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"Fast paced and hard to put down." — CLICK HERE for full What's Up Annapolis review.

“My wife hears me laughing in the middle of the night
while I’m in the den writing and wants to know what’s going on.
I tell her, ‘You wouldn’t believe what this character just did ...”

By Rafael Alvarez — The photo of a teenage Bill Clinton shaking hands with President John F. Kennedy is well known. Ted Venetoulis, a kid from Patterson Park High School who made good in business, politics, publishing and now the craft of the novel, has one of himself and JFK just like it.

The photo reflects Venetoulis’ fascination with and talent for politics from an early age. Though his mother, Flora, dreamed that her Teddy might one-day be the country’s first Greek-American president, Venetoulis became Baltimore County executive in the 1970s before losing a run at the governor’s mansion in 1978.

Now, Venetoulis has published his first novel, a political romp of power and adultery called “Hail to the Cheat,” published by Wandering Sage Books of Florissant, Missouri.

Didn’t you launch your race for governor from the front steps of your childhood home on Oldham Street in Baltimore's Greektown?
I did. My mother was Flora and my father was Gus, both born in the old country [Rhodes, Greece] and they worked like hell at Nick’s, a diner they owned at the corner of Newkirk and Eastern. We lived upstairs when I was little. For a kid from East Baltimore to accomplish what I did, I’m very happy.”

You’ve written books before this one?
In 1970, I turned a dissertation into a book called “The House Shall Choose” (Prentice Hall). It’s a history of the second presidential election, which was determined by the House of Representatives. It took 36 ballots to choose Thomas Jefferson over Aaron Burr and it was close all the way.

What moved you to move from historical writing to trying your hand at popular fiction?
A lot of it prompted by all these affairs politicians [like former New York governor Eliott Spitzer] were having. And you’d always see the long-suffering wife standing next to him during the apologies and taking the humiliation. My idea for the story began with wondering, ‘What if the First Lady found her husband fooling around and threw him out of the White House?’

CLICK HERE for the full interview published December 2009 in Corridor Inc.

Click here and listen to Ted on WYPR's November 19, 2009 Midday program. Ted discusses politics, his new novel, Hail to the Cheat, and the future of journalism.

Click here and listen to Ted on WYPR's December 16, 2009 Maryland Morning with Sheilah Kast.

Long time political activist and television commentator Ted Venetoulis has released a new novel, Hail to the Cheat, an amusing political satire that turns the Washington scene upside down when the First Lady kicks her unfaithful husband and President of the United States out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Dave Barlow of Wandering Sage Publishing offers this summary of Hail to the Cheat:

“A historic first – a First Lady who chooses not to stand by her husband, but to stand up for her dignity and then her country.  Full of twists and turns, a White House filled with cronies, chicanery and a gang of First Ladies past.   An amusing, but not far-fetched spoof of American politics with an ending unlike any in the long annals of the affairs of state.”

Adds journalist and author Michael Olesker:

“Hail to the Cheat is a comic look at Washington with its bloomers down.  Everybody knows politics makes strange bedfellows, but who would have imagined this kind of fun and farce. Hail to the Cheat is a genuine hoot!”

Hail to the Cheat is available at hailtothecheat.com, barnesandnoble.com, amazon.com, and at local book stores.

About the Author

Ted Venetoulis’ impressive political resume includes having served on Capitol Hill as a congressional aide, in campaigns for local and national candidates including John and Robert Kennedy, and as Baltimore County Executive, a position held by Spiro Agnew before he became vice president. He was also a Maryland gubernatorial candidate in 1978. Venetoulis previously hosted an award-winning television news magazine, Edition Eleven, and authored The House Shall Choose, which chronicles the two elections determined by the House of Representatives.

Venetoulis currently serves as Chairman and CEO of Corridor Media, Inc., a regional business and political news magazine serving the Baltimore Washington corridor.  He has taught courses on politics and the media at Johns Hopkins University and Goucher College. He has been the leader of efforts to return the Baltimore Sun to local ownership and is recognized nationally for his knowledge of the various approaches to restructuring and salvaging the newspaper industry.

Ted is available for interviews regarding his new novel, the state and national political scene, and the future of the newspaper industry.

Contact Matt Hombach to coordinate interviews – 410-568-8802 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

"A perfect holiday gift."-- Greta Van Susteren, Fox News CLICK HERE

"Ted Venetoulis is truly Baltimore's 'Man for All Seasons.'"- Scott Wykoff, WBAL Radio CLICK HERE

"This book is just hilariously funny!"--- Marc Steiner, WEAA 88.9FM CLICK HERE 

"Fast paced and hard to put down." — What's Up Annapolis. CLICK HERE for full review

“Hail to the Cheat is a comic look at Washington with its bloomers down. Everybody knows politics makes strange bedfellows, but who would have imagined this kind of fun and farce. Hail to the Cheat is a genuine hoot.”

— Michael Olesker, author of Tonight at Six: 
A Daily Show Masquerading as a TV News Program

“An historic first – a first lady who chooses not to stand by her husband but to stand up for her dignity and then her country.  Full of twists and turns – a White House filled with cronies, chicanery, and a gang of ghosts from First Ladies past. An amusing, but not far-fetched spoof of the impulsive and outlandish behavior of American politics with an ending unlike any in the long annals of the affairs of state.”

— Dave Barlow, Wandering Sage Publishing

For further information contact: David Nevins or Matt Homback / David Nevins Associates. Phone: 410 568 8822 E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Dave Barlow, Publisher of Wandering Sage Books, announced today the release of the new novel – Hail to the Cheat – a spoof of Washington political antics. Based loosely (very loosely) on political events that will spark laughter and amusement from readers, the novel turns the political scene upside down – particularly the relationship between politicians and their spouses. When the First Lady finds the President with another woman, in a history shattering moment, she chooses not to stand by her man but to stand by her country.”

“Politics breeds strange bedfellows,” Barlow said, “but none quite as strange as those captured in Hail to the Cheat – a presidential press secretary who proudly claims to be world’s greatest con artist; a United States Senator who believes the path to heaven is by way of guided missiles armed with nuclear warheads; a political consultant who is to slogans what Einstein is to math; a Washington socialite who knows the best way to the top is under the table where she fondles White House dinner companions; and a First Lady who unwittingly finds herself standing between the Oval Office and her husband’s cronies.”

“As political personalities from governors to United States Senators and, indeed, Presidents – continue to amaze the nation with their marital duplicity, Hail to the Cheat parodies the unintended consequences of their brazen disingenuousness,” Barlow continued. “A remarkable First lady, in an inspirational and stunning reversal of First Ladies past – challenges that hypocrisy and confronts the underside of American politics.”

Hail to the Cheat is written by Ted Venetoulis, a long time political activist and television commentator. Venetoulis worked on Capitol Hill as a congressional aide and in campaigns for numerous local and national candidates. He was elected to public office, serving as the Baltimore County Executive, the position once held by Spiro Agnew. For many years Venetoulis served a political commentator and anchored the local award winning television news magazine – Edition Eleven. He is a Trustee of Maryland Public Broadcasting and Goucher College. He has written numerous op-ed pieces and served as an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University where he received a Masters Degree. He is the author of The House Shall Choose, a history of the two elections determined by the House of Representatives.

Hail to the Cheat is available at local bookstores, at Amazon.com and other internet bookstores, and at Wandering Sage Books at: www.wanderingsage.com. Ted’s e-mail is: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .