Joe -:- Amtext -:- Fri, Mar 23, 2001 at 22:45:18 (GMT)

__ Michael Dettmers -:- Amtext -:- Sat, Mar 24, 2001 at 04:03:26 (GMT)

__ __ Red light! -:- Amtext -:- Sun, Mar 25, 2001 at 02:56:23 (GMT)

__ __ bill -:- Thanks Michael Dettmers, have a great trip..nt -:- Sat, Mar 24, 2001 at 15:16:56 (GMT)

__ __ anon -:- ask Steve Gross about Amtext (nt -:- Sat, Mar 24, 2001 at 07:17:45 (GMT)

__ __ Joe -:- Amtext -:- Sat, Mar 24, 2001 at 04:45:41 (GMT)

__ Daneane -:- Amtext -:- Sat, Mar 24, 2001 at 03:03:25 (GMT)

__ __ B.B. -:- Daneane,can you explain about the Cal. amtext ?nt -:- Sat, Mar 24, 2001 at 04:19:26 (GMT)

__ __ __ Daneane -:- Daneane,can you explain about the Cal. amtext ?nt -:- Sat, Mar 24, 2001 at 06:19:54 (GMT)

__ __ __ Joe -:- Text Mart is the California division of Amtext -:- Sat, Mar 24, 2001 at 04:35:29 (GMT)

__ B.B. -:- Amtext -:- Fri, Mar 23, 2001 at 23:24:22 (GMT)

__ __ For the Record -:- Amtext -:- Sun, Mar 25, 2001 at 02:44:30 (GMT)

__ __ Joe -:- Amtext -:- Sat, Mar 24, 2001 at 00:32:37 (GMT)

__ __ __ B.B. -:- Brains?In that operation?I don't think so.... -:- Sat, Mar 24, 2001 at 01:30:35 (GMT)

Date: Fri, Mar 23, 2001 at 22:45:18 (GMT)
From: Joe
Email: None
To: Everyone
Subject: Amtext
Message:

Amtext, as most of us know, is this textbook-buying company started in the USA in around 1980. Originally, it was set up to raise money for Maharaji, staffed mostly by ashram premies, but it spread quickly and many premies got positions as 'book-buyers.' I remember guys like Sean Brogan, in the San Francisco ashram, working as book-buyers. They basically went to college campuses and offered to buy 'sample' textbooks from professors, who got them for free all the time, and then sold the books, through Amtext, to book wholesalers for a higher price, thus making a profit.

A premie who claims to have started the business in Boston, also claims that he offered the business as a means to employ premies, and, he claims, Chuck Nathan and DLM simplye stole the business from him.

Anyhow, the business grew, and Amtext incorporated in Florida, and was apparently able to funnel money to Maharaji for his personal use. Maybe money was given to Elan Vital as well. Anyhow, we were informed that Maharaji would have 'parties' at the residence to thank the bookbuyers for supporting him. Apparently, he said that money from Amtext was largely responsible for building the 'new' residence in Malibu, some of the blueprints of which are on the EPO website.

Some one recently found in the archives the corporate statement for Amtext and it is below. At that time, Amtext was owned by the officers, who are listed.

I noticed that one of the officers was Michael Dettmers and another is the ubiquitous attorney, Robert Jacobs. Other than Nathan, the only other name I recognize is Paula Blanche, who I recall as a nice person, a kind of soft-spoken woman with a pleasant disposition.

Okay, two questions:

First to Michael: You said this was one of the businesses that you had Maharaji become an 'investor' in to get income. But this statement does not list Prem Pal Rawat as an officer. How did that work? Also, was part of that deal making you and Jacobs officers? Was the income that M got from Amtext taxable to him, or was it a 'gift of love?'

Also, I note that sales in 1998 were listed as $1.4 million. This would tend to indicate that Maharaji wasn't getting the millions out of that company that people said he did. If sales were only at that level, profits had to be substantially less, due to the need to actually pay the bookbuyers. Does anyone have any additional information on the actual profits of the company?

Second: Others have said that Nathan described Maharaji as 'the beneficial owner of Amtext' at least to the premies, although probably not to the non-premies who apparently were bookbuyers. La-Ex said that at some point Nathan and the other stockholders just turned over all their shares to Maharaji, and he now owns Amtext outright. Is that true?

BUSINESS TYPE: Corporation - DATE INCORPORATED: 12/04/1985
Profit STATE OF INCORP: Florida
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Business started 1985 by officers. 100% of capital stock is
owned by officers.
CHARLES NATHAN. Background unavailable.
P D POTTER. Background unavailable.
PAULA C BLANCHE. Background unavailable.
ROBERT A JACOBS. Background unavailable.
MICHAEL V DETTMERS. Background unavailable
Amtext Inc
Text Mart
11900 Biscayne Blvd
Miami, FL 33181-2743

TELEPHONE: 305-892-0900
COUNTY: DADE MSA: 5000 (Miami, FL)
REGION: South Atlantic

BUSINESS: Wholesales and Retails Books Periodicals and Newspapers

PRIMARY SIC:
5192 Books, periodicals, and newspapers
51929901 Books

SECONDARY SIC(S):
5942 Book stores
59420000 Book stores, nsk

LATEST YEAR ORGANIZED: 1985
STATE OF INCORPORATION: FL DATE OF INCORPORATION: 12/04/1985
ANNUAL SALES REVISION DATE: 01/03/1998

LATEST TREND BASE
YEAR YEAR YEAR
(1996) (1994)

SALES $ 1,400,000E $ NA $ NA

Return to Index -:- Top of Index

Date: Sat, Mar 24, 2001 at 04:03:26 (GMT)
From: Michael Dettmers
Email: dettmers@gylanix.com
To: Joe
Subject: Amtext
Message:

Joe,

I am leaving early tomorrow morning for London, so I will briefly answer your questions. If you have further questions for me, they may have to wait until I return at the end of next week since I can’t promise to spent much, if any, time on the Forum while I’m gone.

First let me clarify something. Notwithstanding what your research indicates, at no time was I ever an owner, either directly or indirectly (on M’s behalf) in any of the companies in which M held a beneficial interest. When I was involved, I often served as a Director and in one or two cases I also served as an Officer in those corporations. However, being a Director or an Officer is not synonymous with being an owner.

Bob Jacobs is an independent lawyer (meaning that he is not a premie) who served as M’s personal tax attorney. He also served as his trustee, in several cases holding whatever stock M owned in some of the corporations. He sometimes served as a Director of these corporations but never as an Officer. M paid taxes on whatever income was legally distributed to him. It’s been well over a decade since I had anything to do with Amtext or any of the other companies, so I don’t know what their current revenues are, nor how much is distributed to M.

Michael

Return to Index -:- Top of Index

Date: Sun, Mar 25, 2001 at 02:56:23 (GMT)
From: Red light!
Email: None
To: Michael Dettmers
Subject: Amtext
Message:

First let me clarify something. Notwithstanding what your research indicates, at no time was I ever an owner, either directly or indirectly (on M’s behalf) in any of the companies in which M held a beneficial interest. When I was involved, I often served as a Director and in one or two cases I also served as an Officer in those corporations. However, being a Director or an Officer is not synonymous with being an owner.

Correct. Not necessarily. Not unless the Directors/Officers own the shares of the company which this report claims they did.
And Dettmers was quite obviously one of them.

Therefore his answer doesn't jive with the report and I believe we're owed more of an explanation than what we've just been offered.

Have a nice trip Michael!

Return to Index -:- Top of Index

Date: Sat, Mar 24, 2001 at 15:16:56 (GMT)
From: bill
Email: None
To: Michael Dettmers
Subject: Thanks Michael Dettmers, have a great trip..nt
Message:

asdg

Return to Index -:- Top of Index

Date: Sat, Mar 24, 2001 at 07:17:45 (GMT)
From: anon
Email: None
To: Michael Dettmers + Joe
Subject: ask Steve Gross about Amtext (nt
Message:

nt

Return to Index -:- Top of Index

Date: Sat, Mar 24, 2001 at 04:45:41 (GMT)
From: Joe
Email: None
To: Michael Dettmers
Subject: Amtext
Message:

owever, being a Director or an Officer is not synonymous with being an owner.

Michael, I am aware of that, but the report said the officers started the company and were the owners. That's why I mentioned it. But you've said you didn't have any ownership interest. I guess that and the report doesn't jive, or else the ownership was in the other officers. Thanks for the info.

Can you explain the process of you and Jacobs becoming officers in 1985? I realize you're leaving town. So no hurry, I just wondered how all the worked.

I also know about Jacobs, and he is all over the Maharaji corporations, to this day.

Return to Index -:- Top of Index

Date: Sat, Mar 24, 2001 at 03:03:25 (GMT)
From: Daneane
Email: None
To: Joe
Subject: Amtext
Message:

I once asked the manager of Amtext's California incarnation, Text Mart; 'Is it true that M owns Amtext?' After a pause he said, 'I'm not able to answer that.' Kinda struck me as a confirmation.

Return to Index -:- Top of Index

Date: Sat, Mar 24, 2001 at 04:19:26 (GMT)
From: B.B.
Email: None
To: Daneane
Subject: Daneane,can you explain about the Cal. amtext ?nt
Message:

bb

Return to Index -:- Top of Index

Date: Sat, Mar 24, 2001 at 06:19:54 (GMT)
From: Daneane
Email: None
To: B.B.
Subject: Daneane,can you explain about the Cal. amtext ?nt
Message:

Text Mart buys and sells text books to California State University at Fullerton. They, along with some other stores, get the Professor's books requests from the campus book store, Titan Shops, for each semester and make them available to students. I worked for Titan Shops when they came in. Titan was in fear of the big wig Amtext. They'd seen the rise and fall of a few other mom and pop type places come in before. Text Mart has lasted the longest. They sell new books as well. I can't base this on anything other than other places having folded...but it seems they make their money off used books...buying and selling. I don't think they make much. Last time I asked about it they said they were just barely in the black. I just worked there as a temp during a few of the rush weeks when school started.

Return to Index -:- Top of Index

Date: Sat, Mar 24, 2001 at 04:35:29 (GMT)
From: Joe
Email: None
To: B.B.
Subject: Text Mart is the California division of Amtext
Message:

But I think it's just a dba for California. I looked it up in the California corporate records some time ago.

Return to Index -:- Top of Index

Date: Fri, Mar 23, 2001 at 23:24:22 (GMT)
From: B.B.
Email: None
To: Joe
Subject: Amtext
Message:

Joe-that sales number is puzzling, because a few of the big time buyers, like the Brogans(who BTW, really set the policy and run much of the company, while Chuck checks out other opportunities, which BTW, are quite laughable, especially one idea that really blew up..)have huge amounts of 'sales' each year (theirs is about $500,000.00/yr), which they make a percentage of.

So, the total sales volume of the amtext buyers has to be at least 20-30 million, of which amtext gets a percentage(probably 10-15% or so....which would give amtext a 'take' of about 2million-4.5 million....after overhead, which is not much(salaries are not great)..M gets most of what they take in...

M is the 'owner', as of a few years ago...
Chuck used to be, with M in some position as some sort of 'beneficiary', but according to Chuck, M is the actual owner, while chuck runs the day to day operation...

The Brogans are despised by most bb'ers around the country, as they constantly invade other peoples territories by training new buyers that they make a commission off of...they pretty much tell Chuck how it should go, and Chuck relies on their direction most of the time...the office staff is generally staffed by very sweet, amiable types, but a bigger bunch of 'yes men', you will not find anywhere...

Can you elaborate more on the Boston premie who says Chuck stole the business from him?
I heard something similar about a guy from Michigan..maybe same guy..
Would the Boston guy post here?

Return to Index -:- Top of Index

Date: Sun, Mar 25, 2001 at 02:44:30 (GMT)
From: For the Record
Email: None
To: B.B.
Subject: Amtext
Message:

Can you elaborate more on the Boston premie who says Chuck stole the business from him?
I heard something similar about a guy from Michigan..maybe same guy..
Would the Boston guy post here?

The fellow who discovered the faculty bookbuying business and sought the help of premies to build a company that would contibute a tithe to m , only to have his idea ripped off so that a company could be developed that would be totally for m's benefit (Amtext), has already posted on the forum using the pseudonym 'RDS.'

Back in the 70's RDS lived in Boston, but today he lives in Michigan, so I do believe you're talking about the same guy.

Return to Index -:- Top of Index

Date: Sat, Mar 24, 2001 at 00:32:37 (GMT)
From: Joe
Email: None
To: B.B.
Subject: Amtext
Message:

Can you elaborate more on the Boston premie who says Chuck stole the business from him?
I heard something similar about a guy from Michigan..maybe same guy..
Would the Boston guy post here?

It was a while back, but somebody posted (I thought he was from Boston) about how DLM/Nathan stole the bookbuying business from him. It would be in the archives, or maybe even on the website, and maybe others around here remember.

Thanks for the info. Sean Brogan was not one of my favorite people. Sean's not, shall we say, in the fast reading group, though, so I am told it is his wife who is the 'brains' of that operation. Do you agree?

Return to Index -:- Top of Index

Date: Sat, Mar 24, 2001 at 01:30:35 (GMT)
From: B.B.
Email: None
To: Joe
Subject: Brains?In that operation?I don't think so....
Message:

I guess Barbara, by default, could be called the 'brains' of that operation (sean was called 'blockhead' in his younger years), but I would categorize her more as the 'manipulative bitch' of that operation...
Stories about them are legendary amongst bookbuyers....kind of like 'war stories'...amongst vets....

Return to Index -:- Top of Index