I
dressed up as a smurf for Halloween this year. Yes, I am too old to be
wearing costumes and yes I could not have looked uglier in all blue body paint
and huge white shoes; but I have always loved the characters. Lawyer
Stuart Ross introduced the lovable characters to U.S. audiences in the
1980’s. But this blog post really has nothing to do with the characters
but with the man behind the smurfs and the very interesting blackmail plot that
has come to light.
Stuart
Ross is being charged with an attempted blackmail of his
wealthy son-in-law for up to $11 million by threatening to smear his
reputation. The court papers in this case also claim that he made
intimidating and personal threats to his own daughter in attempt to get some
much-needed cash and save himself from bankruptcy.
Is it
me, or does it seem like blackmail is
everywhere these day? From the
coverage of Fergie to Cindy Crawford, big names are getting into even
bigger legal issues and money usually seems to be the root of the problem. And in the end, they often do get some amount
of money in exchange for keeping the secret facts they have private—this is
often especially true when it comes to people in the public eye who have a
reputation to protect for personal and financial reasons. Private
settlements are common in blackmail and extortion cases which is why the
cases mentioned are particularly interesting because rather than let the
embarrassing facts stay hidden, victims are choosing to come out with the
circumstances of the blackmail and fight back.
And I think that is a good thing.
Although
they vary from state to state, blackmail statutes typically lay out the type of
prohibited
threats in order to be punishable under a statute. These threats include:
(1)threat
of personal injury
(2)threat
to injury property
(3)threat
to accuse someone of a crime
(4)threat
to expose any matter that would damage personal or business reputation or would
expose the victim to hatred
(5)threat
to expose a secret
(6)threat
to give or withhold testimony
(7)threat
to inflict other harm that would benefit the threatener.
Not
surprisingly, blackmail
is a felony and carries punishments such as fines and imprisonment. A person will also probably lose any and all
friendship they had with the person they are trying to blackmail, but I am just
stating the obvious with that one!
I
think that stories of blackmail among family members is particularly troubling
and that Stuart Ross, although in dire financial straits, deserves to be
punished for his actions. Blackmail is
an interesting legal entity particularly because it is often a private
settlement and thus something we, as the public, never hear about. That being said, I am all for transparency
and appreciate celebrities coming forward with the circumstances of the
blackmail and hope that this courage will serve as a deterrent for other
individuals hoping to prey on people’s vulnerabilities.
By: Violet Petran
