Blackmail and Extortion in America

On December 9th, 2009 - A pair of acquaintance's of mine; Scott Edward Sippola and Allison Lenore Coss, managers/bartenders of the interconnected night clubs; The Skyboxx and The Matrixx, located on the historic downtown Washington Steet strip here in Marquette Michigan, were named in a federal investigation involving the television and Broadway actor, John Stamos.

As the story goes, according to Marquette's TV6 web-site, Sippola and Coss have both been charged with intent to extort money from a person, transmitted in interstate commerce, a communication containing a threat to injure the reputation of another person, by the FBI.

The complaint issued, and the litany of such states, that approximately November 28 of this year, John Stamos contacted the FBI office in Nashville saying he was the subject of a serious scheme to extort money from him. In the complaint, it says John Stamos was vacationing in Florida in 2004 and met Ms. Allison Coss and a friend of hers he knew as 'Qynn'.

Hollywood actor, John Stamos claims he attended a party with them, and benign photographs were taken during this said party of him, with them, as well as other fans. A subject that I will get into later.

Some years later John Stamos start receiving a barrage of e-mail from a 'Brian L," the complaint says a heinous threat was made to sell the pictures to the media if John Stamos did not buy them for $680,000.

Why I ask myself, would anyone arrive at a figure of $680,000 dollars? Why not round-off to the next highest common denominator of $700,000? That said, why not a cool million? I mean this guy is a Hollywood actor, TV-Star and presently a Broadway actor of the musical, "Bye Bye Birdie." Another matter I shall also get into later.

Last Wednesday, the FBI set-up a sting and arranged a meeting with this, 'Brian L' at Sawyer International Airport in the area of Boreal Aviation, where the $680,000 was to be exchanged. Coss and Sippola were in a pick-up truck that had a personalized Michigan license plate tagged with the moniker, 'Matrixx' on it, where they were both arrested.

Later FBI agents then came to the recently purchased home that Sippola and Coss shared in Marquette Township. A home mind you, that it is rumored that a sum of $680,000 is owed on. Hmmmm?!? After obtaining a search warrant, agents recovered three photos that had been sent via email to John Stamos. They also obtained a piece of paper with the names and numbers of three salacious tabloid magazines and Stamos personal phone number.

Apparently Ms. Coss apparently maintained an email relationship with John Stamos since the Florida trip back in 2004 which later rendered her his personal phone number.

Ironically enough, Scott Sippola had recently been on Marquette's TV6 trying to dispel the rumors that his Matrixx night club was closed only due to remodeling and not that of the rumors circulating that it had failed. Many locals beg to differ, for the ailing economy has taken a strangle-hold on many businesses here in the Marquette and Mr. Sippola's night clubs are supported mainly by the area's Northern Michigan University college crowd. Parents are sending money from home for books and not that for booze and beer.

As I said in my opening statement that Sippola and Coss being acquaintance's of mine actually boils down to being just really club patrons of their's, however I have had on many occasions had conversations with Scott Sippola, and even though I have no degree on my wall for Psychology can clearly say without a doubt that Scott has a classic case of a "Napoleon Complex", for he is indeed short in stature.

Of the conversations I have had with Scott have discovered on many occasions that if you made mention to him for example that you had one-hundred bucks in your pocket he had two-hundred, when I mentioned once that I purchased property through ebay, he said he bought a home in the Hampton on ebay. When another "Mom-N-Pop" supported and sponsored spoiled-brat in Marquette bought and customized a pick-up truck, he bought and went "full-boat" on a newly purchased and fully customized pick-up truck, right down to a personalized license plate that clearly identified him as the owner of during the above mentioned FBI sting. You get the picture here by now.

As it turns out, Scott was not the owner of the Skyboxx and Matrixx night clubs as he always bragged they were to many, but that of his Father whose intent was that of keeping his son out of the local ore mines as his employer. An honorable attempt however this only aided his ever-growing complex and only helped in his infamous character building as opposed to the hard work so many parents claim that hard work builds the character there of.

I am only left to ponder why could someone be so stupid to even think that such a heist if you will could be pulled off coming on the heels of the recent David Letterman blackmailing scandal that made head-lines a few months ago?

Stupidity, greed, ego and too much pride is all clearly anchors that will drowns a person and this seems to be the proof in the proverbial pudding for Scott Sippola and Allison Coss. Desperate times call for desperate measures however harming one's reputation through blackmail does not warrant actions such as these two have gone to as a means to achieve wealth and or to keep up a false facade of something they clearly were not.

Scott Sippola and Allison Coss are headed to a preliminary hearing in Federal District Court set for December 17 in Marquette. May a higher being and maybe even actor John Stamos have the mercy on their desperate souls.

Source: TV6 Marquette