MICHAEL LORZ ON THE SS CENTRAL AMERICA LITIGATION

I’ve been enjoying The E-Sylum for years, and never had reason to communicate before, but the stakes are high right now for the SS Central America, and I would like to share some information with you and readers of this forum.

First, I want to introduce you and your readers to Milt Butterworth, new president of Columbus-America Discovery Group. And, with the hope that you will remove them, I also wish to point out several errors in the article you have indicated you will publish tonight.

I have enclosed a brief listing of the credentials of Milt Butterworth, president of Columbus-America Discovery Group. Milt configured the ROV Nemo to enable it to capture all the still photos and video from the shipwreck site of the SS Central America. He was in the control room for every recovery dive, and was a strong part of the leadership team of Columbus-America for two decades.

Also enclosed is a statement from Milt, carefully outlining a Brief History of Columbus-America Discovery Group.

Personally, I had the pleasure of meeting Milt shortly after Tommy Thompson asked me join Columbus-America to lead the internal team in design and installation of the 9000-square foot exhibit at Columbus Museum of Art in 1992. That exhibit was about “deep ocean images” of the discovery and recovery of the SS Central America. We worked next on a similar but larger exhibit at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in 1994, which focused on the many forms of deep ocean animals discovered at the shipwreck. Milt’s thorough and deep knowledge of the recovery phase, and public education phases inspired Tommy Thompson to make him manager of all Columbus-America staff for many years.

It is my hope that you and your readers will get to know Milt, and respect him for his knowledge of the SS Central America, and Columbus-America Discovery Group. I know that every member of the Columbus-America team holds him in the highest regard, both as a professional and a leader.

Lastly, I must point out several errors in the article you indicated you would publish tonight. The first inaccuracy is implied in your question: “Wasn’t Odyssey Marine working for Columbus-America Discovery Group, the original investment team that Tommy Thompson and Bob Evans sailed for?” No Wayne, Odyssey has contracted with Recovery Limited Partnership, under court-appointed receiver Ira Kane. Columbus-America Discovery Group was never a party to any of the litigation that led to the Ohio court appointing a receiver. Court documents I can provide will support this fact. Since it was not a party to the litigation, the receiver has no court-granted authority over Columbus-America, and Columbus-America is not involved in the at-sea operations being undertaken by RLP and Odyssey Marine.

Bloomberg News may have said “(Bob) Evans…will represent the original investors…” But RLP is the company involved with investors, not Columbus-America.

The next inaccuracy is in reprinting an inaccurate quote from an Odyssey Marine press release, which says in part: “the court…issued permanent injunctions which prohibit any party other than CADG and RLP from operations related to the site.” This is inaccurate because the court document about the permanent injunction does not mention RLP as being involved at all. I can provide that court document also.

The last point is the matter of how many investors brought the various legal proceedings in Columbus that prevented us from continuing our deep ocean mission. Court documents show that only 2 of nearly 300 investors have sued, which is less than 1% of the investors. I point out this seeming detail, because when the word “investors” is used regarding the lawsuits, your readers may quickly assume that is many, or most of the investors. It is not. It is 2 investors, one of which is Dispatch Printing Company, the largest and strongest media owner in Central Ohio, and the other, now deceased, was an individual retired from a financial company that was controlled by members of the same family that owns the Dispatch Printing Company.

The SS Central America represents an exciting story, one that has too long been tied up in courts. It is our hope that Columbus-America Discovery Group will soon be actively pursuing its mission, to protect the SS Central America site, to conduct multi-disciplinary deep ocean research, to recover the treasures of the SS Central America and tell its new stories, to pay the operating expenses it will incur, and distribute a return to its investors.

Sincerely
F. Michael Lorz,
For Columbus-America Discovery Group.

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