Blackjack Knives

I decided this issue was too intense for me to post only part of the history I had with Blackjack. I meant every word I said, but I can't cover all the issues and I can't seem to express my true feelings.


Dennis




[This message has been edited by D. Rochkes (edited 01-16-2001).]
 
I decided to delete most of my posts in this topic as it has turned in to mudslinging - and I won't participate, anymore. Have a good year, everyone.

Jason Stewart

[This message has been edited by Jason M. Stewart (edited 01-16-2001).]
 
Nice retort Jason.

How many more people need to testify against Mike on this thread to shut you up?

Jason, as you know I actually offered to pay for the knife I recieved for your father.

All I want in return is Mike's:

SS#
Driver's License number
Place of birth
Birth name

I would like to know who I am paying.

Oh, say hi to your uncle Mark for me too.Maybe he can chime in and recount some of his and your dad's secret work with the CIA, KGB, OSS, NSA, or whatever secret association they can think of next. Did they smoke the same weed as Frank Dux?

If Mike would like to sue me for slander he knows where I live, but I am sure he has more pressing commitments at the moment.

Ande I did have a lot of problems selling Classic blades, especially since after the first 6 months, I was rarely paid for doing so. That was certainly hand-to-mouth.

If we want the truth,I guess we will have to read it in the court transcription.........

HI MIKEY< I AM SURE YOU ARE READING THIS!
This is my last post on this subject...If anyone would like more information, please email me directly.

------------------
"The most effective armor is to keep out of range"-Italian proverb
 
I decided to delete most of my posts in this topic as it has turned in to mudslinging - and I won't participate, anymore. Have a good year, everyone.
Jason Stewart



[This message has been edited by Jason M. Stewart (edited 01-16-2001).]
 
I decided to edit this message due to the fact that one of my friends, Bob Cargill, was discussed in this matter. I participated in the discussion without his knowledge. Bob is a respectable man and I would like to leave it that way.

Dennis Rochkes

[This message has been edited by D. Rochkes (edited 01-16-2001).]
 
Dennis -You are a gentleman, as always. I always found you to be friendly and honest, as well. The maternity issue I refer to was perhaps never divulged to you by these people and yes, it did happen after you left. I know for a fact you know the people, though, as you worked along side one of them in St. Elmo - but that they may have not told you because it was a pretty dishonest thing to do. It was at the very end of Blackjack's life.

Thank you for being straight forward. I'll be at some industry shows in the future, sometime. I hope I see you at one of them.

To those of you who don't know Dennis, he's probably one of the most genuine people you'll meet - not to mention one of the hardest workers. I'm glad to see you haven't changed, Dennis.

Jason
 
Jason,
Thanks for the kind words. I hope that all people realize here that all of us determine our own reputaions. Everything we all have done as an adult is what constitutes our reputation. Or at least I hope that people only consider what I have done as an adult. If any of you go back to my childhood, especially my teenage years, my name is MUD. No matter how much someone lies, the truth comes out sooner or later. That is the way it is. You can run and dodge reality for awhile. Some people are more sucessful at it than others, but in the end we are all seen for what we are.
I am not defending Mike Stewart here. I am only relaying some of my personal experiences with him and Blackjack. Anyone that wishes to defend or attack him is free to do so. There is one rule I try to live by that would be great if everyone did the same. I don't say anything about anyone unless I am prepared to say it to his face. What I mean by that is simple. If you are ready to stand face to face and blast me, then take your best shot here or anywhere else. I like to give that same courtesy to all of my friends or foes.
 
There is an awful lot of crying on this thread. There should be a parental control limiting little children from posting their childish little whining in this public place.

Anthony, I am surprised at you. You are supposed to be a credible source of information in the Knife business. You sound ridiculous. What are you doing these days? Aren’t you selling Insurance or something?

Tom, did I read your post right? Are you begging for money, or just showing off your lack of schooling? You and Anthony should enroll in school together.

Dennis, it's good to see that you are doing well.

In case I need to let any of you know who I am, I was an employee of BJK, Ltd until I couldn't afford to work there anymore. I left because I was completely out of money. I was owed a lot more in proportion to my resources at the time. I never saw any of that money that I had earned or had due to me at the end. In case your keen sense of observation has failed you, I am not crying about it or making up fantasy facts about those "responsible". I was very young in my business career when this happened and I was very hurt when I saw all of my hard work thrown away by those that were ready to see the President of the company go down with the ship go down for their actions. As you can see, this unfortunate turn of events has left everyone bitter and there is nothing that any of us can do now to turn back the clock. I suggest that anyone that has a beef with Mike call him and talk to him to straighten it out. If you are not willing to do the reasonable thing then stop inflicting your stupid whining on the rest of us.

Jason, I hope you are doing well in your new endeavors and if you don’t mind, please tell your family I said “hello”.

My only motivation for writing this is that I enjoyed my time in the Knife industry and I hope to provide a credible source for any of you that are looking for the facts. You can email me directly at andrewnbrown@aol.com if you have any facts that you would like to clear up.

Andy Brown
 
Andy:

Lack of schooling? I hope trying to insult me makes you feel better about yourself.

I'm sure you can be proud of the fact that you've found inner peace and forgiveness even though it sounds like you lost a lot in the process as well.

Unfortunately I've never achieved "closure" on this affair... I never got an explanation of what happened, never an apology, never any amends at all of any kind for what was done. All I got was a bunch of lies and cover-ups. And your sniping little attacks are apparently intended to make me back off in sniveling terror.

I'll back off when I see a formal explanation and apology, from Mike Stewart, in this or another public forum. And I'd like it to be the truth this time. Is it too much to ask?

Tom
 
As a rule the lawyers for the parties involved in a trial don't allow their clients to make public statements about the issues being litigated until the trial is over. They would probably consider a post on the net more or less equivalent to issuing a press release to the media.

-Cougar :{)
 
Jason,

Is it wrong not to like liars?
Face it, your father is one of the worst in the business when it comes to telling the truth. He lies. He has a problem telling the truth. Some of the stories were actually hilarious, while others were obvious attempts to hold on to a compnay that was fading fast.

The story about Mike and Tony Caravello jumping out of a burning helicopter was my favorite, followed closely by Mark parachuting into Vietnam armed only with a short sword and a miniture German shepard strapped to his back. (really, I am not making this one up)

Since leaving Blackjack, my credibility has never been questioned,investigated, or "looked in to", while Mike's has been for the last 15 years. I have nothing to hide. My last email to you regarding the knife I recieved from Mike clearly stated to send his home address and I would send a check, period. I believe it was for $150.

Lets not even talk about Reeve, Pacific Cutlery,California Blackjack, Condor, Cryo-Max, either. I guess none of that actually happened either...??!!??

Andy,

The story I heard was that you left with a bunch of knives the day after the FBI walked in the door. I am sure that is not the truth, but thats what we were told.

Aren't you selling army-navy surplus?

Actually for five years I have been involved in the biotechnology field. I have never sold insurance. I went to work for BJK because I liked knives and wanted to work in the outdoor industry. period. It certainly wasn't for the mediocre pay, zero benefits, and fraud that I experienced working for Mark and Mike. It also wasn't for the multitude of bad checks either. I know one employee with over 40 rubber paychecks from BJK. I know others that used their personal credit cards to buy components, pay company bills, and other things at the request of Mike/Mark and never recieved that money back.

I had a great corporate job with excellent benefits that I left for a job with a company that was built on lies, deceit, and misinformation. None of the promises came true. It was a learning lesson for me. I learned.

I don't want any more honest people to make the same mistake.

Since you guys (Andy, Jason)are best friends, I am not surprised to see you both here defending Mike and his practices. Is there anyone else out there who would like to chime in?

Oh, Jason how can you tell which Classic Blades were 1095 or 0170-6? That was a nice piece of marketing fraud.....was it dad's idea?

I really didn't lose much from the demise of
Blackjack, but I know many people who lost thousands of dollars that was unpaid to them either for design work or labor.

It is very simple to come on this forum and say anything about anyone. If you think thats whining, that is your perogative.

Instead of attacking others, you should do a better job of defending Mike and getting your facts straight would be a good place to start. Mike wasn't simply an employee of BJK, he was President and CEO. But I guess folks with that job title aren't held accountable in the USA anymore??!!

Besides, this thread was started by Tom Maringer because he was never paid a substantial royalty, are you saying that he is whining?

The only person that is whining here is you.
You are starting to sound like a broken record.


------------------
"The most effective armor is to keep out of range"-Italian proverb
 
I believe that Tom and I have made our peace. Give it a rest, now, please. It is obvious that no matter what truths I tell, they will be twisted around - so this is all futile.

Regardless of these rumors, my dad does have a strong moral fiber, does charity work, teaches children the shooting sports for free, teaches hunter safety for free, has two highly successful adult children and two adolescent children on the same path. All of which have respect for others and strong ethics - something that was taught to us by our father.

I have refrained from posting certain business facts of other people involved in this forum because it is not socially appropriate to do so. Instead of being looked at as a respectful person, however, it is viewed as cowardice when I don't write of these things. I will no longer participate in this forum. I'm sure I'll see many of you in court proceedings for BJK and you can mince words with me, then. Till then, everyone take care.

Jason


[This message has been edited by Jason M. Stewart (edited 01-16-2001).]
 
Someone should write a novel about this thread. In the ending, I hope it tells us if Tom Maringer is owed any $?
 
Well, if that novel were written, we'd have to agree on what "owe" means. I think it's pretty clear I didn't receive what was "owed" me at the time. But legal bankruptcy revises who's owed what, according to the law. I wouldn't mind reading the ending of that one myself.

Tom
 
I knew some of these names...the moment I started reading...
Hey Jason...this is Tony Caravello...the "little one"

What took me as odd is: something about my dad and Mike jumping out of a "burning chopper" LOL That is funny! I have never heard of that story before...and I am sure my dad would have told me about that!

I remember "when Mike talked my dad into coming down there..." Mike promised my dad the world! As he did many others!

I would hope that to you "ex-employees of Blackjack" that while it was/is a known fact that while my dad has a "known" temper...he was straight forward with the employees. I know for certain that MANY of the investors didn't hold him responsible for Mike's "probable" shifty actions. I have and will hold a grudge against Mike...till the day I die for what happened there!

BY the way: Ask Mike if he is ready to return my dad's 501lb Russian Wild Boar Head that my dad shot! OR whatever happened to Jodi Samson's sword...that magically was taken from my dad's office!
The advantage of being younger during that time, is that I saw things from an open mind. I saw my dad coming home and working at night on WORK related issues that he tried to fix...meanwhile others where out dining and screwing around. Amazing that the people who worked the hardest got screwed the most out of the deal!
 
Hmm. I don't think Jason will be responding. He claimed he wouldn't come back 9 years ago, and I think he made good on that claim.
 
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