Friday, November 03, 2006

Thank You Sir, May I Have Another?

Yesterday, Hoax buster Professor KC Johnson crafted an excellent blog entry "Wilson and Stevenson Duke It Out." In his essay, Professor Johnson examined the extraordinary efforts of the New York Times’ Duff Wilson and the Snooze Room’s John Stevenson to time after time rescue interim-DA Nifong from debris falling from his rapidly imploding Hoax. It appears that Mr. Wilson and Mr. Stevenson may have misunderstood Professor Johnson’s premise, as both take opposite sides today on the good “doctor” Victor Olatoye's affidavit.
Living up to its new moniker, the Snooze Room continues to treat Olatoye’s now withdrawn affidavit as if it still has merit while Duff Wilson thoroughly debunks Stevenspins’ efforts to push the affidavit by employing Olatoye's own words.

“In a sworn affidavit, a copy of which was obtained by The Herald-Sun this week, Olatoye said he had reviewed a recent CBS TV "60 Minutes" video clip that purported to show the accuser dancing in his club on March 26.” “He disputed the timing of the clip.”"The video is at my club and was prior to the rape," Olatoye wrote. "I am certain of this because [the accuser] has not stripped at my club since the rape occurred."

“Victor O. Olatoye, owner of the Platinum Club in Hillsborough, N.C., where the woman worked, had signed an affidavit for the Durham district attorney saying she had not performed at his club since February, and that the video had to have been taken before March 13.”“But in the interview Thursday, Mr. Olatoye, 44, said that after filing his affidavit on Oct. 18 he found records showing that the woman had worked on March 23, March 24 and March 25. Mr. Olatoye also said he recognized her dancing on the video, even though her face was obscured.”

“I saw the clip and I believe that was her, yes,” he said, adding that she has not worked at the club since March 25.“Mr. Olatoye said that a day after he had signed the affidavit he told the district attorney’s office that he needed to change it. But an investigator for the office, Linwood Wilson, said Mr. Olatoye never told him about the new information, and added that he was now expected to file a new affidavit on Friday.”

To his credit, Mr. Stevenson does note that a new witness, a fellow Platinum Club dancer, has surfaced to verify that the Duke Hoax accuser resumed dancing following the alleged assault.

“Following in the footsteps of a former bouncer, another person has surfaced to refute a club owner's claim that the accuser in the Duke lacrosse rape case stopped doing exotic dances at his Hillsborough nightspot in February.”

“A fellow dancer now contends she saw the Duke lacrosse rape accuser performing at Hillsborough's adults-only Platinum Club after the night of March 13-14, lawyers close to the case said Thursday.”

Curiously, Mr. Stevenson omits Olatoye himself as he totals the number of people who challenge the club owner’s affidavit at three: a fellow dancer, the bouncer, and the accuser’s “driver.” Olatoye now brings that total toat least four.

"Including the newly surfaced dancer, at least three people now refute club owner Victor Olatoye's assertion that the alleged rape victim did not perform in his nightclub after February.”“But, as reported in The Herald-Sun Thursday, former bouncer H.P. "Fats" Thomas told several defense lawyers he watched the accuser perform on March 17, 18 and 26. The woman's movements were supple, athletic and almost contortionist in nature, the attorneys paraphrased Thomas as saying.”

“In addition, as previously made public, a one-time driver for the alleged rape victim -- Jarriel Lanier Johnson -- told police in April that he took the woman to the Platinum Club between 11 p.m. and midnight on March 10.”

Stevenson’s omission of Olatoye’s acknowledgement that his affidavit was inaccurate appears to indicate that he either willfully promoted the club owner’s affidavit knowing that it was false, or he was sandbagged by the District Attorney’s office. Nifong or one of his subordinates appear to have leaked the affidavit to the Herald Sun in the hope of plugging one of the many gaping holes in their Hoax on the eve of the election. Given newly promoted, Chief Investigator Linwood Wilson’s denial of the club owner’s assertion that he told the District Attorney’s office as early as October 19 that his affidavit was false, it would appear that the latter is the best guess.
It will be interesting to see how Mr. Stevenson reacts to having been manipulated by master puppeteer, interim-DA Nifong, into providing false information to the public in the interests of promoting Nifong’s campaign effort. Will Stevenson respond to having been fed information that was known to be false two weeks prior to the leak by, finally, turning an objective, investigative eye to the Hoax? Or, like a good lackey, will he gently smile as he eagerly bends over saying, “Thank you, sir! May I have another?”

Talk Left forum super sleuth, Bob in Pacifica, appears to have dug up some curious information about one of “Dr.” Olatoye’s “airlines.”

"Let's shine a light on Mr. Olatoye and his business enterprises, from Precious stripping at the Platinum Club to, perhaps, running guns in Africa?

“It seems that Africargo International is involved with a certain Victor Bout. UN officials have accused Victor Bout of using the United Arab Emirates as a permanent base but using many "flags of convenience" and sub-contracting arrangements for his aircraft to facilitate illegal arms and diamond smuggling activities, particularly in Africa. Victor Bout's aircraft were allegedly used to take coltan and cassiterite out of DRC; to bring supplies into mining sites in DRC; and to transport military troops and equipment.

“From an article here: http://www.ruudleeuw.com/vbout29.htm

“Research shows that the registration 9L-LEO was issued by the Sierra Leone civil aviation authority to an Antonov-8 with serial number OG3410 on 22 March 2004, and was owned by a U.S. Oregon-based company called Simax LLC, using an address in Sierra Leone "c/o Africargo International/Inter Tropic Airlines".

While the reasons Mr. Olatoye found election eve to be the perfect time to insert himself into the Hoax remain unclear, Free Republic was on to the curious Dr. Olatoye as early as last June.

"Customer reviews of the Platinum, Hillsborough, NC.

MickeyMirrors - 8/1 I arrived around 12:15 AM. The same guy who owned Cabaret Royale in Durham (african doctor) greeted me at the door.

Dr. Victor Olatoye is owner of Cabaret Royale.

Royalty Enterprises USA World Corporate Headquarters: 9309 Royal Crest Dr. Raleigh, NC 27617Tel: (919) 806-1936 Fax: (919) 806-1870

Royalty Enterprises USA is a multi-services company with worldwide presence. Our services are Air-cargo Operations, Commodity Trading, Entertainment, Service Stations, Constructions, Designer Furniture Retail, Education and Scientific/Medical Equipment Trading. Our mission is to provide quality service to our customers through our subsidiaries worldwide. All customers are treated with ultimate respect. Our highly qualified and experienced employees worldwide are authorities in their respective fields. ....... Royalty Enterprises USA Management Dr. Victor O. Olatoye President & Chief Executive Officer ceo@royaltyenterprisesusa.comRoyalty Enterprises USA and all its subsidiaries are under the direction and leadership of Dr. Victor O. Olatoye. He founded the company in 1994. Royalty Enterprises started as a small consulting company and grew to the giant that it is today with over eight subsidiaries.Dr. Olatoye is a visionary and opportunist and that is why he is the President and the Chief Executive Officer. Royalty Enterprises USA: We are a multi-services subsidiary of Royalty Enterprises USA, which was founded in 1994, but actually started to operate in 2003 with the award of the Ogun State Property and Investment Corporation (OPIC) project. Royalty Enterprises USA has a 51% stake in this company and we are in a talk with the third largest bank in Nigeria for a 15% investment.Royalty International has one subsidiary, St Victor’s International Nigeria Limited (SVIN) to handle all commodities trading in Nigeria."

The North Carolina Secretary of State offers additional information on the newest cast member in Durham’s Theater of the Absurd:
Corporation Names
ROYALTY INTERNATIONAL INCORPORATED U.S.A
SAINT VICTOR'S INC. INTERNATIONAL
Status: Suspended
Adding to the curiosity surrounding the mysterious club owner, Mr. Olatoye lists the address of his Worldwide Corporate Headquaters as, 9309 Royal Crest Drive, Raleigh, NC 27617. This is oddly similar to the address listed for his Platinum Club: 9309 Royal Crest Drive, Hillsborough,NC 27278. The Raleigh address maps to a cul-de-sac at Briar Creek Country Club in Raleigh. Our research indicates that there is no Royal Crest Drive in Hillsborough. Adding to the confusion, it appears that Durham County recently granted Olatoye permission to change the use of a 1,455 sq ft building located at an address that exists only in Wake County and nowhere in Durham County.

With the introduction of the mysterious Dr. Olatoye to the cast, the Hoax may now have exceeded the bounds of the absurd. As a Hoax watcher told us, "If Mike Nifong's head cracked open this morning and he was revealed to be one of those Cylon's from Battlestar Galactica, I’d probably just shrug my shoulders and say "I kind of figured it" and then go back to sipping my coffee without spilling a drop." Sadly, we agree.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

As I read this last Liestoppers piece on Dr. Victor Olatoye, I realize just why he would have been willing to sign a false affadavit. He is someone who operates in the gray area of the law (as far as his business interests are concerned), and someone like Liefong could make trouble for him.

Thus, he does Liefong a favor by signing a false affadavit, and since Liefong would have to be the person who prosecutes him (at least at the state level), he has an "insurance policy" against perjury.

Look, this case is all about lies (to quote James Comey, who prosecuted Martha Stewart), but we know who the liars are, and they are NOT Finnerty, Seligmann, and Evans, and certainly not the attorneys for the accused. No, the liars all work for the State of North Carolina -- or for Dr. Victor Olatoye.

William L. Anderson

Anonymous said...

As usual, excellent piece and I appreciated the new cartoon as well. My favorite part of the article was your last sentence about Mike Nifong being revealed as Cylon from Battlestar Glactica. So many absolutely absurd facts have been exposed during the investigation, that nothing really shocks me anymore.
It is almost comical when you consider the list of characters that have been paraded out as helpful to the prosecution.

Anonymous said...

I would love to see Nifong or Linwood Wilson testify under oath about their involvement in this affadavit. Is this ever possible?

Anonymous said...

Thank you Liestoppers. Just finished reading Duff's article in the NY Times and now Liestoppers careful analysis.

Your usage of the term "Durham Theatre of the Absurd" is so appropriate. We all have front seats to the show and its been running for 8 months!

Arms dealing good God what is next?

Regarding your commnent about if Nifong's head cracked open do you think it's possible that he is really wearing one of those special effects masks? Could Nifong, Gottlieb, Lynwood all be the same person????

Anonymous said...

I have a post on my blog about the Duke Lacrosse case. See, www.youngblackman.wordpress.com

Anonymous said...

Mike-
I read your blog and found it very insightful. Frankly, I knew nothing about the stripping world when this case first started. Your statements about the lack of opportunity to make large sums of money from stripping in a city the size of Durham make logical sense.
What I really appreciate is just your common sense and voice of reason. I totally agree that it is such a shame race has entered into this case. It greatly saddens me. During the initial stages of this investigation, I especially admire your courage to ask your peers to wait until the facts emerge before judging the men. That was not a popular stance to take at the time and something many at Duke were too cowardly to do.
Very informative blog and presents a different perspective on the case.

Anonymous said...

"Dr.O" or is it Dr. No? It just gets more and more bizarre. This is beginning to look like a really bad James Bond film. Well, at least in the Bond films, the good guy always wins.

Anonymous said...

Don't be so hard on the good Doctor, after all he boasts of bringing together "Teams of talented individuals from every background .... united in the continuous quest to serve our customers". So in other words, he has the best strippers in the business.

Anonymous said...

""Teams of talented individuals from every background .... united in the continuous quest to serve our customers"."

What this says in smuggling terms is "We have people everywhere in all "things" to get you what you want."

That includes drugs, diamonds, arms.

Wonder what info on the "doctor's" education is out there?

Coincidence that Bout and Olatoye have the same first name of Victor? Maybe in the same way that two addresses in two cities have the exact same number and street?

Thanks Liestoppers for taking the ball and running with it on this one. There is more to be found and revealed.

Twaddlefree

Anonymous said...

Don't know where you got the 9309 addresses for that club. The Platinum Club is in Orange County (not Durham County). The address is 2600 North NC Highway 86, Hillsborough, which is about 20 minute drive from Durham. Owner of property = Affordable Properties, Inc & Sherman Tate, who lives in Chapel Hill.

Anonymous said...

Google map of location of Platinum

Anonymous said...

Bill Anderson said: "Thus, he does Liefong a favor by signing a false affadavit, and since Liefong would have to be the person who prosecutes him (at least at the state level), he has an "insurance policy" against perjury."

Olatoye's affadavit and subsequent recanting of it shows us:

1. That Nifong is only chasing evidence that disproves anything exculpatory released by the defense or the media. The owner produces this affadavit three days after the '60' show is broadcast. Why had Nifong not interviewed everyone associated with the Accuser long ago if he were interested in determining her credibility and in assuring her claim? Or even if ALL he ever called her to discuss was her health and wellbeing and seeing her kids...never asked how she was making a living (especially when she was supposedly in hiding)?

Could it be that he already knew all about this Accuser?

Could it be that he isn't interested in interviewing anyone because he will find ONLY exculpatory evidence?

2. That Olatoye MAY have lied in the first affadavit for just the reasons Bill cites, above, for an "insurance policy" (and not only against perjury, I suspect). It is possible that he was told by the club manager that the Accuser wasn't working there and simply accepted that.

3. That IF he lied in the first affadavit, there was an overwhelming reason to change his story and risk the consequences of losing his Nifongian protection.

Because he thinks Nifong will lose his job next Tuesday, he knows who the Gov. will appoint, and he wants to be on his or her good side? Not plausible.

Because he saw OTHER undeniable and absolute evidence presented by someone ELSE that incriminated him as a perjurer? Why would he risk Nifongian revenge by changing his story if there was not something and someone putting on more pressure than the DA? If this were a matter of one's word against another's, Olatoye would certainly come off better than the bouncer. Something VERY convincing persuaded him to come clean, and his statement that he tried to reach the DA right after the first affadavit indicates that this something was more compelling than Nifong's protection. Defense surely hopes that Olatoye includes that statement in the new affadavit (which Nifong doesn't really want, now -- imagine having more exculpatory evidence in the file). Then, when Olatoye is testifying for the defense (or perhaps the plaintiff in another suit to happen in the near future), he may have to explain exactly why he made the false statements in the first affadavit.

Twaddlefree

Anonymous said...

The 2600 address in Hillsborough is the correct one; it's near durham not in durham.

BUT: The Platinum has been known as a shady club for awhile...it's one of the clubs where sex is known to be available. Or was - perhaps it's getting more scrutiny now (actually reviewers pre-Nifong's indictments/arrests were posting about undercovers).

http://www.stripclublist.com/m.asp?c=18643

There are other review sites as well but I don't have a great interest in listing them.

Complaints about Platinum: employs 18 year olds and a 19 year old pregnant woman. Read the comment (again before the LAX crap) about the 'owner' knowing about the women etc. This guy apparently likes to spend some time there. Whatever.

The good doctor isn't one; he's running a shady business that's legal, another one that is suspended, and has ties with african gunrunners. Nice.

Anonymous said...

Here's a good comment about Platinum from February 15th:

"I went to this club and it was cool. They could've had a few more dancers though. There were only about seven or so girls. If you want sex you can get it. Sweet love has some fire head. I'd say this club is worth a visit. Holla!!!"

The next one is just amusing:

"They had a 19 year old pregnant chick as a DANCER! I don't mind the age, since 18 IS a legal age... but come on... thats dangerous to the pregnancy! It scared me everytime she moved more than excited me. This club is looking for new girl dancers though so maybe improvements are on the rise."

New dancers indeed...