___________UPDATE____________
Strib's coverage indicates the trial judge
said Wilf’s own testimony in the long-running civil trial had shown that the Vikings’ principal owner had exhibited “bad faith and evil motive” in defrauding business partners in a large apartment complex project.
That's one step to entry into the Developer's Hall of Fame. But induction to such an elite status is based on an entire career, not one good year, or one exceptional project.
___________FINAL UPDATE__________
Strib's report details:
The judge said that Wilf, by his own “candid and credible” testimony, told the court that he felt business partner Ada Reichmann got “too good a deal” and that he “reneged” on an agreement made by his uncle Harry Wilf when Rachel Gardens was built in the 1980s.
The judge said she found that the Wilf family committed fraud, breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty and had also violated New Jersey’s civil racketeering statute.
“I do not believe I have seen one single financial statement that is true and accurate,” the judge said in court. The plaintiffs, Reichmann and her brother Josef Halpern, claimed in court that they were owed $51 million. The plaintiffs had earlier argued that the Wilfs had used “organized crime-type activities” in their bookkeeping practices.
Newspaper coverage of the judge’s comments by the Star-Ledger of Newark on Monday showed Zygi Wilf and his brother, Mark, the president of the Vikings, sitting in the courtroom as the judge made her remarks. Wilson, who delayed her retirement to finish the case, said in court that “to my knowledge, there has never been a case like this in New Jersey jurisprudence.”
No comment from Wilfs
Shep Guryan, an attorney for the Wilfs, said the family would have no comment. “The Wilf family has been in business for 58 years and has earned a well-deserved reputation for integrity and honest dealings,” he said in a statement.
Fodder for the nomination and acceptance speeches at induction ceremonies, not just a developer, but an impresario pushing the envelope. Can you perform like that without long tiring practice sessions? Hall of Famers have an inate gift, but talent must show game time.
______ACTUAL FINAL UPDATE REALLY________
Blood in the water, sharks circling? There is a Sportswriters Hall of Fame too, but it is also career based. No single column one-hit-wonder qualifies. Sid will tell you it is hard to make the Hall without real experience, two tables beyond the bar, the elevated dias, the black robed presider - if you don't feel the pain you don't cherish the gain.