Is the BizRadio – Dan Frishberg Financial “Scambus” headed to 880 AM THE BIZ in Miami?

What’s happening in South Florida?  Looks like Dan Frishberg – the self-proclaimed “Money Man” is taking his show on the road seeking a new audience and perhaps one that isn’t as familiar with his financial shenanigans as the folks who lost millions in the Houston – Dallas, TX markets.

Most in TX know that Dan Frishberg’s side kick – Al Kaleta is in dutch with the SEC and banned from his role in investment advice and BizRadio.  Likewise, Dan Frishberg’s DFFS (Dan Frishberg Financial Services) was “sold” to Barrington Financial (what some have described as a straw puppet for Frishberg’s investment work) – yet DFFS is under the purview of the SEC Receiver Tom Taylor.  Many questions have been raised as to those (DFFS) assets.  And yes, Frishberg himself is subject to SEC scrutiny.

So below is a new release which appeared on November 19th.  See comments below:

MIAMI – One of the brightest voices in financial and investment strategies in America will soon be heard on South Florida’s only all business radio station, The Biz, at 880 on the AM radio dial.

ONE OF THE BRIGHTEST VOICES – really?  The subject to an SEC investigation and millions of dollars in investor losses makes one a “Bright Voice?”

Daniel Frishberg, principal of is well known to viewers of CNBC and Fox Business News, as a frequent commentator on Wall Street and global investing, having appeared more than 5 times on such programs as “Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo” on CNBC and Your World With Neil Cavuto on Fox since 2003. Starting Nov. 1, Miamians will be able to get the same up-to-the-minute strategic advice in the comfort of their cars on the way to work. So why should they? Listen to “Radio Wall Street: The MoneyMan Report”? Because Dan Frishberg is a unique voice in the world of financial commentary and analysis.

I will be the first to say that I may be wrong, but it seems that most of the claimed fame happened before the world found out the truth about Dan.  Truth is Dan has yet to be transparent regarding his financial dealings with DFFS, BizRadio and his RIA association with Barrington.  Perhaps many would have a different opinion if you – DAN – would come out of the closet and share the truth about the funds of BizRadio and how you are going to make restitution to what appear to be defrauded investors.

For instance, he says people are “drowning in statistics, data, and numbers”. In theory, he says, the 24/7 reporting of the latest market data would help people made better, more timely decisions about how and where to invest or how to use their resources. But in the years since they started getting constant reports on employment, manufacturing, and GDP, he notes, most Americans have actually lost ground.

“Data is worth very little,” says Frishberg. “That’s the inescapable conclusion. When you know what everybody else knows, you know nothing. Insight, vision and strategy make you rich.” Dan Frishberg has become famous for his ability to gather, analyze it and draw useful conclusions from the flood of data, distilling it into advice that helps people make good investment decisions. Strategic investing is not really rocket science but even the engineers and scientists in Cocoa Beach need timely advice to do it right.

Some of the most famous and successful investors and strategists on the planet join Dan every morning, offering his listeners their best ideas – spotting major turning points, identifying short term moves and options trades. These are people who have made their fortunes and their reputations by recognizing that there is a play for every situation and knowing which ones to make.

This might be interesting or certainly make for an interesting show – Dan why don’t you address the BizRadio fiasco.  Perhaps a call in show for the world to hear might be appropriate and one that would get great ratings as I know the calls would be lined up from scamed investors who want some serious answers.

Regular listeners to “Radio Wall Street” hear from financial reporters like CNBC’s Mark Haines and Maria Bartaromo, Fox Business Channel’s Neil Cavuto, Jenna Lee and Cody Willard; investment strategists Jon Najarian, Jack Bouroudjian, and Herb Greenberg. Economists and strategists Dr. Arthur Laffer, Dr. John Rutledge, former Fed vice-chairman Alice Rivlin and Robert Reich, Bill Clinton’s secretary of labor, captains of industry like Steve Forbes and Jack Welch all come on the air with Dan Frishberg. They don’t just stop by when they have a book to tout. They take the time to open up, so “The Money Man Report” audience gets to hear what they really think. They come on his show because they respect his track record of seeing the trends before they become conventional wisdom and they enjoy talking with a man who really gets what’s going on in the global financial and business markets.

Dan Frishberg literally grew up on Wall Street, learning the ins and outs of the market from his grandfather on visits to the Stock Exchange floor as a child. He spent three years as a Marine machine gunner, learning discipline, then came home to work his way through college trading silver contracts.

In almost twenty years of broadcasting he has had the great good fortune to become friends with most all of the most famous, successful, creative, gifted financial and economic strategists of our generation.

“Life isn’t fair,” Frishberg says, “and the best of us also get all the breaks. My gift was to have fallen into a life where I spent tens of thousands of hours practicing and learning, surrounded by the very best and brightest, and studying at the very highest levels from the trading floor at Goldman Sachs to the floor of the Chicago Merc.

The “best of us also get all the breaks.”  That is a curious statement as it seems that the breaks have fallen Dan’s way and at the cost of millions for investors who would like to “catch a break!”

“Now my special gift is to use this unusual configuration of talents and skills with regular people who would never get near it any other way.”

“Radio Wall Street: The MoneyMan Report” airs from 8 am to 9 am daily [OR weekdays] on Miami’s THE BIZ 880 AM.

For an interview with Dan Frishberg contact:
Pamela Caddell
pcaddell@barringtonfinancial.com
713-748-9642

Perhaps it would be appropriate to schedule an interview with Dan – maybe Pamela could set that up.  Oh…and for my readers don’t think I haven’t tried.  But of course, Dan’s far to smart than to give an interview to me – after all, I might ask some hard questions – questions he apparently doesn’t want to answer.

BUT IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS…SUBMIT THEM HERE AND I PROMISE I’LL TRY TO GET SOME ANSWERS.

National Prearranged Services Officials bring Black Eye to Funeral Industry – Looks like Sutton, Cassity and others have dug themselves a Grave!

Looks like Randall K. Sutton, Sharon Nekol Province, Doug Cassity, Brent Douglas Cassity, Howard A. Wittner, and David R. Wulf, may have two graves in this lifetime – one that will naturally occur at the end of life and the other that they dug for themselves now.  Facing up to 30 years in prison – it’s likely that many named above (if convicted) will spend their last days in federal prison just like Bernie Madoff.

Not that this is any great surprise if you work in the Funeral Profession, but this week the United States Attorney’s Office announced the indictments of six controlling officials of National Prearranged Services, Inc., in a 50-count indictment charging wire, bank, mail, and insurance fraud; money laundering; and multiple conspiracy charges involving the sale of pre-paid funeral services.

Sadly, this brings a “black eye” and causes serious distrust in an industry that provides services to individuals and their families at times when trust is needed the most.  Having worked in this profession for the greater part of my adult life, I know the value that prearranging brings – not only emotionally, but financially as well…and for folks to abuse that trust is – well in a word – criminal.

So how big is this disaster?  According to the indictment, after taking into account insurance and trust assets expected to be available to pay for future funeral services, and merchandise under prearranged funeral contracts sold by National Prearranged Services, Inc., (NPS), the loss to purchasers, funeral homes, and state insurance guarantee associations will range from $450,000,000 to $600,000,000.

As a business ethics speaker and industry professional, I have interviewed several of the firms affected.  This financial fraud and scam will have significant, if not devastating consequences related to the ability of many smaller firms to survive or continue to provide the type of service that they wish to provide.

In an FBI news release the following is stated:  According to the indictment, individuals who purchased a prearranged funeral contract from NPS, signed contracts which set forth the terms of that contract. The total price for the funeral services and merchandise was agreed upon, and would remain constant regardless of when the funeral services and merchandise would be needed. The purchaser could pay the agreed upon price either in full, or by periodic installments. NPS agreed to arrange for the funeral with the funeral home designated in the agreement upon the death of the person for whom the contract was purchased. In order to secure the performance of the prearranged funeral contract, a third party received the deposited funds. In Missouri, the purchaser and NPS agreed that the payments made under the contract after the initial 20 percent were to be deposited into a trust with a financial institution, such as a bank, as trustee. The seller of a contract was permitted to retain for its own use, the initial 20 percent deposited by the purchaser. In other states, such as Ohio, Illinois, and Tennessee, the purchaser and NPS agreed that the purchaser would apply for a life insurance policy which would fund the prearranged funeral contract when the funeral services were needed. Beginning in 1983, NPS entered into agreements with several financial institution to act as trustees of the various trusts which were established to hold the funds paid by the purchasers located in Missouri.

The indictment alleges that instead of making the required deposits into trust or forwarding the insurance premiums as paid, NPS obtained insurance in a manner that allowed it to retain money received from purchasers that should have been deposited into trust or paid as a premium to an insurance company. Since NPS and the insurance companies from whom policies were obtained were controlled by the defendants, NPS was able to pay substantially less than the amounts which should have either been deposited into the trusts or to the insurance companies.

The NPS fraud may have started with good intentions, but quickly became nothing more than an intentional fraud according to a former NPS representative whose identity will remain confidential.

According the indictment, NPS borrowed large amounts of the cash surrender values of the insurance policies. NPS had no right to borrow the cash surrender values of these policies. These loans reduced the death benefits which would be available to pay for funeral services after the deaths of the purchasers. Additionally, the indictment alleges that the defendants concealed this practice from insurance regulators. In some instances, the defendants used money obtained from new purchasers to pay premiums of insurance policies on the lives of previous purchasers and also to reimburse funeral homes for the cost of funeral services for the earlier purchasers.

While the indictment states that the defendant removed large amounts of money from prearranged funeral trusts established by NPS, my source tells me that Brent Cassity along with his father Doug Cassity enjoyed the benefits of ill gotten money from NPS.  I was told that NPS maintained several limos with a driver available 24/7.  The limo was used (according to my source) to transport NPS officials (insiders) to pick up clients and/or provide transportation for personal vacation type trips, etc.  This money was allegedly used to enable Doug Cassity to purchase residential real estate, to finance business projects for affiliated companies, to purchase a New York insurance company, Professional Liability Insurance Company of America (PLICA), and to pay personal expenses of Doug Cassity and his family.

Finally, count 49 charges Doug Cassity with insurance fraud for his participation in the insurance business, after being previously convicted of a felony, which prohibits him from engaging in the insurance business. Count 50 charges Randall Sutton, Brent Cassity, and Howard Wittner with permitting Doug Cassity to engage in the insurance business.

Sources say that NPS used very aggressive tactics to sell their services and fund their need for cash.  By hiring attractive young women, (insiders called them “Barbies”), NPS would play on funeral directors emotions and financial needs by promising aggressive growth rates, generous trips and other incentives.

The quickest way to spot a fraud is to recognize that if it falls outside of industry norm and sounds too good to be true – it likely is – an many times is a clear indication that a scam or fraud is in play.

Examples of how the fraud took place are featured in an article in the “White Collar Crime News Blog” shown in full here with excerpts to follow:

For example, at the time they purchased prearranged funeral services, many customers completed applications for life insurance policies indicating they were making payment in full for insurance policies that would fund their funerals. Employees at National Prearranged Services, with the knowledge and under the direction of Sutton, simply whited-out the indications that payments had been made in full and altered the documents to make it appear as though the customers had made partial payments. The altered documents were forwarded to life insurance companies such as Lincoln Memorial Life, who adopted the policies and assumed the obligation to pay a lump sum at the time of the customer’s death. National Prearranged Services, meanwhile, diverted the difference between the true full payments and the falsified partial payments from the customer’s insurance policy, thus retaining the vast majority of the customer’s lump-sum payment while transferring the obligation of future pay.

As another example, National Prearranged Services’ employees used white-out or cross-outs to change the names of beneficiaries on insurance applications in order to extract money. Customers completed applications for life insurance policies naming themselves or their funeral homes as a beneficiary. With Sutton’s knowledge, employees at National Prearranged Services simply whited-out or crossed-out other beneficiaries named in the applications and made National Prearranged Services the sole beneficiary. Once National Prearranged Services was listed as the sole beneficiary on policies, it was able to extract money from customers’ policies in at least two separate ways:

First, customers’ insurance policies were pledged as collateral for loans to National Prearranged Services without the customers’ knowledge. Typically, the loans were made by insurance companies within the same family of corporate entities, such as Lincoln Memorial Life, allowing Sutton and others to extract funds from these insurance entities under false premises. In total, as alleged in the indictment, National Prearranged Services received in excess of $65 million from such policy loans. Often, the proceeds of these policy loans were immediately turned around and used to pay outstanding premiums due from other customers.

Second, once it had altered applications to name itself as sole beneficiary, National Prearranged Services then converted customers’ whole life insurance policies to monthly renewable term polices, extracting from the insurance company the difference between the cash surrender value of the whole life policy and the first monthly premium of the renewable term policy. By doing so, National Prearranged Services extracted more than $40 million from the customers’ policies at Lincoln Memorial Life without their knowledge.

In addition to the fraud charges, upon a finding of guilt, the defendants will be subject to a forfeiture allegation, which will require them to forfeit to the government all money derived from their illegal activity.

Indicted:

Randall K. Sutton, 65, Chesterfield, MO;
Sharon Nekol Province, 66, Ballwin, MO;
Doug Cassity, 64, Clayton, MO;
Brent Douglas Cassity, 43, Clayton, MO;
Howard A. Wittner, 73, Chesterfield, MO; and
David R. Wulf, 58, St. Louis County.

If convicted, the maximum penalty ranges for each of these charges range from five to 30 years in prison and/or from $250,000 to $1,000,000.

As is always the case, charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Today NPS policies are in the hands of a Receiver and subject to limited payout of the face amount of the policy.

IF YOU HAVE DIRECT KNOWLEDGE OF THE NPS SCAM – YOUR COMMENTS ARE WELCOME.

Sujata “Sue” Sachdeva – 11 Years in Prison – Every Choice Has A Consequence

No great surprise here – other than the fact that Sue Sachdeva got so little time for such a large crime. But, having been there I can promise readers that 11 years in prison – federal prison – will be a life changing event.  In my experience, there is no place where time moves more slowly!

As background, Sujata “Sue” Sachdeva, a former Koss Corp. executive who pleaded guilty to embezzling $34 million from the Milwaukee headphones maker was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison.  The company’s former vice president of finance, had pleaded guilty to using company funds to pay her personal bills for clothes, jewelry and other lavish items.

Facing up to 120 years, Sue got less than the guideline range of 16 to 20 years.

U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman said he granted Sachdeva a degree of leniency because she cooperated with investigators from the very day FBI agents came to her home in 2009. Her “acceptance of responsibility and the genuineness of her remorse” were compelling factors, Adelman said.

She read a brief statement before sentencing in which she apologized to her family, friends and former Koss colleagues.

“I know you were deeply hurt by my dishonesty in ways I never imagined or intended,” she said, her voice cracking.

According to Washington Post reports – Sachdeva’s scheme was uncovered when the security department at American Express noticed her balances were being paid through large wire transfers originating from a Koss account.  American Express notified Michael Koss, the company’s chief executive, who entered Sachdeva’s office and found piles of women’s clothing, according to a federal complaint. Some clothes had price tags for more than $2,000 still attached.

Sachdeva’s attorneys said she has bipolar disorder and was driven to embezzle by a compulsive shopping disorder. They noted she never used most of her purchases, and often sent them straight to storage facilities because she had no room left in her home.

“This was compulsive behavior, not greed,” defense attorney Brian Kinstler said. “She didn’t want to be up to her ears in clothing that didn’t fit, with the price tags still on.”

Sachdeva has agreed to pay $34 million in restitution to Koss. Federal officials also seized most of her assets, including a 2007 Mercedes-Benz, jewelry, shoes and furs.

The question for readers is – do you think that Sue Sachdeva’s sentence was just?  Fair?  And, lastly how does Sachdeva plan on ever paying restitution of $34 million once she is released from prison some 9 1/2 years from now?

YOUR COMMENTS ARE WELCOME!

David Wallace – Proposed Downtown Master Developer Questioned by The Amarillo Independent

As many who have followed this blog know – Dan Frishberg, of failed BizRadio fame, along with Al Kaleta, who had his license as an investment advisor pulled by the SEC, were coupled with David Wallace as a interesting trio – whose clients, in large part, lost millions with respect to Wallace’s BizRadio funding investments from his other investment funds.

Today reporters from The Amarillo Independent called into question a proposed development that David Wallace is pitching to the City of Amarillo.  There article is reprinted below in full.

What’s it all about, Wallace?

By Gina Haschke, Greg Rohloff and George Schwarz

The Amarillo Independent

The principals in the development firm that the Amarillo City Commission is considering as the master developer for downtown revitalization are no strangers to litigation, with one of the firm’s showcase Houston area projects the subject of a foreclosure and lawsuit. And, those same principals, David G. Wallace, and Costa Bajjali, are on the periphery of an ongoing Securities and Exchange Commission fraud investigation.

Last Tuesday, Wallace, co-founder and chief executive officer of Wallace Bajjali Development Partners, L.P., impressed city commissioners and staff with a presentation touting his experience with developments in his hometown of Sugar Land, where he served as mayor until 2008. He also touted his firm’s developments in other cities, including Waco and the Houston area.

But at least one development has soured — the Creekmont Plaza mixed use commercial development in Fort Bend County.

According to a petition filed June 10, 2010, Frost National Bank foreclosed on the Creekmont Plaza Development in Missouri City.

The two men took out a loan of more than $1.9 million with Frost in August 2008 as the general and limited partners in Creekmont Plaza Partners, L.P. and personally guaranteed the loan.

“Despite demand for payment of the balance due, Mr. Wallace and Mr. Bajjali have failed to pay the balance due,” the petition alleges.

The petition states that the property was sold in a foreclosure sale in April at the Fort Bend County Courthouse. But the sale, which brought $1.1 million, was almost $820,000 short of the loan amount. At that time, taxes on the property were also overdue.

“The delinquent taxes for the years 2007 through 2009 were in the amount of $157,494 if paid in March of 2010, plus the 2010 taxes and the Defendants are jointly and severally liable to Plaintiff for the taxes plus interest thereon as allowed by law,” the petition alleges.

The petition asks for payment of the shortfall of the sale, interest, court costs and lawyer’s fees.

All the defendants have entered a general denial and, as of Monday, the case is set for trial in March 2011, according to Harris County District Court records.

A search of additional Harris County District Court records shows Wallace involved in several other lawsuits, including litigation in 1995 with Mark Thatcher, son of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Wallace’s former business partner in several United States-based businesses.

How much Downtown Amarillo, Inc. is aware of all the court actions isn’t clear.

Melissa Dailey, executive director of Downtown Amarillo, Inc., said she had done “quite a bit” of background research on the firm. She said she had not looked into the Thatcher alliance in detail, but added, “I’m more interested in his development activities here in the United States.”

When asked about a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation, she said she was “aware of the situation.”

It has little negative reflection on Wallace Bajjali, Dailey said, adding, “In fact, it’s a positive.”

Daily wouldn’t discuss the matter further, saying instead Wallace would talk about it when he was in Amarillo in the next week or two “because he knows the details much more intimately than I do.”

Several calls and repeated messages left for Wallace for comment were not returned.

The SEC investigation focuses on Kaleta Capital Management, or KCM, and a Houston business known as BizRadio, and may yet reach Wallace and Bajjali or some of their business entities.

The year-old litigation — the SEC filed suit Nov. 13, 2009,— names Albert Kaleta and KCM as defendants in a claim that they defrauded investors of $10 million.

According to a July 2010 update on the receivership website, “Based upon the recent inclusion of BizRadio in the Receivership Estate, negotiations have now been commenced with respect to potential liability of the Wallace Bajjali entities and their principals with respect to investments by members of the public in BizRadio directly, and in other related investment vehicles. To date no agreements have been reached with respect to these matters.”

On Monday, Thomas L. Taylor III, the Houston attorney who is overseeing the SEC-ordered receivership of KCM, said neither Wallace nor Bajjali or their entities are yet named in any of the court papers but he would also neither confirm nor deny that they could be pulled into the federal investigation at a later time.

In negotiations with Taylor, Wallace has paid back $92,348 and Bajjali has paid back $45,550 to date, according to the publicly available information.

Taylor said negotiations are ongoing about further repayments by Wallace and Bajjali.

Nevertheless, DAI’s Dailey said Monday, “We have not come across anything negative. When we looked into it in detail, it all was positive.”

I find it interesting that a comment was made that “We have not come across anything negative.  When we looked into it in detail, it all was positive.”  Really?  Just gotta ask these questions:

• If Frost National Bank foreclosed on the Creekmont Plaza Development in Missouri City and Mr. Wallace and Mr. Bajjali have failed to pay the balance due, how can that be positive?
• If over 60% of the funds invested in the Laffer, Frishberg, Wallace fund were funneled into BizRadio which David Wallace has stated was a failed business, how can he be trusted to protect the assets of his investors (or the City of Amarillo’s assets) when due diligence would clearly be called into question?
• Since David Wallace and Wallace Bajjali were integral in the financial operations of BizRadio and Al Kaleta has been busted by the SEC and Daniel Frishberg is being investigated – how can the City Fathers assume that the fingers of justice might move just a bit further to pull in David Wallace?

Wallace Bajjali might do a great job for the City of Amarillo.  However, to say that after looking into issues all looks good is like your finger in a pot of boiling water and then saying its cool.  Where there is smoke there is usually fire.

I’m just saying…

YOUR COMMENTS ARE WELCOME!

Anne Bruce, Best Selling Author, recommends SECOND CHANCES – Chuck Gallagher’s new book on Transforming Adversity into Opportunity

Chuck Gallagher’s book, Second Chances, offers every reader hardhitting, no-nonsense life tools that each of us can manifest into the power of choice intelligence and its many benefits. This is not another, “Here’s my story and what I’ve learned” book. It’s much more. It’s a book that says “Take what I’ve learned and apply it in your life. You will transform your destiny to a higher level of consciousness through better choices and higher purpose!” It’s a call to action that doesn’t mince words.

Chuck brilliantly demonstrates in this book that life is full of grit that can become imbedded in our soul—just like the grain of sand that embeds itself within the oyster’s shell—the grit of life, its challenges, heartbreak, and pain, also can be transformed into a beautiful pearl within us all.  Second Chances guides the reader through Chuck’s personal story of triumph to finding his or her own rare, one-of-a-kind pearl within. Chuck’s story illustrates how imprisonment of the soul can take place behind bars or outside of them. It’s a choice we can make and then change the trajectory of life when we make it.

As Chuck says so eloquently in this book, “You may make a mistake, but you are not a mistake.” Not to read Second Chances, in my opinion, would be a mistake I strongly recommend avoiding.

Anne Bruce
International speaker and bestselling author of

Discover True North: A 4-Week Approach to Ignite Your Passion

and Activate Your Potential; Be Your Own Mentor;

How to Motivate Every Employee; Speak for A Living; and more.

Here’s an excerpt from Chapter Two of Chuck Gallagher’s new book described as inspirational and groundbreaking!

CHAPTER TWO – Excerpt

I was at a breaking point, feeling that I had no control and no value. In my current state, I was useless to my partners; in fact, I was a severe detriment. Everything my wife and I had worked for was about to vanish; only she didn’t know that. Furthermore, the career that I had worked so hard to craft was going to disintegrate in just a matter of hours. I had no control. I was powerless. The only rational action I could think of was ending my life.

Thank God for that major phobia of mine─fear of pain. The problem with suicide was that everything I thought of involved pain. I even considered jumping off the building, but the distance between the leap forward and the final impact caused me some serious worry. What would I be thinking during those few seconds? More importantly─“Good Lord, that would hurt!”

At 7:11 p.m. that evening, I grabbed the Yellow Pages and began calling clinics─anyone who I thought might help me. Frankly, I don’t recall what I was looking up. I do remember that there were no listings under “suicide”─in fact, that wasn’t a category. So I looked up physicians, psychologists, psychiatrists, anything that started with a “P”. Honestly, I don’t remember who I did call─a proctologist, as far as I knew. The only thing that flooded my mind was I needed help.

“You’ve reached the office of Drs . . . Our office hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Our office is closed. But if you’ll leave your name and number, we’ll be happy to call you first thing in the morning. Have a nice day!” Somehow, when you’re thinking of ending your life, “have a nice day” just doesn’t seem appropriate. And unfortunately, that’s the message I got over and over.

Calling became an obsession. It was the one thing I could do, one action that I felt in life I had some control over. “Just one more dial,” I would say to myself as I pressed the buttons on the phone, listening to the ring, hoping for an answer.

“Dr. Benson’s office.” That was the second time that day I was stunned. After getting recording after recording, I was somewhat unprepared for the possibility that someone would answer. Yet someone did.

“I need to talk with someone. I’m from out of town,” I somehow stammered.

“Actually, our office is closed. I was just walking out the door and thought this was my wife. Give us a call in the morni . . . ”

Before he could finish his sentence, I blurted, “I’m thinking of committing suicide!”

Silence─then the voice said, “Let’s talk.”

For the life of me, I can’t recall what was said between us as I lay on that lonely hotel bed. We could have talked for two minutes, twenty minutes, or two hours. I just don’t remember. What I do recall is that this total stranger, a man who I had never met, took the time to help me see past the grand illusion I had created and uncover the real me inside.

That night was the darkest night of my soul. That call that I shared didn’t make it better. It didn’t eliminate the consequences. It didn’t remove the pain. Rather, it gave me hope, hope that if I could make poor choices that would, most certainly, bring painful consequences, I also possessed the power to make positive choices with positive results.  His comment to me still resounds in my heart today. He said, “You have made a terrible mistake, but YOU are not a mistake! The choices you make moving forward will define your life forever and provide the foundation for your children’s lives. Think carefully as you make this choice!”

When he said to me, “YOU are not a mistake,” it hit me─while the past cannot be changed, the life we are given and the choices we make moving forward are the only things that count. I felt a burden lifted. I could not change the past; all I could do was face the consequences. It was within my power to make good choices, now and in the future, that would produce a fruitful outcome. That was my destiny!

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For more information on Anne Bruce and her many books visit here!

Chuck Gallagher’s new book SECOND CHANCES excerpt… More than White Collar Crime

I am pleased to announce that my new book – SECOND CHANCES: Transforming Adversity into Opportunity has been released and is now available for purchase.  Comments like this one have been used to describe SECOND CHANCES

Second Chances shows you how to make better first choices. It is one of those rare books that effectively bridges the gap between personal accountability and business success. Read it. Heed it. Apply its lessons.

Randy G. Pennington
Author of Results Rule! Build a Culture that Blows the Competition Away

For those who would like a sneak preview…here’s an excerpt for your reading pleasure…

CHAPTER ONE – Excerpt One

This book is not about white-collar crime, theft, or lying, though I was guilty of all of them. More important than the crime are the prisons we can find ourselves in, most created by our own actions. The real challenge is how we escape those chains that bind us. How do we move past negative behaviors and create an environment that reflects true success?

When I was forced to admit my crimes, some four years after they began, that started a new and very different chapter in my life─one that I am living today. That chapter didn’t unfold to success immediately.  Rather, the process of change was long and arduous. I was blessed with many teachers, most of whom cut me no slack, but all of whom saw more humanity and value in me than I obviously saw in myself.

One of my first teachers was a businessman in my community who gave me my first job after my career as a CPA had been destroyed by my self-inflicted sabotage. To this day, I am not sure why he took the risk. On a spiritual level, I believe that everything happens for a reason. He accepted the role of mentor, teacher, and earthly angel. He believed in me when few around me would.

There were no handouts. He cut me no slack. Quite the contrary: this angel was tough. In fact, I’d say he was the toughest person for whom I ever worked. Yet he and two other mentors, along with my
family, allowed me to make full restitution to those from whom I had stolen money. The act of honestly admitting what I had done and accepting the consequences of those actions was critical to making any worthwhile changes. While paying people back was significant, it didn’t change what I had done and the pain I had caused. Those scars are permanent.

Time in prison seemed to move in slow motion, as if to allow me all the time necessary to evaluate my actions, my choices, and my behavior─and learn. If I had to be there, surely there should be an
outcome worth the time. While I didn’t know what that outcome would be, one thing I was committed to was remaining open to believing that God’s plan for my life could rise from even this lowly place, if only I were willing to learn, grow, and receive.

The act of honestly admitting what I had done and
accepting the consequences of those actions was critical
to making any worthwhile changes.

_________________________________________________

This touching story of real-life circumstances blends the wisdom of experience with a powerful insight for successful living.

Dr. Nido Qubein
President, High Point University Chairman, Great Harvest Bread Co.