Dangerous shoals ahead, mate?

If you had told us a year ago the History Hunters International (HHI) website would implode, disappearing altogether and stranding scores of dedicated members while wiping out years of content, we would have said: "highly unlikely." The site had too many members with numerous legitimate projects and ongoing and often interesting discussions about history and archaeology (excepting the Odyssey blather, obviously).

Yet, that is precisely what happened, resulting in some highly entertaining punches being thrown between the uber-egocentric Doc (McManus) and Solomon (Bartram). There is clearly a full-on war being waged regarding the rights to HHI. It's so sublimely ridiculous that Doc recently posted what looked like a third-grade clubhouse application allegedly signed by Bartram to "prove" HHI was McManus's. Hilariously, Doc even claimed this "formality" (as opposed to an actual legal document) was witnessed by a "Miss Money Penny," the well-known character from the fictional James Bond series. It has since been removed along with a forum devoted to Doc's haughty posts about his new HHI and it's mission and philosophy. (To date, there are still only 13 members of his faction.)

On the other hand, if you had predicted a year ago that Doc would file for bankruptcy to the tune of $238,000 that would later result in a Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation for possibly misleading the court about the truthfulness of his filing, which he swore to be true so help him God, we would have said: "Yeah, that doesn't surprise us so much."

Sure enough, a new January, 20, 2009 court document clearly shows that McManus's bankruptcy petition is being investigated by the DOJ trustee (as we had earlier suggested based on the public record). The Trustee now wants more time to conduct "a thorough investigation into the financial condition, expenses, income, and assets" of Doc. Further, the Trustee adds:

The United States Trustee is in the process of reviewing this case to determine whether to file a motion to dismiss under section 707 or a complaint objecting to discharge under section 727 of the Bankruptcy Code.

Section 727 you say? Whatever does that mean? Let's take a look:

Bankruptcy Code Section 727 lists grounds under which a Court may deny a discharge to an individual debtor in a Chapter 7 case. Grounds include that the debtor transferred, removed, destroyed, or concealed property of the debtor or estate, failed to keep or produce adequate books or records, failed to satisfactorily explain an asset loss, committed a bankruptcy crime or failed to obey a lawful order. (Source)

That doesn't sound good at all, does it? Especially since Doc recently amended his Chapter 7 filing to list that infamous sailboat as part of his assets.

Do these dark clouds perhaps explain Doc's quick removal of his new HHI forum claiming ownership of the former website's rights and content over Bartram? Or, why he suddenly became so hushed about Odyssey (after years of vicious attacks)? Tellingly, there is not one peep about Odyssey on his new site. It appears his plate is too full to engage in battles unrelated to keeping himself out of immediate trouble, doesn't it? As cliches go, "the chickens coming home to roost," is an overused oldie, but in this case, is a definite and applicable goody.

Doc is innocent until proven guilty and based on the public record we should know more on or after February 20, 2009, assuming the Trustee's court request for an extended deadline for the continued investigation is granted. As always, we will keep you posted.