A couple of you sent me some questions to ask Marc Tow while I was at his office today. I rewrote some of them as there were some duplicates. Marc was very open and honest and did not dodge any questions.
First I will share a little info about Mr Tow, since many of you are probably curious. He is originally from New York, but relocated here to California 20 years ago. He has been in the same Newport Beach office building since 1990. The office is quite large, and he has a large staff working there. Though large, the office is very modest compared to most attorney's offices that I have seen. It is in a small industrial park, not in a big fancy building. Sorry, Janice, but I did not check out the bathrooms .
I found Marc to be quite cordial. He actually seemed quite thrilled that someone actually took the time to talk to him on the phone and then visit him in person. He stated that he felt his name had been besmirched on the Internet. He does follow both the SI and RagingBull threads.
Steve Angelil, Marc asked me to apologize to you for not taking your calls. Until fairly recently, he felt that you were one of the people out to get him, but now knows otherwise.
These are some of the questions that you people asked me to pose to him, and his responses (paraphrased by me):
Q - Are you an attorney?
A - Yes, specializing in Real Estate Law. They also handle bankruptcies, foreclosures, and other legal matters.
Q - How did you come to own the properties in West Virginia?
A - They were obtained through tax sales.
Q - Did you know that the coal on the land was unproducable?
A - He knew that it was hypothetical, and that no one could know for sure until it was assessed by an engineering company. (Take note here that the question really was not phrased well, as we still have no idea whether or not it is produceable). Marc also told me that Jack Uselton NEVER even went to WV to look at the property before he bought it.
Q - How did you come to know Jack Uselton?
A - Marc was introduced to Darrel Uselton by a long time friend in Orange County named Grant Bettingen. Darrel had used Marc as his lawyer when Darrel bought a home for himself. Darrel knew Marc owned the land in WV, and it was Darrel that approached Marc suggesting that Marc contact Jack about the properties. Darrel got Jack on the phone, and started the wheels turning.
Q - How did you come to know Jack Christensen?
A - To this day, Marc has NEVER met Jack Christensen.
Q - Did you know that the initial press releases claiming a value in excess of $200MM were in error, and did you attempt to do anything about it?
A - Marc was aware of the false statements immediately after the PR's came out, and contacted Jack and Darrel immediately to correct the error. Jack basically told Marc, "My pencil says its $200MM." Jack also told Marc, that his New York lawyers, Singer and Framento, told him not to correct the PR.
Q - Did you ever notify the SEC, Jack, or anyone else that you in no way ever meant to put to $200MM in assets?
A - Marc never did have $200MM in assets, and never portrayed that he did. No such agreement existed.
Q - Did you have a clause in the sale comtract regarding the non performance of the stock?
A - No. Marc's stock has depreciated just like everyone elses.
Q - Do you still hold the 50MM shares? If so, who holds the deeds to the land?
A - Yes, Marc still holds the 50MM shares. (I might add at this point that I personally saw his stock certificates. He has one certificate for 30MM shares, and two certificates for 10MM shares each. I looked at them and touched them. The shares are restricted.) MTEI still holds title to the land. (Another note - later I will post to you the letter in which Marc asked that the deal be rescinded and the land be returned to him.)
Q - If you still hold the shares, are they voting shares?
A - Yes.
Q - Who has possession of the Austin Chalk property? Jack says he paid out of his pocket for it, but the PR places it in MTEI.
A - Marc does not know for sure, but believes that Jack probably has the property.
Q - Are you trying to salvage this company by cleaning up the shell and trying to find a business to put in there?
A - Marc is willing to give his full support to the shareholders of MTEI. He would like the shareholders to organize, elect a new board of directors, and hire a lawyer to sue prior management. Marc is willing to put up $10,000 to get this started.
Q - How can Jack open up Ibis Energy out of the same location as MTEI?
A - Until I showed Marc the info this morning on Ibis, he had no knowledge about it.
Q - Who has been buying MTEI shares for the last several days?
A - No knowledge
Q - What do you kow about Paragon Investments in the Virgin Islands?
A - Marc has never heard of them, but thought maybe the person asking the question was confused. He mentioned this because he is aware of a company called Pragon Capital, a market maker, and stated that there is an article about them in the 12/17/97 issue of Business Weeks that talks about their lawsuit regarding Luminet (another Christensen deal).
Q - Some have said that the SEC may have returned the "books" to you as the largest shareholder. Is this true, and if so, can we get a copy of the books and anything else from MTEI in your possession?
A - The SEC was going to return the boxes full of records to John Christensen, and Marc asked the SEC to please not do that. He asked the SEC to hold the records, but he does not know for sure if they did.
Q - Could you furnish a list of the properties (to include legal descriptions) that were traded to MTEI for the shares and a copy of the agreement for the trade?
A - Marc did not have that information readily available, but assured me that he would get it for us.
Q - You have stated that you would support the shareholders in organizing and electing a new board of directors. How would you support such an action?
A - Marc has 50MM voting shares, and that is plenty of support.
#### my fingers are SORE!!!!!
|
