You are of course right about getting things in writing. I have been a CEO, owned my own consulting business, etc. And, on one occasion when a managing partner got his hand stuck in the till I went to court. I got out of that OK, but not because of what the court did. Everything there was in writing and it was only pressure that we brought to bear in other ways that got the results. Even if I had this all in writing, I wouldn't pursue it legally, considering the dollars involved here. I have learned that unless a business deal works for both parties you might as well hang it up. It doesn't work to try and hold someone to something if they don't want to be there. This guy turned out to have less than ideal ethics, if that is the case, in writing or not, there is a problem. In my view, probably the biggest mistake I make was not checking the owner out carefully. But, the difficulty there is that I am not working in the industry and don't have the right contacts. So, I decided to take a chance knowing that it might not work out, and guess what it didn't.