Supplier Claims Bluff City Mayor Owes Money
Bluff City Mayor Todd Malone
BLUFF CITY, Tenn. – A Maryland communications equipment supplier claims Bluff City Mayor Todd Malone owes him more than $10,000 and said Thursday he will file suit to collect the debt.
“We’re a small business,” said Andy Lisle, owner of ACL Distributors in Marriottsville, Md. “Ten thousand dollars is a lot of money for us. All we want is the money returned to us.”
Lisle said Malone, who owns Racescan Technologies in Bluff City, owes him for five equipment shipments sent to Malone’s business from July 17 to Oct. 1. The shipments are worth $10,810, according to invoices Lisle faxed to the Herald Courier on Thursday.
Malone admitted Thursday that he owed Lisle the money. But six weeks ago, he closed down Racescan Communications and said he is now working with lawyers to satisfy his debts, even if it means filing for bankruptcy.
“What I’ve done I had to do to protect myself and my business,” said Malone, who has owned the business for the past six years. “I have tried to have a peaceful
closure of my business and so far it hasn’t been [what I wanted.]”
Malone declined to discuss specific details about his business with Lisle. He also said he has a large inventory from his store safely in storage and is working to collect debts owed to him by some of his customers.
“I don’t know what the outcome will be,” Malone said. He added he “would let his attorney, with the help of the good Lord, work it all out.”
Malone started working at Racescan in 1995 and took over the operation July 1, 2003. The business is perhaps best known for selling radios that monitor NASCAR driver frequencies to race fans at the speedway.
Malone was elected to the city’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen in May 2007, and he took over the mayor’s job after the city’s two previous mayors, Bob Thomas and Tom Anderson, quit before finishing their terms.
Lisle said he has supplied Racescan with headsets, portable scanners and batteries for several years. But in July, Lisle said, Malone failed to pay him for $2,047 worth of equipment.
Lisle continued to send Racescan equipment until Oct. 1, including a $6,659 shipment Aug. 11, one week before the Sharpie 500.
Invoices for each of these shipments claim that any amount “more than 30 days past due is subject to a monthly finance charge” and the customer must also pay one-fourth the fees of any attorney hired to collect the debt.
Lisle said he hasn’t been able to reach Malone since the last shipment. Phone calls and letters to Malone’s home have not been returned, he said, and Racescan’s listed telephone numbers are either disconnected or ring indefinitely.
“They won’t take any calls because now they’re hiding from people,” said Lisle, who has talked with other vendors who did business with Malone.
Lisle said he did not know Malone was the mayor of Bluff City until Thursday, after he contacted the Bluff City Police Department, the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to see if there were any criminal charges he could file against Malone.
All three agencies told Lisle there is nothing they could do because Malone had not violated any laws. They claimed it was a civil matter and that they were not going to get involved, Lisle said.
On Thursday, Sullivan County District Attorney General Greeley Wells declined to comment specifically about Malone’s situation, but he said generally a failed business deal is against the law only if there is fraud involved.
“Simply because you made a bad deal does not make it a crime. There has to be some sort of intent to not pay the bill at the time of purchase,” Wells said. “[What happened] seems like a straight-forward business deal where the supplier sent the merchandise to the retailer on credit.”
Wells said Lisle’s only legal recourse would be to file a civil lawsuit against Malone. Lisle said he intends to do just that.
Malone received his last shipment from Lisle on Oct. 3. Three weeks later, on Oct. 22, he closed Racescan down.
“The business struggled with the economy and I struggled with it,” Malone said Thursday. “There’s a time that comes when you just can’t do no more.”
Due to high gas prices, Malone said, many NASCAR fans clamped down on their spending during race week and could no longer afford to buy his scanners. But it was when local governments started feeling the pinch, Malone said, that things really started to go sour for his business.
Perhaps the biggest part of Racescan’s business, he said, comes from installing radio equipment, video cameras and sirens on new police cars and ambulances. Many of his clients stopped buying when they tightened their budgets to make up for projected losses in tax revenue.
“Everybody’s cutting money and it affected us with our business,” Malone said. “It got to the point where we couldn’t afford to keep our doors open.”
| (276) 645-2518
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Reader Reactions
Yesterday, I sent a complaint to the editor and here is his response, and my response back to him:
Ms. Hunt: I don’t know your relationship to Todd Malone but can tell you
that when a mayor, an elected official, is sued for not paying $10,000
owed to another business in hard times and shuts down his business
without public notice, it’s news. Period. This “rag” has won about 100
awards in the past year, many for investigative and watchdog reporting
that holds local government accountable. We stand by the story.
J. Todd Foster
Managing Editor
Bristol Herald Courier u 320 Bob Morrison Blvd. u
Bristol, VA 24201 u 276.645.2513 u fax 276.669.3696
—————————————————————————————————————————————
Mr. Foster,
Do not insult my intelligence by insinuating a lack of knowledge of the news reporting business. I am a writer, have been an editor in the past, and would never print such a trivial article. I am well aware of watchdog reporting, and its proper place in the news; however, a personal attack, is a personal attack. It is one thing to hold public officials accountable for financial gains achieved at the public’s expense or due to a fraudulent business deal, but it is quite another to bring down an official because his business fails.
Mr. Malone did not enter into contract with ACL Distributors with the intent to commit fraud. Mr. Malone was simply trying to run his business to support his family. Did he know about the financial crises to come when he placed that order? I seriously doubt that he did. I am sure he has been working with a lawyer to close his business.
Pick any newspaper across the country Mr. Foster, and you will read how many small businesses have closed their doors in the last two months. You will notice a tragic pattern, many of those interviewed state they never saw it coming. Now, I am sure that some of those people are public officials, and I haven’t read any articles about them. This was
I do know Mr. Malone; he is one of the most honest men I know. I can tell you one thing, the people of Bluff City like Mr. Malone, and they are fired up about your treatment of him. I fully plan to fuel that fire every chance I get. As Sullivan County District Attorney General Greeley Wells stated, “Simply because you made a bad deal does not make it a crime. There has to be some sort of intent to not pay the bill at the time of purchase…”
I suggest that you find better stories to report, such as how area gas stations are gouging people by not lowing the rates when most other states have lowered their prices drastically, e.g. Kansas City had gas up to nearly $3.50 in some places this year, but now you can get it for $1.29. Use some of that watchdog reporting to fish out that one and leave the good people alone.
Mr. Malone’s decision to close his business has no bearing as to his ability to be Mayor of Bluff City. I fail to see what this has to do with city business. Your article implies that it is a crime to fail at business. Look around Mr. Mclean, many small businesses are closing their doors during these tumultuous times. Will you write about them next, or is it more beneficial to attack a volunteer of the city?
I am sure your article is an embarrassment not only to Mr. Malone, but for family and friends too. You too should be embarrassed Mr. Mclean. Many people believe in Mr. Malone’s competence; however, your article makes him sound as though he is not. Did you think about how this might affect his ability to land a job? He does have a family to support.
In light of subject of your articles as of late, I will boycott Bristol Herald Courier until you are no longer writing for the paper. I would encourage others to do the same, as you never know when you will be the subject of a hate article.
Mr. Malone, I think you are a nice person and a good family man, and I appreciate you volunteering your time to be the Mayor and your efforts to improve Bluff City.
I noticed at the bottom of this load of crap you wrote about a man like many, many others in america who is struggling to make a living and loosing there companies you place a note that says I cannot write comments that are offensive, vulgar, or hateful language, and that I must RESPECT OTHERS. Still get paid to harrass them by writing on what ever you can to look good for your boss. I believe you need to be fired and this man should replace you. Hope I never see you in the welfare line Mr. Mac McLean, but after ready this I think thats where you shold be!
Unfortunately, this article seems like a tactic to smear Mr Malone and Bluff City.
It’s a damn shame how the media treats people in public service as if they are different than anyone else.
If a ‘private’ citizen gets in a bind, it is not news worthy. But if a ‘public’ servant gets in the same bind, it is a news story.
There are MANY others in our local area that are going thru the same type of situation. Why isn’t the media doing a story on each one of them? Because no one cares. If the article sells a paper or gets people to watch the show then some think they have done their job. Others have more integrity than that.
I totally agree with all of the comments posted. What an unfair article to write about an individual when their business has been hurt due this lagging economy. Why does several companies in this area continue to have lay-offs? The reason is because they do not have the work for the employees. I know from an inside source that Eastman’s business has slowed down sustantially. We are living in a time when government bailouts have become the norm. And then you pick on a man who owes $10,000! I have known Todd Malone personally for several years. There is no better man in Sullivan County. Maybe the Bristol Herald Courier should investigate this crooked county we live. Why is there such a huge deficit in Sullivan County? Some of the crooked commissioners with some of there crooked business cronies would be a wonderful place to investigate. The reporter covering this took an unfair shot at a good man. Shame on you.
Evidence,you are correct,in this economy over 100 stories in just our local area could be written about small businss owners,credit card holders and really about any of us that have lost our job or customers in our business.TIMES ARE TOUGH AND MANY PEOPLE ARE HURTING.
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