Wednesday, June 8, 2005
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Porn Star Karaoke At Sardos Bar
(L-R) Serena Sin, Charlotte Web, Sharon, Sita Bad Ass Models Bad Ass girls Bad Ass Models Charlotte, Sharon, Sita Serena, Charlotte, Sharon Rusty Nails, Ryan Knox Kris Knight, Jenaveve Jolie Serena Marcus, Kimmy Eva Angelina Eva Angelina Joe Friday, Reyna Leone Joe Friday, Reyna Leone Sita Sita Serena Sin Serena Sin Serena Sin Serena Sin Charlotte Web Charlotte Web Charlotte Web Connie (DVSX) and Kristen (PSK host) Kristen Jersey Jaxin Jersey Jaxin This is the girl from last week's PSK who freaked when I went to take her picture sitting on the lap of a black man girl again
Upon arrival to Sardos Bar at 9:30pm, I run into Bad Ass Frank and four of his models -- Serena Sin, Charlotte Web, Sharon, Sita.
Karaoke hostess Kristen missed last week because she had a series of root canals. Now she's back but she's still in pain. Wankus is on the road.
I talk outside with Sita, 25.
Sita: "I saw Eon McKai's Kill, Girl, Kill. I emailed him and said 'I want to work with you.'
"It was just hot. It was people I hang out with."
Duke: "Are you a punk rock girl?"
Sita: "I'm not but it's the crowd I hang out with. I can relate to them."
Duke: "What in particular could you relate to?"
Sita: "You could just see that they were really enjoying themselves.
"I watch a lot of porn. Since I was 21. I'm now 25."
Sita has done just one porn scene - with Kurt Lockwood in Kill, Girl, Kill 3.
"I've considered [getting into porn] since I was 21. There were just a lot of things I needed to work out emotionally."
Duke: "What kind of crowd did you hang out with in highschool?"
Sita: "I didn't really hang out with a crowd in highschool [in San Francisco] because I have a lot of niches. Skaters. Metal-headers. Hippies. Rockers."
Duke: "Were you a good student?"
Sita: "Up until ninth grade. I moved out at age 15 and got emancipated."
Duke: "Why?"
Sita: "I just thought I could do a better job."
Duke: "There's a myth about porn stars that they come from troubled homes."
Sita: "I just had to drop out of highschool. When you want to get emancipated, you have to be emancipated. I got my GED at 17."
Duke: "What type of work have you been doing the past ten years?"
Sita: "Mostly secretarial."
Duke: "You look like a conventional girl."
Sita: "You should see me naked."
Sita has many tattoos and piercings that are not apparent when she's dressed normally.
She's worked as a stripper for three years. Along with about 60 other girls, she's one of the co-owners of San Francisco's Lusty Lady, one of the first cooperatively-owned peep shows.
Sita says sex work hasn't affected her view of men. "I like men. I like to put myself in an environment where I can be with them and be flirty."
Duke: "You don't think men are pigs?"
Sita: "Of course. But so am I."
Duke: "When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?"
Sita: "I wanted to be everything. A dancer, singer, model, actress, psychologist, journalist, novelist."
Duke: "Where do you see yourself in ten years?"
Sita's taken aback. "Oh." Long pause. "That's a long way from now. I'm just going to take it day by day."
Duke: "Do you believe that you have an eternal soul?"
Sita laughs: "I hope not."
Chloe Jones Died Of Liver Failure
She was waiting for a liver transplant.
Word is that Bob Friedland cashed out a lot of his equity and repaid company loans to himself... I heard he is also is trying to 1099 his ex-girlfriends for the cost of gifts he gave them while together. Now Jill Kelly is on the hook for much of the corporate liabilities.
Craig Valentine, Summer Haze, Rob Spallone Over Dinner With LA's Finest
Craig calls Wednesday morning: "We're casting for a big swingers house party tomorrow."
Summer: "You can be the photographer that just stopped by."
Craig: "We all had dinner last night -- Rob Spallone, Ronny [Jeremy], Jim [South] and about eight of LA's finest was at the table behind us. They were all taking to Ron. Then Spallone f---ed with one of the cops."
I call Rob. "How was your dinner with the cops? What did you talk about?"
Rob: "It was nice. We talked about rats. People that run to cops. People that can't get enough sleep because all they think about is Rob Spallone before they go to bed, and when they wake up in the morning. The police officers were very nice. They're coming to a few shoots."
AVN's Heidi Pike-Johnson Vs. Tod & Debbie Hunter
Tod Hunter emailed Heidi: "Good point. You're right, it was a cheap shot. I'll take it down tonight."
Debbie Hunter writes on the AVN blog:
What I said was that she saw a comment about a "bloated redhead" and not only assumed it was about her but saw fit to post in a public forum that it was and play the innocent victim about it, waiting tearfully for some Sir Galahad to fight for her honor instead of doing it herself.
The fact that she automatically sees a derrogatory remark about a woman and assumes it's about her says volumes about her self-esteem. In that respect, I feel sorry for her. However, Heidi has manipulated and connived her way to the erstwhile "position" she holds today. She knows what she did, and she knows I know what she did which is why, I'm assuming, she stopped speaking to me right after AVN had a heirarchy change several years ago and she suddenly shifted her alliances (yet again).
What is surprising to me is that she thought I was either so vague, or so unconnected as to not know what she was about. We were still friendly when she walked onto a set and immediately begain throwing her AVN weight around--demanding that another reporter be removed or the mighty AVN would take its ball and go home.
If Heidi wants to play with the big boys she needs to stand up for herself, not play the helpless maiden looking for a knight to get between herself and the ogre.
Heidi Pike-Johnson responds:
Debbie, You've had two casual conversations with me, tops, you've never worked with me and well, I'd be embarassed by my husband saying something like the "bloated redhead" bit about any woman, too. No wonder you are on the attack. I never "stopped speaking" to you. We never really talked at all.
Even if his comments weren't about me, it's still not a cool thing to do and I wanted to let the women in this business know that this kind of slam is what he wants to put out on his site. There's obviously no victimhood in that. I worked hard to achieve what I have in this life and I don't care what you think of my process, Debbie. You don't matter to me and you have no real direct experience with anything in my life. The people who really know me are proud of me and the way I live my life and that's what's important to me. You aren't.
And that set that you weren't actually present for but feel the authority to comment on second-hand? I said that I was going to leave because I was uncomfortable. AVN or not, I didn't feel right about the situation and I expressed that. The choices other people make after I state my feelings aren't really in my control. I'm not that powerful and I don't think I would want to be.
All this other stuff is only about getting attention drawn away from what your husband thinks is a fair and appropriate thing to say about women. Can't blame you for trying.
Chloe Jones: You Don't Know Me 1 & 2
"Yeah, like she was a great friend and we loved her very much- and, by the way, here's a picture of our latest release which was shot on John Bowen's money, on a trip to Brazil that John Bowen paid for where John Bowen shot two movies that are basically her sitting on a beach talking about her life and giving out all of the personal information that nobody knows." The two movies that Bowen is referring to are Chloe Jones: You Don't Know Me 1 & 2.
Here's an excerpt from a review of You Don't Know Me 2:
This is one you can easily call a Skip It based on the lack of chemistry, the overall cheap feel of the movie and the many limitations of the technical aspects. I've seen far better work from other directors at New Sensations so I figure it must've been the fault of John T. Bone, a man not exactly known for his talented direction of movies. Chloe is a fairly talented 30+ year old but the weak scene of hers made me realize why I hadn't heard anything about this DVD before now.
Grief counselling a waste of time, say psychologists
Bereavement counselling - long considered by psychologists to be vital in recovering from the death of a loved one - may be a waste of time, according to a new study.
The research challenges a belief that has been firmly held by psychoanalysts since Sigmund Freud proposed in 1917 that confronting feelings is the healthiest way to cope with bereavement.
Many psychoanalysts have even argued that failure to express grief indicates - or may lead to - deep psychological problems.
Homegrown Vs Trade News Hits GFY
Moffit Timlake at Homegrown posts: "It isn't over til the audit's over."
It's over. The audit will confirm that all of your claims were balogna. The arbitrator threw out the copyright infringement, ruled that the assignment was valid and there was no evidence of shaving. The audit will "prove" that there was no shaving. Then what?
Cause Of Chloe's Death Still Undetermined
According to officials in Texas.
Chloe Jones Claimed She gave Charlie Sheen A BJ
And now, just days after Sheen's father MARTIN SHEEN issued a statement defending his son from rumours suggesting the PLATOON star has returned to his womanising ways, hooker CHLOE JONES has come forward claiming she performed oral sex on the actor at the Bel-Air Hotel in Los Angeles on 6 February.
In her Enquirer exclusive, Jones, who is a popular X-rated star on the internet, claims Sheen tracked her down via an escort agency, under the assumed name RUSTY TIES.
She insists she isn't to blame for the break-up of the actor's marriage because her alleged client confessed he no longer loved his wife and that it was common knowledge among her prostitute friends that "there were others" romancing Sheen.
Jones claims she was delighted to spend time with her old client, who allegedly paid $15,000 to spend four hours with the hooker, but she states he was terribly depressed. She says, "Charlie was suicidal, sobbing, saying his marriage was over and he wanted to marry me."
Jones also claims Sheen told her his marriage was at breaking point because Richards kept accusing him of gambling huge sums of money away. She adds, "He said, 'I'm not even living with her. I'm spending long hours at work. I send my assistant over to get my clothes."
Gene Ross Remembers Chloe Jones
John Bowen told Gene in July 2004 that during her shoots in Brazil, Chloe kept throwing up:
"It was a nightmare, " Bowen tells me... [John] shot Jones for a couple of movies titled, Chloe Jones: You Don't Know Me 1 & 2 for New Sensations. Aptly named because Bowen figured from the looks of things he was getting Jones' mother instead.
Bowen seems to think he got a hold of some pictures of Jones that were ten years-old. Another thing Bowen discovered was the fact that Jones is epileptic and is prone to seizures. "What was that movie, The Exorcist?" he asks. "Chloe was puking, screaming and yelling obscenities." Bowen even claims he has loads of footage of Jones passed out to back up the story and supposedly a bunch of it is on the DVD version of Chloe Jones 1.
"Chloe puked in some of the most beautiful cities in Brazil," Bowen says dryly and compared working with Jones to being on a Janis Joplin tour.
The first night Jones was in town, she overdosed on her epileptic medicine, according to Bowen. She was rushed to the hospital but was able to shoot later. Jones, while in Brazil, also had a thing going on with one of the local talent named Bad Boy. Their off camera romance so consumed Jones that she was never in the mood to actually f--- on camera.
Nacho Vidal Quits Performing
The Puerto Rican website www.sinrespeto.com reports that he's married a Colombian woman. "Her name is Franseska Jaimes a very beauty model he make public at a Mexico festival past week. He says he's going to make mainstream action movies in Spain. He says he still directing and produce but not performing."
The Jewish Relationship To God
I've always wondered why so many Jews, including observant Jews, say they have no belief in God. Then I read this beautiful explanation in the novel Seek My Face by John Updike, a Gentile, in the words of his protagonist Hope Chafetz (a Gentile who married Jewish men but never converted to Judaism):
Or perhaps, if she is Jewish, she is unable to put the question of God quite the way a Christian would put it, in urgent terms of either/or. For the chosen people the relation has evolved beyond the possibility of dropped acquaintance into that of a familiarity that breeds contempt...
Dianna writes:
I decided to do a quick search on "Rabbi Suzy Gadol" to see if anyone else had reported using her "services." I learned a lot about the definition of "Gadol" (head of, or high, as in priest, or expert or even "big cheese") and of the reliability of this or that Gadol. I was not surprised to see that one of the hits came from a March 2000 edition of [l-keford.net], Luke's "other" website, in reference to Dr. "Suzy" Block and "Rabbi" Shmuley Boteach, who was a guest on her show.
Life is capricious indeed. Instead of dreaming about a gorgeous Australian journalist with sensitive hands who fondles my breasts for hours with tender abandon before our lovemaking (which is followed by a discussion of the role of organized crime in the pornography industry), I wake up at 5 a.m. to a dog barking outside my window -- my dog, who's barrelled through the screen door again. I discover a pee spot in the living room as I go for my morning coffee. When I go for a refill, I trip over my phone cord and go flying across the room -- fortunately with an empty cup rather than a full one. Fortunately the sunrise is glorious -- thank you, Celestial Being -- so there seems to be some purpose in my being up and outside this morning beyond chasing an errant Labrador Gadol of the Neighborhood.
Who Are The Evil People Distributing Evil Angel In New York?
I hear they play for keeps.
I know this guy comes once in a while offering evil angel product because their stuff is the most expensive and moves. I know the guy that comes to us goes to many stores on LI well this dude is a large fellow who reeks of uncleanliness he said he just got out of prison he goes around with his white-trashy wife straight from central casting so he said he just got out of prison, thank god DVD's are selling otherwise he'd be broke coming out of the joint but again, this is some low level convict.
Is it Marty and Teddy Rothstein with Model Distributors who handle Evil Angel in New York?
AVN reports that Chloe, the former Vivid Girl, died Saturday, June 4, in Houston.
Gene Ross first reported this as rumor June 4. Mike South then bashed him for it: "Chloe Jones isn't Dead As Reported by a Lesser Site: She is escorting in Texas this week."
I want to hear from anyone who knew Chloe Jones. Email Luke. I want to get her life story. She was born June 17, 1975 in Texas.
Tuesday evening, June 7, I interview her former publicist Jeff Mullen from All Play Media.
Jeff: "We're very good friends with Chloe. Unless you really knew her personally, many people have a misperception of her. I got to know her on a friendly level. She is one of the coolest chicks you'll meet. Smoking cigarettes. Drinking a beer. Just a regular Texas girl.
"It's no secret that Chloe had a long history of illness, including epilepsy, which I witnessed. She was on a lot of prescribed medication, which caused her problems."
Luke: "What kind of mother was she?"
Jeff: "She was ferocious about protecting her kids. Her kids always came first. She arranged her personal appearances around her kids' school breaks. There was always someone taking care of the kids, Michael [her ex-husband] or family."
Luke: "When did you last talk to her?"
Jeff: "It's been a couple of months. When the Charlie Sheen thing was breaking.
"I don't think she was a big fan of being a porn star. She was a magazine model and a feature dancer."
Luke: "What motivated her to work in the sex industry? The money?"
Jeff: "Money for her family. She knew this was the easiest way. There's not a lot of other ways that a girl who's a Penthouse Pet could make a lot of money fast.
"She was a free spirit. When we were driving through Sao Paolo, she was mooning other cars through the window. She was a fun girl. I heard so many horror stories about her that were not the Chloe that I saw. And I saw the good, the bad and the ugly. I saw everything."
Luke: "Why did Vivid drop her?"
Jeff: "She was on so many prescribed medicines that people thought she was on drugs. I hate to reference the Elvis situation - legal prescribed drugs."
Luke: "Didn't she have some health problems in the last few months?"
Jeff: "Yes. She had some kidney and liver problems, which contributed to her getting weak, and spend time in the hospital. Her epilepsy was nasty."
Luke: "Was she a pain in the ass?"
Jeff: "She wasn't to me, but to everyone else she definitely was. She was known as being a pain in the ass. She stayed at my house in LA when she came to town.
"I found out about [Chloe's death] Saturday. She died at 4am. Karen [Struble] called me. Out of respect to her family, they asked that I not mention it to anybody until they figure out funeral plans.
"The funny joke with her is that she wanted to be a mortician. I told her, that's not the sexiest thing to tell interviewers that you want to be a mortician. But that's what she wanted to do. She wanted to embalm people and do the whole funeral thing."
Jones, a Penthouse Pet in April 1998, was a contract performer for Vivid Entertainment Group and New Sensations, the first company with which she was exclusive in 2001. She also had layouts in Playboy and Vanity Fair, among numerous other magazines, in addition to mainstream appearances on shows such as "Baywatch," "Diagnosis Murder," "Edenquest" and Showtime's "Full Frontal Comedy." Jones performed in less than 30 productions in four years, and had stopped performing in adult videos last year.
All Media Play's Jeff Mullen got to know Jones during her adult film career.
"I remember going on a wild trip to Brazil and we were getting on the airplane and she was arguing with this guy to move to a different seat so that our group could all sit together. The guy was a prick and wouldn't budge, and much to our surprise, he was the still photographer assigned to covering her on the trip. That was typical Chloe. We all had a big laugh about that one. ... As a representative for All Media Play and New Sensations we send out our heartfelt condolences to her family in Texas."
Jones is survived by three children, an 8-year-old girl and 7-year-old twin boys.
Club Jenna Inc. indicated it would be setting up a fund for Jones' children that it would contribute to on a monthly basis. The email address info@chloeaid.com will be set up in the next 48 hours for inquiries.
She is also survived by her husband who used the stage name Michael Scorpio.
Her real name is Melinda Taylor.
A leggy blonde who hails from Texas, Chloe Jones got into the business in 2001 after having had a successful career as a nude model and stripper. Noted for her perky backside and surgically-enhanced chest, she has made only a few films instead of the dozens ground out by many performers in their first few years n the business, and has lately restricted her on-screen performances to her off-screen [husband] Michael Scorpio' and other women, and concentrates more on her tours as a stripper than as an adult-film performer.
Gene Ross posted this email 6/4/05 at 19:29:
Can you look into the rumors that Chloe Jones recently passed away? I hope a rumor is all it is. It would be really sad to know that this was a true piece of gossip. Chloe is young and beautiful and no matter what the circumstances, definitely not deserving of an early life departure.
Red Ezra writes on AVN.com's blog:
I was shocked to hear the news about Chloe - She will be missed - I was lucky enough to shoot three of her first adult movies - we went through a lot together because of that. It's just heartbreaking to hear this - we hit it off right away since we are both from Texas - we talked a few months back on the phone about doing a project together but that was the last time I heard from her - she was a good person and her light is gone far too soon. I am so happy to have been a par tof her life and career. My condolences to her family and friends. Rest in Peace Chloe.
4theheart writes on ADT: "The weird thing is she mentioned to a tabloid, during the whole charlie sheen scandal, that she quit porn because she had a near death experience."
Jenna Jameson writes: "Chloe was part of the ClubJenna family (I run her website)... and I have worked with her on quite a few occasions. She was incredibly funny and had a wonderful heart."
I remember reading recently that she was sent to the ICU after a bad beating. She was allegedly beaten by an escort client.
For every Jenna there are a million stories like this one. I don't think that is a reflection upon pornography but rather a side effect of the pursuit of fame.
From l-keford.com June 7, 2001:
Shanefan writes: Luke: I recently got a spam email from the Kendra Jade email list from GingerLynnAllen@aol.com, a known imposter. I've forwarded you this email as well. It basically says that there's a new Chloe Jones site and it looked pretty preposterous. Some gossipy, nasty claims.....no insult intended :) However, on this "new" site, "clubchloe.com" there was an email address for "XXXChloeJones@aol.com.
I IMed this XXXChloeJones person who indeed claimed to be Chloe. I smelled a rat and emailed the REAL Chloe (from Chloejones.com) and got the following info. In my narcing, I asked her about joining Vivid Video as well:
From: Chloe@Chloejones.com (Chloe Jones) To: Shanefan22@aol.com i have not signed with a company and have no intentions of becoming a porn star. thank you for all your help some people in this world are just scum and i think i scared the s--- out of that man and he pulled my pictures of that un true website." do not believe everything you hear and only half of what you see and you will always be on top"........my favorite quote in life chloe jones.
Shanefan writes: Sure enough, clubchloe.com is now gone! So there you go. No Vivid for Chloe and Shanefan again saves the day for porn stars everywhere!
Chloe Jones started stripping at 17, ran into a Marine and then got married. "Wouldn't you know it?" she wrote on her website. "Turns out we were second cousins!"
Chloe first gained some model attention as a Playboy Book of Lingerie model. She appeared in several newsstand specials in the mid-90s. She was nominated for Playboy's Reader's Choice Supermodel 1997. She's also the April 1998 Penthouse Pet of the Month, based on some several-year-old photos that Earl Miller took in which Chloe showed a bit more that is acceptable at Playboy.
Sometime along about then, Playboy dropped her or she dropped Playboy, and she has since branched out into harder magazine layouts such as Club. She's since done a couple of hardcore still shoots and has some hardcore videos available on her website. She lives in the Houston area, and dances in clubs in that area on occasion. She also underwent dental surgery early in her career to give her that perfect smile. She has a tattoo of a rose on her left ankle. Or on her right ankle and that the negatives of some photos were accidentally reversed. And it said that she enjoys riding horses.
Already from the start nude model Chloe Jones was headed for trouble. On her 18th birthday she stuffed $400 in her faded jeans, left the cowtown of Beaumont, Texas and took off for L.A. "At a model call with photographer Herb Ritts, my middle finger was bandages from being slammed in a car door," Chloe has told. "When Herb asked to see it, I flipped him the bird. He laughed and I got the job, a cover shooting for December's Vanity Fair." Later she did get a huge boob-job and had to do several fixes later, and one went terrible wrong. Money trouble. Kids. Doing tricks. And then, more trouble...
"It has been reported in the adult press that Chloe Jones is undergoing chemo therapy treatment for adult onset leukemia," writes one in a newsgroup.
On Chloe Jones web site she writes: "It is true that I recently fractured my arm in 6 different places in January 2000 upon returning from the CES Convention in Las Vegas and discovered I have Leukemia when surgery was done to repair my arm. This of course was highly unexpected disappointing information..."
What's Up With Chloe Jones?
Gaucho writes: ASF, back in December you indicated you wouldn't have anything to do with Chloe Jones, In fact, your quote is: "From the feedback we received from the few calls that we booked with her that she actually showed up for, her "escorting" skills are average, definitely not a GFE or PSE - in fact she seems very enamored of herself and assumes that anyone that will see her will be as well, and relies on that sort of "adoration" to make the session (as opposed to relying on skill) From our experience (and one of the reasons we don't book her anymore), is that people were setting themselves up for a big disappointment with her. A direct quote from one client..."this was a fantasy that was better left a fantasy".
My advice is save your money, or see her at a club date somewhere and see what you can work out. Under NO circumstances (if she does ever answer your email), should you send her a deposit for an appointment. I know Cheetah has been very vocal about his problem with JR Carrington - It would not surprise me in the least if Chloe did/does exactly the same thing (It's happened in the past with her). Think very carefully with the big head on this one." Now, I see she is on your tour list. Is she back in your good graces. Should we still save our money? What has changed?
Steve at AdultStarFantasy.com writes on BigDoggie.net: Back in December, Chloe was apparently dealing with some "issues" that affected her ability to be reliable and work. Since we began our joint venture, Nici has been asking us to put Chloe on tour. She (Nici) has guaranteed us that Chloe will be both reliable, and "worth EVERY single penny". Nici has had a long-standing relationship with Chloe, so if she says it's so, I believe it.
Madison writes: hi Luke, there is a rumor going around that penthouse pet Chloe Jones passed away. It is not true. I just spoke with Chloe and someone hacked into her computer, stole her address book, and e-mailed many people with the news of her passing. Obviously this is a malicious attempt to slander this sweet and beautiful woman.
Cool Music writes: "Chloe Jones (Chloe was next to Serenity and I was surprised how great and tasteful she looked) and Silvia Saint, sniff, sniff."
Scott writes: It's interesting that Chloe Jones was at the East Coast Video Show. She was booked to dance for a week here in Sioux Falls, SD, but suddenly came down with an "illness" on Saturday. I think it's safe to say she just wanted to get out of town to get out to the convention.
YYY writes: Is this the same butcher/surgeon in Utah that Chloe Jones sued for malpractice and some other "add ons"? Didn't Chloe make claims that she had sex with the butcher in exchange for her faulty implants? I guess that you get what you pay for. Ouch.
AVN Editor Heidi Pike-Johnson Attacks Tod Hunter
I love myself and I don't really care what he thinks of me at all. I have people in my life who love me whether I weigh 120, 320 or 520 pounds or kilos. I think I look fine. My doctor and my nutritionist say that I am healthy and the people who matter to me think that I am a beautiful, good woman and that's enough for me. I don't f--- on camera or play for the WNBA for a living so I don't have to have the thighs that the majority of performers in this business do. My body does what I need it to do for the life that I have and I am personally happier with my physical self than ever.
Heidi is one of those people you either love or hate.
Mike Ramone writes: "Heidi, you're right - he's the last person to comment snidely on someone else's appearance. Like what's with the hilarious Skid Rowish white beard? Is he really that down on his luck? Probably thinks it makes him look like the "serious" writer/intellect he - and only he - fancies himself to be."
Wicked publicist Daniel Metcalf writes: "Seriously, no form of intolerance - whether its over size, race, spirituality, or anything else - should be tolerated in this industry (or outside of it, for that matter). It's damaging to the target of the prejudice, to be sure...and ultimately, just as damaging to the propagator."
Tod's wife Debbie writes Luke:
Well, well...dear sweet little Heidi got her poor little feelings hurt because she read something on a site she shouldn't be reading in the AVN offices anyway and when she saw a description of a "bloated redhead" she felt compelled to post, in a public place, "it's me, it's me!" Oh yeah, that just reeks of self-esteem. So an offhand comment about a nameless, less than stellar looking woman in a column becomes "All About Heidi". An item that would have faded into archival shadow un-commented upon is now her soapbox and she presents herself to her community, not a secure or righteously indignant Joan of Arc but as Bambi's mother, the doe, running for cover because man is in the forest.
If she can't stand the heat it's time to get her ass out of the kitchen. Because she and I both know what a sham this sad, soft Heidi is. I know what she is and she knows it. Maybe she can play that "protect me, I'm a poor, sweet, nice girl" routine on guys like Mike Ramone and Dirty Bob but believe me, she's far from it. She didn't get where she is by being soft. And she and I know it.
This is MY opinion-Tod can, and does, speak for himself. If he had asked me, I would have told him not to print that. It wasn't worth the bandwidth.
And by the way...Heidi? Thanks for the hits. We had a big day thanks to your petulance. Suppose you could throw a full- fledged hissy fit? We'd break records.
Arbitrator Makes Preliminary Ruling In The Trade News Vs New Destiny Dispute
Judge's ruling on PDF. Background on the dispute. XBiz reports.
I spoke to Spike at Homegrown. He said the judge's ruling is muddled and he doesn't think it is a victory for either side.
"It was a very confusing ruling," said Spike Tuesday afternoon. "I am going to have to have you talk to Dave [Olsen]. We've got an audit of all his [Ron Levi's] stuff, so to me, that's a victory. I don't see what we got that was a victory either."
Ron Levi responds: "The Arbitrator's ruling is not muddled or confusing, it's very clear. There was no copyright infringement, there was no evidence of a shave, the assignment to Trade News was valid. All other allegations were dropped. There will be an audit, if the audit comes up in our favor, and it will, they will be further ordered to pay a portion of our legal bill and probably the expense of the audit. It's just like I said it would be when this all started, a contract dispute, no wrongdoing. Homegrown made some very damaging public statements about me personally that have been proven to be not true."
I remember when I first read Homegrown's initial filing in this case (March of 2004), I thought that Ron Levi had to be a crook. Then the legal paperwork piled up and I was glad I didn't need to give an opinion, because I was out of my depth.
I got this press release Tuesday afternoon from Ron Levi's team:
Trade News and Voice Media Vindicated, Ron Levi Pleased with Judges Ruling
(LOS ANGELES) -- June 7, 2005 -- Trade News and other Defendants who were sued by New Destiny Internet Group, LLC the parent company for Homegrownvideo.com are extremely satisfied with an arbitration Judge's Interim Order issued today that categorically rejects HGV's claims of copyright infringement, invalid assignment, and other alleged related wrongful conduct and that finds no monetary award against the Defendants. (See page 7 of the Interim Order).
Trade News requested early on in the process that an independent audit be performed (See page 8 of the Interim Order).
New Destiny opposed any such audit at the time Trade News requested it (See page 8 of the Interim Order which states that "Trade News' request was opposed by New Destiny") - now the arbitrator has embraced Trade News' request and ordered an independent audit with the costs of such audit to be divided evenly by both sides.
The Arbitrator's Order rejected New Destiny's other claims against Defendant Ron Levi.
"We are pleased that the Arbitrator has rejected New Destiny's core claims of Copyright Infringement and Invalid Assignment. Voice Media and Trade News look forward to complete and total vindication and finality in this case once the independent audit is completed" says Ira Rothken defendant's counsel.
I call New Destiny's attorney Dave Olsen. "I got a press release from Ron Levi's [team] claiming victory," I say.
Dave: "He should read the opinion a little more carefully then. The judge has ordered an audit on the shave claim. The judge did deny the infringement claim. The judge is going to appoint an auditor to look at the books and then there will be a final opinion.
"He denied their cross-complaint in its entirety.
"It's your standard mixed-bag-decision."
Ira Rothken, attorney for Trade News, calls me back at 3:31pm. I've gone through several headlines by this point as I try to process and upload the story in real time.
Ira: "The headline [then] reads: 'Arbitrator Requires Audit.' We were the one who requested the audit and they opposed it. In his own ruling, the arbitrator points out that we requested it and he finally gave it to us.
"This is a further manifestation of the spin you saw from day one in this case."
Luke: "I'm processing stuff as it comes pouring through in real time."
Ira: "I will applaud you though. The technique you use allows you to scoop everybody else known to mankind by using this real-time blog approach. It kills modern media."
Luke: "It has its weaknesses."
Ira: "It has its weaknesses, but after criticizing you, I'm going to applaud you too, because no one can compete with this."
Luke: "What's the most important thing that comes out of this preliminary ruling?"
Ira: "With the exception of the arbitrator embracing our request for an independent audit, the complainant loses every other claim: copyright infringement, invalid assignment, trademark, bad customer service claims. Every one of these claims were rejected by the arbitrator after he had a robust trial on the merits. We had witnesses who were cross-examined, who gave testimony under the penalty of perjury.
"Ron Levi, Trade News, and Voice Media are very happy with the arbitrator's interim ruling. We look forward to this independent audit so we can have total finality.
"It is our view that the independent audit is going to further confirm the arbitrator's initial view -- that the plaintiff was paid what was owed them. The arbitrator points out that they [New Destiny] have not proven there were any underpayments made.
"Furthermore, it is likely in our view that an independent auditor is going to find that Trade News overpaid New Destiny. We're certainly going to ask the arbitrator to give back any overpayment."
Luke: "Did they dismiss any of your claims? Your cross-complaint?"
Ira: "Our cross-complaint was at its core a declaratory relief case asking the court to declare that we are not in copyright infringement, the court did that, that we're not in trademark infringement, the court did that implicitly... That we did not breach the contract by providing poor customer service. The court granted our declaratory relief on that because whatever claims were discussed were rejected.
"For the plaintiff to say that our cross-complaint wasn't successful is misleading... We did ask the arbitrator to award to the respondents any over-payment. We expect to get those. We also requested costs and attorney fees. We're optimistic about getting those."
Luke: "Did anything surprise you in the judge's ruling?"
Ira: "No."
Kevin Blatt Phones
KB calls me back at 4pm. I hear Ian Eisenberg and porn girls in the background.
Ian: "Who is it?"
KB: "Luke."
Ian: "Hang up on him."
KB: "I'm launching one next week. Behind the porn. I can't tell you anything. I'm launching my own site."
Luke: "Does Ian have a website?"
KB: "Ian has a ton of websites."
Ian: "Don't say anything about me."
KB: "He does mainstream stuff. I'm here shooting a commercial for him. I've got Monique Alexander, Sunny Leone, Charmaine Star and Aimee Sweet here."
Luke: "They love me."
KB: "They all love you. That's what we're all talking about.
"We're in this big house in Encino. It's beautiful out. We're shooting a commercial for 1-900 numbers."
Luke: "What are you doing in it?"
KB: "I just casted it for him. I got him all his girls. It will show on cable. For text chat.
"Oooh, she's all oiled-up. Listen, I've got naked women running around. I'll call you later."
Larry Flynt Buys A New Jet For $29 Million
Now if he can only get his video division straightened out.
Ian Eisenberg Interview
I call Kevin Blatt. Ian Eisenberg (Seth Warshavsky's former partner) answers the phone.
He says he's not doing porn anymore. He's concentrating on ring tones.
Joseph Elkind Vs. John Bennett
For years these guys were partners with Cyber Entertainment Network. Then, in 2002, JB, with the help of his attorney Steve Workman, locked JoeE out of the business.
Despite rumors that these former friends were settling their differences, a hard-fought legal case goes on.
Here's a copy of some of the publicly-filed legal work from Joseph Elkind's team:
The Case of Fraud Perpetrated By John Bennett Against Joseph Elkind
This document is a compilation of the evidence of fraud, diversion of dunds, and diversion of corporate opportunities committed by John Bennett.
Bennett's Theft Prior To The Structure Being Set Up
Bennett began his theft of funds before the structure was set up. Victoria Garrett was deposed in the case of Hurren vs. NetVision Audiotext. (NetVision AudioText was the name of the business before the offshore structure was set up.) Because Ms. Garrett was the Chief Financial Officer, she was in a position to know about the things brought out in her deposition. Therein she made it clear that John Bennett had been stealing from Mr. Elkind. He had been doing that by directing Victoria Garrett to transfer significant sums, without Elkind's knowledge, into a number of companies that he had formed. Elkind was never given his fair share of the money.
At page 177 of her deposition she testifies as follows:
Q: Last Tuesday in your deposition you also testified that, I believe, that Mr. Bennett had directed Epoch on at least one occasion to send monies to an account in Fort Lauderdale that was not a CEN account. Do you remember that testimony?
A: Yes.
Q: And you indicated at the time, I think, that Mr. Bennett had caused approximately $28,000 to be sent to this account in Fort Lauderdale. Do you remember that?
A: Yes.
Q: And again, can you describe in a little more fully the circumstances surrounding that sending of $28,000 to a bank in Fort Lauderdale? For example, I think you indicated last time that the account was set, the bank account was set up in the name of Mr. Bennett, was that your testimony?
A: Yes, he had about six or seven accounts that were set up through himself and his sister. They were various variations of JJB, BBJ, JJB, different, all the different initials used different ways with his sister's address in Pompano, and they were set up in Northern Trust and in First Union.
One of these companies was LJB Internet Services Inc. Just as testified to by Vickie Garrett, "LJB" are the initials of Bennett's sister. Attached hereto as Tab 2 is a check from LJB made payable to Edward Dinna Trust Account. This is a very surprising document. First, Elkind had no knowledge of this account. The address on the check is 2456 Bayview Dr. This is John Bennett's home address. There should be no reason to divert banking information to his home.
The payment made by this check is for the last portions of sums recovered by Bennett and Elkind in civil litigation against their insurance carrier over litigation with America Online. The total amount of the settlement was $1.125 million. Elkind was not notified of the settlement and his share of the proceeds were sent to the IRS by Bennett for back taxes. This was done without Elkind's knowledge or approval. When questioned by Dinna about this Bennett admitted that he wanted to keep the money out of Elkind's hands so it would make it more difficult to litigate.
Whether hiding this theft and presumably other theft was a reason for the set-up of the structure is an open question. However upon further investigation it has become obvious that the structure was set up for the specific purpose of defrauding Joseph Elkind.
THE DIVERTED PROPERTIES
Emailbucks
The most glaring example of diversion by Mr. Bennett is Emailbucks. This was one of the most valued properties of the structure. If one types "Emailbucks.com" into a web browser, they are taken, not to this property, bto to a property known as "Combocash." Copies of the web pages for Combocash are attached as Tab 3. Any assignment of the right to use or transfer this name was not consented to by Joseph Elkind.
At the settlement meeting in the Bahamas, Bennett first informed Elkind of the fact that he had decided to lease the name Emailbucks to Fabian Buys for the sum of $18,000 per year. Buys is an equal owner of Emailbucks with Bennett and Elkind. This $18,000 was in addition to a charge of .03 per email. Traditionally Emailbucks sent out between 40 and 60 million emails per month. At that rate, the revenue from this property alone should be approximately $15 million per year. From this revenue would come profit which would be owned 66% by the structure. Fabian Buys sent an email to John Bennett sometime before 2001 wherein he acknowledged that the profit of Emailbucks was up to $400,000 per month.
WRONGFUL MISAPPROPRIATION OF DOMAINS/WEBSITE NAMES
The businesses' most important assets are its domain names. Each domain name has what is known as an IP address. This is how traffic gets directed to the company's income producing sites. Whoever controls the domain names controls the company. Early on in the life of the structure the domain names were appropriately placed in the name of Virtual World Holdings.
This is significant because Elkind and Bennett equally, through their trusts, own Virtual World Holdings. Incident to the set up of the structure Virtual World Holdings executed a note in favor of Elkind and Bennett in the approximate amount of $14 million. The value of the note is tied directly to Virtual's ownership and control of the domain names.
In November of 2001, Elkind had yet to be excluded from the business. Without Elkind's approval and behind his back, [Steve] Workman caused the transfer of the most valuable domains to a company known as "Cog Hill." In an email from Workman to Fabian Buys' employee Shaliza Somani, he states:
Shaliza, assuming you or Fabian have begun shifting the more important domains from Virtual to Cog Hill, these cannot go directly to Cog Hill... There can be no connection seen between former CEN and Cog Hill.
So yes, these should go into Virtual, then at some point in the not too distant future, from Virtual to Cog Hill.
This is the same Fabian Buys who participated in Bennett's diversion of Emailbucks to Combocash without Elkind's approval.
It is important to note that Workman copied Bennett n the email but not Elkind. This transfer is outright theft. The purpose was to keep the domain names and consequently the value of the business out of Elkind's direct or indirect control. This would also have the effect of having the value of the Virtual note reduced.
In all of the joint requests to the POTC it states that the Virtual note has been assigned to yet another two entities Bonus Reef and Sage. The joint requests were all drafted by Richard Cahan. He knows that the Elkind portion of the note was never assigned to any entity yet he keeps insisting on putting this in the written requests. Attached as Tab 6 is the diagram of the offshore scheme prepared by Cahan.
Nowhere on this diagram does "Cog Hill" appear.
If this was anything but pure theft, it would appear. Why was it necessary? Why was Elkind's approval not sought for these transfers?
PUNDA INVESTMENTS
Some time after the structure was put in place, Bennett started and controls a company known as Punda Investments A.V.V. This also does not appear on the offshore diagram. There is a substantial amount of money that has been diverted to Punda. The documents show approximately $30,000 per week being transferred to Punda and consequently Bennett. Weekly reports for Punda are attached as Tab 7. Also attached are confirmations of wire transfers of this money.
These are not legitimate transfer of money. It is a simple diversion of money. Net Management maintains a log of payments to webmasters. This is the only type of business transaction that would justify this type of payment. There is no record which support any payment to Punda.
Copies of the webmaster payment log which should provide evidence to support payment to Punda and does not are attached... There are certain "house accounts" which say "do not pay." These represent "cross sales." A cross sale is one generated by an in-house website and hence there is no payment that must be made to a webmaster for the sale. They are the same "cross sales" that Bennett and his lawyer Leonard Samuels told the PTC no longer exist.
The "Other" Network
Fabian Buy acknowledges in an email dated March 13, 2002, shortly after Elkind's exclusion from the company that there is a new network being set up. That email is attached. Therein in a response to Bennett's warnings about U.S. law he states:
"So they will come and get me in...China/Aruba/Curacao/dominica/spain? Problem will be solved within approx. 10 days when the 'other' network is up and running."
There is additional evidence that Bennett has in fact set up another network. Attached...are earnings reports. There is one for Net Management...which includes: Dellwood, Emailbucks, and 1-Verification Systems.
However there is also one titled "Other Accounts Earnings Report" wh ich includes Golden Valley, Oakley, Naughty Webcams, and New Castle. None of these are included in the structure diagram. This is at least part of the "other" network referred to by Fabian Buys.
Just like Naughtywebcams, Oakley, and New Castle are Bennett created and run companies. It appears that there is a wholesale diversion of Net Management sales to these entities. Oakley has its office located at the offices of Net Management in care of Bennett's sister Lisa Bennett.
New Castle...is another entity to which business is being diverted. Attached...shows a substantial amount of money due to "Firefly." This is a Fabian Buys property which is run by Shaliza Somani. She is the same person who transferred the Virtual World Holdings domains to Cog Hill.
FRAUDULENT FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Company sales grew exponentially while Elkind was still in the business. After Elkind was improperly excluded, the financial statements began to fraudulently state that sales were dropping. In addition, key financial ratios became grossly inconsistent with the historical ratios.
The structure that was set up is commonly referred to as the "Breakers" structure. Throughout the course of the life of the structure, it has been extremely difficult to obtain financial statements as the ATC, the trustee of the "Breakers" structure has been under the total control of John Bennett.
Year Annual Sales Webmaster Payout Percentage
1997 $817,511 3%
1998 $6,110,492 37%
1999 $26,899,032 35%
2000 $45,408,725 38%
2001 $32,772,553 39%
2002 $42,856,435 43%
2003 $10,695,799 50%It is clear that any figures reported after the structure began in the last seven months of 2001 are very suspect.
In the fall of 2002 a settlement conference was held with former federal judge Thomas Scott. At that time Bennett, through his lawyer, Leonard Samuels, presented Elkind with financial statements for the year end 2001. The hope was that Elkind would rely upon them and sell his interest to Bennett for an artificially low price. These statements were given to Elkind fully nine months after the period to which they pertained had ended. These statements reflected a false sales figure of $24,207,247. It reported net income of $2.6 million. When the "correct" financial statements were provided they showed a net income of $4.3 million.
When the year end figures were provided for 2002, the purported results for the fourth quarter were alarming. Bennett wanted Elkind to believe that sales had precipitously dropped to $3.7 million a month. He also wanted Elkind to believe that the company had sustained its first quarterly loss...
WHAT THE FINANCIALS SHOULD LOOK LIKE
Based upon the July 8, 2003 statistics reluctantly given by Bennett, the Financial Statements should show total annual revenue for Traffic Cash only of approximately $90 million.
Bennett sent an email dated November 25, 2001 to CCBill...one of many credit card processors for the company. Each new signup is a sale. In this email Bennett represented that he would deliver 6000 signups per day to this one processor alone.
FALSE STATEMENTS MADE TO THE PRIVATE TRUST CORPORATION BY BENNETT
In July of 2003, a settlement conference was held at the offices of the Private Trust Corporation. Bennett was accompanied by his lawyer Leonard Samuels. The gist of Bennett's presentation was that the company's business was declining for a number of reasons. He claimed that there was no longer any cross sales owing to new VISA and MASTER CARD rules.
Bennett...provided access to statistics for one day for Traffic Cash Gold. These statistics show that Mr. Bennett lied about the business being reduced. They also show the existence of numerous cross sales.
THE ATC IS BREACHING ITS FIDUCIARY DUTY TO ELKIND BY SIDING WITH BENNETT
On many occasions the ATC has acted unfairly toward Elkind at the request of Bennett.
First, the ATC has intentionally held back financial statements from Elkind.
The ATC is the trustee of Mr. Elkind's company Oakmont.
Second, the ATC participated with Bennett in allowing the payment under an interim settlement agreement to be made with these funds.
Third, ATC, at the direction of Net Management initiated a prepayment of Elkind's start up loan for the purpose of paying Elkind $202,000 due under the initial Interim Settlement Agreement. This was supposed to be a consulting fee.
Fourth, the final settlement which was reached in the Bahamas but never reduced to writing was drafted by Peter Goddard, the lawyer for the ATC at Bennett's direction. In addition thereto, ATC held up the wire of the initial $1 million payment despite having a joint letter of request. This was at the direction of Bennett and Workman who were attempting to condition this payment upon Elkind putting his shares in escrow prior to the execution of a final settlement agreement.
THE FRAUDULENT PURPOSE OF THE STRUCTURE
The structure was set by Becker and Poliakoff who advised that such a structure was beneficial for two reasons. The first is that the structure is supposed to provide asset protection. Contrary to this advice, it provides no asset protection. The ATC, through Peter Goddard, has made clear that the amount of money to be reserved in Breakers is related to the potential judgment in the Perfect 10's litigation. If there were any asset protection, why would there have to be reserves setup for this lawsuit? When it came to the AOL litigation, the structure provided no asset protection. If it did, there would have been no nee dto pay AOL the millions of dollars the company agreed to pay.
The second reason for setting up the structure was tax avoidance. Becker and Poliakoff retained Timothy Scranton Esquire of the law firm Ten State Street to give an opinion on the tax implications of the structure. Mr. Scranton has confirmed that his opinion deals only with the issue of reportability and not taxability of Income.
In order for the Ten State Street opinion to have any validity, there must be no U.S. source income. The opinion obviously assumes that the file servers can not be located within the United States.
Mr. Bennett acknowledged at the meetings in the Bahamas that the file servers remain in the United States. There can be no argument that, with the file servers in the U.S., they are generating U.S. source income. The premise upon which this entire structure was set up to avoid U.S. taxes, which was dubious at best, has been defeated by John Bennett's own actions. Despite knowing this, he refuses to comply with the United States taw laws and he is brazenly participating in the crime of tax evasion.
Tax experts have informed that even if the file servers were not in the United States, the whole structure constitutes tax evasion.
Edward Cherry was a lawyer who worked for one of the company's major credit card processors, iBill. Because the company gave so much business to iBill and because iBill was having constant issues over Net Management's billing practices, Edward Cherry was in regular meetings with Net Management's corporate counsel Steve Workman. Workman's behavior will be examined below. Mr. Cherry has stated in his affidavit and testimony that Workman admitted that the structure was setup for the purpose of putting Elkind out of business.
There is compelling proof of this illegal and fraudulent motive. Before the structure was set up, Bennett had hired an investigator to surveil Elkind for the purpose of gathering evidence that Elkind had violated his employment agreement. This employment agreement had yet to be signed.
THE USE OF ELKIND'S LAWYERS AGAINST HIM TO COMPLETE THE FRAUD
Kenneth Knox
Incident to the set up of the structure Elkind signed an employment agreement. Why he might need one is a mystery. This is the employment agreement that was supposedly breached by Elkind for which he was terminated. Bennett was trying to prove this agreement was breached before it was signed by Elkind. In order to contrive a formal presentation that would end in Elkind's dismissal, Bennett, through Workman, hired a lawyer Kenneth Knox. Knox is with the law firm Fisher and Phillips. Elkind has sued Knox and his law firm.
Knox was Elkind's own lawyer. Although he first denied this in his testimony, the evidence is apparent that he represented Elkind, and that he disregarded Elkind's interest and chose to protect John Bennett's interest. Under American law this is the worst thing a lawyer can do to a client. The common euphemism is that Elkind was "sold out" by Knox.
Steven Workman
Steve Workman is the in-house counsel for Net Management. He is not a member of the Florida Bar. He was refused admittance to the Florida Bar as a result of his failure to disclose prior problems on his application. Mr. Workman attempted to have the Private Trust Corporation fire Elkind. To its credit, the PTC remained neutral and refused to take this action. Mr. Workman was rebuffed in his attempts to have the PTC fire Elkind in a letter sent by the PTC's lawyer Miranda Monroe Evans. Undeterred, Workman obtained an opinion letter from Kenneth Knox which recommended that Net Management fire you. We were shocked when we took the deposition of Knox to find that he had been mislead by Workman into believing that you no longer had an ownership interest in the structure.
In an email, Workman instructed Ken Knox to:
"Get on the phone to attorney Ed Dinna and tell him we are not putting up with s--- from his client. Tell him that if Elkind or any of his lackeys contact our employees again, he will get zero, zilch, and he can look to the courts for whatever justice he can obtain, he can starve for two years while litigation slogs slowly through the courts system for all I care."
This attitude of crush Elkind at all costs continues. Most recently Workman has been given to sending extortionate emails to Ed Dinna. This was sent in an attempt to coerce Elkind into taking an unreasonably low settlement offer. On May 4, 2003, he clearly communicated a threat to Elkind and his lawyers. Elkind, because of the actions of Bennett, has substantial tax problems with the Internal Revenue Service. Workman states:
Ed, In your conversations with the IRS, I am sure you have discussed Joee's ICE business.
If you have not,,,hmmmm,, that would be bad,,perhaps I should meet with Agent Shaw to ensure you and your client are being truthful to the IRS.
Call me so that we might avoid disaster for you, Mineo and Goldstein... I think there may be some lawyer complicity in money diversion, if not laundering...only the facts will decide, won't they.
You changed the rules from trust to non-trust....so do not blame me when things rough and decidedly nasty.
CONCLUSION
It is difficult to imagine a more compelling case against John Bennett. He was stealing from Elkind before he started the structure. He wanted Elkind out. He began to plan Elkind's removal before the structure was in place. He used Elkind's lawyers to accomplish this task. When Elkind was removed, he tried to starve him. All the while he has been stealing and diverting money and corporate opportunities. There are no tactics which are off-limits for him including extortion and cooking the books.
Elkind has nowhere to turn to but the PTC because the American courts have referred the matter to the Bahamas for arbitration. Bennett has refused to pay for this arbitration or submit his claim. Every day that goes by the theft continues. The PTC is the legal owner of the structure from both parties and it should not let one "partner" dictate to the other and steal as Bennett has.
..........
Edward Cherry of iBill said:
A. Sometime after Steve Workman retained Becker @ Poliakoff, and then Richard Cahan facilitated the restructuring, Steve and I began getting into heated discussions about Joe Elkind. Steve was telling me that he's coming at 3:00 o'clock in the afternoon, he's doing all sorts of drugs. And I said, 'Steve, have you seen him do drugs?' And he says, 'No.' And I said, 'How do you know he's been doing drugs?' And that's when he starts telling me that, 'We've had a private investigator follow him because he doesn't know this, but in his management agreement, all he has to do or all we have to do is show the trustee that there's some triggering event in the management agreement, and then the trustee, without any court order, would cease funding Joe Elkind's interest in the company.'
Q. Had the management agreement been signed by that time?
A. I don't know. I stopped Steve Workman. I said, 'Let me get this straight. You mean to tell me that you've already know that Joe Lkind has potentially violated the restructuring management agreement, and that at any given time, you could contact the trustees and cut off the funding?' And Steve said, 'That's absolutely right.' And then he used the comments, 'We're going to be pushing him out of the company. It's definitely happening.' At that point, I went in to my CEO, and told him: 'I know that Joe Elkind and Steve Workman were initially great friends because they both partied together, and that at this point in time, it looks like they're trying to push one of the partners out.' I told Garrett Bender that there could be potential exposure here at I-Bill if we help facilitate that.
[Steve Workman] presented to me ...that [Joe E] won't stay off the e-mailing. He won't stay off the boards. He's becoming a liability to the company. We don't want to pay him out any money. It's easy for us to get him out of the company using the management agreement which is a solid document that the trustees will acknowledge where we won't have to go through hoops and hurdles to get him off the premises and out of the building.
DIRECT EVIDENCE OF ILLEGAL BUSINESS PRACTICES
In the adult internet business, it is necessary that credit card processors be used. This is because the chargeback rates on these types of transaction are so high that it is difficult for a company such as CEN/Net Management to get a merchant account. The high chargeback rates are caused by illegal tactics...by Bennett and Workman... They typically give "free trials" the fine print which is hidden will generally say something like "automatically rebilled after 30 days unless cancelled." They also engage in "cross sales."
The use of these practices are easy to prove. One need only go on a Net Management site and look at the sign-up page. Rather than choose a cross sale, one has to decline or the charge happens anyway. This is so for both cross sales and free trials.
...Bennett and Workman have engaged in "banging" of credit cards. This is an industry term which describes the unauthorized charges to credit cards. This is a highly illegal practice. To prevent this practice, most states including Florida have laws which impose criminal penalties for the misues of lists of credit card data.
Bennet and Workman apparently understood all too well the importance of compiling the list of the customers' credit card information. As Mr. Cherry testified:
Q. If somebody goes on to a Net Management site and they type in their credit card...
A. Correct.
Q. Net Management is not supposed to capture that information?
A. That's correct, unless they're a merchant.
A. And if they capture that infromation, are they doing something illegal?
A. I think they may be doing something unlawful, tortuous. I don't know if it's criminal. There's a statute in Florida that's called credit card list prohibited. And you're prohibited in the state of Florida to compile credit card lists, so that theoretically, if they're compiling a credit card list, it would follow that the possibility exists it was unlawful.
Q. Do you know whether they were doing it.
A. I know for a fact they were doing it.
Q. Why would iBill allow such a thing?
A. The reason I was told why they allowed it is because John Bennett complained that our technology was no good and that his technology was better, so that if he had the ability to collect credit card numbers up front, he could then batch them out to us and we could process them at a separate time frame...
The credit card data base was then shared between a company called Babenet and Net Management. Net Management then engaged in the highly illegal practice of "banging" each other's credit card databases. This was discovered by iBill's fraud and compliance officer Nicholas Toth. What he found was a large number of transaction wherein the same credit card had been charged for both Net Management and Babenet very close in time there was no corresponding link between the two sites.
In order to deal with the problem of high chargebacks, Bennett and Workman resorted to bank fraud. As Cherry describes, there were times when Net Management would have 20,000 to 30,000 transactions from sequentially numbered credit cards from a foreign bank hit all at once and be three seconds apart.
Q. They had to do something to lower the chargebacks?
A. Absolutely and I have personal knowledge that that absolutely happened. There was absolutely, on one occasion, 40,000 transactions from a Lebanese bank. Another in excess of 30 or 40,000 from a Panamanian bank, another in excess of that amount from a Canadian bank.
Q. Presumably what would happen is they'd bo buy these credit cards somewhere, put money in the bank and run all these one-after-another charges to lower their chargeback rate?"
A. Absolutely.
Q. Did you ever talk to Workman or Bennett about this?
A. I sure did. I would be the one that would be asked to go out to dinner with them, feel them out, talk to them about that stuff, and whenever I brought up the issue, they always backed off.
The issue of Alpha Soft, banging credit cards lowering chargebacks. John Bennett never spoke to me specifically about that, but then in several conversations that I had impromptu with Steve Workman, he alwas pointed the finger at Alpha Soft. And then I would retort with, 'Well, how come your accounts are benefitting from it if Alpha Soft is the only one doing it?' And he'd back off.
Sex Slaves, Revisited
Looking back at the New York Times Magazine piece 16 months later.
In 1994, before I started work on my history of porn book, I explored writing about sexual slavery in the United States. But after I did my research, I concluded that such slavery was comparatively rare and overhyped.
Google Is the World's Largest Pornographer, Said Perfect 10's Zadeh
LOS ANGELES - Perfect 10 founder and publisher Norman Zadeh says Google and other search engines are costing adult companies millions of dollars every year, and now he wants them to pay up.
Last November, Zadeh filed suit against Google accusing the search giant of knowingly stealing his company's intellectual property in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The suit alleges 12 counts of trademark dilution, wrongful use of a registered trademark and unfair competition.
How To Book AVN Hall Of Famer/XRCO Hostess Taylor Wane
Go to www.booktaylor.com. You can also e-mail her direct at twane@mac.com.
According to her ad on Eros-LA.com:
You can pay for appointments by credit card, debit cards, PayPal, etc. Rates: $1500 / 1 hour $2500 / 2 hours $4000 / 4 hours
According to AVN's Mark Kernes, she's not available.
Deun writes:
Taylor Wane must be giving PRIVATES to John Kerry's publicist. What's this stuff about her being and entertainer? She can't sing, she can't act, she can't dance (pole dancing doesn't count), can't tell a joke, and she can't possibly think she's model material. That's a whole lotta "CAN'Ts" for an entertainer. Hell she can't even tell the truth about what she does for a living. I don't know what's more unbelieveable. The fact that she and her pimp....excuse me her husband think that we could swallow that load of crap or that the Hobbyist, Gentlemen, Privates or the "Big Dogs" (Kathy Willets words not mine.) haven't called her on it. Maybe they should just go back to calling themselves "TRICKS".
Jenna Jameson's 'Unpleasant Experience'
In one of the Up n Cummers videos she did for Randy West, I think, Jenna alludes to an unpleasant experience shortly after her porn debut that caused her to "retire" for what turned out to be several months. This was before she achieved her current status but after she made a video or two. Anybody know what she was refering to?
Walter posts that it was Jonathan Morgan in Cherry Pie.
Jenna Jameson writes me: "Yes, it was the jonathan morgan scene that caused my retirement. it wasn't inpart due to him as a whole. just his excessive sweating, LOL."