While I was not there in Nevada as Chuck Collings, Jim Teel (and supposedly Tom Raley) were involved in the big gamble/purchase that made Raley a millionaire several times over (according to Raley's history book), nothing of this big gamble made any sound financial sense at all except for these cons being able to get their hands on some quick cash from a chain of supermarkets losing money and headed for bankruptcy.
Raley's cheated Charles Nordby out of promised monetary bonuses after hiring him in 1973. Yet during this same time period, it appears by the documents found on this page, that they gave a piece of real estate to the Gastanaga brothers (owners of Eagle Thrifty) with a value possibly in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, for only a mere $10. Was $10 the actual amount the Gastanaga brothers paid for this property or was the actual amount paid concealed?
Probably no money at all was exchanged for this property. Although, $10 looked pretty good to Raley's at this time seeing that their suppliers, vendors and Raley's employees were stealing them blind in California.
Did Raley's offer (worthless) corporation stock to these brothers as collateral and then the Gastanaga brothers wanted something that had real value to it before letting Jim Teel and Charles Collings get their hands on the Eagle Thrifty stores? This piece of property detailed below might have been the only valuable asset within Eagle Thrifty and the Gastanaga brothers wanted it on the first day Raley's took ownership on July 1, 1973. What other explanation would there be for the suspicious shuffling around of this piece of property as seen below?
Hey, these documents might represent the big Tom Raley/Eagle Thrifty deal of Nevada. Raley's was planning on bankrupting this chain of stores and Raley's history book touted this deal as the big gamble that made Raley a millionaire serveral times over...sorry Collings, but Nordby made Raley a millionaire serveral times over.
Here is the script:
Teel and Collings quickly set up the Eagle Thrifty Corporation by the end of June, 1973, and then turned over a valuable piece of real estate property to Raley's of Nevada, and then deeded off this same piece of property to the Gastanaga brothers- doing all of this after they (Teel, Collings, Raley) became the Eagle Thrifty Corp. of Nevada-separate from Raley's .
Collings and Teel immediately pull $1 million out of Eagle Thrifty's payroll because they needed some quick cash to keep the Raley stores in California afloat or because they wanted to have a truck load of cash for themselves when Raley's went bankrupt. Had they not hired Charles Nordby around this same time period, Eagle Thrifty would have gone into bankruptcy, the Gastanaga brothers would have been able to keep the valuable property that went from the Raley's Eagle Thrifty Corp of Nevada, to Raley's of Nevada, and nicely put into their hands so creditors wouldn't be able to come after them and the property.
The creditors would have been left holding the bag and all of Eagle Thrifty employees would have been without a job...all because Charles Collings and Jim Teel were low-class crooks!
Oh, one additional note: While (two of) the Holy Trinity stars Charles Collings and Jim Teel, along with (supposedly) Tom Raley, are running around Nevada trying to find a pot of gold to keep the Raley's stores in California afloat, 80% of Raley's suppliers in California are stealing large sums of money from Raley's at this very same time. Enough to make anybody laugh!!!
