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Food Fight
by Randy Cassingham
Doris Reynolds, the food columnist for the Naples Daily News
newspaper
in Florida, apparently has a lot of personal problems. So much so that
she has been seeking advice and guidance from the same newspaper's
"spiritual advice" columnist, Angela Passidomo Trafford.
Since 1999, Reynolds has been getting "spiritual self-healing
treatment" from Trafford, and got spiritual advice from her for
three
years before that. In those seven or so years, Reynolds says, she paid
Trafford between $2 million and $3 million for her services.
Reynolds says she paid Trafford $500,000 last year alone, and the
"spiritual healing sessions" were spent talking, meditating
and drawing.
The two women met up to seven days a week for their 4-5 hour sessions,
for which Reynolds paid $190 per hour, a fee that eventually hit $380
per
hour.
But in April 2003, she alleges, things got ugly. She says Trafford
"demanded" $150,000 for future services. When Reynolds said
she didn't
have that much cash, Trafford visited her at home and
"demanded" a check
for $95,000, marked as a "gift" so that "she wouldn't
have to pay income
tax" on the money. Reynolds wrote the check, but "it was
under extreme
duress," she says. "She said she would not come back and
treat me unless
I gave her that money." Reynolds says she "needed
help" to deal with
depression, anxiety, stress, and an unhappy marriage. "I became
dependent
on her," she says. But Trafford "terminated her
treatment" a month after
the $95,000 payment "without explanation or reason."
Well, if your spiritual advisor fails you, where do you turn? A
lawyer, of course.
Reynolds has sued Trafford in Collier County Circuit Court for at
least $1 million, accusing her of constructive fraud, unjust
enrichment
and civil theft. Further, the suit alleges Trafford received payment
for
services she never provided, and that Trafford "intentionally
misrepresented to Reynolds that she was a messenger of God and
Reynolds
needed to pay her."
"I have always tried to find spiritual solutions in my
life," she
said. "I trusted her. This is not easy for me. I'm not doing
this for
money. I'm doing this because I think people should be accountable for
the harm they cause me."
"There's no truth in this," Trafford says. "It's
just an unbelievable
situation." In her formal response to the lawsuit, she denied
all charges
and said the $95,000 was, indeed, a gift.
As for the Daily News, Managing Editor William Blanton says he plans
to continue to run both women's columns. But let's hope they're not on
the same page.
SOURCE:
1) "Food Columnist Suing Spiritual Advice Columnist for More
than $1m",
Naples News, 25 July 2003
Food Fight
by Randy Cassingham
Doris Reynolds, the food columnist for the Naples Daily News
newspaper
in Florida, apparently has a lot of personal problems. So much so that
she has been seeking advice and guidance from the same newspaper's
"spiritual advice" columnist, Angela Passidomo Trafford.
Since 1999, Reynolds has been getting "spiritual self-healing
treatment" from Trafford, and got spiritual advice from her for
three
years before that. In those seven or so years, Reynolds says, she paid
Trafford between $2 million and $3 million for her services.
Reynolds says she paid Trafford $500,000 last year alone, and the
"spiritual healing sessions" were spent talking, meditating
and drawing.
The two women met up to seven days a week for their 4-5 hour sessions,
for which Reynolds paid $190 per hour, a fee that eventually hit $380
per
hour.
But in April 2003, she alleges, things got ugly. She says Trafford
"demanded" $150,000 for future services. When Reynolds said
she didn't
have that much cash, Trafford visited her at home and
"demanded" a check
for $95,000, marked as a "gift" so that "she wouldn't
have to pay income
tax" on the money. Reynolds wrote the check, but "it was
under extreme
duress," she says. "She said she would not come back and
treat me unless
I gave her that money." Reynolds says she "needed
help" to deal with
depression, anxiety, stress, and an unhappy marriage. "I became
dependent
on her," she says. But Trafford "terminated her
treatment" a month after
the $95,000 payment "without explanation or reason."
Well, if your spiritual advisor fails you, where do you turn? A
lawyer, of course.
Reynolds has sued Trafford in Collier County Circuit Court for at
least $1 million, accusing her of constructive fraud, unjust
enrichment
and civil theft. Further, the suit alleges Trafford received payment
for
services she never provided, and that Trafford "intentionally
misrepresented to Reynolds that she was a messenger of God and
Reynolds
needed to pay her."
"I have always tried to find spiritual solutions in my
life," she
said. "I trusted her. This is not easy for me. I'm not doing
this for
money. I'm doing this because I think people should be accountable for
the harm they cause me."
"There's no truth in this," Trafford says. "It's
just an unbelievable
situation." In her formal response to the lawsuit, she denied
all charges
and said the $95,000 was, indeed, a gift.
As for the Daily News, Managing Editor William Blanton says he plans
to continue to run both women's columns. But let's hope they're not on
the same page.
SOURCE:
1) "Food Columnist Suing Spiritual Advice Columnist for More
than $1m",
Naples News, 25 July 2003