I have a few stories that are well worth writing about. I still haven't written about the paid-for porn that was found on former Venice Housing Authority head honcho Peter Lopez' laptop computer and the lame attempts by someone over there to cover it all up. That was the story I was working on when former city manager George Hunt got the bright idea that laying some insipid legal paperwork on me would shut me up.

Since then, I have been heavily involved in the failed attempt of John Konecnik to get his planned dock out to a proper length. There has been much misinformation about this whole story and I think when most readers finally hear Konecnik's full side of the story, they will sympathize and realize what a hose job he has gotten over the years from the state, the county and Harbor Lights Mobile Home Park.

Then, of course, we now have a mayor that nobody voted into office and we'll have a new city councilman that Dan Boone and Jack Meyerhoff have handpicked from their elite group of friends. Jim Woods is a guaranteed lock for the job, never mind that he hasn't been remotely involved with city hall. He's in Boone's Rotary Club, was on the hospital board with Dean Calamaras, etc., etc. So that's a done deal.

In the meantime, I'm beginning to sound like Lenny Bruce at the end of his career when his comedy routines turned into long diatribes about the then-ongoing legal woes surrounding recurring criminal charges of obscenity. Only with me, it isn't about the Feds (thank God), but a tinpot tyrant that I thought had been excised from our community.

Meanwhile, out in Barefoot Bay
On May 25, TCPalm.com featured an article about Barefoot Bay that was none too complimentary. According to the article, the Board of Trustees of Barefoot Bay, on advice of attorney no less, unanimously voted not to pursue an investigation into the forged e-mails that had entered the public record as chronicled in The Weglein Report:

Recreation District Attorney Ricahrd Torpy [sic] said earlier this month the trustees themselves would have to initiate an investigation before his office looked into the matter. Mark Malek, a partner of Richard Torpy, advised the trustees Tuesday against pursuing the matter because the e-mails didn't involve any theft from the district or have any impact on the audit which resulted from the software problems.

"If the board wants us to investigate, we will," Malek said. "It's not our call. But I would discourage you from spending any money on this."

Malek said he did not believe the e-mail problem rose to a criminal level, though he said criminal law is not his expertise.
-- False e-mails investigated in Barefoot Bay, TCPalm.com, 05/25/06

So Malek somehow made it out of high school without the knowledge that forgery was a crime. Later in life, he would earn a law degree, again without acquiring that one piece of knowledge.

OK.

Moving right along....

In spite of the board vote, the Brevard County Sheriff's Office has decided to take a peek:

More Hunt weirdness to add to the pile

Hunt threatens to add others to his list of lawsuit victims
The Barefoot Bay Tattler, a local print-only publication, is taking a reader's poll on Hunt's performance.

Included in the article about the poll is a blow-by-blow scathing account of Hunt's performance in Barefoot Bay as viewed by the Tattler.

One new thing that pops up in the article is that Hunt has, according to the Tattler, threatened other critics in Barefoot Bay with lawsuits.

Here's the full article in Adobe PDF format (free Adobe Reader required).

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Barefoot Bay won't honor public records requests?
To the attorneys for and the officials of Barefoot Bay, it can only be said that ignoring a public records request is profoundly dumb. This article in the Herald-Trib should spell out the dangerous legal ramifications in plain English. Even a lawyer who doesn't know the law very well should be able to understand it.

If that isn't enough, here's a story from the Gondo about the City of Venice stalling on a public records request made by Venice Florida! dot com earlier this year. The story details how this web site nearly filed a criminal complaint for withholding records. The requested records were released on the same day that the Gondo's story hit the news racks.

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Get your authentic George Huntler t-shirts
Venice Florida! dot com had nothing to do with this, but...

Someone, apparently out in Barefoot Bay, was selling "George Huntler" t-shirts on Cafe Press' web site. The shirts featured a pic of Hitler with George Hunt's head photoshopped into the image.

Also, apparently taking a cue from this article, a shirt honoring Barefoot Bay's Board of Trustees was being offered, complete with the same pic of the vegetable stand that is linked to in the article on this page.

The Brevard County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday it is opening an investigation into allegedly false e-mails sent to and from Recreation District officials late last year. The announcement comes the day after the Barefoot Bay Board of Trustees unanimously agreed they have no interest in investigating who had manufactured the e-mails.

Agent Kevin Roberts of the Sheriff's Office said the possible crime committed could be the entering of false documents into the public record, but the investigation would have to bear that out. Roberts said he was contacted Wednesday by Venice Web site operator John Patten, a long-time critic of Community Manager George Hunt, about the matter. "We'll follow it since it involves the public trust," Roberts said.

In a report conducted by District Chairwoman Wilma Weglein released in March, she points out problems that plagued the district in the past year revolving around financial software problems. In the report, she documents two e-mails she said were bogus, but does not accuse anyone specific of drafting them.
-- False e-mails investigated in Barefoot Bay, TCPalm.com, 05/25/06

What does this have to do with former Venice City Manager (and now Community Manager for Barefoot Bay) George Hunt's lawsuit against Venice Florida! dot com? It is my firm belief, as stated in previous articles, that Hunt is suing both myself and Barefoot Bay resident Sylvia Parish in an attempt to squash dissemination of Trustee Chair Wilma Weglein's report that originally documented the forged e-mails.

As to any criminal investigation, nothing will come of this. This is Florida after all. I've grown numb while watching politico after politico slide out from under the amputeed arm of the law. There will be a big fuss and then nothing.

Getting someone arrested is not the issue. The issue is that the law should have been called in much earlier. The puppet show should have procedurally started with a call from someone in power in Barefoot Bay. That's the real scandal -- that nobody there ever picked up the phone and called the cops to say "Hey, we've got a problem that we need you to smooth over."

I'm not maligning Agent Kevin Roberts of the Brevard Sheriff's Office, he seems like an honest, decent cop. I just know the system all too well: Roberts will have the rug pulled out from under him by someone else higher up on the food chain. It always happens and it will happen here.

That said, there is still some genuine hilarity involved in all of this, like George Hunt's continuing allegations that I sent out quantities of conspiratorial e-mails to public officials. Now with all of these forged e-mails floating about, I'm a bit concerned that maybe, just maybe... you get the idea where this is going?

Where, exactly, are these so-called defamatory e-mails?
So I've done three things. I've invited the press to peruse my computer, although none have taken me up on the offer. I've challenged the press to make public records requests to see what is actually out there that might be as bad as Hunt says it is. I've also made public records requests myself just to satisfy my own curiosity as to the existence of any possible e-mails of mine that might have been forged (hey, it's already pretty damned weird, who knows?).

The two requests I made were to Fernandina Beach, who politely replied that they'd get right on it, and to Barefoot Bay where (big surprise) things got twisted almost immediately. A request by e-mail to Trustee Chair Wilma Weglein has been totally ignored while a similar request sent to Barefoot Bay's attorney Richard Torpy resulted in a hostile sequence of e-mails between myself and Torpy's hired circus midget in which I've been basically told to fark off.

Venice's government has traditionally been pretty bad. It's gotten a lot better in the past couple of years but there's still a long way to go. Still, if I ever thought that Venice's government was the worst possible, Barefoot Bay has taught me that I couldn't be more wrong. You have Hunt coupled with an attorney who states he doesn't know the law every well, and in between those two is a roadside vegetable stand that calls itself the Board of Trustees.

With a cast like that, you know hilarity will ensue.

While I have yet to receive a response from Weglein for my public records request (the clock is ticking, Wilma...), the community's circus midget and I entered into a war of e-mailed words, which I am reprinting here for your amusement. Sometimes it's the small injustices that get the biggest laughs.

From: John Patten
Sent: Wednesday, May 24, 2006 10:45 AM
To: Richard Torpy
Subject: Public records request

TO: Richard Torpy, Community Attorney for the Barefoot Bay Recreational  District

Please consider this as a formal public records request.

As you may or may not be aware, I am currently the subject of a lawsuit  that  states I sent defamatory e-mails to officials in your community.

To that end, I am requesting copies of any and all e-mails sent to me from  anyone employed by, appointed to office or elected to office in the community of Barefoot Bay.

Additionally, I am requesting copies of any and all e-mails from me to  anyone in the above described group.

Additionally, I would request any and all e-mails to and from George Hunt  that reference myself either directly or indirectly, including any and all  e-mailed references to Venice Florida! dot com either directly or indirectly, going back to October 25, 2005. These would be e-mails to and/or from anyone.

These documents may be sent to me in electronic or paper form, however you  prefer.

The purpose of the request about my e-mails is to determine if any forged e-mails came to you appearing as though they came from me. If any exist, I will do a follow-up request asking for full header information including ISP-generated individual message ID numbers (these are embedded in the electronic copy of the e-mail and are relatively easy to find and print).

 Thank you and I apologize for any inconvenience. If there is a cost involved, please e-mail me back with the amount needed. Be advised that I am an independent writer of limited means, so if the amount needed is substantial (over $50), I will need to know this right away. This information may be sent to me by e-mail.

 Again my thanks.
 
 -- John Patten
 -- Venice Florida! dot com
 -- www.venfl.com
 -- (941) 484-0488

 

On 5/25/06, *Mark Malek* <Mark@torpygroup.com wrote:
CC'd to George Hunt, Wilma Weglein, Richard Torpy; included was the text of my previous e-mail

Mr. Patten,

We are in receipt of your public records request dated May 24, 2006. The Torpy Group is a private law firm that is contracted by the Barefoot Bay Recreation District. With respect to the documents that you are requesting, we have never had any such documents in our custody. Further, we are not a custodian of documents for Barefoot Bay. Please direct this request to the Barefoot Bay Recreation District.

Mark R. Malek, Esquire
Registered Patent Attorney
The Torpy Group
202 N. Harbor City Blvd.
Suite 200
Melbourne, FL 32935
(321) 255-2332

Malek CC'd

 

*From:* John Patten
*Sent:* Thursday, May 25, 2006 3:02 PM
*To:* Mark Malek
*Subject:* Re: Public records request

Well, I can't exactly do that as I'm not supposed to make direct contact, so I'm sending this request to you (law firm) as you are appointed officers of Barefoot Bay and can pass the request along.

I have sent the same request to the district in the form of Wilma Weglein, however she refuses to acknowledge that she has received the request.

But if you, as an officer of Barefoot Bay, are refusing to pass this request on and see that it gets followed up on, hey, works for me, it'll create even more fun on my end. I love it when bureaucrats fail to honor Florida's Public Records laws (just ask Venice's city attorney how much fun I had with him when he pulled this same crap that you are trying).

So yeah, go ahead and deny me that you'll not follow through by passing this request on to the person who can fulfill the request. I will have a blast with that.

Nice hearing from you. How's the weather?

 

On 5/25/06, Mark Malek <Mark@torpygroup.com wrote:
CC'd to George Hunt, Wilma Weglein, Richard Torpy; included was the text of my previous e-mail

Mr. Patten,

Unfortunately, you are mistaken in your belief that this law firm is an "Officer" of Barefoot Bay. Either way, please do no believe for one second that myself, or this law firm, in any way responds to idle threats. If you would like to obtain these documents, then I suggest you have your attorney, Mr. Baranowicz, make a proper request to the proper custodian of documents. Please consider this my final contact with you.

Mark R. Malek, Esquire
Registered Patent Attorney

 

From: John Patten
To: "Mark Malek" <Mark@torpygroup.com
Sent: Thursday, May 25, 2006 3:22 PM
Subject: Re: Public records request


Idle? You clearly have me confused for someone who has no clue.

I am not one of your trailer bison, you've managed to herd those brainless cattle around rather easily. I'm far thornier. You have never had to deal with someone as tenacious as me in your life and out of mercy for your career (or what's left of it after that forged e-mail advice debacle), I hope that you never do again.

Well, Sparky, you've been acing along marvelously on this forged e-mail advice you gave to Barefoot Bay. Loved the quote about how you're not too swift on criminal law. I can tell you right now that you are equally inept at Florida's Public Records laws.

And yes, as the community's attorney, you are an officer. As such, you have received a lawful request and you are (unless I am misreading this) basically telling me to fark off.

That's OK. I love it. I have your refusal to participate, that's better than I even hoped for.

That chunk you're missing from your ass right now? I'm chewing on it. It's a little tough, could use some steak sauce.

You have a fabulous day, you just made mine.