Hall Of Shame:
Dead Beat Paying Party Boat Captains:
This is what it has come down
to...trying to embarrass people to pay their bills. These are not captains
on hard times mind you...but those with nice boats or business advertising
in other places (we don't care) and in the case of the Bottom Line they went
and bought a BIGGER boat...so money is not an issue...their attitude is. It has become epidemic in nature with some party and
charter boat captains....they feel they don't have to pay for services
rendered. Imagine you stepping on their boat and deciding not to pay for the
trip?? Now have to
resort to
listing the Dead Beat Party Boat Captains that do not want to
pay their bills. Several of these captains I have carried for a year, two or
more at times letting them run tabs from $2 to $3k
because the business had been hurting,
bad weather, they had engine
problems or the like. I have done my absolute best to promote these
boats to the best of our ability and you folks know that as well. Well life
is a two way street and it's time to pay the piper. I am starting this list
to let you folks know who these dead beats are to help us inform the public.
If they are deadbeats to me even in our position of
having the "power of the pen," they more than likely
could be stiffing your folks on
time, bait, fishing time, or in general...their services.
Since we started this
list...one captain paid in full within 72 hours and has been removed from
this list! Everyone listed here is still a deadbeat!
Island Current:
It is with GREAT
disappointment and total surprise we add the ISLAND CURRENT of City
Island, NY to our Dead Beat list for the 2009 season. I have been friends
and business associates with the Island Current for four years I think it is
and have attended BBQ’s at his home and traded a fishing trip for you folks
in exchange for a few months of banners as well when I came off the shoulder
surgery in 2007. After agreeing to the 2009
minimal contract in Nov./Dec. of 2008, Capt. Chris Cullen breached his
contract and actually planned all along to use The Fishing Line booth and
his seminars at the NY Boat Show while never planning to fulfill his agreed
upon contractual duties for 2009. The scenario….
Capt. Chris of
the Island Current was invited as he has been in the past to be paid for
seminars at the NY Boat Show just this past December 13-21, 2008 and to work
from The Fishing Line booth promoting and gaining charters and recognition.
Capt. Chris was cut one or two seminars from 2008’s January Boat Show
because we added some new speakers and because as
a teacher in one of Westchester’s best schools, and with the boat show not
during the holidays, we knew it would be difficult for Chris to make the
show’s scheduled hours. We did out best to accommodate Chris’ schedules and
he did The Fishing Line booth every day except one scheduled day off and the
snow storm caused him to miss a day and not do a scheduled seminar, but yes
he was paid for it just the same in good faith.
During the boat
show Capt. Chris was presented with the same minimal contract he has had for
3 or 4 years with The Fishing Line. However this year he wanted to change
from radio ads to banners on the TFL.com site instead. No problem I said,
nor did I realize at this time he was not going to advertise anyway…more on
that later. Chris continued to do his scheduled duties at boat show without
having to pay for a booth ($1,400), his seminars, was paid in full despite
missing a seminar and coming and going as he pleased contrary to the agreed
upon times he was scheduled for the booth. In the mean time every other
captain that worked the booth signed their 2009 contracts while there at the
boat show.
Also during the
show we discovered Chris was without permission, taking other captains
materials to give to his students as gifts, and during this time he was
planning on taking 16 hats ($8 each) from the box of hats given to us by our
sponsor to give away to you folks…till I caught him in the act in our booth
as he was readying to leave. It was at that time he basically demanded I
give him something so he left with 32 floating key chains. He just couldn’t
understand that The Fishing Line booth and other people’s property is not
his personal store and playground for his students and TFL booth is a place
of business. Other captains in the booth also noticed this change in Chris
Cullen.
It wasn’t till
today, January 29 he informed us by E mail he was not going to advertise. He
is trying to play a game of semantics by saying the December 2008 NY Boat
Show fell under his 2008 contract, despite our detailed conversations and
agreement in November and the understanding by both of us and all my other
captains the change in dates to put the NY Boat show in December causing
both shows to be in the 2008 calendar was for all intents and purposes under
the guidelines of the 2009 contracts and the monies paid to Chris in 2008
covered 50% of his contract as well.
The Island
Current is not advertising because of the economy or fish reg’s, but only
because the Island Current planned all along to use TFL booth to his
business’ advantage then not fulfill his agreed upon
obligations. He was then dictating to us how his banner prices should
be lower and cheaper for him than other captains and we at TFL were not
going to accommodate his whiny antics or childish behavior. So it is with
regret and great surprise the Island Current ends up on our Dead Beat list
and we here at TFL are
certainly NOT endorsing this City Island boat, but instead
recommend our fans and viewers fish on the larger and more comfortable
Riptide 3.
Bottom Line Charters:
Latest Update of August 4, 2008:
Hall of Shame Entry #1: the
Bottom Line
Charter Boat in Freeport. Capt. Nick Montello is the captain an
owner. This is a special case because Nick was a personal friend of mine,
did the booths at the outdoor shows with me, attended my wedding, we went to
New Year's and Christmas' at his home...I got him a couple of write up's in
Newsday and he did several TV shows with us over the years! Out of the blue
he stops taking phone calls, has his boat taken and towed away, goes AWOL
and owes over $2,300 but buys another boat and continues to advertise
everywhere else. Hall of Shame in a BIG way!
MORE NEWS FROM THE BOTTOM LINE
DEADBEAT...FROM SOMEONE ELSE HE SCREWED OVER...READ ON
Hi Rich,
My name is Jamie Snediker and I am 34, worked a few of the head boats in
Freeport since I was 17. Most recent was the Miss Freeport V and the Bottom
Line. I met Nick when his regular mate couldn't work a tuna trip to the
Canyon. That trip and many others went well. One night I worked a blue fish
trip with him followed by a canyon trip on the Spray. Half delirious and
half serious, I shared with him my dream to purchase a head boat and bring
it to Freeport. Nick immediately started the search for a boat expressing
his desire to "go halfsies" with me. Two trips to Texas and two trips to
Port Canaveral I found my boat. A 1979 65' Gilikin. The owner took us out to
dinner to sign the paperwork.
At $100,000 I didn't think
Nick would have any problem coming up with his half. Well, as you can
imagine where this is going, at the signing table he tells me he needs more
time. I was able to beg, borrow and practically steal to get the rest of the
funding in 5 hrs. No shame in Nick’s game.....
By the
end of dinner, the owner mentioned the business he had in Key West. Being
sick of NY and knowing I could never compete with
Freeport boats, I took a huge risk. Flew to
KW, fell in love and moved. Nick made promise after promise that he would
come up with either his half of the boat or $25,000 to purchase the business
in 6 months. Knowing after the first deal with him, that he was incapable of
telling the truth and coming up with a red cent, I purchased the business
also, without him.
Flash to October 2007. I
found a house in KW to rent. Nick was to come up with 3000 for security and
first months rent. We laid out 12000 to move in. His rent was 950 a month
plus utilities. He arrived in late November with no money, a suitcase and
continued to tell me the 25,000 was almost available.
I'm no fool, I knew he was
broke, I know about the repo'd car and boat I just needed a captain down
here and was having serious trouble being the new kid in town finding one.
So I was using him more than he thought. Anyway, I also knew he never
intended to stay in KW past March 31. He swore he was here forever, yet he
bounced 3 rent checks and refused to pay utilities.
Did I mention the Hooker
he called and refused to pay!?
I fired him, held his pay
for 2 weeks and threw him out of my house. Somehow he still feels I owe him
money. Fortunately my dreams came true because of his line of bullshit, but
none the less, he is a scum bag leech! I can provide you with hours of Nick
stories if you care to hear them. I have two mates from Freeport visiting me
now. One has given me a few ideas as to what happened to him over the yrs. I
saw that you two used to be friends. Which pasted some of the mystery
together for me.
NEW ADDITION OT OUR LIST:
B
FAST CHARTERS of MA: Well folks, we have a new addition to
our Deadbeat Payers list. It is Capt. Mike Bartlett of the B Fast Charter
Boat in Green Harbor, MA. Here is how the story goes….Capt. Mike and B Fast
had been a loyal supporter of TFL for a several years running and we allowed
Mike the courtesy of posting reports and appearing on our radio shows
numerous, numerous times. We also allowed Mike to spout off on this
fisheries management knowledge for the MA and New England region and even
gave him the open airwaves of TFL radio show at ALL the expos and boat shows
we attended together…even going so far as to allow Mike to announce he was
running for the NE Fisheries Board seat that was open (can’t remember which
one).
Well anyway several years running I would arrange for Capt. Mike and B Fast
to come to the NY Boat show and work out of TFL booth, also to speak and get
paid as a
featured seminar speaker at the NY Boat Show, pay his travel expenses and
put him up in a hotel in NYC while he was here. Basically all he had to do
was buy his own food and book many charters out of our booth which he
graciously did. Any way I would even allow Mike to pay off the previous
year’s balance of $1,800 the following year at the NY Boat Show when I saw
him. He would run up large balances two years running but I never pressured
Mike for money because one year his dad died and the next he lost a brother
I think it was.
Well a year or two later I asked Mike several times to pay off his balance
at the time of $920 during that calendar year so I could close my books. Now
mind you Mike is a COLLEGE PROFESSOR making six figures and his wife is also
very well paid at her job. he also runs charters on lobster boats in MA for
the winter cod, also does fly fishIng charters himself all summer and fall
and has a hunting guide service for upland bird hunting as well as buying a
brand new second home in NH....HE HAS THE
MONEY!!! He hemmed and hawed and never got it done for whatever reason so I
did not invite Mike to speak at the January’s NY Boat Show. I did him favors
and he could not return this one simple request?
Well you guessed it…because I would not bring him to NY to speak because he
did not clear his balance …he
just refused to pay his measly $920. It is now four years later and his
balance is down to $420…that’s right a college professor making six figures
can only pay TFL $100 per YEAR toward his balance in a callous show of his
arrogance. TFL makes a living selling advertising to provide the services we
do. If advertisers don’t pay….we can’t provide those services…period! So
Mike Bartlett and B Fast Charters are being boycotted by The Fishing Line
and hopefully all our readers and web visitors and is now being added to the
Deadbeat Payers list as a Deadbeat Supreme after four years of us sending
invoices. Welcome aboard Capt. Mike.
Hall of Shame Entry #4 is: Oakdale Bait and Tackle/Hydro Therapy
Charters with Mike Cirovolo owner/operator. Mike was a great guy
and is the paraplegic we did that wonderful show with on his charter boat
Hydro-Therapy with Peter Hawkins the marathon wheelchair. We sent these
tapes to Oprah, got Mike and his boat written about in Newsday. We donated
money to his quadriplegic charity and bought auction items at these events.
In turn Mike stops paying, owes the Oakdale Yacht club and myself money, has
opened South Shore tackle out his garage in his beautiful Oakdale home and
never returns calls, invoices and wouldn't see me when I rang his door bell
one day...and did nothing with the invoice I handed his assistant at the
door when he refused to see me.
UPDATE! No news from
this one...although he still sells tackle out of his garage
