Tuesday, November 03, 2009 10:49:11 AM
Janice here are the facts although if you were Maheau and were working for the FBI and a sting operation which was his specialization I doubt you could say anything about it anyhow...
The fact is that if you take 30 accounts each with 250 Bill shares, then we have a problem!
Thats 7,500,000,000,000
We have a huge problem with the SEC not catching this thing!
So the question is how many CMKX shares were offered ?
We want some answers.
According to Maheau:
Mike Williams called him and he wanted to know if he could stop by the house with Urban Casavant. At this point in time he did not know who UC even was but he did know Mike.
MW kept coming around Maheau with business ideas for years, but never ended up doing anything of the business sort till CMKX came along. It appears that MW was a friend of his all the way back to the Hughes days.
So the story is that Mike Williams brought Urban over to Maheau's house. They MW explained what he needs Maheau for and Maheua agreed to see them again at his house, providing they agreed to let Maheau bring in an attorneys. And they agreed, so Maheau brought in Don Stocklein.
So it appears that since the very beginning Stocklein was in on the whole thing. So Stocklein was brought in for corporate compliance.
Then a hearing took place in Los Angeles and Maheau was embarrassed because they ended up being asked the same questions that he was trying to get answers to for about two plus months.
Then Maheau really started putting the heat on the law firm to “crunch out the numbers that he need here.” to make CMKX complient, he kept getting reports that they could not crunch the numbers. Maheau finally told Don, “Don, when and if you are absolutely convinced that we cannot crunch the numbers enabling us to be compliant, I want you to tell me.” And when he did is when Maheau submitted his resignation.
So MW and UC were trying to get the numbers; They’d get the accounting group, and then their own people and they’d asked for numbers, and there was always some kind of delay. They just flat could not come up with the numbers. We all know why!
Maheau testified before the judge at the same hearing, said “it is possible they brought me in because of…” and he said “yes, that’s very possible.” because of his reputation.
Then Maheau said that As strange as it may seem, I do. I think UC's very naïve and shoots from the hip. And truly… many times I feel sorry for him. UC was living in a world of fantacy and wanted to do what was best for the shareholders.
John Edwards was selling a lot of CMKX stocks.
The NASD filed charges against a company called NevWest Securities, where John Edwards ran 250 billion shares of stock through NevWest.
John Edwards did it through about 30 different companies too. In other words he had separate accounts so it didn’t appear that he was running that much and he would run a little bit through each account, it was just a mess. The good news out of all of that is that I know for a fact that the FBI and the DOJ are doing major investigations into all of these people.
Maheau decided to decide to stay on the task force, because of the darn stuff that they needed to up with the best way to protect the stockholders. It was for them that Maheau recommended a law firm to bring in the authorities and to file with the federal court.
According to Maheau, Bill Frizzell is still working behind the scenes doing everything he can and it is someone he has respect and who he trusts completely to get the job done.
Maheau said that if the Cert count doesn’t happen he will do something to force the issue. He’ll do some sort of forced communications with people to get the job done and account for every share.
Maheau also admits that at the hearing he stated that he believes that the management level and the SEC at the time, had an obligation to protect the stockholders, and he got the impression that that was not what they were doing.
So Maheau believed the SEC was not doing their JOB!!!
Then Maheau went on ... Why was the SEC put in place in the first place? and he said that he thought the SEC's first obligation was to protect the stockholders. They have failed us!
Maheau and Peter(his son), who of course runs the Global Intelligence Network, talked about certain things, about how things were handled in the past and how we feel that there is a tendency today to handle it differently. They feel that there are too many people in law enforcement or regulatory bodies(SEC) today who begin with a conclusion. They do not logically arrive at one. He concludes the SEC has failed us!
Maheau said the SEC rationalizes their fallacious conclusion, and when they do that, and don’t give a damn, they're on a collision course.
Since the beginning Maheau worked with Bill Frizzell and John Martin and Don. As I say, Maheau concured that, he trusts Bill with anything. There’s never been a doubt in my mind that his whole participation was to protect the stockholders. Think about how many hours he put into this!!! No one would do that!
Maheau was doing everything possible to assist the shareholders because he was a man of his word!
Its strange that Maheaus's mother’s maiden name was Casavant, whats even more strange is that Maheau admits that his mother could be related to UC.
Maheau said he would love to see the CMKX shareholders get a whole plus. He decided early on that I did not want any more salary and continued on because…there is nothing that would please him more than to see them come out whole plus.
It may be possible that mobster Louie Ippolito was the person who set up the original meetings with Michael Williams preceding Maheu’s involvement with CMKM Diamonds!
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MAHEU: It was the same thing in the FBI, when I got in the bureau, one of the first assignments I had I created myself. I ended up getting a meritorious raise. That’s been my story, give me an assignment… Anyway, I took this one (CMKX) on with the same enthusiasm; I should’ve checked it out a hell of a lot more carefully before I did.
FAULK: Now originally, was it Stoecklein that came to you with this?
MAHEU: No. I was the one who brought Stoecklein in.
FAULK: Oh really? So where did you first hear of this?
MAHEU: I got a phone call from a guy…I can’t remember his name; he wanted to know if he could stop by the house with Urban Casavant.
FAULK: It wasn’t Mike Williams, was it?
MAHEU: Yes… yes, I had forgotten his last name.
FAULK: So….you knew Urban then?
MAHEU: No, I did not.
FAULK: You did not, but you knew Mike Williams?
MAHEU: Yes.
FAULK: And where did you know him from?
MAHEU: He kept popping up now and then with ideas and we never ended up doing anything of the business sort. He kept popping up with ideas, but nothing ever came to fruition that I can think of except this one.
FAULK: Does it make you glad that you didn’t do other deals with him?
MAHEU: Well, yes.
FAULK: What did you know about Williams?
MAHEU: Not anything really.
FAULK: How did you meet him?
MAHEU: That I cannot remember. So many of these things, a lot of them go back to the Hughes days. I get so damn many of those, Mark. People come up with ideas and very seldom are they worth following.
FAULK: And because of your name and reputation obviously anybody who has an idea goes “ok, I’ve got something, let’s go pitch it to Bob Maheu.” I’m sure you’ve been in great demand your whole life because of your reputation and your ability to make things happen. So, Mike Williams brought Urban over to your house, or your office…
MAHEU: To my house, I operate out of my house, although all my email goes to my son Peter’s office.
FAULK: Okay… Do you remember when that was approximately?
MAHEU: Quite a while ago and then I didn’t hear from him for a long time. Then they showed up again and I said ok, providing you let me bring in the attorneys. And they agreed, so I brought in Don.
FAULK: What were they telling you when they were coming over?
MAHEU: They had all this stuff and they needed someone to…they had not… well, I’m trying to think of exactly how they said it … they needed someone to put all of these problems together. They’d had some problems, they did have some regulatory problems, they wanted to know if I would help them take care of the past, and also, I made it very clear that I couldn’t guarantee what I could do about the past. But I would insist that from hence forward that they would be in compliance.
FAULK: Did they talk at all about the so called kind of bad guys that were in?
MAHEU: No
FAULK: So it was really just compliance issues and straightening up the regulatory mess.
MAHEU: Right. The deal that I have recollection of making is right along those same lines. I would do the best I could to rectify the past and that I would insist that everything had to be in the realm of compliance for the future.
FAULK: I was actually looking at a few of your quotes this morning and almost every one of them spoke of compliance and the regulatory agencies and how that’s what you appeared to brought in for, corporate compliance.
MAHEU: That’s right. Now, it didn’t take very long. First of all, Mark, when that hearing took place in Los Angeles I was so damned embarrassed because they ended up asking me the same questions that I’d been asking without getting any answers for about two plus months. Frankly, like Urban I was tempted to take the Fifth Amendment but that’s not my style. And for the sake of the stockholders I didn’t want to allow the only two directors to both take the Fifth Amendment.
FAULK: And obviously you had nothing to hide, you just didn’t have the knowledge that you wanted.
MAHEU: That’s right. I didn’t have the information, it was damned embarrassing. As I say, some of the questions were repetitious of what I’d been asking and then I realized that there were decisions made, or non-decisions made, with which I was not contacted or appraised. Anyway, then I really started putting the heat on the law firm. And you know “crunch out the numbers that I need here.” I kept getting reports that they could not crunch the numbers. Finally I told Don, “Don, when and if you are absolutely convinced that we cannot crunch the numbers enabling us to be compliant, I want you to tell me.” And when he did is when I submitted my resignation.
FAULK: Did he tell you why?
MAHEU: They kept trying to get the numbers; that I know. They’d get the accounting group, and then their own people and they’d asked for numbers, and there was always some kind of delay. They just flat could not come up with the numbers.
FAULK: So really you think that they were trying to dig up past information and people weren’t providing it to them.
MAHEU: Not only that, but current enough to comply with… Take the two separately for a moment, take the past …. They could not seem to put them together. But they couldn’t not keep the numbers that we needed from our entry into the organization up until the moment that I’m talking about. When Don said to me categorically, he said “Bob, there’s no doubt about it, we’re not going to be able to get the numbers together enabling us to comply.” That’s the day I submitted my resignation.
FAULK: Obviously the are so many stories that came out of this, that they brought you in to catch the bad guys, to orchestrate this big sting, and I guess the rumors, I can understand them because of your background.
MAHEU: Right.
FAULK: But that really wasn’t it at all.
MAHEU: Not at all. I made it very clear that …. And I testified before the judge at the same hearing, he said “is it possible they brought you in because of…” and I said “yes, that’s very possible.”
FAULK: That they brought you in because of your name.
MAHEU: That’s right.
FAULK: And that’s something that obviously you can only speculate on the reasons for that. Is it possible… and I guess this maybe goes into Urban, which we’ll get into that in a little bit anyway, but what are your feelings about him…Do you really believe he had the best interests of the shareholders at heart in this?
MAHEU: As strange as it may seem, I do. I think he’s very naïve and shoots from the hip. And truly… many times I feel sorry for him.
FAULK: I’ve heard that same thing from other people that have been involved with him that they believe that maybe he obviously made some mistakes along the way, and I have records that show that he made a lot of mistakes along the way. But that because of his own issues, whatever they may be, that maybe he wasn’t equipped to deal with a lot of things that happened.
MAHEU: Mark, how many people in your life have you seen, who without even realizing, live in a world of wishful thinking?
FAULK: A lot. There are a lot of shareholders in CMKX who are like that.
MAHEU: Reality does not exist in their world. I have been kinda weaned in that world because when Hughes… I was his alter ego for 15 years. When he went to the point of isolation I saw what lack of reality can do; it causes a lot of problems. It gets to the point where if they remove themselves from reality, unfortunately from that aspect reality exists in their minds… luckily, reality still exists outside. That happens, unfortunately.
FAULK: Do you think that happened with Urban to a degree then too?
MAHEU: Exactly.
FAULK: Honestly, unfortunately, I’ve known a lot of people in my life that I would describe as good hearts and bad habits. And from what I’ve learned about Urban it’s possible that he’s in that category.
MAHEU: Very much so.
FAULK: I know he dealt with, whether it’s gambling issues or drinking issues, I don’t even know what all… But the stories kinda point to that a little bit and that begins to cloud your judgment after a while to a large degree.
MAHEU: That’s right.
FAULK: Ok so, as you’re dealing with these people who did you come into contact along the way?
MAHEU: Not very many…that’s the uh… not every many. I was left out of a lot of things, like the decision to… I kept saying “When are you going to get an office?” Decisions were made without consulting with me.
FAULK: Did that lead you to believe that maybe they were kinda using you in name only to lend credibility to the company?
MAHEU: I had to have that feeling. I answered affirmatively when the judge asked me that question at the hearing. That was at the inception at this whole deal. I was what? Two plus months aboard at the time of the hearing, and not a hell of a lot longer.
FAULK: You’d been asking these same questions that the judge asked and not getting answers.
MAHEU: Right…
FAULK: And Stoecklein too then I assume was asking those questions.
MAHEU: Right.
FAULK: Ok, along the way, I’m trying to see what else we have here. There are a few other things that I could go over that were rumors but I could pretty much write them off. One was that there was a lot of talk about your son Peter being involved in Operation Bermuda Short.
MAHEU: Peter was not involved at all.
FAULK: I saw where that came from, there’s a Google search where he appeared at a convention and spoke with a guy who was involved in that. So somehow in that Google search they distorted the fact that Peter spoke at the same convention with a guy who was sheriff from Florida who was involved. And then they went “oh, Peter was involved in it.” But that’s the way the Google search showed up.
MAHEU: Peter does a lot of speeches on the Russian Mafia, and also on law enforcement as it applies to gaming.
FAULK: That’s exactly what this was; he was speaking on law enforcement and gaming at that one.
MAHEU: It’s a long distance to connect those two though.
FAULK: Yeah, exactly. They made some pretty good leaps on some of this stuff.
(Maheu and Faulk exchanged other contact numbers, etc.)
FAULK: Did you ever hear about John Edwards?
MAHEU: Yes
FAULK: What have you heard about him?
MAHEU: I may even have met him once, I’m not sure. Just that he was involved… he was buying stock or selling stock… Again, a lot of these things were never passed by me.
FAULK: Right. Well, as it turns out he was obviously selling stock and a lot of it. I don’t know if you’ve followed any of this since this. The NASD filed charges against a company called NevWest Securities, where John Edwards ran 250 billion shares of stock through NevWest.
MAHEU: Is that all?
FAULK: In that one that’s all, he may have even more than that somewhere else. And he did it through about 30 different companies too. In other words he had separate accounts so it didn’t appear that he was running that much and he would run a little bit through each account, it was just a mess. The good news out of all of that is that I know for a fact that the FBI and the DOJ are doing major investigations into all of these people. And I hope that they just come haul Edwards off and a few other people with him in the end. So, there could still be some justice here, it would be good, the shareholders do deserve that.
MAHEU: I’m still hoping that somehow… when I tell you that I resigned and forfeited all the back pay that they owed me, frankly, I just wanted the hell out. But I did stay on the task force.
FAULK: What made you decide to stay on the task force?
MAHEU: Because of the darn stuff that we needed to up with the best way to protect the stockholders. It was for them to recommend a law firm to bring in the authorities and to file with the federal court. By the way, I understand it has not taken place yet and I don’t know why.
FAULK: It has not, and between you and me Bill Frizzell is still behind the scenes doing everything he can. Bill is somebody who I just have the utmost respect for.
MAHEU: I do too, I do too.
FAULK: I think he has done a phenomenal job on that. Now, will that happen? We will see. I will say this; he has stayed involved enough that if it doesn’t happen he will do something to force the issue. He’ll do what you were talking about earlier; there will be some forced communications with people because of Bill Frizzell, he very much has been involved.
MAHEU: Oh good.
FAULK: I assume you probably know that Kevin West was brought on board at one stage?
MAHEU: Yes, right.
FAULK: I think he is in that same position, I don’t know if you have spoken to him since he became the interim CEO, but I think he’s in the same position where he’s in there maybe like you were and he’s just trying to find out what’s really going on. And then he’ll base his decisions more or less on what he can do to help the shareholders.
MAHEU: I hope they have to report before the court because that is needed.
FAULK: I agree with that completely. I think in the end that will be the only way that the truth comes out is for them to push it into the courts and the judge to step up and say enough is enough now let’s get it all out there. What about the SEC? What was your involvement with them? What are your feelings on how they’ve dealt with this?
MAHEU: Well, I don’t quite get this question.
FAULK: I’ve covered the issue of stock market fraud and naked short selling and stock counterfeiting over the last three years quite a bit and I’ve always had the impression that many times the SEC would just as soon kinda bury the companies and make it go away and I very much had that feeling in this particular issue but again from your viewpoint, do you feel like they were operating in the best interest of the shareholders?
MAHEU: I kept saying at that same hearing that I felt that they and we, and by we I mean those that were at the so-called management level at the time, had an obligation to protect the stockholders, and I was inferring that sometimes I get the impression that that was not what they were doing. I hope that answers your question.
FAULK: Yeah, it does. Sometimes it’s hard to tell if they are doing it maliciously or are they just kind of following the letter of the law. That’s a gray area where I obviously have my own opinions about how, not just in this case but how they’ve dealt with…
MAHEU: Why was the SEC put in place in the first place? I thought the first obligation they had was to protect the stockholders.
FAULK: Exactly. And theoretically that is true. I haven’t always seen it play out way and not just in this instance but in hundreds of companies. Very many times I’ve had them just say the easiest approach is to just make it go away.
MAHEU: I don’t know if you have the same feeling as I do, but my youngest son is the number 2 man on the police force in San Diego. He and I and Peter, who of course runs the Global Intelligence Network, we talk about certain things, about how things were handled in the past and how we feel that there is a tendency today to handle it differently. We feel that there are too many people in law enforcement or regulatory bodies today who begin with a conclusion. They do not logically arrive at one.
FAULK: So in other words you think they have a conclusion and then they try to find the facts to back up their preconceived…
MAHEU: They’ve got to rationalize their fallacious conclusion, and when you do that, Mark, and I don’t give a damn, you may be the smartest thing since 7-up, but you’re on a collision course.
FAULK: You’ve already clouded your objectivity, basically.
MAHEU: Exactly.
FAULK: That makes perfect sense. So, you got talked into staying on for the task force, at that phase who were you dealing with mainly? Was it Urban?
MAHEU: Oh, no.
FAULK: Was it Bill Frizzell?
MAHEU: It was Bill Frizzell and John Martin and Don. As I say, I concur with you, I trust Bill with anything. There’s never been a doubt in my mind that his whole participation was to protect the stockholders.
FAULK: I agree with that. And the same thing with John…
MAHEU: Exactly…and West too.
FAULK: I agree with that. I think that despite the bashing that everybody takes at one time or another, I don’t know why that people can’t understand that there are certain people you can trust and those are the three people that I go “I know I can trust them, I know I can trust you, everybody else I’m not so sure about.” But there are certain people that you can say “these people are on your side. At least acknowledge that.” Whether everybody agrees with their actions is another story.
MAHEU: That’s right. I have never claimed to pass the test of perfection, you know.
FAULK: Yeah, once you do that then you’re in big trouble. So really, you were involved with the task force, a little bit or a lot?
MAHEU: A little bit. Compared to what Bill was doing, if you compare it to that, and what John was doing, mine would’ve been a real little bit. I concurred with everything they were doing… but they were doing it. Bill has worked damn hard, as you know.
FAULK: He has and he still is. It if it makes you feel any better, I’m hoping that in the end you can look back at this and go “well at least something good came out of it” maybe you can say “maybe it wasn’t the biggest mistake I ever made.”
MAHEU: You don’t know how much I pray for that.
FAULK: I fully understand that and I know you really don’t pray for it for you own reputation but that …
MAHEU: Not at all. Mark, I’m old enough to know that you can’t go where I’ve been without leaving noses out of joint. But I’m not in the nose reparation business. You can’t go where I’ve been without being controversial.
FAULK: I totally agree with that. When was your last involvement with the company?
MAHEU: Boy… I think we may have been on a phone conversation months ago, just about the time we recommended that they go hire another law firm and try to get this matter into court.
FAULK: These are a couple of other rumors and I kinda probably know the answers to these already… One was — there was someone who claimed that there was a nephew of yours involved in CMKX in some way and I don’t know where that rumor came from…
MAHEU: It was worse than that, it was a grandson wasn’t it? Whatever. No, there is not.
FAULK: Either way the answer is no…
MAHEU: Unless it’s someone that goes back twenty years down the road…
FAULK: Nobody you know of then?
MAHEU: No.
FAULK: Another was that there was a Casavant in your family tree
MAHEU: That is absolutely true. My mother’s maiden name was Casavant.
FAULK: But you don’t know that she was related?
MAHEU: No.
FAULK: It has no connection to this story?
MAHEU: Not to my knowledge. My mother was born in Maine and her name was Casavant.
FAULK: That’s one of those trivia questions that’ll end up on a game.
MAHEU: That’s an odd name, they could be related.
FAULK: I think we’ve pretty much answered everything in there. Another one was…. I assume you have a tie-in with Steve Wynn. This vague rumor came out that you were brought in by Steve Wynn…but you’ve already answered that.
MAHEU: That I was brought in by Steve Wynn? No, he was never connected to my knowledge.
FAULK: I think that rumor came about because Steve Wynn had a little bit of a running feud going with a guy named Gary Walters, which is true. I’ve seen it on record, they were both fighting over a piece of land and Walters had some involvement with CMKX and people painted it as Steve Wynn getting even with Walters…who knows… all you need is two vague facts..
MAHEU: Steve is a good friend but… no.
FAULK: Some of these questions may sound stupid but I’m just pulling….I’m just trying to clear up some of the things that I hear.
MAHEU: I know how these things evolve…
FAULK: I know, I know.
MAHEU: The unfortunate thing about it, I was telling someone just the other day, the repetition of a lie becomes the truth, if it’s repeated often enough.
FAULK: Exactly, and with enough sincerity.
MAHEU: Exactly.
FAULK: That’s very true. I think you’ve pretty much answered everything.
MAHEU: Mark, you have my numbers. I invented 24/7, I’ve lived in that world all my life, so don’t hesitate to call me anytime.
FAULK: I appreciate that. And what I’ll do is put this together as I’m gonna use it in there and I’ll send you your whole little section of it. And again… you know how I’m gonna deal with it. I think you read people well enough. I don’t get the idea that you make mistakes of character very often.
MAHEU: No, I don’t. It’s a nice time to say that…and at the completion of this one.
(Both laughing)
FAULK: I appreciate all of your help on this and I know that the shareholders appreciate what you tried to do for them too. Last question—what are your hopes that will happen with this? What would you ideally love to see happen?
MAHEU: I’d love to see them get whole plus. I decided early on that I did not want any more salary and I continued on because…there is nothing that would please me more than to see them come out whole plus.
FAULK: I assume you know that there are some really bad guys involved with this thing, and I think Bill’s in a position where he wants to see some justice. He wants to see these people brought to justice. And I’m hoping that in the end you’ll be able to say well, I got involved in something that as you’ve said was maybe the biggest mistake you’ve ever made in business. But I hope that you can say something good came out of it in the end.
MAHEU: I really, really hope so. I don’t want a dime…
FAULK: That says a lot about your character. Well, I appreciate it, I don’t want to take any more of your time as of today. And if I come up with a random question I’ll call you back.
MAHEU: Don’t hesitate.
FAULK: I think you’ve covered everything and I really do appreciate it. And if you ever just get really bored and want to talk…you’re a pleasure to talk to. Thank you… I appreciate it.
The fact is that if you take 30 accounts each with 250 Bill shares, then we have a problem!
Thats 7,500,000,000,000
We have a huge problem with the SEC not catching this thing!
So the question is how many CMKX shares were offered ?
We want some answers.
According to Maheau:
Mike Williams called him and he wanted to know if he could stop by the house with Urban Casavant. At this point in time he did not know who UC even was but he did know Mike.
MW kept coming around Maheau with business ideas for years, but never ended up doing anything of the business sort till CMKX came along. It appears that MW was a friend of his all the way back to the Hughes days.
So the story is that Mike Williams brought Urban over to Maheau's house. They MW explained what he needs Maheau for and Maheua agreed to see them again at his house, providing they agreed to let Maheau bring in an attorneys. And they agreed, so Maheau brought in Don Stocklein.
So it appears that since the very beginning Stocklein was in on the whole thing. So Stocklein was brought in for corporate compliance.
Then a hearing took place in Los Angeles and Maheau was embarrassed because they ended up being asked the same questions that he was trying to get answers to for about two plus months.
Then Maheau really started putting the heat on the law firm to “crunch out the numbers that he need here.” to make CMKX complient, he kept getting reports that they could not crunch the numbers. Maheau finally told Don, “Don, when and if you are absolutely convinced that we cannot crunch the numbers enabling us to be compliant, I want you to tell me.” And when he did is when Maheau submitted his resignation.
So MW and UC were trying to get the numbers; They’d get the accounting group, and then their own people and they’d asked for numbers, and there was always some kind of delay. They just flat could not come up with the numbers. We all know why!
Maheau testified before the judge at the same hearing, said “it is possible they brought me in because of…” and he said “yes, that’s very possible.” because of his reputation.
Then Maheau said that As strange as it may seem, I do. I think UC's very naïve and shoots from the hip. And truly… many times I feel sorry for him. UC was living in a world of fantacy and wanted to do what was best for the shareholders.
John Edwards was selling a lot of CMKX stocks.
The NASD filed charges against a company called NevWest Securities, where John Edwards ran 250 billion shares of stock through NevWest.
John Edwards did it through about 30 different companies too. In other words he had separate accounts so it didn’t appear that he was running that much and he would run a little bit through each account, it was just a mess. The good news out of all of that is that I know for a fact that the FBI and the DOJ are doing major investigations into all of these people.
Maheau decided to decide to stay on the task force, because of the darn stuff that they needed to up with the best way to protect the stockholders. It was for them that Maheau recommended a law firm to bring in the authorities and to file with the federal court.
According to Maheau, Bill Frizzell is still working behind the scenes doing everything he can and it is someone he has respect and who he trusts completely to get the job done.
Maheau said that if the Cert count doesn’t happen he will do something to force the issue. He’ll do some sort of forced communications with people to get the job done and account for every share.
Maheau also admits that at the hearing he stated that he believes that the management level and the SEC at the time, had an obligation to protect the stockholders, and he got the impression that that was not what they were doing.
So Maheau believed the SEC was not doing their JOB!!!
Then Maheau went on ... Why was the SEC put in place in the first place? and he said that he thought the SEC's first obligation was to protect the stockholders. They have failed us!
Maheau and Peter(his son), who of course runs the Global Intelligence Network, talked about certain things, about how things were handled in the past and how we feel that there is a tendency today to handle it differently. They feel that there are too many people in law enforcement or regulatory bodies(SEC) today who begin with a conclusion. They do not logically arrive at one. He concludes the SEC has failed us!
Maheau said the SEC rationalizes their fallacious conclusion, and when they do that, and don’t give a damn, they're on a collision course.
Since the beginning Maheau worked with Bill Frizzell and John Martin and Don. As I say, Maheau concured that, he trusts Bill with anything. There’s never been a doubt in my mind that his whole participation was to protect the stockholders. Think about how many hours he put into this!!! No one would do that!
Maheau was doing everything possible to assist the shareholders because he was a man of his word!
Its strange that Maheaus's mother’s maiden name was Casavant, whats even more strange is that Maheau admits that his mother could be related to UC.
Maheau said he would love to see the CMKX shareholders get a whole plus. He decided early on that I did not want any more salary and continued on because…there is nothing that would please him more than to see them come out whole plus.
It may be possible that mobster Louie Ippolito was the person who set up the original meetings with Michael Williams preceding Maheu’s involvement with CMKM Diamonds!
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MAHEU: It was the same thing in the FBI, when I got in the bureau, one of the first assignments I had I created myself. I ended up getting a meritorious raise. That’s been my story, give me an assignment… Anyway, I took this one (CMKX) on with the same enthusiasm; I should’ve checked it out a hell of a lot more carefully before I did.
FAULK: Now originally, was it Stoecklein that came to you with this?
MAHEU: No. I was the one who brought Stoecklein in.
FAULK: Oh really? So where did you first hear of this?
MAHEU: I got a phone call from a guy…I can’t remember his name; he wanted to know if he could stop by the house with Urban Casavant.
FAULK: It wasn’t Mike Williams, was it?
MAHEU: Yes… yes, I had forgotten his last name.
FAULK: So….you knew Urban then?
MAHEU: No, I did not.
FAULK: You did not, but you knew Mike Williams?
MAHEU: Yes.
FAULK: And where did you know him from?
MAHEU: He kept popping up now and then with ideas and we never ended up doing anything of the business sort. He kept popping up with ideas, but nothing ever came to fruition that I can think of except this one.
FAULK: Does it make you glad that you didn’t do other deals with him?
MAHEU: Well, yes.
FAULK: What did you know about Williams?
MAHEU: Not anything really.
FAULK: How did you meet him?
MAHEU: That I cannot remember. So many of these things, a lot of them go back to the Hughes days. I get so damn many of those, Mark. People come up with ideas and very seldom are they worth following.
FAULK: And because of your name and reputation obviously anybody who has an idea goes “ok, I’ve got something, let’s go pitch it to Bob Maheu.” I’m sure you’ve been in great demand your whole life because of your reputation and your ability to make things happen. So, Mike Williams brought Urban over to your house, or your office…
MAHEU: To my house, I operate out of my house, although all my email goes to my son Peter’s office.
FAULK: Okay… Do you remember when that was approximately?
MAHEU: Quite a while ago and then I didn’t hear from him for a long time. Then they showed up again and I said ok, providing you let me bring in the attorneys. And they agreed, so I brought in Don.
FAULK: What were they telling you when they were coming over?
MAHEU: They had all this stuff and they needed someone to…they had not… well, I’m trying to think of exactly how they said it … they needed someone to put all of these problems together. They’d had some problems, they did have some regulatory problems, they wanted to know if I would help them take care of the past, and also, I made it very clear that I couldn’t guarantee what I could do about the past. But I would insist that from hence forward that they would be in compliance.
FAULK: Did they talk at all about the so called kind of bad guys that were in?
MAHEU: No
FAULK: So it was really just compliance issues and straightening up the regulatory mess.
MAHEU: Right. The deal that I have recollection of making is right along those same lines. I would do the best I could to rectify the past and that I would insist that everything had to be in the realm of compliance for the future.
FAULK: I was actually looking at a few of your quotes this morning and almost every one of them spoke of compliance and the regulatory agencies and how that’s what you appeared to brought in for, corporate compliance.
MAHEU: That’s right. Now, it didn’t take very long. First of all, Mark, when that hearing took place in Los Angeles I was so damned embarrassed because they ended up asking me the same questions that I’d been asking without getting any answers for about two plus months. Frankly, like Urban I was tempted to take the Fifth Amendment but that’s not my style. And for the sake of the stockholders I didn’t want to allow the only two directors to both take the Fifth Amendment.
FAULK: And obviously you had nothing to hide, you just didn’t have the knowledge that you wanted.
MAHEU: That’s right. I didn’t have the information, it was damned embarrassing. As I say, some of the questions were repetitious of what I’d been asking and then I realized that there were decisions made, or non-decisions made, with which I was not contacted or appraised. Anyway, then I really started putting the heat on the law firm. And you know “crunch out the numbers that I need here.” I kept getting reports that they could not crunch the numbers. Finally I told Don, “Don, when and if you are absolutely convinced that we cannot crunch the numbers enabling us to be compliant, I want you to tell me.” And when he did is when I submitted my resignation.
FAULK: Did he tell you why?
MAHEU: They kept trying to get the numbers; that I know. They’d get the accounting group, and then their own people and they’d asked for numbers, and there was always some kind of delay. They just flat could not come up with the numbers.
FAULK: So really you think that they were trying to dig up past information and people weren’t providing it to them.
MAHEU: Not only that, but current enough to comply with… Take the two separately for a moment, take the past …. They could not seem to put them together. But they couldn’t not keep the numbers that we needed from our entry into the organization up until the moment that I’m talking about. When Don said to me categorically, he said “Bob, there’s no doubt about it, we’re not going to be able to get the numbers together enabling us to comply.” That’s the day I submitted my resignation.
FAULK: Obviously the are so many stories that came out of this, that they brought you in to catch the bad guys, to orchestrate this big sting, and I guess the rumors, I can understand them because of your background.
MAHEU: Right.
FAULK: But that really wasn’t it at all.
MAHEU: Not at all. I made it very clear that …. And I testified before the judge at the same hearing, he said “is it possible they brought you in because of…” and I said “yes, that’s very possible.”
FAULK: That they brought you in because of your name.
MAHEU: That’s right.
FAULK: And that’s something that obviously you can only speculate on the reasons for that. Is it possible… and I guess this maybe goes into Urban, which we’ll get into that in a little bit anyway, but what are your feelings about him…Do you really believe he had the best interests of the shareholders at heart in this?
MAHEU: As strange as it may seem, I do. I think he’s very naïve and shoots from the hip. And truly… many times I feel sorry for him.
FAULK: I’ve heard that same thing from other people that have been involved with him that they believe that maybe he obviously made some mistakes along the way, and I have records that show that he made a lot of mistakes along the way. But that because of his own issues, whatever they may be, that maybe he wasn’t equipped to deal with a lot of things that happened.
MAHEU: Mark, how many people in your life have you seen, who without even realizing, live in a world of wishful thinking?
FAULK: A lot. There are a lot of shareholders in CMKX who are like that.
MAHEU: Reality does not exist in their world. I have been kinda weaned in that world because when Hughes… I was his alter ego for 15 years. When he went to the point of isolation I saw what lack of reality can do; it causes a lot of problems. It gets to the point where if they remove themselves from reality, unfortunately from that aspect reality exists in their minds… luckily, reality still exists outside. That happens, unfortunately.
FAULK: Do you think that happened with Urban to a degree then too?
MAHEU: Exactly.
FAULK: Honestly, unfortunately, I’ve known a lot of people in my life that I would describe as good hearts and bad habits. And from what I’ve learned about Urban it’s possible that he’s in that category.
MAHEU: Very much so.
FAULK: I know he dealt with, whether it’s gambling issues or drinking issues, I don’t even know what all… But the stories kinda point to that a little bit and that begins to cloud your judgment after a while to a large degree.
MAHEU: That’s right.
FAULK: Ok so, as you’re dealing with these people who did you come into contact along the way?
MAHEU: Not very many…that’s the uh… not every many. I was left out of a lot of things, like the decision to… I kept saying “When are you going to get an office?” Decisions were made without consulting with me.
FAULK: Did that lead you to believe that maybe they were kinda using you in name only to lend credibility to the company?
MAHEU: I had to have that feeling. I answered affirmatively when the judge asked me that question at the hearing. That was at the inception at this whole deal. I was what? Two plus months aboard at the time of the hearing, and not a hell of a lot longer.
FAULK: You’d been asking these same questions that the judge asked and not getting answers.
MAHEU: Right…
FAULK: And Stoecklein too then I assume was asking those questions.
MAHEU: Right.
FAULK: Ok, along the way, I’m trying to see what else we have here. There are a few other things that I could go over that were rumors but I could pretty much write them off. One was that there was a lot of talk about your son Peter being involved in Operation Bermuda Short.
MAHEU: Peter was not involved at all.
FAULK: I saw where that came from, there’s a Google search where he appeared at a convention and spoke with a guy who was involved in that. So somehow in that Google search they distorted the fact that Peter spoke at the same convention with a guy who was sheriff from Florida who was involved. And then they went “oh, Peter was involved in it.” But that’s the way the Google search showed up.
MAHEU: Peter does a lot of speeches on the Russian Mafia, and also on law enforcement as it applies to gaming.
FAULK: That’s exactly what this was; he was speaking on law enforcement and gaming at that one.
MAHEU: It’s a long distance to connect those two though.
FAULK: Yeah, exactly. They made some pretty good leaps on some of this stuff.
(Maheu and Faulk exchanged other contact numbers, etc.)
FAULK: Did you ever hear about John Edwards?
MAHEU: Yes
FAULK: What have you heard about him?
MAHEU: I may even have met him once, I’m not sure. Just that he was involved… he was buying stock or selling stock… Again, a lot of these things were never passed by me.
FAULK: Right. Well, as it turns out he was obviously selling stock and a lot of it. I don’t know if you’ve followed any of this since this. The NASD filed charges against a company called NevWest Securities, where John Edwards ran 250 billion shares of stock through NevWest.
MAHEU: Is that all?
FAULK: In that one that’s all, he may have even more than that somewhere else. And he did it through about 30 different companies too. In other words he had separate accounts so it didn’t appear that he was running that much and he would run a little bit through each account, it was just a mess. The good news out of all of that is that I know for a fact that the FBI and the DOJ are doing major investigations into all of these people. And I hope that they just come haul Edwards off and a few other people with him in the end. So, there could still be some justice here, it would be good, the shareholders do deserve that.
MAHEU: I’m still hoping that somehow… when I tell you that I resigned and forfeited all the back pay that they owed me, frankly, I just wanted the hell out. But I did stay on the task force.
FAULK: What made you decide to stay on the task force?
MAHEU: Because of the darn stuff that we needed to up with the best way to protect the stockholders. It was for them to recommend a law firm to bring in the authorities and to file with the federal court. By the way, I understand it has not taken place yet and I don’t know why.
FAULK: It has not, and between you and me Bill Frizzell is still behind the scenes doing everything he can. Bill is somebody who I just have the utmost respect for.
MAHEU: I do too, I do too.
FAULK: I think he has done a phenomenal job on that. Now, will that happen? We will see. I will say this; he has stayed involved enough that if it doesn’t happen he will do something to force the issue. He’ll do what you were talking about earlier; there will be some forced communications with people because of Bill Frizzell, he very much has been involved.
MAHEU: Oh good.
FAULK: I assume you probably know that Kevin West was brought on board at one stage?
MAHEU: Yes, right.
FAULK: I think he is in that same position, I don’t know if you have spoken to him since he became the interim CEO, but I think he’s in the same position where he’s in there maybe like you were and he’s just trying to find out what’s really going on. And then he’ll base his decisions more or less on what he can do to help the shareholders.
MAHEU: I hope they have to report before the court because that is needed.
FAULK: I agree with that completely. I think in the end that will be the only way that the truth comes out is for them to push it into the courts and the judge to step up and say enough is enough now let’s get it all out there. What about the SEC? What was your involvement with them? What are your feelings on how they’ve dealt with this?
MAHEU: Well, I don’t quite get this question.
FAULK: I’ve covered the issue of stock market fraud and naked short selling and stock counterfeiting over the last three years quite a bit and I’ve always had the impression that many times the SEC would just as soon kinda bury the companies and make it go away and I very much had that feeling in this particular issue but again from your viewpoint, do you feel like they were operating in the best interest of the shareholders?
MAHEU: I kept saying at that same hearing that I felt that they and we, and by we I mean those that were at the so-called management level at the time, had an obligation to protect the stockholders, and I was inferring that sometimes I get the impression that that was not what they were doing. I hope that answers your question.
FAULK: Yeah, it does. Sometimes it’s hard to tell if they are doing it maliciously or are they just kind of following the letter of the law. That’s a gray area where I obviously have my own opinions about how, not just in this case but how they’ve dealt with…
MAHEU: Why was the SEC put in place in the first place? I thought the first obligation they had was to protect the stockholders.
FAULK: Exactly. And theoretically that is true. I haven’t always seen it play out way and not just in this instance but in hundreds of companies. Very many times I’ve had them just say the easiest approach is to just make it go away.
MAHEU: I don’t know if you have the same feeling as I do, but my youngest son is the number 2 man on the police force in San Diego. He and I and Peter, who of course runs the Global Intelligence Network, we talk about certain things, about how things were handled in the past and how we feel that there is a tendency today to handle it differently. We feel that there are too many people in law enforcement or regulatory bodies today who begin with a conclusion. They do not logically arrive at one.
FAULK: So in other words you think they have a conclusion and then they try to find the facts to back up their preconceived…
MAHEU: They’ve got to rationalize their fallacious conclusion, and when you do that, Mark, and I don’t give a damn, you may be the smartest thing since 7-up, but you’re on a collision course.
FAULK: You’ve already clouded your objectivity, basically.
MAHEU: Exactly.
FAULK: That makes perfect sense. So, you got talked into staying on for the task force, at that phase who were you dealing with mainly? Was it Urban?
MAHEU: Oh, no.
FAULK: Was it Bill Frizzell?
MAHEU: It was Bill Frizzell and John Martin and Don. As I say, I concur with you, I trust Bill with anything. There’s never been a doubt in my mind that his whole participation was to protect the stockholders.
FAULK: I agree with that. And the same thing with John…
MAHEU: Exactly…and West too.
FAULK: I agree with that. I think that despite the bashing that everybody takes at one time or another, I don’t know why that people can’t understand that there are certain people you can trust and those are the three people that I go “I know I can trust them, I know I can trust you, everybody else I’m not so sure about.” But there are certain people that you can say “these people are on your side. At least acknowledge that.” Whether everybody agrees with their actions is another story.
MAHEU: That’s right. I have never claimed to pass the test of perfection, you know.
FAULK: Yeah, once you do that then you’re in big trouble. So really, you were involved with the task force, a little bit or a lot?
MAHEU: A little bit. Compared to what Bill was doing, if you compare it to that, and what John was doing, mine would’ve been a real little bit. I concurred with everything they were doing… but they were doing it. Bill has worked damn hard, as you know.
FAULK: He has and he still is. It if it makes you feel any better, I’m hoping that in the end you can look back at this and go “well at least something good came out of it” maybe you can say “maybe it wasn’t the biggest mistake I ever made.”
MAHEU: You don’t know how much I pray for that.
FAULK: I fully understand that and I know you really don’t pray for it for you own reputation but that …
MAHEU: Not at all. Mark, I’m old enough to know that you can’t go where I’ve been without leaving noses out of joint. But I’m not in the nose reparation business. You can’t go where I’ve been without being controversial.
FAULK: I totally agree with that. When was your last involvement with the company?
MAHEU: Boy… I think we may have been on a phone conversation months ago, just about the time we recommended that they go hire another law firm and try to get this matter into court.
FAULK: These are a couple of other rumors and I kinda probably know the answers to these already… One was — there was someone who claimed that there was a nephew of yours involved in CMKX in some way and I don’t know where that rumor came from…
MAHEU: It was worse than that, it was a grandson wasn’t it? Whatever. No, there is not.
FAULK: Either way the answer is no…
MAHEU: Unless it’s someone that goes back twenty years down the road…
FAULK: Nobody you know of then?
MAHEU: No.
FAULK: Another was that there was a Casavant in your family tree
MAHEU: That is absolutely true. My mother’s maiden name was Casavant.
FAULK: But you don’t know that she was related?
MAHEU: No.
FAULK: It has no connection to this story?
MAHEU: Not to my knowledge. My mother was born in Maine and her name was Casavant.
FAULK: That’s one of those trivia questions that’ll end up on a game.
MAHEU: That’s an odd name, they could be related.
FAULK: I think we’ve pretty much answered everything in there. Another one was…. I assume you have a tie-in with Steve Wynn. This vague rumor came out that you were brought in by Steve Wynn…but you’ve already answered that.
MAHEU: That I was brought in by Steve Wynn? No, he was never connected to my knowledge.
FAULK: I think that rumor came about because Steve Wynn had a little bit of a running feud going with a guy named Gary Walters, which is true. I’ve seen it on record, they were both fighting over a piece of land and Walters had some involvement with CMKX and people painted it as Steve Wynn getting even with Walters…who knows… all you need is two vague facts..
MAHEU: Steve is a good friend but… no.
FAULK: Some of these questions may sound stupid but I’m just pulling….I’m just trying to clear up some of the things that I hear.
MAHEU: I know how these things evolve…
FAULK: I know, I know.
MAHEU: The unfortunate thing about it, I was telling someone just the other day, the repetition of a lie becomes the truth, if it’s repeated often enough.
FAULK: Exactly, and with enough sincerity.
MAHEU: Exactly.
FAULK: That’s very true. I think you’ve pretty much answered everything.
MAHEU: Mark, you have my numbers. I invented 24/7, I’ve lived in that world all my life, so don’t hesitate to call me anytime.
FAULK: I appreciate that. And what I’ll do is put this together as I’m gonna use it in there and I’ll send you your whole little section of it. And again… you know how I’m gonna deal with it. I think you read people well enough. I don’t get the idea that you make mistakes of character very often.
MAHEU: No, I don’t. It’s a nice time to say that…and at the completion of this one.
(Both laughing)
FAULK: I appreciate all of your help on this and I know that the shareholders appreciate what you tried to do for them too. Last question—what are your hopes that will happen with this? What would you ideally love to see happen?
MAHEU: I’d love to see them get whole plus. I decided early on that I did not want any more salary and I continued on because…there is nothing that would please me more than to see them come out whole plus.
FAULK: I assume you know that there are some really bad guys involved with this thing, and I think Bill’s in a position where he wants to see some justice. He wants to see these people brought to justice. And I’m hoping that in the end you’ll be able to say well, I got involved in something that as you’ve said was maybe the biggest mistake you’ve ever made in business. But I hope that you can say something good came out of it in the end.
MAHEU: I really, really hope so. I don’t want a dime…
FAULK: That says a lot about your character. Well, I appreciate it, I don’t want to take any more of your time as of today. And if I come up with a random question I’ll call you back.
MAHEU: Don’t hesitate.
FAULK: I think you’ve covered everything and I really do appreciate it. And if you ever just get really bored and want to talk…you’re a pleasure to talk to. Thank you… I appreciate it.
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