Re: Putting it all together - draft 2 (part 1 of 2)
Changes from draft 1:
1. Added re Chalem: "Held French citizenship."
2. Added re Chalem immediate family: "Mother lives in Fort Lee NJ, father in Canada, sister in Alpine NJ."
3. Clarified the Russell W. Candela Jr. vs. Sr. info.
4. Changed Kim's son from Jeffrey to Jesse, Jr.
5. Added Mark Palestine, although no details, in section IV.
6. Added Charles S. Arnold in section IV.
7. Added Joseph Dunn in section IV.
8. Added Paul Dickson is section V.
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Who killed Albert Alain Chalem and Maier Lehmann? Below I've tried to group related parties to make it a bit easier to review the possible suspects. Of course, feel free to create your own!
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The Victims
Chalem, Albert Alain - MURDERED. 41. From Clifton, NJ prior to Colt's Neck. Held French citizenship. Grew up in Englewood Cliffs. From 1980-1989, operated printing business in Clifton, NJ called Spectrum Printing, later known as Pinnacle Technology Inc. (aka Pi-Tech); business went bankrupt in 1988, but continued to operate for another five years, then burned in 1992. An investigation led to a conviction for illegal hazardous waste dumping. Bought Heartbreak Hotel in 1990, a Catskills inn; it burned down in 1994. Involved with Bay St. Contracting in early 90s. From January of 1994 through December 1995 was part of infamous securities firm A.S. Goldmen & Co. of Woodbridge, NJ and Naples, FL, but was never indicted in the $100M 33 person stock manipulation case against them. Applied in February 1994 for a license from the NASD to trade stocks but was denied. Previous address was Hampton Bays, NY. Owned Allen's Acres motel in that town. Chalem supposedly sold it to Clean-X-Press, a dry-cleaning business in San Francisco, CA, for $2.4 million, which, in turn, would lease it back to him. No evidence the deal went through and irate investors have sued; investigators say both Clean-X-Press and the brokerage firm that promoted it have been linked to organized crime. In 1998, listed as a director of March Leasing, Inc. of Boca Raton FL.
Lehmann, Maier S. - MURDERED. 37. From Woodmere, Long Island. Born in Manhattan and later moved to the Rockland County town of Monsey, N.Y. Father of five. An Orthodox Jew. Nickname was "Dr." In July, 1997 made the introduction between a small group of investors and WTS Transnational Corp., which was attempting to develop a fingerprint verification device for use with computers and ATMs. Reversed merged into a shell renamed Electro-Optical. Lehmann paid $630K to the SEC related to Electro-Optical fraud. Pleaded guilty to bilking General Accident Insurance Co. in January 1994 (faked two burglaries for Not Just Videos, a NY appliance store) but cooperated with authorities and sentenced to house arrest and avoided jail; case got 120 convictions and uncovered $120M in fraud.
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The Investigators
Kaye, John - Monmouth County Prosecutor, based in Freehold, NJ. Has 20 detectives working on case.
Kenney, Alton D. - First Assistant Prosecutor
Heine, John - Spokesman for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
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I. Family
3 Bluebell Road - A 16 acre estate purchased by Chalem in December 1998 for $1.1 million. Put in name of Russell Candela, father of Chalem's live-in girlfriend Kimberly Scarola. Scarola, her some Jeff, and Chalem moved in during the late spring and early summer of 1999. House was allegedly used in porno movies starring Jenna Jameson.
Candela, Russell W., Jr. - Brother of Kimberly Scarola. According to NASD records, Candela serves in the New York Air National Guard and also served in the U.S. Air Force Reserve and worked for two beverage distributors until 1991. In 1994, he worked for about six months for the now-defunct Greenway Capital Corp. in New York, which the SEC has cited for manipulating stock prices and defrauding customers. Greenway was also cited in a Business Week article on the mob, and later reconstituted as Cortland Capital Corp. and then Gold Country. A CRD# for Candela could not be found.
Candela, Russell W., Sr. - Father of Kimberly Scarola. Name is on title of Bluebell Road home where the slayings took place. Of Brooklyn and East Hampton, N.Y.
Chalem immediate family - Mother lives in Fort Lee NJ, father in Canada, sister in Alpine NJ.
Chalem, Spikey and Sophia Loren - Alain Chalem's pet bull dogs.
Lehmann, Chaim - Brother of Maier Lehmann. Gave eulogy at funeral.
Lehmann, Tamar - Wife of Maier Lehmann. Maier deposited $500,000 in Electro-Optical stock proceeds in an account for her. She admitted under oath that she did not know she had received the stock or the proceeds.
Scarola, Kimberly - Live-in girlfriend of Chalem. In Florida at time of slaying. Listed in Internic as the administrative contact for a firm called City Furniture in Sunrise, Florida.
Scarola, Jesse, Jr. - Kimberly's 13 year old son. Lived with his mother and Chalem but was staying with his father, Jesse, Sr., in Staten Island, NY the night of the murder.
Scarola, Jesse T. - Ex-husband of Kimberly Scarola. Father of Jeffrey. Resident of Staten Island, NY. From 9/8/76 to 5/15/87 was Secretary and Director of All American Court Clubs, Inc., a FL registered company operating at 15 West 39th St. in NY. AACC's president was Philip DiGiacomo. NASD records have a listing for a John Philip DiGiacomo, a Registered Representative from NYC, who "was named as a respondent in an NASD complaint alleging that he created and submitted fictitious buy order tickets in an effort to conceal substantial net short positions in his trading account as a proprietary trader for his member firm." However, it is unclear if this is the same person.
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II. Close Associates
Conkling, Allen Lloyd, Jr. - One of two men to discover the bodies. Lived in Pequannock, NJ. Co-owner of a tanning salon in Fort Lee, NJ (possibly Allen's Tan Terrific). Worked as a stockbroker with AS Goldmen in 1994. At one time was IR for Electro Optical (a Lehmann company) and Aviation Industries (a Chalem company). Nicknamed "Little Al". CRD# 1996331.
Horowitz, Richard F. - Lawyer who represented Lehmann in the General Accident Insurance Co. fraud case.
Logan, Joe T., Jr. - Close business associate to Chalem. President of Wasatch International Corporation, Aviation Holdings Group, Inc., and Aviation Industries Corp. (AVIA). On 3/12/98, Joe Logan and Diran Kaloustian founded CITA Americas, Inc., which became a wholly owned subsidiary of AVIA and then spun off via a reverse merger with Southwestern Environmental Corporation (SWNV) assuming the symbol DTOX. Husband of Ada Garay-Logan.
Novak, G. Alexander - Lehmann's former securities lawyer. Had previously represented Lehmann's wife's family.
Rutstein, C. Lawrence - Attorney from Boca Raton, FL. Chalem hired him to consummate AVIA-DTOX deal. Rutstein was founer and president of March Leasing, Inc., a Boca company, which lasted only from 3/9/99 to 9/24/99; Timothy Hart was treasurer and secretary, and Chalem was a director. Rutstein has since gone on to GourmetMarket.com (WINE).
Wasatch International Corp. - Allegedly a Chalem company run by Joe Logan. Wasatch claimed it would loan $5 million to Kiwi Airlines but SEC records showed that in more than 10 years of existence, the company has conducted essentially no business aside from an attempt at a graffiti removal business that went nowhere. Other Wasatch schemes were: buy a cruise ship from a bankrupt Florida company for $6.7 million in cash and stock; and acquire rights to develop 15,000 acres in the Bahamas for 25 million restricted shares. John B. M. Frohling, a NJ attorney, represented Wasatch in bankruptcy court. Eventually Logan supposedly found a partner in Baltimore surgeon Charles C. Edwards for the Kiwi funding, but Edwards ended up doing the deal himself. Directors of Wasatch included Eli Leibowitz of Englewood NJ, and Robert Thomas of Middletown NJ.
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III. A.S. Goldmen Related
A.S. Goldmen & Co. - Brokerage created in 1988; disbanded but technically still active and based in Red Bank NJ (at one point receiving mail c/o Body by Boris). In its heyday also had offices in Manhattan, Naples FL, Los Angeles CA, and Iselin NJ, with nearly 100 brokers and 50,000 accounts. In July 1999, 33 of its executives and employees were charged by New York or federal authorities with manipulating small-company public offerings. The NASD fined them $200,000 and ordered restitution of $1 million to customers. The charges stem from the firm's sale of 10 securities: Millennium Sports Management Inc., Stadium Capital Inc., Independence Brewing Co., Imatec Ltd., Wanderlust Interactive Inc., Winfield Capital Corp., Veritas Music Entertainment, Nickelodeon Theatre Co., Cinema Ride Inc. and Innovative Tech Systems Inc.
Charged were: Anthony Joseph Marchiano, of Naples, Florida, Goldmen's president and sole owner; Stuart E. Winkler, of Morganville, N.J., Goldmen's financial and operations principal; John T. Diasabeyagunawardena (a.k.a. John Abbey), of Metuchen, N.J.; John P. DelCioppo, of Naples, Florida; Christopher M. DelCioppo, of Tampa, Florida; Vincent J. Lia, of Naples, Florida; Duane P. Taylor, of Naples, Florida; and Charles Trento, of Forked River, N.J. Abbey, John DelCioppo, Chris DelCioppo, Lia, and Taylor, were all registered representatives in Goldmen's Naples, Florida office. Trento was a registered representative in Goldmen's New Jersey Office.
Clean-X-Press - A dry-cleaning business in San Francisco, CA. Issued a PR saying they were buying Chalem's motel, Allen's Acres, in Hampton Bays, NY for $2.4 million, and would then lease it back to him. No evidence the deal went through and irate investors have sued; investigators say both Clean-X-Press and the brokerage firm that promoted it, Global Strategies Group Inc., have been linked to organized crime.
Global Strategies Group Inc. - Brokerage based in San Francisco, CA. Accused of defrauding business people and elderly retirees through bogus loan guarantees and stock market manipulation. Target of more than a dozen lawsuits in CA. Key players include James Bingham Dean of Pacific Heights, John G. Wright Jr., principal of Berkshire Venture Partners, a related firm in Woodland Hills, and Jon F. Williams, 50, president of GSG Financial Inc, Global's parent company. One questionable Global deal was a SF-based laundromat called Clean-X Press, a company linked to Chalem. A federal indictment stemming out of the A.S. Goldmen case shows four former Goldmen brokers and links Global to the Colombo crime family and the Russian organized crime group Bor. Robert James Carlin (CRD# 1310868) who was also a member of two brokerages, Sovereign Equity (CRD# 20016) and Euro-Atlantic (CRD# 21367), which were mentioned in the Businessweek article about the MOB on Wall Street.
Marchiano, Anthony John - From Naples, FL. President of A.S. Goldmen and sole shareholder. In July 1999 was suspended from the brokerage industry in all capacities for six months, fined $50,000, and censured. Must retake exam to re-enter the brokerage industry. Twin brother of Salvatore. CRD# 1205721.
Marchiano, Salvatore - Vice President of A.S. Goldmen, brother of Anthony and head trader. Twin brother of Anthony. CRD# 2588305.
Winkler, Stuart E. - Chief Financial Officer of A.S. Goldmen; joined in 1989. In July 1999 was suspended for two years, fined $50,000, and censured. Must retake exam to re-enter the brokerage industry. Helped Goldmen conceal its misdeeds from federal and state regulators. Was an examiner and field supervisor in the NASD's New York office between 1979 and 1986.
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IV. Barry Witz and Terry Marsh Related
Arnold, Charles (Chuck) S. - In the 80s was a private investor from FL and NC who sold franchises for renting videocassette recorders and running coin-operated pizza ovens. Arnold founded Sound Money Investors and published "Sound Money Investor" and "Personal Investing News" where he touted penny stocks but failed to disclose he was paid to do so. He became a key figure in FAVE ("see 5th Avenue Channel" in Part VI). He was Terry Marsh's partner for the financial backing of DTOX (see "Aviation Industries").
Aviation Industries Corp (AVIA) - In early '98, AVIA was touted by Future Superstock. Chalem was said to call the shots for AVIA. On 5/27/98, AVIA agreed to purchase Casino Airlink, Inc. (OTC: POKR), a Ft. Lauderdale, FL-based wholesale travel company. On 8/4/98, AVIA agreed to merge with POKR with the new entity to be called Integrated Marketing Professionals, Inc (IMP). William Forhan, CEO of POKR, was also named CEO of AVIA; only one member of AVIA remained on the board of directors, Diran Kaloustian, the CEO. The companies never did merge but POKR did assume the new name. On 6/4/99, both IMP and AVIA signed a Letter of intent to be acquired by ByeByeNow.com (BBN), a recently formed company. The CEO of BBN is also William Forhan, and all three companies operate out of the same office. On 10/28/99, BBN said they would now merge only with POKR, but still acquire all AVIA stock; an IPO is set for the Q2, 2000. It's interesting to note that the ByeByeNow.com site still is under construction.
On 3/12/98, Joe Logan and Diran Kaloustian founded CITA Americas, Inc., which became a wholly owned subsidiary of AVIA. On 5/6/98, "CITA Americas entered into an exclusive agreement with CITA Institute of Australia/New Zealand to provide its patented method of Ultra-Rapid Detoxification (UROD)". Chalem hired Boca Raton lawyer C. Lawrence Rutstein to help consummate the deal. A few months later, on 8/17/98, Southwestern Environmental Corporation (OTC: SWNV) closed on a previously announced agreement to acquire all the outstanding stock of CITA Americas, Inc. for $2.2M. On 12/1/98, SWNV changed its symbol to DTOX. DTOX's president was Bennett Oppenheim who has since resigned; the new president is Joseph Dunn. DTOX has since run into severe problems, including an apparent SEC investigation. It is interesting to note that the VP for both AVIA and IMP is James Muldowney, and that Joseph Charles & Associates are also involved with warrants. There is speculation about whether Chalem ever got the $2.2M.
Dunn, Joseph - President of Southwestern Environmental Corp (SWNV) which reversed merged with CITA Americas to become DTOX, where he is also president. According to the 1997 SWNV 10K "Dunn has served as an officer and director of the company since December 15, 1997. Since 1994 he has been Chief Executive Officer of Nako Matsu Investment Services Limited, a firm engaged in providing consulting services to international clients in the areas of finance and economic development. Prior thereto and from 1980 he was Chief Executive Officer of Azonic Technology, Inc. which was engaged in the design, manufacture, sale and distribution of devices used in the etching and cleaning of silicon wafers. Mr. Dunn graduated from Falls College in Atlanta, Georgia in 1970 with a degree in data processing and has taken courses in business at the University of California in Hayward, California and the UCLA Graduate School of Management in Los Angeles, California." However, the 1998 DTOX 10K says "Since 1994 he has been CEO of AVT, a firm engaged in the business of electronic operator and long distance services and Executive Vice
President of Kane Gray, Inc. a firm engaged in the business of providing traffic management services to major corporations."
Felton, W. Raymond - Attorney for Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith, Ravin, Davis and Himmel LLP of 99 Wood Ave S, Iselin, NJ. Felton worked out of nearby Woodbridge. The Iselin address is popular for Chalem related companies. A.S. Goldmen used this address prior to forwarding their mail to Body by Boris in Red Bank. Osicom Technologies (FIBR) used this address (see Barry Witz), as did CITA Biomedical (DTOX). Felton was the attorney for DTOX/CITA and has worked for DTOX's president, Joseph Dunn, in the past. He handled the closing of CITA's sale from Aviation Industries (AVIA); at the closing was Joe Logan, Terry Marsh, Joseph Dunn, and possibly Barry Witz. A search of SEC filings shows Felton being associated with Bradley Pharmaceuticals Inc (BPRX), CITA Biomedical Inc (DTOX), Environmental Technologies Corp (EVTC), Osicom Technologies Inc (FIBR), Alliance Technologies Inc, Netsilicon Inc (offshoot of FIBR), Russell-Stanley Holdings Inc, Saratoga Brands Inc (STGA), and Tops Appliance City Inc (TOPS).
Marsh, Terry - see Barry Witz
Palestine, Mark - Part of the DTOX financial backers.
Witz, Barry - Attorney, worked at the SEC and NYSE. In 1991, became a director of Scorpion Technologies, a firm headed by Terry Marsh. Scorpion was raided by the FBI in the spring of 1993, and in February 1996 the SEC accused Marsh and five others of a massive fraud that had used bank accounts and companies located in 20 countries. Money came from the bank accounts of Argyle Partners, Edgewood Partners and Helton Ventures; "signed forms and letters at U.S. brokerage firms show that these entities were all partnerships of Witz, a lawyer named Ed Fisch and a more notable third partner: Richard Kirschbaum, a man who had cut a destructive swath through the stock market in a career-long team-up with the swindler Ramon D'Onofrio." The SEC complaint did not mention Witz but class-action suits against Scorpion did.
Scorpion's largest Reg S funding deal brought Witz together with Parvinder Chadha, CEO of PC computer maker Osicom Technologies Inc. (FIBR). Both Witz and Chandra were later subjects of criminal investigations pertaining to extensive dealings with Salvatore J. Mazzeo, a New York stock broker, and John J. O'Carroll, whom British investigators describe as a henchman for a guy who's been convicted of laundering $136 million for the Cali drug cartel. Mazzeo's partner, George Carhart, pled guilty to state criminal charges on 7/22/98; Witz's name came up again but he wasn't charged. Other firms run by Witz and Chandra include Hillside Bedding, Saratoga Brands and Builders Warehouse. In 1994, Witz became CEO and President of Brite Lite Industries, Inc., a privately held company. In 1998, he and Terry Marsh provided the financing for the reverse merger with CITA Americas and Southwestern Environmental Corporation (SWNV), which trades under the symbol DTOX. Alleged to have links to the porno industry in Los Angeles.
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V. Stock Investor and Future Superstock Related
Bockler, Stuart - Principal owner of International Market Advisors, Inc., of Marlboro, NJ. Claims his Global Data Tel (GDIS) analysis was stolen and illegally distributed by Stockinvestor.com. Says he plans to sue the company. Bockler's stock recommendations are at imcadvisors.com.
Dickson, Paul - Listed as contact for "Golden Capital Corporation" a company started 1.5 years after Future Superstock (FSS) but sharing its PO box. Also listed as a contact for two dozen web sites, some bearing the name of FSS. Is now a director for Carta Resources Ltd. in West Vancouver BC.
Electro-Optical (EOSC) - Was attempting to develop a fingerprint verification device for use with computers and ATMs. Originally called WTS Transnational Corp. In July, 1997 Chalem engineered a reverse merge into a shell and renamed the company Electro-Optical. Maier Lehmann paid $630K and George Chachas paid $493K to the SEC related to Electro-Optical fraud. On March 13, 1998, the SEC filed a Complaint and obtained a temporary restraining order against NJ securities lawyer William N. Levy, Thomas Cavanagh, Frank Nicolois and 10 other defendants and 19 relief defendants by alleging violations of the antifraud and registration provisions of the federal securities laws in connection with the defendants scheme to manipulate EOSC's stock price. Cosimo Tacopino, of Donald & Co. Securities, opened three accounts in Spain to allow transfer of Electro-Optical shares to defendants (i.e. Lehmann). He has faced federal action in three other cases since 1969. On 1/7/99, the SEC ordered Levy to pay $1,292,000 pending trial. EOSC stock was heavily promoted by Future Superstock.
Future Superstock, Inc. - Futuresuperstock.com - Investing site (paid tout sheet) founded spring 1996. Researched and written by Jeffrey C. Bruss. On October 27, 1998, the SEC sought a permanent injunction, disgorgement, civil penalties and other relief. Recommended to the newsletter's more than 100,000 subscribers approximately 25 stocks where they failed to disclose a financial interest. Shut down and apparently reintroduced as stockinvestor.com as both companies, according to Internic, shared the same internic addresses at one point, 207.32.155.67 and 207.32.155.68, as well as a P.O. box in Chicago.
Gabor, Moos - Administrator of Stockinvestor.com; based in Budapest, Hungary. When told about the killings responded: "Jesus Christ! You must be joking. Oh my God... Maier Lehmann was murdered."
Global Datatel Inc. (GDIS) - Located in Delray Beach, FL. Was one of the last two companies promoted by Stockinvestor.com. CEO is Richard Baker who claims "This is the first I've ever heard of Stock Investor. A shareholder called me this morning and told me we were on the site." Stuart Bockler, an analyst, claims stockinvestor.com stole his reports on GDIS. Mr. Baker is listed as president of numerous Las Vegas corporations and the contact person for numerous Internet domain names. See also "Joseph Charles & Associates, Inc."
Joseph Charles & Associates, Inc. - Brokerage. CRD# 3949. On 5/24/99 filed a lawsuit in Palm Beach county circuit court against Global DataTel (GDIS), its transfer agent, Signature Transfer, Inc., its president, Richard Baker, and a Bahamian corporation, SevenOaks Holdings Ltd. over misappropriation of 396,475 shares of GDIS. Baker called the suit an "example of Joseph Charles' campaign to drive down Global DataTel's share price." On 6/1/99 a joint announcement was made saying the lawsuit was dropped. In an 11/5/99 press release, Baker, oddly, claimed "the company is in receipt of a letter from Joseph Charles that states in part: 'somebody is illegally using Joseph Charles and Associates' name in various chat rooms to imply we are conducting an investigation into Global DataTel, Inc. Nothing could be further from the truth and we will pursue the parties spreading this lie.'"
Stock Investor - Stockinvestor.com - Investing site (paid tout sheet) run by Chalem, Lehmann and one other. Registered in Panama City and operated by an administrator in Budapest. Recent recommendations include SLEU, GDIS, and BHUB. According to Internic, shared the same internic addresses at one point as Future Superstock, 207.32.155.67 and 207.32.155.68, as well as a P.O. box in Chicago.
TheBigHub.com (BHUB) - The journey begins when Knoxville, Tennessee based SJI Wholesale, "a sales and marketing organization, specializing in the distribution of premium cigars, computer and Internet services, Web site development and Web site hosting", reversed merged with Belco Systems (BLCO). The new symbol was SJIG. In May of 1998, it was touted by Future SuperStock. SJIG later changed its name again, to i Commerce Group, Inc. It now trades under the symbol ICGI and is still located in Knoxville.
One of SJI's internet customers was an Internet search engine called "The Internet Sleuth". SJI created a wholly-owned subsidiary, Maverick Communications Corp., to handle all of the Company's Internet Web site design. Maverick then acquired the rights to The Internet Sleuth. Maverick reversed merged into its own shell, Coordinated HealthCare, Inc. (CHCK). The new name was iSleuth.com and the new symbol was SLEU. An entity called TheBigHub.com created a portal based on the iSleuth search engine and eventually SLEU changed its symbol once again, this time to BHUB. BHUB was at one time based in Florida, then Stamford, CT, and now San Antonio, Texas. They've announced financing that never was, management that never was, etc. BHUB is the most recent stock touted by stockinvestor.com. CEO is Frank W. Denny who says he "had never heard of the site, and was unfamiliar with Messrs. Chalem and Lehmann."
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