Friday Weisblog: 35 years of frustration is over for Tom Lesh

Tom Lesh of Coos Bay, Oregon had his identity stolen in the 1970s. He knew exactly who was responsibly for it immediately.

He knew it was a friend of one of his brothers. Since that time he’s told everyone he could think of. He’s been in touch with the IRS. He’s talked to credit card companies and hospitals. He’s even spoken to the guy’s own mother!

It’s been nothing but three-plus decades of headaches for the 66-year-old Lesh.

The alleged identity thief is Clark Mower, a truck driver. Mower, Lesh and Lesh’s brother all worked together in Los Angeles in the 1970s, and when his brother moved to Oregon, Mower went with him. Lesh reports that on one particular night when the Mower and his brother were drinking, Mower told him he needed an alternate ID because he wanted to avoid a DUI charge in California. The brother jokingly said, “Why don’t you use my brother’s (meaning Lesh’s), never thinking Mower would actually do it.

Soon, Lesh found out someone in Oregon was using his personal information. After that, a friend who went to Oregon said he’d witnessed Mower bragging openly about using Lesh’s identity.

In 1984 (after he, too, moved to Oregon), he tried to buy a car but was denied. Right after that, an 18-wheeler was purchased in his name and it turned into a bankruptcy. The IRS told Lesh he owed $10,000 in back taxes.

Finally, Lesh caught the break he needed. Someone named Tom Lesh had just received treatment in a Seattle hospital, and just as you might suspect it wasn’t the real Tom Lesh (Mower had since moved to Seattle). After finding this out, a Primera Blue Cross representative went into action, eventually turning the case over to Special Agent Matt Lavelle.

Lavelle confirmed the tomfoolery and arrested the 58-year-old Mower near his home.

“It’s like I’ve been released from prison,” said Lesh.

Congratulations to Mr. Lesh, and may Mr. Mower spend the maximum amount of time in prison that the law allows.

Thursday Weisblog: A surprise in their soda?

Amy Denegri of Ormond Beach, FL describes her husband, Fred, as “somewhat of an addict” to Diet Pepsi.

Despite what allegedly happened recently, this is still the case.

According to the Denegris, this is what happened: Fred popped open a can of his favorite beverage one week ago and immediately turned to his wife and said it didn’t taste right. The poured out the soda, yet something still lingered in the bottom of the can. I’m sure you know where this is going …

They continued to shake the can and out came the remains of a “pink, slimy thing” they believe to be a mouse. Poison control was called in, but fortunately Fred did not become ill. The FDA has become involved and are currently investigating.

Pepsi is saying that they have traced the can back to an Orlando plant, and that the place was up to Pepsi’s usual standards. “It is virtually impossible for this type of thing to happen in a production environment,” said Pepsi spokesman Jeff Dahncke, “We run about 1,250 cans per minute on these production lines. Their speed, along with the rigorous quality control systems we have in place throughout our manufacturing process, give us great confidence in the quality and safety of our products.”

So far, Fred and Amy are choosing not to sue (at least the original article makes no mention of a lawsuit). So why make a big deal out of it? “We just felt it should be out there, that the public should know,” Amy explained.

In case you’re wondering, Fred continues to drink Diet Pepsi, except now he pours the contents of the cans into a glass prior to consuming his soda.

If they continue to not sue, I am inclined to believe the couple. If not, I smell a rat … or maybe a mouse.

Wednesday Weisblog: No open bar(s) at this wedding

Britney King of Tallahassee, FL was preparing for the happiest day in her life. She’d picked out her wedding dress and even paid for her honeymoon in Canada. The August 15 wedding day was just around the corner.

Then reality set in. She finally realize that dear old dad was not going to be at the wedding – and this simply was not acceptable to Britney, who wanted Franklin to walk her down the aisle.

Unfortunately for Franklin, he’s going to be busy on that day; in fact, he’s been busy for the past two years and promises to be busy for the foreseeable future. That’s because he is incarcerated in the Palm Beach County jail as he awaits his trial for child molestation.

Somehow or other, Britney, 21, got the idea that they would let her dad free for one day. Franklin’s wife, Cindy, even offered to pay off-duty security officers if they’d let him attend. Of course, they said no. Now, Britney has decided to postpone the wedding to the unidentified groom. (The wedding was to take place in Ocala, FL, at a family friend’s house.)

The poor groom must be thrilled about this (of course, I say this in jest). Looking at this from his point of view: Let’s see … father-in-law very well could be a heinous perv, my fiancee decided having said perv at the ceremony is more important than tying the knot … what have I done to deserve this?

Franklin has been in jail for almost two years awaiting trial. One would think that, unless they had some pretty strong evidence, that he would not be forced to sit in jail prior to the trial, which is scheduled for September. Specifically, he’s facing charges of molesting a 15-year-old girl over a four-year period starting when she was 11.

I know, I know … innocent until proven guilty. I do understand. However, until proven innocent he has no business at any social function that does not include an orange jumpsuit and a jail cell. After all, these are very severe charges that could result in a life sentence – and as I stated above, unless the prosecution felt pretty good about their chances, I don’t think they’d have had him incarcerated this long.

The authorities got this one right!

I have an idea … have Franklin transferred to Mayberry, where Andy can do the ceremony in the jail. Barney, Opie, Aunt Bee, Otis, Floyd the Barber, Gomer and Goober could be the witnesses.

Tuesday Weisblog: A Vick-tory for Mike

Michael Vick is now free to sign with any NFL team.

I am mildly surprised by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s ruling today in which he reinstated quarterback Michael Vick from his suspension for owning and operating a dogfighting operation.

Vick recently ended his 18-month prison sentence for his part in the ring, and now he’s free to sign with any team he wants.

The reinstatement does have a few strings. First, he may play only in the last two pre-season games for his new team. Then, once the regular season begins, he will be able to practice but not play in games with the team until Week Six, which is mid-October – at the latest.

Here is Goodell’s statement to Vick: “I accept that you are sincere when you say that you want to, and will, turn your life around, and that you intend to be a positive role model for others,” Goodell said in his letter to Vick. “I am prepared to offer you that opportunity. Whether you succeed is entirely in your hands. Needless to say, your margin for error is extremely limited,. I urge you to take full advantage of the resources available to support you and to dedicate yourself to rebuilding your life and your career. If you do this, the NFL will support you.”

This pretty much wipes out any hope of Vick coming to play in my hometown of Orlando for the new United Football League. The Orlando team (rumored to be nicknamed the Tuskers) owns his rights. Oh well. I can live with that. (What is a Tusker, you ask? It’s a wild boar.)

So let’s hear it from you: Has he paid his debt to society? Should he be reinstated?

I say no, but for a completely different reason that almost no one else has talked about: Everyone focuses on his dogfighting, which is by itself heinous. But what is at the root of an operation like this? Gambling! And no one involved in pro sports should be gambling.

But it’s not up to me. I do hope Vick has turned a corner and is sincere about his statement to the press today, in which he says he now realizes playing in the NFL is a “privilege, not a right.”

We’ll see.

Monday Weisblog: One of the few good guys in boxing leaves us far too early

Vernon Forrest

I am admittedly not a huge fan of professional boxing; still, I am mildly curious from time to time with certain fights. Seven years ago, I got the chance to watch “Sugar” Shane Mosley take on some guy named Vernon Forrest, who was already in his thirties and therefore past his boxing prime. Mosley was one of the hottest tickets in boxing at the time, and very few people gave Forrest any kind of a chance.

But a funny thing happened that day … Forrest thoroughly dominated Mosley – then did it again when the two fought a second time. Suddenly, this guy very few people had ever heard of was the talk of the pugilistic world.

This late bloomer showed it was no fluke by going on to win a total of three world championships over the course of his career. His last fight was a victory over Sergio Mora in September 2008 in which he recaptured the WBC junior middleweight title.

He wasn’t particularly flashy, he didn’t talk trash and he didn’t have the knockout power all the more marketable boxers have. But he was a master tactician in the ring, and he knew exactly what he was doing at all times. I immediately liked him because he let his in-ring work do his talking for him.

Long story short, I was so impressed by this no-frills guy that I decided to find out a little more about him. Turns out he did all kinds of wonderful things in the greater Atlanta area, including providing homes for people with mentally disabled children.

Last Saturday night, Forrest stopped at an Atlanta-area convenience store to put air in one of his car’s tires, and his 11-year-old godson went inside the store as Forrest went to work on the tire. Suddenly, a man approached Forrest and asked him for money.

According to several sources, Forrest had his wallet out when the man snatched it from him and ran. Forrest gave chase and eventually gave up and headed back to his car. With his back now turned to the unidentified man, the man then pulled out a gun and shot Forrest repeatedly in the back. He was dead on the scene. His godson was unharmed and did not witness the shooting.

Did he do the wrong thing by pursuing the perpetrator? Maybe. But if you’re a boxing champion, you’re supremely confident in your ability to defend yourself. We may never know for sure what transpired, but if this kind-hearted guy lost his life by attempting to help someone down on his luck (pulling out his wallet to give a stranger a few bucks), that is nothing but a shame.

It didn’t have to happen. Forrest had turned and gone back toward his car. The man had successfully robbed him … why did this guy decide to spin around and repeatedly shoot Forrest in the back?

The boxing world is full of people with questionable ethics and intentions. That’s why it is especially painful when a guy like Forrest gets gunned down while still in the prime of his life – with a still-strong boxing career even at age 38.

He leaves behind one son of his own and a boatload of fans. So far no suspects have been identified. I hope they find the killer, and soon.

If you’ve never heard of Vernon Forrest, that’s a shame because he was one of the best-kept secrets in sports.

UPDATE: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution says Forrest was robbed by the man at gunpoint, and when he fled, Forrest followed him with a gun of his own. Forrest was shot SEVEN to EIGHT times in his back. His godson described the gunman to police and said he drove off in a red Monte Carlo. This new information makes this story a bit more unsavory, but I said it before – when you make a living defending yourself, you have loads of confidence in your ability to do so, and you never consider that you might come out on the losing end. But when guns are involved, it ups the ante to a life or death situation. Forrest certainly should have used discretion but did not, and paid for it with his very life. Truly a tragedy.

Friday Weisblog: How many times is enough? Apparently 18.

Since the 1970s, Lonnie Harris of Grayslake, IL has been driving. A lot, apparently, despite the fact that he has no business doing so.

On Monday, a McHenry County judge sentenced Mr. Harris to three years in prison for his 18th arrest for driving on a revoked license.

The latest arrest was his first since 2004, and under the plea agreement he made with authorities, he has received credit for the 62 days he’s served since the actual arrest in 2007. In fact, with day-for-day credit earned while in prison, the Daily Herald newspaper says Harris could be out in as soon as 16 months.

At least this time Mr. Harris will feel the sting of the repercussions for his repeated ignorance of the law. But is it enough? I say no. If it was three or four, maybe … but not 18!

Perhaps Lonnie will think about all this and learn something while he hangs up his keys. We can only hope. But don’t bet the farm on it.