For The Record

After so many years in the auto dealer business, you think you have seen it all.  In 1994 or 1995 I witnessed a story that you only hear in the news.  It seems like sexual harassment is another drama that you only read about in the paper or here in the news.  Mike Lallier, the  General Manager of Reed-Lallier Chevrolet, in Fayetteville, NC abused his position and spoiled the life of a young man.

Lallier placed a young man in his employ in a managerial position when he clearly did not have the experience.  He claimed he wanted to give him a chance and would give him the necessary assistance to be a success.  After sometime in the position, Lallier forced himself on this young man in a sexual encounter.  This young man did take the incident to a lawyer and a lawsuit was threatened.  Gene Reed, the stepfather to Lalliers wife stepped in with the insurance company and a settlement was reached.  Numerous people had knowledge of the incident but total embarrassment for the family and business was avoided.

This was not the end of the situation.  Months after things had settled 2 office employees went to Lalliers office to surprise him while on a business trip to clean his office.  As CFO, I received a phone call from these employees because they found something and did not know what to do.  They informed they dad found a pornographic magazine with vial photos of young men and boys performing sexual acts.  I made a bad decision and told them to put everything back the way it was and to stay silent.  At the time, I did not want to bring more embarrassment to the family and the business.  I regret my decision to this day.  Lallier still surrounds himself with you men at work and over the years it was difficult to talk to Lallier and work with him.  I always worried that the events could be repeating.

Lallier has managed to work himself into a leadership position in the community and even as a public official.  I only hope he has not put others in situations like you see other politicians doing.  Money and power allow these people to get away with crimes to others.

Because of the recent events, I feel it is necessary to add these additional comments. This family will use money and power to get to elected officials to make this criminal behavior to go away.  Do not let this happen!  If you would read the other articles in this blog you will have some understanding as to the ability these people have to get what they want and to destroy lives.  Now one of them has scarred a young boys’ life forever and this predator could get away with it.  Just imagine if it was your child.  Do what you can and make your voice heard so that another young life can be sparred.  There is a new post concerning documented criminal activity by Michael Lallier many years ago,

I have had this blog out here for over 3 years and have made many attempts to alert the news outlets about this behavior, but no one listened and in some cases people were paid off to keep quiet about the content.  Please read it all because everything written is the truth and there is so much more that can be told.

Family Means Nothing

It is difficult to understand how someone can destroy another mans life and that of his family.  The more I reflect on my experience with Gene Reed and the way he treated his family, I understand.  The institution of marriage means nothing to the man.  For years his wife has been the joke among employees, friends and enemies.  Her husband has had so many girlfriends, some she even considered friends, and so many other women that were just notches in drive to have sex with as many beautiful woman as possible.  His own employees and family have lied to his wife while covering for his infidelity.  The women I have witnessed range from married women, employees, young ladies and so many women willing to do anything for his money.  Women are only sex objects meant to pleasure him.  I sat across the table from him at dinner with a group of female controllers, with his girlfriend at the table and he was physically groping one of his own employees as she is trying to fiend him off without making it embarrassing.

He even cheated on the girlfriends when he could or wanted.   I remember a day where he left the wife at home, went to the office to see the girlfriend, then she drove us to the plane where another girl was waiting on the plane for the business trip.  There are so many men out there like him and many women that will gladly trade their dignity.  I think back to a trip where he talked a girl who could not have been over 18 or 19 to his stateroom on the yacht and afterwards I saw the shameful look on her face.  This haunts me as a father, and I am ashamed of what I put up with and tolerated.  I know that this man would not think twice about who he took advantage of.  How many husbands, fathers and children's lives has he ruined?  He ruins people purely for his own pleasure.

Other than the desire for his money, how can his family and acquaintances continue to support him.  Money truly is the root of all evil and make those like Gene Reed.  Shame on us that have supported his ways!

Age Discrimination

I spent 30 years as an automotive accountant earning the respect of my peers for my work ethic and knowledge.  Over 15 years of my career I spent with Gene Reed as a devoted employee.  I never expected to be cheated by the man that I sacrificed so much of my personal life to serve.  I did not realize that I when his nephew, Robert Reed graduated and came to work for me that I was training him to take my job.  I was getting older and many promises we're made to me for future investments.  I trusted Gene Reed even though I had seen him cheat others that had worked for him.  Surely such a devoted employee and confidant would not be cheated and discriminated against!

This nephew was highest in his class but no experience, trained as an economist, no accounting or automotive knowledge, no common sense and nepotism at its finest.  The only thing he did was set in on meetings and remind vendors and bankers he was a Reed.  At the time I was a fool and did not realize I was on the out.  It finally hit me when I was moved out of my office and forced to share an office.  By this time it was too late.  Years of devoted service and I am discriminated for my age and the fact that he had made promises he did not intend to honor.

GENE REED IS A LIAR AND A CHEAT!!

Ceremony of Love

Let's say you meet a woman over 30 years younger than you and she appears to be attracted to you.  Never mind your married, you want to marry the woman.  Since you're rich and powerful, you think you can take the yacht to the Bahamas, have your boat captain perform a wedding.  Well, his attorney convinces him that even though he may think he is above the law, marriage to two women has been a problem for even wealthier men.  So, the couple plans the event on the yacht and call it a "Ceremony of Love" or maybe we can refer to it as a faux wedding.  As the poem goes first comes love, then come marriage and yes now the faux wife is pregnant with a positive pregnancy test.  Well the expectant father wants to make sue that his child and mother are cared for so he pencils out changes to his will and sends to me for safe keeping.  Well as many marriages go, even faux marriages, problems arise and a miscarriage occurs and love dies.  Well now what do you do with a faux marriage, a possible faux child and love that has changed?  Now it is time for a faux divorce but now the divorce cost real money.  Yes, they did get their faux divorce for a nice sum of money going to the faux wife.

We all know the moral to this story is that "money can't buy love.".  There's more to this real life story.  We all know a man as smart as Gene Reed would not fall for such a woman who just wanted his money.  He did discover afterwards that he was not the first to fall for this woman's talents.  This woman must have drugged him and this was his excuse.  As usual he has a reason for his stupidity, because this man could not have a faux wedding, faux child, faux divorce and faux drug induced coma for several months.  I wonder where his real life, real wife and real employees were during this time.  Where they also living through a drug induced state of mind?

This sounds like a really bad movie, but I witnessed these events.  Does this man really think anyone believes this was drug induced?  No!  But everyone must say they do!  If he could blame some one else for his stupidity, he would!  Or has he and only a few others know it and accept it because they are glad it was not them.

Intimidation, Humiliation and Abuse Means Control

On more occasions, than I care to remember, I have witnessed Gene Reed curse out an employee in an inhumane and abusive way.  No one ever deserved the intimidating, humiliating and abusive methods of management he used on so many occasions.  I have witnessed him do this to people that were very devoted to him.  I ask myself why we put up with this behavior and I do believe that it is intimidation that leads to control.  This man strived on interrupting his employees on their personal time just to let them know he had that control.  Over the years I got to the point of cringing at the sound of the phone ringing.  It did not matter what you were doing, because he would get upset if he could not get in touch with you.

One thing you did not want to here from Gene Reed was "I will accept your resignation.". This meant that he was going to do whatever he could do to intimidate, humiliate and abuse you to get you to resign.  Occasionally he would terminate someone with cause but he preferred a resignation.  If you really pissed him off, he would go to great lengths to see that you could not get another job.  I have witnessed calls he made to new employers of potential employers of those that left his employment.  He would go to great lengths to disparage the former employee.

Once during a hurricane, I set in my car on countless phone calls with Reed and a former girlfriend of his that left him after many years.  The purpose of the phone calls was intimidation and threats to punish this woman for leaving him.  He lost control of someone and this was not acceptable!

This man violated so many people's dignity with no regard for their basic rights.  In the early 90's a young, single mother in the cashier position apparently stole money.  He did not want to call the police until he got a confession.  He called the lady in his office for about an hour and came out with a written confession.  She never was offered her rights prior to the confession, according to the law, because he took the law into his own hands.  I can only imagine the tactics he used to obtain the confession.

Reeds favorite tool on many occasions was to use a personal tape recorder hidden in his office or attached to the phone.  This was to be used to entrap employees and girlfriends on many occasions.

Why did I stay?  I asked myself this question for years and still today.  I cannot give myself a responsible answer.  Mind control!!

What Happened to Consumer Protection

After being in the auto dealer business for so many years you observe business practices that are not best practices.  I know there are honest dealers that hire the wrong people but they are all driven by the profit motive and will over look certain practices as long as they do not get penalized.  Gene Reed was driven only by the profit and would push his managers and hire people that would push the limit.

After he hired a manager at Gene Reed Toyota in 2013, the new manager was receiving bank charges for reposessions of vehicles that had equipment on the original purchase contract that were not on the vehicle.  What this meant was that certain sales or finance managers were representing to the lending bank that the vehicle being sold had a greater vehicle value than the vehicle actually delivered to the customer.  This was done by misrepresenting the vehicle with higher valued accessories such as special wheels, stereo equipment or any other high value accessories.  This would give the vehicle a higher value to loan ratio.  By doing this the lender would take the risk loaning to a customer that might not be able to afford the loan.  The customer was unsuspecting and once they could not make the payments, the customers credit was harmed and the dealership would only pay when the misrepresented equipment was caught by the lender.  No telling how many customers sacrificed financially for the misrepresentations once they wanted to payoff the loan or trade their vehicle for another purchase.

Upon finding out about this he just blamed it on the managers that he had hired.  Occasionally the dealership would get into a lawsuit and he would rely on the insurance company to pay the damages.  He new some of these manager were risky but he also new they could drive the sales and profits.  Anyone was a scapegoat because he would make a few examples and fire someone and go back to ignoring business practices.  Profits, insurance, lawyers and PR firms that could get media coverage for public donations.

What about those customers that never recovered from the financial ruin.

Auto Dealer Closing Fee (DOC Fee)

There are many businesses that charge a document preparation fee as the result of a sale or a loan.  These fees are charged to cover the cost of the necessary documents to record sales with some government agency or record the security of a loan.  I have been in the automotive business for over 30 years and have yet to see dealer take any efforts to justify what they charge as a DOC fee.  The amounts charged are usually based on what the market will allow or what a particular state law mandates.  In South Carolina the law allows a fee with certain guidelines when advertising and mandates that notice must be given the buyer and included on the invoice.  Fees vary at dealerships from those that charge nothing to some over $400.  What should be charged and is the charge based on cost recovery?  At the Gene Reed group of dealerships the fees were increased at times and were increased for the purpose of increasing profits and not based on any analysis of cost involved.  In 2003 the managers of 2 dealerships wanted to increase profits and were told to check the market to see what other dealers were charging.  They did and the increases were approved at $399 at Gene Reed Toyota and $499 at Lexus of Charleston.

I believe it was in 2006 that a lawsuit was filed in Bamberg County challenging numerous aspects of the validity of the closing fee.  The majority of the dealerships in the state were eventually included in the lawsuit.  This set in motion the dealers and there powerful lobbing group, the SC Auto Dealers Association, to hire numerous lawyers to fight this lawsuit.  Significant attorney fees have been spent in the last few years to fight this battle to protect million of dollars in dealer profits.  If the intent of the law is for a closing fee to represent an amount that can be charged to recover cost the intent of the law is being abused.  The dealer group has been fighting class action status but certainly some dealers are an using the intent of the law.

The amazing thing to me is that the news media has not taken up the cause of the car buyer in South Carolina.  The only possible reason for the media not reporting on this lawsuit must be the lost advertising revenues they might be risking by exposing the auto dealers.  Any law makers in the state that might try to change the law would surely lose campaign funds from dealers.  At one time the SC law prevented charging a closing fee but the auto dealer lobby group managed to get the fees back into law.

The amount being charged as a closing fee to the SC car buyer is definitely being abused by some dealerships!

Purchased Justice

Justice is a much misused term and usually available only for the wealthy.  Let's say a man goes to a bar one night and gets very intoxicated, takes another mans car home across town, wrecks the car in his drive and passes out in the vehicle.  Let's add this up!  Driving under influence and stealing a car.  Sounds like any average man gets a DUI charge and theft of an automobile.  No, let's make that just using a vehicle without permission because now we are dealing with a wealthy and powerful man and we give him community service and he never does his community service.  He just goes and gives the fire department some very expensive and much needed uniforms.  I suppose he did not get caught driving home drunk and no one noticed he was drunk when the car was recovered with him passed out.  Maybe the courts in Charleston had a special going that week and anyone that had coupon and could purchase the city a few things that were needed by the government, they could drive drunk and take another citizens vehicle without permission.  As cynical as this sounds, this is the way the systems has worked.  I witnessed this and saw Gene Reed take advantage of his wealth and power to achieve these very results. Just check the newspaper and the court records, it's all there.

For whatever reason Gene Reed had me call the office where the victim, Chris McIntosh, worked.  The plan was to disparage this mans name with some fabricated story to get him fired.  Reed had me do this on 2 occasions.  The victim was a corporate pilot and Reed wanted to report to his employer that he was flying for other clients.  Not only did Reed wreck the mans car but he wanted to destroy his job.  

More of Played a Pawn

More needs to be told about this story.  Paul Whatley thinks he is Gods gift to the automotive dealer.  He betrays people when his management decisions do not work.  He is similar to Gene Reed in so many ways.  Narcissism abounds in both of these men and they will go to great lengths to protect themselves.  Even to the point of destroying those that try to help them.  Whatley approached me to turn on my employer when he did not get his way.  When I would not agree, he later used lies and false accusations in his lawsuit to get his way.  I was not a party to whatever agreement he obtained from Reed so he created his own story to destroy someone that did not have his wealth to defend the truth.  He knew Reed would use me as the scapegoat because they both use people to avoid appearing in the wrong.

The actions of these men pushed me to the point of attempting suicide.  For years I was harassed, humiliated and badgered by Gene Reed too the point that every day I went to work, I wanted out.  I had a family to support and knew that if I left Reed would see to it that I would not get work in the automobile business again.  I had heard Reed call other dealers to destroy the credibility of those that had left him before.  Trapped in my own hell, I could do nothing but try to tough it out.  I had finally been placed in a position between two individuals that could care less who they destroyed.

The one thing I had done was back up all my dealings between these men, but this did not prevent Reed from trying to find flaws in my work.  The only thing he could do was try to break me and push me out so he old blame me.  Even after I got out of the hospital and went back to work he started the harassment again.  After several more hospital stays I had to leave for good.  I am unable to get any peace, cannot sleep, keep a job and have difficulty wanting to continue life. 

Reed and Whatley must pay for this wrong but it takes money to get justice and even their money cannot buy me back my life and family.  They will atone for there actions one day but for me it is too late!

Played A Pawn

As CFO for Gene Reed Enterprises, Charleston, SC I was involved in hiring the managers of the dealerships.  Little did I know that hiring Paul Whatley would lead to my demise.  Gene Reed hired Paul Whatley as General Manager of Gene Reed Toyota in 2009 and agreed to sell Paul an interest in the dealership in the future if he improved the performance.  Eventually, Paul was offered an agreement in 2010.  A stock purchase agreement was prepared by Mr. Reed's attorneys and I shared it with Paul in 2010.  We discussed and went through it several times but it was not to his liking.  I asked him to discuss with his attorney and get back with us about his proposed changes.  We had numerous conversations about the agreement but he never brought any changes for discussion.  In 2011 we were approached about selling the Toyota and Lexus dealerships located in the Charleston area.  Agreements were reached and the dealerships were sold.  Paul was not happy but he never signed the agreements.  In June he filed a lawsuit against Gene Reed and me for not getting to buy the Toyota Dealership.  The lawsuit was filed in Orangeburg, SC so he could take advantage of his attorneys location and favorable judges.  The lawsuit was full of false accusations and complete lies.  I had all of my documentation to refute all of the fabrications.  I was set up as the pawn in a battle between these two wealthy individuals.  Reed questioned me daily about the facts harassing me at home and tried to find me at fault but never could.  Paul claimed to have a document that Reed had signed agreeing to sell him the dealership.  Paul had Mr. Reed in a drunken state on one of their Toyota trips and must have taken advantage of the situation to get some paper signed.  Mr. Reed finally agreed to settle for millions after I no longer worked for him and I was forced to sign off on the agreement.  Harassed daily for months at work and at home, all because Reed did something stupid and Whatley did not get his way.  Used as a pawn and what I went through broke me mentally.  I have lost everything including my job, my family and my own dignity. It's personal!