Mandi's "Hero," the strange case of Tedd Collins IV

The potentially tragic story of Yale hockey player/Leukemia victim Mandi Schwartz has taken a bizarre turn this past week, thanks to some exhaustive reporting by a gang of five reporters at the New York Times and a Florida Fire and Rescue paramedic who raised his hand. Martin Reinholz, the EMT from Jacksonville reads newspapers on line, and saw the man who swindled him out of $200,000 featured as the heroic advocate for Mandi Schwartz's life and death search for a matching blood donor. That would be Tedd Collins IV, the man featured on ABC World News Tonight, ESPN and the New York Times. As has been happening ever more frequently with Collins this past decade, the s*** hit the fan.

Prior to the Times superb investigative reporting, American mainstream media had previously been satisfied with bios like "Doctor," "Clinical Immunologist" and "Grieving Father," for the enigmatic Collins. In the easy-to-digest story of Mandi's survival struggle, Collins was a father adhering to his dying daughter's final request to help another Yale victim of Leukemia, Mandi Schwartz. Natasha Collins was a Yale med student when she succumbed to the disease last summer. And all those characterizations of Collins are true, by and large. Except that Collins hadn't really been a doctor for over a decade. But he has been an angel of sorts to the Schwartz family, creating web sites and generating much needed publicity for their daughter's cause. “From our end, he’s worked tirelessly in finding cord blood for Mandi, and that was his main cause," said Mandi's dad Rick Schwartz from Wilcox, Saskatchewan.

There is an extraordinary disconnect between the man devoted to saving a tragic figure's life, and the Tedd Collins who is being investigated by the FBI, the IRS and the Secret Service for fraud and various felonious schemes. CT attorney general Richard Blumenthal is circling for a kill as well. The Times unearthed an almost comical tale of outrageous lies and scandals that Collins has been perpetrating in the decade since he left the labs of Bristol- Meyers Squibb. Here's a laundry list of lies, deception and scandal that will result in the ultimate demise of Collins, and nearly everyone he has come in contact with: started an Internet Service Provider which went out of business in a year; tried to deposit $22M in counterfeit checks in a bank account he controlled; claimed to manage a 152 BILLION (with a 'B') dollar gold mine so he could vouch for the $100 Million of scam money he was handling for a bogus hedge fund; conducted investing seminars at African American churches in South Carolina where he preyed on unsuspecting investors; falsified real estate documents of an octogenarian couple to illegally transfer titles and score mortgage loans. The guy was bad, and nationwide. And in the ultimate irony, the transgression that burst his facade as a do-gooder in the name of both his own and Rick Schwartz's daughter: whistle-blower Martin Reinholz said that Collins went AWOL after he had invested $200,000. in a trust for Reinholz' daughter. I guess the guy's love for daughters has its limitations.

The deeper you dig, the wackier Collins bio gets. He married NY QB legend Phil Simms sister, Mary Anne. They declared bankruptcy together in 2005. Mary Anne was named in the investigation for ripping off a female pastor in South Carolina for $100,000. Charities in New Haven have funneled $11,000. to Collins through an unsuspecting pastor at Church on the Rock in New Haven. “Everything that has come in has gone right back to him,” said Pastor Todd Foster of the money. “We entrusted him to do what he has purported to do.” No one, other than Collins, has seen that money.

So who is Tedd Collins? Angelic savior? Professional swindler and national con artist? Grieving father? How about all of the above. And a bit of an addict. Probably to money and attention, all those timeless human foibles. But very human, and that's what makes this story so compelling. A victim of recent history's two great bubble bursts, the Internet and housing. But he doesn't stop. His latest Internet posting had him offering up to 10 Mac IPads to the Facebook friends of Mandi who generate the most contacts with hospitals in search of cord blood. Good intentions, a design that brings good feelings followed by disappointment. He can't help himself.

Faced with awful financial setbacks, he continued to reinvent himself and latch on to new investors, keeping that dream alive. Whatever that dream is, some media-inflated bastardization of the American Dream which includes fame and fortune. Hey, he had Dianne Sawyer lead to his story on ABC. He was sold to American viewers as a caring doctor. Is he a clinical immunologist, or a manager of a Billion Dollar gold mine? An investment manager or a real estate tycoon? He is whatever we choose to believe. Soon he will be behind bars. And yet his heart remains open, despite a dearth of common sense. He wants to pay back the debtors back as soon as he is solvent again. Of course he does, and so do the vast amount of Americans who are saddled with unmangaeable debt. We may now hate Dr. Tedd, but we also know him. He is us.

He has honored his daughter and raised awareness of this deadly disease. Hospitals. mothers and laypeople nationwide now know the vital significance of blood from umibilical cords. And good Lord willing, if Mandi finds her match and is saved by a successful transplant next month in Seattle, the Schwartz family will be thanking Dr. Collins for the rest of their lives. But it appears that Collins' manic run as a free man in these United States will soon be coming to a close.

Kudos to the NYTimes team of investigative journalists who uncovered this story after the Martin Reinholz call to arms: Tom Kaplan, Stephanie Saul, Barry Meier, Rebecca Cathcart and Alan Delaqueriere.

Another Pinstripe funeral

There was a time when a full back page in a NY tabloid would constitute news. Friday's scoop by Bill Madden, about how none of the Yankees made Bob Sheppard's funeral, was essentially ignored in the national broadcast on Saturday by Fox and friends. In the old days, you just put up the newspaper, because a published report meant that news had been made, and required a comment. Then you get a rebuttal, a few opinions, and journalism is alive and well. Not as far as I could tell. I watched as much of the Fox broadcast as I could justify, and never saw a mention. It was a day for paying homage to the pinstripers, not to question their hearts.

Bill Madden appeared on radio station WFAN, stood by his story, and called the superficial newscasters who questioned his story as people "who didn't do their homework." The pinstripe propaganda was that an accident made the commute to the funeral impractical. Horsespit according to Madden, a hard boiled baseball/newspaper man. Now that's good theater in the guise of journalism. Two sides, plenty of tension, viewer makes a choice. Keeps the discussion lively, makes the viewer an important part of the equation, as the court of public opinion gets shaped.

But instead we had a well-scripted homage to the World's Most Powerful Sports Franchise. And what self-respecting TV sports entertainer wants to get on the bad side of the Yanks? Wish they brought Madden in for an inning. Seam dreams, it seems. Add journalism to the list of deaths in the Bronx this week.

Kingsolver Wisdom

60-something Mom Alice speaks to 40 yr old daughter Taylor in novel Pigs in Heaven. The beautiful Taylor has just complained about putting on a few pounds.

"Taylor, I have never heard you run yourself down before. You'd just as well jump off a bridge than to start in like that." Alice closes the washing machine lid and sighs. "When I was in my 30's and had these square little hips left over from being pregnant and I just hated it. I kept thinking, 'all those years, I had a perfect glamour girl body, and I didn't spend one minute appreciating it because I thought my nose had a bump on it.' And now I'm old and my shoulder hurts and I dont sleep good and my knuckles swell up and I think, 'All those years in my 30's and 40's I had a body where everything worked perfect. And I didn't spend one minute appreciating it because I thought I had square hips.' "

Taylor smiles. "I take your point."

pro Tennis flash...gambling at the Casino!

Horses for Courses

Newport...2nd week of July. Front page news in Newport Daily News and the Providence Journal on Saturday the 10th, yes a slow news day, was the report of extraordinary gambling action on a first round match between British qualifier Richard Bloomfield and Christophe Rocchus. A nothing match, right? Except that a British gambling site fielded over a million pounds sterling on that match, including a massive bump after the first set.

Since when is an otherwise inoccuous match, essentially the lowest ranked match you'll ever find on the official ATP tour, worthy of such extreme betting action? The anti-corruption Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) raised a red flag and began an official investigation.

The national cable sports outfit covering the event never touched the story, and why would they? Their mission was to sell the tournament, the sport, the event. Tennis lifers Barry Mackay on Donald Dell would never be confused with Edward R. Murrow, nor should they be.

So let's use this forum to explore. The pro tennis gambling that caused the formation of the TIU was generated by Russian mobsters who went after the families of countrymen to exploit an unregulated gambling system that allows a bettor to wager before and DURING a match. The watershed moment was 3 years ago when word #4 Nik Davydenko withdrew from a match he was winning with a "sore toe," allowing a longshot to score a big win, with the overwhelming majority of the money was on the longshot. It clearly smelled, and it was easy to connect the dots. The only reason it didn't fully unravel was that cooler heads were worried for the health Davydenko's family back in mother Russia. Boris Badenov implied that their health was in jeapordy unless Nik gave them the inside dope on the sore toe. The toe got worse but the wife and kids stayed healthy--almost a happy ending.

The only pro tennis player ever sanctioned by a TIU ruling was Russian journeywoman Ekaterina Bychkova (this really is her name, Bitch-kova) who got hit with a $5K fine and a 30 day suspension for not reporting that Russky mobsters were seeking inside dope. This follows the same theme as the Davydenko affair. You can almost imagine Moscow's answer to Paulie Walnuts and Michael hatching this plot in a Russian episode of the Sopranos.

But what about the Bloomfield debacle? Just before the match started, Bloomfield was a 4-1 favorite. Bloomfield hadn't won an official tour match in over 3 years, and suddenly he's a 4-1 favorite? Counterintuitive is an understatement. Oh, and just to give the story some legs, here's another key ingredient--that single tour match he won three years ago? It's also under investigation because of lopsided gambling money. Guy wins two matches in 3 years, and both light up the queer meter because of absurd gambling money movement. WTF?

There's actually a theory that makes sense, and it doesn't require a visit to Vladimir's Soprano's Meat Shop in suburban Moscow to roll it out. Most sports people are familiar with the betting axiom "Horses for courses." When it's raining, bet on the mudder. If a horse can't run on turf, leave it alone. Let's apply the theory to humans and grass court tennis. Lawn tennis is only played one month a year on the pro-tour, and the clay-loving South Americans and many Europeans hate it. No rallies, mostly serve and volley. Highly ranked "clay pigeons," guys who make their living outlasting opponents with lengthy rallies in five-hour matches in the dirt, get crushed at Wimbledon. Any self-respecting gambler in England knows that fellows comfortable on grass have a huge edge over those that aren't. Richard Bloomfield spent much of his playing life on grass. Davis Cup here, Queens Club there, nearly all of his training was on the soggy sod of jolly old England. This is just the kind of edge a wise bettor loves.

So here are the facts: Bloomfield is ranked 392 rungs below Rocchus going into their July 6 1st-round match, 160 to 552. A nothing match barely makes the board, listed as even money (who cares!).  Money starts rolling in on this British gambling site Betfair. (Again, these names are not made up.) Moments before first ball, Bloomfield money has caused a huge swing in the odds to 4-1 against #552 Bloomfield. By the time the second set rolls around, the odds are 8-1 for the 552nd ranked player in the world, a tall pasty Brit with a big serve against a short Euro clay courter. A no-brainer, if you're versed in grass court competition. The money is coming in from London, not Leningrad; these British cats go through it every June searching for flawed odds on daily Wimbledon action.

Oh, and that other Bloomfield match from 2007 that was investigated for unusual gambling $ movement? A Wimbledon first rounder. Case closed. No mobsters, no Po-Russkies involved. Simply a matter of horses for courses. Vladimir and Paulie should take notes, grass court tennis might keep the authorities at bay.

British Wimby dream dies, and other odds and ends heading into Holiday weekend

men's final 8 at Wimby all from different nations, same as 2009...Last night on Rachel Maddow she spent 20 minutes dissecting the Nike World Cup commercial curse; must have been a slow left-wing news day...Joe Torre's old Brooklyn teachin pal Charlie O'Neill claims that Joe is retiring for sure this October. Charlie should know, his son Tim manages Joe's celebrity golf tourney and other ventures..."If you're British tennis fan, it just got a whole lot darker." Radio Wimbledon talent Nick Dye after Nadal breaks back to level the third set. "You really fear for Murray out here."...correction on Dye's broadcast partner is Lucie Ahl, not Samantha Lloyd..."It's been a good party here on Centre court, but with a strong Iberian (Nadal) flavor." Ctr court late cry fan chants "Do it for Beckham!"... MP at 2:21 into the match. It's over. "It was simply too good for Nadal today, bullied Murray from start to finish." "Disappointment for the British crowd, everyone on Henman hill, you saw the body language drop out." Beckham not much of an omen, everywhere he goes, failure follows."...they'll be crying in their pints over there.

Wimby

World's #1 (Nadal) vs Britain's #1 (Murray) with a trip to the Wimbledon Finals at stake. NBC showing tape of the first set, so I'm listening to the second set Tiebreak live on Wimbledon radio. LOVE the bias. Tennis strike by stroke on radio with admitted bias and thick British accents, fantastic stuff.

A mini break...they might as well be calling Dunkirk. Samantha Lloyd and Nick Dye providing the intense drama. "Back to back aces by Murray, how great is that?" 5-4 in the TB.

Then passing shot ticks the net, fooling Murray for a critical point. Dye exclaims:


"Rough justice for Murray, just off the tape. The apology from the Spaniard. He needs to apologize to 15,000 fans. the only people standing here or the 10 in Nadal's box."

a point later, Nadal closes out the tiebreak, taking a two set to love lead.

"This place has gotten very, very quiet."

Radio is the best medium for sports if the listener is willing to use their imagination. Hearing a Brit tilting at Wimbledon glory from a couple of BBC throats is the equivalent of a world class meal. Sure beats waiting 90 minutes for NBC's tape machines to get up to speed.