I am filing this as a discrete denunciation of the serial scammer JoJo Marengo because beyond his initial defrauding of me, he has been publishing lies about me that willfully misrepresent the documented business correspondence that took place between us.
Firstly, I want to clarify what JoJo Marengo was up to when he defrauded me of $750. Certain scam publishers will set up a series of different magazines, with no intention of publishing any one of them for any great length of time. They collect content (articles) from writers, leave the writers largely unpaid, show those articles to potential advertisers, collect the advertising money and then run off with it without giving the advertisers the paid promotions they were supposed to receive for their money.
Note that JoJo Marengo's and Umbrella Publishing's magazines include "Orange County's Best" "Brea's Best" et cetera, et cetera et cetera. He is using the same (mainly stolen) content in each magazine, slapping a different cover on the front and collecting from advertisers in each of the localities where he publishes (Fill-in-the-blanks' Best) JoJo Marengo put a lot of pressure on me to make up my mind about selling him four articles and providing the complete texts by a certain deadline. He did that, not because he intended to print the articles and pay me for them but because he wanted to use my material without paying me for it in order to attract dollars from potential advertisers.
While I was defrauded by JoJo Marengo as a writer, I am in contact with an advertiser defrauded by JoJo Marengo for advertising dollars. My interest in making these denunciations on line is to keep other unsuspecting persons from being defrauded by JoJo Marengo in the future.
Now, the entire story can be a bit involved, but not so involved that it is difficult to tell and document. So here below is the story.
On September 26, JoJo Marengo sent me this message, as part of ongoing business communications involving articles from me to be used in his "Orange County's Best" (but in no other magazine). _ Scott i really love the way you write. You are marvelous. OK I am an upstart. I print 10.000 and I mail them to homes worth $1million or more with a household income of $200.000 or more. They will love your pieces. November will be my fourth issue. I am not making any money yet but with stories like yours I am sure in no time at all I will be in the black. I want to use 4 of you pieces in the November issue. Caviar, truffle, Kobe and the Haut Brion. After that I would like two stories in each of the issues. _ Though that message clearly stated that JoJo Marengo wanted to use four of my articles in his November issue, the issue was not published until December, and furthermore, it contained only one of my articles, and I received *no* communication from JoJo Marengo whatsoever as to what had happened with the other three pieces. So, all that time, he had my four articles to show to potential advertisers to attract money from them, but he was not paying me for my material. Also, of interest to writers, JoJo Marengo published that one article *without* my by-line. I did receive a payment for that one article, but, my business agreement with JoJo Marengo, which I had spent time over the course of weeks formulating in e-mails between us, was for four articles to appear in his November issue.
Throughout December and into January, I tried learning from JoJo Marengo what had become of our agreement. He made no response to my many e-mails, until that is I complained about his violation of our contract to writer's advocate Angela Hoy of WritersWeekly. It should by the by be noted that subsequently, JoJo Marengo has claimed I had "no contract" with him. For a publisher to be operating in the modern-day internet world and not to understand at what point e-mail communications are considered legally-binding contracts is itself problematic. Persons thinking of contracting with JoJo Marengo in the future should be aware that he is capable of making legally-binding contracts with them and then turning around and saying "That person never had a contract with me."
This man, JoJo Marengo, is a lying snake in the grass, has no honor and is not trustworthy.
I showed writer's advocate Angela Hoy of WritersWeekly my complete communications with JoJo Marengo; it was her opinion that he owed me $750 payable immediately. JoJo Marengo then told her that he wanted to consult with a lawyer over the weekend and would get back to her. When JoJo Marengo later responded to Ms. Hoy, he told her that I did not have rights to the articles I wanted to sell him.
First of all, that ploy was and is preposterous, because I absolutely do have all rights to the material. Where did JoJo Marengo get the idea to say that I did not? Three of the first four articles I was selling to him were reprints; the rights for those reprint articles had reverted to me under contract. All further articles were to be original articles. Among the first four articles I was selling him was one on red wines.in an e-mail sent to JoJo Marengo on Sept. 28, I attached the text of a *completely different* article on *white* wines. I attached that text because, while my reprints contained about 1,500 words each, for what JoJo Marengo was offering to pay me, I told him I would not be able to write such long original articles. I told him I would be able and willing to write original articles of about 500 - 750 words each. To show him what a 750 word article looks like, in terms of length, I sent him the text of my article on *white* wines. I told him to note that I had that article published in a different magazine and could not at that time offer it to him. To review now; among the articles JoJo Marengo agreed to buy from me was one of about 1,500 words on *red* wines to which I had all rights. For illustration purposes only, I sent him a completely different article on *white* wines of about 750 words, to which I did not have rights, and I told him very clearly I did not have rights to it. Now, JoJo Marengo goes publishing that I told him I didn't have any rights to any of the articles I was selling him. This is an outrageous lie impugning my integrity, all the more outrageous that I took pains to distinguish to JoJo Marengo between those article that I could sell him and those that I could not. Persons considering contracting with JoJo Marengo in the future should consider not just that he violated my contract with him and still owes me $750 but also that he will stop at nothing, telling lies about you, misrepresenting business communications you had with him so as to make you, his victim, look bad, when you have done nothing whatsoever in the matter to deserve looking bad. Here is the text of my September 28 e-mail message to JoJo Marengo: _ Hello Jojo: If you issue contracts will you please send the documents at once. If you don't, will you please send a single e-mail stating 1) titles of the four reprint articles you will use; 2) amount you will pay for them and the schedule by which I will receive a check. 3) a statement that I shall receive at least 2 contributor copies of the issue in which they appear. As regards future articles — the question of whether I yet have rights to resell certain other of my articles that have recently appeared is a complicated one. I would be happy to write two new pieces for each of your issues. However, at a rate of $250 each, I would not be able to make those pieces in the 1,500 word range. I propose doing pieces in the 500 - 750 word range, and we can discuss which subjects you deem most desirable. As a sample of what such a piece would look like, I attach an article on Haut-Brion white wines that I wrote for an upcoming issue of The Affluent Page magazine (www.theaffluentpage.com) Note that I do not at this time have resale rights to this piece. Many thanks, Scott Rose
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