The Observer blog team today presents us with the complete Ron Burkle, a detailed rundown of Burkle's life, his friendship with Bill Clinton, his nasty divorce, and, interestingly, the California bill that has allowed for those divorce records to be sealed. The Observer notes that critics believe the bill was passed thanks to more than $1 million in contributions Burkle made to Democratic lawmakers.

If that's true, Burkle is certainly familiar with a favor system — though perhaps not one quite so explicit and quid-pro-quo as the system Page Six employs, or the trading envisioned by Stern: Burkle "invests" in Stern's "clothing line" and — poof! — Page Six backs off. Inexcusable for a journalist and honorable businessmen, but seemingly commonplace for Page Six. These dirty dealings should have gone smoothly. So what went wrong? Burkle's ex-wife may know:

"My husband cannot tolerate losing—anything!" Janet Burkle said in a court declaration filed in the divorce.
[...]
"My husband is extremely wealthy and powerful," Janet Burkle claimed in court papers. "He is used to exerting control over all the people that he comes into contact with."

But in this case, even if Burkle paid up, Page Six would've been in control. And that just might make Burkle snap and, say, set up some video cameras and call the FBI.

The Complete Ron Burkle [NYO]