Timeline of Events Leading Up to Craig Titus Being Placed In Solitary Confinement
By DENNIS L. BATES | FOUNDER of MUSCLE MISSIONS
First, let it be said that our ministry (Muscle Missions) is about
exposing the cult of bodybuilding and assisting those trapped within it, to
escape it's clutches. We began following the Titus and Ryan
case very closely since December of 2005 when the story broke.
We never wrote to, or attempted contact with, Craig Titus or
Kelly Ryan until we felt led by the Lord Jesus Christ to do
so. Our only contact with Craig Titus prior to this came at the
Arnold Classic in Columbus, Ohio around 2004 when our ministry was
handing out complimentary copies of the book Anabolic Outlaw, a Christian testimony.
My wife offered to give Craig Titus a copy of the book but he
declined. My wife said, "Mr. Titus...God bless you!" Craig smiled and
walked on.
Fast forward to April 26th of 2006. While waiting for our
connecting flight at Lambert-St Louis International Airport for
our continued destination to Las Vegas, Nevada, I checked my Blackberry to see
if any news was being reported on the titusandryan.com website about the
case.
The following report was posted on titusandryan.com:
Sending Mail to Craig Titus or Kelly Ryan April 26th,
2006
We've been asked if people can send mail to Craig and Kelly. The
answer is yes, they both can receive mail. Below is the address and how all
mail should be addressed if you wish to send Craig or Kelly any
mail.
Clark County Detention Center Craig Michael Titus - ID#
01895641 330 S. Casino Center Boulevard Las Vegas, Nevada 89101
Clark County Detention Center Kelly Ann Ryan - ID# 01992276 330
S. Casino Center Boulevard Las Vegas, Nevada 89101
After seeing this message, I told my wife that I felt led to visit them while
in Vegas. We were in Las Vegas to attend a workshop that pertained to our
fitness center business. We would be in Vegas from April 26th thru May 2nd. I
decided to go to the Clark County Detention Center to see if visitation
was possible. In some jails, the inmate must place your name on a list in order
for you to visit.
On April 27th, 2006 I visited with Craig Titus
for the first time. As the video camera came on and Craig saw me for the first
time, he wasn't sure whom I was. After telling him who I was, he thanked me for
coming. During the course of our conversation, Craig asked me if I would visit
his wife, Kelly Ryan. I said that I would come back with my wife and
that she could visit Kelly while I visited with him.
On April 28th, 2006 I called the religious
coordinator at the jail and made arrangements for religious visitations
with both Craig and Kelly. This now allowed us to visit daily instead of being
subject to the "2 visits per week, 2 people per visit" rule, and only on certain
days established for the general public.
During one of our visits, Craig and I talked about the book Anabolic
Outlaw. I explained to him that this was published through our ministry,
Muscle Missions. Craig mentioned the desire to do a book titled:
"How to Be An IFBB Pro Bodybuilder - The Truth and Nothing But the
Truth!"
Craig said that he wanted to expose all of the drugs that it took to be an
IFBB pro like himself. He said that he had journals that he had kept from way
back that listed all of the drugs, dosages, etc. and that we could publish those
as a way of exposing the horrendous amounts of drugs that is used to become an
IFBB pro. I thought that it was a bad idea.
Instead, I told him that it would be better to expose things within the
IFBB and bodybuilding in such a way as to not glorify the drug use with
details of dosages, etc. The idea was to take more of an autobiographical
approach. I was interested in his story and was willing to work on this with
him. I told him that it could easily be done by phone, with him in Vegas and me
in Columbus, Ohio.
On May 1st, 2006 we visited Craig and Kelly for the last
time during this trip. Before leaving the jail, we placed
$50.00 on each of Craig and Kelly's accounts for necessary items such as
soap, toothpaste, shampoo, snack foods, envelopes, paper, stamps, etc. Craig and
Kelly can order items from commissary two times per week.
On May 16th, 2006Muscle Mission's office received
three calls from Craig Titus. The first call came in at 12:15p.m., the
second call came in at 12:37p.m., and the third call came in at 12:48p.m. All
calls from the detention center are limited to 10 minutes in length. The three
calls combined totaled 26 minutes. We discussed the details of the "Tell
All" book that we would be working on together.
On May 17th, 2006 I drafted an agreement between Muscle
Missions and Craig Titus in order to move forward with the "Tell
All" book.
On May 25th, 2006 I received the first of a series of calls
that would continue all summer long as Craig and I worked on the "Tell All"
book. By October 16th, our ministry had been billed for $1,056.74 worth of calls
made to our office from the Clark County Detention Center.
During the month of June, Craig offered to give me all of the equipment that
was in his and Kelly's private gym for use in our fitness center that we operate
in Ohio. Craig needed to get the gym equipment that was now being stored in
one of their rental homes out of the way so that the house could be rented.
After doing the math on a rental truck, fuel and travel time, I decided that
instead of taking Craig up on his generous offer, I would offer to sell the
equipment for him.
On June 26th, 2006 the TitusandRyan.com website reported the
following information:
Latest from the inside June 26th, 2006
The word from the inside on Kelly is that she has found God and
looking for God to help her through this. Craig has decided to write a book
about what goes on behind the scenes in bodybuilding. Several people have
received letters from Craig and Kelly.
On July 5th, 2006 I listed Craig Titus and
Kelly Ryan's private gym for sale on eBay. I ran the auction for 10
days to coincide with Craig and Kelly's court appearance in July. This way, I
could be in Vegas for Craig and Kelly's hearing that I promised them that I
would appear at and I could get the equipment sold at the same time.
On July 10th, 2006 the TitusandRyan.com website reported on
the following headline:
"Titus Tells All" - bodybuilding book in the works
On July 12th, 2006 I flew to Las Vegas to visit
Craig and Kelly, sell the equipment, assist with cleaning up the rental property
and go to the court proceedings on July 18th. I flew back to Ohio on July 20th,
2006 on a red-eye.
On August 2nd, 2006 the TitusandRyan.com website reported
more on the book with this:
A new twist to the Titus "tell all" book. August 2nd, 2006
We've learned that the Titus "tell all book" will be about
bodybuilding and its behind the scenes action. The interesting twist is
that it will be an audio book. Yes, listeners will hear the stories from
Craig. The question is, who is going to buy it and who really cares? We'll
provide more information as it becomes available.
On September 22nd, 2006 I put the tape-recorded interviews
between Craig and I up for auction on eBay along with some sample audio.
On September 22nd, 2006 the following appeared on the
TitusandRyan.com website and was posted at the top of the site for nearly 3
weeks. This remained as the first news article that appeared on the
TitusandRyan.com website while thousands of bodybuilding enthusiasts flew in
from all over the world to Las Vegas for the Joe Weider Mr. Olympia
Weekend held September 29th and 30th of 2006.
Craig Titus Tells-All From Behind Bars - Audio Book Sneak
Preview September 22nd, 2006
The same people who sold the Titus and Ryan Gym equipment are now
offering the chance at a sneak peak on Craig's new audio book. Hop on over
to Ebay and check out the information on this book. Is this guy/company for
real?
He gives a sample of what the book will sound like...
On October 1st, 2006 I ended the auction early because the
tapes were no longer for sale.
On October 11th, 2006 the Craig Titus Tells-All From
Behind Bars - Audio Book Sneak Preview headline gets bumped from the top of
the headlines at titusandryan.com after remaining for nearly three weeks.
On October 16th, 2006 I sent 6 packages all containing the
same letter
to a law firm in Montreal, Quebec expressing our desire to file a class action
suit against the IFBB. The letter was addressed to Richard W. Pound who
happens to be the head of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr.
Pound is a tax attorney in the firm of Stikeman Elliot, one of Canada's
global law firms with offices in Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary, Vancouver,
New York, London and Sydney, Australia.
On October 21st, 2006 the Las Vegas Review-Journal
printed the following headline:
BODYBUILDERS CASE: Murder-for-hire plot alleged
The news story references a "book publication", a "book
publishing deal" and a "publisher."
Also on October 21st, 2006 an Internet bodybuilding message
board user began hurling a barrage of accusations against our ministry and
myself claiming that we were involved in the alleged murder-for-hire plot.
On October 23rd, 2006 the TitusandRyan.com website posts a
video from youtube that is a Fox News segment from "The Lineup" covering the
case. Glenn Puit, a writer for the Las Vegas Review-Journal
appears on the Fox News episode. In covering the details of this story, Puit
refers to the "book deal".
On the evening of October 23rd, 2006, IFBB President Ben
Weider appears for a rare radio interview on Pro Bodybuilding Weekly
proclaiming "RULES ARE RULES!"
Also on the evening of October 23rd, 2006 the Muscle
Missions office received a call from Ron Avidan of GetBig.com.
This call from Ron Avidan came after our ministry
posted clippings of the accusations that were being broadcast about myself
and the ministry on his GetBig.com website.
Further, on October 23rd, 2006, the following was reported
on the TitusandRyan.com website:
Muscle Missions connected to the Alleged Hit? October 23rd,
2006
There is an ongoing debate as to whether the publisher of Craig's
audio book had any involvement in the alleged hit. There is no proof of this
public as to whether "Muscle Missions" had anything to do with this case
yet. We're not commenting one way or another at this point. It appears that
Mr. Bates is not happy with what has recently been posted on the popular
bodybuilding message board, Getbig.com.
For an entire week, the media had a field day reporting on the "alleged
murder-for-hire plot" and the "book deal." From Catherine Crier Live to
On the Record with Greta Van Susteren and even Court TV
providing coverage, the topic became national news.
On October 29th, 2006Ben Weider stepped down as
President of the IFBB.
On November 1, 2006 the IFBB officially issued the
following news release on the IFBB.com website:
Official news release from the International Federation of BodyBuilding - Image Credit: IFBB.com
On November 7th, 2006 I placed a call to the office of
Attorney Richard W. Pound located in Montreal, Quebec regarding
assistance with the class action suit against the IFBB. While speaking with Mr.
Pound, he informed me that he did not feel that it would be possible to proceed
with a class action lawsuit against the IFBB through his firm.
After inquiring as to why not, he responded by telling me that he thought
that there was some sort of Weider connection within the firm. If we
began the process of a class action suit against the IFBB, and later come to
find out that there indeed is a Weider connection with the firm, we
would have to start all over again.
On November 21st, 2006Craig Titus calls the
Muscle Missions office. Craig states that he will call back within 1
hour so that we may begin working on some more of the "Tell All" book.
Two hours pass and we learn that Craig has been taken out of his cell. No phone
call from Craig.
On November 22nd, 2006 I placed a call to the religious
coordinator at the Clark County Detention Center. I asked the religious
coordinator if information could be provided to me as to Craig's whereabouts.
Within 20 minutes, I received a call back from the religious coordinator
informing me that Craig had been moved to solitary confinement.
Craig Titus Was In Isolation And Unable To Call Muscle Missions!
Click On Video To Watch As Guards Shackle and Blindfold Craig Titus.
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