Hard to believe the excessive eating, drinking, and smoking had nothing to do with it.
To: Darleen Shurgot (12641 )
From: William Jepsen
Friday, Jun 5 1998 5:16PM ET
Reply # of 12648
NASSAU, Bahamas -- Bre-X has claimed its last victim. 5/5/98
Only hours before her husband died yesterday, David Walsh's
wife, Jeanette, told the Sun in an exclusive interview, it was the
pressures of Bre-X that killed him.
"This has been just terrible for David," said Jeanette as she stood
in the doorway of her beachfront estate shortly before her
husband died in a Nassau hospital from a brain aneurysm.
"He was a nice man; a kind man. He could not believe people
felt that he was capable of such a thing. It was very hard on him.
"David is not going to survive this."
And less than eight hours later,
David, 52, the founder of
Calgary-based Bre-X, passed away
peacefully in Room 305 of Nassau's
private Doctors Hospital with his wife
and sons at his side.
He had been unconscious and in
critical condition since being stricken
with a brain aneurysm at his estate last
weekend.
At his request, his remains will be donated to medical science.
As family members spent their final hours with him, there were
sounds of chatter and even some laughter from the room -- the
warm kind that often happens spontaneously when close families
face grief.
Jeannette left no doubt she believes the strain of the Bre-X
collapse and the ensuing scandal killed her husband.
Last Friday, the Bahamian Supreme Court froze the family's
reported $25-million assets here -- a further stress family
members believe precipitated the illness.
"You have to realize that a person can only deal with so much,"
Jeannette said.
David died of a "ruptured cerebral aneurysm," said Dr. Eugene
Newry, a neurologic surgeon.
David passed away while on life support.
After leaving the hospital, Jeannette and sons Sean and Brett
returned to their estate to grieve.
"There are only so many lies, deceptions and betrayals
generated toward David that he could withstand," Sean told the
Sun.
"He was a decent, good-hearted man (who) took everything to
heart."
"All the falsehoods and completely inaccurate statements written
about him truly hurt him," said Sean. "Family and friends are now
focusing their energy on helping Jeannette cope with the
travesty."
David took his penny stock company
from a Calgary basement operation
into a $6-billion firm.
But it all came crashing down when it
was revealed their Busang gold mine
was a hoax.
Stockholders lost about $3 billion in
the collapse and within days Bre-X
was back to a penny stock.
The actual salting of the core samples
from the Busang deposit was said to have been orchestrated by
former Bre-X geologist Michael de Guzman.
It was de Guzman's suicidal leap from a helicopter over the
Indonesian jungle in March 1997 that first signalled to investors
that something was amiss.
Former colleagues mourned David's death.
"I was deeply saddened to learn today of the sudden and
untimely death of David Walsh. I have already expressed my
condolences to his family," said former Bre-X geologist and
vice-president John Felderhof in a hand-written release.
In many circles, Felderhof has carried much of the blame as he
was the geologist in charge of the Busang site.
"We lived through the highs and lows of Bre-X together ... I
always believed that David was trying to do the utmost for the
shareholders.
"I know the past year has been very hard on David and his
family, as it has been for mine.
"I very much regret that David will not be standing with me and
the others at Bre-X as we continue the fight to clear our names
and reputations."
Felderhof remains in exile on Grand Cayman, his assets also
frozen by lawsuits.
Graham Farquharson, president of Strathcona Minerals and the
man who proved the gold find was a fraud, said Walsh showed
strength in his last year.
"He had faced difficult times since I gave him the bad news on
May 4 of last year," he said.
"But at least Mr. Walsh was there to receive the bad news,
unlike some of his colleagues.
"I always respected him for that."
In Nassau, the family was faced all week with a decision on
whether to remove Walsh, who was basically brain-dead, from
life support.
Friends here said that all though the choice was clear, it was
very difficult for the family.
"He has been through so much," said realtor George Damianos,
who sold the family their Nassau estate in 1995.
"He had been terribly distraught for many months. He didn't go
out and enjoy himself because he just wasn't in that kind of
mood."
With David's death, the numerous class-action suits will continue
and, according to Alberta lawyer Clint Docken who represents
many investors, Jeannette could become more of a player.
-- with files from Joe Warmington
TIMELINE TO TRAGEDY
A look at Bre-X Minerals Ltd. and its founder David Walsh, who
died yesterday in the Bahamas after being stricken with a brain
aneurysm over the weekend:
Born: Montreal.
Age: 52.
Corporate titles: Bre-X chairman,
president and chief executive.
Past jobs: Former vice-president at
Midland Walwyn Capital Inc.
Alberta bound: Moved to Calgary
in 1982 with Midland, left company
later that year.
Bre-X beginnings: Bresea
Resources Ltd., small oil and gas company, taken public by Walsh
in 1984 on the VSE.
Birth of Bre-X: Walsh incorporated Bre-X Minerals Ltd. in late
1987; he and Bresea were principal shareholders.
Early Bre-X days: Traded between two and 27 cents a share
between 1989 and 1992 as the company was unsuccessful in
raising money to search for gold in Quebec and N.W.T.
Bre-X bonanza: Stock shoots from just over $2 a share in May
1995 after results from Busang appear to confirm monster gold
strike. Shares split 10-for-1 at $200 mark in May 1996, leaving
Walsh and others instant millionaires.
Bre-X bust: Company went bankrupt a few months after
independent review found almost no gold worth mining at
Busang. Review said Bre-X geologist Michael de Guzman
tampered with samples.
Lawsuits: Since May, a barrage of shareholder lawsuits have
been launched against Bre-X and its senior officials, the Toronto
Stock Exchange, securities regulators and several brokerage firms
which promoted the stock.
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