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=> The Ballad Of Jackie Bejan

The Ballad Of Jackie Bejan
Posted by beezelbub (Guest) - Thursday, July 14 2005, 18:01:13 (CEST)
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...it all started some years back when she and I became friends, for a term. Jackie has no friends that last long....this isn't being vindictive, it's just the truth. A couple of years later she met Jeff, who I already knew slightly, through the internet and became friends with him. When she and I had our inevitable falling out...Jeff wrote to her to see what had happened...that was the year the convention came to San Jose and Jackie had decided that I could not display any sculpture...even though I'd been doing it since 1978...and with great success and acclaim I might add. One year, the year before the Ashurbanipal was installed in San Francisco, we'd even gotten Flying Tigers Airlines to fly the complete bronze monument back to Chicago to unveil at their banquet...the AANF was alway most appreciative and supportive...they donated ten grand to the Ashurbanipal and another ten grand to the Shumirum.

You just KNOW that can't last. So Jackie was in charge of the convention and since I'd taken her hand off my knee and taken the Shumirum out of her hands...she determined that no one could see my bronzes...she was protecting Assyria from someone who wouldn't go down on her...sorry for the crude language but let's stop mincing words.

Jeff wanted to hear her side and ask her to reconsider. These are her replies to him...his responses are fairly clear to discern:




Jacklin Bejan wrote:

> Jeff sweetheart,
>
> Please try and stay away from this situation, because you are too precious
> to me, and I don't want to get you involved with this.

I'll be sure to avoid getting involved in any way.

> Let me just say that
> it is unfortunate that Fred's negative attitude, paranoia and fear of
> "everyone is out there to get me" puts him in such rotten position.
> The annual convention is a private affair sponsored by a non-profit
> corporation called the AANF. We are not a public entity, nor are we
> affiliated with any government agency who serves the public. The invitation
> to participate in any program is just that, an "invitation". If someone
> does not receive it, it means he or she are not invited, especially if it
> involves an opportunity to sell a product for the personal benefit of that
> person. It is a privilege, NOT a right. In the past we have been so easy
> and so desperate that people have gotten the impression that they are doing
> us a favor by participating in this annual event. The reality is that we as
> the organizers are doing our people a favor by providing them with an
> opportunity to gather, learn and exchange, in return for the measly profit
> that we make to turn around and distribute in various forms of assistance to
> our own people in need, including Mr. Fred Parhad.

I was just curious because he claims that you asked him to bring his sculpture,
and I noticed that even on the assyrianconvention.org web site one of the events
includes "arts & sculpture". Is there another sculptor coming, or are you and
him in such a large argument that you took back that invitation? Or, is he
lying about it and you never invited him at all? (more below)

> I am personally disappointed in Fred, but relieved that I finally figured
> him out for the swindler and the second class charlatan that he is. I am
> bitter that under the name of friendship, he cheated me out of almost
> $35,000 in a bogus land deal in Mexico. I am bitter for lending him money
> when he came to my door asking for financial assistance, because he did not
> have the means to take care of his family. Not a cent of this $35,000 has
> been returned to me, and I know now that it will never be returned.



...I have to interrupt here to clarify. She mentions this to another person who also shared it with me...this claim that she had to help me out. Assyrians always think they are "helping you out" when they buy your art. I imagine they feel they're doing GM a favor too when they buy a Cadillac..and no doubt they look down on the people building those cars.

...In her other letter to someone else she says I would come to her door and she would take food from her kitchen and put it in a brown bag for me to take to my family...of course it never happened...I never asked her for anything...does it make sense to load a bag with groceries you then have to go out and replace, rather than slipping me a hundred bucks so I can buy the grocieries myself?

> I am bitter for all the days that he and his family came to my house, and I
> opened up my house to him thinking that he is a decent person, yet all he
> wanted was to get me to buy some more stuff from him, or for me to introduce
> him to our friends who could afford to buy his sculptures, and my God I did
> that!!! At a tune of over $100,000 between what I spent and what my
> friends bought from him

..and I needed groceries from you?

...Her friends are all pleased as hell that they bought sculpture from me and I threw in a few sculptures to thank her...one time her husband Lincoln mentioned how he'd seen a sculpture of a lion in a gallery in Hawaii he liked but it was too expensive..as luck would have it, the sculptor of that piece casts at my foundry and he'd wanted to trade me for a piece of mine for some time...I didn't want any of his sculpture but knowing Lincoln liked the piece..I agreed to the trade and they shipped the sculpture he'd wanted so much...but couldn't afford, as all their money was being used up buying groceries for my family...Lincoln, a decent person, called to thank me and said he owed me one...I know damn well he was dismayed at what his wife did...but you don't get in Jackie's way, especially if you share the same bed.

Let me stop right here Jeff, because I don't want
> to remember the past and my own vulnerability.

I had no idea... (more below)

> He found a good sucker, but
> perhaps the only relief for me is that I was not the only one, and I finally
> figured him out. Who ever has come across him, has similar stories to tell
> you, from his own family to people who have transacted with him, and believe
> me that list is long. He has his own version to every situation, but not
> all of us are crazy!!


..right. My family has complained to Jackie. A peron in her club who knows her well asked me to arrange a meeting with Narsai David because this woman wanted to check out some things Jackie had told her club Narsai had said about me. The deal was that I was not to know what transpired at their meeting. Narsai of course agreed and they met. I never asked him what they talked about except to ask..."did it come out in my favor"? Meaning, were the lies she'd told about her "secret" correspondence with Narsai which she'd shared with her club, lies or not. His reply was that he'd "set the record straight" and it had come out "to my benefit". This is a prefered tactic of hers and I've caught her at it several times..she'll tell you some "truth" about someone you both know...and tell you not to spread it. This binds you to her as you feel privileged but also casts doubt in you about that other person..about their integrity etc. She's done this with everyone in her circle...and I've checked on three "secrets" she told me by confronting the people involved..who all told me these were lies and secrets she'd told THEM about me...this is her real politics.


> Enough is enough. I will not tolerate his bullying anymore, and I am
> prepared to deal with him. I have a lot of issues that I'm dealing with,
> including my own health crisis, and I will waste any more time on him.
> Jeff, I know you mean well, but you are very young and perhaps you've never
> had bitter experiences in your life, not yet. I adore your spirit and your
> devotion to our people and hope that you will never be disappointed in your
> life. My very best to you.

..this is a few months before she heeds her own advice and sues him for two million dollars...putting a financial strain on him he could ill afford.
>
> hugs & kisses,
>
> J

Jackie,
I wish you the best of health, and the best of luck at the convention. AND,
thank you for your kind words.

--
Peace,
Jeff

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: convention
Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2001 23:54:13 -0700
From: Jacklin Bejan <jbejan@kemsafe.com>
To: Jeff Atto <jeffatto@bhamwebdesign.com>
References: <3B758DA3.17971BEB@bhamwebdesign.com> <3B759C45.DD763FC5@kemsafe.com> <3B771109.32477FC6@bhamwebdesign.com>



Jeff,


I was just curious because he claims that you asked him to bring his sculpture,
and I noticed that even on the assyrianconvention.org web site one of the events
includes "arts & sculpture". Is there another sculptor coming, or are you and
him in such a large argument that you took back that invitation? Or, is he
lying about it and you never invited him at all? (more below)


Would you invite some one to your house, if that person insulted, abused and ridiculed you and the entity you represented???


..indeed...she views her club and the AANF, as well as our balls, as HER'S.

How would you react to a person who is trying to bully his way in by issuing threats and ultimatums?? Does that not bring out the absolute worst in you??? The world does not start and end with Fred Parhad, and yes, we do have another sculptor, a beautiful young Assyrian woman, Lorinda Menchavez, who does magnificent ceramic sculpting and is on the list of exhibitors.


..you had to see these pots to believe them...Jackie wouldn't display one in her house if you paid her..but then was one of things she wanted as well...she was to have the largest collection of my pieces...and no one else.


I did not have any arguments with Fred. What I tried to do for him and our community, myself included, was to try and get the Summuramat installed in San Jose in a very short period of 4 months, and God knows I tried with all the connections and leverage that I had at the city, but the reality of working with any city government is that the system is very bureaucratic, and these types of projects can not materialize in 4 months. Fred knew this from his 18 months of struggle with Ashurbanipal in San Francisco, and I told him that we can only try, and if not by convention time, then we will do it at a later time.


...funny. I'd managed to get a sculpture into San Francisco and another accepted by Chicago...without EVER meeting with anyone there...in no time at all. The 13 months was the time it took to finish the monument...they approved of it in a couple of weeks. What Jackie was doing was using the Shumirum as a way to get into EVERY politician's office...she MADE obstacles just so she could "overcome" them. She was stalling till I moved to Mexico because she wanted a free hand in the unveiling ceremonies...13 years of my work was supposed to be dropped in her lap...for her to do with as she pleased. That's the problem with these amateur Assyrians...their real jobs are elsewhere, this is all a game to them...I make my LIVING by being a professional Assyrian...and that just pisses them off some more.

But he took it upon himself to make a deal with the owner of the foundry to have the work completed for $5,000 more by the deadline of August 15th, or the owner was going to get the statue.

...we needed that money for final details...monuments aren't cheap. She said it would be no problem, that several freinds of her's wanted to buy sculpture...note that I am the one paying for everything..all the money for these monuments, about $500,000 came from the sale of my own sculpture..money I then put back into making the monuments..but I am "arrogant" when I insist that until the day the monument is installed it belongs to ME..that I will be the one to guide it through that final day..they can piss on it the NEXT day!

He was going to give the statue that was paid for by donations from many Assyrians, especially the late Helen Schwarten to an owner of a foundry, hence, putting pressure on me to get him the money for something that should have been finished long ago.

..they were not "donations"..that was a figment dreamed up for tax purposes. people were BUYING my sculpture...I was the one "donating" what would be my profits to the monuments. Only Helen donated money outright...I'd offered to give her the maquettes to cover the gift but she said..."you keep them dear".

..I could see there wouldn't be enough time if Jackie was serious about an installation date and so I got the foundry to agree to begin the final preparations with the assurance that Jackie would indeed find a buyer among her friends..when she crapped out, Narasai David stepped in and paid the bill...the irony is that after all these years the monument will go up anyway and not far from the foundry.

Work that was supposedly paid for last year when he was yelling and screaming to have it installed in Chicago. Then came in another surprise, and that was additional funds needed to manufacture a bronze base for the statue at yet some additional funds!!

..the city of Chicago had TWICE most generously offered to foot the bill for the installation and pedestal...in San Jose there was no such offer. Assyrians know nothing about anything...they can understand why a Cadillac, which is a glorified Chevy, MUST cost them thousands more...but a monument? "Are you CHEATING us"???


He needed all the money in less than 30 days time, and he expected me to find donors for him right away. Only when I could not deliver the money to him, and I personally would not pay it was when he showed his real face and got himself in a confrontation with me.


..I never wanted her to pay it...it was her solution to get a friend to buy...besides which NONE of them were paying...I was the one PAYING.

I know now that all he wanted was to take advantage of the convention crowd to promote himself, and then have his exhibition so that he can sell more statues for his personal gain so that he can finance a year or two of his life in Mexico.

...can you imagine anything lower? A sculptor...the only Assyrian sculptor of this type we've produced in over 2000 years, wants to SELL his sculpture!!! Since 1978...when Jackie was blowing the star athletes in her JC, I was an honored particpant at the conventions...even making several speeches at the main banquets as well as a few lectures on art...and they were doing US the favor?

I was good until I could no longer benefit him. It is funny how just last week he came to my house and sold me and my girlfriend a small tiny little statue that he priced at $500. He left my house with a $1,000 check for two of them, and all along I knew that he desperately needed the money for his trip to Detroit. The check was cashed the very next morning!!

..small and tiny...Jackie is another art patron who prices sculpture like she does onions.

..another rare occurance...I sold her and her girlfriend two sculptures..each costing $500. What would you EXPECT the check to be made out for??? Do you suppose Jackie doesn't cash the checks that come to her business THE NEXT DAY in order to cover expenses? This is the amatuer thing again...Jackie and the rest of them do things for Assyria from their "heart"...that means we get all sorts of sloppy and useless 'work' done for us that we dasn't dare complain about..because it is their GIFT to us! I seriously doubt Jackie uses her heart in her business where she knows full well you need your head as well..that's because she makes her MONEY from her work..whereas Assyria is a voluntary thing she does purely for the pleasure of putting the rest of us down. My business is ALSO where my heart is...like a musician or dancer or actor...but to Jackie, this makes you venal and crass...go figure.

He owes many pieces to people who have pre-paid him for statues that he has not delivered, including people that you probably know in Detroit!!

..that part is true...but she had a hand in that as well. With the Ashurbanipal and Shumirum there was never a problem....a few hundred thousand dollars were raised by having people buy the maquettes...I'd deduct the cost of the maquette and use the rest to fund the monuments. It worked fine in Detroit with the Hammurabi as well until she and John spread their lies to Detroit. They caught me at a time when I had received pledges for donations from about six more Chaldeans...I was trying to finish one stage of the work so I could ship the torso of Hammurabi to Detroit for the convention...and so I didn't use the final money to cast two maquettes with...it was always a juggling act...but things had worked out before...I'd simply make up the shortfall from incoming donations...only there were no more...that was taken care of by Jackie in Detoit...and the next year, when the convention was in San Jose she banned me from being able to display the Hammurabi maquette and get more donors...and Atour Golani, the putz, went along with he for fear...even though he was heading the drive to raise funds for the Hammurabi and we were endorsed by the Federation ITSELF..which had given money to the two previous monuments...such is what the fear of Jackie and her lying ways has done to people. They cut their own balls off and hand them over.

..one of the things she sued me for, actually put in her complaint, was that I had cut the balls off that small lamasu she'd bought for all of FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS! I cannot tell a lie, often...I did indeed grind the balls off...but that was after she started her lawsuit...besides she used to joke that when she entered a room you could hear the men's balls falling to the ground and rolling around...in fact she joked that she had several sets pinned to her wall at home...ha ha.

He can claim that we are all liars and everyone has an agenda, but the reality is very different. He can say whatever he wants and he can fabricate and twist as much as he wants, because by now everyone has pretty much figured him out for what he really is......
Take care, and stay away from this please.
J


..well. Jeff didn't "stay away"...which meant he was supposed to "side" with her and believe her. I told Jeff my side of the story and left it up to him...when I revealed these emails and went into greater detail and gave incidents from my own experience when she'd spread these kinds of lies behind other people's backs..she knew where I got the emails and told her lawyer to sue Jeff as well. Jeff hadn't done a thing to her...it is his right to share a private email, privately, if he chooses to...I am the one who went public with them...it was never Jeff's intention that I do it...her suit against him was just punishment for "disloyalty"...from a woman who cheats on everyone around her.

...He called me, worried as to what this could mean for him and what he should do. I told him I couldn't advise him either way..it was between himself and his conscience. To his credit he told her lawyer to go fuck himself..and the lawsuit was on...except she crapped out...paying her lawyer thousands of dollars over two years...she stopped taking calls from him or paying him and he had to petition the court to be removed from the case..and then it collapsed. there was NO WAY she was going to swear under oath to tell the truth..and face ME in open court with a packed courtroom of Assyrians just waiting to hear her answer questions where she couldn't dodge them...something I knew the day I received the first notice of her suit...but I WAS hoping.

..as far as the infamous land swindle...I'd called a friend of ours from Mexico to tell him of some land I was buying...he wired down the money to buy one for him as well. On my return to the States I reported to Jackie..as she liked to call it...and mentioned the land. Lincoln actually got mad at me for not calling them...he insisted he wanted to buy land as well and said I had to do it for him...I gave him the name of the real estate agent and said I'd get them together...but he asked me to do it so I did. Gringos can't own beach land in their own name so the land was bought under my son's name, who was born in Mexico, with me listed as legal guardian. But Lincoln steadily refused to draw up another contract that states he is the real beneficiary of the lends etc.

..then came the lawsuit..but more than that, blocking the Shumirum monument cost me greatly and she had a hand in that as well...when she crapped out I approached the arts committee in San Jose myself..they were open and cordial until our last session to settle on the site..it was patently obvious someone had told them the "truth about Fred". We had an argument and I walked out...an Asian member had the gall to say that this monument came from a people and a region where there were "concerns"..and maybe this was not the time etc. I tried being polite but this guy in particular pissed me off...so I said that there had been no war between America and Iraq EVER..and certainly not one between Assyria and America..and how was it that there are Chinese and Japanese monuments in America AND a Vietnameses one right outside THEIR window, if we are never to forget...the fellow said he took "umbrage" at my statement and I said that was because it was true and left. I have no doubt Jackie intervened because the last thing she wanted broadcast was that I'd been able to do it quite easily and with no help from her.

But more than that, she cost me to lose two years of work and $90,000 wasted on the Hammurabi. By not being to display and get donors the project was dead in the water..which is what she and John wanted. So I figured she owed me..and I wasn't about to take her to court over it...besides which those few lots cost them less than the money I was out..about a third less....so I took justice into my own hands...shoot me.

She is always welcome to visit.



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