...And Justice for All
Well, the verdict is in... James Lamar McMichael, mastermind of the PhyMed Partners investment scam
that I discussed in PCR issues 166, 167, 168, 282 and 302, was sentenced
by the United States Federal Court in Tampa on June 8, 2006 to 87 months
(approximately 7 years) incarceration followed by a Supervised Release
of 3 years.
So basically this ends my own 5-year saga and ordeal on this most
tragic, aggravating, frustrating, costly and time-consuming episode of
my life.
I have to live with verdict, but I don’t have to like it.
As a matter of fact I don’t like it, not one damned bit!
This case just underscores a sad fact of life in this country. The words
“…with liberty and justice for all” from our Pledge of Allegiance too
often ring hollow and have no real substance when put to the test in
real life. Any rational and reasonable American citizen would presume
that the dispensation of justice should always be fair and commensurate
with the degree of the crime committed, so let’s take a look at how
society at large was effected by the actions of two very dissimilar
people and what consequences their actions resulted in:
Case in point: Martin Lee Anderson: The Bay County Medical Examiner’s Office tried to cover up what could
easily be construed as a State-sponsored lynching, which was captured on
videotape, by claiming that Anderson died from bleeding to death as a
result of Sickle Cell Anemia. Due to world-wide outrage over this
obvious miscarriage of justice, Governor Bush ordered Hillsborough
County State Attorney Mark A. Ober to investigate the case.
A second autopsy was performed on Anderson, this time by Hillsborough
County Medical Examiner Vernard Adams, along with the assistance of
noted pathologist Michael Baden, who afterward stated, “My opinion is
that he died because of what you see on the videotape.” (Italics mine.)
Their results did not show Sickle Cell Anemia as the cause of death, but
death due to asphyxiation.
As of this moment, none of the guards connected with this death have been
arrested, and Mister Ober’s investigation is on-going.
Outside of the obvious attempts by the Bay County Sheriff’s Office and
Bay County Medical Examiner’s office to circumvent justice, the negative
effect on society at large as a result of Anderson's transgressions
were truly not that significant.
James Lamar McMichael: In 1998 McMichael created a fraudulent investment scam known as PhyMed
Partners. In this world-class lie, McMichael fleeced approximately
$33,000,000.00 from over 500 investors in 23 states between October 1998
and May 2003. Of the $33,000.000.00 taken, $20,000,000.00 has been lost
entirely.
As early as October 2000, PhyMed Partners owed investors $11,000,000.00
but continued to sell its fraudulent promissory notes and unregistered
preferred stocks until it was shut down by the United States Federal
Bureau of Investigation in the winter of 2003.
Amongst other things, McMichael and his wife, Nancy, paid themselves
$1,200,000.00 of the ill-gotten gains to purchase luxury automobiles and
beach resorts.
Independent financial consulting reports to McMichael stated that
“financially, this (PhyMed Partners, Inc.) is a Ponzi scheme.”, and that
McMichael’s use of offshore insurance bonds to cover the unregistered
stocks in the event of their loss “smells of a scam” and will “give
(prospective investors) a false sense of security.”
McMichael was finally brought to justice at United States District Court
in Tampa on August 5, 2005 for his PhyMed Partners flim-flam. He faced a
maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and a $5,000,000.00 fine.
So What Happened? What is most galling is that if you divide the 87-month sentence amongst
the 500 people that he swindled in this scam, you’re only looking at 5.2
days of jail time!
In the case of the investment that my relatives and I made, this
weak-kneed verdict sends the following message - - "If you think of
ever pilfering $500,000 from anyone in a phony investment scheme, think
again! You could face civil penalties and jail time of up to 5 days!"
Oh my God! Pretty terrifying to ponder - - that's a real deterrent, ain't
it?
Meanwhile, 14-year-old Martin Lee Anderson ended up dead at the hands of
crazed boot-jacked thugs. What message did that send?
“If you ever think of taking a joy ride in your grandmother’s jeep,
think again! If you’re poor, black and a troubled youth, you could end
up in a State run boot camp and face death!”
Through all of these high-handed lunacy, I still believe - - maybe I
still have to believe - - that the United States of America puts its best
foot forward in dispensing justice in the most fair manner possible of
any country on the planet. But these two examples show a deep disparity
that belies that as long as you’re wealthy and politically and socially
well-connected, you can get away with just about anything.
Now, be totally and utterly honest with yourself… …And Justice for All Final Chapter In summary, the contempt that James Lamar McMichael must hold for his
fellow man is fathomless. The $500,000.00 that he and his Registered
Investment Advisor toady Friendly Freddy pilfered from my family were in
entirety a large portion of the life-saving’s of my mother-in-law who
died a terrible death to Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 2000.
She worked hard all of her life, was honest to a fault, and was a kind
and Christian lady who raised two daughters that are themselves both
honest and productive members of society. Fortunately, the legacy of her
living years will remain pure, admirable and untarnished.
The same can never be said for James Lamar McMichael and “Friendly
Freddy”, who in essence perpetrated their own form of grave robbery
during their living years to add to their other crimes against humanity.
Below is a sample issue of the Tampa Bay Muse newsletter produced by Vinnie Blesi. For those who have never seen one, I think you'll agree this is a valuable resource for the Tampa Bay area arts community. --Nolan and Will
Promoting Art and Culture in Tampa Bay one link at a time. Support Local
Art!
What’s Up with Tampa Bay Muse? Coming Soon: an archival page of local bands from the 80’s!
If you feel we are providing a needed service to the local community
please consider donating.
We can now send you text email instead of html email. Email us at
info@tampabaymuse.com if you want to change your email preference.
Art Events The Polk Museum of Art is now on Myspace,
http://www.myspace.com/polkmuseumofart. This is the last chance to see,
AFTERMATH: Images from Ground Zero, Photography by Joel Meyerowitz, The
exhibit closes July 9th. Their next show is Women Only! In Their Studios
July 29 -October 15, 2006. TBM guarantees you will have a better time at
the Polk Museum than at the Tampa Museum or tampabaymuse will buy you a
comic book. 800 East Palmetto Street , Lakeland, Florida 33801-5529,
863.688.7743
The Florida Highwaymen: Even Further Down the Road, An exhibition of
paintings featuring Florida's wetlands. The Highwaymen is the name given
to a group of young African American artists who came together in the
late 1950's in the area of Fort Pierce, Florida. They were and are
painters of the Florida landscape. Identifying themselves as
'Colorists', they painted the real and the imagined landscapes of
Florida with colors and forms that captured the raw energy of the land.
Drawing on their own cultural heritage they abandoned the formal
academic approach to representation and instead took from their own deep
interior landscape a unique creative energy. They used this energy to
construct a mythology of images that have the ability to touch everyone
who sees them. The Studio@620, 620 First Avenue South St. Petersburg, FL
33701. Exhibit 07/19/06 - 08/12/06 Tuesday - Saturday 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Admission The general exhibit is open to the public at no charge. See
the Program Schedule for specific event admission. Donations are greatly
appreciated
Film Events Ironweed Film club: The Studio@620 presents “Private“, A Palestinian
family living between an Arab village and an Israeli settlement finds
their house beseiged by the Israeli army. Rather than leave, the family
stays confined to a few rooms, living as virtual prisoners in their own
home. From beginning to end, Private, an Italian film shot in Calabria,
is as tense and suspenseful as any Hollywood thriller. 07/13/06 - 8:00
pm The location is 620 First Avenue South, St. Petersburg, Florida.
Music Events · THE REUNION WE HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR: THE WANKERS
THE BIGGEST BAND IN THE LAND WILL BE PLAYING AT THE EMERALD ON JULY 3.
THEY WILL BE BRINGING THE HITS LIKE "PIZZA BOY MASSACRE" and "TOO SKINNY
FOR LOVE". THE EMERALD, downtown St. Pete, JULY 3RD ONLY! ALSO PLAYING -
THE CRIPPLED MASTERS AND JOHNNY THUNDERS OVERDOSE.
LES CLAYPOOL 7/8/2006 Time: 7PM DOORS, SHOW @ 8PM Jannus Landing.
Hard rocking Industrialists Ministry and their side project Revolting
Cocks will be appearing July 11th at Jannus Landing in Downtown St.
Pete. Joining Uncle Al on the Ministry tour this summer will be Paul
Raven (Killing Joke) bass, Tommy Victor (Prong) guitar, Mike Scaccia
(Rigor Mortis) guitar, and Joey Jordison on drums. The Revolting Cocks
are: Al Jourgensen (Ministry) Vox, guitar Luc Van Acker (Revolting
Cocks) Vox Phildo Owen (RevCo, Skatenigs, Snow Black) Vox Josh Bradford
(Stayte) Vox Anna K (Drain, Hanzel und Gretyl) Bass Seven Antonopoulos
(Opiate For the Masses) Drums Sin (Society 1) Guitars Clayton Worbeck
(Stayte) Keyboards.
Plus tons of local music, check out our event calendar for more details.
Community For more information, e-mail Morgan Lewis at mblewis@dos.state.fl.us or
visit http://www.florida-arts.org/grants/forindividuals.htm.
StandUp For Kids will be having a benefit concert on July 29, 2006 at
the Bennigan's on Dale Mabry next to Raymond James Stadium.
The concert will raise awareness to the 1.3 million homeless youth in
the United States and specifically to the homeless youth living in the
Tampa Bay area. The concert will feature five local bands including 5
Story, 10 Second Drop, New Season, Stalling Dawn and Sentdown.
We will be raising funds to help cover the costs of this concert. If you
would like to donate please visit
http://www.firstgiving.com/standupforkidstampa. If you would like more
information about this event or would like to volunteer please email
tampa@standupforkids.org.
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