WTBQ Radio Veteran Dick Wells Learned The Hard Way That With Friends Like Frank Truatt And Taylor Sterling, You Don’t Need Enemies

This weekend WTBQ airs its tribute to WTBQ radio veteran Dick Wells. You won’t hear about how he was kicked off the air. You won’t hear how Frank Truatt and Taylor Sterling stole his show while he was in the hospital fighting for his life.

The way Truatt kicked WTBQ radio veteran Dick Wells kicked off the air is quite troubling. Truatt canceled his show after Wells used all his resources to rescue Truatt and WTBQ from financial ruin multiple times.

People associated with Dick Wells and WTBQ at the time attribute the decision to Taylor Sterling. She wanted to sell the air time to a long term sponsor since Wells was battling cancer and was near death.

The WTBQ radio veteran was a former Las Vegas entertainer and an avid fundraiser for Hudson Valley charities. He had also been with WTBQ since Ed Klien owned the station in the mid-1970s.

Frank Truatt who was an inexperienced business owner bought WTBQ in 1994. Truatt began having trouble keeping WTBQ afloat due to his inexperience as a business owner. Dick Well came on board to rescue WTBQ from Truatt’s inept management.

Dick Wells called in the cavalry. He enlisted his friends in the entertainment and politics to help Truatt. Wells also enlisted local business owners like his friend, Leo Kaytes from Leo Kaytes Ford. Together they created a community radio station. Wells brought WTBQ back from the brink and brought life back to the little community radio station.

Dick Wells Never Told Anyone About His Illness

Dick Wells never told anyone he was in bad health. Wells believed the show must go on like the true entertainer he was. Very few people knew Dick Wells was sick because he never let his poor health stop him from doing his morning show. He also never let it get in the way of raising millions of dollars in fundraising drives.

The day WTBQ radio veteran Dick Wells had a heart attack Truatt assumed Wells’ show. Sterling and Truatt never checked with the hospital or visited him in the hospital. They just assumed  Dick Wells was terminal and took over the Dick Wells morning show.

Dick Wells recovered from the heart attack and showed up for work three weeks later. Sterling informed Wells he was no longer employed at the station.

Several people have said that Dick Wells and his wife were devastated by Truatt’s insensitivity. They were also upset by Truatt’s lack of respect after everything Dick Wells had done to save WTBQ.

Taylor Sterling called Diane Wells after Dick’s death. She asked her to do a radio interview live on the air. A source close to the Wells family states that Diane Wells informed Sterling to quit calling her. Diane Wells also insisted Sterling and Truatt were not to “do any tributes or make any mention of Dick on WTBQ.”

 Sterling And Truatt Disrespect The Wishes Of The Wells Family

So why is Frank Truatt ignoring Diane Wells’ request? Why is he and Sterling exploiting the memory of WTBQ radio veteran Dick Wells?

Truatt’s tribute to WTBQ radio veteran Dick Wells is nothing more than a desperate gambit to increase ratings and restore WTBQ’s tattered reputation.

Listenership at WTBQ is down dramatically and advertisers are bolting for the door in droves. This is due in part to Sterling and Truatt’s inept management of the station, Taylor Sterling’s controversial Mommie Dearest style behavior, complaints filed with the NY Attorney General about Sterling’s bogus non-profit and of course, allegations of animal cruelty by Sterling.

It is also apparent that Sterling and Truatt are trying to appease one of Dick Wells’ best friends, Leo Kaytes. Sterling and Truatt humiliated Leo Kaytes, one of their biggest sponsors, last week by giving free non-stop advertising to Kaytes ma main competitor, Healey Brothers Automotive Group.

WTBQ radio veteran Dick Wells learned that with friends like Frank Truatt and Taylor Sterling, you don’t need enemies.