{{Short description|U.S. electronics retail company}} {{Other uses}} {{redirect|Jerry Carroll|the American comedian|Jerry Carroll (comedian)}} {{Infobox company | name = Crazy Eddie | logo = Crazy eddie logo.png | fate = Bankruptcy | caption = | successor = | founded = New York City, 1971 (original)<br /> Wayne, New Jersey, 1998 (revival)<br />2009 (second revival) | defunct = 1989 (original)<br />2005 (first revival)<br />2012 (second revival) | hq_location = New York City<small> (original headquarters)</small><br />Edison, New Jersey<small> (second headquarters)</small> | industry = Consumer electronics | key_people = Eddie Antar, co-founder, president and CEO<br />Sam M. Antar, co-founder<br />Sam E. Antar, CFO | products = | num_employees = | parent = | subsidiaries = | type = Public company | traded_as = {{NASDAQ was|CRZY}} }} '''Crazy Eddie''' was a consumer electronics retail chain in the Northeastern United States. It was founded in 1969 in New York City by Eddie Antar and Sam M. Antar and initially operated as '''ERS Electronics''' (named for Eddie, Rose, and Sam; Rose and Sam were Eddie Antar's parents). The chain expanded in the New York metropolitan area and became known for discount pricing and extensive radio and television advertising featuring spokesperson Jerry Carroll. At its peak, Crazy Eddie operated 43 stores in four states and reported more than $300 million in sales.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Yaks|first1=Ben|title=Eddie Antar, "Crazy Eddie" Electronics Store Founder, Dead At 68 |url=http://gothamist.com/2016/09/11/eddie_antar_crazy_eddie_electronics.php|publisher=Gothamist |access-date=December 25, 2016 |date=September 11, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161017162318/http://gothamist.com/2016/09/11/eddie_antar_crazy_eddie_electronics.php|archive-date=October 17, 2016}}</ref>
The company engaged in fraudulent business practices, including underreporting income, skimming sales tax receipts, and paying employees off the books. During the process of becoming a public company, it continued to engage in fraud, including overstating profits and inflating inventory. Eddie Antar resigned from the company in December 1986 after selling company stock. In November 1987, the board approved the sale of the company and members of the Antar family were removed from management. In 1989, Crazy Eddie filed for bankruptcy and was liquidated.
In February 1987, the United States Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey began a federal grand jury investigation into Crazy Eddie's finances. In September 1987, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission initiated an investigation into alleged violations of federal securities laws by company officers and employees. Eddie Antar later fled to Israel in February 1990 and was returned to the United States in January 1993. His 1993 conviction on fraud charges was overturned on appeal, and he later pleaded guilty in 1996. In 1997, Antar was sentenced to eight years in prison and assessed fines. He was released in 1999<ref>{{cite web|title=Crazy Eddie' Antar's not so 'insane' view of the world|date=June 24, 2007|website=MarketWatch.com|author=Herb Greenberg|url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/crazy-eddie-antars-not-so/story.aspx?guid=%7B5A237EB8-0D70-48F8-A861-E0EC37A409EB%7D}}</ref> and died in 2016.
==Background== Eddie Antar (December 18, 1947–September 10, 2016)<ref name=chokshi/> was born in Brooklyn, New York City, to a family of Syrian Jewish origin. His grandparents moved to Brooklyn from Aleppo, Syria. Antar's father, Sam Antar, was a retailer.<ref name="frankensteins">Wells, Joseph T. ''Frankensteins of Fraud: The 20th Century's Top Ten White-Collar Criminals''. Obsidian Pub. Co., 2000; {{ISBN|1-889277-25-8}}</ref>
The predecessor to Crazy Eddie was a consumer electronics store called Sight and Sound.{{Citation needed|date=September 2016}} It was operated by ERS Electronics, a company owned by Sam M. Antar, Eddie Antar, and Eddie Antar's cousin Ronnie Gindi. Sight and Sound, located on Kings Highway in Brooklyn, began operations in 1969. Eddie Antar became known as "Crazy Eddie" for his sales approach. Within eighteen months, the store was near bankruptcy.<ref name="frankensteins"/> Eddie Antar later bought out Gindi's ownership stake, and Sam M. Antar retained an ownership interest while leaving day-to-day operations to Eddie Antar.{{Citation needed|date=September 2016}} In 1971, the Kings Highway store was renamed Crazy Eddie.
During the 1970s, the company expanded beyond Brooklyn. A second location opened in Syosset, New York, in 1973, followed by a third location in Greenwich Village in 1975. The company established a corporate office on Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn that year.<ref name="frankensteins"/> By 1977, it had opened additional stores, including locations in The Bronx and in Paramus, New Jersey, along Route 17. By 1981, Crazy Eddie operated ten locations, including a Manhattan store on East 57th Street on the Upper East Side.
==Advertising== thumb|right|275px|Former New York radio DJ Jerry Carroll appeared in more than 7,500 commercials as a Crazy Eddie pitchman. Crazy Eddie advertising in the New York metropolitan area featured Jerry Carroll. The association began in 1972, when Carroll was a radio disc jockey known as "Dr. Jerry" at WPIX-FM. Antar purchased on-air advertising and Carroll delivered the slogan "his prices are insane" in an exaggerated style. Antar requested that Carroll repeat the delivery consistently in later advertisements.<ref name="frankensteins" />
Carroll began appearing in television commercials for Crazy Eddie in 1975 and continued for much of the next fifteen years.<ref name="frankensteins" /> One recurring promotion was the chain's "Christmas in August" sale. Carroll also appeared in a Spanish-language advertisement, without a speaking role.
During the 1980s, more than 7,500 radio and television advertisements were broadcast in the tri-state area.<ref>https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/13/nyregion/the-public-face-of-crazy-eddie-recalls-the-real-one.html</ref> Crazy Eddie also produced a commercial depicting Carroll as a superhero character.{{citation needed|date=December 2016}} Warner Communications sued the chain over that advertisement; the dispute was later settled.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://whitecollarfraud.com/crazy-eddie/crazy-eddie-advertising |title=White Collar Fraud |website=Whitecollarfraud.com |date=2005-03-05 |access-date=2011-03-27}}</ref>
Crazy Eddie advertising was referenced and parodied in other media. ''Not Necessarily the News'' aired a parody commercial featuring a caricature of Oliver North.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lanesarasohn.com/tvwriter/tribune.html |title=NNTN-Chicago Tribune Review |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080704124601/http://www.lanesarasohn.com/tvwriter/tribune.html |archive-date=2008-07-04 }}</ref> ''Saturday Night Live'' aired a parody segment on January 22, 1977, featuring Dan Aykroyd as "Crazy Ernie". The commercials also appeared in films, including ''Splash'' (1984).<ref name="nyt123">{{cite news | first = Anthony | last = Ramirez | title =The media business: advertising; the man folks thought was Crazy Eddie is back. He seems saner. | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/18/business/media-business-advertising-man-folks-thought-was-crazy-eddie-back-he-seems-saner.html | newspaper = The New York Times | date = 1995-08-18 | access-date = 2008-05-19}}</ref>
In 1985, Carroll appeared in a television commercial for Yoplait yogurt.<ref>[https://youtube.com/jLXn90NI9so YouTube Video] {{dead link|date=May 2023}}</ref>
Crazy Eddie hosted in-store appearances by musicians, including the members of Queen at a Manhattan location on July 27, 1982, prior to the band's performance at Madison Square Garden.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://queen-unofficial.tumblr.com/post/143624856542/queen-unofficial-queen-press-conference-at |title=Queen Press Conference at Crazy Eddie's in New York City on July 27, 1982 |publisher=Time & Life Pictures / Getty Images |date=1982-07-27 |access-date=2016-05-24 |archive-date=2020-07-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729000227/https://queen-unofficial.tumblr.com/post/143624856542/queen-unofficial-queen-press-conference-at |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==Fraud and decline== Crazy Eddie management engaged in tax and accounting fraud, including falsifying records to reduce taxable income.<ref name=Masterminds>{{Cite AV media |people= |date=2006 |title=Masterminds: Crazy Eddie |url= |medium=Television Production |publisher=History Television |location=Canada |accessdate= |time= |quote= }}</ref> The company also paid employees off the books and skimmed cash receipts. According to published accounts, portions of the proceeds were deposited in Israeli bank accounts beginning in 1979, and the family deposited millions of dollars in offshore accounts during the early 1980s.<ref name="frankensteins" />
By the early 1980s, the company prepared to become publicly traded. One method described in published accounts was reducing the amount of cash being skimmed, which increased reported earnings and profit margins. Between 1980 and 1983, reported profit growth exceeded the company's underlying profit growth, according to accounts of the fraud.<ref name=whitecollarfraud>{{cite web|title=Crazy Eddie Fraud|url=http://whitecollarfraud.com/crazy-eddie/crazy-eddie-fraud|website=Whiteccollarfraud.com|access-date=September 7, 2006}}</ref>
Crazy Eddie held its initial public offering on September 13, 1984 (former symbol: CRZY). Shares, which were traded on the NASDAQ, initially sold for $8. By early 1986, the stock traded above $75 per share.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://whitecollarfraud.com/crazy-eddie/crazy-eddie-saga-table-of-contents/|title=Crazy Eddie Saga – Table of Contents|website=Whitecollarfraud.com|access-date=21 December 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20091002/FREE/910219979/calculated-madness-the-rise-and-fall-of-crazy-eddie-antar |title = Calculated Madness: The rise and fall of Crazy Eddie Antar|website=Crainsnewyork.com|date = 2009-10-02}}</ref>
Eddie Antar recruited his cousin Sam E. Antar to assist with accounting and financial reporting. Sammy earned an accounting degree in 1980 and worked for Penn and Horowitz, Crazy Eddie's auditor. In 1986, he became chief financial officer. Published accounts describe schemes that used funds held abroad to inflate reported sales and financial results, including transfers through accounts in Panama.<ref name="frankensteins" />
As a public company, Crazy Eddie engaged in inventory fraud to inflate reported profits. For the fiscal year ending March 1, 1985, published accounts reported that inventories were overstated by $3 million, with larger overstatements reported in the following fiscal year.{{Citation needed|date=September 2016}}
In 1987, published accounts describe a shift from inflating results to concealing earlier misstatements.<ref name="frankensteins" /><ref name="whitecollarfraud" /> During fiscal year 1987, inventory figures were overstated by tens of millions of dollars, and the company recorded debit memos and chargebacks to vendors that reduced accounts payable. By late 1986 and into 1987, the company's stock price declined and earnings decreased, while sales growth reflected new store openings.<ref name="frankensteins" /> In May 1987, Antar pursued a plan to take the company private and sought financing from Canadian investment banker Samuel Belzberg.<ref name="whitecollar2">{{cite web|title=The Fall of Crazy Eddie |url=https://whitecollarfraud.com/crazy-eddie/the-fall-of-crazy-eddie|website=Whitecollarfraud.com|access-date=September 7, 2006}}</ref>
In 1987, Texas-based investor Elias Zinn acquired a significant stake in Crazy Eddie and, with support from management consultant Victor Palmieri, obtained a controlling interest through a hostile takeover. After the takeover, analysts concluded that the company's inventory was materially overstated, with published accounts later estimating a final shortfall of $80 million.<ref name="frankensteins" /><ref name="whitecollar2" />
In February 1989, Zinn left the company; the next month, seventeen of the forty-three locations were closed in an attempt to mitigate losses. Crazy Eddie filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June 1989 after its creditors had begun proceedings to try to force it into bankruptcy.<ref name=nyt1>{{cite news|title=Crazy Eddie In Chapter 11|url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0715F93D550C728EDDAF0894D1484D81|access-date=September 7, 2006 | newspaper=The New York Times | date=June 21, 1989}}</ref>
Eight more stores were closed that August. Then, on September 5, Crazy Eddie stock was delisted from the NASDAQ. Less than a month later, on October 2, the executive board of Crazy Eddie to Chapter 7 on October 2, 1989, and the company liquidated. By the end of November 1989, the remaining eighteen stores had closed.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_n2_v29/ai_8530069/ |title=He's baaack! Group buys Crazy Eddie trademark - investment group may reopen Crazy Eddie consumer electronics stores {{!}} Discount Store News|website=Findarticles.com |access-date=2009-07-25 | year=1990}}</ref>
===Legal battles=== A former Crazy Eddie associate, Arnie Spindler, provided investigators with information about the company's financial practices, according to published accounts.<ref name="frankensteins" /> In August 1987, the band They Might Be Giants threatened legal action over allegations that the chain used 2 of their songs called “Absolutely Bill’s Mood” and “Mr. Me” in a radio commercial without permission after the band declined to write a jingle.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kasindorf |first=Jeanie |date=August 3, 1987 |title=Singing Giants may Sue Crazy Eddie |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IuUCAAAAMBAJ |access-date=March 17, 2025 |work=New York |pages=8}}</ref>
In September 1989, the SEC charged Eddie Antar with securities fraud and illegal insider trading.<ref name=nyt2>{{cite news |last=Labaton |first=Stephen |date=September 7, 1989 |title=S.E.C. Files Fraud Case On Retailer |url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0713F938580C748CDDA00894D1484D81 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=September 7, 2006}}</ref> In January 1990, a federal judge ordered Antar to repatriate funds transferred to Israel and to appear in court. After failing to appear for hearings, warrants were issued and assets were frozen, according to published accounts.<ref name="frankensteins" />
Antar fled to Israel under an alias and was arrested in 1992 in connection with extradition proceedings. He returned to the United States in January 1993 after legal proceedings in Israel. His trial began in June 1993, and he was convicted on multiple counts of fraud in July 1993. His conviction was later overturned on appeal in 1995 based on findings of judicial bias, according to published accounts.<ref name="frankensteins" /> Antar later pleaded guilty in 1996 and was sentenced in 1997 to eight years in prison. Civil litigation continued for many years, and efforts to recover funds for investors continued into the 2010s.<ref name="frankensteins" /><ref name=NJcom>{{cite news |last=Sherman |first=Ted |date=4 March 2012 |title=The long and wild Crazy Eddie investor fraud case nears the end |url=http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/03/the_long_and_wild_crazy_eddie.html |publisher=Advance Media (New Jersey) |access-date=7 January 2016}}</ref>
==Aftermath== After the chain closed, multiple groups acquired or used the Crazy Eddie trademark for revival attempts. In 1990, a New Jersey-based investment group led by Alex Adjmi announced plans to reopen stores, but the effort did not proceed.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_n2_v29/ai_8530069/?tag=content;col1 |title=He's baaack! Group buys Crazy Eddie trademark - investment group may reopen Crazy Eddie consumer electronics stores {{!}} Discount Store News |website=Findarticles.com |access-date=2009-07-25 | year=1990}}</ref>
In 1998, relatives of the Antar family reopened a store in Wayne, New Jersey and launched an online venture, crazyeddieonline.com.<ref name=nyt3>{{cite news|title=Crazy Eddie's Returning, Minus 2 Jailed Founders|url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40715FB3B5C0C738EDDA80894D0494D81|access-date=September 7, 2006 | work=The New York Times | first=Lisa W. | last=Foderaro | date=January 20, 1998}}</ref> The business did not expand beyond the Wayne location and later closed.{{Citation needed|date=September 2016}}
In the early 2000s, the brand was used for online retail operations under various owners. The trademark was later acquired by Trident Growth Fund, which attempted to auction the brand and the domain name crazyeddie.com in 2006.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y06/m07/i03/s03|title=eBay Bidders Not Committed to 'Crazy Eddie' Trademark Auction|website=Auctionbytes.com|author=Ina Steiner|date=July 26, 2006|access-date=2008-05-14|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060705225845/http://auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y06/m07/i03/s03|archive-date=July 5, 2006}}</ref> In 2009, businessman Jack Gemal began an online retail venture using the Crazy Eddie name and the website pricesareinsane.com.<ref>{{cite web |author= |url=http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/03/03/crazy-eddie-looks-to-make-a-comeback/ |title=Crazy Eddie looks to make a comeback |website=BloggingStocks.com |date=2009-03-03 |access-date=2009-07-25 |archive-date=2009-06-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090609074011/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/03/03/crazy-eddie-looks-to-make-a-comeback |url-status=dead }}</ref> The business later ceased operations.{{Citation needed|date=September 2016}} As of 2018, the Crazy Eddie trademark was listed as abandoned.<ref>{{cite web|title=CRAZY EDDIE - Trademark Details|url=https://trademarks.justia.com/871/89/crazy-87189437.html|website=Trademarks.justia.com|access-date=2018-01-26}} </ref>
Jerry Carroll died in October 2020 after suffering from cardiac issues. Writer Gary Weiss, in doing research for a book he was writing about the rise and fall of Crazy Eddie, learned that Carroll's death had not been publicized, despite how ubiquitous a presence he was while serving as spokesman for Crazy Eddie.
Eddie Antar died on September 10, 2016, at age 68.<ref>{{cite news |last=Greene |first=Leonard |date=September 11, 2016 |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/eddie-antar-owner-crazy-eddie-electronics-chain-dead-68-article-1.2787645 |title=Eddie Antar, owner of 'Crazy Eddie' electronics chain, dead at 68 |newspaper=New York Daily News |access-date=2016-09-12}}</ref><ref name=chokshi>{{cite news |last=Chokshi |first=Niraj |date=September 11, 2016 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/12/business/eddie-antar-retailer-and-felon-who-created-crazy-eddie-dies-at-68.html?_r=0 |title=Eddie Antar, Retailer and Felon Who Created Crazy Eddie, Dies at 68 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=2016-09-12}}</ref> A funeral home in Ocean Township, New Jersey confirmed his death. Reports stated that Antar had liver cancer, though an official cause of death was not released.<ref>{{cite web |last=Elstein|first=Aaron|date=October 5, 2009 |url=http://www.crainsnewyork.com/assets/pdf/CN67159104.PDF|title=Crazy like a fox|quotation=Guess who's tipping off the SEC on alleged accounting frauds? None other than the guy who cooked the books at Crazy Eddie |website=Crain's New York Business|access-date=2021-12-21}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/crazy-eddie-retail-chain-owner-eddie-antar-dead-at-68 |title=Crazy Eddie retail chain owner, Eddie Antar, dead at 68 |date=12 September 2016 |website=Fox News |agency=Associated Press |access-date=2016-09-12}}</ref>
==2022 book== In August 2022, journalist Gary Weiss published ''Retail Gangster'', a book about Crazy Eddie and the fraud committed by company leadership.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/2022/08/23/crazy-eddie-book-consumer-electronics-king-securities-fraud/65411584007/ | title=North Jersey Media Group }}</ref>
==Legacy== {{unreferenced section|date=April 2024}}Crazy Eddie has been referenced in film and television, including ''Splash'', ''The Brave Little Toaster'', ''Futurama'', ''The Accountant'', ''Russian Doll'', and ''X-Men '97''.
==Notes== {{reflist|group=note}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Further reading== * Schulman, Michael. "[https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/remembering-crazy-eddie-his-prices-were-insane Remembering Crazy Eddie: His Prices Were Insane]". ''The New Yorker'', September 17, 2016. * Weiss, Gary. ''Retail Gangster: The Insane, Real-Life Story of Crazy Eddie''. Hachette, 2022. {{ISBN|9780306924569}}
==External links== {{portal|Companies}} *[https://whitecollarfraud.com/crazy-eddie/crazy-eddie-fraud Sam Antar's 'Crazy Eddie' history page] *[https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=crazy+eddie&search=Search CE Commercials]
Category:American companies established in 1971 Category:Retail companies established in 1971 Category:Retail companies established in 1998 Category:Retail companies established in 2009 Category:Defunct retail companies of the United States Category:Defunct consumer electronics retailers of the United States Category:Corporate scandals Category:Corporate crime Category:Companies that have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Category:Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1989 Category:Companies that filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 1989 Category:Companies that have filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy Category:Retail companies disestablished in 1989 Category:Retail companies disestablished in 2005 Category:Retail companies disestablished in 2012 Category:Companies based in New York City Category:Companies based in Passaic County, New Jersey Category:Re-established companies Category:1971 establishments in New York City Category:1989 disestablishments in New York (state) Category:1980s initial public offerings Category: Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq