Even Playmates fall in love, sometimes. We are often bombarded with flattery from men all over the world who think we are really something. We get used to that. One thing we don't get used to is the men who get next to us and make us believe they are the guy for us. At the time it seems so right.
We become engaged to be married. We open our lives, as well as our hearts, to these lovers. Sometimes we open our professional lives which naturally overlap onto our private lives, and begin a working relationship with these men who 'love' us. When we trust, we often open our bank accounts too, to our dismay, at times.
How does a Playmate know when a seemingly great guy is really in love with her, or sees her as a stepping stone to his professional success, a link to her connections? How does she know when he's looking at her with those tender eyes and seeing only her marketability? When she does know, it is often after a terrible price has been paid.
Petra Verkaik, Playboy's Miss December 1989, is paying just such a price. She fell in love a couple of years ago with a hunk named Scott James Strohmeyer who was computer-savvy. He'd worked for a couple of website companies, like CastNet, a site for the promotion of actors. He convinced her that he could help her make her website a profitable thing. He asked her to marry him, she said 'yes'andhis name went onto her checking account so he could write the checks whenshewas busy working and traveling as popular Playmates do. It took some of thestress off her. But, not for long.
In the end, the relationship became abusive. He was flirting with the other Playmates whom he met at the exclusive Playboy Mansion parties. He was hustling up more work for himself through the connections made available by Petra, got in with her girlfriends and because Petra was involved, they trusted him.
Finally, in the final scene of their life together, Scott slammed Petra into the wall, she tried to defend herself. I know what a huge muscle man this guy is, and Petra with her delicate bone structure is hardly a match. I think Scott got a couple of scratches on his arm. Petra's bruises hadn't come up yet, not until after she was arrested and thrown in jail for domestic abuse.
Yes, it's true. The muscle man called 911. While Petra was in jail waiting for her mom to mortgage her house to bail her out, Scott cleaned out her bank account. He has sued her for half of her website business, use of her photographic image and kept all of her belongings which the court ordered him to return. He swore he didn't have them. Petra called me on her cell phone from in front of her former apartment while she was waiting for her $285/hour attorney to go in and retrieve her hidden belongings, which included even her baby pictures.
It's not over, yet, and Petra is seeing all her hard work building her web business go down the tubes. She is in dire straits and having to pay money to defend herself against this opportunistic abuser.
I, as a sister Playmate, have offered myself as the director of a Fund Drive to help pay Petra's legal fees and get the word out to the fans that she is in need.
Please, send your check or money order in Petra's name and I will present her with all of your loving contributions. Or go to http://www.PetraCentral.com and subscribe!
My address:
PETRA FUND DRIVE
c/o Victoria Valentino
PO Box 12324
La Crescenta, CA 91224-5324
For further inquiries:
vvalentino@loop.com
Thanks from the bottom of our Playmate hearts.
Victoria Valentino
Playboy's Miss September 1963
Host/Producer
"Under Our Skin"
Adelphia Cable
From http://home.earthlink.net/~jimkoh/petra/petra.htm
Anyone hear any news on Petra lately? If so, please leave a comment.