By Art Harris, The Bald Truth, (c) www.artharris.com, all rights reserved

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga., June 25— She wore a white linen pantsuit to divorce court Wednesday in these toney Republican surburbs outside Atlanta, sitting as far away from her soon to be ex-husband as possible, a former career Penthouse centerfold-turned porn star known as the notorious “Mansion Madam.”

Earlier this year, Lisa Taylor, aka Melissa Wolf, drew seven years probation and a $150,000 fine after pleading guilty to prostitution and running, well, a brothel in the ‘burbs, joining a list of commercial sex queens garnering an orgy of headlines in America’s season of scandal.

Still blond and feisty at 43, Taylor helped her lawyer carry boxes of financial records to the third floor of Gwinnett County Superior Court Wednesday, testing the patience of no-nonesense Judge Richard T. Winegarden with the petty wrangling of a couple long out of love.

Exclusive Video: Ian Martin, Mansion Madam’s Almost X-Husband

“This is a divorce, isn’t it? Aren’t they allowed to have each other’s financial information?” he deadpanned, throwing up hands in frustration over the madam and her X-man, Ian Martin, 49, a Canadian engineer turned male stripper who co-stars in Lisa’s adult videos and lives in a second Hall County house they own together after filing bankruptcy.

Dressed conservatively in slacks and button down shirt, Martin sat across the room and, like Lisa, never did testify, or look her way. She remains convinced he ratted her out to District Attorney Danny Porter, dragged out the divorce to curry favor with the law and insure his green card.

He denies it, and in an exclusive interview with The Bald Truth, Martin says Porter did indeed interview him about his wife, but insists Lisa had already been nailed by wiretaps and witnesses, including sidekick Nicole Probert, aka “Naughty Nikki.” Prostitution and drug charges were dropped against Probert for cooperating in the investigation, said Porter.

“I wasn’t involved in the criminal aspect of anything,” Martin tells me in an exclusive interview. “I wish Lisa the best of everything.”

He’s asking for alimony and the Hall County house they own together estimated to be worth about $150,000.

In court, his attorney, Jeff Sliz, bearded, bald and brave enough to sport an earring in Bud Light Land, did argue that despite declaring bankruptcy, Martin wanted to pay monthly on that house, but fell behind because Taylor refused to share how much he owed each month.

“He knows the amount,” scoffed lawyer John Strauss, mocking that spin.

“Are you asking for attorney’s fees?” asked the judge, his frustration over the love deadlock palpable with a jammed docket of cases begging for attention.

To avert smackdown, the lawyers asked for a break to seek compromise in the halls, while Judge Winegarden listened to locals asking to change their names, including one man who struggled to pronounce the four word moniker he was requesting.

“Can you repeat the four names you want?” asked the judge.

“I only want one name,” said the man.

“If you have a name with four words, we call it four names,” said the judge, as the man read from a piece of paper. It sounded Arabic, and the petitioner conceded he didn’t know what the names meant. “My wife picked it out,” he shrugged with a grin.

Then the fueding couple were back, with attorneys asking the judge for a two hour block of time to come back with final proposals to finalize the big D, number three for Taylor.

Complicating matters, Taylor’s lawyer said Lisa had been unable to find steady work, making finances a strain, though she’s said previously she socked away money over the years to buy property in Canada and the states, and that things could always be worse at upscale Sugarloaf Country Club Estates.

After all, she’s still young, making friends with soccer moms at her gym, Fit For Life, and living in a $1.2 million mansion overlooking a rolling golf course; potential buyers are starting to come around, and make offers, she says.

At the same time, former clients appear to be almost out of the woods as well, with the DA targeting one last, unlucky customer from her little black book, an Emory University urologist sources tell me dropped a goodie bag of Viagra at the mansion after he was caught on a police wiretap of her phone praising Taylor’s skills. The doc was said to have requested regular sessions, but advised his pricey neighborhood Geisha he had to be cautious; he didn’t want to get busted by his wife.

By Bald Truth Staff, (c) www.artharris.com, all rights reserved

How nuts did the Jet Blue Passenger allegedly go on the New York to San Fran flight last week?

Nuts enough to wind up in a Denver jail, and scheduled for a hearing this morning in federal court in Denver on charges she interfered with a flight crew when she punched and cursed the fast-acting attendant who snatched a lit cigarette from her mouth.

It’s all in the complaint against the 35 year old Queens designer, szele_complaint whose friends say she’s a very nice person when not swilling vodka.

Bald Truth Staff, (c) www.artharris.com, all rights reserved

An excerpt from CNN’s The Nancy Grace Show, featuring Art Harris with little known details of Nick Bollea’s crash:

–The unsolved mystery of Nick’s .034 blood alcohol level: what did he drink and when did he drink it on the day of the tragic crash that put ex-Marine John Graziano in a VA hospital, brain-damaged… and landed Baby Hulk in the Pinellas County Jail for 8 months, whining about a reckless driving plea and calling the victim a “negative person?”

–Was Nick drinking beer Daddy bought before noon on crash day when Nick and friends hit the intercoastal on Hulk Hogan’s boat after Dad bought at least three cases of Miller Lite and Corona at Albertson’s liquor store?

Hulk told assistant state attorney Scott Rosenwasser he didn’t see it if he did, and he was with Baby Hulk all day, except for a 45 minute period back at the house. “I have my doubts,” Roswenwasser told me, “but that was his sworn statement.”

Moreover, Hulk denies taking Nick into the liquor store, or that he saw the boy sipping any alcohol that day; the liquor store clerk, however, told police Nick did come in with his friends when Daddy stocked up.

So why wasn’t Nick charged with drunk driving? For one, .034 is under the legal blood alcohol limit of .08. Yet, it’s certainly evidence an underage youth consumed alcohol, right?

True, BUT no one could or would testify they witnessed Baby Hulk guzzling any of the Coronas or Miller Lites Daddy bought, or sneaking away to indulge otherwise. Tough case to prove.

However, you can bet the victim’s attorney, George Tragos, will be sending investigators to follow up for the upcoming civil suit for negligence against Hulk, Mama Hulk and Nick, and if one of Nick’s pals who was there that day suddenly has a flash of memory that contradicts sworn statements, well, let the fireworks begin.

From Bald Truth Staff, (c) artharris.com, all rights reserved

She denies ever saying how much she loved street racing. But Linda Bollea was indeed caught gushing on tape: “Oh, I love it. I love it. The Rush, the speed on the road, stereoblasting, heartpounding, racing in between all the cards, dodging the cops. It’s awesome.”

Baby Hulk Mama’s comments can also be found quoted in the negligence lawsuit filed by the family of John Graziano, the ex-Marine paralayzed when Nick Bollea crashed his souped-up Toyota Supra into a palm tree on August 26, 2007.

According to the lawsuit Graziano lawsuit filed in Pinellas County Circuit Court, not only did Nick hear Mom say it, but Linda had “observed her son driving…in a reckless and negligible manner,” and both she and Hulk Hogan “knew or should have known” the Supra, modified to crank over 500 horses, was “an exceedingly dangerous instrument” (sic) given her son’s “proclivity to drive recklessly and in excess of the speed limit upon the public roadways.”

Is Graziano’s attorney George Tragos, a veteran federal prosecutor-turned personal injury expert, saying Linda and Hulk enabled Nick?

Not only that, but the lawsuit claims they “knew, or should have known” his pal, Daniel Jacobs, who was seen speeding between lights in Linda’s silver Dodge Viper that night, with Nick in the next lane, had a “propensity of racing on the public roadways.”

The lawsuit says Hulk Daddy, as owner of the cars, is liable for causing the tragic accident “by negligently entrusting” Nick with dangerous cars, especially with his history of “lack of judgment and careless manner of driving,”

For Hulk’s part, he’s denied any responsibility, claiming he’s disciplined Nick before, and that Nick’s mother actually took the keys away twice after Nick got caught speeding near Miami.

Tonight on CNN’s Nancy Grace, we’ve been invited on the show to reveal shocking, little known details about the driving records of Nick Bollea and the fellow driver piloting Mom’s Dodge Viper the night Hulk Hogan’s 17 year old son smashed his souped-up Supra last year, maiming ex-Marine John Graziano, a two-tour Iraq veteran.

We’ve also obtained police records –our readers saw here first — and talked with law enforcement about what happened that day. What did Hulk Hogan buy at Albertson’s Liquor store? The receipt shows:

–two cases of Miller Lite for $11.99 each; two cases of Corona Extra for $13.99 each; one case of Miller Chill Beer for $10.99; 5 bags of ice for $1.99 each. Hulk paid with credit or debit card and signed for it, then carried two of the packages out; the clerk recalls another young man carrying the third package. None acted like they’d been drinking at that point, nor smelled of alcohol, he told police.

–The store clerk also confirmed to investigators Nick Bollea and friends were indeed in the store when Dad was stocking up on party supplies before they went boating in Clearwater, Fla., on the day of the crash.

–Crash investigation report reveals Florida Highway Patrol stopped Nick twice on the same day for speeding–one year before the crash. The date: Sept. 17, 2006.

The first time, Nick was doing 107 mph in 70 mile zone. He got a warning; it’s unclear why, but one prosecutor recalls hearing the officer had to respond to an emergency…Then, a 19 miles down the road, Nick gets popped again, this time doing 115 mph. This time, he does get a citation.

Both times, his father, Hulk Hogan, aka Terry Bollea, is in the Toyota, that cranks 544 horsepower, as later measured by police. He counts at least two other prior speeding tickets as well, on 2/21/ 07 and 6/26/07.

–The second driver, Daniel Jacobs, was in the Viper, that was zipping around roads, “racing between lights,” according to witnesses. He’d had numerous speeding tickets, too. Witnesses talk about their alleged hot-dogging in the streets.

–As for the cruise, just where did Hulk take them on the water that day? First stop: Shepard’s Tiki Bar, but it was too crowded, according to what one party pal told investigators, so they cruised for a while. Then it was back to the Tiki Bar, where Hulk anchored off shore and a group including Nick and friends waded to shore.

A security guard at the bar said they were turned way though, because on one had IDs. While his friends were holding bottles of beer, said witnesses, Nick had a green cup of light colored liquid. A friend told police he didn’t recall what he’d been drinking if anything, but a bouncer said he didn’t act drunk. He wore sunglasses, he said, so it was impossible to read his eyes.

Tune in Nancy Grace tonight to hear more.

By Art Harris, The Bald Truth, (c) www.artharris.com, all rights reserved

“Look at those two assholes not getting anywhere fast,” said one witness, who told police Hulk Hogan’s son, Nick, behind the wheel of a yellow Toyota Supra, and a pal driving his mother’s Dodge Viper were “racing between lights” on the streets of Clearwater, Florida August 26, 2007. Weaving, tires smoking. Then Nick Bollea loses control and hits the 25 foot palm tree.

Shocking, little known details about the party boys that day, and their street racing before the crash. Never came out in court because Bollea plead no contest to reckless driving; no criminal trial necessary. But attorneys for the victim’s family lay it all out in a civil suit that charges Nick’s parents with negligence. They’ve denied any wrongdoing. Read on–and weep.

To find answers Hulk Hogan didn’t have for a Larry King Live the other night, we cued up the video, and dug up the exhaustive Nick Bollea Clearwater Police investigation into the tragic crash that’s put the hot-rodding Baby Hulkster behind bars for eight months, and left his friend, ex-Marine John Graziano, 23, hospitalized with permanent brain damage.

“He made a mistake,” Hogan said of his son Nick Bollea, 17, who pled no contest to the reckless driving incident last August. Hulk appeared to choke up when detailing the stress the accident, and other crisis (like his wife filing for divorce after 23 years and dating a 19 year old) have put him and his family under.

According to the crash report, an officer noted Nick’s bloodshot eyes and said he was “mumbling” his words after the smashup.

A blood alcohol test on the 17 year old driver registered .034, well within the legal limit, but still raised questions how an underage youngster came to be drinking and driving that day, and whether Hulk was aware (he denies it) that his son may have been impaired. Even at that low level, the prosecutor tells me alcohol can affect judgment and reaction time.

Hulk never did address questions raised about video cameras that caught him buying party supplies in a liquor store with his son the day of the crash, or who was drinking aboard his boat that day and why Nick was still driving after numerous speeding tickets.

In an interview with Assistant State Attorney Scott Rosenwasser, he denied Nick was in the store, and that he never saw Nick drinking alcohol later on the boat, or anywhere that day.

Another friend, however, says Nick later had a greenish cup, with something in it, not sure what it was. After he waded ashore with friends, a beach bar security guard said the liquid looked clear and he wasn’t stumbling or acting drunk.

As for speeding tickets, he received one after being clocked doing 115 mph in a 70 mile zone in 2006, and got stopped twice in the same day on Florida’s lonely stretch of Alligator Alley two weeks before the Graziano crash– doing over 100 mph.

Both times, Hulk was in the car, says the report. The first time, the cop let him off with a warning; the second time, Nick got the ticket. Hulk has never explained why he didn’t snatch the keys away, trade places, and allowed the boy to keep speeding. That day, they were driving the family Mercedes.

As for his son’s sentence, Hulk claimed other wrecks that lead to convictions for vehicular homicide bring no more than six months in jail for most Joe Blows.

But Assistant State Attorney Scott Rosenwasser tells me Hulk needs to get a law school refresher, that eight years behind bars is more like it. The sentence would likely have been stiffer had it gone to trial, but Nick plead no contest. The victim’s family didn’t want him to do more than a year in jail. Nick was sentenced to eight months, with the Graziano’s blessing, and has been whining ever since, according to jailhouse audiotapes the sheriff and released to the media.

Any questions Hulk may be dodging now he will likely hear again from veteran prosecutor –turned personal injury lawyer George Tragos, who represents Graziano, the injured Marine, when the civil suit for negligence goes to trial.

According to a bollea-graziano-lawsuit filed by John Graziano’s family seeking unspecified damages, Hulk Hogan and Linda Bolea, Nick’s parents, should be held accountable for arming their son with the modified race car that became a dangerous weapon.

Here’s the Clearwater Police press release announcing Hulk’s son was arrested in connection with the tragic crash.

Do you think Nick is a menace to society?

Should his parents be held accountable? Check out the police report and let us know your thoughts, and the sentences drivers received in your area for reckless driving resulting in serious injury or death. We plan to forward the information on to Hulk so he doesn’t feel Nick got such a raw deal.

By Art Harris, (c), www.artharris.com, all rights reserved.

With the stock market diving, I figured sports star memorabilia might be the ticket, and phoned the QVC Shopping Network’s 800 number Wednesday night to try and nab the Hulk Hogan New Ultimate Grill.

If O.J. Simpson is so bullish as to use armed goons to bust into a Las Vegas hotel room to steal back his own Not Guilty suit, who’s to say a beleagured Hulk and his collectibles aren’t a smart play, too?

Googling the product, I was reminded that QVC shoppers, rabid with Hulkmania, snapped up the grill by the thousands when it went on sale last July to endorse a ‘rasslin’ legend gutsy enough to branch out from hawking belts, do-rags and feather boas.

“Hulkmania Slams QVC to the Mat!” declared one PR release I found, touting 11,400 grills snapped up in the first 24 hours, generating a sizzling $1.1 million in sales.

“The Grill is a unique kitchen appliance that can transform from grill to a skillet, pizza oven, waffle maker and Panini sandwich press,” said one PR handout “It can even bake cookies.”

AND it included two grill plates, one skillet plate and Hulk’s book: Hogan Knows Grilling. A collector’s item, if I ever saw one.

“All around, things are going very well for me right now,” said Hulk back then, aka Terry Bollea.

“My Ultimate Grill is selling…I recently premiered our fourth season of Hogan Knows Best…one of VH1’s highest rated programs; and my kids are having a lot of success in their careers.”

What a difference a year makes.

Tuesday night on Larry King Live, the Hulk’s lip quivered as he tried to spin shocking jailhouse audiotapes that caught him and estranged wife, Linda) trying to cheer up their son, Nick, by trashing the brain-damaged ex-Marine Nick put in a VA hospital for life when the 17 year old serial speeder crashed his hot rod on the streets of Clearwater, Florida August 26, 2007.

Serving eight months in the Pinellas County Florida jail after pleading no contest to felony reckless driving, Nick’s yellow Toyota Supra disintegrated when it hit a 25 foot palm tree — exactly a month after the electric Hulk Hogan Ultimate Grill started jumping off the shelves.

I gotta have it, I told a cheery QVC operator who came on the line.. She paused, then hit me with the bad news.

“I’m sorry, that item is no longer available.,” she said. “The screen doesn’t tell me why.”

Then, I found a clue; a QVC buyer blogger wrote in:

“As I was heating it up, to 350 degrees, it started smoking very badly. My kitchen smelled bad. I was afraid to use it,” wrote ISHOP2. “It scared me because it didn’t say anything about the first time you use it that anything like that would happen…has this happened to anyone else?”

Apparently.

In a Consumer Product Safety Commission alert this March that slipped under the radar, QVC announced a safety recall of Hulk’s Ultimate Grill as a fire hazard.

“Cooking oils or sprays applied to the grill’s cooking plates before preheating can cause the oil to ignite and/or flare up. Cooking sprays can ignite and/or flare up if used on the grill at any time,” wrote the CPSC.

So, if you’re one of the lucky owners, send it back.

Nick Bollea Jailhouse Rants–He wants Dad to Pitch a Reality Show–about him!
——————————–

Recall Alert
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Office of Information and Public Affairs Washington, DC 20207

March 6, 2008
Alert #08-549

QVC and Tristar Recall Electric Grills Due to Fire Hazard; Consumers to Receive New Instructions
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Electric Contact Grills

Units: About 13,500

Retailers: QVC Inc., of West Chester, Pa., and Tristar Products Inc., of Fairfield, N.J.
Hazard: Cooking oils or sprays applied to the grill’s cooking plates before preheating can cause the oil to ignite and/or flare up. Cooking sprays can ignite and/or flare up if used on the grill at any time.

Incidents/Injuries: QVC and Tristar have received five reports of the grill igniting or flaring up, including two reports of minor burns.

Description: This recall involves a dual surface electric contact grill sold under the “Hulk Hogan’s Ultimate Grill” brand. The grills are silver/gray in color, have removable cooking plates, a cassette to catch drippings, and fold for storage or transport. Model number PZ-3012 is printed on a silver label attached to the back of the grills.

Sold by: QVC through its television station, Web page, toll-free number, and its employee, retail and Studio stores; and through Tristar’s Web site www.hulkhogangrill.com, and a direct response television commercial from May 2007 through August 2007 for about $100.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy:

Consumers should immediately stop using cooking oils on the grill prior to preheating. Cooking sprays should not be used on the grill at anytime. Consumers will receive a revised instruction manual with a cooking spray/oil use warning. QVC has sent warning notices to consumers to whom it sold the product directly. Tristar will do the same.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact QVC at (800) 367-9444 between 7 a.m. and 1 a.m. ET daily, or visit the company’s Web site at www.qvc.com. Consumers who purchased the grill from Tristar can call (800)718-5135 between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, or visit the company’s Web site at www.tristarproductsinc.com
—
Send the link for this page to a friend! The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from more than 15,000 types of consumer products under the agency’s jurisdiction. Deaths, injuries and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $800 billion annually.

The CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard. The CPSC’s work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals - contributed significantly to the decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.

To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, call CPSC’s hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC’s teletypewriter at (800) 638-8270, or visit CPSC’s web site at www.cpsc.gov/talk.html. To join a CPSC email subscription list, please go to https://www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.aspx. Consumers can obtain this release and recall information at CPSC’s Web site at www.cpsc.gov.

From Bald Truth Staff, (c) www.artharris.com, all rights reserved

Hulk Hogan donned an orange t shirt and color coordinated do rag to gripe Tuesday night on Larry King Live that the sheriff was unfair in releasing these personal family vibe sessions at the Pinellas County jail, as well as phone calls between him, son, Nick Bollea, and his estranged mother, Linda. Do they give you a bad vibe about Nick and the Hogans?

Instead of solitary, if we sentenced you to hearing all 26 hours, or would that be worse than solitary, cruel and unusual punishment? Worse than waterboarding? We haven’t heard Hulk charge the sheriff with treating Nickie boy worse than terrorists at Guantanamo. Yet.

By Art Harris, (c) www.artharris.com, all rights reserved

With Hulk Hogan scheduled to talk to Larry King tonight at 9 p.m. on CNN, we expect to hear more shocking jailhouse rants from Nick Bollea, 17, and evidence that parents Hulk Hogan and Mom, Linda Bollea, raised a problem child some might call a convicted celebrity whiner doing eight months behind bars in Pinellas County Florida after pleading no contest to reckless driving that caused seriously bodily.

The sheriff recorded 26 hours of family visits and released them to the media —- audio tapes that remain nothing short of shocking, and expose Hogan Knows Best reality parenting as insensitive and self-absorbed at best, say critics, allegedly spawning a teenager who did the crime, but doesn’t like doing the time one bit.

On the jail tapes, Nick certainly appears more concerned about launching a new reality show about himself than the plight of his victim.

Convicted of reckless driving after crashing his souped up Toyota Supra into a 25 foot palm tree August 26, 2007, Nick calls the friend he critically injured in the crash “a negative person,” and Hulk can be heard piling on, blaming bad karma for the fate of John Graziano, 23 – an ex-Marine who survived Iraq, but not Nick’s hot-dogging, and now lays brain-damaged and semi-conscious in a VA hospital from what one prosecutor tells me was a drag race gone wrong.

On May 9, when Nick plead no contest, he threw himself on the mercy of the court.

Smart move.

Assistant State Attorney Scott Rosenwasser told The Bald Truth Tuesday in an exclusive interview that had the case gone to trial, Nick’s fast-driving on rain-slicked roads after drinking earlier that day could have sent him to jail longer than eight months in jail the judge imposed.

But the victim’s parents said they felt six to 12 months would be fair, so Rosenwasser agreed to their request for a one year “cap,” meaning the judge could sentence Nick up to 1 year in the county jail. It would be up to the judge, who split the baby.

After all, the young men had been friends, and as Hulk Hogan, explained on Larry King Live Tuesday night, John had been virtually living with the Bolleas, become part of the family, appeared in their reality show.

Without the Graziano’s guidelines, the veteran prosecutor wonders whether a judge might have viewed the evidence more harshly. Police reports obtained by The Bald Truth show Bollea’s blood alcohol level at .05, just under the .08 legal limit, but still enough to “impair a driver, according to our toxicologist,” the prosecutor told me. And certainly evidence a minor was had been drinking illegally.

————————-

Nick was driving a yellow Toyota Supra his parents bought him, and paid to be modified and turbo-charged to crank 544 horsepower. One lane over, Daniel Jacobs revved a silver Dodge Viper, owned by Nick’s Mom, Linda. It was a humid 82 degrees; streets were damp after a light summer rain.

At 17, the Baby Hulkster was the youngest driver on the “drift” race car circuit, as his Dad, Terry Bollea, liked to brag; he specialized in “drifting” sideways down the track, controlled spins, and drove fast enough to collect a few sponsors. That night, one of his pit crew pals was riding shotgun, John Graziano, 23.

His fellow driver, in the bad ass Viper, Daniel Jacobs, later told police he and Nick liked to “get on it” between lights.

It’s all in the Clearwater local police report we obtained.

“It’s how they always drive,” said his passenger, Barrett Lawrence.

When the light turned green, Nick took off, but the Viper pulled ahead. Jacobs didn’t see Nick, then glanced in the rear view mirror and spied smoke.

“Omigod,” he said whipping around and discovering the crumpled Supra with Nick and John unconscious.

Unable to contact Nick’s father by phone, Lawrence said they drove back to the house to alert Hulk his son had been in a crash, then all drove back together.

It was a far different story than Hogan spun the media with a few days after the crash, when he described on one entertainment show we reviewed he was driving to meet Nick at a steakhouse and randomly happened on the crash enroute.

He never mentioned his wife’s Viper being involved, and also denied there was any drinking, or drag racing.

Rosenwasser, 38, a prosecutor who specializes in investigating and trying deadly DUIs, told me he’d interviewed a dozen credible eye witnesses to the reckless driving, drag racing and tragic crash, all willing to testify, making it a slam dunk case, had it gone to trial. But the evidence isn’t widely known because Nick plead out, nolo contendere, in effect, a guilty plea that concedes the facts, without admitting guilt.

“We had 12 independent witnesses who saw both Nick Bollea and the other driver, Daniel Jacob, (behind the wheel of Linda Bollea’s silver Dodge Viper) driving well over the (40 mph) speed limit,” the prosecutor told me. Several times that night, witnesses said, they pulled up, side by side, and “accelerated from the traffic light.”

It was about 7:30 p.m. when Nick stomped it, and his Supra “started fishtailing,” said Rosenwasser, whose accident reconstruction expert put Nick’s speed at about 60 mph when he lost control and crashed. Barrett said he thought Nick was doing over 100 mph.

“All the witnesses said they were drag racing down major thoroughfares in high performance cars, traveling almost twice the speed limit on roads that were wet with a recent rain, and alcohol in Nick’s system,” said the prosecutor. “The facts speak for themselves.”

Investigators never could prove who gave Nick booze that day. But they did learn, that on the day of the crash, Hulk Hogan stopped by Albertson’s liquor store and purchased alcohol to take on his boat for an outing with Nick and his friends.

Under oath, Terry Bollea told the prosecutor he didn’t see Nick drinking while he was on the boat; friends told investigators when they hopped out to get into a bar on the beach, they got turned away because Nick had no identification to prove he was 21.

One friend said Nick was carrying a cup with about three inches of liquid in it, but he didn’t smell alcohol.

As for the Viper driver, Daniel Jacobs refused a blood alcohol test because he said he was concerned marijuana might turn up, but he did admit to drinking earlier that day—a mere four bottles of beer and a “Rum Runner,” whatever that is. Also convicted of reckless driving, he received probation because he didn’t contribute to the wreck, said the prosecutor.

“I know they were on Nick’s father’s boat and there was alcohol aboard (Hulk Hogan) had bought earlier, but as to who gave him the alcohol, we couldn’t establish that, just that he had it in his system when he crashed,” said Rosenwasser. “As a minor, he’s not supposed to be drinking.”

George Tragos, a former federal prosecutor turned veteran personal injury lawyer, represents Graziano in a civil suit for damages against Nick’s parents, and tells me he aims to put Hulk Hogan and his estranged wife on civil trial as celebrity parents who “enabled” a teenager to drive fast and dangerous cars – and were negligent and responsible for the Iraq veteran’s critical injuries.

Beyond buying Nick the Toyota, and letting a friend drive Linda’s Viper, Graziano’s lawsuit cites Nick’s shocking driving record. In Sept. 2006, a Florida state trooper pulled him over doing 107 mph on a stretch of highway called “Alligator Alley.” The speed limit was 70. It’s unclear whether celebrity justice factored in, but Nick got off with no ticket.

Undeterred, moments later, and 19 miles away, Nick saw blue lights flashing again. This time he was doing 115 mph when a different trooper pulled him over. This time, he DID get a speeding ticket.

Perhaps more shocking, both times, “when Nicholas Bollea was driving at speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour…his father, Terry Bollea,” was riding shotgun, according to police records cited in the civil suit filed in Pinellas County Circuit Court.

It’s unclear if Nick was ever disciplined, but he apparently kept right on driving.

Four months later, on Feb. 8, 2007, he got a speeding ticket in Dade County: 57 mph in a 30 mile zone. Then,: April 25, 2007, another speeding ticket, in Oceola County: 106 mph in a 70 mile zone. Just two weeks before the tragic accident, Nick got another speeding ticket for driving 82 mph in a 45 mph construction zone.

Whether he was illegally street racing, Nick’s mother confessed her love for the dangerous sport on television, according to the civil suit. “Oh, I love it, I love it,” she once declared. “The rush, the speed on the road, stereo blasting, heart pounding, racing in between all the cards, dodging the cops. It’s awesome.”

If it ever gets to court, the case promises to be a tabloid dream expected to put Hollywood Parenting on trial. Tragos calls it a serious case of “celebrity enabling. They enabled, they created this young man to act and be just as irresponsible as he is.”

Ironically, the accident and the jail tapes certainly contradict the image Hogan has cultivated to market himself as the ideal Dad on a reality TV show and charity fundraisers, and both he and Nick’s mother dispute the charges. She adored the victim, she says on jailhouse audiotapes, where she can be heard sahing she cared more for John Graziano than his own parents, and that his mother doesn’t “give a shit,” that she’s only after “the money.”

Beyond trashing the victim and his parents, Rosenwasser cites Nick’s driving record—and his parenting—as “appalling. To be given a warning going over 100 mph, then to thumb your nose at the law and get pulled over 20 miles away, all the time having the blessing of your father, it’s a textbook for what not to do as a parent….

“They had knowledge of his driving pattern, and gave him an instrument to wreak havoc, a ridiculously powerful car, knowing he didn’t’ have the maturity to drive responsibly.

“When I interviewed his father, he told me, ‘Nick’s a drifter, a professional driver. Ironically, you’d think if he was a professional driver, he’d know that type of activity belonged on a track.”

By Bald Truth Staff, (c) www.artharris.com, all rights reserved

Now we know anything is possible in love, war and politics, as Hillary Clinton makes peace with “what might have been,” and throws her juggernaut team behind Obama.

To hear FOX News tell it, the Republicans pined Hillary wasn’t at the top of the ticket, turning their dump trucks around enroute to the landfill to park the old garbage. How will John McCain attack the enemy now?