Proof that Tom Brady may just be a jerk after all…
I know, it’s shocking to Jets fans out there, but Tom Brady is in the media crosshairs once again. However, this time, it’s not so much for being the handsome, TD-record-breaking, supermodel-marrying, ultimate human being. THIS time, it’s for something a little more unscrupulous… like being a rich jackass.
A 61-year-old ex-con, who was pinched for lifting two Belgian flower boxes worth $8,000 from Tom Brady, is now on the street panhandling to repay the New England Patriots QB.
Dennis Paiva of Malden, who claims the whole thing is a big misunderstanding, spends his days begging on the street after a Boston Municipal Court judge ordered him to pay $4,000 restitution to Brady’s realty trust.
The QB, by the way, will earn some $30 million this year in salary and endorsements.
“I’m out here holding up signs,” complained Paiva, who did a 10-year prison stint for bank robbery but says he never meant to steal from No. 12.
Trust me when I tell you, that if you haven’t already read this story, please read it now. My favorite part is a Patriots spokesman stating that “he doubts Brady is aware of Paiva’s situation.” Right. I don’t care how much you make. You notice when someone’s paying you $8,000. Oh, and there’s that little matter of someone reporting the theft. Wonder who could have done that?
So it’s ok to rob from rich people because they can afford it?
Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time.
What a terrible article. Shame on you for writng the article calling Tom Brady jackass. Good for Tom Brady!!!
tom brady…. a jerk? NO YOU DON”T SAY!
J ! E ! T ! S ! JETS JETS JETS
You break you buy!
I hate Tom Brady and the Pats, but come on. By the article’s logic Madoff did nothing wrong because he stole from rich people. You’re better than that Corey.
i’m in agreement with most of the comments above me. even if i was rich and someone jacked something from me, i’d still bring the smackdown!
I hate Tom Brady…….but this doesn’t make me hate him more…that guy is an idiot…he’s lucky he didn’t do jail time stealing something over a thousand dollars.
Whoa, everyone needs to calm down.
Look, finding items on the curb or in an alley causes misunderstandings all the time.
Paiva is responsible somewhat, but not as responsible as the delivery worker that dropped the flower baskets in the middle of some garbage.
I doesn’t matter anyway=http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/20090711brady_beggar_scores_big_help_from_reader_ad_exec_helps_scrap_trash-pickers_debt/
Also, we drink enough haterade for Tom Brady on the field. No need to add to the punch bowl.
Stealing is stealing, even if it is stealing from a Patriot. Is there really outrage against Brady about this? Seriously, this robber-guy is trying to get sympathy — that is what is really ridiculous here.
Although if someone stole something from Beli-cheat, I might feel differently…
I am in no way a Patriots or Tom Brady fan. In fact, I am a Colts fan so I root against the Pats at every possible chance… but if someone steals, I think they should repay the debt out of principle.
YOU ARE A JERK FOR EVEN TAKING THE TIME TO WRITE SUCH A STUPID ARTICLE TOM BRADY IS A HUMANATARIAN AND HAS MORE CLASS THAN YOU EVER WILL
He “inadvertently” took the Belgian flower boxes? Yeah, I’m sure Tom lives in one of those houses with cramped alleys where you really can’t tell the difference between what’s trash, and what belongs to someone. I’m sure $4,000 flower boxes looked like they were unwanted trash. What was a 61 year old ex-con with no money doing in the alley behind Tom Brady’s house? I don’t think he was a neighbor. It sounds like we should remove the “ex” from “ex-con”. Thr author of this story should move to L.A. Wait, I think he already does. Wasn’t he on the OJ jury?
“I hate Tom Brady and the Pats, but come on. By the article’s logic Madoff did nothing wrong because he stole from rich people. You’re better than that Corey.”
Corey is a Jets fan. NOTHING says “jerk” more loudly than that.
Corey,
I’m ashamed for the swath of ignorant hate spewing from these comments.
I applaud you for posting this article. This isn’t about Jets/Pats, it’s a story about Haves and Have Nots — and what happens when they collide.
I personally have been close to where Paiva is at different times in my life. I’ve been very successful at other times. It’s all part of life.
I can understand clearly how events like this can evolve, and put folks into jeopardy. I, for one, believe Paiva’s account of what happened. And I fully understand his reasons for settling rather than taking the chance of going to court where he may well have been acquitted. In his position, you don’t take that chance.
I’m not even saying Brady is a bad person. I agree that he most likely had no idea any of this happened. And without Paiva’s subsequent health issues at his age, delivering on the settlement would most likely have been hard for him, but doable and fair.
But given the circumstances of Paiva’s health issues, it appears that Brady’s legal team could easily have seen clear to go back into court to waive the remainder of the restitution, since from their position, they got the victory they sought over this little guy. Their point was made. They won. Ultimately, four grand is pocket change to this circle, and simply the price of yet another handbag to hang in GI’s closet. It’s not like we’re taking food off the Brady table here.
As far as Brady is concerned, if I was Tom, I’d fire my entire legal and press teams today, and perhaps sue THEM for malfeasance and breach of contract!
I can’t remember a celebrity more ill served by his expensive support team. Once this story broke, they should have been all over it, getting in front of it, and making Brady a hero — which is their job! As soon as they sniffed the story of Paiva’s health woes, SOMEONE should have been there ripping bills off the wad in their pocket to cover Paiva, and saying it came directly from local hero and still champ, Tom Brady — “Let’s all hear it for Tom!!!”
They could always have just put it on their bill later.
Instead, they let the Herald break it, run with it, turn it into David and Goliath and — even worse — let some young average guy whose wife had the same brain surgery as Paiva come forward to help out this poor aging guy. Instant heart-tugging story in a hard-scrabble, blue-collar town. A pure, made-for-Oprah story. My God, how they screwed this up!
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/20090711brady_beggar_scores_big_help_from_reader_ad_exec_helps_scrap_trash-pickers_debt/
Paiva is now a local celebrity, while Brady is left hanging with one of the worst PR hits I’ve seen a celeb take while most likely being totally unaware it was all happening.
So, in Boston, Dennis Paiva is a plucky little-guy-who-pulled-through, and football star Tom Brady is a rich, fat-cat schmuck.
Nice going, guys!
I can only assume the unemployment rate in Boston will rise considerably on Monday.
Or else Brady should prepare for lots of “Why are you such a hoity-toity rich schmuck?” and “Why are you hammering this poor old guy?” question variations all through training camp.
Thanks for the posting, Corey, and for the humanity you show. Your parents would be proud.
Wow, tough crowd.
Since this is just one side of the story it’s tough to say what’s right, but if what this article says is true (about the planters being with the trash) I’d cut the guy some slack.
Being a manhattan resident I frequently see people picking through trash for things they can use. And that often includes items put out next to trash cans. It’s sad but true that many in America are poor enough to need to do this sort of thing.
Tom should be bigger than this, but so should many of the posters here. The cries for blood are disturbing to me.
well if the guy stole from him, shouldn’t have to pay him back, regardless of what brady gets paid.
wouldn’t you want to be paid back.
oh and there also is this little thing called the LAW, you know the thing that makes us better than just about any other country.
I hate Tom Brady as much as anyone and maybe I’m not getting the whole story, but if you steal from someone, you should pay the price, no matter how rich the victim is.
Folks, first off, thank you for the response, either negative or positive. Me, Brian, Bent, E. Weeks, Angel and every other contributor appreciate you taking the time to read the site on whatever basis you choose.
I do not condone theft or robbery in any form. My only point is that here is a man that make $30 million demanding retribution from a man who can barely afford to eat or get by. The flower boxes were by the trash (according to the account) and I know that I have, on multiple occasions, used something that someone else was throwing out. My couch, chair and dresser at the moment are all things people were throwing out and they are all perfectly fine, but just things that the person or people had no use for anymore.
There is a difference between using yourself and selling something in someone’s garbage, yes, but as miketaliaferro said, sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures.
Once Brady’s legal team won, there should have been some consideration for the man’s outstanding circumstances. Everyone deserves a mulligan, right?
Anyway, I just wanted to clarify my point here. I hope you all continue to read TJB and enjoy the daily coverage of the Jets.
Everyone is entitled to free speech and I respect that. But this article implicity implies that Brady knew for sure what went on. And even at one point in the comments eludes to the fact that he (brady) might have even called the cops himself. but yet you are giving the benefit of the doubt to paiva? In fact I am sure brady is up in foxboro working his butt off to get ready for the season and doesn’t know about it nor had the time to go through camera footage. I also agree with the comment that the PR and legal teams should have stepped in and taken care of it. But Paiva should also have known that $8,000 planter boxes do not look like the average piece of trash and should not have taken them. (if it is to good to be true is usually is!!!) I am sure that by time this is over he will not have to pay and everyone will live happily ever after!! There is always two sides to every story and people should not crucify someone just because he makes a larger than average paycheck!
“My only point is that here is a man that make $30 million demanding retribution from a man who can barely afford to eat or get by.”
I think everyone did get your point, but most people (including me) dont think it doesn’t matter how much someone makes. stealing is stealing.
regardless or not if it was an accident or not, the title of the article jumps the gun. i dont think most of us know the entire story, but “proof that tom brady may just be a jer after all” is judgement on the matter.
What a sad day it is when columnists like Griffin get to write worthless columns like this. I’d say Paiva is stlil a con & lucky he’s not serving time. Theft over $500 is considered grand larceny in most states & subject to jail time.
Griffin….get a reality check. I hope your kids read this article & you get to explain how theft is ok.
“I hope your kids read this article & you get to explain how theft is ok.”
You obviously did not notice, but Corey already commented above as follows:
“I do not condone theft or robbery in any form.”
The AP is reporting that a local businessman repaid the guy’s debt for him, So I guess this story will go away now.
Just to confirm, nobody at TJB condones any crime and Jets and Pats fans can now go back to think each other’s players are jerks for football-related reasons!
Buddy sold them for $500 i believe? You dont think he knew they were worth some money? If someone stole the $5 #’s off my house I would want the dept repayed because they are my personal property and worked hard for it. Tom worked harder than a lot of people to earn what he has bought and shouldn’t be cut down because he expects some sort of repayment, even from a degenerate. And yes hes a degenerate….why cause he’s a BANK ROBBER!! He made his own choices in life a long time ago.
All you Jets fans are just jealous of Tom and the Patriots success. I suppose when your down in the division and sitting at home watching twelve other teams in the playoffs must give you a lot of time to scrounge up all the dirt you can and make a dig deal out of nothing. I also can’t believe your defending this Bum who stole the things, he already went to jail for larceny and he ruined his own life before this. I guess bums protect bums.
“Oh, and there’s that little matter of someone reporting the theft. Wonder who could have done that?”
Am I reading this correctly? Griffin seems to be attempting to express contempt because Brady (or someone responsible for his property) had the unforgivable gall to actually report property worth $8000 as having been stolen.
I don’t think I’d just shrug it off either.
Why wouldn’t the delivery company bear the blame for leaving $8,000 worth of merchandise on the street without having someone sign for it?
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4321250
looks like the old guy caught a brake though. happy ending.
“All you Jets fans are just jealous of Tom and the Patriots success. I suppose when your down in the division and sitting at home watching twelve other teams in the playoffs must give you a lot of time to scrounge up all the dirt you can and make a dig deal out of nothing. I also can’t believe your defending this Bum who stole the things, he already went to jail for larceny and he ruined his own life before this. I guess bums protect bums.”
This is why an article like this is ridiculously bad. Even though so many jets fans disagree with the article, it makes ALL OF US JETS fan look bad. HATE BE-GETS HATE.
by the way, i was responding to quoting Ted, a post slightly above mine.
You people are so stupid. If you actually read the article, you would know that the pots were in the garbage and he wasn’t actually stealing. The delivery people accidentally put it in the garbage for some weird reason. Learn to read the articles before you speak.
[...] thejetsblog.com. Please read the complete article and let us know what you think [...]
This is how this country became crap. When the rule of law is disputable and only applicable if popular opinion is greater than the law. 8K is no joke, not for me, not for you and not for Tom Brady. Stealing is stealing. Like lying is lying unless your the government or rich then its OK. I love to have this poor guys swing by your place and snag two of your $28 planters from Pottery Barn or better yet steal $400 from you because you make $20K and he doesn’t. What a stupid article and what a bunch of stupid people that think its OK to steal even from the ahrd working rich. Last I looked this guy has earned his money more so than most CEOs.
If something is in the trash it is fair game. The delivery company was responsible. Also anyone defending Brady should go pul for the MFing patsies who cheat yet get by with it. To defend Tom Brady is just plain stupid.
In Massachusetts (and most every other state), theft over a certain dollar amount is a FELONY. Even if Brady didn’t want the guy to pay restitution, he’s not a judge and can’t decide what punishment someone will get for a crime. The guy is lucky he didn’t get prison time! Where I am, theft over $1000 is a felony punishable by up to 5 years in prison.
On another note, Corey, victims of a crime do not get to demand restition. The judge decides on the facts of the case and decides if and/or what the restitution will be. This case would NOT be Brady’s Legal Team vs. Poor Guy by the State of Massachusetts vs Poor Guy. This is a criminal case, not a civil one. It would be prosecuted by the State Attorney’s Office.
Now, if Brady went after this guy in civil court about the incident (expecially now), then I could see your argument that he was being a jerk.
ummm, did anyone else think that this article about belgian flower boxes outside tom brady’s house was not about decorative stainless flower pieces?
MY HEART GOES OUT TO DENNIS, AS HE WAS DOING SO WELL UNTIL HE MET LOVELY RITA, NOW HIS EX GIRLFRIEND. HE WORKED SO HARD FOR RITA, AND SHE TREATED HIM LIKE CRAP AND DENNIS WENT DOWN THE DRAIN. BUT DENNIS IS STILL A NICE GUY AND NEEDS A BREAK, AND A NEW GIRLFRIEND THAT TREATS HIM LIKE A HUMAN BEING.
Corey, you are a jackass, plain and simple. It isn’t up to Tom Brady to decide what happened to this guy, it was up to a judge, and once the sentence was given there was nothing Brady could do about it.
I bet if I were to sit outside your house and steal the next thing UPS or FedEx delivers to you, you would be bustin my balls in court over it. So how about you shut the hell up, you better hope you’re never at Gillette Stadium, because we Pats fans will give you hell.
No Tom Brady is a jerk because he’s like 14-2 lifetime against the Jets and never has lost in the Meadowlands. Maybe Tony Romo would have bought the guy flowers, of taken him to the movies. Brett Favre would have told the guy that he was going to take him out, but then retire and then show up somewhere in the midwest with another homeless guy. Mark Sanchez would act like the guy’s savior, but then break his heart by being another in a long line of flops. You Jet fans reallly need to get over this Pat-hate problem of yours-it’s destroying you.
I would tend to agree with most of the posters if in fact Paiva really stole the merchandise. Did he break into Brady’s home? No. Did he forcibly remove the items from the property (like intentionally pull off $5 Street #’s)? No. Did he take something that is usually outside (like a parked car that can be hot wired)? No. The planters were sitting by the trash. Do you really think that if the planters were not by the trash that Brady’s PR team would not have brought that up to make the suit justifiable? And them saying that Brady did not know, well doesn’t it take weeks or months to go thru the court system to get a settlement. And don’t legal court documents have to eventually be signed by Brady himself? I just do not believe that Brady did not know. Brady could have come out and set up a better payment plan for Paiva than the court induced amount. In fact, I am sure that Brady could have thought of some other way for Paiva to pay back the full amount. He could also have reduced the amount under the circumstances. Who is really to blame? The delivery company. If I order something from a company (especially at $8000), you would think that a signature would be required before the delivery is accepted. Why didn’t the legal team go after the delivery company for restitution? Ask yourself this, would you leave items worth $8000 sitting out by your trash? I sure would not. That would be like waving money in the air as you are walking down a gangster infested neighborhood. The outcome is only evident. On the other hand, if Paiva really did steal the planters, then he needs to be punished by the justice system.
Stupidest article I have ever read. The guy was an X-
con. A Bank Robber no less. “Claims” he “found” them in the garbage. I would assume the flower boxes were still in the shipping cartons with Brady’s name and address on them. They didn’t just magically unwrap themselves. So now he is panhandling? WTF not get a job? Probably because he has spent his entire life stealing from others and thinks working is for fools like us. Pats suck, Jets rule, but this article REALLY sucks and is written by a fool who is looking for any excuse to hate. Pathetic.
This article makes us Jets fans look like a bunch of hating fools. People across the US already think New Yorkers are morons. I can see why. This reminds me of when Brady’s knee was busted up, so many people in NY were happy. I was completely embarrassed by that response. I was almost happy when the Pats beat us right after that. We got what we deserved. Now 2009 is a new year. This year we New Yorkers won’t behave like fools and the bad kharma will be gone and the Jets will take the division, followed by Miami and Buffalo. Go T.O. beat the Pats.
To Corey Griffin,
Whether someone steals $20 or a pile of pressure treated lumber left outside a doorstep, it’s a crime. It doesn’t matter if the victim earns 30mil or 30 thousand. This guy commited a crime, period. He is an “ex-con” for a reason. He’s done stuff like this before. He obviously didn’t learn form his previous convictions. Chances are, the judge passed on this punishment even if Brady’s attorneys pleaded otherwise.
Your article clearly makes this crook a “victim” ….
Typical NY Jet Fan-Its OK to steal from a rich person because they can afford it. These are the same fans who sit on each others shoulders and and chant all game. What a bunch of losers. Why dont you blog about all of the great super bowls you’ve won. LOL
Hey jets fans; stay out of Brady’s garbage. Go take stuff from Matt Sanchez’s garbage, let me know what he thinks.
Corey- you are an idiot and a jerk for not doing any real reporting- you basically covered the Inside track which is the equivalent of the dirty page six folks-they aren’t even real reporters- but i guess every a$$ can have an opinion-
As for TB, why don’t you report that his house has been broken into once and several attempts in Boston- to which he has never been reimbursed- His boston house has security cameras because of the attempts but the damages incurred has always been a hit to Brady-
Now if this retired crook really made an honest mistake, why wasn’t he truthful when he was questioned by the police…By the way, they weren’t contacted directly by Brady, and then the jailbird indictated that it wasn’t him? Lemme guess just forgor that he did it…you know, so down on his luck, right? NOT!
Another failure of yours was to mention that the items were 8000 of which he was only suppose to reimburse 1/2- the other 1/2 would be a loss to Brady himself. The crook opted to stay out of jail in lieu of attempting to pay him back and you know, do the right thing.
On top of that they were in brand new boxes with papers- and he decided to rip him off anyway- YOU ARE A JERK FOR REPORTING SUCH ONESIDED BALONEY AND SHOULD FIND A NEW JOB since fact finding doesn’t seem to go along with your idea of writing.
Tom Brady was always a Jerk. this article has nothing to do with it.
good QB but an Ass for sure.
just like his coach, great coach but an Ass too.
what actually happened is the planters where behind the garage and not on the curb. so this thief in question went in the yard behind the garage and took the planters .
why should it be tom brady’s fault cause this guy stole from him .
and there is no way he did not know they where new .
so come on with the comments cause if some one stole from you , you would be all upset
Just wanted to say whether he is guilty or committed an honest mistake, Brady is guilty of showing no mercy. The Law should be cold and impartial, humans not so much. Brady does make alot of money, if he choose to show him mercy and forgive his debt (after court) it would have been a nice story. If he made him work for the 8k, and then had paid him the money as a surprise he would’ve been considered a great man. Instead he comes off much like the Law, cold.