In late June, I was in Japan on a business trip.
I was asked to deliver the Cerberus story and it's contents to an American newspaper
and/or media, in order to educate people about all the wrong doings ofC in Japan, and the land sharking business and threats, which took place there.
I love Japan, and I've spent a lot of time there, since modeling as a teenager in Tokyo.
I also have a very close friend and business associate who was personally affected by the doings of Cerberus.
When I learned about this story, I was outraged for my friend, and other Japanese
families and businesses. I spoke with an Oba-san (Osano san) while I was in Tokyo, and heard the pain in her voice.
When I contacted the Associated Press (AP) about the story, they were very interested and responded.
The story was directed to a Japanese AP reporter in Tokyo for Japan reporting, interviews in Japan, etc.
The reporter (Yuri Kageyama) contacted me from Tokyo with questions about the story,requesting further documentation, which I provided to her.
Then, she started acting strange and stopped communicating about the story.
I contacted other media in the U.S.
Both Business Week and Detroit Free Press were interested in reporting the Cerberus story.
After discussing the story with Business week and corresponding with their editor in New York, we were referred to Business Week's Chief in Tokyo, Kenji Hall. He conducted personal interviews with business men in Japan who are closely involved and affected by Cerberus.
I was told that things were going well, and Business Week would run this story.
After a couple of days, they pulled away, and notified my associate in Japan that they would no longer be reporting the Cerberus story.
Yuri at AP also had a sudden change of heart.
This is all after the known and documented threats, which have taken place each time someone in Japan comes forward.
The Mainichi Newspaper story followed a long battle m a N.Y. court, which specifically refers to similar threats in the past.
Detroit Free Press was also very interested in the Cerberus story. We discussed the story,documentation, and testimony in detail. We corresponded with documentation back and forth. The reporter in Detroit contacted my associates in Japan, and conducted interviews.
They advised us of their schedule, and planned to run the story on the front page or front page of the business section.Some days before the scheduled release, they also pulled away, claiming that they no longer had the time to dedicate to the story.
I heard that a lady reporter had her tires slashed when she left work, but not sure which one. Everyone has become too frightened to talk about it anymore. It seemed that all involved were becoming either frightened, threatened or bribed.
One evening, on August 26' , I was driving home from an award ceremony in Universal City when I noticed a suspicious car seemed to be following me. It was a black BMW with tinted dark windows and no license plates.
When I stopped, a man ran from behind my car and to my passenger door.
He opened the door, and I thought he would attack me or try to take my car. He took my Blackberry from the seat and ran away to his car, turned around (U-tum) and sped away.
I filed a police report with West L.A. Police department.
I remembered that my children were returning from a camping trip the week end before with their father, who said he was being followed by a similar black car, but he could not see the passengers very well, because the back windows were completely black. I didn't think about it too much at that time, but now, after I was followed and robbed, I was suspicious.
Then, some of my contacts were called.
The next night, I was driving on PCH in Malibu, and I was followed again. I drove to the police station, and the follower left me alone.
I waited there for a security company to send someone to meet me before going home.
When the security company arrived at my home, they checked my cars, and inside my house.
I told them the whole Cerberus story, and how some people in Japan were threatened with Cat's head's and bullets in the mail, and followed.
They recommended that I leave my house, and move to a safe place.
It is very difficult for me with my career, children's schools, friends, and our lifestyle to just up and move. But their (my children) safety is the most important thing, so we did.
We changed schools, leased a house which we cannot move into until mid October. Now, we are living in a very small apartment, waiting for our house to be ready.
Still, in all my correspondence with media, and the new developments of my car being followed, and blackberry stolen, someone ALWAYS seems to know my next move. And they race me to the next step.
I created a new e-mail for correspondence and talk only by mobile phone. My media contact who is helping us by managing all other media, will only meet me in person now.
He is also worried. He was contacted by a Japanese bank (who turned out to be owned by Cerberus), and asked to surrender all documentation about this story, and to stop trying to get this story published. For the two requests, he was offered $250,000.00.
On 9/19,1 left a building in Santa Monica to find that my car had been trashed in the parking lot. All four tires slashed with what looked like a strong knife.
This is all so completely over the top to me. Every day, I wonder about things that I would never see as a threat before.
This whole story seems like a bad Mafia movie.
Three months ago, my life was predictable. I knew where I was going everyday, and felt comfortable about my children's safety and security.
Three month's ago, I didn't know who Steve Feinberg was. I didn't know very much about Cerberus. I didn't really care.
Three months ago, my kid's went to the same school they first started, I went to my local fitness center for my morning exercise, and went to work the same route as always
My life is very different now.
My children have been moved from their friends and their schools, my favorite car I worked so hard for is gone, my beautiful house in Malibu has been abandoned for a 700 ft apartment, our furniture and all of our personal belongings, our memories, are all packed up and sitting in giant storage boxes called "pods."
We have not seen our things for weeks, and I don't even know exactly where they are.
When we move in to the new house, the storage company will deliver our "pods" to the new house. Which is in a community guarded with 24 hour guards' men who stop each person entering. Then, another pin coded gate on the next street in required before entering the street where we will live. I cannot live my life without fear. If we see our friends and family, we may put them at risk.!
This sounds like a movie. But it is necessary'for our safety.necessaiyfor our safety
Three months ago, I had no idea what I was getting in to, by agreeing to bring this documentation to the press when I got back to L.A. Seemed innocent enough.
I know who Steve Feinberg is now,
I know who Cerebus is.
http://officematsunaga.com/up/tracii2.zip
以上
光文社 (2007/12/14)
売り上げランキング: 1765
