And he [Jeff] wants me to violate the condition which says in it that I sign away my rights and they close us down. The only reason we are driving around in his Lexus today is because he knows I have read the bizarre and bitter contents of a 2-foot-high stack of documents down at the Santa Clara County Superior Courthouse. Behind the scenes, the Bumbs suspected their potential gambling competitors and a disgruntled former Flea Market employee of giving investigators unsubstantiated material to use against them. In a fit, he took the paper he was writing on, crumpled it up and threw it out the office door. The district attorney's office says that Bumb attorney Ron Werner turned the letter over to authorities immediately after it came in the mail. Before the end of the month, the Flea Market laid off Jeff's daughters Anne and Rebecca. You think this didn't break my heart?" Before the end of the month, the Flea Market laid off Jeff's daughters Anne and Rebecca. "They didn't teach anything about this. And as with any divorce, embarrassing private details about the family and its businesses made their way into the public record. Preventive Medicine: George Bumb Jr. is a co-owner of Bay 101, where a snakebite kit is kept on-hand as a family joke. The guy doesn't get a slap on the hand." Other allegations were more dubious: Investigators chased after a tip that the Bumbs were skimming cash from the Flea Market parking lot, an accusation that was never proven. ON AUG. 11, 1995, Jeff sat in his Flea Market office scribbling on a piece of paper, plotting his grand return to his peach palace. At the time, Jeff was in the midst of negotiating an arrangement to be bought out of the family businesses. He also disputes that such a letter was even necessary for Jeff to get licensed. Jeff Bumb says he believes that state and local investigators at the time of Bay 101's limbo were investigating a rumor that Jeff had tried to get someone killed, a charge Jeff denies. Within weeks, Jeff says, his six-month-old dog was dead, his cat was dead and the tires of a family car were slashed. Police reports would suggest she had, "for about a year," been giving "blow jobs" to 19-year-old Matthew Bumb, son of George Bumb Jr. Earlier this year, a month before Venzon was sentenced to 14 years in prison, district attorney investigator Michael Schembri closed out the Venzon case, noting in a court filing, "No new information has been uncovered relating to the murder for hire case [at the Flea Market] which our department investigated several years ago." Christopher Gardner And that ain't happening because I can't afford it." After learning of the incident, Jeff and wife Elizabeth did not report the matter to police immediately. He followed that with suits alleging breach of contract, wrongful termination and misrepresentation. First, Jeff tried to have the Bumb & Associates partnership dissolved after accusing his family of trying to force him out without paying him a fair price. A FEW DAYS AFTER returning from his son's Oct. 13, 1995, military graduation in San Diego, Jeff and his wife, Elizabeth, got some appalling news: Their 14-year-old daughter had been involved in a sexual relationship with an older male cousin. The elder Bumb may not have been feeling well, but he wasn't too sick to remember who was boss in this family. He was also the kind of guy, police records reveal, who told his mother about the incidents "because he felt guilty." He was also the kind of guy, police records reveal, who told his mother about the incidents "because he felt guilty." The Flea Market, touted as the nation's largest, made the Bumbs rich, grossing nearly $12 million in 1996. About 20 percent of the 130 students there are Bumb relatives.) Tim and George, under pressure from then Police Chief Lou Cobarruviaz, had already signed an agreement a year earlier that prohibited Brian, Jeff and their father from having anything to do with the card room. He also disputes that such a letter was even necessary for Jeff to get licensed. Well, George, whether you want to believe it or not I do love you and you are like a father to me." But Jeff says that privately he and his brothers had an oral agreement--which Tim Bumb now corroborates--that would one day let him repurchase his shares and become a partner in Bay 101 again. Toward the end of the call, things got heated. It's very tightknit," says Bryant, adding that the senior Bumb doesn't give interviews--ever. According to Werner, molestation of his daughter became part of a laundry list of damning things Jeff threatened to disclose if his buy-out demands weren't met. The ensuing delay forced Jeff Bumb to lay off 600 workers he had hired. The Bumbs had a plenty of experience with a cash business through the Flea Market, which they've run for almost 40 years. First, Jeff tried to have the Bumb & Associates partnership dissolved after accusing his family of trying to force him out without paying him a fair price. FROM THE START, Jeff's three brothers and father didn't share his enthusiasm for opening a lavish gaming house. Along the way, Jeff raised the ante, hiring Frank Ubhaus, a lawyer who represented Garden City card club, Bay 101's crosstown rival. Eight months later, the frame of the weapon was found in a Salinas pond near Venzon's home with the barrel and slide missing. There were flowers everywhere. And he [Jeff] wants me to violate the condition which says in it that I sign away my rights and they close us down. He followed that with suits alleging breach of contract, wrongful termination and misrepresentation. For all his quirks and controlling behavior, the old man is regarded as a benefactor by most family members and some Flea Market employees who know their boss to be capable of great generosity. Tim and George Jr. worried that pressuring state and city officials to deal Jeff back in at Bay 101 would backfire and authorities would close down the card room. A nurse was present to monitor his condition. During the Venzon investigation, San Jose police dug up an old file from November 1990 in which Venzon, a sheriff's deputy, had reported his department-issued Smith & Wesson 9 mm automatic stolen. In a fit, he took the paper he was writing on, crumpled it up and threw it out the office door. But he didn't cash out. Along the way, Jeff raised the ante, hiring Frank Ubhaus, a lawyer who represented Garden City card club, Bay 101's crosstown rival. Finally, in July 1994, the state cleared Tim and George and gave them a conditional OK to let the games begin. In a statement to police, Jeff's daughter recounted how the first incident had happened the year before on the Fourth of July at a family beach house near Santa Cruz when the older boy allegedly started fondling her while she was asleep on the living room couch. He also pulled off an armed robbery of the Aloha Roller Palace. In response to Jeff's legal attacks, George Bumb Sr. and Bumb & Associates filed two separate suits of their own to collect nearly $1 million in loans and interest they claimed Jeff never paid. Christopher Gardner She told police about at least seven other sexual encounters she had with her cousin after that. Even though all the lights were out, she told police that she knew it was Matthew "because the moonlight shined into the room through the large windows that faced the ocean." AN ATTORNEY involved likened the whole contentious affair to a divorce. Just so everyone got the point, Jeff Bumb announced to the press that he and Brian were divesting from Bay 101, and records show he eventually sold his shares for $1.4 million. You know the school we went to?" Almost four months later, on July 21, 1998, George Bumb Sr. appeared in the downtown offices of Berliner Cohen to have his deposition taken. So Jeff, Brian and the remaining non-family partners backed out of Bay 101, handing everything over to Tim and George Jr. Some improprieties did turn up: Bumb & Associates, a partnership including the four brothers and their father, had failed to file required reports disclosing more than $100,000 in political contributions made between 1989 and 1992. The teenagers had been drinking booze earlier in the night. He followed that with suits alleging breach of contract, wrongful termination and misrepresentation. The two, she said, never talked about what was going on while it was happening. Initially, police filed felony charges against Matthew Bumb for having oral sex with a minor and penetrating her with his fingers. she said, referring to the family-run Catholic school at the Flea Market. In a fit, he took the paper he was writing on, crumpled it up and threw it out the office door. A FEW DAYS AFTER returning from his son's Oct. 13, 1995, military graduation in San Diego, Jeff and his wife, Elizabeth, got some appalling news: Their 14-year-old daughter had been involved in a sexual relationship with an older male cousin. Hamilton, where Latin mass is conducted on a regular basis. It's like we had no life except for the family." It wasn't the idea of gambling. As we do our drive-by on a Tuesday midmorning, there are more than 100 cars in the parking lot. He demanded $10 million from his brothers to compensate him for violating the purported secret Bay 101 deal. (Tim Bumb, the school's director, says it was put there to save on rent. Jeff's daughter interrupted Matthew and said, "And I didn't know better. Well, guess what? The couple even had a purchase contract for a $850,000 house on Golf Links Road. About 20 percent of the 130 students there are Bumb relatives.) And he [Jeff] wants me to violate the condition which says in it that I sign away my rights and they close us down.
Borelli Closes the Sale of 6.5 Acres at the San Jose Flea Market for "We made it very clear to Jeff and everybody else concerned," Tim says, "that I'm not going to stick my neck on the line here. Preventive Medicine: George Bumb Jr. is a co-owner of Bay 101, where a snakebite kit is kept on-hand as a family joke. He asked longtime family attorney Ron Werner if his brothers could write a recommendation letter for him, something state officials had told him he would need to be considered eligible for a gaming license. And then police remembered the old rumors about a murder plot at the Flea Market, where Venzon had worked as a security guard for more than 15 years. The investigation was given a shot in the arm after the arrest of Johnny Venzon in 1997, a cop who made headlines for burglarizing homes while on duty to pay for his mounting gambling debts. One month later, the state attorney general's office made a devastating announcement: Authorities had come across issues of "such magnitude" and "concern" that they would need at least another month to decide if gambling should be allowed at Bay 101. There were flowers everywhere. At one point in the investigation, sheriff's detectives had Jeff's daughter call Matthew while he was working at the Flea Market to confirm the sexual activities. Christopher Gardner Before the end of the month, the Flea Market laid off Jeff's daughters Anne and Rebecca. Don't Shoot: George Bumb Sr., the publicity-shy patriarch of the Bumb family and creator of the Flea Market, in a rare photo which appeared in California Today magazine in 1980. Hamilton, where Latin mass is conducted on a regular basis. And as with any divorce, embarrassing private details about the family and its businesses made their way into the public record. He followed that with suits alleging breach of contract, wrongful termination and misrepresentation. Eight months later, the frame of the weapon was found in a Salinas pond near Venzon's home with the barrel and slide missing. At the time, Jeff was in the midst of negotiating an arrangement to be bought out of the family businesses. Campaign records show that Bumb & Associates and Bay 101 have made at least $587,000 in campaign donations since 1994 to local and state politicians and ballot measures. And as with any divorce, embarrassing private details about the family and its businesses made their way into the public record. OK--we didn't get out--OK? "It's a very strong family. Jeff Bumb later explained to the press that they didn't know partnerships were required to file such reports, and they paid the state a $1,250 fine. Police reports would suggest she had, "for about a year," been giving "blow jobs" to 19-year-old Matthew Bumb, son of George Bumb Jr. George Bumb Sr.'s loan-repayment demands came in July 1996, just as his oldest son and his wife were about to move to Los Gatos and break away from the family and its eastside enclave. Earlier this year, a month before Venzon was sentenced to 14 years in prison, district attorney investigator Michael Schembri closed out the Venzon case, noting in a court filing, "No new information has been uncovered relating to the murder for hire case [at the Flea Market] which our department investigated several years ago." Along the way, Jeff raised the ante, hiring Frank Ubhaus, a lawyer who represented Garden City card club, Bay 101's crosstown rival. She recalled that she was dressed in shorts and a T-shirt covered by a blanket. The state, still busy conducting background checks, still hadn't approved the Bumbs and their partners' gaming licenses. She recalled that she was dressed in shorts and a T-shirt covered by a blanket. Almost four months later, on July 21, 1998, George Bumb Sr. appeared in the downtown offices of Berliner Cohen to have his deposition taken. He and his brothers had a plan, he says. And as with any divorce, embarrassing private details about the family and its businesses made their way into the public record. Jeff was also getting word from his nieces and nephews that his father said at a family poker game: "If it was up to him, all the grandchildren would marry each other." Near the end Venzon writes, "They want to bring up the 'murder-for-hire' investigation again. "He worked for me." Life of Brian: Initially denied a gaming license by the state, Brian Bumb has since received a provisional license and become a partner in Bay 101 with his brothers, Tim and George. At the time, Jeff was in the midst of negotiating an arrangement to be bought out of the family businesses. The guy doesn't get a slap on the hand." Jeff's daughter interrupted Matthew and said, "And I didn't know better. Deputy chief Tom Wheatley says that police wondered if Venzon, or someone, destroyed the barrel to prevent a ballistics test from tracing a fired bullet to the gun.