artist v. con-artist(s): an unhappy battle brewing

[linda_lakeside]

It also takes time. It must have been going on for years.

Yes, it must have been going on for years (when Leonard was in Mt. Baldy) but they appeared to be OK during the TNS and DH releases. Then suddenly ???? ...

The truly unfortunate thing is Leonard is not a young man. How does he make up a life-times worth of work now? I imagine that this business with U2 and the TV special will help, but how much more creative juice can he draw on now, under what must be a tremendous amount of pressure?

I think you were right in that the more info that comes out will reveal more of what goes on in Leonard's camp. And it may not all be as nice as we thought. Sad.

Linda.

[dick]

Anyone recall which link had a picture of Kory?

Thanks
dick

[Young dr. Freud]

Here are a couple of photos of Kory.

What kind of lawyer goes into "negotiations" and comes out with an accusation of extortion for his client.

http://www.desotoexplorer.com/section/s ... t/story/78

http://www.desotoexplorer.com/section/s ... /story/937

YdF

[dick]

Thanks

[~greg]

You can not judge a man by his lawyer!

(Unless of course he happens be the lawyer.
In which case he has a fool for a client.
And, therefore, the right to take himself
for all he's worth. In which case, and only
in which cases, he, then, has the right to
sue himself to try to get it all back.
The courts, however, are tending to frown
on this sort of shenanigan lately. (Actually
they always did. Saying 'lately' just makes
it sound more like insider news. ))

~greg

[linda_lakeside]

That was very perceptive ~greg, I enjoyed your take on this very much.

Regards,
Linda.

[Young dr. Freud]

What kind of lawyer goes into "negotiations" and comes out with an accusation of extortion for his client.

A really crummy one.

You can not judge a man by his lawyer!

The judge and/or jury are going to judge Leonard by his lawyer.

He'd better get another one.


YdF

[linda_lakeside]

That is a good point. It's the lawyer, a person's representation, that the judge or jury will be looking at. In a courtroom, a person is very much judged by his lawyer. The lawyer is all a person has if it should go to court, so they should have a very good one.

Linda.

[Dem]

What annoys me more of the whole story is the mixing of Buddhism and some kind of “spirituality” with several millions of dollars.

From both sides.

Get ready for the future. It is …sad.

Dem

[Young dr. Freud]

Sooner or later, everybody's chickens come home to roost. Including Leonard's.

http://www.westword.com/Issues/2005-06- ... news2.html


What a sorry mess. But he has only himself to blame.

YdF

By granting Lynch power of attorney and a majority ownership in a corporation created to manage his assets, Cohen had given Lynch free rein over the funds.

Power of attorney? Majority ownership? What was the man thinking?

[Anne]

That whole article is very depressing.

Has Kelley been charged for this yet? Does anyone know? Surely her role in the mismanagement of his funds is amazingly significant. It looks criminal to me!

Wow, so depressing. Money brings out the worst in people.

[Tchocolatl]

What annoys me more of the whole story is the mixing of Buddhism and some kind of “spirituality” with several millions of dollars.

From both sides.

Get ready for the future. It is …sad.

Dem

First : Then we have to rewrite the whole thread about the former pope to be a good man, 'cause the Church, you know, is mixing some kind of spirituality with several millions of dollars (add a few billions, maybe) for centuries and has no intention to stop the business.

In fact, money and spirituality is not an oxymoron at all.

Fortunately, the 10 commands are simple 'cause it seems very difficult to understand. "You shall not steal" does not mean you shall not be rich.

Sooner or later, everybody's chickens come home to roost. Including Leonard's.

http://www.westword.com/Issues/2005-06- ... news2.html


What a sorry mess. But he has only himself to blame.

YdF

Second : "Nowadays there's a great deal of confusion between Art and Religion. Since religion has failed so many people, they look to Art for Salvation. I wish them luck in this enterprise."

(Leonard Cohen, "Megamix, 1992, Interview")

Now it is time for the ones who never understood this to say "Beam me up Scotty" and that's all (don't worry YdF, it does not make people sick, just better).

Third : So after all, I am not so naive if I can understand that once the money is ruling the game, anything goes. Both sides are fighting together and since the lawer of Mr. Cohen tried to use the public opinion as an advantage for them, the lawers of the other party is counter attacking doing the same.

As for me, I think that the company should have went for the honest solution, not for the jungle law solution. it is clear now, that the fight will go untill "death" of one of the baboon.

I mean, if sufficient evidence was given by Cohen (and if not, it should have been asked, they should have support the client and not be so light with the consequences and issues of this affair) about him being stolen, the truth must have been acknowledge, whatever papers that have been signed.

Everybody who is in business knows that papers are just papers, that deals are made between people and they are changing the papers accordingly.

Now, as I saw this, the only chance Cohen has, now, is to build a file with complete tangible evidences of him being cheated by his manager, how and why. Facts. Not just his words.

[Young dr. Freud]

As for me, I think that the company should have went for the honest solution, not for the jungle law solution.

What is the "honest" solution? Roll over and give the celebrity client his "stolen" money?

I find it hard to believe Leonard didn't know what his finances were. This is a man who keeps meticulous records about his life. All those legendary boxes and boxes of minutia detailing his every thought. I remember the scene in the Mt. Baldy video where he is packing his suitcase. (You can tell a lot about a person by the way they pack their suitcase. That's the first thing I make my patients do. Very revealing.) He was packing the case very, very carefully. The man is obsessed with detail. And with keeping things orderly. You don't pack a suitcase like that and then get careless with your life savings.

Lynch embezzeled the money according to Cohen. Why isn't she charged with this? Out of some lingering respect for their long-time romantic association (Oy vey...don't get me started on all these interlocking "romantic" relationships...)

It seems to me if the case is as Leonard says it is he is the one who needs to "be a man." Accept the loss and quit trying to blame Agile.

And get rid of that crummy lawyer.


YdF

[Dem]

Dear chocolatl

don't tell me about Pope and Church.

I have nothing in common with the one or the other.

As about :"You shall not steal" does not mean you shall not be rich"
I agree.

But for me there is another command that says:
If you are rich, you can't be a real Buddist monk.

Or was it a "pseudo-Buddist monk" as Leonard himself told
in another interview?

Dem

PS) And how was that quote from the Bible:

'And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.'

Leonard after all was that little Jew who wrote the Bible, wasn't he?

[Dem]

Young dr Freud
Thanks for posting this informative (though somewhat one-sided) article…

Yeah, everybody knows the deal is rotten... but some questions/comments that popped in my mind while reading that piece are:

Is it accurate that Cohen had not just a professional but as well an “on-again, off-again” romantic relationship with Kelly Lynch?

And is it accurate that he has now again not just a professional but as well a romantic relationship with Anjani Thomas?

And if yes, what happened to the old, wise, “never mix love with business” American saying?

The fact that Robert Kory is the ex-husband of Anjani makes the whole thing even more complicated.
And how much wise is to have yours girlfriend ex-husband as a lawyer defending you?

And how much wise is to give your manager a “cart blanche” to use your money without ever checking her actions and the bills?

Come on Leonard, you are much wiser than that.

On the other hand it’s so difficult to believe that a person like Cohen leads a
“lavish” life style.
Where? in a cabin up in the Zen center?

Or does this refer to after he left Mt. Baldy? (Because, according to the article, there are two different funds: $ 6m in 1996 and another $ 8m in 2001. And if I understood well, it’s the money of this second fund of eight millions that’s in dispute.)

But again, as far as we know, the man never made the headlines for his
“lavish spending” lifestyle.

Damn, he is not Michael Jackson, is he?

Certainly, we have to wait for more details from all the sides involved but

"it's a very unfortunate unfolding of events," indeed.

Dem

PS) “…After Greenberg and the Agile Group announced his lawsuit, Cohen chat rooms and fan sites seized on the banker as a greedy shark out to steal an artist's hard-earned cash…”

Ooops, it seems that this Laura Bond -my name is Bond, Laura Bond!- is spying on this very message board