Greed. It’s a powerful thing.
The TBBJ reports that a couple Brooksville Housing Authority execs have been charged with theft.
Executive director Betty Trent and project manager Joe Ann Bennett were indicted on five counts. They are charged with stealing $40,000 over a year and a half. Maximum sentences could be from 45 to 65 years in the hoosegow and $1.3 million in fines. For each of ‘em.
The math is ugly.
35 years ago…
November 4, 1971 – William C. Berry, a 22-year old from California, causes a three-hour bomb and hijacking scare at Tampa International Airport but is released when his “bomb” turns out to be a gallon can of paint thinner. Around midnight, National Airlines officials detained Berry for displaying behavior similar to that of a potential hijacker. During questioning, officials discovered that his identification did not match the name on his ticket, as well as the can of paint thinner wrapped in a blanket in his suitcase. Berry claimed that thieves had stolen $675 ($3,211 in today’s dollars) from his suitcase and replaced it with the paint thinner while staying with a friend in Clearwater. Following his detainment, National allowed Berry to fly on to his destination in Los Angeles.
Courtesy of the Tampa Bay History Center.
85 years ago…
October 28, 1921 – An interesting discovery is made in hurricane-ravaged Palmetto Beach, were dozens of hollowed-out logs are found strewn all over the community south of Ybor City. The logs were almost certainly employed in the illicit trade of trafficking liquor – outlawed in the US since 1919 – into the country from Cuba.
Courtesy of the Tampa Bay History Center.
The Tampa Tribune and Shannon Behnken set the local real estate community buzzing on Sunday with the story of Dawn Mohen. 
Dawn appears to either be a great Realtor or a really bad criminal, maybe a bit of both. For the past couple of days the Trib has published follow up pieces detailing the widespread fraud that Mohen seems to have been at the center of and the pathetic excuses that her accomplices have said while trying to scramble out from under possible indictments.
“As long as I got my $180,000, I didn’t care what they were doing,” said John Dieumegarde [seller]
and then,
One listing agent sold two homes to the group. Jennifer Gay of Shirley International Realty in St. Petersburg said her primary responsibility was to represent the sellers and get the price they wanted.
“These are the first two deals I’ve encountered that were structured this way,” Gay said. “It was unusual, but my sellers were happy.”
Although a residential seller can claim protection from fault since they were represented by a professional and can’t be expected to be familiar with real estate transactions the Realtor herself should have known that this was illegal.
J.T. Pelt, company president and chief executive [of Linsky Title], said the two men told him about their business strategy, and he told them he would work with them “as long as the lender knows and the seller knows and the buyer knows.”
Yeah… no. The article then quotes other professional real estate folks who were involved with the transactions and claimed that they thought everything was on the up and up while every thing that they were asked to do violated very basic principles and customs of real estate. Even if they were not directly involved with the fraud this makes clear that they had to know what was happening.
You do not increase the price of your listing by tens of thousands of dollars to the price. Other than fraudulently getting money from the lender there is no other reason for this. Lenders cap “concessions” (money returned to the buyer to help with closing costs) at 6% of the sales price.
By custom the seller always picks the title company. It is so ingrained that many real estate brokers own title companies for their agents to use, making a nice source of revenue since sellers rarely care who the title company is the agent can direct the business to the in house company.
Monday morning I got a frantic email from my own Broker (who is a pretty straight arrow):
“IF YOU HAD ANY CLOSINGS INVOLVED THESE INDIVIDUALS, OR IF YOU HAVE A CONTRACT PENDING THAT IS DELAYED BECAUSE OF THE SITUATION, PLEASE CALL ME ASAP!”
That is good advice for anybody who has had a real estate transaction lately, check your settlement statements (provided at your closing) and make sure that none of the people involved have been named in these articles.
So Ralph Paul goes to Angellino’s in Palm Harbor and orders, among other things, a seafood pasta dish. He’s unhappy with the portion of seafood he gets. He eats the seafood, then sends the food back and asks it be left off the bill. The restaurant refuses. The guy runs off without paying any part of the bill.
After continuing to refuse payment, he takes the case all the way to court.
The verdict? Not guilty.
Paul, a retired Air Force man, had this to say:
“This institution is what I fought for 26 years. It’s what separates us from the rest of the world. I got to have my day in court.”
Fighting for the right to waste our legal system’s time so you can settle your petty dispute stemming from your closefisted refusal to pay for a service you were provided - we salute you, sir. And your “code of honor.”
So next time you follow Matt’s advice on a restaurant, remember these helpful tips to save money:
Bon appetit!
95 years ago…
September 21, 1911 - Mounting a high prison wall in the city jail, “youthful prisoner” William Mays squeezes through an opening several feet wide by nine inches deep and makes a successful getaway. Although Mays’ companion, Sam Lazzara, refused to discuss the escape, he was believed to have lifted Mays to the top of the window located in a bathroom outside the courtroom. The two young men had been arrested for trying to take a free ride on a freight train.
Courtesy of the Tampa Bay History Center.
I guess a little introduction is in order. My name is ski and I’ll be your Bucs blogger here at the Sticks. Before each game I plan on running a preview, in addition to posting on whatever subjects strike my fancy. Also, be sure to check out my own site, Best Bucs Blog.
You ever seen that HBO show, The Wire, the fictionalized version of the Baltimore drug trade? What’s striking about the show is not how horribly it paints Baltimore but how accurate the show is. The mayor really is that incompetent. The police really are so bad they would rather arrest you for asking directions rather than arresting you for selling crack. I’ve never been to New Orleans or Detroit but Baltimore might be the most crime ridden city in the nation.
Which is why it’s only fitting that the Ravens roster is filled with criminals. The Ravens are so shady that their own coach doesn’t trust them NOT to get drunk before the game tomorrow. Hell, players on this team commit felonies just to fit in. Their best linebacker killed a man. Their top running back spent time in jail for drug conspiracy charges.
Speaking of Jamal Lewis (how you like that transition?) he’s banged up going into this game, as are two of the Bucs offensive lineman. Additionally, these are two of the best defenses playing early in the season (when defense typically has an edge on offense). It doesn’t take a genius to tell you this will be a low-scoring affair.
Ravens player to watch: Samari Rolles, CB
It should come as no surprise that the Raven to watch plays on the defense, but instead of naming one of their two Defensive MVPs, I’m going with the best corner in their secondary. Yeah, Chris McAllister (the other corner) receives all the accolades but he’s banged up going into this game and Rolles played better last season anyway.
Rolles will shut down which ever receiver he is matched up against. So if he’s playing opposite of Joey Galloway today expect Michael Clayton to out gain his teammate.
Bucs player to watch: Cadillac Williams
This pick should come as no surprise. The team that typically wins these defensive battles is the one that runs the ball better. Cadillac came out the gates strong last season, setting rookie rushing records (say that three times fast). Here’s hoping he does the same thing this afternoon.
50 years ago…
September 5, 1956 – Police efforts to nab a suspect in the robbery of a Belk-Lindsey store meet a surprising end when Arthur Monteno calmly walks into a police station and asks: “Are you boys looking for me?” Witnesses identified Monteno as being at the scene of the robbery in which $4,555 ($31,420 in today’s dollars) was stolen from the store. The apparently guileless Monteno expressed surprise at the accusation and maintained his innocence. A charge of robbery was made against Monteno and he was transferred to the county jail where he promptly posted a $500 bond.
Courtesy of the Tampa Bay History Center.
70 years ago…
July 25, 1936 – Gus Perez, an Ybor City furniture proprietor whose testimony sent four Tampans to federal prison in an arson ring, is killed in apparent retribution by a shotgun blast from a passing car. Perez was shot in the back of the head as he cruised along 15th Street near North Bay Street with two female passengers. The women, who were sitting in the backseat, were covered with shattered glass but unharmed, and fled the scene after the car came to a rolling stop. The women were brought in for questioning by the police, but their names were not released and no charges were filed against them. Thomas Perez, the victim’s brother, speculated that the women lured his brother, who had spent the evening drinking, into an ambush.
Courtesy of the Tampa Bay History Center.
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