[acid-jazz] Say a prayer for Billy Preston

From: Bob Davis <earthjuice_at_prodigy.net>
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2006 19:15:52 -0500

I was asked to pass this along. I have no other knowlege of this situation.
And I am certainly not taking any sides in what appears to be a sensitive
family matter.

The only reason why I am passing it along is because apparently we need to
say a prayer for Mr. Billy Preston.
(one of the funkiest MF in the universe....)
-------------------------------------------
To Whom It May Concern:

My name is Lettie Preston, the youngest sister of Billy Preston. I live in
Houston, Texas. My brother has been in the hospital in Scottsdale, Arizona
for months. I've made three trips from Houston to Arizona just to be at my
brother's bedside, but I have been refused by the hospitals' administration
saying his busines manager has given the hospitals a "Medical Power of
Attorney" with a clause that prohibits family members from being at his
bedside. This is ludicrous. My brother would never make a decision not see
his family at a critical time such as this. My brother is criticlly ill.
There are reports that he is either brain-dead or severly brain damaged. We
do know for certain that he had an episode whereby his heart stopped and he
was revived. I also know he can not talk.

Billy has abused drugs since he was a teenager. He has made decisions in
his life that were not in his best interest, because they were drug-driven.
In these such times the family has always gone to his aid to help him in
those weak moments. I believe his manager has manipulated my brother,
knowing he was a drug addict, extremely ill, and depressed after the death
of his mother. He was basically in a state of hopelessness. Along with his
weakness, she worked diligently to keep him seperated from his family, even
at the funeral of his mother. She meticulously islolated my brother from
any support base. She knows we are unaware of how the entertainment
industry works. Her actions are abusive and probably driven by greed. All
that we have asked her for is to go to our brother's bedside. She will not
provide any documents supporting her actions. There is critical information
available that would support this going to the media. We need the help of
the media to stop the actions that are being taken against my family.

The family has retained an attorney in Scottsdale to assist with having
visitation privileges with our ailing brother. These are privileges that are
afforded even criminals. We've have been appointed temporary
conservatorship of Billy through the Los Angeles Superior Court. Our next
court date is Tuesday, March 28. For verification, our case number is
BP096504.

My brother has been moved to various facilities in Scottsdale and by the
time we gain information on his whereabouts, we are told he is no longer
there. I recently hired a Private Investigator that informed me of my
brother being in the Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn. I received the
information on Wednesday, March 22, and I went to Scottsdale on Friday,
March 24. Upon my arrival to the hospital I was told my brother was not
there. I walked the floors and looked in every room and in the ICU units.
Upon leaving the hospital I questioned someone who looked in the system and
told me there was someone named Earl Preston in the system without a room
assigned. The next person I questioned told me I should try the "Shea"
location. Upon arriving at Shea, I repeated the process with the same
results. This time I went to administration and gave my story. I was told
to wait in the reception area. I sat there approximately a hour and a half.
Finally, the administrative rep came out and took me to a quieter location.
At this time the lady told me that my brother was being transported to their
facility and she had a bed waiting on him. She said there are some concerns
at this time becuase he is coming over with papers that instruct no family
member is allowed to go to the bedside. She asked if we had any documents
or powers of attorneys to present. I immediately called my sister Rodena
Preston Williams and had her to fax over our document from the Los Angeles
courts giving our family access to our brother. The papers were reviewed by
the hospital's attorney. The reply was the papers had no jurisdiction in
Arizona. I was then told that my brother had been transported and was in
the facility, but I could not visit him without proper documentation. I
again walked the halls of the hospital trying to locate my brother. I
stayed on the premise until very late. A family friend came to the hospital
to be with me. There were times I was able to get into the ICU units and
walk around. I finally located a patient that looked like my brother, but a
nurse noticed I looked lost and I was not able to get up to the bed. The
hospital administration and security was called to the floor. I begged them
to let me go to by brother's bedside. The administrator rep topld me she
could not due to the paperwork. She said she had been briefed on the
situtation. I asked to see the documents. Because of my pleas she asked me
to go to the ICU waiting room until she completed a Code Blue. She said she
would return with his chart. We waited about 2 hours for her. She returned
with some folders in her hand. The folders were not by brother's, she told
me that I had to leave the premise, and security was escorting me off the
property. She told me to come back the next morning and that Billy's
manager would be there. Of course the next day brought new reasons for not
allowing my visit. This resulted in me demanding to talk with the attorney
for the hospital, and my attorney talked to him also. He also advised of
having orders from Arizona. I informed him of the fact that anything he had
in writing was bogus. In my heart I know the person I saw was my brother.
The person I saw in that bed looked terribly ill.

The only person that has seen my brother is my sister Gwendolyn. When we
went to Scottsdale on January 18, the maanger came to the hotel on the
evening of January 21st. My sister has had 4 strokes and her abilities are
compromised under additional pressure. The manager knows this and she would
only take my sister to see our brother. She used our sister, and manipulated
her weakness. It was dark and my sister did not know where she went. She
could only say that our brother looked like someone in a coma. He never
responded to her. She only remembered the building as a small one-story
place. My brother never liked being alone. If he is dying, as we have
heard, he should not die his family was by his side. When all the fame and
glory is gone, there is still family.

Please assist my family in our efforts by making the public aware of this
injustice. I feel what ever this woman is trying to do illegally will be
brought forward once this is exposed. You may contact me with information
below, and you may also contact our attorneys.

Lettie Preston 281-587-0706 home 832-228-0706 cell

Scottsdale Attorney: Jeanette Woods 480-821-1012

Los Angeles Attorney: Marc Sallus 818-986-8080

  and Bill Hence 213-388-0050

Respectfully,

Ms.Lettie Preston
----------------------------

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Bob Davis
earthjuice_at_prodigy.net
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Received on 2006-03-28 02:36:01