Tom Petters Anniversary Live Chat
Talk with Star Tribune reporter David Phelps about the Petters case.
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Welcome to a Star Tribune live chat with reporter David Phelps, who five years ago today covered the arrest of businessman Tom Petters, an event that began what would turn out to be the biggest business fraud case in Minnesota history.
David will be here at 1:30. For some background reading, see the retrospective that ran in Monday's Star Tribune. www.startribune.com -
Here's how David started the retrospective that ran in print yesterday:
It began five years ago Tuesday with a surprise raid by federal agents on the Minnetonka campus of Tom Petters’ business enterprise.What followed was a whirlwind, headline-grabbing investigation and legal crime drama that today is in its final throes.
We'll begin in about 15 minutes by asking David how he heard about the raid and what happened next in the Star Tribune newsroom. You can register your own questions now clicking "Make a comment."
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He had invested in Fingerhut, the St. Cloud-based catalogue company and owned Sun Country Airlines, which was heavily losing money at the time. Polaroid was going to be his home run investment but the scheme collapsed before that could happen. Indeed, most of the money used to fund these investments came from individuals who thought they were investing in something else. -
Will you be writing a book about the Petters' trial? Would love to see the back story as a serial in the ' Strib after his appeal hearing! -
That's an interesting thought. A lot of the plot lines in this story were Hollywood worthy!
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You may be starting a whole new discussion about who could play Tom Petters in a movie!
Before we wrap up, describe what's coming up next and when. Is it the appeals hearing itself or are there some other events? -
There are about five sentences yet to be handed down for others in the scheme, mainly those on the investment side who provided Petters with financial resources, wittingly or unwittingly. Also, Petters himself will have a hearing in the middle of October regarding a 30-year plea offer that he says was never clearly outlined to him. Petters is expected to testify at that hearing, as are member of his defense team who dispute his version of the plea offer.
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Thanks David and thanks to everyone who participated this afternoon. And if you're in listening range, David will be on WCCO Radio (AM 830) in about 30 minutes to discuss the Petters saga further.