CHASER GETS CHASED 7-18-03
Let me catch you up. If you didn't read my last update, this asswipe named "Chaser" requested my portfolio. I had it messengered to him and his company "Level 25 Entertainment" which (the company) vanished a week later (taking my portfolio with it).
No forwarding address, all I had was Chaser's cell phone number.
After weeks of leaving him messages, speaking with him on and on, he made no effort to return my portfolio. He claimed he Fed-exed it but couldn't produce a tracking number. Eventually he started dodging my calls.
6 months passed and my two leather books with tear sheets valued at $450.00 never materialized. As a last ditch effort, and considering he was screening my calls I put the word out to all of you to call him and help coerce him into giving my books back. WHICH LEADS ME TO WHERE WE ARE NOW.
Within the first hour of sending my distress update, my phone started ringing non stop with people calling me reporting the crazy schemes they had come up with and had already begun to execute on Chaser.
My e-mail box was also immediatly flooded with supportive e-mails in commiseration, as well as suggestions, and questions. These ranged from the serious to the outragious.
The most common question in people's minds seemed to be: "What does this guy want your portfolios for anyway?" "What does he have to gain by having them?"
The answer is: I don't know for sure.
I can only speculate. Most likley he ripped my work out of the beautiful leather books and trashed it months ago, and is now using the books to house his own promotional materials. Other e-mailed speculation ranged from him holding the books for ransom, holding the books in hopes that I become more famous so he can sell them, he just plain lost them and is now trying to bullshit his way out of blame. Or maybe he just sold the empty books to an artist friend.
One person who called me suspected he was using my book as a learning tool to rip off my drawing style, and passing my work off as his own. She wanted to set up a "sting." Where she would meet with him in Penn Station posing as an art director wanting to see his work. She would be wearing a wire. If he pulled out my portfolios she would say a code word and with the transit police's help we would have him tackled and arrested! heh...
Many people called him claiming to be part of my management team. They "need the portfolio to show other clients." Calling him back over and over, driving him nuts on the 4th of July weekend.
"Why do you want to steal this guy's book?" One fake manager asked him. "Do you think you will have any credibility in the industry after this? Do you think this is a smart career move? Your name will be worth shit after this! Just send the books and all this will stop." The fake manager contacted me and told me about this conversation. He said that Chaser told him that someone had called him earlier and told him that they were going to throw him in the East River! (legal note, Cojo never told anyone to threaten Chaser's Life or saftey).
People from 12 states called this guy that weekend!
The other schemes were great. People called him up pretending to work at Death Row Records, in their story, it seems Suge Knight requested my portfolio, and they were his assistant. They had called my management company in Suge's behalf and they told him that this guy Chaser had it and wouldn't return it, so to get it from him.
A bunch of other geniuses had similar ideas to one another. They called him and wanted his address to send him free CD's, clothes, demos, Mix Cd's, and promo kits. Good idea, but he never gave out his address.
I got a frantic voice mail message from Chaser Sunday night. (I'll paraphrase)
"Yo, Cojo, It's Chaser. I need to talk to you. Not your managers, not your friends. My phone hasn't stopped ringing all weekend. I need to talk to you...I need to talk to you...You. I need to talk to you. I can produce your books tommorow. I'm not mailing them anywhere, I'm not mailing them to Philadelphia (where Respect Mangagement is Located) because they came back to me. A million different people are giving me different addresses to send them to. I'm not sending them anywhere. I want to give them to you, put them in your hand personally. I'll meet you wherever you want to meet. Just me and you. In person. Call me back, I need to talk to you."---Chaser
Now, there is no way in hell I'm going to meet with this lunatic. Especially if he's mad. One of the people who called me told me that Chaser told him:
"I have power, you don't know who you're fucking with!!!" The caller responded:
"You're right, nobody does, you're a nobody. And now your a nobody who is fucking up what little reputation you might have had by stealing my boy's book. YOU don't know who YOU are fucking with!"
So, I called Chaser back and got his machine. I left a message that went something like this:
"Look Chaser, This is bullshit. I don't need to meet you. I am definantly not goint to meet you while you are mad, cause I don't want to have to hire a bodyguard. Just mail it to this address-
I gave him Respect Management's address, twice. The second time slower so he could write it down. "Send the books, and the calls will stop."
I called my manager Kevon and he gave me an address of a lawfirm in NY that Chaser could actually drop the book off at, and clean his hands of all this.
Kevon called Chaser and gave him the info of the new address to drop it off at. I then called Chaser and told him the new address, had him write it down and repeat it to me. I told him that all he had to do was drop it off at that lawfirm, and if the lawfirm is closed, then drop if it off with night security, security was allerted that there would be a package and hold it for the law firm. Chaser accepted and agreed that he would. He said he was going downtown now, and would drop it off within the hour.
Finally some resolution.
Or not, the next day, still no portfolio. I called him and asked what happend. He said he was with his kid and never made it downtown. I gave him the address again to make sure he had it. He said he's heading down there in two hours, so not to worry.
The next day- Last Friday, still no portfolio. I call him up again and ask if he delivered it. He said, yeah 1880 Right? I gave it to the security guard last night made out to you.
"You gotta be FUCKING kidding me! 1890, not 1880, I only told you 3 times, and my manager told you twice!" I exlaimed.
"I'll go down there now and get it from them and bring it to 1890. Sorry about that, my bad." he said.
I didn't believe he dropped off shit. He sounded like a bad con man, so I went online and found the phone # for 1880. I called their lobby, and guess what? They didn't have any deliveries or drop offs Thursday night. Big surprise!
I called Chaser back and told him to call me when he "picks it up from 1880 and drops it at the correct address."
Chaser called me back later and told me he picked it up from one address and dropped it at the correct address.
I called my manager the next mroning- "No portfolio in the NY Lawfirm yet." was the word. I suggested maybe the security never delivered it up to their floor. I was in the city that day anyway so late in the day I swung by the building. The night security guard was there. I spoke with him, he's been working that shift for 25 years. He told me that some packages were dropped off last night, but no portfolios and nothing from Chaser, or to Cojo, or even to the lawfirm. If you drop off a package you have to sign in.
While still at 1890 I called Chaser immediatly, got his voicemail.
Since then, Chaser hasn't answered his phone for my calls.
What a fucking wild goose chase this is. I'm done with this, I'll just have my lawyer call him. I'm washing my hands of involvement with this, the portfolio is my Manager & lawyer's property, so technically he's stealing from them. My lawyer was also the lawyer for the Fugees’Äî welcome to legal Hell Chaser.
-End of the Chaser Saga
P.S.
I have 3 other copies of my portfolio. So, this isn't the end of my Career, just the end of Chaser's credibility.
Just another day in the life of an Art Juggernaut.
-Cojo