PR Attack Dog Berman Dishes It Out, But Can't Take It

Tobacco PR lobbyist Rick Berman runs a lucrative business smearing public interest groups through his industry-funded fronts such as ConsumerFreedom.com and Activistcash.com. Berman can dish it out, but apparently he can't take it, nor stand the truth. He is threatening to sue food safety activist Jeff Nelson of VegSource for revealing that Berman lines his own pockets from his "non-profit" enterprises. According to Nelson, "Berman claims he wants to 'expose' funding sources of non-profit activist organizations. But his enthusiasm for drawing aside the veil seems to wane when the focus is turned on him. ... Berman was recently exposed for funneling millions of corporate dollars donated to non-profit organizations he runs right into his own bank accounts." Rather than back down, Nelson's group VegSource is turning up the heat on Berman's scam.