In other posts on this blog*, I have detailed how Patrick Byrne (CEO of Overstock.com) uses his Director of Communications, Judd Bagley, to carry out his personal vendettas against critics and journalists on the antisocialmedia.net smear web site administered by Bagley. I detailed how Patrick Byrne attempts to build a wall of separation between him and Judd Bagley’s activities on the antisocialmedia.net.
*Note:
Don't Mess with Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne
The Deceptions of Patrick Byrne (CEO of Overstock.com) and Judd Bagley (Director of Social Media at Overstock.com)
Issues related to Overstock.com's Code of Business Conduct and Ethics
Judd Bagley seems to believe he is running a no holds barred political campaign to further Patrick Byrne’s interests. It appears that Patrick Byrne does not care about his obligations to abide by Overstock.com’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics. He refuses to reign in his henchman, Judd Bagley and endorses his actions. The Audit Committee of Overstock.com which includes Allison H. Abraham, Clay Corbus, and now Joseph J. Tabacco Jr. must make serious choices and fulfill their legal obligations as Board members.
As outlined in a my blog post entitled, “Open Letter to the Audit Committee of Overstock.com: The Company’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and actions of Patrick Byrne and others,” any further inaction by Overstock.com's Board of Directors may be considered a tacit approval of Patrick Byrne’s and Judd Bagley’s activities. Such a tacit approval may require disclosure as an “implicit waiver” from Overstock.com's Code of Business Conduct and Ethics. Implicit waivers to the company’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics must be disclosed to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Form 8–K. I have put the Board of Directors of Overstock.com on notice as to possible serious breaches of Overstock.com's Code of Business Ethics.
Judd Bagley uses a proxy to carry out Patrick Byrne's smear campaign
In this blog post, I will detail how Judd Bagley uses Edward Manfredonia as a proxy to intimidate critics of Patrick Byrne with vile and malicious smears and anti-Semitism. Like Judd Bagley does Patrick Byrne's dirty work, it appears that Judd Bagley has found Edward Manfredonia to do his dirty work.
Patrick Byrne, Judd Bagley, and Edward Manfredonia share the same paranoid fantasies, delusions, and repulsive anti-Semitism. In addition, they share the same irrational hatred of investigative reporter and blogger Gary Weiss.
Judd Bagley controls what comments get posted to blog items on antisocialmedia.net
The purpose of antisocialmedia.net is to carry out a smear campaign against critics of Overstock.com's CEO, Patrick Byrne. Antisocialmedia.net is not a free flowing forum of ideas which includes all appropriate opinions pro or con to Patrick Byrne. Judd Bagley can pick and choose which person's comments to publish or delete from antisocialmedia.net to further the agenda of Patrick Byrne.
For example, on December 5, 2006, in a post (message number 2653) on InvestorVillage.com (since deleted by Investor Village, but re-created on the O-Smear blog), Judd Bagley using his old alias AntiSocialMedia wrote a response to a post (message number 2653) by Scipio Africanus:
And for a brief moment I thought you really were defending Weiss out of some sort of principle. Now I see you're just another one of the barely-unemployable paid bashers, waiting for the next gig. And that's fine, now that we know you have nothing of any value to contribute here, we can safely ignore you, which is what I strongly encourage this board's sincere readers to do.
I'm also now reminded of the reasons you were banned from commenting on antisocialmedia.net the first time, and happily reinstate that ban. As was said before, as long as you're on the payroll, you can afford to go start your own blog and ban all of us. [ Emphasis added.]
Judd Bagley permits paranoid fantasies, false accusations, physical threats, and anti-Semitic comments directed at critics of his boss, Patrick Byrne, to be posted on antisocialmedia.net
In my previous blog post entitled, “Open Letter to the Audit Committee of Overstock.com: About how Patrick Byrne’s vindictive smear campaign uses threats and anti-Semitism,” I notified the Audit Committee about the use of anti-Semitic comments on antisocialmedia.net.
In another blog post entitled, "Memo to Judd Bagley: Director of Communications at Overstock.com - About Threats on AntiSocialMedia.net," I showed that Judd Bagley permits malicious threats of economic harm and physical violence to be leveled at Gary Weiss.
Judd Bagley's posted a response to my criticism on antisocialmedia.net which was filled with deception, innuendo, deflection, insensitivity, and arrogance.
We have to wonder who Judd Bagley is trying to fool. We have to wonder if Patrick Byrne really believes he can fool us, too.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend
Patrick Byrne's likes to describe his so-called activities against naked shorting as a "Jihad." There is an Arabian saying, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."
One particular target of Patrick Byrne’s vendetta against journalists and critics has been investigative reporter and blogger, Gary Weiss. Mr. Weiss has been exposing the unethical conduct, vile and malicious smears, and possible securities law violations by Patrick Byrne and Judd Bagley.
Patrick Byrne and Judd Bagley clearly consider Gary Weiss as an enemy. Patrick Byrne has called Gary Weiss, "evil." Judd Bagley once wrote, "Weiss is evil. I'll stand by that. More than evil, he's soul-less evil.” Edward Manfredonia has said that, "Weiss is evil made flesh." Judd Bagley has apparently found an enemy of Gary Weiss that he considers being a friend of his. The enemy of Gary Weiss and apparent friend of Judd Bagley is Edward Manfredonia.
Edward Manfredonia’s vile and irrational hatred of Gary Weiss and everyone he believes is some how connected to him
For Judd Bagley, Edward Manfredonia seems to be the perfect proxy to wage his war on certain critics. In many ways, Edward Manfredonia's irrational and twisted thoughts are compatible with the views of Judd Bagley' boss, Patrick Byrne.
If you read Edward Manfredonia’s web site, his posted comments on internet message boards (many now deleted), and his posted comments on other blogs you can see his vile and irrational hatred of anything to do with Gary Weiss and with many of those persons he considers connected in some remote way with Weiss.
Gary Weiss had written a Business Week article entitled, “The Amex is Starting to Feel the Heat” which was sympathetic to Edward Manfredonia. However, In Mr. Manfredonia’s twisted and irrational mind, some how Gary Weiss is an evil villain.
In 2005, Manfredonia, representing himself, filed a rambling, 51 page lawsuit against Gary Weiss, Business Week editor in chief Stephen B. Shepard, McGraw Hill chairman Harold McGraw, Robert Pritchard, McGraw Hill Vice President for Global Security and the City of New York. The suit was prompted by a criminal harassment complaint that Mr. Weiss had filed against Mr. Manfredonia, with the assistance of the McGraw Hill security.
Edward Manfredonia's lawsuit was filled with vile anti-Semitic statements. Mr. Manfredonia's law suit against Gary Weiss was later tossed out by Judge Michael D. Stallman. Since then, Edward Manfredonia has made anti-Semitic comments about Judge Stallman.
Edward Manfredonia’s writings show his irrational hatred of Jews, too. Patrick Byrne and Edward Manfredonia seem to share similar paranoid fantasies about Italian, Russian, and Israeli or Jewish criminal groups as being behind almost every door. Patrick Byrne, Judd Bagley, and Edward Manfredonia seem like they are joined at the hip.
Other blogs such as Jeff Matthews and the Stalwart have detailed Patrick Byrne's disturbing comments about Jews.
Let's examine the timeline.
Note: I did not use grammar check or spell check when quoting people.
Patrick Byrne and his conspiracy of the Jews
In a post on Motley Fool, Patrick Byrne viciously carried out his smear campaign against Herb Greenberg (CNBC, Wall Street Journal, and MarketWatch.com), Jim Cramer (TheStreet.com, CNBC), David Rocker (Rocker Partners), and Thomas Friedman (New York Times). According to Jeff Matthews, one common element is that those attacked by Byrne in this post are all Jewish.
On December 7, 2005, Patrick Byrne wrote the following post in Motley Fool:
Dear Fools,
For those of you who don't know, Herb Greenberg is a crooked reporter who formerly worked at thestreet.com, then moved to MarketWatch, where he makes a living doing hatchet jobs on whatever companies David Rocker is short.
Sometimes for variety he goes on Mad Money with Jim Cramer (founder of thestreet.com), and together they do hatchet jobs on companies David Rocker is short. (Did I mention that Rocker has been the #1 or #2 owner in thestreet.com, owning as much as 15% of thestreet.com through various on-shore and off-shore entities, such as Helmsman and Compass Holdings ...?)
Cramer and Greenberg's hatchet jobs take an unusual form. They resemble Thomas Friedman's write-ups on the Arab-Israeli conflict: "Let's see, Arabs, Israel, Arabs... Israel, Arabs........ Israel...... okay, I gotta call this one for the Israeli's." In op-ed after op-ed.
Similarly, when Greenberg adn [sic] Cramer attack me together, it generally takes the form of Cramer saying, "Byrne might be a good guy," Greenberg saying something like, "No no, he's a bad guy," "Are you sure? 'Cause I thought he might be a good guy..." "Oh no, he's definitely a bad guy." "Well...OK OK, he's a bad guy."
Oh, did I mention that Cramer founded thestreet.com, Greenberg cut his teeth there, and Rocker has been the most significant owner outside of Cramer himself?
Anyway.... Herb came to his end of year piece on worst CEO's of the year. I think he must have written a couple dozen on me in the last two years, but I did not mind, except for the creepy ones (complaining about how I don't always answer his email promptly? Geeesh: he reminded me of a scorned woman.)
And yet,after all this love, he left me out. I did not even the [sic] make the #1 spot here! I'm hurt. Of course, maybe he is getting some legal advice at the moment that explains his ducking his pat writings now....
Best,
Patrick [Emphasis added.]
Jeff Matthews, in a blog post entitled, "Weekend Reading: Conspiracy of the Jews?" commented about Patrick Byrne's tirade on Motley Fool:
...Byrne obsesses about Herb the way Nixon obsessed about Woodward and Bernstein. (For the record, Herb Greenberg is no more a “crooked reporter” than Patrick Byrne's father, legendary insurance ace Jack Byrne, was a crooked CEO.)
But it’s the apparent anti-Semitism that makes me wonder whether this is a legitimate post.
For mid-way through it, Byrne’s rant makes a bizarre and gratuitous jab at the supposed pro-Israel bias of the New York Times' excellent and highly respected Middle East reporter, Thomas L. Friedman.
I can think of no clear reason for making the analogy to Friedman and Israel except one: the enemies cited in the post (Herb Greenberg, David Rocker and Jim Cramer) are all Jewish.
Even for the CEO of Overstock.com, hints of a Jewish conspiracy would represent a rather disturbing twist in the ongoing saga. [Emphasis added.]
Note: Patrick Byrne has since confirmed the authenticity of his remarks on Motley Fool.
The Stalwart in a blog post entitled "The Paranoia of Patrick Byrne," wrote:
Now, as Jeff Matthews points out as well, it's not a stretch to read an anti-Semitic tone into the letter. Not only does he finger all Jews in his conspiracy, but he, out of nowhere, throws in a jab at Thomas Friedman's uevenhandedness in covering Middle-East affairs.
Patrick Byrne says “Every rabbit hole you go down leads to either [sic] the Italian mob, the Russian mob or the Israeli mob...."
On December 16, 2005, Patrick Byrne was interviewed on the Christian Radio Network. According to Jeff Matthews in a blog post entitled “Conspiracy of the Jews? – Part II," wrote:
In the midst of the usual paranoid-sounding diatribe against the so-called naked short-selling scandal, Byrne is encouraged to get specific about the root causes of the problem. The host asks:
“Are we dealing with the traditional old-boy network or has organized crime gotten involved?”
To this, Patrick Byrne says the following, and I quote him:
“Every rabbit hole you go down leads to either [sic] the Italian mob, the Russian mob or the Israeli mob, and nobody's ever asked about that, and I haven't pressed the issue…but every rabbit hole you go down you end up in one of those three places….
“The Israeli mob and the Russian mob are the two ones [sic] who scare me.”
In April 2006, Patrick Byrne argued with and irritated readers on an Israel message board (Israpundit). Gary Weiss commented:
Byrne went berserk, posting entire an entire off-topic article, insulting the board members and generally making a damn fool of himself. It seemed at the time, and now, to be a particularly nutty way of interacting with potential customers.
Note too that in a one-week exchange of messages, Byrne never denounced the anti-Semites among his followers, or apologize for their rhetoric. Instead he maintained they were agents of the opposition, and devoted his energies instead to attacking the people who had brought the anti-Semitism to his attention. [Emphasis added.]
Judd Bagley expresses interest in Edward Manfredonia’s irrational hatred of Gary Weiss and Jews
In a post (message number 2571 re-created on the O-Smear blog) on InvestorVillage.com, using his old anonymous alias antisocialmedia, Judd Bagley discusses his new useful ally to carry out Patrick Byrne’s vendetta against investigative journalist and blogger Gary Weiss.
The guy's name is Ed Manfredonia, his website is wallstreetscandals.com, and yes, he fell off his rocker a while ago. But while his version of reality and the objective observer's version will likely differ, I don't get the impression that he's actively being deceitful...he's just a bit...touched.
Still, if just 10% of the facts he cites are faithful to reality (and in my opinion, it's much higher than that), well let's just say it fits the larger pattern we're all seeing emerge.
In the absence of a direct quote from Gary Weiss on the topic of Ed Manfredonia, read the next best thing (the words of lamborghini751). [Emphasis added.]
Edward Manfredonia's delusional conspiracies, irrational hatred of Gary Weiss, and anti-Semitism is posted on his own web site
As stated above by Judd Bagley, he has read Edward Manfredonia's web site, wallstreetscandals.com. Mr. Bagley apparently knew that Edward Manfredonia was possibly mentally imbalanced when he wrote that Mr. Manfredonia, "he fell off his rocker a while ago" and is "just a bit...touched." Judd Bagley's actions are even more reprehensible in that he was taking advantage of a person whom he obviously suspected of being mentally ill.
By reading Edward Manfredonia's web site, wallstreetscandals.com, you see his obsessive and irrational hatred of Jews and in particular, Gary Weiss. Edward Manfredonia's paranoid fantasies apparently made him Judd Bagley's choice of hatchet man to carry out Patrick Byrne's vendetta against Gary Weiss and his efforts to smear me.
For example, on his web site wallstreetscandals.com, Edward Manfredonia has written in his web site WallStreetScandals.com:
According to Gene Weissman, who credited his father Herbie Weissman with this information, Joel Lovett had tattoos imprinted upon his body (a violation of Jewish law, which is the reason Adolf Hitler ordered Jews to be tattooed at concentration camps), so that Joel Lovett would not be identified with those wimpy Jews who died in Auschwitz. (This story of Joel Lovett and wimpy Jews was confirmed by Jonathan Frey, a former Jew, who converted to Lutheranism from Judaism and married a great niece of Hermann Goering.) [Emphasis added.]
Another example of what Edward Manfredonia has written on his web site wallstreetscandals.com is:
And it was Jews such as Arthur Levitt, Robert Morgenthau, Joel Lovett, Ira Koondel, etc. who hate me because I possessed courage when they had none.
Another example of Edward Manfredonia's comments:
Lovett forgets about the brothels composed of Jewish women at Auschwitz, but it is permissible for VanCaneghan to rape.)
Arthur Levitt is a former Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Robert Morgenthau is the Manhattan District attorney. Joel Lovett is the former Vice Chairman of the American Stock Exchange. Ira Koondel served on the American Stock Exchange Board of Governors.
Patrick Byrne threatens critics with retaliation on antisocialmedia.net (at that time it was anonymous blog)
While antisocialmedia.net was published anonymously, on December 23, 2006, in a post (message number 2964) on InvestorVillage.com, using his alias Hannibal, Patrick Byrne wrote:
Can everyone sense these guys sweating? They seem to be getting nervous, don't they?
…. But the average reader may still ask, Why are they so nervous, and why now? The answer is, it is because the bullies know what is coming, they know where this antisocialmedia stuff is heading, in a way that the average reader does not. They are flailing in an attempt to derail it….
Check out antisocialmedia.com to get a preview, and trust me when I say, what is coming is much better. [Emphasis added.]
Roddy Boyd exposes Judd Bagley
On January 2, 2007, Roddy Boyd (Overstock.com Lashes Out at Critics on Web) exposed Judd Bagley as the anonymous person who was administering antisocialmedia.net and posting smears against critics of his boss, Patrick Byrne (CEO of Overstock.com). About a week earlier, Patrick Byrne had threatened critics with retaliation on antisocialmedia.net.
Patrick Byrne issues a threat to Gary Weiss
On January 13, 2007, in a post (message number 3451) on InvestorVillage.com, using his alias Hannibal, Patrick Byrne wrote:
...from what I know, I suspect that the largest blows to Gary are still to come. You ain't seen nothing.
Patrick Byrne calls Herb Greenberg and Gary Weiss "evil corporate guys" and issues threats
On January 14, 2007, in a post (message number 3566) on InvestorVillage.com, Patrick Byrne wrote the following under his alias Hannibal:
HOWEVER, NOW THAT JUDD HAS REVEALED HIMSELF, LET ME TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SAY I WHOLEHEARTEDLY ENDORSE HIS SLEUTHING AND EXPOSURE OF GARY WEISS AND HIS VARIOUS MANIPULATIONS. AGAIN, YOU GUYS DON'T GET IT. WE CAN ALL TELL FROM THE WAY YOU FOLKS ARE STRANGELY QUIET FOR ONCE, AS YOU PLAN YOUR NEXT PARTY LINE. THE PROBLEM IS, YOUR PARADIGM WILL NOT COMPUTE ON THIS SIMPLE TRUTH: WE ARE THE CITIZEN JOURNALISTS, GARY (& HERB ETC.) ARE THE EVIL CORPORATE GUYS, THE CORPORATIONS THEY WORK FOR HAPPEN TO BE MEDIA CORPORATIONS, AND WE ARE USING THE INTERNET TO BREAK THEIR STRANGEHOLD ON THE PUBLIC'S UNDERSTANDING. IT IS ALL VERY 2.0. BE HAPPY YOU ARE PART OF HISTORY IN THE MAKING. [Emphasis added. Mr. Byrne used cap letters.]
Edward Manfredonia does Judd Bagley’s dirty work on critics of his boss, Patrick Byrne
From January 24, 2007 to March 6, 2007: Edward Manfredonia posted anti-Semitic comments and other vile and malicious smears on antisocialmedia.net, directed at Gary Weiss, me, and his other people he perceives as some way connected to Gary Weiss.
For example, on January 24, 2007, Edward Manfredonia posted the following comment to a blog post by Judd Bagley on antisocialmedia.net:
Weiss took ubrage at this true description of his mentality and anonymously labeled me, a Jew baiter and an anti-Semite.
Weiss violated all principles of the Torah and Talmud by lying about the murders of Al Chalem and Maier Lehmann. Weiss attributed the murders of Chalem and Lehmann to the Italian Mafia when Weiss knew that the Russian Mob had murdered Chalem and Lehmann....
Gary Weiss has defamed me- as usual. In court documents I stated that Gary Weiss could have been a Kapo in Auschwitz….
Weiss violated all principles of the Torah and Talmud by lying about the murders of Al Chalem and Maier Lehmann….
When I sued Weiss in court, Justice Stallman accepted the perjured testimony of Weiss even though I vociferously stated that Weiss had committed perjury. When I proved that Weiss had committed perjury, Stallman, in violation of all judicial principles, quoted the perjured testimony of Weiss and stated that I had not objected.
I have stated that Justice Stallman accepted the perjured testimony of Weiss, whom I had proved had stolen money from BusinessWeek via false expenditures. Stallman even lied and stated that I had not objected to Weiss’s perjured testimony.
I stated that Stallman’s many lies were due to the fact that Weiss and Stallman were Jewish.
The Babylonian Talmud, authored during the Babylonian Exile, stated that Jews cannot testify against each other in court….
Seymour Zucker was a friend of Feivel Gottlieb, who was an investor in the stock frauds of Maier Lehmann. (Note the stock frauds were manipulated by members of Lehmann’s synagogue- including Gottlieb.) [Emphasis added.]
On January 29, 2007, Edward Manfredonia smeared me again on antisocialmedia.net after Gary Weiss wrote about me in his blog:
Gary Weiss is quoting Sam Antar, who on the surface appears to have chaned his life.
But this is supreficial.
In September 2005 I was in Supreme Court, Manhattan County. I met an interesting fellow in the courthouse. He was a cousin of “Crazy” Eddie Antar. And he provided me with an intersting story.
It appears that “Crazy” Eddie’s niece, not Sam Antar’s daughter, was going to have a bat mitzvah. So “Crazy” Eddie sent an approximate amount of “20,000 for his niece’s bat mitzvah.
“Crazy” Eddie wired the money from a bank in Israel.
So, if Sam Antar is such an honest individual, I am certain that he has provide this information to the United States government- and the government is collecting the money.
People trust me. No one trust Weiss except for some short sellers. And if Weiss were such a genius, why was he not aware of the scam that Eddie Antar was accomplishing.
The reason: Weiss relies upon crooks and people, who violate federal securities laws by illegal short selling. [Emphasis added.]
I have no daughters. I have not been on speaking terms with Eddie Antar since I testified against him and his immediate family in a criminal trial and SEC civil trial. At that time, I had no personal contact with Eddie Antar (except for confronting him at trial in 1993) since about 1989. In addition, Sephardic Jews in my community do not have bat mitzvahs for girls.
In an e-mail that Edward Manfredonia had sent me in an attempt to discredit Gary Weiss, he admitted that my name “never came up” in his purported conversation about any illegal activities. In another e-mail he wrote, “Now, I never said that you knew about this money.”
However, Edward Manfredonia’s admissions to me that I had done nothing illegal or unethical did not stop him from making up new lies about me. Such lies about me written by Edward Manfredonia seemed to suit Patrick Byrne and Judd Bagley’s smear campaign very well. They had what may be called an outside proxy to smear me.
Patrick Byrne says he is an avid reader and raving fan of antisocialmedia.net
On January 31, 2007, in a post (message number 4287) on InvestorVillage.com, using his alias Hannibal, Patrick Byrne writes:
Overstock and I have precisely 0 to do with AntiSocialMedia.
Except for the fact that I am an avid reader and raving fan.
Obviously as an “avid reader” and “raving fan” of antisocialmedia.net, Patrick Byrne apparently found Edward Manfredonia’s comments to Judd Bagley’s posts on the blog suitable for his smear campaign against me. No action was taken to remove Edward Manfredonia’s comments until about late May 2007. Instead Edward Manfredonia would post more vile and malicious smears and anti-Semitic comments on antisocialmedia.net.
Edward Manfredonia rants
From February 23, 2007 to March 30, 2007, Edward Manfredonia posts dozens of rambling comments on the Overstock.com message boards on InvestorVillage.com (still not deleted) and Yahoo (since then deleted by Yahoo). All of the comments contained vile and malicious smears and anti-Semitic innuendo. In addition, Judd Bagley and Patrick Byrne, operating as a tag team posted dozens of comments on the InvestorVillage.com and Yahoo message boards using anonymous aliases during the same time frame and interacted with other message board participants.
On February 23, 2007, Edward Manfredonia now said that I am Eddie Antar’s “beloved brother.” In a post (message number 5074) on InvestorVillage.com, he wrote:
Weiss either lied in his book or committed perjury in an affidavit, which was entered into the court record…..
I was told by one of your relatives that your beloved brother, Eddie "Crazy Eddie" Antar had sent approximately $20,000 into the United States for a bat mitzvah.
So, if you are a reformed felon, why do you not report this crime to the United States? [Emphasis added.]
Now Edward Manfredonia was claiming that I am Eddie Antar’s “beloved brother.” However, I am the cousin that testified against Eddie Antar, his father, and his brothers.
Edward Manfredonia's conspiracy of the Jews
On March 6, 2007 Edward Manfredonia posted another smear and anti-Semitic comment to a blog item written by Judd Bagley on antisocialmedia.net. He wrote:
While Al Chalem had previously had connections with the Italian Mafia, Lehmann refused to have anything to do wth the Italian Mafia.
Lehmann’s partners in his stock frauds were Orthodox Jews, many of whom, such as Feivel Gottlieb, were members of his synagogue.
This was known to Gary Weiss, a great defender of Israel, and to Weiss’ editor, Seymour Zucker.
Seymour Zucker and Feivel Gottlieb belonged to the same Talmud study group.
Seymour Zucker knew that Feivel Gottlieb was involved in the stock frauds of Maier Lehmann. Zucker knew that Gottlieb had earned millions in the stock frauds of Maier Lehmann, who was descended from a long line of Rabbis.
Weiss knew of the involvement of Orthodox Jews in the stock frauds of Maier Lehmann, but Weiss refused to expose the stock frauds of Maier Lehmann because Weiss would have been compelled to expose the involvment of an entire Orthodox synagogue in the stock frauds of Maier Lehmann. [Emphasis added.]
Edward Manfredonia's perverted and irrational hatred of Gary Weiss
On March 26, 2007, in a post (message number 5835) on InvestorVillage.com, Edward Manfredonia wrote:
I once accompanied Weiss to a restaurant, Sweet n' Tart, in Chinatown. Weiss ordered pig's blood. It looked scary.
But Weiss consumed the pig's blood with glee. Speaking of treyfe.
On March 27, 2007, Judd Bagley, using his alias De Daumier-Smith posted a recommendation to a message (number 5880) on InvestorVillage.com, written by Edward Manfredonia. Mr. Manfredonia claimed:
...Gary Weiss protected a confessed serial rapist. Just so that he could lie about two murders and publish a book- which bombed.
Weiss is evil made flesh.
Judd Bagley’s comments posted on InvestorVillage.com show he was aware about the content of Edward Manfredonia’s anti-Semitic comments
On March 30, 2007, in a post (message number 5941) on InvestorVillage.com using his alias De Daumier-Smith, Judd Bagley wrote:
I was just checking my referrer logs for March to see how people are finding ASM…..
Then a few days ago, apparently satisfied that his name appears in one of Ed Manfredonia's comments…. On March 24, Sam changed tactics a bit, arriving while searching for ‘Judd Bagley Jews’. Having learned that I'm about as pro-Semitic a goy as you'll meet….” [ Emphasis added.]
It is apparent from Judd Bagley’s remarks above that he knew about Edward Manfredonia’s anti-Semitic comments. He knew that I was concerned about such vile remarks. He knew what comments were being posted on antisocialmedia.net. It appears that Edward Manfredonia's comments antisocialmedia.net served his boss Patrick Byrne's interests. Judd Bagley's condescending remarks are indicative of his tacit approval of Edward Manfredonia's anti-Semitic remarks.
Judd Bagley claims that Edward Manfredonia is a "principled man" and lacks the ability to communicate effectively
On March 30, 2007, another message board participant who is in contact with Judd Bagley, posted (message number 5943) a private message from Mr. Bagley to him:
This was Judd's reply to me when I asked him about Mr. Manfredonia.
Judd, sorry about posting a PM, but I felt in this case it was warranted.
"I have had MANY lengthy conversations with Ed. He is a very good and principled man. But he seriously lacks the ability to communicate effectively." [Emphasis added.]
Judd Bagley excuses Edward Manfredonia’s anti-Semitic comments as “quirky,” considers him to be "knowledgeable," and admits to talking with Edward Manfredonia
During that week, Edward Manfredonia went on a lunatic binge on InvestorVillage.com posting new vile and malicious smears and anti-Semitic comments on the Overstock.com message board.
For example, on April 2, 2007, thinking that another person that had been posting on InvestorVillage.com was me, Edward Manfredonia wrote (message number 6041):
Tam, aka Sam the Scam, violated Shabbos.
You are not supposed to use the Internet on Passover.
Hey, do not feel bad. I was invited to a seder. Everybody orders Chinese food. The matzohs are provided at the house.
Sam, you are still a thief and a liar at heart. You have not changed. You defend Weiss and only a liar and a thief can defend Weiss.
Sorry. [Emphasis added.]
In another post (message number 6046) on InvestorVillage.com, Edward Manfredonia wrote:
Sam, why are you so interested in my conversations with Judd Bagley?
Why do you not elucidate upon your conversations with your friends, who are short Overstock.
How is your cousin, Eddie?
What do you know about Eddie sending money to New York for a bat mitzvah?
It is Passover. Should you not be at a seder?
It must be those shmura matzohs. They are hard on the stomach. [Emphasis added.]
On InvestorVillage.com, Edward Manfredonia was asked by blogger, Scipio Africanus (O-Smear blog), about his contacts with Judd Bagley on InvestorVillage.com (message number 6050):
What are you hiding?
On April 2, 2007, in a post (message number 6052) on InvestorVillage.com using his alias De Daumier-Smith, Judd Bagley responded to the question:
…Ed may have a quirky way of communicating in writing, but I can assure you he's one of the more knowledgeable people I know. Ed has been enormously generous in sharing his knowledge of how Planet Wall Street works (both in theory and in practice) with me.
If Ed and I spent more than five minutes talking about you or Gary or anything else from this or any other board I'd be shocked. [Emphasis added.]
Afterwards, Edward Manfredonia admits that he talks to and e-mails Judd Bagley
On April 3, 2007, in a post (message number 6117) on InvestorVillage.com using Edward Manfredonia wrote:
I talk to Judd.
I send Judd e-mails.
Like Edward Manfredonia, Judd Bagley shows his irrational hatred of Patrick Byrne critic Gary Weiss by labeling him as ‘evil’
On April 7, 2007, in a post (message number 6276) on InvestorVillage.com using his alias De Daumier-Smith, Judd Bagley wrote:
“No...Weiss is evil. I'll stand by that. More than evil, he's soul-less evil.
That's the worst kind.”
Edward Manfredonia posts more vile and malicious anti-Semitic comments and smears on antisocialmedia.net
On April 8, 2007, Edward Manfredonia posted two separate comments filled with vile smears and anti-Semitic innuendo to a new blog item on antisocialmedia.net targeting Yolanda Holtzee. He rambles about far-out conspiracy theories such as murder and cover-ups. He accuses people of committing crimes because they are Jewish. He accused Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau of not indicting certain people because they were Jewish and his friends.
For example, Edward Manfredonia wrote the following comment in antisocialmedia.net:
Bear Sterns was saved by an indictment only by the friendship that existed between Arthur Levitt, then Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission; Robert “Tzaddik” Morgenthau, Manhattan District Attorney, who according to Sidney Schanberg, does not indict his friends; and, Alan “Ace” Greenberg, Chairman of Bear Sterns.
Note: The refusal of Robert Morgenthau to indict his friends is known to “Honest” Sam Antar, convicted felon and at heart still a scam artist, and Gary Weiss, a liar thief, perjurer, and racist and a disgraced former reporter for BusinessWeek. “Honest” Sam Antar observes 611 mitzvoths, neglecting to observe two of the Ten Commandments: Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor and Thous shall not steal. (More of Bear Sterns and the five Tzaddiks in a later installment.)….
When you sleep with vile pigs like Sam Antar, a thief and a liar, and Gary Weiss, a liar, thief, perjurer and racist, you wake up covered in pig manure and suffering from trichinosis, a vile disease. [Emphasis added.]
I guess Edward Manfredonia’s now believes that I was somehow involved in some wild conspiracy with Robert Morgenthau (Manhattan District Attorney).
In another comment on antisocialmedia.net, Edward Manfredonia writes:
Sam “The Ant” Antar is an Orthodox Jew, who observes 611 if the 613 mitzvoth found in the Talmud. Sam “the Ant” has consistently refused to follow two of the most important. These two are the two Commandments: Thou shall not covet thy neighbors’ goods (Thous shall not steal) and Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor. Gary “The Perjurer,” although not an observant Jew (remember the pig’s blood episode), also violates with impunity the two same Commandments: Thou shall not covet thy neighbors’ goods and Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
Both Antar and Weiss are vile, odious creatures, who defile the memory of 6 million Jews, murdered by the Nazis, to cover up their own criminal activities. [Emphasis added.]
Judd Bagley defends Edward Manfredonia's vile remarks
On 04/10/07, in a post on InvestorVillage.com (message # 6435) a person using the alias Tamoshanter, asked Judd Bagley a question:
Say Judd how come you haven't taken Ed to task for his comments on people of the Hebraic persuasion?
The stuff he said about the judge being biased because he's not Jewish and Morgenthau not prosecuting his Jewish friends and the other references to Jewish people Ed introduced into our fair message board.
How about it? Huh?
On April 10, 2007, in a post on InvestorVillage.com (message # 6436) Judd Bagley using his alias De Daumier-Smith responded to Tamoshanter:
Because I don't know anything first hand about those situations. Maybe he's right. I've seen disgusting acts of cronyism among Mormons, Catholics, Muslims, Vegans (yes...it might as well be a religion), and atheists, and I don't doubt it happens among Jews as well.
If I knew it to be false, I would have said something. But I don't. So I haven't.
It's like when some some civil rights group wanted to boycott Howard Stern a few years ago, because they said he makes fun of minorities. When pressed, the best they could do was point to specific people Stern makes fun of, including Michael Jackson and OJ Simpson, both of which probably deserve it, and would whether they were black or not (and indeed, Michael Jackson isn't much anymore).
So, if Ed had said that all Jews are corrupt then I'd be the first to condemn him, because I know first hand that it's not true. As it is, these guys Ed writes about might be corrupt. They certainly wouldn't be the first. [Emphasis added.]
Judd Bagley gets irritated at my visits to antisocialmedia.net, lists them on Yahoo, and issues a threat directed at my future employment and family
On April 11, 2007, in a post on Yahoo, using his alias panamapump, Judd Bagley wrote:
Your recent visits to antisocialmedia.net (all times Central)…. On behalf of your family and in the interest of your own employability I ask you to please never visit ASM again. I'll email you new articles when they come out.
On May 15, 2007, I posted a blog item entitled, “Overstock.com: A Copy of its Code of Business Conduct and Ethics.” Previous, to me making publicly available via the internet a copy of Overstock.com’s Code and Business Conduct and Ethics, the only way to obtain a copy was my sending a written request to the company by mail (not e-mail).
Over the next few days, I posted two blog items, entitled “To Patrick Byrne, CEO of Overstock.com - Did you comply with the Company's Code of Business Conduct and Ethics” and “To Patrick Byrne, CEO of Overstock.com: More Questions about the Company's Code of Business Conduct and Ethics.”
Patrick Byrne uses Overstock.com resources to support and drive traffic to antisocialmedia.net
At about May 28, 2007, Patrick Byrne re-published to Overstock.com's web site certain posts he had made on other web sites. For example, he re-publishes a comment (message number 2426) that he posted on InvestorVillage.com where he writes:
Is it bad when a reporter is exposed as a vindictive liar? Hey sports fans. Sorry for my long absence. I think it has been a few months since I have had time even to glance at any of these boards. Of course, it seems IV is now the only decent one left.
For those who have not seen it, I suggest reading this.
http://www.antisocialmedia.net/
(Full disclosure: I am not behind antisocialmedia.com, but I could speculate who is.)
Is it bad? When a journalist is exposed as a pumper of his own sorry books, a writer (always under fake names) of hatchet jobs on his colleagues' work, and in general, a flim-flam artist of the worst kind... is that bad? Is it bad when the exposure makes people question why he spends so much of his waking time engaged in fervent sock-puppetry? It hardly seems like a hobby, does it?
Coming back here and seeing the response to the "'splaining" post provide a case study in chatter. Scipio answers with blather, and hopes no one reads the original (at www.antisocialmedia.com ) to know why his answer is blather. That is why, after months away from these boards, when I came back and saw this I decided I should chime in: no matter what, I know my posts do not get skipped, and cannot be drowned with chatter.
So again, please visit www.antisocialmedia.com and read this.
I hear that GW is melting down, melting down, melting down..... [emphasis aded.]
It appears that despite Patrick Byrne's previous denials, Overstock.com's resources are being used to support and drive traffic to antisocialmedia.net.
Finally, sometime during the last week of May 2007, all of Edward Manfredonia’s anti-Semitic comments and most of his smears (posted from January 2007 to April 2007) were deleted from antisocialmedia.net by Judd Bagley
We must ask ourselves three questions.
Why did Judd Bagley permit Edward Manfredonia’s comments to be published at all on antisocialmedia.net? It is apparent that antisocialmedia.net has a moderation feature to screen out objectionable comments before they are published.
As described above, in December 2006, Judd Bagley had stated that he barred blogger Scipio Africanus from posting comments on antisocialmedia.net. Judd Bagley wrote to Scipio Africanus:
I'm also now reminded of the reasons you were banned from commenting on antisocialmedia.net the first time, and happily reinstate that ban. As was said before, as long as you're on the payroll, you can afford to go start your own blog and ban all of us. [emphasis added.]
Scipio Africanus (O-Smear blog) had complained to Judd Bagley on November 29, 2006 about being barred from making rebuttal comments to Judd Bagley’s smear posts on antisocialmedia.net. In a post (message number 2496) on InvestorVillage.com, Scipio Africanus wrote:
Sometime yesterday I posted a comment to this fraudulent site and filled in the reviewer comments that they left out of their article on Amazon reviews of Wall Street vs. America. Unsurprisingly, the comments were later removed as they don't really bolster what they want people to think. They know people will just eat up what they say and not check for themselves.
Note to the uninformed: Everywhere they use "...", they removed something.
Apparently, Judd Bagley reads the comments sent to antisocialmedia.net and only publishes or keeps those comments that serve the delusional conspiracy theories and vendettas of his boss, Patrick Byrne.
Why did it take so long for Judd Bagley to delete Edward Manfredonia’s repulsive comments from antisocialmedia.net after they were published? It is apparent the both Judd Bagley and Patrick Byrne promptly knew about Edward Manfredonia’s anti-Semitic remarks on antisocialmedia.net and took no immediate action. Judd Bagley took his sweet time to delete Edward Manfredonia's vile and hateful anti-Semitic comments from antisocialmedia.net. Were Patrick Byrne and Judd Bagley concerned about possible violations of Overstock.com’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics now that I had publicized its content?
On May 29, 2007, on Yahoo, I asked Judd Bagley about Edward Manfredonia’s deleted anti-Semitic comments:
Have you deleted Edward Manfredonia's anti-Semitic remarks from antisocialmedia.net?
Shortly afterwards Edward Manfredonia appeared again and went on another lunatic rage on the Yahoo message boards posting multiple vile and malicious anti-Semitic comments and smears. Yahoo deleted all of his comments and deleted his profile in an attempt to prevent him from posting on Yahoo again.
On May 30, 2007, I posted a new blog item entitled, "Open Letter to the Audit Committee of Overstock.com: The Company’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and actions of Patrick Byrne and others” and e-mailed a copy of it to Overstock.com’s Board of Directors. It outlined various issues for the Audit Committee to consider about possible violations of the company’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics by Patrick Byrne and Judd Bagley.
On June 3, 2007, I posted a blog item entitled “Memo to Judd Bagley: Director of Communications at Overstock.com - About Threats on AntiSocialMedia.net” and send an e-mail to the Board of Directors of Overstock.com informing them of a physical threat to Gary Weiss posted as a comment to a blog post by Judd Bagley on antisocialmedia.net:
alpineanalytics wrote:
Gary Weiss is PATHETIC…his books suck …he is a weasel. In fact, there are quite a few people out there that are going to make an example out of him. He should be looking over his shoulders more carefully when he wants to engage in disrespectful behavior with people that will hurt him…economically, emotionally, and probably physically. Hey Gary…Louie P and Benny S. say hi…you $cumbag.
Posted 10 Sep 2006 at 8:36 am
Judd Bagley allows new anti-Semitic comments by Edward Manfredonia to be published on antisocialmedia.net
On June 6, 2007, in an apparent retaliation for my blog posts, Judd Bagley again permitted a new anti-Semitic comments and vile and malicious smears by Edward Manfredonia to be published on antisocialmedia.net. Edward Manfredonia wrote a long rambling anti-Semitic smear directed against me on antisocialmedia.net:
SAM ANTAR: A SPIRITUAL DESCENDANT OF THE KAPPOS IN AUSCHWITZ
Sam Antar is a liar, thief, and convicted felon. Sam “the Ant’ smears my name because I have proved that Sam “the Ant” is a hypocrite.
Sam’s beloved cousin, Crazy Eddie Antar, continues to launder money into the United States sending part of his vast, illegal fortune to his relatives. Crazy Eddie does this by means of Israeli Banks. How would I know this? Because one of Eddie Antar’s cousins told me about the money laundering. If I know about the money laundering, why has Sam “the Ant,” a self-proclaimed reformed thief not sent a letter to either the Securities and Exchange Commission or the Department of Justice?
Probably because he would have to obtain permission to inform on his cousin. And nobody in his small circle of friends wishes to expose the tip of the money laundering iceberg.
Several questions for Sam Antar.
Did Sam keep millions of dollars that were stolen from American citizens?
Did Sam short the stock of Crazy Eddie in offshore accounts?
Is Sam “the Ant” the consigliere of Gary Weiss, who has covered up murders that were perpetrated by the Russian Mob?
Does Sam “the Ant” have any connection to the Russian Mob in Brighton Beach?
Does Sam “the Ant” possess knowledge of the murders of Al Chalem and Maier Lehmann?
These are valid questions, which have not been answered.
But permit me to shed some light upon the nature of Sam “the Ant.” Sam was an almost universal thief– almost. Sam stole hundreds of millions of dollars from Muslims, Christians and Jews– and Mormons. But Sam Antar was not a sociopath. Sam Antar and his cousin Crazy Eddie did not steal from members of his Orthodox Sephardic synagogue. How do I know? Members of the synagogue told me this important fact.
So, it is readily apparent that perhaps 100 people, members of the synagogue, knew that the stock of Crazy Eddie was a fraud, yet not even one individual from the synagogue informed either the Securities and Exchange Commission or the Department of Justice. That is a fact– and facts can have no value judgment and express no opinion.
You must understand that to Sam Antar, you are not a human. But there is a difference. The Kappos in Auschwitz stole the lives of people. Sam Antar only wanted to steal your money.
And Sam the Ant will smear the name of any decent person, who exposes the lies and hypocrisy of anyone that dares to expose the basic indecency and inhumanity shared by both Sam Antar– and his spiritual mentor, Gary Weiss.
Sam “the Ant” is perhaps the biggest anti-Semite in New York City, because he smears the names of decent people to cover up his financial crimes. And by so doing gives rise to scandal.
Respectfully submitted,
Edward Manfredonia
Posted 06 Jun 2007 at 5:25 am
I call Howard Sirota, a Securities Lawyer
On June 7, 2007, I called attorney Howard Sirota, who was the Chairman of the Crazy Eddie plaintiff’s class action litigation. He has sued Eddie Antar, me, and other members of the Antar family for securities fraud. After two years of down in the mud fighting with him I threw in the towel and gave up. I started to cooperate with all attorneys representing victims of the Crazy Eddie fraud. I cooperated with the victim’s attorneys without any deal or legal protection limiting my liability. Mr. Sirota and most of the other plaintiff attorneys were kind enough to reward me with a nice letter to Judge Politan after the criminal trial ended in 1993.
After reading copies of Edward Manfredonia’s various comments on antisocialmedia.net that I had e-mailed him, Howard Sirota contacted Joseph J. Tabacco Jr. (who was recently appointed to Overstock.com’s Board of Directors) He is a fellow class action lawyer who Howard had known for over 20 years. In fact, Mr. Tabacco was one of the class action attorneys who sued me and other Antar family members for fraud. Joseph J. Tabacco Jr. had never objected to the class action attorney’s committee treatment of me.
Howard Sirota e-mails Joseph J. Tabacco Jr.
On June 8, 2007, Howard Sirota sent the following e-mail to Joseph J. Tabacco Jr.
From: Howard Sirota
Sent: Friday, June 08, 2007 9:37 AM
To: Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr.
Cc: san-francisco@adl.org; new-york@adl.org; Sam Antar
Subject: Anti-Semitic Comments on antisocialmedia.com
Dear Joe,
While I think you'll end up regretting your decision to join the Board of Overstock.com, that's really your own business.
I'm sure that you are unaware that someone named Edward Manfredonia is posting anti-semitic comments on www.antisocialmedia.net run by Judd Bagley, who works for Overstock.com.
Now you are on actual notice of the anti-semitic website run by an employee of the public company of which you are a Director. I expect you to make inquiry and take immediate corrective action.
If not, the ADL and I will do it for you.
This is NOT about any short-selling controversy. I have no position in OSTK.
This is about anti-semitism, which I won't countenance. Neither would the Joe Tabacco I knew.
Make it stop!
Regards,
Howard
Joseph J. Tabacco Jr. responds to Howard Sirota by e-mail
Joseph J. Tabacco Jr. wrote the following e-mail to Howard Sirota:
From: Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr.
Sent: Friday, June 08, 2007 1:40 PM
To: Howard Sirota
Subject: RE: Anti-Semitic Comments on antisocialmedia.com
Thanks Howard, I will look into this, you are correct this is not
something obviously that I had been aware of.
Howard Sirota posts a comment about Anti-Semitism on the Yahoo message board for Overstock.com
He writes:
I just did a search for "Jew" on this Message Board.
There are 428 posts containing the word "Jew."
That means that this board is infested with anti-semites, which is intolerable.
Meanwhile, Judd Bagley's website www.antisocialmedia.net posts anti-semitic slurs by someone named Edward Manfredonia.
I have no position in OSTK but I also have ZERO TOLERANCE for anti-semites.
I understand that I can't stop people from hating Jews, just as I can't exterminate cockroaches from the planet. What I can and will do is step on as many as I can in this Life.
This is supposed to be a forum to discuss Overstock.com
I strongly suggest you stick to Overstock.com and make no further anti-semitic remarks. It's easy to trace your IP address to a physical location, see it on Google, and get directions from Mapquest, and turn it all over to the feds and the B'Nai Brith Anti-Defamation League.
Shabat Shalom
Howard Sirota
Yahoo has deleted Edward Manfredonia's anti-Semitic comments in the past. However, InvestorVillage.com has not acted to delete Edward Manfredonia's anti-Semitic comments.
However, InvestorVillage.com has not acted to delete Edward Manfredonia's anti-Semitic comments. On February 20, 2007, InvestorVillage.com booted me as a result of my asking "'deposition-style" messages targeting other members of InvestorVillage'" according to a private message and e-mails sent by them and their attorney. I was asking Patrick Byrne and Judd Bagley questions. I guess that InvestorVillage.com only cares about stopping certain critics of Patrick Byrne and not about deleting anti-Semitic comments.
Afterwards, on June 8, 2007, Edward Manfredonia’s new anti-Semitic comment and smear was deleted from antisocialmedia.net (about two days after it was posted).
A short time later on June 8, 2007, I published a new blog item entitled, “Open Letter to the Audit Committee of Overstock.com: About how Patrick Byrne’s vindictive smear campaign uses threats and anti-Semitism,” about Edward Manfredonia’s recent anti-Semitic comments on antisocialmedia.net and the Audit Committee’s apparent lack of interest in dealing with other violations of Overstock.com Code of Business Conduct and Ethics by Patrick Byrne and Judd Bagley.
Judd Bagley responds on antisocialmedia.net
On June 11, 2007, in a blog post entitled, “Piling absurdity upon absurdity,” Judd Bagley posted poor excuses and deflection about the publishing of Edward Manfredonia's anti-Semitic comments on antisocialmedia.net.
Judd Bagley responded on antisocialmedia.net that:
Sirota’s first demand that certain comments be removed from this site was sent early Friday, June 8. The offending comments were posted June 7.
However, the date and time stamp of Edward Manfredonia's anti-Semitic comment is an entire day earlier:
Posted 06 Jun 2007 at 5:25 am
If Edward Manfredonia had submitted his anti-Semitic comments to Judd Bagley on June 6, but it was published on June 7, than Mr. Bagley could have screened out Mr. Manfredonia's repulsive comments. Otherwise it appears that Judd Bagley was being deceitful when he claimed that Edward Manfredonia's comments were posted on June 7. In any case, Judd Bagley had at least twice the amount of time that he had claimed to block or delete Edward Manfredonia's new anti-Semitic comments from antisocialmedia.net.
Judd Bagley claimed on antisocialmedia.net:
Sirota went on to claim that some admittedly inappropriate comments made to this blog (which were immediately removed once brought to my attention) were symptomatic of a further anti-Semitic infestation.
However, on March 30, 2007, Judd Bagley wrote in a PM to another InvestorVillage.com message board participant that said:
I [Judd Bagley] have had MANY lengthy conversations with Ed. He is a very good and principled man. But he seriously lacks the ability to communicate effectively.
In addition, as shown earlier in this blog post, on April 2, 2007, Judd Bagley had written the following comment on InvestorVillage.com about Edward Manfredonia:
…Ed may have a quirky way of communicating in writing, but I can assure you he's one of the more knowledgeable people I know.
I guess Judd Bagley has now gone from previously describing Edward Manfredonia’s comments as “quirky” to now “inappropriate” and "offending." However, Judd Bagley still will not admit that Edward Manfredonia's comments were anti-Semitic.
It appears that Judd Bagley needed a twisted minded person like Edward Manfredonia to smear critics of Patrick Byrne. After all, on December 3, 2006, on InvestorVillage.com, as Judd Bagley previously stated, “he fell off his rocker a while ago” and is “just a bit touched.” Apparently, Judd Bagley described an obviously mentally disturbed Edward Manfredonia as "principled" and "knowledgeable" in a feeble attempt lend him credibility and to egg him on to post more anti-Semitic comments and smears.
Judd Bagley responded on antisocialmedia.net:
Sam Antar also chimed in, insisting that the unnoticed words of one commenter somehow equate to the endorsement of the board of directors of my employer.
Apparently, Judd Bagley wants everyone to believe that Edward Manfredonia’s vile and malicious smears and anti-Semitic comments on antisocialmedia.net had gone "unnoticed" by him and others. However, Patrick Byrne has written that he is an "avid reader" and "raving fan" of antisocialmedia.net.
Judd Bagley allowed Edward Manfredonia to post new vile and malicious smears and anti-Semitic comments on antisocialmedia.net on June 6, 2007 (after deleting all such previous anti-Semitic comments around the last week of May 2007).
Why would Judd Bagley permit Edward Manfredonia to post anti-Semitic comments again? Judd Bagley had previously blocked and deleted the comments of Byrne critic, blogger Scipio Africanus from antisocialmedia.net. Was Judd Bagley irritated at my blog posts here and e-mails to the Board of Directors detailing his and Patrick Byrne’s apparent violations of Overstock.com’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics?
It appears that Judd Bagley played an ugly game of spite using anti-Semitism as a weapon. If Joseph J. Tabacco Jr. had not pushed Patrick Byrne and Judd Bagley to have Edward Manfredonia’s anti-Semitic comments deleted, it is very likely that they would have remained published.
Judd Bagley mocked Howard Sirota, attacked Gary Weiss, and treated the issue of anti-Semitism on the Yahoo Overstock.com message board and antisocialmedia.net with sarcasm. Rather than discuss content of the anti-Semitic posts on Yahoo and antisocialmedia.net, Judd Bagley wrote:
- Those in favor of illegal naked short selling authored 323 messages, or 73% of the total.
- Those most likely to be opposed to illegal naked short selling authored 96 messages, or 22% of the total.
- Those without a discernible position on the issue of illegal naked short selling authored 23, or 5% of the total
- Judd Bagley goes on to belittle Howard Sirota by pointing to the number of posts on Yahoo using the word Jew, by what Mr. Bagley believes are the investment opinion and religion of certain board posters.
The purported statistic that Judd Bagley cited is misleading as to the investment opinions of certain message board posters. It does not take into account the reason why the word Jew was used.
Judd Bagley apparently attempted to imply that if a Jewish person responds to an anti-Semitic remark by using the word Jew or that any person who uses the word Jew to condemn anti-Semitism, must also be anti-Semitic.
Howard Sirota replied on the Yahoo Overstock.com message board:
It's fine to use the word "Jew." I was making (or trying to) the point that 428 posts containing the word "Jew" was strongly suggestive that something was wrong here...it's not like it's a Message Board on Bank Leumi.
In response to Judd Bagley's poor excuses, innuendo, and deflection on the issue of anti-Semitism, Howard Sirota called for a boycott of Overstock.com.
Other than Joseph J. Tabacco's, recent action, it appears that the other Audit Committee members have had their head in the sand regarding other vile activities of Patrick Byrne and Judd Bagley.
Therefore, I ask this question again:
Who is Judd Bagley trying to fool about the use of anti-Semitism to attack critics of his boss, Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne?
One day we may find out the excuses that Patrick Byrne or Judd Bagley had given Joseph J. Tabacco when Mr. Tabacco called either one of them to ask about Edward Manfredonia's anti-Semitic comments. As an attorney, I am quite sure that Mr. Tabacco has heard just about every lie in the book.
Does Patrick Byrne (CEO of Overstock.com), really believe that he can separate himself from the ugly, malicious, and vile actions of Judd Bagley (Director of Communications at Overstock.com) by building a flimsy wall of separation between Overstock.com and the antisocialmedia.net smear web site?
Does Judd Bagley really believe that he can separate himself from the actions of his apparently mentally imbalanced and anti-Semitic advisor Edward Manfredonia acting in concert with him?
Can the Board of Directors of Overstock.com (especially its Audit Committee), shirk their responsibility to oversee compliance with the company's Code of Business Conduct and Ethics by hiding its head in the sand?
The Securities and Exchange Commission into Overstock.com and Patrick Byrne continues even after they dropped the investigation of Gradient Analytics (another target of Mr. Byrne's vendetta).
Only one person at Overstock.com has apparently taken a single step to reign in Patrick Byrne's delusional madness and he is Joseph J. Tabacco (recently appointed to the Board of Directors of Overstock.com on June 6, 2007. Let's see how long Mr. Tabacco can last at Overstock.com. So far, two Board members have resigned in the last few months. Remember what Joseph J. Tabacco had written in an e-mail to Howard Sirota:
...you are correct this is not something obviously that I had been aware of.
Perhaps, Joseph J. Tabacco did not know what he has getting into at Overstock.com when he signed on as a Board member. Hopefully, he will learn very fast.
Written by,
Sam E. Antar (former Crazy Eddie CFO convicted felon)
Additional Items:
On June 12, 2007, a contributor to antisocialmedia.net and an Overstock.com shareholder seems to have carried out part of the threat in a comment published on antisocialmedia.net by alias alpineanalytics. That threat stated that:
Gary Weiss....should be looking over his shoulders more carefully when he wants to engage in disrespectful behavior with people that will hurt him…economically, emotionally, and probably physically.
In a post (message number 8042) on InvestorVillage.com, Evren Karpak wrote that he had written letters to three of Gary Weiss's publishers: Forbes, SeekingAlpha.com, and Salon.com in an effort to have them discontinue business ties with Mr. Weiss. Judd Bagley had posted a recommendation to Evren Karpak's post on InvestorVillage.com. It now appears that antisocialmedia.net is directly attempting to inflict economic harm on Gary Weiss. We have to wonder for now whether the other threats to Gary Weiss that are posted on antisocialmedia.net will be carried out.
On June 14, 2007, blogger Scipio Africanus received a threatening e-mail from Judd Bagley, Director of Communications at Overstock.com. Judd Bagley wrote:
If you choose to continue as you have been, I will write about you on AntiSocialMedia.net.
A couple of days later, Judd Bagley carried out his threat. On Saturday June 16, 2007, Judd Bagley posted a new item to antisocialmedia.net. He supposedly reveals the identity of Scipio Africanus who writes the O-Smear blog. According to Judd Bagley, in his effort to find out Scipio's true identity:
AntiSocialMedia.net spent its first few months essentially shooting fish in a barrel.
At first, Judd Bagley wrongfully accused the wrong person as being Scipio Africanus and proceeded to smear him.
In February 2007, Judd Bagley had written on antisocialmedia.net that he had spent "10,000 moments online searching for evidence" of Bloomberg columnist Susan Antilla's divorce only to get it wrong when other people had found such evidence in 15 minutes.
Judd Bagley kind of reminds me of Captain Queeg in the movie, "The Caine Mutiny." Do you remember Captain Queeg rolling the steel balls and raving about the strawberry caper?
Edward Manfredonia is still permitted to post his vile smears and delusional fantasies on antisocialmedia.net. However, for now it appears that either his comments are being edited to avoid anti-Semitic slurs or Judd Bagley has told Mr. Manfredonia to tone it down for now. I guess that Judd Bagley does not appreciate being chastised by Joseph J. Tabacco.
Advice to Judd Bagley
If I were you, I would spend more time worrying about the ongoing government investigation of Overstock.com, Patrick Byrne, and you.
Downloads:
Judd Bagley Threatens me and my family on Yahoo Message Board
Edward Manfredonia Anti-Semitic Comments on antisocialmedia.net
Edward Manfredonia Anti-Semitic Comments on InvestorVillage Message Board
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