Man Claims Pat Robertson Threatened Him
Pastor Dale Morgan
Man Claims Pat Robertson Threatened Him*
Saturday February 10, 2007 3:01 AM
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) - A Texas bodybuilder suing Pat Robertson contends the
religious broadcaster walked into federal court for a legal proceeding
and told him: ``I am going to kill you and your family.''
According to a complaint Phillip Busch filed with the Norfolk police,
Robertson made the threat when he entered a room in the courthouse
Wednesday to be questioned for a deposition.
``There was no such threat,'' said Robertson's attorney, Glen Huff.
Busch is suing Robertson for what he says is misappropriation of his
image to promote Robertson's protein diet shake.
Robertson has been touting his ``age-defying'' weight-loss shake for
five years on his Virginia Beach-based Christian Broadcasting Network
talk show ``The 700 Club,'' offering the recipe free to any viewer who
requested it.
Busch contacted the show in 2005, saying he had slimmed down from 400 to
200 pounds by drinking the shake. CBN showed his before-and-after photos
20 times in a promotional spot and flew Busch to Virginia Beach for a
live TV interview with Robertson.
Busch says he didn't know when he contacted CBN that Robertson recently
had licensed his shake for commercial distribution by a nationwide
health-food chain. He sued Robertson in September 2005, alleging that
the broadcaster used his image for a commercial purpose without
compensating him.
The case is set for trial in April. Robertson's spokesmen have accused
Busch of extortion, and Busch has posted disparaging comments about
Robertson on his personal Web site.
Busch has dismissed his attorneys and is litigating the case himself.
This is not the first time Robertson has been accused of threatening an
adversary.
After the failure of an earlier Robertson commercial venture featuring
Bible study courses and discount coupon books, the broadcaster fired
Mark Peterson, the venture's top executive.
The two feuded publicly, blaming each other for the failure. Peterson
sued Robertson in 1995, alleging that Robertson made a veiled death
threat in a telephone conversation with Peterson's sister.
Robertson said he did not make a threat. Peterson dropped the lawsuit in
1997, saying he had forgiven Robertson.
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Information from: The Virginian-Pilot