See Ya In Court To the Editor, While all Tucson was heralding the genius of Jeb (Schoonover) and Paul (Barrington), the cool guys ("Curtain Call," Tucson Weekly, April 10), somewhere you all forgot that dreams don't come free. Somebody had to foot the bill. That somebody was me. We bought and paid for all that you and Tucson enjoyed down at the Rialto Theatre and Cabaret. Paul would have lost the theatre and the cabaret lease very shortly without our money. Without our money there would have been no cabaret, no marble floors, no mesquite bar, no fancy light show, no executive office. What would have been is evidenced by the failed project on Fourth Avenue, a pile of rubble and half-baked ideas. So, while you heralded the project and harrahed the face men, you ridiculed the source. As Jeb and Paul partied and lived it up so high on the hog, giving tickets out for free, had party after party for all to see, my family suffered in quiet misery. We suffered unjustified insult after insult, midnight harassing phone calls, drive-bys to our home, threats of physical violence and personal injury--plus public humiliation and scandal in The Weekly. While the cool Jeb and Paul were going on trips to Las Vegas, New Orleans and the like, my family silently went without. We suffered disrespect, hearsay, lies and fictitious tales about us so fantastic that even Hollywood wouldn't be so bold. Our reputation has been tarnished by lies and insults printed by your paper and subsequently passed through town as the Gospel According to Jeb and Paul and Mari Wadsworth of The Weekly. Never once has anyone bothered so much as to even make a reasonable effort to print any part of the well-documented truth. The story is out there on paper and it's all a matter of public record. Yet, still no one has even attempted to look at it. I find it disgusting to be slandered by people who call themselves reporters, who have never done their research. You have a vested interest in destroying the lives and reputations of good, honest people with whom you don't even have the common decency to meet face to face. Instead you have chosen to hide away in some small, dark space and create fantastic fiction claiming to be truth. Why don't you simply label it a fictional story you just gave birth to, and not claim it to be the truth? Last time we spoke, Mari, we told you we had no comment. Yet you wrote you had spoken with us and offered statements we never said. I now wonder what relationship is brewing between Doug Biggers (The Weekly's editor and publisher) and Paul, or even Mari's true relationship with Jeb. The constant barrage of lies and your inability to even investigate leads me to believe the truth, if it ever were printed, would make far better copy than the poorly constructed tales offered up so far. We have given you the opportunity and the means to rectify your prior mistakes. We have given you clear, concise and truthful answers to all your questions, however one-sided. We have given you an opportunity to re-establish some semblance of journalistic integrity. However, if your only motive was to gather fuel for insult and slander of the Avedisian family, understand I have had enough and will no longer tolerate it. I will, at that point, be left with no other recourse than to consider relief at the Superior Court. --Kristl Avedisian Mari Wadsworth responds: This letter was faxed to us on Sunday, April 6, in response to my final questions asking for clarification on topics previously discussed in taped phone interviews. Ms. Avedisian's response to my reporting, therefore, occurred at least four days before the story was printed and she would have occasion to read it. This is the first story on the Avedisians The Weekly has published. The February 27 story ("Singing the Blues," Tucson Weekly), was solely about the Chapter 11 filing; the only paragraphs in which the Avedisians were mentioned refer to the charges filed in May 1996, and Erich's intention to purchase the Congress Street block. Hardly the stuff of dramatic pause. Furthermore, while $145,000 (or even the $200,000 previously claimed) is a lot of money to us working stiffs, it's a modest investment in real estate terms. It's an expensive but not unreasonable cost for a house in a midtown neighborhood. As for all the things on which she claims the money was spent, that must be that "new math." Should we feel sorry for them for making such a high-risk investment? Maybe. Should we blame someone else for their mistake? Absolutely not. As Mr. Avedisian himself said, "Buyer beware." As for my reporting, every fact, every quote, is documented. I do admit to misspelling her name once. KGUN Pablum To the Editor, I love your newspaper. Consequently, you can imagine my shock when the local news reported you guilty of a racial slur (See The Skinny, March 27). Once the details emerged from those crack reporters at KGUN-TV, Channel 9, however, I realized this story was infinitely more significant than anything else happening in our town! It shows the truth of your continuing crusade against the mediocrity of local news in Tucson. Their philosophy: Since we don't know what's happening, we'll report on something that's not happening! Keep up the good work skewering the sanctimonious satraps who run this community! You folks help keep the balance between what's really going on and the pablum that constitutes local news! --Tom Skinner Legalize Smith To the Editor, Jeff Smith overlooks one big problem in his call to legalize drugs ("Conscientious Objection," Tucson Weekly, February 27): What's gonna happen to all these mugs who're making easy money peddling drugs? They're not gonna get nice jobs putting up siding or running a fork lift. They have the criminal ability to go into kidnapping, extortion, etc. If you don't believe me, just look what happened when we legalized booze. The mobsters who were selling booze became the Mafia. I tend to feel we'll be ahead with legalization, but need to go into it with our eyes open. --Paul Brown Speak No Ill Of The Dead To the Editor, Tom Danehy is an idiot. After reading his review of Brian Laird's new novel I went out and bought a copy, because I had read Laird's last book, Bowman's Line, and thought it was terrific. Suspense at its best. I couldn't believe that his new book could be as awful as Danehy said it was. Guess what? It wasn't. In fact, it was superb--suspenseful and interesting. To Bury the Dead is a great mystery novel. I don't think you should let people like Danehy--a self-described wannabe author--review books, unless they can put their personal frustrations aside and show a little balance in their judgments. I mean, if the book was so bad, why did Danehy admit he'd like to read another one? Sounds to me like a case of pen-is envy. --Charles McHenry We Want Letters! Thrilled by our brilliant insights? Sick of our mean-spirited attacks? Need to make something perfectly clear? Write: tucsonweekly@tucsonweekly.com

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