I own a staffing company that provided staff for Super Bowl 2008 events in Glendale, AZ. One of the companies that hired me to staff their events was Vertical Sports group out of Plano, TX. The company is owned by both William Ekeroth and Peter Renaldi (www.verticalsportsgroup.com).
Since the events that followed, the website has been altered, with all of their contact info removed, as well as the events that they have done in the past. I met with William on a couple different occasions before the event to go over the details of the services I would be providing. We reached an agreement and I have a signed contract from him with the amount that we agreed upon for the two different parties; Leather and Laces (hosted by Carmen Electra, Roselyn Sanchez, and Catherine Bell) and Saturday Night Spectacular (hosted by John Travolta). We provided staff for both of the parties discussed.
The day before the first event we pre - authorized the credit card for $50,000 to ensure that the card was valid. The authorization processed just fine.
The Monday after Super Bowl weekend, I went to charge the credit card, and it came up invalid. I found out later by William's own account, that he had reported his card lost or stolen the day of the event. He has not paid me anything for providing him staff for both of his events. It was virtually impossible to get in touch with either William or Peter for the next few months. We finally came to an agreement in May of a schedule that I would be paid on.
William signed another contract that included dates of when post dated checks were to be sent to me. I received the first check, but when I deposited it; the check bounced. Again, I began the process of trying to contact the two of them. William promised to wire me the money for the first payment installment by Friday, June 13th and I still have not received it.
After this, I proceeded to contact John Travolta's lawyer via email, to explain what had happened at an event that his client endorsed. Soon after, William contacted me to discuss the matter at hand. We came to yet another contracted agreement, with payment dates, including interest for the months without payment. He agreed to the terms, but I have still yet to receive any payment.
I have received various phone calls from him telling me that he is waiting on a sponsorship check, or excuses similar to that. To this day, I still have not received payment from Vertical Sports Group.
With Super Bowl 2009 fast approaching in Tampa, I would like to get the word out on this company. This was their fifth consecutive year working on this event. I can only assume that they are interested in throwing events this upcoming year as well. I can only hope that no other company has to go through what I have over the past nine months.
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