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Fund established for kumquat shipping routes, Swensington pleads guilty to obstruction of justice

One major issue that was hotly debated at this year's IKF convention in Antwerp, Belgium was the problem of Djiboutian kumquat pirates. We spoke with E. Fergo Gordon, an expert on the subject.

Kumquats Inc: Do you think much progress has been made on this very serious issue?

Gordon: IKF agent Aroldis Reynie Shapiro has established a special fund for the protection of ships mostly in the Gulf of Aden. The fund is contributed to by shipping companies and kumquat producers.

Kumquats Inc. Do you think further efforts should be taken?

Gordon: I think that they are doing a good job, but the large corporations are slow to contribute and Shapiro is having trouble mobilizing any significant action.

Kumquats Inc: How long do you think it will take for any success to happen?

Gordon: I think a thorough operation could take several years.

In the most recent installment in the ongoing story of the prosecution of Philipe Swensington, (see last post here) Swensington has pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in a hearing at the U. S. district court in Miami, Florida. The charges were based on a claim that Swensington had destroyed evidence. The evidence destroyed included tapes containing conversations with him and a private advertising firm while he was chairman of the board at Surpass Fika Kumquats.

Earlier, the prosecution attempted to charge him with false advertising, but a judge dismissed that charge, saying that the "false" slogan was only misleading, not false. However this was the hearing for only one of his many charges including fraud and insider trading. He will be prosecuted for these charges later at the U. S. District court in Tucson, Arizona.

Next Post: We will have a conversation with Obie's Kumquats Chief Legal Analyst, Emmet Smovwoth about the upcoming Swensington trials.

Swensington finally to appear in court, Tobango in legal dillema

As former Surpassa Fika Board Chairman, Philipe Swensington’s trial date is looming closer, it appears more counts will be charged against him. These include obstruction of justice because inside witnesses say that Swensington destroyed potentially incriminating evidence. This evidence included tapes with conversations between Swensington and a private advertising company that Surpassa Fika had supposedly hired to help their advertising department in an advertising scheme. However this run advertising run was one of the things that got Swensington arrested in March of 2010.

Last year Mr. Swensington abruptly left Surpassa Fika, the Arizona based kumquat corporation after six years and suspicion arose rather quickly, as Surpassa Fika had just discovered a major advertising flaw. Longtime IKF agent Aroldis Reynie Shapiro convinced the majority of his commitee to pursue the investigation of Swensington and later would arrest him on charges of false advertising and insider trading. And after a delayed trial, the case will finally appear in court in mid April with new counts and new witnesses to testify. Among them for the prosecution are Ed Grimpenmeyer a former colleague of Swensington. We will try to have coverage of the hearings.

Also, Tobango is being sued for copyright infringement by Noralie McGaston, owner of Noralie’s Citrus Imports, a retail shop in Helix, Oregon. She claims that she owns the PaleGrapefruit name, even though she spells her product Pale Grapefruit. Experts think that it is unlikely McGaston will win anything.

“Her case is weaker than a dried kumquat skin,” said Obie’s Kumquats Chief Legal Analyst and kumquat law expert Emmet Smovworth.

In the latest market standings, Ferkington is doing well as usual. Tobango says it is doing much better than expected. Some think this is a sign of economic recovery. Saccelberry-Gerard announced the acquistion of Cítricos Inc. This gave a jump to their stock.

Wiki link

There is a link to the Kumquats Inc Wiki on the right-hand side above the followers list that will direct you straight to the page. On the wiki if you click on a person or company's name on the column on the left, you will find information about them. Again, this is still in progress.

Kumquats Inc Wiki

We have now set up a Kumquats Inc Wiki at this address: http://kumquatsinc.wikispaces.com/.

We hope it will have information on many different kumquat related topics. There is currently only one entry but we will add more soon. Check it out!

Interview with Joe Harbrahcka

At last, Joe Harbrahcka , the owner of the last surviving pure-bred Gerard tree is feeling better so we were finally able to speak to him. Here is a brief bio of him. Joe Harbrahcka was born on a farm in rural Nevada. He was raised eating Gerard kumquats and was very sad to see them slowly be merged to other types and disappear. In 1996 he was living in Santa Barbara working for an local auto insurance company when he saw a pure bred Gerard tree at an auction. Nobody else at the auction recognized its value so he got it cheap. Shortly after, he got married, moved to Napa and bought a house. He planted the tree and later, its seeds. Now he is a postal worker in Petaluma and sells fresh kumquats and kumquat preserves at the farmer's market in his hometown.

Kumquats Inc - What was your first thought when recognizing the Gerard tree at the auction in 1996?

Harbrahcka-The moment seeing it was breathtaking and exciting for me, and the auctioneer was surprised by my joyous reaction.

Kumquats Inc-How has this effected your everyday life?

Harbrahcka-I enjoy seeing my Gerard trees in the side lawn each day as I go out for work, and I do not take this for granted.

Kumquats Inc-How do you think this has effected the kumquat world?

Harbrahcka-I think that the fact that there are only a few trees left of a type of kumquat has spurred conservation efforts so that even when the large corporations cast off a breed, it remains alive instead of getting lost to future generations as the Gerard almost did.

In general news , the PaleGrapefruit Kumquat, aquired by Tobango last May, is doing better than expected in sales. It was rated 4 out of 5 Kumquats in a taste test by Obie's Kumquats, the largest kumquat retailer and news outlet in the greater midwest.

"The more rated kumquats, the better," said Obie's before the testing.

The review said the new kumquat was "sweet, with fruity flavors and a bright, citrusy finish"

In other news, the King of Norway recently appointed twin sisters Glenda and Gretta Krinkenhoffen to the country's special kumquat advisory board.

Next Post: Kumquat Shipping Expert for the U. N. International Trade Committee E. Fergo Gordon on Djiboutian kumquat pirates.

IKF Convention Big Success

The recent IKF convention in Antwerp, Belgium has been declared a big success by senior IKF officials like Hordon L. Gortense. "We had a lot of issues resolved and a lot of compromises made." he said. Gortense was on the Kumquat Fungal Disease Prevention Committee. We asked analyst Carlene Aberswarthy on key accomplishment at the convention. "We saw a lot get done on regulating environmentally harmful fertilizers. There was also a decision made to make this convention occur more often. A special committee will meet in March to discuss how often the convention should be."

A recent report from national kumquat sources is that storage closets full of PaleGrapefruit Kumquats (Owned by Tobango) in Oahu, Hawaii were ransacked, vandalized and crates have reportedly been stolen. Tobango is yet to confirm this.

Next Post: Joe Harbrahcka was sick this week so we will have our interview with him.