165 replies to this topic

[Redneb]

Ray Smith ran a Group A Commodore with Denny Hulme in the New Zealand rounds of the mid-80s touring car races. It was sponsored by Goldcorp, Mr Smith's bullion exchange company. Not sure if they took the car to Australia or not.

His clients eventually found out that Mr Smith's exchange involved him exchanging their money, not for gold bullion like he promised, but for an extravagant lifestyle, including a very expensive boob job for his luscious girlfriend, Monique McFadden. Mr Smith ended up behind bars for his efforts but not before writing a self-aggrandising book about his days as a "high flier."

For some reason, Monique did not hang around for his release.

(Denny had no involvement or knowledge about the goings-on of Mr Smith, he just made sure that when he got in the car, he made up the time Mr Smith had lost during his stint.)

Edited by Redneb, 22 June 2011 - 21:30.

[Formula Once]

There was a strange but very plausible guy in Australia who convincingly claimed to be a millionaire businessmen and managed to have his "business's" name on a V8 Supercar at one stage -

Do you remember his name Terry, as there an Australian trying to do just that in Europe in the mid-nineties, but I cant seem to remember his name.

[Kevan]

Ray Smith ran a Group A Commodore with Denny Hulme in the New Zealand rounds of the mid-80s touring car races. It was sponsored by Goldcorp, Mr Smith's bullion exchange company. Not sure if they took the car to Australia or not.

His clients eventually found out that Mr Smith's exchange involved him exchanging their money, not for gold bullion like he promised, but for an extravagant lifestyle, including a very expensive boob job for his luscious girlfriend, Monique McFadden. Mr Smith ended up behind bars for his efforts but not before writing a self-aggrandising book about his days as a "high flier."

For some reason, Monique did not hang around for his release.

(Denny had no involvement or knowledge about the goings-on of Mr Smith, he just made sure that when he got in the car, he made up the time Mr Smith had lost during his stint.)

Yes, they did race in Australia- at least Sandown and Bathurst in 1985. A distinctive gold & black car with AC&B (Auckland Coin & Bullion or something like that) signwriting. There's a shot of it in the pics attached to this advert: http://australianmus...-group-race-car

Edited by Kevan, 23 June 2011 - 15:44.

[Graham Clayton]

J.D. Stacy's name came up again just a few years ago, connected a dodgy real estate development in Mississippi that traded on Elvis Presley's name by association with a former Presley farm and shirt tail relations of the pop icon. Stacy's development would have supposedly included 16 35-story retail/residential towers.

This was back in 2006, when Stacy unveiled a plan to develop a $517 million dollar resort at Elvis' former farm at Walls, MS. The project was to feature:

• Go Kart racing complex
• two hotels and a convention center,
• 650 "luxury condominiums"
• three wedding chapels and a number of "honeymoon cottages."
• Elvis museum
• two golf courses,
• a reproduction of the White House

I also found this undated article about Stacy's dealings with the Dutch government:

http://www.joescalzo...im-Flamming.pdf

[Lee Nicolle]

Yes, they did race in Australia- at least Sandown and Bathurst in 1985. A distinctive gold & black car with AC&B (Auckland Coin & Bullion or something like that) signwriting. There's a shot of it in the pics attached to this advert: http://australianmus...-group-race-car

That is the car that Graeme Crosby spent a season or so racing afterwards with moderate success. It was still painted gold inside when Croz raced it.

[brucemoxon]

I'd like to know where all the Philippe family money comes from. It will probably end up being something basic but fascinating like the patent to the plastic ends on shoelaces.

They're actually called aglets.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aglet



Today's useless information.




Bruce Moxon

[Stinky]

Hi All;
Years ago at Bathurst there was a Commodore sponsored by the "Daily Planet."
No, not the paper Clark Kent used to work for or either a trendy chain of dress shops in New South Wales.
The sponsor was a VERY well known Bordello in Melbourne.
According to rumours the major sponsors resided in Griffith and were very high up in the market gardening business.
These principals were very involved in the growing of funny Tomato plants!!
Only a rumour of course.
It was intersting though that quite a few of the pit crew seemed to be connected to the above establishment.
Cheers.
Stinky.

[GMiranda]

Brabham, which was going throuigh its revolving-door dying days at the time. He was going to commission a car from briefly-fashionable constructor du jour Galmer for the 1993 season.

The withdrawal of his six/seven strong squad of Jags and Spices did no good to the dying WSPC either...

Can anyone actually point to a race in which a Randall-entered car started?

I'm not sure Randall was a con man; he definitely seems to have been a dreamer on a monumental scale.

 

What was Alan Randall's background before he appeared in 1991 when he was trying to buy Jaguars and Spices for a massive effort into WSC?

[Lee Nicolle]

Yes, they did race in Australia- at least Sandown and Bathurst in 1985. A distinctive gold & black car with AC&B (Auckland Coin & Bullion or something like that) signwriting. There's a shot of it in the pics attached to this advert: http://australianmus...-group-race-car

That car went to Graeme Crosby who raced it the following year with some success.

[Lee Nicolle]

Hi All;
Years ago at Bathurst there was a Commodore sponsored by the "Daily Planet."
No, not the paper Clark Kent used to work for or either a trendy chain of dress shops in New South Wales.
The sponsor was a VERY well known Bordello in Melbourne.
According to rumours the major sponsors resided in Griffith and were very high up in the market gardening business.
These principals were very involved in the growing of funny Tomato plants!!
Only a rumour of course.
It was intersting though that quite a few of the pit crew seemed to be connected to the above establishment.
Cheers.
Stinky.

John Trimble. He started in HQs I think and moved up the Supercars over a few years. Made up the numbers in what was Larrys 93 Bathurst winning car. 

I can remember a photo shoot with T&A near the dam at PI. Always a few dolly birds around him and the team. On track or off. Saw them out to tea at the Cowes pub on a couple of occasions.

Earlier he had sponsored Craig Bradtke in his 1600 Colt Tourer over a few seasons.

The racecar went to James Rosenburg who ran it for some period, updates from VP-VS spec. Mark Poole drove it, on occasion I helped out on it.

[BRG]

Interesting that this thread has been bumped.  Since its heyday back in 2013, we have seen another rather fine example of the con-man and /or fantasist in F1 in the bearded shape of William Storey, "CEO" of Rich Energy, a supposedly British premium luxury energy drink (actually made in Austria in the factory where many of these generic energy drinks come from). 

 

Rich Energy sponsored the Haas F1 team and may have even made a first payment to them, but the sponsorship sputtered out when no more cash was forthcoming.  Whether Storey is a con-man or just a fantasist remains uncertain,  There did seem to be some genuine money at his disposal, but the energy drink company was never much of a serious effort.  If all the publicity put into it had been matched by some real business activity, it might have been a success, but Storey seemed to be more interested in making a personal splash than buckling down to any real work.  The full stor(e)y can be found in the lengthy thread on the RCF.

Edited by BRG, 15 December 2024 - 10:16.

[GMiranda]

Interesting that this thread has been bumped.  Since its heyday back in 2013, we have seen another rather fine example of the con-man and /or fantasist in F1 in the bearded shape of William Storey, "CEO" of Rich Energy, a supposedly British premium luxury energy drink (actually made in Austria in the factory where many of these generic energy drinks come from). 

 

Rich Energy sponsored the Haas F1 team and may have even made a first payment to them, but the sponsorship sputtered out when no more cash was forthcoming.  Whether Storey is a con-man or just a fantasist remains uncertain,  There did seem to be some genuine money at his disposal, but the energy drink company was never much of a serious effort.  If all the publicity put into it had been matched by some real business activity, it might have been a success, but Storey seemed to be more interested in making a personal splash than buckling down to any real work.  The full stor(e)y can be found in the lengthy thread on the RCF.

It seems F1 never ceases to surprise us with some "interesting" blokes...

[marksixman]

It seems F1 never ceases to surprise us with some "interesting" blokes...

To purloin an old English phrase, "Where there's money, there is often muck" !!

[Ray Bell]

Originally posted by myself
Can't actually think of any off-hand...

But I do know we have one brewing here. Best keep mum about it for now, though, as they'd likely read this and spend someone else's money suing to find out I've got nothing to take!

Suffice to say that I understand people who they sponsor have a lot of trouble getting their first payment from this crowd... and then never see any more.

Known to the motor racing world in Australia as WPS, it was known for lavish spending...

Craig Gore was at the head of it all. The 'WPS' stood for 'Wright Patton Shakespeare.' Apparently 'Wright' is for the Wright brothers, the 'Patton' is the US WW2 US General and you can guess who the 'Shakespeare' was.

One deal he did was to sponsor a racing enterpise, the promised sum being $100,000. After some period he coughed up $10,000, but nothing more was ever seen. Except a letter from a solicitor saying that the TV coverage didn't mention the WPS name often enough.

Gore is still in gaol for ripping off hundreds of investors who put their life savings into his Ponzi-scheme superannuation deals. And for continuing to operate a business while in gaol.

[Dipster]

An interesting topic. Can anybody add anything about long-lived or current con men team owners? Season's greetings to all TNFers 

[BRG]

An interesting topic. Can anybody add anything about long-lived or current con men team owners? Season's greetings to all TNFers 

Well, Bernie has lived to a ripe old age.....