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National IndyCar to spend $925,000 reimbursing local race fans; state sues local promoter
By adamg on Thu, 07/07/2016 - 9:41pm
Attorney General Maura Healey announced a deal today in which the national IndyCar organization will reimburse fans who paid for tickets to the failed Boston Grand Prix race - and that her office is suing the local promoters to try to recoup those payments.
Healey heaped praise on the national concern: "They’ve gone above and beyond to be a productive part of this solution, and their fans will reap the benefits."
And she heaped scorn on Boston Grand Prix, which recently filed for bankruptcy, and which she is now suing in Suffolk Superior Court: "Boston Grand Prix and its CEO knew full well when they marketed and sold this event that they didn’t have the resources or permits to make it happen. They failed to protect consumers, and we will do all we can to hold them accountable."
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According to AG, John Casey
According to AG, John Casey used race money to make a $22,000 payment for his Porsche Cayenne.
http://m.wcvb.com/news/ag-sues-race-boston-grand-prix-ceo/40410816?utm_c...
More from WCVB. "I wasn't paid that much money," Casey said.
http://www.wcvb.com/news/grand-prix-ceo-responds-to-ticket-holders-inves...
His salary was $400,000, and he used race money again on April 28th, to pay himself $25,000. That was one day before he called off the race.
Why not criminal charges?
Are they not within MA jurisdiction?
So, Doing The Math — Average Ticket Cost Was $522 ?!!
I admit, I'm not someone who ever purchases tickets to sporting events, so I'm surprised at how much money people were paying for this.
Is that right? Do tickets really cost that much? What do you get for that? What sort of people are eager to pay so much money in advance for such a thing?
Perhaps the purchasers were big companies that bought tickets as perks for certain employees. That could certainly explain why Ms. Healey would devote so many resources to ensure they get refunds.
Ticket prices ranged from $99
Ticket prices ranged from $99.-$1500.
BGP did a lot of tinkering to inflate attendance numbers. For example, if someone bought a 3-day ticket, they would count it as 3 tickets sold. At one point they claimed 24,000 tickets were sold, when really only 8,000 3-day tickets were sold. In other words, only 8,000 people would be attending the 3-day event.
They also gave away bundles of tickets to sponsors and for promotional purposes. They counted those as "sales" too.
There were different types of
There were different types of seats, including grandstand seats and general admission. My guess is those wanting General Admission tickets were willing to wait until things were more finalized, since those tickets aren't limited and don't have assigned seating, whereas people going for special seating would be likely to book sooner to get the better seats.
I am not a lawyer
But doesn't using corporation funds for personal expenses risk the corporate veil being pierced, and then going after private assets of individuals behind it?
If so, wouldn't a settlement here actually be a favor to some of the individuals behind the bankrupt corporation?
Was CK Strategies paid?
That's the PR firm that Indy Boston hired which happened to be led by Marty's campaign manager and employing his flack Kate Norton. I wonder if friends of Marty were paid more promptly than regular vendors?
Second, I'd like to see some of these 'Boston is against anything fun' crybabies admit that this was in fact a badly executed concept from the word go. Same as the Olympics, my personal issue with these events isn't have a large event here but rather that I don't trust the leadership involved to pull it off without the tax payers getting handed a large bill.
They sure were!
Within the last year, according to the bankruptcy filing, Boston Grand Prix paid $423,000 in “salary and consulting” fees to Casey Summit LLC, a company managed by John Casey; $130,624 to Mark Perrone, the former chief executive of the Boston race; $166,000 in “compensation for consulting services” to NZR Consulting Inc., an Indiana motorsport expert; and $123,000 to CK Strategies, the consulting firm run by Chris Keohan, a former campaign adviser for Mayor Martin J. Walsh
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/07/05/boston-grand-prix-zooms-into...
And Chris Keohan was a stakeholder!
This is only a snippet, the article in its entirety has been archived. I don't know how to access the archive.
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/local_politics/2016/05/top_adviser_to_m...
This is a nice primer on Marty's graft and nepotism.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/02/27/pair-has-easy-access-office...
And our recently indicted tourism director, Kenneth Brissette, was Indy's cheerleader.
It's unbelievable how Marty feigns ignorance on whats going on in HIS administration. This was always an inside deal in my opinion.
See that I'm more ok with
Keohan in that light was burned hard by Casey if we assume he took a stake in lieu of payment.
Not that he's going to get any more money out of the race, but in theory he traded in 'guaranteed' payment for services rendered for a less uncertain stake in future profits. Like any early stage non-founder in a start-up, that's a classic risk/reward gamble people make all the time.
Keohan was paid
It says above that he was paid $123,000.
Understood
CK Strategies was paid $123k but I suspect they would have billed more than that for an event this scale. 1) the firm is likely still owed more money for work done to date and 2) that amount owed 'should' be higher if they hadn't opted for taking a stake vs. just getting paid.
The guy pocketed the money
The guy pocketed the money instead of refunding indy fans who purchased tix in good faith. He is a crooked thief. Prosecute him.