The Liar's Club; Why I Won't Eat Roast Beef:

In the late 70’s, I caught a near fatal dose of salmonella poisoning from a roast beef sandwich eaten at a dance club in New Jersey. I was in isolation for over a week. While recuperating in the hospital, I read in the newspaper that over five hundred people had the same problem. The reason for the outbreak was traced back to under-cooked meat from a processing company that was using old ovens with faulty temperature controls. The dance club, the meat processing company, and the deli franchise connected to the roast beef sandwich, refused to accept responsibility for my damages. The dance club claimed they were not responsible because they bought the roast beef sandwiches from a deli franchise. The meat processing company claimed they were not responsible because there was no record of selling roast beef to the deli franchise. The deli claimed they didn't buy the roast beef from the processing company. I couldn’t establish where the meat that I ate came from. They even tried to blame my 90 year old grandmother's meatballs as the source of the salmonella! My attorney suggested dropping the lawsuit, but I refused to give up. I was determined to have the responsible parties pay for their negligence. I hired a private detective and a new attorney. We discovered that the driver who delivered the roast beef to the deli had been stealing the meat from the processing company and was selling it “off the truck” to make extra money. It took a lot of work, but as soon as this was uncovered, suddenly all parties decided it was in everyone's best interest to settle. I purchased my first apartment, a co-op in New York City, with the money from my settlement with the meat processing company, the dance club and the deli franchise.

Crimes and Misdemeanors:

In the 80’s, I was arrested on 7th Avenue across from Madison Square Garden while I was talking to a “Guardian Angel” about karate. I was jumped and beaten by three police officers and charged with interfering with governmental procedures, resisting arrest, disturbing the peace and whatever else their imagination could come up with. On that night, there was a Michael Jackson concert in the Garden and the police thought I was the peddler selling “Michael Jackson White Gloves.” They had cautioned him earlier not to sell things near the Garden. At the station they realized I was the wrong person but still arrested me so they could cover up the beating they gave me. They offered a deal to drop the serious charges if I pled guilty to a lesser offense. I refused because I was innocent. I hired a high-powered criminal attorney from New York City. On the first day of the jury trial, the Assistant District Attorney alleged that I was a “police hater” and that was the real reason for my “crimes.” Nothing could have been further from the truth.

I called two of my very best friends, Paul , the Federal Agent, and Pete, a Hudson County Detective, for help. Paul flew in that evening from Washington, DC. They both testified as character witnesses for me on the second day of the trial. After my testimony, I was cross examined by the Assistant District Attorney for almost one hour. The jury took five minutes to decide I was not guilty of all charges. With the money I received from my settlement with New York City, I was able to purchase a waterfront condo in Monmouth Beach and a home in Long Branch, one block from the beach. I renovated both properties and rented them to jockeys working at Monmouth Racetrack. During the renovations, I became even more familiar with the importance of "permits" and building code compliance.

I learned from these “Life Lessons”; that people will do to you whatever you allow them to get away with. If you are wrongly charged with something, don't give up until you prove your innocence. There are a few things I don't take lightly, and being charged for something I didn't do is one of them. I learned to be relentless until justice is served and until the responsible party pays for their injustice.

When the CUOG lawsuit was filed over one year ago, a rumor was spread around the Galaxy by the Board supporters. They were telling people that the ACLU paid for my apartment and that I was planted in the Galaxy by the ACLU to set up the Freedom of Speech Lawsuit. Unbelievable! They placed the blame on me instead of blaming their Board friends for prohibiting free speech in the United States of America, in the lobbies of the Galaxy, as the reason for the lawsuit. In my opinion, persecuting and demonizing the critics of the Board has been a standard practice at the Galaxy for many years and has been very effective, UP UNTIL NOW. To demonstrate the strength of my commitment and how important it is for me to clear my name and reputation, I will paraphrase what the Marine said to the trapped police officer in the World Trade Center movie; “I am not going away, this is now my mission.”

For me, it wasn't an option to create this Website to defend myself against the hurtful unwarranted damaging accusations made about my character and reputation. My glove made me do it! If I didn't, it would rot away at my insides in the same way rust from some of the air conditioner sleeves is rotting away at the $5.5 million dollar recently restored facade.

Coming Next: The Machine