(The following is an excerpt from Jeffrey Graham's letter to Mr. Jeffrey Allen, Licensing Director of the New York Lottery.)
Dear Mr. Allen:
I am writing to request the Lottery consider licensing the business now known as Fort Pearl. I am the owner of the property and since 1985 have been involved in operating the food and beverage business located here. For much of the past 23 years the business was operated as North Country Tavern Corporation dba Speak Easy Tavern.
I continue to operate the business under the name Fort Pearl, while I work full time at FX Caprara Volkswagen/Kia, in addition to serving as Mayor of the City of Watertown.
During the nine and one-half years as a licensee the Speak Easy had gross sales of $7.6 million and there were no instances of reprimand or failure to meet payment obligations.
In fact, the Speak Easy was cited for superior performance, including a visit to the business by Ms. Yolanda Vega and the issuing of Top Agent awards at the 2001 New York State Fair.
The Speak Easy had its license suspended following publicity surrounding the actions of customer John R. Breen. The suspension came more than two years after Mr. Breen had been arrested for theft of family funds he had access to in his role as financial advisor for this stepdaughter, Maggie Rizer, who had developed a multi-million dollar modeling career.
Mr. Breen was a frequent player of Quick Draw at many area businesses. In mid-2002, Breen started bouncing checks and acting difficult. I cut him off and he went on to play at the Rusted Route Restaurant until December, 2002. At that time he bounced tens of thousands in checks.
He was arrested in January, 2003 for bad checks and for stealing his stepdaughter's money from bank accounts for which he had power of attorney. Breen eventually pleaded guilty.
From my point of view, I was involved in a race for mayor in 2003 and paid little attention. The matter was never a campaign issue. After taking office in 2004, the stepdaughter's attorney made public statements suggesting a lawsuit was pending and he made accusations against me, because as a public figure, I had little protection against slander.
Mr. Breen was the only one who committed criminal acts.
Therefore, to garner publicity in advance of a lawsuit, Ms. Rizer's attorney enticed the local newspaper to pursue an expose about greedy bar owners and bankers. Before his sentencing, Mr. Breen gave the exclusive to the paper. The resulting story and other connections resulted in the suspension of Speak Easy's license for conduct prejudicial to public confidence in the Lottery.
The Lottery investigation provided a hook for litigation and Speak Easy opted to surrender the license in March, 2005. At the time, my attorney told me he was told that since Speak Easy was an agent with a good record, it could reapply in the future.
In May, 2005, I was sued along with various banks and investment houses, in a well-publicized suit suggesting everyone who had dealt with Breen had conspired to convert his stepdaughter' s fortune.
My response to the suit is attached as well as the decision to dismiss the matter, which didn't come down till January, 2007.
I recently received a letter from my attorney that the period of possible appeal has lapsed. Meanwhile, Mr. Breen has completed his incarceration and has returned to this home in Watertown.
All of the reporters at the Watertown Daily Times involved in the story have left that paper and indeed the newspaper endorsed my reelection bid this past November.
Clearly there is a lot to be learned from such an incident, including the need to impose restraint on customers in the same way we would cut off service to alcohol to the obviously compulsive drinker. There is also a need for those who sell tickets not to get caught up in playing such games. I understand that.
After some $20,000 in legal bills and much angst, I have put the issue behind me and just took the oath of office for a fourth term as mayor of Watertown after being reelected with 84% of the vote.
I would appreciate favorable consideration of my request to be considered for licensing of Fort Pearl.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey E. Graham
May 18, 2008
Mr. Jeffrey Allen
Licensing Director
New York Lottery
Schenectady, N.Y. 12301
Mr. Allen:
I read with interest the letter sent to you in December from Jeffrey E. Graham, requesting that a Quick Draw license be issued for his bar.
Mr. Graham made a number of references about the Watertown Daily Times and its reporting on the Quick Draw scandal involving John Breen, who gambled away millions of dollars that he stole from his stepdaughter, fashion model Maggie Rizer.
I would like to expand on the public record:
■ Mr. Graham alleges that Ms. Rizer's attorney, Ed Hayes, "enticed the local paper to pursue an exposé about greedy bar owners and bankers."
Actually, the person who enticed the paper to write about Mr. Breen was me. I decided I wanted an in-depth story about Mr. Breen on the day that Assistant District Attorney Kristyna Miles announced in open court that Mr. Breen might have stolen up to a jaw-dropping $7 million from his stepdaughter.
I said to my reporters, how do you steal and gamble away $7 million in Watertown? Wouldn't somebody notice something after the first couple of million were gone?
And that's how it started. Ed Hayes had as much to do with our writing this story as Mr. Graham did.
If you are wondering whether I am saying that Mr. Graham is lying about Ed Hayes and the Times, please don't wonder.
■ Mr. Breen's "exclusive" to the newspaper wasn't an exclusive, and Mr. Graham, who has a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri, should know better. We simply asked Mr. Breen to outline his gambling history. We also interviewed Maggie Rizer and a number of other people, and we attempted to interview Mr. Graham, who first agreed to an interview but then decided to head for the tall grass.
I am sure Mr. Breen would have given an interview to any other publication if asked. In fact he did. He was interviewed extensively for "Stepdaddy's Little Girl," which appeared in New York Magazine April 4, 2005.
If you are wondering whether I am saying that Mr. Graham is lying about John Breen and the Times, please don't wonder.
■ Mr. Graham's fascination with the notion that "all of the reporters at the Watertown Daily Times involved in the story have left the paper" is occasionally aired on his radio show. I am not sure what this is supposed to imply — the Quick Draw curse? — since the story was originated by me and then overseen from start to finish by our publisher, John B. Johnson Jr. For the record, John and I are still very much here.
As for our reporters who wrote about the Quick Draw scandal, Ed Perkins retired and lives on his boat in the Bahamas, Tim Buckland moved to Virginia when his wife entered Washington & Lee University for a law degree, and Norah Machia now works with her husband at his local construction company.
That leaves Chris Garifo, who, alas, was diagnosed with cancer last year. But rumors of Mr. Garifo's demise are slightly exaggerated by Mr. Graham. Chris is still a reporter for the Watertown Daily Times.
If you are wondering whether I am saying that Mr. Graham is lying about Times reporters, please don't wonder.
As for the rest of Mr. Graham's letter, I am glad to see he now proudly notes his role in the ownership of Fort Pearl after he attempted to slip an earlier license application past you when he changed the name of his bar and led you to believe it was a new bar under new ownership.
And, I believe giving Mr. Graham his Quick Draw license back is actually in the best interest of our community. With the added Quick Draw income, our mayor will likely now stop trying to finagle more money out of the city budget in salary and health benefits.
Thank you for our time. Please give my regards to Yolanda Vega.
Sincerely,
Bob Gorman
Managing Editor
Watertown Daily Times
