An unvarnished blog that dips into the past and comments on the present of WBAI-FM, a once significant, intelligent New York radio station that for years has suffered chronic abuse from within and now nears extinction. Your comments are welcomed and will not be censored.
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ReplyDeleteIn cases such as this one—where several attempts have been made to contact the station and register a complaint—I definitely recommend bringing the matter to the attention of the Better Business Bureau and whatever authority needs to know of such fraudulent practices. Ms. Bathe is clearly not the sole victim. In fact this sort of thing goes back several years and is—as I understood it—one reason why Reimers was hired; he was supposed to fix things as best he could, but he only made them worse. Why he was hired, not having any radio experience, is a mystery, but it is compounded by the the equally important question: why is he still there?
ReplyDeleteAs we see, assuming that this "premium"was sold for $250, a shipping and handling fee of $3.42 has been added. This makes matter even more serious—an obvious fraud that, like other truths, the WBAI management doesn't want to hear about. Ms. Bathe is owed a refund, interest, and an apology. She will receive none of that unless this goes to the proper authorities. In the meantime, I will do my best to bring it to the attention of media—perhaps the only way to rid WBAI of Reimers and his ilk is to arouse public outrage.
So I am certainly not a fan of this Reimers character. I think he is a jackass and a opportunist. But this whole mess with premiums not being send out did not exactly start on his watch. Problems with premium fulfillment go way back in to the early 1980s. With that kind of track record, I am surprised that after all these years anyone actually expects to see a WBAI premium show up in their mail box!
DeleteJust saying....
I’m not an attorney, nor do I pretend to be expert with respect to the legal definitions of fraud or the possible applicability of the laws with respect to criminal conspiracy to commit fraud. The thought occurs to me, however, that a number of assertions routinely made against WBAI and by extension Pacifica and their respective managements might rise to the level of criminal fraud and/or conspiracy to commit such fraud and therefore might be of interest to the Office of Attorney General of the State of New York in the person of Eric T Schneiderman.
ReplyDeleteA number of folks have asserted that individuals with management responsibility have misdirected funds for their own benefit while directing and/or participating in the fund-raising activities of the station and/or Pacifica, which are, of course, non-profits, and that Pacifica has allowed this conduct to continue for some time.
Similarly, a number of folks have asserted that the station (and by extension Pacifica) has colluded with the promoters of various clearly extremely dubious and/or fraudulent ‘cures’ for the financial benefit of individuals in management by virtue of their misdirection of funds as well as the benefit of the promoters of these ‘cures.’
There are consistent assertions that WBAI and by extension Pacifica have consistently and knowingly raised funds in substantial part by promising premiums which they had every good reason to know were unlikely to actually be delivered to contributors.
As I say, I’m not an attorney, and don’t pretend to be an expert in this area.
I would imagine, however, that if any person or persons of serious intent is prepared to bring these assertions to Mr Schneiderman’s office for review and possible investigation by staff of the Attorney General of the State of New York as to possible criminal and/or criminal conspiracy charges it might be appropriate and justified.
~ Indigo Pirate
The web site of the Attorney General is: www.ag.ny.gov
Thank you, Indigo. There really needs to be a thorough investigation of WBAI/Pacifica. It hurts me to say this, but—as has so often been pointed out—the station is essentially already dead. The fact that they keep someone like Reimers on and allow people like Kathy and Robert Knight to continue broadcasting their blather only strengthens my belief that Andrew Phillips is beating a dead horse.
DeleteOne wonders how many victims of fundraising scams there have been. Quite a few, I imagine; we hear them call on the air, we don't see their letters and e-mail, but we know that they are not isolated cases. Ms. Bathe's case has not rattled Dingeman and LeFevre, but I hope it wakes Phillips up and makes him think twice before doing anything more for a station that protects its crooks. That sounds harsh, but crooks is what they are.
I am not surprised that this has had little response on the BlueBoard—I hope that changes. Well, there is that idiot troll who wants all Arabs dead—she is "reserving judgement" until she finds out what the premium in question is. That's the kind of sick mentality WBAI has been attracting.
I hope the Attorney General's office receives many letters, and I don't have sympathy for these people—they have had years in which to do the right thing.
There are a lot of disgruntled folks, including those who have been laid off – and the AG’s Office, of course, has the power to subpoena, and to open the books.
Delete~ Indigo Pirate
Thank you Indigo Pirate for this information.
DeleteBelow are three other useful addresses for filing complaints about WBAI:
https://esupport.fcc.gov/ccmsforms/form2000!onSubmitFormE.action
http://www.cpb.org/contact/contact.html
http://www.cpb.org/ombudsman/
TPM
B-b-but I thought we weren't supposed to pledge for the premiums. I thought it was all about the station's mission and the dedicated folks who carry it out. That, and to keep such estimable talents as Kathy Davis and Christine Blosdale--not to mention such timeless professionals as Robert Knight--on the air.
ReplyDelete(Sigh)
Justine,
ReplyDeleteI’m disappointed in you: you have it ass-backwards. WBAI only exists as a delivery system to bring us magic water, herbal cancer cures, sexual-potency enhancing oils, and DVDs about the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, flying saucers, applied Scientology, astrology, homeopathy, and post-slavery traumatic acne syndrome. And, oh yes, the tedious, interminable speeches of that beloved Baptist minister who had a dream.
Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Igor Stravinsky had dreams too; and they didn’t need some hack speech writer to write a sermon about it for them.
Mission? Isn’t that a kind of fig?
TPM
TPM-- Mea culpa. (That's Latin for "my bad".)
ReplyDelete