Comments on Advance Indiana™: ATC Must Close Brizzi Loophole

Now I remember, I think it was Laf., not WL. So...

2007-04-14T13:37:00.000-05:00

Now I remember, I think it was Laf., not WL. Sonja Margerum was mayor there for a long time. I believe Heath succeeded Jim Riehle.

Dave Heath used to be mayor of West Lafayette. I b...

2007-04-14T13:07:00.000-05:00

Dave Heath used to be mayor of West Lafayette. I believe he used to be a sheriff as well.

I'm not sure how much better-defined "Law Enforcem...

2007-04-14T12:47:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure how much better-defined "Law Enforcement Officer" can be, than the man ultimately responsible for prosecuting them...sworn to two oaths, one as presecutor, the other as all attorneys are--an officer of the court.

Can someone help out with Dan Heath's background? His name rings a bell but I'm drawing a blank. Ft. Wayne...?

"anon 5:13, Carson has no financial interest in 30...

2007-04-14T11:37:00.000-05:00

"anon 5:13, Carson has no financial interest in 300 East, and she's not a law enforcement officer. I fail to see any comparison between 300 East and Brizzi's restaurant/bar on this point."

Once again, I must point out the conflict in the Indiana Code. In one area, the IC defines Brizzi as an LEO. In another, he is not an LEO. In the title that deals with alcohol, LEO is not even defined.

Monroe Gray is an Arson Investigator, Law enforcem...

2007-04-14T07:37:00.000-05:00

Monroe Gray is an Arson Investigator, Law enforcement.
What's the difference? He (his wife) has an interest in 300 East.
If a divorce should happen I wonder how fast he will go after half of the shares or at half of their value.

The phrase "legal cover" says it all, no? What hap...

2007-04-14T05:27:00.000-05:00

The phrase "legal cover" says it all, no? What happened to the notion of public servants avoiding the appearance of impropriety? Here, there seems a rush to embrace it. Monroe Gray. 300 East. Carl Brizzi. The hubris impresses.

braingirl, there are numerous regulatory provision...

2007-04-14T00:49:00.000-05:00

braingirl, there are numerous regulatory provisions in other areas of the law which make the distinction between "control" persons and mere passive shareholders in large publicly traded companies. For example, "CONTROL SHAREHOLDER" means any Shareholder who, at the time in question, is a director or executive officer of the corporation or who beneficially owns (as determined pursuant to Rule 13d-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) more than 10% of the issued and
outstanding Shares. I suspect he picked the 10% ownership level in the event this common "control shareholder" definition were applied. It's his choice, but Brizzi's actions have permanently damaged his reputation in the eyes of many people who expect better of their public officials.

I think the distinction is in the main business of...

2007-04-13T22:34:00.000-05:00

I think the distinction is in the main business of the "parent corporation". For example: Hooters is in the bar business. It may incidently own an airline (didnt they try that?) playing off the fun image of the core business. But no matter how many layers of corporate control, Hooters is a saloon.

General Motors has a giant real estate business servicing car dealerships. I suspect they may have ended up owning (if only temporarily) a bar or two on some land they've bought. G.M. wouldn't primarily be in the bar business.

What about a hotel chain? That's a difficult one. Hotels usually run bars as an adjunct to their bedding business.

The Harry and Izzy's multilayer ownership seems a corporate subterfuge for either tax or liability purposes but the main point is to profit off of a bar business somehow. Without that single saloon at Circle Centre, there'd be no parent corporation.

Gary, I understand the concern, but I do think the...

2007-04-13T21:30:00.000-05:00

Gary, I understand the concern, but I do think there's a clear distinction between him being a member of the LLC directly and a shareholder in a corporation that's a member (part owner) of the LLC. Brizzi himself is *not* a member of the LLC.

How are you going to eliminate the possibility that any law enforcement officer is a shareholder in a corporation large or small, publically traded or not, that is a member of an LLC that owns or partially owns restaurants/bars? Joe policeman could own stock (as a shareholder) in a large, publically traded company and never even know. I understand the concern, but I also don't see how Brizzi's case is differnt than the guy who owns stock in an investor in the parent company, of say, Hooters.

Yeah, and time will tell if Carl Brizzi has had a ...

2007-04-13T18:16:00.000-05:00

Yeah, and time will tell if Carl Brizzi has had a secret interest in the Unicorn Bar too?

Who's to say who has an interset in 300 East. Time...

2007-04-13T17:54:00.000-05:00

Who's to say who has an interset in 300 East. Time will tell.

anon 5:13, Carson has no financial interest in 300...

2007-04-13T17:20:00.000-05:00

anon 5:13, Carson has no financial interest in 300 East, and she's not a law enforcement officer. I fail to see any comparison between 300 East and Brizzi's restaurant/bar on this point.

How's this any different than Carson's involvement...

2007-04-13T17:13:00.000-05:00

How's this any different than Carson's involvement in 300 East? She’s a lawmaker oops*, well she is suppose to be anyway. Do you expect to see her in the kitchen frying chicken?

In one of the stories leading up to the bar invest...

2007-04-13T16:16:00.000-05:00

In one of the stories leading up to the bar investment by Brizzi, Carl was quoted about being excited about getting back in the restaurant business - he reminisced about his Mom's place and how he worked for Jug's Catering. Carl Brizzi was going to be involved again!

Now it is being structured as a hands-off financial investment like maybe speculating in pork bellies or owning shares in a hot Internet startup in BanglaDesh. What happened to the excitement about Carl putting on a hairnet and peeling potatoes and shaking Martinis?