02/03/10 GREENWICH DEADBEAT REPORT: The Wanna Be Voice Of Greenwich, WGCH Owner Michael Metter, Can't Pay His Advertising Bills (Updated With Video)

Greenwich, Connecticut radio station owner Michael Metter being investigated by SEC


By Claudette Rothman


Posted in Back Country, Connecticut, Greenwich, courts, crime


The president and co-owner of the only radio station in Greenwich, Connecticut, is facing federal securities investigations and multiple lawsuits.

According to reports, last October the Securities and Exchange Commission temporarily suspended trading in Sponge Tech Delivery Systems Inc. a company co-owned by Greenwich resident Michael Metter, who is also co-owner of WGCH radio station.


The Wall Street watchdog commission halted the trading after questions were raised about the accuracy and adequacy of the company’s financial disclosures.


Two months after those concerns were raised; the SEC issued a notice to the company that makes a car wash sponge made of soap, that they intend “to recommend that the commission bring civil injunctive actions alleging violations of federal securities laws.

In addition to their SEC problems, the company is also facing lawsuits from investors and Madison Square Garden for non-payment of advertising bills.

PLEASE SEE:

BUSINESS TALK RADIO.NET OWNER

USES THE CAPITAL MARKETS AS AN ATM

SELLING STOCK AND RASING CASH AS THE

NEXT SPONCERSHIP DEAL IS STRUCK

Spongetech Is All Wet

The SEC wants to examine the books of a major sports advertiser

—and here’s why.

By Roddy Boyd

Over the past year, tens of millions of American sports fans have asked themselves the same questions at some point: “What is that Spongetech sign doing in the outfield?” followed closely by “What the hell is Spongetech?”

Let’s handle the second question first. Spongetech (SPNGE) is a Manhattan-based company whose product seeks to answer a question no one has ever really cared to ask before, something along the lines of: “How do I cut out the bucket part of the equation when I wash my car or dog by hand?” Voila! Behold the soap-infused sponge, which at $9.95 is both biodegradable and can be used several times......

.......But to a certain sort of capital markets observer, Spongetech is something else, not seen in a long while: a full-bore pump-and-dump scheme that will, when all is said and done, likely have harvested the wallets of thousands of penny-stock speculators and earnest individual investors who thought they had found the proverbial "next thing."

It may not be the worst of such schemes. Unlike most pump-and-dumps, in which a few in-the-know sharpies drive a stock’s price to the moon and then sell it down to the basement, Spongetech has an actual product. Whatever is left of this company in the end, there will be something that someone—presumably the legion of bucket-haters among the do-it-yourself set—can dust off and sell in the market......

Still, the Securities and Exchange Commission didn’t initiate a formal investigation of the company and its management last week for nothing.

The company’s filings lead the skeptical reader to some pretty clear conclusions. The first is that Spongetech exists primarily to sell stock, and pretty much everything else comes second. At one point in early spring the company had more than 1.2 billion shares outstanding. Late Friday, as the pump collapsed, it had increased the authorized share count to 3 billion. By way of comparison, in the spring, the company—with reported sales of about $5 million a year—had roughly the same amount of shares outstanding as eBay (EBAY); with 3 billion shares issued, they would have a slightly larger float than Procter & Gamble (PG).....

......To keep the troops rallied, or, more accurately, to keep a new stream of suckers lined up, Spongetech went to the Internet stock promoters whose “investor relations” work churns out a steady stream of dubious e-mails and faxes promising trading riches to the inept, clueless, and the delusional.

They came up with some doozies.

There was the multiply SEC-sanctioned Larry Isen, a partner in the TGR Group LLC, which touted Spongetech stock in return for $30,000 in cash and 750,000 restricted shares. In an e-mail, Isen said he was only a minority partner in TGR with a small stake in the company and does not recall if he economically benefitted from Spongetech in any fashion.

He said he wrote about the company purely out of interest in its prospects. In addition to the five or so other promoters, there was the king of SEC-flouting touts, Jonathan Lebed, whose fee of 1,250,000 free-trading shares was footed by an investor named Doug Furth. Lebed did not respond to e-mailed questions.......

......Furth is no ordinary investor, however. The Solon, Ohio-based Furth is the owner, via his Signature Equity Fund, of 41 million shares or 5.1 percent of the company, as of last November.

An activist of sorts, Furth is a mainstay of the Yahoo Finance Spongetech investor message boards, where, as he admitted to me, he posts as “Alfie31555.” Furth insists that he disclosed his ownership stake on the Yahoo forum. A verbal bomb-thrower of the highest order, Alfie31555 brooks no criticism of Spongetech and has saved his bitterest vitriol for short-sellers and the reporters he sees as being used by them.

For example, Furst’s ire was aroused on Sept. 22, when the New York Post reported that a former lawyer of Spongetech had written a letter to the SEC claiming that his signature was forged on dozens of corporate documents he had not written nor had even seen. In a post on Sept. 23 at 10:48 p.m., Furth described Post reporter Kaja Whitehouse as “Nothing more than a paid whore for the shorts” and described her reporting as “giving life to their skunkworks as their puppet.”

Presumably Furth was no happier with Whitehouse’s subsequent article exposing the fact that five of Spongetech’s six largest customers are impossible to track down with addresses and phone numbers that appear to be fake. To top it off, Whitehouse discovered that a Web hosting service that specialized in concealing contact information created Web sites for three of the six customers on the same day three weeks ago.

Furth, who, ironically, is the general partner of a fund seeking to finance clean and wholesome family movie production, declined comment on why he hired Lebed......

.....the company booked $4.9 million in net income yet used $170,000 in cash, leaving it with a paltry $34,570 in the till.

The culprit for Spongetech’s weak cash position is the $14 million in accounts receivable balance as of the last quarterly report, but this misses the broader point: Even with so many sales being done overseas — the five customers who cannot be tracked down are all based abroad.....

.....If someone really is buying all of these sponges abroad—despite a marketing effort that is 100 percent focused on the American consumer—the company is stretching out their payment cycle way past the standard 30-day, or even 90-day, cycle...

.....I called and e-mailed the company and its public relations firms—Lippert Heilshorn, which resigned from the account late last week.....

.....So, since I live near Spongetech CEO Michael Metter, I stopped by his lovely Greenwich, Conn. house on Saturday afternoon for an impromptu chat. A gruff, bald fiftysomething man came to the door and insisted that Michael Metter was not home.

When I showed him a picture of Michael Metter I had printed from the Internet and pointed out that he looked almost identical, he became irritated. He refused to answer questions about the SEC investigation, the Post articles, or Michael Metter’s background as the head of a penny-stock boiler room insisting that “Metter is not going to do any interviews.”......

.....When I noted that he sure knew a lot about Michael Metter and his thinking, he walked away.

As I left, I knocked on his window and said, “Hey, Mike, can I leave my contact info?”...

PLEASE ALSO SEE:

Ex-attorney claims forgery

New York Post

By KAJA WHITEHOUSE

A former attorney for SpongeTech, a New York company known for making soap-filled sponges it sells through infomercials, says the company forged dozens of legal documents tied to its issuance of stock......

...The accusations of forgery and "identity theft" come from Norfolk, Conn. attorney Joel Pensley, who said in a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission that he was "dumbfounded" to learn that his name was being used in "as many as one hundred opinion letters for various shareholders."

Pensley told the SEC that he would not have written such letters. "I question the legality of the transactions," he wrote.

A copy of the letter obtained by The Post shows it was addressed to Robert Khuzami, head of the SEC's enforcement division......

....."I am shocked and aggrieved that my name and reputation could be sullied in this manner," Pensley said in the letter to Khuzami. Pensley said in the letter that he learned of the forgery from New Jersey stock services company Olde Monmouth Stock Transfer Co.

A letter from Olde Monmouth's attorney, Richard Fox, also addressed to Khuzami, said the forged documents relate to stock issued to RM Enterprises, SpongeTech's largest shareholder. RM Enterprises is controlled by the company's executives, including Moskowitz and CEO Michael Metter, according to SEC filings. Metter recently denied to The Post that he's a director or officer of the company.

Fox, when reached by The Post, said he couldn't comment before abruptly hanging up the phone.

MORE FORM THE NEW YORK POST:

SpongeTech client records spring leak

By KAJA WHITEHOUSE

Someone appears to be pulling the strings on the biggest clients of New York sponge maker and US Open sponsor SpongeTech.

In its third-quarter SEC filing, SpongeTech said that six customers "accounted for 99.4 percent of sales" -- nearly $31 million in revenue -- for the first nine months of its fiscal year.

The firms are SA Trading Company, US Asia Trading, Dubai Export Import Company, Fesco Sales Corp., New Century Media .......

......Their addresses cannot be verified, phone numbers were disabled within hours of calls from The Post, and the Web sites for three of the companies were created on the same day two weeks ago.

......The Post's request, SpongeTech provided addresses, phone numbers and contacts for its largest customers through its outside investor relations firm, Lippert Heilshorn & Associates.

But efforts by The Post to verify the information fell flat.

Take, for example, Dubai Export Import Co. According to the document SpongeTech provided, it is located at 235 Peachtree St. NE, Suite 400, in Atlanta.

"They don't have an office here," said Julie Gudger, vice president of sales for Crown Office Suites, which leases offices in that building, including Suite 400. Gudger also had never heard of Ahmed Elsayed, the contact SpongeTech provided.

Gudger dismissed the notion they might have a virtual office. "I would know," she said.

A call yesterday to the Dubai Export Import number that Spongetech provided led to a receptionist who took a message for Elsayed. Within a few hours, the number was "disabled." ......

......Calls to the phone numbers SpongeTech provided for the other four companies also led to receptionists who took messages. They were all disabled shortly afterwards.

Misty Ryals, a receptionist for Select Office Suites, which rents out offices on the 5th floor of 116 W. 23rd St. in Manhattan, where SpongeTech says Fesco is located, said she has no record of Fesco Corp.....

.......SpongeTech said SA Trading is located at 111 NE 1st St., 3rd floor, Miami. A woman who works for Downtown Miami Partnership, which manages the property, said, "We have no other business on the 3rd floor but Excellent Executive Offices."

Carlson Ortiz, who answered the phone at Excellent Executive Offices, said, "I've been here for two years and I've never heard of that name," when asked about SA Trading.

Web sites for Fesco, Dubai Export Import and SA Trading also shed little light. All three sites were created on Sept. 10, 2009, using Domains by Proxy, a service that blocks information about the site's owner.

PLEASE ALSO SEE THIS BLOG POST ABOUT

MICHAEL METTER OF GREENWICH:

For What It's Worth - Chris Fountain

.......this has all the earmarks of the penny stock pump and dump schemes I used to pursue. It’s possible the poor guy’s the victim of nefarious outsiders seeking to profit at his expense. It’s also possible that Frankie Fudrucker will conduct his next political campaign dressed in a full burka. I’m betting I’ll witness Frankie’s comely form draped and hidden from sight before SpongeTech clears its name......

Besides, Metter ruined a dinky radio station that, while irrelevant, did once have its uses, like announcing snow days for the schools.

Did you know that WGCH doesn’t have an Arbitron rating now because the audience surveyors could find no one who admitted listening to the station?

I’m not sure if any of you are spending money on ads on WGCH but you could do just as much good by sending me the cash – I’ll take better care of it, I promise.

Chris Fountain Had 2 Comments

Bob Greenberger said....

Nothing like reporting old news. I am sure he appreciates having his name out there in a negative fashion by a reporter who has taken absolutely no time to do any research on the subject or to contact him or the company.

Great job. It is at the same level as woodward and bernstein. I hope you are as anxious to publish old news if he is cleared.

Chris Fountain responds.....

“Old news”? I would say it’s developing news, unless the SEC investigation is over, which it is not. There’s a stock fraud going on here, whether perpetrated by insiders or outsiders is yet to be determined, but someone is being hosed. I look forward to following this story.

You Can Comment On This Story At

The Greenwich Topix Message Board:

Greenwich radio executive faces SEC inquiry, investor suits

GREENWICH -- Michael Metter, president and part-owner of Greenwich radio station WGCH, is facing a federal securities investigation and multiple lawsuits against another business concern, his penny-stock company SpongeTech.

Metter, who lives on Tinker Lane in the backcountry, co-founded SpongeTech Delivery Systems Inc. in 1999 ......

.....Metter, reached overseas on vacation Tuesday, told Hearst Connecticut Newspapers that his counsel is in talks with the SEC and suggested that the matter could yet be settled or dismissed. He insisted SpongeTech would continue to be publicly traded, and he said he planned to distribute the company's products nationwide through Walmart stores..

SpongeTech's investor relations phone line goes to a voice mail message, saying the company is not talking with shareholders at this time except through news releases .....

.....SpongeTech's sales line is still operating, telling callers they can find the company's products at CVS stores or online. Calls by Hearst Connecticut Newspapers indicated the products were not for sale Tuesday at CVS, but Metter said the drugstore chain reordered last month.

The problems with SpongeTech have not affected the radio station, where revenues are up, according to Metter and the station's manager.

Metter, along with a few silent partners, bought the news-talk format WGCH in 2003 from John Becker. He is not the majority owner but is the corporation's president.

Full story: Connecticut Post

Leave A Comment At The Greenwich Topix Message Board

AND NOW FOR YOUR

ENTERTAINMENT PLEASURE.....

HERE IS MICHAEL METTER"S

HOT SPONGTECH YOUTUBE VIDEO

HERE IS THE PG VERSION:



HERE IS A SPONGE TECH SEGMENT ON CNBC:



HERE IS AN INTERVIEW WITH MICHEAL METTER AND STEVEN MOSKOWITZ:




==================================
Please send your comments, news tips and press releases to GreenwichRoundup@gmail.com

02/03/10 GREENWICH DEADBEAT REPORT: The Wanna Be Voice Of Greenwich, WGCH Owner Michael Metter, Can't Pay His Advertising Bills (Updated With Video)

Greenwich, Connecticut radio station owner Michael Metter being investigated by SEC


By Claudette Rothman


Posted in Back Country, Connecticut, Greenwich, courts, crime


The president and co-owner of the only radio station in Greenwich, Connecticut, is facing federal securities investigations and multiple lawsuits.

According to reports, last October the Securities and Exchange Commission temporarily suspended trading in Sponge Tech Delivery Systems Inc. a company co-owned by Greenwich resident Michael Metter, who is also co-owner of WGCH radio station.


The Wall Street watchdog commission halted the trading after questions were raised about the accuracy and adequacy of the company’s financial disclosures.


Two months after those concerns were raised; the SEC issued a notice to the company that makes a car wash sponge made of soap, that they intend “to recommend that the commission bring civil injunctive actions alleging violations of federal securities laws.

In addition to their SEC problems, the company is also facing lawsuits from investors and Madison Square Garden for non-payment of advertising bills.

PLEASE SEE:

BUSINESS TALK RADIO.NET OWNER

USES THE CAPITAL MARKETS AS AN ATM

SELLING STOCK AND RASING CASH AS THE

NEXT SPONCERSHIP DEAL IS STRUCK

Spongetech Is All Wet

The SEC wants to examine the books of a major sports advertiser

—and here’s why.

By Roddy Boyd

Over the past year, tens of millions of American sports fans have asked themselves the same questions at some point: “What is that Spongetech sign doing in the outfield?” followed closely by “What the hell is Spongetech?”

Let’s handle the second question first. Spongetech (SPNGE) is a Manhattan-based company whose product seeks to answer a question no one has ever really cared to ask before, something along the lines of: “How do I cut out the bucket part of the equation when I wash my car or dog by hand?” Voila! Behold the soap-infused sponge, which at $9.95 is both biodegradable and can be used several times......

.......But to a certain sort of capital markets observer, Spongetech is something else, not seen in a long while: a full-bore pump-and-dump scheme that will, when all is said and done, likely have harvested the wallets of thousands of penny-stock speculators and earnest individual investors who thought they had found the proverbial "next thing."

It may not be the worst of such schemes. Unlike most pump-and-dumps, in which a few in-the-know sharpies drive a stock’s price to the moon and then sell it down to the basement, Spongetech has an actual product. Whatever is left of this company in the end, there will be something that someone—presumably the legion of bucket-haters among the do-it-yourself set—can dust off and sell in the market......

Still, the Securities and Exchange Commission didn’t initiate a formal investigation of the company and its management last week for nothing.

The company’s filings lead the skeptical reader to some pretty clear conclusions. The first is that Spongetech exists primarily to sell stock, and pretty much everything else comes second. At one point in early spring the company had more than 1.2 billion shares outstanding. Late Friday, as the pump collapsed, it had increased the authorized share count to 3 billion. By way of comparison, in the spring, the company—with reported sales of about $5 million a year—had roughly the same amount of shares outstanding as eBay (EBAY); with 3 billion shares issued, they would have a slightly larger float than Procter & Gamble (PG).....

......To keep the troops rallied, or, more accurately, to keep a new stream of suckers lined up, Spongetech went to the Internet stock promoters whose “investor relations” work churns out a steady stream of dubious e-mails and faxes promising trading riches to the inept, clueless, and the delusional.

They came up with some doozies.

There was the multiply SEC-sanctioned Larry Isen, a partner in the TGR Group LLC, which touted Spongetech stock in return for $30,000 in cash and 750,000 restricted shares. In an e-mail, Isen said he was only a minority partner in TGR with a small stake in the company and does not recall if he economically benefitted from Spongetech in any fashion.

He said he wrote about the company purely out of interest in its prospects. In addition to the five or so other promoters, there was the king of SEC-flouting touts, Jonathan Lebed, whose fee of 1,250,000 free-trading shares was footed by an investor named Doug Furth. Lebed did not respond to e-mailed questions.......

......Furth is no ordinary investor, however. The Solon, Ohio-based Furth is the owner, via his Signature Equity Fund, of 41 million shares or 5.1 percent of the company, as of last November.

An activist of sorts, Furth is a mainstay of the Yahoo Finance Spongetech investor message boards, where, as he admitted to me, he posts as “Alfie31555.” Furth insists that he disclosed his ownership stake on the Yahoo forum. A verbal bomb-thrower of the highest order, Alfie31555 brooks no criticism of Spongetech and has saved his bitterest vitriol for short-sellers and the reporters he sees as being used by them.

For example, Furst’s ire was aroused on Sept. 22, when the New York Post reported that a former lawyer of Spongetech had written a letter to the SEC claiming that his signature was forged on dozens of corporate documents he had not written nor had even seen. In a post on Sept. 23 at 10:48 p.m., Furth described Post reporter Kaja Whitehouse as “Nothing more than a paid whore for the shorts” and described her reporting as “giving life to their skunkworks as their puppet.”

Presumably Furth was no happier with Whitehouse’s subsequent article exposing the fact that five of Spongetech’s six largest customers are impossible to track down with addresses and phone numbers that appear to be fake. To top it off, Whitehouse discovered that a Web hosting service that specialized in concealing contact information created Web sites for three of the six customers on the same day three weeks ago.

Furth, who, ironically, is the general partner of a fund seeking to finance clean and wholesome family movie production, declined comment on why he hired Lebed......

.....the company booked $4.9 million in net income yet used $170,000 in cash, leaving it with a paltry $34,570 in the till.

The culprit for Spongetech’s weak cash position is the $14 million in accounts receivable balance as of the last quarterly report, but this misses the broader point: Even with so many sales being done overseas — the five customers who cannot be tracked down are all based abroad.....

.....If someone really is buying all of these sponges abroad—despite a marketing effort that is 100 percent focused on the American consumer—the company is stretching out their payment cycle way past the standard 30-day, or even 90-day, cycle...

.....I called and e-mailed the company and its public relations firms—Lippert Heilshorn, which resigned from the account late last week.....

.....So, since I live near Spongetech CEO Michael Metter, I stopped by his lovely Greenwich, Conn. house on Saturday afternoon for an impromptu chat. A gruff, bald fiftysomething man came to the door and insisted that Michael Metter was not home.

When I showed him a picture of Michael Metter I had printed from the Internet and pointed out that he looked almost identical, he became irritated. He refused to answer questions about the SEC investigation, the Post articles, or Michael Metter’s background as the head of a penny-stock boiler room insisting that “Metter is not going to do any interviews.”......

.....When I noted that he sure knew a lot about Michael Metter and his thinking, he walked away.

As I left, I knocked on his window and said, “Hey, Mike, can I leave my contact info?”...

PLEASE ALSO SEE:

Ex-attorney claims forgery

New York Post

By KAJA WHITEHOUSE

A former attorney for SpongeTech, a New York company known for making soap-filled sponges it sells through infomercials, says the company forged dozens of legal documents tied to its issuance of stock......

...The accusations of forgery and "identity theft" come from Norfolk, Conn. attorney Joel Pensley, who said in a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission that he was "dumbfounded" to learn that his name was being used in "as many as one hundred opinion letters for various shareholders."

Pensley told the SEC that he would not have written such letters. "I question the legality of the transactions," he wrote.

A copy of the letter obtained by The Post shows it was addressed to Robert Khuzami, head of the SEC's enforcement division......

....."I am shocked and aggrieved that my name and reputation could be sullied in this manner," Pensley said in the letter to Khuzami. Pensley said in the letter that he learned of the forgery from New Jersey stock services company Olde Monmouth Stock Transfer Co.

A letter from Olde Monmouth's attorney, Richard Fox, also addressed to Khuzami, said the forged documents relate to stock issued to RM Enterprises, SpongeTech's largest shareholder. RM Enterprises is controlled by the company's executives, including Moskowitz and CEO Michael Metter, according to SEC filings. Metter recently denied to The Post that he's a director or officer of the company.

Fox, when reached by The Post, said he couldn't comment before abruptly hanging up the phone.

MORE FORM THE NEW YORK POST:

SpongeTech client records spring leak

By KAJA WHITEHOUSE

Someone appears to be pulling the strings on the biggest clients of New York sponge maker and US Open sponsor SpongeTech.

In its third-quarter SEC filing, SpongeTech said that six customers "accounted for 99.4 percent of sales" -- nearly $31 million in revenue -- for the first nine months of its fiscal year.

The firms are SA Trading Company, US Asia Trading, Dubai Export Import Company, Fesco Sales Corp., New Century Media .......

......Their addresses cannot be verified, phone numbers were disabled within hours of calls from The Post, and the Web sites for three of the companies were created on the same day two weeks ago.

......The Post's request, SpongeTech provided addresses, phone numbers and contacts for its largest customers through its outside investor relations firm, Lippert Heilshorn & Associates.

But efforts by The Post to verify the information fell flat.

Take, for example, Dubai Export Import Co. According to the document SpongeTech provided, it is located at 235 Peachtree St. NE, Suite 400, in Atlanta.

"They don't have an office here," said Julie Gudger, vice president of sales for Crown Office Suites, which leases offices in that building, including Suite 400. Gudger also had never heard of Ahmed Elsayed, the contact SpongeTech provided.

Gudger dismissed the notion they might have a virtual office. "I would know," she said.

A call yesterday to the Dubai Export Import number that Spongetech provided led to a receptionist who took a message for Elsayed. Within a few hours, the number was "disabled." ......

......Calls to the phone numbers SpongeTech provided for the other four companies also led to receptionists who took messages. They were all disabled shortly afterwards.

Misty Ryals, a receptionist for Select Office Suites, which rents out offices on the 5th floor of 116 W. 23rd St. in Manhattan, where SpongeTech says Fesco is located, said she has no record of Fesco Corp.....

.......SpongeTech said SA Trading is located at 111 NE 1st St., 3rd floor, Miami. A woman who works for Downtown Miami Partnership, which manages the property, said, "We have no other business on the 3rd floor but Excellent Executive Offices."

Carlson Ortiz, who answered the phone at Excellent Executive Offices, said, "I've been here for two years and I've never heard of that name," when asked about SA Trading.

Web sites for Fesco, Dubai Export Import and SA Trading also shed little light. All three sites were created on Sept. 10, 2009, using Domains by Proxy, a service that blocks information about the site's owner.

PLEASE ALSO SEE THIS BLOG POST ABOUT

MICHAEL METTER OF GREENWICH:

For What It's Worth - Chris Fountain

.......this has all the earmarks of the penny stock pump and dump schemes I used to pursue. It’s possible the poor guy’s the victim of nefarious outsiders seeking to profit at his expense. It’s also possible that Frankie Fudrucker will conduct his next political campaign dressed in a full burka. I’m betting I’ll witness Frankie’s comely form draped and hidden from sight before SpongeTech clears its name......

Besides, Metter ruined a dinky radio station that, while irrelevant, did once have its uses, like announcing snow days for the schools.

Did you know that WGCH doesn’t have an Arbitron rating now because the audience surveyors could find no one who admitted listening to the station?

I’m not sure if any of you are spending money on ads on WGCH but you could do just as much good by sending me the cash – I’ll take better care of it, I promise.

Chris Fountain Had 2 Comments

Bob Greenberger said....

Nothing like reporting old news. I am sure he appreciates having his name out there in a negative fashion by a reporter who has taken absolutely no time to do any research on the subject or to contact him or the company.

Great job. It is at the same level as woodward and bernstein. I hope you are as anxious to publish old news if he is cleared.

Chris Fountain responds.....

“Old news”? I would say it’s developing news, unless the SEC investigation is over, which it is not. There’s a stock fraud going on here, whether perpetrated by insiders or outsiders is yet to be determined, but someone is being hosed. I look forward to following this story.

You Can Comment On This Story At

The Greenwich Topix Message Board:

Greenwich radio executive faces SEC inquiry, investor suits

GREENWICH -- Michael Metter, president and part-owner of Greenwich radio station WGCH, is facing a federal securities investigation and multiple lawsuits against another business concern, his penny-stock company SpongeTech.

Metter, who lives on Tinker Lane in the backcountry, co-founded SpongeTech Delivery Systems Inc. in 1999 ......

.....Metter, reached overseas on vacation Tuesday, told Hearst Connecticut Newspapers that his counsel is in talks with the SEC and suggested that the matter could yet be settled or dismissed. He insisted SpongeTech would continue to be publicly traded, and he said he planned to distribute the company's products nationwide through Walmart stores..

SpongeTech's investor relations phone line goes to a voice mail message, saying the company is not talking with shareholders at this time except through news releases .....

.....SpongeTech's sales line is still operating, telling callers they can find the company's products at CVS stores or online. Calls by Hearst Connecticut Newspapers indicated the products were not for sale Tuesday at CVS, but Metter said the drugstore chain reordered last month.

The problems with SpongeTech have not affected the radio station, where revenues are up, according to Metter and the station's manager.

Metter, along with a few silent partners, bought the news-talk format WGCH in 2003 from John Becker. He is not the majority owner but is the corporation's president.

Full story: Connecticut Post

Leave A Comment At The Greenwich Topix Message Board

AND NOW FOR YOUR

ENTERTAINMENT PLEASURE.....

HERE IS MICHAEL METTER"S

HOT SPONGTECH YOUTUBE VIDEO

HERE IS THE PG VERSION:



HERE IS A SPONGE TECH SEGMENT ON CNBC:



HERE IS AN INTERVIEW WITH MICHEAL METTER AND STEVEN MOSKOWITZ:




==================================
Please send your comments, news tips and press releases to GreenwichRoundup@gmail.com

01/23/10 You Wont Read This At The Greenwich Time: Now There Is Mold At Western Middle School

The Greenwich Time is not interested in the Western Middle School Mold Letter that was sent home with the school kids on Friday.

Greenwich Roundup finds it amazing that the Greenwich Board Of Education and the School superintendent is STILL using Charles Schwartz, who the Hamilton Avenue School parents proved was no longer licensed, nor is his company Environmental Assessments & Solutions, Inc. registered with any reputable Environmental Agency or Group.

Same old Same old on the part of the Greenwich Board of Education.

Why aren't they using Bob Brown and his company?

At least he is licensed and certified.

Why aren't the single family home owners surprised?

The taxpayers really shouldn't be surprised that the Greenwich Board Of Education is going to once again give a sweetheart deal to their buddy Charles Schwartz.

The taxpayers of Greenwich had better get ready to pay millions for school administration and BOE screw ups, due to favoritism.

==================================
Please send your comments, news tips and press releases to OldGreenwichRoundup@gmail.com

01/15/10 Greenwich High School Fundraiser For Haiti

FYI, another relief effort underway in the public schools:

Greenwich High School has been producing an annual concert of student
composed music called Composer's Showcase for over 20 years.
This year, proceeds from Composer's Showcase ticket sales
will be donated to the American Red Cross, AmeriCares and other
organizations to help the relief efforts in Haiti. Tickets will be $10 and
will go on sale Monday, Feb 1st in Student Activities or can be purchased
at the door.

Come to Composer's Showcase and support GHS student composers and help the
Haitian people.

Composer's Showcase is an opportunity for student composers to perform
their original music and to have it adjudicated by
professional composers. Compositions are in one of four categories:
Singer/Songwriter
Instrumental Music
Electronic Music
Bands

Greenwich High School's Composer's Showcase will be
Wednesday, February 10 at 7PM in the GHS Auditorium.
Snow date is Thursday Feb 11.

Barbara Freedman
Electronic Music & Audio Engineering
Nu Musik Club Faculty Advisor
Greenwich High School
10 Hillside Road
Greenwich, CT 06830
(203) 625-8064

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01/15/10 Press Release From Ned Lamnt 2010

	Help make this "possibility" a reality. Sign up now to get involved with Lamont 2010! Dear Greenwich Roundup -- "The early favorite" to win a potential primary. "A very real possibility" to become the next Governor of Connecticut. That's how some in the national press have described our efforts in just the last few days. They're calling us the "early favorite" because they see that Connecticut wants new leadership that won't be tied to entrenched interests and that will be able to shake up state government and get us back on track. Town support and small contributions have already made a huge difference. But we are going to need you on the team in a committed way if we're going to make this "possibility" a reality -- whether that means taking a leadership role in your town, hosting an event, or signing up to volunteer. Please take one minute right now to sign up to get involved with Lamont 2010. Back in November, I announced I was exploring this race because I believed Connecticut needed an outsider with the willingness and ability to bring entrepreneurial leadership to state government, not another politician focused more on the past than on the incredible challenges our state will face over the next four years. While the last few weeks have seen some potential candidates enter and others leave the stage, my conviction that Connecticut needs a fresh start with this type of leadership has not changed -- it has only grown stronger. But I know that in order to succeed, I'll need you by my side. That's why I'm asking you to show your support by signing up to get involved today. Please sign up here to get involved with Lamont 2010. All my best, P.S. -- We have all been shocked and heartbroken by the effects of the earthquake in Haiti. My thoughts continue to be with the people of Haiti and with so many in Connecticut who have loved ones affected by this tragedy. Right now, the best way to help is to give to one of many organizations who are involved in relief efforts on the ground. Please give if you can: Partners In Health: http://www.nedlamont.com/page/m/21b3a4e4/6faefe14/785d25e1/5032019d/4111919873/VEsO/ Red Cross: http://www.nedlamont.com/page/m/21b3a4e4/6faefe14/785d25e1/5032019e/4111919873/VEsP/ Or donate $10 to the Red Cross (charged to your cell phone bill) by texting "HAITI" to "90999."

Lamont 2010 Exploratory Committee, Marc Bradley, Treasurer

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12/12/09 Greenwich Resident Linda McMahon Is Gaining Momentum

Dear Brian, Linda's upstart campaign to end business as usual in Washington and put people back to work is gaining momentum, and it is being fueled equally by growing support among Connecticut voters and impressive reviews by state and national political analysts. Ten days after announcing 22 first-round endorsements, Linda today released a second round. We are thrilled to announce the support of four Greenwich Republican leaders: Peter Tesei, Greenwich First Selectman Tod Laudonia, Greenwich Tax Collector Dave Theis, Greenwich Board of Selectmen Peter Crumbine, Former Greenwich Selectman As GOP leaders and activists across Connecticut continue to gravitate toward Linda, her growing momentum is reflected in public polling. The latest Rasmussen Reports Poll shows Linda has increased her lead over Chris Dodd, and now leads him 44% to 38%. Linda's momentum is being noticed by national media. FOX News' Sean Hannity this week remarked on his show: "She's outpolling Dodd." Pollster Frank Luntz responded, "She's going to do a smackdown" on Dodd. Respected publications in Washington D.C., this week made clear her campaign is the one to watch. "She's got the right stuff," reports National Journal adding that "the first-time candidate is getting good reviews." The Hill reports that Linda "is quickly becoming the frontrunner in Connecticut's GOP Senate primary." And despite Rob Simmons's non-stop, shameless, negative attacks on Linda, respected Washington Post analyst Chris Cillizza believes Linda will be "hard to caricature." Meantime, there are signs that Rob Simmons' vote-getting effort to redefine himself as a conservative may be floundering. Columnist Amanda Carpenter this week let the cat out of the bag regarding one of the worst-kept secrets among conservatives both in Connecticut and nationally: Simmons isn't who he claims to be. In a blurb titled, "Tea Party poser?" Carpenter writes in The Washington Times: "...past positions may come back to haunt Rob Simmons in the Republican primary against Linda McMahon. Mr. Simmons has modeled himself as a movement conservative, even brandishing tea bags and a copy of his pocket Constitution during stump speeches, but his voting record as a member of Congress will give the 'tea party' crowd pause." Carpenter goes on: "As a member of Congress, Mr. Simmons was a co-sponsor of the House's 'cap and trade' bill and the Employee Free Choice Act, called 'card check' by its opponents. These two pieces of legislation are vehemently opposed by the free-marketers who drive the tea party movement." Today, as national news outlets report Congress is set to increase the federal debt limit by an astonishing $1.8 trillion, many fiscal conservatives are no doubt troubled to learn that Rob Simmons twice voted to raise the federal debt ceiling -- once by $450 billion and once by $800 billion. Linda's consistent and principled opposition to job-killing initiatives like Card Check and federal debt increases is bringing into focus the clear contrast between her and her opponents. Thank you for your support of Linda. With your help, we can and will change the direction of Washington and put Connecticut back to work. Ed Patru Communications Director Linda For Senate 2010 Website Donate Volunteer Linda McMahon for Senate 2010 PO Box 271386 West Hartford, CT 06127 Telephone: 860-244-2010

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10/15/09 The Old Greenwich Briefing

• Topside Detailing busy in Greenwich
  posted on October 15, 2009 11:21:21 pm
  ... left, and Jonathan Piazza-Harper, behind him, own Topside Detailing. They power-wash a boat Sunday near the Old Greenwich Yacht Club. The pair has a contract with four Greenwich marinas to clean boats using an on-site service that helps the marinas ...
• Stamford Youth Soccer Roundup
  posted on October 14, 2009 05:25:24 am
  ... may tip sometimes on referees decisions. The third and final game of the round robin was against a strong Old Greenwich team and ended up by a loss 3-8. Old Greenwich started the match at full speed and was able to score two goals in the first 5 ...
• STATISTICS
  posted on October 11, 2009 09:30:54 am
  ... on goal for Chulick to save and a fourth that was blocked all in the first 25 minutes. Junior Austin Bowers (Old Greenwich, Conn.) had two early attempts saved as Dartmouth pressured Yale. Despite the Dartmouth surge, it was Yale who struck first in ...
• A weekend in swanky Greenwich, Conn.
  posted on October 09, 2009 08:34:49 am
  ... to residents, but Nov. 1 through the end of April, admission is free and open to all (end of Shore Road, Old Greenwich, 203-622-7700). Greenwich Audubon With 2,400 members, almost 300 acres of land and daily programs, this is Audubon's flagship ...
• 1002 real estate
  posted on October 09, 2009 04:02:37 pm
  ... agent for the month. Albert Bajaio and Nancy Epstein were both was recognized for customer service. In Raveis' Old Greenwich office, Dorothy Darlington earned both the top producer and top selling associate awards. Lou Galasso was named top listing ...
• New chief began firefighting as a teen
  posted on October 09, 2009 02:47:26 pm
  ... audience applauded. Cunningham previously was district chief at the Sound Beach Volunteer Fire Department in Old Greenwich, Conn. He replaces Bruce West, who took a job with the state of Minnesota Homeland Security and Emergency Management. On hand ...
• A weekend in swanky Greenwich, Conn.
  posted on October 09, 2009 09:22:48 am
  ... to residents, but Nov. 1 through the end of April, admission is free and open to all (end of Shore Road, Old Greenwich, 203-622-7700). Greenwich Audubon With 2,400 members, almost 300 acres of land and daily programs, this is Audubon's flagship ...
• T. John Cunningham sworn in as new Elk River fire chief
  posted on October 08, 2009 06:09:10 am
  ... the City Council meeting. Cunningham previously was chief of the Sound Beach Volunteer Fire Department in Old Greenwich, Conn. He started his new job in Elk River on Sept. 28. The Elk River fire chief job opened up when former Fire Chief Bruce West ...
• DartmouthSports.com-Official Web Site of Dartmouth Varsity Athletics
  posted on October 06, 2009 10:38:28 pm
  ... Dartmouth picked up its second goal of the game and it was a memorable one by Henderson. Junior Austin Bowers (Old Greenwich, Conn.) fed the ball to Keat, who sent a perfect cross into the box where Henderson leapt, nearly horizontal for a beautiful ...
• ESPN fantasy grid league has Norwalk flavor
  posted on October 02, 2009 03:10:01 pm
  ... ed a couple of Baskin-Robbins franchises in Stamford, while his uncle owned a store in Westport and another in Old Greenwich for a number . . . Full Story
• STATISTICS
  posted on October 02, 2009 06:57:54 am
  ... Dartmouth picked up its second goal of the game and it was a memorable one by Henderson. Junior Austin Bowers (Old Greenwich, Conn.) fed the ball to Keat, who sent a perfect cross into the box where Henderson leapt, nearly horizontal for a beautiful ...
• DC Soccer Downs Vermont
  posted on October 01, 2009 10:44:39 am
  ... Dartmouth picked up its second goal of the game and it was a memorable one by Henderson. Junior Austin Bowers (Old Greenwich, Conn.) fed the ball to Keat, who sent a perfect cross into the box where Henderson leapt, nearly horizontal for a beautiful ...
• Westchester people in the news
  posted on September 27, 2009 03:00:00 pm
  ... the senior pastor of Strait Gate Church of Westchester. He will be honored Wednesday at the Hyatt Regency in Old Greenwich, Conn. Bishop T.D. Jakes, the guest speaker, is the senior pastor of the Potter's House church in Dallas. He gave the ...
• Former Shell exec energizes forum
  posted on September 23, 2009 09:34:09 am
  ... and gas executives at the annual IHS Herold Pacesetters Energy Conference at the Hyatt Regency Greenwich in Old Greenwich. "Our national security is at stake, and our economy is at stake. I submit to you that social justice is at stake," said ...
• Potsdam police make arrests for alcohol-related incidents, yelling, traffic infractions
  posted on September 22, 2009 02:55:39 am
  ... alcohol-related incidents, yelling and traffic infractions. Those charged included: -- Brooke A. Maloney, 20, Old Greenwich, Conn., speeding, for driving 51 miles per hour in a 30 mph zone on Maple Street at 8:53 p.m. Friday. -- Zachary M. Dioron, ...
• In town
  posted on September 19, 2009 07:26:23 am
  ... are striving for the highest LEED (leadership in energy efficient design) certification, to a "80's modern" in Old Greenwich, to a house nearby being built to take advantage of old techniques like a southern exposure and air flow but using new ...
• Debate erupts over debates between Tesei and Lavery in first selectman's race
  posted on September 18, 2009 07:13:51 pm
  ... however, a number of neighborhood groups that typically hold debates decided not to this year, including the Old Greenwich Association. "I think we can't hide from the proud tradition of having debates," Lavery said. "Our communities are very ...
• #5 Dartmouth Wins Comeback Battle at San Diego
  posted on September 20, 2009 07:31:14 am
  ... five of its corner kicks in the period. The Big Green made good in the 64th minute when junior Austin Bowers (Old Greenwich, Conn.) scored his first collegiate goal off a feed from sophomore Lucky Mkosana (Bulawayo, Zimbabwe) to tie the game. ...
• Greenwich RTM leaders confident they can fill all 230 seats
  posted on September 17, 2009 09:55:15 pm
  ... encouraged to recruit new members and even sign their petitions, said Byrne, who is a member of District 6/Old Greenwich, which has 22 candidates running for 20 seats. "That means people who were incumbents were willing to help their competition, so ...
• STATISTICS
  posted on September 19, 2009 02:42:37 pm
  ... five of its corner kicks in the period. The Big Green made good in the 64th minute when junior Austin Bowers (Old Greenwich, Conn.) scored his first collegiate goal off a feed from sophomore Lucky Mkosana (Bulawayo, Zimbabwe) to tie the game. ...

The Old Greenwich Briefing

Comprehensive News Feed for Old Greenwich, CT.

• And the bands played on and on..
  posted on August 23, 2009 08:34:02 pm
  ... 30, the Sound Members of the Sound Beach Community Band warm up for this year s annual Memorial Day Parade in Old Greenwich before their band director, Barbara Freedman. The fire hats are donned only for the Memorial Day Parade. (Julie Ruth/ for the ...
• Greenwich kids enjoy Shakes-scenes theater camp
  posted on August 23, 2009 08:30:40 pm
  Lizzie Devlin, 11, of Old Greenwich and Perry Minella, 18, of The Masters School are Titania and Oberon in A Midsummer Night s Dream.
• Elk River chooses new fire chief
  posted on August 22, 2009 10:05:42 am
  The Elk River City Council voted 5-0 Monday, Aug. 17 to hire Cunningham, who currently is fire chief of the Sound Beach Fire Rescue Department in Old Greenwich, Conn.
• A bit of Palmer family's long history for sale
  posted on August 21, 2009 06:09:30 am
  Palmer Island, off Old Greenwich's coastline, was first recorded in a deed dated 1684.
• Choreographer Mitzi Adams readies 'An Evening of Sharing'
  posted on August 21, 2009 06:04:32 am
  ... the new associate pastor at the church. Adams, who also runs a holistic health practice, Jin Shin Jyutsu, in Old Greenwich with her husband, calls her work contemporary. She said she tends to explore the "comical, nonsensical ramblings of life. "It ...

08/20/09 The Old Greenwich Briefing

Comprehensive News Feed for Old Greenwich, CT.

• Elk River hires new fire chief
  posted on August 19, 2009 12:31:33 pm
  ... Monday, Aug. 17 to hire Cunningham, who currently is fire chief of the Sound Beach Fire Rescue Department in Old Greenwich, Conn. City Administrator Lori Johnson has notified Cunningham, and he has accepted the job. Mayor Stephanie Klinzing said ...
• Industry Leader Scott Schwartz Added to the Cambridge Who's Who Network
  posted on August 18, 2009 03:00:00 pm
  OLD GREENWICH, CT, August 18, 2009 /Cambridge Who's Who/ -- Scott Schwartz, President of SDS Consulting Group, has been recognized by Cambridge Who's Who for demonstrating dedication, leadership and excellence in business management.

08/14/09 The Old Greenwich Briefing

Comprehensive News Feed for Old Greenwich, CT.

• Redding man shares fascination with carnivorous plants
  posted on August 14, 2009 10:57:52 pm
  ... series film "Death-Trap" at the Ridgefield Recreation Center on Saturday. Aidan and his parents came from Old Greenwich to see the presentation on carnivorous plants given by Redding resident Matt Robey. "I have pitcher plants at home," Aidan said. ...
• Greenwich Library Oral History Project captures people's stories
  posted on August 14, 2009 01:37:52 pm
  ... in Willomere, to the controversy surrounding Greenwich as a site for the United Nations, and village life in Old Greenwich. The most recent book is Soldier, Policeman, Teacher, Overcoming Discrimination, published in May. It's the story of Eugene J. ...

08/04/09 The Old Greenwich Briefing By Robo Blogger

• Pencil It In
  posted on August 04, 2009 03:12:00 am
  Tuesday, Aug. 4Just Books welcomes Connecticut author Jane Green as she introduces her newest novel 'Dune Road' at an author event book signing on 7:30 p.m. at Just Books, 28 Arcadia Road, Old Greenwich.
• Why Should GM Give Marketing Any Respect?
  posted on July 30, 2009 04:41:00 am
  ... y. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jack Trout is president of Trout & Partners, an international marketing consulting firm in Old Greenwich, Conn.

08/02/09 The Old Greenwich Briefing By Robo Blogger (Updated)

Comprehensive News Feed for Old Greenwich, CT.

• Joe Felder
  posted on August 01, 2009 07:19:46 am
  ... Pelham Manor, N.Y. Then the luckiest thing in the world happened to me. I got a job working at Innis Arden in Old Greenwich under William Mitchell. I worked there for eight years in a number of capacities before the job here opened up. The thing is, ...
• Par excellence
  posted on August 01, 2009 07:19:37 am
  ... the Griff makes its mark, however, is on the back-9. "It's my favorite part of the course," Terry Martin of Old Greenwich says. "There are no buildings, no noise, no condos. It's just spectacular with its hills and the 10th to 13th holes are ...
• Why Should GM Give Marketing Any Respect?
  posted on July 30, 2009 04:41:00 am
  ... rs of this company. Jack Trout is president of Trout & Partners, an international marketing consulting firm in Old Greenwich, Conn.
• Elk River fire chief search narrows to two finalists
  posted on July 29, 2009 06:49:24 am
  The search for Elk River's next fire chief has been narrowed to two candidates. They are: *T. John Cunningham, currently fire chief of Sound Beach Fire Rescue Department in Old Greenwich, Conn.
• Meetings
  posted on July 28, 2009 04:54:15 pm
  Old Greenwich, Conn: Westchester/Fairfield Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.