Thome firing Security

[Sharon B. Sidney]

Michael said he was afraid of Thome, there is recording of that. His security and hotel security could likely provide more detail of what Thome's actions towards Michael were.

I personally would like to know what he was doing and why. I have heard beyond Michael's recording that he was no good, that he'd leached into Michael's life and was controlling everything around him.

 

[classic]

Michael said he was afraid of Thome, there is recording of that. His security and hotel security could likely provide more detail of what Thome's actions towards Michael were.

I personally would like to know what he was doing and why. I have heard beyond Michael's recording that he was no good, that he'd leached into Michael's life and was controlling everything around him.

But, Michael also apparently got over that fear enough to fire Thome at some point. While a person may "fear" someone to the extent of not liking the person's actions, it doesn't mean that they fear taking charge when needed. Michael said "no" when it came to the auction. He did not do this when it came to the concerts.

And Michael had many people who leached into his life and tried to control things. But that doesn't mean they should be a part of this criminal case. I wonder what the prosecution's reaction to this is. Did they try to fight Thome being allowed in or are they just going to deal with him if he must testify since they know the route that the defense wants to go in?

A danger here will be the bird-walking that the defense may want to do. It doesn't matter about finances, desire to do 50 concerts, stress from the rehearsals/preparation, AEG hiring or not hiring Murray; none of that should even be a matter for consideration because it simply takes the focus off of what this case is really about: Murray and his actions. It doesn't matter what Michael did or said. All that matters at this point is what Murray did or said. Hopefully, the prosecution will fight tooth and nail or this focus.

If there is proof of others' involvement, then that evidence needs to be brought up for a different trial with different charges. If there is proof that Michael was swindled in any business dealings, then again that needs to be brought up for a different trial. Please don't hope for bird-walking in this case. Each jury is different and you can't always depend upon all jury members to be able to keep the true focus. Until this trial is over, not one thing that Murray or his attorneys do should ever be underestimated or blown off. That's how cases are lost in courtrooms every day.

 

[ivy]

And then there was the video that some of us saw, for REAL, where Michael clearly was upset. VERY upset.

I haven't seen the video but had the chance to hear from some fans that were there. Some say that Michael wasn't necessarily opposed to 50 shows but he was opposed to doing 50 shows in one place - London. (they told that Michael mentioned talking concerts to other places).

the original 18 minimum to 31 maximum concerts (with chance to add more) is signed by Michael. So I really cannot understand why Michael would think he signed up for 10 shows - unless the claim is he wasn't aware of what he's signing.

Thinking that initially 10 shows for London announced, I don't know but to me it seems logical that Michael thought he would do 10 shows in London and take it elsewhere and not do 50 shows in London.

Not to get too far off the topic . . . but if Thome actually had power of attorney or some other authorization to negotiate on behalf of Michael, then some of this is really a moot point. In the end, it would have been business to go for the most that one could get and at that time that may have been 50 shows. If he indeed had the power to actually speak for Michael, then Michael would have been the one to give that power.

the original contract for 18 min - 31 max has Michael's signature. So even if Tohme signed anything I think it will be the additional 19 concerts.

But I also think the 10 - 18 - 31 - 50 concerts number is moot in regards to Michael's death unless we can somehow claim that the stress level / propofol need would increase as the number of concerts would increase.

To me preparation process is the stressful process. You don't work 5 times harder for 50 versus 10 concerts. Even 1 concert brings the same stress and requires the same work.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying he wasn't nervous stressed or pressured. He could be. I'm saying he will still be stressed if it was 10 shows or even 1 show.

When Thome overstepped with the auction, Michael took charge and started correcting the situation (even if it meant litigation) and got rid of Thome eventually.
None of this originally happened with the concert series. So even if Michael didn't personally agree to the number 50 or even know about it until afterwards, he maintained the project and for awhile his relationship with Thome, whether it was good or bad at the time. AEG seemed to just want to work with Michael because we have yet to hear about any protest from AEG concerning Thome's dismissal.

Good point. Didn't Frank Dileo rearranged /renegotiated the concert dates to give Michael breaks? Branca was hired. If Michael wanted to get out or change anything I think Branca would be able to negotiate something.

Now the question may really be more about what was Thome doing at the hospital when Michael died. Who asked him there? Was he and Michael talking again or was he there because of Jermaine or something else?

probably jermaine

Using this criminal case to get info. about what happened with the concert negotiations can be heading down a path that some may not want to go in the end.

see that's what scares me too. To me Tohme is shady and I would like to know what happened with AEG negotiations but I don't want to know that at the expense of Murray going free.

I think we can all agree that Michael had problems with AEG and TII concerts. I can live with vagueness if that means Murray would go to jail.

And it is very strange that one attorney would say he was not working for Michael at the time of Michael's death and another would say the opposite. That should be easy to prove. What is weird is that there is even the confusion. So who is fueling that one and why? In some way I think that would link back to why Thome was at the hospital.

actually I think it was previously reported that it was a transition phase at that time between Tohme and Dileo. I remember reading that. So that could be the reason for confusion. Tohme was no longer working for Michael but he could have been "working" to get Dileo up to speed and transfer stuff.

 

[classic]

I haven't seen the video but had the chance to hear from some fans that were there. Some say that Michael wasn't necessarily opposed to 50 shows but he was opposed to doing 50 shows in one place - London. (they told that Michael mentioned talking concerts to other places).

the original 18 minimum to 31 maximum concerts (with chance to add more) is signed by Michael. So I really cannot understand why Michael would think he signed up for 10 shows - unless the claim is he wasn't aware of what he's signing.

Thinking that initially 10 shows for London announced, I don't know but to me it seems logical that Michael thought he would do 10 shows in London and take it elsewhere and not do 50 shows in London.



the original contract for 18 min - 31 max has Michael's signature. So even if Tohme signed anything I think it will be the additional 19 concerts.

But I also think the 10 - 18 - 31 - 50 concerts number is moot in regards to Michael's death unless we can somehow claim that the stress level / propofol need would increase as the number of concerts would increase.

To me preparation process is the stressful process. You don't work 5 times harder for 50 versus 10 concerts. Even 1 concert brings the same stress and requires the same work.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying he wasn't nervous stressed or pressured. He could be. I'm saying he will still be stressed if it was 10 shows or even 1 show.



Good point. Didn't Frank Dileo rearranged /renegotiated the concert dates to give Michael breaks? Branca was hired. If Michael wanted to get out or change anything I think Branca would be able to negotiate something.



probably jermaine



see that's what scares me too. To me Tohme is shady and I would like to know what happened with AEG negotiations but I don't want to know that at the expense of Murray going free.

I think we can all agree that Michael had problems with AEG and TII concerts. I can live with vagueness if that means Murray would go to jail.



actually I think it was previously reported that it was a transition phase at that time between Tohme and Dileo. I remember reading that. So that could be the reason for confusion. Tohme was no longer working for Michael but he could have been "working" to get Dileo up to speed and transfer stuff.

Ivy, I agree with your points. Here is the hole concerning the stress level being so high that it would cause Michael to demand the propofol or self-inject: there weren't many signs that Michael was trying to reduce stress around him in terms of all that we keep hearing that he was involved in concerning TII and other projects. Also, according to everyone, Michael had a couple of fantastic rehearsals in the days before his death. So why would he at that point be frantic or stressful about whether he could perform as he needed to do? He had just proved to himself and everyone else that he could definitely do so.

 

[elusive moonwalker]

A danger here will be the bird-walking that the defense may want to do. It doesn't matter about finances, desire to do 50 concerts, stress from the rehearsals/preparation, AEG hiring or not hiring Murray; none of that should even be a matter for consideration because it simply takes the focus off of what this case is really about: Murray and his actions. It doesn't matter what Michael did or said. All that matters at this point is what Murray did or said. Hopefully, the prosecution will fight tooth and nail or this focus.

If there is proof of others' involvement, then that evidence needs to be brought up for a different trial with different charges. If there is proof that Michael was swindled in any business dealings, then again that needs to be brought up for a different trial. Please don't hope for bird-walking in this case. Each jury is different and you can't always depend upon all jury members to be able to keep the true focus. Until this trial is over, not one thing that Murray or his attorneys do should ever be underestimated or blown off. That's how cases are lost in courtrooms every day.

totally agree.

see that's what scares me too. To me Tohme is shady and I would like to know what happened with AEG negotiations but I don't want to know that at the expense of Murray going free.

I think we can all agree that Michael had problems with AEG and TII concerts. I can live with vagueness if that means Murray would go to jail.

exactly. i just hope if he ends up testifying he says nothing at all and is a total waste. as the defence wanting him to testfiy is there to create a smokescreen and nothing else.lok at this thread we have gone from it being about murray to it being about getting thome on the stand and getting info about mj not wanting to do 50 shows etc. it has nothing to do with what murray did. that is for the AEG lawsuit.the defence want to set a stage to show that mj was stressed etc. and thanks to the jacksons AEG lawsuit thats no doubt where they have got the idea from. and are now using it to try and help murray get off

 

[StacyJ]

as long as the prosecution keeps to the facts we should be ok.. The Jacksons' weren't even around MJ to know if he was stressed or not. Murray is the doctor he should've known if MJ was stressed since he was administering anti-anxiety medication. Once again Murray is the doctor and he was the one administering. If he saw MJ was having some psychological issues he should've sent him to a shrink instead of loading him with propofol.

 

[Sue1]

@Sue, no it seems possible. Not sure about the whole thing, but I find it strange the police don't seem to care for that guy at all.
Here's a good video that is partly about Thome:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuJBzl1Wa7Q

Thanks, Remington Steele, for the link and your response to my post. Having seen it, I can understand why the police don't care for Thome either. But having seen that, just makes me feel cold all over about so many things!

 

[Sue1]

Help please! Does anyone here know what month of what year Michael was introduced to Thome? Thanks in advance for any info! best wishes, Sue

 

[Autumn II]

Help please! Does anyone here know what month of what year Michael was introduced to Thome? Thanks in advance for any info! best wishes, Sue

Apparently Tohme knew Michael for a year and a half before Michael's death. See the article, below (I've bolded some parts for special attention . . . )

(And Ivy? Maybe Michael amended his statement later to fans, and that was not shown on the video? But, what he SAID was, he thought he was doing ten shows. His own voice, his own image, which is as close to the truth as it GETS. But sure, maybe he corrected that later. I can only go by what I SAW at this point, and not what someone else said happened. We may never know the entire truth of it. . . . )

<style>@font-face { font-family: "Times"; }@font-face { font-family: "Cambria"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }h1 { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 24pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold; }h2 { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold; }a:link, span.MsoHyperlink { color: blue; text-decoration: underline; }a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed { color: purple; text-decoration: underline; }p { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }span.Heading1Char { font-family: Times; font-weight: bold; }span.Heading2Char { font-family: Times; font-weight: bold; }p.byline, li.byline, div.byline { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }</style> http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1615320/michael-jackson-adviser-breaks-silence.jhtml

Michael Jackson Adviser Dr. Tohme Tohme Breaks Silence

'I was the closest person to Michael Jackson,' says mysterious financier, who helped save Neverland from foreclosure.

Jul 6 2009

By Gil Kaufman

As befit his unique lifestyle, a number of strange characters moved in and out of Michael Jackson's orbit over the years. None, however, was more elusive and mysterious than a gentleman by the name of Dr. Tohme Tohme, who served as the late singer's adviser and confidant in the final years of his life.

Over the weekend, Tohme, a native of Lebanon who claims to have helped Jackson rescue Neverland Valley Ranch from foreclosure last year, broke his silence about the death of his friend for the first time and spoke to The Associated Press, describing his relationship with the late singer and how he briefly entered the star's orbit.

Tohme, described by the news service as "a financier with a murky past," said he was contacted last year by Jackson's brother Jermaine, who asked if Tohme could help rescue Neverland from falling into foreclosure. The pair traveled to Las Vegas, where Jackson was living at the time, and Tohme said they instantly bonded. For the next year, Tohme would server as Jackson's final business manager and spokesperson.

"For the last year and a half, I was the closest person to Michael Jackson," said Tohme, who added that he was inspired to help because he saw that Jackson was a "wonderful human being" and a fine father to his three children. Tohme said he helped negotiate a deal with his close friend, the chairman of Colony Capital, who was hesitant to get involved until he was persuaded to go visit Jackson in person. Impressed by Jackson's "intelligence and focus," Colony agreed to buy the mortgage on the home and keep it out of foreclosure.

That deal brought Tohme, believed to be in his late 50s, and Jackson, 50, together in a partnership that included the contract for what was scheduled to be Jackson's triumphant return to the top of his game: a 50-show run at the O2 arena in London that was to begin next Monday.

He said Jackson was excited about the concerts because they would be a chance for his three young children to see him perform.

Though he's often described as being mysterious, Tohme &#8212; his double name is not uncommon in the Middle East &#8212; said he hates being referred to that way. "I'm a private man," he said, reportedly ignoring a barrage of cell phone calls during the interview, though taking one from the Reverend Jesse Jackson. "A lot of people like the media, and I don't. I respect the privacy of other people, but lately nobody respects mine."

Tohme would not reveal any information about his life or career other than to confirm that he is a U.S. citizen, a "self-made man" who works in the world of finance and was raised in Los Angeles. MTV News was unable to contact Dr. Tohme for comment for this story.

Denying he is affiliated with the Nation of Islam, Tohme said he actually fired some representatives of the religious sect who had taken over handling affairs for Jackson, who was raised as a Jehovah's Witness. The AP report described him as being on the verge of tears several times while discussing Jackson's death and said he was breaking his silence now because it is what Jackson wanted.

"He always said to me, 'I want people to really know who I am after I'm gone,' " Tohme said, noting that he dropped everything else he was doing and took no salary while working with Jackson and that he helped to begin turning Jackson's finances around after years of poor management.

Among the deals he said he negotiated were ones for a "Thriller" Broadway show &#8212; the subject of a lawsuit from the director of the song's iconic video, John Landis &#8212; as well as one for an animated series based on "Thriller," a clothing line that was to include "moonwalk shoes" and other deals. He also said he was working to renegotiate the terms of some of Jackson's main assets, including the singer's share of the very lucrative Sony-ATV Music Publishing Catalog &#8212; which includes music by the Beatles, Lady Gaga and the Jonas Brothers &#8212; against which Jackson had taken out massive loans to support his expensive lifestyle.

One of the first things Tohme, an avowed music business neophyte, said he did when he took over was to fire many members of Jackson's staff, including security guards, in order to build a fence around the singer and protect him from nameless others who wanted to control the pop star's finances. He also claimed to have twice fired, on Jackson's orders, the longtime nanny of the singers' children, Grace Rawaramba.

Though he apparently uses the title "Dr." and has a medical degree, there is no record of Tohme practicing medicine in the U.S. He said he thought the singer was in perfect health the last time he saw Jackson, two days before his death, and that as far as he could tell, Jackson didn't use drugs and kept himself on a strict, healthy diet that included no red meat or alcohol.

It does not appear that Jackson will be buried at Neverland, but Tohme claimed that in the singer's final months, the two talked about the star's wish to create a special place "10 times bigger than Graceland" &#8212; referring to Elvis Presley's home/memorial &#8212; where fans could come to view Jackson's memorabilia and awards.