New blog: Citibankblog. On or about 23 March 2009 Carlo Caramanna refused to honor a check for Derrick Gillenwater, and threatened to arrest him and others when presented with a copy of Your Style v. Mid Town Bank of Chicago, 501 N.E.2d 805 (1986). It should all be on bank video.
Anyway, this is one of the moments I've been waiting for since I conceived of it two years ago, getting Robert Taylor's Law enacted. The Senator's Office telephoned me to see what my thoughts were on a concession to raise the standard on reporting to make it a life or health issue only, to which I agreed. I don't really care if a landlord has a hole in a screen and the building is out of code on that.
I do care if the building has, for example, only one egress for someone like Robert Taylor, who died because of it. The Lorraine litigation, which was my brainchild, is pending a decision on Summary Judgment brought by both sides. One way or another, or both, Robert Taylor cannot die in vain:
Hey, Chris; S. 1813 will be having its hearing next Thursday, October 15, at 1:00 p.m. in Hearing Room A-1. Feel free to bring anyone you want to testify; I believe we’re sending a press release out in the next few days to let everyone else know.
Skip from the Small Property Owners’ Association, which is the relevant landlord lobby group, called today with some concerns about the bill. Some of them go to the heart of the bill and are things we wouldn’t consider changing, but I want to talk to you about one of the others, so if you can give me a call in the next couple of days to talk about it, I’d appreciate it.
Thanks,
Dan
Daniel Pawson Legislative Director Office of Senator Bruce E. Tarr
Y'all come in with whatever you've got: Well-reasoned insights or ad hominem diatribe, whatever it is that you think you need to say, tune in here with your wireless devices, iPhones, Blackberrys, PCs, Macs (my choice) and get it off your chest. Casey Sherman, veteran Franconia and Sugar Hill Officer Brad Whipple and I are doing just that as well, as you can see in the YouTube videos.
At 8:30 a.m. I will be discussing allegations of racism in banking and King v. Citibank, MCAD 09BPA02502. Read the MCAD Complaint here.
Meanwhile I'm busy getting the mysteriously-fragmented back seat mic audio analysed and getting the Bimmer ready to head over to NY wine country for the weekend for a quick fall vay-kay.
You have now probably been served with a copy of the Complaint.
You now have 21 days in which to respond on behalf of your client, Citibank.
You have a total of 25 extension days as well, but you shouldn't need those because you have the video tapes to show how inappropriately I was acting, as you boasted to my lawyer.
I've spoken with the folks at MCAD, and they too, look forward to receipt of any and all videos in which I appear. It will do you no good to produce a snippet or segment of one visit because they will ask for all of them. Get your red slippers out, click your heels and I'll see you in Court.
Your move, Counselor. I look forward to Citibank's position statement and explanation of why you denied me the right to open a bank account on 24 March, 2009. Of course, you're not worried. You've got video that substantiates your position, so I'm sure you'll be eager to share the video from all four (4) bank visits with MCAD.
Well whether you're eager to do it or not, you will.
See you soon.
Christopher King, J.D.
"White Privilege -- Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack" by Peggy McIntosh: 13. Whether I use checks, credit cards or cash, I can count on my skin color not to work against the appearance of financial reliability. 30. If I declare there is a racial issue at hand, or there isn't a racial issue at hand, my race will lend me more credibility for either position than a person of color will have. 5. I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed.
I'm filing with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) on Thursday, 24 September, 2009. Then you can produce for them the bank video and audio that you claim shows me to be acting in such a manner that would warrant your client refusing to open a bank account for me to cash Derrick Gillenwater's legal malpractice settlement check. And you can explain why you let my white girlfriend open such an account. And you can also furnish the other three (3) bank videos and audio including the express representations that your client would cash Mr. Gillenwater's check once he updated his state ID card.
And you can listen in online to Touch FM 106.1 at 8:30 a.m. on 8 October 2009 to listen to me discuss this case and urge a boycott of all of your client's banks.
In fact, you can tune in earlier -- at 8:00 that morning -- and listen to Boston Strangler Investigative writer Casey Sherman and me describe our respective attempts to put together the Truth about the Franconia NH shooting tragedy of 5/11 2007. Casey's book, "Bad Blood: Freedom and Death in the White Mountains" is published on 1 October 2009.
Touch FM does a lot of good things in the City of Boston, take a look.
Additionally we want to demonstrate to our youth that to be positively profiled in the media, you don’t have to be an athlete, rapper or entertainer….but there are other positive and rewarding skills that can be developed. Ethnic On-line will also become the “Ethnic Media” platform of choice for our many “corporate partners” for recruiting and retaining the best of the best of New England’s talented professionals along with the many products and services they have to offer.
I told you about this last week during my ride to visit my sister and family in Connecticut. As I said in the profile:
“Surround yourself with brilliant and dedicated people and believe in your dreams… because there are no guarantees in life but if you manage to keep on doing what you love, you have succeeded.”
Citibank racist 911 transcriptKingCast seeks beer summit with 911 dispatcher to explain the facts that Citibank left out: The Citibank 911 transcript and my new racket came in this weekend, a Wilson Surge to replace the defective Wilson K Pro Tour that cracked. That's a responsible corporation, living up to its word on customer service. Citibank is anything but that, having even refused my request to open an account, then claiming that it was okay for them to threaten to arrest me and not cash a legal malpractice settlement check I would have deposited into my account for Derrick Gillenwater.
First of all a minor apology to Attorney Velella, as his letter claiming I swore prior to a 911 call is only partially incorrect -- it is however, entirely misleading:
The transcript I received (which will be scanned and linked by Monday -- in which Citibank convinces the dispatcher that our conduct was "outrageous") does not reflect the FIRST call to 911 that was made before our eyes at the teller window. Perhaps they did not connect with 911 but the threat of arrest was made at that time, even as I was asking the bank manager Carlo Carmanna to open an account in my name. He refused me for no lawful reason. I was fully qualified to open an account and cash Mr. Gillenwater’s check if the bank was going to refuse to cash it for a non-customer, which is questionable in the first instance because he was a Holder in Due Course with an instrument drawn on their bank.
Therefore, it was THAT call, plus the fact that the bank was: a) reneging on its specific promise to pay the check once a new State Identification Card and birth certificate was provided as requested; b) refusing to allow me to open a bank account even though I was most definitely qualified to open one, and even though they had opened an account for my Caucasian girlfriend., a violation of 42 U.S.C. 1981; c) threatening to arrest me after I showed them the law of Your Style v. Mid Town Bank of Chicago, 501 N.E.2d 805 (1986).
Those facts did indeed cause me to call Carlo Caramanna a “Motherfucker,” but only AFTER he had dialed 911 and threatened to have us arrested.
It must be noted that given those circumstances there was nothing “outrageous” about us trying to cash the check that was drawn on Citibank. The dispatcher did not even ask that question and was playing lawyer making legal conclusions – based on the erroneous and incomplete representations issued by Citibank.
Let's be clear: I’m not blaming the 911 dispatcher, just offering to take him or her out to lunch and discuss what happened here -- although I'm certain the pigs at Citibank will try to say that I bought another racket to use it to threaten them or beat them up, you know that's how African-American men are. Dumb and Violent.
PS: It is pretty interesting that they description from the bank was all about “two African-american males,” and the female’s race was not even mentioned. They didn’t even get her hair colour right – it’s screaming red, not black – like Derrick and me.
The mission of the Union of Minority Neighborhoods is to ensure that skilled, committed, grassroots leaders of color, effectively organize on issues of concern in their communities, regions and nation. Based in Boston, we bring our mission to life by:
Organizing Developing new leaders Building broad-based coalition Our programs are constituent driven. Activists develop skills and then put these skills into practice by organizing on the issues that affect them.
Our goal is full civic engagement of people of color: no more second class citizenship, no more being a political afterthought, no more ineffective Black political leadership, no more needing well-meaning people speaking on our behalf.
Citibank, what a bunch of jerks.
