Article on Black Businessman Completely Discredits an Aggressive Entrepreneur’s Legitimate Endeavors

As a businessman and activist in the Los Angeles community, who with great pride and admiration rejoiced over Oliver A. Trigg Jr.’s successful acquisition and turnaround of Family Savings, I am appalled and disgusted that the Los Angeles Times would publish a story as blatantly negative as “New Head of Family S&L; Has History of Tangled Finances.” (Oct. 6)

You have managed to turn the positive resurrection of a financially troubled institution--in a community devoid of solvent, progressively run institutions owned by blacks--into an implication of some type of underhanded takeover. This is an institution that will foster economic growth in a community where few banks choose to.

Trigg’s asset leveraging is very common in the development of financing opportunities for black business people. It is necessary because of mainstream lending institutions’ reluctance to finance black business ventures. White business people pull these deals off regularly, without scandal. With them, it’s called creative financing or shrewd packaging. In this day of leveraged buyouts and joint venturing, Trigg has outperformed most businessmen, black or white, at a very young age. His accomplishment is extraordinary.

I have never seen an article like this, focusing on past business dealings that have absolutely nothing to do with the bank’s acquisition or its turnaround.

This is an example of The Times’ insensitivity to the efforts by black business people to succeed, and a direct slap in the face for Los Angeles’ black community. I am confident that Trigg will survive this. But how long will the Los Angeles Times survive if it keeps attacking minority business people with this type of yellow journalism?

ANTHONY M. ESSEX,

First Vice President

Los Angeles NAACP