Purging and Courting

Robert Liva (Photo By John Anderson)

The following transcripts are excerpted from two conversations recorded by Robert Liva. According to Liva, the first conversation took place in November 2000, between Liva and Bernard Burkhardt, owner of BMS Vending of San Antonio. In the exchange below, Liva asks Burkhardt about how he reports school commissions from sales from his vending machines in public schools. The "purging," Liva says, refers to reducing, by a varied percentage, commissions due to schools.

Liva: You purge more than [another vendor] does. ... She purges 10 to 30% -- an average of 20% off the accounts.

Burkhardt: What do you mean?

Liva: Cuts it, cuts the account down 20% to 30%.

Burkhardt: I cut it 50%.

Liva: Oh, you cut it 50%, yeah, I know you do.

[Laughter]

A bit later, Liva and Burkhardt are talking about Burkhardt's strategy for balancing the books at BMS Vending in order to pass a state audit:

Liva: So you're going to shift your money from your commercial accounts over to the schools?

Burkhardt: Right. And I don't have no contracts with the schools because we don't report anything anyway.

Liva: Right.

Burkhardt: So I can shift it over ... between 5 and 10 [%] at the most ... whatever my monthly statements show how much I paid out, you know? I got my stuff straight. The only thing I got to shift is Gary Job Corps.

Liva: 'Cause there's so much money.

Burkhardt: Yeah.

Liva: That's, what ... $25,000 a month?

Burkhardt: Yeah. And I just shift that baby over to the schools.

In this exchange, which Liva says was recorded on Oct. 23, 2000, Liva is making a business call at the office of Kealing Jr. High principal Chiquita Watt. Liva says he requested the meeting after Watt told him on the phone a few days before that BMS should be "courting" her to keep their vending account at Kealing. As this excerpt begins, says Liva, Watt is showing him a coffee mug given to her by his competitor, Best Pak Vending.

Watt: The cute little coffee mug, with my school name on it, I was like, oh, this is so cute, I didn't get this from Burkhardt so they can't be ... I think [you] should be courting me and saying, 'Do this, take this.' I haven't heard from you guys ...

[Liva protests that his company has given the school chips and sodas, and Watt describes the massage sessions she received courtesy of a competing vendor.]

Liva: Dr. Watt, I'm going to have to apologize to you. ... I guess I'm not good at courting, because that's why I'm divorced [laughter]. But, you know, we want to hang onto your account, and if you'll just let us know what you need, then, we're behind you a hundred percent.

[Watt tells Liva to deal with her directly instead of through her assistant principal, and that BMS should bring more soda for her staff.]

Watt [referring to a check BMS has given Kealing]: So I got this great idea, I said, well, I know what I want -- I want to go to a ball game! ...

[Liva shows Watt a diagram of the football stadium.]

Watt: So, if this is lower 50-yard line, I would like the lower 50-yard-line.

Liva: And how many did you need?

Watt: Four. Can I have four? ...

Liva: You know, I think it's just a lack of communication, that if, you know, you call me direct ..."

Watt: And let me tell you what else I want.

Liva: Okay.

Watt: Do they have [tickets] for next weekend? I want to go to that game so I'll have something to compare the two games.