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Friday, December 09, 2005

Guild Finances in Shambles

- The Jockeys Guild has released the results of its initial investigation into the finances of the organization, and as expected, it ain’t good. Among other things, it found that nearly $2.1 million was spent using funds that were earmarked for other purposes during former Guild president Dr. Wayne Gertmenian's tenure. Funds that were supposed to be held in savings accounts for riders are gone. A reserve account for anticipated health claims stands at $6,029, down from more than $860,000 in April 2004, and some jockeys were allowed to continue their coverage despite not paying their premiums.

Then there’s the outrageous matter of the $217,000 in checks made out to Gertmenian and Hiss on the day they were removed. I still can’t get over the fact that they had the balls and the sheer arrogance and stupidity to do such a thing!

The Guild's new leadership was able to obtain a temporary restraining order stopping payment on four checks totaling $104,000 made out to Gertmenian's management company, Matrix Capital Associates, said Haire. Two other checks totaling about $113,000 cleared the bank, and these checks were made out to Gertmenian for approximately $69,000 and to Albert Fiss for $44,000, he said. [Bloodhorse]
A police and FBI investigation into the checks continues. Mitchell Egers, an attorney for Dr. G, said that his client did nothing irresponsible. [LA Times]

What kind of attorney, you may ask, would agree to represent this guy, considering all the incriminating evidence, not to mention the outright admissions of sleaze that came out at the Congressional hearings? A Google search of "Mitchell Egers" reveals a sampling of some past clients:
Melvin Teitelbaum, an attorney who was accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old Iranian immigrant boy. (charges dismissed)

Rabbi Israel Grunwald, accused of fondling a 15-year-old on a 1995 plane flight from Australia….[he] had the charge against him dropped after agreeing to perform 500 hours of community service and to seek counseling.

And actor Scott Bairstow, who pleaded guilty to charges that he had sex with a 12-year-old girl and later asked her to keep quiet about it.
Yeah, that seems about right.

3 Comments:

Anonymous said...

...hey guys, just wanted to draw your attention to something...there's a really nice 3yo filly named Disturbing entered in a 1 1/16 stakes @ Turfway today, and she's listed @ 12/1 on the morning line...i originally made note of her thru an article by Steve Davidowitz, a very sharp guy whose opinion i respect in most cases...here's the link to the article (scroll down to the bottom of the page)...

http://www.betwwts.com/page.asp?content=horse_racing/winners_circle/horseracing051122.asp

...anyway, i threw her into my Stable Mail and forgot about her, until i was e-mailed about her Turfway entry...i got a chance to watch the replay today (11/20, Race 8 @ Churchill), and i was VERY impressed...she looked to be a real handful for the jock, totally full of run throughout...upon seeing her pp's today, i notice that she's 2-for-3 on dirt, but both wins came at Churchill, and her only loss came around two turns...maybe she just loves Churchill, and maybe she doesn't appreciate two turns (though from what i saw on the replay, distance doesn't appear to be an issue)...plus, she starts from the 11-hole today, which can't be good, but i DO know she has a ton of talent and shouldn't be anywhere near 12/1 in a field like this...i know zilch about Turfway, very little about Churchill, and i have no idea who she beat at Churchill...further, i'm missing the charts from that week, so i have no idea how fast (or slow) the track was running...but in my opinion, she looks like a solid gamble based on visual impression alone...i strongly urge you guys to watch the replay, it wouldn't shock me if she wins by open lengths and pays better than ten dollars...this doesn't look like an ideal spot for her, but Disturbing may be a star in the making...

Alan Mann said...

Walter - Thanks for the note. That two turn race that Disturbing lost was a 13 length win by Indian Vale at Saratoga, so certainly no disgrace there. And you're right, visually, that was just outstanding. Nice family too; by Dynaformer out of a half to Left Bank...

Anonymous said...

...what a debacle...bet down to 4/1, Disturbing showed NOTHING...maybe she really does need Churchill, maybe she doesn't like two turns, maybe she just doesn't like Polytrack...hell, maybe she just didn't like the cold weather...whatever, i took a decent-sized loss on her today...sorry if i cost you guys anything...