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. "They didn't teach anything about this. And then, just when it seemed as though family relations couldn't get any worse, they did. 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. 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. 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. Along the way, Jeff raised the ante, hiring Frank Ubhaus, a lawyer who represented Garden City card club, Bay 101's crosstown rival. 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. On Nov. 8, 1995, attorney Albin Danell, Elizabeth's brother-in-law, contacted the police, apparently after consulting with Elizabeth. Eight months later, the frame of the weapon was found in a Salinas pond near Venzon's home with the barrel and slide missing. "Could he [Jeff] do any other work on his own behalf?" Along the way, Jeff raised the ante, hiring Frank Ubhaus, a lawyer who represented Garden City card club, Bay 101's crosstown rival. He also disputes that such a letter was even necessary for Jeff to get licensed. Near the end Venzon writes, "They want to bring up the 'murder-for-hire' investigation again. But he didn't cash out. "He worked for me." He also disputes that such a letter was even necessary for Jeff to get licensed. Over the past year alone, Bumb & Associates and Bay 101 have given $56,000 to now-Attorney General Bill Lockyer, the man in charge of card-room regulation. He wanted to relocate and expand Sutter's Place in Alviso from a five-table card room to a 40-table one, matching the size of Northern California's largest card room, Garden City in San Jose. If all this weren't enough, a sexual relationship between his 14-year-old daughter and a 19-year-old Bumb cousin was reported to police, slicing the family's cherished privacy wide open for the world to see. Initially, police filed felony charges against Matthew Bumb for having oral sex with a minor and penetrating her with his fingers. "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. "They had to find Snow White and Cinderella," Tim Bumb says, "and that was George and I." 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 Bumbs' reputation as an unconventional, insular, wealthy, large brood keeps tongues in political circles flapping. Jeff tells the story differently: "Matthew was my godson. When Werner broke the news that Jeff's brothers wouldn't write a letter on his behalf, he says Jeff became furious. The Bumbs' reputation as an unconventional, insular, wealthy, large brood keeps tongues in political circles flapping. 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. Well, George, whether you want to believe it or not I do love you and you are like a father to me." "Could he [Jeff] do any other work on his own behalf?" 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. "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." 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. Initially, police filed felony charges against Matthew Bumb for having oral sex with a minor and penetrating her with his fingers. 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. ALL TOGETHER, the intrafamily litigation has spanned nearly three years. 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." Bay 101 was Jeff's idea--no one disputes that. He demanded $10 million from his brothers to compensate him for violating the purported secret Bay 101 deal. During his long tenure at the Flea Market, Venzon apparently developed a close relationship with George Bumb Sr. 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. 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. 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. "Hell, no," George Bumb replied. The card club has done more than bring unwanted public scrutiny to this insular group. 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. Before the end of the month, the Flea Market laid off Jeff's daughters Anne and Rebecca. 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. He started telling people around the office that he wanted out of the family business. He was also the kind of guy, police records reveal, who told his mother about the incidents "because he felt guilty." Well, guess what? Toward the end of the call, things got heated. "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. 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. But Jeff says the loan dispute screwed up their moving plans. 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. In a fit, he took the paper he was writing on, crumpled it up and threw it out the office door. I'm on the hook for $15 million. Matthew Bumb's attorney argued that the relationship was consensual. At the time, Jeff was in the midst of negotiating an arrangement to be bought out of the family businesses. Within weeks, Jeff says, his six-month-old dog was dead, his cat was dead and the tires of a family car were slashed. EIGHT MONTHS AFTER its approval by the City Council, the peach-colored Bay 101 held its "grand opening." 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. And it was very explicit in there that no Bumbs could have anything to do with the club. 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. Three years ago, the Mercury News listed the Bumb family in the Top 10 of the valley's most generous political contributors. Matthew Bumb's attorney argued that the relationship was consensual. He demanded $10 million from his brothers to compensate him for violating the purported secret Bay 101 deal. "They had to find Snow White and Cinderella," Tim Bumb says, "and that was George and I." And that ain't happening because I can't afford it." Jeff's daughter interrupted Matthew and said, "And I didn't know better. "My wife broke the code," he says, "and I supported her." Christopher Gardner He started telling people around the office that he wanted out of the family business. Tim, the second youngest of George Bumb's four boys, was already running the family toy business, Fact Games, and Premium Pet Stores. attorney Frank Ubhaus asked the Bumb patriarch. "I don't need their help," he barked at Werner. And there were gamblers everywhere who had come looking for some action. Meanwhile, Jeff and his lawyers spent 15 months trying get his father to appear at a deposition. 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. attorney Frank Ubhaus asked the Bumb patriarch. "Hell, no," George Bumb replied. [1] In a fit, he took the paper he was writing on, crumpled it up and threw it out the office door. 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. (In one case, George Bumb Sr. loaned Jeff $31,250 in 1992 for his son to invest in Bay 101.) 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. "I'm a big boy." Bryant, who acts as emissary for the family and its patriarch, thinks the Bumbs are a misunderstood bunch. Tim Bumb says writing a letter on Jeff's behalf would have violated the agreement with the police chief and put the club in jeopardy. George Bumb Jr., the quiet one with a flair for things mechanical, was already at the controls of Air One Helicopter. Dealers stood at the tables, ready to deal the cards. 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. A nurse was present to monitor his condition. 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. Though authorities were never able to prove a paid snuff plot, Jeff Bumb believes the allegations were a factor contributing to authorities' mistrust of him. The district attorney's office says that Bumb attorney Ron Werner turned the letter over to authorities immediately after it came in the mail. 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 San Jose Flea Market, located in Berryessa district of San Jose, California, was founded by George Bumb Sr. in March 1960. The state, still busy conducting background checks, still hadn't approved the Bumbs and their partners' gaming licenses. ALL TOGETHER, the intrafamily litigation has spanned nearly three years. When Werner broke the news that Jeff's brothers wouldn't write a letter on his behalf, he says Jeff became furious. You think this didn't break my heart?" "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." After learning of the incident, Jeff and wife Elizabeth did not report the matter to police immediately. After learning of the incident, Jeff and wife Elizabeth did not report the matter to police immediately. Tim Bumb says writing a letter on Jeff's behalf would have violated the agreement with the police chief and put the club in jeopardy. 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. 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. There were flowers everywhere. (Tim Bumb, the school's director, says it was put there to save on rent. It did the unthinkable: 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. And as with any divorce, embarrassing private details about the family and its businesses made their way into the public record. "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. And then there's the stuff that never made it into headlines, like the alleged murder-for-hire plot out at the Flea Market. 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. The state, still busy conducting background checks, still hadn't approved the Bumbs and their partners' gaming licenses. "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." And it was very explicit in there that no Bumbs could have anything to do with the club. She recalled that she was dressed in shorts and a T-shirt covered by a blanket. 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. 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. The two, she said, never talked about what was going on while it was happening. Well, guess what? Before the end of the month, the Flea Market laid off Jeff's daughters Anne and Rebecca. Before the end of the month, the Flea Market laid off Jeff's daughters Anne and Rebecca. "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. Tim Bumb says writing a letter on Jeff's behalf would have violated the agreement with the police chief and put the club in jeopardy.
