ALLBEAT Issues Statament Regarding Fate Of CHUCK SCHULDINER Auction Funds

Thom Hazeart, the man behind the Allbeat (www.allbeat.com) auction that was originally set up to benefit the family of late DEATH/CONTROL DENIED frontman Chuck Schuldiner, but which has been accused by Jane Schuldiner, Chuck's mother, of misappropriating the funds received from the auction (see our original report on the matter here),has issued the following statement explaining/defending his actions:

There are lots of rumors flying around about our Chuck Schuldiner Charity Auction, and I feel obligated to address them. As anyone who follows our site knows, the charity auctions went on indefinite hold in July, (as with most of the site which hasn't been updated since about then) and we had a lot of problems with people placing fake bids, and then not coming through with the purchase. We actually rushed completion of the auction site, solely FOR this auction, and didn't honestly plan for a problem of this nature. So, instead of HAVING something like this happen, we chose to put the auction on hold. This may have given some people the ILLUSION that those items sold for that amount, when they in fact did not.

And we had every intention of fixing this bug in our auction software, and then continuing our auctions. Unfortunately, weeks turned into months, and Chuck's passing obviously left the future of our auctions up in the air, and we had no further communication from Hammerheart USA, or the Schuldiner estate. Unfortunately due to time conflicts we have not had the time to update this site in a long while. So if that has given anyone casually browsing the site the impression that the auctions were still ongoing, we apologize.

Our condolences do go out to Chuck, and his family, despite the fact that they are spreading lots of slanderous rumors around the internet about the nature of our auction, and they have chosen to make me the martyr for their personal crusade against it. I assure you, no money was ever mishandled, and there, honestly, really wasn't a lot of money to BE mishandled, but whatever we DID raise went through the proper channels, to the people it was supposed to. And at the time of the deposits, I was TOLD by Hammerheart USA that the money HAD in fact been placed into their account.

We at Allbeat did not profit a DIME from these auctions, and our only crime is being too overzealous to help, and being too understaffed to really put the amount of time into it that we should have (Allbeat was 2 people). And in fact, aside from about $25 in money orders made out to the SCHULDINER MEDICAL FUND, no money EVER even PASSED through our hands. All bids were paid DIRECTLY by the buyer, into Hammerheart's PAYPAL account, with the # taken directly off of their site, and (as you will see by looking at the original page we posted about the auction at www.allbeat.com/news/chuck.html),any donations were DIRECTLY sent to the Schuldiners' bank account.

Many of the items publicized to be auctioned off, on MTV and whatnot, were never actually received by us from the donators. Many were just people who made commitments to donate, and due to time and other factors the items were never received. And, minus a few personal items still sitting in storage, waiting for the day the auctions started again, everything we did receive was auctioned and, again, whatever proceeds were gathered were passed along to the Schuldiners.

And in no way trying to pass the buck, unfortunately, after the initial setup phase of the auction, we received no communication or help from Hammerheart or anyone else, and what was intended to be us getting some additional items and letting Hammerheart SELL THEIR ITEMS on our auction site, turned into OUR auction on ALLBEAT, and Hammerheart's auction on EBAY, which was NEVER our intention. And we are in no way downplaying Hammerheart's valiant efforts, but in our eagerness in the face of a horrible situation, we all bit off a little more than we could chew, and I don't think anyone was expecting the scope of hype this auction would actually receive, which in many ways I am partially responsible for..

'It pains me to see, that even though our monetary contribution wasn't as large as we'd have liked it to be, we are being pegged as thieves, and liars, and god knows what else, even after the huge contributions we made bringing Chuck's cause to the national attention, and exposing thousands upon thousands of new people to Chuck, his situation, and his music.

And I would also like to add, that the statements about Chuck 'being dead, and it not mattering', were NEVER EVER said...NEVER in my LIFE have I heard something so f.cking disgusting, appalling, and disturbing. I'm not sure if it was a misunderstanding, or a misquote, or what exactly the f.ck it was.. But please to EVERYONE perpetuating this crap, please get your facts straight before you hang someone.

Thom Hazaert
The Antichrist