Care Resource, a
South Florida AIDS service organization, plans to sue
out entertainer Boy George and his booking agency after
George failed to return a deposit for an appearance
that was canceled following his arrest in October
2005. George and the booking agency, Red Parrot, received an
$8,400 deposit for the entertainer to serve as a guest DJ at
the 21st annual White Party circuit party fund-raiser,
which benefits Care Resource. But George canceled his
appearance, and the booking agency never returned the
deposit, which was half of George's $12,000
appearance fee and a $2,400 booking fee. The funds
were wired to a London bank on August 4, 2005.
George was
arrested on October 7, 2005, in New York City when
police were falsely called to his Manhattan
apartment to investigate an alleged burglary. Police
also found a large amount of cocaine in the apartment.
George was sentenced in March to five days of community
service for falsely reporting a burglary, escaping more
serious charges of drug possession.
George's
booking agency initially reported after the
entertainer's arrest that George would be
keeping his scheduled DJ dates in the United States,
but it later canceled George's appearance at the
White Party and all other U.S. DJ gigs just three
weeks before the Florida fund-raiser was to be held.
The booking agency wrote to Care Resource that the deposit
would be returned within 14 days, but the AIDS group
never received the money. Care Resource officials
report having made several phone calls and having sent
numerous e-mails and letters to Red Parrot during the past
few months demanding the return of the funds, all of
which have been unanswered.
The agency is now
taking steps to sue George and Red Parrot for the
unreturned deposit.
"The $8,400 that
Boy George and Red Parrot took from Care Resource
would have paid the cost of primary medical
care for nine of our patients for a full year,"
said Rick Siclari, Care Resource executive director,
in a press statement. (The Advocate)