Posted on 11/14/2004 11:31:21 AM PST by raccoonradio
Brad Bleidt saw a struggling radio station on the AM dial as the kind of opportunity worth taking a chance on.
But it may have been the catalyst to unraveling two decades worth of lies and a dark secret that apparently haunted him to the brink of self-destruction.
Bleidt - who on Wednesday night had joined a celebration for WBIX-AM, the all-business station he controlled for much of this year - was in critical condition yesterday following an apparent suicide attempt at his home in Manchester-By-The-Sea, Mass..
A taped confession delivered Friday to the Securities & Exchange Commission included stunning revelations of how Bleidt allegedly stole a fortune from clients of his financial planning firm - Allocation Plus Asset Management Company Inc., according to transcripts filed with court papers.
``Hello, my name is Brad Bleidt ... and I'm reporting a serious, serious breach of professional conduct and just criminal behavior,'' the tape began. ``I'm reporting myself.''
The tape went on to explain how Bleidt ``over the last twenty years'' had ``stolen tens (of) millions of dollars from clients through Allocation Plus.''
At least some of those funds, according to transcripts of Bleidt's own words, were apparently used to acquire a controlling stake in WBIX, and possibly to subsidize the station's operations.
``The money's gone. I stole it. I used (it) to buy a radio station, believe it or not, um, which is stupid,'' Bleidt told the SEC. ``I mean I'm sick. I'm, I'm, I'm literally a psychopath, I must be. I'm a monster. An absolute monster.''
In emergency action taken Friday in U.S. District Court, the SEC froze Bleidt's personal assets and the assets of his company. The Securities Division of (MA) Secretary of State William F. Galvin's office took similar action, authorities said.
The court also appointed a receiver for Allocation Plus, while issuing a temporary restraining order to prevent further violations of the SEC's anti-fraud rules.
``All we know really is what he confessed to,'' said Silvestre Fontes, senior trial counsel for the SEC. ``Millions of dollars were stolen over the last 20 years.''
Fontes said SEC investigators had questioned employees and examined documents on Friday at Allocation Plus' 205 Portland St. (Boston) offices. Bleidt had recently moved the company there from office space on Canal Street in the same building that holds WBIX's studios.
By confessing on tape to such serious charges, Bleidt is almost certain to face a criminal inquiry.
And the transcripts of his confession suggest he had been tortured for years by the extent of his financial treachery.
``What I did basically was when I got a new client, I would roll, I would take their money payable to Allocation Plus Asset Management Corp. and deposit it in a Sovereign bank account,'' Bleidt told the SEC.
He said he would always make sure to have enough money on hand to ``cover cash flow'' anytime a client wanted money.
Until last Thursday.
``It's today, this Thursday (Nov. 11, 2004) is the day of reckoning because there is a client that needs a million-and-a-half dollars wired into their account that's supposed to be there this morning,'' the confession transcript reads. ``Obviously it's not going to be there this morning because the money's gone.''
Full disclosure: From time to time I have been a paid guest host on WBIX.
I also had come to know Bleidt as the dynamic, energetic entrepreneur he appeared to be.
But by his own admission, those appearances were a facade.
``There was nobody who knew what I was doing in the company . . . all the registered principals, they had no clue what I was doing,'' Bleidt told the SEC. ``And they had been with me for so long they trusted me, just like my clients trusted me. I'm deeply sorry and I don't expect to ever be forgiven. I'm going to Hell and I've been in Hell for years, just with the terror knowing what I've done and the guilt of who I'm doing it to.''
An occassional on-air WBIX host himself, Bleidt acquired control of the station from broadcast veteran Alex Langer for a reported $13.8 million last January.
Then in June, Bleidt struck a deal to sell his interest to Chris Egan - a documentary filmmaker and son of EMC co-founder Richard Egan.
That deal, however, had yet to be fully closed Wednesday when WBIX staff celebrated the station's long-awaited arrival as a 24-hour presence on the airwaves.
Langer, for the time being, continues to hold the paper on WBIX. But Egan essentially has control of the business operations under a so-called lease management agreement.
Egan was unavailable for comment yesterday.
But a spokesman for the station, George Regan, said Egan ``has been running the station for all intents and purposes'' since Aug. 1.
Exact details of how Bleidt injured himself could not be fully corroborated yesterday. Police in Manchester-By-The-Sea - where Bleidt and his family live in a wealthy, oceanside neighborhood - refused to comment on the incident. And there was confusion among more than half a dozen friends and associates of Bleidt about which hospital he is recovering in.
But his wife, WBIX and WBZ-TV personality Bonnie Bleidt, had told several friends and business associates that her husband had done harm to himself either late Wednesday night or early Thursday.
One source said there was apparent evidence Bleidt had tried to injure himself using carbon monoxide piped from a family vehicle, but somehow suffered trauma to his body, possibly in a mishap.
On Friday, word began spreading quickly among WBIX employees and other associates of Bleidt that there was trouble at Allocation Plus, and that Bleidt may have attempted suicide.
In a statement attributed to WBIX, Regan said last night: ``We are overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and well wishes. It has truly comforted us through this very difficult time. Unfortunately, Brad probably never imagined how many people truly love him. Brad's family and friends are standing by him and praying for him at this difficult time.''
Bonnie Bleidt could not be reached for comment. She was not on the air for her regular morning shift at WBIX on Friday.
Among those who know him, Bleidt has displayed both Renaissance and renegade qualities.
An accomplished jazz pianist, he derives joy, too, from talking about his art collection as well as from handicapping the financial markets.
With WBIX, however, he may have ventured too much too soon on a vision he believed in.
``He always said to all of us, you don't succeed unless you take chances,'' said one former WBIX staff member. ``We always wondered where the money was coming from.''
While the all-business concept had the support of both radio veterans, such as Langer, and eager entrepreneurs, such as Chris Egan, WBIX had struggled mightily to stay out of the red.
Wednesday night, at the Boston Harbor Hotel, Bleidt appeared to me to be upbeat and satisfied that his project was moving into its next phase - 24-hour broadcasting - even if under the leadership of a new owner.
Yet others who spent time with him at the WBIX party say he appeared depressed despite the festive atmosphere.
My recollection of our own brief conversation that night - with me oblivious to the stresses and crushing guilt that weighed on him - betrays a stark contrast to his now-evident, and clearly tragic, reality.
``Congratulations,'' I told Bleidt in what must have been his umpteenth grip and grin. ``You must be proud.''
The guy didn't get the asset management part right, but he got the allocation part down pretty well.
All the movers and shakers were at the dinner the other night and he goes home and tries to kill himself.
Poor Boston----if it wasn't for the Red Sox it might try to kill itself too.
Chris Egan,the new owner,is the son of Richard Egan,EMC, a very big Bush supporter.
There was a cartoon once: a husband hanging in the noose which was enclosing both his neck and arm (the noose went over the armpit). The wife was pictured standing below and scolding him: "could you do ANYTHING right?"
Does this mean that WBIX won't be carrying Air America?
Master of the obvious, this one.
At least he had the grace to confess. I hope he finds some way to get himself together and repay those he stole from.
His half-hearted suicide attempt shows he still loves himself too much.
Sympathy suicide...
Just another piece of self-promotion in what appears to have been a lifetime of self-promotion.
>>Does this mean that WBIX won't be carrying Air America?
Guess not! Air Angry Liberal runs in Boston on Clear
Channel's WKOX 1200 (Framingham) and WXKS 1430 (Everett).
The WBIX signal isn't all that good so I wouldn't
expect it to move there.
More on this from Fybush.com
by Scott Fybush
*It was supposed to have been a week of celebration for WBIX (1060 Natick), as the eastern MASSACHUSETTS business-talk station celebrated its new 24-hour status with a gala party at the Boston Harbor Hotel.
That was Wednesday night. By Sunday morning, the station's future was in doubt, with owner Brad Bleidt under federal investigation for having allegedly stolen money from clients of his financial-management firm to cover the tens of millions of dollars being spent to build WBIX's night signal and to keep the upstart station afloat.
The revelations came in a tape Bleidt sent to the Securities and Exchange Commission before he apparently tried to kill himself, just hours after the party on Wednesday. The Boston Herald reports that the transcript of the tape quotes Bleidt as saying, "The money's gone. I stole it. I used (it) to buy a radio station, believe it or not, um, which is stupid,'' and "I'm literally a psychopath, I must be. I'm a monster. An absolute monster.''
Bleidt is reportedly hospitalized as he recovers from the suicide attempt, and his personal assets, as well as the assets of his company, Allocation Plus Asset Management, have been frozen by court order while the SEC pursues its investigation.
The revelations come at a time of transition for WBIX. As best we can piece it together, Bleidt (and his wife, Bonnie, who's also WBIX's morning host) still hasn't closed on the sale of his interest in the station. Purchaser Chris Egan (son of Richard Egan, founder of EMC Corp.) has been operating the station for the last few months, and it will be interesting to see whether his outright purchase of the station can still go through. Adding to the complications, we understand that Bleidt still owed the station's previous owner (in its WMEX incarnation), Alex Langer, for most of the $13.5 million purchase price. Can WBIX survive? We'll be watching this one closely - and of course, following the story of Brad Bleidt carefully. Stay tuned...
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