Sure. I know that there are a lot of guys named "Howard Cohen" out there.
But the timing here appears pretty obvious. On September 23, 2005, the sad sack garmento who became Piermont, New York's Mayor, Bruce Tucker, performed with his guitarist and presumptive then-friend Howard Cohen playing guitar as "The Old No. 7 Band". Tucker maintains "The Old No. 7 Band" to this day. Tucker started the band when he was back in college in Binghamton in 1979. According to the below "eGullet" post, on September 23, 2005, "The Old No. 7 Band" performed at Bruce Tucker's "new bar... [and] soon to be BBQ restaurant" called "Front Street Smokehouse & Saloon" in Elizabeth, New Jersey. A soft opening.
If you have been following this Blog, you know what happened next. Bruce Tucker's "Front Street Smokehouse & Saloon" opened to all the public but failed economically during its three years in business. Few showed up to the Elizabeth waterfront apart from an occasional foodie who felt like living dangerously. Bruce Tucker felt the financial heat. Tucker was ultimately forced to close the Smokehouse and convert it to the late-night gang-frequented bar called the "Lava Lounge" - until the neighborhood residents, the Elizabeth alcohol board, the Elizabeth City Council, and the Elizabeth Police Department made Tucker's "Lava Lounge" untenable by dint of their collective scrutiny and objections.
So what does Bruce Tucker do for money at that point? Well apparently, among other things, he calls in his chips. Through his "Rainbow Linens" garmento sheet and towel wholesale business - you know, the one busted by Good Housekeeping and Wall Street Journal when Tucker falsified thread-counts in wholesaled sheets - Bruce Tucker calls in a loan or debt from a "Howard Cohen" in early 2008. You will see in the below court file that Tucker actually has the audacity to call him "Howie", in writing, at the same time that Tucker is suing the daylights out of him.
To quote one of Mayor Bruce Tucker's recent favorite sayings in exasperation - Who DOES that?
Moreover, based upon the timing and the ghoulish familiarity reflected in Bruce Tucker's "Howie" salutation, it appears that the "Howard Cohen" whom Bruce Tucker sued through the beard of Rainbow Linens, could well be the same guy as Bruce Tucker's own guitar player "Howard Cohen" from a few years prior. That's right. A banjo player - suing his own guitar player - from his own band.
Moreover, based upon the timing and the ghoulish familiarity reflected in Bruce Tucker's "Howie" salutation, it appears that the "Howard Cohen" whom Bruce Tucker sued through the beard of Rainbow Linens, could well be the same guy as Bruce Tucker's own guitar player "Howard Cohen" from a few years prior. That's right. A banjo player - suing his own guitar player - from his own band.
Who DOES that?
The next bit of research will be confirmation that defendant "Howie" in the 2008-forward court file below is the same "Howard Cohen", as the "Howard Cohen" who was once a member of Bruce Tucker's "The Old No. 7 Band" as of late 2005. That should be easy. In the court file below, there's a huge trail of limp and soggy fries leading me right to defendant Howie. Thank you, public record. Maybe Howie will even tell me what goods and services the original US$8,000 debt was for - if not a flat-out personal loan to help a good friend in need, that is.
The next bit of research will be confirmation that defendant "Howie" in the 2008-forward court file below is the same "Howard Cohen", as the "Howard Cohen" who was once a member of Bruce Tucker's "The Old No. 7 Band" as of late 2005. That should be easy. In the court file below, there's a huge trail of limp and soggy fries leading me right to defendant Howie. Thank you, public record. Maybe Howie will even tell me what goods and services the original US$8,000 debt was for - if not a flat-out personal loan to help a good friend in need, that is.
Finally, what is most astounding about the below-printed court file is how Piermont Mayor Bruce Tucker litigated this case through his "Rainbow Linens" company and his collection firm. Remembering that the collection firm was likely handling the whole matter on some form of contingent-fee arrangement - maybe 25%, maybe 33&1/3%, maybe 40% - it appears that defendant "Howie" partially paid-off the modest arrearage of US$8,000+.
But that was not enough for cheap skinflint Piermont Mayor Bruce Tucker. Tucker's "Rainbow Linens" actually then levied on Howie's TD Bank bank account for a lousy US$3,000+ remaining balance. After the collection folk took their cut off the top, Tucker presumably then saw a few thousand of that.
Who DOES that?
