Fun_People Archive
18 Nov
The Blush Wine of Revenge

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From: Peter Langston <psl>
Date: Mon, 18 Nov 96 23:38:07 -0800
To: Fun_People
Subject: The Blush Wine of Revenge

[When was the last time you read a story in which Corporate America(tm) lost
to the Little Guy(tm) in court?   -psl]

Forwarded-by: mbkomor@remarque.berkeley.edu (m.b.komor)
Forwarded-by: jane@swdc.stratus.com (Jane Beckman)
From: The Oregon Observer...

	Petros Winery makes Boise Barristers And Bankers Blush

 In 1991, owner/operator of Petros Winery Petro (Pete) Eliopolos introduced
two "litigation aged" wines: Petros Boise Bankers Blush and Boise Barristers
Blush. The bottled wine was aged for two years at the expense of West One
bank while Eliopolos was forced to litigate what turned out to be frivolous
charges made against him.

 "These wines are dedicated to a few select bankers and barristers of Boise
who tried to take me on. Those really swell guys know who they are--and
blush they should," said Eliopolos with a satisfied smile on his face.  The
Bankers and Barristers Blush wines are delivered with the subpoena "Maccum
Driccum" which demands of the recipient to assess the wine's character.
Eliopolos describes the wine's character to be exactly like those to whom
it is dedicated. "The wine lacks backbone; it is limp, deceptive and has
hints of cowardice and wimpiness; undertones of deceit arc across the
palette and pucker the senses," a humorously snobbish-sounding Eliopolos
explained.

 From 1986 until 1990 Eliopolos was forced to defend himself and his winery
against a Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) investigation. The
ATF investigation was apparently initiated to force Eliopolos to drop the
charges of racketeering and fraud he was pursuing against West One Bancorp
(see October, 1996 edition of The Oregon Observer).

 The investigation of Eliopolos, however, exposed some less than ethical
practices of West One Chairman Henry Knox and his sister Vice-Chairperson
Ann Neavill.  Knox and Neavill were summarily indicted and convicted of 36
counts of embezzlement and bank fraud.

 The charges against Eliopolos were eventually determined to be without merit
and dropped soon after the convictions of Cox and Neavill. Eliopolos then
filed suit against the attorneys who had represented the bank and its
officers while they forced him to litigate frivolous charges. The court
decided a $1 million judgment in Eliopolos' favor in 1990.

 For four years Eliopolos endured tremendous pressures from the bank and its
attorneys. According to Eliopolos, the tactics employed by the bank's
attorneys were designed to break him mentally and economically. "The bank's
attorneys attempted to force me into an involuntary bankruptcy for the
illegal purpose of seizing my assets," said Eliopolos.

 "Four years of defending frivolous charges in court with my livelihood, my
property and the lives my wife and children hanging in the balance was
stressful beyond anything I have ever experienced in my life," Eliopolos
said.  Eliopolos, 42, a former all American linebacker for Fresno State
University explained, "To relieve some of the pressure and stress of
litigation, I got into the habit of lifting weights in the middle of the
night when I couldn't sleep."

 Lifting weights in the middle of the night not only helped Eliopolos deal
with the stress of the frivolous litigation which was nothing more than a
calculated attempt to destroy his winery, his family name and steal his
assets in the process, it helped him to evolve the extremely humorous
bankers and barristers blush plan. "I vowed to turn this litigation against
me around and, when it was all over, I would dedicate a wine to the bankers
and attorneys who tried, unsuccessfully, to ruin me," Eliopolos said with
that peculiar smile returning to his face.

 "There is no way a person could survive a decade of complex litigation if
he couldn't maintain his sense of humor," Eliopolos said. "The Bankers and
Barristers Blush wines were my little kiss to the cowards and crooks who
purposefully put my family through hell. If they can't take a joke, well..."

 "Wouldn't it be great if the Boise Barristers Blush was the featured wine
at the Idaho State Bar Association's annual Barrister's Ball?"  queried a
mischievously grinning Eliopolos.

 Petros Bankers Blush and Petros Barristers Blush, complete with subpoenas,
are available by special order from the Petros Winery. Contact The Oregon
Observer in time for a holiday delivery of blush wine to that special banker
or barrister on your Christmas shopping list.

 (editor@oregonobserver.com)

© 1996 Peter Langston