Honey was practically dripping from Patrick Graham's lips when he told his "friends" he wanted to let them in on the grand floor of the medical discovery of a lifetime.
At his little office on the Lamar square, Graham's company Conquest Labs had perfected a cure for AIDS.
And Graham told them, as an upright,moral man, he wasn't going to let just anyone buy into this gold mine. He had already said no to Michael Jackson, Magic Johnson, Elizabeth Taylor, and Arsenio Hall.
"We have turned down money from all sorts of people," Graham said. Graham indicated he wanted only Christian people to invest in his company. "My name is Graham," he said, introducing himself, "like the old brown crackers. I'd be less than honest if I didn't tell you that everything that I hope to have, I owe to the good Lord. Period. There's nothing else that I can add to that."
The Good Lord claimed Patrick Graham for his own recently, Graham's death freeing him from the 15-year prison sentence he received for defrauding a who's who of the Branson A-list, including the Herschend family of Silver Dollar City fame, the Presleys, and singer Pat Boone, out of $5.5 million.
Branson's upper crust ate up the smooth-talking Graham's patented spiel. Graham talked about the history of Conquest Labs and said he had been teaching his grandchildren about the Bible, that the Christian life was the most important thing of all. "If you don't feel like you're serving number one, you better. I hope nobody noticed how polished my knees are. I've been on my knees a lot lately." He said his wife and his daughter had both had cancer scares. The AIDS vaccine was brought to him by a university professor in 1991, he said.
The professor, who was in his 80s, said he had come to Graham to ask him to take over the vaccine. "He said, 'Every time I've gone with a big company to do something, I've been done wrong.' " Graham said he agreed to help the professor. "I don't want anybody to sit here and get the idea that Pat Graham is a genius or something like that. I'm an old south Iowa cow milker."
The old south Iowa cow milker then told his Bible belt audience how he had prayed about the product, since many of those who suffered from AIDS had lifestyles that were contrary to what he believed in.
"At one time in my life," he said, "I didn't love those people enough and I don't condone one iota of anything they do, but I know God loves them and I know that He put me in charge of this product."
An added benefit of his vaccine, Graham said, is that it wouldn't work on a homosexual unless he changed his lifestyle. "It doesn't matter if it's a horse or a human, if they are too far gone, you got to let them go. If they continued in their sinful ways, it didn't work at all." Graham said the vaccine would only work on homosexuals if they quit being homosexual. "God isn't going to let homosexuals continue their sinful lifestyle without punishment," he said.
Knowing that it wouldn't work on homosexuals convinced many of those investors and they put their names on the dotted line, concluding that meeting...which was held in a Branson church.
While Conquest Labs was working on the AIDS vaccine...according to Graham...it was also working on cures for Alzheimer's Disease and cancer, whatever might bring in an extra buck. The millions that came through Conquest's accounts were not plowed back into the company, but into the bank accounts of Graham and his family, paying for cars, houses, whatever they wanted.
Graham's house of cards finally came tumbling down around him in 1995 and he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 15 years in prison two years later, but even at his sentencing hearing he attempted to convince Judge David Darnold he would pay back every cent he owed his investors.
Graham told Darnold he could make money through the marketing of a serum made out of elk blood. Darnold noted that Graham made a D in chemistry in college, but the judge was fair and noted Graham's top educational accomplishment. "I see you had a B in volleyball," he said.
Judge Darnold was also skeptical of Graham's other idea for paying back his investors, which was selling one of his books to a Hollywood producer to make a movie. Until that time, no one knew Graham had written any books.
Graham kept busy during his time in prison, filing one appeal after another, all to no avail, but always with the hope that at least one more time someone would buy what he was selling. He had an appeal pending in Cole County Circuit Court at the time he died.
6 comments:
Forget The Simpsons movie-I smell a blockbuster in this bizarro story.
Patrick Graham was past due for release. Those who murder serve less time. Those who murdered this man shall pay. Try reporting the truth-IF you are smart enough to figure out what that is.
As a close, personal friend of the late Pat Graham and his family, I feel it important to point out some......."mis-information" that was in this piece.
First, never once, EVER, did I hear Pat or anyone from Conquest claim they HAD a cure for aids. It was stated many times that they were WORKING on a cure. I feel that there is a difference.
Second: Why do you mock the faith and religion of a dead man? Everything I know of Patrick Graham was of Lord God and Jesus Christ. His belief in Christ and the belief that He was savior was ALWAYS real and passionate. Is it really such a stretch of the mind to think that someone who makes a mistake could also have an unmovable faith in God?
Last, I would just like to say, that I AM NOT saying and never will say that what happened with Conquest Labs was right or acceptable. It was wrong to mis-use the investors money. However, I know (as well as anyone else that knew Pat), that it wasn't intentional. What happened was the same thing that would likely happen to most of us in that situation. It started with "a little here, and I'll pay it right back" and snowballed from there.
I don't know if you have a personal vendetta, or just never liked the situation, but please, for the sake of his family and friends, stop beating a dead horse...so to speak.
While I appreciate the loss that friends of Pat Graham must feel, my information was taken entirely from records, including the transcript of his sales meeting held in that Branson church and included in the file for his case. Everything that I have written came from those files or from court hearings which I attended. The question of whether he should have spent so much in time in prison is one for others to determine.
As for things spiraling out of control for him, was that the same excuse Graham used when he fleeced the people of Freeman, South Dakota, which Ron Graber and I documented through interviews and court records?
I appreciate your desire to remember the good things about Pat Graham, but when he obtained five million dollars through fraud and died in prison while serving time for the crime, that is the way he is going to be remembered.
My question to you still remains: is this a personal vendetta or just "objective" reporting?
As for that being the way he is remembered, it is obvious that you either didn't know him or you do, in fact, have something personal against him. I would be very interested what this thing is.
Should we all be judged for 1 or 2 actions in our lives? Should our loved ones be forced to bear our sins when we're gone from this world?
Or, is it possible to be judged for our life as a WHOLE? Is it too much to ask that those close to me not have to pay my way when I'm dead and gone? Can I not be judged for the things I did in good and the bad forgiven?
Is it to much to ask to NOT be judged in death? In life? At all?
As a former member of the company that had worked with many of the people involved with the "vaccine", I can only ask myself, Why? Why did you report wrong information? Why did you feel it is important for your ego to report that he was "bilking" money from just "Branson royalty". There were many othe fine individuals that assisted to create and support this copmany. All did lose their money. Yes, they paid the price for greed. Yet you blame only one individual for it, because it was his company. Yes, there was the reseach of many medications being developed, but you chose to only write about one and how it was false. So I take it, you personally knew then. Patrick was a great man, a kind and gentle men, he would give his shirt to any soul if needed. I could not of had a better person to have known. He cared about people and freinds and family. He poured his heart into what he believed was right.
Trying to understand why the state of Missouri made it clear that he would not leave prison alive, I guess they were right. It saddens me beyond to think that for spending money not intended allows reporters and goverment officals to punish and keep punishing him, it doesn't make sense to me. They gave him parole, but kept him prosoner. I don't understand why people from other states contribute finacial support for our Missouri officals, whoops, by accident they were also those involved in this case, strange if you ask me. Pat paid for what he did in more ways than just printed in black and white. He paid the price of never seeing his grandchildren to grow up, graduate or even hold his great-grandchildren. He missed every graduation, one would have been next month. Two of which passsed several years ago. I can't compare of what he did to any other white collar crime, but the man took his medicine and you celebrate his death and rub it in his family's face. Do you think maybe you could have some compassion for them, they also had to deal with loss. I am no longer associated with his family and I pray that one day AIDS will be cured, and just for your in formation Mr. Turner, it was not a Branson church. How can you appreciate the loss. You write odd! He did not obtain 5 million dollars by fraud, you make it sound as though he spent every penny on himself and his family, wrong again, you only have bits and pieces of truth and that makes you full of bunk. I wish you had spoke with me, then you might have really known the truth, but you are afriad of the truth. You remain to hide behind you black and white written trash, yes it supports you because people of all walks of life like to read, mostly half truths and trash. As for Me I will remember Patrick D. Graham as a faithful Christain man who I can say was my best friend and mentor. You knew nothing of him and that is sad! I will forever miss him, may he finally rest in peace.
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