Showing posts with label BBB. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BBB. Show all posts

Sunday, September 21, 2014

WANT JUSTICE? LET'S WHIP US UP SOME "GIVE A DAMN!" (Revised 9/26/14)


                                                                                                               For more details, see the blog posts listed at the bottom of this page.

FYI

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Anglen, Robert  
Date: Sun, Sep 28, 2014 at 9:40 AM
Subject: Story on camelback consign
To: Glenn Michaels  


Story is in today's paper. Your blog is mentioned prominently in the story. Thanks for all of your help. Here is a link:

http://www.azcentral.com/story/money/business/consumer/call-12-for-action/2014/09/28/missing-painting-returned-owner/16373445/

 Free from the BBB!
The following FREE information - provided by your local BBB  - is past its expiration date. Please ingest with care. 'Cause I don't think the BBB does.  
         The BBB can't keep up. Or doesn't care enough to try. Solution?  LET'S WHIP US UP SOME  "GIVE A DAMN!"


















The Arizona Republic reported the lawsuit on 8/27/2014.  I notified the BBB on 9/5/2014. No change on the BBB website yet (9/26/14). But then, as noted previously, the BBB seems to run more than a little behind. 
Which is asinine. Shouldn't it BBB all over the F-rated  businesses it reports on?
I nonetheless strongly urge and encourage you... Never mind that. I beg you!to report any scam you encounter to the BBB and all other appropriate agencies, public or private. You never know, yours might be the voice that unleashes the forces of heaven and earth. If you don't think it probable, I agree. If you don't think it possible, you just haven't lived long enough or paid enough attention. 

 Put differently, pretty much every really, really good thing you can think of is the result of the incredible determination of someone or some many who faced down ridiculous odds, powered mostly by faith, with far less time and or money than the job required. 

 Did you say "JUSTICE?" Or did I?  Watch it, now. That's a dirty word in Phoenix. Where's the Ivory soap? Time to wash the vitriol offa my tongue. 

 (Big segue, here. My English teachers would not approve. But hell, this is Arizona. We do things our way.)

So, there's a reason that TV channels keep churning out the legal dramas, the police & detective-themed entertainment. The superhero stuff, too. Vicarious wish-fulfillment. We've become adrenalin junkies. We need our HERO fix. Bad.

 'Specially since we hear through the media - though I cannot personally confirm - that the Phoenix Police Department simply can't afford the well-trained policemen and women it needs to keep a lid on crime. Tell you what, the few police folk I've known work long, long hard hours.

 Hey Marvel comics, how 'bout kicken' those heroes offa the screen and putten' 'em to work on our streets and courts? Where they belong, huh?

I'm thinking that a lot of us want more pro-active law enforcement... when it's needed.  Better legal protections and tools against business scams and criminal. More justice.  More compassion for the victims. We want a businessman who steals - again and again - from his clients prosecuted for thievery... not "breach of contract." 
I don't know if guns and concealed weapon permits are part of the problem or the solution for our culture. But I'm thinken' that all them arguments 'bout weapons are distracting us from the equally hurtful - yet mostly overlooked  - issue of business crime.
Bettya a buck - right now - that business criminals pocket more money year in and year out, in Phoenix, than bank robbers! Maybe even more than gangs and bank robbers combined.
But hey, that's not fair. Cause business scammers, business cheats aren't really criminals at all. No way. They're just - sing it now - walking wallets "in breach of contract." 
It shouldn't take 20, 30 or 40 plus business victims' complaints to get the proper authorities to act. Or a letter full of tears to a high personage with the power to push buttons.

 Lord, I sure hate to admit it, but I was secretly hoping that the business skunk who did me over bad (aka the Consignment Vampire) would keep scamming folks - even as I tried to prevent it - so that eventually, the cumulative anger and frustration would force media and law enforcement to pay attention. 

 Cause guess what? If the Consignment Vampire had been smart enough to cherry pick victims instead of ripping off every person who walked in the door, he'd still be in business. And those lonely victims would never have gotten any media attention. Or come to the attention of the AG's office. 

Thing is, appears our justice system is running short on heroes, right now. Meaning, if anything positive is gonna be done, DETERMINED, scrawny old folks like me and folks like you gotta make a little dust fly. (LET'S WHIP US UP SOME "GIVE A DAMN!")

Yup. I have doubts, too. In fact, pretty much everyone who loves me says that I'm wasting my precious time - not to mention throwing good money after bad - in the pursuit of "justice."
Just yesterday, a small businessman on 7th Avenue told me that he had been physically attached by an irate, much bigger ex-employee. A guy who quit his new job in less than two weeks.
The attacker cracked the 60 year-old man's ribs, before a little martial arts training knocked him cold. The businessman called the police. But the police sergeant who took the report wouldn't arrest the attacker - who was still on the scene.  
Why? Supposedly, the officer told the businessman, "'There is no justice.'"
And voila', there wasn't.

Imagine the plight of a policeman who doesn't believe in the possibility of justice! Doubt like that eats us alive. And I'm not near as tough as that policeman or any other. So, yeah, I sure could use a little help here. I'm not picky. Anything little thing you can do is whole lot more than nothing. 

 Thank you. In advance. Call it a down payment on a better world... for a neighbor or your nephew. Maybe a kid of your own. Or your mom and dad.

Here's my little recipe. Whip enough grains of sand together and you get a sandstorm. A force of nature.  Abrasive. Dangerous. You get a chance to make the status quo duck and run or maybe even bury it. A chance to make a difference. To play on the side of the angels. 
One damned grain of sand at a time. 
I say again: LET'S WHIP US UP SOME "GIVE A DAMN!"

 AMEN.


URGENTLY SOUGHT: ITEMS STOLEN OR NOT PAID FOR #3 (10/05/14) 
URGENTLY SOUGHT: ITEMS STOLEN OR NOT PAID FOR #2 (10/05/14)
COURTNEY'S INCREDIBLE CONSIGNMENT VAMPIRE STORY  (10/3/14)
ANONYMOUS COWARD DENOUNCES CONSIGNMENT VAMPIRE (10/01/14)
MIKE BURNS & REGINA EMERY EVICTED FROM CONDO
VERA MANUZ Denies Aiding &  Abetting  Mike Burns
JUST IN CASE: FRESH SUITS FOR BURNS (8/31/14) 
AG FILES "CIVIL" SUIT AGAINST CONSIGNMENT VAMPIRE (8/31/14)
CONSIGNMENT VAMPIRE UPDATE UPDATED (8/31/14)
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Friday, June 20, 2014

BOO! BOO! SAYS CONSIGNMENT VAMPIRE

For more details, see the blog posts listed at the bottom of this page.


FYI

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Anglen, Robert  
Date: Sun, Sep 28, 2014 at 9:40 AM
Subject: Story on camelback consign
To: Glenn Michaels  


Story is in today's paper. Your blog is mentioned prominently in the story. Thanks for all of your help. Here is a link:

http://www.azcentral.com/story/money/business/consumer/call-12-for-action/2014/09/28/missing-painting-returned-owner/16373445/







Suggested Post Theme Song: 
"With a Little Help from My Friends"

AG FILES "CIVIL" SUIT AGAINST CONSIGNMENT VAMPIRE (8/31/14)


DON'T KID YOURSELF. 
Mike Burns wasn't born yesterday. He wasn't born on the Fourth of July, either. NOPE. Mike Burns was born on 9/11 in 1952. He was destined. 
I don't know if the truth will set you free. But fuss loud enough with a big 'nough bunch a friends and I swear folks 'll do near anything to get you to shut up. Fast as they can. 

URGENTLY SOUGHT: ITEMS STOLEN OR NOT PAID FOR #3 (10/05/14) 
URGENTLY SOUGHT: ITEMS STOLEN OR NOT PAID FOR #2 (10/05/14)
COURTNEY'S INCREDIBLE CONSIGNMENT VAMPIRE STORY  (10/3/14)
ANONYMOUS COWARD DENOUNCES CONSIGNMENT VAMPIRE (10/01/14)
MIKE BURNS & REGINA EMERY EVICTED FROM CONDO
VERA MANUZ Denies Aiding &  Abetting  Mike Burns
JUST IN CASE: FRESH SUITS FOR BURNS (8/31/14) 
AG FILES "CIVIL" SUIT AGAINST CONSIGNMENT VAMPIRE (8/31/14)
CONSIGNMENT VAMPIRE UPDATE UPDATED (8/31/14)

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Thursday, June 12, 2014

CONSIGNMENT VAMPIRE: ANSWERS WANTED

For more details, see the blog posts listed at the bottom of this page.


FYI

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Anglen, Robert  
Date: Sun, Sep 28, 2014 at 9:40 AM
Subject: Story on camelback consign
To: Glenn Michaels 


Story is in today's paper. Your blog is mentioned prominently in the story. Thanks for all of your help. Here is a link:

http://www.azcentral.com/story/money/business/consumer/call-12-for-action/2014/09/28/missing-painting-returned-owner/16373445/


I'm just askin'...

WHAT?

  1. What will it take to get the state legislature to enact laws that really protect  the public from consignment fraudsters? Remember Terri's Consignment? That was just a few years ago.

  1. What is the connection between the consignment store, Consign of the Times, in Cave Creek, its current owners and Mike Burns? 
  • What about the fact that that Burns apparently (co-) founded Consign of the Times?




  • What about the fact that the BBB shows that Burns is the principal of Consign of the Times... and then revoked the accreditation of Consign of the Times on or about the exact date it revoked the accreditation of Camelback Consign and Design?







































  • What about the fact that the Camelback Consign and Design website lists Consign of the Times as an associated firm?



  • What about the fact that Lenn M. Pritchard executed the Articles of Organization for Consign of the Times, as shown above, and that Ms. Kathleen Pritchard is listed as Manager of Consign of the Times and that Lenn M. Pritchard and Kathleen K. Pritchard are Managers of P.K. Development?
  • What about the fact that the domestic address of P.K. Development, shown below, is the same address as the Place of Business given for Consign of the Times and for Mike Burns, per  the Articles of Organization for Consign of the Times, as shown above? (It's all just one big coincidence, right? Simple synchronicity.)





WHEN?

  1. When will our state legislators decide to take action to regulate the consignment industry, given the terrible record that it has compiled of late?
  2.  When will we learn how many people Mike Burns, the Consignment Vampire on Camelback bilked? And how much money did he actually pocket?
  3. When will we hear about the role played in this long-running fraud on steroids by Burns's business associates and employees.
  4. When will the Phoenix Business Journal and Phoenix Chamber of Commerce weigh in on this fiasco? Do they have no role to play in protecting either the public or the reputation of Phoenix small businesses... by ensuring that bad things don't happen (again)?


WHERE?

  1. Where are all those items stored that Mike Burns, the Consignment Vampire on Camelback, didn't sell? Where did all that stuff go?
  2. A little birdie mentioned that Mike had, in the not too distant past, had a very good friend to whom he sold items for a relative pittance. That good friend, I was told, went to prison, subsequently, for money laundering. Where does that leave Burns? Was he laundering money even as he vacuumed his victims valuable up?
  3. Where are the items that he flat out stole from folks who never even signed a contract with him? 
  4. Where is all that money he pocketed, honey?

 

WHY?

  1. Why has Mike Burns failed to defend himself in court against any of the four lawsuits in which he was named between 2013 and 2014, at the point I filed suit? He defaulted in each case. Judgments against him for the period exceed $200,000.00, of which he satisfied approximately $50,000.
  2. Why won't the Attorney General's office report on just how many complaints it has received from victims? Don't we have a right to know? Why won't it name those known victims (with their permission, of course!) so that all concerned can consult each other and any remaining victims can decide whether they need to identify themselves to authorities?
  3. Why did it take the Better Business Bureau so very, very long to respond to complaints by victims?
  4. Why did the Arizona Republic ignore the the Consignment Vampire on Camelback story for so very, very long? (How many other, similar stories has it managed not to report? Stories that lacked the verve & excitement of this one, and the angry victims unwilling to stop shouting for attention?)


WHO?

  1. WHO ARE THE VICTIMS? Is anyone compiling  & publishing that list?
  2. Who got all those "missing items" - the things that didn't sell and weren't returned? What about the items that the other victims weren't paid for? The items I wasn't paid for?  The art? The antiques? The collectibles? ISN'T POSSESSION OF "CONVERTED" MERCHANDISE ILLEGAL?
  3. WHO ELSE IS CULPABLE FOR THIS MASSIVE FRAUD? Who aided and abetted this (at least one) year-long crime spree? Don't tell he he carried all the furniture and and out of the store all by himself. What about Burns's sales associate, Vera Manuz, who worked with him for years according to her LinkedIn page? What about his son, employee and later, partner, Justin Burns? What about Chad Burns, who also, I've been told, helped dad move consignment goods from the homes of victims? What about Paulo, that other employee?
  4. Who else has been subpoenaed to testify by the AG's office. 
  5. Who is Achilles Koutsimbas and what was he up to? Was he running interference for Mike Burns? Working to derail or postpone my efforts to see justice done? A Don Quixote: articulate, passionate and confused? He was certainly successful in getting me to set aside my efforts as I actually believed he was about to lead the charge that would result in criminal charges against Mike Burns. See below.
From: Glenn Michaels 
Sent: Monday, February 03, 2014 10:44 AM
To: Norma Escandon Michaels
Subject: A call from another, new Burns victim... on the hunt

An older, agitated gentlemen called me a few minutes ago. He indicated that he is from Michigan, has homes here and there, and was apparently victimized by Mr. Burns. He had video documentation made of his belongings.

He indicates that he has hired investigators and, I believe, attorneys, whose investigative work has turned up a wide range of criminal and civil activities over a number of years and with regard to a number of businesses. He says that he has 70 pages, and received another nine pages as we spoke. He also said that he had business interests in three states.

This gentleman expressed his delight at finding my documentation and requested permission to share it. I told him to share it with whomever he pleased. I had put it on the Internet to help protect others.

Achilles (last name not given because it long and Greek) gave me two phone numbers and an email address. He wants to meet with me, etc., for coffee.  He said that he hoped to call me by the end of the week.

I had to apologize and excuse myself from the conversation as it appeared he had more to say than I could take time to listen to from work.


Sent: Monday, February 10, 2014 10:48 AM
To: Glenn Michaels
Subject: Re: FYI from Glenn Michaels re Camelback Consign and Design



Good morning Glenn--please call me in a timely manner.. important  XXX-YYY-ZZZZ concerning.. camelback and mike thank you Achilles
Sent: Friday, February 14, 2014 8:54 AM
To: Glenn Michaels
Subject: Re: Glenn picketed an open store....


call when you can..XXX-YYY-ZZZZ.

  • Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2014 12:02 PM
Subject: Achilles Koutsimbas meeting

I met Achilles Koutsimbas at 8:30 AM this morning. We parted around 10:20 AM.
 I gleaned the following.

·        With regard to Mike Burns

o   Achilles contacted a major area law firm near the end of 2013 regarding his situation with Mike.
§  Mike took most everything from his 4000 ft2 home for sale during the summer on a six-month contract
§  Only a few items have since been reported sold; only a few items are displayed on the premises
o   The law firm asked for/received permission to investigate Mike Burns further
o   The resulting documentation – which I did not see – apparently shows that Mike
§  Has “a lot of money,” in the bank
§  Has been storing items in the homes of at least four private parties who may not know the history of the items left with them
§  Has been bouncing more checks and not making good on any of them of late
§  Has worked his scam successfully on a great many people; Achilles referenced 20 identified court cases or criminal complaints
o   Guided by his attorneys, Achilles is doing absolutely everything necessary to ensure that Mike is left with absolutely no opportunity to challenge the process
o   Achilles expects the result to be a large scale “roll-up” of all individuals involved in the scams in the very near future, including his sons, employees, firms he has hired, and others with whom he has or had business relationships.
§   Those individuals will be notified of an impending legal action and given a single phone number to contact should they wish to clarify the nature of their respective relationships with Mike
o   Achilles indicated that once the action is initiated, his lawyers will notify selected media outlets with which they have relationships
o   Reference was made to State, Federal and IRS complaints
§  Apparently, I guessed correctly that Mike has been paying no income tax on items sold or retained
o   Achilles said that Mike is now under constant surveillance

·        With regard to Achilles Koutsimbas

o   Born in 1951, widower, real estate investor (“HUD houses”) and businessman, formerly worked for the city of Detroit, may have worked in conjunction with law enforcement in the past; past management experience w/ a furniture liquidation chain probably based in MI.
o   Stands about 6’, is overcoming a weight issue, brown beard and mustache but grey hair that probably makes him look taller than he is.
o   He refers to himself as a “small” person in a metaphorical sense. However, by inference, he seems very well connected to legal authorities.
o   He has strong political beliefs,
o   Can very quickly become angry and forceful when speaking and will calm down with equal speed
o   His son-in-law is Jay Gaskin, Manager IT Systems, AZ Diamondbacks
o   Has scheduled a final meeting with Mike to receive “exit” inventory and schedule return of his unsold items for Thursday, March 13, 2014.

  • From: Glenn Michaels
    Sent: Friday,     March 21, 2014 3:33 PM
    To: maxkcb@gmail.com
    Subject: Achilles, re your request for my work product re Mike Burns/ Glenn Michaels

    Achilles,

    This morning you requested that I bring you the sum of my research, documentation and published material re Mike Burns.

    Please don’t take this amiss , but I realized this afternoon that I am not comfortable doing that without knowing “who” will see  and use them, and how they will be used, in very concrete terms.

    You’ve not shared your last name with me. I don’t know where you live. I don’t know who your attorney is or who your investigators are.  I don’t know which enforcement agencies you expect to play a direct role.
                                                                                                                                
    You have mentioned having worked for or possibly with: the city of Detroit,  a chain of furniture liquidation outlets,  and  law enforcement, all sans specifics.

    Over the phone, you have previously stated  that you were waiting to meet me until you had received and signed some specific document. You mentioned bringing that document to our last meeting and sharing it with me.

    In an even earlier conversation,  you said your team had accumulated as much as 90 pages of documentation that you would be able to show me about Michael Burns. That information would show how long he has been playing the public and how wide-spread his activities were. You mentioned that there were legal actions against him in multiple jurisdictions. Etc.

    You reported being been told that Mike had represented himself in a single, recent lawsuit. You didn’t know whether that was occurring in Superior, Justice or Small Claims court. My own research turned up more information than that.

    I haven’t seen any of the material you intended to share.

    Who I am is easily determined from a thousand pieces of personal information readily available on the WWW.  Most of my material is published on the WWW. However,  I don’t find much for “Achilles,” from Michigan, that might quell any incipient concerns I might have about you.

    I’ve been impressed by your passion and intelligence. But as we both know, I’ve been rather too trusting for my own good once already in the last 12 months.

    For obvious reasons, I think it only fair that you provide me with enough information about your background, your research and your “team” to assuage any concerns I or my attorney might have about giving you what amounts to weeks or months of effort on my part.

    I hope to support your legal efforts against Camelback Consign & Design. But I deserve – and need – to know a good deal more about who it is I am working with and the mechanics of the process that I am contributing to before turning over my work product.

    I do hope you will understand.  

    Many thanks

    Glenn S. Michaels

  • On Mon, Apr 7, 2014 at 7:51 PM, Glenn Michaels  wrote:
I kept hoping you were sincere but "eccentric." But as the ball seems not to budged despite your repeated projections of immanent and decisive action, I suppose my latent concerns were in fact justified. 
Too bad. Such  a waste of my time & energy. 





Here, the point is that Achilles represented himself as a highly successful individual committed to putting Michael Burns behind bars. 
He said that he was following the advice of his attorneys and that very, very soon, the material gathered by his team would force the appropriate legal authorities to act.  Ultimately, however, he didn't seem to know who the appropriate legal authority was.  
Moreoever, Achilles had information about a particular associate of Mike Burns that could only have been known by someone who really knew the guy.

HOW?

  1. How long has Mike Burns, the Consignment Vampire on Camelback, been getting away with murder? 
  2. How come Burns structured his finances so that he has no personal assets? So that he doesn't even own his own car?  How long ago was this strategy implemented? AND WHY.... if not because he planned ahead for the very eventuality he now faces: legal action and bankruptcy?
  3. How long will it take to get an indictment on Michael Burns for fraud?
  4. How many years in prison does he deserve?
  5. How come Call 12 for Action wouldn't report the story of the Consignment Vampire on Camelback - after it decided it just couldn't help me recover my stolen goods and money, four months ago?

 "Plenty of media exposure" was a reference to the July 30, 2013 TV report by Dave Cherry on Channel 5 (CBS) - updated online in September and again, at the end of December.  Funny, one report didn't strike me as sufficient. But then, I was a victim, not a volunteer.

 I thought Channel 12's audience deserved to know that a vampire was camped out in the middle of downtown, sucking the lifeblood of the unknowing.  Oh, well.   

We've all heard the platitude, "Better Late Than Never." My question is: How late?

DON'T KID YOURSELF. 
Mike Burns wasn't born yesterday. He wasn't born on the Fourth of July, either. NOPE. Mike Burns was born on 9/11 in 1952. He was destined. 
I don't know if the truth will set you free. But fuss loud enough with a big 'nough bunch a friends and I swear folks 'll do near anything to get you to shut up. Fast as they can. 

URGENTLY SOUGHT: ITEMS STOLEN OR NOT PAID FOR #3 (10/05/14) 
URGENTLY SOUGHT: ITEMS STOLEN OR NOT PAID FOR #2 (10/05/14)
COURTNEY'S INCREDIBLE CONSIGNMENT VAMPIRE STORY  (10/3/14)
ANONYMOUS COWARD DENOUNCES CONSIGNMENT VAMPIRE (10/01/14)
MIKE BURNS & REGINA EMERY EVICTED FROM CONDO
VERA MANUZ Denies Aiding &  Abetting  Mike Burns
JUST IN CASE: FRESH SUITS FOR BURNS (8/31/14) 
AG FILES "CIVIL" SUIT AGAINST CONSIGNMENT VAMPIRE (8/31/14)
CONSIGNMENT VAMPIRE UPDATE UPDATED (8/31/14)

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