Derrick Gillenwater and Frederick Douglass tell Citibank: "We will not be silenced."

Not only will we not be silenced, we will contact counsel for Mr. Gillenwater this weekend if we do not get a substantive response from Citibank counsel today. And when they come, they are going to be pissed.

Citibank still as racist as it was in 1997, with racist jokes and wrongful dishonor of checks for black man Derrick Gillenwater.

First read this post and its links to see what kind of racist games the Boston Citibank branches are playing, refusing to honor checks and threatening arrest for a holder in due course and his friends!

Then read this story:

"White vice presidents and lower-level employes of Citibank sent racist jokes throughout the megabank's interoffice E-mail, according to a lawsuit filed by enraged black workers.

The E-mail [contains] a series of spoofs on the black speech patterns known as Ebonics started at the bank's Wall Street offices and wound up at offices around New York and as far south as Florida.

Citibank acknowledged that the E-mail incident occurred last month and that three employes and one former employee have been investigated. One of the three current workers is expected to be fired, said Citicorp spokesman Jack Morris."

*********

Ebonics this you racist pigs: We be 'bout to sue y'all motha'fuckin' Al Jolson asses.

At least Al Jolson actually fought racism.

The Citibank racist game: If you're white you're right, if you're black, stay back.

Read here to see Your Style v. Mid Town Bank of Chicago, 150 Ill. App. 3d 421, 427-28, 501 N.E.2d 805 (1986) and to see how bank manager Carlo Caramanna at the Washington Street Branch (above) threatened to arrest a holder in due course and his friends, all of which happened after another racist pig manager at the Chinatown branch (above, top) promised to cash the same check after Derrick Gillenwater updated his State I.D.

Said manager reneged on that promise and was conveniently unavailable when Mr. Gillenwater returned to cash the first of two legal malpractice settlement checks. So then Mr. Gillenwater went on down to the racist Citibank branch in the South End/Back Bay where he and his friends were threatened with arrest, we are ordering the bullshit 911 call from Boston PD now and will obtain ALL of the bank video pursuant to Discovery.

Neither branch showed Mr. Gillenwater any policies in writing, just pretty much the feeling that "get the hell out of here you nigger" was The Deal.

Well we've got a Deal for them. It's called a LAWSUIT.

Oh, brother, Citibank's initial position is "no problem, the check was honored the next day...."

Mr. Gillenwater informs that Citibank told him that Christine Duncan(?) at 617.351.0124 actually told him that it wasn't a big deal because the check was honored the next day.

Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn about what happened the next day.

It's all about what happened the first day when Carlo Caramanna refused to honor a valid check to a holder in due course, while threatening an unlawful arrest to that holder and his friends.

And actually that wasn't the first day either, as will be explained IN THE LITIGATION.

UPDATE 12:45pm -- Nice return phone call from Ms. Duncan, forwarded email contact Benjamin Velella, Esq. benjamin.velella@citi.com phone 718.248.1740.

Here then, is my email to Attorney Velella:

Dear Attorney Velella:

I am certain you are familiar with this unfortunate situation.

One other time someone threatened me with arrest they paid me $35,000.00.

If you wish to dispose of this case right now (i.e. this week) we will settle it for $15,000.00, otherwise we will ramp up and do what we need to do. If we have to hire counsel it will only go up from there, and I feel confident in our chances in defeating your Motion for Summary Judgment, which will be met with our own Motion for Summary Judgment.

Please advise,

Boston Bob.

PS:

Dear Attorney Velella:

Don't forget the express representation from your Chinatown branch that they would honor the check when Mr. Gillenwater got his new State I.D. card.

They then reneged on that promise, all of which should be stored in your video vault.

BB

Derrick Gillenwater to sue Carlo Caramanna and Citibank for racist refusal to honor his check; threaten him with arrest.

I got a report back that Citi Bank refused to cash Derrick Gillenwater's settlement check for his legal malpractice case against a prominent Boston Attorney. As I understand it, he had tried and they told him his ID was expired and they would cash it when he got a replacement. He got a replacement but now two different branches gave him the runaround and THREATENED TO ARREST HIM!!!

This strikes me as a wrongful dishonor situation so I'll publish the names of those involved for public awareness.
UPDATE: Washington Street Branch manager is Carlo Caramanna and the District Manager is Tim Sullivan.
UPDATE: It is a wrongful dishonor per Your Style v. Mid Town Bank of Chicago, 150 Ill. App. 3d 421, 427-28, 501 N.E.2d 805 (1986) as noted in this Indiana government website and in this Bankers Online article, "Cashing Checks for non-customers."

Meanwhile a quick search on racial discrimination yields this interesting lawsuit against Citibank by none other than Barack H. Obama, alleging that the bank was disparately treating minorities in lending.

Apparently they never learn, so they'll have to be taught again and were gonna' teach it to them REAL GOOD.