February 11, 2010

SC Johnson accused of racketeering; Ex-employee claims company covered up $5 million in illegal tax credits

SC Johnson knowingly committed international tax fraud and retaliated against an accountant who attempted to bring the fraud to light, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court on Feb. 5.

Michael DeGuelle, a tax accountant fired from SC Johnson, makes the allegations in a 49-page complaint against top SCJ executives and the company itself. The case was filed in Wisconsin Eastern District Court.

Kelly Semrau, SCJ's vice president of global public affairs and communications, said Thursday in a written statement that DeGuelle's claims "have no legal merit." Here's her full statement:
"Mr. DeGuelle’s federal conspiracy and racketeering claims have no legal merit and we will ask the court to dismiss the complaint. This new federal complaint is based on the same allegations Mr. DeGuelle has made -- and the company has denied -- in the company's lawsuit against him in Racine County. We continue to be extraordinarily determined to continue with our defamation, replevin, conversion and breach of contract lawsuits against Mr. DeGuelle in Racine County and look forward to our day in court.

"We don’t believe that any of the claims against the individuals have any merit."
DeGuelle, who managed the company's state taxes, claims SC Johnson illegally took foreign tax credits totaling $5,082,048 between 1998 and 2000, according to the lawsuit. The credits involved SCJ's foreign subsidiaries in Spain, Holland and Canada.

DeGuelle accuses SC Johnson executives with forcing him to destroy paperwork to cover up the illegal tax credits and eventually firing him for attempting to blow the whistle on the credits. At one point, the lawsuit says DeGuelle was inpsired to come forward with the allegations after hearing a speech from SC Johnson CEO Fisk Johnson about "doing the right thing."

The lawsuit explains how DeGuelle, who worked on domestic taxes, got involved with the international taxes. The foreign tax credits required revisions to the company's domestic taxes, which he worked on. But the lawsuit also claims SC Johnson executives encouraged him to secretly locate the incriminating international tax files at night and on weekends, so no one would know he was compiling the information.

The lawsuit also alleges SC Johnson initially received one of the tax credits by mistake, but then filed additional revisions to its taxes to exploit the mistake for further gain.

DeGuelle claims he was fired from his job over his effort to bring the illegal tax credits to light, first to company officials and later to the Department of Labor, which investigates allegations of illegal accounting methods under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

After firing DeGuelle, SC Johnson filed a defamation suit against him for taking confidential documents from the company. The case is ongoing before Judge Emily Mueller in Racine County Circuit Court.

The federal lawsuit, filed by attorneys Janet Heins and James Walcheske, lays out a detailed look at the alleged tax violations and DeGuelle's allegations of harassment, and firing, over his efforts to be a "whistleblower" on the alleged illegal activities.

DeGuelle filed the lawsuit against: Kristin Camilli, SCJ's head of human resources, Vice President and Chief Information Officer Mark Eckhardt, Executive Vice President Gayle Kosterman, Donald Pappenfuss, VP of Corporate Tax Robert Randleman, Global Tax Counsel Daniel Wenzel and SC Johnson.

As an interesting legal aside, DeGuelle is suing SC Johnson under the federal RICO Act, which was passed in 1970 as a tool to fight the Mafia. The lawsuit accuses SC Johnson of a conspiracy to silence DeGuelle, which the lawsuit describes as "racketeering."

Read the full lawsuit here.

Earlier stories HERE and HERE.

382 comments:

  1. From 1998 to 2000? Which predates Sarbanes-Oxley, and is way beyond the six-year statute of limitations on federal tax prosecutions?

    Yes, it's a civil matter now, and perhaps RICO allegations make it into a supposed ongoing conspiracy ... but he still seems like a pretty slow whistle-blower to me.

    Good luck, anyway.

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  2. The Statute of Limitations is ten years for a RICO lawsuit.

    Sarbanes Oxley was enacted in July of 2001. The time frame in question is indicated in the lawsuit as 1998 through 2009, clearly after the enactment of Sarbanes Oxley.

    The real question is how does this reconcile with the other article running on the Racine Post in which SC Johnson accuses the trucking company of greed? Can anyone say hypocrite of the first order.

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  3. Anon,

    Thanks for clearing that up.

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  4. It was quite interesting reading... Pretty one sided but agian that's his story. I'll put my money on SCJ - they have too much to lose so I can't imagine them doing what they are accused of.

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  5. Local and State Govt. are in SCJ's back pocket, let's see if the Feds are also. My guess is that they are not.

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  6. Uh oh Lucy....You gots some splainin' to do........

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  7. Yeah, and JI Case would NEVER sell illegal tractors to Iraq, right? Wait, they're no longer around. There goes the neighborhood!

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  8. Sarbanes-Oxley:
    The legislation set new or enhanced standards for all U.S. public company boards, management and public accounting firms. It does not apply to privately held companies.

    Last time I checked, SCJ was private. DeGuelle seems to be grasping. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again....

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  9. Oh no, I hope SCJ never leaves this city, because how would I ever survive?

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  10. This town needs SCJ, sorry people. If they did something wrong, they should get busted but all of the people that want to run them out of town permanently are insane.

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  11. Kelly Semrau2/11/2010 3:31 PM

    Dustin:

    In your phone message today you indicated to an administrative professional at 12:12 pm that your deadline was 4 pm when you then ran a story at 1:28 pm stating “SC Johnson officials were not immediately available for comment Wednesday.” I’m sorry so here is our statement:

    Mr. DeGuelle’s federal conspiracy and racketeering claims have no legal merit and we will ask the court to dismiss the complaint. This new federal complaint is based on the same allegations Mr. DeGuelle has made -- and the company has denied -- in the company's lawsuit against him in Racine County. We continue to be extraordinarily determined to continue with our defamation, replevin, conversion and breach of contract lawsuits against Mr. DeGuelle in Racine County and look forward to our day in court.

    We don’t believe that any of the claims against the individuals have any merit.

    Kelly Semrau
    Vice President - Global Public Affairs & Communication
    SC Johnson

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  12. Question is - will the Journal Times cover this story? It will be interesting to see.

    Corporate greed has no limits!

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  13. Anon at 3:22 - you are not entirely accurate regarding Sarbanes Oxley applying to only public companys and public accountants.

    The lawsuit here is under 18 USC 1513 (e) which was enacted as part of Sarbanes Oxley and it applies to EVERYONE - no exceptions. To this limited provision of Sarbanes Oxley only - no one escapes the reach of the law.

    If SCJ has done what the lawsuit states, SCJ (or more so the executives involved) will be held liable by the courts under 18 USC 1513(e) regardless of being privately owned.

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  14. Anon 3:08 & 3:17 - yu apparenltyy aren't going to wait for the evidence - go right to execution.
    Both of you seem sure that SCJ is in the wrong - why don't you wait for the trial?

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  15. Wait'n for Mr Angry - this is his lawsiut isn't it???

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  16. Perhaps... However, this is also the beginning of the end of the Waxtrash Corporate Crime Family's reign of error in Racine.

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  17. Here's a poem addressed to our oppressors: How do you like it now?/To jail you're on your way./ For generations of greed/ your evil class must pay./ We've got nice prison suits for/ each boardroom boar and sow./ You're headed for the pig pens./ How do you like it now?/// How do you like it now?/ We've seized your Bugspray Bank./ Your fam'ly's pride and power/ have landed in the tank./ We'll auction off that seaplane/ your bling and your fancy scows/ to fund social programs./ How do you like it now?/// How do you like it now?/ The pain you gave the poor/ at last has come home to roost./We'll make you clean the sewer./ And when our COs address you,/ you ex-CEOs will bow./ We'll take back all you stole from us./ How do you like it now?

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  18. And now you've heard from ther Plantiff (ie:4:16 & 4:28).
    We know it's you!

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  19. God, I hope you were a better tax manager than a poet.

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  20. The man certainly holds a gruge! He really needs help!

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  21. I hope so too!

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  22. It couldn't happen to a more-deserving tribe of pretentious treasure tyrants.

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  23. Michael again at 4:48

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  24. I'll tell you who it isn't. It isn't Edwin Arlington Robinson.

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  25. Believe it or not, thousands of low-income residents of Racine hate the oligarchy and its Cornell carpetbaggers.

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  26. Fine the Swine!

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  27. Michael ar 5:28 & 5:33

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  28. Coming soon to a cushy corporate campus very near you: NATIONALIZATION.

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  29. As someone whos worked with the records of the foreign subsidiaries at SCJ, I can't imagine that this scenario is entirely true as the complaint states. SCJ's records are diligent and beyond compliant with the minimal requirements of SBO. Furthermore, compliance in many instances exceeds the requirements imposed upon public entities. I'd say theres a reason why the complainant has filed an entirely new case in federal court rather than appeal his lower court decisions to higher authority. They most likely have been dismissed with prejudice. Probably because they are on their face frivolous and/or without merit. Then again I, just like everyone else on here, may just be an outsider looking in.

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  30. There are plenty of closets in The House of Wax and each one contains an interesting skeleton.

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  31. Anon at 5:48 - Read the lawsuit. I know it is long, but alot of good details. This has to do with the IRS making a mistake and SCJ then not only concealing the mistake to collect $5 million they were not entitled to receive BUT THEN taking advantage of the mistake to get a couple million more fromt the IRS that they were not entitled to receive. This has nothing to do with the foreign subsidiaires making a mistake - THE IRS made the mistake and SCJ decided to keep it and then conceal the mistake so the IRS would not discover it later.

    What is this other lawsuit you refer to. I have done a search of the CCAP and there is no other lawsuit on the state side or federal side that was dismissed with prejudice. A federal RICO lawsuit would only be filed in Federal court.

    If you read the lawsuit attached to the article, it appears more likely that the case SCJ filed in Racine Country court is the case that is frivolous and without merit. I think SCJ filed the Racine lawsuit for no reason other than to beat this guy to the punch and try and discredit him and the unlawful activity he has exposed.

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  32. I have read the complaint and reiterate that it is exactly that. The facts are alleged by the party filing it. They have yet to be answered by SCJ. While I don't know whether they are true or not, I must remind you that the complaint is by no means evidence. Evidence is collected with discovery and adduced at trial or by motion - there is no such evidence in a complaint. These are only facts alleged to have occured and not stipulated with evidence. That step occurs later, as it always does in our adverserial system.

    Please do not take my skepticism as entirely precluding any chance tha SCJ is at fault for something. I merely stated that based on my experience, I highly DOUBT that such accusations are true. Additionally, the only proof you and any member of the public have at this point is the complaint that ALLEGES certain event. There is no proof that these events, in fact, occured. I reserve my judgment until further evidence is obtained and/or trial transcript is available.

    CCAP is not an exhaustive list of all legal proceedings in the state. There are exceptions to the requirement.

    Also I will concede that I have not read the previous courts. I merely have been following this case, as most have, by the two media sources in the community. I was under the impression that Mr. DeGaulle filed other court proceedings stemming from these same allegations - namely tax fraud, defamation, etc. While this federal case was issued under a new theory of law (i.e. RICO) it nevertheless is rooted in the same allegations. If he has failed under other theories of law and elected not to appeal those decisions - I would be inclined to assume that those previous theories have been dismissed with prejudice. In short, Mr. DeGaulle appears to be trying another theory because his previous theory under the same facts failed.

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  33. A lot of assumptions here. I believe in "innocent until proven guilty".
    SDJ

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  34. At least we know that Semrau reads these comments.

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  35. Kelly Semrau you have a Soul?

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  36. She has a paycheck.

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  37. Forget Johnson Wax

    It may be news, but most of us would rather here about other things around the community.

    Far to much Johnson crap on here.

    Your site is to good to get stuck on this one company and its issues.

    You have made your point over and over. Your falling into the Journal -Times style of bad news.

    Your new cyber media is far to good to waste your time reporting about the WAX BOYS and their problems.

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  38. I find it extremely how some people here think the worst of SCJ or want them to leave. That has to be the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Yes, we have someplace for the 2k+ people they employ to go. Those employees spend their money in other businesses that support the local economy. Before you make an idiotic statement, think about the full consequences.

    As for Mike's lawsuit, I can call an elephant pink all day long, that doesn't really make it pink.

    This is just funny.

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  39. I find it extremely funny - was the first sentence.

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  40. Headlines will read some day
    JOHNSON'S WAX BUILDS WORLD CLASS CULTURAL CENTER IN RACINE,WISCONSIN

    The massive Complex will include a modern new high tech Public Library, Fine Arts Museum, Heritage Museum and a large Theater for stage and music productions. all under one roof with a public mall space in the center. The complex is to be built on City redevelopment land.

    A member of the Johnson family remarked at the ribbon cutting - "The best interests of our home town have always been our first priority"

    Laugh now!! But I've seen crazier things happen in my short life. Maybe I'm a dreamer? But so was the original Samuel C. Johnson and look what happened to his dream.

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  41. Beautiful dreamer, please wake up. The last thing our poverty pit of a town needs is more art and culture. As for the Waxies as philanthropists, please don't make me laugh. If they were so good, they'd pay their property taxes instead of dumping them on elderly residents who are being taxed out of their homes.

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  42. Anon: 6:35 - You sound like you may also be an attorney. I think the other lawsuits you are referencing are actually administrative complaints filed with the DOL. I did a search of the DOL administrative law judge site and found the case you are referring to.

    It is not a lawsuit you reference, but an administrative proceeding in front of the DOL. There was no decision rendered in that case because the plaintiff withdrew the compliant and the administrative law judge dismissed it without prejudice.

    I think you may be jumping to conclusions here. I suspect the DeGaulle filed a Federal RICO lawsuit due to the triple damage component of RICO. It may also be due to the unique aspects found in 18 USC 1513(e). The DOL has no jurisdiction under 18 USC 1513(e). A complaint under that statute would need to go directly to Federal court.

    If you read the old articles that ran on this story, I think SCJ may indeed have some real problems here. SCJ says that DeGaulle took documents and that is why they fired him. Both parties admit the same thing and seem to be in agreement on that point. SCJ never says who DeGaulle gave those documents to. DeGaulle says he gave the documents to The Department Of Labor (Law Enforcement).

    18 USC 1513(e) forbids anyone from retaliating against another person for providing information to a law enforcement officer. Based upon the admission by SCJ that it terminated DeGaulle for disclosing confidential documents, it seems to me that SCJ is guilty. The only question is did DeGaulle provide the documents to anyone other than law enforcement. At least according to the complaint attached, the documents were not given to anyone other than law enforcement officers.

    Kelly Semrau - Let your HR department know that the next time they want to fire someone they should do so without giving them a reason. If SCJ would have fired DeGaulle for any reason other than giving information to law enforcement officers, they wouldn't be in the trouble they are in right now.

    Of course, the whole thing could have been avoided if SCJ would have done the right thing in the first place as DeGaulle talks about Fisk Johnson discussing in his complaint.

    No matter how you cut it - It is simply immoral and unethical to keep $5 million that was given to you by a mistake being made by the IRS. It is also down right wrong to then take advantage of that mistake to enrich yourself further. SCJ, shame on you if that is true. Every other truthful hard working taxpayer in the country has to make up the difference for people or companies that are dishonest and greedy. As a family company you truly should be ashamed if this is proven to be true.

    The complaint also says that when the SCJ employee Wenzel decided to coverup the IRS mistake his response was "this is why I go to church". I certainly don't think you are right on that one. No matter how much you go to church, dishonesty and greed that is done intentionally to take advantage of someone else is not forgiven so easily.

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  43. Michael Kroes2/12/2010 1:20 AM

    Talk about jumping to conclusions! I'm content to see what the court decides before passing judgement based on someone else's speculation.

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  44. When a dear Sister whom I know and respect read this story, she sang a hymn of praise ("Te Deum"). God grant that the poor of our community, our state, our country and our planet soon may be free from oligarchic oppression.

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  45. As for those who say that Racine needs a certain corporate clan, that statement is ridiculous. Under a planned economic system, the government could give our people all the jobs and paychecks presently provided by the Waxclique. Contrary to its propaganda, the House of Wax is a dollar-sign dynasty which runs its hierarchically-structured companies strictly for the exclusive benefit of "The Family."

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  46. Memo to Doctor Risk Waxman, Sir, although you and your crass class brothers enjoy your monetary Mardi Gras, the carnival may be over.

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  47. Let the guilty swines' heads roll!

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  48. YOOO,
    Wait a minute. This is not a court room. Public opinion on allegations made is just that, OPINION. Some of you folks have SCJ tried and convicted. HOW DANGEROUS A LITTLE BIT OF INFORMATION CAN BE. Can we voice our opinions without prejudice. Judge others as you would want to be judged.

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  49. Typical socialist/communist...guilty until proven innocent. Socialists are so cruel.

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  50. I was very surprised to see the story on the front page of the Journal -Times this morning. I expected it to be tucked back in the business section.

    Johnson's Wax and the Racine Journal -Times have one thing in common 75% of their employees came to Racine just for a job. Few of them really give a hoot about Racine unless their bosses tell them too.

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  51. Dear Hunter John and 9:08 AM, In view of the corporate class' filthy fianancial finagling at the expense of the working class, your concern about fairness towards our Waxies is laughable. Seriously, not all socialists deem suspects guilty until proven innocent. (Alas, some social democracies whose statutes and legal systems go back to Roman Law and/or the Code Napoleon equate defendants with culprits. However, these lands had such biased legal systems centuries anterior to the advent of socialism. Likewise, nations with legal codes and systems derived from English Common Law and Germanic Law tend to be more protective of suspects' rights and usually grant defendants the precious presumption of innocence.)

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  52. I am flattered by your comment about me being an attorney. I consider myself an educated citizen, although I wouldn't mind if I made the money of an attorney. :)

    Anyway, I do recall SCJ's personnel policy being that employees are not to take any documents that are work related out of a work environment for purposes other than work. I don't think SCJ fired DeGaulle so much for the fact that he raised litigation (although it is possible) as they did for an obvious breach of that confidentiality agreement. All employees are to sign this agreement and submit back to HR/Legal and if he broke that policy regardless of what he did with that information, I feel that he should be subject to the consequences.

    Again we are all speculating without fact. I will reserve my judgment upon the discovery of substantive evidence.

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  53. Amen! Even so, when you're around Waxies, it's wise to watch your wallet.

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  54. Among the corporate porkers you'll always find a racket. Either they're oinking up a storm of porker-ate propaganda and other pro-business noise or they've got the other type of racket going on behind boar-droom doors.

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  55. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  56. In any event, the swank swines' victims are rejoicing!

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  57. Lol! When Fisk Johnson talks about "doing the right thing," he means making more money, not telling the truth. What a cut-up!

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  58. @11:58 - Again, you've assuming that the complaint is true, and I can tell you - complaints are just broad assumptions from attorneys who like to make things look worse than they are. Yes, he probably filed under RICO for triple damages, but that assumes there will be any damages. You sound more like Mike's attorney than just some commoner with no knowledge of the facts.

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  59. A planned economy is based on the government telling you what and when to make certain products. 1) we don't have a planned economy; 2) I don't trust the government to make the right decisions; and, 3) all planned economies are based on socialism.

    If you want to live in a planned economy, go to Cuba (nearest one).

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  60. oligarchic oppression - it's getting very old - come up with something new - loser.

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  61. Let the future decide who wins and who loses. After the oligarchy has forfeited its wealth and power, we'll give you something new to read.

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  62. It's a better, safer world when the winners don't win too big and the losers don't lose too hard.

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  63. Anon at 10:23 - I worked at SC Johnson and I never signed any confidentiality agreement.

    I only signed an assignment of invention rights when I started at the company.

    In any case, if such an agreement did exist, it would be null and void. A contract or confidentiality agreement cannot be made or heldup in a court of law if it would require the concealment of a crime.

    If SCJ did indeed commit the tax fraud mentioned, that is indeed a crime. Any confidentiality agreement would be held null and void by any court as it relates to any attempt to conceal a crime.

    I see the real question that we will need to wait for an answer on is did SCJ really commit the tax fraud this guy says they did. If that is proven to have occurred, I think alot of this other stuff people are talking about on here just doesn't matter. I can only think there has to be something here if this guy took those documents. Fact is, the guy even admits to having taken the documents to give to the Department of Labor. I smell a fish.

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  64. Yes, indeed--so do I. Methinks our finny, finky fiend is a COD (Carnauba Oligarchic Deviosity) or, perchance, a PERCH (Perfectly Egregious Raunchy Corporate Heist). Then, again, our aquatic critter may be a FISK, an old term designating either a generic fish or a Financially Insatiable Scamster's Kid.

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  65. I, too, have worked at SCJ in both departments that handle the confidentiality/disclosure agreements.

    In addition to the invention assignment document, the confidentiality agreement comes with a booklet that you are to read over before you sign and return the document.

    The booklet was renewed around 2003, so it does indeed still exist.

    I do agree that the confidentiality agreement does not prevent employees from raising concerns about possible crimes. What I meant was to suggest that if the crime is determined to have not occurred, then DeGaulle would have violated the confidentiality agreement and thus would be subject to its consequences.

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  66. Mr. Angry is starting to sound like Dr. Suess. Too funny.

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  67. That is funny - he probably looks like him also.

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  68. The grinch who stole capitalism.

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  69. Michael ie; MR Angry has once again taken over a disussion and so at this point I will stop reading...
    He really is a one sick puppy!

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  70. Who's Mr.Angry? I don't know anyone who bears that name. On the other hand, Racine is loaded with irate victims of capitalism.

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  71. I find it very interesting that he states in the lawsuit that he never took SCJ documentation prior to HR telling him to do so and yet when asked, he says in point 63 that he had some documentation at home and would need to get the rest at which point HR told him to come in after hours to get it which is how he ended up having it. Sounds fishy to me! His lawyer can't be too good to miss that one! Oh well, I'm all for waiting for the courts to decide what actually happened...

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  72. Let me see, SCJ is accused of destroying or changing evidence, so the fact that there is no evidence of wrongdoing proves that they did something wrong? This is the same as "have you stopped beating your wife"... Either yes or no gives you the same result - you are a wife beater regardless of the truth. So if SCJ had evidence that they 'cheated" that would disprove his claims. But if they didn't cheat, the fact that there is no proof is proof?

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  73. With 72 comments looks like Johnson's Wax will still be a hot subject on here.

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  74. It's 74 now. 70 of them came from Dr. Suess (Mr. Angry).

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  75. You'd be amazed to learn how many angry men reside in Racine.

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  76. Could someone please explain who this Mr. Angry is? I must be missing something.

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  77. His name is legion.

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  78. Master of the Manifesto, Dr. Seuss, Mr. Angry, Mike, Mr. Step on Children to Promote My Agenda...

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  79. I know Mr. DeGuelle. Back in the 90's he lived in the same condos that I do. I thought Mr. DeGuelle was a very honest and straight forward Man. Our Condo Association had a situation in which it had not filed its tax returns for several years.

    The Condo Association could have incurred thousands of dollars in penalities and fines for not filing its tax returns. There are many widows that live here such as myself on fixed incomes. The thousand of dollars in fines would have bankrupted our Association and hurt all of us living here.

    Mr. DeGuelle corrected the problems of not filing with the IRS. The Association had to pay a couple hundred dollars to the IRS but avoided all of the penalties.

    Given the experience I had with Mr. DeGuelle, if he says this happened, I believe him. I could not see him lie about such a serious matter.

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  80. Looks like Dr. Seuss praises himself again. He then praises the words that praised himself already. I am confused. There is only one Mr. Angry.

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  81. 10:57 - Amen!

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  82. 10:55, 10:57, 11:05 - Amen!

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  83. Anon 10:55 If you have a problem with your Dr. Seuss and Mr. Angry then take the problem up directly with him or her.

    The rest of us here want to have an intelligent conversation. Take your problem some place else. You can be on any side you want with this story, but stick to the story and stop the insults.
    The childish insults are no different than what politicians do in Washington. Go to Washington and play with them if you want to behave like a child.

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  84. OLIGARCHY!

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  85. Dear 1:21 PM, Heck, Washington is sane compared with Racine. We reside in a lakeside looneybin!

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  86. Racine: Where too few have too much/ and too many have too little,/where there's nothing for the bottom /and scant crumbs for the middle. As long as such conditions prevail in our resort of last resort, the rank-and-file residents will gloat over anything which inflicts pain, however fleeting, on the oligarchy and its pampered Ivy League personnel.

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  87. If the Feds were to arrest and cuff a Waxlord, the least fortunate among us would rejoice.

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  88. Coming soon (we pray): the Waxies' grand entrance into a Federal penitentiary's salon de strip search. May a good, strong people's government and social justice prevail!

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  89. Would you eat them in a box? Would you eat them with a fox?

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  90. 10:57 - NOT Amen!

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  91. For decades, the local wage slaves have loathed the excessively-wealthy and arrogant Waxclan. In view of the present depression coupled with the treasure tyrants' labor practices, the torrential outpouring of anti-Wax sentiment should come as no surprise.

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  92. "the torrential outpouring of anti-Wax sentiment should come as no surprise."
    One crazy soul does not an outpouring make.

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  93. Had I the power and authority, I'd take the wicked Waxies on a Tragical Misery Tour of our 'hood and let them see what their kleptoplutocratic greed had wrought. Then I'd drag them to discount stores and other places frequented by their victims and make them hear what the ordinary people whom they've exploited truly think of them. Finally, I'd give them the choice between renunciation of a portion of their fortunes to help the impoverished majority or trial for crimes against humanity which could result in conviction plus complete confiscation of their assets.

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  94. For someone who is so righteous you seem to fail to follow many of the sprital pietas you preach.
    Such a hypocrite. Have some principles and show some consistency.

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  95. If it not OK for the hate monger of Dr. Suess or Mr. Angry to go on and on about nothing, it likewise not right for Mr. Socialist to go on being critical of the Wax Clan without having some substance to your remarks.

    Mr. Socialist, you clearly have some education based upon your use of words that a majority probably does not understand. Put that education to some use would you. Such a radical social agenda is never going to fly. 100% of the wax Clans wealth is not due to stealing, learn from it instead of just being critical of it. It is all in how you package (market) what you are trying to sell. Hate by itself does not always sell. When all you have to offer is hate alone, no one is going to buy your goods. You may be right in some of what you have to say, but it is all in how you market it. Learn from the waxies and how they market their products. Your goal should be to win by what means are necessary and that may mean staying away from the abrasive radical agenda to accomplish your goals. If you want others to support your cause, you need to sell it in a manner that they will buy it. You also need to package it so your audience can understand it. Just my advise so you can be more effective.

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  96. On behalf of my fellow socialists, I thank you for your excellent advice. Even so, most mega-wealth is the result of a-thieve-ment rather than achievement.

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  97. What can we learn from the capitalists? Perhaps observing their dirty ditzy deeds may show us how they misuse their power to rob the rest of us.

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  98. Anon: Precisely, understand how they accomplish their own deeds so you too can use the same methods against them to achieve your goals. While you may not approve of their methods, it is certainly fair to fight fire with fire.

    They are not out looking to sell hate against you, you are not going to win by being out to sell hate against them. Much like working smarter rather than harder, you need to fight smart rather than so hard.

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  99. FISK JOHNSON,

    In keeping with This We Believe and memory of the values your father taught all employees, WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO RIGHT THIS WRONG.

    As an employee of SC Johnson, I have never felt ashame to work for this company until now. This is truly a disgrace to your fathers memory and the values he stood for.

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  100. dear 2:44 PM, Many thanks for your well-intentioned advice. Unfortunately, sad experience has taught me that using capitalist methods can turn me into a capitalist and, hence, part of the problem. What we require is the proverbial "spanner in the works" capable of making capitalism self-destruct while inflicting the least possible pain on the common people.

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  101. It's time for us to close the corporate Babbitt warrens once and for all. By their nature as authoritarian and militarily-structured entities, corporations breed and perpetuate a culture of corruption.

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  102. Let the non-violent dismantling of the military-industrial complex begin!

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  103. Memo to Fisk; Once there's no more corporate capitalist system, you'll have to get a REAL job. Here's your job-training program. Please repeat after me: "Do you want fries with that?"

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  104. Michael Kroes2/15/2010 11:34 AM

    As usual, I get the feeling that most of these anonymous posts are written by the same individual. There might be two people. I suspect they are sitting at the same keyboard though.

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  105. Dear Michael, Don't you wish there were only two of us! Eheu, Racine possesses LOTS of angry men who've had their fill of corporate corruption and economic misery inflicted on their families by supply-side Sadists.

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  106. Dear Mike Kroes, Yes, to use a Biblical phrase, our name is legion. If the style of our comments appears to be uniform or our remarks display a family resemblance, it's due to the influence of a professor with whom we studied at UW-Madison as well as two of his disciples who later became instructors at the University of Michigan. There is also the fact that some of us attended Wayne State University and the University of Pennsylvania, both of which encouraged their faculties and students to expand their vocabularies.

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  107. Inasmuch as the Waxies belong to an organization called "La Societe," here's some more Gallic verbiage for them to consider: "Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite!"

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  108. Fisk, parlez-vous francais?

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  109. Bite me!!!

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  110. Here's a poem about Fisk: Hooray! Someday Fisk's going away/ to a place for bad guys who steal loot./Fisk may soon pay without delay/for being a crass greedy coot./When Fisk's dear Daddy Sam passed on/ Racine did rue it/ 'cuz then Fisk grabbed this town and what/ he did was scr-w it./ If Sam had lived, he wouldn't/ have let Fisk do it/ and Fisk wouldn't be /wearing a jump suit.

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  111. Coming soon to a Federal facility very near the Waxies: Carnauba Court Confinement Compound, featuring Cherokee Red jumpsuits emblazoned with the corporate logo, grandiose convocations of the Trite-Literal Scum-Mission and gala sessions of the Con-Spiel on Firm Ruinations.

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  112. Dear 7:00 AM, Don't forget the Bilker-Booger Grope. Ever since the Waxies launched their Bugspray Bank, they've liked that club, too!

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  113. Anyhow, all of these organizations will meet regularly at the Carnauba Court Confinement Compound, the only Federal pen with Frank Lloyd Wright furniture, model airplanes hanging from the ceiling of each suite and golden poochies which used to eat better than the Waxies' staff.

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  114. Dr. Seuss is stalking to himself again.

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  115. Don't you wish!

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  116. This is a really interesting discussion. I didn't realize Racine could have so many verbally creative people. Also surprising how much rancor there is for S.C.Johnson.

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  117. There isn't that many. Only one person who apparently has split personalities. He calms there are many but if you read their hate filled mutterings, it's all the same person. Best guess - it is no one other than Mr DeGaulle himself. He doesn;t have much to do these days.

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  118. Dear 3:04 PM, You'd be amazed to learn how many Racine residents despise the big-buck buccaneers who run and ruin this terrible town. Although our least-loved porker-ation is Messy-John-It's-A-Sin, Mutt-ine comes in for a fair share of invective along with Rude Lying and other low-cul scum-poo-nies.

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  119. Like I said... ther eis only one! If there are so many of you, why do you all write exactly alike?

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  120. Cool...more Dr.Seuss crap about envy.

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  121. He also does not deny that he is Michael Degulle...

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  122. Then, again, he doesn't affirm it either. I suspect that we're dealing with several people who received their higher educations from the same instructors.

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  123. Nope. Just one wack job with a thesaurus.

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  124. Don't you wish...We're here, we're there, we're everywhere. We're even in the Waxies' lair.

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  125. Two comments:
    1) It is obvious what people with a lot of time on their hands and no job do all day. 2) Man, there sure are a lot of communists that post here. Government takeover of the businesses?!? You won't realize what you have given up- freedom- until it is too late. I will take my chances to run my life, career, etc. rather than have the government be my babysitter and caregiver. Ask those in Tiananmen Square how wonderful it is to have no say and try to voice a little freedom.... Oh, wait, they are dead.

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  126. I'll wait to see the outcome before rushing to any judgement.

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  127. Spoken like a very wise man.

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  128. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  129. Pete and dustin - Mr. Angry is at it again - delete the above comment. Maybe delete him entirely.

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  130. Who's Mr. Angry? Furthermore, why should his remarks be deleted? (The French sentence which offended some people was included in a made-for-TV production of Thackeray's "Vanity Fair." I believe that a character named Becky used it in a scene where she was teaching middle class British girls the Gallic tongue at a second-rate finishing school. To get even with her skinflint employers, Becky would liven up the language lessons with such little gems.)

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  131. Too bad Fisk (or his salary serf Semrau) didn't get to read the deleted French comment. Reportedly, he and his fellow-Waxies love the Gallic tongue so much that they belong to a "Societe" named after a French writer, Alexis de Tocqueville.

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  132. Precisely what that "Societe" does and why the oligarchs participate in it is a mystery. From what I've been able to learn, it may be connected with the United Fund. Let's hope that the "Societe" is linked to or with the United Fund and that it isn't just another Waxscam.

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  133. Memo to Kelly Semrau: Please exhort your Waxmaster to be totally honest with the Feds. Candor and decency still can save him. Thank you very much!

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  134. Memo to Mr. Angry: Shut up! You don't need to own every conversation here and turn them into piles of socialist drivel. We know what you want. Don't be selfish and arrogant. Let others get a word in from time to time (related to the topic).

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  135. Easier to bitch about someone else having money than to work yourself.
    Michael - why is your Linkedin page still show you work for SCJ???

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  136. Work has NOTHING to do with access to assets. If it did, the sixty-hour-per-week wage slaves would be richer than King Croesus. Most of the wealth I've observed in this badnews burg has come from inheritance or labor exploitation.

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  137. Dear 2/17/2010 8:33 AM, Our AmeriKKKan brand of liberty is useless to anyone outside the elite and the upper-middle class. In this sad land, we have the freedom to strive and starve while the rich possess the license to destroy everything and everyone in their pernicious path.

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  138. This is what I am talking about. It's the same over and over.

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  139. That's because it's the TRUTH. Veritas semper eadem, Mister Arrogant. We're not going to falsify it because you dislike hearing the same thing over and over.

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  140. Stalin, Lenin and Hitler used that same method too.

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  141. So did Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, F.D.R., Ike and your adored Ronald Reagan.

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  142. I don't adore politicians. Wrong assumptions again.

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  143. I rejoice to learn that you refrain from rendering latria to the pols. That fact alone makes you a far higher form of kleptoplutocratic life than I'd feared.

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  144. Think about it, Mr. Arrogant. Under different circumstances, you and I could have become close friends.

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  145. Regarding the accusations in the article, they're nothing compared with what the Feds may find once we no longer have a government lodged in the corporate class' back pocket.

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  146. Fisk, do you enjoy Nutraloaf? Some could be arriving soon in a cell very near you.

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  147. Fisk, let's hope the Feds will let Annie visit you at the Carnauba Court Confinement Compound, aka John-Swine-Ville, alias Waxjail.

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  148. Oh Fisk, so facinorous,/thy crimes we see before us./ Thy wage slaves wail in chorus:/"Thou shalt no more rule o'er us!" Sir, pray practice the virtue of resignation. Many thanks! (By the way, if anyone's curious, "facinorous" is a pejorative adjective signifying "very vile" or "extremely evil." It reached its zenith of popularity in late Elizabethan and Jacobean literature.)

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  149. Micheal - you just stay on this page and continue to rant - the rest of us will check back on a week
    You are very sick and in need of help.

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  150. Dear 2/12/2:52 PM, Mr. Angry is neither a "sick puppy" nor, for that matter, a mad mutt. Rather, Sir, he is a watchdog warning us to change our system and its evil ways.

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  151. Dear Fisk, Please cooperate with the Feds. Unlike local and state officials, they aren't afraid of your Waxstash and power which it has given you. Thank you very much!

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  152. Compliance now will spare Dr. Risk from complications later.

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  153. No one his her Michael - your hate is falling on empty ears.

    Get hELP!

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  154. Yes, FEDS, not meds, are the help we require here. May a Federal regime far more radical than the present administration prosecute the House of Wax, seize its assets and incarcerate the formerly rich blight trash. When they check into their truly Big House, may the admission officer treat them as one of his predecessors dealt with Al Capone. (Reportedly, Al Capone was ordered to spell his notorious name in order to teach him that he was no better than anyother inmate. Can't you just hear each Waxie stammering "J-o-h-n-s-o-n"?)

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  155. Yeah, but don't forget the ones who'll whimper "L-e-i-p-o-l-d" and "B-o-y-d." No wicked Waxies must evade arrest, trial, conviction, sentencing and lifelong incarceration.

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  156. ALL POWER TO THE PEOPLE AND THE PEOPLE'S GOVERNMENT!

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  157. Thanks to the excessive wealth, power and influence of a certain clan and its scam-ily scum-poo-nies, existence in Racine is a Fescennine farce. (Perhaps, I ought to have written "Fisk-asinine" in lieu of "Fescennine." However, inasmuch as the adjective "Fescennine" was derived from the name of an Etrurian city notorious for its addiction to obscenity in every form, I shall spare His Money-jesty on this occasion.)

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  158. Down, Waxclown!/ Waxpow'r must be bound./ Waxhouse shall fall/ scatt'ring wealth all around.

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  159. The above ditty has been brought to you by The Wicked Good Militia, non-violent opponents of Racine's most egregious corporate crime families.

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  160. Perchance "Yellin'" may engage our chorale to serenade her guests at a grand gala. Our choristers' warblings would go well with the dulcet sound of the Stradivarius Society's fiddlefaddle.

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  161. Don't forget "La Societe" and its minions. They may regale visitors with French per-verses anent the mysterious five million smackeroos and the eventual fate thereof.

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  162. Wait until you behold "Yellin'" when our sewer-vice-with-a-snarl waitstaff and its hog-swill-iaries bring forth the bow-wow butt-sausage hors d'oeuvres, freshly excreted by the sacred golden poochies. 'Twill be an unforgettable "Whitebread" dining-and-swining yecchh-s-pee-rience.

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  163. Pray chalk up another sow-shill t-wry-umph for "Yellin'" and her House of Wax!

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  164. The Wicked Good Militia would like to present a poem: When golden boys and golden girls/ to prison go divested of their green,/ don't say that no one/ sought to warn the Money-archy of Racine.

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  165. Mean-vile, here's a memo to His Money-sty Kink Risk, a Son of Scam: PAY YOUR PROPERTY TAXES,PLEASE!

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  166. The Wicked Good Militia, together with the Waxbashers, would like to invite His Money-sty to visit the 'hood to observe the misery which he and his Cherokee Red reprobates have inflicted on the people of Racine. Great fortunes from robbed pennies grow,/but tax the Wax and soon they'll go.

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  167. The Wicked Good Militia begs leave to inform His Money-sty that Nutraloaf will be sewer-ved in the Big House's Grand Salon de Chow.

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  168. Mutt-urn art shall be on display throughout the fa-swill-ity. "Uncarin' Waxtrash Boidcage" and "Yellin'" shall perform musical numbers accompanied by their fa-mess golden poochies. Indeed, the Carnauba Court Confinement Compound shall be the most cul-turd cur-wreck-tional institution in the cow's-muss!

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  169. Frank Lloyd Wright would be proud!

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  170. Maybe we'll rename the place "Gnu Taily-Messin'" and stick a statue of Wright's third wife in front of it.

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  171. Mierda sobre la Casa de Cera.

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  172. Cacamos en La Carnauba.

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  173. Cough up the missing cash, Fisk. If you do, the Feds may go easy on you.

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  174. Ch-ngue su Mamacita, Don Fisk! (The above message comes from The Wicked Good Militia and the Waxbashers.)

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  175. Don't forget The Alliance and The Sons of Khem. We've had it with the Waxtrash Corporate Crime Family. Needed: a leader who'll make President Obama look like Paul Ryan.

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  176. Dear Fisk, It came from waxes./ It will go for taxes./ Pray the peasantry won't reach for axes.

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  177. Dear Wicked Good Militia and Waxbashers, A chat with a Yucatecan pal revealed that your Spanish message for His Money-sty should read "ch-nga tu Mamacita." However even though the grammar was peculiar, The Alliance and the Sons of Khem second your emotion.

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  178. Should the Revolutionary Guards make Dr. Risk and his Mamacita "ch-ngar" in front of porker-ate headquarters? Those hindquarters would be quite a sight!

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  179. Inasmuch as the Waxies "ch-ngan" the whole community, we ought to put Dr. Risk and his Mamacita on a flatbed truck or float and trundle them throughout Racine. Everybody except the kiddies (who'd be banned from viewing this adult entertainment) needs to see what Waxies do.

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  180. Querido Fisk, besame el c-lo.

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  181. De rodillas, Senor Fisk!

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  182. For the benefit of those of us that do not speak or write spanish, can we please have a civil discussion in English.

    I just read the Court filing attached to this article. My God! What kind of character is the Wenzel guy. Physically assualting employees. Worse yet, exactly what type of family company has any toleration for physical violence and dishonesty. The only type of family that I know of that promotes these values is the mob.

    I am shocked and outraged at these allegations. How in gods name could a company with such history have allowed such events to have occurred. Where are your morals?

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  183. Out of respect for you and the righteousness of your request, I have asked The Wicked Good Militia, the Waxbashers, the Sons of Khem and The Alliance to refrain from the use of Spanish vulgarities. Henceforth, our groups will endeavor to confine our comments to civil discussions, preferably in English. Please accept my most humble apologies if any of the Spanish material was offensive. Many thanks!

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  184. Dear 6:07 PM, How right you are about the Waxclan's resemblance to the mob! Among the Carnauba cruds and creeps' myriad victims, that evil tribe and its lackeys have been loathed and execrated for years as the Waxtrash Corporate Crime Family. Despite their smarmy propaganda touting their rectitude, the Waxies and their execu-pigs have done everything and anything they deemed necessary to preserve and augment their filthy fortunes. Quoth many a fellow-victim of the Carnauba Court and its Cornell carpetbaggers: there's blood on hands/ with diamond bands/ and snouts which spout corp'rate commands.

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  185. Regarding the Waxies' morals, I must render a mixed report. According to most local sources, a lady I'll call "The Mink Coat Mega-Moolah Matriarch" has tried to be good. Having married money, she eventually acquired some of the purse-pride which accompanies excessive lucre. However, despite a smidgen of arrogance, she is liked and respected by much of the general public. On the positive side of the ledger stands her daughter, "The Winner and Still Champion." Nobody has anything negative to say about this lady, the mainstay of the Salvation Army and many another worthwhile philanthropic organization. Alas, the reports on the rest are a different story, a tale of ruthless corporate avarice coupled with hypocrisy.

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  186. As for "Wenzel the Wildman," we've known about him for quite awhile.Still, he's merely one of many wicked Waxlackeys who've been perpetuating a culture of corruption throughout the Corporate Crime Family's companies for years.

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  187. Truly, the House of Wax is a "house divided" which cannot stand much longer. Built on a foundation of greed, fear, elitism and hypocrisy, the House of Wax is doomed to self-destruction from within and demolition by its victims from without. What the termites of moral turpitude have begun, the irate castle-storming peasantry and its governmental allies shall finish.

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  188. Coming sooner than the oligarchs and their Ivory Tower Ivy Leaguers may care to think: The Decline and Fall of a Racine Empire, featuring His Money-sty Fisk in the role of Romulus Augustulus. (Romulus Augustulus was the last Western Roman Emperor. Subsequent to his abdication and surrender to a Barbarian ruler named Odoacer/Odavacer, only the Eastern Roman Empire--based in Byzantium/Constantinople--remained functional and capable of preserving remnants of Classical culture-cum-civilization.)

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  189. Anno 9:49 and 8:52 - you both seem to exhibit no outrage. I can see you are upset with the Johnson Family, but the behavior discussed in this case is beyond that. This case talks about several high level executives at SCJ promoting a coverup of not just illegal actions, but down right violence. One of the main players in this is Kosterman. I have seen her name around the community for many years involved with outstanding nonprofit groups. I am shocked and outraged if this is proven to be true. How can SCJ allow so many of its high level executives to have behaved in this manner to just beyond me to understand. Sick, sick!!

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  190. Believe it or not, I share your outrage and righteous ire at the flagrant and flagitious misconduct of the Waxtrash Corporate Crime Family and its loot lackeys. For decades, the Waxies together with their fiscal flunkeys and allies have inflicted corruption galore on our community. When did the Waxclan and its upper-echelon staff go bad? One story which I frequently hear in Racine involves the pernicious influence of Frank Lloyd Wright coupled with his notorious third wife-cum-witch. Back in the Dirty Thirties and Filthy Forties, an alcoholic industrialist whom I'll call "Hip Waxtrash" fell for the Wrights' arty propaganda. For Wright and his occultnik mate, aesthetics trumped ethics and morality was well-nigh non-existent. As if that weren't bad enough, the Wrights also introduced "Hip Waxtrash" to the sick dominance-and-submission headgames which they imposed on their apprentices and fellows at Taliesen East and West. Lamentably, "Hip Waxtrash" picked up some of the Wrights' evil tricks and integrated them into his corporate culture. The notorious intrusion of management into the personal lives of underlings which is so typical of existence at Waxtrash companies didn't happen by accident. "Hip Waxtrash" learned it from the Wrights, who liked to tell their apprentices and fellows what to eat, how to dress, with whom to cohabit sexually, how to make love and--in some cases--whether or not to abort their unborn children. Alas, the cultish culture of Taliesen East and West took root in companies owned and operated by "Hip Waxtrash." However, there was a little difference. Just as the slaveys at Taliesen East and West were expected to worship and serve the Wrights, so the paycheck peons and salary serfs at the Waxclan's companies were conned into revering and blindly obeying their money-masters,"the Family."

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  191. So the cesspool of immorality, sexual experimentation, hypocrisy and all-round dishonesty at the Waxtribe's firms isn't a fluke. Between them, the Wrights and the House of Wax created a thoroughly corrupt corporate culture which remains alive and sick, a curse to any community afflicted with it and and abomination of the worst order.

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  192. Dear 3:21 PM, What was the difference between the cultish atmosphere at Taliesen and the pathological corporate culture at the Waxies' companies? They look and sound pretty much alike to me.

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  193. That's an excellent question. On the one hand, there wasn't too much separating one brand of cultish culture from another. On the other hand, however, there were distinctions which we must bear in mind. For starters, the Wrights' little cult centers were total institutions whose brainwashed inmates pretty much kept to themselves unless "The Master" or his consort sent them out on architectural assignments. However, the Waxtrash companies were smack dab in Racine or other communities wherein the Waxies' drudges lived and functioned as citizens. Then there was the size factor. At no point in their histories were Taliesen East or West large entities. By contrast, the Waxclan's firms employed and indoctrinated thousands of wage slaves and execudrones. Finally, there was the matter of money. Though Wright and his third wife occasionally acquired cash, it didn't stay around too long, much less grow into a mega-fortune. We all know what "Hip Waxtrash" did with a respectable stash--he and his son "Scam" multiplied millions into billions.

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  194. However you look at it, the cultish Taliesen mentality which found its way into the Waxtrash corporate culture has been an ethical and moral disaster. Soon, if the Feds find what I think they'll unearth during their investigations, the calamity will spread to the legal, financial and social realms.

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  195. Conceivably, the House of Wax could take American corporate capitalism down with it when it falls. Perhaps future generations of would-be entrepreneurs bewailing the demise of capitalism will curse the day that "Hip Waxtrash" met Frank Lloyd Wright...

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  196. Hello me, it's me again...nice talking to myself!

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