It's not simply a matter of what Hegarty said in this article, it's a matter of what he said to me personally about rebates in our original conversation last year, which I mentioned in my original letter to the editor, and the way he handled the follow-up stories about us, Magna, and our partners. And, on the other side, the way he has handled all mentions of RGS, and what I have been told about why. He didn't just call them for a quote about the industry-- he ran their statement about how they are running a clean ship, after implying that the rebate industry (meaning everybody else) is not clean. They are not the only ones playing clean-- but they are the ones Hegarty is playing ball with.

What he writes, in a one newspaper town, creates an atmosphere of hysteria. He did it last year when we had the ill-fated joint venture with Magna, who didn't handle themselves too well either, by the way, when everything hit the fan-- they acted like it was all news to them. Hegarty implied all kinds of illegal activity and nefarious doings, none of which were true, and that put pressure that caused Magna to back out. He did it again here, and the next thing you know there is a statement of moral outrage about rebates coming from the NTRA, which is trying to get out in front of the story.



TGJB