Sulja Bros. Building Supplies, Ltd (SLJB)

[greenspirit]

If Gary Rennie is on the up and up and only wants to get at the truth. Why did he and the paper print such an uprofessional article?

Here is the article with my additional comments bolded.

Penny stock king denies $100,000 lease debt

Why refer to him as a "penny stock King"? He has one penny stock. Have their been factual documentation of his involvement with other penny stocks? The title more accurately should have said something like "CEO of Suljabrothers under the spotlight".

BY GARY RENNIE STAR STAFF REPORTER

A local businessman who has created a sensation on North America’s penny stock market with plans to develop a US$645-million hotel complex in the Middle East has been accused of stiffing his landlord for the rent on his former corporate offices in Windsor.

The lead paragraph is focused around a he said she said innuendo with absolutely no factual information to back it up. Yet, Mr. Rennie, appears intent on casting clouds of innuendo such as "a penny king can't pay rent", instead of factually reporting the information. Did he ask to look at the rental document? Did he ask to see the court papers claiming the right to this 100 grand? No, yet, he uses it as the opening template to his hit piece. Is this balanced? Of course not. It's wreaks of unprofessional reporting.

“They did a midnight run on me,” said Joe Mikhail, a major commercial property owner in Windsor and Essex County.
Petar Vucicevich and his small staff bolted in the night about eight months ago owing $100,000 for a yearand-a-half of rent, the unpaid portion of the five-year lease and cost of renovations for the offices, said Mikhail, who recognized his former tenant’s picture in Thursday’s Windsor Star.

Next paragraph starts with "they did a midnight run" on me. Any witnesses? Any neighbors hear anything? Unless the place of business is out in the country, you would think someone would have heard something to substantiate this accusation. Yet, we don't know whether Mr. Rennie asked. We can assume based on the tone he did not bother. Guilty until proven innocent by not kissing his behind is what I figure.

Interviewed at his Colchester residence later Thursday, Vucicevich, the CEO of Sulja Brothers Building Materials, denied owing Mikhail any money. He insisted he paid a few extra months of rent just to get out of the lease. “I don’t owe Joe anything,” said Vucicevich.

Now that you have opened with guilt, go ahead and give him a little defensive response here.

According to a news release issued by one of his companies, Vucicevich — as director general of Consultech Construction Management Inc. — was in the United Arab Emirates in April to buy land and launch construction of a $US645-million luxury hotel on Al Reem Island in Abu Dhabi. He showed The Star his passport to prove he was in the UAE in mid-April.

Now we shift to an entirely different topic. 8 months ago wasn't April. Does the landlord not remember what month he supposedly ran out on him? If not, how did he come up with the precise value of 100 grand? Nice round number wouldn't you say? I also can't help but wonder what the going rate is in the area for comp rentals of that nature. 100 grand seems awfully high for 18 months of rent. Did the reporter do a comp check of the area for duh validation? How big was the place, supposedly a small staff with four people "ran out on the rent". Does Mr. Rannie seriously believe a place of business with 4 people cost 100 THOUSAND DOLLARS to rent for 18 months? That's 5,500 dollars rent a month for 4 people? Where is it in the yuppiest district in the city? I find it VERY hard to believe rents for a small place would be that high. In addition, did Mr. Rennie check on a possible competitor situation with Mr. Joe Mikhail? Is this his website and some of his rental units? http://www.canadiancontent.net/en/jd/go?Url=http://www.mikhailholdings.com/
Seems to me he would have competed with KORE for land or buildings in the past? Any past involvement with Petar? No mention at all. How did he come to rent the place for nearly 5 years? All interesting questions Mr. Renny left unchecked apparently.

The hotel project is the largest of a number of multimillion-dollar deals — including a $20-million commercial development in Colchester Village — that Vucicevich and his companies have promoted to investors.

When did Petar promote this 20 million dollar development to investors! We're the ones on this board who located the first Windsor article and made the connection. There were no pr's by Petar referring to this development. So, this paragraph is an out and out lie Mr. Rennie!

Sulja Brothers is one of North America’s hottest-trading penny stocks. On Thursday, more than 171 million shares of Sulja stock were traded, with the price per share dropping from nine cents to four. About 67 million shares traded Friday with the price closing at three cents a share.

Until the website for Vucicevich’s Consultech company was taken down “temporarily” earlier this week it still showed the Mikhail property as its Canadian headquarters. The Star paid a visit recently only to find an empty suite with workers painting it for the next tenant.

No mention of how they impacted this trading volume and the subsequent movement in the stock price. Ahh, and this "suite" cost $5,500 dollars a month?

Mikhail said he heard Vucicevich describe deals that were in the works when he tried to collect the rent, including the big hotel project in the Middle East. “He lost all credibility with me with that story,” he said. The Consultech office appeared to be used mostly at night, Mikhail said. “Nothing made sense.”

Made no sense to the landlord, how about the reporter doing a little creative thinking of time zones. When would you expect people to work if dealing with Middle Eastern Companies Mr. Rennie? Hint: 11pm EST is 7AM Dubai time.

Mikhail said he didn’t pursue Vucicevich with a collection agency or lawyer because he didn’t think he had any money at the time.

Escuse me, the guy is owed 100 THOUSAND dollars and he was getting paid 5,500 dollars a month (supposedly), yet he didn't bother to try and collect? Give me a break Mr. Rennie. Perhaps a little follow up questions like "huh" would have been in order.

In addition, we have another single source report, this time with the added element of "tried to collect the rent". Was their ever a missing rent issue he could corroborate with paperwork? In other words, any notices reviewed by our sleuth reporter? Don't know. Assumption, probably didn't ask.

But Vucicevich now has a choice of a Range Rover, BMW or Maserati to drive, all leased, he says. And between June and September this year he and his wife purchased four parcels of land in Colchester Village for $609,000, according to land registry records.

This paragraph denotes jealously and innuendo. Who cares what kind of car he leased, except to paint him in an ugly light. So they purchased land, did he ask anyone for what purpose?

Vucicevich said Consultech doesn’t do business any longer in Ontario or Michigan, but is active in Middle East projects. He insisted the hotel project was still in the works with the land — worth about $29 million according to a company news release — already purchased. Construction will start next year, he said. “We’re looking to expand into Lebanon.”

Vucicevich gave The Star a tour of the Sulja Brothers’ Harrow construction materials yard to prove that it was a bustling business with 28 employees. “This is not a fraud; this is a serious enterprise,” he said.

Well, was it a brustling business or not Mr. Rennie? In this section he has all of a sudden become a third party receiving the information instead of a direct observer. Was it a busy business? Were customers coming and going? We don't know.

Asked where were the employees of Consultech and Kore International — another of his companies — Vucicevich said some work out of their homes, but the majority of about 40 were stationed in overseas offices. He said the reason no employee was in the Kore office on Pelissier Street when The Star dropped by was that renovations were being done.

Vucicevich complained that while the facts in The Star’s story about him and his company in Thursday’s paper were “absolutely true” the picture painted was misleading by not pointing out the busy lumber business. While close friends do call him “Black Pete” because of his fondness for all- black clothing, Vucicevich said the story appeared to give that a sinister tone.

Is this reporter attempting to get us to believe his use of the original term "Black Pete" was not a sinister attempt to paint him in a negative light? Petulant Mr. Rennie thinks everyone who reads his paper is a fool.

Asked if the audited financial statements for Sulja thousands of shareholders have been promised for months are done, Vucicevich said: “You’ll get them when everyone else gets them.”

Vucicevich said he doesn’t own any Sulja stock and doesn’t benefit or lose when the price goes up or down. “It’s not like I’m selling off lots of stock and making money off it,” he said.

Because the volume of shares traded was so high Thursday — more than 10 times the average volume for the stock — Vucicevich said the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission would probably take a look at the reasons, but he wasn’t concerned that anything was amiss.

No mention of Mr. Rennie's role in helping to cause such volume and subsequent crashing of the stock. Nope, just an outside observer of the event.

All I can say is Mr. Rennie and that paper better be right about their sinister view of Petar. Because, if they are not, some American investors are going to hire a lawyer and sui the living crap out of them. Totally unprofessional hit tabloid piece. Go back to journalism school Mr. Rennie, we want a real reporter on the story.