Finally, someone in the judicial system is a little steamed about Vance Miller, the rich-as-God's-bookie real estate heir who has spent the last decade saying he's broke so he can avoid paying some big bills.
U.S. District Judge Joe Fish ordered Miller to appear at a September 15 hearing so he could tell Miller something personally. "I take a dim view of people who do not pay their bills," Fish told Miller, who owes the federal treasury more than $23 million for some real estate loan guarantees he made in the go-go '80s. "Especially when no effort seems to have been made to pay."
The judge said that is especially true since Miller is able to afford lawyer Gerritt Pronske's services "at great length. Either that or Mr. Pronske is a very altruistic person who donates his services to Mr. Miller."
Pardon us a moment.
Ha! Ha! Ha!
Thank you.
Besides that thigh-slapper of a rebuke, legal sparring between Miller and a collection outfit goes on and on and...
Was it something we said?
First, they wouldn't return our calls. Now they won't even acknowledge our existence.
Suddenly it feels as though we at the Dallas Observer are in a bad breakup with The Dallas Morning News. Break out the bourbon and crank up the C&W, bartender. It's cryin' time again.
Buzz is always the last to know, but our foolish hearts finally tipped to the fact that the DMN don't love us no more while we were reading a recent Saturday edition. On the cover was a copyrighted story about the continuing federal investigation into City Councilman Al Lipscomb and his relationship to Yellow Cab. By relationship, we mean, Was Al on the pad to cab company owner Floyd Richards?
Copyrighted? As in an original work? Several booze-soaked years have intervened, but we vaguely remember former Observer columnist Laura Miller reporting some of the same details that are in the News' story around three years ago.
Maybe the News just forgot. Isn't that just like a big, lazy daily newspaper?
It got worse. On the same day's Metropolitan page, the paper reported that Miller and fellow city council member Donna Blumer wanted to reopen discussion of the city's Olympic bid. The News reported that Blumer and Miller learned that the city might find itself on the hook for the Olympics' entire budget from a "news report in a local paper."
You guessed it. That would be us, scorned again.
Listen, guys, we don't ask for much from a relationship. Candy on Valentine's Day. Occasional oral sex. If that's too much to ask, at least give credit where it's due.
We do.
--Compiled from staff reports by Patrick Williams
Do your part to mend our heart. Write Buzz at [email protected].
