Thursday, February 26, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
The Fall of Zamfir?
DRESDEN – A senior investment banker with Credit Suisse First Boston has been arrested in Germany on charges of commercial espionage, prosecutors said Wednesday. A Bulgarian and two Romanian privatization officials have also been detained.
Vadim Benyatov, managing director in the investment banking department of Credit Suisse First Boston Europe in London, and Ramos Zamfir, a consultant working for CSFB, had been detained. Benyatov is responsible for the bank's business in central and Eastern Europe.
Two Romanian officials – Mihai Dorinel Mucea, who heads a state privatization department, and Radu Mihai Donciu, a former adviser to the Minister for Communications – have been detained on the same charges. Four other people, including another privatization official, are also being investigated in the case but have not been detained.
Prosecutors say the group, allegedly led by Zamfir, obtained secret commercial documents which they provided to foreign companies participating in the sale of Romanian state-owned tobacco companies.
Credit Suisse said in a statement sent to The Associated Press that the bank had “no reason to believe that any Credit Suisse employee has acted inappropriately” adding it would cooperate fully with the investigation. The statement said the bank would not comment further until “we have a clear understanding of the basis for these allegations.”
Vadim Benyatov, managing director in the investment banking department of Credit Suisse First Boston Europe in London, and Ramos Zamfir, a consultant working for CSFB, had been detained. Benyatov is responsible for the bank's business in central and Eastern Europe.
Two Romanian officials – Mihai Dorinel Mucea, who heads a state privatization department, and Radu Mihai Donciu, a former adviser to the Minister for Communications – have been detained on the same charges. Four other people, including another privatization official, are also being investigated in the case but have not been detained.
Prosecutors say the group, allegedly led by Zamfir, obtained secret commercial documents which they provided to foreign companies participating in the sale of Romanian state-owned tobacco companies.
Credit Suisse said in a statement sent to The Associated Press that the bank had “no reason to believe that any Credit Suisse employee has acted inappropriately” adding it would cooperate fully with the investigation. The statement said the bank would not comment further until “we have a clear understanding of the basis for these allegations.”
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Unclaimed Luggage No Longer a Fear
For Immediate Release
Vashon, February 19, 2009.
New Gallery Opens March 6
A collective of artists have reclaimed the gallery space occupied one door south of Gusto Girls. The new gallery will be called VALISE. A valise is a traveling bag, a suitcase that hints of mystery and adventure. What’s inside? Where has it been? Where is it going? The bag is curiously anonymous, nostalgic, and worthy of a closer inspection.
VALISE stands for Vashon Artists Linked in Social Engagement. We chose these words for their humorous, ironic, and activist bent. The Ramos Zamfir Project is an example of artists linked in social engagement, a conspiracy of humor to be shared by all.
The artist for February’s smoke shop project is Vic Monchego. As a writer, interested in social commentary, he wanted to create “a fictional narrative that speaks to reverse gentrification, economic downturns, George Bailey’s Pottersville, xenophobia, and the dreams of immigrants.”
VALISE will be operated as an artist collective, by member artists. The gallery will be dedicated to presenting subjects and media that are daring, unexpected and emergent. We want to stir our audiences. We want to challenge members to initiate fresh work. We want to share the venue with the community and tempt new ideas.
Collective members will show about half the time, and artists from outside the Vashon Autonomous Zone will show the other half. VALISE hopes to be an important and accessible art venue for the community.
What’s inside?
VALISE will open March 6, 2009. The gallery’s first show will feature Seattle artist, Britt Freda. Ms. Freda’s show is titled “Fowl Brood.”
Vashon, February 19, 2009.
New Gallery Opens March 6
A collective of artists have reclaimed the gallery space occupied one door south of Gusto Girls. The new gallery will be called VALISE. A valise is a traveling bag, a suitcase that hints of mystery and adventure. What’s inside? Where has it been? Where is it going? The bag is curiously anonymous, nostalgic, and worthy of a closer inspection.
VALISE stands for Vashon Artists Linked in Social Engagement. We chose these words for their humorous, ironic, and activist bent. The Ramos Zamfir Project is an example of artists linked in social engagement, a conspiracy of humor to be shared by all.
The artist for February’s smoke shop project is Vic Monchego. As a writer, interested in social commentary, he wanted to create “a fictional narrative that speaks to reverse gentrification, economic downturns, George Bailey’s Pottersville, xenophobia, and the dreams of immigrants.”
VALISE will be operated as an artist collective, by member artists. The gallery will be dedicated to presenting subjects and media that are daring, unexpected and emergent. We want to stir our audiences. We want to challenge members to initiate fresh work. We want to share the venue with the community and tempt new ideas.
Collective members will show about half the time, and artists from outside the Vashon Autonomous Zone will show the other half. VALISE hopes to be an important and accessible art venue for the community.
What’s inside?
VALISE will open March 6, 2009. The gallery’s first show will feature Seattle artist, Britt Freda. Ms. Freda’s show is titled “Fowl Brood.”
Cicero Interviews Monchego
Writer Noah Cicero Interviews Vic Monchego about “The Zamfir Project” at Monkey Tree Cafe
NC: So you think you’re an artist, do ya?
VBM: (laughes nervously) I dunno. Are you going to eat the rest of that coffee cake?
NC: Tell me about the origin of the Zamfir project.
VBM: Sure. Around Christmas time I was thinking about George Bailey and Pottersville and Bedford Falls. Pottersville doesn’t look so bad. The restaurants and clubs are full. People are out on the streets having fun. They still have a library. I think many dying American towns would kill to be as lively and exciting as Pottersville. Take Youngstown, Ohio as an example.
NC: Are you picking on Youngstown? If you are, I’m going to punch you in the head.
VBM: Ever been to the Jolly Bar? Youngstown is a blight, a boil, a bubo on the butt of the Buckeye State. Dusk in Youngstown smells of perpetual despair.
NC: So you wanted to re-make downtown Vashon into a Pottersville?
VBM: Something like that. These are interesting times. A period of anti-gentrification. I think that is a good thing in the long run. We were all getting too uppity, too concerned about aesthetics.
NC: Ramos is the cousin of Gheorghe Zamfir, Master of the pan flute.
VBM: I love Zamfir’s music. Especially when you hear it in an unexpected context. ‘The Lonely Shepherd” song in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill is brilliant.
NC: So Ramos is Romanian?
VBM: In hard, economic times, immigrants always get vilified. I wanted a Balkan. Nobody understands the Balkans. But Ray embodies the American dream. He escaped Nicolae Ceausecu’s Romania, came to America penniless and built an empire of pawn shops and cash centers.
NC: How do you feel about punking the local paper? Feel guility?
VBM: (laughs nervously) Actually, yes. A little bit. I’m not sure we really punked the paper. I hope at some level they knew a hoax was in the air and they were just playing along. I didn’t mean to be deceptive, manipulative. I just wanted folks to laugh. The paper can be kind of dull sometimes, especially the crime report. Besides, the article was well-researched and accurate. I think Leslie did a fantastic job. I’ll bring her some flowers. I hope there are no hard feelings.
NC: What happened to Ramos Zamfir?
VBM: He is being detained in Dresden after smuggling counterfeit cigarettes into Germany.
NC: What’s in the suitcase?
VBM: It’s a valise.
Noah Cicero is a writer and cultural critic. He lives in Youngstown, Ohio, and is the author of four books of fiction.
NC: So you think you’re an artist, do ya?
VBM: (laughes nervously) I dunno. Are you going to eat the rest of that coffee cake?
NC: Tell me about the origin of the Zamfir project.
VBM: Sure. Around Christmas time I was thinking about George Bailey and Pottersville and Bedford Falls. Pottersville doesn’t look so bad. The restaurants and clubs are full. People are out on the streets having fun. They still have a library. I think many dying American towns would kill to be as lively and exciting as Pottersville. Take Youngstown, Ohio as an example.
NC: Are you picking on Youngstown? If you are, I’m going to punch you in the head.
VBM: Ever been to the Jolly Bar? Youngstown is a blight, a boil, a bubo on the butt of the Buckeye State. Dusk in Youngstown smells of perpetual despair.
NC: So you wanted to re-make downtown Vashon into a Pottersville?
VBM: Something like that. These are interesting times. A period of anti-gentrification. I think that is a good thing in the long run. We were all getting too uppity, too concerned about aesthetics.
NC: Ramos is the cousin of Gheorghe Zamfir, Master of the pan flute.
VBM: I love Zamfir’s music. Especially when you hear it in an unexpected context. ‘The Lonely Shepherd” song in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill is brilliant.
NC: So Ramos is Romanian?
VBM: In hard, economic times, immigrants always get vilified. I wanted a Balkan. Nobody understands the Balkans. But Ray embodies the American dream. He escaped Nicolae Ceausecu’s Romania, came to America penniless and built an empire of pawn shops and cash centers.
NC: How do you feel about punking the local paper? Feel guility?
VBM: (laughs nervously) Actually, yes. A little bit. I’m not sure we really punked the paper. I hope at some level they knew a hoax was in the air and they were just playing along. I didn’t mean to be deceptive, manipulative. I just wanted folks to laugh. The paper can be kind of dull sometimes, especially the crime report. Besides, the article was well-researched and accurate. I think Leslie did a fantastic job. I’ll bring her some flowers. I hope there are no hard feelings.
NC: What happened to Ramos Zamfir?
VBM: He is being detained in Dresden after smuggling counterfeit cigarettes into Germany.
NC: What’s in the suitcase?
VBM: It’s a valise.
Noah Cicero is a writer and cultural critic. He lives in Youngstown, Ohio, and is the author of four books of fiction.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Romanians are Heavy Smokers
According to official statistics, Romania has strong and stable tobacco sales because Romanians are heavy smokers. This situation is not new or transient, but traditional, with a well-established pre-revolutionary history.
This history is, however, one of marked domination by national manufacturers. At the beginning of the 1990s, Romania’s opening to foreign investments brought it within reach of the most important international tobacco product manufacturers. They found in Romania a tobacco market that was already strong, yet far from saturation and with huge potential. This opening, supported by weak tobacco-related legislation, led to an interest in tobacco at the beginning of the 1990s.
Romanians were fascinated by the array of cigarettes and brands on offer, and that were promoted with aggressive advertising. Romanians quickly turned towards the new brands as a result. For many years, advertising tobacco through all media and without boundaries raised the curiosity of many non-smokers – especially young ones. Youth smoking was prevalent over the review period, and the overall smoking prevalence in Romania is currently forecast to increase.
This history is, however, one of marked domination by national manufacturers. At the beginning of the 1990s, Romania’s opening to foreign investments brought it within reach of the most important international tobacco product manufacturers. They found in Romania a tobacco market that was already strong, yet far from saturation and with huge potential. This opening, supported by weak tobacco-related legislation, led to an interest in tobacco at the beginning of the 1990s.
Romanians were fascinated by the array of cigarettes and brands on offer, and that were promoted with aggressive advertising. Romanians quickly turned towards the new brands as a result. For many years, advertising tobacco through all media and without boundaries raised the curiosity of many non-smokers – especially young ones. Youth smoking was prevalent over the review period, and the overall smoking prevalence in Romania is currently forecast to increase.
Zamfir Comes to Town
18 FéVRIER 2009
A payday loan and pawn shop that will also sell luxury tobacco and snuff is slated to open March 1 at the former site of the 070 Gallery, according to a news release issued last month.
The circumstances around the shop’s opening, however, appear murky, and no one seems to know anything about its alleged owners, Peter and Ramos Zamfir. Efforts to reach them have proven unsuccessful.“If you are calling about the Black Russian Sobranies, our next shipment should clear customs on March 6,” a voicemail message on the phone number listed in their news release says.
The news release, slipped through the Beachcomber’s mail slot in the middle of the day, says the shop — Zamfir’s Micro — will offer up “micro pawn brokerage,” specializing “in small valuables such as jewelry and rare coins.” The shop will also offer an “assortment of tobacco and snuff from around the globe” as well as “an easy and confidential way to borrow money,” the release states.
Few seem to know anything about the Zamfirs, however, or, if they do, would not discuss the new business with a Beachcomber reporter. The building where Zamfir’s Micro would be located is owned by Chuck and Mary Robinson. But when contacted about the new tenant, Mary Robinson sounded shocked to hear a pawn broker was moving in next door. “I thought it was an artist,” she said.
She then referred all questions to Chuck, but when he did not return calls, The Beachcomber went to Robinson’s Furniture to discuss his new tenant. He declined to come out from a back room.“He doesn’t want to discuss his tenants with a reporter,” Mary Robinson told The Beachcomber.
Other immediate neighbors of the new pawn shop seemed puzzled or uncertain about the developments. Jeff Lewis at Winterbrook Realty said he believed the new tenant is an artist and that the sign is a joke, but at Vashon IT, next door, the owner and an employee shrugged their shoulders and looked at a Beachcomber reporter quizzically when asked about it. “All I know is what’s in the press release,” the employee said.
The Beachcomber then e-mailed Ramos Zamfir, whose e-mail address was included in the news release. He answered a few days later, saying he was headed to Germany but offering up this piece of information: “Our micro will be a jewelry pawn and we have many exotic tobacco products also. I wish to rent a larger warehouse by the market west of town. I think Troy Kindred will help us.” The Beachcomber then called Kindred, who said he’d never heard of Ramos Zamfir. “I walked past the old 070 Gallery and saw the sign in the window, and at first I thought it was a joke,” Kindred said. “But now I don’t, only because the world is upside down. Napa and Back Bay closing. A tattoo shop in the Old Fuller Store. You know, times they are a-changing.”
According to the news release, the Zamfir family also owns Midwest Money Centers in Youngstown, Ohio. But a Google search suggested that the owner is actually Michael Dohar, who has four shops in the Youngstown area. Reached by phone in Youngstown, Dohar said he’d never heard of the Zamfirs. What’s more, he added, his shops are all payday loan shops; he has a pawn brokerage license but hasn’t used it in years. He doesn’t sell tobacco, he added.
Might there be another Midwest Money Center? “I’m pretty sure we’re the only one,” he said. “We’ve got a corporate name.”And how does he feel about the fact that someone in Washington state is using his company’s name?“At least my name’s out on the coast,” Dohar answered. “As long as it’s name only … it’s no skin off my ass. We’re just a small, local operation.”
Source : http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/
A payday loan and pawn shop that will also sell luxury tobacco and snuff is slated to open March 1 at the former site of the 070 Gallery, according to a news release issued last month.
The circumstances around the shop’s opening, however, appear murky, and no one seems to know anything about its alleged owners, Peter and Ramos Zamfir. Efforts to reach them have proven unsuccessful.“If you are calling about the Black Russian Sobranies, our next shipment should clear customs on March 6,” a voicemail message on the phone number listed in their news release says.
The news release, slipped through the Beachcomber’s mail slot in the middle of the day, says the shop — Zamfir’s Micro — will offer up “micro pawn brokerage,” specializing “in small valuables such as jewelry and rare coins.” The shop will also offer an “assortment of tobacco and snuff from around the globe” as well as “an easy and confidential way to borrow money,” the release states.
Few seem to know anything about the Zamfirs, however, or, if they do, would not discuss the new business with a Beachcomber reporter. The building where Zamfir’s Micro would be located is owned by Chuck and Mary Robinson. But when contacted about the new tenant, Mary Robinson sounded shocked to hear a pawn broker was moving in next door. “I thought it was an artist,” she said.
She then referred all questions to Chuck, but when he did not return calls, The Beachcomber went to Robinson’s Furniture to discuss his new tenant. He declined to come out from a back room.“He doesn’t want to discuss his tenants with a reporter,” Mary Robinson told The Beachcomber.
Other immediate neighbors of the new pawn shop seemed puzzled or uncertain about the developments. Jeff Lewis at Winterbrook Realty said he believed the new tenant is an artist and that the sign is a joke, but at Vashon IT, next door, the owner and an employee shrugged their shoulders and looked at a Beachcomber reporter quizzically when asked about it. “All I know is what’s in the press release,” the employee said.
The Beachcomber then e-mailed Ramos Zamfir, whose e-mail address was included in the news release. He answered a few days later, saying he was headed to Germany but offering up this piece of information: “Our micro will be a jewelry pawn and we have many exotic tobacco products also. I wish to rent a larger warehouse by the market west of town. I think Troy Kindred will help us.” The Beachcomber then called Kindred, who said he’d never heard of Ramos Zamfir. “I walked past the old 070 Gallery and saw the sign in the window, and at first I thought it was a joke,” Kindred said. “But now I don’t, only because the world is upside down. Napa and Back Bay closing. A tattoo shop in the Old Fuller Store. You know, times they are a-changing.”
According to the news release, the Zamfir family also owns Midwest Money Centers in Youngstown, Ohio. But a Google search suggested that the owner is actually Michael Dohar, who has four shops in the Youngstown area. Reached by phone in Youngstown, Dohar said he’d never heard of the Zamfirs. What’s more, he added, his shops are all payday loan shops; he has a pawn brokerage license but hasn’t used it in years. He doesn’t sell tobacco, he added.
Might there be another Midwest Money Center? “I’m pretty sure we’re the only one,” he said. “We’ve got a corporate name.”And how does he feel about the fact that someone in Washington state is using his company’s name?“At least my name’s out on the coast,” Dohar answered. “As long as it’s name only … it’s no skin off my ass. We’re just a small, local operation.”
Source : http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/
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