How it Began

In 1999 I had just purchased a new home and was a 24% shareholder in three automobile dealerships. There had been an allure of financial rewards being put in front of me that were hard to ignore. I spent most my waking hours either working at the dealerships or thinking of ways to make work better for the dealerships. But I knew something was wrong.  The people with the real power over the dealership were very secretive. As the story goes "there is no honor among thieves" --- I would soon learn that the controlling shareholder had ulterior motives. Never in my wildest dreams could I construct the unethical strategies this person would use in an attempt to defraud me of my hard labors, my financial investment and my personal and family relationships.

I learned I was in business with a predator, but at this time I had no idea the depths of corruption and the immunity to responsibility he had for his actions.

In September of 1999 I made the mistake of challenging the 52% stockholder in his decision to terminate a female employee and keep the male employee.  They had both been caught together having inappropriate relations on company time and on company property. Many female and male employees complained that it was extremely uncomfortable to be around the environment the couple created.  When the wife of the male employee finally discovered it, the 52% stakeholder was forced to act. He fired the woman and kept the man.

I was concern he was setting us up for a significant law suit and told him such.  His reasoning for only firing the woman was, that a single mother, who in her past had had her kids taken away from her was in no position to sue us.  I took the position that doesn't make it justified for all the other women in our company and should we get sued I am not taking the fall for you.(He had always used the strategy 'with my position I need you to say I had no idea what was happening'). I really put my foot down as he had a history of female discrimination within the confines of our company and over the last year or so he had become increasingly arrogant about his power. Well that came with consequences.

I found myself kicked out of my business, my corp vehicle taken from me, my pay was cut off from the company, my family was being told not to listen to me as  ”the influence-rs'’ thought I had a mental illness similar to my mother( a scary accusation as my mother struggled, often being hospitalized with paranoid schizophrenia) and my health insurance was terminated.  My wife was experiencing a high risk pregnancy and we were having weekly ultra-sounds.  With the pending insurance cut off it frightened her and I immensely.  At this time I got the call no one wants to hear. It was another major factor that increased my resolve to fight against what I knew was wrong.  It would be a battle I would later find out was against two predators and a pack of followers.

The phone rang and the woman on the other end was trying to support me.  She was well aware of this mans abusive ways.  She cautioned me to not give in to him.  She advised me, you will never forgive yourself if you give in.  She seemed to be speaking from experience so I asked her what she was speaking of..... To this day I sometimes wish I never asked.... She explained to me, as a young teenager she was offered 25 cents on different occasions from him so he could practice with her body for "real" women.(yes a quarter)

Needless to say, what I thought was a big problem just grew to a level I could not grasp.  It was at that time, I resolved to not give in, but I had no idea the fight and trauma that I would endure and deal with.  The levels a predator will go to keep his secrets, the enablers he could enlist to fight his battles, and the lack of response from people when you seek support was a life lesson I was soon to be far too familiar with. This is my story of a financial and sexual predator and the pack he ran in.

There was no good choice