Chicago Radio: Mancow Sues Maverick Radio Partners

Erich "Mancow" Muller, a longtime Chicago radio personality known for his storied and often controversial career, filed a lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court last week claiming a North Carolina man defrauded him out of $50,000 that was to be used to purchase radio stations, according to The Chicago Tribune.

Those purchases apparently never took place.

Instead, the suit alleges Rodney Rainey and his company, Maverick Radio Partners, improperly used the money for purposes other than the acquisitions and failed to return the $50,000 despite repeated requests from Muller.

The suit claims Muller was approached by Rainey in December 2011 with a potential radio investment opportunity. The Sept. 7, 2011, offering claimed Maverick Radio Partners had secured $19.3 million in equity and debt to finance the acquisition of WFRE 99.9 FM and WFMD 930 AM in Frederick, Md. That was to be the initial acquisition of a five- to seven-market chain to be assembled by the company within 18 months.

Further, Muller alleges Maverick said it had secured a commitment of $200 million from Spartacus Partners Corp. to build the group, which was targeting stations in Hartford, Conn., Orlando, Fla., Charlotte, N.C., Nashville, Tenn., and other markets.

Within two months of the initial contact, the suit says, Muller entered into an oral agreement with Rainey to give him $50,000 in investment capital, with the understanding it would be held in escrow until documentation was provided that the money to buy the radio stations was in place. Muller wired the money to Rainey on or about Feb. 24, 2012, according to the lawsuit.

Rainey never provided the required documentation, according to Muller's suit. Muller contacted him "on multiple occasions" to request the return of his $50,000. Rainey "repeatedly promised to return the funds but failed to do so."

Muller's "Morning Madhouse" ended an eight-year run on WKQX 101.1 FM in 2006. He was dropped from WLS-AM 890 in 2010 and has created a radio network. "The Mancow Experience" is simulcast on WPWR-Ch. 50, a Fox-owned Chicago TV station.