Barton's Favorite Fabulous Things, Part 4

Bijan

Nowadays better known for his perfume, Bijan still has menswear boutiques in Beverly Hills and on Fifth Avenue, specializing in flamboyant but tasteful styles for an elite clientle. Barton shopped at the famous designer's then-new Fifth Avenue boutique in the mid-1980’s during a trip with one of his girlfriends. She decided to break up with him when he lied to her about how much he had paid for two suits he bought there that were on sale (she peeked at the pricetags). Barton was waited on by Bijan himself.

http://www.bijan.com/

Bart's Letter to Santa

McIntosh Labs / Dictaphone

Young Bart's two favorite childhood Christmas gifts were his McIntosh Stereo system, received in 1971 when he was 11, and a fully functioning office quality Dictaphone, given to him in 1972 when he was 12.

The McIntosh was at the time the finest piece of audio equipment made anywhere in the world. A gift from his Grandfather, it included preamplifier, power amplifier, turntable, speakers and an AM/FM tuner. The total cost equaled that of a brand new Chevy Camero at the time. Barton loved the system and played music on it endlessly. His favorite piece to play when I came over was the 1812 Overture. The McIntosh would shake the house during the cannon part. Barton cherished the system his entire life, with parts of it in his office at 25 S. Division, and other parts in his den at the house in Ada. These remaining components from the system went for very high prices at the two bankruptcy auctions that followed the collapse of CyberNET and Barton's life.

Bart loved his Dictaphone, and would play with it often as a young teen, recording pretend messages to pretend employees. Despite the fact that Dictaphone's market share has fallen to a small fraction of the market it once dominated, Barton remained loyal to their products. He dictated his suicide note on a Dictaphone the night he killed himself.

http://www.mcintoshlabs.com/

http://www.dictaphone.com/

The Christmas that Wasn't

Cygnus

Christmas 2004 was a sad, tragic time for many involved with CyberNET. Barton ended his life after a tortured night of self examination. Barton's family dealt with the loss and grief of his suicide. The CyberNET "mahogany Row" cabal sweated the fact of an ongoing criminal investigation. CyberNET's employees were summarily fired; jobless just in time for the holidays.
But what if the raid hadn't happened? One thing that would have been different is that the lavish CyberNET Christmas party would have taken place. Barton had never skimped on Christmas parties for his employees. It was the perfect opportunity for him to hold court and be the center of attention. He planned these events carefully and enjoyed them them greatly even if all of his employees did not. For the Christmas 2004 party he had rented out the restaurant Cygnus located at the top of the Amway Grand Hotel. The invitations had gone out, the menu and wine list had been planned. It never happened.

I had the pleasure of eating there last weekend. The restaurant was dramatically lit and beautifully decorated for Christmas. The view at night was spectacular, although the absence of other tall buildings and the low, grid-like street layout lacked the makings of a world-class view as one would have in Chicago or New York. The quality of the meal did not match the setting. Far better food is to be found at the 1913 Room at the Amway Grand Hotel, the setting of Barton's theatrical proposal to Krista 14 years earlier.

http://www.amwaygrand.com/cygnus.html

Barton’s Favorite Fabulous Things, Part 3

Bentley

As a young teenager Barton developed an interest in classic Bentley racing cars from the 1930’s after reading a book his brother Karl gave him. He later gave the book to me and I still have it. Years later, at the height of the CyberNET scam, he would lease several Bentleys in a row. The last one, seized just before his suicide, was a tan-colored Arnage chosen by Barton because it was identical to one driven by another resident of Ada, Michigan, Jay VanAndel, the founder of Amway.

http://www.bentleymotors.com/

Barton's Favorite Fabulous Things, Part 2

Cable Car Clothiers

When he was a young teen Barton took a trip to San Francisco with his mother Geraldine while she was trying to develop an unsuccessful business idea. While there Barton visited this legendary San Francisco men’s store. He brought home a catalog and gloated about having shopped there. As the years went by Barton must have found the shop's styles too preppy. As an adult he favored a flashier, more ostentatious manner of dress.

http://www.cablecarclothiers.com/

Barton’s Favorite Fabulous Things, Part 1

The first of an ongoing list of Barton's favorite restaurants, hotels, and purveyors of fine and rare products. The first installments will focus on Barton's favorite things. Barton elevated materialism to a rare level, always insisting on the finest. I hope you enjoy this virtual shopping trip, just in time for Christmas.

Hickey Freeman

As a teenager, Barton's mother had several custom-made three-piece Hickey-Freeman suits made for him at the long out-of-business men's store May's of Michigan, then located in downtown Grand Rapids. It gave him a taste for fine tailoring, and when he wore them he cut an imposing figure.

http://www.hickeyfreeman.com/

Wedding Bells

I recently uncovered a rare wedding photo of Barton and Krista Watson. They were married at Harrah's Hotel and Casino in Lake Tahoe, Nevada on Pearl Harbor Day, 1991. It was a small, private and elegant affair. Bart was at his thinnest, and Krista looked lovely. This photo records one of Barton's happiest days in his life. After the ceremony, Barton left Krista alone in their suite for several hours while he went down to the casino and played blackjack. Barton won five thousand dollars that lucky day.

Welcome!

Welcome to the Barton Watson Virtual Millionaire Weblog. This was crated to enhance the content on the Barton Watson & the Great Cybernet Scam website, and to give me an opportunity to share more frequent updates with persons interested in Barton Watson and the CyberNET case, as well as my book project. I frequently find astonishing nuggets of information, interesting documents and photographs, which I will share here when I find them. After having worked on the book for 13 months and with over 100,000 words under my belt, nothing I learn surprises me anymore, but much of it is likely to surprise you, dear reader.

Stay tuned!

Jim Cameron