RoguePlanet

But WarrBuffett72@hotmail.com said he had great business acumen . . .

From the Myrtle Beach Sun News:

More discrepancies into the references of former Myrtle Beach Pavilion Amusement Park master developer Barry Landreth have surfaced, including a statement from Goldman Sachs saying the investment firm has never done business with him.

Other references submitted last year before the Downtown Redevelopment Corp. picked Landreth in May came from individuals using e-mail accounts through Yahoo, Hotmail and Coxnet, not the business firms those references claimed to represent. Copies of those references were given to Mayor Mark McBride, who requested more information about the original background checks. McBride wants the city to take over downtown redevelopment from the corporation.

On Tuesday, Goldman Sachs issued a statement to The Sun News saying the investment firm has never done business with Landreth. The e-mailed reference dated Feb. 20, 2004, did not come from the firm. In the original e-mail written from a generic Yahoo account - which local officials said carried a lot of weight because of the firm's reputation - the individual said, "We have had equity commitments with Webster Realty for 3 years."

That wasn't true.

"According to our records, Goldman Sachs does not have any business relationship with Mr. Landreth or his company," said Andrea Raphael, a Goldman Sachs spokeswoman.
"Furthermore, the Goldman Sachs employees named by Mr. Landreth do not know him and have never done business with him." [emphasis mine]

Duh. If I'd had any idea how gullible the Downtown Redevelopment Corp. was, I'd have pitched my services as a consultant or something. TedTurner01@yahoo.com and JackWelch66@hotmail.com would have given me glowing recommendations.