The Definition of Harassment

[_skitzo_]

Brain Crecente recently ran a story over at kotaku.com about Mr.numbnuts Jack Thompson, I really wish not to talk about Jack, considering his 15 mins of fame has vaporized...
Sadly he isn't going away with out kicking and screaming... Below are emails that Crecente posted on Kotaku in regards from your friend and mine...

I would like to point out Mr.Thompson refused many times to carry a phone interview with us at consoletech.net, once again I have emailed Jack to respond to this...


harassment (either harris-meant or huh-rass-meant) n. the act of systematic and/or continued unwanted and annoying actions of one party or a group, including threats and demands. The purposes may vary, including racial prejudice, personal malice, an attempt to force someone to quit a job or grant sexual favors, apply illegal pressure to collect a bill, or merely gain sadistic pleasure from making someone fearful or anxious. Such activities may be the basis for a lawsuit if due to discrimination based on race or sex, a violation on the statutory limitations on collection agencies, involve revenge by an ex-spouse, or be shown to be a form of blackmail ("I'll stop bothering you, if you'll go to bed with me"). The victim may file a petition for a "stay away" (restraining) order, intended to prevent contact by the offensive party. A systematic pattern of harassment by an employee against another worker may subject the employer to a lawsuit for failure to protect the worker. (See: harass, sexual harassment)

Jack has, over the past years, tried to get me fired more times than I can remember. He has emailed me editor, my editor's boss, my editor's boss's boss and my editor's boss's boss's boss.

Despite his false and defamatory statements to them and his efforts at costing me my livelihood, I haven't sought to sue him... yet. But it's something I keep in mind every time he goes after me.

His latest threat and harassment comes from the story I wrote yesterday based off of the public records provided me by the Florida Bar.

In it he claims he knows nothing about the first, 1992 case, in which the bar says he was accused of trying to get someone to hire him as their lawyer, when they already has one.

He claims that he knows nothing about his and that he intends to sue me. This is, I don't know, perhaps the twentieth time he's threatened to do so.

He also sent the letter to the publisher of the Rocky Mountain News, the managing editor of the Rocky and the feature's editor of the Rocky asking them to retract the story.

I'm not sure if he's an idiot or just has issues with going to the correct source of a story. Just a heads up Jack, the Rocky has nothing to do with Kotaku, so they can't get me to retract this.

If there is a factual error, as I stated before, I'd be more than happy to correct. Please do let me know.

I did, after receiving the email, contact the Florida bar and was assured that Jack was indeed reprimanded in 1992 after pleading guilty to violating rules of professional conduct.

Hit the jump for his latest rant and my response, if you are so inclined. Brian Crecente

Dear Mr. Crecente:

The below excerpt, in quotation marks, is in your "news" article at http://kotaku.com/gaming/jack-thomps...os-233783.php:

"Summary: This record was on the verge of being deep-sixed when I rescued it from the Florida Bar. Unfortunately, it is very light on details. All I can gather is that Thompson was accused of, and later admitted to, trying to get someone to hire him as a lawyer after the person already had one."

I demand a full retraction and apology for the above, pursuant to Florida Statutes 770, et sequitur, as I intend to sue you for this false and defamatory statement.

I may find other errors in your one-side story, but my wife is going into the hospital for major surgery this morning, and I don't have the time right now, as we head there, to find other errors. Thanks so much for this gift on the scariest day of our lives, Brian.

As to the above, I NEVER was even charged with "trying to get someone to hire him as a lawyer after the person already had one." Never heard of that charge, was never charged with it. It never happened. Yet you state that I pled guilty to this! I am sending this email to my lawyer, Ray Reiser, to alert him that this is what comes from "video game journalists."

You see, Brian, this is what happens when you do a story after I warned you, in writing, to contact me for my side of the story before you wrote it.

As you know, I specifically emailed you over the weekend, since I saw your promise to your readers than on Monday you would be exposing me as to all my Bar problems, and I warned you, in writing, that before you did that you would be well-advised to get my side of the story. You refused to do that, and now you have stepped in it. Any journalist would have gotten my side of the story. That would have protected you from publishing the above false and defamatory non-fact.

I am sending this to the Rocky Mountain News, where you do stories, to alert them that this is how reckless you are. Folks, this guy writes for your paper?

Finally, you will recall, Brian, that one of your writers, when I encouraged him to engage me in a discussion should I be at a debate on a college campus about video game issues (I just had such a debate at California University near Pittsburgh) then he could feel free to engage in the debate. I have the email in which I did that.

He then reported at your site that I clearly was really interested in sex, and that he came to that conclusion because I simply thought by his name, Florian, he was a woman. How one gets from "join the debate" to J"ack Thompson wants to have sex with me," only one of your writers could explain. As you know, that was a total contrivance, and I asked you to retract that outrageous assertion which you actually published at your site--the assertion that I was soliciting this person for sex. You refused. I now intend to sue you and your site for that as well. With all that "Jack Thompson wants sex with a Kotaku writer" in the mix, you nevertheless wrote the above false story. Incredible. Do you have any idea what "actual malice" is?

The "Mad Hatter" cartoon doesn't help you in that regard as well.

Nice going, Brian. Regards, Jack Thompson

Copy: Rocky Mountain News

Jack Thompson, Attorney
Land line: 305-666-4366, Cell: 305-588-3005
1172 South Dixie Hwy, Suite 111
Coral Gables, FL USA 33146 amendmentone@comcast.net

Jack,
First let me say that I hope your wife is OK and I wish you luck on her procedure.
As I said to you when we discussed this on Saturday. I am more than happy to include comments from you, but I wasn't going to hold the story. You never replied so I ran it.
If you'd like to write something up for inclusion in the story now that you've read it I will promptly add it to the record.
As for this 1992 case. You can see by the official records provided me by the Floirda Bar, which I've included with the story, that I am only writing off the information included in your record with that state entity.
If there is some sort of mix up, I suggest you take it up with the Florida Bar. In the meantime, I will contact them today to verify that there wasn't some error in the information they sent to me when I filed an open records request with them for all of the ethics investigations involving your tenure as a lawyer in Florida.
Please do keep me informed with what you find out and I will make sure to let you know what they told me.
I will point out to you and your lawyer that your repeated attempts to cost me my job at the Rocky Mountain News could, I believe, be perceived as harassment and, as I've requested before, I suggest you stop it before I have to make a legal matter of it.
For you to so blatently lie in this email, claiming that I wrote anything about you in the Rocky Mountain News or on the Rocky Mountain News' website only makes your position that much more precarious.
You are aware that sending out an email to multiple receipients constituets "publishing" and that when these published comments include false and defamatory statements you are libeling me?
This story, as you well know, has nothing to do with the newspaper and contacting the paper is only a blatent attempt by you to try and bully me into not doing my job.
It won't work.
As for the debate. I believe Florian accepted your challenge and asked where and when and you said "mars." Although he no longer works for me, I'm sure he'd still be willing to debate you, barring space travel.
Thanks for your time and I await your comments for inclusion in the story.
Yours in God,
Brian