The situation over at The Mott, Emma Cleary's much-anticipated spot, is heading for a bad divorce. The relationship between the scene girl and The Mott's investment group has gone from really bad to much worse. A temporary restraining order was issued in the state supreme court by his honorable Bernard J. Fried. The TRO prevents Emma from conducting any business with the layers of corporations involved with the joint; she can't even speak to them. The order specifically forbids her from transferring the liquor license. The rub here is that she has already turned in the license. A hearing is set for July 16, but it's unclear what will be accomplished at that hearing, as Emma has "already walked away and does not want a relationship," with Lewis Black or Fred Loh, who she describes as "unsavory characters."

On the surface, it seems that the investment group headed up by Black and Loh is acting "arrogantly" or "stupidly"; however, whenever I see very bright people acting dumb, I look extra carefully. In a conversation I had with Emma, a theory began to emerge. "I don't know why they have taken out a restraining order ... I have already surrendered the license, so the restraining order would only stop me from taking any action towards reinstating it." There were ongoing negotiations to sell Emma's shares to the investment group, but these talks broke down. "They made me an offer at one point which was to be paid over time. I turned this down straight away because they have demonstrated that they were untrustworthy, and I didn't feel that I would ever see a penny of it. Nor did I want to see a monthly check from these guys, which would only remind me about all this and cause me to worry about whether they were able to make enough to pay me every month."

So it gets back to the bright guys acting dumb question -- it seems that the son of ex-senator Alfonse D'Amato, Daniel D'Amato, is a close friend and business partner of Lewis Black. Indeed, according to Emma Cleary, he is an investor in The Mott. Where the ex-senator D'Amato by all accounts is a stand up guy, I was told there were times where the acorn fell very far from the tree -- and indeed Daniel D'Amato had trouble at one point standing up at all. It seems that Black helped Daniel with what ailed him, and a very close bond exists between the two. I called Shawn Kolodny, who continues to deny involvement but seems to pass my inquiries along for comment. A talk was scheduled between your humble writer and the group, but this sit-down was canceled, and so I am left with only one side of the sad tale to report. I called Shawn again yesterday, and he was quite irate with me. I have always liked him and respected him, but his veiled threats and innuendos -- coming from someone who continues to deny involvement -- were unexpected. Mutual friends of mine and Emma's have refused to go on record, citing "possible reprisals" and other concerns. They have asked to remain anonymous but back Emma Cleary's tale to the letter. "I'm concerned that with Lewis Black's connections with former senator Alfonse D'Amato and high-priced lawyers from Kirkland and Ellis LLP, he will try to go around the system and obtain a license without community approval and without taking the proper steps, including getting my cooperation, since I am the sole shareholder of both corporations," said Cleary.

It keeps on getting worse. Emma's lawyer has warned the investment group against making slanderous statements. They seem to be going around town telling people that she is criminally libelous. Their reps or non-reps have told me the same thing. The Emma side has kicked in with accusations of drug use by Lewis Black, and I have received testimonials to his "terrible treatment of women." Although this by itself doesn't carry much relevance, it is sufficient reason in Emma's mind not to continue to do business with the man. I have also, on Emma's insistence, done Google searches on both Lewis Black and Fred Loh, and there also seems to be shady aspects or abrupt firings in their business careers -- which seemed to have been very successful, until they were not.

The mudslinging may stop with the issuance of the restraining order, but it seems unlikely that a friendly separation or compromise will occur. The serious implications that the investment group will somehow circumvent the process and reinstate the license through influential friends comes at a time when the SLA has been purging itself of many demons. A check on the status of the invaluable document on the SLA website shows it to be "inactive." I have found the actions of the investors in dealing with me for this series of articles to be less than honest. Without any evidence to indicate that Emma's tale of "feeling unsafe" in a "hostile male chauvinistic environment," and of the investors being "shady guys" who have stolen her dream from her, I will accept them as the likely truth. I await anxiously the July 16 court date and hope the honorable judge Bernard J. Fried can provide cleary-ity
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