July 7, 1995
Re: Sloan v. Ishi Press International
Case Number: CV748564
Dear Judge Flaherty,
At the trial before you on June 30, the witnesses who appeared on behalf of Ishi Press International testified that they were still in business and that their place of business was 1702-H Meridian Ave., #193, San Jose CA 95125.
I have since been to that address. I found that it is nothing but a Mail Boxes Etc. The number #193 is nothing more than the private mailbox of Ishi Press International.
This address is the address of the Dry Creek Center. I spoke to Debbie Stafford of the Mail Boxes Etc. there. She informed me that Ishi Press International has no physical presence there. According to her, they simply come and pick up their mail from time to time. She said that the actual whereabouts of Ishi Press International is "confidential".
It is my recollection that at the trial before you on June 30, the testimony indicated that this was an actual place of business. Accordingly, I feel that Anton Dovydaitis and/or Hartland Snyder may have committed an act of perjury or contempt in their testimony before you.
This also has increased my apprehension that I may not get my money, even if I am successful in obtaining a money judgment. This brings on another subject. At the trial, Anton Dovydaitis repeatedly stated that Ishi Press International had paid 450 yen per copy for each copy of my book, Chinese Chess for Beginners, which it sold. However, my information indicates that Ishi Press International paid nothing at all for my books. These books were, I believe, obtained through The Connelley Group, a corporation personally owned by Mr. James Connelley. The Connelley Group had a line of credit which enabled it to obtain books on credit. However, that corporation filed for bankruptcy in about November, 1993. See Bankruptcy of The Connelley Group, Case No. 93-56846. According to my understanding, none of the trade creditors have received any money at all for the books which they shipped to The Connelley Group. However, all of those books wound up in the possession of Ishi Press International, which sold the books but did not pay The Connelley Group or anybody else for them.
Mr. Hartland Snyder also repeatedly claimed in court that his investors now have control of the corporation and that therefore the corporation should not be held liable for its debt to me. However, I would like to point out that I filed this suit in October, 1994. The corporate minutes which I submitted into evidence at the trial, over which there was no objection, were current as of November, 1994, one month after I filed my suit, and show that, at that time, the corporation was still controlled by the same individuals as back when my book was first published. Any corporate restructuring which has taken place since October, 1994, if indeed there has been any, clearly would not affect my legal right to assert my claims against the corporation.
Finally, Mr. Hartland repeatedly asserted that certain investors had taken control of the corporation. It now appears, however, that the investments made by those investors were of the type calculated to generate large tax write-offs. In particular, Mr. Berlekamp and Mr. Nathaniel Berkowitz are two wealthy individuals in a high tax bracket who have made "investments" in Ishi Press International and then have claimed tax write-offs. However, my examination of the balance sheets of Ishi Press International as well as my study of the corporate minutes which I offered into evidence before the court do not show any actual cash money received from Mr. Berkowitz or from Mr. Berlekamp by Ishi Press International. Perhaps the money is in there somewhere, but I cannot find it. Accordingly, I suspect that what we have here is one of those so-called "abusive tax shelters" and that relatively little money was ever received by Ishi Press International from these "investors", as compared with the tax losses which they claimed. This also appears to explain the great rush by Hartland Snyder, who acted as a "finder" in bringing those investments and presumably received a finders fee from Ishi Press International, to scuttle the company now in order to reduce the possibility of an IRS tax audit of Ishi Press Intentional and of Mr. Berkowitz and Mr. Berlekamp.
What this means is that there is a grave likelihood that all of the authors, trade creditors and others who have claims against Ishi Press International will be left out in the cold, just so that Mr. Snyder, Mr. Dovydaitis and two wealthy investors whom they, in effect, represent can personally benefit.
Very Truly Yours,
Samuel H. Sloan
Copy To: Ishi Press International, Inc.