AN ATTORNEY involved likened the whole contentious affair to a divorce. Over the years, he had developed working relationships with the city's politicians and bureaucrats. Almost four months later, on July 21, 1998, George Bumb Sr. appeared in the downtown offices of Berliner Cohen to have his deposition taken. 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. His crimes included taking valuables from the bereaved family members of dead crime victims while pretending to console them. And Brian, the handsome and gregarious youngest brother, was in charge of day-to-day operations at the Flea Market. "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. Dealers stood at the tables, ready to deal the cards. Soon after his confession, the word started spreading in the family about what happened. Soon after his confession, the word started spreading in the family about what happened. 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." And there were gamblers everywhere who had come looking for some action. After learning of the incident, Jeff and wife Elizabeth did not report the matter to police immediately. It did the unthinkable: You think this didn't break my heart?" 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. Werner said no. As legend has it, the Bumbs still send a monthly check to the widow of a former head of security who died of a brain tumor 20 years ago. Jeff Bumb remembers that when he was going to school at Bellarmine in the '60s, the other kids would call him things like "Bumbsy" or "Bumbo." 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. On Nov. 8, 1995, attorney Albin Danell, Elizabeth's brother-in-law, contacted the police, apparently after consulting with Elizabeth. He demanded $10 million from his brothers to compensate him for violating the purported secret Bay 101 deal. (That thing that involved Jeff when Bay 101 was scheduled to open but didn't.)" Meanwhile, Jeff and his lawyers spent 15 months trying get his father to appear at a deposition. But Jeff and his family started hearing that instead of showing concern and support for his daughter, George Bumb Sr. and others in the family were blaming his freshman daughter for the incident and not her adult-age cousin. When Werner broke the news that Jeff's brothers wouldn't write a letter on his behalf, he says Jeff became furious. 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. Jeff himself was hit with a federal grand jury investigation over financial transactions in connection with a multimillion-dollar residential development near Silver Creek Road. Jeff's grandfather, Frank Bumb, had met his wife, Mary, at a card parlor in San Francisco where they worked. "Could he [Jeff] do any other work on his own behalf?" 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. 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. Within weeks, Jeff says, his six-month-old dog was dead, his cat was dead and the tires of a family car were slashed. In February 1994, nearly one year after the San Jose City Council gave Bay 101 its blessing, the state denied the Bumbs and their partners' gaming license application. Ultimately, the charges against the older Bumb were reduced to a misdemeanor. ALL TOGETHER, the intrafamily litigation has spanned nearly three years. Seven of George Bumb Sr.'s eight grown children reside in the eastside foothills within a mile or two of their father, often on the same block. Soon after his confession, the word started spreading in the family about what happened. Or at least he thought he didn't. I'm on the hook for $15 million. 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. Ultimately, the charges against the older Bumb were reduced to a misdemeanor. She told police about at least seven other sexual encounters she had with her cousin after that. "It's a very strong family. Unlike other partners, neither Jeff nor Brian had buyback provisions in their written agreements, an intentional omission meant to appease state gaming officials who wanted them out of the picture. "And when I visited you at your home I told you that other than God you are the only person I've gotten down on my knees for," Venzon says on page 7. They recorded the conversation. A nurse was present to monitor his condition. Ultimately, the charges against the older Bumb were reduced to a misdemeanor. And then, just when it seemed as though family relations couldn't get any worse, they did. Tim and George Jr. would appeal and reapply, the hope being that the club would open as soon as possible. In fact, Tim and George had to agree not to collaborate with other Bumbs on any new business venture. He also disputes that such a letter was even necessary for Jeff to get licensed. But Jeff was confident. "I mean," Jeff later said at a deposition, "it was a time of hurt and heartache for us--and not my father, not my mother, not my brother George, not my brother Tim, not Brian could care less." He was also the kind of guy, police records reveal, who told his mother about the incidents "because he felt guilty." They recorded the conversation. A nurse was present to monitor his condition. EVERY DAY THE CLUB stayed closed, the Bumbs lost more money. Originally he was scheduled for questioning on March 10, 1997, but the old man's lawyers explained that their client was extremely ill, suffering from "severe life-threatening conditions," practically on his death bed. 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. Initially, police filed felony charges against Matthew Bumb for having oral sex with a minor and penetrating her with his fingers. He also pulled off an armed robbery of the Aloha Roller Palace. The guy doesn't get a slap on the hand." When Vice President Al Gore called to personally invite the elder Bumb to a fundraiser at the Los Altos home of real estate magnate George Marcus, Bumb put the VP on hold for several minutes, ultimately making Betsy take the call. The two, she said, never talked about what was going on while it was happening. Bumb family attorney Ron Werner suggested that Jeff and his family had a hidden motive for waiting nearly a month to report the incident to police. Bryant, who acts as emissary for the family and its patriarch, thinks the Bumbs are a misunderstood bunch. Matthew Bumb's attorney argued that the relationship was consensual. Werner said no. A nurse was present to monitor his condition. When family patriarch and Flea Market mastermind George Bumb Sr. was invited to attend a party with President Clinton in San Francisco a couple of years ago, he refused to go and sent his community relations specialist, Betsy Bryant, instead. And it was very explicit in there that no Bumbs could have anything to do with the club. The teenagers had been drinking booze earlier in the night. "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. You think this didn't break my heart?" 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. I'm on the hook for $15 million. It pitted Bumb against Bumb. Bumb family attorney Ron Werner suggested that Jeff and his family had a hidden motive for waiting nearly a month to report the incident to police. Bumble was first founded to challenge the antiquated rules of dating. He and his brothers had a plan, he says. The state, still busy conducting background checks, still hadn't approved the Bumbs and their partners' gaming licenses. Within weeks, Jeff says, his six-month-old dog was dead, his cat was dead and the tires of a family car were slashed. 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. EIGHT MONTHS AFTER its approval by the City Council, the peach-colored Bay 101 held its "grand opening." The teenagers had been drinking booze earlier in the night. Still Standing: Jeff Bumb, Bay 101's ostracized founder, boasts that despite various local, state and federal investigations over the years he has emerged squeaky clean. The two, she said, never talked about what was going on while it was happening. He was also the kind of guy, police records reveal, who told his mother about the incidents "because he felt guilty." Matthew is the kind of guy a relative described to police as "polite," the guy parents wanted their daughters to date. she said, referring to the family-run Catholic school at the Flea Market. The couple even had a purchase contract for a $850,000 house on Golf Links Road. 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. At the time, Jeff was in the midst of negotiating an arrangement to be bought out of the family businesses. At the time, Jeff was in the midst of negotiating an arrangement to be bought out of the family businesses. In fact, on the day he was arrested, records show that Venzon pawned a 14-karat-gold diamond cluster ring and a ladies' gold tennis bracelet for a total of $298 at American Precious Metals, a jewelry store at the Flea Market run by Joseph Bumb. 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. The couple even had a purchase contract for a $850,000 house on Golf Links Road. Toward the end of the call, things got heated. 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. The elder Bumb may not have been feeling well, but he wasn't too sick to remember who was boss in this family. When he was jailed, the desperate cop wrote a 15-page handwritten letter in pencil to George Bumb in May 1997 asking the Flea Market owner to bail him out. "He worked for me." "They didn't teach anything about this. I'm on the hook for $15 million. I'm on the hook for $15 million. FROM THE START, Jeff's three brothers and father didn't share his enthusiasm for opening a lavish gaming house. On March 17, 1993, the City Council gave Bumb and his partners the green light to open a 40-table card room on a 10-acre plot of land off U.S 101. Within weeks, Jeff says, his six-month-old dog was dead, his cat was dead and the tires of a family car were slashed. But Jeff and his family started hearing that instead of showing concern and support for his daughter, George Bumb Sr. and others in the family were blaming his freshman daughter for the incident and not her adult-age cousin. I'm on the hook for $15 million. Or at least he thought he didn't. It's like we had no life except for the family." AN ATTORNEY involved likened the whole contentious affair to a divorce. Werner said no. You know the school we went to?" It wasn't the money, either. The two, she said, never talked about what was going on while it was happening. Well, guess what? "Could he [Jeff] do any other work on his own behalf?" The guy doesn't get a slap on the hand." 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." The two, she said, never talked about what was going on while it was happening. 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. He also disputes that such a letter was even necessary for Jeff to get licensed. Three years ago, the Mercury News listed the Bumb family in the Top 10 of the valley's most generous political contributors. Christopher Gardner 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." The card club has done more than bring unwanted public scrutiny to this insular group. Along the way, Jeff raised the ante, hiring Frank Ubhaus, a lawyer who represented Garden City card club, Bay 101's crosstown rival. Meanwhile, Jeff and his lawyers spent 15 months trying get his father to appear at a deposition. The Bumb family and the city of San Jos have been negotiating about how to downsize the flea market since 2007. "My wife broke the code," he says, "and I supported her." "He took care of it." And as with any divorce, embarrassing private details about the family and its businesses made their way into the public record. FROM THE START, Jeff's three brothers and father didn't share his enthusiasm for opening a lavish gaming house. Bumb family attorney Ron Werner suggested that Jeff and his family had a hidden motive for waiting nearly a month to report the incident to police. 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. 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." she said, referring to the family-run Catholic school at the Flea Market. "I mean," Jeff later said at a deposition, "it was a time of hurt and heartache for us--and not my father, not my mother, not my brother George, not my brother Tim, not Brian could care less." "Hell, no," George Bumb replied. In fact, Tim and George had to agree not to collaborate with other Bumbs on any new business venture. Jeff tells the story differently: "Matthew was my godson. Soon after his confession, the word started spreading in the family about what happened. One of George Bumb Sr.'s granddaughters explained to police that her family was very old-fashioned: "The woman gets the short end of the deal; she is a whore. 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."
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