"They had to find Snow White and Cinderella," Tim Bumb says, "and that was George and I." The couple even had a purchase contract for a $850,000 house on Golf Links Road. 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. EIGHT MONTHS AFTER its approval by the City Council, the peach-colored Bay 101 held its "grand opening." The elder Bumb may not have been feeling well, but he wasn't too sick to remember who was boss in this family. Jeff signed a deal with his brothers that prohibited him from owning Bay 101 stock until he got all the necessary licenses. 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. 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. San Jose; Timothy Bumb; Timothy Bumb, Age 50. 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. VENZON WAS well known to the Bumbs. As a compromise of sorts, he was debating whether he should apply for a license as a gaming-club manager instead of as an owner. She recalled that she was dressed in shorts and a T-shirt covered by a blanket. He and his brothers had a plan, he says. Meanwhile, Jeff and his lawyers spent 15 months trying get his father to appear at a deposition. "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." I'm on the hook for $15 million. 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. 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 a big boy." 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. 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. 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. Soon after his confession, the word started spreading in the family about what happened. And that ain't happening because I can't afford it." 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 and his brothers had a plan, he says. Of the four brothers, Tim and George had faced the least resistance from state gaming officials. He demanded $10 million from his brothers to compensate him for violating the purported secret Bay 101 deal. Privacy hasn't been so easy to come by for the Bumbs in the '90s, since they got involved in Bay 101. Or at least he thought he didn't. "They had to find Snow White and Cinderella," Tim Bumb says, "and that was George and I." 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. At the time, San Jose, like cities throughout the state, was strapped for cash, looking at an $11 million budget shortfall. On Nov. 8, 1995, attorney Albin Danell, Elizabeth's brother-in-law, contacted the police, apparently after consulting with Elizabeth. 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. "They had to find Snow White and Cinderella," Tim Bumb says, "and that was George and I." 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. 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. Christopher Gardner EIGHT MONTHS AFTER its approval by the City Council, the peach-colored Bay 101 held its "grand opening." "It made you tough, made you get a thick skin." But Jeff says the loan dispute screwed up their moving plans. AN ATTORNEY involved likened the whole contentious affair to a divorce. Werner said no. 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 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. Before the end of the month, the Flea Market laid off Jeff's daughters Anne and Rebecca. Privacy hasn't been so easy to come by for the Bumbs in the '90s, since they got involved in Bay 101. Matthew Bumb's attorney argued that the relationship was consensual. The guy doesn't get a slap on the hand." 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. Along the way, Jeff raised the ante, hiring Frank Ubhaus, a lawyer who represented Garden City card club, Bay 101's crosstown rival. You know the school we went to?" 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. So Jeff, Brian and the remaining non-family partners backed out of Bay 101, handing everything over to Tim and George Jr. 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. You think this didn't break my heart?" In her 10 years as the Flea Market's community relations specialist, Bryant has come to adore the lack of pretension among this clan of millionaires who have their offices in a mobile home where none of the furniture seems to match. 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. 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. 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." Tim now runs Bay 101, which he says is no easy task. He was also the kind of guy, police records reveal, who told his mother about the incidents "because he felt guilty." 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. The couple even had a purchase contract for a $850,000 house on Golf Links Road. 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. At the time, Jeff was in the midst of negotiating an arrangement to be bought out of the family businesses. And it was very explicit in there that no Bumbs could have anything to do with the club. The two, she said, never talked about what was going on while it was happening. Now that their gaming license had been denied, a decision needed to be made--quickly. 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. 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. Snow White or Cinderella? Along the way, Jeff raised the ante, hiring Frank Ubhaus, a lawyer who represented Garden City card club, Bay 101's crosstown rival. "Could he [Jeff] do any other work on his own behalf?" A nurse was present to monitor his condition. When Werner broke the news that Jeff's brothers wouldn't write a letter on his behalf, he says Jeff became furious. Dealers stood at the tables, ready to deal the cards. The ensuing delay forced Jeff Bumb to lay off 600 workers he had hired. 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. Privacy hasn't been so easy to come by for the Bumbs in the '90s, since they got involved in Bay 101. In fact, Tim and George had to agree not to collaborate with other Bumbs on any new business venture. He started telling people around the office that he wanted out of the family business. "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. He followed that with suits alleging breach of contract, wrongful termination and misrepresentation. 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." 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." 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. We've made it not only necessary but acceptable for women to make the first move, shaking up outdated gender norms. The two, she said, never talked about what was going on while it was happening. You know the school we went to?" 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. Over the years, he had developed working relationships with the city's politicians and bureaucrats. Before the end of the month, the Flea Market laid off Jeff's daughters Anne and Rebecca. "I don't need their help," he barked at Werner. 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. Soon after his confession, the word started spreading in the family about what happened. 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. And he [Jeff] wants me to violate the condition which says in it that I sign away my rights and they close us down. On Nov. 8, 1995, attorney Albin Danell, Elizabeth's brother-in-law, contacted the police, apparently after consulting with Elizabeth. 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. (That thing that involved Jeff when Bay 101 was scheduled to open but didn't.)" attorney Frank Ubhaus asked the Bumb patriarch. she said, referring to the family-run Catholic school at the Flea Market. Matthew Bumb's attorney argued that the relationship was consensual. "Hell, no," George Bumb replied. 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. He started telling people around the office that he wanted out of the family business. 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. In a fit, he took the paper he was writing on, crumpled it up and threw it out the office door. "He worked for me." "It made you tough, made you get a thick skin." "And I told you that I loved you and you are like a father to me. Toward the end of the call, things got heated. 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." 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. Their pun-afflicted surname adds to the hillbilly mystique. Matthew Bumb's attorney argued that the relationship was consensual. "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." Christopher Gardner Now that their gaming license had been denied, a decision needed to be made--quickly. Along the way, Jeff raised the ante, hiring Frank Ubhaus, a lawyer who represented Garden City card club, Bay 101's crosstown rival. Before the end of the month, the Flea Market laid off Jeff's daughters Anne and Rebecca. 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. "My wife broke the code," he says, "and I supported her." It did the unthinkable: 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." Werner said no. Toward the end of the call, things got heated. 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 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. Along the way, Jeff raised the ante, hiring Frank Ubhaus, a lawyer who represented Garden City card club, Bay 101's crosstown rival. 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. But Jeff says the loan dispute screwed up their moving plans. As a compromise of sorts, he was debating whether he should apply for a license as a gaming-club manager instead of as an owner. VENZON WAS well known to the Bumbs. The teenagers had been drinking booze earlier in the night. "It made you tough, made you get a thick skin." But there was no gambling done that night. He babysat the construction site every day for almost five months. THINGS WERE certainly simpler back in the old days, before Bay 101, when the Bumbs were known for the Berryessa Flea Market, the family-owned business started in 1960 by 75-year-old family patriarch George Bumb Sr. His crimes included taking valuables from the bereaved family members of dead crime victims while pretending to console them. But Jeff was confident. EIGHT MONTHS AFTER its approval by the City Council, the peach-colored Bay 101 held its "grand opening." 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. Soon after his confession, the word started spreading in the family about what happened. It wasn't the idea of gambling. 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. Well, guess what? ALL TOGETHER, the intrafamily litigation has spanned nearly three years. And he [Jeff] wants me to violate the condition which says in it that I sign away my rights and they close us down. And he [Jeff] wants me to violate the condition which says in it that I sign away my rights and they close us down. 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. And he [Jeff] wants me to violate the condition which says in it that I sign away my rights and they close us down. "My wife broke the code," he says, "and I supported her." 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 gambling palace Jeff Bumb--the oldest son who is often described as the most entrepreneurial of the four brothers--had in mind was going to take a lot of effort and political skill. 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 guy doesn't get a slap on the hand." 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. Well, guess what? 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. Bryant, who acts as emissary for the family and its patriarch, thinks the Bumbs are a misunderstood bunch. They recorded the conversation. You know the school we went to?" FROM THE protected confines of his silver 1998 Lexus SC 400, Jeff Bumb peers out his window to take in the imposing sight of the 72,000-square-foot salmon-hued house of cards he once called his baby. And there were gamblers everywhere who had come looking for some action. VENZON WAS well known to the Bumbs. When the Vatican eliminated Latin from the Catholic mass in the '60s, George Bumb Sr. responded by building his own chapel, named for the rebellious St. Athanasius, at the base of Mt. But Jeff says the loan dispute screwed up their moving plans. THINGS WERE certainly simpler back in the old days, before Bay 101, when the Bumbs were known for the Berryessa Flea Market, the family-owned business started in 1960 by 75-year-old family patriarch George Bumb Sr. 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. Now that their gaming license had been denied, a decision needed to be made--quickly. 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. But there was no gambling done that night. The state, still busy conducting background checks, still hadn't approved the Bumbs and their partners' gaming licenses. 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. 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. 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. The couple even had a purchase contract for a $850,000 house on Golf Links Road. EVERY DAY THE CLUB stayed closed, the Bumbs lost more money. she said, referring to the family-run Catholic school at the Flea Market. But Jeff was confident. Bay 101 was Jeff's idea--no one disputes that. The elder Bumb may not have been feeling well, but he wasn't too sick to remember who was boss in this family. Finally, in July 1994, the state cleared Tim and George and gave them a conditional OK to let the games begin. 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. 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. she said, referring to the family-run Catholic school at the Flea Market. Tim now runs Bay 101, which he says is no easy task. Family Feud Soon after his confession, the word started spreading in the family about what happened. 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. "He took care of it." "Could he [Jeff] do any other work on his own behalf?" Ultimately, the charges against the older Bumb were reduced to a misdemeanor. He chose the building's peachy-pink paint job, he says, because he wanted "a pleasant, welcoming earth tone." (In one case, George Bumb Sr. loaned Jeff $31,250 in 1992 for his son to invest in Bay 101.) 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. 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. The Bumbs had a plenty of experience with a cash business through the Flea Market, which they've run for almost 40 years. The elder Bumb may not have been feeling well, but he wasn't too sick to remember who was boss in this family. George Bumb Sr., an avid card player, held a regular weekly family poker game at his home. 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 day before, Monday at noon, half of the club's tables were full of gamblers playing seven card stud, Omaha and Texas Hold 'Em. "They had to find Snow White and Cinderella," Tim Bumb says, "and that was George and I." AN ATTORNEY involved likened the whole contentious affair to a divorce. AN ATTORNEY involved likened the whole contentious affair to a divorce. Tim and George Jr. would appeal and reapply, the hope being that the club would open as soon as possible. Jeff's daughter interrupted Matthew and said, "And I didn't know better. George Bumb Sr., an avid card player, held a regular weekly family poker game at his home. Jeff's daughter interrupted Matthew and said, "And I didn't know better. "He took care of it." He demanded $10 million from his brothers to compensate him for violating the purported secret Bay 101 deal.
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