Public Mediation

Crafts person rooked by Jim Paradise vs. Pittsburg Renaissance Festival

Tax fraud by Pittsburg and Colo Ren Fest

N. R. vs. Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival
112 Renaissance Ln, West Newton, Pennsylvania, 15089-1868 , United States
Amount Involved: $1,000,000.00
    • Status: In Negotiation
      This claim has posted for public comment and negotiation. It will remain posted until resolved to the claimant's satisfaction. Suggest a resolution to help these parties reach a settlement.
       (seeking public comment)
    • Claimant Seeks: View.
    • Claim #: 1495755
    • Amount Involved: 1,000,000.00
    • Filed On: Oct 08, 2019
    • Posted On: Oct 19, 2019
    • Complaint(s):
      • Failure to disclose facts
      • Failure to honor promises
      • Contract / Agreement dispute
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Statement of Claim
Complaints Involved (6) - View
Claimant says:
"Jim Paradise owner of Colorado and Pittsburg Renaissance Festivals canceled both my contracts and sold my booths and kept the money,, after he read the letter from Colorado Department of Revenue written by and publicly circulated by Tax Agent Jamie Nicolelli at my booth in my absence implying i am a delinquent tax payer. This is not true, a severe breach of privacy, but more than that, an attempt to extort cash by the both of them from fair booth business owners. He days I broke contract by not being at the show enuf;I haven't been there for 15 years, I am a cancer survivor and cannot travel, my manager has been doing a better job than I ever could, he knew that, for 15years, why now discriminate against me after 30 years in the show.. am I too old to be a vendor now? I told him i did not appreciate his booth gal informing my by email that if i don't get up to date on my taxes they will start " legal procedings" which is none of their business, highly insulting, and has been disruptive to my personal and emotional life and my financial future. These 2 shows constitute 40 % of my year in sales, which is my sole living. I am a whistle-blower to this tax extortion scheme and I lost my contracts for future years because i refused to comply with their extortion scheme and send my girl in to pay cash that next Monday at the CO Dept of Rev as demanded in her letter, like he orders us to do each Monday at the City of Larkspur for taxes, upon threat of booth closures like he has now proven he will do to punish whistle-blowers. His charging us on our yearly contract for "Douglas County property taxes" is highly suspect too as we do NOT own property but the wood booth sitting on the land only. This happened at Colorado and has nothing to do with Pittsburg, but is vindictive punishment and prejudice against a whistle-blower.
This is for anyone that was cancelled from owning a booth at the Colorado Renaissance Festival, against JIM PARADISE FOR CANCELING YOUR CONTRACT AND CONFISCATING YOUR BOOTH, when he uses his contact to cite the booth owner NOT being present enough weekends. IF he says we are just leasing the booths, that might fly. But as he claims we can PURCHASE the booths, then he charges "property taxes" on those booths, implies we own them.
Can the owner of Sunnyvale Mall demand the owner of Macy's be in attendance a certain number of open days? No. I think not. My sense is if we OWN the business, we cannot be demanded to be there a certain number of days. The owner of the festival could demand it and write it into a contract, but to cancel a signed contract and confiscate the owner's booth and materials feels illegal and extortive to me. Some day someone is going to look into the festival business and realize how abusive it is."
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Additional Communication Between Claimant and Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival Hide
  • Feb 14, 2023, Claiming party added:

  • Jim Paradise used the Colorado department of revenue to falsely accuse me in public of tax-non-payment in order to break my contracts and confiscate both my sales booths in Pittsburgh, Penn. and in Larkspur Colorado renaissance fairs.

  • Feb 14, 2023, Claiming party added:

  • This is for anyone that was cancelled from selling at/owning a booth at the Colorado or Pittsburgh Renaissance Festivals, against JIM PARADISE FOR CANCELING YOUR CONTRACT AND CONFISCATING YOUR BOOTH, when he cites the booth owner NOT being present enough weekends. IF he says we are just leasing the booths, that might fly. But we pay for them, and he charges "property taxes" on our booths. We most certainly own the businesses that we run in them, we are sole proprietors mostly and should be able to decide how we run our businesses.
    Can the owner of Sunnyvale Mall demand the CEO of Macy's be in attendance a certain number of open days? No. I think not. My sense is if we OWN the business, we cannot be demanded to be there a certain number of days. To cancel a signed contract and confiscate the owner's booth feels illegal and extortive to me; I've been informed by the Colorado attorney General that using the department of revenue to remove a vendor in actionable. Some day someone is going to look into this guy's festival business and realize how abusive it is.
    This post isPublic

  • Aug 03, 2023, Claiming party added:

  • I would like to have my 2 booths returned to me rent or purchase free(or comparable sales buildings with living quarters at the 2 fairs) and be reinstated as an ongoing participating crafts artist for 2024 Pittsburgh and Colorado. I will call off my Pennsylvania and Colorado lawyers and resume my work as before, when an overzealous Colorado state tax agent assaulted my booth and people, interfered and shut down my business. Now, no harm no foul, no retribution.. please send me 2024 contracts at your convenience. I am unable to attend personally as I sustained debilitating injuries during life-threatening cancer surgery in 2014, and will as before have my girl, my wonderful traveling manager of 8 years, Sandi Henza, perform in my stead.

  • Dec 23, 2023, Claiming party added:

  • And now my store manager of 10 years doesn't trust me bcz she thinks im a delinquent tax payer because of that letter she was handed and told to read by the overzealous tax agent.
    I'm a 62 yo cancer and forest fire survivor. 4 years ago I was debt free with savings. Now I'm broke and in debt from 4 years of struggle with depression from this violation of my rights, destruction of my business and peoples trust. And now I need to hire and train a new manager?

  • Feb 07, 2024, Claiming party added:

  • No, Jim Paradise cancelled my future participation because I complained about the tax agent,, then he makes the illegal and incorrect excuse that I am a delinquent tax payer. Now 4 years later he's making the sexist and agist excuse that I "broke contract " by not attending enuf, which he knew and had been tolerating for 15 years , bcz of my health problems. It's a
    ren fest scam... it's how they get rid of people they don't like: get the tax agent to make bogus
    numbers, assault them in their shops,and mail letters, get vendors to over react so we'll be afraid and quit. This tax scamming is a big reason small businesses fold. Ive had a sellers license in 12 different states continuously over the last 44 years.

  • Feb 07, 2024, Claiming party added:

  • The original emails July 2019

What Claimant Wants Hide
1. Damages for sexist and agist abuse Feb 22, 2024 $1,000,000.00
Cash total : $1,000,000.00
  • 0
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Respondent's Counteroffer

There has been no response to this claim from Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival. This claim will remain posted until resolved
Offer History
Jan 25, 2024
Claimant's Terms of Settlement to Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival
Dec 21, 2023
Claimant's Terms of Settlement to Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival
Aug 03, 2023
Claimant's Terms of Settlement to Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival
Oct 08, 2019
Claimant's Terms of Settlement to Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival
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  • Contributed Solution: by Claimant On 07-24-2025
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    Just give the booth owner some money for the booth you confiscated by falsely slandering them as tax delinquent. It wasn't even this show, and you took their booth from this show.
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