I may have been overly vocal about certain things in the past. One thing that kind of set me back was when an automotive SEO consultant accused me of “defaming” him when I pointed out in an automotive seo post that some of the things he was claiming were false and misleading and I still stand by that. I then critiqued some of his other automotive seo practices and pointed out that he has a somewhat shady past that he wishes to keep buried.
So yes I struck the first blow kinda, but now he has turned to implying that I am a convicted felon in the state of Georgia.
Not real sure who he is referencing in the other declarations on his site, but it does look like he does have many enemies from his business practices past and current. I did check the GA database for felony convictions in my name and was alarmed when I did find that I was being reported as a convicted felon.
Having held professional licenses in the State of Georgia and a dealers license, which is impossible with a felony conviction, it was not the first time this has popped up. While it is true I was once charged for 1st degree forgery in 1992, at the age of 22, I was completely exonerated.
The charges were brought by an ex spouse of my mother in an act of vengeance to get back at her for their differences and for me signing a charge slip in his name as I was instructed to do by him. Technically it was probably forgery, morally the charges were wrong.
After realizing this information is being passed around by Brian Pasch that I am a convicted felon and that I was listed in the state of GA database as such I contacted the authorities to find why this was still coming up, here is what I discovered:
After explaining to the prosecutor and my court appointed attorney, I was 22 and could not afford a real one, what happened they worked out a plea agreement. Once it was presented to the judge and he asked me for my story. The judge told me that I was in a no win situation and it would waste the courts time and understood why the plea was entered as such. He then altered my plea, which as for a misdemeanor, to that of first offender so it would not stay on my record, whereas the misdemeanor would.
I was given unsupervised probation and a suspended fine and as told to “keep my nose clean”, which I did, and it would be like it never happened. The reason I was still listed in the database is because the probation office never filed the proper paper work saying I completed probation without incident.
I have since contacted the courts and the probation office to sort out this mess. It will be gone soon, like it never happened, and this blog post will be the only documentation of the facts. It is unfortunate on my part I was not more proactive about this 17 years ago or it would of never come to surface. I have had to document this before to get a mortgage brokers license, insurance license and dealers license, and I have been registered to vote my entire adult life. I just thought that having to document it was part of the process.
Officials in the court house and probation office have emphatically apologized to me over this, including a judge.
Am I a hater? Sure I am. Anybody who gives misinformation and makes my job harder deserves to be called out. Somebody that has played on donors sympathies, tried to profit from 9-11-01, then make good by donating money to help cover it up and then hide association (before and after) makes me a hater².
If you find Brian Pasch distributing information with my “felony conviction” please let me know. He has been notified by email and fax as of this posting and will receive certified mail in the next few days as to his errors and the potential legal ramifications for him distributing false information.
blogging sure is fun!
i have been on the internet for more than 10 years now, and like many of us, have witnessed countless acts of cowardice and idiocy.
never before i began working in this automotive space have i seen so many “professionals” participating.
the guys playing the smear game are the same ones that play the blame game when something goes wrong.
you have brass balls, paul. i learned something about you today, but it reminds me of something we have always agreed on.
set it out in the light. if you are right, those who can help will join you. some will dwell on the past, and others will learn.
what you are up to sounds like progress.
Thanks for your reply CS. Some have suggest I take this post down because it could haunt me later. My feeling is that if somebody does not wish to do business with me based on something that happened almost two decades ago and should not be in the public domain that is ok by me.
One of the best ways to deal with a negative is to address it head on then move on and let others form their own opinion.
I disagreed with a marketing opinion, was called defamatory and it was on.
It is what it is. I can live with my past and am transparent about it, I have nothing to hide.
Those that do have things to hide always try to change the subject or bury the truth..