[barrysloate]

I've never mentioned this on the board before, but there was a point in time when I knew Peter very well and we developed a pretty good friendship. I would say this was around 1993-94. And I have to say Peter was a really interesting guy. He was just coming out of his short career as a rap star ( the shelf life of a white guy in the hip hop world apparently isn't too long), he had been offered a part in one of Spike Lee's films (he turned it down), he was an up and coming baseball historian with a really nice collection, he had this beautiful apartment in Greenwich Village where I used to visit him regularly (and he likewise came into Brooklyn and hung out in my neck of the woods), and it certainly seemed he was living the good life. Peter is a super smart person, very charismatic, and I have to admit that while I am perhaps ten years his senior, during that friendship I always looked up to him. He seemed to have achieved this very high level of success at a very young age, and as I said, his intelligence and charm were a pretty powerful combination.

But I guess things happened over the years, money problems or something, and since that time not everything has worked out. I know from my own experience doing trades and deals with him, things would often get unnecessarily complicated and sometimes spin out of control. I lost touch with Peter many years ago but I still think of him fondly.

Peter, if you are reading this, I hope things work out for you. I am mystified by many of the things I am hearing.