According to this reported by Today,
FBI officials announced Friday that they arrested Thomas Paculis, 62, in Newfield, N.Y., in connection with an extortion scheme targeting Deen. Paculis, who previously resided in Savannah and Augusta in Deen’s home state of Georgia, has been charged with attempting to extort Deen by requesting $250,000 in compensation in return for not releasing “true and damning” statements to the media made by Deen, according to a federal criminal complaint filed on June 24.
Of course, instead of feeling sorry for Deen about being potentially extorted, it makes you wonder what she actually said.
A few more details over the sugary orange twists.
In case you have not been following this in the news, here’s a summary paragraph from the same article:
The extortion charge against Paculis comes after Deen has been dropped by a dozen companies in the past few weeks after she admitted her past use of a racial slur during a legal deposition. A lawsuit filed against her by a former employee claims the employee was sexually harassed and worked in a discriminatory environment.
I don’t have the timing straight on all this, but I wonder if the attempted extortion by Paculis is what made Deen come clean (or come cleaner) in the first place. Perhaps yes; perhaps no. Deen’s statements for the legal deposition were made on May 17th; the story began hitting the wires on June 23rd; the complaint against Paculis was filed on June 24th. So it looks to me as if the timing fits.
Since then much of the controversy has focused on whether or not Deen should be condemned for having said an offensive word thirty years ago. It does seem like an overreaction on the part of all the companies that have been dropping her. On the other hand, she has only admitted this one word three decades ago. Many more things seem to have been said:
Deen's lawyer contacted the FBI’s Atlanta office after Paculis sent an email and followed up with a phone call requesting the money, according to the complaint. Paculis indicated that the information he threatened to release would bring hardship and financial ruin to Deen, according to FBI Special Agent Mark F. Giuliano.
Paculis seems to be right in one regard: it is bringing financial ruin to her.
And according to an article in the New York Daily News, it has never been about this N-word use three decades ago:
The former employee behind the lawsuit that has deep fried Paula Deen’s $17 million food empire broke her silence this week on what compelled her to sue her ex-boss.
"This lawsuit has never been about the N-word," Lisa Jackson said in a statement to CNN Monday. "It is to address Ms. Deen's patterns of disrespect and degradation of people that she deems to be inferior.”
A few more disjointed thoughts and questions on all this
An ancient use of the N-word. Some of the controversy has surrounded why it is wrong for her to use this word when others (such as rappers) use it all the time. Of course, Paula Deen was trying to project a wholesome image, while rappers are trying to be shocking. So as a marketing decision perhaps the cancellations of contracts makes sense.
Paula Deen does not have the best reputation with respect for truthfulness. Her specialty has been high-fat foods, and for a while she hid her own Type 2 Diabetes When she admitted this, she made money at it. She became the spokesperson for Novo Nordisk, a company that produces diabetes drugs. She also had developed a set of “light” recipes for a new cookbook (both relationships canceled).
Are we making sport of persecuting homemakers? Martha Stewart’s insider trading is peanuts compared to what happened in the financial crisis, but she paid a fine and spent time in jail while those on Wall Street are making more money than ever. Is Paula Deen worth discussing when there are far more egregious abuses, such as the gutting of the Voting Rights Act?
Although I am interested in your answers, I will give my own opinion. My response is yes. First, from indications by Lisa Jackson and Thomas Paculis, there seems to have been a lot more than a solitary use of the N word decades ago. People need to understand this.
Second, it helps showcase the pervasiveness of the racism. Many have no idea how embedded it is.
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Tired of politics? Need to escape? Try one of my Greek mythology based novels, either the story of Jocasta: The Mother-Wife of Oedipus or a trilogy about Niobe, whose children were murdered by the gods - or were they? or one of the first examples of civil disobedience, Antigone and Creon. Or, if you like mysteries and/or Jane Austen, treat yourself to
The Highbury Murders: A Mystery Set in the Village of Jane Austen’s Emma very positively reviewed at the Daily Kos Monday Murder Mystery blog.