In the news today...an editorial from his home town newspaper,
the Mountain Press.
UNWORTHY OF COMPASSION
editor@themountainpress.com
Jan 20,2009
Those who knew and liked Dennis Bolze were hoping that this was all just a case of bad investments and poor judgment. When when he disappeared, his friends and supporters felt, at least a little bit, that he'd be back with an explanation and an apology to face his accusers and accept his punishment.
Those hopes were dashed for good Thursday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Knoxville. The words "Ponzi scheme" were attached to Dennis Bolze's actions, and that seals the deal. A Ponzi scheme, named for the Italian immigrant who first masterminded such a fraud in the early 1900s, essentially means you take what people give you and invest it, then get more money from other people and use that to pay the earlier investments, The thing builds upon itself until it collapses from the weight of the dishonesty.
Officials in court Thursday opened called Bolze's actions a Ponzi scheme. Combine that with his refusal to give investors their money when they asked for it, the foreclosures, the lawsuits, the disappearance — well, this guy is a crook, no matter what the courts or a jury have yet to say.
It's all sad for those who trusted this man with their money, who loaned it to him or invested it with him because Bolze told them his plan was sound and proven and had worked before. He probably didn't tell them about the sales tax evasion seven years ago that required him to pay back thousands to the state. Or that he didn't have a license to do what he was doing.
The bankruptcy judge has named a trustee to protect whatever is left of Bolze's assets so he can't dispose of them and cheat investors even more.
Bolze remains a guy on the lam, a coward who flees instead of owning up to his misdeeds and facing the consequences. His actions have intensified the scorn and hatred felt toward him and eroded whatever was left of his support from friends and perhaps even family. He has given up his presumption of innocence.
If Dennis Bolze is out there somewhere, he'll be found. Too many people are looking for him. He has no more bridges to burn. He is our Bernie Madoff, a man who, like the New York swindler, lived high and well on other people's money until confronted with is crimes. Madoff didn't run — maybe he didn't have time to do that. Bolze knew what was coming and skipped town. He is unworthy of sympathy or compassion.
editor@themountainpress.com
