Posted on 08/06/2002 11:05:47 PM PDT by daviddennis
I would refer you specifically to Hindelang's veto power over any merger or public offering, and his signed agreement to the takeover of Golden-Tel.
It would appear that the plantiff's attorneys took full advantage of the present political climate and anger against businesspeople. But it doesn't look like they paid much attention to the facts in the case, which are extremely clear cut and obvious. Just as I had suspected.
calgov2002:
calgov2002: for old calgov2002 articles. calgov2002: for new calgov2002 articles. Other Bump Lists at: Free Republic Bump List Register |
This thing does not bode well for Simon for an important reason: he should have thoroughly checked out Hindelang before investing. It highlights that he used poor judgement in not doing so. His use of "other family members pressured me" as an excuse looks weak as a defence. He has enough money that he could have at least followed his intuition and had a more thorough, personal investigation done.
I would never get into bed, literally or businesswise with anyone whose background I hadn't investigated using PIs, or private investigators. (This knowledge was acquired the hard way - experience!) Nowadays you have to look into people's private lives. Going back 10 years is insufficient, it is necessary to go back to the teen years. Deloitte and Touche just skimmed the surface.
Businessman=Thief
You have to understand the SCOPE of the investments of a company as large as Simon and Sons. This was one of hundreds of business investments they were involved in at the time.
A typical corporate background check was conducted by Deloitte Touche, a major accounting firm used by Simon & Sons. The search went back 10 years and focused on Mr. Hindelangs professional reputation. By all accounts, he was a recognized leader in the industry. His drug past was beyond the ten-year window typical of these investigations
A professional background check is certainly reasonable and prudent. That's why you hire those kinds of businesses. That Bill himself should have been looking into the guy's background is sort of like suggesting The President go investigate potential postal employees.
I really can't hold Simon's family to any higher standards than a reasonable man would have at the time. I'm sure Delotte was following current best practices in following him back for ten years, and I would think this is as far back as public records go in any event. It would have coat a boatload of money to go any further, and there was no indication that they'd find anything.
I think most people would find your cautious attitude just a shade extreme. Most people who stay clean for 10 years are going to stay clean for the rest of their lives. This is a very rare incident where this guy's past came back to haunt him.
I think it's important to bear in mind the following, and close this one out for good:
D
The media are anti-American Socialist trash.
The more Simon has to explain about all of this, the more it's a dead weight around his neck. I didn't hear the interview, but Simon was on KSFO this morning. He spent most if not all of the time talking about this litigation. It's very deadly to spend all this free radio time trying to explain some arcane business deal when he should be blasting away at Gray Davis. I hate to say it, but he is showing himself to be an incompetent campaigner, and that's the one thing that was suppose to be a Simon plus: his competence in contrast to Gray's incompetence.
The fact that we, here on FR, spend so much time disecting this litigation battle is an indication of how troubling this case is, and how much bad news it is to the hopes for unseating Davis. Just read the post again. It smacks of defensiveness. That's deadly in a campaign.
What difference does it make? The Democrats have already won the Headline Wars on this one. Simon's only salvation is that no one is really paying attention right now.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.