess this would have been when Greg left to start LeNatures and then Gabby declared bankruptcy. Their worst decisions in business? Eventually they pissed off everybody and I mean everybody. Nobody was left in their corner, not even the employees that were left unpaid and without pensions. Nice that Greg was out a new venture and the brewery that the town and local area was so proud of was left in shambles. Greg did the exact same thing at LeNatures. A smart, driven man that once again forgot you need to respect other people to succeed.
Thats it. I'm not afraid of anyone and because of your split personality, lies and weird things you wrote, I won't uncover myself. The go Obama one was funny too. Maybe Greg switched? Ha ha.
I 100% promise this is it for me. I'm going to lurk in the background until more news is confirmed. Leave Jay out of it and face the facts.
Wow, that was very insightful! Aside from a few facts, such as the beer names (that most certainly can be ascertained from information on the Internet), you managed to say nothing of factual truth in that last comment.
You should stick to your little fantasy world up at MIT, where apparently the world is perfectly run and corruption in the government and the media obviously do not exist.
All you are doing Jay is discrediting everything you write because nobody from Pennsylvania would care so much about defending your identity and the identity of your family and that has become a keynote of each comment that you write.
The bottom line to everything is that you have a serious problem with revenge and you are using any insignificant means you can to propagate against the former management. The reality of this situation is far removed from what you or the "international media" thinks it is. And by the way, the Tribune Review feeds all of their "articles" to international news networks such as the Associated Press and that is the ONLY reason why some have made their way to other media outlets. Throw around large enough dollar amounts in an "article" and people want to listen. But looking at the shear facts, how credible are "articles" that have different facts each time one is printed? Obviously you are the one who throws caution to the wind and just blindly believes everything you read. How sad and gullible! Some people are just not cut out to deal with reality--they tend to be the kind of people that stay in school as long as they possibly can to postpone the harsh realities of working and living in the real world. It just so happens that Jay Silver, as long as he has ever been involved with Lenatures in his little world, has been a student at MIT. Some people take risks and some people play it safe. Obviously from your comments you play it safe. If that existence is satisfying to you, don't criticize people that are not satisfied with that lifestyle. That is the epitome of narrow-minded, stubborn, and tyrannical thinking!
Gabby was a chain smoker and the sales rep for the brewery had two first names.
I will post the links to online articles where this information could easily be retrieved.
So far the deep, dark, and mysterious secrets have not been revealed.
The man with two last names was quoted in the Tribune Review back when the Lenatures story first broke so that doesn't really prove anything.
In any case, you're either Jay Silver or somebody who is afraid of revealing who you really are. If the people involved are so hated and powerless, what are you afraid of? Your own hypocrisy? Coward!
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_410852.html
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribunereview/news/westmoreland/s_480492.html
Read the first few sentences under "FULL STEAM AHEAD". Simple web searches can produce a lot of information. Unfortunately, anything that comes from the Tribune Review is garbage. How is it that the LARGEST newspaper in Pittsburgh, the Post-Gazette, never writes about this international affair in its own backyard?????????
Do a web search of lenature's + tribune review and tally the results, then do a web search of lenature's + post gazette and compare the two.
No Trib conspiracy? You need a head check.
Now we are getting somewhere with the fact that you say I'm either Jay or someone else.....trust me, I'm someone else but it is not relevant just like most or all of your points. Lets say the trib didn't get all the facts right and Jay's blog was way off on product quality, etc. Let's also say just for the fun of it other people committed crimes of equal or worse magnitude. None of it is relative to a few points. Let's forget about all of the trivial information about Lionel trains and watches and jewelry. A substantial amount of money was and is missing from this company. Money that was funded by a finance company to purchase equipment. So, to your point, this is still alleged. However, please understand other peoples interest with claims of millions of dollars with companies all around us closing. What about the real size of the business vs. what was reported? Ok Ok...again, alleged but come one, is this all made up? Then Tammy confesses? Are all the details right? No way? Did the trib report on this way more than anyone else? Yes! Was there a substantial amount of criminal activity here? Based on the fact that all the reporting isn't false, I think so but I guess we don't know for sure. Based on the scope of the millions of dollars supposedly missing, I hope justice is served if anyone at LeNatures used other peoples money inappropriately. If not, I hope justice is served to all the lies told.
ohhhhhh oh!
Bob Lynn is now a Sales Management consultant employed by Fran DeLallo at Dello Foods in Greensburg. Bob has gotten about a half dozen LeNatures employees into DeLallo. Why would DeLallo hire a consultant with all the LeNatures criminal implications hanging over his head?
>> What has Bob done with his stolen,(allegedly), money?? Hmmmmm....when something smells funny, look to see where money has changed hands........
A federal judge today crippled the government's chances of retrying Dr. Cyril H. Wecht on public corruption charges.
U.S. District Judge Sean J. McLaughlin of Erie suppressed the evidence collected by FBI agents that backed up the remaining 14 fraud and theft charges against Wecht, who is accused of using his public office while Allegheny County coroner for private gain. McLaughlin excluded 29 boxes of evidence collected in 2005 from Wecht's private office and all evidence gleened from a laptop used by one of his secretaries, stating the warrants were unconstitutional.
"Our office will review the court's opinion and determine the appropriate course of action," said Margaret Philbin, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Wecht's lawyers planned a news conference for this evening. They asked McLaughlin to dismiss the case or limit the evidence in December.
A grand jury indicted Wecht, 78, of Squirrel Hill in January 2006 on 84 counts of fraud and theft, but prosecutors later dropped more than half the charges.
Following a trial, U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Schwab declared a mistrial in April 2008 after jurors failed to reach a verdict on any of the remaining 41 counts. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals later removed Schwab, whom Wecht's lawyers accused of being biased in favor of the government.
Prosecutors again reduced the number of charges to 14 in anticipation of a second trial.
"My ruling, which involves suppressing a substantial portion of the government's evidence, is not undertaken lightly," McLaughlin wrote. "These rulings are grounded in well-established 4th Amendment principles which serve as a bulwark against unwarranted governmental intrusion into the private affairs of every citizen, not just this defendant. The importance of these principles transcends this particular case."
The warrant used by FBI agents at Wecht's office limited the search to approximately 20 boxes containing private autopsy files for work prosecutors say was done by county employees. They contend the boxes were removed from the coroner's office shortly before the search.
McLaughlin said the search warrant failed to limit the search to anything other than private autopsy files, not specifically those removed from the coroner's office.
"It is important to recognize that the location to be searched — i.e., the defendant's private pathology business office — is the very place where one might naturally expect to find an abundance of boxes containing private autopsy files," McLaughlin wrote.
He called the warrant to search the laptop "patently overbroad."
The appropriate Inspector Generals are aware of the information that is in the Wecht files that shed light on Steve Kangas' murder.
There is no statute of limitations on murder.
Podlucky knows all about the evidence.
THEIR ON THE MOVE.
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