[Leon]

Hey Richard
I think I remember this being dismissed. Nice job!! I hope you don't mind my cut and paste from your very nice site?


"Donald Frangipani Lawsuit Dismissed
HBO, Richard Simon, PSA and James Spence won dismissal of a $5 million defamation lawsuit by a Brooklyn, New York handwriting expert who accused the network and “Real Sports” host Bryant Gumbel of tying him to a forgery ring and accused the authenticating companies of violations against his authentication business. U.S. District Judge George Daniels rejected claims in Manhattan federal court Tuesday by Donald Frangipani, who claimed, in his lawsuit, he had more than 40 years of experience in forensic documents. In his 2008 lawsuit, Frangipani accused HBO of violating New York State defamation law over a January 2006 “Real Sports” segment, “Forger’s Paradise,” in which it portrayed him as the authenticator of choice for a forgery ring broken up by the FBI in 2000. The arrests the FBI made led to over 30 indictments and guilty pleas,though Mr. Frangipani was not indicted by the Federal government. Frangipani also alleged that large authentication companies (myself, PSA and James Spence) violated federal antitrust and racketeering laws by conspiring to keep him out of the market. (If I had that kind of power I guess I would have a lot more business than I do now). Among the defendants were Gumbel, who hosts “Real Sports,” as well as the segment narrator Armen Keteyian and several producers from HBO, Richard Simon, James Spence and PSA. In Tuesday’s 15-page decision, Daniels said that Frangipani failed to show that the authentication companies violated federal antitrust and racketeering laws by scheming to freeze him out of the market, or that customers refused to use his services because of the companies’ actions. This case lasted almost two years. "