As Thanksgiving is approaching, I'm thankful Mr. Prebul seems to have
crossed one hurdle. Whether my opinion is felt right or wrong, I have
always felt this situation should have been handled within the family,
just as it started. Just so sad. Everyone makes mistakes, and no one
wants their dirty laundry, especially family laundry, exposed to the
public. Mr Prebul will probably never be able to restore his name, and
the embarrassment to his children. And think of all the costs in the
court system, attorney's fees, etc. which in my opinion, should have
never been there.

It's a family squabble. We know they won't be sharing Thanksgiving dinner together, but wouldn't it be nice if they could. Joe made mistakes, not saying he didn't, but I think he could
still prosper to some degree if all his money wasn't going to lawyers
and court costs. For him I wish him and his family peace and that some
way they can put their family back together. Don't know Mr Prebul,
never had the pleasure of meeting him, but I can wish him well, and
ask those who feel ill toward him, to have a forgiving heart.

Happy Thanksgiving Mr. Prebul and an upcoming Happy Hannukah. I pray the
judge renders mercy and allows you to be with your family. All of them. May you and your sister make amends. Shalom

Arlos Dempsey
Signal Mountain

* * *

I am glad that you are a forgiving person and try to look past the
immediate sin; this is all something we need to achieve. I do disagree with your position. I agree that Joe Prebul made bad decisions, but in this case I believe it should be publicized and his punishment should be the max allowed (not an insult of a misdemeanor).

Through his purposeful choices he put 200+ people out of work in a bad
economy, many of whom trusted him and worked for him and previously
his father. He made these compounding decisions one after another
over a period of time without concern for his family nor those that he
employed. Remember these were purposeful decisions, not just one that went bad. He always had a choice to correct what he had done and make
restitution before he ruined his businesses and those that worked for
him. If he had made an earlier choice he could have saved himself all
the publicity and kept it a family matter – he chose not too.

Family matter or not, the justice system has allowed a plea to a
misdemeanor with a small fine (I am sure he will not go to jail). The
message sent here was anyone can do the same as Joe Prebul and get a
small slap on the wrist while destroying part of the the region's
economy and numerous families in the process. The fallout is not Joe
Prebul and his family; it's those he hurt that are probably not close
to recovered yet.

Vengeance is not ours to take, but justice will always be served. It
did not happen in our legal system, but it will happen – in this I have
faith. I must forgive the sin but I will not forget his actions. I
hope and pray for his previous staff and wish they have a happy
Thanksgiving and a wonderful holiday season.

Leslie Ward

* * *

I'll start by saying that I don't know Mr. Prebul or any of his family.
It is my opinion that he received the sweetest federal plea deal that
anyone could ever hope for. I have never heard of a federal case that
went from multiple felonies to a single misdemeanor in the twinkling
of an eye, especially over millions of dollars. Obviously, the prosecutor didn't feel he had the evidence to obtain a conviction in the case. Perhaps those taped conversations would have been thrown out
by the trial judge or used as a issue on appeal. It does make one wonder how Mr. Prebul can pay the 6.75 million dollar restitution when he has filed personal bankruptcy.

Ronnie Land
ronnieland@comcast.net

* * *

I would like to remind everyone that Mr. Prebul could not talk during
his problems with his brother-in-law. He was accused repeatedly in the
media to the point that everyone thought he was guilty. He wasn't. He
couldn't say so during the process. The loss of 200 jobs has hurt the
Prebul family more than some will ever think. It was his evil
brother-in-law that refused to work things out, forced the prosecution
and the resulting bankruptcy. Mr. Prebul did all he could to avoid all
of it.

It was Mr. Prebul's life's work that was taken away. He, too, lost his job. No one has won anything, and everyone has lost something.

Danny Bensusan, Mr. Prebul's brother-in-law, has brought it all about.
Shame on him. The family has been ripped apart forever. The mighty
federal prosecuters, whom Bensusan led to believe a fraud had been
committed, are going back home for Thanksgiving. The Prebul car
dealerships will never come back, the employees are scattered to the 4
winds and Bensusan continues to run his nightclubs and misic business.
The whole thing is not fair from any perspective. If anyone should
serve jail time, it should be Bensusan.

Frank McDonald, AIA, LEED AP
FMA Architects