Ex-bodyguards claim cover-ups, sex harassment by Paul Allen family
SEATTLE - Luggage packed with giraffe bones could mean trouble for Vulcan CEO Jody Allen and her brother -- Microsoft co-founder and Seahawks owner Paul Allen -- as lawsuits filed by the siblings’ bodyguards proceed.
The allegation – that Jody Allen tried to sneak home the bones while on safari in Botswana – is the most concrete claim made so far by a group of former Vulcan Inc. bodyguards who’ve sued both Allens and their firm, which was founded by Paul Allen, who remains the company's chairman. But the giraffe’s bones may turn out to be the smallest skeleton tucked in the Allen family closet.
Silenced by court orders and confidentiality agreements, the former members of the Allens’ personal security detail have made vague claims that the Allens were involved in criminal activity and bribery, and that Jody Allen sexually harassed security officers. They also claim other Vulcan executives turned a blind eye or worse to the behavior.
At least five former members of the Allens’ personal security team have sued the siblings and Vulcan. Court documents indicate that 10 other former members of the team have previously settled with Vulcan after closed hearings before a private mediator.
In a series of lawsuits filed in King County Superior Court, the security officers accused Jody Allen of sexually harassing members of the executive protection team. They’ve also claimed she, her brother and others with the firm have committed and covered up crimes, which have yet to be described in detail.
Those alleged crimes may be revealed later this year, when attorneys for two former leaders of the executive protection team – a retired FBI special agent among them – are scheduled to take their cases to a jury. The Allens would be called to testify, as would dozens of current and former Vulcan employees alleged to have witnessed illegal or unethical activities.
Vulcan attorney Harry Schneider described the claims as "meritless" and accused the employees of attempting to wring money out of their former employer.
"These lawsuits were filed 18 months ago because Paul Allen declined to acquiesce when plaintiffs threatened to file their outlandish allegations in court unless they were paid money," Schneider said by email Thursday.
Though the company has fought to push the lawsuits into secret arbitration, Schneider went on to say Vulcan "expects to prevail in court."
Now best known as owner of the Seattle Seahawks and Portland Trail Blazers, Paul Allen co-founded Vulcan in 1986 with sister Jody Allen, who serves as the firm’s president as well as its CEO. In the past decade, Vulcan has redeveloped much of Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood; the firm recently won a contract to turn the 30-acre Yesler Terrace housing project on First Hill into a $300 million mixed-use development.
A tiny piece of the Allens’ operation, the Vulcan executive protection team is staffed by elite security contractors – SEAL-school trained combat veterans among them – paid to protect Paul and Jody Allen, as well as Jody Allen’s children. Members of the team, which numbered eight to 14 people from 2010 to 2011, accompany the Allens when they travel and provide security for their properties.
In a sworn statement, former team leader and retired FBI special agent Kathy Leodler said the Allens are now trying to hide criminal activity behind confidentiality agreements.
“Let me be clear, I do not accept the assertion that crimes of corporate executives can be covered up by an agreement to protect trade secrets or Allen ‘privacy,’” Leodler said in a declaration to the court.
The allegation – that Jody Allen tried to sneak home the bones while on safari in Botswana – is the most concrete claim made so far by a group of former Vulcan Inc. bodyguards who’ve sued both Allens and their firm, which was founded by Paul Allen, who remains the company's chairman. But the giraffe’s bones may turn out to be the smallest skeleton tucked in the Allen family closet.
Silenced by court orders and confidentiality agreements, the former members of the Allens’ personal security detail have made vague claims that the Allens were involved in criminal activity and bribery, and that Jody Allen sexually harassed security officers. They also claim other Vulcan executives turned a blind eye or worse to the behavior.
At least five former members of the Allens’ personal security team have sued the siblings and Vulcan. Court documents indicate that 10 other former members of the team have previously settled with Vulcan after closed hearings before a private mediator.
In a series of lawsuits filed in King County Superior Court, the security officers accused Jody Allen of sexually harassing members of the executive protection team. They’ve also claimed she, her brother and others with the firm have committed and covered up crimes, which have yet to be described in detail.
Those alleged crimes may be revealed later this year, when attorneys for two former leaders of the executive protection team – a retired FBI special agent among them – are scheduled to take their cases to a jury. The Allens would be called to testify, as would dozens of current and former Vulcan employees alleged to have witnessed illegal or unethical activities.
Vulcan attorney Harry Schneider described the claims as "meritless" and accused the employees of attempting to wring money out of their former employer.
"These lawsuits were filed 18 months ago because Paul Allen declined to acquiesce when plaintiffs threatened to file their outlandish allegations in court unless they were paid money," Schneider said by email Thursday.
Though the company has fought to push the lawsuits into secret arbitration, Schneider went on to say Vulcan "expects to prevail in court."
Now best known as owner of the Seattle Seahawks and Portland Trail Blazers, Paul Allen co-founded Vulcan in 1986 with sister Jody Allen, who serves as the firm’s president as well as its CEO. In the past decade, Vulcan has redeveloped much of Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood; the firm recently won a contract to turn the 30-acre Yesler Terrace housing project on First Hill into a $300 million mixed-use development.
A tiny piece of the Allens’ operation, the Vulcan executive protection team is staffed by elite security contractors – SEAL-school trained combat veterans among them – paid to protect Paul and Jody Allen, as well as Jody Allen’s children. Members of the team, which numbered eight to 14 people from 2010 to 2011, accompany the Allens when they travel and provide security for their properties.
In a sworn statement, former team leader and retired FBI special agent Kathy Leodler said the Allens are now trying to hide criminal activity behind confidentiality agreements.
“Let me be clear, I do not accept the assertion that crimes of corporate executives can be covered up by an agreement to protect trade secrets or Allen ‘privacy,’” Leodler said in a declaration to the court.
If she did what they claim, she is wrong and should be held accountable.Â
On the other hand, extortion and trying to profit as these guys are doing I feel are equally as wrong.I have no problem with them going to the press â the part I have issue with is how they wanted âhush moneyâ first.
Class, when you see someone commit a crime you should sue them instead of reporting it when they have how much Net Worth? Anyone?
How do you spell "extortion"? What few allegations that have come out are silly and related not to Paul Allen but to his sister. What is the basis for this suit? Contract? Employment law? If it's sexual harassment, as some seem to claim, then why are the exotic bones from Africa even relevant. This is a smelly stew of unrelated and vague allegations made by a handful of folks who see billions of dollars and want a piece of it. Now they have me feeling sorry for Paul Allen.
".... the company has fought to push the lawsuits into secret arbitration ....
I have ALWAYS had a problem with "Confidentiality Clauses". If the entity demanding such a clause has done nothing wrong, why prohibit the other party from talking about it, why keep it "confidential"?
To me, they simply stink of wrong doing & covering things up.
The Allens are common folk who won the world's biggest lottery. Â Paul has behaved like many of us would have...buying giant yachts, professional sports teams, indulging in favorite hobbies, hobnobbing with the glitterati...a rare few would behave with the self discipline of a Warren Buffet, for example. Â To his credit he has enhanced his hometown in the same way European royals built their capitals and will leave a lasting legacy that many generations of Seattleites will enjoy for years to come. Â Paul's sister Jody is the focus of this story and stoning Paul for imagined sins is beyond the pale. Â
Maybe she was just trying to train those body guards how to do a very thorough pat down?
Lot's of stuff is going to come out.
Neither Paul or Jody are easy to work for. One is known for world class temper tantrums. Can't say anymore now.
@Deathcheater Ah, gee--a boss with a temper--well, we all got multi-million dollar settlements for having bosses with tempers, right?Â
I have been told by a former employee, that Mr. Allen is NOT the easiest person to work for. Until you've been sexually harassed, and had the choice of your job or a 'gag order', you can never conjecture what is going on.
@JT1958 Yes, we have a constitutional right to have bosses who are "easy" to work for. And if they are not easy, they should pay us millions of dollars to make up for the psycholigical damage. BS.
This actually funny to me. These guys claim to be tough as nails elite SEAL type professionals then they whine, "She sexually harassed me!" Jeez what if a bad guy cane after them. Would they be crying on the floor, "Don't hurt me!"Â
@Goodwin
Just like a woman should be able to work free of any sexual advances from her employer, so should a man be able to.
Your post is shocking.....and ignorant.
@Karen Pooley Yes, and they were paid handsomely, I assume, for their work and putting up with bosses who weren't easy to work for. What a whiny bunch of . . . . .
I hope he buys us a hockey team. I don't care about giraffe bones. The giraffe is dead it won't be needing them. As far is the employees complaints, quit you big babies.
Power and Money tend to corrupt, especially with the family members who didn't earn it..
The rich will always be rich.Â
Working poor people, say goodby to your Yesler Terrace housing project home. When the dust is settled, and the new walls go up, you ain't coming back.
@BuddyHolly Do the people you are addressing own the land in Yesler Terrace? If not, what are you whining about?
@BuddyHolly ROTFLMAO...!!!
Humm, giraffe bones, jigsaw puzzle for the rich and powerful?
Sexual harassment by a billionaire female? Hm. How bad can it be? Hope to hear the details ...
@Komo Dragon Surely there's tons of attractive yet financially disadvantaged men out there that'd love to have a sugar mama.
This comment has been deleted
@SandyBeach @UtterReality @Komo Dragon There ain't enough viagra on the planet. Trust me.
Whether the accusations are true or not, this is America, where if you are filthy rich, you are immune.
uh-oh, something tells me somebody is tired of losing out at the casinos and the lottery and has decided to go roll the allegations dice on the rich crap table!
Allen's a prick...he needs to go. He likes going to pristine places and destroying them, like the boys  camp on Sperry Peninsuala on Lopez Island. He's a great. big, egomaniacal jerk.Â
@bagsofdirt And his sister is worse.
Okay, two things here.
First off, there seems to be a fire under all that smoke. Some of these allegations have a ring of truth to them, and I wouldn't be surprised to find that there is some dirty laundry involved. However, let's not forget that Allen is a rich man and there is that old adage that says 'For every dollar a rich man makes, there three SOBs trying to cheat him out of it". And in this case BOTH may be true.
Secondly, Paul Allen has done an awful lot of good for the Pacific Northwest; he has put a hell of a lot of his money back into our community. Yes, I say that as a Seahawk fan in that he bought the team from that rotten SOB Ken Behring and kept it in Seattle and gave it the financial tools to put together a winner. But beyond that, there are a lot of community donations he's done in both Seattle and Portland. Certainly, he has his critics even in this regard. Some people don't like how he spends his money in town or what he chooses to spend it on. But it remains true that he has done well by both Seattle and Portland. And in the end, those who approve of Allen will still do so and those who hate him will still do so. So this is all much ado about diddly /squat.
@svensson  How are you in a position to determine that the allegations have a ring of truth to them? From living in Seattle? Â
@avocats @svensson Well, for one thing, there is the age-old adage 'truth is stranger than fiction'. Giraffe bones? Really?Â
Next there is the fact that allegations of sexual harassment perpetrated by a woman are pretty rare. They certainly rarely make the news cycle, barring the occasional 'Mary Kay' type case that crops up. Also, Jody Allen has been charged with misconduct with Vulcan employees in the past.
Thirdly, most FBI agents are lawyers. As a rule, lawyers don't file cases unless they believe they can win.
All this tends to make me suspect that, yes, there is a likelihood of some truth in the matter. But if you read my post, you'll see I used the words 'allegations', 'seems to be' and so forth. The case is still pending and I seriously doubt that we'll ever know the truth. Paul Allen does have a whole lot of 'shut up and go away' money in the bank.
Paul Allen was found to be unethical when he started that cable company in Colorado and pumped up its value to lure investigators. A class action lawsuit was initiated and he settled for pennies on the dollar. I know several people that lost huge amounts of money to him. I've forgotten the name of the company but I could find it in my tax records since I too lost heavily when I invested in the "wrong partner "from microsoft.
@memory9 Charter Communications? I guess he wanted to lure investors not "investigators" ;-) But nice one...
This comment has been deleted
@al_wa They will just write a check. No rich person wants their dirty laundry aired in the public. And its all just a tax write off for them so it doesn't really cost them anything anyways. Its a corrupt system mutilated by corrupt people for decades now.
@Blindman @al_wa For decades?  It has always been that way.  :)
Where there is smoke there is fire! These people wouldn't dare ruin their careers for some lie. They know the fallout may not be very pleasant and are unlikely to work for high-profile employers again.
@Pollywannacracker Where there is smoke there is fire? Yup, says so right in the constitution. These people wouldn't dare risk their careers (they are mostly retired from FBI and armed forces, so risk is little)? No, they are reaching for the gold ring--they lived amongst incredible wealth and now want to take some of it with them. Your presuming that their is any validity to their comments is stupid. It's what lawyers do. I'm hoping I get called for jury duty.Â
@TheNewsChick tough when you have money everybody wants to take it
@Smoothy11Smooth When you have lots of money, you can run your own little 'world' complete with your own army of thugs.
We pay 1 million dollars to train each navy seal. This is what they do when their enlistment is up. Why would anyone want giraffe bones? Aphrodisiac?
@Klondiko Aphrodisiac? You only get a really long neck from it ...
@Klondiko They are paid lots of money and much like their old government job, can do what ever they like without reprecussion. They recruit former armed forces and NSA/FBI/CIA types. Paul Allen has his goons monitor people when they go to the restroom.
@LilBoyBlue So, are the security team "goons" or are they poor oppressed workers who were sexually harassed and treated unkindly by a billionaire's sister?
The first sign that a cover up will ensue? "Disgruntled Ex employees.lol No one gets as rich as Paul Allen or Bill Gates or Warren Buffet without illegal activity. Just a nature of the game of capitalism.
@Blindman Capitalism is about working hard and being rewarded via making a better living. It is not like socialism where the rich don't think they have to follow the law.
@justsayin @BlindmanÂ
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of capital goods and the means of production, with the creation of goods and services for profit.[1][2] Elements central to capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, and a price system.[3] According to Wilkepedia. Â
In simple terms capitalism means, Operating in a locale that has the lowest amount of government regulation and taxes. Where raw materials are cheap. And where the least amount of profits has to be spent on labor costs. No morals, no ethics, no regulations, just an absolute dedication to profit. Its a religion of sorts where profit is the god.
@Blindman First sign is their names are all over the city. No one is going to listen except through a court venue.
@Blindman This is just a sampling of what their special protection people do. They harass and setup people. If they are former secret agent types, they may be directed to enter your home.
@Blindman Does that mean you're an accomplish to these 'illegal' activities by utilizing Komo's website? (Engineered by Microsoft). Â
@shamrock178 @Blindman We're all an accomplice when it comes to greed. We all buy the products that the rich have copyrighted and patented and exploited at the cost to society. Thats why copyrights and patents are so damaging to a free and open society. If CEO's really believed in capitalism they would want more competition but copyrights remove competition and therefor end up costing all of us more. Except for the rich of course.Â
Sounds like a money grab to me
@sunnysandiego No money grab, they are telling the truth. Paul, Bill and the rest of the bunch have their own 'secret police' and ways of dealing with people.
@LilBoyBlue @sunnysandiego  NO MONEY GRAB, MY BUTT.  Why then did they make the money demand 18 months ago? Why not publish the details of the "crimes" they contend occurred? Because they want the big bucks, that's why, and they'll drag their employers' names through the mud to get it.Â
@LilBoyBlue @sunnysandiego right the poor former fbi security guards were sexually harassed by the billionaire employer. Nope, that doesn't sound like a money grab... Lol
@LilBoyBlue @sunnysandiego Pretty much. At the end of the day, "Money talks, bullshit walks." So we'll see who comes out on top. Hopefully Paul Allen isn't doing anything to shady.