EarthQuest Park / Don Holbrook / Contour Entertainment / Frank McCrady of EMCID

Some Marlin Atlantis buffoon appears to have ownership and control of the Earthquest Institute website:

Quote:

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Domain ID:D154418112-LROR
Domain Name:EARTHQUESTINSTITUTE.ORG
Created On:07-Oct-2008 19:22:58 UTC
Last Updated On:08-Oct-2010 12:00:49 UTC
Expiration Date:07-Oct-2012 19:22:58 UTC
Sponsoring Registrar:GoDaddy.com, Inc. (R91-LROR)
Status:CLIENT DELETE PROHIBITED
Status:CLIENT RENEW PROHIBITED
Status:CLIENT TRANSFER PROHIBITED
Status:CLIENT UPDATE PROHIBITED
Registrant ID:CR37035488
Registrant Name:Wyatt Henderson
Registrant Organization:The Institute EarthQuest DBA The EarthQuest Institute
Registrant Street1:13455 Noel Road, 23rd Floor
Registrant Street2:
Registrant Street3:
Registrant City:Dallas
Registrant State/Province:Texas
Registrant Postal Code:75240
Registrant Country:US
Registrant Phone:+1.9727156412
Registrant Phone Ext.:
Registrant FAX:+1.9727155544
Registrant FAX Ext.:
Registrant Email:http://source.domaintools.com/email....;]=transparent
Admin ID:CR37035490
Admin Name:Wyatt Henderson
Admin Organization:The Institute EarthQuest DBA The EarthQuest Institute
Admin Street1:13455 Noel Road, 23rd Floor
Admin Street2:
Admin Street3:
Admin City:Dallas
Admin State/Province:Texas
Admin Postal Code:75240
Admin Country:US
Admin Phone:+1.9727156412
Admin Phone Ext.:
Admin FAX:+1.9727155544
Admin FAX Ext.:
Admin Email:http://source.domaintools.com/email....;]=transparent

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That explains the lack of updates. Everyone has left but 1 EMCID board member who probably never had access to that site. Someone better get on there and do some revisions pronto.

Soapboxmom

Second dino-park in Jasper sunk by savvy officials
Tuesday, March 06, 2012
Cynthia Calvert
On Nov. 9, 2006, the Houston Business Journal reported that Don Lessem, “a Philadelphia entrepreneur and nationally recognized dinosaur expert, [had] chosen southeast Montgomery County as the site of a proposed large scale tourist attraction.”

According to Lessem, “Southeast Montgomery County edged out the other finalist, [the City of] Red Oak (a Dallas suburb).” He further stated that civic leaders in the New Caney area, “[were] a more aggressive and accomplished group, [with] a personal sense of commitment.”

From that moment on, the excitement and anticipation of a major, Disney-caliber resort grew to a fever pitch.

Time and again, local politicians and civic leaders repeated the mantra that New Caney and southeast Montgomery County had been selected over all other regions in America, news that was almost too good to be true. In particular, the board of directors of the East Montgomery County Improvement District (EMCID) took the lead in promoting, and funding, the dream that all rural counties and municipalities long to embrace. In fact, EMCID incurred liabilities in excess of $21 million to ensure that thedream would become reality.

All the while, local residents eagerly awaited updates as the project progressed. At first, Lessem’s proposal was Project Rex/Dinosaur City, a 50-acre, $50 million, EPCOT-style museum and “edutainment” center. Over time, the project would morph into EarthQuest, a 1,600-acre, $600 million world-class theme park in a mega-complex valued at $1 billion.

Commercial land prices soared, hotels were built, and local citizens rubbed their hands in glee, unbelieving of their good fortune. The train to the Promised Land had left the station and nothing was going to derail it; even the sky was no limit.

But now, almost six years later, EarthQuest is little more than fancy, watercolored pictures that adorn the boardrooms of EMCID.

Lessem, the brainchild of this great adventure, has left the project, along with the developer, Marlin-Atlantis. No construction is planned; investors are nowhere to be found. Funding to EarthQuest consultants has stopped.

The phone still rings at the EarthQuest Institute, but no one answers. And the site upon which EarthQuest was planned is under the threat of foreclosure. All the while, $7.635 million in municipal bonds issued by EMCID costs local taxpayers almost $600,000 in annual debt service.

And no one wants to talk about the $2.5 million in cash expenditures made by EMCID for “other” expenses related to EarthQuest. Even still, Frank McCrady, president of EMCID, continues to believe in the dream, boldly stating, “EarthQuest will be built; it’s not a matter of if, but when.”

So what went wrong? This is a nagging question that researchers for The Tribune have exhausted countless hours trying to answer. What they have discovered is, at best, distressing. And maybe most unsettling of all is the very genesis of EarthQuest. Of particular note are two revelations that portray a vastly different beginning than what has been told to the public.

Revelation No. 1:

There never was a national search to find the best location for Project Rex, the proposed museum and “edutainment” complex.

1. Lessem did conduct a nationwide solicitation of cities and economic development districts, asking them to respond to ‘requests for proposals’ (RFPs) to fund and construct Project Rex.

In a newspaper article dated July 26, 2006, the Beaumont Enterprise quoted Lessem as saying, “RFPs were sent out to economic developers all over the country, in fact, in Texas there were 16 applicants.”

The RFPs contained specific financial requirements that all applicants had to agree to in order to be “chosen” to participate in the search.The RFP stipulations mandated all bidders to: 1) issue revenue bonds for the construction of the project, at their own risk; 2) enact a ticket tax on visitors to repay the bonds; 3) pay for a ‘due diligence study’ at a cost of $100-$125,000; 4) pay for a second study at a cost of $50 - 75,000, if the first study was favorable; 5) pursue tax increment financing for items related to the project; 6) provide a land grant of 50 acres, preferably waterfront.

This “national search” appears to have been little more than a thinly veiled ruse to find a municipality willing and able to agree to Lessem’s demands: take all the risk, fund all the expenses and hope for the best.

In the process, Lessem and his associates would pocket hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxpayers’ funds for consultant fees, studies, etc. Whether or not the project ever came to fruition seems to have become incidental to the developers. And why not? They were getting paid no matter what ultimately occurred.

Revelation No. 2:

And the winner is . . . Jasper County?

As mentioned in the opening paragraph of this article, southeast Montgomery County edged out the City of Red Oak in November of 2006 to become the “winner” of Lessem’s national search. But just six months earlier, in July of 2006, another East Texas town had already been crowned, ‘king of the dinosaurs.’

As reported in the Beaumont Enterprise on July 26, 2006, Jasper County, not southeast Montgomery County, was chosen by Lessem as the site for Project Rex.

Lessem said, “I chose Jasper . . . because, in part, they promised to do some things [in] their RFP.”

Even more amazing than Jasper’s selection was the other city Lessem said was Jasper’s competition. That city was none other than Orlando, Florida, home to Disney World, Universal Studios, SeaWorld and a host of other world-class attractions. But in Lessem’s world, Jasper County was much preferred over Orlando.

Due to concerns raised in the “selection” process, Jasper officials called Orlando. When contacted, the representative at Orlando’s EDC replied that “. . . they had never heard of Lessem [or Project Rex].”

Soon thereafter, Jasper County terminated all discussions with Lessem.

The Tribune found the comment from the Orlando EDC to be very troubling. If Lessem had used a “stalking horse” between Jasper and Orlando, was the same tactic used between the New Caney area and the City of Red Oak?

To find out, Tribune researchers contacted the City of Red Oak, the reported “other finalist” in November of 2006.

The city manager of Red Oak acknowledged to The Tribune that his city had engaged in conversations with Lessem. However, he further stated “we never got to the point where we were ready to proceed with anything.”

Obviously, if the City of Red Oak was the “other finalist” with New Caney, then they never knew it.

So, was EarthQuest a fraud?

That question has yet to be fully answered. But what is certain is that the entire process of selecting a site for the project was tainted with self-interest on the part of the developers. It seems clear that the primary intent of the “national search” was to only find the most willing, if not desperate, municipal entity that would open up its coffers first, and ask questions later.

Furthermore, to ensure that their desired intent was achieved, the developers also appear to have orchestrated and manipulated the selection process, even going so far as to create false bidders. Cities who didn’t even know they were a “finalist.”

But maybe the saddest revelation of all is the complete failure of local officials to exercise caution, restraint and due diligence. Where were the gatekeepers to the public trust when it was needed most?

Unfortunately, the developer’s quest for a ‘willing and able party’ was, indeed, found in southeast Montgomery County.

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EarthQuest fees mount
Tuesday, March 06, 2012
Cynthia Calvert
The Tribune has attempted to document the millions of dollars spent on the EarthQuest project, including past expenses and future obligations in recent articles.

But what about other expenses? Consultant fees? Attorney fees? Travel, meals, etc.?

The Tribune has asked for numerous documents over the last eight weeks and while some have been received, The Tribune is not confident it has all the expenses related to EarthQuest, the land developer, and other associated parties. On Feb. 6, Frank McCrady told The Tribune, in response to a request for a total of expenses related to EarthQuest, particularly regarding EarthQuest promoters Don Holbrook, Don Lessem, and Thomas Gardener of Marlin

Atlantis, the failed land developer, that EMCID was hiring an accountant to do an analysis of its expenditures.

To date, The Tribune has not received any information. Therefore, the financial picture related here can only be considered a partial view of EMCID expenditures. The Tribune does have the cash flow statements for 2006-2011, American Express monthly statements for McCrady and office aide Suzanne Parmer from 2007-2011, detailed mileage reimbursement forms for Parmer, and EMCID employees Sandy Seelye, Warren Mather and Tom Lewis.

The Tribune looked at one year, 2009, for this article.

In 2009, McCrady’s and Parmer’s American Express bills together totaled $227,000, just a few thousand dollars shy of the entire amount of money funded by EMCID for college scholarships for every graduating senior in the district.

Many expenses are related office expenditures, tourism trade shows and the like. But most of the line items show when adding McCrady’s and Parmer’s American Express receipts, EMCID spent well over several hundred thousand dollars on food. No amount was too small nor too high for meals. Charges range from as little as $1 to thousands of dollars. McCrady had numerous meals at what many would consider highend, pricey establishments, including at Humble’s Chez Nous, the most expensive local restaurant.

McCrady was paid nearly $100,000 as an annual salary and the EMCID board voted to award him a bonus of $50,000. Parmer and Seelye also gets hefty year-end bonuses. McCrady also gets life insurance, health benefits, a retirement contribution of thousands of dollars a year and a car allowance of nearly $25,000 annually.

EMCID employees McCrady and Parmer have their own American Express credit cards, They, along with EMCID employees Seelye, Mather and Lewis, all have Wells Fargo credit cards, too.

Routine for McCrady and other EMCID staff and board members in 2009 was business-class airplane travel, limousines, expensive meals, and nights in luxurious hotels. McCrady’s statements show dozens of charges at airport bookstores, car rentals, cell phone bills, a $5,000-plus golf and dining membership at Kingwood Country Club, and several charges totaling $20,560 for Rockets tickets. Dallas Cowboys tickets, Cowboys merchandise and even Arbonne Cosmetics were all charged to McCrady’s American Express card and presented for reimbursement.

In 2009, McCrady and others from EMCID made three trips to Las Vegas, one to Dallas and another to Phoenix, all trips presumably tied to EarthQuest. Holbrook lives approximately halfway between Las Vegas and Phoenix; Holbrook’s corporate office is located in Las Vegas. EarthQuest’s failed land developer, Marlin Atlantis, is located in Dallas. In December, the dino-park designers of Don Lessem, Don Holbrook and Thomas Gardener all came to New Caney. Charges from these excursions total more than $100,000.

On Nov. 15, McCrady, Seelye, and board members Vickie Thumann, Leon Cubillas, Linda Floyd and her husband, Monte, all went to Las Vegas. Airfare was nearly $300 each. The group wined and dined at the Strip’s finest places: Planet Hollywood, Smith and Wollensky, Battistas, Margaritaville, Ruby D’s, the Stratta and two memorable meals – one at Morton’s Steakhouse for $1,324.95, followed by another at Joe’s Stone Crab for $1,357.91. The group stayed at the Mirage where room charges were several thousand dollars more.

It is unknown if alcohol was part of these meal charges. McCrady said that EMCID does not have written policies regarding alcohol in place.

McCrady provided the following written response to The Tribune’s queries:

“Though no written policy is currently in place, the board has discussed with the President/CEO on the appropriate etiquette and protocol for the use of alcohol in recruiting prospects. General business etiquette guidelines and customary entertainment parameters are used in which our competitors on projects will not have any undue advantage on placing a project in their market instead of locating in East Montgomery County."

“The entertainment policy is managed by the President/CEO based on recruiting businesses to the district and includes entertainment parameters that do not put EMCID in a non competitive posture in comparing our actions to others which we would be competing against in a project."

Employee meals are reimbursed for actual expenses and are reviewed monthly for appropriateness prior to reimbursement. Employees attempt to utilize per diem rates when possible.”

Holbrook, the consultant hired to do the EarthQuest feasibility study and to give advice about the project, The Tribune has learned, has been paid $304,000.

There is, however, no dinosaur project and not a spade of dirt has been turned after approximately eight years of ‘consulting.’

Holbrook was retained for $27,000 to assist with the EarthQuest project. Additionally, he has been paid over a 5-year period $277,000 to bring EarthQuest, travel and tourism projects, and job creation projects to the district, McCrady told The Tribune last month.

And what of the famed, ‘nonprofit’ EarthQuest Institute funds? TheInstitute was founded as a 501(3)c organization and is subject to the strict laws regarding charities in Texas. EMCID board chairman Cubillas is also a board member of the Institute. In December of 2009, more than 275 residents of East County attended a fundraising reception at the EMCID Building. More than $75,000 was handed to Lessem, the director of the Institute. The Institute appears to be either dead or dormant and records of the funds are not forthcoming.

Probably the person who has gained the most from EarthQuest’s complex and complicated dealings including contracts, extensions, addendums, bond issuances, elections and the like is David Marks, the attorney for EMCID, who billed the district for an astonishing $318,677.48 for 2009. Marks, presumably while billing at an hourly rate, has traveled numerous times with McCrady, to Las Vegas, to Arizona and even to Paris, France, although not for EarthQuest.

If the East Montgomery County Improvement District was, as it states on the EMCID website, “created to improve the economic, cultural and social conditions of the area,” there are several people, and one in particular, whose lifestyle has been enormously enriched by association with EMCID – its employees.

Credit card receipts show that McCrady and Parmer often bill at least one, if not two or three meals a day to EMCID for reimbursement. In 2009, there are literally thousands of meals presented for reimbursement by the pair. McCrady submitted receipts for entertainment, gasoline, golf, purchases at bookstores and duty-free shops in airports – all paid for by EMCID. And he is not alone. Parmer also has charged the district everything from $1.83 for Chick-fil-A, to hundreds of meals, to thousands of dollars for mileage reimbursement.

Both McCrady and Parmer, whose salaries have nearly doubled in a decade, received and redeemed hundreds of thousands of AmEx points, earned on the taxpayers’ dime, as well as received and redeemed thousands of Continental mileage points, again earned by charges to EMCID.

And what of the community – the taxpayers footing the bills and paying the tax dollars to EMCID? Beyond negotiated, high-dollar annual contracts(EMCID contracted with the Porter and New Caney fire departments to pay them millions in order to keep them from raising the tax rate and thereby negatively affecting EarthQuest’s ability to get as much as possible from tax revenue) and the annual donations to the scholarship foundation ($245,000) and the economic development group ($50,000), McCrady and the EMCID board approved a mere handful of grants of comparatively token amounts in all of 2009. New Horizons got $2,750, New Caney Project Graduation got $1,000, the Lone Star College Foundation got $2,000, Splendora Founders Day received $550, the Splendora FFA got $1,100. Other groups receiving grants were the Splendora Boy Scouts for $3,187.21, the Lions Club for $5,000, the Historical Society received $30,000 and the Montgomery County Precinct 4 Constables Office for $94,240.80.

For 2009 American Express report and 2009 Cash Flow report, visit http://www.ourtribune.com/apdf/dinosaur.pdf. (Since it is a large file, it may take a few minutes to load)

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The expense reports show Frank McCrady to be a thief!

Attachment 609

EarthQuest fees mount - Tuesday, March 06, 2012 - Copyright 2007 Ourtribune.com
**update**

According to McCrady's employment contract, dated June 1, 2011, and which is the 'first amendment to second amended and restated contract of employment," McCrady's 2011 compensation includes: a base annual salary of $97,515. For each year, beginning June 1, 2011, the base salary shall be increased by an amount equal to 3 percent of the prior year's actual salary as a cost of living adjustment ($,2925.45 in 2011). In addition to the base salary, he gets an amount equal to 6 percent of the base salary ($5,805.90) paid on the last day of the calendar year. The board voted to give him a $50,000 year end bonus as well.

Additionally, he gets $1,750 per month for automobile allowance which is supposed to be used for "acquisition, insurance, operation, maintenance and repair and oil and gas" (although there are numerous receipts presented for reimbursement McCrady's American Express bill for payment to gas stations.)

He receives medical insurance for himself and his family, a cell phone and payments, and a contribution of 8 percent of his annual salary ($7,801.20 in 2011) to a retirement plan. He also receives life insurance of $250,000.

McCrady is also entitled to a discretionary bonus for "economic development" payable on May 31 of each year and a bonus of 1 percent of all money he solicits for the Education Scholarship Program.

He also gets 10 vacation days, 12 personal days and not more than 17 days of military leave with pay and 12 holidays per year, or a total of 51 paid days off per year; sick days are not identified in the contract.

****




**update**

The Tribune has examined the 2009 expenses. This is a sample of what we found:

McCrady's September 2009 statement, for $17,287.89, showed: Los Cucos, $50.61, Subway $5.39, McDonald's $11.45, Los Cucos $40.25, J. Christopher's pizza $23.19. Asian City Humble $77.44 and Marriott Galleria $6. Gasoline at Shell $27.07, Marriott in Point Clear, Ala., $325.06, $28.57, $100, $169.06, $2157.88; Restaurants in Alabama: $51, $32.06, $77.58, $27.15, $43.61,; Dell Computers $6792.71; $105.14 for a mac address and on line storage space; and $7100 for Rockets tickets. McCrady also used his EMCID Wells Fargo card to buy $25.27 in pizza in Alabama.

The same month, Suzanne Parmer charged $4,404.36 to her American Express credit card. Website and software charges were $636.62. She charged $1.83 at the Sonic in Atascocita, $200.56 at Jason's Deli, $58.61 at Pappas Seafood, $123.05 at Pizza Hut, bought an airplane ticket to New Orleans for $447.70, spent $21.55 at Wal-Mart, and paid $2750 to attend at conference in Dallas. She also charged the district $202.06 for mileage, notary, cell phone and donuts.

Other notable charges McCrady presented during 2009 were $1000 on Jan. 13 for a visit to Houston's Restaurant; $546.19 to Chimichurri's (McCrady's receipts noted he was in New York City on this date); $1000 to Houston's again on March 31; $707.86 to Chimichurri's again – the day he arrived home from a trip to Ottawa; a June 9 lunch at Joe's Crab Shack was $62.79 and dinner that same day was at Los Cucos for $54.61. On July 8, he bought 10 $100 gift cards at a Shell Gas Station in Kingwood and spent $2580 on Rockets tickets. On July 30, he spent $819.20 at Chimichurri's. On Nov. 30, he bought $1000 in gift cards from Joe's Crab Shack, Pappas Seafood and Zio's Italian restaurants. The same day he bought $1400 in gift cards from Amedeo's and had lunch there too – for $149.19. On Nov. 13, he spent $213.51 at Chez Nous.

****

The next O K corral is coming!

I spoke with the Texas Attorney General's office. If Frank McCrady and the EMCID don't make those documents for the charity, the Earthquest Institute available I will be filing a formal complaint and get law enforcement involved. The IRS, State of Texas and the Open Records Act require that certain documents be available to the public. Everyone has left the charity but 1 lone board member. Dr. Gardner has sent all the documents in a box to the EMCID and they will need to see those are made available as required by law. It is a criminal offense if those documents are not available and I will pursue this.

The Office of the Attorney General
Open Records Division
P.O.Box 12548
Austin, TX 78711

I suggest the folks in that office and those that are responsible for the Earthquest Institute get this resolved. The project doesn't need any further negative publicity!

Soapboxmom

My thanks to the former admin for turning over the Facebook page to me.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Earth...n/240136904264

We owe this person such a debt of gratitude for all the hard work setting up and maintaining that wonderful page. I will do my best as the sole admin to keep that page updated regularly.

Soapboxmom

Here is the latest bankruptcy filing. Note that Marlin Atlantis is to get $500,000.00 from this bankruptcy from its sister LLC Whitestone.

Attachment 611

Soapboxmom

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Soapboxmom

Here is the latest bankruptcy filing. Note that Marlin Atlantis is to get $500,000.00 from this bankruptcy from its sister LLC Whitestone.

Attachment 611

Soapboxmom

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Bloody h**l,

when are these amateur legislators going to learn to NOT get into bed with these professional sharks ???

Trey White and his cohorts must be down on their knees every night and every morning giving thanks they stumbled over this bunch of nincompoops.

They get to steal from the front end AND the backend.

U.S. Trustee Program/Dept. of Justice - Report Suspected Bankruptcy Fraud

To report suspected bankruptcy fraud, please prepare a written summary that contains the following information.

Requested Information

• Name and address of the person or business you are reporting.
• The name of the bankruptcy case, case number, and the location of where the case was filed.
• Any identifying information you may have regarding the individual or the business.
• A brief description of the alleged fraud, including how you became aware of the fraud and when the fraud took place. Please include all supporting documentation.
• Identify the type of asset that was concealed and its estimated dollar value, or the amount of any unreported income, undervalued asset, or other omitted asset or claim.
• Your name, address, telephone number, and email address.
• You are not required to identify yourself, though it is often helpful to do so if questions arise.

The likelihood of further investigation and possible criminal prosecution is increased for those matters where supporting documentation and specific factual information are provided. Any information you provide is voluntary and its maintenance by the United States Trustee Program is authorized by 28 U.S.C. § 586.
You can send this information via email to: USTP.Bankruptcy.Fraud@usdoj.gov
or by mail to:
Executive Office for U.S. Trustees
Criminal Enforcement Unit
20 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Suite 8000
Washington, DC 20530

Matters may also be referred directly to the local office of the United States Trustee. Complete listing of office addresses and telephone numbers.
Please be advised that it is U.S. Department of Justice policy that criminal investigations may not be disclosed. Therefore, the USTP will neither confirm nor deny whether a matter may have been referred or whether it may or may not be under investigation. This means that you will only be contacted if it is necessary to obtain further information; otherwise, the USTP will not respond to your hotline submission.
Please be advised that the information you submit may be disclosed to a bankruptcy trustee when the information is needed to perform the trustee’s duties, to a law enforcement authority when the information is relevant to the recipient entity’s law enforcement responsibilities, or to an entity that possesses information relevant to the investigation when disclosure of information is necessary to solicit from such entity information pertinent to the investigation. Other disclosures may be made for routine purposes. For a discussion of the types of routine disclosures that may be made, you may consult the Executive Office for United States Trustee’s systems of records notice, UST-004, “U.S. Trustee Program Case Referral System.” See 71 Fed. Reg. 59, 818 et seq. (Oct. 11, 2006).
A copy of the notice may be obtained on the following page: Rules, Guidelines & Notices in the Federal Register.

Attachment 612

Anyone who questions Marlin Atlantis getting over $500,000.00 from the sale of the Earthquest land in this bankruptcy should immediately join me in filing a complaint.

Soapboxmom

Crowd interested in recent EarthQuest revelations receive little formal update - Friday, March 09, 2012 - Copyright 2007 Ourtribune.com

Quote:

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Finances relating to the EarthQuest Institute, a nonprofit 501(c)(3), also remain in question because tangible financial records and receipts have yet to be revealed. Internet investigator Heather Dobrott shared several public information request emails sent to McCrady and Cubillas that stated conflicting information as to the whereabouts of those records. According to her, Dr. Matthew Gardner, an original partner and advisor with the Institute, reportedly shipped those records to the EMCID office after pulling out of the now defunct institute. McCrady assured that the Institute is an independent nonprofit entity and he and EMCID do not have access to any documents.


The only known fact is that the Institute and EMCID share the same physical address.

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As I have been reporting, I have contacted everyone ever associated with the charity and have yet to get an answer as to when and where the documents will be available. I understood from Dr. Matthew Gardner the records were in a box on their way to the EMCID office as that is in fact the address listed for the now defunct charity.

Quote:

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21575 US Highway 59 North, Suite 200 | New Caney, TX 77357
info@earthquestinstitute.org | (866) 559-4006 | www.earthquestinstitute.org
The EarthQuest Institute © 2012

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Quote:

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EMCID OFFICE LOCATION: 21575 US Highway 59 North, Suite 200
New Caney, TX 77357
281-354-4419 (Voice)
281-354-4529 (FAX)

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The IRS and Texas Non-profit Corporation Act specify certain documents must be publicly available by law:

Quote:

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Art. 1396-2.23A. FINANCIAL RECORDS AND ANNUAL REPORTS. A. A corporation shall maintain current true and accurate financial records with full and correct entries made with respect to all financial transactions of the corporation, including all income and expenditures, in accordance with generally accepted accounting practices.
B. Based on these records, the board of directors shall annually prepare or approve a report of the financial activity of the corporation for the preceding year. The report must conform to accounting standards as promulgated by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and must include a statement of support, revenue, and expenses and changes in fund balances, a statement of functional expenses, and balance sheets for all funds.
C. All records, books, and annual reports of the financial activity of the corporation shall be kept at the registered office or principal office of the corporation in this state for at least three years after the closing of each fiscal year and shall be available to the public for inspection and copying there during normal business hours. The corporation may charge for the reasonable expense of preparing a copy of a record or report.
D. A corporation that fails to maintain financial records, prepare an annual report, or make a financial record or annual report available to the public in the manner prescribed by this article is guilty of a Class B misdemeanor.

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EMCID must also respond to Open records request and since it appears the documents are at their office and under their control the Attorney General's Office will be getting a formal complaint in writing from me and this could be investigated further.

I encourage all of the donors to make a formal complaint to the IRS about the records being concealed:

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f13909.pdf

Soapboxmom

http://montgomerytx.countymonitor.co...mrpv_distr.pdf

EMCID's 2008 Check Register.

http://imagec12.247realmedia.com/Rea...ault/empty.gif Money holds up EarthQuest; investors want re-phased project

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Posted: Monday, November 15, 2010 12:00 am | Updated: 1:03 am, Sun Nov 21, 2010.
By TIM WILLERT | 5 comments
It’s back to the drawing board for the proposed EarthQuest Adventures project.
Literally.


The developer told East Montgomery County Investment District board members Nov. 10 the 550-acre mixed-use project, which features a 150-acre dinosaur theme park and museum, must be re-packaged and built in phases in order to secure investors.

“We don’t know if we can raise $500 million for a green field project in this market,” Marlin Atlantis CEO John Marlin told the board.

Which is why Marlin proposed a redesign that is going to require about $200 million less to get started but will make two potential investors happy.

One, Guggenheim Partners, a financial services firm based in New York, would be willing to invest between $200 million and $300 million if the project is re-phased, while a second investor, an unidentified Houston group, is close to committing $85 million to the project, Marlin said.

“I feel real good about where we are going,” he said. “I am just as confident today that we can get EarthQuest done.”

The first phase of the re-design — the dinosaur theme park and museum - will cost approximately $307 million to build, but will begin generating income and attracting other investors, EMCID President and CEO Frank McCrady said.

“This is a model that has worked in other theme park developments,” McCrady said. “As an investor, I think it’s more of a wise decision to take the main development and do it first and then add ancillary development.”
The EarthQuest Adventures project will be located at Roman Forest Boulevard and U.S. Highway 59.
The second phase of development presented to the board, known as Earth Walk, would include a retail development portion. Additional phasing will include a water park, entertainment center component and hotel component as funding becomes available.

“The most important thing is the cost of funds for additional development goes down once construction starts,” McCrady said. “If you have a proven project, you abate some of the risk.”
That goes for tenants, too, Marlin told the board.

“My guess is that by the time the them park is half done, hotels and retailers will show interest,” he said.
As for a new timetable, Marlin told the board it likely would be the end of January before a new package can be presented to investors, and another six months beyond that before construction starts.

“That’s a reasonable expectation,” McCrady said. “You can pick a date and we’ll be wrong three times.”
Contour Entertainment President Christopher Brown, the project’s master planner and lead designer, presented a preliminary re-phase to board members, letting them know that a $500 million vision and a $300 million reality “is a very different thing.”

“We’re trying to make the strongest showing we can,” Brown said, “but it won’t all be there on opening day.”
And that’s OK with McCrady.

“We’d rather break ground on a theme park than wait for everything to get funded at once,” he said. “Our main interest is ensuring that they get the right partner, the right investor, instead of rushing in and going with the wrong investor.”

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http://www.pahrumpnv.org/images/uplo...14_Backup3.pdf

That is not the story told in e-mails by Don Holbrook and Frank McCrady in 2011 in the PDF linked. Please see page 5 and read further. Holbrook makes the startling revelation that that the developer had already gone bust in his May 31,2011 e-mail and he goes on to claim that there was never a reduction in the project scale and scope. Which is it scammers? Why were the taxpayers not alerted to the developer going under? I had to learn it that June 2011 from a heartbroken Don Lessem and couldn't share it because it was not public. Disgusting!

Soapboxmom

• https://fbcdn-profile-a.akamaihd.net..._5221075_q.jpgEarth Quest Adventures Houston shared Don Holbrook's photo.
  
  https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net..._4767851_n.jpgEarthQuest the Ultimate Project
  Frank McCrady has too much fun doing this stuff it should be illegal, sometimes it might come close so we just reinvent the rules!The worlds foremost Green Technology Sustainability Center and Thematic Destination By: Don Holbrook
  
  
  
  
  
  Like · · Share · 11 hours ago ·
  
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    • https://fbcdn-profile-a.akamaihd.net..._5221075_q.jpgEarth Quest Adventures Houston That caption with the photo certainly takes the cake!!!
    
    
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Earth Quest Adventures Houston


Wined and Dined to be sure!

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net..._2777132_n.jpgEarthQuest the Ultimate Project
Paul says this green stuff is fun but I need more coffee I had too much Red Zeppelin Wine last night!The worlds foremost Green Technology Sustainability Center and Thematic Destination By: Don Holbrook

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Gift Card: EarthQuest Adventures Theme Park

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EarthQuest Adventures Theme Park

http://media4.ak.yelpcdn.com/static/...rs/stars_2.png 1 reviews http://media1.ak.yelpcdn.com/static/...iniMapLogo.png
19000 Frontage Rd U.S. 59, New Caney, TX - map
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https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api...US&token=47276






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EarthQuest Adventures Theme Park

19000 Frontage Rd U.S. 59, New Caney, TX - map
$75

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A gift card for a park that doesn't exist! Classic!

Dinosaur City seeks '08 opening in Montgomery County

BRAD HEM, Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

Published 05:30 a.m., Thursday, November 2, 2006

0
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East Montgomery County could become home to a dinosaur theme park complete with dinosaur skeletons, animals and mock fossil digs, park developers announced Thursday.

The Pennsylvania-based Exhibits Rex plans to open Dinosaur City in 2008, but there are a lot of details to be worked out first.
The company and the East Montgomery County Improvement District hope to complete a deal next week that would require the district to find a 100-acre site next to U.S. 59 and get Legislative approval for a special economic zone and half-penny sales tax increase to repay about $25 million in revenue bonds.
The bonds would finance about half the cost to build the park.
Unidentified real estate and entertainment investors would contribute another $25 million, under the terms of the proposed deal.
The district also must agree to pay $200,000 for a study to determine whether the county is a good location for the park.
The park, which also would include an IMAX theater, water park, conference center and hotel, is expected to provide up to 1,000 jobs and could draw more than a million visitors a year, said Frank McCrady, president and CEO of the improvement district.
A destination tourist attraction would also draw restaurants, retail and hotels to the area, providing tax revenue and making the district's investment worthwhile, he said.
"It's going to be a tremendous amenity for our area and for the city of Houston," McCrady said. "It's a win for our entire area."
The park's creator is "Dino" Don Lessem, author of 47 books and an adviser to the movie Jurassic Park and Walt Disney Co.'s Animal Kingdom.
Dinosaur City would be like a mini-Epcot Center, "not an amusement park but an experience park," said Don Holbrook, the park's site selection director for the developers.
Kids would be able to excavate dinosaur bones from mock dig sites. Various birds, emus, alligators and other animals would be on display. And wooded walking trails will feature dinosaur replicas, Lessem said.
East Montgomery County beat out 68 other locations in 29 states in the selection process, according to Exhibits Rex.
It isn't clear whether the Legislature will go along with the special taxing district for the park. State Sen. Tommy Williams, who represents the East Montgomery County area, was only vaguely familiar with the project, his chief of staff, Janet Stieven said.
"I think it's way too early to tell whether there is support for it," said Kathy Walt, a spokeswoman for Gov. Rick Perry.
Whether the politicians buy the idea or not, the park would certainly be popular with kids, said Robert Bakker, curator of paleontology at the Houston Museum of Natural Science.
"The interest among kids is always super high," he said. "Dinosaurs are always the most popular entrance for young people into natural history."
brad.hem@chron.com

Frank McCrady and Don Holbrook party down. Not the professional relationship the taxpayers should be expecting.

Attachment 634Attachment 635Attachment 636Attachment 637Attachment 638

So drunk they are dancing on the table. This is what dino disasters are made of!!!

Soapboxmom

Gee,

East Montgomery County must be full of well off residents to be able to fund in this sort of financial goings-on.

EMC should be careful, though, with this sort of lifestyle on offer to its' employees, they run the risk of being swamped by out-of-town bureaucrats looking for a trough in which to bury their snouts.

John Marlin and Trey White made sure their half million is guaranteed:

Attachment 642













From Whitestone to Marlin Atlantis the $500,000.00 goes. Right hand to left hand!

Attachment 643

Our tax dollars and Earthquest Institute charity dollars hard at work. Holbrook was being paid $144,893.00 by the EarthQuest Insitute in 2009 for working 15 hours a week (that's $185.00 an hour) according to the IRS filing when he wasn't on his grand European vacation that is.

Attachment 645Attachment 646Attachment 644Attachment 647Attachment 648

How do all the people and businesses that donated to this project feel about this? What about those that invested their life savings into businesses in the area because the EMCID board and these consultants kept promising ground breaking was imminent? While people that are supposed to be bringing this project to fruition are living it up on the taxpayers and donors dime, what is being done for those who are being ruined financially as the dino disaster flounders???

Attachment 649Attachment 650Attachment 651Attachment 652Attachment 653

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Originally Posted by Soapboxmom

Don Holbrook is making some very lofty claims:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyHEG...eature=related

A finance professional?? Where are the dollars for Earthquest? He claims that he has put together 100s of economic development deals worth over billions of dollars that have created over 50,000 jobs in this country??? He better have some ink on that!

Soapboxmom

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Don on Myspace

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Companies

• Verizon
  
  • Tampa, Florida US
  • Senior Staff Consultant
  
  
  July 1998 until July 2001
• SSP/IGH EDC Progress Plus
  
  • South St. Paul, Minnesota US
  • Executive Director
  
  
  July 1991 until December 1992
• Crooskton EDA
  
  • Crookston, Minnesota US
  • Executive Director
  
  
  January 1993 until August 1996
• Red Wing Port Authority
  
  • Red Wing, Minnesota US
  • Executive Director
  
  
  August 1996 until March 1998
• Partnership for Economic Development, PED
  
  • Lake Havasu City, Arizona US
  • President/CEO
  
  
  September 2001 until July 2004
• Wayne County Economic Development Corp.
  
  • Richmond, Indiana US
  • President/CEO
  
  
  October 2004 until February 2006
  
  

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Holbrook has been asked to name these various successful projects on several occassions, but as yet we have heard nothing on any of the sites Mr. Holbrook has posted on substantiating these lofty claims. I cannot find these "100s of economic development deals worth over billions of dollars that have created over 50,000 jobs in this country" anywhere on the web after hours of searching.

Soapboxmom

Don Holbrook is rambling on about Earthquest on Discussion about the New Caney Dino Park - Houston Dinosaur Park. He is not addressing the correspondence we had about the Earthquest Insitute charity.

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Team


The EarthQuest Institute brings together some of the best and brightest minds from across the globe.
They share a deep devotion to science, education and the discovery of global solutions for a sustainable future.
Management Team

Our Management Team is comprised of accomplished executives from a variety of disciplines. They provide expertise in private and public fundraising, financial management, non-profit leadership and the sciences.

Don Holbrook, President and CEO
Dr. Matthew Gardner, Chief Science Officer
Executive Board

Our Executive Board represents the major creative and philanthropic developers of the EarthQuest concept, with respective backgrounds in science, communication, public education and community development.
Leon Cubillas, Chairman
Don Lessem, Founder and Director
John Marlin, Director

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It has been about 1 month since I requested the documents. I was told by Dr. Matthew Gardner that they were being sent to the East Montgomery County Improvement District office ages ago. By law certain documents must be made public. The charity and the EMCID office share the same physical address. I called the office and Frank McCrady's receptionist still has no idea where the documents are. So, Holbrook's claims that EMCID is doing a great job are completely laughable. Holbrook and EMCID have been sweeping stuff under the rug and making all kinds of positive statements when in fact the developer was bust many months before Cynthia Calvert published it. They have not according to the most recent article even talked to DR Horten to see about purchasing the property for the project. The whole thing is a huge disaster that has wined, dined and lined the pockets of McCrady and the others involved in the project while no investors are lined up and no construction is underway. Ridiculous!

Residents request more info on EarthQuest - Your Houston News: News

Holbrook has removed boatlads of comments on the Earthquest institute Facebook page and is once again using the non-profit for his own personal inurement as his personal advertising venue. It looks to me like they can kiss their 501 c 3 status goodbye. And, as I am sure many donors are filing complaints with the IRS ,Holbrook abusing the charity and not releasing documents as required by the IRS will likely get this disaster audited. Holbrook and EMCID are destroying this Earthquest project themselves with their shenanigans.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Earth...e/224584770416

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http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile..._5430110_q.jpgEarthQuest Institute



Here is where you can purchase all my books about creating positive economic change at the local level, including my latest book, "The Next America: Moving Beyond a Fragile Economy."

http://external.ak.fbcdn.net/safe_im....L._SY120_.jpgDon Allen Holbrook
www.amazon.comVisit Amazon.com's Don Allen Holbrook Page and shop for all Don Allen Holbrook books and other Don Allen Holbrook related products (DVD, CDs, Apparel). Check out pictures, bibliography, biography and community discussions about Don Allen Holbrook



Like · Comment · December 31, 2011 at 11:00am ·

• Wendy Tise and Rose Annette Doggett Tullos like this.
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  • http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile...29040121_q.jpgDean Kerne Thanks for the update Heather! i am surprised that the local mainstream media has not reported any of this??February 4 at 8:46pm
  • http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile...029_8675_q.jpgHeather Dawne Clarke Dobrott An awesome and well researched update from Cynthia Calvert which includes excerpts from the court docs I posted! Kudos to Ms. Calvert!!! Lots of info on Don Holbrook!
    
    Court gives EarthQuest developer time to raise money, save project - Tuesday, February 07, 2012 - Copyright 2007 Ourtribune.comFebruary 7 at 12:23pm
  
  

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Holbrook's book plugs and my posts linking recent news articles are all gone. Progress!!!