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New about Black Jack knives I could not talk about til now :)

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Mike Turber

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Well folks you have asked all along what happened to Black Jack knives. I had the inside scoop for years but I could not report on it until official word came out in public. There is more to this story but this is the best I can do for now.

Stewart accused of bank fraud; former Effing resident was founder of Black Jack Knives
Jan 7 2000 12:00AM By By DONNA RILEY-GORDON Daily News

The founder of Black Jack Knives, which had facilities in Effingham and St. Elmo, appeared before a U.S. magistrate judge in federal court in East St. Louis Thursday on charges of bank fraud.
Michael Stewart, 51, of Gladstone, Mich., and a former resident of Effingham, was indicted by a federal grand jury for bank fraud on Dec. 15, according to a press release from W. Charles Grace, U.S. attorney for the southern district of Illinois.

The federal indictment charges Stewart with defrauding the Murphy Wall State Bank in Pinckneyville starting in May 1995. The indictment states that the bank lost $500,000 as a result of the alleged bank fraud scheme.

If convicted, Stewart faces up to 30 years imprisonment, a fine of not more than $1 million and a term of at least three years and not more than five years supervised release following incarceration.

An investigation, which resulted in Stewart’s indictment, was conducted by special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation assigned to the Bureau’s Effingham field office. The case has been assigned to Assistant U.S. State’s Attorney Robert L. Garrison for trial.

Stewart moved his company, founded in 1987, from Los Angeles to Effingham in 1991. In early 1995, St. Elmo city officials began talking about foreclosing on Black Jack Knives, which had fallen four months behind on its Community Development Assistance Program loan. At that time, St. Elmo Mayor John Spitler said late payments were a common occurrence.

Although Black Jack paid the amount owed to St. Elmo in one lump sum, money problems continued to plague the company until it closed its doors a few years later. Before the company completely shut down, employees were working without getting regular paychecks or received paychecks that bounced. Before long, Black Jack Knives had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Federal agents then raided the Effingham plant in the industrial park, but they would not confirm a raid had even taken place at the time or that an investigation was underway.
Click to expand...


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Best Regards,
Mike Turber
BladeForums Site Owner and Administrator
Do it! Do it right! Do it right NOW!
CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW RIGHT NOW! YOU WILL BE GLAD YOU DID!
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Imagine That!!

I am shocked !!
smile.gif


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+++++++++++++++++++++++++
"The most effective armor is to keep out of range"-Italian proverb
 
Geez.....and all they did was to try to stay afloat and keep us knife knuts happy.
Is there no justice ?
Seems there is.
wink.gif

Thanks, Mike



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BrianWE

If I am a figment of your imagination, stop it..PLEASE
 
Yeah, thanks Mike. I'll forward this to my dad. He has one of their Illinois DNR commemoratives.
 
I forgot to mention this.

A few of us in the industry know more to this story. Please do not post it. If it comes out in the court then fine but I do not want to have to delete a thread because somneone spilled more beans than was necessary.

I posted the above because it is news. BlackJack knives are often asked about, and what happened to them, and I have had to evade answering the question. Now that it is out in the open I have a bit more leeway.

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Best Regards,
Mike Turber
BladeForums Site Owner and Administrator
Do it! Do it right! Do it right NOW!
CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW RIGHT NOW! YOU WILL BE GLAD YOU DID!
www.bladeforums.com/ubb/Forum8/HTML/001202.html
 
When did the outlet store close its doors? I wandered into the place on a vacation. I thought that vacation was in the summer of 1996.
 
To paraphrase Group Captain Lionel Mandrake in Dr. Strangelove "strange really, they made such bloody good knives".

phantom4



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who dares, wins


 
Warning this is pure Speculation!!!

I would say that Federal Bank Fraud charges being filed probably indicates wrong doing on the part of management more than a company just not being successful.

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AKTI Member No. A000370
 
Bit of old news here. Course it is in my back yard more or less. heh The talk around Effingham is that this time they got enough that he can't slither out of it. I know several with 5 to 6 bad paychecks. I never could figure out why they stayed so long. Mike is rite there is lots more to the story.


Regards,

Tom Carey

[This message has been edited by Tom Carey (edited 02-04-2000).]
 
I called Marble Arms a couple days ago to request a catalog. I asked who was the head of their Cutlery Division and they said Mike Stewart. A few months ago I read in Knifeworld that he had gone to work for Marble's when Blackjack went under so I guess he is alive and well in Michigan.
 
First off, let me say that Mike Turber doesn't know anything about Blackjack Knives or Mike Stewart (and neither does Anthony Lombardo for that matter). I REALLY have first hand knowledge of the "goings' on" at BJK, and that article in the Effingham Daily News doesn't paint an accurate picture.

Mike Stewart was ALWAYS a straight shooter. The people who are guilty of commiting any type of fraud were the investors of Blackjack and the former controller. The controller (who will remain un-named for legal reasons) took it upon himself to pay his mortgage, truck payment and other personal expenses with the BJK checking account(s). As soon as Mike Stewart found out about this, he informed the bank.

Mike Stewart was the founder of BJK, but after its move to Effingham, IL in 1991 he was an employee. Sure, he had stock, but he was the president, not the sole owner. There was a board of directors, who voted on policy. The controller was hired AGAINST the wishes of Mike Stewart.

The controller could not be fired by MS, because the board of directors wanted him to stay. Why would they want him to stay? Because the controller was helping them channel their money out of Blackjack. On paper, however, it appeared as if they still had shares, even though the money that they invested had been channeled almost completely out.

Without this money, there was no more working capital. As you know, businesses without working capital can't pay their employees, nor can they pay their mortgages. Mike and his wife Lesley fought hard to keep BJK open and their employees paid. They depeleted their savings to pay payroll. In the end, it was just too much.

The Stewarts lost their home and had to see the company that they worked so hard to build, close. Many people say that they went out of business because they were not charging enough for their knives. The truth is that the knives were highly profitable.

Instead of everyone talking smack about Mike, why don't they write him at Marble Arms and tell him what a great knife maker he his. I would guess that most have you have rarely seen the craftsmanship that was apparant in the Blackjack Knives and is now apparant in the Marble's Knives.

Ask people like AG Russel and Jeff Loffer at the Cutlery Shoppe how hard he worked to make knives so that all of you could enjoy them. Ask Anthony Lombardo to keep his opinions to himself umtil he pays Mike Stewart the money he owes him.

All Mike did was provide good knives for his customers and and a better standard of living for his employees, including Anthony Lombardo.

Next time you pull out your Blackjack to admire it, realize that it's an American tragedy that someone could work so hard and lose it all by someone else's hand.

I welcome any email or responses by those who say they have the "inside story." Thanks for your ear.

NHB
 
Mike,

Why even bring dirty laundry up, especially when there have been no convictions on anything? Also, if you're going to tease folks with this sh** then by all means tell all.

I know nothing of the case but I don't see where this type of stuff has it's place on the forums, especially from the guy that's running the forums. Also, doesn't this belong in the Good Bad and Ugly if it's going to be here as all?

Just my 2 cents, and I sign my real name rather than hammer on you from the sfaety of anonymity.

Maybe there's more to the story on a personal level that we don't know about.

Jeff

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Randall's Adventure & Training
jeff@jungletraining.com

 
NHB,

How are things in Michigan?

First off, let me say that Mike Turber doesn't know anything about Blackjack Knives or Mike Stewart (and neither does Anthony Lombardo for that matter).
Click to expand...

How would you know what I know about Mike Stewart or BJK?

This is not the place for you to try and flame me. I report the news not make it.

The reason I posted above was already stated. Many have asked about Black Jack knives and I have had to bite my tongue. I did not reveal the "Inside Scoop", only what was in the news paper.

Here is the URL to the story. www.zwire.com/news/newsstory.cfm?newsid=39920&BRD=991&PAG=461&CATEGORYID=410

Are you claiming the above story is a falsehood? If so, who are you? And how do you come into this picture.

There are many people who are on this forum who have been affected by the actions of Mike Stewart. And yes I do know a lot about the past history of Black Jack knives and more importantly so do the many friends of mine who are here with me on this forum. I think you know who they are and what I am talking about, don't you?

This thread was not an attempt to hurt the name of Mike Stewart. It is knife related and it may be of interest to my readers here. If my members want me to move it to "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" I will.

It would be in your best interest to not troll my site. If you have something important to say you are free to do so. But to come in here and question my integrity in public without revealing who you are is not cool.

I have a good idea who you are. I think Anthony does too. You see that little box at the bottom right of each post? It is the one that says IP logged. That tells me pretty much all I need to know about you.

So if you wish you can call me or email me to see just how much I do know. For legal reasons I will not post the info here on the forum, but that is not to say that others won't.

BTW,
Anthony is out of town until Monday. I am sure when he gets back he may have more to say.

Have a nice day
wink.gif


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Best Regards,
Mike Turber
BladeForums Site Owner and Administrator
Do it! Do it right! Do it right NOW!
CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW RIGHT NOW! YOU WILL BE GLAD YOU DID!
www.bladeforums.com/ubb/Forum8/HTML/001202.html
 
Test, server hiccup

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Kevin Jon Schlossberg
SysOp and Administrator for BladeForums.com

Insert witty quip here
 
NHB
I disagree that Mike is a good ole boy. He asked me to design the Magnum Camp knife for a fee as well as the trail guides. This being all duly recorded on papers etc.I was looking forward to a royalty. He refused to pay. Numerous calls etc. Pleading etc. Anger etc. So, There will also be more to this story also when the story is finished according to the federal court where I appeared and Mike Stewart did not. Good knives. Lousy man. In case some of you are wondering if this will hurt my case. No. It has been issued. I like the knives and thought the designs were good. I know some of you are enjoying them. That is a good thing. Knives should be enjoyed. Compensation is also a good thing. I am not the only one. I can name you numerous people that experinced the same problems but cannot say as it may affect them. What goes around comes around.
 
Sounds like sour grapes. Was that a threat Mr. Turber?

quote- It would be in your best interest to not troll my site.

That's against the law, isn't it? Check my IP address now. I know that you think this is Mike Stewart. It's not. You'll know that when you check my IP address.

Mr. Jeff Randall, thank you for your comments. I really do appreciate that someone sees that there is two sides to every story.

Back to Mr. Turber(and Mr. Fisk). Mr. Fisk makes great knives, no question. I was there when Mike designed the Trailguide for Blackjack. I WATCHED him draw it out. Mr. Fisk is a great knifemaker, but he shouldn't steel credit for a design that's not his.

Mr. Turber should not sensationalize people's personal knives to make a buck. That's just plain unethical. If you want to talk man to man, email me your phone number, I will be pleased to call you to discuss business ethics. If you really had the inside scoop, I'd know you.

If you saw how Mike was living, YOU'D KNOW for sure that he didn't commit those crimes. There's no money in that household. None. Mike and Lesley live hand to mouth. All you're doing is causing destruction to his reputation which anybody who REALLY knows him, knows that he's a rock solid guy, with SOLID ethics.

I will reveal my identity at a later date. That's a promise. However, I also a have a reputation to protect. Thanks again for your ear.

NHB
 
It would be in your best interest to not troll my site.
Click to expand...

The above statement is not physical threat by any means. If you took it that way then I am sorry. It was more a warning to not troll my site. I own this site and I can warn people who give me the appearance of trolling. Read the rules you agreed to when you signed up.

I find it funny that you can make a bold statement that I do not know anything about Mike Stewart. It is apparent that you do not know me, sir. I know Mike Stewart through the many people he has effected over the years.

I do in fact know most of the story and most all of the gory details. You may want to enlighten me as to Mike's side of the story or you can leave it as is with the controller causing all of the problems. For your information the controller you speak of was there for a very limited time, so before you go any deeper on that defense you may want to build a better case. You may also want to look at some of the names of people who post here. If you in fact know the story you will quickly realize you are treading on thin ice here.

Again the above post was meant to inform my members.

Should I ever be indicted for fraud, you are welcome to post that story as well. A quick background check will reveal I have NO criminal record what so ever
smile.gif


I will now move this post to "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly". You can follow it there and post any defenses you wish.

I will also warn you and the members here to not personally attack you or Mike Stewart. However I will offer them leeway to present any issues which they feel are relevant.


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Best Regards,
Mike Turber
BladeForums Site Owner and Administrator
Do it! Do it right! Do it right NOW!
CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW RIGHT NOW! YOU WILL BE GLAD YOU DID!
www.bladeforums.com/ubb/Forum8/HTML/001202.html
 
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