The Shuster Project

Tobacco Industry Fraud & False Claims Issues

Click HERE To Read Our Letter Sent to Senator Kerry's Presidential Campaign

About Me

I was born on September 12^th, 1952 at Griffin Hospital in Derby, Connecticut.

The youngest of three siblings, we lived in Shelton, Connecticut for about 5 years before moving to Huntington, Connecticut, which is now a part of Shelton.

While growing up I attended St. Joseph’s Catholic Grammar School in Shelton, then St. Joseph’s Boy’s High School in Trumbull, Connecticut now known as St. Joseph’s High School.

I also attended Housatonic Community College at first the Stratford, Connecticut campus and then the Bridgeport, Connecticut campus.

I began working early in life at about the age of 4.

My Grandfather John Shuster, then Superintendent of Parks for Shelton and Huntington, would take me with him to the various parks around town and it was my job to collect all of the Coca-Cola bottles after the men had tipped the barrels for cleaning.

My pay was the full 2 cents deposit from each bottle I collected.

As I grew up I held several jobs at the same time mixed between having a paper route with over 100 papers in a very hilly community and bicycled the over 6 miles a day, 6 days a week, for years. I mowed lawns. I worked in the nursery of the biggest landscaper in Huntington at the time, Molnar’s Nursery. I waitered and busboyed and washed dishes at the country club on my street, Bronson’s Country Club in Huntington, to name but a few.

I was also very, very fortunate growing up to have had an Auntie Mame in the person of Mrs. Lucielle Crabtree Bridges; a godsend and free spirit.

She would take me to the local water company dam and have them give me a tour so that I would know and understand how the operation was run and what functions all of the mechanisms performed, for instance; however, the water company didn’t give such tours, yet there I was inside the building being instructed by the personnel there on the operation of the plant...this when I was about 13 years old.

I was also fortunate growing up in that we had a goat and roosters and egg-laying chickens and rabbits and dogs and cats.

In addition, I had fish tanks.

It was just like living on a farm similar to the real farm at the end of my street which, now, is unfortunately gone.

But I still vividly remember, as a youngster, helping Mr. Harry Bronson bring in his cattle from pasture or cutting wood for his wood burning stove; for the only "modern convenience" he had in his home was electricity.

In his sink was a hand-pump for water.

From my late teen years into my early 20’s, I honed my sales skills in retail jobs as I went to school.

Stores such as Alexanders, where I started in the Electronics Departmant and then went to Manager of the Gourmet Department.

Then in September of 1974, I was recruited and hired by the American Tobacco Company.

I worked my way up into the top 2% of the National Sales Force in every trackable category up to November of 1991, when I was removed from my employment there because of what I was trying to change relative to the fraudulent policies, practices and procedures of the tobacco industry as a whole, because all of the tobacco companies use the same fraudulent methods.

So I have over 17 years of experience in the tobacco industry, including exposure to their policies, practices and procedures "...from the top down," as they liked to say.

Hobbies

I have many hobbies and interests.

I enjoy walking, swimming (when I can), working out (ditto), antique shopping, flea markets and tag sales, E-Bay browsing (when I can), taking digital photos with my new Ricoh 4200 Digital camera.

I enjoy astronomy and have a Bushnell Voyager 525X telescope for marvelous viewing.

I am really into model rocketry...ever since I was about 13 years old...I’d design many of my own rockets and even successfully launched and retrieved Grog the Space Frog.

I enjoy exploring the Web for new and interesting sites, maintaining my websites and making good, strong, enduring friendships.

I have been collecting board games for over 30 years, so you can imagine I have quite an assortment.

I enjoy watching and taping vintage movies, such as those shown on The American Movie Classics station...but enjoy viewing contemporary movies, as well.

To date I have well over 1,500 movies in my collection and growing.

I also have well over 850 vintage 45 RPM records dating back to the 60’s.

I enjoy plants and have several scattered within the house and porch. I also have several Annual and Perrenial gardens about my property.

I have a collection of over 57 penny banks ranging from Crafter-made wooden banks to glass and ceramic ones.

I collect ceramic and wooden birds and birdhouses.

I have been getting more and more involved in Digital photography, although I have taken thousands and thousands of photographs since my first Brownie camera in the early 5^th grade.

I like to create art...Gallery Glass on various glass mediums, also painting and sketching on finished ceramic rough and oven bake it to a glaze.

These are my favorite artistic pursuits presently, although I have hooked rugs, worked with salt dough, built dozens of model cars and planes and put together hundreds of puzzles.

I enjoy writing and wrote a 2-act screen play when I was a senior in High School, as well as producing other written works over the years, including a book I am in the process of putting together now.

These are but a few of my hobbies and interests...I know...I’m a dull person...

I am blessed with good friends from all over the world and my Philosophies are pretty simple "...If you wake up with a pulse and you are breathing, you’re two steps ahead of a dead person already...it can only get better from there..." and "...Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death..."

Family

My name is Bob Shuster.

My son presently lives Florida and works in the computer field.

Julie Shuster is a Senior Nursing Aide Co-ordinator for the Glendale ElderCare Home, in Naugatuck, Connecticut and is truly dedicated to working with the elderly.

I have a Yorkie (Scooter The WonderBeast) and a Chihuahua (yep...Peppy The WonderChihuahua).

My father is still active (and vocal).

I have an older brother in California and an older sister here in Connecticut.

I have well over 200 relatives including aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews and nieces.

Friends

As I said, I am blessed with many, many wonderful, intelligent, talented, artistic friends.

Two of them, Scott and Ann-Marie Moore, are making an excellent go of a Web Site building business Site building business and you are looking at an example of his work here at this site.

Another two, Maria and Cal McWaid, operate The Trolly Stop luncheonette in Beacon Falls; so if you are passing through on Route 8 north or south, get off on Exit 24 and tell them Bob sent you.

Many of my friends are entrepreneurs, managers of businesses or professional business owners.

Many in my large family have the bug for business, as well.

In addition, many of my friends are artists, musicians and even singers, like Jerry in Maryland...(another Frank Sinatra ... record producers, get in touch with me and we can talk!!).

My family and friends are my best treasures ... who could ask for anything more...?