Peterson tackles rumors, reports

At center, Los Angeles radio station KFI radio personality Ken Chiampou broadcasts live as he and other members of the media go to Scott Peterson's side gate after he arrives home Wednesday afternoon. Peterson later ordered the media off his property.

Scott Peterson talks with Modesto police officers Billy Hamilton, left, and G.E. Paglione as they arrive at his house to answer a complaint.

Scott Peterson conducted several televised interviews at his home on Wednesday, address-ing numerous allegations and rumors surrounding the investigation into the disappearance of his wife, Laci.

By 5 p.m., more than a dozen TV trucks had set up camp near the Petersons' house on Covena Avenue in Modesto's La Loma neighborhood.

Wednesday night, Peterson called police when other reporters -- hopeful for an interview -- followed him to his back gate and remained on his property after he told them to leave. Officers arrived, stayed 10 minutes and left, making no arrests.

Peterson declined to be interviewed by The Bee, saying that he was upset with two articles the newspaper had published.

One of the articles described Peterson at a New Year's Eve vigil for his wife, saying he was laughing and smiling a good deal of the time. He did not say what the other story was.

"With the feelings I have about the newspaper right now, I am not interested in talking," Peterson said by phone. "The articles need to have more with Laci in them and not be focused on me."

Laci Peterson's family reported her missing Christmas Eve. The 27-year-old is more than eight months pregnant with her first child.

Scott Peterson, 30, said he last saw his wife at 9:30 a.m. the day before Christmas when he left for a fishing trip and she prepared to go for a walk with their dog.

Police say they have not named Scott Peterson as a suspect, nor have they ruled him out of the investigation.

Wednesday began with the second part of Peterson's videotaped interview on ABC Television's "Good Morning America," with co-host

Both he and Laci have $250,000 life insurance policies, taken out two years ago. He called untrue a report that he took out such a policy on his wife only last summer.

His wife may not have opened the drapes Christmas Eve morning because it was probably 40 degrees outside, and keeping the drapes closed helps keep the house warm. Family members and neighbors have said that Laci Peterson opened the drapes every day.

He routinely cuts his hands in his work on farms. Peterson, a fertilizer salesman, made the comment and showed his hands in response to reports that police had found blood in one of his and Laci's vehicles.

He loaded large umbrellas to take to his warehouse on Christmas Eve. A neighbor reportedly saw Peterson putting something into a vehicle that day.

During the interview, Peterson described his marriage as "glorious" even though he admitted to cheating on his pregnant wife. "We took care of each other very well," he said. "She was amazing. She is amazing."

Asked about the baby boy due within weeks, he responded: "That was, it's so hard."

At his home, Peterson sat down with several news outlets. He went through the interviews alone, without an attorney.

Speaking with Gloria Gomez of Sacramento TV station KOVR, Peterson explained why he said he told his wife about his affair with Amber Frey: "It was the right thing to do. And, as you know, when you're not doing the right thing, it eats you up. You know you feel sick to your stomach and you can't function. And you have a hard time, you know, looking at someone."

Throughout Wednesday, people drove and walked by the Peterson house, apparently to get a closer look.

"It's innocent until proven guilty in a court of law," said Elvira Varse, who lives a few streets away. "But he's guilty until he's proven innocent in this neighborhood."

Among the media throng was a pair of shock jocks from a Los Angeles radio station. When Peterson came home, one of them yelled into a megaphone: "Nobody believes your story."

Lyanne Melendez, a reporter with San Francisco radio station KGO, walked up to the shock jocks' radio van and told the DJs: "That's just bad journalism."

Bee staff writer Ty Phillips can be reached at 578-2331 or tphillips@modbee.com.

"There is no ambiguity in this. I have never in my life spoken to Scott Peterson," Klaas said. "Where he comes off thinking he can make a statement like that in the public forum and get away with it, I don't know...It's not the first time." ....

Peterson responded: "I have had conversations with both those gentlemen. ....

.... [Klaas]--"Obviously, this guy is stacking lie upon lie upon lie. He's indicting himself. It's like watching a train wreck."

This is truly amazing to me. I'm not getting this SP guy. Is he delusional? What? Somebody help me out here. How does he think he can keep up this game? He says something, and it's refuted, he tries again, still no go. He should just give it up.

If he had nothing to do with his wife's disappearance, then none of this makes any sense.

Fertilizer sales field tough, competitive

By RICHARD T. ESTRADA
BEE STAFF WRITER

Selling fertilizer would appear to be an easy job in the San Joaquin Valley, where agriculture is the No. 1 industry.
But Scott Peterson faces a challenge every day he goes to work, trying to beat the odds in a lucrative, yet competitive, field.

He is the California-Arizona sales representative for Tradecorp, a Spanish company that produces fertilizer and sells it around the world. He works the wholesale end, marketing Tradecorp products to retailers.

Peterson is one of hundreds of chemical salespeople -- hawking everything from ammonia to zinc -- fighting for a slice of the valley's $15 billion agriculture industry.

"We're bombarded by salesmen with new products or products they say work better than what we're using," said Gary Layne of Simplot Soil Builders in Hughson. "A lot of times they're just blowing smoke, but they sound very convincing. That comes with this business."

It helps to have an armor-plated ego, valley chemical dealers say, because rejection is routine.

"There are sales guys for every chemical company out there, trying to make the same deals with the same customers," said Doug Doty, manager of the Western Farm Service outlet in Modesto. "There's a lot of competition."

Not only does Peterson have to try to outperform the competition each day, dealers say, he must do it with more expensive products. He markets premium fertilizers and minerals, including acids, iron, boron and other materials that are applied periodically to protect the valley's crops and help generate plentiful harvests.

Peterson's job is to spread Tradecorp's name through the ag community and get its products into the hands of farmers.

The company exports to 30 countries but has little presence in California. Few dealers carry the products, and those that do not said they have shown little interest in adding them.

Tradecorp's products target the horticulture, fruit tree and citrus segments, and its top markets include South Africa, France, Chile and Turkey.

One of the selling points used by Peterson is that the company's solid fertilizers break down quickly in water, allowing them to be carried to plants via drip and microirrigation systems.

While his ultimate customer is the farmer, Peterson spends more time in his car and in offices than he does on farms.

His role is to convince fertilizer dealers that they need to carry the products.

He has encountered some difficulty, dealers said, because many of his products are more expensive than available alternatives.

Tradecorp products cost 15 percent to 25 percent more than the average retail price for similar products, according to dealers.

He sells premium goods, dealers agree, but in this tight farm economy it is a challenge convincing farmers to spend more than they must.

Tradecorp backs Peterson

Traditional -- and cheaper -- materials might be slightly less effective, but dealers say that rarely is enough to justify a grower paying the higher price.

Tradecorp did not answer The Bee's requests for information about Peterson's performance. However, it appears that Peterson still is working for the company.

Eric Van Innis, Tradecorp executive director, visited Peterson in Modesto on Jan. 21 and said the company supports Peterson "100 percent."

Chemical dealers who previously were in contact with Peterson said they had not heard from him since his wife's disappearance Christmas Eve.

Peterson did not respond to requests to discuss his job.

Many dealers who have bought products from Peterson, or had been approached by him, declined to be identified for this story.

"It's a tragic story that no one wants to be linked to," one dealer said. "I've already taken calls about this, and I don't want to spend any more time with it."

But that does not mean that those in the industry do not talk about it.

"He's been a topic of conversation since we found out he's a fertilizer salesman," Doty said. "He's never come to our store to sell, but I've lost count of the people who asked me if I met him."

Bee staff writer Richard T. Estrada can be reached at 578-2316 or restrada@modbee.com.

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