SAN FRANCISCO, March 28, 2014 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — San Rafael-based Alcohol Justice announced today that Wells Fargo Bank has become the first Platinum level sponsor for the Bay Area’s newest film event – The REEL Recovery Film Festival San Francisco Bay Area Edition. The four-day festival, taking place during National Alcohol Awareness Month, will present 33 select feature-length and short, fictional and factual alcohol and drug addiction themed films in twenty sessions at two locations and include two world premieres that highlight the disease as well as the hope and opportunity for recovery. There will be expert panel discussions following most of the screenings.
Longevity & Zardoz vs. Healthcare Affordability
Posted on July 14, 2017 by Royal Rosamond Press
I exchanged texts with a man who knew Drew in Bullhead City. They worked at Walmart together, I shared some of the gruesome autopsy with him. He and others – do not buy the SUICIDE!
Earlier I saw my doctor who has followed my amazing family stories for years. I told her Drew and I were abandoned by FAME. I told her I am less isolated after reading Christopher Wildings story abut his mother at the Betty Ford Clinic. Liz could have written a Sober Bio in order to help those who suffer. In 1992 I began a Sober Bio ‘Bonds With Angels’. All Artist’s Bio are FLATTERING to the artist – accept one. Why go for a UNFLATTERING movie that further DEGRADES Rosamond according to Shannon Rosamond Benton who has the movie script?
I’ve been considering where to spread the remains of Drew. I have decided to put them in the green lawn around the Buck Institute, and, pour Drew’s ashes mixed with real blood, down the stairs.
I had more done on my prostate, and can not sit for more than fifteen minutes at a time. I will do much reposting in the next week. I oppressed my panic attack while in the hospital by slowing my breathing down, to the point I set off an alarm. A nurse put a oxygen tube in my nose to get my oxygen count up.
Finding yourself living in a fishbowl can bring on panic attacks. All bios written about artists, already have an Established Public Interest in their art. Buck and Morris see our Family Chaos and Child Abuse as a REAL ASSET that can be exploited in order to create an interest in a artists artwork, so more money can be made from sales of said art. Most humans get upset when their privacy has been invaded. Imagine an attorney and Judge ruling the children of artists – are not entitled to PRIVACY!
John Presco
“By September 2000, however, plans were underway for a biography of Decedent, which Petitioner hoped might create interest in her work. The book was published in 2002. Although the book did not spur the hoped-for interest in Decedent’s life and work, efforts continued to market the concept of a screenplay based upon Decedent’s life. Petitioner hoping that this might be brought to fruition, elected to keep the estate open. However, it is the Petitioner’s belief the likelihood of an increased interest in Decedents work is negligible, and the time has come to close the estate.”
Sydney Morris Special Executor for the Estate of Christine Rosamond Benton.
Sydney Morris Sold Rosamond To Outsider
Posted on December 3, 2020 by Royal Rosamond Press
Christine Rosamond Benton’s claim to fame, is, that after her death many unscrupulous people pretended she was a real famous artist. She was not, as Ira Kaplan testifies to in Tom Snyder’s book ‘When You Close Your Eyes’. What this did was drop The Art Replacements’ in the infamous Labyrinth were they came face to face with the Minotaur. Let the Art Games – BEGIN!
Am I…..THE MINOTAUR?
Whenever Peter Lorie and Mr. Green appear in a movie together, you know a treasure hunt is underway.
John ‘The Dark Disease’ Presco
“Petitioner hired Stacey Pierrot, who had been assistant manager of the gallery during Decedent’s lifetime, to run the gallery and prepare and execute a marketing plan. The gallery was run by the estate until March 1996 when the gallery was sold to Ms. Pierrot through a contract approved by this Court. During the time that the estate operated the gallery, aggressive marketing efforts were made in an attempt to stir interest in Decedent’s work and increase the potential market for her work. In spite of these efforts, interest in Decedent’s work continued to wane.”
Beverage Bank vs.The Spud King
Posted on June 1, 2021 by Royal Rosamond Press
Wine industry veteran DeLuca joins Wells Fargo (northbaybusinessjournal.com)
I just discovered Wells Fargo Bank was double-dipping and dealing when they sponsored REEL and a film about Bill W a founded of Alcoholics Anonymous. Alcohol Justice is still going after Gavin Newsom and PlumpJack winery that is owned by many members of the Getty family who are my kin via Elizabeth Rosamond Taylor, whose brand is White Diamonds. I bank with Wells Fargo and will write a complaint. I do not want to bank with a two-faced political bank that gives mixed messages. These movies looks like the one that Julie Lynch made.
John Presco
My Letter To Andrew Cuomo | Rosamond Press
Charge For Harm and The Chlorine Don | Rosamond Press
The Team — Bacchus Wine & Spirits (bacchusws.com)
Former Wells Fargo execs hired by Bank of the West (northbaybusinessjournal.com)
SANTA ROSA — Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) announced the hiring of Perry DeLuca as industry head and team leader for the Wine, Food & Beverage group in its Santa Rosa-based North Coast Commercial Lending Office.
In that role, Mr. DeLuca, a 10-year veteran of wine industry finance, will provide lending and other banking services to middle market industry companies with revenues over $25 million for the San Francisco-based bank, with emphasis on western states.
Mr. DeLuca joins the group after 15 years in financial services. For the past decade, he has focused on financial services to wineries, beverage companies and the food and agricultural industry, according to a release from the bank.
“I am thrilled that Perry has joined our organization and brings such strong industry expertise to our customers and prospects in the wine, food and beverage sectors,” said James Kimball, senior vice president and regional manager for the North Coast commercial banking office. “I know that his advisory skills and deep relationships will be huge factors in helping us achieve our goal of increasing our lending to these important industries.”
In his most recent role, Mr. DeLuca served as a director at Cleveland-based KeyBank’s Capital Markets division, where he was the national head of Wine & Spirits/Beverage Distribution. He also served at San Francisco investment banking firm WR Hambrecht + Co. and in middle market commercial banking at Washington D.C.-based Riggs Bank. Mr. DeLuca also served in the nation’s capital as a press secretary and legislative assistant for California 13th District Congressman Pete Stark.https://newsletter.northbaybusinessjournal.com/framed/single?pid=29&hideImage=1&fid=1992
Born and raised in San Mateo, Mr. Deluca has spent the last decade in San Francisco. A graduate of the Haas Graduate School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, he is an associate member of the California Wine Institute.
The Wells Fargo North Coast Commercial Banking Office focuses on the territory from Marin County to the Oregon border.
My Daughter The Narcissistic Witch | Rosamond Press
Monica Cole – Executive Vice President – WELLS FARGO | LinkedIn
Food and Agribusiness – Wells Fargo Commercial
Ingomar Packing is growing a family legacy on the vine (wf.com)
Beverage – Wells Fargo Commercial
Contact us
To learn more about how Wells Fargo Beverage Finance can help your business, please contact beveragefinance@wellsfargo.com.
Wells Fargo to Sponsor REEL Recovery Film Festival San Francisco Bay Area Edition; In Partnership with Alcohol Justice and Writers In Treatment
Four Day Event Will Take Place April 24-27, 2014
NEWS PROVIDED BY:
MARCH 28, 2014SHARE THIS ARTICLE
SAN FRANCISCO, March 28, 2014 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — San Rafael-based Alcohol Justice announced today that Wells Fargo Bank has become the first Platinum level sponsor for the Bay Area’s newest film event – The REEL Recovery Film Festival San Francisco Bay Area Edition. The four-day festival, taking place during National Alcohol Awareness Month, will present 33 select feature-length and short, fictional and factual alcohol and drug addiction themed films in twenty sessions at two locations and include two world premieres that highlight the disease as well as the hope and opportunity for recovery. There will be expert panel discussions following most of the screenings.
Logo – http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110727/DC41105LOGO
Logo – http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140129/MM55777LOGO
“Wells Fargo Bank is proud to support the REEL Recovery Film Festival,” stated Ann-Therese O’Neill, Vice President, Wells Capital Management. “This unique and creative public health and community wellness initiative will go a long way in creating public awareness about the options available to those facing the devastating disease of alcohol and drug misuse.”
“The generous corporate sponsorship of Wells Fargo, along with rehab facilities like Duffy’s Napa Valley, will help make the festival a huge success and help us turn it into an annual event,” stated Bruce Lee Livingston, Executive Director/CEO of Alcohol Justice.
Other sponsors of the REEL Recovery Film Festival San Francisco Bay Area edition currently include Center Point Inc., Kaiser Permanente, Recovery Station TV, Salesforce Foundation, KRON-TV, ConocoPhillips and numerous individuals. All income beyond expenses will support the work of Alcohol Justice and Writers In Treatment, both 501(C)(3) non-profit organizations.
The festival will be screening such films as “Flight,” starring Denzel Washington, and the documentaries “Sober Indian – Dangerous Indian” (a world premiere), “The Honour of All,” “Bill W,” and “Russell Brand: My Life Without Drugs.” There will also be an opening night symposium called “Chasing the Muse – When You’re Stone Cold Sober,” moderated by KCBS and KRON4 Film Critic Jan Wahl. Other participants in this candid conversation are Michael Pritchard, Beverly Allen, Scott Stevens, Jackie Bendzinski, Michael Shapiro and Mario Cipollina.“From The Lost Weekend to The Days of Wine and Roses to Flight, film has the power to help transport us to sobriety, one day at a time,” stated Wahl.
“Sober Indian – Dangerous Indian” is a documentary about Pine Ridge, South Dakota tribal members seeking empowerment through sobriety on the eve of their tribe’s vote to repeal prohibition on August 13, 2013. “As a former state liquor prosecutor, I’ve followed Alcohol Justice’s work for the past five years,” stated the film’s director John Maisch. “So I’m honored to premiere my documentary at the REEL Recovery Film Festival.”
“The event is a collaborative effort by Alcohol Justice and Studio City-based Writers In Treatment, founded by Leonard Buschel,” stated Michael Scippa, Director of Public Affairs for Alcohol Justice. “We are holding it during National Alcohol Awareness Month to help bring alcoholism and addiction out of the closet, reduce the stigma, and raise public awareness that it is not a moral failing but a devastating disease that, like other potentially fatal diseases, requires specialized treatment.”
The four-day festival takes place primarily at the Delancey Street Foundation Theater on The Embarcadero in San Francisco. There will also be special sessions for youth and families at the California Film Institute’s beautifully restored Art Deco Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael where “Behind the Orange Curtain,” and “On Life’s Terms: Mothers in Recovery” (a world premiere) will be screened.
It is the policy of the REEL Recovery Film Festival to charge a nominal ticket price for most of the sessions ($5), and to allow anyone admittance regardless of their ability to pay, if seats are available. Tickets are available now through BrownPaperTickets.com.
For More Information go to: http://www.FilmFestSFBay.org
To view the festival PSA featuring Michael Pritchard, click here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nY8X-LuPelg&feature=youtu.be ).
Contact:
Michael Scippa: 415 548-0492
Jorge Castillo: 213 840-3336
SOURCE Alcohol Justice
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Julie Lynch Lies For Pierrot
Posted on January 28, 2018 by Royal Rosamond Press
The ghost writer, Julie Lynch, claims she interviewed Christine Rosamond’s kindergarten teacher for her book about my sister. Julie claims a famous producer bought the rights to her bullshit that defames members of my family. Did she read Snyder’s defamation of character – that destroys a woman artist?
How dare that fucking Art Witch send her MISPELLED fraud to Rosamond’s fans. The legal battle Shannon fought in court went on for ten years. How many misspelled, or, omitted words are there in these costly documents? NONE!
Pierrot’s Ghost Writer Invents Fake School Teacher
Posted on April 19, 2016by Royal Rosamond Press
Stacey Pierrot is guilty of attempted Art Forgery, when she alleged ‘Dunkin the Frog’ was painted by Christine Rosamond Benton. Faulkner’s biography may also have been a forgery because she claims she had interviews with Christine. Art forgery is the creating and selling of works of art which are falsely credited to other, usually more famous artists. Art forgery can be extremely lucrative, but modern dating and analysis techniques have made the identification of forged artwork much simpler.
I demand Faulkner make public the notes of the alleged interview with my sister. I demand Vicki Presco and Shamus Dundon take a lie detector test to prove they are not lying about what happened at Rocky Point.
Former Wells Fargo execs hired by Bank of the West
SLIDE 1 OF 3Bank of the West hired two former Wells Fargo executives for its beverage group.JAMES DUNNNORTH BAY BUSINESS JOURNALOctober 18, 2016Order Article Reprint
What Wells Fargo loses, Bank of the West gains. Two former Wells Fargo executives joined the beverage group at Bank of the West. The beverage group is part of the agribusiness division in the bank’s commercial banking group.
Perry DeLuca was a senior vice president at Wells Fargo Bank, where he led the bank’s wine, food and beverage practice in the western division.
Peter Hsu spent more than 18 years with Wells Fargo Bank, where he held roles including regional operating officer and loan team manager for the bank’s San Francisco commercial banking office. Most recently, he was regional team lead of Wells Fargo’s North Coast Regional Commercial Banking Office.
DeLuca and Hsu are both managing directors at Bank of the West.
Another executive not from Wells Fargo, Tony Bowker, director of business development, also joined the beverage group.
DeLuca, Hsu and Bowker report to Adam Beak, managing director and head of the beverage group.https://newsletter.northbaybusinessjournal.com/framed/single?pid=29&hideImage=1&fid=1466
“In the past year, Bank of the West has strategically built on the success of our wine business by expanding into the beer and spirits sectors,” said Jean-Marc Torre, head of the Commercial Banking Group. “We’ve more than doubled the size of our Beverage Group and, in bringing Perry DeLuca, Peter Hsu and Tony Bowker aboard, we are even better equipped to offer our clients experienced perspectives and smart solutions from people who know the industry incredibly well.”
DeLuca will divide his time between business development and supporting relationships with current wine clients. He will also focus on advancing the bank’s advisory activities in the wine sector.
Hsu will draw on his banking management background to help grow the team.
Bowker will build relationships with breweries, distributors and beer clients. Before joining Bank of the West, Bower was president of Virtue Holdings, LLC, where he oversaw the acquisition and integration of operations of the company by Anheuser-Busch InBev. Bowker served on the Anheuser-Busch InBev Craft Advisory Board.
The Rosy Posey Ponzi Scheme
Posted on December 17, 2015by Royal Rosamond Press
Christine Rosamond Benton had formed seven partnerships according to a data base I looked at in Sacramento. In 1986 Christine formed a partnership with her father and sister, using monies left to Vic Presco by his mother, and monies Vicki Presco took from a joint account she had with her mentally ill husband whose violence forced Vicki to join the Navy to get away from him. Ken Prather bonded with an heiress of the Levi Straus family, who offered to help Ken whack my younger sister. Ken and Vicki, and my father, did not like to pay their taxes. After Christine and Garth refused to give Vic and Vicki any proceeds from the sale of the four images they invested in, Vic turned the Benton’s into the IRS, because, he believed they turned him into the IRS. Mark Presco also evades paying his taxes. This is why I forbid my MINOR daughter, Heather Hanson, and her mother, Patrice Hanson, to have anything to do with my family. Believing there were bas of money just sitting there with their name on it, they saw my family behind my back. They made me out to be insane and making shit up. Another Christmas is approaching where I will not see my grandson, who is ten. Consider this blog My Family Christmas Report – with Rosamond in sparkly dress.
Above is the document my aunt Lillian sent me ten days after Christine was “killed” by a rogue wave. We talked on the phone and told me how shocked she was to receive it.
“How utterly tasteless! I almost has a heart attack!” my aunt told me.
The word “Retail” is key. Not only is it cold, it suggests there might be a “Wholesale” price. There might even be a “Discount” price if you buy more that one. When I went to Christine’s house for the funeral, my detective friend, Michael Harkins, took me out to the garage where I saw shelves stacked with the prints on this list. We wondered if the Benton’s showed this stock to prospective investors. Were they told a successful marketing scheme would get these prints moving out the GARAGE door? How about a No.1 Best Seller – and a Blockbuster Movie?
Why would Garth flood the Rosamond Print Market with the Dead Artist Ad that was sent to past customers that were on a list that Stacey Pierrot had. She told me Garth forced her to make that ADVERTISEMENT. Vicki told that Garth was in a lot of trouble, but, was not specific. I found out he and Christine were being audited by the IRS, but, what about THE INVESTORS – the silent partners……..the folks who took a tax write-off when their prints did no sell?
What Garth was worried about, was a disgruntled investor rolling over on him. He needed a NEW INVESTOR so as to pay the old investor, who was threatening to spill the beans. He needed some rich dude who bought a Rosamond to look at this list, like a big bass in the lake, and come to believe the price on these prints were going to go through the roof, because, we got a FAMOUS DEAD ARTIST! There is talk of a book and the promotion of ‘Dunkin the Frog’. Carrie Fisher wrote a screenplay about Rosamond. Where is that manuscript? Did Carrie invest in Rosamond – while she was alive? How can anyone come forth and tell the truth if they are dirty?
“Use the force Juan! Use the force!”
Here is the sentence that opens the door to the Solid Gold Room.
“She opened Rosamond & Co. in 1987. Friends said she had recently been part of an art exposition in New York….and the orders for Rosamond prints were coming in rapidly.
She wanted to have her work shown all over the world!” Belford said. “Everything was finally happening for her.”
Shortly after Lillian sent me the price list, I got a call from Jacci Belford, who said she made an offer to pay off creditors and purchase the entire estate, which included all the prints on the pricelist – including the four prints on the top of the list that were produced by the Family Partnership formed by Christine, Vicki, and Vicki.
“I’m glad Vic is not going to get his prints back!” Belford told me, she once Christine’s best friend and Rosamond Gallery Manager.
In Snyder’s biography ‘When You Close Your Eyes’ he says Christine had gone back with Circle Galleries, and was going to close the Carmel gallery. It was Circle Gallery that put on the New York show, and three other shows in major cities. I suspect Rosamond prints were NOT SELLING, and Circle let my sister go. She was told this on the day she was “killed” by a rogue wave. I suspected she committed suicide. This is why I launched an investigation. But, I could not rule out murder, especially after reading this in Sydney Morris final report.
“In Mr. Sydney Morris’s Report of the Administration he says on page 4 line 10;
“Petitioner hired Stacey Pierrot, who had been assistant manager of the gallery during Decedent’s lifetime, to run the gallery and prepare and execute a marketing plan. The gallery was run by the estate until March 1996 when the gallery was sold to Ms. Pierrot through a contract approved by this Court. During the time that the estate operated the gallery, aggressive marketing efforts were made in an attempt to stir interest in Decedent’s work and increase the potential market for her work. In spite of these efforts, interest in Decedent’s work continued to wane.”
On page six, Mr. Morris explains why there was a delay in the closing of the estate;
“By September 2000, however, plans were underway for a biography of Decedent, which Petitioner hoped might create interest in her work. The book was published in 2002. Although the book did not spur the hoped-for interest in Decedent’s life and work, efforts continued to market the concept of a screenplay based upon Decedent’s life. Petitioner hoping that this might be brought to fruition, elected to keep the estate open. However, it is the Petitioner’s belief the likelihood of an increased interest in Decedents work is negligible, and the time has come to close the estate.”
Go to the bottom of the list and look at the price of ‘Galletia’. Now, multiply that by 300. That’s $465,000. Suppose Jacci Belford pointed this out to past purchasers who recieved this ad, then told them the price is going to increase now that she was “killed” by a rogue wave. Stacey was Jacci’s friend whom she introduced to Christine, who hired her to work in the gallery. Did she invest any money? Lillian told me she was an “Heiress” and had money.
Above is a photo of three happy Presco children, who are happy because I am the only family artist. Christine did not take up art until she was twenty-four. Rosemary had us pose before the painting I did that is sitting on the bookcase full of rare books. It was chosen to tour the world in a Red Cross show. According to the Liars and Art Forgers who ran a Ponzi Scheme, Rosamond is a closeted artists, whose work is hidden away somewhere.
She wanted to have her work shown all over the world!” Belford said. “Everything was finally happening for her.”
Rosamond’s work had been broadcast all over the world – for years! Belford is using MY family tragedy to lure in fresh investors. What a fucking piece of shit!
In 1987 I beheld my father wearing a white jacket with a cote of arms on it that read
“Von Prescowitz” I asked him for details and he told me he had s study done – that he refused to tell me about., Victor wrote this jacket to Carmel and met the famous actor Jimmy Stewart, whom Rosamond did a portrait of. Rosemary had a video of this.
The lie that Rosemary wanted only me to be a famous artist was hatched to make me look like I am guilty of Sour Grapes. Did potential investors ask about me and the things I posted on the web. Did my daughter and her family – want to believe this was the case? For this reason, I will be sending my novel ‘Anatomy of a Rogue Wave’ off to some publishers. I have employed FICTIONAL CHARACTERS to tell my tale, which is a Creative Cosmic Joke.
P.S. What’s with Rosamond’s hair in the article below. I saw Medusa. For those in the know we are looking at the reincarnation of a Greek Adventure-Tragedy. Rena Easton take note.
Jon Presco
Copyright 2015
A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation where the operator, an individual or organization, pays returns to its investors from new capital paid to the operators by new investors, rather than from profit earned by the operator. Operators of Ponzi schemes usually entice new investors by offering higher returns than other investments, in the form of short-term returns that are either abnormally high or unusually consistent.
Ponzi schemes occasionally begin as legitimate businesses, until the business fails to achieve the returns expected. The business becomes a Ponzi scheme if it then continues under fraudulent terms. Whatever the initial situation, the perpetuation of the high returns requires an ever-increasing flow of money from new investors to sustain the scheme.[1]
The scheme is named after Charles Ponzi,[2] who became notorious for using the technique in 1920.[3] The idea, present in novels (for example, Charles Dickens‘ 1844 novel Martin Chuzzlewit and 1857 novel Little Dorrit each described such a scheme),[4] was actually performed in real life by Ponzi who with his operation took in so much money that it was the first to become known throughout the United States. Ponzi’s original scheme was based on the arbitrage of international reply coupons for postage stamps; however, he soon diverted investors’ money to make payments to earlier investors and himself.[1]
Buck Institute of Eternal White Supremacy
Posted on July 23, 2020 by Royal Rosamond Press
I am going to bring to the attention of BLM that the Buck Institute has become the ultimate in White Power Supremacy by spending millions of dollars delegated to the poor, to find a solution for aging that only white people can afford – or would want! Buck goes with the movie Zardoz and Trump’s plan for a statuary garden for Immortals.
I am looking to sue the law firm of Robert Brevoort Buck. As a settlement Buck will fund and archive my blog, Royal Rosamond Press, for an infinity!
I also want to be president of Alcohol Justice for the few years I have left. The Buck Institute should be retooled to deal with COVID-19 and how it affects Black and Poor People.
John Presco
President: Royal Rosamond Press
The racial makeup of the county was 84.0% White, 2.9% Black or African American, 0.4% Native American, 4.5% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 4.5% from other races, and 3.5% from two or more races. 11.1% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Largest city: San Rafael (population) Novato …
County seat: San Rafael
Named for: Chief Marin, “great chief of the tribe …
Highest elevation: 2,574 ft (785 m)
The Battle of the Bequest
By Ruth Marcus
May 20, 1986It is the northern California version of Dickens’ “Bleak House,” played out in a courtroom designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.When she died at age 79 in 1975, Beryl H. Buck, the childless widow of the heir to a real estate and oil fortune, left most of her estate — oil stocks worth about $10 million — to serve the needy of Marin County, Calif., where hot tubs far outnumber homeless people.
At last count, the Leonard and Beryl Buck Foundation is worth $409 million — yielding an annual income of some $30 million to be spent in the nation’s second-wealthiest county of more than 50,000 residents. The San Francisco Foundation, which Buck left in charge of doling out the money, has been in court since February seeking permission to spend it elsewhere.
The San Francisco Foundation contends that Buck could not have foreseen the vast increase in her estate’s value and that the restriction is senseless when other counties in the San Francisco Bay area struggle, with much less money, to serve many more needy people.
The county, Buck Foundation trustee John Elliott Cook and the state attorney general counter that the San Francisco Foundation is trying to sabotage the will, substituting itsld,10 vision for Buck’s clearly stated views.
Cook was Buck’s longtime attorney and neighbor and the author of her will. He and the county are trying to oust the San Francisco Foundation from its role administering what Marin residents call the “Buck bucks.” The foundation denies the allegations of Cook’s lawyer, Ronald Hayes Malone, that it “covertly connived to break the will and do away with the restriction even “before they got their hands on the money.”
The issue in Estate of Beryl H. Buck, Deceased, currently being heard in architect Wright’s distinctive Marin Civic Center a dozen miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge, comes down to the meaning of 36 words in Buck’s will.
Buck, who moved to the county in 1935 with her husband, physician Leonard Buck, directed that the trust money “shall always be held and used for exclusively nonprofit charitable, religious or educational purposes in providing care for the needy in Marin County, California, and for other nonprofit charitable, religious or educational purposes in that county.”
“There is probably no one living, other than lawyers, who could not understand exactly what these words say and mean,” Marin County Counsel Douglas H. Maloney wrote in his brief to Judge Homer B. Thompson, brought in from Santa Clara County after the foundation complained that Marin judges could not be fair.
The bequest came from a fortune amassed by Buck’s husband’s father, Frank H. Buck, an itinerant land speculator who purchased some hill property and desert land near Los Angeles in the late 1800s. His hills became a large chunk of downtown Beverly Hills, and his desert turned out to contain rich oil reserves.
His daughter-in-law left 69,156 shares of stock in the oil company, Belridge Oil, in trust for the people of Marin. With oil prices soaring in 1979, Belridge was sold to Shell Oil Co. for $3,665 per share. That made Buck’s bequest worth $253 million, and it has been multiplying ever since.
The money was freed later that year, after an initial round of legal wrangling over the will. The foundation has spent about $150 million in Marin, funding bicycle paths, a study of French intensive gardening, mobile animal shelters, energy-saving devices for private schools and more traditional charitable grants.
More than $100,000 has gone to encourage the development of high school sports, $800,000 to support the Marin Symphony and more than $6 million to buy and preserve 3,300 acres of vacant land in a county that is already two-thirds open space.
A high school theater group received $165,000; the Marin Education Foundation spent $57,000 in Buck funds one year by handing out $200 to every high school senior graduating in the top 10 percent of the class.
“It’s overreplenishing the affluent,” said San Francisco Foundation lawyer Michael J. Coffino. “The grants in Marin are so bloated as to be almost ludicrous.”
In the past five years, Coffino noted, the San Francisco Foundation has spent more than $6 million to help the 1,500 residents of Marin City, where the county’s poor are clustered. Of the county’s 240,000 residents, 1 to 4 percent have incomes below the poverty level, according to official estimates; 930 families receive Aid to Families With Dependent Children, and 300 individuals receive general assistance.
*”When you look at it in terms of the pressing and desperate needs in the Bay Area, the money is really being wasted,” said Anita P. Arriola, an attorney with Public Advocates, a San Francisco public interest law firm that has entered the case on the side of the San Francisco Foundation.
To change that situation, the foundation has invoked an ancient legal doctrine called cy-pres — from the Norman French cy pres comme possible (as close as possible) — that is used to modify a charitable bequest when circumstances make it impossible or impracticable to use it as the giver intended.
“To the extent she Buck knew what she was giving, that’s her business,” Coffino said. But, he said, “given the astronomical escalation” in the value of the trust, “we have to start asking the question ‘What is wise?’ ” Judge Thompson, however, has made that argument more difficult to advance by barring evidence about needs outside the county.
The case “has to stand — or fall — on its own feet in Marin County,” Thompson said. It “has nothing to do with how the money can be spent elsewhere.”
Those opposed to sharing the wealth argue that Buck was well aware of the bequest’s potential value and that it can be spent fruitfully in Marin, perhaps through a large project such as a major medical research center.
“Our view is you can’t change people’s wills on the basis of efficiency,” said Marin lawyer Maloney.
The county began presenting its case this month. Witnesses described Buck’s dedication to Marin and her particular vision of the needy, especially those whose comfortable lives have been disrupted by a major illness or other catastrophe.
“She always told me the government will take care of the poor and the wealthy can take themselves,” Buck’s nephew Leland Hamilton testified. “It’s the middle class who need help.”
The trial is expected to last into August. Marin residents, not surprisingly, appear solidly in favor of keeping the money where it is. Adam Morgan, an Iranian immigrant who operates Spotless Cleaners in San Anselmo, has collected nearly 30,000 signatures on a petition in support of the will and printed 6,000 “The Buck Stops Here” bumper stickers.
“She should be able to make her decision how to use the money,” said Morgan, whose establishment sports a story-high mural, titled “The Top 10 Women of Miraculous Achievement,” dedicated to Buck. “The principle of who is poor and who is rich is secondary.”
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