Skip to content
Link copied to clipboard

Ronnie Polaneczky: Hell's Belles! Even more money owed

KEVIN McELROY, Reed Atkins and John Trinder must be as sick of reading my emails as I am of writing them. But as long as there are Philadelphians who have yet to be reimbursed the cash they paid for events aboard the defunct Philadelphia Belle, I'll continue writing these men, who are all executives with CI Travel Inc.

Center in the Park senior are waiting for a refund from Philadelphia Belle a dinner boat that recently went out of business. Photograph taken on Wednesday afternoon August 11, 2011. From left are seniors,  Dolores Brabham, Margaret Ryan, Fannie Hawkins, Robert Banks, and program coordinator Stephanie Collins. Alejandro A. Alvarez / Philadelphia Daily News
Center in the Park senior are waiting for a refund from Philadelphia Belle a dinner boat that recently went out of business. Photograph taken on Wednesday afternoon August 11, 2011. From left are seniors, Dolores Brabham, Margaret Ryan, Fannie Hawkins, Robert Banks, and program coordinator Stephanie Collins. Alejandro A. Alvarez / Philadelphia Daily NewsRead morePhiladelphia Daily News

KEVIN McELROY, Reed Atkins and John Trinder must be as sick of reading my emails as I am of writing them. But as long as there are Philadelphians who have yet to be reimbursed the cash they paid for events aboard the defunct Philadelphia Belle, I'll continue writing these men, who are all executives with CI Travel Inc.

It's a tiresome task, calling these guys on the carpet. But someone's gotta do it.

Readers may recall that multimillion-dollar CI Travel, based in Norfolk, Va., oversaw operations of the Delaware River-based Belle, which opened for business less than a year ago. On July 21, the Belle abruptly ceased operations, just days after cashing advance checks from clients who'd booked the boat. But until the Daily News got involved, no one would tell clients if, or when, they'd get their money back.

And we're talking serious coin. One betrothed couple paid $18,988 for a wedding; another shelled out $10,000. A charitable fraternity lost $17,060 on a college fundraiser. And Philly Register of Wills Ron Donatucci couldn't get anyone associated with the Belle to tell him whether he'd ever be reimbursed the $10,000 he'd paid the Belle to host his annual party.

But once I hammered at McElroy, Atkins and Trinder in two columns (after sending them emails that were unacknowledged), the stiffed clients got results.

"You did it!" said Donatucci, who received a check. "If it weren't for the Daily News, I'd never have gotten [the] money."

So I figured my work was done, believing - stupidly - that CI Travel was cutting reimbursement checks for everyone who'd been left high and dry, not just those I'd badgered them about.

But then the nice people at the Center in the Park called for help. So here we go again - Column No. 3 about CI Travel.

(Note to Messers McElroy, Trinder and Adkins: If you're going to continue making me do your leg work, shouldn't I be on your payroll? Oh, wait, I forgot . . . )

The nonprofit Center in the Park, in Germantown, is a daytime activity mecca for older adults. Program coordinator Stephanie Collins told me that, earlier in the summer, she'd booked the Belle for an afternoon lunch cruise for clients. They so loved it that she booked two more outings and paid the Belle $1,640 - collected from participants - for the reservation.

"No one will return our calls," said Collins. "These are seniors on a fixed income. They can't afford to lose money" so the center was reimbursing clients the money they'd spent.

But who would reimburse the center?

"We're on a tight budget," said executive director Lynn Fields Harris. "The money we've lost on the Belle could be paying for health programs and other activities that keep our clients engaged."

So I contacted - again - the CI Travel men. And lo and behold, someone named Keith Weiss, representing the Belle, left a voicemail for Collins, saying that the company was in the midst of sending refunds. "Unfortunately," he said, "it's taking a lot longer than we expected."

Weiss didn't return Collins' call, nor mine, so we'll see where this leads. But I have a feeling the drama won't end for a while.

Lance Haver, the city's director of consumer affairs, told me yesterday that he's been trying to run interference for several private contractors - one of them a musician who provided entertainment aboard the Belle - who are also owed money by CI Travel.

There's a thin line between activities that land a business in criminal or civil court, he said, "and it appears to me that the company has crossed the line." He'd like to see the Virginia attorney general - which has jurisdiction over CI Travel - investigate the circumstances surrounding the Belle's demise.

"Otherwise, it's too hard for an individual to persevere in a case like this," he said.

Sigh. My work remains cut out for me.