AZG Armenian Daily #150, 21/08/2008
Genocide
CAFESJIAN GENERATED MINNESOTA LAWSUITS TO STOP ARMENIAN GENOCIDE MUSEUM OF AMERICA DISMISSED OR TRANSFERRED TO DC COURT
Cafesjian Forced To Drop Claims But Now Asserts Defamation
WASHINGTON, DC - In another desperate attempt to halt the rapid progress of the Armenian Genocide Museum of America (AGMA), Gerard Cafesjian recently added yet another baseless suit, this one claiming he was defamed by the Museum, the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly), and Hirair Hovnanian. This suit is on top of the multiple litigations he started and has continued to file since May 2007. Ironically, the Armenian Reporter, the newspaper owned by Cafesjian, previously published the so-called defamatory material about which he is now suing.
Mr. Cafesjian's latest filing arrives upon the heels of the approvals obtained by AGMA from the District of Columbia Board of Zoning Adjustment and Historic Preservation Review Board, and soon after the U.S. District Court in Minnesota took action dismissing two of the three lawsuits brought against the Museum by Cafesjian and the Cafesjian Family Foundation and transfered the other one to the District of Columbia federal court. All three of Cafesjian's Minnesota lawsuits were heralded in Cafesjian's own newspaper but resulted only in unnecessary expenses and a disgraceful public spectacle. These developments follow upon the latest settlement efforts rejected by Cafesjian. Throughout this process, the Museum and the Assembly have sought a sober resolution in private, or in court as soon as possible, but Cafesjian, who recently switched lawyers yet again, seems to be intent on continuing his efforts to scuttle the museum. A trial this year appears unlikely.
With no progress to show after years of running the project, in 2006, Cafesjian abandoned the museum, sent a letter of resignation, and rebuffed a request to continue with his "vision."
Earlier this year, he requested $27.5 million to walk away and allow the museum to go forward.
The new allegations complain about the following statements:
a) Mr. Cafesjian "left the other trustees with serious problems, including unpaid taxes, leaking roofs, unpaid salaries, unpaid contractors, an illegal lien on the properties, no audits, and compliance problems with other donors' gifts, all of which left in tatters a project that the Armenian-American community strongly endorsed and wants completed;"
b) "In early 2007, after flat-out non-compliance with the Assembly's 501(c)(3) conflict of interest policy and after legal review, Cafesjian and John Waters were suspended from the Assembly board;"
c) "Cafesjian's formation of his personal lobbying organization, USAPAC, has caused additional damage;" and
d) "Taking control of AGMM, [Mr. Cafesjian] failed to fund the project, mismanaged development, resigned, and abandoned the properties and project in 2006."
The latest lawsuit comes as a bizarre development because on December 8, 2007, the Cafesjian-owned Armenian Reporter itself published the exact same language and commented on the October 31, 2007, release by the museum and did not take specific issue on the above points. The lawsuit creates the farcical situation where someone who publishes a newspaper sues someone else over the information the same newspaper published.
"The new allegations are part of a pattern of setting up a smoke screen to cover up Cafesjian's own violations of trust and attempt to profit from self-dealing and other breaches of fiduciary duty," AGMA attorney Arnold Rosenfeld said. "Ignoring all the one-sided and intentionally damaging stories about the museum project, its trustees, and the Armenian Assembly published in the Armenian Reporter, the newspaper owned by Mr. Cafesjian, Cafesjian is alleging that the attempts by the Armenian Assembly and the Armenian Genocide Museum to inform the public about the truth is defamatory because 'his reputation is of the utmost importance to his business dealings, both within the United States as well as in Armenia,' but the record is clear. The truth never is defamatory."
"The facts of the matter have remained the same, that is, after his utter failure to develop the museum, Cafesjian began filing lawsuits with the purpose of delaying the building of the museum so that he could recover substantially appreciated real estate without any intention of building a museum. His offers of resignation were tied to distribution to himself of this substantially appreciated real estate and efforts to paint a different picture, and baseless legal filings only confirm the pattern established by his own record," continued Rosenfeld.
The Armenian Genocide Museum of America is an outgrowth of the Armenian Assembly of America and the Armenian National Institute (ANI), catalyzed by the initial pledge of Anoush Mathevosian toward building such a museum in Washington, DC. Armenian Genocide Museum of America
AZG Armenian Daily #150, 21/08/2008
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