With TrekUnited officials still waiting for what they claim is a release from Paramount Pictures that talks had been under way between the two entities, a man claiming to be the frontman in those talks has decided to call the studio to the carpet.

A poster who says his name is Al Vinci, a Canadian producer with a plan to bring "Star Trek: Enterprise" back for a fifth season, took his battle with Paramount public on the TrekUnited message boards.

"It is now about 8 a.m. here in Vancouver. I will be on the phone with John Wentworth, (vice president) of marketing for Paramount in exactly 60 minutes," Vinci said in his post. "I am going to read him the ... riot act. He was specifically and directly instructed by the 'top Paramount executive' to quickly issue some form of statement confirming the ongoing negotiations between myself, my associate and this 'top Paramount executive' dating well back into March."

Wentworth was the Paramount official who published a letter sent to TrekUnited last March (and published last week on the official Star Trek Web site) saying the decision to cancel "Enterprise" is final.

"Through courtesy and keeping my word, I have agreed not to name this executive," Vinci continued. "Well, guess what? I can play hardball with the big boys, too. If by the close of business day today, Tuesday, April 19, we do not have the promised statement, I will consider the gentlemen's agreement for nondisclosure broken. I will reveal the name of the executive on this forum and reverse my position that fan contacts with Paramount be held with 'respect and dignity.'"

As of late Tuesday night, Paramount had yet to make any release, and there were no further posts from Vinci revealing the name of the "top Paramount executive" that he was referring to.

Airlock Alpha has been unable to corroborate any of Vinci's claims of his past, which he said includes a role in a 1963 Sophia Loren movie in Italy, as well as work on a pair of television series in the 1980s. While this does not mean that Vinci is not for real, it does mean that his claims have yet to be confirmed. Because of that, Airlock Alpha is forced to disclose that in all stories involving Vinci.

But that was not enough to avoid Vinci's ire in his recent post.

"I've tried to be above the fray, but every patience has a limit and I'm reaching mine fast," Vinci continued in his post. "There is a 'particular journalist' who steadfastly refuses to do any real physical paper research and keeps slandering me and my background. I will be more than happy to post here the entire texts of our e-mails where I, with tact and patience, answered all questions he posed, and attempted out of courtesy to give him professional tips from a publisher who placed 100 million copies on the newsstand over a dozen years. Yet, he insists on clicking one button on his PC and determining that I'm a liar. To this gentleman and all others: In my posts, I have clearly stated specific, verifiable information.

"Now, if you wish me to do your research for you, then I would expect to be sent your paycheck. You call yourselves journalists? Go get your lazy butts out of your computer chair and into a library and perform the basic function of journalism: research. Either that, or you may be getting some very interesting paperwork from Mr. (Andrew) Beardall. Libel laws are a fascinating subject, and it is the one subject that we will be more than glad to research on your behalf."

Beardall is the Maryland attorney who is representing the campaign, and who Vinci says is now handling talks with Paramount over a press release. A Paramount spokesman on Monday said that there is no release, and that there were no talks. That has been the position of Paramount for quite some time. Also, it should be noted that Airlock Alpha staff -- including its ownership -- volunteer their time to the site, and do not receive a paycheck. Airlock Alpha is not designed to be a profit-generating site.

Airlock Alpha made several attempts to corroborate Vinci's story. Airlock Alpha also has released the e-mail conversation this site had with Al Vinci soon after his chat April 15 announcing Vinci's work and resume, as a response to the threat that Vinci made to have those e-mails published. While releasing individual electronic correspondence is not normally the policy of Airlock Alpha, Vinci made it clear in his post that he did not oppose to the release of the material, and officials were not going to allow for the possibility that if Vinci published the e-mails, they would be edited or altered.

Airlock Alpha has continued to look into possible profit-making from the TrekUnited campaign. Not too long ago, to help curb the campaign-claimed $500 a month for dedicated server costs in hosting the campaign's site, TrekUnited started a merchandising campaign with LogoDogz. It was discovered that the site was hosted by CharterHosting.com, a company -- according to its Whois listing -- whose domain name is owned by Tim Brazeal, founder of TrekUnited.

Airlock Alpha contacted government officials at both the state and county level in Tennessee where Brazeal lives, and where the campaign (and CharterHosting) is based. Neither officials with the state department nor Blount County could find any corporation registration for CharterHosting, which offers a variety of Web hosting services.

Officials from the state department said that smaller companies do not have to register at the state level, but that some type of registration or licensing would have to take place at the county level. Blount County officials could not find any business named CharterHosting registered in the county, or at two addresses provided by Brazeal in his Whois listing. County officials also said that TrekUnited was not registered with the county, which is required for any corporation, even if they've registered at the state level.

Officials at both the state and county level did say that CharterHosting would be responsible for paying sales tax as well as franchise and excise tax fees, if it is making a profit. TrekUnited could be subject to franchise and excise fees, but only if it has any tangible value by the end of the year.

Beardall, who is the new spokesman for the campaign, said he had no comment on any of the issues surrounding the hosting of the site and any potential for profit. Since TrekUnited is a registered for-profit corporation, it is not illegal for it to collect profit on the TrekUnited campaign Web site, but some critics said that such an arrangement should've been disclosed to those making donations to the site.