Melon Donor Reaps Praise for Efforts Gone Sour

Syd Leibovitch, a Northridge real estate agent who gave away 500 watermelons on the Fourth of July, said Sunday that only one person had called to say he had gotten ill, and thought Leibovitch’s donated watermelon was the culprit.

“He laughed it off,” Leibovitch said. “We asked if we could pay his medical bills and he said he didn’t have any.”

Leibovitch has waited nervously since Thursday, when, after he had personally distributed 500 of 750 watermelons for a holiday promotional gambit, he learned that the fruit was being recalled because of possible pesticide contamination.

“If you had given out 500 ‘poison’ watermelons, you’d panic, too,” he said.

Crank Calls

Although Leibovitch received a couple of crank calls from people claiming to be from government agencies and who left incorrect phone numbers, and another from someone identifying himself as “Manuel Labor of Jalisco cheese,” apparently in reference to the recent recall of tainted Mexican-style cheese, the others who called did not seem angry.

“I got a lot of calls, mostly saying it was a kind gesture and a nice thing to do and too bad it didn’t work out,” he said.

Leibovitch was able to retrieve only 50 of the melons on July 4. The next morning, he distributed 600 flyers in the neighborhood between Tampa and Corbin avenues and Plummer and Devonshire streets, trying to alert those who were not at home the previous day to throw away the fruit.

70 Melons Returned

Even so, Leibovitch said, about 70 residents personally returned the melons.

The 24-year-old employee of Country Club Properties, who said he has sold $3.8 million worth of houses this year, said he hopes possible customers will not shy away from real estate agents bearing gifts.

He described himself as a “go-getter” and said that, rather than cancel future promotions, he has decided to make up for the watermelon mishap. Leibovitch said his next gimmick might be to rent an ice cream truck and give away free packaged frozen treats.