Bob Breskovich

"However, this portrayal of Røkke as a conscientious repayer is a truth with modifications. In reality, getting money from Røkke in the mid-80s was like pulling teeth with pliers. One of the first things he learned from Bob Breskovich was to keep creditors at bay with smooth talk and to otherwise cling to every single cent. "Røkke used his own money, the banks' money, and everyone else's money to get rich himself," is the testimonial from one of his former employees. This characterization tells the story of a man in incredible financial distress during the first difficult years. It was a tough period where he staggered from one due date to another, and bills piled up on Kari's office desk."

"Røkke had barely a nickel to his name, true, but the bank was persuaded by Røkke's expertise and impressive determination. And once again, Røkke took advantage of another party's financial woes, for US Bank immediately realized it was much better to have the boats out at sea rather than lying idle on land. Therefore, they agreed to lease the boats to Røkke and also gave him the option to buy them if everything went well. This is how Kjell Inge Røkke and Bob Breskovich got their hands on the two crab boats, which they renamed to "The Harvester" and "The Challenger" - "Aleutian Harvester" and "Aleutian Challenger." They hardly put any money in, but managed to stretch US Bank to provide new loans for repairing and improving the boats. The job, costing $250,000, was carried out at Goos Bay. This was a unique chance for Røkke to turn things around. Now it depended on his skills as a fisherman. If he was good, he could end up as a boat owner again before long, and everything went very well until Røkke had to settle the bill for the repairs. Then everything went awry, and according to the shipyard, they dodged the last $20,000 by playing tricks and shuffling between different companies. Afterwards, the frail vessels were sailed straight to Union Bay Shipbuilding for extensive rebuilding."