XPost: alt.california, sac.politics, alt.politics.democrats
XPost: rec.sport.football.pro
Mr. Nancy Pelosi is ignoring a California arbitrator’s order to
pay former NFL coach Dennis Green nearly $1 million for coaching
his defunct football team.
In February, an arbitrator ordered multi-millionaire Paul
Pelosi, husband of the House Democratic leader, and his business
partner, William Hambrecht, to pay former NFL coach Dennis Green
$990,000 for his work in the United Football League (UFL).
Neither Pelosi, nor Hambrecht have paid Green, though it has now
been six months since the decision.
“Pelosi is in a defiant position now. He has lost the
arbitration but now still thinks he cannot be made to pay,”
Green said in an email.
Green, former head coach of the Minnesota Vikings and Arizona
Cardinals, inked a $1.5 million deal to lead Pelosi’s Sacramento
Mountain Lions in the upstart league in 2009.
Pelosi failed to pay Green’s bi-weekly $62,500 paycheck in full
throughout his tenure in the league. The San Francisco real
estate developer’s paychecks to Green fell far below that
threshold, according to Green’s 2012 lawsuit. At times, Pelosi
paid Green as little as $5,000 per pay period.
Hambrecht, a multimillionaire investor, founded the UFL in 2007.
Pelosi purchased a $1 million stake in the league and took over
ownership of the Sacramento Mountain Lions for $12 million in
2009, at which point he hired Green.
Pelosi’s ownership stake cost the family big time. Mr. and Mrs.
Pelosi lost between $2 to $10 million on the league in 2011,
according to the minority leader’s 2012 financial disclosures.
Despite the losses, Pelosi continued to invest in the UFL. He
injected between $2.75 and $6.6 million into the
league—sometimes selling large amounts of stock just days before
issuing new investments—even as he refused to pay Green.
Neither Paul, nor Nancy Pelosi returned requests for comment.
The multi-million dollar losses represent a drop in the bucket
for the Pelosis. Nancy Pelosi was the fifteenth-richest member
of congress in 2013 with a net worth of nearly $25 million,
according to Congressional Quarterly.
Harmeet K. Dhillon, an attorney at Dhillon & Smith LLP and
California Republican Party Vice Chairman, has added her legal
muscle to the fight.
Dhillon slammed Pelosi and Hambrecht for “employing a series of
delay tactics to avoid their responsibilities” to Green and
others connected to the league.
“It is unfortunate that wealthy, public figures continue to
believe their elite status allows them to ignore the California
Labor Code and basic contract principles,” Dhillon said in a
release. “Pelosi and Hambrecht’s refusal to pay wages they
promised their employees is repugnant, and even after a judgment
in Green’s favor, they continue to stiff Mr. Green.”
Green is not the only one who has suffered from the UFL’s
stinginess.
San Diego Chargers coaching legend Marty Schottenheimer filed
suit against Pelosi and Hambrecht in 2012 for failing to make
good on his lucrative contract. Nearly 80 players, who earned as
little as $25,000 per season to suit up for the UFL, sued
Hambrecht in 2013 for failing to honor their contracts.
Pelosi had made personal guarantees that he and his business
partners would make good on their contracts when the financial
solvency of the league was called into question.
“Players have not been paid yet, but the reality is that they
will be paid; we guarantee they will be paid in full and the
coaches will be paid in full and we’re going to do that very
soon,” Pelosi told CBS Sports during halftime of an October 2012
game. “We’re very sympathetic and understanding of their plight.”
The league folded less than a month later.
The Pelosi family has a history of shady financial dealings.
Peter Schweizer, author of the 2011 bestseller Throw Them All
Out, revealed that Pelosi invested between $1 million and $5
million in Visa as she blocked major reforms to the credit card
industry. The Washington Free Beacon reported in July that the
Securities and Exchange Commission charged a company cofounded
by Paul Pelosi Jr. with securities fraud.
http://freebeacon.com/politics/nancy-pelosis-husband-stiffs-nfl-
legends/
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