How'd you like THIS guy as a dinner tablemate?

[ecowen]

This article appeared in today's NY Times, about a man who developed a habit of pretending to poke out his own eye on cruise ships out in order to collect on insurance. :eek:

 

 

Prosecutors Say an Injured Man Turned a Blind Eye Into Treasure

 

By KIRK SEMPLE

Published: November 11, 2004

WHITE PLAINS, Nov. 10 - Brian Calen was blinded in his right eye in 1985 when he suffered a burn on his retina after a filter dropped out of a telescope he was using on a one-day cruise. That was a legitimate accident, investigators said on Wednesday - made worse by the fact that Mr. Calen apparently had no insurance at the time.

 

But each of the next three times he reported losing that same right eye, all on different cruises, he had made sure to take out insurance policies, the investigators said.

 

He was insured in 1992 when he said he was blinded in a repeat of the telescope accident. He was covered in 1997 when he said he was blinded by glass shards from an exploding wine bottle on a cruise from Miami to South America. And he had insurance in 2002 when he said he was blinded by a Frisbee during a Mississippi riverboat cruise with a Civil War theme, officials said.

 

"Unless he has three eyes, this is a fraud," Jeanine F. Pirro, the Westchester County district attorney, said in a telephone interview.

 

Mr. Calen, a 48-year-old Dobbs Ferry resident who is a day trader and stay-at-home father, was indicted on Wednesday on insurance-fraud charges. He collected $75,000 in the 1992 telescope case and $1 million in the wine bottle accident, the district attorney said. He tried to file an insurance claim for $500,000 after the purported Frisbee accident, the district attorney's office said, but an insurance company employee, coincidentally, had worked on the 1997 claim.

 

Mr. Calen was arraigned on Wednesday on charges of fraudulently attempting to collect insurance money and was freed on $10,000 bail, Mrs. Pirro said. If convicted of the charge, he faces up to 15 years in prison, she said.

 

Mr. Calen could not be reached for comment, and his lawyer, Peter Goodrich, did not respond to a telephone message left at his office.

 

Mrs. Pirro said Mr. Calen took out an insurance policy - each with a different insurance company - before he went on a cruise.

 

Mrs. Pirro's spokeswoman, Anne Marie Corbalis, said the insurance policies he bought apparently did not require a screening examination.

 

In the 1997 case, she said, Mr. Calen took the glass from a broken wine bottle and ground it into his eye socket. He received surgery for that injury, she said.

 

"It's an indication of how eager he was to collect," Mrs. Pirro said.

[Randyk47]

Well, he might be an interesting table mate but I'm not sure I'd want him as a friend. Of course, the way he's going maybe I wouldn't want to be his table mate because everybody at his table is going to be wearing orange jump suites with "prisoner" printed across the back. Certainly is going to cut down on the what to wear for formal night debate. :)

[stretch]

Strange, You think he requested a free cruise on top of it???

Stretch

[Sea Island Lady]

Hope this post doesn't give anyone else any ideas. :rolleyes:

[Lois R]

:eek: Now...these are the kind of folks who cause Insurance rates to go up.....not necessarily on a cruise...but lets say in the car insurance business....

You get my drift I am sure.....he sounds like an Idiot to me:mad:

[excitedofharpenden]

I'd need a chap like that at my dinner table like a poke in the eye.......

 

Phil

[ElaineB2]

I'd need a chap like that at my dinner table like a poke in the eye.......

 

Phil

No pun intended, I'm sure ;)

[usha]

This guy's new dinner companions will have names like Bubbah, Tiny, and Killer!:eek:

[Cruisechik]

In the 1997 case, she said, Mr. Calen took the glass from a broken wine bottle and ground it into his eye socket. He received surgery for that injury, she said.

 

"It's an indication of how eager he was to collect," Mrs. Pirro said.

 

:eek: OUCH!!

[CaptData]

Yes, and I bet they are all honeys and innocent too.

[hotspur]

To some here it wouldn't matter as long as he was properly dressed for formal night (rolleyes emoticon).

[dmarch@islc.net]

How would I like him as a table mate? Well..right now I'm starving so it sounds pretty good. LOL On a full tummy I would have to say keel haul the boy.

[CruznTom]

if i were the cruise line, i'd keep an eye out for that guys' booking. :D

[wvufan]

Hey, didn't he sing "Semi Charmed Life?":D

 

OOOEEE:D :D Bob and Phyllis

[SeaBreezy]

When I read about this man, it made me think of some people that sat beside our table in the dining room of Explorer of the Seas. They had a table for 4 and it was 2 women and 2 men. It appeared that they were a set of parents and a daughter w/son in law or something. Anyway, they fought every single evening. Arguing and cussing and being rude! The "mother" of the group just sat there and ate her food and stared at her plate while the other 3, mainly the 2 younger ones, fought. On most nights, someone from the table would get up and leave in a big huff, yelling on the way out. Our waiter and asst. waiter would look over at our table while serving their table like, "Oh my, they don't pay me enough for this!" The reason I tell this is on one of the last nights, the younger man said REALLY loud, "I OUGHTA POKE YOUR EYES OUT WITH A FORK!" Everyone around this particular table tried to not bust out laughing. These people were outrageous! The older couple was probably in their late 70's, or early 80's. The younger couple was probably 50ish. You could tell that this was the norm for them.

 

Wonder if the man in the article has resorted to poking his wife's eyeballs out since he's been exposed???:eek:

[Shirley and Les]

It is hard to imagine the steps some people will take to get something for free. Imagine, imposing a permanent injury just to get a free cruise. Some people are really nervy.

I have found you can get a free cruise with much less damage. Typically, it works best when the waiter is serving hot soup or the assistant waiter is pouring hot coffee. The best plan involves having something hot spilled on an adjacent tablemate and then quicking positioning yourself to get a residual splash on your clothing. When you are successful in causing a spill, make a real scene and point out all of the physical damage to your tablemate. When a cruiseline representative shows up, mention that you are a personal liability attorney and there was so much negligence, you are willing to work on a "pro bono" basis to get compensation for both yourself and your tablemate.

On some cruises, the opportunity may never arise where you can cause hot liquid to be spilled on a new table acquaintance. In that instance, you may have to cause a burn on DW to obtain the free cruise. Wives do heal and she will forget the incident before the next cruise.

If there are enough positive responses to this post, I will explain how you can successfully sue a fellow passenger after he removes your personal possessions from a pool lounge chair after it has been vacant for serveral hours. All it takes is a video camera and some patience.

Les

[wvufan]

Good morning,

 

Perhaps I should explain my crack about the guy singing "Semi Charmed Life"-it was by Third Eye Blind:D

 

OOOEEE:D :D Bob and Phyl

[dublin]

What a creep - I would keep my eyes opened for this guy - or should I say eyes closed.

[nitnyleo]

Beauty Is Truth.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Therefore, Truth is in the eye of the beholder.

 

Clearly, in addition to his physical impairment suffered on his first cruise, the gentleman also suffered from a severe psychological trauma that manifests itself in a psychosomatic event every time he cruises. Because of the unresolved conflict of being eyeless (in gaza?), he HAS to relive the loss of his eye everytime he goes on a cruise. I feel bad for him.

 

But, no, I would not like him for a tablemate.

[tawcat]

when he says he'll keep an out eye for you, he really means it! :)

[richkinkade]

Another case of American blind justice.