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Re: 1800SkyRide
I would like to start this letter by saying I am a former 1-800-Skyride employee. I am not at all proud of the fact. I left because of the two years I worked there the more questions I ask and the more people I talked to I found out this operation is illegal involved with in, tax evasion, telemarketing fraud, theft by deception due to lying and selling trips and sporting events that do not exist, no unemployment payments to the DOL on employees till 10/6/06 even if they were employed there prior to that time, investigated by the GOCA, three times on channel 5 news with Randy Travis of the I Team, numerous BBB Complaints most unresolved, vendors or not paid on time or at all, they have went through many merchant accounts and due to charge backs on credit cards and the company keeps changing names. At this time they are still advertising under 1800Skyride but any check cut to a vendor or employee is under another LLC of IGO Vincent.
With that said please someone help the customers and the employees that are being used and taken by the owner Cary Quattrocchi [phone number removed] who resides at [address removed], the Director of Operations Yvonne Cline [phone number removed] who resides at [address removed] and Sales and Refund Manager Richard Crowder, [address removed and phone number removed]. Ben Butler is still with the company but has backed down from the operations.
This company operates by many names all under the same owner and address all with the same sales staff answering the phones. These are some of the names they operate with without a business license in the Kennesaw Georgia City limits In Cobb County Georgia:
1800Skyride
Adventure Skydiving Center
Adventure Sports
Spagoda
Tandora
Granter Media
Thrill Planet
Soaring Sports
Luxergy
Hot Air Balloon Team
IGO Vincent
The address they are located at now is:
2593 Kennesaw Due West Rd Ste 300
Kennesaw, Ga 30144
Former address before October 2006
3240 South Cobb Dr Ste X
Smyrna, Ga. 30080
They owe thousands of dollars in refund request to customers. Richard and the owners because of greed and lack of funds to pay them have, not approved the refunds. The charge backs from the merchant account services are enormous. They have gone through at least six different accounts that I know of. Each time they give a different company name. When a customer wants a refund because most of the time they were sold something that did not exist or was given false information on locations. They give them a quote that they have two years to use a gift certificate that half the time they never get in the mail or for a location that is within hundreds of miles from them. Also they are told they can give this “certificate as a gift or sell it? Why should a customer have to sell something that was sold to them in fraud? They are also offered a different sport. So tell me if you want to go on a Romantic Birthday Hot Air Balloon Ride and all of a sudden it is not offered near area and they offer you a Paintball Game instead. How would you feel?
Cary loves to put things in other persons name to save his own. He has had associates in the past that are good people that he used to the fullest. I hope no harm comes to them from his selfishness and deceit. He has been banned from the United States Parachute Association and still runs the drop zone in Cedartown that just goes to show that an association that powerful and known would ban someone like him then let that be a sign!
Former employees are willing to cooperate with any agency or person that is willing to file charges or prosecute against him and his “companies”. His mother Darlene Zerwarski (I may have miss spelled the last name) she lives in Ben Salem Pa. and draws a check of $4000.00 a month from one of his accounts. She does not nor never has worked for any of his company names or at the drop zone in Pa.
As far as the BBB goes it is listed as Eve Crooks Director of Operations. There is no such person. It is Yvonne Cline. The lies just go on...
It needs to be changed to Yvonne Cline who is Vice President of Director of Operations. If they are going to put fake names on the BBB website as contact then you know how they treat customers. Please read this and investigate this company. I am sending this as an email and letter to every agency and drop zone I know of. Not for vengeance but to do right for those that have been done wrong. The owner, Cary Quattrocchi, has a brother named Christopher Quattrocchi. He is currently in Federal Prison in Pennsylvania where they are from. I am sending you articles I found on Google about his brother. It is rumored that all of this is tied in somehow.
Also in case people did not know they have not settled the lawsuit that Skydive Arizona has against them. I have found interesting articles on that as well. I am sending this same letter to Randy Travis of channel Fox 5, The Governor’s Office Of Consumer Affairs, FTC and the Office of thee Attorney General of Georgia and any Drop Zone they have used past and present.
This is the latest link to the Channel 5 I Team report:
http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail;jsessionid=
5403A6CC5D45F9C16D9237A3916B00B2?contentId=3481635&version=
4&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=1.1.1&sflg=1
Thank you for your patience, time and reading this information that I am trying to supply to you.
Former 1800Skyride Employee:
(To anyone who emails me back I will be happy to tell them my name and former position with the company).
Cary’s Brothers Document enclosed:
Motorcycle gang’s
drug ring busted
By William Kenny
Times Staff Writer
State and local authorities have busted an outlaw motorcycle gang-controlled drug distribution ring that they allege had sold more than $11 million worth of methamphetamines in Philadelphia, Bucks County and New Jersey since spring 2005.
On Friday, Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett announced the indictment of 15 people, including two Northeast Philadelphia men and numerous members of the Breed Motorcycle Club, in connection with the probe that grew directly from an earlier investigation of "meth" distribution by members of another gang, the Kensington-based Warlocks. The Warlock indictments occurred in June 2005 and involved about a dozen people, headed by East Torresdale resident Patrick "Rags" McMenamin, 62, then of the 9300 block of Vandike St. He was identified at the time as a Warlocks "associate."
McMenamin was later convicted of drug distribution charges and sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison. According to the latest grand jury presentment, investigators determined that Breed member Thomas "Fuzzy" Heilman Jr., 53, of Bristol, also obtained "significant quantities" of the drug from McMenamin in 2005.
Authorities used confidential informants, testimony from former Breed members or associates, wiretaps, surveillance and alleged undercover drug buys to infiltrate the Bristol-based gang. The group distributed more than 120 pounds of meth between May 2005 and last month, Corbett said. That equates to a "street value" of $11.25 million.
According to the indictment, club president John "Junior" Napoli, 33, of Levittown, directed the group’s meth dealing. Meanwhile, board member William "Tattoo Billy" Johnson, 30, of the 4600 block of Bergen St. in Upper Holmesburg, obtained much of the drugs from an outside source. Johnson, a Bensalem-based tattoo artist who maintained a secondary residence on the 3600 block of Morrell Ave., allegedly secured pounds of meth from fellow Upper Holmesburg resident Robert "Molly" Traverse, 39, of the 8600 block of Jackson St. Traverse allegedly belongs to a separate motorcycle club, the 2nd Brigade, which authorities claim is loosely affiliated with the South Philadelphia-based Pagans motorcycle club.
The grand jury further concluded that Traverse obtained meth from Arthur J. Bono Jr., 38, of Eagleville, Montgomery County, including 20 pounds of the drug in one delivery on June 5. Corbett, the attorney general, said that authorities are still investigating the origin of the drugs, which are manufactured chemically. Some may be from Tennessee, Corbett said. Authorities also believe that the group had attempted to manufacture drugs on its own.
During raids on June 6 at 13 locations in Philadelphia and Bucks counties, authorities allegedly seized 22 pounds of meth, nearly $500,000 in cash and bank deposits, 44 firearms including a sub-machine gun, 10 homemade explosive devices, various vehicles and 24 motorcycles.
Many of the motorcycles and weapons had been stolen, Corbett said. Also among the 15 defendants named in the indictment were John "Shameless" Kovacs, 41, of Jackson, N.J., the alleged New Jersey "mother" chapter president; and Pennsylvania chapter sergeant-at-arms Christopher "Slam" Quattrocchi, 35, of Bristol.
Quattrocchi is a former Philadelphia public school teacher. According to a school district spokesman, he began as a student teacher in 1997 and obtained a full-time primary-level teaching post in 1999. He was discharged in July 2005 after failing to meet certification requirements, the district spokesman said.
Quattrocchi most recently taught at John F. Hartranft School near Seventh and Cumberland streets in North Philadelphia. According to the district spokesman, the teacher passed criminal and child abuse background checks in 1997 and 1999. Pennsylvania board members Kenneth "Chains" Steinmuller, 45, of Croydon, and Thomas P. "Tommy Trash" Connor, 55, of Bristol, were also named, as were chapter members Frederick F. "Pan Head" Freehoff, 49, of Bristol, and Charles L. "Ruthless" Kulow, 43, of Bensalem. Steinmuller, the Pennsylvania chapter secretary, allegedly had what investigators described as a "shrine" to Adolf Hitler in his home. On Friday, authorities displayed a framed portrait of the Nazi dictator allegedly confiscated from Steinmuller’s house, as well as a turbo-charged and nitrous-powered Buick Grand National owned by Quattrocchi. The black muscle car had been detailed with club symbols and fitted with the vanity license plate "BREED."
New Jersey chapter member James "Coffin" Fostinis, 49, is another defendant. He was incarcerated in New Jersey State Prison at the time of the indictment. Other accused meth traffickers and Breed associates include Bridget "Scary Movie" Dale, 36, of Levittown (who also worked as a school bus driver for the Council Rock School District), along with David Frenier, 32, a former roommate of Napoli’s; and James "Nazi Jimmy" Coyle Jr., 33, of the 2800 block of Castor Ave. in Port Richmond.
All but Connor have been charged with meth distribution and conspiracy. Other charges against most of the defendants include participation in a corrupt organization and criminal use of a phone. Some defendants are also accused of money laundering, weapons violations and possessing drug paraphernalia.
Twelve of the 15 defendants are in custody, including Kovacs and Fostinis in New Jersey and Frenier in Florida. Kulow, Steinmuller and Freehoff remain at large. A district justice ordered Napoli held on $20 million bail, Coyle held on $12 million bail, Johnson and Quattrocchi each held on $10 million bail and Heilman and Traverse each held on $7 million bail. Preliminary hearing dates were not announced. •• Reporter William Kenny can be reached at [protected] or [protected]@phillynews.com.
July 21, 2006
Police Nab Fuzzy, Chains, Scary Movie, Tommy Trash, Etc.
Attorney general Tom Corbett and Bucks County DA Diane Gibbons announced earlier today that law enforcement had arrested "as many as 15" (?) suspected members of a crystal meth ring operating in Bucks Co. and Philly. The operation was called "Breed on a Wire." (Slamming head against desk.) Huzzah for breaking up the meth ring, but the best part of the press release is the nicknames of some of the suspected Breed members, who operated it. For example:
· John "Shameless" Kovacs
· John "Junior" Napoli
· Christopher "Slam" Quattrocchi
· James "Coffin" Fostinis
· Thomas "Tommy Trash"/"Crypt Keeper" Conner
· Kenneth "Chains" Steinmuller
· Thomas "Fuzzy" Heilman
· Frederick "Panhead Fred" Freehoff
· Charles "Ruthless" Kulow
· Bridget "Scary Movie" Dale
· James "Nazi Jimmy" Coyle Jr.
· Robert "Molly" Traverse
· David Freinier
Frinier was most likely ostracized from the fellow accused for not having a ridiculous nickname like "Fuzzy" or "Chains" or "D-Mac." But that's not all! There's also some very over-the-top details in the press release. For example, police intercepted a phone call from Napoli regarding the cops investigating him where he said "maybe someone will rape their mothers with a hot curling iron." (Yuk, yuk.) Oh, and Steinmuller had a shrine to Hitler in his residence.
We can only imagine what "Nazi Jimmy" had in his apartment. Full release after the jump. Attorney General Corbett, DA Gibbons announce breakup of Breed motorcycle gang $11 million methamphetamine ring; 15 suspects charged BENSALEM – Attorney General Tom Corbett and Bucks County District Attorney Diane Gibbons, along with local law enforcement officials, today announced that agents of the Attorney General’s Bureau of Narcotics Investigation (BNI), along with detectives of the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office and the Philadelphia Police Department, were in the process of arresting as many as 15 suspected members of a large scale crystal methamphetamine ring operating in Bucks and Philadelphia counties as well as New Jersey. The ring was run by the Breed, an outlaw motorcycle gang.
Corbett said the ongoing investigation, known as “Operation Breed on a Wire,” targeted a large scale distribution ring of crystal methamphetamine (meth) in Bucks and Philadelphia counties and New Jersey. Corbett said, “Today’s arrests are the result of a continuing investigation into the distribution of meth in southeastern Pennsylvania centering around outlaw motorcycle gangs. In today’s arrests we have not only taken down the main meth dealers in the region, but we have also arrested the leaders and key members of the Breed outlaw motorcycle gang.”
Corbett said the investigation began as an outgrowth of a meth investigation last year of the Warlock outlaw motorcycle gang that operated in Bucks and Philadelphia counties. Corbett said the investigation into the Breed began with an undercover purchase of meth in 2005. As the investigation progressed, court authorized telephone interceptions were used and the case was placed before a Statewide Investigating Grand Jury, which recommended that the attorney general file criminal charges. The Breed and Napoli Corbett said the grand jury identified the leaders of the meth distribution ring as John “Shameless” Kovacs of Jackson, New Jersey, the New Jersey Mother Club chapter president of the Breed and John “Junior” Napoli of Levittown, Bucks County, the president of the Pennsylvania chapter of the Breed.
Corbett said the grand jury found that Napoli was responsible for the crystal meth distribution network in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. BNI agents estimate that Napoli, and the Pennsylvania chapter of the Breed, were responsible for distributing more than 120 pounds of crystal methamphetamine from May 2005 through June 2006, which has an estimated street value of more than $11.25 million.
Corbett said on June 6, 2006 BNI agents, along with Bucks County Drug Task Force officers and the Philadelphia police, executed 13 search warrants at various locations in Bucks and Philadelphia counties on members of the Breed. During the searches, agents seized more than 22 pounds of crystal meth, nearly $500,000 in cash and bank deposits, 44 firearms, including one sub-machine gun, 10 improvised explosive devices, various vehicles and 24 motorcycles. He said many of the motorcycles and weapons were stolen. Corbett said the grand jury found that the Breed outlaw motorcycle gang had terrorized lower Bucks County for several decades by committing crimes involving illegal drug dealing, thefts, extortion, witness intimidation and assaults.
Corbett said the grand jury found that the Breed outlaw motorcycle gang, which orchestrated the crystal meth distribution, was highly organized and a tight knit group with each member given clearly defined roles within the organization. The Breed has an executive board and has officers such as a treasurer and secretary. Corbett said the grand jury found that Napoli operated a construction company as a front to cover profits he made from distributing crystal meth and stolen property he received, such as motorcycle parts, tools and other construction equipment.
Corbett said during a search of Napoli’s Appletree Drive residence in Levittown agents seized two loaded handguns, two high capacity assault rifle magazines and ammunition and a money counter. They also seized $120,000 in cash, a Volvo turbo sedan, a Chevy Trailblazer, a Corvette, three motorcycles, a dump truck and a pickup truck.
In storage lockers controlled by Napoli in Middletown, Bucks County, agents seized three Harley Davidson motorcycles that were reported stolen, a handgun, a shotgun and a sub-machine gun. In a Napoli storage locker in Levittown, agents seized approximately one pound of crystal meth, seven handguns, six rifles and four assault weapons.
While the agents were executing search warrants on Napoli’s residence and other locations, he was hiding in New Jersey but his phone conversations were being intercepted by BNI agents. Regarding the BNI agents and police officers investigating him, Napoli stated, “Maybe one day they will get shot in the head while on the job,” and “maybe someone will rape their mothers with a hot curling iron.”
In another Napoli telephone call that was intercepted, Napoli had ordered one of his lieutenants to pick up meth in Philadelphia but he was delayed because of a traffic jam due to the funeral of Philadelphia police officer Gary Skerski. Napoli complaining about the delay, stated, that the funeral must be for that “f---ing pig.” The Breed Crystal Meth Distribution System. The grand jury found that Breed executive board member William “Tattoo Billy” Johnson of Philadelphia, distributed much of the meth through other Breed members and at his tattoo shop in Bensalem, called House of a 1000 Tattoos. As multiple-pound shipments of meth would come in, Johnson would distribute the drug to other Breed members who stashed or held the meth until Napoli directed its distribution.
The grand jury found that Breed executive board member and Sergeant at Arms Christopher “Slam” Quattrocchi of Bristol distributed multi-pound quantities of meth. Quattrocchi supplied fellow New Jersey executive board member James “Coffin” Fostinis with pound quantities of meth. The grand jury found that Breed executive board member Thomas “Tommy Trash,” also known as the “Crypt Keeper” Conner, lived above the Breed Clubhouse at 3707 Spruce St., Bristol, and protected the club with a cache of weapons, including an AR-15 assault rifle.
The grand jury found that Breed Secretary Kenneth “Chains” Steinmuller of Bensalem stashed or held multi-pound quantities of meth for Napoli and that he also obtained meth from Breed member Thomas “Fuzzy” Heilman Jr. of Bristol. During a search of Steinmuller’s residence, Corbett said, agents discovered a shrine to Adolph Hitler and the Third Reich with a large photo of Hitler as the centerpiece. The grand jury found that Breed members Frederick “Panhead Fred” Freehoff of Bristol and Charles “Ruthless” Kulow of Bensalem distributed meth to others in the organization. The grand jury identified associate Breed members and meth traffickers as Bridget “Scary Movie” Dale of Levittown, James “Nazi Jimmy” Coyle Jr. of Philadelphia and David Freinier of Levittown.
The grand jury found that Napoli fronted Dale pound quantities of meth and that she would pay him $30,000 to $40,000 per week in drug proceeds from the sale of meth. Corbett said the grand jury found that Robert “Molly” Traverse of Philadelphia and a member of the 2nd Brigade outlaw motorcycle gang, which is loosely associated with the Pagans, supplied Johnson with large quantities of crystal meth. During a search of his residence, agents seized 15 pounds of meth.
The grand jury found that Traverse obtained his meth from Arthur Bono Jr. of Eagleville, Montgomery County. Bono allegedly delivered 20 pounds of meth to Traverse on June 5, 2006. As part of the investigation, Corbett said, the Plymouth Township Police in Montgomery County seized $100,000 from Bono.
“The grand jury presentment demonstrates that the Breed outlaw motorcycle gang was a highly organized and violent organization that made millions of dollars for its leader,” Corbett said. Corbett continued, “Today’s arrests are the first wave of more arrests as this investigation continues.”
The defendants are scheduled to be arraigned before Bensalem Magisterial District Judge Leonard J. Brown and will be prosecuted in Bucks County by Senior Deputy Attorney General Kishan Nair.
Corbett thanked District Attorney Diane Gibbons, the Bucks County Detectives and the Bensalem and Philadelphia Police Departments for their assistance and cooperation in the ongoing investigation.
![Vacation Hub International [VHI]](/images/business/48-48/123081/vacation-hub-international-vhi.png){kind=small}
It is interesting that this former employee is willing to publish names, addresses, and phone numbers of company principles, but is unwilling to publish his own name. Perhaps he is concerned that his parole officer will see this and contact the company for information regarding the details of his exit from the company.
I also wonder if the source of the vague "rumor" linking the brother's legal problems to the company might have come from a spiteful and somewhat disgruntled ex-employee. This person certainly sounds VERY disgruntled.
I'm curious as to what other information might come about...
Sounds like the fall of the empire, doesn't it Cary?
I'm surprised it took this long...
This company is full of lies and scams you wouldn't believe how illegal this company is. I happen to know this ex employee and I witness this a lot with my own eyes.
Unfortunately, this company is extremely unethical and is hurting the sport of skydiving. To lend credibility to her original complaint, here are some outside sources for your own perusal:
See United States Parachute Association's Consumer Alert:
http://www.uspa.org/about/index.htm
www.1800skyrider.com (an anti- Skyride website)
http://www.funjumper.com/skyride/ (list of scams)
http://uspa.org/publications/parachutist/capcom1004.htm (from USPA headquarters)
http://www.makeithappen.com/jumps/review/cedartown.html (USPA Board Member Jan Meyer's compilation)
http://www.skydivenewport.com/beware2.asp
I run a glider ride operation in the San Francisco Bay area http://www.BayAreaGliderRides.com and we have had many unhappy customers calling us to complain about these guys. I have even had them schedule me for a glider ride at my own location when I called even though there is not a glider ride location in the state of California that honors their certificates. They later told me that the operation in my area was now closed and I would need to go to another state. They seemed to be willing to say anything to get me to give them my credit card number.
The glider ride operators have set up a site to help educate the public about the problem and give a directory of the real operators in the country. http://www.GliderSailplaneRides.com This website also shows all the glider ride operators in the country plus the few operators that still do accept the certificates from this company. Hopefully by employees coming forward like this we will be able to convince the few service providers that are still honoring their certificates that they are not a company to be associated with. Google and Yahoo are not willing to remove them from their search engines or even their paid sponsor ads because they say they are worried of being sued since most customers that are scammed never complain to them. They need proof so please claim to the companies with the power to remove these guys from there main sources they use to commit this fraud.
Please help get the word out. This has been going on for years and it is very frustrating how they can not be stopped. It not only hurts the customer but all the businesses that provide these rides and activities.
Here are the people that consumers and vendors need to contact:
Randy Travis
iteamatlanta@foxtv.com
I-Team reporter
Fox 5 News
[protected] Phone
[protected] Fax
Joseph B. Doyle
Administrator Fair Business Practices Act
Governor's Office Of Consumer Affairs
2 Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. Se Ste. 356
Atlanta, Ga. [protected]
Phone) [protected]
Does anyone know what strip club Cary met Yvonne Cline where she was a dancer at and hired her as he does so many of his employees?
Cary Quattrocchi needs to be put behind bars! Enough is enough!
Coincidentally, today ran into yet another Skyride victim. They bought a tandem for Utah back in February for a March tandem. There are NO DROPZONES in Utah, period, that work with Skyride. They are being investigated by the Division of Consumer Affairs in Utah, as well as the Attorney General. There have been several stories on the news about the scam. Felt very badly for the couple, as they've now paid out nearly 700.00 for four tandems (two Skamrides, and two actual jumps).
Today they experienced the jumps, but they've been trying to recover their money since the first of May 2007.
Fu** those skyride assh***. Nice to know where they live. This could be interesting...
I don't know how Ben sleeps at night. How can he look at a board like this, or the dozens of news stories from around the nation, and either; a-not spend all of his time justifying his actions/business practices; b-continue to steal from others?
Clearly, this is a business without morals or ethics. Hopefully someone without morals or ethics will find an equally heinous method of shutting them down.
Shame on you Ben. When I met you, I thought you were a decent, although arrogant guy. Now I know you're a thief, ###, tampon sucking slime that drives nice cars paid for with stolen money.
Wow. Too crazy. Karma police have come?
It is interesting that in this day, in this country, the blatant theft, and deceit of an operation such as Skyride is allowed to continue. I am a drop zone owner in Kansas, and for 6 months a few years ago accepted Skyride certificates. There is no end to the lies and deceit that they’re capable of. The number one priority with their boiler room operation employees is to GET THE CREDIT CARD NUMBER. Once the customer has paid, they’re pretty much on their own. You may or may not be able to redeem your certificate; you may have to drive literally hundreds of miles, and right past legitimate business providing the service you’re seeking. Long story short, they don’t make money by handing out refunds. Once they have your money, it’s no longer your money. It would be nice if they would at least mail a little anal lube out with the certificate to reduce the inflammation you’re sure to experience when dealing with this operation.
Martin
I have heard nothing but bad things from Skyride and see it evedry weekend when we have jumpers show up with a Skyride receipt that the customer has paid 265>00 for a 185.00 tandem. They get a little *** off after that.
It is true, Skyride is a scam. If you donn't beleive it, search on google for scam, and skyride.
It is beyond me why more state and federal agencies have not acted forcefully against 1-800-Skyride and its operators and principals. One way to go might be to research political contributions made by the people involved in this operation to determine who might be protecting them. That would be the kind of thing that would attract media attention. It might be worthwhile for a group to get together, hire an investigator, and present the information to one of the TV magazine shows like 20-220 or even 60-Minutes. So far, the only media people honest enough to go after these people seem to be Fox Atlanta. God bless them, but attention on this scam needs to be spread over a wider area, and some politicians have to be embarrassed and shamed into acting.
I have dealt with these Skyride rats in a fashion. Me and my buddies in 2006 decided to try skydiving. We googled savannah skydiving and Savannah skydiving came up. It had said that they served the Savannah area. So we called the number and after we made the reservation we had asked them their address. We figured it would take us no more than 2 hours to get there but when we got the address where they were located we had used map quest and found out that they were about a 5 hour drive. We tried to cancel because we were not going to make it on time so we called back and they said it would cost $75 to cancel. So we ended up rescheduling for the next weekend and when we had arrived at Atlanta Skydiving Center we waited about 5 hours to go up. When you arrive at ASC the front door is covered with USPA stickers so you would assume that they are a member of USPA. I am not going to lie I went through AFF and did the majority of my jumps at ASC but now that I just bought my own rig I would not get anything inspected their because of the simple fact that the DZ itself is not a member of USPA.
I myself do not agree with the fact that you are not able to get a refund on the chance that you are there all day but you are on a weather hold. I have talked to many people who came to do a tandem and they said that they were only coming to ASC because they were on vacation in the area. I have only jumped at 2 different dropzones since I started jumping but I am not sure if a dropzone will give you a refund if you are unable to jump that day.
It looks like the people posting and complaining are being listened to. I do not understand what takes so long for them to stop. The BBB of Atlanta has changed the website and owners information. Please go to http://www.atlanta.bbb.org/...html?compid=13003271 and read what the GOCA is doing now. The hell with fines they need to be shut down!
I agree with all of this. In fact, Cary was convicted of raping my sister 8 years ago. He never served a day as we think he must have bribed the judge into giving me probation but she will never be the same. HE IS A RAPIST.
OMFG! Rape?
Hey Cary,
Don't get comfortable. People and employees are contacted by the wonderful Randy Travis of Fox Five Atlanta, Cobb County's High Tech Crime Unit, and do not forget Joseph Doyle of the GOCA. They listen and we talk.
If you want to hire a lawyer then sell your sports cars that you and the gang got or the Black Grand Prix you bought your son before he could really drive this year that you drove to run the miles up and kept nasty as hell. I am sure your son will be glad to get the least little thing from the father that never gave him ###!
You are out numbered. God and real people hate Satan and Eve.
See you in court with vendors, employees and the GOCA...
These people (Yvonne Cline et al) ripped me off out of $240 under their Spagoda program. I purchased three $80 massage gift certificates from them last November, one for my dad, one for my mom and one for my sister. Then, every time my folks would try to call to make the appts., no one would answer the phone. They'd get voicemail, and, of course, no one would return the calls. I sent the company an e-mail to their customer service, no response. I found a 770 number buried in the fine print of their policies, and same runaround, voicemail and no call back. I checked the Ga. Sec of State's website, and discovered that Spagoda company had been voluntarily dissolved on 07-10-07. Today, I got a phone call from one of their customer svc representatives, saying he was with 1-800-sky-ride and Spagoda. He left me a voicemail. I called him back, and got HIS voicemail. I called back a few minutes later and spoke to a woman, who told me that yes, Spagoda is still in business, and yes, they would honor the certificates, and yes, the number that Eric had told me to call was the number my folks should call to make their appointments: [protected]. Which is odd, because this number turned up NOWHERE on the Spagoda site or our gift certificates. It seems like, if this was the correct number all along, it would have been somewhat more visible.
I'm also finding it hard to believe that a company that has been dissolved, according to the Secretary of State, claims to still be in business and honoring the certificates. As one last-ditch attempt in recouping my money, I told my mom to call the number and attempt to make an appointment, just to see what happens. Though I doubt it will be honored, I'll be glad if it is, just to put this ordeal behind me.
If NOT, I think small claims court is in order... though, as it appears that SO MANY people have been ripped off, perhaps a class action suit would be the correct route.
ALSO, I found THIS today on the Better Business Bureau website re. 1-800-sky-ride, at http://www.atlanta.bbb.org/commonreport.html?compid=13003271
Government Actions
On May 10, 2007 the State of Georgia through Joseph P. Doyle, Administrator of the Georgia Fair Business Practices Act of 1975, ("Administrator") by and through Thurbert E. Baker, Attorney General for the State of Georgia filed a complaint for injunctive relief, civil penalties, and restitution with the Superior Court of Fulton County, State of Georgia against Cary V. Quattrocchi, Benny W. Butler, USSO, LLC and Atlanta SC, Inc. (Defendants) alleging violations of the Georgia Fair Business Practices Act of 1975.
The complaint filed by the Administrator alleges in part that:
Cary V. Quattrocchi and Benny W. Butler own and operate USSO, LLC and Atlanta SC, Inc.
Cary V. Quattrocchi, Benny W. Butler, USSO, LLC and Atlanta SC, Inc. maintain and operate more than 900 web sites including but not limited to: www.1-800-SkyRide.com and www.ThrillPlanet.com through which they advertise "booking" services. Booking agents and reservationists for www.1-800-SkyRide.com and www.ThrillPlanet.com represent to the public that they book appointments and sell gift certificates for extreme outdoor adventures including sky diving, hot air ballooning, race car driving, river rafting, and assorted other sporting adventures.
The Georgia Office of Consumer Affairs received 62 consumer complaints regarding the Defendants. The majority of the complaints allege failure to provide services after receiving full payment from consumers, failure to provide gift certificates after receiving payment in full, or consumers being unable to redeem the purchased gift certificates. Specifically, the Defendants received payment and made reservations for sky diving, ballooning and other sporting services without knowing whether the appointed times or sky diving centers that consumers requested -and believed they were being booked for- were open or available. Additionally, consumers were promised certain appointment times, locations or dates without fulfillment, while other consumers would arrive at the diving facility only to discover that the facility had not received booking requests or payment for those services on behalf of the consumer, or that the location where the appointment was booked was not convenient or nearby as represented.
Prior to purchasing gift certificates, consumers inquired into the locations where the certificates could be redeemed. Representatives falsely assured the consumers that the gift certificates were redeemable at numerous locations convenient to the consumer. Additionally, the web sites misrepresented affiliation with certain companies and the number of locations where customers could redeem their gift certificates. As a result, consumers were unable to timely redeem their gift certificates because they where unable to find convenient or nearby locations as represented.
When consumers requested refunds for the unused services, undelivered gift certificates, or non-redeemable gift certificates, the Defendants fabricated various reasons for denying the consumers refund requests, including that the consumer had not paid "refund fees," inclement weather policies, unexpected facility closings, the unavailability of dive instructors, the lack of responsibility for the practices or operations of independently-owned diving centers, and lack of responsibility for failed mail delivery.
Defendants falsely represented to consumers that their facilities were certified, affiliated, or approved by the United States Parachute Association ("USPA") and that some of their instructors or employees were also certified by the USPA.
After reviewing the consumer complaints and conducting a thorough investigation, the Administrator served upon the Defendants a "Notice of Contemplated Legal Action" as required. The Administrator's efforts to resolve the allegations against Defendants by having them enter into an assurance of voluntary compliance have not been successful.
The State of Georgia (through the Administrator) is seeking injunctive relief, monetary relief by way of penalties, and restitution to persons adversely affected by the Defendants' actions.
The complaint has been filed with the court and is a matter of public record however, the case has not yet come to trial.
I too have been defrauded by 1800skyride. April of 2007 I called and book a balloon ride for my who family (5 people). $1050.00 for May 29 , 2007 in Colorado where my son lives we were visiting them we are from Maryland. They charged my credit card right away. When I called back stating you charged my card already and no certificate .
Never received the gift certificate. Called multiple times promise to EMail it never got it. The balloon ride we were scheduled for called that am 4:30 am the winds was too high more than 8knots (12 knots). I called asking for refund. Was told the weather is not their fault, and God controls that so I was not due a refund.
I am so frustrated with this company.
I sent Email to the BBB in Georgia and they stated they would form a complaint against the company but the company never responds.
He did it again. She will never be the same. They are killing people with all of the fake skydiving places. Someone should stop the murder before it is too late.
First off, HaHa is a genuine m*ron. I felt the former Skyride employee's post is very articulate vs HaHa's drivel. My family was ripped off by this company, not once, but twice. We were too foolish to realize that not only did they do skydiving, but ballooning as well. We've filed a complaint with our own Consumer Affairs division. I'm sure these two creeps have hidden their assets away in a foreign bank account, and will laugh all the way to wherever that may be once the warrants for their arrest goes out.
They are criminals, they're getting every last dime they can before running out of the country, you can bet on it.
So, somehow, "name does not matter" can feel sympathetic for someone who has spent the past 2 years of their life ripping people off. It seems that the only reason this former employee feels any level of remorse for their evident wrong doings is the fact that they are no longer being financially compensated to ignore their conscience. Regardless of a person's mastery of grammar, IT DOES NOT TAKE 2 YEARS OF WORKING SOMEWHERE TO FIGURE OUT THAT A COMPANY IS A SCAM! I'm surprised that anyone who has been taken by this company would have the audacity to defend anyone who contributed to it. It is not just the owners of this company that are criminals, it is anyone who would lower themselves to work for 1800skyride.
Here is Cary Q's myspace address... he's the creep on the left. http://www.myspace.com/hypotheticalq
I am going to have my way with them. I will have it my way and you will all see what I can do.
Haha, you're an idiot. I have sympathy because she at some point, recognized what was going on and has gone public, regardless of what the reasonings might be.
A former employer of my own, is now serving time in prison for embezzling. In an indirect way, I was part of what he was doing and didn't know. Eventually, I was cleared of any wrongdoing, but many people said "She musta known what was going on." No, I didn't. I trusted my boss. I believed him when he said and did certain things.
I'm sure there are enough satisfied people that do business with Skyride that the employees (unless they're skydivers) probably believe their bosses too. I'd imagine they're fairly clueless about all of what folks are saying.
Butler and Quattrochi should be jailed, no doubt. They are ### and thieves, I agree. Both should be flogged, beaten, and relieved of any profits they've seen from their company. But don't blame the employees, unless you know for certain that the employees know exactly what's going on.
Name Does Not Matter- First off, this "idiot" didn't get ripped off twice by the same company. How much money does it take to lose on the internet before you research a company next time? Do you honestly believe that no one in that office saw 3 different stories on their local news, spanning a course of several years about the company they worked for? Knowing how quickly office gossip spreads, it would just take one employee and a link to the Fox 5 website. Let's say that website was blocked b/c Ben and Cary were attempting "damage control". Most people that work on a computer in an office are aware of the thousands of proxy sites to get around IP blocks. If not, how would someone on any level of the company be oblivious to the fact that their competition gives links to websites such as this, and plasters consumer warnings all over their own website? Would no one question why there are so many dropzones and balloonists that refuse to work for them? I'll break it down. If this person was in the sales department, they would be answering the main phone number(s), where there would be a myriad of angry customers such as yourself, attempting to figure out why they haven't received what they had paid for. How many angry customers would it take to get a salesman to wonder? If the sales agent was not told to lie to the customer (which is doubtful when many sources site that the company has sold things for non-existent locations), they would then be transferred to a department of specialized liars. The customer would then be told "sorry, tough luck it's non-refundable" and "sorry, canceled due to weather [illegitimately]" by the liar specialist. If they were in an accounting position, an intelligent person would wonder why they have gone through so many merchant accounts and have so many unpaid vendors. If this person was the one making fake websites... well, enough said. Most of this info is available at www.funjumper.com/skyride, and www.uspa.org, which is pretty hard to miss if you're doing any research on the company you're buying from or working for. The rest of it comes from dealing with skyride's angry customers at my former place of employment (which I quit shortly after they began collaborating), and seeing how many potential skydivers were completely disgusted with the industry as a result of skyride's business practices. Skyride is a company of leeches that kill perfectly good dropzones, and glamorize the dropzones that can barely afford to keep their plane running due to the budget priorities the operators place on drugs and alchohol. So yes, I do know first hand that the employees are criminals, and stupid criminals at that. The vendor department is where the most skillful liars reside, and if this person worked there, then they were trained specifically to postpone payment, make empty promises, and coerce new vendor's into believing that they would be put out of business if they did not join the skyride internet dynasty. If I'm leaving out any possible scenario, let me know, but you're right. This person is just stupid if they are not evil. I'm glad the two of you can relate, which brings me to my final point. The only person I could see defending the author of this article, is the author, or another former employee. Hence the reason I notice so many similarly worded posts on this page. Anonymity is a wonderful aspect of the internet when you're trying to get your point across, isn't it?
yeah this idiot posted something twice by mistake.
This comment is to the "Former Employee" ball-less piece of sh** that originally posted this lovely message - you have no right to post information about Cary's family when you have not ever talked to them, met them, or even laid eyes on them in your pitiful existence of what you like to describe as your life. It's pretty ironic that you wont post your name or address but your so quick to post everybody else's information, by the way it's Bensalem dumba**. I think your a spineless, weak person hiding behind a computer screen spreading your worthless thoughts about Cary's brother who has a situation of his own not Cary's, so therefore "Mr-Ms Anonymous" go F*** YOURSELF - until you bring your name to the table and then wanna talk about someone you don't know - have a nice big cup of shut the F*** up!
LMAO!
Stacey are you still having anal sex with Cary on a regular basis?
I have to agree. posting someone's info anonymously like that is cowardly. I don't like skyride but that's just pathetic. Man up.
Seeing as how Customer's get the run around when trying to get answers or refunds...I think the info posted is quite useful. Now people can go straight to the thief.
They are both now in the adult video production business with dozens of new pornographic websites.
I purchased a $250 gift certificate from 1800SkyRides for a war bird plane ride. Unfortunately, I too, am finding out that this company is fraudulent. There is no company in Ohio that accepts this certificate in the state of Ohio. I have made 19 phone calls and have been promised a refund by Eric (no longer with the company) and Michael [protected] x 1606) and left a message for Richard Crowder. I have not received my refund yet and it looks like I am not going to either. I wish I saw this website earlier, but I will use the information contained herein to continue my pursuit of a refund. I'll let you know when something positive happens...