The Shuttle Scoops The World Again !

Following our exclusive story below about top private eye Frank Monte who has announced he will sue the former publicist Kristy Fraser-Kirk, the rest of Australia's media has finally caught up today with the story sweeping the majority of news outlets including every TV network and newspaper.

Fraser-Kirk is suing her former boss Mark McInnes and David Jones department store for 'sexual harassment' in a $37M lawsuit. Both worked at the top department store where McInnes was on a rumoured $8M yearly salary.

Monte announced sometime ago ( again in another Social Shuttle scoop) that had been hired to do background checks on the public relations officer. Whilst some media outlets speculated just who had hired the high flying gumshoe-the Shuttle was shown exclusive background material the ace investigator had uncovered. It makes for sensational reading.

Monte, pictured here in New York where he drives a Ferrari, has offices in the USA and Australia and has been featured on top US talk shows including Howard Stern, Larry King and Oprah Winfrey.

Some questioned why Monte would announce that he was investigating someone when presumably discretion and secrecy is needed in his trade. But a fellow private eye told us today that the disclosure was probably part of a well planned attack upon the case against DJs and McInnes, and that Monte whilst being extremely high profile employs a number of covert operators with their boss overseeing their work.

When Kristy Fraser-Kirk's solicitors announced the multi-million dollar lawsuit in August on the day David Jones launched their Spring fashion shows, the tide seemed to turn slightly against her from sympathy to cynicism.

Monte announced today he will sue Fraser-Kirk for libel after stories appeared in the media regarding his surveillance work. He has hired the top barrister Clive Evatt. However the Shuttle had wind of the story 24 hours before the announcement.

As they say-this show will run and run and as one astute reader of the News Corp Melbourne tabloid Herald Sun said upon reading of Monte's lawsuit :

"This is a hoot! Better than the stuff Hollywood turns out." !

Exclusive ! Big Guns Called in over David Jones Case

Frank Monte with female bodyguards

Hard on the heels of the report that former department store boss Mark McInnes sent text messages to the publicist Kristy Fraser-Kirk who is suing him - a press release thuds onto the Shuttle desk from private investigator Frank Monte announcing the following :

"Recently there have been remarks and assertions and imputations by Kristy Fraser-Kirk the claimant in the David Jones scandal put to the court and in public to friends and associates that Mr Frank Monte Private Investigator carried out illegal attempts at bugging, stalking or bombing her, all of which are serious illegal acts and so actionable at Criminal law.

These untrue statements accuse Mr. Monte, who has 44 years' experience in the business and is licensed in Australia and other parts of the Globe to have acted in a criminal act and she said this without regard to the truth.

Mr Monte believes such statements to be acts designed at pressuring him and his team into ceasing his lawful activities pursuant with his rights to investigate M/s Kristy Fraser-Kirk and others to the fullest extent of the law."

Earlier today we heard how Mark McInnes who is accused by Fraser-Kirk of "sexual intimidation" had sent a number of text messages to his accuser stating :

"I am pleading with you to show some mercy ... or everything I have worked for or earnt [sic] is gone,"

"I will be totally destroyed ... I no [sic] my attempt to kiss u was wrong and im so so so so sorry but I am about to lose everything I have in my life so please please please please have some compassion on me and we will settle this as you wish."

Yesterday Kristy Fraser-Kirk's lawyers claimed in court that she could not move outside her apartment following newspaper reports that Monte had been hired to investigate her.

Monte further states :
"These statements have led him in the past few days to request his legal team of Beazley Singleton and Mr. Clive Evatt Barrister, to commence legal proceedings against M/s Kristy Fraser-Kirk for defamation and perjury forthwith, as such statements are untrue and malicious and designed to interfere with Mr Monte's rights and to injure him and stop him carrying out his lawful business. Mr. Monte's legal team have all the evidence before them as to the identity, correspondence and fees transactions, identifying Mr.Monte's client in this matter. This is also designed to cease the parties alluding that Mr. Monte 'Claims' to have been hired to investigate the plaintiff".

Fraser-Kirk is suing her former boss McInnes and the department store chain David Jones for $30M in the biggest ever sexual harassment suit. Clive Evatt is one of Australia's most astute libel barristers.

The CEO, his Publicist and the Private Eye

He was described by top US talk show host Larry King as "the best in the business",

Monte on 'Good Morning America'

Frank Monte the private investigator who has now been linked with the David Jone's case involving former CEO Mark McInnes, who recently resigned from his $8M job and former DJ's publicist Kirsty Fraser-Kirk who has alleged she was sexually harassed by McInnes and is asking for a whopping $37 million in damages.

In the lawsuit filed in the Federal Court there are 11 defendants including McInnes. Earlier this week the Daily Telegraph broke the story that Monte had been hired and paid a substantial sum to investigate the back ground of Fraser-Kirk.

McInnes & Megan Gale

He then gave a raft of radio interviews confirming the story whilst saying at the time that he would neither confirm or deny who his client was. As of yesterday Monte was taking no more media requests for interviews and has turned down several TV station requests.

One daily newspaper speculated about Monte's involvement in the case and published a story that both David Jones and McInnes had denied hiring Monte but as the gumshoe pointed out to us this morning, he had specifically stated that he would not say who his client was.

The Shuttle spoke to a well know solicitor on Wednesday ( he asked not to be named) who has worked on several harassment cases and he  pointed out that there could be any number of prospective clients who could become involved in the case and use the services of a private eye.

Kirsty Fraser-Kirk

" Firstly there is the obvious- 11 defendants who would most likely  be represented by one firm of solicitors and a barrister but each individual, particularly as they are high profile directors of the department store chain would have their own counsel as well. They may not even know who is hired on their behalf  "

" Then there any number of insurance companies, large shareholders in the listed company, individual shareholders and clients of David Jones including those with a vested interest in the financial well being of the department store chain. 

Such as a supplier who may have millions of dollars in stock supplies involved and are anxious that there are no boats rocked by the scandal. They in turn could have their own insurance companies "

" It's like a pebble thrown into the pond of  lawsuits and the vested interests radiates outwards.  Even on a normal case this happens but this looks set to a very special matter with the claim of $37M in damages . The fallout will be immense, whether the case is proved or not, for there not to be covert investigations of every person involved. And there is the share price of the chain store to consider" said our legal source.

On 2 radio interviews with Sydney's 2GB's Money News with Ross Greenwood, a noted financial journalist  and on 1377AM with Steve Vizard in Melbourne both announcers voiced similar sentiments as the solicitor. ( Vizard's  interview can be heard here)

One matter we brought up with the solicitor was the fact that, why would there would be a leaking  to the media of the fact that a high profile private eye like Monte  was on the case ?.

"Surely this would be counter productive ?" we asked " particularly as it is meant to be a 'covert'" surveillance"

" Not in the least" said the legal eagle. '"In fact it could have been quite deliberate to either rattle the other side or be like a clarion call to any interested party to supply information-and that Monte is the repository starting point. Monte's probably not actually doing the foot work himself, most likely overseeing the matter".

At Mid-day today Monte said he would show us some documents as long as we signed a confidentially agreement to never disclose the name involved. 

At a city coffee shop he produced  several emails from a high profile business group commissioning Monte for the job with a host of details and suggestions. of required information  And bank documents that verify that indeed, a 'substantial sum' had been paid into his business bank account by wire transfer from that firm.

 But even more interesting were a host of emails that Monte had received in the days following the media clamor about his involvement-from former family members and associates of the Fraser-Kirk family in Zimbabwe and the UK offering information. Some of it. to put it mildly is sensational!

As they say, the plot thickens.

                                               _____________________________

We have unearthed an interview with Frank Monte on Kerri-Anne-Kennerley's show  talking about the paranormal !.


Tweet of the day : KRuddMP

  

Yesterday campaigning with Maxine McKew. I spoke with the Chinese community, i find my Chinese is increasingly rusty. KRudd

"I Wish He Had Touched Me Up !"

That was designer Alannah Hill's claim today when she showed off her wares at the David Jones department store in the spring / summer fashion collection.
This was following the announcement that former DJ's publicist  Kristy Fraser-Kirk's  has launched a $37million lawsuit against the firm following allegations the CEO Mark McInnes "touched her up".

It's the largest claim of it's kind and Fraser-Kirk is asking for 5% of DJ's takings and of McInne's wages during his tenure as boss. She says she will donate the money to charity. Good luck!

This morning's parade at the Sydney flagship store was pretty well packed despite the absence of DJ's mascot model Miranda Kerr who is recovering from her honeymoon after wedding Orlando Bloom.

Nicole Trunfio

She twittered the troops at DJ's at lunchtime :"Hey guys, Thank you so much for chatting with me today. I hope you all have the most amazing day and night."

Alannah says of McInnes: " I threw myself at him. He told me he didn't want to mix business with pleasure." Yeah, sure.

Kristy Fraser-Kirk says McInnes phoned her one night wanting to have dinner with her and said he could have had sex with a brunette the night before.

"Yes I was the brunette, yes, yes I was the brunette," Hill said."He could have bedded me but he chose the other one. He is dreamy". Ahhh..sounds just like she was dreaming .

In place of Kerr there were 4 other 'supermodels'- Nicole Trunfio ,Abbey-Lee Kershaw,  Catherine McNeil and Alexandra Agoston.

Meanwhile as we blog, CH 9's Today Tonight show is screening some ham fisted replies after they interviewed a host of designers at the parade today on the controversy. 2 hapless PR people unsuccessfully tried to snatch a newspaper that ran a headline on the matter out of the reporter's hands .Go to the website and watch the video at the right titled "David Jones Backlash". Why didn't they prep these  PR folk beforehand ?. Didn't people like Megan Gale and designer Alex Perry realise the press was out in force and they would be asked difficult questions ?

Department store scandal

Megan Gale and Mark McInnes 

Sad news today as the CEO of the chic department store David Jones, Mark McInnes steps down following a boardroom stoush over his personal relationship with a female staff member.

The shock announcement came in a one line statement although there have been whispers for months now. McInnes who has been at DJs for 13 years completely overhauled the stores after a disastrous flirtation with an imported American CEO who completely mis-read the local market and attempted to turn the 100 year old up-market purveyors of top quality merchandise into a chain of Bloomingdale style stores.

Miranda Kerr & Orlando at Royal Randwick  (c tSS)

McInnes had the city store completely re-furbished back to  it's original style with marble floors, inexpensive but luxurious food halls, grand  floral displays and personal service from white gloved assistants. He also restored the tradition of a pianist at the Elizabeth Street entrance, tinkling away on a grand piano. The punters flocked back and as anyone knows, popping into DJs just for a wander through the emporium is always an afternoon treat.

So successful were McInnes innovations that Mohamed Al Fayed hired the same team who oversaw the decorations, to tart up Harrods.
McInnes was also behind the hiring of supermodels Megan Gale and Miranda Kerr.

Always a gracious host, Mark hosted a lunch at last year's Autumn Carnival at the Royal Randwick Races for the media and various guests with Orlando Bloom and Kerr.

 He will be sadly missed . With a huge promotional budget that paid off in dividends via huge sales for DJs, McInnes will be a hard man to replace. Where he is off to he isn't saying but with a $2Million pay-off, the world is his oyster. As for David Jones, their share price plunged today on the Stock Exchange following Mark's departure.