“The Saddest Words of Tongue & Pen, Are Those of What Might have Been.”

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My friend negotiated a lucrative, exclusive 6-State Distributorship Agreement for a unique fuel additive that burned gas or diesel fuel more completely in the combustion chamber. The benefit was more fuel economy & power, with negligible carbon emissions.

It also was far cheaper than any other fuel additive on the market, because it worked in “Regular” gasoline, and not the  12 cents more expensive “Reformulated” gasoline with Ethanol. The challenge was to get EPA approval to market the product nationwide.

Investors offered my friend a generous 6-figure salary& benefits, plus 50% of Pre-Tax Profits, along with 50% of Ownership Equity in the new company. All other competitive companies failed to achieve EPA Requirements, despite tens of millions of dollars spent and tens of thousands of man hours allocated. My friend combined his creative insights with his compelling presentations, and persistence to obtain all EPA, State, and Municipal approvals, by:

1) The US EPA ignored all of his initial proposals and phone calls. So, my friend contacted his Congressman, who liked the idea of lowering gas emissions without relying of expensive Reformulated Gasoline with Ethanol. The Congressman said my that someone from the EPA would contact him. The next day, my friend explained the project to the EPA Manager of Mobile fleets, who approved the project on 2 Condition: 1) He must use the State’s Emission Testing Facilities, and 2) He must use Municipal Fleet Vehicles.

2) So, my friend contacted the Head of his State’s Emission Testing Facilities, who initially denied my friend’s request, saying it was only granted once before to the Schell Oil Company. When my friend explained that His Goal & Shell’s were congruent: “To lower emissions.” The size of the company was irrelevant. He received the State’s approval on the Condition that the company operating the State’s facilities, agrees to the testing.

3) So, my friend contacted the company operating the testing facility and met the VP of Operations, who asked, “What’s in it for them to do the project?”. Their company was only paid to test auto gas emissions. My friend explained that the State would also pay them to test Diesel trucks, if diesel emissions were lowered. My friend’s product lowered emissions on all carbon based fuels, alike. The company agreed to do the testing.

4) So, my friend contacted the Mayor of his local community. She referred him to the City Engineer, who referred him to the Maintenance Supervisor in the Municipal Garage. The Garage Supervisor loved the idea. He hated what ethanol did to the engines and loved that fuel costs would be reduced by 10 cents a gallon. He arranged for 10 Municipal Police cars to have a Base-Line test, and then return 3 months later, after using the product. My friend’s product reduced the Municipal Police cars’ emissions 12%, while saving the City 10 cents a gallon in fuel costs.

5) The EPA Mobile Fleet Manager was surprised, but delighted with the results. (So was my friend’s Congressman.) The EPA Manager required 2 more tests, using different vehicles, from different Counties. My friend garnered permission from the County North from him to test their School Buses. He gained approval from the County West of him to use their DPW Vehicles. Both County Fleets experienced the same 12% reduction in vehicle emissions, and the 10 cents a gallon reduction in fuel costs, because the additive worked in “Regular” gasoline, and didn’t require the 12 cents a gallon more expensive “Reformulated” gasoline with Ethanol.

6) These arduous, step-by-step approvals over 3 years produced compelling, positive test results that allowed the EPA Manager of Mobile Fleets to grant my friend permission to market his product, nationwide.

7) My friend negotiated a Guaranteed Compensation Agreement with a National Distributor of Non-Competitive fuel products to UPS, Fed EX, etc., nationwide Truck Stops, and the Major Oil Companies. That Agreement guaranteed my friend 2 million dollars the 1^st year, 5 million the 2^nd year, and 10 million the 3^rd year, or 10 % of the Gross Profit, whichever was greater.

That was the climax to the crescendo of the above 3 years of hard work, that others couldn’t imagine or accomplish.

The President of the National Distribution Company explained those terms to my friend’s wife over dinner.

That guaranteed financial windfall was beyond my friend’s wife wildest dreams. It was more than just the college educations for her children and their retirement. More than gracious homes on the coasts, mountains, or wherever. More than the cars, yachts, planes or whatever trinkets the fabulously wealthy enjoy. It was peace of mind, security, and freedom. All of that would begin in about 5 weeks, after the legal documents were “Signed & Sealed”.

All of that disappeared 3 weeks later, when the County Sheriff knocked on my friend’s office door. The Sheriff handed my friend a Court Order “To Cease & Desist” the sale of the fuel additive to anyone, effective immediately, upon the date of legal service of the Court Order. The International Distributor of the fuel additive declared bankruptcy. That Bankruptcy VOIDED all Distributorship Agreements, which included my friend.

That International Distributor held the patents to the fuel additive product. His investors convinced him to void all the existing distributorship agreements by bankruptcy, then start a new company, and “step into my friend’s shoes”.

My friend told the EPA Manager of Mobile Fleets what happened.

When the President of the New International Additive Company called the EPA, he was told that all the approvals given to my friend’s company were null & void. They ceased to exist when my friend’s distributorship company ceased to exist. His “New Company” would have to replicate all the emission testing my friend did, using State Testing Sites, with more Counties, and more types of vehicles, over a 3-year period of time. The “New Company” couldn’t comply to the EPA’s requirements. It also lost all of the previous distributor’s customers, who were disgusted with the “New Company’s” take-0ver tactics.

So, no one made money. The “New Company”declared Bankruptcy, it had no customers or prospect of EPA approval.. My friend lost everything: his income, his home, his savings, spent on legal expenses, fighting the corrupt International Distributor’s “Bankruptcy”.

Hence, “The saddest words of tongue & pen, are those of what might have been.” Kenny Rogers’ song  “The Gambler” expresses that same theme.

You can read about what subsequently happened to my friend in this website’s “Most Popular Posts”: “A life-changing experience for $5 Bucks, at Mc D’s”