George Sarr:
Thanks for a job well done! I am really impressed. Keep it up! It is very
late here in the UK (4 a.m), but I'll write again tommorow.
Regards,
Ebrima
>From: Mr Makaveli <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: The Man Behind The Peanut Shell:Hilo's Alan D Collins
>Date: Thu, 30 Nov 2000 19:39:43 -0600
>
>Folks , I don't know where to begin with this unscrupulous character.
>One thing I know for sure is that he is the 'real' Alan D Collins. However,
>finding his 'funny' companies such as Hilo is as mysterious as
>deciphering that D in his middlename. But I was relentless,and I launched
>into my excavations into this 'Alice In Wonderland' peanut broker/dealer.
>And here is what I dug up from my little consumer investigation.
>
>First thing I did is contact SGL INTERNATIONAL LLC P.O.Box 20124,
>Atlanta, GA 30358-2124 at 404-252-6887. I spoke with a gentleman by the
>name of Curt Johnston.. Now if you follow this link :
>
>http://www1.surfsouth.com/~apnut/page8.html
>
>titled BROKERS & DEALERS, scroll down a little and to your right you shall
>see Mr Curt Johnston, his title Traffic/Logistics. Just above Mr Johnston
>is our real mcCoy, the demented Sir Alan D. Collins. Note his title : Vice
>President. Ping! uh-huh!
>
>Anyways,I introduced myself to Mr Johnston as a prominent investor in
>the peanut business, who has to make a decision very soon and that I was
>scouting the market and that before I throw all my DOUGH on 'funny',
>companies I think I should get to know a little about the company's
>background and he knows that was very understandable. He said ,
>" they've been in the business for while blah blah ". The usual, so I
> interrupted him and ask him if he knows a competitor name Hilo whose
>president I noticed was their former VP. He replied quickly that, " Mr
>Alan
>D Collins was indeed their former vice president." " Mr Collins did not
>leave
> their company in good terms." I asked him then if he would recommend Mr
> Collins company. His answer, " Mr Collins has a reputation of being an
>unscrupulous businessman and that he does not take good care of his
>customer. " He add, " Mr Collins can be very convincing and has a way of
>talking his way out ". In short he means he doesn't recommend him and that
>they can offer me a better service. Curt also mentioned that Mr Collins
>left
>their company 4 years ago and started his own brokerage. I asked Curt if
>SGL (their company) or Hilo (Collins' company or brokerage I should say),
>for comparison purposes, are fortune 500/ multi-million companies ,because
>I am the VP of a multi-million international company? His answer was, "
>well
>all of us are small companies and privately owned but he wouldn't disclose
>any more information . So to me, his answer means 'WERE SIMPLY PETTY
>TRADERS' trying to make a living in very competitive and risky business.
>
>That was the end of my phone conversion with Mr Johnston. I thanked him
>and moved on to my next phone call. This time it was Stephanie from
> www.peanutsusa.com. Not an e-mail but a phone conversion. I called
>703-838-9500 and asked for Cindy Stickles. She wasn't available so
>Stephanie
>was there to help me. I asked her what their company oes and that I was an
>inquiring peanut investor. She explains that they have registered peanut
>brokers and dealers and what they do for them is explain on their mission
>statement, which is on their website:
>( http://www.peanutsusa.com/services/mission.html).
>Fair enough.
>
> I then ask her if they are affiliated with a comapny name Hilo whose
> President is Alan D Collins. She checked their database and her answer
>was , no sorry he is NOT LISTED. I asked, how about SGL INTERNATIONAL
>LLC ? She looked, and her answer this time is : they're LISTED with us .
>In conclusion, she stated that if a peanut company is not listed in their
>database, and they in the US market, then they should NOT be taken taken
>seriously.There is also the American Peanut Shellers Association who also
>register genuine, NOT the 'funny', peanut brokers and dealers. They too do
>not have Mr Collins' company listed. Keep in mind, all along that Mr
>Collins
>told us his company is US based yet none of the Better Business Bureaus
>know about his existence. So, we know atleast that his company website is
> not www.peanutsusa.com. Viz:
>..................................................................
>DETAILS ON WWW.PEANUTSUSA.COM (courtesy of networksolutions)
>
> **Public Record***
>
>Registrant: National Peanut Council, Inc. (PEANUTSUSA-DOM
>1500 King St., Suite 301 Alexandria, VA 22314 US
>Domain Name: PEANUTSUSA.COM
>Administrative Contact, Billing Contact:
>Stickles, Cindy (CS12114 [log in to unmask] National Peanut Council, Inc.
> 1500 King St., Suite 301 Alexandria , VA 22314 703-838-9500 (FAX)
>703-838-9508
>Technical Contact: Administrator, DNS Technical (KB336 [log in to unmask]
> Epoch Networks 555 Anton Boulevard Costa Mesa, CA 92626
>714 327-2000 (FAX) 714 327-2187 Record last updated on 12-Sep-2000.
>Record expires on 13-Sep-2002. Record created on 12-Sep-1996.
>Database last updated on 30-Nov-2000 06:19:31 EST. Domain servers
> in listed order:
>AUTH1.NS.ENI.NET 205.214.45.6
>AUTH2.NS.ENI.NET 155.229.2.181
>AUTH3.NS.ENI.NET 155.229.126.67
>..........................................................................
>I found out that the reason some these brokers don't have a website is
>not because they can't afford it.The reason is they are so full of
>'peanuts'
>and it won't be in their best interest for consumers to know about ther
>unscrupulous behavior. It appears to me that anyone can really pursue
>these peanut brokerage licence just as you would go about getting a real
>estate licence. Have little bit of cash , say $50,000 - $100,000, a
>business
>licence, dudge Uncle Sam(IRS), go to a third world country as they called
>it, juice their government and play hardball. Question is how long are
>willing to play this game. Now Mr Collins look like he was caught with
>his pants down. Am afraid if he doesn't take his chill pills, he may
>suffer
>from a heart attack or dementia praecox and may not even last long
>enough to pursue any litigation.
>
>In my head, all these bits and pieces are now making a lot of sense. When
>I read this crook's e-mail addressed to Ebrima Ceesay, I felt what is the
>big
>fuss ,running around and ranting like a chicken with it's head cut. If
>there
>is no element of truth in Ebrima's story, why would any president of a
>genuine company reacts in such an infantile manner. It's very obvious that
>he is out to stop any whistle-blower before his little investment shinks
>into
>the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. No wonder his former employer didn't
>speak well of him. Any ingenious businessman, especially a president of
>a corporation , will first consult with his legal team and top executives
>before
>publicly waging a lost battle with a renown journalist like Ebrima Ceesay.
>You go boy!
>
>These litigated tactics does nothing but add more guilt to accusations made
> before him. What Ebrima is doing is what any noble Gambian would do if
>they smell a RAT, and for some us who do not have the ability to see shi*
>when they smell it ought rally behind Ebrima. One thing that also doesn't
>add up is a timeline discrepancy. According to Mr Collins, he had been
>investing in the Gambia with Hilo since 1993, yet when I asked his former
>employer, they said said he left the company in very bad terms 4 years
>ago,
>which would have been 1996. Lots of inconsistencies and variations is what
>I've been able to pile up from this 'bag of peanuts' character.
>
>Did , I also mention that I talked to his secretary here in the US. That's
>right,
>I forgot. Her name is Wil Helmina, which she eloquently spelt and carefully
>noted on my Bic. Anyway here's how the our conversion lays out. I
>introduced
>my self, this time as Hector Nunez. I told her I am a mexican peanut
>investor
>scouting for a major trade deal and needed to inquire about their company.
>She said," they are a small privately owned company based in Alpharetta,
>GA, USA.
>COLLINS BROKERAGE COMPANY, LLC . Our President is Alan D Collins
>and he is out of the office. " I asked where he might be and she replied,"
>he
>is actually out of the country and will be back in couple of weeks". I
>asked,
>what exactly they will do if I was interested. She replied , " well Alan
>buys & sells highest bidders and gurantees profit to his clients but I
>would
> have to e-mail Alan who would be in a better position to explain it to me
>.
>His e-mail address : [log in to unmask] was here confirmed by his secretary. .
>I was expecting his e-mail to end with @hilo.com or @hilonuts.com ,
>something
>to embellish that presidential status he seemed to be affiliated himself
>with,
>you know . So I thought this guy is really hiding behind a firewall.
>
> When I asked her how big they were , you know fortune 500 or something.
>She replied," we a very small company. We have only one location worldwide
>and that is our Georgia location. I then asked her how many people work
>for the
> company. Her reply? It's only the 4 of us, uh-huh. Then she sighed, " Ok
>honey ,
>I got to go now. E-mail Alan and he will be able to assist you further." I
>wanted
>to say who are you calling 'honey', but I understood it is a southern
>hospitality.
>Man! What a mess! These are the people our government are trusting with our
> taxpayers money. These people/companies are ghosts for crying out loud
>sake.
>The question that is still clouting my reasoning is what exactly is this
>Alan D Collins
>DOING for our poor susceptible farmers, and Gambia as a whole. Maybe he can
>explain it in layman's term and not in 'peanut's term'. And how
>irresponsible can
>any government with supposedly educated decision-makers, all that
>KNOWLEDGE,
>all that COLLEGE , to allow a petty peanut broker from the South swindle
>such
>amount of money. Either Mr Collins is incredibly stupid or incredibly smart
>to
>think that we , patriotic Gambians, will be intimadated for simply
>inquiring what
> is in our national interest. No amount of intimidation and
>inducement(checkbook)
>will prevent us from fighting against injustice, because injustice anywhere
>is a
>threat to justice everywhere.
>
>.................................
> 'THE MAN BEHIND THE MASK'
>
>COLLINS BROKERAGE COMPANY, LLC
> 4640 Valais Court
> Tel: (770) 753-2980
> Suite 200
> Fax: (770) 753-2985
> Alpharetta, GA 30022
> E-mail: [log in to unmask]
> Company Tax ID is 582-250-242
> Alan D. Collins, President
>......................................
>
>
> By FOX 5's Randy Travis (o-:)!.
>
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