Tuesday, May 21, 1974

THEMCHIGAN DAILY

Page Three

UAC secures Dylan ticket refund

Bruised, battered, and busted
Watermelons-whole and otherwise-were strewn across a highway near Tulsa, Okla., yesterday, when a truck carry-
ing. the fruit was sideswiped by a second food truck. The driver of the melon truck ustained no injuries although, an-
forunately, the same could not be said of his seedy passengers.

Iy JEFF DAY
National rock promoter Bill Graham
came through late last week on a pro-
mise made after February's Bob Dytan
concert to reimburse local concert-goers
who lost money because of ticket scalp-
ing.
Gratthm made the promise in an un-
scheduled appearance at the end of
Dylan's Crister arena concert, after a
Daily investigation revealed that a De-
troit promoter had organized a scalping
ring that sold choice seats for as mch
as $1W0 each.
BECAUSE Ol the ti-kets skimmed off
by Bamboo Productions promoter Rob
Bagens, many students received neither
tickets nor refunds although they had
waited in line for several hours.
On the basis of his promise, Graham
sent a check to Ann Arbor promoter
UACl-Daystar to telp cover cost over-
runs as well as additional expenses
caused by the ticket problems.
According to UAC-Daystar coordinator
Sue Young, the $753 check was "com-
pensation for all those who complained
in advance of the concert about getting
neither refunds nor tickets."
"BILL GRAHAM made god on every
promise he made'" said Young. She
stated that she would be contacting
those who had money coming and that
checks would be in the mail soon.
Young said that Graham had also
indicated that he would like to bring a
stadium-siee concert to Anni Arbor. Ap-
parently biecaose of the ticket difficulties
he had with Bamboo, Graham said he
would deal directly with the University,
despite his well-known distrust of college
promoters.
RUT THE CONCERT, likely to feature
two big name bands, is still far from a
sure ting. The event would require the
approval of the University's athletic de-
partment, which would probably de-
mand an estimated $10,000 required to
protect the turf, in addition to the usual
stadium rental fees.
Meanwhile, recents decisions taken at
the first national convention of rock
promoters may make it easier for local
promoters to get ftll control of concert
tours, increasing the likelihood of future
ticket scandals.
Thirty-two of the nation's top rock
promoters set a policy against exclusive
tours run by one promoter, as was the
Dylan tour.
This will mean that in the future,
bands will have to deal with smaller
agents, and it may become harder for
them to keep an eye on all arangements.

U senior wants to
45-day con game

By GORDON ATCHESON
A single telephone call last March
plunged University senior Mike Kubinski
into the most incredible experience of
his life, but now all he wants to do is
forget about it.
That call came from an extraordinary
conwoman who wove a tale of national
politics, high-level intrigue, and clan-
destine meetings and then led the 21-
mayor viits
'U campus
By JEFF DAY
East Lansing Mayor Wilbur Brookover
toured the campus yesterday and com-
mented that relations between his ad-
ministration and Michigan State Uni-
versity (MSU) were "cooperative'"
University Vice President Henry John-
son contrasted the situation at MSU
with the University's stormy relations
with the Ann Arbor city government dur-
ing an informal meeting in the Regents'
Room.
"HAD IT NOT been for the Univer-
sity, there would never have been an
East Lansing, so we work pretty close-
ly,' explained Brookover. "Cooperation
between the city and the University is
part of a long-standing agreement"
He listed joint road construction pro-
jects, joint sewage disposal and cooper-
ating police units as examples of such
efforts.
While Brookover was in Ann Arbor,
Mayor James Stephenson' was inspect-
ing East Lansing as part of Mayor Ex-
change Day.
See EAST LANSING, Pge 10

year-old fraternity president on a 45-day
wild goose chase stretchissg from St.
Louis to Washington, D.C.
"It was quite something but I just
wish to have the whole thing forgotten,"
Kubinski said last night in his Center
Line, Mich., home where he has been
resting for the past 10 days since FBI
agents rescued him from the clutches
of the glib con artist.. 4
"I'm very happy it's all over now, but
I know that I'll never b'e able to erase
the incident from my mind . , . not
ever," he said of the confidence game
that at times left even the police
baffled.
Despite the indelible impressions the
encounter with film-flammer Barbara
Merrells has left on Kubinski, he care-
fully avoided discussing the specific
events surrounding the con game which
cost him over $3,000.
"There has been more than enough,
attention over the incident," Kubinski
said in a slow, steady voice. "I just want
to become a normal person ... normal
in other people's eyes again - . .
"Wait, that didn't come out quite
jght," he continued, speaking less
asssuredly. "I just don't want to be view-
ed as an inept person involved in this
incident."
The incident-one of the slickest con
jobs on record-began March 24, when
Kubinski received a telephone call from
Merrella, who posed as Tasha Lodge,
niece of former United States Ambassa-
dor Henry Cabot Lodge.
She claimed she had been receiving
obscene mail from o'e of Kubinski's
Sigma Chi fraternity brothers and that
a meeting would be necessary to straight-
en out the matter.
Kubinski agreed and met with the
dumpy, unattractive woman. But she
insisted another' meeting with certain
high government officials w o u l d be
necessary and that it must be held in the
St. Louis area, according to police.
The pair then flew to St. Louis at
Kubinski's expense. Although the student
never directly explained why he decided
to go with Merrella, the woman has used
a similar-and equally bizarre--ruse to
con at least a dozen other young men

forget
odyssey
during the past year.
Police surmise that Merrella told her
victim that the St. Louis meeting had
been rescheduled for another city and
tn this manner led Kubinski from St.
Louis to Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Colum-
bus, and finally the environs of Wash-
ington, D.C.
The trek lasted over srx weeks-from
March 24 to May t-and was paid for by
Kubinski, who footed the entire bill for
travel expenses and separate hotel ac-
:ommodations for himself and Merrella.
That was the sting-the conwoman got
an expense paid tour of the country and
the peculiar pleasure of bilking students,
but nothing in the way of purely mone-
tary gain.
"I just know it was a very long time
to be gone and I'm glad the FBI found
me when they did," Kubinski said yes-
terday. He and Merrella were appre-
hended in an Arlington, Va., hotel on
May 8 and until police explained the
ruse to Kubinski, he continued to insist
that Merrella was indeed Tasha Lodge.
See STUDENT, Page 10

HR noaes candidates
for state, county positions,

By DAVID WHITING
The Human Right Party (HRP) voted
Saturday to nominate three candidates
for county commissioner and enter a con-
testant in the race for Ypsilanti's state
representative seat.
The party's county convention, at-
tended by some 40 people, also agreed
to "run candidates in all areas but con-
centrate on those with the best chance
of winning," according to Ypsilanti City
Councilman Harold Baiie (HRP-Third
Ward).
THE ONLY nomination not unanimous-
ly approved by the caucus, held at East-
ern Michigan University's McKenny halt
was for the 14th District's county com-
missioner;race. The position was sought
by both Diane Hall and Gail Johnson,
Nancy Wechsler, a former HRP coon-

cilwoman in Ann Arbor, endorsed Hall
while emphasizing Johnson's "inexperi-
ence" with HRP. Wechsler suggested
that Johnson run for the HIP steering
committee, of which Hall is now a mem-
ber.
Wechsler charged Ypsilanti's HP
with being male-dominated, and in re-
sponse Ypsilanti Councilman Eric Jack-
son (HRP-Fourth Ward) admitted,
"That's a weakness of our party for
sure," adding that few women had put
themselves up as candidates.
HRP's TPOLICY for candidates is that
"anyone who calls themselves a party
member may put their names up for
nomination" according to a party spokes-
person.
HRP plans to make more nominations
Thursday.
Ree HRP, Page 10