Nation of Michael
Published January 03, 2004
Both Mac Diva and I have mentioned the rumors that Michael Jackson is now receiving help with security and allegedly advice from the Nation of Islam. The NY Times has more on the matter today:
- Leonard Muhammad, a man whom friends, employees and business associates of Michael Jackson say is running many of the pop star's affairs, has a history of failed businesses, fraud allegations and unpaid tax bills behind him.
According to State of Illinois public records, Mr. Muhammad, chief of staff and son-in-law of the Nation of Islam's leader, Louis Farrakhan, ran a series of companies in the 1990's that were dissolved by the state in recent years for failure to file proper documents or to pay back taxes, among them Nationway Ventures International Ltd., DiNar Products and Economic Solutions Inc.
Earlier investigations, by The Chicago Tribune in 1995 and The Washington Post in 1996, found that Mr. Muhammad helped run a company that sold an unproven treatment for AIDS in poor Chicago neighborhoods and ran companies producing and selling soaps, shampoos and other toiletries - including one called POWER Inc. - that were chased by tax authorities and creditors for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
- Born Leonard Searcy in 1945, Mr. Muhammad married Donna Farrakhan, Mr. Farrakhan's daughter, in 1983, and changed his name to Leonard Farrakhan Muhammad.
In 1996 The Washington Post reported that Mr. Muhammad ran a series of toiletry companies that records indicated owed a total of $226,949 to creditors and tax authorities.
The Tribune reported that Mr. Muhammad was listed as an officer of a company that sold interferon as an anti-AIDS drug in African-American neighborhoods in Chicago in the early- to mid-1990's. The company, Per Ankh Inc., advertised in The Final Call, the Nation of Islam's newspaper, and was promoted vigorously by group leaders from the mosque podium. Doctors at the time called the treatment ineffectual and criticized the company for giving false hope to those dying of the disease.
- Nation of Michael
- Published: January 03, 2004
- Type:
- Section: Culture
- Filed Under: Music: News
- Writer: Eric Olsen
- Eric Olsen's BC Writer page
- Eric Olsen's personal site
- Spread the Word
- Like this article?
- Email this
Save to del.icio.us
Comments on this articleComments
Selling ineffectual drugs as a false hope to diseased people has now entered the top 5 most reprehensible things I can think of. Coincidentally (allegedly) diddling children is close by on that list.
Lets change the name of the site to Flogcritics. Then we can proceed to open a can of whoop ass on all pedophiles criminals.
I am not saying M.J. is a criminal, C., because I do not know what really happened. I want the best for him. But, he has to get out of the mess he is in somehow.
Craig, Leonard sounds like he is slippery as an eel. I suspect he has equally slippery lawyers helping him. People don't manage the things he has done without any convictions otherwise. It is also curious that a person who has been judgment proof for decades is able to start business after business. Have the investors and banks he deals with never heard of background checks?
Where've you guys been keeping yourselves? Had lengthy New Year's Eve hangovers, eh?
MD, regarding where people have been for the last week or so: I am actually incredibly happy with how little drop-off we've had in traffic over the holidays. Other than the actual holiday days, we've had virtually no drop-off at all. I think it means people are willing to make an effort to get to us even when they are away or out of the usual environment in which they read us. This is a big change from even as recently as the summer - things are looking very favorably for '04.
Eric,
You are right, I have become a 'Blogcritic Junkie'. I suffer from withdrawls if I don't log on and read it. ;~)
I usually miss out on the weekends because of time constraints, but that makes me look forward to Mondays!!! Then I can catch up on blogs....
Thanks debbie, very glad to hear it and we appreciate your support and input!
Did any of you watch that Bashir documentary? I'm not surprised at all, Micheal Jackson is friggin' nuts.
Yes, the pathological lying was even more disturbing than the statements about sleeping with children.
Add your comment, speak your mind
(Or ping: http://blogcritics.org/mt/tb/11414)
I agree Muhammad sounds like fraud personified. But how can Michael be rescued from him? If he had good security people, they would have run a background check before letting Muhammad get access to him.
What I am seeing is neglect, neglect, neglect. With all the people Jackson has around him, including his family, it seems almost criminal no one intervened in his affairs before now. Yes, it is embarassing for adults to have their affairs taken over by family or a receiver while they are treated for whatever is ailing them. But, as many a celebrity can testify, it can save their careers and even their lives. Even now, an admission he is overwhelmed might be the best way to go.
Last night, I thought about Michael's mess as a writer with a result I think you will find interesting. The entry is up at Mac-a-ro-nies and will also be posted here.