DAVID MAYS & BENZINO DODGE DISMISSAL

David Mays, founder of The Source, and his longtime partner and friend, Ray "Benzino" Scott, barely avoided being ousted by a new board of directors.

Yesterday, the Source board, now controlled by executives close to the Graves family that owns Black Enterprise magazine, sought to boot both Mays and Scott. Instead the duo strategically obtained a restraining order from a judge in New Jersey to temporarily derail the dismissal. The restraining order game them 48 hours to turn up at a special board meeting yesterday afternoon that was expected to ratify the dismissal.

According to the board, the continuation of Mays and Scott in their jobs "hurts not only the employees of The Source, but all of its investors, vendors, subscribers and readers."

"The board has decided that this was the only feasible course of action as Mays and Scott could not continue their series of financial recklessness and negligence," the suit said.

David Finkler, a lawyer for Mays and Scott, said that as far as his clients were concerned, "there is no new board."

Black Enterprise/Greeenwich Street Corporate Growth Partners, a private investment firm started by the family of African-American entreprenuer Earl Graves, Sr., and his son, Earl "Butch" Graves, Jr., the CEO of Black Enterprise Publications, initially gave The Source $12 million in return for a minority position and seats on the board of directors.



With its ad pages sinking and its revenue declining precipitously, The Source last year went into default on an $18 million loan to Textron Financial Partners, a lender that was initially introduced to Mays and Scott by the Black Enterprise executives.

On Oct. 31, Textron asked the company to be placed into receivership as part of a lawsuit in Manhattan Supreme Court.


To add to Source's woes, two of its executives, Alvin "Wiz" Childs and Leroy "Bum" Peebles were arrested and charged with attempted murder after a shoot-out at the Limerick House left three people injured on July 22.

Childs and Peebles are due back in Manhattan Criminal Court on March 8, facing charges of attempted murder in the second degree.

Black Enterprise/Greenwich Street partners said it would abide by the temporary restraining ruling while working through legal channels to have it tossed.