Breaking news: Sources tell CoasterBuzz that Jack Falfas has resigned as COO of Cedar Fair

The only thing remotely interesting about the Register article (aside from my totally interesting quote that it was "weird" timing for his departure ;)) was that Falfas referred questions to his attorney.

I apologize for my previous pulled comment, It was wrong and disrespectful. It won't happen again, promise.

CP

You don't need an attorney if you have resigned from a company.

But you do if you are planning to sue them.

I've often wondered how hard it is to win a "hostile workplace" suit. I mean, if you watch fictional TV, you'd think it was easy!

I doubt Cedar Fair would allow a lawsuit to even get to court, Dick and the board know Jack has WAY too much inside information that they do not want to become public and that is precisely Jack's threat with all of this. Add to the fact that Q has gone on-record as delving into the finances, I bet there is a run on Depends undergarments in Sandusky.

I don't know what type of legal standing he would have if he really did sign a resignation. I'm told he is insistent that he did not "resign" even though that is the only way it has been described by Cedar Fair.

Maybe it was a forced resignation.

So what's the endgame in all of this? If we assume that Jack plans to file suit, for whatever reason, and the company wants to settle...what happens? Off-hand I can't think of a single outcome that won't be unpleasant...

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

wahoo skipper said:
I'm told he is insistent that he did not "resign" even though that is the only way it has been described by Cedar Fair.

And Cedar Fair has been ssssooooo truthful as of late. I know many things dealing with Geauga Lake/WWK that have been blatant and outright lies told by Kinzel & Co. They are going to lie through their teeth on this one dealing with Jack.

I bet ya any amount of money Jack has enough insider info to persuade the board to go to Kinzel and force him to retire rather than be dragged through an ugly public battle. If I were in Jack's shoes, that would be the angle I would go for if I wanted revenge, which it sounds like he does to some degree. I can already list numerous issues in my head that I know would create quite a stink if it were made public.

The end game may be the end of both Kinzel and Falfas at Cedar Fair. Frankly, I've been saying for some time now that I think they need to look outside the company for new leadership so I'm not frightened by that prospect...but this isn't the way I would have wanted it to happen.

But, when the "retirement" kept getting postponed you had to start wondering if Kinzel was going to go kicking and screaming if his health didn't force it before hand.

I think Kinzel continues to tarnish his legacy with the company and he will be remembered for the negatives more than for the many positives that he was responsible for. Same thing has happened to Eisner.

Kinzel does seem different lately. I agree with wahoo that Kinzel did many good things for the company in the past, and he did a great job at growing Cedar Point and developing the resort side of the business from what it was in the 70's. He just does not seem to be making the same kind of good decisions and I wonder if he is being affected negatively by the aging process.

I think Kinzel is a good man and did work his butt off for the company, but at this point I agree that it would be beneficial to get someone with fresh ideas and thinking to take over. Mr. Kinzel should be enjoying his retirement now.

Falfas' choice of attorney lends some credence to the notion that he is going to file some sort of lawsuit against Cedar Fair and/or Kinzel. Richard Panza was the exact same attorney that represented John Albino and Charlie Paul when they sued Cedar Fair and Kinzel, Dan Keller and Dick Collingwood, personally, over about $1 million in re-organized management shares, I believe, back in 2004.

Did anyone check the stock today? It dropped significantly again, down almost 5% to $12.01. None of this is helping investors in Cedar Fair units and the board of directors MUST take action, eliminate the problem, and get the company back to the business of FUN.