Robert Russell Apiaries - Update

[jb63]

I got a refund from the Wash. state R.A. this week end. They are disconnecting with R.A. and were sorry for my two year wait.Good luck Vance don't let up.

[alblancher]

Absolutely

I have concerns. I even have a history with RA. The two nukes I took delivery of in 2011 failed in 2012. As a brand new beek there is no way I was an authority and could prove that they were bad bees. Now I believe they were bad bees, everyone I spoke to the last couple of months says I did everything right caring for the bees, my mentor recently said "you got bad bees". As a matter of fact one nuc was full of honey with very little brood. I saw a very skinny "hipless" queen so I doubt she was even mated, much the less laying when I took delivery. I know that now, I've learned a lot in 24 months.

I ordered a replacement nuc in April, never delivered, right after the first nuc failed in March. The second hive failed by July. I ordered from RA because they had nucs available and I knew no better, did not have the sources and contacts I now have.

With everything that has happened recently I do not really expect to get bees, much less good bees. I just know that at this point even a good ole boy attorney that graduated last in his law school class could rip my claim apart. April 15 I will be in a much different position. If I receive the nuc I can have it inspected by experts that may or may not be able to tell me they are Sunkist bees. How does someone not considered an expert offer an opinion about the lineage of a queen? I have a very small dog in this fight so I have to handle this a bit differently then those of you with more experience and more invested in this fraud.

I have ordered a couple of nucs of Russians from the local club so I'll have the opportunity to kill some Russians in April.

[Intheswamp]

<snip> I just know that at this point even a good ole boy attorney that graduated last in his law school class could rip my claim apart.

Al, I think you have as good of a chance at recouping your losses as anyone else has...whether you wait or not. Probably be better if you don't wait. I kind of doubt that RRussell has the available cash to refund those he owes nor the bees to pay them with. The hope has to be that he has some real property that can be liquidated and disbursed to the people he owes. To receive some of that money you would have to be found to be a victim of his or to be on the winning side of a civil lawsuit. It's one of those "you must be present to win" scenarios, I would think...you gotta have your name in the hat.

I have ordered a couple of nucs of Russians from the local club so I'll have the opportunity to kill some Russians in April.

You know that Henry Kissinger worked hard to keep exactly that from happening.

Ed

[Joel]

I just made this offering to the Rankin MS Prosecutor. I advise others defrauded to do the same. It is the least we can do for the Ole Doc. I of course gave my full contact information at the bottom, but didn't feel it neccessary here. I wouldn't want all those folks feeling sorry for me to send a lot of money! The money I lost was just more tuition in the school.

I paid $546 to Russell Apiaries in Sept/October of 2011 for queen honeybees to be delivered May of 2012. I like hundreds of others never recieved the promised livestock in what has to be an intentional scheme to defraud.

I understand that Mr. Russell has appeared before the court for his fraudulent conduct. I would like to bear witness to the fact that Mr. Russell's behavior was not the result of poor luck or even poor business practices but an intentional theft of funds.

His descriptions of the livestock also describes new and valuable strains of honeybee genetics that indeed did not exist.

He actively misrepresented his qualifications stating he had a PHD in Entomology he did not possess. We are talking about a confidence man of the lowest order. Would you do me the service of forwarding this to the proper authority if your office is not the correct place to place my greivance.

This is a good start or addition to what is already going on - now the squeaky wheels get the grease so time to pile on. Here's the contact information for Rankin County Prosecutors office -http://www.rankincounty.org/COUNTYPROSECUTOR/
Unlike New York I find They only prosecute misdemeanor offenses but if this has risen above that level the prosecutor will know where to send you next. I would take the time to make a call AND send a letter. E-mails are quick but have to be printed out and there is nothing like a hanks signed letter to add that personal touch. A phone call (requesting a call back if the prosecutor is out) followed by a letter will have good impact - says "I'm serious". I'll see if I can find what it takes for statement to be sworn in MS. and I encourage everyone here cheated to forward a letter and a statement. I would urge you to Keep it brief and factual but comprehensive. Use your collective power to impact this and maybe get your money back.

Could someone closer to Mark (sqkcrk) than me please drop an ex-lax in his coco and send me the after pictures!
Mark - April and Hemmingway are not vary far off!

[sqkcrk]

Thanks Joel. I'll meet you there then, gladly. I have a hard time reading Posts w/out paragraphs. Maybe I should get a ruler. lol

[heaflaw]

.


You know that Henry Kissinger worked hard to keep exactly that from happening.

Ed

Good one.

[mathesonequip]

in the long run one of the sadist parts of this mess is that the lifetime work of RR''s father namely the sunkist line may be lost. i sure hope that the sub-breeders, who are now runing for cover do not throw away the old russel legacy and genetics... this whole thing really is a mess for everyone in the industry and an insult to show for a lifetime of hard work..... greed is filthy sin

[MTINAZ]

So in everyone's mind, is PDG Honey guilty of anything? Was he in on this?

My personal feeling is yes there is a good chance he(phillip butts) is. I have no proof, but he was there the day we installed the nucs in my equipment, and said he would extract the honey for us. when end of summer comes he wont answer his phone anymore and over the summer he offered lots of nucs for sale. At the bare minimum he knew what was going on.

[Intheswamp]

in the long run one of the sadist parts of this mess is that the lifetime work of RR''s father namely the sunkist line may be lost. i sure hope that the sub-breeders, who are now runing for cover do not throw away the old russel legacy and genetics... this whole thing really is a mess for everyone in the industry and an insult to show for a lifetime of hard work..... greed is filthy sin

I can believe that RRussell had a sadist streak in him....

Seriously though, I agree with you on the greed part, matheson...probably caused as much human suffering as any one thing could.

Ed

[Intheswamp]

So in everyone's mind, is PDG Honey guilty of anything? Was he in on this?

Here's a short video, I can't really attest to the who, what, where, when, and how of it but I'm pretty sure some folks here might recognize some hives... http://youtu.be/VCEQCdYWwUI Use your on judgement as to what this might mean.

Ed

[Luterra]

PDG honey has a very blank website. Not sure if that is a recent change or if they just haven't gotten around to developing it yet.

[SippyBees]

MTINAZ.... take a look at this link
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...levant_count=1

[Luterra]

I'm not sure how recently this was put up on the RA website, but it would have raised some red flags for me:

The main operation of Russell Apiaries will not be taking in any new orders for production queens from public buyers so that we may return our focus to our supplying our commercial customers and our research and developement. However, we have established satalite operations across the country. These operations are specifically dedicated to provide the public with Russell Apiaries genetics produced under the same scrutiny and quality standards that have been the benchmark for Russell Apiaries. Maticulous planning and direction has gone into developing these operations in strategic locations to implement a Local Adaptation Program that will continue to produce acclimated genetics for each region that they serve. This allows the customers to not only have a Local supplier to communicate with directly, but also provides them with genetics that are specifically adapted for their own climates, improving survival, production, and the ability to overcome the threats of pests and diseases that have threatened honey bees and beekeeping more and more over the past several decades.

Developement? Satalite? Maticulous? Not that spelling is a prerequisite for being a good beekeeper, but I tend not to send money to companies that fail to proofread their online presence.

[NY_BLUES]

I believe that video was shot within the last week by a guy that was going to be a sub for Russell. After this info came out, he headed to Brandon to get his hives and take them home, if i remember correctly.

[MTINAZ]

MTINAZ.... take a look at this link
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...levant_count=1

Most of the pics of my hives in the summer are at the learned yard. Cant tell who the guy feeding them is. Those are the same pics robert russell gave the sheriffs office to help identify my hives.

[Luterra]

This is starting to make sense to me now. JN Russell established a good name, so was able to make good money selling queens. Robert inherited the business and wanted to keep making money from the Russell name, but he lacked the experience/commitment/desire to manage a top-notch queen-rearing program.

The scheme could even have worked for him (for a while at least) if he had refrained from taking people's money without delivering. The sub program allowed him to basically sell the Russell name only, providing a few breeder queens and taking a commission while the subproducers did all the work. Of course, for this to work, Robert Russell needs to be known as an expert queen breeder. Thus the need for the alias. "Rob Hughes" is the lowly manager, the person encountered when folks visit the Russell farm to pick up queens and nucs. The ever busy Dr. Russell is always away in California or on offshore islands working on queen selection and research. Dr. Russell needs to have some public presence of course, so a forum alias is created using plagiarized text in academic discussions, showing to the beekeeping world that this Russell really knows his salt.

[tedlemay]

Question is... with all the deception from Robert,Rob,Doc,Dr. or whoever he is, how will we ever know if any of us have the "true" JN Russell stock? It is truly a shame that a man can spend his whole life developing something only to have his children destroy it in just a couple of years!

in the long run one of the sadist parts of this mess is that the lifetime work of RR''s father namely the sunkist line may be lost. i sure hope that the sub-breeders, who are now runing for cover do not throw away the old russel legacy and genetics... this whole thing really is a mess for everyone in the industry and an insult to show for a lifetime of hard work..... greed is filthy sin

[SippyBees]

Well... I personally dont know where the EXACT queens JN was breeding from last are.... but I DO know where to get his "stock"..... LEGITIMATELY..... but I SURE AS HECK WON'T MENTION IT HERE.... But honestly... if all of this is dealt with soon... I do believe there are some sunkist queens still to be had if you like a very prolific Italian bee.
PLEASE do not crucify me for saying it here.... but research my posts and you will never have seen me say Robert had bad bees to begin with.

[JRGN]

Here's a short video, I can't really attest to the who, what, where, when, and how of it but I'm pretty sure some folks here might recognize some hives... http://youtu.be/VCEQCdYWwUI Use your on judgement as to what this might mean.

Ed

Yep, 2 of those hives are mine the green and cedar colored one.

[Ziva]

MTINAZ.... take a look at this link
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...levant_count=1

Why does it say he lives in France?
http://www.facebook.com/russellapiaries