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Robert Eringer

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Robert Eringer
photograph of Robert Eringer
BornRobert Henry Eringer
(1954-10-05) October 5, 1954 (age 70)
OccupationInvestigative journalist
CitizenshipUnited States
GenreCounterintelligence
Years active1977–present
Website
RobertEringer.com

Robert Eringer (born October 5, 1954) is an American author, investigative journalist and private-sector counterintelligence operative.[1] Salon magazine described Eringer as an "obscure journalist" with ties to Clair George, the former deputy director of Operations of the CIA.[2] Eringer freelanced for the FBI's Foreign Counter-Intelligence Division[3] to assist with the apprehension of Edward Lee Howard, an ex-CIA officer who defected to the Soviet Union in 1985. In this ruse, Eringer commissioned Howard to write the Spy's Guide to Central Europe.[4] Eringer describes his assignments for the FBI, which also included keeping tabs on Ira Einhorn,[1] in his book Ruse: Undercover with FBI Counterintelligence (2008).

Career

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In 1976, "Bilderberg File: The Men Who Rule the World?" was published in the UK magazine, Verdict, commencing Eringer's journalism career.[5] Research for the book that later followed, The Global Manipulators (1980),[6][7] led to professional relationship with Dr. Carroll Quigley, the author of Tragedy and Hope (1966),[6] and Eringer sat-in on Quigley's Western Civilizations course at Georgetown University in 1976.[6] In 1978, Eringer completed coursework at the University Southern California (London, UK) in International Relations. The graduate-level program included field-trips to places such as the U.S. Army Russian Institute in Garmisch, Germany, which led to his writing a feature article, "U.S. agents learn ropes at 'school of spies'" (1986), for the Toronto Star.[8] Subsequent undercover journalism led to damaging exposé magazine articles to the Liberty Lobby, "The Force of Willis Carto" was published in Mother Jones[9] and he went undercover to expose Ku Klux Klan (klavern) activity in Europe for The Sunday People.[10]

Controversies

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Pottker et al. v Feld et al.

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As a Washington D. C. based literary agent and book consultant in the 1990s,[1] Eringer found himself working a controversial assignment for Clair George, a former deputy director of Operations of the CIA who was convicted on one count and later pardoned in the Iran-Contra scandal. In 1990, a celebrity journalist, Janice Pottker, published an 11,000 word article about the Feld family in Regardie's magazine.[11] Upon reading, Kenneth Feld (Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus) took umbrage to her portrayal of his parents and hired Clair George as a consultant to mitigate damages that the proposed book might cause the family and business. George in turn, assigned Eringer (1993–95) to distract the author by encouraging her to write about other topics.[12] Pottker suspects that the unauthorized Feld family biography became an untouchable topic in literary circles,[13] but two of Pottker's books, Crisis in Candyland (1995) and Celebrity Washington (1996),[14] were published during this time period.[11](p3) In 1999, Pottker sued for $60 million, claiming, "invasion of privacy, fraud and infliction of mental distress."[11]: 2  Citing ongoing litigation, Feld Entertainment refrained from commenting for the May 4, 2003, 60 Minutes feature[15] and the outcome of Pottker et al. v. Feld et al. appears to be unresolved or sealed as of October 2014.[11]: 5  However, Pottker informed the St. Petersberg Times that she has "no plans to write about Feld or Ringling Bros. ever again."[16]

On January 18, 2004, the St. Petersburg Times retrospectively reported that Janice Pottker had filed a complaint against the Feld family, Clair George, and Robert Eringer in 1999, seeking $120 million for invasion of privacy, interference in business relationships, infliction of emotional distress, fraud, conspiracy and breach of contractual obligations. Pottker filed the lawsuit after discovering that Ken Feld and Clair George paid Eringer to "...to steer her away from stories on Feld..." and prevent Pottker's proposed book, "Highwire" an unauthorized biography of Irvin Feld and the Feld family from being published. "I interviewed this man once in 1988, and I feel as if he's been stalking me ever since," Pottker said of Kenneth Feld.[16]

Monaco

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Eringer vacationed in the Principality of Monaco throughout the 1980s and wrote Monaco Cool (1992), while living in Monaco for two years (1988–89). He returned to reside in Monaco on behalf of a private intelligence client in 1994 and 1995. In late 1999, Prince Albert II, the hereditary prince, commissioned Eringer for a report on a Monaco-based Russian businessman named Alexey Fedorichev;[17][a] subsequently, the reigning monarch, Prince Rainier III, declined to allow Fedorichev to invest in ASM, Monaco's football club.[19][20] While completing ongoing counterintelligence activities for the FBI, Eringer's additional intelligence reports on Russian activities in Monaco led to a full-time retainer on June 16, 2002, as Prince Albert's intelligence adviser.[20][21][22][23][b][c]

Power struggle in the Monarchy

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Upon ascension in 2005, Prince Albert II announced that Monaco would shed W. Somerset Maugham's moniker of, "a sunny place for shady people."[28] In his accession speech, the Prince declared that he would fight with all of his strength to ensure that money-laundering and Monaco would no longer be synonyms in the common vernacular.[29] The declaration caused an expansion of Eringer's scope of responsibilities, the Prince commissioned Eringer to create and direct Monaco's first intelligence service.[20] One of the Monaco Intelligence Service's (MIS) early recommendations was to deny the renewal of Sir Mark Thatcher's residency card due to a troubling background check.[21][29] In addition to investigations, Eringer's MIS established inter-governmental liaison relationships with twenty foreign intelligence services, including the CIA and the (UK) Secret Intelligence Service.[30]

Prince Albert II's original anti-corruption cabinet appointments (December 2005) did not last long.[31] As described by Nice RendezVous, MIS vetted Cabinet Director, Jean-Luc Allavena was dismissed in November 2006, and replaced in favor of the serving General Secretariat, Georges Lisimachio.[32] An attempt to dismiss Eringer was made in 2006; however, Prince Albert asked him to remain, limiting his scope of operations to international intelligence liaison relationships. MIS was funded without incident throughout 2007, but Eringer's invoice for Quarter 1, 2008, went unpaid, calls and correspondence went unanswered for the remainder of the year.[21][33]

Eringer filed a lawsuit for €340,000 in unpaid wages and severance in 2009,[34] initially Monaco lawyers denied his employment, but after 100 pages of supporting evidence were presented to the court, the lawyers were forced to rescind their denial.[22] The Palace of Monaco portrayed the court case as a blackmail attempt to "exploit the US judicial system to generate publicity to forward his extortionist agenda" by a "shakedown artist".[1][22] Eringer has been described as having mythomania by Stéphane Bern, the author of Grace Kelly (2007), criticized for promoting conspiracy theories and called a "false spy".[35] In 2011, it was reported that Eringer was writing an "anti-Monaco" blog.[36]

Results of Monaco litigation

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Lawyers for the Palace of Monaco publicly called Eringer a shakedown artist when he originally sued for $60,000 to recover back-wages and expenditures.[1] Eringer however, had already filed a thirty-four page declaration, detailing his duties and findings[22][37] with the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara (Case No., 1339892), on October 5, 2009.

The Superior Court of California ruled that "because all of Eringer's services were governmental, employing him was not a commercial act exempt from FSIA immunity." According to a court judgment filed on July 10, 2013, the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's original ruling. The court determined that "according to his own attorneys and affidavit, Eringer's assignments" for the Principality were "not the type of employment private parties can undertake" and therefore fell within the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976 (FSIA).[38]

In 2011, Eringer was ordered by the Tribunal de grande instance de Paris to remove defamatory illustrations, photographs, and blog posts of and about Prince Albert II, lawyer Thierry Lacoste, chief of administration and accountant Claude Palmero, and chief of police André Muhlberger from his blog. In September 2012, the French justice system found Eringer guilty of criminal defamation and insult.[36][39]

Ultimately, the two parties sued each other to a standstill, Eringer's suit to recover wages and expenses against the Prince and Principality is moot under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976 (FSIA) and Monaco's defamation and insult suit is moot under the SPEECH Act.[1]

Noncompliance with California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control

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Eringer's Santa Barbara-based bar, Bo Henry's Cocktail Lounge, closed for five days in March 2015 due to alcoholic beverage sales to a minor. A first offense in the bar's history, Eringer was not present at the time and chose a suspension over the $200.00 fine to impress upon employees and customers that serving minors would not be tolerated.[40]

Publications

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Books

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  • The Global Manipulators: The Bilderberg Group... the Trilateral Commission... Covert Power Groups of the West. Bristol (UK): Pentacle Books (1980). ISBN 0906850045. OCLC 26551991.
  • The Conspiracy Peddlers: A Review of the Conspiracy Media in the United States. Mason, Mich.: Loompanics Unlimited (1981). OCLC 12645504.
  • Strike for Freedom!: The Story of Lech Walesa and Polish Solidarity. New York: Dodd, Mead & Co. (1982). OCLC 8669408. ISBN 0396080650.
  • Monaco Cool. Silver Spring, Md.: Enigma Books (1992) ISBN 0910155232.[41]
  • Zubrick's Rock: A Novel. National Press Books (1995). OCLC 31709762. ISBN 1882605217.
  • Crinkum, Crankum: A Novel. Silver Spring, Md.: Enigma Books (1998). ISBN 0910155356. OCLC 37331715.
  • Lo Mein. Mt. Pleasant, S.C.: Corinthian Books (2000). OCLC 45015211. ISBN 1929175140.
  • Parallel Truths. Mt. Pleasant, S.C.: Corinthian Books (2000). OCLC 45761737. ISBN 1929175167.
  • Spookaroonie. Mt. Pleasant, S.C.: Corinthian Books (2001). ISBN 9781929175277. OCLC 48669475.
  • Granny's Lost Her Marbles. Bartleby Press. (2003). Humor. ISBN 0910155526.
  • The Battle for Dung Hill. Bartleby Press (2003). Humor. ISBN 0910155518.
  • Gone Berserk: Runturing in Reykjavik. Bartleby Press (2003). Humor. ISBN 0910155542.
  • My Summer Vacation: A Weekend in Jersey. Bartleby Press (2003). Humor.ISBN 0910155550.
  • An Ear in Provence: Listening to the French. Bartleby Press (2003). Humor. ISBN 0910155534.
  • Ruse: Undercover with FBI Counterintelligence. Nebraska: Potomac Books (2008). OCLC 755573094. ISBN 1597973173.
  • Reunion-Sunset Romance, Two Novellas. Earthshine Editions (2010). ISBN 0984587713.
  • Cloak & Corkscrew: Where CIA Meets Hollywood. Earthshine Editions (2011). OCLC 793306788. ISBN 098458773X.
  • Three Stories. Earthshine Editions (2012). ISBN 0984587756.
  • Into Art. Earthshine Editions (2012). ISBN 0984587748.
  • Montecito Madness. Earthshine Editions (2013). OCLC 870884951.ISBN 0984587772.[42]
  • Folie a Deux (autobiography). Earthshine Editions (2013). ISBN 0984587780.
  • My Story. Earthshine Editions (2013). ISBN 0984587799.
  • The Spymaster & Me. Earthshine Editions (2013). ISBN 0984587764.
  • Motional Blur: A Novel. New York: Skyhorse Publishing (2016). ISBN 978-1510711143. OCLC 958962862.

Interviews

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Notes

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  1. ^ In July 1998, Vladimir Putin travelled from Moscow to the south of France to conduct important meetings when he was named head of the FSB.[18]
  2. ^ According to Eringer, Graham Alan Pedder Smith (born March 13, 1940 Scotland) is closely related to numerous firms, including a Monaco based firm Sotrama, which are associated with Vladimir Putin and Putin's close friends. Smith and his close associate Markus M. Hasler often operated through FIBEKO TREUHANDANSTALT. Smith is married to Isolde Reinhilde Smith and they reside at Asperguat, 9492 Eschen, Liechtenstein. Graham Smith was removed from the (UK) Institute of Chartered Accountants in 1992 for failing to cooperate with an inquiry because of his irregularities during the collapse of London United Insurance (LUI).[24][25]
  3. ^ Eringer explained that he had met with persons close to Putin during the 1990s including retired KGB colonel Igor Prelin (Russian: Игорь Николаевич Прелин; born 1937) and former KGB chief Vladimir Kryuchkov.[26][27]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Falkenberg, Kai. "The Prince and the Blogger". Forbes. Archived from the original on September 21, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  2. ^ "The Greatest Vendetta on Earth". August 30, 2001.
  3. ^ "Tribune, Volume 71". Tribune (London). Tribune publications, Limited, 2007: 5. 2007. ISSN 0041-2821. OCLC 5685666. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  4. ^ Allen, Ian (December 7, 2009). "Writings by CIA defector Edward Lee Howard published". IntelNews.org. Archived from the original on September 24, 2014. Retrieved September 24, 2014. Eringer befriended Howard and, as part of the luring operation, commissioned the former CIA agent to write a book entitled Spy's Guide to Central Europe. After Howard's death, his unfinished book remained in Eringer's possession. The former FBI agent has now decided to publish Howard's writings, in several parts, on his blog.
  5. ^ Eringer, Robert (Nov. 1976). "Bilderberg File: The Men Who Rule the World?" Verdict (UK).
  6. ^ a b c Ramsay, Robin. "Tragedy and Hope" (PDF). Variant. 2 Number 10 (Spring 2000): 24–25. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 9, 2013. Retrieved September 25, 2014. When the American writer Robert Eringer tracked Quigley down just before his death, Quigley warned him that writing about him and his book could get Eringer into trouble
  7. ^ Eringer, Robert (1980). The Global Manipulators: The Bilderberg Group... the Trilateral Commission... Covert Power Groups of the West. Bristol (UK): Pentacle Books. ISBN 0906850045. OCLC 26551991.
  8. ^ Eringer, Robert (November 2, 1986). "U.S. Agents Learn Ropes at 'School of Spies'". Toronto Star. pp. B.1, B.4.
  9. ^ Eringer, Robert (Apr. 1981). "The Force of Willis Carto". Mother Jones, vol. 6, no. 3. p. 6.
  10. ^ Eringer, Robert (February 17, 1980). "The Ku Klux Klan in Britain." Sunday People (UK).
  11. ^ a b c d Leiby, Richard (November 20, 2005). "Send in the Clowns". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 22, 2014.
  12. ^ Leung, Rebecca (May 1, 2003). "Exclusive: Send In The Spies?". 60 Minutes. Archived from the original on September 24, 2014. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  13. ^ Stien, Jeff (Aug 30, 2001). "The Greatest Vendetta on Earth." Salon. Archived from the original. "Spying on her, though, was the least of what George admitted. 'I was assigned to make arrangements with a publishing house to publish a book by Pottker on another subject to divert her from her proposed book on Mr. Feld,' George revealed. That was 'an unauthorized biography of the Mars family, Crisis in Candyland, the Mars Story.'"
  14. ^ "About Jan Pottker". Jan Pottker. Archived from the original on September 22, 2014. Retrieved September 22, 2014.
  15. ^ Alexa Strauss, Julie. "STATEMENT REGARDING CBS 60 MINUTES STORY MAY 4, 2003". Feld Entertainment. Archived from the original on September 22, 2014. Retrieved September 22, 2014.
  16. ^ a b LaPeter, Leonora (January 18, 2004). "The Author Who Would Tell Circus Family Secrets". Archived from the original on September 24, 2014. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  17. ^ Lyttleton, Ben (May 19, 2003). "Dark clouds dampen the Principality". The Guardian. Archived from the original on October 4, 2014. Retrieved October 4, 2014. Club president Jean-Louis Campora, who has headed the private association that has run Monaco since 1975, needs Palace approval from Prince Rainier of Monaco before taking any major decision that affects the club. The pair's relationship has become strained since the Prince rejected a £65m cash injection from mysterious investors Fedcominvest earlier this year. The fact that one newspaper claimed Fedcominvest were a front for the Russian mafia may have affected his decision. As his son Albert said: "Investing in the club also means being attached to its image and the values Monaco represents."
  18. ^ Crawford, David; Bensmann, Marcus (July 30, 2015). "Putin's early years". CORRECT!V. Archived from the original on November 18, 2018. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  19. ^ Ehrenfeld, Dr. Rachel (September 29, 2008). "Putin's Growing Appetite". Human Events. Archived from the original on October 4, 2014. Retrieved October 4, 2014. The French newspapers Le Monde, Le Parisien, and Aujourd'hui followed the investigation closely, reported Fedorychev got away due to lack of evidence. Though "Fedorychev's close associate was indicted" says Inna Weiss at the Central Group of European Political Monitoring. "The publicity led cautious members of Europe's money elite — notably, late Prince Rainier of Monaco — to cut business ties with Fedorychev to the minimum."
  20. ^ a b c Hamon, Alain (July 4, 2014). "One year of exclusive investigations The mysterious death of Andre Muhlberger, head of Monaco's safety". Vanity Fair (in French). Archived from the original on September 30, 2014. Retrieved September 30, 2014. Eight months before his death, Oct. 12, 2012, the news spread to the headquarters of public safety, a building bristling with antennas and satellite dishes on rue Suffren-Reymond in Monaco, as a flurry at the nearby port. The director had resigned. The announcement had overtaken most of his men, who refused to believe it. André Muhlberger had been reinforced by Prince Albert, who had renewed his mandate. The official version of the invoked "personal reasons" that would allow the police chief Monaco "to guide his professional life to the private." Under diplomatic language nevertheless cropped out the concerns expressed whispered by some of the councilors of the palace to the official, because of its association with the displayed Katsiaryna Hanaha young, fifteen years his junior, and the company of friends too showy thereof. Muhlberger, he has never publicly commented on the sudden departure.
  21. ^ a b c Hollingsworth, Mark (January 22, 2010). "Spies, Lies & Videotape." Evening Standard (UK). pp. 12–15.
  22. ^ a b c d Adams, Guy (November 22, 2009). "I was Prince Albert of Monaco's private spook". The Independent. Archived from the original on December 24, 2011. Retrieved September 30, 2014. Yet at least one of Mr Eringer's claims, which are accompanied by more than 100 further pages of supporting evidence, was recently substantiated. Lawyers representing Prince Albert in the US admitted last week that Mr Eringer had worked for their client "for a time" as a "private intelligence adviser".
  23. ^ "Prince Albert asks court to remove ex-aide's blog posts". The Toronto Star. February 16, 2011. Archived from the original on May 19, 2018. Retrieved September 30, 2014. The two men have already faced off in another legal battle: Eringer filed suit in 2009 in California seeking $59,600 (U.S.) in back pay. The court filing by Albert's lawyer says Eringer carried out "intelligence missions" for the prince but was never a civil servant for Monaco.
  24. ^ "GRAHAM SMITH OF LIECHTENSTEIN". ERINGER: THE ART OF THE RUSE. May 14, 2015. Archived from the original on May 5, 2017. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  25. ^ Eringer, Robert (October 11, 2008). "Putin's plunder of petrol dollars". Santa Barbara News-Press. Archived from the original on December 11, 2015. Retrieved April 1, 2022. Alternate archive
  26. ^ "Эрдингер фото" [Erdinger photo] (in Russian). November 19, 2016. Archived from the original on April 2, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  27. ^ "Игорь Прелин" [Igor Prelin]. livelib.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on April 2, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  28. ^ Smith, Craig S. (September 10, 2005). "The New Prince of Monaco Confronts His Past". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 4, 2014. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  29. ^ a b Willsher, Paris, Kim (December 20, 2005). "A sunny place for shady people but Monaco doesn't want Mark Thatcher". The Guardian. Paris. Archived from the original on October 4, 2014. Retrieved October 4, 2014. Arnaud Montebourg, a French Socialist MP and anti-corruption crusader, said: "Monaco's role as a financial centre is still a dubious one. It will be Albert's job to bring it up to modern standards." The MP co-wrote a parliamentary report in June 2000 that accused the state of turning a blind eye to drug trafficking, tax evasion and mafia activities.
  30. ^ Stinson, Jeffrey (May 23, 2006). "Monaco steers clear of once-shifty image". USA Today. Archived from the original on October 5, 2014. Retrieved October 5, 2014. "We have access, with certain intelligence, to where people come from and what their activities are," says Jean-Luc Allavena, director of Albert's Cabinet in this constitutional monarchy.
  31. ^ W, V (December 2, 2005). "MONACO HSH Prince Albert II appoints His Cabinet". Nice RendezVous. Archived from the original on October 4, 2014. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  32. ^ W, V (November 6, 2006). "Monaco princely Cabinet Jean-Luc Allavena goes" (in French). Nice RendezVous. Archived from the original on October 4, 2014. Retrieved October 4, 2014. Mr. Georges Lisimachio, Councillor in charge General Secretariat is the coordinating and monitoring instructed by the Prince's Cabinet records and processes financial affairs.
  33. ^ Campbell, Matthew (October 25, 2009). "Prince Albert's secrets under threat from rebel spy". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on October 20, 2014. Retrieved October 4, 2014. By the summer of 2007, Albert had reduced Eringer's salary to £144,000 and told him to focus exclusively on "maintaining and working the liaison relationships" with foreign intelligence services instead of investigating money laundering suspects. However, when Eringer sent an invoice for payment for the first quarter of 2008 he got no reply from the palace. Subsequent letters and telephone messages to Albert from Eringer went unanswered, he claims. Eringer decided to cease his activities.
  34. ^ "Palace: No Prince Albert ethics breach". ESPN. Associated Press. December 15, 2010. Archived from the original on October 2, 2014. Retrieved October 2, 2014. The letter sent to Rogge by Eringer's California lawyer, Brigham J. Ricks, claims there is "ample evidence demonstrating that Prince Albert has egregiously violated the IOC code of ethics and rules on conflicts of interest." A copy of the letter was obtained by the AP. Messages left for Ricks and Albert's American lawyer, Stanley S. Arkin, were not returned.
  35. ^ "Le blogueur Robert Eringer condamné pour diffamation" (in French).
  36. ^ a b "Paris court rules against blogger attacking Monaco". Al Bawaba News. August 17, 2011.
  37. ^ BANICKI, ELIZABETH (October 23, 2009). "Alleged Intelligence Adviser Makes Lurid Claims About Prince Albert". Courthouse News Service. Archived from the original on September 24, 2014. Retrieved September 24, 2014. Through the 31-page complaint, Eringer claims he "possesses documents" on his allegations. He demands his paycheck, alleging breach of contract and misrepresentation.
  38. ^ UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS, THE NINTH CIRCUIT (June 5, 2013). "Robert Eringer v. Principality of Monaco". cCases.us. Archived from the original on October 14, 2014. Retrieved October 14, 2014. Applying this rule to Eringer's employment, we affirm. Eringer's complaint states that Monaco employed Eringer as the "Director of [Monaco Intelligence Services] and . . . its spymaster." According to his own attorneys and affidavit, Eringer's assignments included, inter alia, liaising with other intelligence agencies, investigating potential government appointments, investigating suspicions of corruption and other illegal activity in Monaco, and protecting HSH from improper foreign influence. This employment is not the type of employment private parties can undertake.
  39. ^ JOHN R. EMSHWILLER; MAX COLCHESTER (February 16, 2011). "Monaco Prince, Blogger Trade Charges". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on February 18, 2011. Retrieved October 14, 2014. Subscription required
  40. ^ "Santa Barbara Bar's Liquor License Briefly Suspended". December 15, 2014.
  41. ^ Westgate, Robert (1993). Monaco cool (in Spanish). Silver Spring, MD: Enigma Books. ISBN 0910155232. OCLC 26309278.
  42. ^ Roy Vallis (April 28, 2013). "REVIEW FROM HERE: Could Eringer's new book get him eighty-sixed from Montecito?". Santa Barbara News-Press. Retrieved April 29, 2016.[dead link] Alt URL

Further reading

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