I met Monty Hundley (pictured at right) when I working as assistant controller at Loews Paradise Island Hotel and Villas in the Bahamas. Monty was a dynamic young guy, about the same age as I, who was at the time interviewing for the open position of Managing Director. Already a talented resort manager well before age 30, he began his working career as a CPA and later gained significant management experience in Nevada’s gaming resorts. Interviewing well, Monty easily won the managing director job at Paradise Island at the age of 29.
That was back in 1974. Hundley quickly gained the respect and admiration of the resort’s staff, the islanders, and Loews Corporation executives. He was a man on the way up. Some might have considered him brash, flamboyant, and cocksure, but they could never argue with his results. Personally, I enjoyed working with him and for him for two years. Yeah, we had our share of disagreements, including one that impelled him to offer to “take [me] down to the beach and kick [my] ass.” Whatever inspired that was fleeting, but probably justifed in view of my confrontational nature. We got over it. I never lost respect for Monty, his achievements, and his ability. Since last seeing Monty in 1976, I have had no further contact with him; nevertheless, I was certain that Monty would succeed in whatever he undertook—I knew that he would always be on top of the heap.
With that in mind, it was inconceivable to me that Monty’s life would ever turn sour. Accordingly, it was with shocked dismay that I learned of his indictment for bank fraud sometime in 2003. I followed his case as closely as I could from what I could piece together on the Web. Ultimately, I was further saddened to learn that in 2005, Monty was sentenced to eight years in prison for bank fraud and tax evasion. The heap he was on top of was a heap of trouble.
Alas, this is the story of a good life gone bad.
Back in 1974, Monty took over the helm of a resort in decline. The departing managing director had overridingly emphasized cost cutting, resulting in a moribund operation replete with staff morale problems. Hundley turned that all around—quickly, too. At the time, I was too young and naïve to realize what others had quickly recognized—that he was a resort marketing and management genius.
I benefited personally from my association with Monty Hundley. He supported me, he promoted me, he gave me a better salary than the home office in New York wanted me to have, and he taught me a helluva lot about the hotel business and about business in general.
In late 1975 or early 1976, Hundley was promoted to a regional management position in the Loews home office in New York. By that time, I had been promoted to controller (Monty having been instrumental in my promotion) but I was rapidly becoming disenchanted with my future prospects in the wake of Monty’s departure. Both of my supervisors—locally, the new managing director and in New York, the regional controller—were heavy handed, condescending boors who tended to expect lots while giving little.
Besides, I had “island fever.” I had been on “the rock” for almost five years. I was ready to return to the United States. A back spasm laid me up for a few days, giving me the time I needed to think about it. In a rather stupid and immature move, I summarily resigned in April 1976 and left the island shortly thereafter. (It was later divulged to me by people in the know that Monty had campaigned for and had received tacit approval for my transfer to Monte Carlo, but that’s another story completely!)
Not long after I left the Bahamas, I ran into Monty once more, in New York. I haven’t seen him since then.
Through the grapevine, I later learned that Monty had made a lot of money on Resorts International stock shortly before gambling was legalized in Atlantic City, where Resorts either had built or was planning to build gambling resorts. Resorts International was the landlord for Paradise Island, and its genesis in the period following Castro’s takeover in Cuba was rumored to have had ties to organized crime. Back then, it was known as the Mary Carter Paint Company. Later, it became a legitimate enterprise that was ultimately sold to Merv Griffin, who subsequently sold it to Coca Cola. At the Paradise Island complex, Loews had a close relationship with Resorts, and through that relationship, no doubt, Monty became attuned to the potential run-up in the stock.
Later, probably around 1980, I heard that Hundley had purchased a hotel in New York City. That was the last I heard about him and his exploits for over two decades. By 1980, I had changed careers. I was busy getting some formal education in my new field, and I lost interest in the hotel and resort business.
It wasn’t until more than 20 years later that my curiosity drove me to search the Web for information about Monty. Unfortunately, I gleaned the most information about him from a U.S. Department of Justice press release.
Monty and I were like two ships passing in the night. My ship was a slow, rusty freighter, while Monty’s was a luxury cruise on the Titanic. While I was busy becoming a born-again geek, life in the fast lane had sucked Monty into a vortex that would ultimately lead to his downfall.
What caused this dynamic, brilliant hotel executive to go sour? Was it the same sort of greed that brought down Enron and Worldcom? Was he indeed the “mastermind” as the DOJ press release states, or did he succumb to the greedy wishes of his partners? Were the fraudulent schemes pursued out of desperation, or did the partners develop them over time? We might never know the answers to these questions. Speculate about them if you wish after reading my synopsis of the court’s findings.
Hundley formed a partnership with Stanley Tollman, another hotel entrepreneur. Through the 1980s and 1990s, Tollman-Hundley Hotels grew to own one hundred hotels in the United States. Somewhere along the line, Hundley and others became owners of Days Inn of America. The expansion was funded largely by bank loans, many of which were personally guaranteed by Tollman and Hundley. Some of these loans fell into default, resulting in a restructuring of the debt—over $100 million—in the early 1990s. Tollman and Hundley signed deficiency notes that made them personally liable for the loans. Around the same time, they sold Days Inn of America to Hospitality Franchise Systems (HFS), which later became Cendant. As a condition of an agreement related to the sale, HFS issued them more than a million shares of stock between 1993 and 1995, which Hundley and Tollman subsequently sold. At this point, one would think that Hundley and Tollman could have used the proceeds to repay the personally guaranteed loans. Alas, they didn’t. Instead, they concocted a plan to systematically defraud their creditors.
Along with other principals of their company (or companies), Hundley and Tollman devised an elaborate fraud. According to the Department of Justice press release of February 4, 2004, “[Hundley and Tollman] (1) falsely represented to Hundley and Tollman’s creditors that Hundley and Tollman were broke and lacked the means to repay their debts; and (2) duped the creditors into selling those debts, at a steep discount, to purportedly unrelated third parties who, the evidence showed, were in fact sham entities controlled and funded by Hundley and Tollman.”
Hundley and Tollman could have used $100 million derived from the sale of HFS stock to pay off their debts (they even had a cheap iva on their debts), which would have allowed this story to conclude on a happier note. However, instead, Hundley and Tollman convinced the bankers to whom they owed $100 million that they were broke. The financial statements they employed to make such a convincing case omitted several major assets, including not only the $100 million HFS stock sale proceeds but also Tollman’s multimillion dollar homes in Palm Beach and on Park Avenue in Manhattan, Hundley’s multimillion dollar house in Bedford, New York, and Tollman and Hundley’s interest in various businesses they controlled.
Then, to make a long story short, Hundley and Tollman, along with several others who were involved with the company (and who were also indicted), convinced the banks that they had found a group of “European investors” who were willing to purchase the debt at a deep discount, mere pennies on the dollar. The group of companies turned out to be owned by Hundley and Tollman. Having convinced the banks that they were bankrupt, an intermediary engaged by Hundley and Tollman presented this “offer you can’t refuse” on behalf of the “European investors” to the banks, which was accepted. Hundley and Tollman apparently then used some of the cash obtained in the HFS stock sale to buy the discounted loans through their secretly owned companies.
In addition to the bank fraud just described, Hundley was convicted of several personal tax charges, including tax evasion and filing false returns. The evidence showed that Hundley had filed no tax returns from at least 1974 until the start of the investigation in 1996. Apparently, once he knew he was under investigation, he filed returns for the years 1995 through 1999, but omitted disclosing a secret bank account in the Channel Islands.
In April of 2005, Monty Hundley was sentenced to 96 months in prison for defrauding a dozen creditors out of $100 million and defrauding the IRS out of taxes on more than $29 million of income. Other associates were sentenced as well, but Tollman fled the country and remains a fugitive. Hundley was also ordered to pay $106 million in restitution to the creditors, and $5.4 million to the IRS. A $44 million forfeiture order was entered against him, which allows to government to seize certain assets. Initially, Hundley was ordered to surrender his interest in a multi-million dollar company he controlled through a revocable trust in the name of his son.
I liked Monty, who had a lasting and positive impact on my life. He was a bright young guy with a bright future who would have succeeded in whatever endeavors in which he might have engaged had he taken the legitimate route. What caused him to take the low road? We will probably never know, unless he uses his prison time to write a book about his rise and fall. Did he deserve this punishment? That is not for me to decide. He has been tried and convicted. Unless appeals are forthcoming, he is going to jail for a long time. As well, I fear that the investigation, the lengthy trial, and now probably eight years in prison—in all, 17 years of hell, coupled with losing much if not all of his wealth—might conspire to transform this once ferocious tiger into a tired old cat. I hope not. I am pulling for him to maintain his strong spirit; I am betting that even at the age of 68, at which time he will once again be a free man, he will still have the drive and the desire to come out on top.
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John Romero says
Ben, Your stuff is well-written and amazingly complete. I did a story on Monty in June. Go to romeromarketing.com and scroll down to the News Archives. Once at the archives, click June, 2005, and you’ll find the piece I did. From reading your story it sounds as if we both liked and admired Monty. Too bad the ending is so sad.
On another subject, Ben, my wife and I are building an unusual home south of Denver. It’s so different that we’ve set up a large website at wwww.welcometolongtree.com, and have attracted some sponsor interest. I think you’ll get a few smiles when you see it. If you could give us a plug on your blog I’d really appreciate it. Thanks much and let me know if I can ever help. John R
Greg Hundley says
Ben, your entry was very well written. I’ve spent most of the past four years with Monty on an almost daily basis, and it has always been a welcome refreshment amid the turmoil to hear from those that have had the opportunity to get to know him on a personal level. The impressions he has left on those people (and myself) are almost invariably the same. It’s sometimes almost too easy to forget that. Thanks for the great read. – Greg H.
By the way, Go Buckeyes! (OSU ’93).
John OBrien says
Mr Hundley, as i knew him was always a great inspiration, his generous nature and kind ability was always out front. He will always be a prince among Kings
Patrick Smith says
GREG!
You never call, you never write…….
Patrick
Inside Info says
After working for TRAVEL CORPORATION for a while it was obvious these guys are crooks. They still are! They own aat Kings, Contiki, Trafalgar, Insight Tours, Busabout, Red Carnation Hotels and many other fronts for their Money laundering.
Their bosses openly wore solid gold rolxes they had received as gifts and the GM worked from Bermuda.
They where so stupid they even invited Bank of Canada managers to their major functions and would get them to bring in large scale cash amounts for them off the books.
Its great to see they all get what they deserved BUT I know for a fact they are still using these other companies and are not paying tax on them either. It all guys via Bank of Canada Bermuda and Guernsey.
People go to Jail for theft. These guys deserve the electric chair .BUT THEY HAVE TOO MANY HIGH UP CONTACTS.
TOLLMAN FLED IN HIS OWN JET OUT OF THE USA WHEN HE WAS TIPPED OFF HE WOULD BE IN TROUBLE!
Brett tollman was a spoilt momies boy. Im sure in Jail he will make somone a nice girlfriend.
The problem is when he gets out they still have a lot of money hidden.
Inside Info says
Nearly forgot, many of your writers say how nice these guys are.
I recently read a great true story of neighbour of a mass murderer. He had always loved the guy as a pal and a beacon in the business community… played golf with him… thought he was so great in the community……
Think about it. ALL CRIMINALS DESERVE THEIR PUNISHMENT NO MATTER WHAT LOVELY GUYS WE REMEMBER THEM AS.
The Nittany Turkey says
I do agree with you that nobody is above the law — Nixon proved that.
I’m not at all condoning bank fraud. I wrote this piece as a remembrance of Monty Hundley as I knew him. I don’t know whether or not he ever skirted the law back then.
Well, I do know that he stopped filing income tax returns while I knew him 30 years ago, but as an expatriate living abroad back then our first $30,000 was exempt from U.S. income tax (nevertheless, we were supposed to file returns with a declaration of foreign exempt income). His salary was not much more than $30K at the time, so I didn’t think much of it.
I have a Rolex myself, but I didn’t get it from Hundley-Tollman. I got it the old fashioned way—from a pawn shop, in 1966.
—TNT
Ann Marie Lynch says
Brett Tollman is a kind and warmhearted gentleman. I hope he can get past this and have a wonderful life.
tony sypa says
i also worked for travcorp for 5 years….. brett tollman was a good man and an honorable person and although a millionaire he never flaunted …. gavin tollman on the other hand was a shithead… a nice shithead and a decent ceo but a shithead nonetheless … and it seems gavin is a bit of a coward also, the way he ran to toronto to avaidarrest …. at least brett took it like a man….. but worst part of it all to me … here you have millionaires cheating on thier taxes… as if they couldn’t afford to just pay them… that my friends is the hieght of greed
but the whole travcorp company stinks from the head down… the way they closed up the nyc office and lied to it’s employee’s about it until it happened … the way they fired an employee for the sex harass complaints by two best friends to get even with an employee who spurned them…. the way thier wuss of a president john severini gave that employee no chance to defend himself… hey i could on and on .. that company sucks and i’m glad i no longer work for them ..
former employee says
well that weasel gavin tollman got away with it on a technicality…… brett does time but gavin doesn’t?… no justice in this world …
and yes tony what those girls did to you was not right… i hope they all rot in hell, the whole no good lot of them
Former TTC (canada) employee says
The US department of justice has been accused of using heavy handed tactics, and the HLS (intended to defend the country from terrorist attacks) to go after an individual for IRS irregularities. I am not a millionaire, and I have no idea what is in my Income tax claim forms. I am certain Gavin Tollman does not do his own taxes. If there were discrepancies in income taxes, the IRS and Mr Tollman’s Lawyer/Accountant should have worked out the details. Mr. Tollman was not in the US, he did not flee to Canada. He was followed from Bermuda to Toronto. Us Officials requested Mr. Tollman be detained, is as uncomfortable conditions as possible. Hopefull being denied access to his work, friends and family. He would waive his rights, and turn himself over to the US authorities. The US authorities were more interested in revenge than in justice. I have know Mr Tollman for most of the time he was in Canada. He was very professional. He took an interest in the little people. From the receptionist to the the graphic artists. Gavin Tollman is a class act. No one is perfect. Tony, listen you yourself. “I was accused of something, and not given a chance to defend myself” Sounds like what happened to Mr. Tollman. There are serious problems at TTC. The Toronto IT department was 15-19 people. In less that 2 years more than 19 people left. They are not the last ones to leave. There is always 2 sides to every story. Very important to look at the facts.
tony sypa says
a fact i know…. keisha fenty, the office receptionist, who used to sit right outside his office next to annabella his secratary … gavin once had her sign his wife’s name on his tax form … tax fraud right there and he knew what he was doing …. also as the former it guy working on the accounting pc’s, there was alot of confidential stuff i was privvy to …. monies were certainly being diverted … don’t really know the how’s and why’s, but something was going on, and masefield, the tollman’s were all in on it …. it just kind of burns me up because i work hard, and i pay my taxes .. he’s a millionaire and tax cheat .. like i said… the height of greed ….
while i don’t agee with the authorities and thier heavy handed methods … you want to speak of justice …. then he should have come here and defended himself against the charges instead of running …. you can’t tell me he wasn’t guilty …. method of capture aside, to drop the extradition totally is not justice either. and why would gavin avoid the u.s. if he wasn’t guilty? brett was a standup guy, admitted what he did, and took his punishment like a man … gavin hid and continues to hide a wuss.
personally, like i said he was a bit of a shithead, but he was an alright guy … i actually liked him alot and learned from him what i could … and not just in business matters … he enjoyed a joke and was very aproachable … i would have gone through walls had he asked me to ….. which is why i was very dissapointed when they allowed me to be let go without inquiring into the full story of [deleted]’s and [deleted]’s friendship, and thier conspiracy to get me fired. i feel had they known what was really going on it wouldn’t have happened and i would have had my justice. they’re lucky i didn’t sue because i would have won. yeah i’m bitter about it only because it was so unfair, and these two nasty girls got away with it. it was the ultimate betrayal but someone who until the day it happened, i thought was my friend. … if you don’t know the whole story… write me at tony_sypa@yahoo.com and i’ll tell ya all about it from start to finish. but let’s just say [deleted] and [deleted] should both pray for my continued health … if a doctor ever tells me i have six months to live………………
and as far as the turnover in the it department … the global it director is the biggest azzhole i have ever met in my life and i’m not exagerating. he knew little about how an it dept functions, didn’t know how to deal with people, it’s no surprise people keep quitting on him. what surprises me is no one higher up, mr. ness or someone like that, hasn’t caught on to him and fired him
former longtime nyc employee says
i worked for trafalgar in nyc for more than 6 years.
tony, your a trip.what you should have said is ” if a doctor ever tells me i got 6 months to live…. and i do smoke cigarettes” ,lol maybe they’ll put you in a cell with anthony forbes.but seriously tony, you are too friendly and too trusting and you trusted the wrong girl. you have to watch it with your flirt routine because some girls take it seriously and you might be leading someone on when you don’t mean to, ****** had a crush on you and hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
but this site isn’t about tony.
miss canada…. in my department we used to make laugh at gavin and call him ” dr no” . him and brett reminded us of some sort of james bond villian. suave, personable, sophisticated. but all the while evil. the fact is they were diverting income made at traf to offshore accounts to avoid paying taxes. the older tollman’s borrowed money from banks with no intention of paying it back. they were millionaire thieves. they even screwed the city on taxes, they caught a 9/11 tax break when they moved to long island city, the city gave these incentives to keep the businesses and jobs in nyc.they were supposed to stay for ten years. they didn’t, so they cheated the government, new york city, and the employees. and they knew the jig was up. when it first came out that they were investigating the tollsmans a whole bunch of executives, joan molloy, leon smith, maureen van metter, they all ran to austrailia. they knew what was going on and ran. and i remember the pc in magda’s office, nobody was allowed to touch the ” special” pc, only kenny thomas, jay schmitt,( who was a tollman cousin) tony and rex. the people magda trusted. i just hope innocent people like magda were’nt caught up and in trouble for the tollman’s crap too. and remember the guy who was supposed to take magda’s place? he quit after a month becuase he wanted no part of the funny books cooking they didand make no mistake miss canada, gavin was tipped off that he was going to be arrested and got out of the usa before they could. i just don’t want you thinking, because he faked being a nice guy he was innocent. i remember something he once said while tony and ray were trying to fix the credit card pc that was down. he told them to get the machine fixed fast because, his exact words, ” money is king” i still get a chill when i hear him say those words knowing what i know now.
as a matter of fact the whole culture at trafalgar was decadent. who was sleeping with who, love triangles among exucutives, the guys in the IT department having orgie’s after everyone went home, having sex on gavin’s desk. sexual harassment suits against the creepy director of IT who hit on every girl at the christmas party. brett’s dog pissing all over the place at the office.there was a girl in res who used to prostitue herself for lunchtime romps for cash. it was like sodom and gammorah in there. and what do you expect from a company who’s president was married to his first cousin. talk about keeping the money in the family.
no he was guilty honey, and he got away with it. if he was innocent why did he run and why won’t he come stand trial? i’m just surprised because it’s a family owned business, the irs didn’t take it away from them.
merry christmas everyone !
S. says
Where is Gavin now? And, is Stanley and Beatrice Tollman still in jail in the UK or where are they?
Thanks.
SN says
JUST TRYING TO FIND OUT IF ANYONE HAS HEARD WHERE WYNN TOLLMAN IS?
SN says
Having worked very closely w/Bea Tollman for over 2 1/2 years, I do know that Brett’s every action was in an effort to please both his mother and his father. It is just like Brett to have plead guilty instead of trying to escape justice–I am certain his involvement was due to him being pressured. Brett was extremely polite, always a gentleman, and genuinely kind. He seemed always long for normalcy, instead of having to fill a “role”. Wynn, on the other hand, did live his own way. Wynn was also kind and personable. He was kind of sad, though. He expressed a lot through his poetry. Seemed as if both brothers were conflicted. I do wonder what happened to Wynn…
iig says
yes, I have seen Wynn and I believe he is a fair, smart, decent man who has always treated me well. I cannot speak about the other family members.
SN says
Is Wynn OK? Where is he and what is he doing these days? Is there a different site through which I can find out what he’s doing, and whether or not he has published any of his poetry?
long ago ex tt employee says
nobody has mentioned dr. tollman. he was one wacky fella. i’ll never forget walking down the corridor at 23rd street and seeing the sunlight reflect off the glass top of his cane, projecting dots of light across the corridor. then seeing him sit in his chair facing the corridor with a blank stare on his face, looking right through you. weird. nice guy too, big football fan.
my thoughts on gavin, brett the whole thing: gavin was a nice guy and a good business man, AND NOW A FELON ON THE LAMB. i’m sorry but i agree with tony…. i’m pissed this arrogant millionaire, who getting a small raise from was like pulling teeth, would steal from my country and then run and hide. so in answer to the question that started this blog: yes a nice person can hide evil secrets. in the case of this family it was greed.
i felt so bad for brett the nicest one of them all, had to suffer for his family. it was the father they wanted, and that coward who is still fighting extradition, threw his son under the bus to escape it himself. the mom and dad are in london, losing thier extradition battle. i hope they all recieve justice for thier crime.
by the way… many years ago i partied with wynn … the reason his poetry was so good is the same reason he did cocaine, he has internal struggles going on inside him. another nice guy though. i hope someone will announce if they find any of his poems published.
The Nittany Turkey says
Actually, to set the record straight, I started this blog about Monty Hundley. The Tollmans were completely incidental to my Hundley story.
However, if you wish to continue this thread to discuss Tollman issues, I’ll be glad to allow you to do so.
(I’d just like an occasional comment about the original subject.)
—TNT
C. Alexander Brown says
Whoa…!! This could be a movie, or better still, a television series.
SN says
I will oblige the creator of this blog: I knew Monty Hundley to be an extremely polite and gracious man, who always appeared to be without worry or stress. I remeber him as easy-going. When I was around him he was married to Joni, and they seemed to be in love–the marriage was still pretty new. They both appeared to be attentive and dotting over their baby boy. Monty cared a lot for his older children as well (can’t remember how many there were). I remembered The Hundleys as being less social than the Tollman’s. The Tollman’s (Stanley mostly)were the ones who initiated the almost daily social outings–usually dinner parties at some restaurant. The Hundley’s were regular weekend visitors at the “farm” in New Preston also. The Tollman’s (more Bea than anyone else) seemed to dictate where and how the Hundley’s chose to live. After the Tollman’s bought their 2nd mansion in Palm Beach, the Hundleys leased a “modest” home just up the road from the Tollman’s sprawling mansion. I am not saying the Hundleys did not care for the Tollmans, they were just different kind of people. I am sure they wanted to be close, yet needed their private space without seeming to be anti-social.
Monty walked the 10 or so blocks to work everyday when the offices were located in the Crown Bldg. He did look after his health, while Stanley had more of a struggle w/his–he rode the 4 or so blocks in his limo each day. My overall observation of Monty was that he operated confidently, cautiously, and quietly, while Stanley was extravagant, boisterous and prideful–always smoking nothing less than a foot-long cigar.
With all he had going for him, I cannot understand why Monty went down this rode either.
SN says
On another note, Dr. Tollman was compartmentalized as a “poor relation” and Bea was not particularly fond of his wife. He/they were included socially only when necessary or obligatory. His name was useful, really, on owership documents for certain business ventures that you probably are aware of by now.
The Nittany Turkey says
I’m grateful to SN for posting recollections of Monty Hundley, who was indeed the original subject of my blog. It seems as if Monty was overshadowed in real life by Stanley Tollman, much as he is here in these comments. It sure seems as if he got hooked up with the wrong band of thieves.
—TNT
TTC Employee London says
I have known Gavin Tollman for over 3 years and he is, in my opinion, a very different person to the one portrayed in many of the comments above. He is a man who befriended a homeless person on the streets of Toronto, a man who loves his family and who gives so much support and motivation to company employees. I know that he will continue fighting to clear his name; something he is determined to do above all for the sake of his children. He has the full support of many friends and employees worldwide.
tony sypa says
when i was in the toronto office, i came to know and love quite a few of the people there. thier support for gavin does not surprise me. to me, most canadians are an over friendly, over trusting bunch, who always see the glass as half full. a co-worker used to call them ” happy idiots”. ignorance is truely bliss.
i would be willing to bet the ranch, gavin tollman never sets foot in the us of a ever again, unless somehow they extradite him.
you see my canadian friend, as much as you would like us to believe he will clear his name, i believe two things:
a: where there is smoke there is fire… masefield, brett tollman and others have already pled guilty to charges and served/ are serving time. do you really think they were guilty and gavin had no part in it? not likely. again i say if he’s innocent, he should surrender to us authoritiies and prove his innocence at trial…. but he won’t because unlike his cousin brett tollman, who he doesn’t have half the integrity, he’s a coward and will stay away because he knows he’s guilty and is affraid of jail.
yeah, he used to give us new york office workers support and motivation too, until they wound up lying to our faces about closing the office up. and the irony of him befriending a homeless person isn’t lost on me… i wonder how many homeless he created wjen he shut the office. also i wonder with this homeless person… did he offer him housing and a job?
even the devil offered adam and eve an apple.
finally … i heard there is a group of ex-traf employees getting together to mount a campaign against trafalgar at travel shows by handing out leaflets about how the tollman’s ripped off the american government and banks etc, etc detailing thier dealings, and asking people not to book trafalgar. i for one am in as i believe they should not make one more nickel in this country until they have completely paid up for thier crimes.
E.B. McLaughlin says
20 years ago I met Tollman’s daughter Tony and her husband Francis Raemaykers in London. They owned ADC Heritage on New Bond, an upscale antiques store. Francis was one of the two biggest operatives in the silver business.
My question is simple – Francis was a director of Tollman Hundley Hotels yet I have never seen mention of either Tony or Francis in any article about the entire events that led Stanley to flee America. Is is safe to assume that neither had anything to do with the family shenanigans? And, while I believe Francis is in London still active in the silver trade with his long time associate Mrs. Bellord, Tony I am curious about. Is she well and still in NYC or ??????.
EBM
tony sypa says
Toni tollman is now married to her first cousin, gavin tollman. i imagine they are both in london. I have not seen her name mentioned in any of the accounts of the tollman’s legal problems
SN says
Francis was not a principle of Tollman-Hundley Hotels. In fact, just like Wynn, business was not discussed when he was around. I am only speculating, but I was always suspicious that, somehow, Stanley & Beatrice used their daughter’s silver business in London for something.
By the way, what ever happened to Vicki’s husband, Steve from Morocco?
e.b. mclaughlin says
Thanks, SN and tony sypa:
I should have been a tad more careful. Francis was merely a director of The Chesterfield Hotel in Palm Beach. I visited with Francis and Tony at Stanley and Bea’s home just north of Mar a Lago. Any reason for the divorce as they seemed quite compatible? And, do either of you know what will become of the home in Washington, CT which is quite something?
SN says
E.B., isn’t the mansion on Via Del Lago magnificent? The previous owner was the late author Leon Uri’s brother, and the property was famous for the seal fountain. The CT property was located next to the home of the late Bill Blass. I have “heard” that it was being shown by realtors (?) What happened to the minature horses they were raising?
Anyway, E.B., it seems somewhat strange to me that Toni would be married to Gavin, her 1st cousin(??) Was the purpose so that they could not testify against each other? Observing her relationship w/Francis, it was clear who was in charge…They seemed to be fine when they were living in London–only visiting the US, as opposed to actually living here.
If you visited the farm and the mansion, it would stand to reason that you knew, or at least met, Montey Hundley. What do you have to say about him (the original subject of this particular blog)? And, by the way, do you know where Wynn is and what he is doing?
e.b. mclaughlin says
Hi SN –
I never met Montey but I have only heard favorable comments about him. Your remarks about the family strongly suggest more than a passing knowledge. All of what you’ve said has been confirmed such as business not being discussed around Francis and Wynn. Tony marrying Gavin strikes all as odd and unexplainable. As was related to me recently, the family tales will become a book some day and an interesting one, at that.
One thing we all agree on is the family lived a life of luxury unknown to most wealthy people – servants in numbers that were mind boggling, entertaining at a level that remains truly extraordinary even by today’s richest people. The via del Lago mansion was, as you say, magnificent in its splendor. Where else did one see several different premium champagnes chilling in copper pails set upon the bar and being served by help that moved almost without notice to keep ones glass full and, all the while, Tony lounging on a leopard covered chaise.
It was fascinating to watch and, obviously, 19 years later, I am still wanting to know what has become of everyone in this unusual family. The beautiful lawn sloping to Lake Worth and walking through the gardens dotted with pools full of specimen fish.
News that the charges against Bea and Stanley had recently been dropped I am told was not true. Is a life in exile what the future continues to hold?
Lastly, tony sypa mentioned that Tony’s name was never mentioned in any article about the family problems. Is there a plausible explanation as to why when all the others have been brought into the mess to some degree?
SN says
EB,
I cannot wait to read this book! I also read that the charges had not been dropped–only a a portion having to do with the procecutors deciding that they did, in fact, disclose all (not likely). Anyway, I cannot put my finger on any Tollman-Hundley business in which Tony was an itegral part, so there wouldn’t really be any reason for her to be mentioned. Her primary role was to be representative of the clan in dealing with americans in certain business concerns–nothing too heavy. The family considered her to be safe, charming, savvy and cute. She feigned ignorance well, calling everyone “mate”, which as you may know might have seemed endearing to the american ear, but, in fact, was not a complimentary term at all. Bea couldn’t be put forth as a representative in small yet necessary matters, because while she appeared to be the epitome of graciousness and class, she was too overwhelming a presence; Stanley needed to appear oblivious; Brett was forever being groomed as the “successor” and needed to stay clean; Vicky was too pure and fragile; and Wynn, well…
EB, this family is not so unusual–maybe cleaver; you need only dig a bit deeper; you may even find a similar scandal, i.e.: why didn’t (couldn’t) Stanley return to So Africa to attend his only sister’s funeral when she was killed by her servants? Again, I can’t wait to read this book!
M.O says
Well, I’m vicky’s daughter and stanley’s grand daughter.. what is exactly ur problem? You don’t even know what ur talking about, come on come down to earth u think this whole problem is like a soap opera.. Let me rectify some stuff first of all Stanley didn’t have any sisters , it was his sister in law and it happened 20 years ago and he was at the funeral get ur intel right, then who r u to say who’s who in the family , would you want me to go and talk dirt about ur family when nothing of this is true ???? Look at yourselves , don’t you have anything better to do with your life? What do you care, and by the way she wasn’t killed by her servants but by some thief… And thanx for asking my dad ( Steve From morrocco ) is doing just fine
E.B. McLaughlin says
Hello M.O.,
Of course, there is much in what you say that is correct. I can only speak for myself – your mom’s sister and Francis were friends (albeit as a result of my being an ADC Heritage client) and I was a regular at “21” and often exchanged small talk with Stanley (we shared a close friend – Walter Weiss) who treated the maitre’d to vacations in PB and other places in a most thoughtful and kind manner. If I can disagree with one comment – you say to SN her/his comments are treating the “problem” like a soap opera – if this isn’t like a soap opera, I don’t know what else one could label it.
For the most part and “most” means 95% of all comments about the problem, I see nothing that is unkind or untrue where the problem itself is the subject matter. “It” is what it is. If the facts are twisted, the blame rests with your grandparents who have declined to explain any of the charges beyond saying they are innocent. Unfortunately, that leaves lots of space for conjecture and speculation. If your collective family were not interesting and the problem not so hard to fathom in light of what we all believe was an interesting group, there would be no reason to be carrying on these commentaries.
In the absence of explanations for what is a very public matter, you can surely understand why the issues are so provocative. That, and the fact your grandparents did not discuss family business with half the family, it seems natural that the curiosity of SN and myself (to name but two of dozens) is at such a level as to seek some sort of explanation on how such a seemingly important family ends up in such a titalating schamozzle.
At the end of the day, I admire and respect your well intentioned letter and I am sure your extended family is proud of your courage in doing so.
SN says
M.O., after reading your note, I realized that this event is more far-reaching than anyone can fathom. You, of course, see your grandparents in a totally different light than the public does. I don’t think anyone can deny that the Tollman children and grandchildren were/are very precious to Stanley and Bea. Their first grandchild, A., was the center of their lives when she was born and grandious plans and preparations were set in motion the second they heard of her impending arrival. So, I am sure the same took place w/you. You are correct, M; I cannot think of any person who would choose to have their private and financial state of affairs spread across the pages of national and international publications, especially under these circumstances.
Your grandparents were obviously kind and generous to many people they considered close friends and family. But, just like all people, there are different sides or dimensions to our lives. In our effort to live in harmony, we try to maintain a balance that allows us to operate on a level that is in keeping with the a healthy, safe, and conscientious framework. The consequence of overstepping those boundaries can have results that we never anticipated.
None of this is about bringing the family down, or whether Stanley did or did not attend his sister-in-law’s funeral (which, by the way, he did not); the family put themselves in the public eye. A lot of people suffered negative consequences in the fallout of the Tollman-Hundley scandal. You don’t know these people personally and they do not know you. No one blames you or wants to hurt your feelings. They do, however, have a right and a need to express the impact this scandal has had on their lives. TNT, for example has chosen to express from the standpoint of his relationship to Monty Hundley. Others, who may have been more closely affiliated to Bea or Stanley, have chosen that subject. Still others have spoken of their relationship with Gavin.
When something shocks you, as the news of Bea & Stanley did me, you don’t really have a succinct plan as to what you will say. In a million years I would have never imagined this of most of the people involved. Take this as a compliment of the affect your grandmother, mother, father and uncles had on my life. I cannot speak for everyone, but for me I am deeply sorry you were hurt by my words.
SN says
SN Says: Your comment is awaiting moderation.
I am not sure what this means…
The Nittany Turkey says
It was just a long one, which WordPress flagged as possible spam. I’ve approved it, and it now appears above.
Thanks for your contributions to this thread, which I had never intended to become what it has, but I’m happy to see all the mileage everybody is getting out of it.
—TNT
SN says
Yes, TNT; it seems a natural progression that if the blog began with one half of the team, the other half was sure to follow.
I’d like to know from EB where the idea of the writing this book came from and who is endorsing it?
E.B. McLaughlin says
Hi,
Just leaving the house to run some errands – a quick response. The idea was forwarded by someone EXTREMELY close to Stanley and Bea and it was more tongue in cheek than anything else. Sort of – “what a great book this saga would make”. In light of M.O.’s response, I intend to be far more careful with my remarks so as not to appear uncaring and cavalier. At the same time, I am comfortable with what I have written in the past and continue to conclude this lengthy blogging string is more driven by genuine concern than by voyeurism and unkindness. I am quite sanguine in adopting SN’s response to M.O. as summing up my thoughts on this subject. Frankly, I am pleased to be learning as much as I have; this has been a most informative exercise.
SN says
Oh my! If it is someone EXTREMELY close to Stanley & Bea, does this mean they will finally disclose? Usually the truth can be peiced together from a number of sources, rather than one biased and self-promoting one.
Though I believe we have been conscientious, I totally agree we have been put on notice to consider the impact of our words.
It is sort of ironic that all along the “family” thought Wynn to be an “embarrasment” or out of sorts with the rest of the clan, while, to the rest of the world, Wynn was the only family member who lived in reality! I truly hope Wynn is in a position to speak the truth now that he has a legitimate platform and audience. I want the author to know that Wynn is genuine, and that it must be taken into account that, albeit unintentional, it was Bea and Stanley (mostly Bea) who set in motion the predudice and seperation against Wynn. Wynn did not –could not–fall in line, because it was not correct or natural for him to do so. Bea & Stanley truly loved (love) Wynn, but they held unquestioning loyalty to “their” agenda closer to their goals over the individual character and natural inclinations of their eldest son. He loved (loves) them dearly as well. He tried at every possible turn to conform, but it became impossible for him to choose between being true to himself and the monumental demands his family.
Finally, when Wynn lost Brett AND Vicky to “the Family”, he felt alone.
On one particular family cruise, Wynn was not allowed to take a friend who was special to him, though others could. Bea told him, “[she] is not a memeber of this family and never will be–she is not welcomed”!
I hope the author interviews Wynn, and takes into account his feelings and recollections.
E.B. McLaughlin says
Once again – Hello SN,
“tongue in cheek” refers to my posting about writing a book not what the “extremely” close source said to me although it was this source that said what a good book this saga would make. I merely took the bait and repeated it in a careless manner.
This friend of mine, should you care, thinks quite well of the Tollmans and this feeling is not the result of an occaasional visit; rather, as I have suggested, the source was a very close friend. And, is a person of integrity, social standing and extreme success in business but not a sycophant.
Departing from any comments provided by friends or Tollman family members, I am of the opinion that all you say about Wynn is correct. The only perjorative comment mentioned by anyone dealt with his alleged use of drugs as being a demon in his life. Of course, I have no knowledge of that and have been told he is a genius in all respects that encompass any definition of the word. A balck sheep by virtue of his drug use which seems a bit amusing when compared to the charges leveled at his parents.
The world of literature is filled with tales of family matters where integrity, decency and compassion are at odds within its different members; it comes down to what one’s priorities in life are and whether one is willing to turn a back on objectionable social behavior. I get the feeling you are saying Wynn was not willing to do that and, if so, he should be hailed as being true to himself. There are cases where blood is not thicker than one’s moral soundness.
I would hope some day to meet (or discuss) with you more than this family’s improprieties because it is clear they Tollmans are not alone with such a history.
SN says
EB, the Tollmans had/have many friends in very prominent places; they worked very hard for many years to position themselves. The Tollmans are extremely likable people. You probably won’t find one individual within their social stratum who would have anything other than praise for the entire family. Now, turn that same coin over to the other side; you might get an entirely different response from the domestic staff–there is a reason, EB, you saw “servants in numbers that were mind boggling 
I was very fond of the family as well, especially Bea. I am sure you have read my comments in previous replies above. What any of us really knows about anyone is what they choose to let us see; this does not necessarily equate to the essence of the person. There is only one incident that took place between Stanley & Bea that I can remember where discretion wasn’t used. If charater is to be measured by actions and deeds, I am sure they would have preferred this incident not be witnessed by anyone! I cannot recount that event here, since we have decided to be more careful.
Regarding, Wynn: not necessarily true that he should be hailed for being true to himself. I am only saying that he Wynn was genuinely a kind soul, who didn’t use the cast system as a gauge. Yes, he was allegedly a drug abuser; who in this world does not have a relative or friend who has not been touched by this dreadful addiction?
Regarding the “bookâ€: your point was well taken, EB. I took your tongue-in-cheek remark and tried to leverage it into a challenge, perchance someone reading the blog might take the “baitâ€. You do have to admit, it has the potential of a bestseller. Only, who would benefit from the proceeds???
e.b. mclaughlin says
Has anyone (attempted to or) succeeded in writing about the Tollman-Hundley events? The more I think about it, the more I am convinced a real story of interest is at hand; so, why hasn’t one been written?
Can someone enlighten as to what Tony Sypa and Former Employee refer to in the cut and pasted blog at the end of the sentence, please; what the girls did to Tony. And, while I am asking questions of obviously well informed people where the Tollman subject is concerned – how could Tony Tollmam marry Gavin knowing he (may have) thrown her brother under the bus?
THE BLOG EXCERPT BEGINS [September 26th, 2006 at 2:31 am
well that weasel gavin tollman got away with it on a technicality…… brett does time but gavin doesn’t?… no justice in this world …
and yes tony what those girls did to you was not right… i hope they all rot in hell, the whole no good lot of them] END
Thanks.
SN says
Sorry, EB; I don’t know Tony Sypa or the others.
I do not believe the theory that everyone left Brett out to dry; I believe (and its only speculation based of my experience w/him) that once things got out of hand, Brett was the one who put the breaks on and informed all of his intention to turn himself in. I am sure some may have tried to stop him (don’t forget that Sandy Friedman was also involved-sp?). However, everyone so loves Brett, that I suspect a plan was devised for him to be made whole once he “did his time”. I read (not confirmed-just read about it) that he is currently Exec. Dir. of a few hotel and/or travel related businesses, and that Bea made him executor over a large amount of stock, etc. So, really, the bottom line is that he did his time; this really is the true character of Brett.
If it is true that Toni married Gavin, it is so amazing to me! If my memory serves me correctly, Bea always thought of him as a weasel. I remain convinced that (if it is true) it was a legal maneuver.
E.B. McLaughlin says
Thanks, SN. I am surprised by your use of the word “if” in stating – if Tony and Gavin are married. I am unaware of anyone questioning that aspect. I do agree it must be some sort of legal move; I am married to an attorney and from 1976 until 1986 I kept an office in a law firm and have learned enough to think I am peripherally educated in the law (which, of course, I am not). Having said this, I still am unable to think of what would be a reason for such a move given that Tony was supposedly uninformed about the misdeeds of her family. However, let’s assume she was involved – why would she be so willing to protect Gavin when her brother went to the slammer? It is conundrums like this that make the prospect of a book that much more interesting 🙂
Has there ever been a suggestion she divorced Francis and encouraged to marry Gavin for money and leagl reasons? Why did her marriage break up? She seemed comfortably unaffected when running the Park Ave. shop and involved with several outside interests in Manhattan. I had no idea she had married Gavin until I read this string on the Nittany blog much less had divorced Francis.
TTC Employee London says
As anyone who has spent time in recent years with Gavin and Toni can tell you – they love each other and are happy together. That’s all there is to it – end of story.
The Nittany Turkey says
A good romance should spice up “the book,” don’t you think?
—TNT
E.B. McLaughlin says
END OF STORY says TTC – Indeed, especially one with such a normal ring to it – love and happiness. First cousins marrying TTC Employee London appears to imply is not something provocative enough to warrant the slightest suggestion of something nefarious being the impetus. The more I read The Nittany Turkey blog site, the more I am convinced the Tollman family has a cadre of apologists for its immoral behavior. That alone will fill a chapter.
POST SCRIPT – Miss O’Hana (MO) who posted in an above entry is the only one that gets a free pass by virtue of her naivete and being Vicki’s daughter.
The Nittany Turkey says
Oh, yeah. Cousins marrying cousins…for my money, I want that to be a whole chapter. The subtheme of debauchery and decadence should be a tension building undercurrent throughout this tome.
Could someone provide particulars about the book? ISBN? Publishing House? Anything?
I, for one, have got to read this thing.
—TNT
e.b. mclaughlin says
TNT SAYS:
The subtheme of debauchery and decadence should be a tension building undercurrent throughout this tome.
____________________________________________________________
Indeed, it should. There is so much inflammatory material to sift through, the editing job may have to fall to Judith Regan who knows a thing or two about titillating literature.
i worked in the air department at traf says
I too worked at traf in nyc for years. first to the tollman granddaughter:
i am very sorry you are hurt by this. but you should take a lesson from it. you, like gavin and brett, hit the gene pool lottery and were born into wealth. do the right thing with it. money makes for greed, which is why your family is in this mess. don’t be like them. aspire to be better.
tony sypa: tony sypa was the IT guru at traf. not just nyc as he would be sent to the toronto and anaheim offices as well. he knew our system like the back of his hand and was always smiling, laughing, great attitude. best it guy i ever saw. but he was a flirt. a harmless flirt though never disrespectful. there was a girl who devoloped a crush on him but she was fat and ugly. when he didn’t return the advances, her , and her best friend, also a trafalgar manager, put in sexual harassment complaints on him and got him fired. this girl had pinched his butt, and they even told him they wanted a threesome with them, but he was the one who got fired? it wasn’t right. those girls should be ashamed but i worked with both of them and they both have no conscience.
as for TT on the whole, it was a good place to work. i have no complaints gavin was nice so was brett, and his dog was cute. what makes us former nyc employees angry is the way they put off telling us about the closing, denying it for months. and alot of the people who worked there were single mothers, res agents getting along on thier 25K a year, who were now out of jobs. people who worked there for over ten years now out of jobs. while these millionaire crooks are fleeing from thier crimes. as people on this thread have said, if they are innocent, why are they avoiding a trial to clear themselves instead of fighting extradition. because brett and masefield took pleas? because monty hundley and friends were found guilty? to me this one is easy … like OJ … all the evidence is there and they are guilty. and it’s funny too to read about what good friends the tollmans were with gates, and reagan, and gavin contributing to the bush campaign … all these crooked slime stick together i guess.
toni and gavin seemed like a normal loving married couple. she used to come to the office every here and there, come to bowling night, come with new artwork for gavin’s office. i know it’s a little wierd but i think if they are happy who’s to judge?
it would all make for a good book … i’m surprised the family themselves hasn’t sold thier story, greedy things.
e.b. mclaughlin says
i know it’s a little wierd but i think if they are happy who’s to judge?
_____________________________________________________________
Weird ? – you are being marginally obtuse. 24 states that make up half our United States have laws against FIRST cousins marrying and seven require genetic counseling. While it may seem outlandish to many, there are cases of genetic disease and hemophilia arising from such unions. However, this insertion begs the issue that is the premiss for what is being insinuated as judging. Is it eccentric to suggest the marriage was one of convenience since there are several other indications within the Tollman family that significant sums of money have bought loyalty not to mention going to prison to save another’s rear end.
TTC Employee London says
Maybe e.b. you’re not judging them but it seems to really bother you nonetheless. If you were to see them together as a couple you would see that all the senseless speculation that is going on here is rubbish!
FACT: The USA is the only western country with cousin marriage restrictions. No European country prohibits marriage between first cousins -nor does Canada or Mexico.
The Nittany Turkey says
If marriage among cousins were restricted in Europe, the royal families would have had to cross-pollinate like commoners. What fun would that be? Spice is nice, but incest is best.
—TNT
E.B. McLaughlin says
Prince Charles is what you get when first cousins get together – hardly a recommendation to run out and try it.
There is no question the countries you mention allow cousin marriages. The number of genetic issues in all the countries allowing cousin marriages is marginally greater than in the US. My research says the majority of negative concerns have been debunked in England and Europe but no one there rejects the statistics that say marrying a first cousin increases the potential for genetic surprises and not the favorable kind. I guess the point is “safe rather than sorry”.
“Bother me” is probably not correct – “fascinates me” is but it goes well beyond the marriage of Antonia Tollman to Gavin Tollman. In fact, to satisfy you, I would gladly remove all reference (if I could edit my comments at this time which I can’t) to their marriage as superfluous to the greater issues this Monty Hundley blog has produced. Earlier I spoke of “apologists” for the disgraceful behavior of the Tollman family and I will leave it there while conceding that the ONLY interest in the Tollman/Tollman marriage centers on the potential that it had something to do with testifying against one’s spouse.
MARCH 30, 2007 – SN writes: I remain convinced that (if *it is true) it was a legal maneuver.
*[It refers to the fact that the Tollman/Tollman marriage was true].
Thanks to you – TTC Employee London – all that are following this string now know it was all about love. AMEN.
SN says
Good afternoon, EB. As I read down the blog, which was originally for Monty Hundley, I could not help but LOL! This “BOOK” is, in fact, going to be a best seller!
No, EB, you haven’t lost your mind; I believe most of society would agree that a 1st cousin marriage is nothing less than just plain GROSS! Thus, the “if”; I simply cannot wrap my mind around this! As well, I cannot imagine Stanley quietly accepting this! If a legal maneuver, the idea would have most certainly come from Bea. Afterall, this is the woman who told me-directly [“…statistics show that the liklihood of a woman being raped in her lifetime are greater than 50%, so you might as well lie back and enjoy it”]. Now, of course, I have not included the context in which this statement was made, but as per TNT’s comments, this “book” begs to be written!!
The Nittany Turkey says
Hell, we already have several chapters of material for the book right here!
However, this Turkey hereby disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of content contained herein. Any slanderous or salacious allegations are the responsibility of the comments’ authors.
Monty Hundley has nothing much to do in the federal detention facility, so perhaps he could be enlisted to write a few chapters, although I sent him a letter not long after he was incarcerated and never got a response.
—TNT
E.B. McLaughlin says
CHICKEN :):):) Salacious – yes indeed – Slanderous – I surely hope not because that would suggest intent to be so.
It should be obvious that, collectively, the writers contributing to this string know enough to be more than just provocative. The collective knowledge has not been imagined but comes from knowing family members and from newspaper accounts. The accuracy of newspaper accounts of all kinds is for another blog as to whether they can be deemed accurate. Shucks, there I go slandering newspapers.
The Nittany Turkey says
You’re damn right that this Turkey is a chicken! I’ve been sued by people with far less in their coffers than these Tollman weenies. Nevertheless, I don’t see much danger of a Tollman et. al. v. Turkey lawsuit because a) I ain’t rich, and b) the Tollmans either are in jail or they’ve fled the country to escape prosecution.
—TNT
E.B. McLaughlin says
:):):) That’s the spirit.
You, of course, saw my smiles after using the word chicken. I know exactly where you’re coming from. No chicken or turkey wants to stick its neck out (pun intended). Still, I cannot identify anything close to slander – what is it that concerns you? I will retire with this response if you truly feel this lengthening string is stepping over the line.
The Nittany Turkey says
Not at all, E.B. In fact, I’m happy to host the continuing commentary. I have not identified anything as slanderous—just a lot of sour grapes. Through the ongoing diatribe about the Tollmans I’m learning a lot. So please carry on.
—TNT
E.B. McLaughlin says
Many thanks, E.B.
Former THH Executive says
Hi.. I Just googled Stanley and Monty out of the Blue…to get an update. I worked very closely with them, Brett and, on a lesser scale, Gavin. I was an executive with them from 1990 to 2000 in the Hotel management side of their businesses. All that I can say is that, while they were kind at heart and great men to know, they were corrupt when it came to money and business. I saw first hand many ways that they took advantage of insurance companies, banks, and the government.
On the other hand, I can’t name a time that they were not there to help me and other employees in any way they could…or donate time/money for a good cause. I truly believe (from seeing an inside layer of the dealings) that Brett was a fall guy in the fraud. He was “in charge” of several of the companies, but not when it came to the large debts and cash transactions. And I believe that if Monty and Stanley were not at the helm, much of the fraud never would have occurred. I remember Monty and Stanley jetting in to events, dropping unreal amounts of money…while we couldnt even pay electrical bills at the facilities. Huge insurance checks that were disbursed to the hotel’s from major catastrophe’s …going right into their pockets…while letting the hotels close down due to the ” never to be repaired” damages. Then filing bankruptcy on that property and off loading it. My check was cut by more “sub” companies than I can name. (due to refinancing/bankruptcy filings on each company).
The funny thing is, having said all that, they were great men to work for / with. I do not know what makes a man that greedy to throw away a life of achievement and purpose. In closing, I do not believe greed is what got Brett into the illegal activities, but rather, the need to please his father. And for Monty, I he always was a charmer…and I cant name a time where he wasnt trying to “hook up” with a female.
Another former THH-er says
I also worked for THH in various capacities from the 80’s into the 90’s, and had dealings with both Brett and Gavin. I agree with what the TTH Exec above said as far as Brett’s need to please his parents. I wouldn’t necessarily say he was a fall guy though (come on, he had to have been within the frey and knew exactly what was going on!). I will say that Brett’s angst was often evident as he jockied between deftly trying to make THH operate as a “normal” company and awkardly falling into line when the chips were down in the more seedy side of THH. This whole mess is probably the best thing that ever happened to him. I’ve no doubt that he has moved on to breathing easier, sleeping through the night, and becoming the kind of father to his children that he has always yearned for.
Gavin, to a degree, was less awkard when things got dirty and had less humility(IMO). I never thought him as too bright, actually.
At the end of the day, though, they were all part and parcel of the mechanizations that all began with Stanley, Monty and entourage. It was a breeding ground for entitlement and privelege. The joke always was that the corporate office was appropriately located in the town of Valhalla.
The saddest thing to me was they had a lot of fine, talented, hard-working people in their employ, many of them ready to embrace teamwork, peak performance, winning, giving back to the community — the whole package. But how could they when the leaders of the company are making a joke of all that? You can’t hide that kind of thing.
Another Former T.T.C employee says
18 January 2007: US drops charges against the Tollmans
The Times today has a small paragraph as follows:
‘US drops charges against hoteliers
‘American prosecutors seeking the fast-track extradition of the hoteliers Stanley and Beatrice Tollman have dropped their key allegation of money-laundering. The US also accepted that Mr Tollman, 76, did not make any money from the alleged bank fraud for which it wants to try him.
‘Mr Tollman’s solicitor said that the defence team was debating a response to the climbdown. “It cannot be without consequence,” he said.’
…
Another Former T.T.C employee says
Anyways, what are your impressions toward this article?
E.B. McLaughlin says
The report was mostly false – and was retracted rather soon after issuance.
SN says
Looks like we have pretty much established that Brett will be the “Hero/Desperado” of the book.
As far as impressions towards the article, the only thing it (and other articles) showed was that the Tollmans are more cleaver than prosecutors bargained for. Perhaps they need to confer with law enforcement from other continents, who may have more experience with that level of astuteness. They are leaving out a key element in dealing with Stanley & Bea–the ones who got away. Stanley & Bea are not Americans; they are Afrikaner. And keep in mind these are people who flourished during Apartheid…
MM says
Wow, interesting article!
I Google Monty Hundley’s name every so often to see what new news there is, and it’s great to run across this.
My father was best friends with Deac (W. Dion) Hundley through high school and much of their adult lives. My mother graduated High School with Monty.
For a few years in the ’80s, my father worked for Tollman-Hundley, first in Florida, and then for Chuck Hundley in Pennsylvania. I think my older brother worked for Brett Tollman for a few days when he was working in one of the resort restaurants in Florida.
I don’t have time to write any anecdotes or memories that I might have right now, but will when I have them time. Just wanted to drop a note – thanks for the article.
e.b. mclaughlin says
Think for a moment, if you will. How many parents do you know that would allow their son to go to prison for them? What more need we know?
SN says
This is a great 1st page. 2nd page begins chapter 1…
E.B. McLaughlin says
Will the Tollmans be accorded a place in blog history along side many other more familiar looters from the business world (think Skilling, Koslowski, Ebbers and Rigas)?
Shall I remove my tool bar icon for this site to make room for a new topic as this one appears to have been wrung dry.
I remain astonished that Miss A. Tollman, Mrs. A. Raemaykers and Mrs. A. Tollman (all three being one and the same) managed to stay free of mention in every account of the family shenanigans I’ve read.
The Tollman blog (sorry Monty) was fascinating while it percolated.
Craig says
Ben,
Wrote to you but the email address must be old, it was returned. Would like to share story about Monty. Went to Jr and Sr high school with him.
CCC
E.B. McLaughlin says
http://www.artthrob.co.za/06june/images/diary_01a.jpg
Pretty lady – a mystery in so many ways.
THH Days Inn GM says
Wow, this is all very interesting. I was a THH Days Inn GM in 2000/2001 and met Brett in London in Jan. 2001. I thought he was a very decent, down to earth man and will remember him that way. Good Luck Brett.
Mark says
I owe a lot to the TH organization when it comes to my hotel education. Yes, the bad and the good I learned from the Nine years I worked for them 1982-1991. I first met Monty officially at a General Managers meeting of seven Hotels that he and Stanley had just purchased -September 1982. There was to be two-day training class on how he wanted those hotels to perform. Not all of the Hotels were maintained well nor were they performing well in the Market. Monty astutely understood and realize an infusion of cash along with some intense new marketing programs would bring life back to these well-established the community facilities. Unfortunately, during the meeting Monty collapsed from stress and a fellow by the name of Tom continued for two days. It eventual became an exciting time and in the first time in my career I felt I was working for a worldly savvy hotel company. Over the next few years I met many times with Monty and his brother Chuck(btw a great guy and true motivator ) for operational direction. As time went on those seven hotels performed so well it jump-started and leverage many of the deals Monty worked on in the mid eighties. Monty then became stealth and rarely scene .By 1991 the company was huge and reeling from what was one of the most disappointing times in my carrier when the Days inn purchase appeared to be a a disaster -while then, we all thought it was going take many us further in our careers. It appeared to me by 91 when the last time I was with Monty at the Days Inn convention in Atlanta and then the next few wks after with him in New York that Monty no longer cared about the details. He maybe, and I know his inner circle seem to be in denial that financially things were crumbling. I always felt bad for the little people i.e. Dry cleaners, small advertising firms etc who would never be paid on pupose. I left the company after a comment Monty made when myself and another exec were making a plead for funding for repairs and needed upgrades. He looked at TOM and said “dump them if we have to †he even had me meet with bank reps that I was not qualified to do to explain why we couldn’t pay them “screw the vendors†he said and then proceeded to task me to find operators to pay us to run them before he rushed off to a Knicks game and dinner at the Tavern on the Green It was the most unrealistic thing anyone has every to this to ask me to do. I made my discision on the way home after several of these meetings in a short period of time to move on with my career. I took a pay cut and status cut to get away from it and have never regretted it. I have fond memories of those early days and did learn a lot from Monty and his style hotel management good and bad. I use many of the good techniques to this day. His brother Chuck still I consider one of the best motivators I have ever met. Bret was cocky know it all fresh from Cornel when I met him . He was always nice to me and was instrumental in helping stay in London for my honeymoon. He eventually matured and I think given the right opportunity could have made name for himself in the business It is shame what eventually happened, However I was surprised that it look so long after I had left. I truly was surprised to find that most the charges were for things after 91.The nineties must have been a rough ride for everyone involved.
The Nittany Turkey says
Mark, thanks for your comments about Monty, of which I have received precious few. Your recollections of Monty in the 90s reveal the pressure that the whole Days Inn morass leveled on these guys. “Screw the vendors” is not something I would have expected to ever hear him say.
—TNT
Mark says
yes by 91, His charisma that made many of us willing to follow him and his team down the Barrel of cannon was gone, for me anyway. He seemed arrogant toward financial institutions that were obviously hounding him. His actions to me seemed irresponsible and in that case, he was in denial. I have since coined a phrase I still use “There is a difference between can not pay you or do not want to pay you” the bad thing I learned from THH. But overall working for the THH company was great experrience for me while I was always treated well by him and his brother Chuck.
The Nittany Turkey says
“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.”
—Lord Acton
I suppose that these words ring true in Monty Hundley’s case. Power is intoxicating and addictive. Eventually, Monty could not feed his habit legitimately, so he turned ruthlessly to the dark side. It was inevitable in those circumstances that his pleasant demeanor eventually would be compromised. The burden of the consequences of his nefarious actions during those days of evasion had to be unimaginably great.
Obviously, he is now paying the price for his transgressions. However, I often wonder whether he will view his indictment, conviction, and incarceration as the realization of risks taken into account when the fraud was conceived, and accordingly, upon his release, I wonder whether he will resume walking on the dark side. Especially if he’ll be starting at zero, I don’t think he’ll be happy staying there long.
Of course, the Monty Hundley I remember is the 1976 Monty, who probably will not resemble the 2013, post-incarceration Monty.
—TNT
Mark says
Monty delegated much to the field and some long time employees which a few were over their head when things got big. He was faithful to some of those folks worked with during his super star early days. This may have been a part of an overall plan or a naive approach to the fact the his astounding success in the mid eighties would eventually have to impload.It is difficult for me to to say if Monty corrupted the organization or the organization became corrupt by default. However, it did and many watched it happen, as Insurance premiums, payroll taxes and many other cash flow areas that needed special funding were never actually funded. while his NY office excecs continued to drain every regions funds. My SS taxes I found out recently for 88& 89 were never paid. I can’t blame Monty specifically for that but is an example of how his organization went of track. You would think the attrition would have been greater among the key staff but it wasn”t.Monty’s organization was able to keep many very talented and aggressive Hoteliers plugging away hoping for things to get better. The Monty I knew would have a plan to rebound from this and I am sure their are many people that would work for him again. Even for me the charges against him later seem more criminal than I thought he or his team could be.
The Nittany Turkey says
Mark,
Monty always seemed like a very bright guy, but after learning that he had done idiotic things like not filing income tax returns from 1974 to 1996, one has to wonder whether his head was screwed on crooked or something. That span of time eclipsed the time during which I knew him and the time during which you knew him, including the “superstar years” as well as the “screw the vendors” years. That makes federal income tax evasion a common denominator of criminal behavior during most of his adult life, a “get away with it if you can” sort of attitude. I can understand him getting involved in a complex scheme to defraud banks much easier than I can fathom him engaging in simple tax evasion. Perhaps he wasn’t high profile to the IRS in 1974, when he was earning $30K offshore, but he sure as hell became a very visible target when his income skyrocketed and he started buying expensive houses in Westchester County and Isleworth. It is that stupidity that I find most enigmatic, because Monty is an intelligent man.
Intelligent, but stupid—what a conundrum! Go figure.
—TNT
E.B. McLaughlin says
“Intelligent, but stupid—what a conundrum!”
Allow, please, a deeper summation to possibly define many of the involved parties in this saga – one that seems to sink deeper and deeper with each posting into a clear picture of self absorbtion.
____________________________________________________________
Glibness and Superficial Charm
Manipulative and Conning
They never recognize the rights of others and see their self-serving behaviors as permissible. They appear to be charming, yet are covertly hostile and domineering, seeing their victim as merely an instrument to be used. They may dominate and humiliate their victims.
Grandiose Sense of Self
Feels entitled to certain things as “their right.”
Pathological Lying
Has no problem lying coolly and easily and it is almost impossible for them to be truthful on a consistent basis. Can create, and get caught up in, a complex belief about their own powers and abilities. Extremely convincing and even able to pass lie detector tests.
Lack of Remorse, Shame or Guilt
A deep seated rage, which is split off and repressed, is at their core. Does not see others around them as people, but only as targets and opportunities. Instead of friends, they have victims and accomplices who end up as victims. The end always justifies the means and they let nothing stand in their way.
Shallow Emotions
When they show what seems to be warmth, joy, love and compassion it is more feigned than experienced and serves an ulterior motive. Outraged by insignificant matters, yet remaining unmoved and cold by what would upset a normal person. Since they are not genuine, neither are their promises.
Incapacity for Love
Need for Stimulation
Living on the edge. Verbal outbursts and physical punishments are normal. Promiscuity and gambling are common.
Callousness/Lack of Empathy
Unable to empathize with the pain of their victims, having only contempt for others’ feelings of distress and readily taking advantage of them.
Poor Behavioral Controls/Impulsive Nature
Rage and abuse, alternating with small expressions of love and approval produce an addictive cycle for abuser and abused, as well as creating hopelessness in the victim. Believe they are all-powerful, all-knowing, entitled to every wish, no sense of personal boundaries, no concern for their impact on others.
Early Behavior Problems/Juvenile Delinquency
Usually has a history of behavioral and academic difficulties, yet “gets by” by conning others. Problems in making and keeping friends; aberrant behaviors such as cruelty to people or animals, stealing, etc.
Irresponsibility/Unreliability
Not concerned about wrecking others’ lives and dreams. Oblivious or indifferent to the devastation they cause. Does not accept blame themselves, but blames others, even for acts they obviously committed.
Lack of Realistic Life Plan/Parasitic Lifestyle
Tends to move around a lot or makes all encompassing promises for the future, poor work ethic but exploits others effectively.
Criminal or Entrepreneurial Versatility
Changes their image as needed to avoid prosecution. Changes life story readily.
ONE WHO FITS MOST OF THIS DESCRIPTION IS CALLED: a ?????????
The Nittany Turkey says
Hmm, E.B.
It looks as if you’ve located Dr. Melfi’s notes on Tony Soprano. Bada bing!
—TNT
The Nittany Turkey says
And, yeah, the word is sociopath.
e.b. mclaughlin says
Well done.
The blog is extremely interesting because it has allowed lots of participation by apologists. While I don’t mean to be so cruel in describing the intent of particpants, there are lots of “what a nice guy” comments that rotate to remembrances that are just plain ugly.
The collateral damage from THH is far reaching and, what is really sad, it is not over. No conscience – no conclusion.
Mark says
I noticed the change in Monty and THH around 87 or so once the Prince George hotel debacle happened. The George was the THH- NY headquarters in the early years and Monty discovered an angle to turn this historical hotel into a welfare house that turned into a cash cow for THH with no overhead. It was embarrassing that this savvy hotel company would even consider such a despicable way of earning money and questionable if it was indeed legal. We were all shocked at that one and some close to the inner circle of THH wanted to distance themselves. People Magazine ran a story on the city and the fraud that went along with such deals mentioning the George … Monty was smart enough to keep his name out of that one somehow and until them had most of us believing he was just an aggressive business man. . Yes there is no excuse and the affects are far reaching, something I had thought about for years.
The Nittany Turkey says
The Prince George—that was in Chelsea, right? I’m vaguely remembering some of the machinations.
—TNT
Mark says
The Prince George was in Manhattan at 29th and Madison I think, and was the Home base in the early days for Monty’s crew. As I said, he was hands on then, lived, and worked there, as did all of his execs. The empire grew from that hotel and eventually the team went up town right across from Trumps place.
The Nittany Turkey says
I found an interesting historical perspective on the Prince George Hotel here. Writer Jonathan Kozol called the Prince George during the time of its descent into a crime riddled, drug infested hellhole “one of the grimmest places I’ve ever been.” However, it was partially restored and reopened, albeit still as low-income housing, in 1999.
—TNT
SN says
NT, you were not mislead or deceived by Monty. He is every bit the soul you knew. But, you knew Monty pre-Tollman. Too bad someone already coined the phrase “THE FULL MONTY”. I make no apologies for any of these major player’s actions, I was simply a witness. Since a timeline has been drawn between the “superstar years” and the “screw the vendor years”, you may place me smack in the middle.
I want to say to Mark–please take full advantage of the education you received during those years; it helped me in my career and it will certainly serve you well. As all agree, Monty (nor the Tollmans) were stupid.
EB, what a perfect descriptive opening chapter to “your” book. I have missed the banter…
NT, all the best w/your surgery. I will pray for rapid healing, comfort, and future physical & mental health. Come back strong.
SN says
On another note:
EB, one of Mrs. Tollman’s best friends just passed away. Mrs. Greenaugh was one of the kindest people you’d ever want to meet. It would be interesting to know if Bea chose seclusion over paying respect to her friend to by attending memorial services in the US.
tony sypa says
wow .. i’m glad i check this site from time to time …
although i didn’t know anything from tollman/hundley in those days, it just so happens i worked in the IT department for a company called perfect courier, i ran thier overnight work. i worked the midnight to 8 am shift. the company was located on 33rd and 7th. i would get off the subway on 34th st across from macy’s walk up the ave one block and turn on 33rd. well that one block walk at midnight was one of the scariest things i’ve ever had to do on a regular basis, precisely because of the prince george. right in front of the building is one of those triangle parks, where all the scum from the prince george would be hanging out at night. keep in mind this was 1987-1988, before mayor guiliani cleaned up the scum. i had the prince george up the block and the homeless of penn station across the street. one time someone tried to follow me into the building, luckily they gave me keys to lock up behind myself. i would see the animals drinking beers and smoking all sorts of stuff in the park. that place was jungle. thanks monty, i could have mugged or killed.
The Nittany Turkey says
Thanks for the good wishes, SN. I, too, hope that complications are minimal and that I can find humor in the experience that I might share via this medium.
—TNT
e.b. mclaughlin says
On June 25, 2007, I wrote: No conscience – no conclusion.
Assuming the hackneyed phrase “you can’t teach old dogs new tricks” is still viable, the principal players in the Tollman/Hundley contretemps have proven themselves to have no conscience so the conclusion they will remain fugitives and/or convicted felons seems etched in granite. No amount of rehashing will change this.
To SN – The chances Bea will attend the funeral for a dear, dear old friend – slim and none.
This blog string is ending with a whimper when it desperately needs a bang.
e.b. mclaughlin says
For what it’s worth, I share the following written by someone that knows all the players:
_____________________________________________________________
Beverly was also a great friend of mine. I had no idea she knew the Tollmans. I have never seen her at any of their occasions (weddings, parties, etc). I do not think they were great friends—only acquaintances.
The Tollmans were in the NY Times last week (Pg B5 on June 29th—Britain Won’t Extradite).
_____________________________________________________________
Did anyone read the NYT piece referred to above?
e.b. mclaughlin says
From the N.Y. Times article of June 29th:
After three years of hearings and recriminations, a British judge yesterday refused to extradite the multimillionaire hotelier Stanley S. Tollman to New York, a major setback for prosecutors seeking to bring him to trial on charges relating to a $100 million bank fraud and tax evasion scheme. Mr. Tollman was indicted by a federal grand jury in 2002 after prosecutors said he led an effort to defraud lenders and avoid paying taxes during the 1990s, when he and others controlled the Days Inn hotel chain. For much of the 1990s, Mr. Tollman and his wife, Beatrice, were conspicuous figures in high society in New York; Palm Beach, Fla.; and Litchfield County, Conn., where they still own homes.
Timothy Workman, a senior district judge in Westminster, England, ruled yesterday that it would be difficult for Mr. Tollman, 76, to get a fair trial because of the loss of certain documents and the deaths of witnesses who might have aided his defense. The judge also said that sending Mr. Tollman to America “would undoubtedly endanger the health of Mrs. Tollman and possibly her life.
JUDGE WORKMAN IS OBVIOUSLY A HUMANITARIAN.
SN says
In light of the comment from the one who knows all the players, I suppose the “acquaintance” ended years ago. I do remember many get-togethers between the two…
EB, I agree that this blog is ending with a whimper; unfortunately we won’t be able to go further if none of us is willing to fully disclose all. Sadly, no one reading chose to go further with the directional nudges and hints. Though there were a couple provocative replies, it appears all are waiting for the other to “crack open the coconut” first.
The photo of AT, aka AR, aka AT set me aback! She did not age well. I remain curious as to why you continue to wonder about the lack of any mention of her in accounts of the events (?)
You interest me and I want to know who you are.
The Nittany Turkey says
If the blog is to end with a bang instead of a whimper, it won’t come from the blog’s owner, who was involved in neither the “superstar years” nor the “screw the vendors years.” Nevertheless, the long litany of complaints against T/H intrigues me and leaves me hoping that the big bang will still somehow occur.
—TNT
SN says
NT, I too wish the blog to continue until then–perhaps in the fall/winter when bloggers/writers return to the comfort of indoors.
I did read the article, EB. I don’t for one moment believe that Bea’s health has deteriorated to the degree suggested in the article. As far as the loss of documents, not a chance! The US prosecutors did say they plan to appeal.
E.B. McLaughlin says
Response to SN:
Well said. In fact, spot on.
Regarding AT – she was an intelligent and ambitious woman that, frankly, intrigued the hell out of me. She had some behavior that caused me concern in social settings – the bar at via del Lago watching her lounge on the leopard fabric lounge, sipping champagne and looking as if she was in another world (which she most probably was) being a prominent remembrance. But, she was very kind to me as was Francis and rather than being flattered or impressed, I genuinely enjoyed AT’s company.
As to the “cracking open the coconut” comment, I think it is more a case of you and I and a few others not wishing to hurt the majority of the participants which, after all, are peripheral players to the mastermind. And, as to why I remain fascinated by the search for an answer to why AT was never mentioned in news accounts, I think it should be obvious. I liked her and I want someone to say she never was part of the mess. Marrying her cousin, as you so boldly wrote, had all the earmarks of covering up – the wife cannot testify against the husband bit. That thought is not exclusive to you and I am not pleased to admit thinking the same.
My comments throughout this lengthy string are based almost solely on my own history; the person I refer to as being one that knows all the players is a resident of Washington, CT – the Litchfield County home of Stanley and Bea.
A quick review of this blog reveals I am the only writer using his or her name. I am what I am (a thank you to Popeye for this comment). I am from Connecticut, have lived in Florida for 32 years, was a good customer of ADC Heritage both on New Bond and Park Avenue and sat within a few feet of ST many, many times at his favorite restaurant. A strictly casual acquaintanceship with AT elevated to a somewhat more personal one when she invited me to her father’s home in Palm Beach.
Then came the shock of the news of ST’s flight from justice and the rest is before all of us in this rather inclusive blog, inclusive by virtue of so many responses from people that obviously knew both sides of the Tollman family – good and bad. The only regret I have about this whole posting is that Vicki’s daughter read and was upset by all of our comments, a condition I find very sad.
SN says
Thank you, EB. You know, I think I have made it clear that I was very fond of all the “players”. What we think we know about people is what they choose to let us see. Sometimes, though, if we spend enough time around folks, and we are in the right place at the right/wrong time, the armor is loosened and we inadvertently get a 3-dimensional view. As well you know, people who live and operate at the level of the Tollmans and the Hundleys often find themselves in positions they unwittingly placed themselves in–positions that are not so easy to wiggle out of. One of Bea’s many dictums was “…better the devil you know”.
Question: does anyone know if all properties have been confiscated/sold? If not, there are places that within these residences that, if searched properly, may conceal these “lost” documents. One in particular was so secret that Bea even sometimes forgot about their existence. I am almost certain she never even told Tony about these cubbies. Just a thought…
E.B. McLaughlin says
Dinner parties in Washington were notable (for many reasons but one that stands out is) because each and every guest had a waiter (male) standing behind their dining room chair waiting to be called to duty. The degree of elegance was so extraordinary that most could never imagine it.
I will need lots of palpable evidence that AT was involved for me to abandon my opinion of her, a position you fortify with the comment that she was not informed by Bea. Jeeez, I wish I could understand her marriage to Gavin which seems so bizarre despite many contributions within this blog saying she and he were/are very much in love.
Where do you reside and why is your name a secret? The style SN has succeeded in keeping your identity unknown 🙂 Are you reluctant to (crack open the coconut?” If so, why? Have I seen you at Bice in PB? Or, in Manhattan at Grenouille? My extremely well informed friend in Washington has no idea who you might be nor do any of his/her surrounding friends. SN is a puzzlement. Why, once again, the secrecy?
SN says
EB, I forgot to mention in my last posting that I, too, regret that V’s daughter was able to read any of this string. It was heart-breaking to read her words. In replying to your inquiry, I will be a bit more careful.
Neither the “Washington Insider†nor his/her friends would know who I am. I am positive you never saw me at Bice, Grenouille or even Sammy’s for that matter. I truly cannot be more coherent than I already have been. The few times I have attempted to lead the blog towards an inroad, the path, somehow, always faded. Just like everyone else, I happened upon this blog one day. My interest can be compared to yours, EB—the astounding intrigue of it all! You are correct; your account of the dinner parties would be unfathomable to most. But, also, trust the fact the guest lists were painstakingly contrived for optimum consolidation for allegiance (social AND business). Thus, everyone’s reluctance to “crack open the coconutâ€. In my observation, Stanley and Bea (Bea in particular) are masters of persuasion/manipulation–you choose. There are many examples; the way they entered into this country is just one of them.
As far as the footmen/personal waiters: doesn’t the period of time between when the “fraud†began and the charges were finally filed coincide w/the amplification of social accoutrements? Why go over the top? Were the dinner parties over the top? Think about this. I have mentioned before and I will again: the Tollmans are Afrikaner, not American. Also, keep in mind that they not only “did well†financially, but flourished– during apartheid!
If this book is going to be written (or if one just wants to get to the bottom of everything), there are so many, layers yet to be uncovered– and it MUST be done chronologically.
E.B. McLaughlin says
Very well articulated response and full of truth.
SN says
Well, EB, that was my attempt at trying to revive the Monty blog. Once again, the path was overgrown w/foliage (does this metaphor give you insight into where I might reside). All joking aside I feel personally embarrassed for this family–I know them that well. The Tollmans are vulnerable right now, and if only because it is wrong to try and humiliate or completely unclothe one who is already exposed (even though I know some of them may feel no remorse in doing so to others), it is my moral principle to extend compassion.
There is so much more to be said. I can recall a time when I was making a phone call from Stanley’s library at the PB mansion and witnessed something that was so fundamentally poignant. I have never told anyone about it. Now, as I reflect upon subsequent events, I am conflicted about how and where to place this one in my mind. It was not only the incident itself (which was a shock to say the least). But, taking into account the type of activity that was happening simultaneously just outside the library, into the foyer and through the French doors leading to the patio, the contrast was almost frightening.
As TNT recovers, I would hope that he returns—we return to fresh new insights from those effected by the Monty Hundley/Stanley Tollman incident.
E.B. McLaughlin says
To SN:
Once again – well said. The effective use of words is an art and you are very fluid. I admire that quality.
It is possible for me to relate stories (firsthand) of kind acts Stanley showered on friends which is so contra to what we also know about him. It seems implausible he could be the same man in each instance.
Responding to your prior question of properties – Washington, CT remains very much Bea’s property. She is, in fact, among the five largest property tax payers in Washington, CT exceeded only by The Mayflower Inn and one or two others.
Your clues encourage me to ask about “Sammy’s” – do you mean Sammy’s Bar” in Pemba? Are you “suggesting” the Tollmans own(ed) Pemba Bay Hotel? And, “overgrown with foliage” doesn’t help unless it is a reference to South Africa in which case it would explain lots.
Afrikaner puzzles me to the extent I am unable to take the clue and make something of it. I know their background so I am supposing the mention should mean something about the manner in whick Afrikaners think and act.
I have learned an Ivy League education does not guarantee being quick on the uptake so I’ll continue to reread your postings trying to identify your meanings.
E.B. McLaughlin says
“As TNT recovers, I would hope that he returns—we return to fresh new insights from those effected by the Monty Hundley/Stanley Tollman incident.” SN writes.
_____________________________________________________________
Forgive me, SN, but I have no idea what TNT has to do with the continuance of the blog as his initial subject was MH and the blog focus rotated to ST. You appear to be saying TNT is withholding some provocative information. TNT does not appear to me to be reticent in addressing any subject matter except what he may consider libelous.
SN says
The note on TNT was simply a “shout out” to the creator of the blog and to acknowledge my awareness of his “original” intent, before the ST angle totally took on a life of its own (the further we go, the less MH is even mentioned at all). That’s all!
I wanted ask if you and the “WIs†are aware that it is/was a regular practice of Bea’s to name “things” after her daughters (as opposed to her sons) and, also, to put assets in their names? Do you believe that AT knows? If those assets were questionable, do you think Francis would go along w/it? Do you think Gavin would go along w/it? With your law background, is there any stipulation regarding access to holdings if the first/last name under which the asset was established doesn’t exactly match?
The incident in the library had nothing to do w/any act of kindness or the showering of gifts, though I can attest to your experience with Stanley; he was always the consummate gentleman in public.
E.B. McLaughlin says
I am going to try my best to refrain from further postings while admitting it will be difficult. I am too old for game playing and I feel some of the blog responses are nothing greater than teasing in a mildly provocative manner. In saying this, I am pointing the finger at myself and you SN. While it is abunduntly apparent you are intimately knowledgeable of much of the history of the Tollman family, I am not and I feel very much in over my head at this juncture.
In 1948, my Sunday School teacher would end the class with the following – thus endeth the lesson 🙂
SN says
EB, it would be very sad if you were to refrain from further postings. You are the one I connected with. I so enjoy talking w/you. I can point to the exact time that you began to take this blog in another direction. There is no–I repeat, NO game playing here! I never initiated the idea of playing games. Everything I have written here has been blatant truth–based solely on personal up close experience. In my entire string, my “tease” to you was one comment only–[“…Once again, the path was overgrown w/foliage (does this metaphor give you insight into where I might reside). All joking aside…”] and here, I will relent; I was, and stated so, joking with you regarding the metaphor as another stunted lead. I apologize for trying to be too familiar. I made a bad judgment call, and you were not ready to “go there” with me.
As well, I never tried to suggest the TNT was involved in any kind if “withholding” tactic; TNT has provided the site for us to express. Since he was having surgery and would be, presumably, incapacitated for a period of time, I assumed he would not be contributing for a bit of time. This is why I referred to him “returning”. And, as you so eloquently wrote, we were, sadly, arriving at the inevitable dead end. So, my thought was that this was OK–maybe we SHOULD put it aside for awhile, enjoy the summer and come back in the fall/winter [when writers/bloggers retreat indoors].
OK, that’s it. I don’t stress in life. You know, I was afraid I was sitting on a lot of information that might be revealing, but never wanted to (and still don’t want to) disclose all. I have always felt that the experiences that touch my life, good and bad, all contributed to who I am, what I know, and how it all affects my choices and decisions. The Tollmans are only a segment of the events that contributed to life as I experienced it. Contrary to your words, [thus endeth the lesson], my lesson goes on.
It truly was a pleasure.
Kindest regards
e.b. mclaughlin says
Wow – literal you are 🙂 Thus endeth my postings. Lessons in life assuredly do go on.
E.B. McLaughlin says
OK, that’s it. I don’t stress in life. You know, I was afraid I was sitting on a lot of information that might be revealing, but never wanted to (and still don’t want to) disclose all. I have always felt that the experiences that touch my life, good and bad, all contributed to who I am, what I know, and how it all affects my choices and decisions. The Tollmans are only a segment of the events that contributed to life as I experienced it. Contrary to your words, [thus endeth the lesson], my lesson goes on.
______________________________________________________________
SN – I have reread your most recent posting (excerpted above) many times and I say with total honesty – I have no idea what you are saying. It sounds like an apology for revealing a small part of intimate information that now is causing you some distress. Why engage in something like this blog if revealing all (or even part) of a story you know is painful to you? I can try and understand your conflict; but, I am unable to understand why you have tip-toed into the blog knowing full well a reluctance to be candid existed and could be confronted. To further the issue, you admit you are withholding information. Wouldn’t the best approach be one of not participating in a format that is built upon candor? After all – blogs provide the format to hide your name and background and provide the secrecy required to be candid; yet, you insist on being coy with all that read this engaging string of comments about a family you know more about than any of the other contributors including yours truly. Why are you part of this? You say you are not playing games – I say you’re disingenuous in saying that.
SN says
EB, there really is nothing that is mysterious about any of my postings. I joined because of my interest in the subject matter. I did, in fact, apologize to you; [I apologize for trying to be too familiar. I made a bad judgment call, and you were not ready to “go there†with me]. Other than that, EB, I have enjoyed participating fully to this blog. When asking questions, I was looking for your answers or your speculations that would further the topic. I don’t mind being confronted. I may not be able to provide a response that will be satisfactory to you, but I have not been at all disingenuous. Yes, I did witness something that was embarrassing–graceless, not distressful. And, being human, I am quite reluctant to even type the words–it’s like being forced into holding a confidence without agreeing to do so.
EB, I believe other contributors may possibly know as much as I, if not more so. But, they reveal ONLY after a bold comment from me (your confirmations/denials via “WI”).
The Nittany Turkey says
Gentlemen, I hope you can resolve your differences. It was getting interesting here for a while, but now we appear to be mired in your interpersonal relationship or lack of same. Even that was fun for a while, but you’d think that there was really something important about this bunch of crooks or something.
So, please carry on, gentlemen, and go easy on me. I’m still in the hospital.
—TNT
SN says
Welcome back, TNT. Point well taken; I will move on. So, to that end–
EB is questioning AT’s involvement and I am as well. I am still interested in knowing whether there is any stipulation regarding access to holdings if the first/last name under which the asset was established doesn’t exactly match? Does anyone know the answer to this?
E.B. McLaughlin says
TNT says: Gentlemen, I hope you can resolve your differences. It was getting interesting here for a while, but now we appear to be mired in your interpersonal relationship or lack of same. Even that was fun for a while, but you’d think that there was really something important about this bunch of crooks or something.
So, please carry on, gentlemen, and go easy on me. I’m still in the hospital.
_____________________________________________________________
EB responds: SN is a gentleman – I seriously doubt it 🙂
_____________________________________________________________
TNT says: “but you’d think that there was really something important about this bunch of crooks or something.”
EB responds – Exactly my point – why all the mystery – are some of the contributors concerned about being exiled by the exiles from the next social gathering. “Unreal” is all I can say, if true.
Okay, okay – I broke my pledge not to return but I did have the patience to wait a week 🙂
The Nittany Turkey says
Anyone heard from Sanford Freedman lately?
Whodat?
Oh, he was the CFO named in the indictments. He and Hundley took the major fall while most of these Tollman cafoni go free.
From what I can gather, the Tollmans are a bunch of South African crooks who took the low road to a glamorous lifestyle. I have to agree with EB that their presence in the world, their nefarious machinations, and their society affectations can only matter to those either directly connected with them or those intrigued by the lifestyle: two-bit wannabes (or neverwillbes) who look up to the Tollmans as a paragon of “making it.”
I submit that those who look up to these wankers must be operating from a vantage point submerged so far in the gutter that even the Tollmans look good in comparison.
Back to minor, relatively unglamorous characters like Freedman, one of the original questions posed in this thread was: Were people like Hundley and Freedman corrupted by the Tollmans or were they capable of crossing the line on their own? Did they have larceny in their hearts all along? Or did Stanley & Company seduce them by showing them how easy it was. Did Stanley run a de facto “How To Be a Tollman” training program?
From what little I know of Monty relating to my experience with him 30 years ago, he indeed loved extravagance back then. Thus, I don’t find it a great stretch to believe that the symbiosis with the Tollmans was created with a desire to achieve a higher level of extravagance at any cost.
I used to think that Hundley was a smart guy. Still do, to some extent. But his criminal smarts were apparently not up to par. After all, he (and others like Freedman) got caught holding the bag while Stanley high-tailed it outta here! I could never think that Monty would have been such a schlemiel.
As to whether any of this material would make for a book or a docudrama, I still think it is the Hundley, rather than the Tollman, story line that would make sense: an All-American boy sinks into a pit of international corruption as a hotel empire rises and falls at the behest of some despicable, high-flying thieves from South Africa, while those thieves continue to slurp up the Beluga and laugh at justice.
—TNT
e.b. mclaughlin says
What a breath of fresh air and, of course, I am in total agreement. It is, inexplicably, apparent that some of your contributors are very conflicted where the Tollmans are concerned.
SN says
Hello, TNT. In my observation, Sandy Freedman was not only primed to go down this road w/Stanley, he probably mapped out the details based using his knowledge of every loophole imaginable. Just like all the others, Sandy was a surface gentleman, but ruthless and cocky. I also believe Sandy knew he would get caught one day and made provisions for when he was released.
The Nittany Turkey says
SN — in your posts there is a major undercurrent involving various Tollman players transferring assets to escape the effects of prosecution. You now allude that Freedman “made provisions for when he was released.” I suppose that anyone with a reasonably robust imagination would surmise that such things probably were done; however, you have suggested that you know more about them than would a casual observer. If this is the case, I have to wonder how you escaped questioning by the DOJ. Or did you?
—TNT
SN says
TNT, I believe it was another blogger who suggested that I know more than would a casual observer. It was I who said [I was afraid I was sitting on a lot of information that might be revealing]. Referring to Sandy, I said [I also believe Sandy knew he would get caught one day and made provisions for when he was released].
I can only speculate that I was never questioned by DOJ, because I am insignificant. This is one of the main reasons why people who operate on the level that the Tollman’s did confide in people like me. Don’t get caught up in the frenzy, TNT; if you go to when and where I entered this blog, you will see that I have told you where I fit in–it is not a position of prominence–I was not invited to the dinners w/ or without the footmen at every seat, nor was I ever a few feet away from the best table at any favorite club. There is not mystery here. I am a blogger on your site who was draw in like all the rest–because I at one point in time I knew Monty Hundley.
The Nittany Turkey says
Just wanted to stir the pot a bit.
I think it would be rather foolhardy of anyone connected to the Tollman-Hundley Morass to present any specifics of asset transfers here in this blog. I would think that even to allude to them would prick up the ears of the silent eavesdroppers of the law. I would be seriously surprised if DOJ has not combed this thread for clues.
The forfeiture order might serve to clean out Hundley’s stash, but the vast, distributed honeycomb of Tollman resources might well be as slippery as Stanley himself.
—TNT
SN says
I do agree with all you say. In fact, my speculations are exactly as you suggested– [anyone with a reasonably robust imagination would surmise that such things probably were done]. The only difference is I had the proximity over an extended period of time from which to observe just day-to-day behavior of the subjects, i.e.: Brett, Rusty and Jim casually joking w/each other (knowing Rusty was kissing up); Sandy picking up the tab for everyone at the table and counting the pennies in his head; Bea constantly complaining about the cost of food and flowers and always trying to get something for nothing; Stanley the mysophobe, taking in his immediate surroundings in a single glance and being able to pick up on anything undesirable and finding a way to discretely avoid contact; Monty always the center of attention in both business and social surroundings (everybody loves Monty); etc…
With a background in communications, I have both a natural and learned interest in observing/studying all facets of people—expressions, behaviors, styles, tendencies, etc. Combine that with direct communication and almost-daily contact, I was privy to more than most. I am not the “only†person who was in such a position, but I may be the only one who has signed into your blog. Other than having this experience, I have no involvement and owe neither the Tollmans, nor anyone connected to them anything.
By the way, I love the nature photographs on your site.
The Nittany Turkey says
Thanks, SN, for the kind comment about my photos. I hope you didn’t have to wade through too many “Don climbs the tree while I hold the camera in safety beneath” pictures to get to the good ones. (I have difficulty editing out the trite “people pictures,” particularly because that’s what my hiking partners really want to see—the monkeys!)
Speaking of pictures, I now have a pretty good picture of your involvement with Tollman-Hundley and associated netherworld dwellers thanks to your commentary above. It must have been a helluva ride. I sometimes wonder what I would have done and where I would have ultimately wound up if I had stayed in the business and stuck with Monty. My best guess is that I would have walked down the same path as Sandy, although I don’t know whether I would have had the stomach for it.
—TNT
e.b. mclaughlin says
Sisters Tollman make Bushman’s Kloof
——————————————————————————–
VICKY Tollman is wearing a yellow Live Strong armband on the one hand and a red Kabala protective string on the other. Although of South African birth, she, and her sister Toni, speak with exotic accents that are not easily placed. The Tollman family have been hotels for a lifetime with their parents, Stanley and Beatrice renowned for The Tollman Towers in Johannesburg. Today the Tollman dynasty stretches far and wide and it is kind to say they have had their share of difficulty.
The first experience of the Tollman hospitality was on our fly-in arrival arranged by the fabulous Janie van der Spuy in a luxurious but tiny aircraft where I was sitting so close to Fair Lady’s Abigail Donnely I was almost lost in her cleavage. We were welcomed by cousin Michael Tollman and his tiny dog – I adore men with dogs, before watching the obligatory local school production. Jill Wagner whom I knew from years ago when she was at The Cape Sun of which I was a habitué seemed the calm presence while, after the tears and nose blowing as the kiddy concert came to an end, the Sisters Tollman were rushing about looking for the presents to hand over to the school.
The trip thus far was top draw, text book launch material – everything from the chilled scented towel on arrival to the local dance troupe and I, much calmed by a anti-anxiety tablet I’d taken before the flight and quaffing a Kir Royale, was preparing myself for a slick launch filled with cliché and, ultimately devoid of meaning.
We were quite a big group and when seated in the Spanner outside dining area at Bushmans Kloof, I had fellow writer Melvyn Minaar opposite me and Vicky Tollman to my left. Cynicism comes with being a Scorpio, 15 years in the media and working as a publicist. Perhaps AA Gill is more cynical than I but few others are so my BS radar was on high alert.
The fact there was to cellphone reception was freaky – I’ve been to the Backwaters of Bombay and had cell phone reception and luckily my medication had kicked in so my being-out-of-reach anxiety minimized. I did think that Janie ought to have warned us so that our respective offices wouldn’t be surprised to be incommunicado.
I can’t pin point the exact moment I had an epiphany. Suddenly I understood that everything I thought phony about the Tollman’s was 100% authentic – they really are passionate, effusive, effective committed people and the emotion that I’d understood to be turned on at will, was heartfelt. Somehow, in the shadow of rocky outcrops and heart-opening nature I could feel my soul again and, in consequence, everyone else’s too. It occurred to me that millennia previously people had been at this exact spot searching for meaning in life and, perhaps in a similar way in which the media interprets events of the day, so too were the rock and cave paintings of our ancestors a reflective medium to understand their universe.
In this frame of mind the luxury which had previously been my focus now seemed a distraction. Bouchard Finlayson Wines, as delicious as they were dulled my now heightened senses and the food which I found glorious and playful seemed to draw me away from a place of understanding – perhaps even enlightenment. Each breath felt to me like man’s first – as if it were possible I witnessed the creation of the world.
Of course, before long I was back to my usual self – prattling on about this or that and finding myself again engrossed in nothing at all.
The day ended all too soon for me. By now I was hanging on Vicky’s every word as I imagined what her life, lived on many continents must be like. Although I’d never been to Bushmans Kloof before it was already well known to me as the uber luxury place to experience Bushman paintings. There is a museum there chronicles life of the San people with much more respect than the diorama that used to be at the SA Museum in Cape Town. The rock and cave paintings, of which we only had time to visit one, are protected World Heritage sites.
As a Relais & Chateaux property one of the conditions, Vicky tells us, is that it has to be owner managed. It also means that standards have to be kept at the high level these properties demand as the marques has become a mark of excellence.
It was also exciting to meet such an innovative and quirky chef so many miles from a big city. With chef Floris Smith sharp features and square glasses he cuts an image that is as nerdish as Dexter while as stylish as Yves Saint Laurent. I experienced the food as course after course of innovation while remaining true to a sense of location and purpose.
Back home, while writing notes in my leather covered Bushmans Kloof book, burning the Bushmans Kloof jasmine votive candles and wearing my Bushmans Kloof cap – I count the trimmings of a lavish press junket.
This is one place that doesn’t need the usual sweeteners and I feel compelled to recommend Bushmans Kloof as the antidote to modern cynical life. Perhaps if I’d been there for longer I’d be even nicer to be around.
http://www.bushmanskloof.co.za 021-685-2598
Bill Tanner says
Wow, the things you run into on the net. Monte is my cousin but the last time we saw each other was as teenagers many years ago. I have kept rough track of him through other relatives. I had a great time with the Hundleys – he had two brothers, Chuck and Dion and two sisters, Surilda and Shirley.
I was shocked to read your note and will do some research on Montes problems.
The Nittany Turkey says
Bill, thanks for coming here and I’d certainly appreciate any contributions about Monty.
—TNT
e.b. mclaughlin says
THE TOLLMANS RETURN TO WHENCE TEY CAME FROM – a poasting for SN.
News from the news service iafrica dated June 21, 2007 regarding the Tollman Award for Visual Arts:
The Tollman family grew up in South Africa and their formative years were spent here. Although they left the country to pursue business interests, South Africa never left them. Due to the positive changes that have happened over the past decade, they have been reinvesting in South Africa, focusing on tourism and the wine industry. They have also been inspired to support and encourage the extraordinary creativity in the visual arts that they have encountered in the new South Africa which has led to the creation and birth of this award.
Stanley’s exotic daughters, Vicki and Toni, are among the committee members that select the annual winner of the Tollman Award, first presented in 2003.
LG says
I used to stay at the Chesterfield Hotel and was invited to New Year’s Eve at the Tollman’s.
I have been living out of the country. I knew that Stanley had been indicted and fled. I did not know that Brett took the rap.
The Tollmans bought some of the Day’s Inns from friends of mine. They went bankrupt and left my friends high and dry. This was in the early nineties.
I am interested in being to touch with all of you. I pitched a major magazine and they are interested in a story.
I can be reached at stockjockey13@hotmail.com. Confidentiality assured. I will unveil my identity. I write for major newspapers now.
LG says
I tried to email Ben at the address on the site. But it bounced back. Ben, can you please contact me.
LG says
I have to spill my guts. This has been eating me since I heard about Brett Tollman’s plight. I honestly did not know about it before two days. It was very sad to me what happened to Brett.
I was writing a story about Comverse’s Kobi Alexander’s extradition fight against the US from Namibia when I stumbled onto this blog.
In December 1992, I was on the vacation from hell with my friend Bryna and we were staying at the Chesterfield Hotel. She was a nursing breakup from the love of her life. Aren’t they all? At that time, the hotel was affordable and loved the Leopard Bar.
We had not car. I met Brett Tollman because I impudently asked him for a ride to Chuck and Harold’s without even knowing who he was. He was slightly taken back. But being a total gentleman, he took us. Later that night, Brett invited us to join Wynn and his sisters at a bar on Worth Avenue. They were a close happy family.
Wynn Tollman did tell me his “problems” started after he was trapped alone in America and the rest of family was still in South Africa or Europe. He could not leave because he did not have the proper citizenship papers. A good life destroyed by the vagaries of fate and cruel immigration agents. Being a wandering Jew is never easy.
I will always remember Brett for two things. Shortly thereafter, I was raped in Palm Beach by someone that Bryna introduced me to. I told you that it was the vacation from hell.
Brett was probably the last man that I approached without hesitation. After the rape, I would never have approached him. I stupidly blamed myself for the rape.
When I left my job 10 months later because the rapist knew my bosses, white knight Brett Tollman rode to the rescue. I stayed at the Chesterfield for months at a good rate. It may have been good business. But the Chesterfield Hotel was my port in the storm. That is what a good hotel should be.
I am not going to judge the Tollmans but to clear Brett. Brett loved his family and lived to please them. The Tollman Hundley business ethics were predetermined. TH bought Days Inn in Pennsylvania from some friends and clients of mine. These people took back debt that Tollman Hundley later welched on. Brett was too young then to be in the driver’s seat then. He learned business at the knee of his father and mother.
With the benefit of 20/20 hindisght, this will seem funny now. I was a stockbroker and was interested in doing business with Tollman Hundley. Thank goodness Brett shot me down rather vehemently. I like to think now that he was protecting me from trouble.
People should not be put in jail for loving their family too much. Maybe, they should be sent to a psychiatrist instead.
LG says
In writing my article, I think that you can compare the Tollmans to the Great Gatsby. But who is Daisy?
I do not want to appear amoral. Of course, people need to pay their taxes. Through the school of real life, I have often learned that the most extravangant spenders rarely earned their money legally. It seems that the hoodlums always want to clean the money with champagne.
I also do not want to appear totally selfless. I did indulge myself with a litttle schadenfrued when I heard about Stanley’s troubles. I am a great manager but I can not keep with not paying taxes.
e.b. mclaughlin says
FROM TODAY’S N Y POST – PAGE SIX COLUMN
DUO FREE ABROAD September 17, 2007 — FRIENDS of Stanley and Beatrice Tollman – the elderly couple who were regulars at ’21,’ on Park Avenue, in Palm Beach and Litchfield County, Conn. – are happy even though they’ll never see the Tollmans on these shores again.
The South African-born couple, wanted in the U.S. on charges of bank fraud and tax evasion, apparently have beaten the U.S. Attorney’s four-year extradition attempt, and will now be able to enjoy their retirement abroad.
Their son Brett Tollman, 42, who served 18 months of a 33-month sentence in prison for his part in the scheme, was released in November 2005. Stanley Tollman’s partner in a chain of 50 Day’s Inn hotels, Monty Hundley, is serving an eight-year sentence.
Tollman, 76, who was friends with Baroness Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, steadfastly maintains his innocence. “I’m not a person who runs away from a fight,” he told one reporter. “I’ve never run away from a fight in my life, but everything here was stacked against me.”
Their nemesis is U.S. Attorney Stanley Okula, a prosecutor as implacable as Inspector Javert in “Les Misérables.”
The judge in London’s Westminster Magistrate’s Court who recently ruled against extradition said Okula allegedly “displayed personal animosity” against the Tollmans.
“[Okula] is said to have declared that he intends to make Mr. Tollman’s life ‘as miserable as possible,’ which is a comment he has not denied,” the judge said. “He is also said to have commented that he was looking forward to having a ‘perp walk’ with Beatrice Tollman.” Mind you, the lady is 74.
Okula denied the threats, but another lawyer gave evidence proving otherwise. Now the tables have turned. Okula was found by a judge to have given false evidence under oath.
But the Tollmans say Okula went even farther than just giving false evidence. Last year, he had authorities in Niagara Falls seize Stanley’s nephew, Gavin, when he was visiting Canada on business. A Canadian judge quickly released him, finding there had been abuse of process.
The U.S. Attorney’s office is appealing the extradition ruling.
e.b. mclaughlin says
THANK GOODNESS FOR LG – THIS COLUMN NEEDED SOMEONE WITH A SPINE AND SHE IS PRESENTING HERSELF GRANDLY. IT IS SO UNFORTUNATE THAT ONE AMONG US SPEAKS IN RIDDLES, ESPECIALLY IN A BLOG THAT PORTENDS SO MUCH THIS PERSON COULD CONTRIBUTE TOWARDS THE ANSWER. LEST WE FORGET, THE TITLE IS “WAS $100 MILLION WORTH IT”. ONE WAY TO PARTICIPATE IS WITH COMPLETE CANDOR.
AND, TNT, PLEASE DON’T SCOLD ME FOR BEING UNKIND BECAUSE MY COMMENTS ARE DIRECTED AT SOMEONE THAT APPEARS TO BE A FRIEND OF YOURS. I THINK MY COMMENTS ENJOY A SOLID FOUNDATION. THERE NEVER IS AN EXCUSE FOR OBFUSCATION, DISINGENUOUS HINTS AND ALL THE OTHER INNUENDO CONCEALED IN ESOTERIC GLIBNESS.
The Nittany Turkey says
Actually, EB, I do not personally know anyone who has contributed comments to this thread, so blast away! (Even if they were my friends, I would have counseled them not to post teasers if they weren’t willing to provide further information.)
—TNT
LG says
E.B. Mclaughlin, please contact me at stockjockey13@hotmail.com. I really would like to talk to you. It can be off the record. You complain about SN but you will not come forward either. Or tell me some other way to get in contact with you.
Besides writing for newspapers, I also have written several fiction books. This could make a great book. I love your eye for detail.
I am the one that placed the item in Page Six inadvertently. I am in regular contact with them. I was telling them what I was working on.
The elder Tollmans next hearing is in October. It is not over until the fat lady sings.
As far as my non purient interet, in some ways this is putting up a mirror on all our lives. I was rebellious kid and resented my parents.
My parents tried to instill good values in me. Seeing what Brett’s parent’s did makes me feel lucky to have my parents.
My parents never committed a crime. But if they happened to, they would make sure that I was not involved. They would never leave me holding the bag.
Knowing the Feds as well as I do. If Stanley and Bea had turned themselves in on condition that Brett did not serve prison time,the Feds would have accomodated their request. They were after Stanley Tollman for the fraud.
SN says
Hello, LG. As promised, I backed away from this blog for awhile to enjoy the rest of the summer. Because this past weekend was a bit rainy and cool, I stayed in, lit a fire and googled TNT. It is good to hear from someone who has real input. I am pleased that, having met and spent time w/Brett, we have the same feeling about his character and his relationship to his parents. I have placed quite a bit of information here–not in riddles as was suggested, but basic fact for people who TRULY knew these principles. I, too, would like to know more from the WI’s (Washington Insiders) who have, in fact, been ingocnito.
The personal animosity from EB surprised me. But, nevertheless, there is no disingenuousness in any of my information, as you well know. If someone chooses to coin it as such, well–you can’t do anything about what people think.
I was really excited to read that you also know Wynn. I loved him and knew only his kindness and pure heart. I have to run, but look forward to reading more of your words.
The Nittany Turkey says
SN,
I took the liberty of deleting the comment that you subsequently edited and re-submitted with typos having been corrected.
—TNT
LG says
Hey S.N., I do not doubt that you have given valuable information on this blog. But Journalism ethics requires that I get it from you directly. I do not care who you are. I just need to be able to show that you are telling the truth. It can be off the record. The tone of the article is not negative. So please contact me at stockjockey13@hotmail.com
As for E. B., I can not discern the source of his anger either. He will not contact me either which is a little hypocritical considering he wants you to unveil your identity.
I used to hang out with former Senator D’amato. Al, in his single days, could hardly be considered a romantic. After meeting the former Miranda Rich, he mused once to me that he hoped that Brett had found happiness. Worrying about Brett’s love life was atypical for Al but demonstrated the effect that Brett had on people. People rooted for him.
LG says
E.B. The transcripts that I am getting do not have your email address. I do not know if it is something with my computer. So once again l ask you to contact me.
I apologize. I did not realize that SN was the one that referred to the incident in South Africa. It did not register because it was not relevant to my story.
As far as I can tell, her allegations are false. I have many friends in the diamond business ect that know South Africa well. They have told me that it is not true. Visitors to the winery tell me it is amazing.
My main email address is laurag at bezeqint.net
LG says
E.B. There are 137 Edward Mclaughlins in Florida. Otherwise I would have called you.
SN says
EB, you’re getting carried away and taking this much too personally. I never said [I knew ALL about the family]; I’ve always only added my insights based on personal experience–I have never wavered from that. When I have speculated, I stated that.
I never said “the family” was run out of SA; Bea traveled there regularly. And, as LG pointed out, Wynn was sent to America while the rest of the family still resided in SA (his parents, Bea, sent him here to avoid him having to join the SA military). You need only read articles or ask one of the Tollman children if you want to know more about Stanley in relation to SA–or maybe your “WI” friends can fill you in–you know, the ones that you TEASED us with–the ones you introduced, but have never revealed their identities?
You have accused me of hiding behind secrecy in order to remain on a permanent guest list–let me assure you, no one has ever remained permanently on Bea’s guest list–not even family members. As well, you seem to get increasingly frustrated when I choose not to join in the
I can refrain from participating in this blog, if it is the wish of TNT. It is not essential to my existence, but I did like reading other’s comments. For example, I found it quite amusing reading about Brett bringing his little dog into the office…
I believe I did state this before, and I will here: I am not interested in joining in on a destructive bandwagon (Lord of the Flies style) to further tear down the Tollmans or Monty, EB. So, regardless of the amount of pressure you exert, I do not care to join you on this path. I only wanted to add my 2 cent.
The Nittany Turkey says
It is not my wish that anyone refrain from participating here. You all have something to add.
—TNT
LG says
Hey S.N., you say that you do not want to say anything about the Tollmans but your last rant was pretty negative. I knew about Wynn’s military service but chose not to say anything about it. I just said that he was in the States.
Since I have not been to war, I do not judge other people that do not want to go either.
I know many people that have been friends with Bea Tollman for years.
I, for one, have many friends and family members that come in and out of my life. So I would not judge Bea Tollman that harshly.
Her children have always told me that she was an excellent mother. I am not sure she was the sole decision maker in the case of their fleeing.
SN says
Hi, LG. What I said was that I was not interested in joining in on a bandwagon to further tear down the Tollmans. One blogger in particular has not been satisfied with my degree of disclosure and has criticized what I have written to a great degree. Conversely, you want me to be more discreet.
I, too, might have concerns about any children of mine joining the military, and could be in a position to make a similar decision. I wouldn’t call what I wrote about Bea a judgement–its just a fact; Wynn told me himself about this being his mother’s decision.
If you read my previous postings, you can see that I do know that Bea’s children love her.
JL Packer says
It is abhorrent that Gavin Tollman, through no other reason than skanky parentage, was imprisoned in Canada. He is a kind and decent gentleman, who I am proud to call my friend. We were college mates in DC, and while both recently transplanted to NY in our early careers, remained friends. He even tried to fix me up with cousins Brett and wynn, who may have had the brains among the cousins, but lacked Gavin’s decency and charm. I worked in Junk bonds for Loews Corp and became quite professionally intimate with the toxic Days Inns bonds mentioned rather unprofessionally by the writer of this article, and indeed my bosses at Loews were quite shocked that I vouched for the sons, cousins Gavin and Brett, of the blowhard asshole Tollman Sr.s. Gavin was devastated for his cousin when he was sentenced to prison, and expressed such sadness that his cousin would be away from his family during their precious toddler years, that there is no doubt in my mind that not only did he toe the line, but cleaned up whatever remaining shennanigans may have existed. I can only fathom that he was scapegoated – imprisoned to lure in his wretched uncle or idiotic father to fess up to their scams. But as Tollman Sr not only allowed his son Brett to go to prison but taught him the scams in question, no one needs to wish him evil. He has to live with himself. And that’s pretty rotten company. and if LG should wish to contact me – pls let me know – and have the financing shennanigans explained properly to him/her – happily.
The Nittany Turkey says
Ahhh, they’re coming out of the woodwork now. Makes this bloggist happy.
I don’t know why Mr. Packer takes issue with my mention of the Day’s Inn financing, which I derived without semantic changes from the DOJ press release, when he adds the rejoinder “…the toxic Days Inns bonds mentioned rather unprofessionally by the writer of this article…” Which profession’s ethics was I violating by publishing this mention? I clearly stated attribution; thus I took no journalistic liberties. This is publicly available information; I broke no confidences. The facts are the facts.
—TNT
LG says
I would love for JL Packer to contact me. My main email address is laurag@bezeqint.net. I am very interested in the junk bonds. I graduated the Wharton School and traded junk bonds while working at Merrill Lynch, Paine Webber. I never traded the Day’s Inn bonds. But I wouild love to explain the machinatiions to my readers.
LG says
Can someone explain to all the readers who is Mike Ness? A name that everyone from top to bottom feared at Travelcorp companies including the Tollmans.
LG says
TNT, I did not write the last comment. I never heard of Mike Ness but I am going to see if I can discover his identity.
The Nittany Turkey says
So, we have two LGs here? LG #2, who mentioned Mike Ness, would you please give yourself a different name to disambiguate your postings from those of the established LG? Thank you!
I have never seen or heard the name Mike Ness heretofore.
—TNT
Bijou says
As a Trafalgar alumni from the days of Nick Tarsh, managing director of TT, predecessor of Mike Ness. My experiences with TT, the Tollmans and Monty Hundley date from the mid-70’s when Stanley & Bea bought their apartment in the Olympic Tower, through the early 80’s, including Tollman-Hundley Hotels. Arnold Tollman had just moved to NY with his fiance, Sandy. Gavin was 19 when he came to the office to visit his father (Arnold) and quite adorable. I knew Wynn, usually hungover, when he began a brief stint at Bear Stearns. In those days, Wynn was known as “Stroke”. I didn’t know he could write, much less poetry. I knew Monty, recently divorced from his first wife but in pre-Joni days. I knew Chuck Hundley, Richard Masefield, Maureen Van Metter. I’ve been collecting info for years for a possible book. I may be contacted at bijou1105@aol.com. Isn’t amazing how many lives they have touched, in one way or another. This is a fascinating story of family, partnership, and greed.
Bijou says
A question for E.B.? Is your friend, the good authority on and friend of Stanley & Bea, from Australia and have the initials B.L.? Just curious.
e.b. mclaughlin says
No.
Americans living in Litchfield County, CT. The relationship was strictly social but they were included in most affairs at the home. The female of the couple is extremely prominent and enjoys social events, especially orchestrated ones with such over-the-top grandness 🙂 as waiters behind each and every attendees chair.
Bijou says
Has anyone been in touch with Monty’s assistant from as far back as the Loews days, P.Y.? She could fill volumes.
SN says
Yes, she COULD fill volumes! Actually, I have been waiting to see her postings here. But, on second thought–not very likely; she was extremely devoted to all three (Monty, Sanley & Sandy). But, as loyal as she was, she was the life of the party–and brought it out in all of them, too.
e.b. mclaughlin says
AFRIKANER & APARTHEID – “THE WALL OF GLIBNESS”. My apology to Phil Spector.
SN ****** this family is not so unusual–maybe cleaver; you need only dig a bit deeper; you may even find a similar scandal, i.e.: why didn’t (couldn’t) Stanley return to So Africa to attend his only sister’s funeral when she was killed by her servants? ******
RESPONSE – Well, I’m vicky’s daughter and stanley’s grand daughter.. what is exactly ur problem? You don’t even know what ur talking about, come on come down to earth u think this whole problem is like a soap opera.. Let me rectify some stuff first of all Stanley didn’t have any sisters , it was his sister in law and it happened 20 years ago and he was at the funeral get ur intel right, then who r u to say who’s who in the family , would you want me to go and talk dirt about ur family when nothing of this is true ???? Look at yourselves , don’t you have anything better to do with your life? What do you care, and by the way she wasn’t killed by her servants but by some thief… And thanx for asking my dad ( Steve From morrocco ) is doing just fine
AND, ANOTHER FROM “iAFRICA” 6/21/07 – The Tollman family grew up in South Africa and their formative years were spent here. Although they left the country to pursue business interests, South Africa never left them. Due to the positive changes that have happened over the past decade, they have been reinvesting in South Africa, focusing on tourism and the wine industry.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
SN – Oh my! If it is someone EXTREMELY close to Stanley & Bea – I was very fond of the family as well, especially Bea. I am sure you have read my comments in previous replies above. What any of us really knows about anyone is what they choose to let us see; this does not necessarily equate to the essence of the person. There is only one incident that took place between Stanley & Bea that I can remember where discretion wasn’t used. If character is to be measured by actions and deeds, I am sure they would have preferred this incident not be witnessed by anyone! I cannot recount that event here, since we have decided to be more careful.
________________________________________________________________________________________
SN – If it is true that Toni married Gavin, it is so amazing to me! If my memory serves me correctly, Bea always thought of him as a weasel. I remain convinced that (if it is true) it was a legal maneuver.
RESPONSE – From a TTC employee in the Tollman empire:
As anyone who has spent time in recent years with Gavin and Toni can tell you – they love each other and are happy together. That’s all there is to it – end of story.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
The following has been thrown out several times by SN: the Tollmans are more clever than prosecutors bargained for. Perhaps they need to confer with law enforcement from other continents, who may have more experience with that level of astuteness. They are leaving out a key element in dealing with Stanley & Bea–the ones who got away. Stanley & Bea are not Americans; they are Afrikaner. And keep in mind these are people who flourished during Apartheid…
EB says – Am I the only one that doesn’t get the relevance of the last two lines? Watch for it again further along.
______________________________________________________________________________________
SN – one of Mrs. Tollman’s best friends just passed away. Mrs. Greenaugh was one of the kindest people you’d ever want to meet. It would be interesting to know if Bea chose seclusion over paying respect to her friend to by attending memorial services in the US.
RESPONSE: from New Preston – Beverly was also a great friend of mine. I had no idea she knew the Tollmans. I have never seen her at any of their occasions (weddings, parties, etc). I do not think they were great friends—only acquaintances.
______________________________________________________________________________________
SN – In light of the comment from the one who knows all the players, I suppose the “acquaintance†ended years ago. I do remember many get-togethers between the two…
HERE is the key to my grumble about SN – an admission that is quite telling as it represents the way she views what I believe has been candor on all contributors’ parts but hers –
I agree that this blog is ending with a whimper; unfortunately we won’t be able to go further if none of us is willing to fully disclose all. Sadly, no one reading chose to go further with the directional nudges and hints. Though there were a couple provocative replies, it appears all are waiting for the other to “crack open the coconut†first. No disclosure ???? Not the way I measure the comments.
________________________________________________________________________________________
July 8, 2007, I asked:
Where do you reside and why is your name a secret? The style SN has succeeded in keeping your identity unknown Are you reluctant to (crack open the coconut?)†If so, why? Have I seen you at Bice in PB? Or, in Manhattan at Grenouille? My extremely well informed friend in Washington has no idea who you might be nor do any of his/her surrounding friends. SN is a puzzlement. Why, once again, the secrecy?
Check the last two lines of the response – more drama:
Neither the “Washington Insider†nor his/her friends would know who I am. I am positive you never saw me at Bice, Grenouille or even Sammy’s for that matter. I truly cannot be more coherent than I already have been. The few times I have attempted to lead the blog towards an inroad, the path, somehow, always faded. Just like everyone else, I happened upon this blog one day. My interest can be compared to yours, EB—the astounding intrigue of it all! You are correct; your account of the dinner parties would be unfathomable to most. But, also, trust the fact the guest lists were painstakingly contrived for optimum consolidation for allegiance (social AND business). Thus, everyone’s reluctance to “crack open the coconutâ€. In my observation, Stanley and Bea (Bea in particular) are masters of persuasion/manipulation–you choose. There are many examples; the way they entered into this country is just one of them.
As far as the footmen/personal waiters: doesn’t the period of time between when the “fraud†began and the charges were finally filed coincide w/the amplification of social accoutrements? Why go over the top? Were the dinner parties over the top? Think about this. I have mentioned before and I will again: the Tollmans are Afrikaner, not American. Also, keep in mind that they not only “did well†financially, but flourished– during apartheid!
________________________________________________________________________________________
SN –
Well, EB, that was my attempt at trying to revive the Monty blog. Once again, the path was overgrown w/foliage (does this metaphor give you insight into where I might reside). All joking aside I feel personally embarrassed for this family–I know them that well. The Tollmans are vulnerable right now, and if only because it is wrong to try and humiliate or completely unclothe one who is already exposed (even though I know some of them may feel no remorse in doing so to others), it is my moral principle to extend compassion.
There is so much more to be said. I can recall a time when I was making a phone call from Stanley’s library at the PB mansion and witnessed something that was so fundamentally poignant. I have never told anyone about it. Now, as I reflect upon subsequent events, I am conflicted about how and where to place this one in my mind. It was not only the incident itself (which was a shock to say the least). But, taking into account the type of activity that was happening simultaneously just outside the library, into the foyer and through the French doors leading to the patio, the contrast was almost frightening.
________________________________________________________________________________________
EVEN OUR LEADER HAD QUESTIONS –
The Nittany Turkey Says:
July 24th, 2007 at 8:40 pm
SN — in your posts there is a major undercurrent involving various Tollman players transferring assets to escape the effects of prosecution. You now allude that Freedman “made provisions for when he was released.†I suppose that anyone with a reasonably robust imagination would surmise that such things probably were done; however, you have suggested that you know more about them than would a casual observer. If this is the case, I have to wonder how you escaped questioning by the DOJ. Or did you?
EB says – ENTER A SELF DEPRECATING RESPONSE, PLEASE: SORRY, SHE DID 🙂
TNT, I believe it was another blogger who suggested that I know more than would a casual observer. It was I who said [I was afraid I was sitting on a lot of information that might be revealing]. Referring to Sandy, I said [I also believe Sandy knew he would get caught one day and made provisions for when he was released].
I can only speculate that I was never questioned by DOJ, because I am insignificant. This is one of the main reasons why people who operate on the level that the Tollman’s did confide in people like me. Don’t get caught up in the frenzy, TNT; if you go to when and where I entered this blog, you will see that I have told you where I fit in–it is not a position of prominence–I was not invited to the dinners w/ or without the footmen at every seat, nor was I ever a few feet away from the best table at any favorite club. There is not mystery here. I am a blogger on your site who was draw in like all the rest–because I at one point in time I knew Monty Hundley.
___________________________________________________________
********** MY GRIPE WITH SN IS AND CONTINUES TO BE A BELIEF THAT THIS HUNDLEY/TOLLMAN BLOG CARRIES A DEGREE OF INTEREST FOR MANY EACH AND EVERYONE OF OF WHOM SEEM TO BE STRAIGHTFORWARD CONTRIBUTORS EXHIBITING THE WONDERFUL CHARACTERISTIC OF CANDOR. WHEN A VEHICLE SUCH AS THIS BLOG SITE PROVIDES ANNONIMITY, WHY DOES THE MESSAGE OF SOME HAVE TO BE ARRANGED TO MENTALLY CONFOUND THE READER? AND, THE CONTRADICTIONS ARE IMMENSE – “NOT IN A POSITION OF PROMINENCE – YET DESCRIBES ALL MATTERS WITH PRECISENESS” **********
SN says
EB, what is it you’re looking for? 1) Yes, I did make an error in saying sister instead of sister-in-law, but the situation is correct.
2) Bea and Mrs. G were friends; and as I said, perhaps the friendship ended long ago, and your WI friends didn’t know the Tollmans until after that time. Also, please note that Bea did make a distinction between social acquaintances and true friends.
3) Comments regarding SA vs USA? Cultural / societal / political / legal / operational (or whatever) differences…some practices that are a acceptable and a matter of course in one society, may be unacceptable and illegal in another–that is what I mean. Haven’t you heard of Apartieid? When I said the Tollaman’s flurished during this time, I meant that they were obviously opportunists who made a conscious decision to disregard the inhumanity that was prevalent in their society.
4) In the entire scope of events involving the Tollmans–pre-America–post America, I am insignificant; I passed through just like most who knew them.
If you feel there are immense contradictions in my comments, simply ignore my comments! Don’t know what else to tell you…
E.B. McLaughlin says
Look, what can I say. I would have no grumble if your comments were ignored but you are very articulate and present yourself as knowing a whole lot about not just the Tollmans but all the people involved in this sordid affair. Yes, I do feel you are a contradiction simply by parsing the way you do with your words. Here’s what I will say – I am not a misogynist and I do admit your contributions are provocative. But, why is it so important to reveal only half a story or event? What can this exiled family do to you? Besides saying you were not in the main stream you say it has much to do with respect and closeness but isn’t that tantamount to admiration for Bea and Stanley, two people that have ruined far more lives than their own?
One question – who in this lengthy blog do you see as “holding back”? This is one, if not, the most candid groups I have ever conversed with and I appreciate the openess. You are a very hard person not to like and to praise. Your contibutions are, as I just said, provocative and fluidly advancing. Frankly, I think all the contributors to TNT’s site are happy you’re particpating. Chill out and tell us the whole story which in no way means exposing yourself. Remain hidden. Just be candid about the subject matter you address.
E.B. McLaughlin says
Once again- I submit your comment SN. If this isn’t game playing, I don’t know what is.
SN WRITES – “unfortunately we won’t be able to go further if none of us is willing to fully disclose all. Sadly, no one reading chose to go further with the directional nudges and hints. Though there were a couple provocative replies, it appears all are waiting for the other to “crack open the coconut†first.”
Are you incapable of seeing your obfuscating ways.
___________________________________________________________
Obfuscation is the concealment of meaning in communication, making it confusing and harder to interpret.
SN says
Hello, EB. Thank you for expanding my vocabulary; like it is said–you learn something new everyday!
I will say, finally, that I began writitng because TNT asked for comments from anyone who knew Monty. Some of those who knew Monty also knew Stanley and the rest. I am one of those people. I never intended to have a one-sided tell-all platform to enrtertain you and others, but an exchange between those of us who knew the subjects. If there was anyone contributing who knew the subjects and the subject matter, they would know what I was talking about. This hasn’t happened.
I am guilty, it seems, of ignorance of blog protcol. There is an explanation–I’ve never done it before. So, I am quite content to let this “blogging thing” go–only checking in periodically to read others comments and to view TNT’s new photo albums. Ta…
The Nittany Turkey says
SN, “blog protocol” here is wide open. Anybody can post anything. If I find a post inappropriate for any reason other than it being comment spam, I’ll remove it and send a note to its author. I should note that I’ve never felt the need to remove a post. E.B. is not running this blog—I am—and you should feel free to read and post as you please. You are welcome here, SN.
In any case, thanks for being an appreciator of my meager collection of photos and I sincerely appreciate your well wishes.
—TNT
E.B. McLaughlin says
I am not trying to run your blog – and you are overstepping your bounds to suggest I am. If you want participants that load the blog with inaccurate comments, have at it.
I ONCE AGAIN PRESENT THE FOLLOWING: SN WRITES – “unfortunately we won’t be able to go further if none of us is willing to fully disclose all. Sadly, no one reading chose to go further with the directional nudges and hints. Though there were a couple provocative replies, it appears all are waiting for the other to “crack open the coconut†first.â€
As Samuel Goldwyn eloquently stated many years ago – “INCLUDE ME OUT”.
Stick with a bull shitter – anyway – the Tollman story is wrung out.
The Nittany Turkey says
That’s pretty funny, E.B. This is indeed my blog, and therefore the bounds are established by me. All this wanking about the inconsequential Tollmans is really what is overstepping bounds.
My desire is to encourage SN to contribute as much or as little as she desires. If she chooses to obfuscate, so be it. I will not censor her in any way.
This being a football oriented blog, it is appropriate that some of us do end runs and some run straight up the middle. And then there are the ones who fumble the ball and then yell at the referees.
I’m metaphorically cracking my ass up here, E.B.
Anybody who doesn’t like what I post here can feel free to express their feelings here—and I can feel equally free to tell them to kiss my ass.
My blog. My rules. 🙂
—TNT
E.B. McLaughlin says
You are a fool. I’m embarrassed you reside in Florida. Power is all you have on this blog site. Of course, it is yours. Have I ever said otherwise?
Penn State is an embarrassment and most of its graduates should remain in the valley. Were it not for Joe Paterno, a Brown graduate, no one would know where Penn State was located. State school and a very poor one that relies on athletics for whatever presence it has. Join the Big Ten and rule – I think not. Come to Florida and keep up this sophomoric BS about your team while surrounded by Miami, Florida and Florida State not to mention UCF and USF is very stupidio – JEEEEZ get a f—king life and do something for a living. It is jerks like you that set this state back into the red neck classification it is trying to rise above.
You and SN, who you thought was a male, deserve each other. What she doesn’t know, she makes up and posts as fact. You, on the otherhand, are so inarticulate that all you can say is “this is my site”. You’re damned right it is yours and the quality speaks volumes when the boss allows such mediocrity and is incapable of responding with anything resembling adult speech. You are obviously a hairy moron from the valley of death named State College, PA.
I have to stop – I am laughing so hard I cannot continue to type. Please, don’t respond with more cave man rhetoric. Go kiss SN’s ass like you have from the get-go. And, take a big bow for allowing free speech on your blog site almighty TNT. You are a humanitarian and a partiot.
The Nittany Turkey says
Feel better now?
E.B. McLaughlin says
An extremely pithy response from a person stating “my blog, my rules”.
TNT says – Anybody who doesn’t like what I post here can feel free to express their feelings here—and I can feel equally free to tell them to kiss my ass.
Spoken like a true man from State College, PA. A gorilla.
E.B. McLaughlin says
Incidentally, vulgarity is exactly what one expects from the king of Penn State blogs. You guys once were a football power. Get over it – Florida teams rule and have for a good many years. Take the hay and BS and return to Happy Valley.
The Nittany Turkey says
Thanks, E.B. I am now convinced that you are a 14 year-old refugee from a video game bulletin board!
e.b. mclaughlin says
http://www.kennedyvmachine.com/?p=2288
TNT – hope you allow this to be opened.
The Nittany Turkey says
Hilarious! I can live the moment vicariously through my namesake.
—TNT
E.B. McLaughlin says
I may be 14 but I know a bully when I see one. Anyone that calls himself MR. BIG had better see a doctor and soon.
VICARIOUSLY – I’m impressed. State College has vocabulary classes.
The Nittany Turkey says
Hey, not only can I spell “vicariously” but also I can spell my initials.
TNT = BIG
Dear SN says
Well , eb is right , when you don’t know you create the stories ….
“Haven’t you heard of Apartieid? When I said the Tollaman’s flurished during this time, I meant that they were obviously opportunists who made a conscious decision to disregard the inhumanity that was prevalent in their society.”
The Tollmans actually lost all their money during the Apartieid , they weren’t in S.A , they left because of the inhumanity that was prevalent in their society …
LG says
It is fun to blame rich people for all the ills of society. But many white South Africans profited from Apartheid. Even today, there is still much exploitation of Africa by industries like the diamond.
It is also easy to say what you have done in the same situation. But until you walk a mile in someone’s shoes, one should not judge.
I have friends from South AFrica and Zimbawe. Africa was their home. It is not so easy to pick up your family and start life over in another country especially when the world is not handing out citizenship on a silver platter.
From my conversations with Wynn, the Tollmans were forced to leave their real estate holdings behind when they fled South Africa. This included the Tollman Towers in Johannesburg. Strict currency controls prevented them from taking their money out.
SN says
TNT,
it appears you have a “Dear SN” AND an “SN”. Perhaps they would like to change their name (?).
LG, to repeat myself “ONCE AGAIN”, I was very fond of Bea, she was most kind to me and because of the nature of our association, we had no reason other than to be candid w/each other. I am clear on what Bea told me about their leaving SA. I am not certain whether the currency rules in SA were similar to those of the US, but, obviously, those rules don’t seem to apply to the Tollman’s. Despite any “strict currency rules”, the Tollman’s were far from penniless leaving SA. I loved Wynn, eventhough he was not around a lot, but you may want encourage Wynn to remember and talk to you about Monaco.
LG, I finally get that you equate stating facts w/judging–I don’t; facts are facts. It doesn’t matter to me whether anyone reading believes one word of what I have written. I have been called a liar and other choice names. You, LG, have already responded to another blogger that my words were not true. It is each blogger’s choice to believe all or part of what they read. Just because you may think I couldn’t possibly know about some of the things I have written about, does not mean I do not know them.
When your book is published, I will read it.
E.B. McLaughlin says
Plain old SN (as opposed to Dear SN) said on this site long ago –
“why didn’t (couldn’t) Stanley return to So Africa to attend his only sister’s funeral when she was killed by her servants?”
This entire statement is incorrect as is so much SN has proffered. It was not his sister; he had no sister and the lady was not killed by servants. SN took exceptional license is saying so. And, for the record, Stanley and Bea are thriving in the SA business world and Stanley is not prohibited from returning to SA as SN implies.
And, SN can pontificate all she wants – she is a fraud where “facts” are concerned and has no business lecturing LG who appears to know more than all the rest of us put together. And, that includes me and MR. BIG.
SN says
EB, if anyone reads this blog from the beginning all the wat through, it is clear that you have developed an obsession and that you have a personal agenda. You are the “queen” of quote. You keep taking the words of one blogger to disprove the words of another. Straight from Bea’s lips at the time of the event, Stanley’s sister-in-law was killed by a relative of one of her servents in a plot to rob her.
After reading the string of emails between you and TNT, it is clear you are intent on picking a fight and creating whatever excitement and discord you can–in a blog! You must be very immature, as TNT suggests. if you are infact a product of ivy league (which I doubt), your parents are surely ashamed of the end result. People in your situation often leave out information that does not support their platform to further their agenda. I have a very vivid picture of you and it is sad…
According to you, the Tollmans allowed you in–once. Reading your words and knowing Bea, I know beyond a doubt–that when you walked out the door, she put the kibosh on your ever returning.
You can’t have it both ways, EB; you like what I write, but you call me a liar. You are trying to control what others read and think. Your contributions are not of the caliber to command that position. I have to shampoo my dog now. Bye!
E.B. McLaughlin says
Wow. Your last orgasm must have been a decade ago. As Mr. Big said to me – do you feel better?
Emotion from a cold fish. You are responding in a manner that speaks volumes. As I say, your credibility is non-existent. What I have refrained from saying I must now state – no one I have spoken to within the Tollman family has any idea whatsoever as to your identity. My friends, very much plural, are unable to venture a guess as to who could know what you profess to know about Bea. Are you a “chosen person”? With a family so tuned in to esoteric behavior, is it possible for the readers joined in this blog can believe you are the only one privy to the nonsense you supply.
What is it that allows you to so aggressively question any criticism of the excrement you forward on this site. None of it can be vetted because it is fiction and hidden behind a veil of fog. (Fog is defined as cloud which reduces visibility). What is crystal clear is you work hard to keep everything about yourself secretive. Take a page from Mr. Big and engage in candor. One cannot criticize TNT as being coy – but you, his sycophant in waiting, is.
SN says
If there was the slightest question in anyone’s mind about your presence here, EB, it was my intention to allow you the opportunity to out yourself in exactly the manner as you have done–evidence of your personal obsession and hunger for gossip. You won’t get that from me. This blog is not about me. And, yes, you are very sad.
Thanks for the memories of Monty and others, TNT.
LG says
Whoa S.N., you place too much emphasis on my words. I wrote that one or two facts among hundreds that you gave seemed to be wrong. From my research, all the Tollmans including Stanley are welcome in South Africa.
I did not say that the Tollmans left South Africa poor, I said they had to leave their assets in South Africa behind. This would have meant that any alleged profits from exploiting apartheid were left behind. Since they owned international businesses, they had much assets out of country.
I was not implying that you were judging them. I was saying the situation in SA was more complicated than you implied.
I also do not understand how white South Africans lived with apartheid. Through the years, I have met many and accept that the issue is more complicated than I imagine.
S.N. I am not attacking you.
E.B. McLaughlin says
October 6th at 6:47 p.m. it got personal. Prior to that, it was simply a case of exposing fraud. You are clearly paranoid. It is and has been simply a case of exposing the lack of veracity of your comments. You apparently, are incapable of seeing the distinction.
SN says
Hello, LG. I never thought you were attacking me. I am invested here only because I had posted many times and am curious about whether any of the folks who knew the same group (including Monty) that I knew around the same time frame would post here.
I have no problem w/you. A certain blogger likes to latch on to your and other’s words in an attempt place themselves in a position of prominence on TNT’s blog, and it is coming increasingly clear that there is some illness involved there. But other than that I am happy to read your postings. And, LG, I would, in fact, love to read your book when it is published.
The Nittany Turkey says
In the movie version, Owen Wilson will play the part of Monty. Who will act as Stanley?
—TNT
SN says
Ben Cross is the first one who comes to mind.
By the way, TNT, there was a posting from you last night and now it’s gone. I assumed you retracted it so as not to dignify the name calling. Am I close?
SN says
…or Geoffrey Rush
The Nittany Turkey says
SN,
You hit the nail on the head with respect to the posting I retracted. In an unthinking moment, I had taken the bait. It was a long day yesterday. I thought better of it this morning.
Hmm, didn’t Ben Cross play Rudolf Hess? And Rush played the Marquis de Sade. Interesting casting.
—TNT
LG says
I loved Palm Beach until a certain terrible event occurred. I met a Wall Street analyst, a trader, a movie director etc. It was the place that this ugly duckling became a swan. So I guess my interest is in reliving those wonderful memories. I live far far away and a much different life now.
My life now is just as interesting and more international but sans the elegance.
Many people do not understand the magic pull of Palm Beach. I thought that the Tollman saga was a wonderful way to bring old Palm Beach back to life.
SN might be right about the Tollmans & South Africa. I just do not have proof. I can only deal in facts.
I used to see the world in black and white much to my detriment. Now I realize that it is more gray.
SN says
LG, I must have gone through the same transformation as you. My memories of Palm Beach have not changed, but that now seems far away.
I have a son who is a recognized actor and I love where I live. At this very moment I have a fire blazing in one of my fireplaces in the family room of my comfortable home and am watching the director’s cut of “The Last Emporer”. It is raining outside and I wouldn’t trade this scene for all the Palm Beach drama. This time next year I would love to be sitting in my great chair next to the fireplace (perhaps my Chrstmas tree decorated in the corner) reading about the Tollmans from your best seller. All the best in your endeavor.
AS says
It seems that the author of this blog has invented a very intelligent mean of collecting free information from those that have dealt with the Tollmans for his own agenda which is writing a book and making loads of money – the American way. And who knows whether the U.S. government is not behind this.
In the way, the Tollmans have also access to this forum as to listen to the “cahiers des doleances” of their former servants – the employees of the Travelcorp, browsing through the net while sipping wine from their comfortable chairs somewhere along the Garden Route in the Cape Province, with Bea in the centre, sprawled on a chaise-longue covered with a leopard skin. But unfortunately, the story of exploitation continues on – having become a dangerous and risky activity within the North America and the U.K., the oppression has returned to its original source – in the Antipodes. The pillars of the old regime have hidden their hideous past, transferred their wealthy assets through the clandestine channels to the offshore banks, and behind the facade of philanthropy and promotion of arts within the “liberated” New South Africa, are actively clinging to their old dubious activities and ensuring that the old oppressive divisions of the so-called “Rainbow Nation” inherited from the apartheid era remain intact. Halleluja!
The Nittany Turkey says
Yes, that’s it! The Nittany Turkey is a CIA front.
LG says
AS, I would love to hear from you. You seem to have update information.
My email address is stockjockey13@hotmail.com. I am the one that is writing a story. I can assure that I have no connection to the CIA. I am not the spy that wore red.
I told Brett that I discovered his plight from this blog. So I am not surprised that they read it.
I never said that the Tollmans were paragons of virtue. It is always eaier to donate money to charity that you stole.
AS says
It’s wiser to keep a distance from people with such connections and influence like the Tollmans as you don’t want to fall a prey to them.
However, they could make a big contribution for changing the current state of affairs in South Africa to diminish the persisting racial divides that are still haunting their beautiful country. Why not get involved in projects benefiting the townships such as public housing, sewerage system, education, employment creation that could empower the oppressed and still suffering indigenous populations instead of enjoying the luxurious, self-centered and meaningless lifestyles?
Anyway, if you happen to be in touch with Brett, give my regards to his dogs – Emma and Jack, especially the latter one that I enjoyed teasing at.
SN says
Throughtout the entire “book of complaints” there are few submissions that touch this subject – Apartheid, the so-called “previous” political system, its aftermath/current landscape, etc… If any one of the Tollmans were to sincerely make an effort towards changing the state of affairs, it would only be Brett.
Thank you, AS, for not letting this go unnoticed.
SN says
Correction: “…for not letting this SUBJECT go unnoticed”.
THH-er says
Yikes, I’m getting the “EB-Jeebies!” Pretty soon someone will be able to make a movie based on this blog…
But as far as a movie is concerned…I see it as a dark comedy.
Monty — Luke Wilson is an interesting choice, depending on WHEN the movie takes place. Michael Douglas might work for the latter years.
Stanley — How about Michael Caine?
Bea — I’m sure Helen Mirren could pull it off.
Brett — A toughie. John Cryer always reminds me of Brett for some reason.
Gavin — While I think Gavin is more handsome, I somehow can see Adrien Brody doing a great job with the role.
The Nittany Turkey says
From Apartheid to the EB-Jeebies. Yes, this blog has it all!
—TNT
LG says
I love a David and Goliath Fight so the Tollmans do not scare me. I took on a two billion man and lived to tell the story.
The unfinished article does not slam the Tollmans like you think. I do not see them as evil. I see them as people who think the rules do not apply to them.
AS, good businessmen do not havaae to be saints. It is not their job to change the political infrastructure of a country. The Tollmans are helping by providing jobs and bringing tourists.
I am not defending them. I just think you are expecting too much from them.
SN, Brett is the last Tollman to do anything political in my opinion. His only interest in politics is power not social change.
SN says
Hi, LG. You know, I might agree w/you on Brett except for one thing (and I hope I am not being too naive here); Brett, perhaps for the first time in his life, is his own man. I continue to believe that either because of or in spite of the experinces he has lived through, his altruistic self has remained somewhat intact (maybe just a bit battered). He knows where accountability lies, as opposed to heaping everyone in one pot and calling them all bad. If he realizes that he doesn’t have to kowtow to his parents anymore (and this doesn’t mean not loving them), that is his power. The man I knew had a core completely unlike the others in this saga.
LG says
Hey SN, you knew Brett much better than I. He never struck me as the social activist type. I live for social activism so I might not be a good judge. I see a wrong and I have to right it.
I do not think he has cut the strings as much as you think. When you work in the family business, you get suck right back into the morass that we call family.
tony sypa says
I always thought highly of brett … like i said before, gavin , while a decent man in his own way, could also act like a rich shithead … brett was always down to earth, super nice , he even took the IT department out for lunch once for no reason at all …. but i wouldn’t feel bad for ol brett .. remember he took the fall for his dad and family by proxy, however unfair it might have been … and just like in the new york mafia , when you take the hit for the family, go to jail and keep your mouth shut … when you come out you get rewarded for your efforts. currently brett is working out of the travcorp offices in anahiem, i’m sure his family set him up rather well for taking the hit for the whole family.
LG. what bothered me most about your article in the post, was the fact you seemed to excuse thier crimes. like you were saying ” hey park ave rich snobs, don’t worry, your rich friends got away with it and are doing ok”. if old man tollman is as innocent as he claims why doesn’t he come to america and prove it? i would fight to clear my name if wrongly accused … as a matter of fact i have, sometimes gets me nowhere, but ya just can’t stay quiet if your being lied on …. but you make them come off as innocent bystanders who are being railroaded by the big bad prosecutors of the american government … meanwhile they acted like thieves in the night who stole and ran .. they are no better than the crack addict who steals purses in my eyes. least brett and monty and richard took thiers like men.
also lg i always wondered and hope you know … did they close the ny office of travcorp because they knew they were fleeing nyc ?
and finally … emma was a lady and jack was a good puppy ! bretts office was not far from the IT dept and jack would wander in constantly. and yes while he would pee on the rug whever he pleased he was no bother and used to love when i’d pet him or give him a bite to eat.
oh and as far as all the shenanigan’s that i’ve read on this site about my IT dept .. i won’t even dignify them with a response…
LG says
Dear Tony,
Obviously, I am not a very good writer because you have misunderstood me. Brett, Gavin etc are guilty of the crimes of tax evasion and maybe even fraud. Brett and Gavin are intelligent and well educated enough to know that what they were doing was wrong. There is no question about that. Why should only the little people like me pay taxes?
When Brett realized that something was rotten in Denmark, he should have stopped working for Travcorp. But he did not have the self confidence to think that he could make it on his own. In addition, he was lazy. Starting something on his own would have required even harder work and it was easier to stay in the family business.
I think that there were psychological issues at play. He wanted to win his parent’s aprroval and prove to them that he could do it. It is hard to walk away from the family ties that bind. For these reasons, I have more sympathy for Brett and Gavin.
I could not care less that he was rich or lived on Park Avenue. The family wealth is all the more reason that he should have been able to walk away. He was not going to starve.
I have been told that Brett did not think he would be arrested. That is why he did not flee the country. So do not put him in the same category as monty and richard who chose to stay and knew that they were going to jail. Brett’s wife also did not want to leave the states.
But I also think that the Tollman sisters are just as guilty. They knew what was going on.
I am not totally sure why they closed the NY offices. But I do know that they knew an indictment was coming.
e.b. mclaughlin says
What a pleasure to see two people that know what they are talking about do so – thanks to Tony and LG. Refreshing – especially after the pap that some load this site with – me included.
Peter Davenport says
I worked with Brett Tollman on various projects in the early ’90s and knew him as a very solid, modest, and talented young man. He was always direct, fair, and respectful… A+ guy.
LG says
Tony, you often mention that Brett was rewarded for his time in jail. I see no evidence of that. He was always the big enchilda so how much more reward could he receive? If you are getting $100 million, how much difference can $150 millon make.
Over the last serveral years, his sisters have gotten more involved. More involvement, more splits of the pie.
For me, Anaheim would be punishment enough.
tony sypa says
you often mention that Brett was rewarded for his time in jail. I see no evidence of that. He was always the big enchilda so how much more reward could he receive? If you are getting $100 million, how much difference can $150 millon make.
i’m not sure lg … people are funny … seems to me people with money always want more …. they know the difference between 100 mil and 150 mil in ways we can’t possibly .. although maybe your right , brett never seemed that type. where i think he might have been rewarded was more control in travcorp …. he’s the only tollman left in the usa, right ( or are the sisters involved in the usa end now too ? )
also richard masefield was extradited back to the us, he only turned himself in when he realized there was nowhere to run to …. to me the most curious thing was all the executives who were ” transfered ” to austrailia including the company lawyer and tollman in-law leon smith, maureen van meter and one of my favorite people joanie molloy .. all ran, i’m thinking because they knew too much.
For me, Anaheim would be punishment enough.
lol , i know what you mean … that’s why i’m so curious as to the true reason why they closed the ny office … which i’m sure also they knew in advance hence the hiring of ex-disney exec and cali resident severini as trafalgar pres….but i used to love my trips to anaheim, i was treated kindly when i would go to work there, good dedicated people like joe bustamante emma, espy and vicky and so many others … yeah nice place to visit, but i wouldn’t wanna live there ….
LG says
I constantly amused that everyone writes that Brett etc is gracious and modest. Why should not they be? Why are you all surprised? What does he have to be immodest about? He did not start the empire. He just was born to the right parents.
It is good management to be nice to your employees and give the personal touch.
LG says
The sisters are not involved to any great degree in the US business. They are very involved in the European and South African properties.
I do agree that there is a difference to people like the Tollmans between $100 million and $150 million. Maybe not to Brett specifically. But they have losted something even more precious to them -their favorite hobby.
The Tollmans loved to social climb. They were born equipped with an inner snob. But Brett can not play right now because he is a ex con whose father is a fugitive.
I do not think his life is so sublime presently. If you have tasted life at the top of the social ladder, barbecues with the neighbors are torture.
Ambassador Walter Annenberg with much greater wealth could barely live down his father’s conviction.
LG says
Tony, the Australian branch was given a very generous package to move there.
LG says
Tony, I know that you want to see justice done. But a courtroom rarely offers justice.
Keep in mind, that the senior Tollmans are birds living in a gilded cage. Yes, they escaped prison so far. But they are trapped in England. They are people used to traveling everywhere at the drop of a hat and socializing with the creme de la creme.
The steel bars of the mind are sometimes stronger than the the physi -cal ones. Stanley is not really happy unless he is perpuating a fraud. His family is scattered. Revenge takes many forms.
Brett and Gavin are equals in Travcorp. That does not seem fair.
SN says
Thats right, LG. And, since the British courts refused to extradite them to the US to stand trial because they were in such poor health–even that Bea could die if she were seperated from Stanley–they have to maintain some semblance of incapacity, which poses serious restrictions on their habits.
But, a question for you: since so many of us believe Brett was genuinely a good and kind person the entire time we knew him (not just for the camera, so to speak, or because he had to be, but because he just is inately) how will your article portray him (pre/post) scandal?
E.B. McLaughlin says
Here we go again 🙂
LG says
SN, I have not decided yet. I never found him as nice as you did. My friends and I thought he was uppity and we were the downstairs maids. I have noticed how many people say he is nice on this blog. But others in private emails have taken a different tack.
Provide me some details of his niceness to help me make my decision.
I have considered that he is similar to the Michael Bluth character on the TV show “Arrested Development.”
SN says
Thanx, LG. I can think of at leat a half dozen and I will post them within a few days. Right now I need to take advantage of this beautiful Indian Summer/Autumn weather today! Also, I’ve never seen the show, but will watch an episode of “Arrested Development” to get a better feel for your perspective.
E.B. McLaughlin says
PLEASE – SPARE US YOUR DRIVEL 🙂
TNT loves it but I suspect most do not. A few days will provide the time to conjur up a new basket of nonsense and fiction in response to an honest question from LG. Why are you incapable of believing LG and the others? Wynn knows who you are and his evaluation of your character is not flattering.
LG says
SN, The question of Brett’s inherent goodness was settled for me when he went back to work for Travcorp. Most people would have run the other way rather than working for the people that put them in the slammer. I know that is Brett’s family and it is hard for an excon to get another work. But with his and his wife’s connections and money, there must have been another option. Why not start with a tiny hotel of their own?
You have to wonder how smart he really is to risk jail a second time. I do not believe that the leopards named Stanley and Bea have changed their spots.
SN says
Neither do I, LG; Stanley and Bea aren’t even interested in changing their spots. I remember one time I was having a relative come to visit me in NYC. It was holiday season and almost nil availability for hotel accommodations. I asked Bea if she could make a phone call and she said she would. As the day got closer I reminded her and she told me she it had slipped her mind but she would do it when she returned from “the farm”. Well, LG, that was cutting it too close for comfort, and I needed an answer so other arrangements could be made. I called Brett, and explained the situation. He told me not to give it a second thought he would not only take care of it, but would comp the stay. He asked me not to ever mention it to his mother.
And, you are right about Brett’s choices. I do agree w/Tony Sypa, though (and have said so here), that he did his time and when he got out he got his rewards. Though I don’t know Tony, the summation of Brett is right on. I have no communication w/him now and have not for years, so I would never try to change your mind about your experience w/him. But, since you asked I will offer just one more instance and I will leave it at that: I was in a meeting w/all the top guys (Stanley, Montey, Jim C, Rusty, Sandy, Brett, etc). I was in the middle of making a presentation and some in the group began their questions before I was even half-way through. Brett stood up and told everyone to that was enough! He told them they did not have ther floor and they needed to give respect where respect was due. Brett told all of them that he wanted to hear the presentation in its entirty without interruption and he would appreciate being able to. It was Monty who said Brett was right and to hold all questions until the end of the presentation. LG, I will have to tell you that the room was silent; I don’t know if brett had ever done this in his father’s presence ever, but I was proud of him that day.
Yes, it might have been best that he & his wife seperate from anything having to do w/the fraud, and, granted, he is an ex-con. Is it possible he’s just getting his ducks in a row?
E.B. McLaughlin says
SN writes “I can think of at leat (sic) a half dozen and I will post them within a few days”.
You’ve proffered two. Four to go. On this issue, your recall seems to have deserted you. Someone that close should not have to take days to remember aspects of his kindness. Either that or the Indian Summer is extremely intoxicating and keeping you from answering.
LG deserves a response and I trust many of us (I know I am) are on tenterhooks waiting for you to answer.
LG says
SN, I should clarify. Brett is the most polite Tollman by far. I never had a big problem with him. I just did not find him extremely polite or generous compared to many other people I knew. My last conversation with him he was screaming.
Bea has always been incredibly cheap. But I have been told that she started with nothing and that motivates some of this behavior. It is easier to be careless when you never spent a day hungry.
I secretly admire rich people that count their pennies. I can be a spendthrift.
Your stories ring true to me. But they are not very impressive acts of kindness to me. They do not even seem extra ordinary acts of kindness to a business colleague.
Maybe I have been more lucky than I previously knew. I have been spoiled in my life by many random acts of generosity by friends and strangers.
I have seen no indication that Brett is leaving Travcorp. I can not respect him for staying.
LG says
SN, People who own hotels are in the service business. Every day, they are arranging rooms, honeymoons etc for people. I do not consider that a generous act. I consider that good business.
I am often in meetings where someone stands up and says let us finish the presentation without interruption. But maybe I am used to more polite company.
SN says
Believe me, LB, you are. I have always had to fight my way into the mainstream and continue fighting to stay competitive–in spite of my experience and education. My experience is that top level execs hire people they know. So, when you come from outside the circle (so to speak), you are continually proving yourself. Back then, I came in at the bottom not knowing anyone previously.
Bea knew the hospitality business, but anything you got you payed for it in one way or another. I have never known her to extended any nicities to anyone out of pure simple kindness. So, when I tell you that for Brett to do what he did knowing his mother’s philosophy– and without her permission–it was monumental.
Mind you, LG, I am speaking of situations that took place in the early 90’s. Also, back then Brett was kind to his mother’s domestic staff in his parent’s home. Like a kid, he played silly games of cat & mouse w/them. I don’t know what your relationship was with him, but when you said he treated you like the “downstairs help” (or whatever), this meant something different to me. Bea’s domestic staff all liked doing things for Brett very much, because he had no pretense w/them. But, when Bea was around, he steered clear of them. I am not trying to change your feeling about him or disagree w/you. I still look forward to reading your articles.
LG says
SN, I previously stated that I met Brett by chance and wanted to do business with Tollman Hundley. In the early aka cheaper hotel price days, I often stayed at the Chesterfield Hotel in Palm Beach. There was no other relationship.
The downstairs maid was a bad metaphor. Forgive me. I did notice that the front desk staff at the hotel was afraid of Brett when I stayed at the hotel but that was not the reason for the downstair’s maid metaphor.
I believe that he was polite to Bea’s domestic staff. Every description of Brett uniformly says he is polite.
But once again that does not impress me. I expect such behavior from the people in my social circle. Iam gathering that Bea was not so polite. Just because she was not does not mean that he should not be. Being afraid to show politeness to ther domestic staff in front of your mother indicates that he is a chicken.
Everything is your perspective. I was in a store yesterday and the owner told me that my uncle had saved his life. My great uncle had paid for a plane to take Jews out of Yemen many years ago. Outside of a couple of hotel rooms, I have never heard of an act of generosity from Brett.
LG says
SN, I come from an ethnic family where screaming often seems to be the only language. Maybe I do not value Brett’s thin veneer of politeness as highly as the rest of you.
I am more proud that the newspapers call me cousin’s 24 year old daughter, “the angel of the refugees”.
THH-er says
As for Brett and TTC being in California — I may be mistaken, but I seem to remember reading that part of the plea deal was that he/the entities could not do business in New York (and possibly Florida, too) again.
I have said this before, and I know that many THer’s of the Valhalla years and beyond, would agree — Brett was constantly conflicted about the roles he had to play. Most certainly he was in deep with the ugly, he could be very ugly, and he deserved the ugly. But there was a Brett who wanted the company to be real, his life to be real, and he wanted to make a difference however small that might be in comparison. This side of Brett really was apparent during his courtship of Miranda.
This may be why he is still at it. It’s what he knows, afterall. And maybe he just wants to get it right.
SN says
LG, we are not unalike on many levels. I expect the majority of people I meet to operate with a basic standard of human decency. Over my lifetime I have met so many different people from all over the world from all walks of life and ethnicities, and have felt comfortable regardless of the company. I am not a filthy rich individual and would never, in a million years, be considered part of “the circle”. However, having dealt with and spent time with those considered to be “the circle”, I learned a lot about how some at that level operate and the degree of value that some of them place on such things as compassion, charity, common courtesy, humankind, loyalty — just because we are all fellow human beings. LG, it is not that I had to adjust my personal boundaries or values, which I have not. But, more that I had to expand my range to include folks who just plain think the rules don’t apply to them. I do not feel sorry for Brett—never have. But when I stack him up next to other members of his family and others who operate from untold wealth and privilege, he seems to communicate w/a level of humanity that is foreign to the others like him. But, then again, he has never raised his voice to me, either.
I don’t want you to get the impression that I am defending Brett; I have no current association w/him or any of them. I don’t have any personal stake either. I am only expressing about the time during which I knew him. No problem w/the downstairs maid metaphor; easily understandable
LG says
THHer, You raised a point that I did not consider. Maybe he is trying to do it right this time. Due to Gavin’s continued involvement and his sharing of equal power with Brett, I am a little skeptical. Gavin, without the chance to ponder his life in jail for several years, does not seem a candidate for being born again and walking the straight and narrow.
I will have to check the plea agreement which is public info. Since it was federal, it seems strange that they were restricted from doing business in Florida and New York. But anything is possible with our government.
I do think that Miranda is the bright spot in Brett’s life and she probably saved him. In some ways, he treated her worse than a Mafia wife. When you marry into the mob, at least you know what you signed up for. Miranda was totally blindsided.
SN, I am sorry but I do not really understand what you are trying to say.
The Nittany Turkey says
At the risk of interrupting the dialog about Brett and Gavin temporarily, I would like to ask if anybody knows what became of Monty’s first wife, Sandy, and daughters Kelly and Dillon, all of whom I knew in Nassau. Dillon was probably too young to remember me, but Sandy and Kelly no doubt will. Being an old fart, I’m interested in catching up with my past and reuniting with the characters I left behind.
—TNT
THH-er says
Daughter Dylan:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0402141/
Meg says
I am trying to track down an old friend, an ex-employee of Brett Tollman, who worked as his private housekeeper just prior to his marriage. Her name is Susie Savage and she was originally from New Zealand. I would appreciate any leads. Thanks
The Nittany Turkey says
Thanks, THH-er, for both the spelling correction and the link. Dylan was about 5 yrs old when I last saw her.
—TNT
SN says
LG, I was responding to your post to me about your background. In turn, I was trying to tell you about mine, and the eplaine my premise for why I said what I did about Brett. You seemed to be saying that his actions did not impress you and I was letting you know that it wasn’t about being impressed, but about decent behaviour.
Then I added:
[…But when I stack him up next to other members of his family and others who operate from untold wealth and privilege, he seems to communicate w/a level of humanity that is foreign to the others like him. But, then again, he has never raised his voice to me, either].
And:
[I don’t want you to get the impression that I am defending Brett; I have no current association w/him or any of them. I don’t have any personal stake either. I am only expressing about the time during which I knew him. No problem w/the downstairs maid metaphor; easily understandable].
LG says
SN, As a money manager, I have known many wealthy individuals including billionaires. I can tell you stories about their ill treatment of people including me that would turn your hair gray.
I agree that Brett is often polite on the surface. Many wealthy people are not. But I have seen no real evidence that his politeness was anything more than surface. No one has ever told me a story about Brett’s generosity that involved him taking money out of his pocket.
SN says
Understood.
LG says
SN, But most of the wealthy people that I associate with are polite, well mannered, generous people. My feeling is that Brett falls short in that description.
I always have a problem with snobs that keep their noses way up in the air when they secretly know that their nose is about to be cut off.
LG says
SN, I am not just talking about charity donations or buying workers lunch. No one has told me anything nice about the guy except in comparison to the rest of his families. Maybe at the office.
I had a dog that was killed. My neighbor who is on the Forbes list took me out to get drunk becaue he is also a dog lover. I rarely talk to him on a regular basis because he is busy and traveling. But he took time out because he felt bad for me and the dog.
LG says
SN, you might be spot on about Wynn. Everyone I interview says that they are forbidden to talk about him. Of course, they give me some details. It appears that he has suffered. I really hope he is okay.
SN says
Do you know where he is and what he is doing now?
Bijou says
Re Dylan. Thanks THH’er for posting the imdb listing. I remember now, that indy film “Metropolitan” was shot in Monty’s New York home.
I understand that Chuck, other family and friends have sent Monty books, etc., but never a word of thanks. Masefield, whom I haven’t seen in 22 years at least, is back in Ft. Lauderdale, living the life.
GH says
TNT, I’m in touch with Dylan on a regular basis. I may be able to point you in the right direction as far as others. You have my email address.
The Nittany Turkey says
Thanks, GH. Will e-mail.
—TNT
The Nittany Turkey says
I found another picture of Monty from “back in the day,” circa 1975, in Paradise Island, Bahamas. He is seen here adjusting Santa’s beard.
Enjoy!
—TNT
Former TTC employee says
I do not do my own taxes. I do not know anyone that has not written off a lunch with a family member, that did not actually involve business.
I do not know any company that has not tried to stretch the limits of government limitations. Microsoft goes against a DOJ judgement everytime they release a version of windows that has Internet Explorer bundled in it.
WIth that being said. What would you do if you were caught cheating on your taxes? Hire an accountant, hire a lawyer pay the penalty.
What if you were informed that a representative of the government had a personal vendetta against against your family. They were going to find a way to get back at your family.
Your lawyer and Accountant are working with the IRS, you may have to pay a fine or serve time. You are stripped of your passport, and threatened with gross physical abuse. It is only luck that you were not detained by the USA.
I do not condone law breaking. I’m the kind of person that would go back to the store if a clerk gave me too much change.
Does a terrorist deserver to be detained without trial, tortured and abused?
Does a rapist?
What about a child molester?
Corporate tax evader?
Well the US Justice dept. (Okula) could have punished Gavin Tollman for his crimes. Instead he broke the law, provided false evidence, this seriously jeopardized the extradition proceedings against Stanley and Beatrice.
Anyone claiming that Gavin is a coward and ran away, is uninformed. He was detained by Canadian authorities. Canadian authorities were given false information by US authorities. After 2 years he was permitted to return home.
Now, if you were in this situation, would you feel comfortable surrenduring yourself to the authorities? Is there the remotest possibility that justice might occur?
Things took place that should not have. There is room for redemption. Because of the overzealous, vengful actions of a government official – justice will never prevail.
Is it possible that the over zealous official acted knowing the endresult of his actions?
Former TTC employee says
Tony Sypa:
I am not clear on all of the details of your situation. I know all of the principles involved. I worked with you in the Toronto office. I could not believe that comments that came out of your mouth. I had never seen/heard behavior like that in any work place. Not in construction, not in transport,
Everyone said “Thats just Tony, he a new yorker, he always talks like that”
Maybe, some people conspired against you to get rid of you. If you had not given them reason because of the way you treated women, you would have eventually been driven out of the company by the IT CIO.
Forget about it. You are better off. All of the good IT people move on.
You would have caught the ire of the CIO because of your personality, and that you woked hard. The entire IT staff quit the Anaheim office at the same time, because of him.
…I will contact you privately at your email address…
LG says
TTC, The senior Tollmans were not just buying lunches for relatives on Uncle Sam. This is not a case of accountant error. Everyone that is an American citizen knows that cash deposited in an offshore account and the resulting income has to be declared.
With Stanley, there is a matter of a little fraud.
In the case of Gavin, the feds have gone apeshit. If I was Gavin, I would not have turned myself in either.
LG says
As an investor, I can not tolerate the Tollman’s and Hundley’s efforts to defraud the banks. They lied about their mansions in Palm Beach and Ct. They tried to buy the debt at ten cents on the dollar. The markets can not work without integrity.
Many people do cheat on their taxes but not to the extent of the Tollman’s.
Whatever I said about Brett goes double for Gavin. He was only nephew. He was afraid to stand up to them. I would not have the courage to stand up to my aunts and uncles.
Shocked Canadian says
A friend sent me the link to this blog as she knows that I used to work with and still know indirectly various members of the Tollman family. I too have observed with occasional interest their problems and have said that a book could and should be written. In reading what has been written here a couple of things did surprise me:
1.) They appear to have made a lot of enemies.
2.) This blog appears to be an interesting form of psychotherapy for this pent up rage against them.
I am surprised as in my few dealings with the Tollman’s, they seemed rather normal. They were undoubtedly rich, self-made and obsessively hard working but for the most part considerate of others. I have however and still do believe in the principal of “innocent until proven guiltyâ€. Also, I do think that the Bush Administration today has over stepped established boundaries in their pursuit of assumed criminals. I say this as when Gavin and Toni were in Canada, I did see them at a dinner and it was clear that their fight was a difficult one and it was taking a severe toll on both of them. When I later heard that Gavin had not been sent back to the US, I was amazed, because I had been told that he was wasting his time as there was simply no hope in him prevailing in an extradition to the US from Canada. So, I found a copy of the judges ruling. http://www.canlii.org/en/on/onsc/doc/2006/2006canlii31731/2006canlii31731.pdf
For those of you who have not read it, I would encourage you to take the time to do so. It makes compelling and shocking reading. When you read it, you will see that this decision was made by one of Canada’s High Court Judges who herself sounds shocked by the tactics employed by the US authorities. Gavin clearly stood up for what he must have believed in. When I read it I considered for the first time that something just might be amiss and all of their legal troubles were not that straightforward. I have also discovered that unlike in London, this verdict was never even appealed – i.e. The US and Canada governments agree with what the judge established.
In June I was sent a copy of the Times of London article – Hoteliers turn the tables on ‘reprehensible’ prosecutor http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article2002844.ece and that the Prosecutor in their case Okula had lied in the UK court (I thought you went to jail for that, I guess unless you are working for the US Government) At the same time I read on a wall street journal blog that the exact same prosecutor was also behind the KPMG mess.. What a record – 3 different judges, from three countries all saying this guy is no good…?????? (its still there http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2007/06/29/british-judge-critizes-conduct-of-us-prosecutor/#comments.
I am not the defender of the Tollmans, but I write this simply to all of you that have acted as jury and judge on them, all I think is that there just might be more to this story… You decide.
LG says
Shocked Canadian, Welcome to the American Justice system. It is the most viscious in the world. All prosecutors not just Okula live for the perp walk. Having said that, the Tollmans have been fortunate in their enemies. Okula is one of the worst.
As someone who writes about financial crime extensively, I can unequivocally tell you that most criminal defendants suffer much worse. The Tollmans are very adept at PR. In the case of extraditions, most defendants await the result of their extradition appeal in jail.
An Israeli soldeir spent 4 years in jail, two in Israel and two in Canada. His only crime was that the Canadian government falsely accused him of murder.
As far as innocent until proven guilty, I think the fact that their own son and partners pled quilty speaks volumes of their guilt. If you flee, you have abidcated the defense of innocent until guilty.
I do not have any particular hate of the Tollmans. I just think that before people are serving 4 diffferent kinds of champagne poolside, they should pay their taxes. When they write a financial statement, they need to fill it correctly.
As an investor, I have lost too much fraud in stocks like Enron etc. I am tired of it.
E.B. McLaughlin says
LG SAYS: “As far as innocent until proven guilty, I think the fact that their own son and partners pled quilty speaks volumes of their guilt. If you flee, you have abdicated the defense of innocent until guilty.”
SPOT ON, LG.
The above cannot be argued. When every opportunity to clear the name of Stanley & Bea Tollman has been presented, they have taken flight be it to a safe haven or hiding behind the “I am too sick to testify” defense. SHOCKED CANADIAN has elected to ignore the Days Inn filings that Stanley filed saying he was broke and then the offer to purchase the assets from bankruptcy both Stanley and Hundley submitted under false names which they pulled off and successfully parlayed the ruse into a sale to HFS – prematurely acting as “judge and jury” is about as disingenuous as one can get unless one wishes to ignore palpable FACTS, facts that are indisputable.
We all hang on tenterhooks awaiting the gospel on SHOCKED CANADIAN’s posting – where are you SN?
LG says
Why is that everyone that defends the Tollman except for Ann Marie Lynch refuses to identify themselves. I do not think jail is infectious and can be passed from one person to another.
SN says
To Shocked Canadian: there is nothing in what you say that is surprising to this reader. Sounds like, however, that just having read this blog (hopefully in it’s entirety–200+ postings) you are still in shock. The dichotomy involving the players probably the most artful you’ve ever been this close to. I too am an investor and I do not support or appreciate the Tollman’s greed and selfishness. I am not impressed by the dollars (STOLEN) that have been invested in SA. The profits are going straight into the Tollman’s pockets via their children–all of whom are clear on what role they play in this continuing fraud.
Sure, they’re polite, but this pattern did not just start in the early-late 1990s. These people have done this before. I am certain they made you feel as if it was you who were the expert and they were grateful and for your enlightenment in bringing them up to speed in a particular business practice. Then, if a red flag presented itself, you would receive a phone call directly from Bea, which made one feel “special”. Somehow, she found a way to make this “red flag incident” relate to her area of the business. She portrayed herself as ever-suffering, because [she never received a pay check for her services]–only perks, i.e.: getting to use the “company plane” for business trips, etc…Bea would bring it to your attention (ever so sweetly) that neither she nor Stanley was aware of the slightest impropriety and that she was counting on you to find the solution, because you are part of the “team”.
Shocked Canadian, too many business assets were in Bea’s name. When you get over the shock of this happening in plain sight right in front of your face, you may well be able to comprehend the perspective of a lot of the posts you’ve read here.
TTC Employee London says
I can’t help wondering if any of the people who responded to Shocked Canadian’s posting actually read the ruling of the Canadian judge on Gavin Tollman since no-one has commented on it. The US authorities attempted to blatantly bypass the extradition procedure by stopping him from entering Canadian jurisdiction on arrival at Toronto airport and by taking him straight over the US border. It is not surprising that the Canadian Judge ruled that it was an Abuse of Process. I find it hard to believe that anyone reading the Judge’s ruling could ever condone the actions of the US authorities.
LG says
The only peoople that should have been charged in this case were the senior Tollmans. Gavin was just their pawn.
I read the judge’s ruling. It is shocking and causes my stomach to turn over. But it does not surprise me. The United States Justice Department plays rough with all criminals and especially fugitives.
The Bulger family in Boston is an example. The brother of Whitey Bulger lost his long time job as president of the University of Massachusetts because he had a few conversations and one meeting with his brother, the Mafia murderer as he was fleeing. The meeting occurred 15 years before the firing.
They arrested a mother for giving her only son, a fugitive, a tiny bit of money.
They tried to trick another fugitive into leaving a “safe” country with a fake agreement.
They arrested the brother of the killer Thomas Capano when they did not have enough evidence on him. The trumped up arrest was to get him to spills the beans on his brother. I am happy a murderer is behind bars. But I do not like the methods. It is too KGB like for me.
They have reindicted another fugitive to fight the extradition treaty of their country. The new indictment changed the entire nature of the crime.
LG says
TTC, it is not just the British that are revolted by Guatanamo Bay. All decent Americans opppse that and illegal wiretaps. But there does not be anything that we can do about now.
SN says
Hello, TTC. Yes, I did read the ruling. These tactics, however, do not surprise me. Things like this happen on a regular basis to certain classes of our society for lesser offences and because of their race. Mr. Okula has not reinvented the wheel; he has simply applied the method to someone you know and care about. The thing that does surprise me is that he failed to build a proper case against the Tollmans in the first place, i.e.: why didn’t he know that they were lying about their assets? If he had done his homework, it should have been obvious that Stanley always put everything in Bea’s name. She then divided and scattered those assets into smaller, seemingly insignificant pieces (ALL OVER THE GLOBE), so as not to draw too much attention–and the leftovers she put in her children’s names. He should have been more thorough…
Shocked Canadian says
Thank you to TTC London for translating what I was trying to articulate… i.e. there appears to be more to this story than let these people have their day in court, wherever it might be. In this discussion I now see that even in the US they too appear to be aware of the dreadful abuses that occur in their legal system and yet they still believe that they have the best system in the world. I have faith that if this prosecutor Okula were a Canadian, he would certainly have been fired or maybe even in prison (TTC London I am sure the same would be true for England as well). Having read what occurred to Gavin Tollman, I think that more people need to be alerted to all these types of examples of what does happen, because like me, they too ought to be terrified by the extreme inconsistency in the term “American Justiceâ€.
E.B. McLaughlin says
On behalf of all American contributors on this site, thank you for for the admonishment. As the teacher said in my Sunday school classes during the 1940s, “thus endeth the lesson”.
LG says
Hey Shocked Canadian and TTC, you are talking about apples and oranges here. There is many defects in the American justice system. Most Americans especially in the Bush years are disgusted. I could tell you a personal story that would make your hair turn gray about the abusive tactics of the Feds.
But that does not change the fact that the Tollmans did not pay their taxes and attempted to defraud investors and the bank.
E.B. McLaughlin says
AMEN
LG says
Shocked Canadian and TTC, Speaking for myself, my outrage and disgust centers on the senior Tollmans leaving their son Brett to hold the bag. If they were not paying taxes and comitting fraud, it would have behoved them to be a little more circumspect under the circumstances. It was their ostentatiousness that led to their downfall.
The Tollmans bought hotels from friends of mine and also cheated them. So this is nothing new for them.
Shocked Canadian, they remind of Conrad Black.
Frankly, part of me does admire their feistiness and desire to fight back. I am no fan of the police. I do not mean the rock group.
I do not like what Okula allegedly did. But the American public consider justice a blood sport. So he is playing to his audience.
The Tollmans were arranging their surrender when they fled. He could have just arrested them in the middle of night.
Now that you have seen how the Tollmans are treated. Think about poor or black people are treated.
TTC Employee London says
So you simply accept that the US is extorting its own citizens, is breaking international law, and this is acceptable because, according to you, one can’t do anything about it? As Albert Einstein said, “The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.â€
Whilst you all continue to crucify the Tollmans, you are missing the point that they are in fact doing the very thing that you seem to believe can’t be done – standing up to a system that you agree to be excessive and twisted.
E.B. McLaughlin says
You endorse cousins marrying, lying under oath, filing documents with the court that are filled with falsehoods, throwing a son under the bus and repeatedly say the Tollmans are innocent – $700,000,000 gone at Days Inn. Screwing HFS Corp. How about the raceway caper. Stand up family -I think not. Twisted?? – why are you so passionate in defending these crooks? Could you be a Tollman 🙂
SN says
Who said no one is doing anything? Even you are speaking out against the methods used. You need only google the local news articles of Anytown, USA to read about citizens who fight battles against oppression as they experience it. Many of these people do not have the resources to wage a battle against the entire system. But, the least bit of press about each victory sets a precedent for the next fight. As Nelson Mandela said, “After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb”.
TTC, the Tollmans got as good as they gave. It is you who are missing the point.
TTC Employee London says
E.B. ….. and you are so passionate about repeatedly attacking the Tollmans. I wonder who you could be? Mr Okula perhaps?
E.B. McLaughlin says
Actually, I was attacking you – TTC Employee London. I find your comments incomprehensible and warped. Clearly you are communicating in a provocative fashion to gain attention. It is impossible to view events in the manner you do unless you see your purposeful obfuscation as helpful to the family in which case you are as I suspect – part of the whole sordid affair.
The Nittany Turkey says
TTC, the Tollmans screwed a lot of people. You were fortunate, in a way, to be on the Tollman side of the fence, if only because being there protected you from becoming a “screwee.”
You and Shocked Canadian cleverly divert the blame from the criminals to those who aggressively sought justice; however, I see your rants as being nothing more than anti-American sour grapes. That’s a separate soapbox issue and it is completely irrelevant to the issue of the Tollmans’ thievery.
—TNT
SN says
TTC, I almost decided to ignore your ridiculous posting. But I need to say something. If someone you knew and did business with betrayed you to the degree the Tollmans did to many people, would you defend their actions because of the relationship you had with them pre-betrayal? Isn’t it clear to you that they nurtured and cultivated their business and personal associations specifically for the purpose of perpetrating a fraud of this magnitude? I know they are likable people; I liked them too, and as I said before, they never harmed me. But, TTC, I live in this world with everyone else–including you. Remember what they did to Wynn (long ago) and to Brett (more recently)–their flesh and blood children?
This isn’t about the American justice system–it’s about a family of criminals, plain and simple.
SN says
TTC and Shocked Canadian, I am curious and want to pose a direct question: are you anti-American? Why? Does the Tollman-Hundley scandal give you a platform? What is it specifically?
The Nittany Turkey says
This Turkey is anxious to read the direct responses to SN’s direct question, Ms. TTC and Ms. Shocked. Are you both indeed anti-American or are you merely painting the American justice system (with a rather broad brush) as the scapegoat in order to divert attention from the crimes that actually were perpetrated by various and sundry Tollmans?
—TNT
TTC Employee London says
SN and TNT: Some of my best friends are from the U.S. and I’m sure that they would laugh at the idea of me being called an anti-American. I come over to the States at least once a year and always have a great time; you have a wonderful country with generally friendly and nice people so no, I am definitely not anti-American.
If you read my previous postings again you will see that I have only ever written in support of Gavin Tollman who was working in our London office during 2004. In January 2005 he stopped over in Toronto for two days of meetings and ended up being stranded there for two years thanks to the illegal tactics employed by the U.S. authorities. During this time his involvement in the business were sorely missed by all of us who had previously worked alongside him in London. Many of us kept in regular contact with him and knew what hardship he suffered, in particular being away from his family and his children for so long. What the U.S. authorities tried to do to him was appalling and I am sure that most normal people would agree. I would say exactly the same thing if those kind of tactics were employed by the British authorities.
E.B. McLaughlin says
TTC Employee London says she has “only ever written in support of Gavin Tollman”. Were it simply as she states, I suppose it could be considered honourable. As it is, it is disingenuous and simply not true:
I offer the following to refresh her memory: “….. Whilst you all continue to crucify the Tollmans” and “….. you are so passionate about repeatedly attacking the Tollmans.”
SN got it right in saying “….. it’s about a family of criminals, plain and simple.”
SN says
TTC, in this country one is looked upon w/skepticism when they begin a defense with, “…some of my best friends are…â€
But, back to the Gavin angle—you are still overlooking the fact that Gavin and his cousin/wife may be involved in a fraud case. Could be that Stanley & Bea hung them out to dry along w/ all the others, but I believe both Toni & Gavin were well aware of details regarding the fraud (perhaps not at first, but over time) and that they are currently participating under the guise of philanthropy and business as usual. I’ve heard that Gavin grew to be charming, but TTC, he’s involved; let time do it’s work.
e.b. mclaughlin says
HAPPY THANKSGIVING to TNT, LG and SN.
The Nittany Turkey says
And a Happy Thanksgiving to you, too, E.B., and all the Tollman-Hundley participants and eavesdroppers.
—TNT
SN says
Happy Thanksgiving.
tony sypa says
i hope everyone had a nice holiday.
it’s been a while since i last checked in here, so i’d like to answer a few of the comments since then:
Former TTC employee Says: October 25th, 2007 at 11:01 am
Does a terrorist deserver to be detained without trial, tortured and abused? YES
Does a rapist? YES
What about a child molester? YES
Corporate tax evader? YES
the key word here is detained, not without trial, but while awaiting trial. gavin ran from the usa and wasn’t going return. they were right to try to hold him and extradite him. they were wrong in the underhanded strong arm methods they used, that blew up in thier faces and allowed the tollmans to wiggle free.
“Anyone claiming that Gavin is a coward and ran away, is uninformed. He was detained by Canadian authorities.
Is there the remotest possibility that justice might occur?
Things took place that should not have. There is room for redemption. Because of the overzealous, vengful actions of a government official – justice will never prevail.”
no because the tollmans turned tail and fled the u.s. justice will not prevail. again i say, if they are so innocent why not come, stand trial and exhonerate thier good name .. y’know why? because they’re guilty and they know it.
Shocked Canadian Says:
“They were undoubtedly rich, self-made ”
not in the least … gavin and brett hit the gene pool lottery … born into rich families … they should only try living as working man for a month or so, then maybe they would appreciate what they didn’t earn .. self made , that’s funny.
“Gavin clearly stood up for what he must have believed in.”
again funny .. stood up for what he believed in? more like tried his hardest to keep his butt out of jail.
“in the US they too appear to be aware of the dreadful abuses that occur in their legal system and yet they still believe that they have the best system in the world”
first off yes i do believe we have the best system of justice here in the u.s. .. not too liberal, not too conservatice, trial by peers … not without it’s glitches , it’s corruption , like any other system, but so far the best in world history.
and if you read this blog canadian, you’ll find no american, not one of us, condones mr. okula’s behaior. if anything just the opposite. we’re ticked because his actions allowed them to squirm free.
but one has nothing to do with the other .. gavin wouldn’t have ” suffered the hardships” ( what a joke .. living at guy young’s house instead of a jail cell awaiting trial like he should have been ) had he not been involved in this theft and tax scam to begin with. suffered hardships ( oh boo hoo ) … he’s a criminal and should suffer. remember that old saying ” don’t do the crime, if you can’t do the time”
tony sypa says
Former TTC employee Says: October 25th, 2007 at 11:18 am
“company by the IT CIO.
Forget about it. You are better off. All of the good IT people move on.
You would have caught the ire of the CIO because of your personality, and that you woked hard. The entire IT staff quit the Anaheim office at the same time, because of him. ”
that was more travcorp maddness that i always thought showed how disfunctional these guys always were too.
Amir Nadel was hired as the CIO. i don’t know who he slept with to get his job ( actually most people do … someone with ties to mike ness ) but he was in my opinion , the worst IT head i have ever worked under. he was rude, crude, and not knowledgable. i can give you some examples. once the art department ,sales and marketing, needed a new printer. they put in a request which he questioned them on ” why do you need a color printer?” umm they do the art work? people would jokingly refer to him as the ” iT nazi” a reference to sienfeld’s ” soup nazi” … ” NO NEW LAPTOP FOR YOU ” another instance he questioned a salesman needing a new laptop. his old one recieved a virus that flashes the memory, even though we re-did the whole laptop a couple of times, it never worked right. he questioned it. when i wrote to compaq and they wrote back that the virus did indeed effect the physical memory, he still insisted he knew better than compaq. when we in the nyc office did a audit, he told us we didn’t know what we were doing. yet when an isreali company ( that his cousin was part of ) he hired came and did an independent audit, they came back with most of the same recomendations we did. guy was an egomaniac and a dunmbass in my opinion. i got released for a sexual harassment charge, yet he was the one with a law suit filed against him by a female programmer in london. and you should have seen him in action at one of our x-mas parties, hitting on every girl, even brett’s secratery danka. he got off on treating people like crap, but didn’t realize we were on the other side of the phone laughing at him.
yet he continues on. with all the complaints against him, with whole it staffs quitting on him. you would think the tollman’s would catch on and fire him. but because of his ties to mike ness he survives. meanwhile he’ll continue to lose many good people because of his attitude. in a way i’m glad i didn’t get to transfer to the toronto office because i’m sure he would have treated me even worse, thinking i was ” stuck” in canada and at his mercy.
one other it related thing , to show you how nice a guy gavin is … when john warren, his IT director for over 15 years was job hunting last year, and asked gavin for a letter of refference. gavin turned him down. that’s low. but yes the old it staff has moved on … actually i now work for a japanese investment bank making almost double what i was making, while not having to deal with amir’s foolishness. i know rex, duane, john, ray and even diamond joe bustamante have all moved on nicely too. I have heard sometimes the old IT crew is remembered fondly and we do appreciate that, because we worked hard to keep you guys going. we were the best.
tony sypa says
i want to apologize to tnt and everyone else on this blog. i never wanted to have to talk about me on a site dedicated to the tollman-hundley saga. but my name has come up here and i feel the need to set the record straight about a damning post against me.
Former TTC employee Says:
October 25th, 2007 at 11:18 am
Tony Sypa:
I am not clear on all of the details of your situation. I know all of the principles involved. I worked with you in the Toronto office. I could not believe that comments that came out of your mouth. I had never seen/heard behavior like that in any work place. Not in construction, not in transport,
Everyone said “Thats just Tony, he a new yorker, he always talks like thatâ€
Maybe, some people conspired against you to get rid of you. If you had not given them reason because of the way you treated women, you would have eventually been driven out of the company by the IT CIO.
hmmm … since you never did have the cajones to write me personally, i’m going to have to explain it all here to clear my name a little from your disparaging remarks.
so i have to ask .. what comments did you hear come out of my mouth that were akin to a construction worker? what did ever say that was out of line? i never used lewd language ( i mean i would throw a few F words out there as adjectives but never cursed directly at someone ) i never approached anyone and asked for sex or anything like that. i flirted, with a smile on my face. if a girl looked pretty on a particualr day i would tell her she looked pretty, but on the other hand i would tell them when they looked like crap too.
what did i ever say? i used alot of double entendre remarks but nothing ever obscene. i was a flirt, but never touchy feely or made anyone feel uncomfortable. my goal was to bring smiles to faces not score. surely walking through the res department singing ” if you want my body and you think i’m sexy ….” doesn’t constitute harassemnt. and most of the girls appreciated my sunny spirit. john warren always said he wished he had four of me. service with a smile !
you also say ” the way you treat women” .. well now i gotta wonder if your an ex-girlfriend or something .. how could you possibly know how i treat women? when did i ever treat anyone in that company bad? the way i treat women … when i was in toronto the gorgeous susie drove me around for a week … we’d go to dinner watch hockey games .. ask her if i ever hit on her or treated her in an inappropriate way … monique came to my hotel room while i got changed for dinner .. a beuatiful girl alone in my hotel room, did i hit on her ? nope … so i’d like to what i ever did in your mind that can be misconscued as treating women badly … it’s just not true.
as for me getting fired for sexual harassment … long story as short as i can make it:
i met ******** when i went to toronta office. she seemed very nice and was very friendly to me. later she transfered to the nyc office. at first she would stay working until i closed the system up at night, for no other reason than she didn’t know anyone and didn’t have friends here yet. so feeling bad for her i took her to a john mellencamp show with me one evening. as friends. she was all over me that night. at the end of the night she even put her head down to rest on my chest as we took the train home. i ignored it. in the weeks that follwed she did things like grab my butt, and tell me things like ” i want to get you on my couch and make out with you for hours. i ignored it. she was a friend it was harmless right? until she befriended courtney rowe, who was never the friendliest person at traf. courtney helped ******** get an apartment and they struck up a friendship. ****** would always invite me out to the bar with them. i never went. one day courtney conered me outside the entrance to the reception area. she told me her and ******* wanted to get me together. i ignored it. ( shame of it was if i had found either of them to be the slightest bit attractive we might have had some fun, and my firing wouldn’t have happened )
well first courney changed .. she started becoming nasty to me, yelling and cursing at me in front of employees, she put in the first sexual harassment complaint the day i complained about her behavior, that very day in the lunch room they asked around looking for someone to help them get me. eventually ******* put in the second complaint. she sat next to keisha, who is still a very good friend of mine, pretending to be on the phone, but meanwhile she was listening in on our conversations with a pen in hand, hoping to catch me saying innappropriate. and you know what i was fired for …. keisha’s boyfriend started working in the docs department, i kidded around with keisha that ( my exact words ) “he gets you monday tuesday and wednsday, i get thursday , friday and saturday” tha’t what i was fired for. they never bothered telling me who accused me or what i supposedly did. the ” thorough nvestigation” i was promised consisted of one meeting. had they bothered maybe they would have seen what was happening. they tried to get my unemployment benefits denied, but when i explained to the hearing examiner what had happened he sided with me and awarded me the unemployement … then promply told me i should get a lawyer and gave me the phone #’s to labor board and aclu. i din’t sue… maybe i should have .. one lawyer told me it’s not possible to claim you feel harassed by someone whose ass you grabbed and you invited for a threesome. i always did want my own day of vindication, but i’m not a money hungry guy. my philosophy is i am here and it is now, so i moved on. i have skills so i haven’t been hurting, and in the end that company didn’t deserve someone as good as me anyway. besiides , everyone that was important to me knew the truth, and those two girls are as ugly on the inside as they are on the outside. thier punishment is having to look at themselves in the mirror every day, knowing what nasty small people they are.
by the way i can collaborate everything i’ve said with witnesses. like i said i would have welcomed my day in court not ran from it.
they also tried firing dwayne cadogan the old network manager, using the sexual harassment charge … except the girl they charged him with harassing was his girlfriend. they laid him off later anyway, but that was ridicuklous also.
and another shame … i knew the nyc office was closing and the mainframe being sent to toronto. i had already spoken to amir and guy and we were negotiating my transfer to toronto, a city and people i fell in love with. i always felt my hard work was appreciated there and would have given that office 110%. it was two months away when they let me go, or i would have been working there with you right now. best IT guy you ever had !
Thank you for indulging me … and this is the last i want to see about me on here, please … any questions please contact me privately at tony_sypa@yahoo.com.
now please back to criminal empire of tollman-hundley
SN says
Tony, I do respect your wishes. I only want to applaud your forthrightness. Though I do not know you, I know everything you say is true, because leopards (Tollman’s and their cronies) do not change their stripes. The method whch was used to terminate your employment is cookie cutter for anyone who threatened the status quo. TTC/THH knew you were a threat because, unlike Danka, Amir or any of the others, they could not count on you to lie for the company. People who stand up for themselves as an individual, are seen as a threat and not a “company team player”. And on top of that, they knew you had 1st hand knowledge of other abuses that could be used against the company if you chose to go there. They counted on you not filing suit, because a person like you is confident in your skills and will always land on your feet–filing suit would be a time-waster for you. Just like the unemployment rep believed you, so would others.
You are vindicated; you have a great job and a solid career, hopefully healthy surroundings and friendships; they, however, are all forever looking over their shoulder. Like LG said, [If you have tasted life at the top of the social ladder, barbecues with the neighbors are torture]. As well, refer to LG’s subsequent postings on Oct. 13.
E.B. McLaughlin says
tony-sypa has validated my respect and appreciation of candor. The poignant articulation of his concerns and issues speaks volumes of truth. The sad part of all this is the ignoring by so many posting on this blog all he, SN, me and TNT have written about the poorly posed comments in favor of defending the Tollman family and the degree to which their obnoxious behavior fostered collateral damage to all those around them. Enough time has passed that I hope the Tollmans spend the rest of their collective lives looking over their shoulder for American justice which will be relentless in trying to bring this self absorbed family to trial. If any of them are monitoring this blog – please take note that Walter Forbes was finally brought to justice – a convicted felon.
SN says
“…because LEOPARDS(Tollman’s and their cronies) do not change their STRIPES”. OOOppps! I meant SPOTS (LOL).
The Nittany Turkey says
This Turkey wishes to ring in as another supporter of Tony Sypa. He certainly bit the bull by the horns, mixed metaphorically speaking.
In my experience, dismissal for “sexual harassment” is frequently a cover for a political firing. Incompetence is too subjective a ground for dismissal—too inconvenient to prove. On the other hand, it is an accepted notion in this society that men are born sexual harassment machines. Thus, canning a male employee on these grounds usually succeeds because his only effective defense is proving he is not male.
—TNT
LG says
Hey Guys, Happy Thanksgiving to one and all. Just back from vacation.
Tony, Iam sorry to hear what happened to you. I do not have enough facts to judge your case. It would not surpise me if the Tollmans used the charges as an excuse to get rid of you.
But sexual harassment is a serious problem in the workplace. I will not have it trivialized. I do not think it is appropriate to sing if you want my body at the office or to joke around with people in front of their boyfriends.
I know that you thought it was funny and meant no harm but this kind of behavior can be offensive. I would prefer men be gentleman at the office. I do not like to mix business and pleasure. It makes me uncomfortable.
You might be cute but I usually had the bad luck to have the fat, balding garlic breathed married guy singing in my ear. If I did not stop him singing, he went to second base.
SN says
Tony, Iagree w/LG. But, speaking from the standpoint of one who has experienced the THH office environment, “everything goes” (or “went”). If Tony got the pink slip for sexual harrassment, so should have the greater % of the males/females employed–starting at the top (those w/the sir names “Cutler” & “Freidman”included). The late 2000’s are a totally different set of rules than those of the late 1980’s to early/late 1990’s. Now those parameters and boundariesare on the books–common and recognized. Women who reported what we all know today as “harassment”, was dismissed and held against her as “not being professional” or not being a team player” back in the day. So, women took it. Because Tony may not have held the position of prominence as did some of the major palyers, everyone should have been required to comply to the same state and federal employment laws.
I submit that if Tony had sued, he would have won on settlement, because employers generally do not want to go all the way.
tony sypa says
actually i don’t think the tollman’s had anything to do withmy firing , other than they wouldn’t give me the 5 minutes to hear me out. they let john severini handle it. and i don’t damn him because he didn’t know all the facts. i just damn him for not trying to find all the facts. but i know inside of him is a decent guy anyways.
lg i hear ya when you talk about the true sexual predators. nobody likes that. especially a people person like me. it gives all men a stigma. and i have a daughter and sister and agree women must be protected from sexual predators at the workplace. but i think my case shows how this rule can be misused by spiteful women, and i think that should alarm women also, because it only serves to trivialize the spirit of the laws. and of course as you point out, and we could debate ad nausium, there is a fine line between a joke, putting a smile on peoples faces, keeping the workplace light, and making people uncomfortable is the last thing i wanna do in a service based IT job. … but where is the line? i’m uncomfortable working in a silent office, where nobody, smiles or laughs, you have to watch everything you say because some miserable person with no life gets offended by anything. that doesn’t mean i advocate talking dirty, hitting on , or touching people unwanted … but my singing, maybe i should explain, i would go make rounds when it slow, and the res department had about 60 people in it. i would always make a grand entrance, announce ” here i am ! ” or come in singing , nobody was ever offended… my jokes that aren’t sexual in nature at all, and only to those i had befriended for years. c’mon lg. i hate political correctness, it’s akin to lying to me. maybe because i’m a new yorker, i’m a little jaded, but to me sometimes people take it too far. like i said we could argue this forever.
i just heard from a friend in anahiem that john severini, pres of trafalgar usa brand, was fired, amicably if there can be such a thing, a new guy came in, lasted two weeks before he quit, then this wiseman fella brought in from oz. i looked severini up on google, and the official story is he resigned.
guess i wouldn’t blame him if he quit, or them if they fired him … lol.
what a soap opera.
THH-er says
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article2982640.ece
An interesting read for everyone, indeed.
E.B. McLaughlin says
Indeed, it is that.
This Times article should send tremors of fear through the Tollman family. I would expect their accountants are already working on a revised budget that includes doubling body guards and other forms of personal security.
tony sypa says
not for anything, but it sends a tremor of fear through me too .. abduction should never be condoned, unless the crimes are against humanity per se. I’d like the Tollman’s answer for thier crimes, but abducting them is a little too facist for my tastes. work with countries to loosen the extradition standards and make it easier legally.
well we’ll see what happens.
The Nittany Turkey says
A nice, pejorative-laden, anti-American propaganda piece can be counted on to sell lots of newspapers in the UK. If you read the comments posted with that article, you’ll see that many of the grousing Brits are still pissed off about George Washington’s upstart rebellion and they’ve conveniently forgotten the underlying reason for the War of 1812. But I digress.
The Tollmans defrauded citizens of this country out of many millions of dollars and, to add insult to injury, they didn’t bother paying taxes on their so-called earnings. They used their ill-gotten gains to flee the country and laugh at American justice from the safety of their walled compounds as they continue to lead lives of luxury.
While I am opposed to government intrusion into the daily lives of private citizens, I am not opposed to aggressively seeking to bring to justice a band of thieves who screwed us all for their own benefit and then fled to safe havens on foreign soil. This group of cowards who let their partner and their son rot in prison while they live it up deserves to be stalked by bounty hunters. In any case, I hope that efforts of the attack dogs of USDOJ do not abate and I hope the Tollmans continue to feel them breathing down their necks.
—TNT
SN says
A Member of Parliment called the practice repugnant. A director of a civil rights group said, “This law may date back to bounty hunting days, but they should sort it out if they claim to be a civilised nation.â€
I’m shaking my head at “how easily one forgets…” their own past, i.e. slavery (???) Why are certain persons so up in arms now that similar practices are being considered for wealthy whites,—criminals who fled from justice???
As someone said before, if Gavin is innocent, why doesn’t he return and have his day in court? As for Stanley and Bea, they are probably peeking through drawn curtains in darkened rooms– Dr’s notes in hand.
SN says
TTH, speaking of “kidnapping” people from one country and (in this case)returning them to face charges in the country where they committed crinminal acts and fled, you never said what your feelings were on the matter…
SN says
excuse me, THH…
THH-er says
To the contrary, I think the Stanley, Bea and Gavin are doing a happy dance right about now — curtains wide open with the sun shining through. The article does nothing but to rally support for their cause, and I would not be surprised if it somehow made its way to The Times compliments of their lawyers. I am annoyed at the US legal representation for their misguided approach/choice of words. Honestly, what the hell were they thinking?? What’s wrong with the word “detain?”
That said, of course I believe the lot of them should be brought back to the US to face charges in whatever way possible under the law.
By the way, Gavin was conveniently promoted to a Travel Corp position based in London, just in the nick of time.
Stanley and Bea believe they are above the law — they got away with it once (I was always told they fled South Africa because they had to for legal reasons – never knew the details), and they are going to get away with it again.
SN says
Well, let’s see if they pull the same thing in the UK; third time’s a charm!
Kathy Tanner says
TNT,
Like Bill Tanner, I am also a cousin of Monty Hundley. There is some age difference between us (15-20 years), so when I was a little kid, he was this “really old” teenager. I was not that close to Monty because of this. I do have good memories of Monty and his siblings and some of their children. I would really like to contact Monty (and Chuck, if you know how to find him). This really for personal reasons rather than to contribute to your blog. Since Dion and Surilda have passed away (Shirley, the other sister, has never made a point of staying in touch with family). When all of this debacle went down, my relatives were, to put it mildly, schocked. This was not the Monty or Chuck Hundley that we had known over the years. It totally blew us away. This was out of character. I know people change but everything I have read in this blog is just wild. I really can not even relate to this. Most of our relatives are/were “salt of the earth”. We live pay check to pay check like most people and some cousins are less fortunate and have no pay check. Anyway, like I said before, this is more personal then for your blog. I would like to try to contact Monty (and Chuck), so have you could email contact information, I would appreciate it. Thank you, TNT. It is pretty obvious from this blog of yours that Monty and Chuck were the fall guys. I don’t think they ever thought they would be betrayed/set up by their partners. I think the lack of filing income tax returns may come from old hippie / anti-war thing from the old days ut this purely speculation on my part. Thank you for any information you can send to me. Happy Holidays. Kathy Tanner
The Nittany Turkey says
Thanks for the contribution, Kathy. So much of the bandwidth here has been devoted to the Tollmans that I’m always very happy to get the occasional Hundley post. I’ve responded to the personal part of your post off-line. Happy Holidays to you and yours, too!
—TNT
LG says
They still have bounty hunters here. I found out about legalized kidnapping when Dog the bounty hunter kidnapped the fugitive serial rapist and grandson of the founder of Max factor cosmetics so that he could spend the rest of his life in jail.
I do not support kidnapping and do not think the means justifes the ends. But I am not sorry to see a serial rapist behind bars. I am more concerned about the death penalty.
Tony, I like having fun at the office also. I think that I have great sense of humor. The problem is that it can be misinterpreted. Then you are stuck going to work every day with tension in the air.
Ignatious says
My wife and I were very close friends of Monty and Joan here in Bedford, NY. We still are. It all started with my wife and Joan playing in the womans tennis and bridge circles. We spent a great deal of time together. We vacationed together and spent many hours with them as family; our daughter is the same age as their son and they are great friends. We were honored to read at their son’s Barmitzvah. Joan and their son still visit us a couple of times a year.
Monty is a kick; as is Joan. They are fun. But more than that they are soulfull and engaging. They read books, are interested in what’s going on around them and they love their family. Joan, in particular, is a force and has raised their boy to have great values. Over the last eight years that we have spent with Monty and Joan, we have become great friends.
We were pretty freaked out to find that Monty had gotten himself into the pickle that he had. For a time I wondered about whether or not I could reconsile our friendship with his bad behaviour. But at the end of the day, if they are your friends, you will forgive them for their transgresions. I can only guess that Monty felt that the only people that he was screwing were the government and large banks. Of course, one can not construct a legal or a moral argument around this premise, but I have to assume that that was part of his reasoning. Although his humor and view of the world has a hard edge and will often take a cynical form, I have never seen or heard anything harsh or cruel come from him.
I would argue with the critics that might have said that we were attracted to the Hundleys because of the big lifestytle. I would argue that we were friends despite the big life style. I don’t go in for conspicuous consumption thing nor does it impress me. Aside from a couple of trips that we were guests of the Hundleys , where we traveled first class, we split the cost of the rental and they were relatively modest because that was what we could afford. While Monty was not about to get up and help with the dishes he was a team player within the context of a lifestyle that he had long left behind.
LG says
Ignatious,
You seem to think since they only ripped off the big banks and the government it is is okay. I would buy your argument if it was okay for the black man to rip off the local 7/11 store.
This is not meant to be a racist comment. Everyone tries to find a way to excuse the crimes that white people commit more frequently ie white collar theft. They want to throw the key away at crimes that statistics show black people more often commit.
I have had my house robbed and been defrauded. Being defrauded was worse.
Ignatious says
LG,
Re-read what I wrote. I never said or inferred anything of the like. I said I had difficulty reconciling his transgressions and speculated on his own rationalization for his bad behavior about which I said,
“Of course, one can not construct a legal or a moral argument around this premise”
Ignatious says
LG,
I read my last post and it may have sounded a bit combative. That was not
my intension and I apologize if it came off that way.
Merry Christmas.
Ignatious says
Since my last blog entry, I have gone back and perused in more detail some of the entries. Clearly I was premature in apologizing for my combative behavior seeing how “combative” is not inconsistant with blog etiquette. Further more … holy Christ, E. B. you need a to smoke a joint or get a high colonic or a blow job or something ’cause wow man, don’t taze me bros.
The Nittany Turkey says
E.B. has been silent for a while. Perhaps Ignatious’ admonishment will elicit some more bon mots from the master.
Vitriol, sarcasm, and road rage notwithstanding, this Turkey wishes to take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas (and a belated Happy Hanukkah to you, LG).
—TNT
Ignatious says
TNT,
Thank you for your good wishes and to you the same.
SN says
Regarding Ignatious’ comment @ 7:10 on 12/21 (and as in my comment to you TNT on the Kwaanza comment page) I am ROLLING ON THE FLOOR LAUGHING (rofl)!!! Welcome Ignatious.
Merry Christmas to you all.
The Nittany Turkey says
As an ongoing service of The Nittany Turkey we are the happy facilitators of levity via our meager blog in this stressful season of Christmas psychosis!
—TNT
E.B. McLaughlin says
It is disappointing Iggie ignored my change in attitude over the past few months and resorted to bitter denunciation.
No bon mots, TNT – only apologies to SN and you for my unwarranted and offensive outpourings in the past.
And TNT – if JoePa goes, any chance you’d consider poaching Charlie Weiss from the South Bend campus?
Didn’t think so 🙂
The Nittany Turkey says
I would have responded to the Charlie Weis comment but you beat me to it. I’ve had some similar offers involving Bobby Bowden. We’ll stick with old Joe. Sometimes, as in this case, the grass is browner on the other side of the fence.
Merry Christmas, E.B.
—TNT
E.B. McLaughlin says
Touche’
SN says
Merry Christmas E.B. (quiet as it’s kept, I miss NY and Palm Beach this time of the year; you would be a welcome presence at the new years eve party I am attending–a private gathering at the home of a Microsoft exec on the west coast–WA state).
tony sypa says
indded, merry christmas and god bless us, everyone !
i hope santa claus and channukah harry bring gifts for everyone !
The Nittany Turkey says
SN, as the keeper of this blog with the unabated powers of the tooth fairy and the grinch rolled into one corpulent package, I implore you to wangle the Microsoft exec’s Gulfstream to transport E.B. to Redmond for the private gathering at the home of the aforementioned exec. Otherwise, this Turkey might be inclined to classify you as all talk and no action.
Alternatively, perhaps we should organize a cocktail party to be attended by all the participants in this lengthy thread. Just imagine the polite conversation and the fist fights. LG could conduct her interviews and bring a photographer. Having been alerted via this blog, which is obviously a CIA front, the FBI would be outside taking down license plate numbers.
I should really refrain from writing this crap after returning from Christmas parties.
—TNT
SN says
I know what you mean, TNT. Just to be within hearing distance of EB at a cocktail party after 2 scotch would be worth a million bucks! I promise you, this group has never encountered the likes of EB. I would be inclined to meet EB at the airport and we jet off to the shindig, but how would I know if it were truly EB or the lurking FBI…LOL!!
The Nittany Turkey says
I was envisioning EB as your date for the party, SN; however, now that it is apparent that you will be leaving him behind, I am envisioning a tarmac scene a la Bergman/Bogart in Casablanca (with the FBI, not the Nazis, watching.)
Here’s looking at you, kid.
—TNT
michael sams says
my group sold franchises for days inn from the beginning when henry silverman bought the company. monty and stanley were part of the original board of directors in 1984. there is amazingly no responses from anyone at days about the company involvement that ultimately brought them down. we also sold them some of the hotels in their so called empire. of the 100 million scam they paid silverman 3 million for which he was called to testify at the trial about. i watched as they corrupted themselves with the easy money raised by michael milken and drexal. they treated most of us in atlanta with no repect and even protested our multimillion dollar claim in their bankruptcy. they lost their protest. sanford friedman and jim cutler were instrumental in the downfall of monte hunley. i met and had dealings with all of them and i think monte got caught up in a atmosphere of “we can step on anybody and get away with it” mentality. it is amazing monte is the one who has paid the biggest price but it was a conspiracy of unbelievably proportion. henry silverman is the one who started the trip down the road that lead to the ultimate demise of this whole group. i hope someone will write a book. WHAT A TV TRUE MOVIE. mike s
e.b. mclaughlin says
Henry Silverman also was later screwed over by Walter Forbes who was recently convicted in his third trial in Bridgeport, CT – poor Henry made poor choices of people with whom to do business.
michael sams says
henry was never screwed. he showed our dynamic duo of gotham city how the real game was played. as henry once said when i complained about fairness “fair is for children”. he wrote the book and day’s was his practice tool. the dynamic duo were quick learners. look at their chain of hotels and where the majority came from. they came from day’s. follow the trail and it will lead you to silver[man]. when day’s was completely upsidedown milken raised more debt for the two to buy it from the then henry lead company. when day’s couldn’t pay its obligations and bankruptcy was inevitable drexal loaded more debt on and sold it to monty and stanley. all that lead to the bankruptcy of day’s and the repurchase of the company for henry and his new company. he gave monty and stanley $250,000 a year consulting contract each and the stock that fueled the ultimate crash. i doubt if even he thought they would pull the fraud.
E.B. McLaughlin says
Cendant almost went under thanks to Walter Forbes selling his company to Silverman. While I more than partially agree that Silverman was smarter than the dynamic duo we discuss on this site, he was still out foxed by Stanley enough to have caused HS plenty of stress (see the two articles below). I do, however, admit to knowing far more about the Cendant days than I do about Days Inn. I just want you tell all of us how one walks away from over 700 million in debt and remains rich enough to live as Stanley does.
http://money.cnn.com/1999/12/07/companies/cendant/
http://www.forbes.com/2007/01/17/walter-forbes-cendant-cx_jl_0117autofacescan03.html
michael sams says
thanks for the articles this site was great and informative to me in many ways i will always remember these two and their history is forever part of the hospitality industry i will never forget the meetings i had with them while they sat at their partners desk facing each other i have always wondered what happened to that desk if anyone knows i would like to hear it should go into a hall of fame{or is that a hall of shame}
i absolutely appreciate all the stories of employees friends and relatives but as one of those who they tried to step on in the largest hotel bankruptcy in history i can only hold them in contempt i think the ultimate conclusion has to be that they just didn’t know when enough was enough i just wonder why someone in the organization didn’t try to stop the from their own destruction i would like to hear the opiomion of all these people who respected monty if his fall was caused by those around him or by his own doing to me he was his own man and caused his own downfall through a long history of coruption arrogance and any sense of right and wrong
The Nittany Turkey says
I’ve already wished all my football readers a happy new year, but I realize that many contributors and silent readers of this thread could care less about the football drivel I write. Accordingly, I’ll take this opportunity to wish the Tollman-Hundley protagonists and antagonists the very best of healthy, happy, and prosperous new years.
I see that we’ve got a new branch for the thread—the Henry Silverman spur. Just when I think we’re running out of material, some new information arrives. Gotta love this medium!
Happy 2008!
—TNT
E.B. McLaughlin says
To our leader:
HAPPY NEW YEAR
and thanks for providing a venue that is both informative, fun and provocative.
eb
SN says
…and a happy, healthy 2008 to you also.
SN
LG says
The holiday season always makes me homesick. Where I am, I do not see Christmas trees or hear carols. Since January 1 is the start of the Christian New Year, there are no public New Year’s celebrations. Today is a normal work day. Do not worry that did not stop me from celebrating. But it is a far cry from Palm Beach.
Happy New Year to everyone. Somebody please send me tinsel.
E.B. McLaughlin says
HERE WE ARE STARTING 2008 – HOW ABOUT A FEW NEWS ITEMS TO SERVE AS A REFRESHER FOR ANY CONTRIBUTORS NOT BLESSED WITH ALL THE SORDID FACTS.
US fraud suspect ‘buying up SA tour firms’
By Murray Williams
The family business of a tycoon facing multi-billion rand fraud charges in the United States is snapping up some of Cape Town and South Africa’s best-known tourism companies.
Former South Africans Stanley and Bea Tollman, owners of the landmark Tollman Towers hotel in Johannesburg, left under a cloud in the mid-1970s after their hotel business went belly-up.
They went on to build a vast family empire in the US and Britain. But Stanley Tollman, a former director of Chelsea Football Club, is now facing fraud charges in the US involving R5,5-billion.
Despite this, the family business went on a multi-million rand shopping spree in South Africa just six weeks ago.
‘Tollman used the debt to build a chain of Days Inn hotels in America’
The Tollman company, Travel Corporation, bought out the major shareholder of Johannesburg-based Cullinan Holdings for around R42-million. The businesses include some of South Africa’s best known tourism names, Thompson’s Tours, Thompson’s South Africa, which deals with inbound tourists; Pentravel, made up of 15 travel agencies; Indaba Safaris, based in the Kruger National Park; and Manex, which supplies yachting equipment.
But the buy-up is not the Tollmans’ first re-entry in to South Africa. Through a subsidiary, Travel Corporation already owns one of Cape Town’s finest hotels, the recently renamed Twelve Apostles, previously the Oudekraal.
And the management of the hotel is also a Tollman affair. Bea Tollman is the owner of the management company, Red Carnation, so-named for the flower which famously adorned her husband’s lapel.
Red Carnation manages a number of top-class hotels around the world, including the 41 near Buckingham Palace, Milestones opposite Kensington Palace, the four-star Chesterfield, Montague and Rubens, all in London, and one in Geneva, Switzerland.
Travel Corporation paid R45-million for the Oudekraal hotel and Bea Tollman has since spent R25-million dollying it up in her famous themed styles.
‘This family has done and has the potential to do a great deal of good here’
But Travel Corporation’s chief executive, Michael Ness, speaking from the company’s headquarters in Bermuda on Friday, insisted that Travel Corporation “is not Stanley Tollman”. Instead, the company was an “international travel business”, “with an independent board of directors”.
But he conceded that Travel Corp’s major shareholder was one of Tollman’s daughters. And a further 9 percent was owned by Bea Tollman.
The South African Financial Mail has reported that Tollman and a business partner are alleged by New York State prosecutors to have hidden “a treasure trove of assets to avoid repaying $550-million (R5,5-billion) in debt to banks, including Chemical Bank and National Westminster”.
Tollman, 71, and Monty Hundley are alleged to have “used the debt to build a chain of Days Inn hotels in America”.
But Tollman’s lawyer in Cape Town, Gerald Mallinick, said Tollman had vigorously denied all the fraud allegations against him.
On the family’s investment in South Africa, Mallinick said: “This family has done and has the potential to do a great deal of good here.” He said there were often complaints that South Africans who left the country did not re-invest here which the Tollmans were doing with pride.
The Tollman family is also one of the owners of Bouchard Finlayson wine estate in the Hemel en Aarde valley near Hermanus. It was bought for R24m and Mallinick said it was being transformed from a small wine estate into a substantial operation.
He said he understood that the most famous Tollman South African hotel of old, the Tollman Towers, had folded because of “the degradation of central Johannesburg”.
_____________________________________________________________
This is easier than selecting articles for educational purposes: indulge, if you will, with a history and judge for yourself who is reporting the correct information on this site.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=Stanley+Tollman+%26+Bea+Tollman&btnG=Google+Search
eb
LG says
I have been told that they are buying the properties in South Africa so that the senior Tollmans can settle there again. After they have spent a certain amount of money in the country, the South African government will be happy to have them back. Apparently they do not like the weather in London. The Tollmans have also spent more than 2 million dollars on a PR firm in London to help them fight their extradition battle.
SN says
…but, we already know all of this! fleeing SA way back when, hiding money, putting assets and stock in the children’s names and telling everyone they have nothing…
Where are the prosecutors? Are they pressing on, or have they let it go?
SN says
By the way, EB, thank you for the article; it is very succinct.
michael sams says
NEVER HAVE SO FEW DEFRAUDED SO MANY OUT OF SO MUCH SO OFTEN WE SHOULD PICK THE STARS WHO WILL PLAY THE STARS OF THIS REAL LIFE STORY
S says
Wow just stumbled on this earlier this afternoon and some 10 hours later have finally finished reading it (yes, a few interruptions along the way). Worked for them in a financial capacity in the UK for 6 years in the early to late ’90’s. I share the opinion of many on here that Brett is (apart from his crime) a stand up guy but one genuinely conflicted in his relationship with his father. I do think, though, that if Brett hadn’t been married to an American with American born children he too might have dodged the DoJ.
LG says
Welcome S! I really liked Wynn. Can you tell me if he is okay. I am very worried about him.
S says
Am afraid I know nothing of Wynn. I only met him a couple of times on his occasional visits to London and as he was not someone I really knew he rarely if ever came up in my conversations with Brett.
SN says
LG, is there any particular reason you’re worried about Wynn? I have always found it strange that no one has EVER responded to my concern for Wynn. You are the only other person in this entire blog who even knows he exists!
I inquired in my very 1st posting on this blog about Wynn’s wherabouts and health. At some point later, EB wrote that through friends, Wynn had made unfavorable comments about “SN”. If Wynn truly knows who SN is, he would NEVER say or feel anything negative or unfavorable about me–of this I am certain.
So, just like you LG, I remain concerned.
LG says
SN, I am hearing that Wynn is in bad shape. I have no idea if it is true. When something bad happened to me, many people abandoned me. I make it a point not to abandon people in the same boat.
S, I do not dislike Brett. In my opinion, he was a snob. If I knew that I was one step from jail or being a fugitive, I would not be a snob. Brett wanted to flee the country. Miranda did not.
SN says
Thank you, LG. Please keep me posted.
LG says
Let me be clear there can not be any updates. Wynn’s circumstances do not permit.
SN says
I’m sorry; I do not understand (?)
Sean Leyandom says
Hi, I came across this site quite by accident in my search for Wynne Tollman.
Reading all this, one could really loose one’s faith in human nature!
Anyway…..I last spoke to Wynne in 20007 and expected to hear from him once he got settled after leaving New York, however none of the numbers or e mail addresses I have for him work.
If anyone is in contact with him, please pass on a message that Sean Leyandom would love to hear from him.
Oh, and for what it is worth, Wynne is one of the Good Guys.
Thanks for hosting this blog and keeping it going:)
LG says
Sean, where did Wynn say he was moving to? Wynn was one of the good guys.
A.S. says
You people, seeking sensation and publicity, please leave that man alone! He doesn’t give a damn about either of you. If he left New York, it must have been for a good reason and I’m sure he doesn’t want to look back. New York is full of shallow, hollow-inside people who have no values other than money, greed, fierce competition, cruelty, jealousy and no feelings for another human -being. Maybe he doesn’t want to stay in touch with people who only saw his immense wealth, contacts with powerful people across the world but cared less about his real self?
Trafalgar Tours New York was full of people driven by the desire to move to the top and worshiped the Tollmans so that they could offer them high positions and cover them with dollar bills from head to toes. They were clever enough to use that energy for their own advantage and dumped you all.
I’m not defending them, they are a bunch of crooks, international mafia establishing its pentacles across the world in search for profits. But I’m sure that if either of you had the same opportunity, you would display your real colours and establish even a more apartheid-like working place than the Tollmans haven’t even dreamt of.
LG says
A.S., I must apologize if we have offended you. That was never our intent. I and the others on the blog like EBM with have no interest in capitalizing on any relationship with Wynn Tollman.
I genuinely liked Wynn. Now I hear that he is in trouble so I wanted to check if he was okay. That is it.
Not everyone is materialistic as you picture us. I spend 20% of my time helping charities.
SN says
LG, your posting of Jan 14th sounded as if you had information about Wynn. The last sentance left me confused and I did not understand what you meant by it. And now, your posting today suggests that you don’t know anything, but are seeking information. What does “Wynn’s circumstances do not permit” mean?
A.S. says
So I was right – people here are seeking sensation and chunks of information to publish a book. So typical for New Yorkers – making money out of gossip about the lives of celebrities!
Be careful, you may get slapped by the Tollman Mafia pentacles in the process!
The Nittany Turkey says
A.S., your malapropisms are exceeded only by your sweeping generalizations. Pentacles, indeed!
—TNT
LG says
SN, I was seeking info on Wynn but I think that I have received accurate update on his status. Unfortunately, it was not good news. There is nothing else that I can say on a public blog except that Wynn’s status precludes any more updates.
A.S, I am not from New York. I was born in Texas. I have no interest in profitting off of Wyn’s misery. But I do not have the same reservations about the senior Tollmans.
Nittany Turkey, Please use words with less syllables. Who are you trying to impess.
The Nittany Turkey says
I’ll take that under advisement, LG, now that you have made me aware that I have received the EBM Memorial Award for Superciliousness from the San Antonio/Israel connection.
Oops, there I go again! You’re not buying the Professor Irwin Corey act, are you?
—TNT
LG says
I was born in Fort Worth not San Antonio but I actually consider that I am from Philadelphia.
Nittany Turkey- No I am not buying the professor act. But I am enjoying the big words. Since I spend most of my day speaking other languages, I consider them a vocabulary test.
LG says
On second thought, Nittany Turkey you even failed the vocabulary test. EBM is very much alive and kicking. The word memorial is not appropriate. I do miss his lambasts. He brings them to a wonderful boil.
The Nittany Turkey says
I was fishing, LG. I know folks of your surname who hail from San Antonio and I wondered whether you were connected with that family.
Gotta always keep my eye out for Mafia pentacles [sic]!
—TNT
The Nittany Turkey says
I still regard it as a memorial tribute because EBM has been laying low. Uncharacteristically low. I thought that A.S.’s rant surely would bring him back. EB, where the hell are you?
—TNT
A.S. says
EBM has been snatched by the Tollman Mafia tentacles (yes, my usage of “pentacle” was not intentional, nevertheless it has created a comic effect!).
For the rest of you, beware as the Mafia’s tentacles may get you, too!
e.b. mclaughlin says
Okay – I acknowledge laying low. I thought it was clear I was not happy with my caustic approach and sought a quieter and gentler EB 🙂
A.S.’s rant doesn’t deserve a response – by definition, a rant is a violent speech. A.S.’s rudimentary posting lacks a bond with prior commentary so I view it simply as an intrusion much the same as the Canadian before him railed at American justice. At best, A.S. is another apologist.
S.N. – you should accept what L.G. says regarding Wynn and move on. It is extremely difficult to clarify some comments and I speak from experience since I failed to understand many of your postings required an understanding rather than my berating you for lacking in candor.
Lastly, borrowing a phrase from Hillary Clinton, TNT, “the EBM Memorial Award for Superciliousness” comment HURTS MY FEELINGS. While the stereotype is “spot on”, it ignores my sincere apology to you and SN.
~e.b.
The Nittany Turkey says
I offer you my sincere apology for the slight, E.B, but be it known that I have enjoyed both the pre- and post-apology E.B. Perhaps I felt impelled personally to fill the void left by the caustic and vitriolic E.B. of yore.
So, please, don’t get your pentacles in a twist. I intended only reverence for one of the most prolific and articulate posters in this thread.
—TNT
SN says
…which is exactly what I read into your post to E.B., TNT.
Thank you for the clarification LG.
E.B., LG does not require your defense. Those of us who knew Wynn have always felt only warmth and kindness toward him– then and now. Stay out of it.
E.B. McLaughlin says
TNT – my feelings being hurt referenced Hillary Clinton’s mock comment to the moderator of a recent debate where she was asked why she was so unpopular. I offered it as humor – fear not – I still “go both ways”.
SN – as usual, you took my comment the wrong way – to the extent it is warranted, you can count on me “staying out of it”.
LG – :):):)
e.b.
The Nittany Turkey says
That one did indeed fly right over my head, E.B.
Ahh, a reference to the evil Hillary could spark a Turkey rant about the clueless voters of Florida, but I have work to do. Hell, maybe I’ll do it anyway.
—TNT
SN says
Seems everyone is somewhat discombobulated. Maybe it’s the weather…
The Nittany Turkey says
The weather in Florida is fine; therefore, E.B. and I cannot adopt that explanation for the discombobulation you perceive. I cannot speak for E.B. but it is business as usual for the Turkey.
—TNT
e.b. mclaughlin says
Indeed, business, as usual.
e.b.
LG says
It is snowing here. So the world is really upside down.
The Nittany Turkey says
Snow in Israel? Maybe SN, if not Al Gore, was right after all!
—TNT
Sean Leyandom says
OK…So i guess none of you know where Wynn is, or certainly are not in touch with him……Anyway…Wynn if you do come across this blog..give me a tinkle you know where i am or how to get hold of me …Ciao mate and chin up.
e.b. mclaughlin says
Mr. Leyandom is to be credited with getting the spelling of his good friend’s name correct this time around.
SL says in his first posting “Reading all this, one could really loose one’s faith in human nature!”. This blog has been nothing if not palbably kind in all commentary about Wynn. Comments, such as the one above, from an intruder fortunately gain little, if any, traction on this site.
e.b.
LG says
We know where Wynn is. We just can not say it on a public blog in deference to Wynn.
Sean Leyandom says
Life is just too short to read this entire blog, however, from what i have read, i am pleased to see that it has not treated Wynn too badly, apart from the odd slight …… not that i could imagine he could ever do anything to deserve othyerwise.
I was not expecting anyone to post Wynn’s whereabouts, i have a rough idea where he is, it is just that i have not heard from him for longer than usual, none of his old numbers work and i was concerned as to his health, and Gunga’s for that matter.
S says
From this morning’s UK Times
Partial victory for US in Tollman extradition
Hotelier wanted in US on bank fraud charges could still avoid extradition due to his wife’s ill health, High Court says
The US government has won a partial victory in its long-running legal battle to secure the extradition of British hotelier Stanley Tollman to stand trial on £45 million bank fraud charges.
Two High Court judges in London this morning agreed with arguments that the proposed extradition of the 77-year-old was not rendered “oppressive†by the length of time – 16 years – since he is alleged to have committed the offences.
But the judges ruled that it would be oppressive to extradite Mr Tollman’s wife Beatrice, 75, who is being sought on connected charges, because of her ill-health.
The judges also ruled that Mrs Tollman’s failing health – she is suffering a depressive illness – provided the only ground on which her husband might avoid being sent to America.
To finish the article click below http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article3325422.ece
LG says
Big surprise! Bea Tollman played crazy to get her get out of jail card.
wesley low says
What happened to Dr Arnold Tollman and his wife Sandy while all this has been going on? What was their involvement? Can anyone cast any further light on this subject. Are they allowed back into the US?
CPT says
Arnold Tollman died on 19 August 2004.
Let him rest in peace……………………..
LG says
In my fiction book, Arnold would be murdered so that he could not testify against Bea.
LJ says
Aaah Haa! So Sandy Tollman is now the merry widow! Where is she now?
e.b. mclaughlin says
RIP for Arnold and titillation as to Sandy’s whereabouts. TNT never expected to create such a tome (at least I don’t think so). Now we have a new path to tip-toe down all the while thinking of scrutinizing questions to proffer. This site was born of a simple query and has grown to a Gordian Knot that appears will never be cut.
e.b.
SN says
I only hope Sandy refused to return all those assets Bea and Stanley hid in Dr. Tollman’s name…
TC Cougar says
It wasn’t the Tollmans who corrupted Monty Hundley. It was the gambling industry. And it happened way before you think.
You imply that Hundley was pure as the driven snow in 1974. I met him in 1973, when he was managing Del Webb’s Sahara Tahoe in Nevada and was being groomed for higher management in the Del Webb chain.
He was very young then, but he was driving a Citroen-Maserati, living in a beautiful home and buying homes for relatives. Someone very close to him confided to me that he didn’t make all his money legally, which was not uncommon in the gambling world in those days.
I have no idea why he and Del Webb parted company, but I believe by the time he left he had a taste for big money. And he had learned how easy it could be to make millions if you didn’t worry about a little thing like honesty.
SN says
Wow! Keep it coming…
LJ says
I believe that Stanley Tollman is in South Africa running his empire there. Anyone confirm this?
SN says
LOL!! LJ, I suggest you read this blog and then withdraw your question before you get lambasted by E.B. and branded an intruder.
The Nittany Turkey says
TC, I didn’t intend to imply that MH was pure as the driven snow in 1974. I think he’d take that implication as an insult. He definitely enjoyed the good life and was damn proud of it.
He was indeed a wheeler-dealer back then, and I know that he had a taste for expensive cars, clothes, and women. In fact, one of the first conversations he and I had when he hit the island centered around buying a Jaguar, which he thought would be the appropriate car for a man of his stature. (He wasn’t very happy with the Ford LTD that came with the job.)
Another comical depiction of his taste for expensive goods came when the hotel dry cleaner screwed up a jacket of his. I was sitting in his apartment shooting the shit with him when his wife (Sandy, at the time) whipped out this white jacket that looked like it might be about the right size for his five year-old daughter. The valet had shrunk it to a kiddie size! I thought the whole thing was hilarious, but Monty was totally pissed off. He said it cost $400 or thereabouts. (Now, that was 1974, so imagine what the damn jacket would cost today.) As I recall, someone was fired for committing summary jacketocide.
—TNT
The Nittany Turkey says
LJ,
Please take SN’s advice. The ongoing stream of comments make for interesting reading for anyone wanting to come up to speed on the whereabouts and machinations of various and sundry Tollmans.
Occasionally, you’ll come across a post or two about the original subject as well.
E.B. is absolutely correct when he states that I had never intended that this blog become the unofficial nexus for Tollman information exchange. The ride has been nothing short of amazing to me. I am happy that so many people have found it useful for satisfying a variety of needs.
Alas, I am not the latter-day Alexander who will cut the Gordian Knot.
—TNT
RJ says
This has made fascinating reading. I met Bea Tollman when I was 11 years old and she was pregnant with either Vicky or Brett (the elder of the two). They were always glamorous high flyers. The Colony at the Hyde Park Hotel in Johannesburg, which they owned, had the first disco in South Africa. I remember that they left South Africa in rather a hurry and they couldn’t come back for many years. When the kids were growing up in Joburg I went to their house which was lavish – and I think had its own 9 hole golf course. Bea came from a wealthy Joburg family (but with somewhat irregular fortunes), and Stan’s family were always in the hotel business. A friend worked at the Tollman Towners just before they left and the staff used to buy toilet paper with their own money as there were no funds available to pay suppliers – suddenly one day the Ts were gone – it was the 70s and downtown Johannesburg was flourishing – a lot of their investors lost a lot of money.
Jack Russell says
Sounds like being cheap is typical for Tollmans – will never forget Gavin’s Dunkin’ Doughnuts, pizzas, bagels and travel bags or fake money bills with his face on it that the staff would receive for hard work! I wish him that he eats only junk food for the rest of his life and be constantly short of toilet paper when he gets constipations from unhealthy meals!
RJ says
I checked with another friend – I was wrong about the golf course. Their house was next to a golf course – in those days before golf estates it loooked as though it was part of the estate.
Boston Butler says
I would like to know how Mr Hundley and his wife are doing. I would greatly appreciate an address for Mr. Hundley. I was very sad only to see Mr/s Tollman/Hundley caught for their ploys. They were assumed guilty of defrauding these same financial institutions that are now wreaking havoc in the market with a sub-prime mess. My only wish that the group never got caught!
I worked for the Hundley family in Bedford NY and have nothing but great things to say of them. Between the Hundleys, Tollmans, and friends; my only thoughts are of a very generous bunch & full of life. They had class and were always exciting to be around. If you wanted action, this group could usually pull it out of a hat.
I can still remember all the crazy people coming and going when the house in Bedford was being renovated. Both Mr. Hundley and his wife Joan were great Parents to their only child named Tyler. Just the thought of those three sitting in a kids movie theater together eating popcorn. I remember Mr. Hundley used to call his son “Grasshopper” coming into the house from karate practice. It was always nice to see Mr. Hundley take a saturday morning stroll with the (Green Thumb) gardener named Owen through the beautiful property grounds.
Maybe I will come back with some more good stories in the future. The only thing that I can firmly state is that if anyone has anything bad to say about the Hundley/Tollman families, then you must be envious of their Exciting Lives! I was glad to see the good times that the two families had together. I wish Mr. Hundley All the Best.
Boston Butler
The Nittany Turkey says
Thanks very much for your comments, BB. Unfortunately, I have no address for MH or his family. Even if I did, I would protect that information. However, some family members drop by here occasionally who might be able to help you.
—TNT
S says
Nittany Turkey,
Monty’s current address is a matter of public record:
(see link)
He’s in the Federal Penitentiary in Pensacola, Florida with a provisional release date June 28th, 2012.
And letters should be addressed to:
Monty D Hundley (83505-054)
FPC PENSACOLA
FEDERAL PRISON CAMP
110 RABY AVE
PENSACOLA, FL 32509
The Nittany Turkey says
Thanks, S.
—TNT
NS says
For Tollman activity in S.A see Cullinan Holdings registered at 6
Hood Avenue, Rosebank . Chairman, Michael Ness.
Holding: Thompson Travel, Planet Africa, Hylton Ross.
Also 3 Red Carnation Hotels: Twelve Apostles, Bushman’s Kloof, The Oyster Box and a partnership with Bouchard Finlayson Winery.
And of course the Tollman Art Prize .According to a press release:
“The Tollman family grew up in South Africa and their formative years were spent here. Although they left the country to pursue business interests, South Africa never left them. Due to the positive changes that have happened over the past decade, they have been reinvesting in South Africa, focusing on tourism and the wine industry. They have also been inspired to support and encourage the extraordinary creativity in the visual arts that they have encountered in the new South Africa which has led to the creation and birth of this award.”
LJ says
Does their move to S.A. indicate the Tollmans can fight extradition more easily from S.A. than would be the case with Britain? What about their children, in-law Sandy and the gang?
e.b. mclaughlin says
Here we go again – the above posting by LJ is from a news release of several years ago when Vicki and Toni presented an award in SA in the name of the Tollman Foundation. Bea and her husband are in London and the SA hotels are overseen by Vicki and her sister among others. The answer to the question of extradition and is fighting it easier in SA is NO just as the answer to the question of whether Mr. & Mrs. Stanley Tollman are in SA is NO. February 19th, our leader asked you to “please take SN’s advice”. I echo the suggestion.
S says
Some photos from the extravanganza escapades of your “gang”:
http://www.bornfree.org.uk/campaigns/big-cats/big-cat-rescue/leopard-relocation/relocation-photos/
Am I looking at Brigitte Bardot rescuing leopards hesitating between Prada and Coco Chanel outfits in her feline catwalk show? Is the leopard shelter construction the latest chic in Monaco?
Apparently, not only Bea has a “penchant” for the leopards!!!!
Bijou says
Sandy T. looks well, eh? Read more of the merry widow and the cats in Monaco on page 2 of the article.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/01/26/ealeopard126.xml&page=1
S says
For those who know French, read on Sandy’s “exposition” at Maison de l’Amerique latine in August 2005 entitled “Les Ballets des Grues du Larvotto ” which can be seen at:
http://www.amerique-latine.org/fre/oeuvres.asp?date=2/2008&artistes=
The full article at:
http://www.monaco.mc/offreDescriptif.do?idRubrique=1&idArticle=51672
The merry widow turned photographer, “va-t-elle désormais poursuivre sa nouvelle vocation ?” – wonders the author of this article. La pauvre est un peu angoissee de franchir le seuil entre le monde reel et ce qui est ephemere – “De là à se croire capable d’aller plus loin, il y a visiblement un pas qu’elle hésite à franchir” – concludes the author.
Well, at least a dose of modesty in her character: “elle qui refuse de se considérer comme une vraie photographe”.
Not only she’s passionate for the felines, but also for the industrial landscape’s balerinas’ like cranes 🙂
tony sypa says
news for the old traf people … amir nadel was finally let go last month ! although mike ness sent out a company wide e-mail saying nice things , he was basically given his walking papers, and i know champagne flowed in both north american offices now that he’ll be gone.
as for sandy .. i had the priviledge of working with sandy’s ( and the doc’s ) nephew justin ( jay ) who workedside by side with me in the IT dept for a year until gavin fired him and he was sent back to london. first of all gavin was being egotistical in jay’s firing because jay was the best, they just didn’t get along .. but the times sandy would call for jay, she was great, would always ask how i was doing, always had pleasant conversation with her …. she was in the brett mold to me .. didn’t have the uppity millionaire attitude the others had.
and as for wynn … as a recovering addict myself, it’s either two things with wynn … he’s still using and he’s miserable … or he’s clean and needs to stay away from the hubbub and old friends and party places .. his wishes for privacy should be respected for his sake.
S says
An update on Sanford Freedman and Jim Cutler. Yesterday “The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals threw out the term of probation for one-time Days Inn general counsel Sanford Freedman and the sentence of one year and one day meted out to the hotel chain’s former CFO, James Cutler”
and “The circuit remanded the case for resentencing.”
See http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1205775589619
LJ says
The Merry Widow: extract from a journalist at The Spectator … for those who’re interested!
Writes …
I met a wealthy widow in Monaco the other day who was so pressed for space to keep her designer frocks she paid $1.5 million to buy the apartment below her penthouse as a walk-in wardrobe.
Sandi Tollman is an attractive blonde whose late husband made his fortune in smart boutique hotels like The Milestone overlooking Kensington Palace. Sandi today has a new partner, Emile, a handsome, youngish, Lebanese gentleman. Emile used to be Sandi’s chauffeur. ‘We knew something was up when Sandi moved from the back of the Rolls to sit beside Emile in the front seat,’ one observer told me.
Sandi is a friend of Prince Albert, Monaco’s ruler. She is also very generous. When she heard two leopards from his private zoo were being flown to a game reserve in South Africa she offered to pay the £50,000 transportation costs.
Sandi was at the zoo at 8 a.m. to greet Albert when he arrived for a photocall with the leopards before they took off for the freedom of the savannah. For 16 years the brother and sister leopards, Pitou and Sirius, have only known a life behind bars, the last eight gazing from their cliffside cage at Russian babe-magnet yachts anchored in Monte Carlo’s harbour.
Albert looked as if he needed support.You might think how tough can life be living in a 220-room pink palace on the rocks right over the Med with all that zero-rated non-dom cash pouring in. But every time he faces the press it’s the same old questions about Monaco being a haven for money launderers and his refusal to hand over financial information about British tax exiles to the Treasury. You could forgive Albert, as he caught sight of the photographers and then the leopards, for wondering which of these carnivores was more deadly.
He wore a blue business suit, no tie and a fawn raincoat. You wouldn’t say he had his mother Grace Kelly’s looks, but he has a nice voice and speaks with an American accent.
Albert wanted this photocall to go well. He has been trying to rebrand the Principality and attract a younger, more eco-friendly non-dom crowd than Philip Green and Shirley Bassey. Of course it doesn’t hurt that he has a beautiful partner, Charlene Wittstock, a South African swimming champion, indeed a bit of a Grace Kelly lookalike. Their marriage is being planned for September.
S says
Stanley’s extradition fight is over and he can remain in the UK.
http://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2008/04/09/320161/red-carnation-hotel-executive-escapes-extradition-to-care-for-sick.html
SN says
Thank you, S.
e.b. mclaughlin says
FINIS ????
(after 397 responses).
The Nittany Turkey says
I think it is just the Passover lull.
TT Anaheim Employee says
Wow, there’s some crazy stuff in here. I had heard some of the rumors of the Tollman family, but didn’t know it was this extensive. I work in the Anaheim office currently. Brett still visits the Anaheim office once or twice a year. He seems very friendly. I remember a year ago before he left to work full time at the London office, he was based here. He was always quiet, but my encounters were generally positive. I truly hope he has turned around and made a better person of himself. I believe everyone deserves a second chance.
S says
TT Anaheim Employee wrote “I truly hope he has turned around and made a better person of himself.”
Despite having a conviction recorded against him I do not and have never thought that he necessarily needs to become a better person. Brett, I believe is only guilty of being unable to say ‘No!” to his father. Unfortunately, for Brett this had greater consequences than when most everyone else finds themselves with a dominant father.
TT Anaheim Employee says
After more investigation I found that out to be true. He certainly knew what was going on the whole time. Looks like he just took the fall for the family. I’ve always thought highly of the man, truthfully. Someone said he’s not allowed in the U.S., however truthful that may be, he still visits the ANA office once or twice a year.
ASV says
It has been very interesting to read about all of your responses and thoughts about this family’s ordeal. I understand how what has happened has affected so many individuals and there familys. But did you think how it has affected their grandchildren? The eldest has had a terrible time as did her brother and the rest of their cousins. To correct one blogger above – Toni’s name is Antoinette not Antonia. Her divorce from Francis was due to the fact that they had grown apart – her marrige to Gavin – on their own accord – and they are very much in love and happy. Wynn now lives in SA and is fine. As for everyone else – they are dealing with things as they come. There is no thought to publish a book about their life/ordeal -you seem to have done a pretty good job on it yourself.
TNT – With regards to Monty – I met him, his wife and their youngest son several times – he was nice guy – I believe his younges was called Sebastian.
TTAnaheim – thanks for your kind works about Brett.
Best wishes to you all.
G-d Bless.
tony sypa says
” But did you think how it has affected their grandchildren? ”
The question should really be , did THEY think about how it would affect their grandchildren ????!!!!!!!!
TT London Employee says
Brett Tollman is a legend if only for being the chief architect in the departure of Amir Nadel, possibly the worst CIO of all time! Huzzah!
XYZ says
Tony Sypa — John Severini was sacked last year, on his birthday. He really was a weenie and deserved to get the ax.
Ubuntu says
Interestingly enough, one needs a microscope to find any donation from the Tollmans for Nelson Mandela’s birthday celebrations at Hyde Park in London this forthcoming Friday, which is advertised as a big charity event. Neither Trafalgar Tours or Insight Vacations that organise tours to South Africa are listed as sponsors:
http://www.46664.com/7
I have no doubt that they tacitly supported apartheid, their lavish lifestyle is due to the suffering of 80% of South Africa’s population that didn’t even have access to the city but was confined to townships and reservations, was treated as a transient population, as non-humans with no civil rights in their own country.
Did the Tollmans care? Do they care that their selfishness and support given to the neo-liberalism, their friendship with Thatcher who has destroyed the United Kingdom and the rest of the world, has contributed to violence, high unemployment, deterioration of the environment, poverty in the developing world, as they have exploited South Africa to the maximum then moved elsewhere to do the same thing, so that they could act as aristocrats that they are not?
Humans are vicious beings and it’s all because of greed and thirst for power.
LJ says
Welcome to the real world Ubuntu – sorry to say the reality is that the entire Us economy and indeed the greater world of commerce is run on those lines. The big corporations, lobbyists and politicians all share the same bed. Government too! That’s how it is – it’s naive to be disillusioned – much as it is an admirable quality.
Roopy says
Brett and Gavin once pushed me into a puddle!
Praxede says
If they pushed you into the puddle, they have already paid for it by being “pushed” behind the bars, where they shared the space with likewise individuals. However, they should have been punished 1000 times fold for they have inflicted injustice and suffering on thousands of people. I can imagine the moment of their agony, fighting with the dark forces which they are part of, lonely as the evil people eventually become outcasts.
I remember how their dark energy was ruining my soul. However, my positive side didn’t allow those perverts corrupt my soul. I put them right into the place where they belong and reminded them with contempt of their humble origins.
M.O says
unbutu , the tollmans left south africa just before the apartheid , so maybe in a world where people don’t always look for the bad in every single situation and don’t jump to conclusions on false information , the tollmans maybe and only maybe left S.A because they were against it?
that is something to think about…
HJ says
MO…..you are rather clueless. ‘the Tollmans left South Africa just before the apartheid’ What does this mean? You clearly have absolutely no idea about South Africa. The Tollmans’ ran great hotels in the 70s in South Africa and employed many lazy locals. Those same are probably now carjacking with all their spare time !!!! Having said that , apartheid only postponed for 50 years the inevitable destruction of a First World industrial country.
Francois Dupont says
Je vais parler en francais car malheuresement , my english is very bad . J’ai lu un peu pres tout vos post , et j’ai connu cette famille il y a bien longtemps . Oui il etait riche , oui ils ont peut etre fraude quelque taxes ? mais es ce que leur histoire est si interressante pour que vous passez maintenant depuis deux ans a ecrire sur eux? Quel homme important aujourd’hui n’a pas fraude? Les hommes riches aujourd’hui ont toujours quelque chose cache dans le placard mais les tollman ont tres peu compare a d’autre . Pour monsieur HJ qui pretend tres bien les connaitre , les tollman on fuit dans les annes 70 , precisement au debut et sont alles a Londres ruine . Vous n’allez pas comme meme les blamer de l’Apartheid si ils ont quitte le pays en laissant leur fortune derriere? sinon c’est la porte ouverte a tout , et c’est parti pour la 1ere ainsi que la 2nde guerre mondial , hiroshima , auschwitz , soyons fou meme le massacre du Rwanda il ne faut pas etre debile non plus . enfin vous devez surement valoir mieux que ca , meme si vous ne le montrez pas en ecrivant depuis maintenant 2 ans sur une famille qui sans doute en a rien a claquer de vous et de votre famille, vous y pensez ca? vous croyez que ca les atteint , si oui detrompez vous .Et qui etes vous Jesus Christ , Moise Mahommet ou le Dali Lama pour vous permettre de juger les autres, enfin bref personne n’est parfait , leurs erreurs sont les leurs et personnes vous demande votre avis , biensur que la liberte de parole existe mais vous avez depasse la lourdeur depuis bien longtemps
Sur ce , j’espere que vous frauderez les taxes pour gagner un minimum d’argent qui vous permetterait de vous acheter une vie .
A bon entendeur , Salut!
tony sypa says
what’d he saaaaay, what’d he saaay ????!!!!!
SN says
Tony, he is saying that he read the posts and knew the family long ago. he says yes they were rich and may have been frivolent w/taxes. However, he goes on to say, is their history so interesting that bloggers have spent 2 years writing about them(?) He says the rich man today has something to hide in their closets, but the Tollmans have a lot less to hide. He says the Tollmans fled in the 70s and went to London without a penny in their pocket. he says you’re not going to blame them for Apartheid if they left leaving their fortune behind. He mentiona WWI & II and a few other world atrocities. He says something to the effect that “…you must be a lot more than that, who really cares about you and your family”. he says if you think this is reaching them, you’re mistaken. Further, who are you (bloggers) to judge them and that no one asked the blogger’s opinion. he adds tha, of course, there is freedon of speech, but folks in this blog have been crossing the line. Finally, Francois suggests that this site’s bloggers try to begin deferring enough taxes to buy a new life.
francois says in the beginning that his english is very bad. Well, says a french national, his french is quite bad as well.
LG says
It is great to catch up with everyone. ASV, I am thrilled to hear that Wynn is in South Africa. AFter his probation was over, Brett moved to London. He can not handle being far apart from his family.
tony sypa says
look who’s back in action … looking older, but hopefully wiser … i still say he was an alright guy.
http://www.globaltraveltourism.com/site_2008/media6a84.html?m_gallery_id=40&ss=1
NS says
For the record M, Du Pont Tollmans did not leave SA without a penny, just ask the creditors they left high and dry!
TT Insider says
For anyone interested, it appears Mr. Gavin Tollman is rising to the top again. This email was sent to us this week from Mike Ness.
_____________________________________________________________
After 13 years employment with The Travel Corporation, primarily with Contiki and then joining Trafalgar in 2007, Paul Baker has decided to leave the Group to pursue new opportunities and challenges.
Through his commitment, dedication and strategic approach, Paul succeeded in assisted in repositioning and elevating Contiki to the excellent brand we see today. His tireless efforts for Trafalgar were recognized and appreciated by all.
Please join me in thanking Paul for all of his excellent work and support and we wish him well for the future.
Given Paul’s departure, in the interim, Gavin Tollman will be fulfilling this role.
Mike Ness
LG says
Stanley Tollman got away with it. I thought that the United States would never settle the case against him and prevent him from ever returning to the United States. They did for one day of probabtion and $100 million.
Next stop for the Tollman’s – Park Avenue?
By MARTIN ESPINOZA
Published: November 21, 2008
After years of trying to avoid prison time in the United States, a multimillionaire hotel executive has won his freedom, in exchange for payments totaling more than $100 million.
The executive, Stanley S. Tollman, 78, pleaded guilty — via video link between London and a federal courtroom in Manhattan — to one count of tax evasion, and will pay more than $60 million in back taxes, interest and fraud penalties. He has also agreed to pay $44.7 million to settle a civil forfeiture suit related to allegations in a 2002 indictment charging him and six others with various fraud offenses.
As part of the plea deal, Mr. Tollman, who left the country in 2002 just before being indicted on tax evasion and fraud charges, and who has been fighting extradition ever since, will serve a one-day term of probation, the United States attorney’s office said.
Mr. Tollman, an American citizen, was an executive with the New York-based company Tollman-Hundley Hotels, which owned and managed various Days Inn hotels throughout the United States. He also held management positions with the Travel Corporation, the parent organization, based in the British Virgin Islands, of several travel and tourism companies, including Trafalgar Tours International, Trafalgar USA and the Red Carnation Group of hotels.
The United States attorney’s office says that during the late 1980s and early 1990s, Mr. Tollman and his wife, Beatrice Nina Tollman, opened a series of bank accounts on the island of Guernsey, in the English Channel. According to court documents, two of the accounts “were opened and maintained in the names of corporations, to wit, Buffalo Holdings and New York Investments, and virtually all of the income received through these accounts was not reported to the I.R.S.”
The records say that from 1994 to 1999, the Tollmans received, through the Guernsey corporate bank accounts, more than $18 million in income from or paid through the Travel Corporation or one of its subsidiaries and that they did not pay taxes on that money.
In the plea agreement, which he and his lawyer, Viet D. Dinh, signed on Friday, Mr. Tollman agreed to pay $25 million immediately and to pay $16,018,728, plus any accrued interest on the outstanding debt, each year for the next five years. The total amount Mr. Tollman owes the federal government, not counting interest, is $105,093,638.
The United States attorney’s office declined to comment on the case beyond the details laid out in a statement released on Friday. Mr. Dinh could not be reached for comment at his office at Bancroft Associates in Washington, D.C.
Monty D. Hundley, Mr. Tollman’s business partner at Tollman-Hundley and a former owner of Days Inn of America; James Cutler, Tollman-Hundley’s chief financial officer; and Howard Zukerman, Tollman-Hundley’s vice president of finance, were all convicted in 2004 after a two-month jury trial before Judge Loretta A Preska in Federal District Court in Manhattan. Mr. Tollman’s son, Brett, pleaded guilty of tax evasion in 2003.
The federal government had also sought to extradite Mrs. Tollman, 77, who in 2003 was charged separately with tax fraud. In the plea agreement, bank fraud and other remaining counts against Mr. Tollman, as well as the pending complaint against Mrs. Tollman, were dismissed.
ol says
Please would you just stop it .we all know what happened let them go on with their lives
ol says
Answer to TT insider that message about Paul Baker in an inside message pkease refrain from passing on internal information
Hmmm says
Who died and made you the blog police, ol?
tony sypa says
ol … it’s not over until every indicted member of the family pays their debt to society … and that’s to the u.s. citizens … i’m sure most of them will rot in hell for they the things they did, because i believe in god’s justice.
SN says
Amazing!!!
SN says
EB, TNT, LG & Tony Sypa – Merry Christmas and a safe and healthy New Year.
The Nittany Turkey says
Long time, SN! Merry Christmas to you, and the best of everything for the New Year.
Christmas greetings as well to EB and Tony Sypa. Happy Hanukkah to LG.
This was not a very productive year for this thread, but apparently the wheels of justice have been favorably greased for Stanley.
—TNT
hmm says
Will rot in hell ? I wonder what you wish for Madoff…
Insulting the family is trespassing a line you shouldn’t .
I hope your family rots in hell , and doesn’t survive the crisis . 🙂
tony sypa says
first off … eb, lg, turkey, all … happy holidays ! turkey enjoy the rose bowl !
lg .. i’ve been doing some writing lately , specific to Trafalgar and my time there .. i’ll share it with you when done, but i see it’s gonna take a while ….
hmmmm … yeah , madoff should/will rot in hell too.
I’m not trying to insult the family .. i’m merely hoping that there be some justice , if not on this earth, then through the god i believe in. i take it your some sort of family member or friend to get so insulted, but a fact is a fact .. they are a family of thieves, they hurt many people along the way , and i believe that when a person sins in the eyes of god, and are not repentant for it, they go to hell. brett is the only one i’ve seen be a stand up kinda guy and be repentant …. the others deserve their trip.
as for my family rotting in hell .. well since they lived honorable lives and never swindled any banks or cheated on thier taxes , well sometimes i can feel their angelic presence watching me. and i’m surviving the crisis nicely btw thank you very much. money is not my god.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS !
Walpurgis says
Hmm – I really wonder who you are. You are definately a member of the Tollman clan. Who knows, maybe Bea herself as the sarcastic language may indicate.
Poor Tollmans, who have crossed the line that lies between the Good and Bad. Your poor background of European immigrants who left their village of wooden shacks located on the outskirts of Europe, one of the typical “bourgade” as the French would say, at the end of the 19th century in search of a better life in South Africa has triggered in you a greed for power and wealth. Maybe by doing this you have tried very hard to erase your mediocre past but this stain has proven to be resistant to time as much as the blood stains on Lady Macbeth’s hands. A typical colonial syndrome reminescent of Albert Memdi’s “Le colonisateur et le colonise” – the mediocre Europeans who migrate to the colony to oppress the indigenous people in order to enrich and elevate themselves. In this struggle for wealth and social status, they forget about their own dignity and more elevated human values, use ruthless politics, deceit and pursue the power by any means like Macchiavelli’s “Prince”.
The irony is that you have become the colonized yourself. Your immense wealth cannot erase your thick South African accent and you feel alienated in the London higher society as you will never be treated as the British but some despicable foreign “nouveaux riches”. That’s why you feel more at home in your Belgravia ghetto with neighbours such as the Russian mafiosos – Abramovich and other corrupted soulmates of yours. Class cannot be bought with gold. Human dignity, enlightment, being civilised is not part of a social status, but of one’s soul and one’s desire to pursue wisdom and overcome human nature.
In fact, to overcome our human weaknesses, we don’t need money or high social status – something that has never occurred to you and probably never will.
Tony Sypa is like many others that you have stepped upon to acquire power and wealth. He is right in saying that you will rot in hell. However, the hell already exists in this dimension. You may already have bad consciousness but are too scare to admit it. You may be looking at your image in the mirror and feel disgust for yourself. Bea and Stanley – you are getting older and older. You will die soon. You cannot take your riches with you but will rot in the ground like all of us. And maybe that’s why you have overacted by wishing Tony to lose his job in these hard times for the global economy.
I also believe in justice. The Buddhism talks about the cause and effect. You are already collecting the seeds that you have sown.
Nam-myoho-renge kyo!
ol says
Wishing harm to others does not make things go away but makes you feel angry since the object of your hatred does not probably know how you feel Peace and Divine justice
hmmm says
and i wonder who you are, walpurgis???
a)an intellectual failure
b)frustrated academic
c)a bitter twisted buddhist
d) All of the above
hmmm says
the only thing i am collecting is a bag of laughs at your sanctimonious comments…walpurgis!!!!!!
P.S : The Tollmans may get older , but not to worry their legacy will never die , where yours is limited to this blog . 🙂
tony sypa says
thier legacy … of what criminality , fraud, and tax cheats ? not how i want to be remembered dude .
and speak for yourself, because my legacy is well preserved !
Walpurgis says
I’ve travelled this old world of ours from Barnsley to Peru
I’ve had sunshine in the arctic and a swim in Tinbuktu
I’ve seen unicorns in Burma and a Yeti in Nepal
And I’ve danced with ten foot pygmies in a Montezuma hall
I’ve met the King of China and a working Yorkshire miner
But I’ve never met a nice South African.
No, he’s never met a nice South African
And that’s not bloody surprising man
‘Cause we’re a bunch of arrogant bastards
Who hate black people
I once got served in Woolies aften less than four week’s wait
I had lunch with Rowan Atkinson when he paid and wasn’t late
I know a public swimming bath where they don’t **** in the pool
I know a guy who got a job straight after leaving school
I’ve met a normal merman and a fairly modest German
But I’ve never met a nice South African.
No, he’s never met a nice South African
And that’s not bloody surprising man
‘Cause we’re a bunch of talentless murderers
Who smell like baboons
I’ve had a close encounter of the twenty-second kind
That’s when an alien spaceship disappears up your behind
I got directory enquiries after less than forty rings
I’ve even heard a decent song by Paul McCartney’s Wings
I’ve seen a flying pig in a quite convincing wig
But I’ve never met a nice South African.
No, he’s never met a nice South African
And that’s not bloody surprising man
‘Cause we’re a bunch of ignorant loudmouths
With no sense of humour – ha ha
I’ve met the Loch Ness monster and he looks like Fred Astaire
At the BBC in London, he’s the chief commissionaire
I know a place in Glasgow which is rife with daffodillies
I met a man in Katmandu who claimed to have two willies
I’ve had a nice pot noodle but I’ve never had a poodle
And I’ve never met a nice South African.
No, he’s never met a nice South African
And that’s not bloody surprising man
Because we’ve never met one either
Except for Breyten Breytenbach and he’s emigrated to Paris. (farts)
Yes, he’s quite a nice South African
And he’s hardly ever killed anyone
And he’s not smelly at all.
That’s why they put him prison.
hmmm says
hi LG…..as we know in life the wheel turns, and after you have sat in judgement of others its been so interesting to find otu what people think of you….and what you have gotten away with..your reputation (and looks) are less than desirable and were “thrown out” of the USA retreat to Israel…no wonder there is anti semitism……..Nice mention in Vanity Fair. You really like to play with the big dogs, but i guess when you have no breeding you hope, by hanging around with pedigree, it may rub off on you, shame that never happened and the irony is you then sit in judgemen when you are a bigger sleeze bag than the peoiple you write about….anyway I’ve read some other stuff about you lately, and figured its your turn to taste a bit of the medicine you so glady give to others… seems like your “squeeky clean facade” is beginning to crack. Kharma, kharma……CHECK THIS OUT_
Laura Goldman convicted extortionist, blackmailer, expelled from US
Laura Goldman professes to have worked on Wall Street for 20 years – maybe she sold hot-dogs? Laura Goldman has made the lives of many men an abject misery by making false accusations and making demands for money to drop her claims. Forbes Magazine carried articles about this poisonous individual, as did the New York Times and the Boston Globe. Finally the US got sick of Laura Goldman’s repeated demands for money under threat of legal action and threw her out. Since arriving in Israel she’s faced similar charges, narrowly escaping jail sentences by accepting periods of treatment for her paranoid schizophrenia and other conditions. Now she spends her time reinventing herself as some kind of investment adviser, and makes regular comments on forums and in newspapers in a desperate attempt to seek some small scale fame and notoriety. PLEASE TAKE NOTE – Avoid this woman at all costs!!!!! Search deeply on better search engines and discover what this woman is really like. Anyone who falsely claims she has been raped by a prominent US individual and then describes it as ‘my own personal holocaust’ should be totally ashamed of herself – but of course she isn’t because it’s all part of the grand delusion. All in all a very dangerous and nasty creature, and i should know as one of her previous targets.
Note that she even told her friends to invest in a project through her because it was making so much money, when in actual fact she was using the cash to pay to have a house built in Israel! This one is a real star guys – AVOID !!!!!!!!! Israel, you have been warned!
You know how the saying goes, people who live in glass houses shouldnt throw stones!”
oh i almost fogot to add this one-
LAURA GOLDMAN Blackmailer, extortionist, drug dealer, paedophile Tel Aviv Israel Nationwide
LAURA GOLDMAN
Phone:
Fax:
A Filthy Squat Of An Apartment
Tel Aviv, Israel, Nationwide,
Israel
If you have any dealings with Laura Goldman of Tel Aviv, Israel, I warn you now that you will sufffer as a result.
Laura Goldman preys on easy targets. BEWARE OF THIS WOMAN. I have 100% proof that she preys on under-age children and will be happy to prove it under oath. The vile filth this woman puts out should be stopped and she should be locked up to prevent any more damage to innocent kids.
A convicted fraudster, thrown out of the US for blackmailing prominent businesmen with fake allegations of rape, she now defrauds investors for a living while trying to further her own standing in her community. People, she is NOT a legitimate investment adviser – don’t be taken in by her ‘mumsie’ demeanour because this woman is poison.
Do NOT give this person money, do NOT give her personal information about yourself and your family, do NOT associate with this evil individual because it WILL cost you.
AVOID LAURA GOLDMAN!!!!!
Oh how sweet is revenge….what goes around comes around :)))))
…..
DAL says
Hmmmmmmm – you have no balls. Have the courage of your convictions and face people, instead of attacking people anonymously. COWARD!
TT Insider says
Gavin Tollman is at the Anaheim Trafalgar office right now. Funny he looks nothing like Brett.
Marmatt says
Gavin’s father, Arnold Tollman, had darker hair, although I don’t know what his first wife’s coloring was. Arnold and his second wife, Sandy, had no children. As I remember, Gavin was strikingly handsome. Bea and Stanley’s children were quite fair, I suppose taking after Bea.
David says
It was my displeasure to have had dealings with Monty Hundley when I worked for Loews/SBM in Monaco. Loews incidentally, when leaving Monaco ,managed to cheat employees out of their company pensions, but that is another story. As far as Hundley is concerned, it is good to know that there is indeed some justice on this earth and not just in paradise!
The Nittany Turkey says
Your comment to some extent allays my disappointment over not sticking around with Loews long enough to get the Monte Carlo assignment. I would have been stuck in Monaco as a fellow screwee. I’d like to know more about your experiences there, but I understand that you might not be willing to share them with the general blog-viewing public.
—TNT
David says
I have no problem with telling the world about the cold blooded screwing I and my fellow work colleagues received from Loews/SBM. It happened 20 years ago but the bitter taste remains forever on the palette.Is anybody interested?
The Nittany Turkey says
Count this Turkey in. I am always interested in “what ifs” in my life, and what would have happened had I continued the relationships with Loews and with Monty are two big ones.
SN has also expressed another perspective below. I am similarly interested in hearing about Monty.
—TNT
SN says
It will be interesting to hear what David has to say, since everyone thinks of Monte as the “good guy” on the team…
fares emile says
sandy tollman is not exectly the merry widow. She and her husband were closer than close.She lives a pretty honorable life with her new partner who is a devoted gentleman.
The rest of the tollmans should hang their heads in shame in the memory of Arnold who was a really decent,kind man.
champs baby says
woowww what a comment mr fares..of course Mr Tollman was a real gentleman who has kind hearted…that time u were his driver in monaco & don’t try to become a gentleman even u living with Mrs tollman….u can’t be a gd gentleman like Mr tollman..it s a shame..
eb says
35 hmmm April 22, 2009 at 5:42 pm
hi LG…..as we know in life the wheel turns, and after you have sat in judgement of others its been so interesting to find otu what people think of you….and what you have gotten away with..your reputation (and looks) are less than desirable and were “thrown out” of the USA retreat to Israel…no wonder there is anti semitism……..Nice mention in Vanity Fair. You really like to play with the big dogs, but i guess when you have no breeding you hope, by hanging around with pedigree, it may rub off on you, shame that never happened and the irony is you then sit in judgemen when you are a bigger sleeze bag than the peoiple you write about….anyway I’ve read some other stuff about you lately, and figured its your turn to taste a bit of the medicine you so glady give to others… seems like your “squeeky clean facade” is beginning to crack. Kharma, kharma……CHECK THIS OUT_
Laura Goldman convicted extortionist, blackmailer, expelled from US
Laura Goldman professes to have worked on Wall Street for 20 years – maybe she sold hot-dogs? Laura Goldman has made the lives of many men an abject misery by making false accusations and making demands for money to drop her claims. Forbes Magazine carried articles about this poisonous individual, as did the New York Times and the Boston Globe. Finally the US got sick of Laura Goldman’s repeated demands for money under threat of legal action and threw her out. Since arriving in Israel she’s faced similar charges, narrowly escaping jail sentences by accepting periods of treatment for her paranoid schizophrenia and other conditions. Now she spends her time reinventing herself as some kind of investment adviser, and makes regular comments on forums and in newspapers in a desperate attempt to seek some small scale fame and notoriety. PLEASE TAKE NOTE – Avoid this woman at all costs!!!!! Search deeply on better search engines and discover what this woman is really like. Anyone who falsely claims she has been raped by a prominent US individual and then describes it as ‘my own personal holocaust’ should be totally ashamed of herself – but of course she isn’t because it’s all part of the grand delusion. All in all a very dangerous and nasty creature, and i should know as one of her previous targets.
Note that she even told her friends to invest in a project through her because it was making so much money, when in actual fact she was using the cash to pay to have a house built in Israel! This one is a real star guys – AVOID !!!!!!!!! Israel, you have been warned!
You know how the saying goes, people who live in glass houses shouldnt throw stones!”
oh i almost fogot to add this one-
LAURA GOLDMAN Blackmailer, extortionist, drug dealer, paedophile Tel Aviv Israel Nationwide
LAURA GOLDMAN
Phone:
Fax:
A Filthy Squat Of An Apartment
Tel Aviv, Israel, Nationwide,
Israel
If you have any dealings with Laura Goldman of Tel Aviv, Israel, I warn you now that you will sufffer as a result.
Laura Goldman preys on easy targets. BEWARE OF THIS WOMAN. I have 100% proof that she preys on under-age children and will be happy to prove it under oath. The vile filth this woman puts out should be stopped and she should be locked up to prevent any more damage to innocent kids.
A convicted fraudster, thrown out of the US for blackmailing prominent businesmen with fake allegations of rape, she now defrauds investors for a living while trying to further her own standing in her community. People, she is NOT a legitimate investment adviser – don’t be taken in by her ‘mumsie’ demeanour because this woman is poison.
Do NOT give this person money, do NOT give her personal information about yourself and your family, do NOT associate with this evil individual because it WILL cost you.
AVOID LAURA GOLDMAN!!!!!
Oh how sweet is revenge….what goes around comes around ))))
…..
lg says
The above post was written by Glenn Manterfield. He is bitter because I turned him into the SEC for fraud. See this link.http://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin/2009/ia-2865.pdf
lg says
I am living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. So it can not be true that I was thrown out of the United States. This is just one fact that is wrong.
laura goldman says
This is Glenn Manterfield that is writing the horrible posts about me.
Hedge fund fraudster to pay $2.78M
Boston Business Journal – by Craig M. Douglas
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A Massachusetts federal court has ordered a British man to pay $2.78 million in restitution, interest and penalties for orchestrating a scheme to defraud more than 60 investors who invested in his phony hedge fund operation based in Boston.
The Securities and Exchange Commission said Wednesday that Glenn Manterfield, a principal at Lydia Capital LLC, was originally charged in April 2007 for allegedly defrauding clients who had invested $34 million in a Lydia Capital fund — the so-called Lydia Capital Alternative Investment Fund.
In reality, Manterfield, a U.K. citizen, and an affiliate, Evan K. Anderson, failed to invest in a portfolio of life insurance policies — as originally promised — and instead used the money for their own personal gain. The SEC also said the duo lied about Lydia’s investment returns, invented business partners, glossed over Manterfield’s “significant criminal history” and generally misstated the nature of the investment firm’s assets.
In regulatory filings with the SEC, Lydia Capital lists Manterfield as a “member” of the firm and Anderson as its chief compliance officer. The firm was headquartered at 28 State St. in Boston and had its books kept in Bermuda, according to the filings.
According to its most recent filings with the SEC, Lydia Capital had $49 million in assets under management.
In September, Anderson was ordered to pay $1.8 million in fines and penalties similar to those levied against Manterfield. Approximately $675,000 of that amount was to come in the former of Anderson’s transfer of his Boston condominium at 43 Winter St. The condo was sold to a Zachary Sadek for $555,000 in January, according to court filings.
Management of Lydia Capital’s Web site, http://www.lydiacapital.com, has been taken over by H. Thomas Moran II, a court-appointed receiver assigned to liquidate the condo, among other things.
A temporary restraining order to freeze the defendants’ assets was issued at the time of the original complaint filing. A similar freeze on roughly $1 million in Manterfield’s assets was already in place at the time in the United Kingdom.
The SEC said Manterfield is liable for $2.35 million in disgorgement of profits, $425,998 in prejudgement interest and $130,000 in civil penalties. The agency said its investigation was assisted by the U.K.’s Financial Services Authority and the Securities Division of the Massachusetts Secretary of State’s office, which also filed a suit against Manterfield and Lydia Capital in April 2007.
Read more: Hedge fund fraudster to pay $2.78M – Boston Business Journal
Eric Woerth says
It seems that every country has its Tollmans and Hundleys. When the Woerth-Bettencourt scandal broke out last month in France, I had a feeling that I had already heard about it. Except on a different continent and cultural universe:
http://www.rue89.com/tag/bettencourt
Tax evasion, theft, corruption, paying bribes to the politicians by the businesmen seem to be part of the “new economy”. Bravo!
ANTITOLLMANHUND says
I used to work for Tollman and Hundley. I am suprised to hear such a glowing report the “The Boys”. I work at their SF hotel. They used to call the manager drunk late on a Friday night and belittle him about the numbers and budget. They were very abusive. Thank God they only came out 2 times a year. Leona Helmsly Trainees?
Bret’s moto was Let’s getem in burn em out and get em out. That was the motto for teating employees. I am suprised they did not get theirs sooner.
Here’s my motto– Pigs get slottered and cows go to the market!
Jan Stetson says
these people T/H were liars, frauds and very abusive…criminals..My husband who was crushed by them…is now deceased…I wish he had lived long enough to see justice on earth..I know there will be with the Lord!
SN says
http://www.timeslive.co.za/sundaytimes/article136825.ece
SN says
But the judges ruled it would be oppressive to extradite Mr Tollman’s wife Beatrice, 75, because she is ill.
They held that Mrs Tollman’s failing health provided the only ground on which her husband might avoid being sent to the US.
Mrs Tollman is suffering from a depressive illness…
http://www.timeslive.co.za/sundaytimes/article136825.ece
DAL says
Interesting defence of Sandi Tollman by Emile. Fair enough! You were the chauffeur as I recall and now Sandi shares the front seat of her Rolls with you. We thus assume you to be the”devoted gentleman” by her side that you speak of – how gallant!.
One has to acknowledge that Sandi did indeed land in the butter, though she is no worse an opportunist than the rest of us. Shrewd in her ways? Certainly. Good looking? Definitely. Though its been a while since I’ve seen her or pics. Be sure she ages well – about 63 by now! And always had a good eye for fashion too.
From way back she always knew what she wanted and went about achieving it! But she never purposefully stood on you to get what it was she wanted. Good on you Sandy … its a far cry from Modder hey!!
ATT says
I’ve had the misfortune of having to deal with Toni Tollman – what a dreadful, narcissistic bully she is. She behaves like a spoiled brat. And by the looks of it, the entire family are terrified by what ‘daddy’ might think of their decisions… their desperate desire for ‘daddies’ approval would be hilarious if it it didn’t also come packaged with malice. The Tollman’s would make great subjects for a really black comedy…. I do wonder at how they’ve managed to become quite so obscenely wealthy, but then I guess they practice their corrupt business methods in every part of their lives. What goes around has to eventually come around… beware Toni.
hello says
Hey ATT, have to say that I agree about Toni Tollman, she is a truly horrible person. Saw her recently and she has got fat! She is looking on the outside like the bitch she is on the inside. And btw I heard from some people who did work for her that she was absolutely terrible to deal with, totally self-absorbed and rude beyond belief, thinks she is daddy’s little princess. At least her parents have some decorum.
Phil says
A bit kinky and distasteful that the Toni cow is married to her own cousin. Yuck! What a horrid, incestuous little clan. What do the rest of you think about this?
Slave says
I have the misfortune of working for the Tollman family in SA and I can vouch for the hideousness of Toni and Vicki Tollman. They are unreasonable to the nth degree, thank god they are not based in SA full time and only appear a few times a year to terrorise us.
SN says
So Slave,
Not only interesting that you use this as your tag, but that you are cognicent that “they” –and you, consider this your role. When one in your position witnesses the behaviour of this family, how do you reconcile this with your conscious?