Washington, Oct 13 (IANS) A US billionaire has said he won’t pay a man who streaked in front of Barack Obama for a $1 million reward, unless the president confirms he saw the naked dash, a media report said Wednesday.
Alki David, the filthy-rich heir to a shipping and bottle-plant empire, who promised to pay $1 million to anyone who streaked in front of Obama, now says the video of Juan Rodriguez’s birthday-suit sprint at a Philadelphia rally Sunday is inconclusive, The New York Post reported.
‘We’re waiting to hear from the president to see if he, in fact, saw Juan Rodriguez during the streaking challenge,’ David told The Post. ‘As soon as we get confirmation, we will make the payment.’
Juan Rodriguez, in cuffs after streaking at an Obama rally in Philadelphia Sunday, pulled the stunt to collect on a $1 million pledge by Internet mogul Alki David, who’s now saying he’s not sure Rodriguez met the terms of the wager.
The White House has already said it would not comment on the incident. David claims he has ‘diplomatic friends’ who can confirm what Obama heard and saw Sunday.
‘It’s a lot of money,’ said David. ‘We’re not going to give the money away lightly.’
Rodriguez, 24, wasn’t the only one who got a little extra exposure. David admitted that traffic on his website has doubled since the stunt.
Meanwhile, Rodriguez is banking on being paid in full. ‘I’m trying to get in touch with David,’ a fully clad Rodriguez told The Post Tuesday at his Stapleton home. ‘I’ve done everything I was supposed to do.’
Rodriguez said he spent $1,300 of his own money for the prank, some of it on the specially designed tear-away T-shirt and shorts he wore.
Rodriguez was busted and charged with indecent exposure, public lewdness, and disorderly conduct after he stripped, shouted the name of David’s website — which was also scrawled across his chest — and ran through a Philadelphia park, all while Obama gave a speech just yards away.
Rodriguez said he is certain he pulled off the challenge.
‘The rules were very clear,’ Rodriguez said. ‘If you wore a Band-Aid, you were screwed. So I made sure I had nothing on me. I was 10 feet from the president, so I know I was in earshot of him. I’m pretty sure he saw and heard me.’
Rodriguez, a father of three who is separated from his wife, said he already has plans for the big prize. He wants to put some of the money aside for his kids’ education and help his sister with some medical expenses.
