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This beefalo stocklooks like a bum steerfttprintod wH* tptttal ptrrodistan •I Jim WM JwrmlURIAH, CALIF. - Oliver (Bud) Hemphill used to hang his 10-gallon hat at Rancho de Taralara here, where 300 head of beefalo roamed inside white picket fences.HemphilI7' an ex-Air Force pilot with many European business contacts, decided in 1974 to enlist a group of men to promote beefalo as a “revolutionary solution” to world hunger. A beefalo is a new hybrid animal resulting from a cross between the American buffalo, or bison, and domestic beef cattle.Pursuing his vision, Hemphill and others set up Europacific Ltd., andHemphill became its chairman and president. Europacific, which was incorporated in Gibraltar, told investors in a handsome color brochure that it was engaged in world-wide breeding, production and distribution of both live and dressed beefalo products.In press conferences throughout Europe, the company boasted of being world-wide agent for beefalo semen. It listed a London headquarters. The California ranch was listed as U.S. headquarters. Hemphill conjured up a picture of thundering herds of beefalo enriching European and Middle Eastern diets while enriching Europacif ic investors.That picture now is considerably out of focus. The developer of the beefalo, D C. Basolo, says there is no agent for beefalo semen. Europacif-ic's London headquarters turned out to be an answering service and mail drop. The ranch, about 100 miles north of San Francisco, had been rented by Europacific; now it is vacant and up for sale. The 300 beefalo had been borrowed from two North Dakota ranchers; now most of them have been shipped back to their owners, and the rest have been sold to pay hay dealers and other creditors.Hemphill has moved to Oregon, surrounded by lawyers to fend off agrowing legal attack. California investigators are looking at Hemphill's role in what they call one of the zaniest international business promotions ever. They say it is a classic example of how easily such legitimate technical advances as the beefalo can be seized upon by nimble promotors.A grand jury in Mendocino County soon will consider whether Europacif-ic’s activities violated state fraud and securities laws, says District Atty. Duncan James. Meanwhile, an unknown number of U.S. investors are licking their wounds over losses that may run into millions of dollars.Many others are ruing the day they first heard of Europacific and its beefalo plans. One may be Angier Biddle Duke, one-time State Department chief of protocol and a prominent Democrat and former ambassador to several nations. Europacific listed him as a director in 1975. His role was unclear but one man close to the company describes him as “window dressing” to attract investors.Duke, in a telephone interview in New York, denies he ever accepted a position on Europacific’s board and says, “I never heard of Europacific.” He does recall meeting Oliver Hemphill several years ago. discussing beefalo with him and telling him “I'd be delighted” to be part of a venture promoting beefalo.He also says he did help get beefalo carcasses past customs in Italy in 1975 as a favor to his long-time friend Gilbert Karaig, listed as a member of the Europacific board. Duke adds that he never invested in beefalo or Europacific. tProminent businessmen who actively promoted beefalo and were listed by Europacific as board members include Ronald Coelyn, amiiIctlittlBEEFALOPlease turn to Page3F
Newspaper Details
Des Moines Register
Des Moines, Iowa, US
Sun, Oct 23, 1977
Page 136
Full Page
Clipped by
Los A.
CA, USA 11 Jun 2019
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