I wrote "Chopping the Street, one mega million at time" where a woman takes over an international biker club and turns it into a global financial service firm on wheels. I wanted to talk about how White Collar Crime is above the law and costs the tax payers billions to prosecute and that doesn't mean they will be prosecuted successfully... I also wanted to make the point that so much White Collar Crime flies above the radar.
Of course I also wanted to point out what a sexist world we live in....
Anyway, at the end of the story the Feds actually come to her to get help to prosecute internationally wheelings and dealings so go figure when I saw this.
Note: I also wrote a short story "Geist's Ghost" about the death of Wall St. before I wrote Chopping the Street - Geist is German for Ghost. In Geist's Ghost -- there was even a bomb -- if I recall -- but when I moved -- I packed up and have yet to unpack since I moved after 20 years. (Under another billionaire named Mike Bloomberg a lot of New Yorkers have had to move their homes or businesses like a destructive tsunami hit -- and it did thanks to the Bloomberg's tsunami of community crushing development -- reckless and greedy -- added stupidity and you have the demise of Wall Street. I don't know where my short stories are right now -- in one of the boxes stacked in a closet. Geist's Ghosts lead character, a Wall Streeter, who really could be a female Epstein with breast implants and a thick New Yawk accent works pretty hard and plays even harder. Of course I couldn't get these stories published.
Dear Feds: My "naive button" is on automatic reset -- except for Epstsein, there is no chance in hell for this guy's soul. Hey that implies I still think he has one! I won't change my stance on this fiery end until he returns my artwork and or pays me a thousand dollars a month for renting it all these years and or pays the rental fee for holding hostage all these years and pays me the fee I asked for all those years ago when I sent it up on spec.
I even contacted Richard Rothman -- the trustee lawyer -- a decade ago? --for Volunteer Lawyers for Artists from Weil, Gothshal and Manges who said he would help me not realizing Epstein's name is like the Jewish version of John Doe -- contacting me a month later to say he was actually a client of Weil, Gothshal. He called Epstein's lawyer at Weil and Epstein lied. (No surprises there.) He said I never gave him that art work. That is semantically correct. Leave it to play a game -- this one a game of semantics. A "girl friday" had called me and asked me to send me this work to his office on spec. I did. A neighbor of mine and her boyfriend had delivered the piece but didn't get a signature. I went to Epstein's office where we discussed my art "Listen Up". Although ruthless to the core when I told him the art was about technology being a 2nd skin and how about my humorous insights in to sexuality -- he really light up -- which is rare -- what was rare -- was I thought - he "got it", he had "tuned in" -- he understands but I was wrong. Alas when I wouldn't jump thru his hoops it was back to the "street" -- the arrogant attitude like so many -- he was above the law. (I have noticed that this arrogant attitude can be found at every economic strata -- the poor to the richest. At least he didn't blame me just denied the truth which is he had my art and refused to pay me or return it.)
I really saw this man was in trouble. I made him some art poems -- that spoke his language -- but with spiritual vitamins and I had this funny feeling x amount of years from now -- he would wake up -- he taught himself so many things -- why not teach himself to be a good human being.
I have grown cynical -- I don't think there is hope for someone like him and if the Feds need his help that just proves the point I made all these years ago in Chopping the Street, the Feds just don't have enough knowledge to catch crime flying above the radar.
I fought with Epstein to get my art work back or return it to me for zero dollars but that was when I believed he had an ounce of humanity that was worth saving. Now I see him as a Bernie Madoff. He made off with my art.
I had a letter, my first published in The New York Times and it was The Battle over the Murals of Pain http://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/22/opinion/l-the-battle-over-the-murals-of-pain-920924.html?n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/People/S/Schulz,%20Bruno&scp=5&sq=Battle%20over%20the%20murals%20of%20pain&st=cse
Who knew that when the NYtimes letters editor picked that header -- they were also describing a battle over a piece of art work -- my very own --- the letters editor also was brilliant. I had included a dream -- she was so kind, very strong and professional, apologized for having to cut the letter down but she was like the kindest of top surgeons....she edited the letter and it had the deepest of meanings for me on all levels including as an artist caught in a struggle at the very time.
I am hoping the Feds do a google search and find this piece and confront Epstein again. It won't be the first time he has been confronted but maybe they can inspire him to come clean and pay me.
Like all -- let me describe it this way -- what feels like legalized crime --- the deepest pockets are confident they are above the law and usually they are right. We see it every day here in NYC not just with White Collar crime but with landlords and developers including NYU. As far as I am concerned the USPS broke the law selling air space over St. Ann's with out notifying the State of New York as legally obligated because St. Ann's at 120 East 12th St was historical from 1847. The USPS sold the air rights to NYU so NYU could tear down this historical site and build yet another hideous mega dorm. NYU mega dormed the East Village to death. The USPS is estimated to be losing 7 billion dollars this year. I don't believe it is because of email. The USPS treated me like mafia except they made the mafia look warm and friendly. Since the air sale and their treatment, I never use the USPS unless I have to. Epstein lost mega millions so he lost more than what he owed me an artist not asking for much from a supposed patron of the arts.
How did he meet me? That is a story in and of it's self. It started with Liz Smith raving about me being a great massage therapist in her column and than I got phone calls from his girl friday. I had worked at J. Crew full time in their personnel offices and went to the Swedish Institute at night. I got my license and I collaged my art and martial arts in to my massage.
I massaged Liz Smith who I met by chance after coming home from Elizabeth Taylor's wedding. I massaged some of the most beautiful and intelligent women of Wall Street. I massaged babies and elderly people on the verge of dieing. I massaged William Whyte. He was in bad shape but his spirit was alive. I charged him 15 dollars for a short massage and see him for a short while. I would like to believe he would have stood up for us the people of New York against that socialite city planner, the wicked witch of the East Village, Amanda Burden. I would have liked to think William Whyte would have stood up for us against Cooper Union's tear down of our historic neighborhood and I say this because I remember his mini-sculpture of the black cube at Astor Place. I massage people with AIDS or HIV. I massaged a famous Irish singer -- she was just coming in to her fame and she read me a moving poem by the famous Irish poet WB Yates with my name Troy in it. I thought she was a young woman of depth -- deep. I felt the fame trip was a bit over whelming and she was "real". The fact she kept Yates poetry close by and gave me the gift of reading his poem to me was deeply moving to me.
I massaged Signorney Weaver. She told me I was extraordinary and gave me a generous tip. I wrote her and asked her to help me with my art. How many people had she asked to help her with her career I wondered? Of course I never heard from her.
I gave up massage before Sept. 11 but when the horrific tragedy happened I went down to the NYRHC where I am a member and massage people for free in the lobby of the building, quickie foot rubs for NYPD who I knew would be standing on their feet all day in very long shifts, many military and I did some compression massage on full clothed NYPD officers even thru their bullet proof vests or around them. One tried to tip me - I said no way.
I walked over to the WTC -- it was smoking -- just smoke and heat coming up -- I remember the workers shoes would melt -- they told me that. I remember people needed shoes and socks.
I remember massaging military and specialists -- one that was pulled off a horrific train wreck tragedy to come here.
I didn't do a lot of massage but I did enough -- there was a massage therapist actually sleeping at the club. I just did a few shifts.
I do want to be paid for my art work. I don't believe there is any hope for redemption for this guy, just high paid public relations people -- welcome to NYC. I didn't know he was a billionaire at the time but I wrote other NY billionaires asking for their help to get my art back or paid for and to confront him on behavior. Of course they didn't but I was happy to read one went in to business with him on a mag and lost money. Karma.
The iPhone has a new app "iPredator" and I am guessing you can locate a billionaire predator on this app. Here is NYC rich men rarely get busted and in fact someone like Woody Allen gets to marry the victim. If that wasn't so you would be able to locate Woody Allen on the iphone. Just the photos he took of his now wife, than "daughter" and left for Mia Farrow, in my opinion qualify him but lucky for Allen he did not travel to Palm Beach.
Karma.
Karma.
There are people from the last 2 years of my life -- that I wish karma more than I wish Epstein and it is obvious karma was served.
I know I will be healed when I don't feel anger anymore. When it doesn't register in my brain anymore. I know anger hurts the angry person more than anyone else.
Letting go is survival and moving on.
