- 05/19/2007 (12:24:10 am)
- Portland Tribune
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Thanks to Mike Informer for this link:
Wrestling impresario indicted
Partner says embezzling charge won’t stop Aug. 25 state fair show
CULBERTSON
Tom Baker / Portland Tribune
Well-regarded local wrestling promoter Frank Culbertson Jr. has been indicted, dropping a piledriver on plans to revive the local institution called Portland Wrestling.
Culbertson, 48, was arraigned May 10 on charges of aggravated theft, having been accused of embezzling at least $10,000 from Broadway Cab, where he had gotten a job as controller in the firm’s accounting unit.
Culbertson, who pleaded not guilty, declined to comment, as did his attorney. News of the indictment came as a surprise to Culbertson’s fairly new Portland Wrestling partner, Don Coss, who said the company has been on hiatus while they try to revive it.
“Oh, my gosh,” said Coss, a former wrestling announcer who owns two radio stations, one in Woodburn and another in Salem. “This is coming as a shock to me.”
Culbertson, a former KWPB (32) advertising salesman, bought Portland Wrestling four years ago, and enjoyed a surge in fans thanks to Oregon’s deregulation of wrestling in 2003.
Featuring wrestlers with entertainment names like Big Ugly, Psydsho and Psycho Sailor, Culbertson’s shows at the Kliever National Guard Armory in Northeast Portland averaged 400 fans for a time.
The shows aired regularly on cable access Channel 14. But advertising has nevertheless been hard to sell, Coss said.
Culbertson recently transferred majority ownership of Portland Wrestling to Coss in return for Coss assuming some debts, including to the National Guard, Coss said.
“I wanted to help him pursue Portland Wrestling – that’s why I got involved with it,” said Coss, who described Culbertson as hardworking and passionate about wrestling. “To me, he was always one of the good guys, or I would never have been involved with it.”
When they made the deal, “I didn’t realize that Frank was the only person out there selling advertising,” Coss said. “I thought he was regrouping, but nothing ever happened so I ended up paying off everything that was owed.”
Coss and Culbertson suspended the shows several months ago while trying to line up new sponsors and advertisers. Coss said Culbertson had said he had a line on a new venue, but he had stopped returning calls at the beginning of the month.
“Ironically, this morning I placed another call to Frank,” Coss said.
He said they had earlier toyed with the notion of putting together a show featuring footage of past wrestling classics, and also had been organizing a lucha libre wrestling event at the Oregon State Fair for Aug. 25.
Coss said he has no plans to scrap that show, which will pit former local champions Len “the Grappler” Denton and John “the Barbarian” Nord versus two stars of the Mexican wrestling milieu.
As for Portland Wrestling, Coss said if Culbertson can’t help out, “it’s not a deal breaker … we’ll have to wait and see.’
Portland Wrestling’s most recent event was a Nov. 11, 2006, pay-per-view event called Total Chaos.
The Portland Wrestling Web site said the company had been planning to hold another show in April. In February, Culbertson paid the state $100 to renew his promoter’s license.
But on March 2, Culbertson turned himself in for arrest and booking, according to the Multnomah County sheriff’s office. The investigation was conducted by the Portland Police Bureau, and the indictment was issued April 20.
Details of the alleged embezzlement are sparse. The indictment says the alleged theft occurred between April 3 and Sept. 29, 2006.
Law enforcement officials declined to comment, as did Raye Miles, general manager of Broadway Cab.
Dave Gaggero is keeping an open mind about Culbertson. The owner of Captain Jack’s Tattoo Studio, Gaggero has been a sponsor of Portland Wrestling for years, and said he re-upped with Culbertson several months ago.
“I like the guy,” he said of Culbertson. “I don’t know him real well, but it doesn’t seem to me that he would be the kind of guy who would steal.”
