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NPR brings us this story of lawlessness ahead of the 2016 Olympics in Brazil:
A reported abduction in Brazil is sending shock waves through the sporting world, as the mother-in law of Bernie Ecclestone, the billionaire who runs the Formula One Group, is apparently being held for ransom. From Rio de Janeiro, NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro reports for our Newscast unit:
"Bernie Ecclestone is the head of the Formula One car racing franchise and one of the richest men in Britain. His wife is Brazilian, and her mother was apparently grabbed by criminals in Sao Paulo, who are asking for a $37 million ransom from the billionaire.
"Information is scant and local press have said they won't report details in order to protect the victim. NPR contacted the anti-kidnapping police in Brazil, who declined to comment. Kidnapping in Brazil is rare these days, but security across the country has deteriorated on the back of a historic recession."
While most Olympic events will be held in Rio de Janeiro, some will take place in Sao Paulo and other cities.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by martyb on Thursday July 28 2016, @02:58AM
I personally met Bernie Ecclestone a few times while working on a special project for Formula 1's new digital broadcast channel. Say what you will about him, but I could find no fault on the professionalism of the people he had working for him. Everything we did was precisely detailed and organized. I certainly didn't mind having a press pass which gave me nearly total access at major racing venues like Silverstone, Monza, and Nürburgring. Was very saddened to hear of this happening to him, but even more concerned that this might trigger a rash of kidnappings around the Summer Olympics.
Wit is intellect, dancing.
(Score: 2) by Dunbal on Thursday July 28 2016, @07:01PM
Nice athletes you have here. Shame if something were to.... happen.... to them.
(Score: 4, Funny) by Jeremiah Cornelius on Thursday July 28 2016, @07:12PM
Have her bronzed.
You're betting on the pantomime horse...
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 28 2016, @09:05PM
Every cloud has a silver lining.
(Score: 1) by DECbot on Friday July 29 2016, @01:28AM
This is just golden....
cats~$ sudo chown -R us /home/base
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 28 2016, @09:01PM
Bernie wasn't so nice when negotiating with Watkins Glen over the Formula 1 race, which they had hosted successfully for about 20 years (~1960-80). His demands for more, more, more, eventually bankrupted the W. G. Grand Prix Association which was originally part of the village of Watkins Glen.
Recently I read "No Angel", a bio of Ecclestone written with considerable access to Bernie and many others in F1. It's by a tabloid writer, so some may be made up?
If even half the sleazy business dealings are true, the level of dirty dealing in F1 is far, far beyond what I had expected. Nice book review,
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/mar/05/no-angel-bernie-ecclestone-tom-bower-review [theguardian.com]
I found a used copy of the paperback for a buck or so...and then gave it to a friend when I was done (and thoroughly disgusted).
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 28 2016, @09:27PM
Could "Tom Bower" be martyb's other nom de plume?
(Score: 3, Informative) by martyb on Friday July 29 2016, @03:04AM
My dealings with Bernie were, necessarily, relative brief. On the order of 10 minutes each time, and always wrt the project we were working on for him. In general, I let my manager handle the majority of the conversation.
As the guy who was financing the whole shebang, his main concern with us was how far along was our project, what were the problem areas, what did we need in order to advance things along, and when would it be ready. Basically PHB stuff.
OTOH, all of the people I worked with on-site at the various race venues were absolutely top-notch professionals. I can't remember the name of the guy who was responsible for the broadcast studio that got hauled around to all the tracks, but he was organized and did not accept sloppy work. Ran a very tight ship. Probably explains the caliber of the people with whom I worked. One of the best jobs I ever had.
As to Bernie's business dealings, I have no first-hand experience, but from what I've read, he's pretty universally recognized for getting the best deal he possibly could for himself, and then getting some more, and then more.
Wit is intellect, dancing.