Michael R. Whipple aka Sky Jones July 10, 2001 Oklahoma,City, Oklahoma UNITED STATES ...

180 Pages·2005·0.34 MB·English

Michael R. Whipple aka Sky Jones July 10, 2001
Oklahoma,City, Oklahoma
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
2
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION)
3
Plaintiff,
4 CASE NO.
V. )1:99CV02568(HHK)
5 (D.D.C.)
C.E.C. INDUSTRIES CORPORATION,
6 GERALD H. LEVINE, and MARIE A.
LEVINE,
7
8 Defendants.
9-
10
11
12 VOLUME I
13 DEPOSITION-OF MICHAEL R. WHIPPLE aka SKY JONES
14 TAKEN ON BEHALF OF THE PLAINTIFF
15 IN OKLAHOMA CITY,, OKLAHOMA
16 JULY10, 2061
-17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24 REPORTED BY: KERRI L. WOOD, CSR TRENA K. BLOYE, CSR
25
Alderson Reporting Company
I I I I 14th Street, N.W., Suite 400. 1-800-FOR-DEPO Washington, DC
20005
2
APPEARANCES
2
3
4 For the Plaintiff. Mark Kreitman
Attorney at Law
5 450 5th Sheet Northwest
Mail Stop 4-2
6 Washington, DC 20549
7
8 For the Defendants: John Dean Harper
Attorney at Law
9 1250 Burnham, Suite 212
Las Vegas, Nevada 89104
10
I I
Also Present: Marie A. Levine
12
13
14
15
16 INDEX
17
18
19 Page
20 Direct Examination by Mr. Kreitman 6
21 Cross-Examination by Mr. Harper 203
22 Redirect Examination by Mr. Kreitman 307
23 Recross-Examination by Mr. Harper 355
24 Further Redirect Examination by Mr. Kreitman.. 359
25
3
1 INDEX OF COMMISSION EXHIBITS
Page
2 1 Notice 7
3 2 Photographs 19
4 3 50-Year Retrospective 47
5 4 CD Cover 67
6 5 ITEX Exhibit No. 24 and 80
Provenance Documentation
7 6 Appraisal - Wavephobia 82
8 7 The Treasure 89
9 8 A November 18, 2000, letter 110
to Detective Craig from
10 Whipple aka Jones
11 9 Banker Art Museum Authenticity 120
12 10 Retained by Counsel 126
13 11 1-22-96 "Banker Art Museum Newsletter" 130
14 12 Pheonix Art Capital Corp. Business Plan 131
15 13 Appraisal for Churchill Advancements, 135
Inc.
16 14 Compilation of Appiraisals 138
17 15 Banker Art Museum List of Paintings 139
18 16 Listing of Acrylic Paintings 142
19 17 Seventy Day Adventist Letter 146
20 18 Appraisal for Daniel R_ Southwick 147
21 5A Mid-Nevada Art, Inc. Provenance 148/152
Documents
22 19 1997 Whipple Depo 153
23
DEFENDANT'S INDEX OF EXHIBITS
24 Page
25 A Postcard 248
I STIPULATIONS
2
3 IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED AND AGREED by and
4 among the attorneys for the respective parties
5 hereto that the deposition of Michael R. Whipple
6 aka Sky Jones, maybe taken on behalf of the
7 Plaintiff, on the 10th day of July, 2001, in
8 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, by Kerri L. Wood,
9 Certified Shorthand Reporter within and for the
10 State of Oklahoma, pursuant to Notice and Subpoena
I I and the Federal Rules.
12 IT IS FURTHER STIPULATED AND AGREED by and
13 among the attorneys for the respective parties
14 hereto that all objections, except as to the form
15 of the question, are reserved until the time of
16 trial, at which time they may be made with the same
17 force and effect as if made at the time of the
18 taking of this deposition.
19 IT IS FURTHER STIPULATED AND AGREED by and
20 among the attorneys for the respective parties
21 hereto that the time of filing of this deposition
22 is expressly waived.
23
24
25
5
1 BY THE COURT REPORTER: (Addressing the
2 witness) Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you
3 shall give shall be the truth, the whole truth, and
4 nothing but the truth, so help you God?
5 BY THE WITNESS: As well as I'm able, yes.
6 Is that good enough, or do you need it
7 more qualified?
8 BY MR. KREITMAN: I think that's good
9 enough.
10 BY THE WITNESS: Okay.
11 1 know under pressure, people lie; and
12 they can't help it. If they think they're
13 going to be punished, they automatically
14 lie.
15 BY MR. KREITMAN: Okay.
16 BY THE WITNESS: Okay? So, let's clear
17 that up right away.
18 BY MR. KREITMAN: Okay.
19 BY THE WITNESS: The next thing is -- is
20 the truth is a thing that's based on subjective
21 experience, not objective experience. My truth is
22 different than your truth. So, I think I could
23 rewrite the oath so it would be more meaningful. But
24 under the circumstances, I promise to tell the whole
25 truth and -- you know, per what it appears to be the
6
1 truth to me.
2 Now, I have found inthe past that
3 what I thought was the truth turned out not
4 to be the truth. So, I must have been
5 lying. I said I'd promise to tell the
6 truth, but as it seems to me and appears to
7 me. I certainly will cQoperate and -- and
8 say the truth as I perceive it.
9 Okay? Is that good enough?
10 BY MR. KREITMAN:. That's good enough.
I I BY THE WITNESS: Okay. Good.
12 BY MR. KREITMAN: Okay.
13
14 MICHAEL R. WHIPPLE aka SKY JONES,
15 being first duly sworn, deposes and says in reply.
16 to the questions propounded as follows:
IT
-18 DIRECT EXAMINATION
19 BY MR. KREITMAN:
20 Q Good morning, Mr. Jones.
21 A Good morning, sir.
22 Q Yotfre here pursuant to a Notice of
23 Deposition?
24 A Uh-huh.
25 Q You have to answer audibly.
7
I A Oh, yes, sir.
2 Q Okay. And -
3 A I did read that.
4 Q Okay. And I'm going to show you a
5 documentand ask you if this is, in fact, the Notice
6 of Deposition and Document Request that you received
7 and pursuant to which you appear here today
8 (Tendering).
9 A (Reviewing document) All right.
10 Where's Donna? Donna couldn't make it?
11 Q Donna couldn't make it.
12 A Okay. That's fine.
13 All right. Yes, sir, I believe this is
14 the exact same one that I received.
15 Q Thank you.
16 A Uh-huh.
17 BY MR. KREITMAN: I'd ask the court
18 reporter to mark this as Commission Exhibit --
19 Commission Deposition Exhibit I -- 6r let's make that
20 Commission Jones Deposition Exhibit 1.
.21 (Commission Exhibit No. I marked
22 for identification and made part
23 of the record)
24 BY MR. HARPER: Do you have copies for me?
-25 BY MR. KREITMAN: I don't, but it's the
8
1 BY MR. HARPER. Okay. Do you have copies
2 from any of the other -- of the other?
3 BY MR. KREITMAN: I think I probably will
4 have them.
BY MR. HARPER: I hope you do.
6 BY MR. KREITMAN: If -- If any - If I
7 don't - If there's any that I don't have, I will
8 certainly make it available to -- for you to examine.
9 BY MR. HARPER: Okay. Well, can we get
10 copies made here?
I I BY MR. KREITMAN:' Sure enough, as far -- as
12 far as I know.
13 BY MR. HARPER: Okay.
14 Q (By Mr. Kreitman) Okay. Mr. Jones,
15 what's now been marked as Commission Exhibit Jones 1
16 contains a Document Request in three parts.
17 A Uh-huh.
19 Q And I'm
19 A I mean yes.
20 Q Okay. -
21 And I'm going to read each part to you
22 and ask you whether you have produced any document
23 pursuant to that request' Ile first one is: Any and
24 all - Any and all documents that relate to, refer
25 to, reflect, describe, evidence, or concern each
9
I piece of artwork described in the lists attached as
2 Exhibit A, including all documents relating to their
3 value and authenticity. And Exhibit A is identified
4 in the upper right-hand c6meras Exhibit A and is,
5 in fact, the last two pages of Jones Commission
6 Exhibit 1; and it bears Bates Nos., in the lower
7 fight-hand comer, CLOO00529 and what appears to be a
8 Bates No. 078 1.
9 I'm going to ask you to take a look at
10 these -at Exhibit A and tell us if you have brought
I I any documents responsive to the request that makes
12 reference thereto.
13 A I don't have any documents relating to
14 any of these paintings here; although, some of them
15 were on public display. And I'm familiar with what
16 these paintings are here.
17 Q Okay. Did you make any search of your
18 documents to see if you had any responsive to that
19 first
20 A Yes.
21 Q -- document request?
22 A Yes, I did. And I came up with this
23 right here (Procuring).
24 During this time, Mr. David Newren and
25 Ms. Pamela Weston were schlepping thy art. And
10
I David Newren I had to call the police because he
2 pulled up a semi and he held off everything. And
3 when I finally signed the settlement, it was prior to
4 the inspection. There's a lot of things missing from
5 the semi.
6 Pamela Weston -- This here is to
7 Detective Jeff Craig where -- Detective Jeff Craig of
8 the Fort Worth Police Department, reporting
9 Pamela Weston from stealing the semi trailer and its
10 contents. And this happened over four years ago.
I I I've notified them.
12 1 furnished the -- Now, in the semi
13 there's all kinds of information. All my legal files
14 are in there, all my invoices. The -- She cleaned me
15 out. There's -- She disappeared. There's a lot of
16 paintings. I spent a lot of time working on them;
17 and she took them all, took all the papers. She
18 was --
19 BY MR. HARPER: Did you say "she" took them
20 all?
21 Sorry.
22 BY THE WITNESS: She She did, yeah.
23 A And David Newren, he he took a lot of
24 papers, too. I never received any papers from him.
25 He was an independent art dealer that contacted these
I folks and did whatever happened for them to get the 2 art.
3 And this --
4 Q (By Mr. Kreitman) Let's do this just to
5 expedite things.
6 A Okay.
7 Q Why don't you just tell us very briefly
8 what the documents that you brought are; and at a
9 break --
10 A This is --
I I Q -- we'll have a look at them --
12 A Okay.
13 Q -- and then ask the --
14 A All right.
15 Q -- questions about them.
16 A This Item No. I here is from Detective
17 Jeff -- to Detective Jeff Craig about Pamela Weston
18 stealing all my stuff and not bringing it back.
19 Q Okay.
20 A All right? And that's what that is. And
21 1 would like a copy -- I would like the original
22 back.
23 Q Okay.
24 A It's the only one I've got.
25 Q And I see --
12
1 A Then --
2 Q I'm sorry.
3 A Okay. And --
4 Q I -- I see you have some other documents*
5 there.
6 A Uh-huh. But
7 Q Why don't -- Why don't you just give them
8 to me and we'll look at them over the break and then
9 you can identify them for
10 A You already
I I Q the record.
12 A have a copy of every one -- everything
13 that's in this book here.
14 Q Okay.
15 A This right here you don't have a copy of.
16 This is the one that happened after -- First of all,
17 it was David Newren and then it went to Ronald
18 Welborn and then it went to Pamela Weston. Then it
19 went to Pastor Mark Papendick and his son, Michael
20 Weston, the Seventh Day Adventist Church of Glendale,
21 California- They also ran off with a semi load full
22 of stuff. So --
23 BY MR. HARPER: Can you identify what
24 you're reading -- the document?
25 BY THE WITNESS: This right here says: "To
13
1 the Seventh Day Adventist Leadership of Glendale,
2 California." And then it says: "December 17th,
3 2000. Dear sirs, on December 21st, 22nd, and 23th, 1
4 will be passing this letter out in the Glendale
5 community."
6 Q (By Mr. Kreitman) I'm going to interrupt
7 you for a minute, Mr. Jones.
8 A Okay. But, anyway, you should
9 Q Okay.
10 A -- read over what that is.
I I Q We will look overall --Why not just
12 give us all the documents that you've produced that
13 are responsive to the document request?
14 A Uh-huh.
15 Q And we'll look them over during a break
16 and --
17 A And then give me back --
18 Q Okay.
19 A Well -- Well, the -- The only thing
20 that --
21 Q Any of them that you want the originals,
22 we'll give you back
23 A Oh, okay.
24 Q -- and make copies.
25 A All right. Now --
14
I Q So, why don't you just,--
2 A Now --
3 Q -- give them all to me.
4 A Now -
5 Q And we don't even have to identify them
6 for the record at this point.
7 A Okay.
8 Q We'lldosolater. Thank you.
9 A Okay.
10 Q Are these also documents that you've
11 produced?
12 A No.
13 Q Okay. Now,if you can, retum the--
14 A Okay (Tendering).
15 Q -- Subpoena to me.,
16 Okay. Have you now given us all of the
17 documents that you found that were responsive or that
18 are responsive to the first part of the document
19 request, the one I read into the record?
20 A I believe so. I -
21 Q Okay.
22 A You understand that this isn't the first
23 time I've been - had this - had a deposition; and
24 the last time I had it, all of the - the things on
'25 file are available to you. And there isn't anything
15
1 that I have that you do not have in your files; and I,
2 am familiar with what was delivered by -- not by
3 myself, but also by the other people that you
4 deposed.
.5 Q Very well.
6 And we do have those --tome of those
7 documents here with U's.
8 A Excellent.
9 Q Let me ask you to listen to the second
10 request -- -
11 A Okay.
12 Q -- which was -- in the -- in the document
13 request attached to the Notice of Deposition and
14 Subpoena--
15 A Sure. Sure.
16 Q -- which was "any and all documents that
17 relate to, refer to, reflect, describe, evidence, or
18 concern any legal or -- or beneficial ownership
19 interest in or any acquisition or disposition of any
20 Sky Jones'artwork by C.E.C. Industries Corporation; 21 OTS
Holdings, Inc.; Mid-Nevada Art, Inc.; 22 David Newren; Gerald
H. Levine; and/or Marie A. 23 Levine at any time during the
period from January 1, 24 1993, through the present.
25 And my question is: Have you brought any
I&
I documents today with you that are responsive to that
2 request?
3 A I have no documents in that area. The
4 What I would have had has been stolen.
5 Q I see.
6 And the third request which is "any and
7 all documents that relate to, refer to, reflect.
8 describe, evidence, or concern a public cash market
9 for Sky Jones' paintings or the existence of such a
10 market during the period from January 1, 1993, to the
I I present.
12 A I haven't brought any papers relating to
13 that, but it doesn't mean that it doesn't exist or
14 hasn't existed.
15 Q Okay. But do you have any in your
16 possession?
'17 A No, I don't -- When it comes to -- In
18' -barter we have a rule. The rule is: Whoever takes
19 possession loses. Now, that is a pretty profound
120 rule if the person ' s trying to acquire. I practice 21 that; and,
so, I don't take possession because in 22 every case, you know,
you're -- you're taxed for 23 whatever you take possession of
or you have to pay 24 rent and so forth. So, we just have a rule
not to 25 take possession.
17
1 Q Very well.
2 A That way, you can you can control the
3 object; and the object isn't controlling you. So,
4 1 1 -- Another thing is: I'm nowhere near the
5 cash market. I don't even mess around with cash.
6 Huh? Cash -- what's that?
7 Q Okay.
8 A I live on, 30 to $40 cash a week; and what
9 -1 do need in the line to do my job, I can get very
10 easily through barter
I I Q Very well.
12 A -- which is same as cash.
13 BY MR. KREITMAN: The attendees at the
14 deposition did not introduce themselves for the
15 record when we began, and I'd like us to do that now.
16 My name is Mark Kreitman. I'm a trial attorney with
17 the Securities and Exchange Commission.
18 BY MS. LEVINE: I'm Marie Levine.
19 BY MR. HARPER: I'm John Dean Harper,
20 attorney for Marie and Gerald Levine.
21 BY MR. KREITMAN: Very well.
22 Q (By Mr. Kreitman) Mr. Jones, you were
23 subpoenaed here as Sky Jones; but I understand that
24 that might not be your actual christened or given
25 name.
18
1 A Uh-huh.
2 Q What is your --
3 A Michael Richard Whipple.
4 Q Very well. #. -
5 And are there other names that you have
6 been known by?
7 A Uh-huh.
8 Q What are they?
9 A Well, let's see. I use Joseph Banker,
10 Arthur Carter, Richard Dickens.
I I Q I see.
12 And none of those people exist other than
13 as names for you? Thats right?
14 A Uh-huh.
15 Q Okay. Where do you currently live?
16 A Just down the street here in No. 16
17 Northeast 2nd. It's just about two and a half blocks
18 from this building --
19 Q Is that a --
20 A -- in a place called the Banker's Art
21 Museum. And I have a photo of it here if you'd like
22 to see it.
23 Q Yes.
24 A I acquired the building 90 days ago.
25 IVs been a lot of work fixing it up. But here's --
19
1 Here's a -- the front - front of the building as 1
2 started working on it~ cleaning it up. And here's
3 pictures of me on the inside, you know, painting it,
4 making it nice.
5 Q Okay. Very well.