Same Formula . . . Different Outcome.
Although I wrote about this formula before, its destructive power never ceases to amaze me. It does not discriminate. It spins such an intricate web of deceit that it traps not only its victim, but the perpetrator as well.
Once in the tentacles of its malevolent clutches, most fall into an abyss where seemingly, there is no escape. Individuals from all walks of life, economic prowess, upstanding citizens with impeccable reputations, have all fallen victim to this formula’s unceasing calamitous power.
There is nothing new about this formula, D + A = Murder, only the victims it ensnares:
Scott Peterson failed miserably against it. His carnal lust drove him to murder his wife and unborn child.
Sgt. Edgar Patino was engulfed by it. Fear of exposure pushed him to kill, pregnant Spc. Megan Lynn Touma, and leave her decomposing body in a motel bathtub in North Carolina.
What makes the following incident so unique from the others I’ve mentioned is that this time, the deceiver winded up being the victim as well.
Deception:
Steve McNair, often frequented the Dave & Buster on Opry Mills Drive, in Nashville, and authorities believe that is where he might have met Sahel Kazemi, who worked there as a server.
According to Dave & Buster employees, McNair often dined with family and friends whenever he visited the restaurant. Kazemi as described by her general manager, Tony Farahini, was a solid worker, a workaholic with high energy.
Did this attractive, naïve, twenty-year-old woman, imbued with an unbridled spirit capture the attention of McNair?
Based on the events that followed it would appear so.
Adultery:
Kazemi’s neighbors, who knew her as Jenni, said that she had moved in six months ago, and within a couple days of her moving in, McNair showed up.
One neighbor said that McNair was seen so often at Kazemi’s place that he thought the former Tennessee Titans’ quarterback had moved in.
Another said, it was obvious that Kazemi and McNair were dating, and neither was trying to hide it.
Pictures have surfaced over the web showing the two vacationing together.
Murder:
What went wrong to make this high spirited, fun loving young woman, commit the heinous act of shooting McNair as he slept, and then turning the gun on herself?
The week leading up to these shocking events provides at glimpse into Kazemi’s state of mind:
- Kazemi was pulled over for DUI on Thursday, July 2, between 1-1:30 AM. McNair and Vent Gordon (a chef at McNair’s restaurant) was allowed to leave the scene via a taxi.
Kazemi refused to take a breathalyzer test and claimed she was high not drunk. - McNair posted her bail later that day.
- Kazemi purchased a semi automatic pistol late Thursday night.
- McNair and Kazemi meet at his condo on Saturday morning.
- Later that afternoon, Kazemi shoots McNair as he slept on the couch before committing suicide.
A classic case of . . . D + A = Murder.
It’s the same old story, boy meets girl, marries girl, and when another catches his eye, tells one of two lies. Either that he’s not married, but as it would appear in the case of McNair, he duped the unsuspecting woman into believing that he was filing for divorce and would soon be free to marry her.
From all accounts of this incident, Kazemi was in a relationship in which she was not only over head, but lacking the maturity to deal with the prospect that she had been deceived, made irrational decisions, which drove her to commit murder.
Two weeks prior to the murder-suicide, a Decatur resident claimed that Kazemi confided in her about the adulterous affair she was having with McNair.
According to Vera Buckley Mosley, Kazemi shared all the sordid details of how she and McNair met, and how her life was spiraling out of control. Kazemi had also confided to friends that her life wasn’t worth living and she should end it.
Family and friends knew she was dating a married man, but did nothing to dissuade her. Those who claimed to have loved Kazemi should have counseled her, letting her know that the odds were not in her favor that McNair would leave his wife and 4 children for a simple waitress.
McNair, known for his greatness on the football field, and charitable contributions, should have allowed his character and reputation to guide him in staying away from the flirtatious, high spirited young woman.
His legacy is tarnished forever. Some will try to only remember his heroics on the football field. Others for his philanthropic activities. While the rest will only remember him as man who succumbed to the overwhelming deceptive force that eventually cost him his life.
Kazemi wanted nothing more than to be McNair’s wife. Perhaps finally realizing that they wouldn’t be together in life, she planned that they would at least be together in death. According to ballistic evidence, Kazemi shot McNair in the head, twice in the chest and then once again in the head.
It is believed that Kazemi then staged McNair’s body so that she would fall into his lap after she shot herself. Even in death her desire to be with McNair wasn’t fulfilled. Judging by the evidence from the crime scene, it appears that she slid off McNair’s lap and landed at his feet.
How will McNair be remembered by his wife Mechelle?
To get through these harrowing events, Mechelle indicates that she will put her trust in the God.
And what of McNair’s children?
You can use most any measure when you’re speaking of success.
You can measure it in the fancy cars, expensive homes, or dress.
But the measure of your real success,
Is one you cannot spend,
It’s the way your child describes you,
When talking to a friend.
Why You Should Dig Two Graves Before Embarking On A Quest For Revenge . . .
Enraged with the judge’s decision to award temporary custody of their 4-year-old daughter to her husband, Mazoltuv Borukhova decided to take matters into her own hands.
Daniel Malakov, 34, was gunned down at a playground in Forest Hills, Queens as he took his daughter, Michelle, to meet his estranged wife. Dr. Malakov had won custody of Michelle in a bitter court dispute with his wife, and this was supposed to have been a supervised visit.
Dr. Borukhova, 35, an internist, had done everything possible to poison Michelle against her husband, but the child still seemed happier with him. This coupled with her lack of faith in the court system, may have led her, to have him murdered.
Mikhail Mallayev, 51, (Borukhova’s distant relative), pumped three bullets, at close range, into Malakov as the dentist’s horrified daughter looked on.
The price to settle the caustic custody battle between her and her estranged husband, $20,000. Both Borukhova and her hired gunman have denied any involvement in the October 2007 killing. Yet police didn’t have far to look in determining a motive for Malakov’s murder.
Three days before the shooting, Borukhova had lost custody of Michelle during a court-ordered transfer. Distraught over losing her daughter, Borukhova threatened members of Malakov’s family. When her husband’s uncle, Erza Malakov’s, stated that he would help, and that his nephew, would allow her to see Michelle as part of the visitation agreement.
“I don’t need any help anymore. His days are numbered,” the uncle testified, Borukhova shouted. Everything is decided about him.”
Borukhova’s staunch denial about Malakov’s death began to unravel as she was being questioned by police. Detectives were shocked that although her husband was killed 10-15 feet from her, Borukhova claimed not to have heard the shots or seen the killer.
The EMT who had tried to save Dr. Malakov’s life painted an entirely different picture. Read the rest of this entry »
A Reunion for Murder!
In what would seem almost incomprehensible to fathom, a man drove from Garden City, LI to Towson, MA, with his wife and 11-year-old daughter, to visit their 19-year-old, to commit murder.
Police are baffled and neighbors aghast as to what would have led the NY lawyer to kill himself and his entire family.
William and Betty Parente were your typical affluent suburbanite family. He was a tax and estate planning attorney, and she a stay-at-home-mom, raising two lovely daughters. Stephanie the eldest, a sophomore at Loyola College in Baltimore, while Catherine was a six-grader at Garden City Middle School.
Police officials hypothesized based on the evidence in the family’s hotel room that it was a murder-suicide. They have been evasive however as to which parent was the perpetrator, only supplying the media with information that none of the apparent victims were shot or stabbed.
What they know so far is that Stephanie had breakfast with her family at the hotel on Sunday morning, return to her dorm room, where she was seen by friends and never returned. Her friends became worried when Stephanie did not return to study for an important exam on Monday, and called the family’s hotel when they couldn’t reach her by cell phone.
Perhaps the only chance to save her and prevent the father from carrying out this dreadful deed was lost, when Parente indicated to the concerned friends that Stephanie was staying with the family.
What went through Parente’s mind as he drove to reunite the family for death?
Family, friends, neighbors, and police officials are left with puzzling questions and seemingly no answers.
As the community of Garden City, LI and the students of Baltimore’s Loyola College try to cope with this senseless tragedy, they would like the answer to only one question . . . why?
Bradley Booth/Freelance Commercial Writer
Website: www.BBoothAssociates.com
Is There a Cover-Up in the Death of Khan?
11-year-old Shanno Khan has died, after allegedly being made to stand in the hot sun for more than two hours with a brick on each shoulder.
Although there are conflicting versions as to what led to the corporal punishment of Khan, at the ND Primary School in Narela, North Delhi, one thing is abundantly clear . . . the world’s outrage over this inhumane and barbaric form of discipline and the Delhi Government reluctance to act.
The alleged incident occurred on April 16, when Shanno failed to recite the English alphabet in class. The irate teacher allegedly slammed Shanno’s head against a table and made her stand in the sun for over two hours. She eventually fainted and was found unconscious by her younger sister, who attends the same school.
After being told of the incident by their younger daughter, Khan’s parents rushed Shanno to Maharshi Valmiki Hospital. Shanno’s condition started deteriorating on Thursday afternoon, and she was transferred to the Pediatric ICU of the Lok Nayak Hospital.
Although Renuka Chowdhury, the Union Minister for Women and Child Welfare promised justice would be done, the response of the Delhi Police has been anything but swift. They claimed that they have not received Khan’s autopsy report.
Atul Katiyar, (Outer Delhi) Deputy Police Commissioner stated that police still have not received the report, although senior doctors at Maulana Azad Medical College are emphatic that they conducted the postmortem examination and submitted the report to police on Sunday.
What was the real cause of Khan’s death?
Khan’s parents and New Delhi officials differed on what cause the 11-year-old girl’s death.
The postmortem examination suggest that Khan, who had a history of respiratory illness, developed complications after she was allegedly forced to “sit like a hen” with two bricks atop her shoulders in the hot sun.
The report also intimates that the delay caused by her mother’s attempt, to first ward off evil spirits, which leads senior police officials to believe that may have contributed to Khan’s death.
Khan’s parents however are enraged that no charges have been brought against the teacher, who punished their daughter by having her stand out in the sun.
Why no one intervened as the child’s nose bled, when she vomited, and finally lost consciousness under the weight of bricks on each shoulder in the sweltering heat, is what Khan’s parents would like to know.
Who are we to believe?
“The child was admitted in with severe seizure and her condition further deteriorated before she slipped into a coma. She was shifted in critical condition,” said Dr. KK Deuri, medical superintendent of Maharshi Valmiki Hospital.
Although doctors stated that the cause of death was due to an epileptic attack, which was triggered by the corporal punishment inflicted on Khan by her teacher, no official charges have been brought against Manju (26).
As the events surrounding her death unfold . . . has Shanno Khan’s fate already been decided by New Delhi officials, who would rather let this incident slip quietly out of the public’s consciousness as opposed to excavating the truth, and risks exposing for the world to see, that the barbaric and inhumane tactics used by teachers to discipline their students, is just part of a normal school day.
Bradley Booth/Freelance Commercial Writer
Website: www.BBoothAssociates.com
Why Leave the Children to Strangers?
Did a supervisor’s comments lead a despondent, disillusioned, and distraught Ervin A. Lupoe, to kill his wife and five young children before taking his own life as well?
The answer to that may never be fully known.
Police were alerted on January 28 by KABC-TV, when the station received a fax letter and a simultaneous call from a deranged person threatening to commit suicide. Arriving at the home in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Wilmington, police found the body of Lupoe in an upstairs room with his daughters: 8-year-old Brittney and twin 5-year olds Jasseley and Jaszmin. His wife, Ana, was found in an adjacent bedroom with the other set of twins: 2-year-old boys, Benjamin and Christian.
Investigators found a revolver by Lupoe’s side and a suicide note nearby. In the note, Lupoe indicated that there was an ongoing business dispute between himself and officials at Kaiser Permanente West Los Angeles Medical Center.
Kaiser Permanente said that they are cooperating fully with the police investigation and issued the following statement:
“We are deeply saddened to hear of the deaths of the Lupoe family,” the company said. “Our sympathies are with all their extended family and friends at this time. We are also providing resources and support to our employees who are affected by this tragedy.”
Could this tragedy have somehow been averted?
Early Tuesday, KABC-TV received an embittered, disjointed two-page letter from Lupoe blaming his actions on his former employer. Investigators believe that he followed up the letter with inconsistent and incoherent calls to the station, threatening to kill his already deceased family, and saying that when he returned home “my whole family has been shot.”
The letter goes on to say that Lupoe and his wife had made a suicide pact. The letter also referred to an investigation in connection with employment misrepresentation involving a child care issue. The missive further contends that a Kaiser supervisor questioned why the Lupoes had come to work and if he had been faced with a similar situation, the supervisor would have blown his brain out.
“So after a horrendous ordeal,” the letter continued, “my wife felt it better to end our lives, and why leave our children in someone else’s hand. . . . ”
Kaiser denies the allegations and said that the Lupoes had both been terminated, although they would not elaborate on what grounds, but maintained that they had sufficient reasons for the dismissals.
Speculations have been running rampant to make sense of this pointless tragedy:
“This was a financial and job related issue that led to the slayings,” said Los Angeles Deputy Police Chief Kenneth Garner. “It’s a grisly scene.”
“Unfortunately, this has become an all-too-common occurrence in the last few months,” Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaragosa told reporters. “No words can describe this tragedy. There’s no way to comprehend this unspeakable act.”
Perhaps the mayor is right, but with so many questions left unanswered—why has Kaiser not allowed the supervisor that made the alleged comments to come forward and disprove what Lupoe claimed drove him to massacre his entire family, and to ultimately turn the gun on himself?
These are indeed trying economic times . . .
“No matter how desperate you are,” City Councilwoman Janice Hahn said, “no matter how frustrated you are, to think this was the only answer—to take your whole family with you in death—is just too much to understand?
Did a doting father and mother as others have described the Lupoes; truly believe that they had nowhere else to turn, and the only way out was to kill their entire family so that their children would not be left to strangers?
“Oh lord, my God,” Lupoe’s letter concluded, “is there no hope for a widow’s son?”
Given the fact that a myriad of outreach programs exist that he could have tapped into, and the public’s reaction over this senseless and tragic act, the only answer—most assuredly is a resounding no!
Bradley Booth/Freelance Commercial Writer
Website: www.BBoothAssociates.com
Don’t Feed This To Your Kids . . .
485 people fell ill and six others have died due to salmonella tainted peanut butter that originated from a plant located in Blakely, Georgia.
The plant does sell directly to the public, but ships peanut butter in (5) to 1700 pounds containers that food companies use in a variety of products. Worse, is the fact that these containers are used by schools, nursing homes, hospitals and child care centers. The aforementioned list contains two groups that are more susceptible, to the effects from eating foods contaminated with salmonella, children and the elderly.
As of Sunday there have 101 products recalled and the list continues to grow. Popular brands enjoyed by children are on the list, such as: Little Debbie, Keebler, Famous Amos, General Mills, Kroger and Club Foods.
Parents should not take this latest salmonella outbreak lightly or confuse it with the earlier recall by Peter Pan and ConAgra foods. Peanut butter has such a far reaching effect that parents must really stop and consider all the products that contained peanut butter or peanut paste.
Consider for a moment, how contaminated salmonella peanut butter, shipped from one plant in Blakely, Georgia has such a profound effect that it threatens the health of anyone who has eaten a product manufactured with its ingredients.
The list of products that uses peanut butter is innumerable, but I’ll just touch on a few: cereal, cookies, cakes, crackers, candies and ice cream.
Each and every product that touches your children or love ones should be checked before it reaches their lips. Don’t be misled in thinking that because you threw out a jar of peanut butter that the threat ended there. You would be surprised at how many items contain some form of peanut butter or peanut paste even though you couldn’t tell by how the product’s named.
To take the seriousness of this latest salmonella outbreak a step further . . . parents should be very leery of vending machines. Salmonella can live in peanut butter paste snacks sold from these machines for months.
The list of states affected by this latest recalled has reached 43. The remaining seven states free from reporting any salmonella incidents attributed to this recall are: Alaska, Delaware, Florida, Louisiana, Montana, New Mexico, and South Carolina.
According to the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) King Nut peanut butter has tested positive for the strain of Salmonella associated with the nationwide outbreak. The FDA also notified the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) that product samples taken from the plant in Blakely, Georgia have been tested and found positive for Salmonella.
Of all the dangers, which surround children on a daily basis, that parents diligently, try to protect them from, who would have ever thought that now . . . peanut butter would have to be added to the list?
Bradley Booth/Freelance Commercial Writer
Website: http://www.BBoothAssociates.com
30,000 Jobs Lost!
The culmination of one operating blunder after another has led to the ultimate fall from grace for the 2nd largest electronic retailer in North America.
Circuit City announced today that it will liquidate its remaining 567 U.S. stores after failing to locate a buyer or a getting an extension on its DIP loan.
The company had three options available:
1. Find a buyer: It was reported the Mexican Tycoon Ricardo Pliego Salianas, who recently purchased a 28% stake in the company as a potential suitor. Others named in acquiring the trouble electronic retailer was Golden Gate Capital and a joint bid by liquidation firms, Hilco Merchant Resources and Gordon Brothers Retail Partners.
2. Acquire additional financing to keep its doors open.
3. Get an extension on its DIP loan.
With 2.3 billion dollars in debt, Circuit City had very little choice but to liquidate its remaining stores if one of the above conditions weren’t met.
“We are extremely disappointed by this outcome,” James Marcum, acting CEO for Circuit City, said in a statement. “Regrettably for more than 30,000 employees of Circuit City and our loyal customers, we were unable to reach an agreement with our creditors and lenders to structure a going-concern transaction in the limited timeframe available, and so this is the only path for our company.”
The company’s demise can be traced to Executive mismanagement, outdated inventory, and its inability to compete with its chief rival, Best Buy and other local electronic retailers.
This latest news comes as no surprise for the Richmond, Va. based company whose stock has languished below ten-cents for several months and was delisted on the New York Stock Exchange.
It would seem that Circuit City had built up ill will over the years with consumers as well as its own workforce. The consensus from most of the people that I have spoken to:
Circuit City has been insignificant and going out of business for years. The only ones that didn’t seem to see the writing on the wall was upper management.
The company’s decision to displace knowledgeable high paid associates for inexperienced low paid employees may have hasten its demise.
Perhaps one of Circuit City’s workers summed it up best:
“Board this place up—stick a fork in them, they’re done!”
Bradley Booth/Freelance Commercial Writer
Website: www.BBoothAssocitates.com
Mangini-Mangenuis-Manidiot
Once heralded as a breath of fresh air from the erratic play calling and time management issues that defined the Herman Edwards’s era, the New York Jets announced their new head coach on 1/17/06.
After a dismal 2005 season of finishing 4-12, the Jets hoped that Mangini (the youngest head coach in NFL history), would bring a refreshing change, a reversal of fortunes, and end the team’s Super Bowl drought.
Mangini guided the Jets to a 10-6 record in his first season, finishing 2nd in the AFC East, and eventually losing in the first round of the playoffs to the New England Patriots. The competitiveness of the team that first year prompted sports talk radio host Max Kellerman to labeled Mangini as Mangenuis.
In 2007, it seemed as if the wheels had fallen off the cart. The Jets matched the record of Herman Edwards’s last season, another putrid 4-12. They say that winning cures all ills, and with this losing record, Mangini’s stoic demeanor became a hot topic of discussion.
In 2008, the Jets responded to their fans to put a better product on the field. They spent 140 million dollars, acquired Brett Farve, and let go of a fan favorite, quarterback Chad Pennington. At first it appeared that the money was well spent as the Jets were 8-3 through the first 11 games of the season.
Jets fans were beside themselves with the team’s early success, and there was talk of the team finally making it to the Super Bowl. But all that wishful thinking was short-lived as the Jets went on to lose the next two out of three games. It was evident that this was not the same team, and it further exposed the fact that the coaching staff had no viable plans for correcting the deficiencies to return the team to its earlier success.
Next was the debacle that exposed Mangini’s lack of confidence in his team when they played the Seattle Seahawks and only managed to score a field goal. On the first drive, the Jets offense was fluid but Mangini perhaps not having confidence in his team, elected to kick a field goal as opposed to going for it on fourth down; although they were only short about a half-a-yard.
Fans were further infuriated that they were assessed a delay of game penalty that move them out of field goal range, and Mangini elected to send the punting team out, when clearly Jay Feeley felt he could make the 50 yard attempt.
What led to Mangini being labeled as buffoon by sports talk radio show host Joe Benigno was in the fourth quarter from the Jets 20, when Mangini elected to go for it, although they were up against the 2 minute warning and had three time outs left. This erratic play calling reminiscence of the Herman Edwards’s era further exposed the ineptness of the coaching staff, and the fact that they entered the game without a viable plan to win.
Worst was Mangini trying to explain how he and his coaching staff knew that the game between the Jets and the 3-11 Seattle Seahawks was going to be tight, and how the game plan was sound although all they could muster was three points.
The prodigal son (Chad Pennigton) returns to the Meadowlands and leads last year’s 1-15 Miami Dolphins in capturing the AFC East title.
Kairos is an ancient Greek word meaning the right or opportune moment, but in the case of Eric Mangini it has come to mean nothing but another year of heartache for Jets fans. The mental and physical errors on both sides of the ball only illustrate what fans have suspected for a long time. Mangini’s stoic demeanor has rubbed off on his team, and the mental and physical mistakes they make in big spots further corroborates the fact that they have lost confidence in the coaching staff’s ability to arm them with a game plan that they can execute successfully.
New Yorkers have to contend with yet another collapse. The Jets should take a page from the Mets playbook and get rid of Mangini now or the calls for his dismissal will be a distraction if the team gets off to a slow start next season.
A man who couldn’t get his team to play with more passion, in the two most important games needed to salvage their season, isn’t worth being labeled a genius . . . that title clearly belongs to his mentor . . . Bill Belichick.
Bradley Booth
Website: www.BBoothAssociates.com
