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. 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. You know the school we went to?" He and his brothers had a plan, he says. Tim and George Jr. would appeal and reapply, the hope being that the club would open as soon as possible. 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. Realizing that, Jeff offered to pay higher card-room taxes (next year the city expects to collect $4.5 million from Bay 101) and pick up the tab for security. "The thing they probably value most is their privacy," Bryant explains. On weekends he'd bring his wife and a few of his 10 kids down there, too. About 20 percent of the 130 students there are Bumb relatives.) He also pulled off an armed robbery of the Aloha Roller Palace. And as with any divorce, embarrassing private details about the family and its businesses made their way into the public record. The Flea Market, touted as the nation's largest, made the Bumbs rich, grossing nearly $12 million in 1996. You think this didn't break my heart?" Now that their gaming license had been denied, a decision needed to be made--quickly. When Werner broke the news that Jeff's brothers wouldn't write a letter on his behalf, he says Jeff became furious. Initially, police filed felony charges against Matthew Bumb for having oral sex with a minor and penetrating her with his fingers. The district attorney's office says that Bumb attorney Ron Werner turned the letter over to authorities immediately after it came in the mail. "I don't need their help," he barked at Werner. "They had to find Snow White and Cinderella," Tim Bumb says, "and that was George and I." "My issue with [George Bumb Sr.]," Jeff Bumb complains about his father, "was his control of where you lived, what kind of house you bought, where your children went to school, who your friends are, whether your children went to college, who they would marry, what kind of wedding they would have." George Bumb Sr., an avid card player, held a regular weekly family poker game at his home. 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. George Bumb Jr., the quiet one with a flair for things mechanical, was already at the controls of Air One Helicopter. "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. "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." 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. That promised to be a hard sell to the San Jose City Council, which would have to authorize both the new site and the expansion. 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. Tim now runs Bay 101, which he says is no easy task. It wasn't the idea of gambling. Eight months later, the frame of the weapon was found in a Salinas pond near Venzon's home with the barrel and slide missing. Near the end Venzon writes, "They want to bring up the 'murder-for-hire' investigation again. He chose the building's peachy-pink paint job, he says, because he wanted "a pleasant, welcoming earth tone." 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. "I don't need their help," he barked at Werner. Well, guess what? 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. "He worked for me." Eight months later, the frame of the weapon was found in a Salinas pond near Venzon's home with the barrel and slide missing. Christopher Gardner 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. 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. EVERY DAY THE CLUB stayed closed, the Bumbs lost more money. (That thing that involved Jeff when Bay 101 was scheduled to open but didn't.)" 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." AN ATTORNEY involved likened the whole contentious affair to a divorce. 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. 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." In a fit, he took the paper he was writing on, crumpled it up and threw it out the office door. 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. And for nearly a month, they did. The ensuing delay forced Jeff Bumb to lay off 600 workers he had hired. Tim, the second youngest of George Bumb's four boys, was already running the family toy business, Fact Games, and Premium Pet Stores. And Jeff himself had been playing poker since he was 12. And that ain't happening because I can't afford it." attorney Frank Ubhaus asked the Bumb patriarch. 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. The court saga evolved into a battle of wills between a father--a man who wouldn't even let the Vatican tell him what to do--and his oldest son, determined to break free from the old man's grasp. 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. You think this didn't break my heart?" "It made you tough, made you get a thick skin." He also runs day-to-day operations at the family-owned Flea Market. 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. But Jeff says the loan dispute screwed up their moving plans. 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. 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. "He worked for me." Eight days after the molestation incident was reported to police--and one day after Jeff Bumb formally refused his father's $6.9 million buyout offer--George Bumb Sr. sent Jeff a curt typewritten memo informing Jeff that he was terminated effective immediately and had to clean out his desk before 5pm. (In one case, George Bumb Sr. loaned Jeff $31,250 in 1992 for his son to invest in Bay 101.) It's like we had no life except for the family." You think this didn't break my heart?" He also disputes that such a letter was even necessary for Jeff to get licensed. George Bumb Jr., the quiet one with a flair for things mechanical, was already at the controls of Air One Helicopter. At the time, Jeff was in the midst of negotiating an arrangement to be bought out of the family businesses. She recalled that she was dressed in shorts and a T-shirt covered by a blanket. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. "My issue with [George Bumb Sr.]," Jeff Bumb complains about his father, "was his control of where you lived, what kind of house you bought, where your children went to school, who your friends are, whether your children went to college, who they would marry, what kind of wedding they would have." But his dream, which now seemed so close to being a reality, was about to become a nightmare. Almost four months later, on July 21, 1998, George Bumb Sr. appeared in the downtown offices of Berliner Cohen to have his deposition taken. She told police about at least seven other sexual encounters she had with her cousin after that. Now that their gaming license had been denied, a decision needed to be made--quickly. He and his brothers had a plan, he says. 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. she said, referring to the family-run Catholic school at the Flea Market. Of the four brothers, Tim and George had faced the least resistance from state gaming officials. At the time, San Jose, like cities throughout the state, was strapped for cash, looking at an $11 million budget shortfall. "Jeff is a wheeler and dealer," explained his Uncle John, the Flea Market's executive vice president and owner of the Skeeball Arcade. Werner said no. Tim now runs Bay 101, which he says is no easy task. 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. Soon after his confession, the word started spreading in the family about what happened. "Hell, no," George Bumb replied. (In one case, George Bumb Sr. loaned Jeff $31,250 in 1992 for his son to invest in Bay 101.) And for nearly a month, they did. he asked. OK--we didn't get out--OK? Of the four brothers, Tim and George had faced the least resistance from state gaming officials. He also pulled off an armed robbery of the Aloha Roller Palace. attorney Frank Ubhaus asked the Bumb patriarch. She recalled that she was dressed in shorts and a T-shirt covered by a blanket. Now that their gaming license had been denied, a decision needed to be made--quickly. 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." But there was no gambling done that night. Finally, in July 1994, the state cleared Tim and George and gave them a conditional OK to let the games begin. 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. Eight days after the molestation incident was reported to police--and one day after Jeff Bumb formally refused his father's $6.9 million buyout offer--George Bumb Sr. sent Jeff a curt typewritten memo informing Jeff that he was terminated effective immediately and had to clean out his desk before 5pm. 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. 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. Snow White or Cinderella? "They didn't teach anything about this. 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. And as with any divorce, embarrassing private details about the family and its businesses made their way into the public record. Over the years, he had developed working relationships with the city's politicians and bureaucrats. At the time, San Jose, like cities throughout the state, was strapped for cash, looking at an $11 million budget shortfall. Werner said no. attorney Frank Ubhaus asked the Bumb patriarch. They recorded the conversation. "I'm a big boy." a natural person who has individual net worth, or joint net worth with the person's spouse, that exceeds $1 million at the time of such person's purchase of the securities, excluding the value of the . 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. In fact, Tim and George had to agree not to collaborate with other Bumbs on any new business venture. 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. The elder Bumb may not have been feeling well, but he wasn't too sick to remember who was boss in this family. He followed that with suits alleging breach of contract, wrongful termination and misrepresentation. 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. EVERY DAY THE CLUB stayed closed, the Bumbs lost more money. Christopher Gardner "Hell, no," George Bumb replied. San Jose; Timothy Bumb; Timothy Bumb, Age 50. The teenagers had been drinking booze earlier in the night. 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. And that ain't happening because I can't afford it." But Jeff was confident. 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. Toward the end of the call, things got heated. In the last five years, the Bumb family and its enterprises have been investigated for illegal political campaign contributions, an alleged profit-skimming racket out at the Berryessa Flea Market and even a murder-for-hire scheme involving Johnny Venzon, a former cop, convicted thief and gambling addict. He was also the kind of guy, police records reveal, who told his mother about the incidents "because he felt guilty." When Jeff and Brian were denied licenses for Bay 101, Tim (above) and brother George Jr. jumped in. 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. "I don't need their help," he barked at Werner. When Werner broke the news that Jeff's brothers wouldn't write a letter on his behalf, he says Jeff became furious.