Complaint Review: Jody Kriss - Internet
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- Author Not Confirmed
- Jody Kriss Internet USA
- Phone:
- Web: http://www.jodykriss.com
- Category: Questionable Activities
Jody Kriss, Mob-tied principal of East River Partners, former CFO of Bayrock Group Serial litigation, extortion, corporate greed, blackmail, theft, child endangerment, potential Mob connections. New York City New York
*Author of original report: In Regards To "Legal Notice"
*General Comment: Legal Notice
*Consumer Comment: Jody Kriss Is Spamming To Hide The Truth Now!
*Consumer Comment: Update on Jody Kriss, Adam Lombardi Case
*Consumer Comment: Jody Kriss is a MOBSTER
*Consumer Comment: Former Tenant of Jody Kriss Checking In
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Editor’s Comment:07/11/2018 Ripoff Report believes in transparency and the more information the better. In this instance, there has been court action regarding this subject Report. We believe it important to note that not all Court Orders are alike. Many court orders are absolutely legitimate and we make no representations about this court order situation. However, we want our users to be aware that sometimes courts enter orders based upon default which typically means that the defendant didn’t show up. Sometimes a defendant won’t show up because they didn’t even get notice of the case proceedings in the first place and other times defendants may not show up because they don’t necessarily have the knowledge and/or the financial resources to fight. Still, in other instances, a defendant may simply appear only to stipulate (settle) the case by agreeing to stipulate to a court order because they are being bullied by the plaintiff and whether what they said was true or not, they just want the matter to go away so they can move on with life and make the plaintiff go away. Again, we make no representations about this particular court order situation. We are simply providing you with additional information so that you may be more informed and, coupled with any additional research you feel is necessary, may make your own informed decision regarding the validity of this Report. As always, we encourage our readers to do their homework and not just rely on one single source for information. Google, through the Lumen Database, has provided the following document relating to this subject Report:
http://lumendatabase.org/notices/16363860
Kriss v. Reviewer - Order Granting Judgment and Entry of Permanent Injunction by Ripoff Report on Scribd
END OF EDITOR’S COMMENT
THE ORIGINAL REPORT IS UNDER THE LINE IMMEDIATELY BELOW
____________________________________________________
Gangsters are still thriving in New York City. One of whom lurks in the shadows of New York City’s real estate development boom. His name is Jody Kriss, and, while under the age of 40, he has found quite a bit of success in the real estate niche. This success, however, doesn’t come without its costs. Not only do these costs affect Jody himself, but also those around him: family, friends, coworkers, tenants, and more. To untangle this web of Jody Kriss’ rise to fame, and examine the toll it has made on others, we must start from the beginning.
In the early 2000’s, Jody Kriss worked as a junior analyst for APC Property Advisors. Soon after, Tevfik Arif and Felix Sater, a businessman consulting for APC at the time, founded the Bayrock Group. An analyst was a necessity, and Felix saw serious potential in Jody Kriss, who, for some reason, had been ousted from APC.
Shortly after Bayrock added Jody Kriss to its payroll, it was discovered that a legal counsel would be a necessity. Jody Kriss immediately recommended his father, Ronald Kriss, for this role. A month or so after Ronald Kriss’ involvement in Bayrock Group starter, issues cropped up regarding some employee’s pasts, issues that should have stayed out of business filings, said Ronald.
Ronald Kriss’ legal advice was taken, and the men under scrutiny were removed from their high-up positions within Bayrock Group, and instead listed as profit participants, scrubbing their involvement from corporate records. As part of this idea, Jody Kriss was to be promoted to CFO, with an additional 10% stake in Bayrock Group as a company. For the next several years, Jody Kriss received several millions of dollars in bonuses, as well as massive salary increases.
As Bayrock Group continued to grow; their need for legal assistance grew as well. Ronald gave the suggestion of Julius Schwarz, a fellow partner at Ronald’s firm Akerman Senterfitt. Julius came aboard, and Bayrock Group continued their upward momentum. Suddenly, in 2007, a New York Times expose about a Bayrock employee all but destroyed the company, and put the employee’s life in jeopardy.
As very few Bayrock employees knew about this man’s past, fingers were immediately pointed to either Julius or Jody Kriss being the informant. Jody Kriss blamed Julius, yet Jody had become increasingly resentful of this employee’s decision-making, which sometimes came without his express consultation. Jody Kriss, meanwhile, had begun to position himself for a complete takeover of Bayrock Group. Two months after the story broke, the employee was asked to leave Bayrock. Jody Kriss was well prepared to fill the vacant position, but the spot went to Julius Schwarz. This is the point in time in which things began to take a turn for the worse for Jody Kriss.
Jody Kriss began to wear recording devices to meetings with both Tevfik and Julius. He also started frequently asking entrapping questions in the hopes that they would slip up and say something that he could use against them. He erased all of his and his father’s email conversations from the Bayrock Group servers, and convinced an analyst to steal a backup hard drive containing all of Bayrock Group’s emails and communications. This hard drive also contained other Bayrock Group data, including the legal folders and sealed documents of the employee who was in danger as a result of the expose piece by the Times.
It was 2008 when the lawsuits began to fly. It started in the Delaware Chancery Court, where Jody Kriss filed a lawsuit demanding millions upon millions of dollars from Bayrock Group, which by that point he had been removed from and had started his own real estate development firm, East River Partners, with Joseph Cohen. The lawsuit was ultimately dismissed, with the judge ruling that the case was nothing more than an employment issue, and had no reason to be in the chancery court. The motive for the lawsuit was clearly nothing more than Jody Kriss attempting use information obtained from the hard drive to line his pockets. In the lawsuit, Jody Kriss threatened to release the information regarding the Bayrock employee’s past, and attempted to use this information as a bribery chip in the hopes of a quick and easy settlement. This settlement was not received.
Regardless of the settlement outcome, Jody Kriss was quickly back with a vengeance. In May 2010, he filed the suit entitled Jody Kriss v Bayrock Group. In this lawsuit, he demanded an inordinate $100 million in damages. He claimed civil RICO violations, suggested that Bayrock Group was participating in money laundering, and once again threatened to use the employee’s past and the sealed documents from the hard drive in the lawsuit. The defendants listed in Jody Kriss v Bayrock Group numbered into the hundreds, and included many prestigious individuals and law firms. Anyone who had so much as spoken a word regarding anything related to Bayrock Group found themselves on the defendants list.
The majority of the information included in Jody Kriss v Bayrock Group was not only irrelevant to the legal claims made by Jody Kriss, but has been cited on multiple occasions on record by assigned judges as being “useless”. The evidence also clearly violated Judges’ directives on proceeding with the lawsuit. Jody Kriss’ lawyers, Frederick Oberlander and Richard Lerner, even went as far as to email several defendants’ lawyers suggesting that they “step aside” and allow them to collect massive settlements from the bigger target, the law firm’s insurance companies.
One of the defendants in the suit was Akerman Senterfitt, previously mentioned as the firm Ronald Kriss used to be a partner at. Used to, being the keyword. After getting word that his son was suing the firm, he was asked to leave. As a result of the stolen hard drive attempting to be used as evidence, and the threats and extortion to disclose sealed government information, the case has remained in limbo for several years, and is expected to be dismissed soon. This, however, has not stopped golden gangster Jody Kriss from continuing his insane extortion campaign.
As it became apparent that Jody Kriss v Bayrock Group was going nowhere, a new lawsuit cropped up. In this case, Jody Kriss and his scummy legal team of Frederick Oberlander and Richard Lerner used a pair of dead Holocaust survivors named the Gottdieners. The plaintiff was the “Estate of Ernest Gottdiener”. Indicative of his immaculate character, not only did Jody Kriss use these Holocaust survivors as pawns in his scheme, but the demands grew to $500 million. As a result of this lawsuit, which was also dismissed, Salvatore Lauria, a fellow Bayrock employee sick of the threats, wrote a response explaining everything, and counter-suing for $5 million in emotional damages.
Jody Kriss wasn’t done. The stakes continued to rise when Jody Kriss filed another Jody Kriss v Bayrock Group lawsuit, demanding an absurd $1 billion in restitution and damages. Jody Kriss and his lawyers Frederick Oberlander and Richard Lerner added another several reputable law firms to the long list of defendants, as well as Todd Kaminsky (an assistant US Attorney), The CIM Group, iStar Financial, and Donald and Ivanka Trump even.
Ron Kriss immediately demanded Jody remove Trump from the suit, as his new firm did legal work for the Trumps. Joseph Cohen demanded Jody remove CIM Group from the suit soon after, as he had previously worked for CIM, and the conflict of interest was too great. With the removal of two key defendants, this suit is nothing more than a mirror of the first.
Jody Kriss’ two attorneys, Frederick Oberlander and Richard Lerner, have been referred for criminal contempt as a result of their actions regarding the sealed documents and stolen corporate hard drive. Richard Lerner has already been asked to leave his firm as a result of the aforementioned cases.
On March 13th 2014, a blogger named Adam Lombardi wrote an article to his website Queens Politics with the title “Brooklyn Watch Out: Shady Developer With Mob Ties Targets Eric Adams”. In this article, Adam Lombardi explains that Jody Kriss is nothing more than a repetitive serial plaintiff out for self profit, no holds barred. The article outlines his legal past with the lawsuits as well.
The article also poses the question: “How can local community boards and BP Eric Adams deal with an investment group that has really no track record only that of a partner who was a front for the Russian mob and acted as a beard for known criminals?”. The article suggests that Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams could be in danger in the future as a result of Jody Kriss‘ actions.
The following day, a summons was submitted to the New York State Supreme Court, County of Queens, called Jody Kriss v Adam Lombardi and John Does 1-20. In this suit, Jody Kriss claims libel against the article and demands the sum of $20 million from Lombardi for “special damages, attorney’s fees, monetary damages, and injunctive relief”.
A press release was distributed on April 9th entitled “Blogger Responds To Jody Kriss Notice To Sue”, in which the response by Adam Lombardi’s lawyer is explained, claiming first amendment rights. The response also states: “This lawsuit is yet another in a long line of frivolous and meritless litigation commenced by Jody Kriss in the state and federal courts in which he seeks to browbeat defendants into silence and submission”. The case remains pending, and is expected to be dismissed soon as well.
In the meantime, Jody Kriss is dealing with a case against himself and East River Partners in the form of Lewis Pine v ERP West 86th Street. This case claims that East River Partners deliberately exposed several families, including families with infant children to such harmful irritants as lead paint and asbestos, amongst others. The goal by East River Partners was simple: drive the families from their homes in order to complete a full renovation of the building.
When the families refused to move, East River Partners pushed on anyways, against multiple stop work orders by the State of New York. The families eventually filed a lawsuit, and New York’s Department of Environmental Protection put a final stop work order on the building renovation. East River Partners settled the case for $1.6 million, $800,000 for each of the two families, with the express request that they keep these things quiet. Unfortunately for Jody Kriss, all of the court information is available online.
In Early September, another lawsuit cropped up of the similar nature, entitled Joseph Brun v East River Partners Park Slope and Jody Kriss. This lawsuit shows again that this mobster Jody Kriss will do whatever is necessary to ensure that he can line his pockets with shadily-earned cash. This case is a very similar issue to Lewis Pine v East River Partners, but takes place at a different building, showing that East River Partners is willing to repeat their offenses if it means a quick flip and profit without much hassle on their end.
This suit claims that immediately after purchasing the Park Slope building, Jody Kriss filed plans with the city, stating that the building was vacant (which it was not). This allowed them to start a renovation/demolition project with tenants still inside. Exposed to the construction, tenants in the building were met with excessive dust, and harmful respiratory irritants such as lead and asbestos. A nice cocktail that really lets you know the building owner cares about their tenants.
Much like Lewis Pine v ERP, a stop work order was issued by the city of New York, but Jody Kriss and company continued to illegally perform renovation work. Mr. Brun had lived in the building his entire life, and was faced with an outside force attempting to drive him from his home with zero disregard. As stated in the summons: “Their actions “can only be described as ‘mob-like’ or ‘mafioso-like’, bullying tactics intended and calculated to force Plaintiff to do what [they] desired.”
Both Jody Kriss v Bayrock Group cases are set to be dismissed in October, yet still several ex-Bayrock employees have found their reputations and safety destroyed yet again by events from the far past. Several professional lives have been ruined already by Jody Kriss, including several of his close business partners, his lawyers Frederick Oberlander and Richard Lerner (shady in their own right), and his own father. How many more people need to suffer until Jody Kriss has enough money to stop burdening the New York Courts System?
This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 09/23/2014 02:03 AM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/jody-kriss-mob-tied-principal-of-east-river-partners-former-cfo-of-bayrock-internet-1178613. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year. Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report. READ: Foreign websites steal our content
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#6 Author of original report
In Regards To "Legal Notice"
AUTHOR: - ()
SUBMITTED: Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Nice try, Vorys. I can see you clearly just spam Ripoff Report, (((REDACTED))), (((REDACTED))), and other related websites searching for potentially defamatory articles and attempting to extort money from them. Sounds familiar.
In latest news, we have the Queens Tribune article entitled: "Jody Kriss: Front For The Russian Mafia And Yanukovich", which can be found here. Text below:
Usually information about the mafia gets leaked to the media from the FBI or police reports, but rarely from informants or key players in the organizations themselves. That’s why the following story piqued my interest and I began to investigate the alleged activities linking the Russian mafia to the U.S. real estate market.
Kievvlast investigates into the issue. Source: http://en.censor.net.ua/r329926
Usually information about the mafia gets leaked to the media from the FBI or police reports, but rarely from informants or key players in the organizations themselves. That’s why the following story piqued my interest and I began to investigate the alleged activities linking the Russian mafia to the U.S. real estate market.
Jody Kriss, the former CFO of Bayrock Group, a major construction company, and the current owner of East River Partners-a seemingly respectable company-all but admitted he was working for the Russian mafia for seven years. While managing Bayrock Group, by his own account, he ran errands for Russian criminals involved in real estate and construction in New York and Florida. In doing so, he was using money from a criminal cash stash. The criminals dubbed Jody-who graduated from the prestigious Wharton Business School-”Vorton” or “Wharton-v-zakone”, which is a play on “vor-v-zakone” in Russian. This translates as “thief-in-law”, “kingpin”, or “made-man”. All of this has been confirmed via court papers filed in New York as well as in many credible media outlets such as the New York Post.
The large number of lawsuits filed because of Jody Kriss’ illicit and often outright criminal activities is unambiguously and publicly documented. Excerpts from lawsuits clearly show that Jody Kriss found it perfectly acceptable to use direct extortion (as cited from a lawsuit: “…accusation of using Mafiosi tactics in order to get his share from real estate deals”) and blackmail (as cited from a lawsuit: “…the defendant forced the Cornblit family to move out of the apartment with a newborn baby, which endangered the baby’s life…”). Kriss ended up paying these victims $1.6 million to drop the charges.
In one of the other lawsuits Kriss filed, he even fraudulently used the memory of Holocaust victims (as cited from a lawsuit: “the defendant, without being authorized to do so, spoke on behalf of those who had died in concentration camps, demanding financial compensation…”) in an attempt to extort money from a business associate.
One of Kriss’ shady ex-partners is still wanted by the Moscow DA’s office for financial and tax fraud. Another partner of his, a twice-convicted racketeer, stated in an interview that Kriss covered up his many illegal activities and acted as a front man for the criminal world. The racketeer expressed his surprise at how cheaply Jody Kriss agreed not only to sell out, but also to bring his father Ron Kriss, a prominent attorney, into the scheme saying “I thought Wharton boys were more expensive to buy off”.
jodykrissKriss’ third partner was arrested for pimping …that also led to a lawsuit. Jody Kriss’ fourth partner, a well-known mafia associate, requested protection from the FBI because Jody Kriss had turned to a dangerous mafia organization known as the Persico or Colombo crime family for “help”. The head of the Persico family is Carmine “The Snake” Persico, a prominent mafia capo, who was sentenced in 1987 to 139 years in prison.
The kind of “help” that only a mafia organization could provide, which involved eliminating a mutual enemy of both the Persicos and Kriss. Jody Kriss and his legal team of Frederick M. Oberlander and Richard E. Lerner used stolen court documents. These sealed files, which were stolen by another associate of Kriss, proved that one of his ex-partners had assisted the FBI and U.S. Justice Department and was willing to testify against members of the Persico criminal organization. Kriss delivered copies of this deadly information to attorneys for the Persico crime family …potentially inciting the murder of his ex-partner. Some people use the courts to resolve disputes, and some use the mafia.
However, this is only the beginning of Jody Kriss’ connection to criminals and gangsters. In digging deeper into this story information was uncovered from several former CIS countries District Attorneys’offices that are investigating money-laundering channels used to move large amounts of money from those countries to the USA. The names of Semion Mogilevich, Vyacheslav Ivankov aka “Yaponchik”, Aslan Usoyan aka Grandpa Hassan, and other notorious post-Soviet criminal kingpins, including Victor Wolf-currently on the FBI’s Most Wanted list for massive real estate fraud-were found to appear next to Jody Kriss’ name.
According to some Ukrainian sources, the anti-corruption committee of Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (Ukrainian parliament) is conducting an investigation to try and retrieve funds stolen by former Ukrainian president, Victor Yanukovich. It is believed that Jody Kriss invested some of that money in U.S. real estate. It is known that, in recent years, Kriss visited both Russia and the Ukraine where, according to the official investigators, he had meetings and was photographed with criminal kingpins. Predictably, the Ukrainian authorities are investigating Jody Kriss’activities in an attempt to recoup the money Yanukovich pilfered.
According to the website of the New York Attorney General, publicly filed documents reveal in Courthouse News that Jody Kriss fronted for and hid his criminal partners on a number of large real estate transactions.
Presently, there are also several scandals associated with his current company East River Partners, breaching not only construction, but health and human standards as well. (Citations from the lawsuits: “…During the repair works at the apartment, it was found that the walls had been initially painted with lead containing paint…Dept. of Environmental Protection issued a construction stop work order on a residential building due to multiple breaches of construction regulations…The defendant has been warned many times about non-compliance with construction norms and safety regulations…).
victorwolfNevertheless, Jody Kriss’ company, East River Partners, appears to be thriving. This raises an obvious question: If a real estate developer was caught having connections to the mafia, and had to leave his former company-whether by choice or otherwise-where does he get the money to start a new company? He would obviously need a large amount of investment capital. However, having earned a “Mafioso” reputation, it would be very difficult to find reliable and, more importantly, legitimate investors in the U.S. So where did the money come from?
Jody Kriss is known for his constant litigation with individuals such as Donald and Ivanka Trump, as well as major real estate companies such as CIM Group, iStar Financial, and even law firms. He and his legal team are currently trying to sue dozens of people an Source: http://en.censor.net.ua/r329926d companies for $1,000,000,000 ($1 billion)-an amount he apparently desperately needs. But so far, Kriss has not profited a single penny from his numerous lawsuits.
Kriss’ current financial backing must come from other sources, which, in turn, poses the question that journalists and law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and other countries are trying to answer.
Who is Jody Kriss-a victim or a gangster? The investigation continues. Source: http://en.censor.net.ua/r329926
– Victor Gelb
Investigative Reporter
- See more at: http://queenstribune.com/jody-kriss-front-for-the-russian-mafia-and-yanukovich/#sthash.x4PD86Hc.dpuf
#5 General Comment
Legal Notice
AUTHOR: Legal Notice - ()
SUBMITTED: Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Please take notice that Jody Kriss (“Plaintiff”) has filed an action in the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas (Ohio) – Jody L. Kriss v. Reviewer 1, et al. (Case A1502350) – due to allegedly false and disparaging statements published concerning Plaintiff on Ripoff Report and other websites. This complaint is one for defamation per se, defamation, tortious interference with existing economic and/or business relationships, and tortious interference with prospective economic and/or business relationships. Plaintiff seeks the following relief: a preliminary and permanent injunction; declaratory judgment; general, exemplary, and punitive damages; and attorneys’ fees. Defendants must answer the complaint within the time allotted by the Court. Please contact Plaintiff’s counsel at DefLaw@vorys.com.
#4 Consumer Comment
Jody Kriss Is Spamming To Hide The Truth Now!
AUTHOR: WTFBRO - (USA)
SUBMITTED: Tuesday, June 02, 2015
When I Google Jody Kriss' name now, all I'm seeing is positively-biased link spam. It's ridiculous! The same thing over and over again. Videos uploaded to 500 sites, spammy three paragraph biographies thrown to 1,000 sites written by a third-world ESL individual, just pathetic. I've got a Google Alert set whenever there is news about this scumbag and it goes off eight times a day, 99% of it is the same crap Jody pumps out in the hopes that it can outrank the New York Post article and sites like jodykriss.com. We aren't falling for it, Jody.
#3 Consumer Comment
Update on Jody Kriss, Adam Lombardi Case
AUTHOR: Artemis Nunchuck - ()
SUBMITTED: Thursday, February 05, 2015
THE CAUSE FOR THE LAWSUIT
On 03/13/2014, blogger Adam Lombardi, owner of website Queens Politics (http://www.queens-politics.com) published an article entitled “Brooklyn Watch Out: shady developer with mob ties targets Eric Adams” (http://queens-politics.com/2014/03/brooklyn-look-out-mega-developer-with-mob-ties-targets-eric-adams/).
This article alleges that New York City real estate developer and co-founder of East River Partners Jody Kriss has connections to the Russian Mob. The article goes on to state that Kriss, the former CFO of the scandal-embattled Bayrock Group, is a professional plaintiff, and has spent the better part of the previous three years on a massive extortion campaign against former coworkers and colleagues, including Donald Trump himself. He even goes so far as to sue a former federal prosecutor who was protecting witnesses whose testimonies could have severely damaged Jody Kriss’ reputation.
Also noted in the article is the following: “In a 2009 civil complaint, Jody Kriss, who served for five years as the finance director at Bayrock, alleged that the firm was a “racketeer-influenced and corrupt organization” that… “operated through a pattern of criminal activity.” In addition to charging them with embezzlement and various forms of fraud, Jody Kriss alleged they had engaged in “extortion by means of threats of torture and death.” The complaint also claims that Bayrock steered a $1.5 million placement fee in 2007 to a convicted partner Lauria for a financing deal involving Bayrock’s projects with Trump in Soho, Fort Lauderdale, and Phoenix.” The article questions how local community boards and Brooklyn Bureau President Eric Adams can deal with an investment group (East River Partners) with no real track record? The article finishes by speculating: “People in NYC and in particular, Brooklyn, should be cautious in dealing with Jody Kriss whose funding is suspect and whose past is both litigious and mob connected.”
THE LAWSUIT BEGINS
The following day, a summons was submitted to The Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of Queens (http://bit.do/krisslombardi01), beginning the procession of Jody Kriss v Adam Lombardi. Jody Kriss’ lawyers, Frederick Oberlander and Richard Lerner, who themselves have been in some hot water recently (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/06/nyregion/charges-considered-for-lawyer-who-revealed-witnesss-name.html?_r=0) filed the summons on behalf of Kriss. The short document demanded $20 million from Adam Lombardi, as well as a trial. Within two days of the summons, an article went live on the New York Post regarding Jody Kriss’ mob activities.
The article, entitled “Mob rat says Ivy League business partner tried to whack him” (http://nypost.com/2014/03/16/mob-rat-says-business-partner-tried-to-nail-him-over-2-5m-suit/) alleges that Jody Kriss used mob tactics, almost killing a former coworker, in order to bully his way to a $2.5 million commission payout Kriss believed that he was owed. Kriss responded by saying: “This is merely the latest in a string of increasingly desperate attempts to pressure me and other victims … to stop lawsuits they are losing. None of the bullying tactics will have any effect.” Two days following the Post article, Lombardi, seemingly not deterred by the summons, wrote and published another blog post, titled “NYPOST Follow-up On Notorious Developer” (http://queens-politics.com/2014/03/nypost-follow-up-on-notorious-developer/).
The article ties together his previous post with the New York Post article, seemingly giving proof that Jody Kriss was tied to the Russian Mob and was out for vengeance against his former co-workers. On 04/09/2014, Adam Lombardi’s lawyer, Jill Levi, filed a Notice of Appearance and Demand for Complaint (http://bit.do/krisslombardi02). In this document, Lombardi demands Kriss file a formal complaint with explanation. The document goes on to state that the lawsuit is a clear violation of Adam Lombardi’s right to freedom of speech through the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Also stated is that the suit was “nothing other than a scare tactic designed to cover up Jody Kriss’ dealings with his mafia pals”. The document referenced the following articles as well:
• New York Law Journal: “Onetime Informant Accuses Ex-Business Partner Of Extortion” (http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/id=1202647470500/Onetime-Informant-Accuses-ExBusiness-Partner-of-Extortion?slreturn=20150029134406)
• Courthouse News: “Real Estate Business Gets Ugly In NYC” (http://www.courthousenews.com/2014/03/20/66312.htm)
• Daily Business Review: “Stroock's Miami Managing Partner Caught Up In New York Suit” (http://www.dailybusinessreview.com/id=1202647361314/Stroocks-Miami-Managing-Partner-Caught-Up-In-New-York-Suit?slreturn=20150029134428)
Later that day, a press release was distributed through PR Newswire by Todd and Levi, LLP entitled “Blogger Responds to Jody Kriss Notice To Sue” (http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/blogger-responds-to-jody-kriss-notice-to-sue-254618901.html). Within a short period of time, the press release had been widely distributed by many news networks. THE FORMAL COMPLAINT IS FILED On 04/29/2014, Frederick Oberlander and Richard Lerner submitted an eighteen-page formal complaint against Adam Lombardi (http://bit.do/krisslombardi03). The complaint states that Lombardi isn’t an official journalist, yet goes on to state that Queens Politics is not run according to generally accepted journalistic ethics (one of the reasons being that Lombardi did not contact Jody Kriss for a comment).
The complaint denies that Jody Kriss had ever used mob tactics in his business. It denies that Jody Kriss had ever contacted Eric Adams for assistance and claims defamation as such. The complaint also states that Jody Kriss three pending lawsuits at the time had never been deemed frivolous, and that he had never been investigated for or charged with extortion. It claims that Adam Lombardi did not do proper investigation when claiming in his article that Jody Kriss’ lawyers (Frederick Oberlander and Richard Lerner) had obtained their information for Kriss’ former lawsuits illegally. The complaint also includes a paragraph that had been edited out of the Queens Politics article after the summons was delivered, a paragraph that states one of Kriss’ defendants in his multiple lawsuits was beaten and targeted, as well as threatened.
The complaint goes on to claim defamation and injunctive relief, and demands $1 million as a result. The complaint wraps up with Exhibits A and B, copies of the blog posts written by Lombardi regarding Jody Kriss. On 05/19/2014, Jill Levi filed a motion to dismiss on behalf of Adam Lombardi (http://bit.do/krisslombardi04), as well as a request to move the court date and location to Jamaica, New York on 07/01/2014. Included was an affidavit or affirmation in support of the motion by Jill Levi (http://bit.do/krisslombardi05) as well as Memorandum of Law in support (http://bit.do/krisslombardi06), which claims that the formal complaint’s injunctive relief is nothing more than a improper discovery request. Also filed was a request for judicial intervention (http://bit.do/krisslombardi07) and an affidavit of service (http://bit.do/krisslombardi08).
On 06/23/2014, Jody Kriss’ lawyers Frederick Oberlander and Richard Lerner filed a notice of cross-motion (http://bit.do/krisslombardi09), demanding that Lombardi disclose the name, address, telephone number, email address, and any additional contact information regarding the sources for the allegedly defamatory statements in Lombardi’s initial Queens Politics article. The concern stated by Jody Kriss is that Lombardi may simply concede the defamation case, and there would be no way to obtain the damages payment requested in the complaint and initial summons. It states that “mere money damages would not suffice”, and includes a signed statement by Jody Kriss himself.
On 06/30/2014, Jill Levi, on behalf of Adam Lombardi, submitted an affidavit in opposition to a cross-motion (http://bit.do/krisslombardi10). In this, Lombardi states that he is a professional journalist, and is protected from disclosing his sources per the New York Shield Law. Lombardi goes on to state his bachelor’s and master’s degree in his field, and had worked for the Queens Gazette, Huffington Post, and Queens Brownstoner. He included in this affidavit a copy of his official press pass. Accompanying this affidavit was an affirmation by Jill Levi (http://bit.do/krisslombardi11) explaining Jody Kriss’ frivolous, strong-arm tactics and contumacious conduct.
JODY KRISS’ LEGAL PAST OUTLINED
In this document, Lombardi and Levi go on to thoroughly explain how Jody Kriss has been attempting to force a settlement from former business partners, threatening to release publicly-sealed documents that would put his coworkers lives in danger. It included in the text and an exhibit the following communication from Kriss’ lawyer Frederick Oberlander: “I am so not kidding this is not a game this is not a $150,000 case anymore and do not read this wrong this is a team and my job is to shake the living daylights out of them and it starts NOW… as I said, stolen emails are admissible, period, end of story. I mean admissible into evidence let alone discovery, and these aren’t stolen.” It states that Jody Kriss filed a suit with the Southern District of New York in 2010, attaching the sealed document to the publicly filed complaint.
As a result, the appointed Judge issued a permanent injunction against Jody Kriss and demanded Oberlander return the documents to the US Attorney. Oberlander proceeded to state that he had zero intention of following court orders. As a result, Oberlander was, and still is, being investigated for violating a court order. As a result, in 2012, Jody Kriss, acting through Frederick Oberlander, disclosed the sealed documents to the New York Times and Miami Herald. After news arose of this Eastern District Judge Cogan referred both Oberlander and Richard Lerner for criminal contempt (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/06/nyregion/fraud-case-challenges-secrecy-of-mans-past-as-criminal-and-cooperating-witness.html?pagewanted=all).
Levi’s document goes on to outline Jody Kriss’ second and third cases, in which he begin adding defendants to the roster and multiplying the demanded payout. Frederick Oberlander submitted a letter to a defending law firm stating that he filed with the court a “tactical nuclear device”, and that if Jody Kriss’ demands were not met, the defendants would get the “inevitable concomitant global public news and media coverage of everything everywhere”. He also stated that if they did not meet Jody Kriss’ demands “Judge Buckwald will be presiding over World War III with coverage likely on the front page of the New York Law Journal”.
A memorandum of law was also filed with the affidavit (http://bit.do/krisslombardi12).
RESPONSES HEAT UP
On 07/01/2014, Jody Kriss and attorney Richard Lerner filed an affirmation in reply to Lombardi’s opposition to cross-motion (http://bit.do/krisslombardi13). In this, Lerner and Kriss state that there is no sealing order that Lombardi could produce in regards to the sealed documents mentioned in the outline of Jody Kriss legal past. Lerner also claims that there is no order violation that Lombardi can find regarding Jody Kriss. He goes on to defend Jody Kriss’ past legal actions, stating that the defendants were already criminals, and states that, in response to the threats put forth by Jody Kriss and Frederick Oberlander, that they were merely persuasions to settle the case instead of allowing it to continue. The response also questions Lombardi’s current standing as a journalist, and that he failed to provide his income and expenses during the time of writing his Queens Politics articles.
He denounces the press pass as being legitimate, and states that his LinkedIn profile does not describe him as a professional journalist, and questions if he is instead a political organizer. Richard Lerner claims that Adam Lombardi did not earn enough money from his blog to make a living, and is therefore not qualified to act under the New York Shield Law protecting journalists from revealing their sources. Included with this were Exhibit A, a copy of the sealed document list (http://bit.do/krisslombardi14), Exhibit B, a court transcript (http://bit.do/krisslombardi15), and Exhibit C, a copy of Adam Lombardi’s LinkedIn page (http://bit.do/krisslombardi16).
The same day, Jill Levi filed a letter (http://bit.do/krisslombardi17) stating that the response did nothing more than attempt yet again to get Lombardi to disclose his sources, and to disregard his response as a result. The next day, a notice of a motion to dismiss was submitted by Jill Levi (http://bit.do/krisslombardi18), along with an affirmation (http://bit.do/krisslombardi19) and a memorandum of law (http://bit.do/krisslombardi20) and an affirmation of service (http://bit.do/krisslombardi21).
EXPERIENCING DÉJÀ VU AND DEFEAT
The same day, Jody Kriss and Richard Lerner responded to the motion to dismiss (http://bit.do/krisslombardi22), stating the exact same demands that Adam Lombardi reveal his sources. Included was a signed affidavit for the cross-motion by Jody Kriss (http://bit.do/krisslombardi23). Lombardi responded on the same day with a reply stating again his credentials, and including his press pass (http://bit.do/krisslombardi24), and Levi responded as well with a similar reply stating Jody Kriss' shady past and penchant for litigation and extortion (http://bit.do/krisslombardi25).
Also included was the memorandum of law (http://bit.do/krisslombardi26). Richard Lerner responded with the same four documents as before (http://bit.do/krisslombardi27, http://bit.do/krisslombardi28, http://bit.do/krisslombardi29, and http://bit.do/krisslombardi30). Jill Levi submitted another letter the following day (http://bit.do/krisslombardi31). Richard Lerner responded with his own letter trying to persuade the judge to disregard the documents put forth by Levi (http://bit.do/krisslombardi32).
The case was put into pending status four days later (http://bit.do/krisslombardi33). The case went dormant for a few months, with the only action being Richard Lerner announcing the moving of his firm (http://bit.do/krisslombardi34). On 11/20/2014, the judge denied Jody Kriss’ demand that Adam Lombardi supply the names of his sources, who had been referred to in the case as “John Does 1-20” (http://bit.do/krisslombardi35). Richard Lerner and Jody Kriss nevertheless continued to demand the revelation of Adam Lombardi’s sources for his article (http://bit.do/krisslombardi36).
ACTION BEGINS TO SHOW
On 12/01/2014, Adam Lombardi and Jill Levi submitted an answer to the initial complaint put forth by Jody Kriss. In this answer (http://bit.do/krisslombardi37) the following defenses are stated: • The complaint fails to state the cause of action upon which relief can be granted. • That Jody Kriss’ complaints be dismissed has he has unclean hands in the matter. • That the sum and substance of the articles written about Jody Kriss are true. • That the sum and substance of the articles written about Jody Kriss are expressions of Adam Lombardi’s opinion, and not actionable in court. • That Jody Kriss sustained no damages as a result of the articles written about him. • That the articles were a fair and true report of a judicial proceeding, and that Jody Kriss’ claims are barred by Section 74 of the New York Civil Rights Law. • And that, most importantly, Jody Kriss voluntarily threw himself into the public spotlight, is a limited interest public figure as a result, and that the cases put forth by Jody Kriss are of public concern.
Adam Lombardi proceeded to give Jody Kriss a taste of his own medicine, demanding that the complaint be dismissed, as well as compensatory damages for legal fees and other issues that arose as a result of the fourth frivolous lawsuit by Jody Kriss in three years. As a result of this document, on 12/22/2014, Jody Kriss and Richard Lerner for the third time demanded to know Lombardi’s sources (http://bit.do/krisslombardi38), this time expanding their initial demand into nine pages of repetitive legal jargon. A more concise version was submitted on 12/26/2014 (http://bit.do/krisslombardi39) demanding this information by 01/30/2015.
No other documentation has been made public yet regarding the case of Jody Kriss v Adam Lombardi, but questions arise as to whether this is simply another means of Jody Kriss silencing critics about his legal standing, and attempting to quiet rumors surrounding his billion-dollar lawsuit. Links are populating continuously revealing widespread issues surrounding Jody Kriss and how he does business. The problems have even gone so far as to allegedly cause the employee-base of East River Partners to drop almost 40% in a matter of months. The question remains: at what point will Jody Kriss stay out of the courtroom? When will he stop suing everyone under the sun? When will East River Partners get their head on straight and do things 100% by the book?
FROM http://jodylkriss.com/, http://jodylkriss.com/deconstruction-jody-kriss-v-adam-lombardi-et-al/
#2 Consumer Comment
Jody Kriss is a MOBSTER
AUTHOR: JODY KRISS AND ERP SCAM - ()
SUBMITTED: Tuesday, December 09, 2014
Here's everything you need to know about this guy, for those of you who have scrolled down this far:
#1 Consumer Comment
Former Tenant of Jody Kriss Checking In
AUTHOR: Advent01 - ()
SUBMITTED: Sunday, September 28, 2014
Hello,
I'm a former tenant who used to live in one of the buildings purchased and renovated by Jody Kriss and East River Partners. I had a similar case to that of Joseph Brun at 397 1st Street. I just wanted to make the world aware of what Jody Kriss and his company put the tenants of 397 1st Street through.
HERE is the summons put forth by my former neighbor Joseph Brun. I want to post an excerpt from the summons, detailing what Brun and I and others had to go through:
Plaintiff should not be subjected to:
Have himself, his guests and the interior of his apartment photographed by an automatic camera every time the apartment door opens.
Jody Kriss and East River Partners workers working noisily in the building until 11:30pm.
Inhalation of carbon monoxide from the tank room in the basement.
Solicitation of new tantn owners in building to find reason to eject plantiff from occupancy of his very valuable rent controlled apartment.
The deprivation of use of roof area in the building heretofore accessible by plaintiff until access was removed by Jody Kriss and East River Partners by re-configutaion of the other apartments in the building, sale of other apartments, and removal of stairs to roof. Also, removal of access to the roof prevents the plaitiff and other tenants (myself included) from accessing the fire escape.
Deprivation of use of the backyard which had previously been accessible to plaintiff until Jody Kriss and East River Partners re-configuration and sale of other apartments.
Loss of storage area in the basement.
Noise fmor air conditioning units installed on roof which also cause vibrations in the building, and, in addition, has caused the plaintiff's chimney for his fireplace on the roof to collapse, clogged with bricks.
Installation of an interior wall in the hall outside plaintiff's apartment which partially blocks acccess to his apartment entrance and ingress and egress therefrom.
Installation of illegal stairs in his basement.
The removal of ceiling beams between first and second floors of the building.
The near collapse of his entire floor which currently sags greatly.
Disturbance and or damage to existing electric wires serving the plaintiff's apartment. All other electrical installations in the building are new except his, which Jody Kriss and East River Partners damaged. Plaintiff has life support equipment in his apartment which does not function without electricity.
It's clear to see that East River Partners, and especially Jody Kriss, subjected all tenants in that building to unsafe conditions, unfair treatment, and invasions of privacy, amongst other risks to life.
I'm glad that people are finally coming forward, and I hope that this scumbag's license is revoked and his company is shut down. He deserves jailtime for this and for all other manipulations of the courts system.
Sincerely,
A concerned former tenant.
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