I just finished reading Sean Rowe's cover story on Dan Marino ("Chasing Danny," November 12). What an awful write-up. What did the Miami Dolphins' quarterback ever do to him? Here we have a professional athlete who lives among us, who doesn't make headlines about doing drugs or domestic abuse, and he earns this less-than-glowing report from you.
Sure, he makes the big bucks. Don't we wish we all made what he makes? The truth is, this is what the NFL is about these days, and Marino has the stats and certainly has broken enough records to earn his salary. He wants to win the Super Bowl, and who could blame him?
As far as "his own special form of autism," obviously Mr. Rowe doesn't have a clue about that. As the parent of an autistic child, I could tell you otherwise. Marino likes to keep his private life just that, private. He probably doesn't like his bodily functions announced either.
Terri Bryant
Davie
Eurasia: Donte's Inferno
I was an employee of Eurasia [Motor Corporation] ("A Real Wheeler-Dealer," Michael Freedman, November 5). A friend immediately faxed me a copy of the article, since I was once affiliated with this organization. I was not surprised by the problems, because I could see it coming. I was under the impression that the people I was working for were trustworthy, but I quickly learned otherwise.
They kept people in the dark -- just about all of us went unpaid for months, and I am not sure who was getting compensated, but I know I was not. The thing that bothered me the most was the lack of honesty. They were never truthful. Someone would always say that they were about to get some investors together and sign some contracts. I just wanted honesty. They gave me bad checks. The potential to fail is always greater than success when it comes to [new] businesses, so I did not expect much. The only thing that was important [to them] was image. The boats, the Rolex watches, et cetera.
I do not have anything bad to say about everyone in the company because there were some good people there, specifically Jules Pier and Howard Patterson. It was their way of doing business that bothered me -- I just want the money that they owe me. I tried to maintain the loyalty that I thought they were giving me, but that loyalty quickly diminished. I am not out as much money as the other people in the article claim, but at the time I was a student fresh out of college, hoping for the opportunity to display my skills. They promised me a fortune, but I was in it for the opportunity. As a graphic designer, I just wanted creative freedom, and that is exactly what they offered. Even though times were rough, I stayed. Even though I was not getting compensated, I remained because I was trying to stay loyal. Soon the loyalty turned into regret and disappointment, and finally I was asked to leave and then asked to return. How is that for loyalty? I am glad that I am not in Florida any more, I mean who would hire someone with Eurasia on their resume?
Donte Turner
via the Internet
The Other Side of the Gate
I am writing this letter to clear up some impressions made in the article entitled "Schoolgate," (Jay Cheshes) which was printed in the August 27 New Times. My name was brought up in the article, with Andrew Greene making allegations about me that are not true. Here is what I know to be the truth:
*Andrew Greene came to me in 1985 when I was a counselor supervising an adult-education program and he was a GED teacher in it. He was very distraught. He related a story of great distress to him because his uncle was dying, an uncle from whom Andy had expected to inherit a considerable amount of money. But the uncle had remarried, and Andy feared the new "aunt" would get the money. So he devised a plan involving a baseball bat and a stocking cap. He said he had actually gone to the aunt's apartment building to carry out the plan but lost his nerve. He then went to see another teacher, Jean Davis. She told him he needed help, and he came to my office.
*On hearing this story, I went to my immediate supervisor, Robert Crawford. State law requires counselors to report this kind of problem where danger to another person is involved. Mr. Crawford advised that Andy be removed from class and referred to the Employee Assistance Program for evaluation and counseling. Later he was allowed to return to class.
*Several years afterward Andy was teaching an evening GED class with Jean Davis. The principal of the school made a decision to move Andy to a different class, which had fewer hours and therefore less pay. Immediately an anonymous letter was sent to Jean Davis' daytime principal at MacArthur High School. The author pretended to be a student who was criticizing Mrs. Davis' teaching. The contents of the letter also contained information that Mrs. Davis had shared with Andy during their evening class together. When Mrs. Davis was advised of the letter, she went to the union. As part of the ensuing investigation, I was contacted for an interview by Dave Steele in the school system's internal security department as one of several people who had worked with Andy. I told Mr. Steele what had transpired in the 1985 episode with Andy and his aunt. Jean Davis told the same story, as did another teacher who had knowledge of the incident. Mr. Steele told me that Andy was also called in and admitted the story was true.
*Around the same period that the anonymous letter to MacArthur High was sent, other letters were sent to the superintendent of schools, complaining of favoritism towards women when full-time contracts were awarded in adult-education programs. Andy was a part-time, hourly teacher who had long been vocal about not having a full-time contract with benefits.
*In the early '90s, Andy ran for the Broward County School Board. The Miami Herald published the story of the plot to kill his aunt. Andy lost the election and sued the school board for releasing the information. He has since been denying what he told me and has accused me of making up the story. He also, in the article, accuses me of writing the anonymous letter. This is outrageous, ludicrous, and not true. He is trying to use me as a scapegoat, it would seem, in his attempt to win a large sum of money from the school board.
*As for Grace Stadelmyer's statement that I confided in her about writing anonymous letters, this is completely untrue. The nature of the letters themselves had nothing to do with me. She and Andrew Greene were very close friends, and her nephew was Andy's first attorney in the lawsuit. I can only guess at her motivation for concocting this story.
When the reporter [Cheshes] wrote the "Schoolgate" story, he did try to contact me for my statement. Unfortunately I was on vacation, and the story was printed without my side of the story. This is my belated response.
Nancy Adams, Ph.D.
Boca Raton
