View Document
The Convicted Felon Behind "The Restaurant"
-
The Convicted Felon Behind "The Restaurant" -
The Convicted Felon Behind "The Restaurant" -
The Convicted Felon Behind "The Restaurant" -
The Convicted Felon Behind "The Restaurant" -
The Convicted Felon Behind "The Restaurant" -
The Convicted Felon Behind "The Restaurant" -
The Convicted Felon Behind "The Restaurant" -
The Convicted Felon Behind "The Restaurant" -
The Convicted Felon Behind "The Restaurant" -
The Convicted Felon Behind "The Restaurant" -
The Convicted Felon Behind "The Restaurant" -
The Convicted Felon Behind "The Restaurant" -
The Convicted Felon Behind "The Restaurant" -
The Convicted Felon Behind "The Restaurant" -
The Convicted Felon Behind "The Restaurant" -
The Convicted Felon Behind "The Restaurant" -
The Convicted Felon Behind "The Restaurant" -
The Convicted Felon Behind "The Restaurant" -
The Convicted Felon Behind "The Restaurant" -
The Convicted Felon Behind "The Restaurant" -
The Convicted Felon Behind "The Restaurant" -
The Convicted Felon Behind "The Restaurant" -
The Convicted Felon Behind "The Restaurant"
APRIL 26--Finally, an ex-con you can root for on reality TV! Jeffrey Chodorow, the grim-faced nemesis/financial backer of chef Rocco DiSpirito on NBC's "The Restaurant," is a convicted felon who spent time in a federal lockup after pleading guilty in September 1995 to two felonies stemming from his ownership of the now-defunct Braniff Airlines. Chodorow got into trouble after secretly recruiting a convicted felon named Scot Spencer to help him run Braniff (while the airline was headquartered in Dallas, Chodorow opted to run the struggling business from one of his New York City restaurants). A copy of the Chodorow/Spencer indictment is below. The federal Department of Transportation (DOT) knew all about Spencer's rap sheet and management deficiencies, however, and demanded that he have nothing to do with the air carrier's operation. In a sworn affidavit, Chodorow guaranteed that Spencer would be shown the door. But that was a lie--Spencer just reverted to aliases and other shifty behavior to cloak his involvement with Braniff. According to a former FBI agent who worked the Chodorow case, investigators never determined why the businessman was so devoted to Spencer, a 20-something with a checkered history. The pair's mismanagement of Braniff is detailed in an internal DOT memo that recommended the revocation of the carrier's license. Braniff eventually went belly up and Chodorow was ordered to pay millions in restitution to a bankruptcy trustee. (23 pages)
Featured
