When brothers John and Derek Tabacco showed up at the big Occupy Wall Street protest Thursday holding “Occupy a Desk” and “Get a Job” signs, they claimed they were engaging in an organic counter-protest against dirty hippies who were preventing them from getting to work. The local, national, and even international media promptly picked up their story.
But it turns out the Tabacco brothers have a long and sometimes checkered history of publicity-seeking and relentless self-promotion — and their claim that 50 local businessmen are supporting the anti-Occupy protest is entirely unsubstantiated.
Besides owning a finance company called LocateStock in lower Manhattan, John Tabacco is a Fox News contributor, a failed talk radio host, an unsuccessful city council candidate from Staten Island, and a onetime participant in the VH1 show “My Coolest Years.” An endorsement John Tabacco received in his city council campaign was later alleged to have been part of a pay-to-play deal. Derek Tabacco, for his part, is the CEO of what appears to be a defunct social network company for sports fans.
The Tabaccos showed up Thursday morning at the intersection of Wall Street and Broadway, the spot where news cameras had gathered to film protesters and the throng of NYPD officers who had barricaded the street and were demanding “work IDs” for entry.
more . . .
http://www.salon.com/2011/11/18/the_bizarre_history_of_the_ows_counter_protesters/?source=newsletter