I ACTUALLY OCCASIONALLY ENJOY A REALLY GOOD LAUGH

As one of the last subscribers to the L.A. Times, everyday I sometimes find one or two articles informative and fun to read. After watching the start of the L.A. Marathon last Sunday, the cameras tuned into L.A.’s number one scammer chatting up the biggest Cheshire cat of American politics. The two show ponies were standing up through a limousine moon roof arm microphone in hand sucking up to one another like long lost lovers, a subject they are experts on. Mayor Villaraigosa and Dodger’s owner Frank McCourt looked the perfect couple as they grandstanded backslapping one another.

The L.A. Times has given me much fodder to ponder on when it comes to Jamie and Frank McCourt. There is nothing more salacious than the details of a bitter divorce suit becoming public property. Firstly fifty-five-year old Jamie traded up, going for a deadbeat thirty something divorced dad, her bodyguard (that takes the job to a new level) come chauffeur! While Frank has been able so far to keep his dalliances quiet (I hope for his sake the participants remain quieter than Tiger Woods was able to achieve with his) all the other stuff that has been filtered out has made excellent reading.

Firstly, there was the ownership question of the Dodgers. Jamie claimed it was a fifty-fifty deal, but the lawyer-trained MILF a few years ago stupidly signed away any chance of the Dodgers being part of matrimonial property. Instead she went for a plus $100 million portfolio of residential real estate. In fact she has about eight hotel size mansions mostly spread between Beverly Hills and Malibu. Then there are their living expenses. Over the past eight years they have withdrawn over $108 million from the coffers of the Dodgers to maintain a lifestyle and in true Leona Helmsley fashion, made sure during this time they have paid no federal or state taxes, because “only little people” pay taxes.

In order to pay another dirtbag (Rupert Murdoch) off for the purchase of the Dodgers, McCourt put his Boston parking lot buildings up as security. Obviously he fell short of obtaining suitable financing and Murdoch took possession of the security in lieu of payment. McCourt has done everything to improve the value of the Dodgers by increasing ticket prices and lowering the salary costs. To some degree he has succeeded. However the McCourt’s lifestyle is based upon sucking the investment dry. The eight mansions have huge mortgages against them and currently Frank is holed up in an apartment in the Montage Hotel at $30,000/month. Mrs McCourt is demanding a million bucks a month alimony to keep her in the lifestyle she has become accustomed to entertaining her new boyfriend.

The divorce will suck up around $20 million in fees and my hope is the empire falls apart so neither of the two ends up with one cent. The original owners of the Dodgers, who walked away with $hundreds of millions thanks to Murdoch, must in some way be saddened that by the time the McCourts have finished with one another the Dodgers will be a shadow of the organization it once was. For me I will continue to have a good giggle as the divorce case continues its journey to a conclusion.

Tags: Antonio Villaraigosa, divorce, Dodgers, Frank McCourt, Jamie McCourt, LA Marathon, LA Times, Rupert Murdoch