KNOW the great thing about being a castropharian? When an initial scam falls to pieces and prickly questions are being asked, you can decamp to an overseas institute of higher learning and hitch a ride on the climate bandwagon.
From the West, correspondent Man In White With Black Socks sends this item from the West Australian. As the story is not available online, he has painstakingly transcribed it. Many thanks for that. And for a little background, read this first:
Firepower lawyer keeps up the Pace
There’s no stopping the former Firepower lawyer from WA whose private firm made a fortune selling shares to mum and dad investors before Firepower collapsed losing $100 million.
Les Stein’s family company Sattvic Pty Ltd is being sued by investors because it breached the Corporations Act when it sold shares in Firepower without issuing a prospectus.
He also admitted in the Federal Court recently that he ordered key documents relating to the sale of shares in the Tim Johnston-run business to be backdated.
But none of that has stood in the way of his prestigious new job as a research scholar in New York.
Last month, a colleague contacted the Pace Law School to see if the faculty was aware of Mr Stein’s role in the Firepower fuel-additive folly before appointing him.
“We are looking into this matter and have no comment at this time,” school spokeswoman Lauren Rubenstein said.
Mr Stein had a bit more than that to say about our colleague.
“The email is malicious and is designed to make a case against me to Pace to cause them to act negatively towards me,” the lawyer said. “It is possible now that I will lose that position in which I would have made a contribution to the literature on climate change law.”
He said a bit more and signed off with a threat of legal action.
Fast-forward to yesterday morning when an email arrived showing that Mr Stein had nothing to fear from some Firepower facts being put in front of his new bosses.
“Leslie Stein is a scholar in residence working on research projects dealing with environmental law during the 2011 and 2012 academic years,” Ms Rubenstein wrote.
“He is neither a member of the faculty of Pace Law School nor a permanent member of the staff.
“We are confident, however, that his work will make a valuable contribution to the field of environmental law and we are pleased to have him as a part of our scholarly community.”
Let’s hope she’s right because Firepower burnt a lot of people by promising to help save the planet.
Inside Cover checked Pace’s website yesterday and, sure enough, there’s a biography of their recruit without a single mention of the F-word — Firepower.
The West Australian is right about that. There is not a peep on Stein’s biographical entry about Firepower, which is no less than good manners, really. Wouldn’t want to unsettle a settled climate scholar, would they?
Former Firepower investors might wish to contact Judy A. Johnson, Pace’s Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, and share their experiences.
