My previous "True Crime" books were based on interviews with persons who either suffered grave misfortunes, or were forced to live horrid lives due to the acts of others. As such, I always played the role of first a listener, then a reporter. But not so in this book, where I found myself to be the all-too-real target of a group of highly successful, "professional" extortionists. They first relied on the safety of operating from multiple jurisdictions -- four states. According to the FBI this was their protective barrier. But they further enjoyed hiding behind the safety veneers of their professions--two being lawyers, five being Wall Street Bankers and two are NJ insurance brokers. This gang first forges a near-million-dollar loan in their target's name. Once completed they begin their many extortion tactics. Then if not immediately successful, they file against their targets in the same Minneapolis courtroom of their tenth gang member, a U.S. Federal Judge. For years this group has stolen millions from their senior targets as law enforcement -- including the FBI, city & state Bar Associations and Attorney Generals -- only watched. In my case each agency told me it could do nothing, so long as my attackers continued to operate from multiple jurisdictions and sought less than $1,000,000 -- in my case $941,083, just $59,000 less than the amount required. I spent nearly $300,000 for my defense attorneys and the necessary document examinations of two leading forensic scientists -- each of whom proved that over 40 forgeries existed within the evidence against me. But it mattered not, as my evidence was necessarily negated by their judge, and I was quickly found guilty of non-payment of their bogus loan. This was not at all surprising, as the judge had told me from the outset: "I don't want to see you in my courtroom. You need to pay your accusers the $650,000 they have graciously agreed to accept." She then followed her warning statements by denying each of our Requests for Summary Judgment. Then at our pretrial meeting, with she and my accusers, came her most damaging act. She eliminated 15 pieces of our evidence, claiming none had been a part of our earlier-submitted evidence packets. My accusers hurriedly concurred, and despite our objections, half of our evidence was eliminated just minutes before the start of the trial; rendering my specially prepared presentation cards useless, as all now contained parts of this newly-discarded evidence. Later, following my forensic scientist's testimony, this judge chose to further reinforce the objections of my accusers. She told the jurors to: "Ignore the testimony of Mr. Hood's forensic scientist and the intimated proof of there being over forty forgeries in their evidence." She continued by saying: "What they call 'forgeries' are simply copies, necessary parts of all financial documents. As the plaintiffs told you, this stems from it being impossible to gather all necessary signers at once." Naturally our many objections were hastily OVERRULED. That said, I was quickly found guilty and forced to take bankruptcy to avoid paying the bogus loan of my accusers. This gang had ruined my life, and for the two years since my trial, and the four years that preceded it, I have spent countless hours pleading my case to the FBI, the Attorney Generals and Bar Associations of the five states from which my accusers still operate. Although responses were rare, all came with the common greeting: "Sorry Charlie, there's nothing we can do." So with this book I am changing course. I am now relying on "The Power of the Pen" to prove my innocence. I am including all of my evidence, that which the judge tossed and that which she allowed. Included therein are the two loan documents at the center of my trial. One is for $54,950 and one is for $941,083; both are signed with identical copies of my signature. I am asking that you, the reader, serve as the judge of my appeal. Than
About the Author: Hood is a veteran of more than 40 years in the advertising, marketing and PR businesses. From 1969 until 1990 Hood served as co-founder and chairman of Hood, Hope & Assoc. Later, following a merger, he was Chairman of Ackerman, Hood and McQueen. When he retired from the agency business the agency was the 108th largest in the world, with offices in six cities, over 200 employees and annual billings exceeding $80 million. Hood then purchased a patent for "calculators for shopping carts," redesigned and re-patented the concept, adding advertising image areas to each product. In doing so he created 14 new in-store products before founding ADDvantage Media Group, which soon became the third largest in-store media company in the world, its network of stores including major grocery chains and big box stores, i.e. Walmart, K-Mart and Builder's Square. He later took the company public, serving as CEO for the next ten years. He is a past member of the "Advertising Age" Editorial Review Board, the Board of the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA), and the Board of the Point of Purchase Advertising Institute (POPAI). He has held regional and national positions within each. Hood is a past recipient of the Tulsa Advertising Federation's Silver Addy Award, recognizing him as Tulsa's "Ad Man of the Year." His creativity and writing skills have further garnered him national recognition in the form of first place ADDY awards from the American Advertising Federation and first place awards from the Chicago, International and New York Film Festival competitions. Since transitioning to becoming an author, Hood has written seven books. His first, "Walmart's EGOnomics -- the Greed behind the Smiley Face," was judged a finalist for Discovery Awards' "Best Nonfiction Book of 2011." It also received FIVE STARS by ForeWord, which described it as "an incredible book." It was similarly acclaimed by both Kirkus and IndieReader Reviews. His other books include: the fictional "Pastor's Prey," and the nonfiction version, "Prey for the Pastor," the true story of a woman's life as the sex slave of a pastor; Hood's other books include: "Big Rigs, Posh Digs, Fast Cars, Dark Bars," a story which tracks the demise of one of America's leading trucking companies. His last was the acclaimed "Wheeler, Dealer," based on the files of the investigators' 30-year search for the killers of Roger Wheeler. Hood is a graduate of the University of Missouri's School of Journalism. .