ATM LEASEBACK SCHEMES-- any insight?

[notorial dissent]

I don't know if this has been mentioned, but has anything been said about the corporate taxes the boys were supposed to have been paying? That in and of itself ought to be interesting to look at, and might just tell a lot about where the money went.

[The Observer]

I would suspect that the "boys" may have taken liberties with the 1120 returns, given the sad shape of their accounting practices. It isn't very hard to prepare an 1120 that shows no tax due, and not much risk of getting audited over the return. If NASI kept up with its 941/940 and state employment tax filings, they probably avoided getting a second glance from the tax agencies.

[notorial dissent]

Kind of my thoughts on the subject, I would suspect their efforts at creative accounting were probably mostly spent on their tax forms, since they obviously didn't keep any real corporate records. It's much easier to do your taxes when you make the figures up to suit your needs.

[Tednewsom]

I've always found that to be true. I mean, so I've heard.

[webhick]

In the legal billings, there was a flurry of subpoenas of various entities, listed below. There is no indication of why they were subpoenaed, at least some could be legitimate vendors. I haven't read the whole thing yet. I tried to copy the spelling exactly, but punctuation might be amiss.

• BST POWER, LLC
• FRATELLI'S PIZZA, INC.
• FIJI
• STAR DRESSING ROOMS
• HOLLYWOOD WAGONS, LLC
• KING KONG PRODUCTIONS
• NATWEST MANAGEMENT, INC.
• LAURELWOOD PLACE, LLC.
• APACHE RENTAL, LLC.
• KER, LLC.
• D&L STUDIO TRANSPORATION, INC.
• R&S RV REPAIR, INC.
• HERITAGE ESCROW CO.
• BEST STUDIO RENTALS, LLC.
• LISA FREEDE DESIGN, LLC.
• HOLLYWOOD TRUCKS, INC.
• KUNTRY KUSTOM RV, LLC.
• STUDIO MAUI PRODUCTIONS, LLC.
• DESMOND'S STUDIO PRODUCTIONS
• GEORGIA PRODUCTIONS SERVICES, LLC.
• FIJI RENTALS, INC.

Note the appearance of Fratelli's Pizza, Inc....which is why I'm posting this prematurely.

[Tednewsom]

Star Dressing Rooms, D&L Studio Transport, Best Studio Rentals, Hollywood Trucks and certainly Studio Maui are named in the latest report as being directly linked to the creeps' dressing room trailer scheme, right?

[webhick]

Star Dressing Rooms, D&L Studio Transport, Best Studio Rentals, Hollywood Trucks and certainly Studio Maui are named in the latest report as being directly linked to the creeps' dressing room trailer scheme, right?

Fiji and Studio Maui were mentioned in the latest report. But, in the 2nd Fee Application, Fiji Rentals, Inc. (aka, Fiji Rentals, LLC), Oasis Mobile Dressing Rooms, LLC, On the Beach Studio Equipment, Roving Motel, Inc., Star Dressing Rooms, Inc., and Studio Maui Productions, LLC. were all named by the Receiver as entities owned/controlled/managed by Wishner or Keller into which assets were transferred.

[notorial dissent]

My my my, more rat holes. Fuel Doctor wasn't an anomaly. This is going to get long and nasty from the looks of it.

[Tednewsom]

"Fratelli's Pizza Inc." is interesting. There are any number of restaurants in various places across the country called "Fratelli's Pizza" or variations like "Fratelli's Pizza & Pasta," "Fratelli's NY Style Pizza," etc. There are at least two in New Jersey, a couple in NYC, two in Arizona, and about seven or eight in Southern California. Here in the San Fernando Valley, there are two, with a third in Koreatown about 25 miles from here.

The two here in the valley-- which is close by the former offices of NASI here in Canoga Park, and not all that far from their later offices in Calabasas-- seem to be separate entities. One in Woodland Hills is a tiny little place in a mini-mall, the other, 12 miles away in North Hills, is a bigger and swankier joint with delivery & take-out, but 20 or 30 tables and nice appointments and atmosphere. The manager of the latter indicated there was no connection with the other Fratelli's. The logo on the signs of each looked awfully similar.

What to make of it? Well, one was founded by the 30-ish/40-ish son of an old Sicilian family with a long history in the food biz-- or so the website indicates. There does not seem to be any of his family connection with this particular joint except tradition. The place began operation about 1997, which would be when NASI was taking off, and I'm guessing that may be when Gillis fronted his son in law the dough.

The interesting fact that the son in law is Sicilian makes me smile. A lot of Sicilians have connections to the... er.... the restaurant business. A while back, didn't someone postulate a potential connection from our NASI miscreants to The Boyz as a possible drain on NASI income? Oh, yeah, I remember. Me, in a puckish mood.

The relative ubiquity of the name "Fratelli's" strikes me as interesting. In Italian, fratelli means "brothers," but why would that be such a common word to put on your pizza place? I can't find much indication that any of these "Fratelli's Pizza" locations in multiple states are connected to each other at all. It's not a family name, at least in the case at hand, and probably not at all.

Is it some sort of old Sicilian tradition to name all new joints, "The Brothers' Pizza"? What's wrong with "Chico's Pizza" or "Baravelli's Pizza" or "Carboneri's Pizza"? Why should the word for "brothers" be any more attractive or appropriate? Why not the word for family? Or tomatoes? Or cheese? Or appetite? Or hillsides and olive trees?

Coincidence? General lack of imagination of disparate people choosing a name for their restaurant? Or a code word to those in the know?

Curious.

[Gregg]

Seeing as they do appear all over the country in places with no other connection, I'd put it off to some cultural thing that people not from that culture just don't get. Like people in my family homeland giving boys names like BIlly-Bob, Jim-Bob and Chandler-Bob as well as girls any otherwise normally boy name followed by "Jo", "Joe" or something like. Hell, its my heritage and I don't get it, but I do indeed have several relatives with stereotypical hillbilly names.

Or, it could be a vast underground conspiracy...

[Judge Roy Bean]

"Fratelli's Pizza Inc." is interesting. ...
It's not a family name, at least in the case at hand, and probably not at all.
...

FYI - it definitely is a family name.

[rogfulton]

The relative ubiquity of the name "Fratelli's" strikes me as interesting. In Italian, fratelli means "brothers," but why would that be such a common word to put on your pizza place? I can't find much indication that any of these "Fratelli's Pizza" locations in multiple states are connected to each other at all. It's not a family name, at least in the case at hand, and probably not at all.

Is it some sort of old Sicilian tradition to name all new joints, "The Brothers' Pizza"? What's wrong with "Chico's Pizza" or "Baravelli's Pizza" or "Carboneri's Pizza"? Why should the word for "brothers" be any more attractive or appropriate? Why not the word for family? Or tomatoes? Or cheese? Or appetite? Or hillsides and olive trees?

In a similar vein, there is a chain in the DFW area called i Fratelli Pizza (a favorite of my daughter and her family). Their motto is 'never trust a round pizza'. Oddly enough, even though the founders are brothers, the family name is Cole.

[Tednewsom]

"Fratelli's Pizza Inc." is interesting. ...
It's not a family name, at least in the case at hand, and probably not at all.
...

FYI - it definitely is a family name.

I beg the court's pardon, no disrespect intended, perhaps I was unclear.

"Fratelli" is probably somebody's family name. It's not their family name. In fact, it does not seem to be the family name of any of them.

I'm not overly convinced there's any connection between separate restaurants or separate pairs of Fratellis. In English, there's the equivalent name "Brothers," but that doesn't mean there's a connection between Dr. Joyce Brothers and the Smothers Brothers. Or the Brothers Karamazov.

Or as I suggested and Greg & rogfuston suggested separately, it could just be a cultural thing.

The 3 Laws of Sicilian immigrants:

1) Always keep omerta
2) Always obey orders from your elders
3) Always name your pizzeria "Fratelli's."

[The Observer]

My my my, more rat holes. Fuel Doctor wasn't an anomaly. This is going to get long and nasty from the looks of it.

Yes, not surprising. Hopefully the receiver's subpoena is going to turn up some more info on how much money got diverted to these entities and what they did with it.

[Judge Roy Bean]

I would caution anyone about painting with too broad a brush based on the list.

[Tednewsom]

*BST POWER, LLC
*FRATELLI'S PIZZA, INC.
*FIJI (probably the same as Fiji Rentals LLC, below)
*STAR DRESSING ROOMS
*HOLLYWOOD WAGONS, LLC
*KING KONG PRODUCTIONS
*NATWEST MANAGEMENT, INC.
*LAURELWOOD PLACE, LLC.
*APACHE RENTAL, LLC.
*KER, LLC.
*D&L STUDIO TRANSPORATION, INC.
*R&S RV REPAIR, INC.
*HERITAGE ESCROW CO.
*BEST STUDIO RENTALS, LLC.
*LISA FREEDE DESIGN, LLC.
*HOLLYWOOD TRUCKS, INC.
*KUNTRY KUSTOM RV, LLC.
*STUDIO MAUI PRODUCTIONS, LLC.
*DESMOND'S STUDIO PRODUCTIONS
*GEORGIA PRODUCTIONS SERVICES, LLC.
*FIJI RENTALS, INC.

Most the connections are clearly connected to the portable dressing room thing. The few bold-faced ones are more intriguing to me. Though, heck, they could be more of the same. Even the Fratelli's Pizza connection may simply be a supplier to the studio truck rental outfits.

Then there's that one in red... Interesting connection to a scandalously corrupt financial institution, or pure wacky coincidence?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NatWest_Three

[Judge Roy Bean]

*BST POWER, LLC
*FRATELLI'S PIZZA, INC.
*FIJI (probably the same as Fiji Rentals LLC, below)
*STAR DRESSING ROOMS
*HOLLYWOOD WAGONS, LLC
*KING KONG PRODUCTIONS
*NATWEST MANAGEMENT, INC.
*LAURELWOOD PLACE, LLC.
*APACHE RENTAL, LLC.
*KER, LLC.
*D&L STUDIO TRANSPORATION, INC.
*R&S RV REPAIR, INC.
*HERITAGE ESCROW CO.
*BEST STUDIO RENTALS, LLC.
*LISA FREEDE DESIGN, LLC.
*HOLLYWOOD TRUCKS, INC.
*KUNTRY KUSTOM RV, LLC.
*STUDIO MAUI PRODUCTIONS, LLC.
*DESMOND'S STUDIO PRODUCTIONS
*GEORGIA PRODUCTIONS SERVICES, LLC.
*FIJI RENTALS, INC.

Most the connections are clearly connected to the portable dressing room thing. The few bold-faced ones are more intriguing to me. Though, heck, they could be more of the same. Even the Fratelli's Pizza connection may simply be a supplier to the studio truck rental outfits.

Then there's that one in red... Interesting connection to a scandalously corrupt financial institution, or pure wacky coincidence?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NatWest_Three

Again, be careful. Those are not the same entities.

Edited to add: FYI - the little pizza joint is the one owned by Wishner.

[notorial dissent]

When I saw that laundry list the first thing that came to mind was that most of them were shell companies having to do with Oasis. And I see nothing to change my opinion at this point. I also see it as a colossal pain and expense to the Receiver to untangle the mess and see where the money went, which i think he will ultimately have to in order to resolve this. I will still be surprised if there is much left, but I would e quite happily be wrong, but I doubt it. The rest don't exactly fill me with happiness and joy joy either when it comes right down to it.

[Lost Income]

The crooks created all these rat holes because they were making money. So if cash is stored somewhere, it will only be found by persuading the crooks to tell where it is, which is outside the Receiver's abilities.

[Tednewsom]

Like most everyone here, I don't expect there to be some hoard of cash stuffed away in a mattress or in a Cayman Islands account (although I wouldn't discount that one totally.)

I do object on logical grounds that somehow these grifters spent every dime like drunks on a Vegas vacation, and it all magically disappeared. Money's like energy: it can't be "destroyed" only transmitted or transformed. I swindle you out of $30,000-- the money is transmitted. I buy a new Corvette with the dough, the money has been transformed.

Tens of millions of dollars went through these guys' hands; perhaps even hundreds of millions. Yes, a goodly portion was paid out to the suckers, more and more as the scheme matured. But these crooks would be dumber than a bag of hammers if they didn't siphon off a healthy chunk of change all along the way -- and "transform" it into something other than cash. Not just "healthy" enough to buy a nice five bedroom home and a new Lexus every year-- healthy like, "My great-grandkids will never go hungry."

The number of companies associated with their trailer business indicates Wishner & Gillis were not acting in a business vacuum. That's fourteen companies related somehow to their own. In what way, who knows? They could be customers, they could be suppliers. Hell. it COULD be an intricate scam to make clients think Oasis owned & operated all the trucks these other companies did when in fact Oasis was merely subcontracting them and representing their rolling stock as their own. Who knows.

Point being, the money trail was not a dead-end path from the sucker to the bank. Since there's no evidence these guys were as profligate as the Sultan of Bahrain and there is evidence (at least in the Oasis situation) that they diversified and spread dough around, it seems logical that this was not a new trick. It beggars belief that they'd suddenly get smart with the Oasis scheme after doing the other for nearly twenty years. Ergo-- they invested their dough elsewhere during the course of the scam.

I suspect Wishner and Gillis were not the total incompetents they appear to be. Crooks, absolutely. But not total boobs.