A
speakerphone in the middle of the table.
David says we have seen all of the bank accounts.
As we get ready to leave, we open
a small manila file. It contains a copy
of the $900,000 check. The July 2006 check from Universal Music is payable to “James Brown, LLC Collection Account … M& T
Bank, Buffalo, New York." There is also a letter from Steve Sidmans of Greenberg Traurig, one of Brown's entertainment attorneys.
Where was the money
deposited? David says in a local
checking account. One he now shows us.
Why? David says they just did what Leon Friedman
told them to do with the check.
Leon is a distinguished professor at Hofstra Law School. Over the years Leon has represented James Brown in some of his most important and complex cases. Leon also writes books about the Supreme Court justices and their decisions.
DAVID: Leon, I thought you were in
Italy. With Justice Scalia.
LEON: No. I’m leaving tomorrow. And it’s Justice Ginsburg this year.
DAVID: Leon, the special
administrators are here with us today. (Courtesies exchanged). They
want to know about the directions you gave us for the Universal audit check that came in last
summer.
David’s first card had
fallen. But for the help of the Attorney
General – and later the AG’s appointee
Russell Bauknight -- David's whole deck would have swiftly collapsed. And maybe the $12+ million missing from funds Brown gave to the “I Feel Good”
Foundation would have been recovered.
It didn't happen.
On July 27 Bob and I – cautious, as always – moved for the
removal of “one or more” trustees. The motion was based on a "serious breach of trust" -- $900,000 unaccounted for. A James Brown hearing before Judge Early was already set for August 10.
Buddy, David and Al secretly scampered to sign documents for David to resign; attorney Bill Hammond to replace him as trustee; and a transfer of Brown's 2000 Trust to Georgia before the August 10 hearing. Nothing worked.
Then by August 3 David would become the sole culprit. Al and Buddy filed affidavits saying they knew nothing about the $900,000.
On August 10 David resigned and returned $350,000 of the $900,000. This was the amount that had cleared the bank after Brown's death. In an order consented to by Buddy, David and Al, Judge Early accepted David's resignation. All of the attorneys and accountants who had worked closely with David were terminated. All "Brown Historical Documents" -- including the files of terminated attorneys -- were to be placed in a central location. They could be reviewed by anyone interested in the James Brown matters.
The Brown Historical Documents were more than 80 boxes. By default, they were directed to be placed in the large, open area behind the office I rented from my son. 1218 Taylor Street, Columbia. But Buddy and Al, the remaining fiduciaries, retained control over them -- subject to access by all.
The August 10 order changed the official address of the 2000 Trust and estate from David's office to Bob's Aiken address.
My wonderful staff and I did not realize at the time that we had been given ringside seats to the post-death James
Brown Revue. The show alternated between drama and
slapstick. Then turned into a tragedy.
Next Post: # 8 AUGUST: RICHLAND COUNTY
.
No comments:
Post a Comment