A few days ago, I learned that Daniel Berghaus (aka Buzz Stephens aka clothedambition – and a sundry of other identities) of The Judy Garland Experience Facebook Group and Page (and by that name on every other social media outlet), was illegally sharing a stolen digital version of my upcoming book, “Judy Garland – The Voice of MGM” (hitting bookstores and online on June 18) – the entire book from cover to cover, all 415 pages.
Apparently, he’s much dumber than previously assumed. His actions clearly violate copyright laws, and he faces a possible statutory civil penalty of up to $150,000 and/or a statutory criminal penalty of up to $250,000.
The inside of the digital copy states: All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review. In other words, he can’t claim ignorance. And stupidity doesn’t hold up in court.
My publisher has taken action and an investigation is ongoing. For example, his Dropbox account has already been frozen pending removal of the stolen property. He has been notified by their lawyers (being a major publisher, they have the resources to pursue this to the fullest). More actions are pending. They’re closing in on his source, too. You know who you are.
I do not know him personally. I have only had negative interactions with him online, but not for the past six to eight years. I assumed (and hoped) that he had grown and moved on from his childish harassing actions. Obviously not. Now we see his intense jealousy of me, my website, and my accomplishments is not just petty but pathological. This tired, lonely old man needs help.
Now I know how the late Scott Schechter felt in the 1990s and 2000s when John Fricke would go to similar lengths to sabotage whatever project Scott was working on. From what Scott told me, it was pretty lowdown and dirty. Some people are so insecure they can’t handle any competition.
If you are approached by anyone offering to share the file, please let me know. The investigative team will want to know who continues disseminating the stolen property.
On a positive note, the book is being published regardless of his actions and will endure for a minimum of many decades after his death. You can preorder “Judy Garland—The Voice of MGM” here. I’m confident in the quality of the content and the publisher’s beautiful design and layout that anyone who has the digital copy will want to add the book to their bookshelves. It’s much nicer than that PDF!
