PART 1 9/30/99
note: more info at http://www.phact.org/e/dennis.html
MICHELE TREACY, host:
Topping our show tonight, is the world about to be shaken
with a
brilliant scientific breakthrough? Is free electricity just around
the
corner? Coast to coast, people have shelled out money to get
in on the
ground floor, and our Allen Levine has spent two months investigating.
He
is here with the story.
Allen, do tell.
ALLEN LEVINE reporting:
Michele, I will. It's one man's mission and he's
pitching it to
virtually anyone who will listen--electricity just there for the taking.
He
claims powerful forces are trying to stop him, but critics say the
only
force stopping him is Mother Nature.
Mr. DENNIS LEE (Free Electricity Promoter): We will
tonight declare our
energy independence.
We don't care if the oil companies like what we're doing or not.
Every drop of electricity you consume will be absolutely free.
LEVINE: He's 51-year-old Dennis Lee of Better World Technologies.
To his
supporters...
Mr. BEN BARRY (Architect): He should be applauded.
He's in the lab,
he's doing it. What ideas have these other guys got?
LEVINE: To his detractors...
Ms. SANDRA CHIONFONI (Businesswoman): Well, we think
that he's a
dangerous person.
Mr. ERIC KRIEG (Electrical Engineer): I'd put him--label
him as a false
prophet.
Mr. LEE: God revealed to me how to solve my problems:
to make
electricity from energy I take out of the air...
LEVINE: Here he is in St. Louis last year on a 34-city
tour. From city
to city, Lee assured people pollutionless, free electricity was at
hand.
And, as captured on this amateur video, he railed against big business
and
big government.
Mr. LEE: There are people who are suppressing technologies
that are
vital to your life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.
LEVINE: Lee claims he has 2,000 dealers to market energy
devices and
products like these. He says dealers have paid as much as $10,000,
$25,000,
even $100,000 to buy in.
Dennis Lee's cross-country tour wound up with a big show
here at the
CoreStates Center in Philadelphia. A few thousand people showed
up, and
some of them were so impressed with what they saw, they signed up to
become
dealers right on the spot.
Mr. LEE: We will not have to depend on the oil companies,
the gas
companies or the electric companies for any energy needs that you have
at
all anymore. That's our pledge.
Ms. CHIONFONI: I felt like I was at a revival meeting.
LEVINE: Sandra Chionfoni is an environmentally concerned
businesswoman
from Stockbridge, Massachusetts. She was in the Philadelphia
audience.
Ms. CHIONFONI: And I thought Dennis Lee was a hero.
I thought he was
someone that was gonna really lead us.
LEVINE: She agreed to buy a dealership for $10,000.
Ben Barry is an
architect in Charlotte, North Carolina. He saw other demonstrations
and
decided to become a dealer. The dealership organization, United
Community
Services of America, is headquartered in this New Jersey complex.
Ben Barry
believes in the free electricity idea.
Mr. BARRY: Yeah, I believe it's entirely possible
or I wouldn't be in
this.
LEVINE: At the heart of Lee's free electricity plans is
a so-called
Fischer engine. To big crowds and small and despite voice trouble,
he sang
its praises at this New Jersey showroom over the summer.
Mr. LEE: All you need is God's great air.
LEVINE: He claims it works best this way: Room temperature
heats
pressurized liquid carbon dioxide. As it expands to gas, it drives
a
piston. Pressure eases, the gas cools and automatically condenses
back to
liquid fuel again. The result...
Mr. LEE: This, with CO2 in it, is a perpetual motion
machine. It'll
just sit there and run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run,
run,
run, run...
LEVINE: Lee tells spectators free electricity machines
will be installed
on people's homes soon at no charge. His company would sell their
surplus
electricity to industry. After seeing this show, Victor Jones
told me he
signed up to have a machine put on his home.
LEVINE: Do you believe you'll get free electricity?
Mr. VICTOR JONES: I'll see it--believe it when I see it.
Unidentified Man: The wave of the future, definitely.
I mean, anybody
that gets on now is going to ride on the supertrain.
LEVINE: Eric Krieg is an electrical engineer and Dennis
Lee's chief foe
on the Internet.
Mr. KRIEG: I'm willing to pay a $7,000 reward for proof of free energy.
LEVINE: Lee and his wife, Allison David, attack Krieg on
their dealer
telephone hot line.
Ms. ALLISON DAVID (Wife of Dennis Lee): (From hot
line message) Stay
away from Eric Krieg. There's much evidence and it is--and it
is growing
that he is CIA-sponsored.
LEVINE: Krieg says that's absurd. Lee criticizes
scientists for denying
the technological truths he's revealing.
Mr. LEE: If you go to a physicist and you say, Can
we do this?' he's
going to tell you...
Audience: (In unison) No.
Mr. LEE: ...That's impossible!' And the reason why
he doesn't know how
to do it is because he didn't come.
LEVINE: But some physicists have come and seen the show for themselves.
Professor BOB PARK (University of Maryland): This is snake oil.
LEVINE: Bob Park is a physics professor at the University
of Maryland.
He attended this big show in New Jersey in July.
Prof. PARK: What science says is that this simply
can't be so. You
don't get something for nothing.
LEVINE: Physicist Tom Napier was at Lee's demonstration in Philadelphia.
Mr. TOM NAPIER (Physicist): It was like a cult.
These people thought
that this was wonderful, and yet, not one of them seemed to know enough
physics to know that what they were hearing was complete nonsense.
Mr. BARRY: They can quote all the thermodynamic laws
to me they want to.
What are they doing and what ideas do they have? What--what are
they doing
to experiment? Dennis is out there doing it.
LEVINE: What do you have to show for your money?
Ms. CHIONFONI: Absolutely nothing.
LEVINE: As for dealer Sandra Chionfoni, after paying off
more than $6,000
on her dealership, she decided she wanted out.
Ms. CHIONFONI: He did not meet the deadlines that
he p--he promised to
make as far as putting the free energy machine out to the public.
Mr. BARRY: It doesn't bother me. When it's
ready, it's ready. In the
meantime, we have some other very interesting products to sell.
Mr. LEE: These concepts come from God. They are real.
LEVINE: Meanwhile, back at headquarters, we saw one of
Lee's machines
along the side of the house, but it didn't appear to be doing anything.
Nearby, an electricity meter, with utility power lines apparently going
in
to supply the company electricity. So I put the question to Dennis
Lee.
And you're completely on the level with this?
Mr. LEE: Well, I don't know. I mean, what would
my motive be if I
wasn't?
LEVINE: Well, let me show you something. Dennis,
this is your criminal
record in New Jersey...
Mr. LEE: OK.
LEVINE: ...about six feet long or so. It goes back
to more than 20
years.
Mr. LEE: Yeah. It goes back--and it doesn't
go after 20 years. Just 20
and that's it.
LEVINE: It goes back more than 20 years and--and you've
got things on
here--passing bad checks...
Mr. LEE: When? Twenty years ago.
LEVINE: ...taking money under false pretenses.
Mr. LEE: Twenty years ago.
LEVINE: You didn't mention that to the crowd today.
Mr. LEE: Oh, excuse me. Let's go back in and
tell the crowd. Or I tell
you what. Why don't I tell it at every show from now on?
LEVINE: And you didn't...
Mr. LEE: Who cares?
LEVINE: We should point out at some shows Dennis Lee has
said that
dealers weren't guaranteed any new technology. And Sandra Chionfoni,
whom
you saw in the story, recently sold her dealership and got her investment
back.
Now here's a little bit of what I have for you tomorrow night.
Mr. LEE: Let's take the truth...
LEVINE: Wait. I'll show you in a second.
Mr. LEE: Let's take this...
LEVINE: But--wait, wait. Don't mo...
Mr. LEE: No. Let me have this.
LEVINE: Wait! What's the matter? Why...
Mr. LEE: Let me have this.
LEVINE: Why--why are you afraid of people knowing this?
Mr. LEE: Oh, you can do that. Then you can't interview me.
LEVINE: Oh, absolutely. I'll be...
More of my discussion with Dennis Lee and I'll tell you
a bit about his
colorful history. Now a number of people say he's fleeced them
in the past.
Among those who have given him money, a prominent TV evangelist. Michele.
TREACY: Allen, is there a basic reason why scientists say
this engine
cannot work?
LEVINE: Yeah. They say it violates fundamental laws
of physics. In
fact, the insurmountable flaw really is that the engine quickly gets
too hot
for gas just to automatically condense back into a liquid. And
so what
happens--the engine just stops.
TREACY: OK. And we've--we've seen this before in
history. Tell us about
that. A hundred years ago or so?
LEVINE: Oh, yeah. Physicists say that this kind of
engine has been
around for more than 100 years. Back in the 1880s, a guy named
John Gamgie
tried to sell something similar to the US Navy. It was supposed
to run on
ammonia, boiling ammonia, that would be heated automatically by seawater.
TREACY: OK.
LEVINE: And it didn't work too well.
TREACY: It didn't work? It didn't work then, didn't work now?
LEVINE: That's exactly what the scientists say.
TREACY: Only free electricity is lightning, I guess, right?
LEVINE: And nobody wants to be hit by that.
TREACY: Nobody wants that.
PART 2 10/1/97
October 1, 1997, Wednesday 10:34 AM
LENGTH: 1247 words
HEADLINE: NEW JERSEY MAN WHO SAYS GOD TOLD HIM HOW TO PRODUCE FREE
ELECTRICITY IN LEGAL TROUBLE DURING 1980S
ANCHORS: SHEILA STAINBACK
REPORTERS: ALLEN LEVINE
BODY:
SHEILA STAINBACK, host:
Topping our show tonight, you'll never have to pay another
electric bill
according to a New Jersey man who says God told him how to produce
free
electricity without formal scientific training. He's attracted
investor
interest and our Allen Levine's interest as well. Tonight in
Part Two of
Allen's investigation into a man who says he just wants a better world.
Mr. DENNIS LEE: If the electric utilities companies
had a war with us,
they would lose.
ALLEN LEVINE reporting:
Even when he's suffering vocal problems, 51-year-old Dennis
Lee is a man
on a mission: free electricity. From coast to coast, he's pitched
devices
he claims can do the job.
Mr. LEE: In the middle of my sleep, God
came to me and gave me the
answer.
LEVINE: According to Lee, many of the answers may lie in
the so-called
Fischer engine.
Mr. LEE: Liquid in, liquid out. Liquid in, liquid out.
LEVINE: He says the engine can run on liquid carbon dioxide
heated by
just room temperature. As the fuel moves between its liquid and
gaseous
states, it can drive a piston, generating power at no operating cost.
Mr. LEE: You can have a perpetual motion machine
if you have a perpetual
energy source.
LEVINE: But physicists who have seen Lee's shows say he's
full of hot
air.
Professor BOB PARK (University of Maryland): (Not identified
on screen)
There are no perpetual motion machines.
Mr. TOM NAPIER (Physicist): As soon as the engine
has become warm, then
the gas will no longer condense and the cycle will stop.
Prof. PARK: There was nothing new in that show.
These are old ideas.
They didn't work then, they don't work now.
Mr. BEN BARRY (Supports Dennis Lee): I don't understand
why they want to
knock it.
LEVINE: Ben Barry bought a dealership to market the technology
and other
products Dennis Lee promotes.
Mr. BARRY: The technologies and ideas we're talking
about are very
exciting.
Mr. LEE: We are pretty much ready to go with these technologies.
LEVINE: Lee claims 2,000 dealers and says recently franchises
have sold
for between $10,000 and $100,000.
Other technology of Dennis Lee's has gotten him into legal
trouble in the
past. In 1985, he was found to have committed civil violations
of
Washington state's Consumer Protection Law, although he did not admit
any
intent to defraud. In 1988, Dennis Lee was based here, Ventura
County,
California. He was busted for violating a state marketing law
and he was
held on $1 million bail.
Mr. LEE: I've spent time in prison on a three-year
sentence for not
filling out a form, a civil code misdemeanor in the state of California,
and
no one even bothered to even convict me of the crime.
LEVINE: That's what Lee often tells his audiences.
So I questioned him
after this New Jersey show.
You told them that you were never convicted, but isn't
that because you
pled guilty in California?
Mr. LEE: No, I didn't plead guilty.
LEVINE: To eight counts of violating Consumer Protection Act?
Mr. LEE: No. I'll tell you what. Now
if you--I don't know if you're
interested in the truth. Are you interested in the truth?
LEVINE: Isn't that considered a felony in California?
Mr. LEE: Let me ask you a question: Are you interested in the truth?
LEVINE: Very much so.
Mr. LEE: Oh.
LEVINE: That's why I'm asking these questions.
Mr. LEE: All right. If you are...
LEVINE: But didn't--didn't--didn't...
Mr. LEE: ...interested in the...
LEVINE: ...didn't you enter a guilty plea?
Mr. LEE: No.
LEVINE: But this is his signature on the agreement pleading
guilty to
eight felony counts in California. Again, he did not have to
admit any
intent to defraud. Lee rejected an offer of probation and was
sentenced to
three and a third years in prison. He even talks about it in
this book that
he encourages people to read, and he says he developed his plans behind
bars.
Mr. LEE: Seventeen technologies came out of my years
in prison. I
consider it one of the most fruitful periods of my life.
LEVINE: But Dennis Lee's troubles with the law didn't start
with his
energy devices. This was his reaction when confronted with a
record he
doesn't talk much about: his rap sheet in New Jersey from the 1970s.
You have this long record here. You got...
Mr. LEE: OK--no, no, no, no.
LEVINE: Let's show...
Mr. LEE: Wait, wait, wait, wait.
LEVINE: Whoa--whoa, let me turn it.
Mr. LEE: No, no.
LEVINE: It's upside down.
Mr. LEE: Let's--let's--let's take the truth...
LEVINE: Wait, wait. I'll show you in a second, but wait--wait!
Mr. LEE: Let's take the li...
LEVINE: Don't--look--don't...
Mr. LEE: No. Let me have this.
LEVINE: What's the matter? Wait! What's the matter? Why...
Mr. LEE: Let me have this.
LEVINE: Why--why are you afraid for me to even show it to you?
Mr. LEE: Oh, you can show that? Then you can't interview me.
LEVINE: Oh, absolutely. I'd be happy to show it to you.
Mr. LEE: Can I have it?
LEVINE: As soon as I'm done with it, I'll--you know what?
Mr. LEE: All right. Now let me ask you.
LEVINE: You know what? I'll be happy to give it to you.
Mr. LEE: How much of this interview are you actually
going to show on
tape?
LEVINE: I'll be happy to give it to you. What...
Mr. LEE: How much of this interview will you show?
LEVINE: This is public record. I can get another
one printed out. You
can go and get one as well.
Court records show that in 1975, Dennis Lee pled guilty
to taking money
under false pretenses and passing bad checks. In one case, he
took a
deposit of $14,700 from the couple who still lives in this home.
The money
was supposed to go for home improvements, but Dennis Lee never did
the work.
Ms. PATRICIA TERWILLIGER (Lost Money To Dennis Lee):
We had a big
backhoe come and dig a great big hole in our backyard, smashed up our
septic
tank, and Dennis never completed the work.
LEVINE: Did you ever make restitution to any of those people,
full
restitution?
Mr. LEE: I made all the restitution I was ordered by the court to make.
LEVINE: But the Terwilligers say within months Dennis Lee
stopped making
payments.
When you called him, he said that you were harassing him
and offered you
a stake in his new business venture?
Ms. TERWILLIGER: That's r--right. He said that
I could get my money
back plus make quite a profit if I would invest, I believe it was $5,000
a
unit, in his new bi--business venture. And I said, No, I wouldn't
do that.'
LEVINE: That new venture was a consumer credit card rebate
program. When
it failed, some people lost thousands. Among the investors, a
company tied
to evangelist Pat Robertson. Lee blames Robertson for pulling
out and
sinking the venture.
Mr. LEE: Pat Robertson violated his own agreement with us.
LEVINE: Robertson's spokeswoman stood by a statement his
company released
back in 1979. Quote, "I'm afraid we were victimized by Dennis
Lee. He
seemed like an intelligent, honest young man, but unfortunately, now
appears
to be a scoundrel."
Do you feel guilty at all about the people who have lost
money investing
with you?
Mr. LEE: Absolutely not. Why would I feel guilty
about anybody? Right
now I have 2,000 dealers in this company. Every one of them have
far more
technologies than any dealership anywhere in the company.
Mr. BARRY: If he was running a scam, I--he and his
family would be
living a lot better than they are.
LEVINE: But Harvey Terwilliger says he learned a good lesson
20 years
ago.
Mr. HARVEY TERWILLIGER (Lost Money To Dennis Lee):
I wouldn't trust
Dennis Lee if I could pick him up and throw him.
LEVINE: As for Dennis Lee, he and some of the dealers who
support him say
his criminal record is irrelevant. What is relevant is the technology.
I'm
Allen Levine for STEALS & DEALS.
STAINBACK: And Allen Levine tells us the balance of the
restitution
Dennis Lee owe the Terwilligers was canceled by a judge's order years
later
in 1983. But the Terwilligers tell us they were never even notified.
Our
calls seeking an explanation from the Bergen County, New Jersey, Probation
Department were not returned.