On a Monday morning in October, brilliant inventor Carl Collingwood and his 20-year-old son, Bruce, board a Diesel-powered commuter train to New York City at its northern-most point at Wassaic, New York. This seemingly innocent event sets in motion a series of events that alter the lives of a host of characters, as events unfold in New York, Washington D.C. and all the way to Bermuda.
Carl has developed the “personal aircraft” — a vertical take-off and landing fixed-wing airplane — that the military desperately needs. But rival Mike Snead, CEO of a multi-national corporation, is worried this could divert the healthy flow of government dollars away from his company. When Carl needed capital to continue development, he took Mike’s bait and mortgaged his intellectual property. When Carl inadvertently misses a payment, Mike unleashes his plan to grab the rights to Carls invention. When he succeeds in civil court, Carl is left despondent and bereft.
A desperate Carl and Bruce hijack the train, letting all the passengers off except Mike. Carl’s plan is to deliver Mike to Washington, D.C., to testify before a Congressional Committee on corporate corruption. But how can a commuter train on a line that dead-ends in Manhattans Grand Central Station make this trip?
The Commuter Train is a fast-paced thriller that unfolds in tight bursts, documented as a breaking news story by Juli Gables, an energetic, but inexperienced TV journalist. Gables tries desperately to find the truth about Sneads takeover of the Collingwoods invention, even after being fired for placing her employer in legal jeopardy by broadcasting her suspicions of Snead. This leads Gables to Bermuda in pursuit of a paper trail of Sneads criminal activity.
The tale is told through a mix of well-rounded and compelling characters from the neophyte TV news crew, Juli, and her cameraman, George; the action-oriented F.B.I. agent, David Price, who believes hes judge and jury; to CEO Mike Snead, whose vocation is greed and avocation is play acting. Asked if what he did to the Collingwoods is fair, Snead reveals what we all suspect about the nature of big business: When you ask a businessman whether what he does is fair, he doesnt really understand the question Fairness has nothing to do with the rules of the game, so it is simply not an issue.
Carl and Bruce face criminal charges and as their trial surges forward, readers experience one surprise turn after another, until events come to a thrilling and unexpected climax.
Will the truth be finally revealed, and justice served, as a consequence of the actions set in motion on that fateful Monday morning on a Commuter Train?
The author practices patent law in White Plains, NY, and is an inventor himself, having patented numerous advances in vertical take-off and landing aircraft. He is also a children’s book author, having penned a series of books about a young teen boy-inventor. The series is called “Jason and the Detectives.”
KARL F. MILDE, JR.
Karl F. Milde, Jr., is a practicing attorney, specializing in intellectual property law. He is a member of the law firm of Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC
Mr. Milde is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center and holds two B.S. degrees from MIT (Physics and Electrical Engineering). He is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and is a member of the New York Bar.
Mr. Milde commenced his career in intellectual property as a Patent Examiner in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and subsequently joined the firm of Brumbaugh, Graves, Donohue & Raymond (now Baker & Botts) in New York City. Thereafter, Mr. Milde, who is fluent in German, served as Director of Patents for Siemens Corporation, the U.S. subsidiary of Siemens AG. After leaving Siemens, he founded the boutique firm of Milde & Hoffberg, LLP, in White Plains, NY, with his partner, Steven Hoffberg.
In the year 2003, Mr. Milde joined Dr. Jeffrey A. Matos in founding M & M Technologies, a think tank for concepts in aviation safety, where he currently serves as Vice President and General Counsel. Mr. Milde has also been involved in numerous other ventures as a principal and a board member. These include Automotive Technologies International, Inc. and Thorium Power Corporation.
Mr. Milde has received numerous patents in the fields of electronic music, automotive electronics and, most recently, vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft. Mr. Milde has also been a licensed pilot.
Mr. Milde has written five children’s books about a young inventor and detective named “Jason” which may be previewed on his web site www.milde.com, and a full length novel entitled The Commuter Train. He is currently working on his second novel.
Mr. Milde is a member of the White Plains Rotary Club and is currently serving as District Governor for Rotary District 7230 that includes New York City, The Bronx, Staten Island, Westchester County, NY, and Bermuda.
Mr. Milde is a member of the New York Intellectual Property Law Association, the Eastern New York Intellectual Property Law Association and the Putnam County Bar Association.
