Sunday, June 10, 2012
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Man who sold Volusia swamp land pleads to fraud
Man who sold Volusia swamp land pleads to fraud
Ormond Beach missionary admits no wrongdoing; gets 15 years' probation
BY JAY STAPLETON, STAFF WRITER 
Kelly
DELAND -- An Ormond Beach man who sold unbuildable swampland to dozens of people will avoid prison in a plea agreement reached with statewide prosecutors.
James A. Kelly, 41, pleaded no contest to organized fraud. The agreement took months to hash out. The matter of paying back some of the buyers remains pending.
Kelly, a poker-playing missionary who travels to Haiti often, denied he did anything wrong. Avoiding up to 30 years in prison by accepting the deal, he was placed on 15 years of probation, his lawyer, Peyton Quarles, said. The probation could be cut short if Kelly pays back the land buyers who want their money back.
A hearing will be held in December to decide how much of the reported $2.4 million in land sales Kelly's company took in will be returned.
"Mr. Kelly and his family adamantly denied any wrongdoing," Quarles added. "The possibility of what might happen at trial and the desire to end this 2 1/2- or three-year prosecution resulted in his decision to enter the plea."
Kelly's was the latest chapter in an old Florida story of so-called paper subdivisions. The areas were subdivided into lots in the 1960s and '70s but never surveyed or developed.
Starting in 2005, Kelly bought more than 1,200 acres in the vast water recharge areas east of DeLand, in tracts of wetlands called University Highlands and Cape Atlantic.
Over the next year, Kelly sold more than two dozen of the parcels over the Internet, mostly to immigrants from Haiti and other people from South Florida.
Kelly was arrested in 2008 on charges accusing him of tricking the buyers into buying the land by presenting it as buildable.
From the beginning, the case against Kelly was met with legal challenges.
Authorities in 2007 moved to seize $178,000 in cars from Kelly's home, claiming he bought the Hummer, Dodge Viper and other autos with money from illegal land sales.
But Kelly won his property back in court. "The nexus to any criminal activity which could have resulted in any forfeiture was extremely tenuous," Quarles said. "And the prosecutors realized that."
The Attorney General's Office of Statewide Prosecution marched on with its effort to get a conviction and prison sentence for Kelly.
In court, prosecutors accused Kelly of using his website to drum up more than $2.4 million in sales, meeting purchasers on U.S. 92.
Records show one buyer, Beata Jeune of Spring Valley, N.Y., paid Kelly $32,000 for 5 acres. The land was only worth $2,500, according to the Volusia County property appraiser.
But one key weakness in the case may have been a lack of outrage by a large group of the buyers. On Tuesday, Quarles put it this way:
"The most interesting aspect of the case was that none of the purchasers complained about their transactions. It wasn't until someone from out of state contacted FDLE about the quality and possible use of the land that the matter was investigated."
As part of the plea deal, Kelly was ordered not to be involved with any real estate sales, other than a home for his family, or to sell the swampland, as long as the victims get the money. If he sold the land, the buyer would have to know it is unbuildable.
Kelly must complete 100 hours of community service. Any violation of the terms of probation could result in Kelly going to prison. He was ordered to pay $3,600 to the Office of Statewide Prosecution. Another $52,873 was ordered to be paid to FDLE for the cost of investigation.
Kelly must also make a payment of $4,300 to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for use of a helicopter that flew over the properties during the investigation.
Prosecutors said they would not oppose early termination of the probation if all those seeking restitution get paid. A restitution hearing will be held Dec. 16 before Circuit Judge Randell H. Rowe III.
Assistant Statewide Prosecutor Lawrence Collins said he has been exploring ways to get back the more than $100,000 in land sales that buyers already want returned. He doesn't yet know exactly how many of the buyers will want to turn over the land in exchange for their money.
But, he added, "some of the people we talked to want to keep the land."
Both sides have discussed selling the parcels back to Volusia County, which had been buying such abandoned subdivisions in wetlands for years. Budgetary concerns could slow that process, Collins said.
Kelly and his attorney will be "looking into" how many of the buyers in fact want to turn the land over in exchange for the money they paid.
"It really should have been handled as a civil matter," Quarles said.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Today's Featured Humor : -) - Las Vegas Trivia
Las Vegas means "the meadows" in Spanish.
In Nevada, there are more than 209,000 slot machines normally operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The first neon sign appeared in Las Vegas in 1954 at the Boulder Club.
The bell is the oldest symbol still used on today's slot machines.
The average annual temperature in Las Vegas is 66 degrees.
It would take 288 years for one person to spend one night in every hotel room in Las Vegas.
Shrimp consumption in Las Vegas is more than 60,000 pounds a day. That's higher than the rest of the country combined and adds up to 22 million pounds per year.
The Stardust was the first hotel in Vegas to add a sports book to its casino.
Nickel slots on the Strip pay back anywhere from 86.9 percent to 92.8 percent of what they take in.
Las Vegas casinos never use dice with rounded corners.
It's estimated that every day Las Vegas casinos give away $3 million of freebies (more than $1 billion per year) just to get customers through their doors.
It's against the law to pawn your dentures in Las Vegas.
The Horseshoe was the first Las Vegas casino to install carpeting.
A vagrant once turned a $400 Social Security check into $1.6 million playing blackjack in a Las Vegas casino.
According to suppliers, purple is the favorite ink color in daubers used by Las Vegas Bingo players.
The beam of light atop the Luxor in Las Vegas is made up of 39 individual lamps. Each xenon lamp costs $1,200 and will last about 2,000 hours. The electric bill for the Luxor beam is $51 an hour.
Las Vegas has the highest number of unlisted phone numbers of any U.S. city.
The iconic, waving neon cowboy, located at Vegas' Pioneer Club downtown, is named Vegas Vic.
Frank Sinatra was the first Vegas headliner to earn $100,000 per week.
More than 110,000 marriage licenses are issued in Las Vegas each year.
Elvis and Priscilla Presley were married at the original Aladdin hotel.
The Silver Slipper was the first casino to hire female card dealers on the Las Vegas Strip (in 1971
In Nevada, there are more than 209,000 slot machines normally operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The first neon sign appeared in Las Vegas in 1954 at the Boulder Club.
The bell is the oldest symbol still used on today's slot machines.
The average annual temperature in Las Vegas is 66 degrees.
It would take 288 years for one person to spend one night in every hotel room in Las Vegas.
Shrimp consumption in Las Vegas is more than 60,000 pounds a day. That's higher than the rest of the country combined and adds up to 22 million pounds per year.
The Stardust was the first hotel in Vegas to add a sports book to its casino.
Nickel slots on the Strip pay back anywhere from 86.9 percent to 92.8 percent of what they take in.
Las Vegas casinos never use dice with rounded corners.
It's estimated that every day Las Vegas casinos give away $3 million of freebies (more than $1 billion per year) just to get customers through their doors.
It's against the law to pawn your dentures in Las Vegas.
The Horseshoe was the first Las Vegas casino to install carpeting.
A vagrant once turned a $400 Social Security check into $1.6 million playing blackjack in a Las Vegas casino.
According to suppliers, purple is the favorite ink color in daubers used by Las Vegas Bingo players.
The beam of light atop the Luxor in Las Vegas is made up of 39 individual lamps. Each xenon lamp costs $1,200 and will last about 2,000 hours. The electric bill for the Luxor beam is $51 an hour.
Las Vegas has the highest number of unlisted phone numbers of any U.S. city.
The iconic, waving neon cowboy, located at Vegas' Pioneer Club downtown, is named Vegas Vic.
Frank Sinatra was the first Vegas headliner to earn $100,000 per week.
More than 110,000 marriage licenses are issued in Las Vegas each year.
Elvis and Priscilla Presley were married at the original Aladdin hotel.
The Silver Slipper was the first casino to hire female card dealers on the Las Vegas Strip (in 1971
Are you ready to review the Best Humor, Coolest Pix and Political Parody on the Internet?
Strange George Harrison Quotes:
The Beatles saved the world from boredom.
As far as I'm concerned, there won't be a Beatles reunion as long as John Lennon remains dead.
Gossip is the Devil's radio.
I'll give up this sort of touring madness certainly, but music-everything is based on music. No, I'll never stop my music.
Love one another (His last words).
The biggest break in my career was getting into the Beatles in 1962. The second biggest break since then is getting out of them.
The nicest thing is to open the newspapers and not to find yourself in them.
The world used us as an excuse to go mad.
There's high, and there's high, and to get really high - I mean so high that you can walk on the water, that high-that's where I'm going.
Try to realize it's all within yourself no one else can make you change, and to see you're only very small and life flows on within you and without you.
We were talking about the space between us all and the people who hide themselves behind a wall of illusion. Never glimpse the truth - then it's far too late when they pass away.
We were the Spice Boys.
The Beatles saved the world from boredom.
As far as I'm concerned, there won't be a Beatles reunion as long as John Lennon remains dead.
Gossip is the Devil's radio.
I'll give up this sort of touring madness certainly, but music-everything is based on music. No, I'll never stop my music.
Love one another (His last words).
The biggest break in my career was getting into the Beatles in 1962. The second biggest break since then is getting out of them.
The nicest thing is to open the newspapers and not to find yourself in them.
The world used us as an excuse to go mad.
There's high, and there's high, and to get really high - I mean so high that you can walk on the water, that high-that's where I'm going.
Try to realize it's all within yourself no one else can make you change, and to see you're only very small and life flows on within you and without you.
We were talking about the space between us all and the people who hide themselves behind a wall of illusion. Never glimpse the truth - then it's far too late when they pass away.
We were the Spice Boys.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Today's Featured Humor : -) - Great Con-Artists, Scammers & Rip Off Artists
Today's Featured Humor : -) - Great Con-Artists, Scammers & Rip Off Artists
In 1872, veteran prospectors Philip Arnold and John Slack bought $35,000 worth of diamonds in Europe and scattered them on land in Wyoming. They managed to convince the Bank of San Francisco they had discovered a diamond field and made $700,000.
Starting in 1921, Oscar Merril Hartzell began a scam selling fake shares in the estate of Sir Francis Drake. He contacted as many families as he could find with the surname Drake and was eventually accused of defrauding 270,000 people. The hoax netted him over $2,000,000.
When J. Bam Morrison arrived at Wetumka, Oklahoma in 1950, he claimed to be the advance publicity man for Bohn's United Circus, which, he maintained, was due to hit town in three weeks. He allegedly sold advertising space to local traders...for a circus that didn't exist.
By forging signatures, James Addison Reavis was able to claim he was the legal owner of 17,000 square miles of Arizona. The enterprise raked in $300,000 a year until he was arrested in 1895 and he was sentenced to six years in prison.
Joseph Weill, who inspired the movie "The Sting," rented abandoned banks and convinced businessmen that he had set up a genuine bank. He waited for them to deposit large sums of money before shutting down and moving on to the next town. This, plus some of his other scams, earned him over $6,000,000.
Now we can add Bernie Madoff!
Giving birth is like taking your lower lip and forcing it over your head. - Carole Burnett
In 1872, veteran prospectors Philip Arnold and John Slack bought $35,000 worth of diamonds in Europe and scattered them on land in Wyoming. They managed to convince the Bank of San Francisco they had discovered a diamond field and made $700,000.
Starting in 1921, Oscar Merril Hartzell began a scam selling fake shares in the estate of Sir Francis Drake. He contacted as many families as he could find with the surname Drake and was eventually accused of defrauding 270,000 people. The hoax netted him over $2,000,000.
When J. Bam Morrison arrived at Wetumka, Oklahoma in 1950, he claimed to be the advance publicity man for Bohn's United Circus, which, he maintained, was due to hit town in three weeks. He allegedly sold advertising space to local traders...for a circus that didn't exist.
By forging signatures, James Addison Reavis was able to claim he was the legal owner of 17,000 square miles of Arizona. The enterprise raked in $300,000 a year until he was arrested in 1895 and he was sentenced to six years in prison.
Joseph Weill, who inspired the movie "The Sting," rented abandoned banks and convinced businessmen that he had set up a genuine bank. He waited for them to deposit large sums of money before shutting down and moving on to the next town. This, plus some of his other scams, earned him over $6,000,000.
Now we can add Bernie Madoff!
Giving birth is like taking your lower lip and forcing it over your head. - Carole Burnett
Friday, July 29, 2011
Asking A WOMAN to BED!!
TAKING A WOMAN TO BED
What is the difference between girls/woman aged:
8, 18, 28, 38, 48, 58. 68, and 78?
At 8 -- You take her to bed and
tell her a story.
At 18 -- You tell her a story andtake her to bed.
At 28 -- You don't need to tellher a story to take her to bed.
At 38 -- She tells you a
storyand takes you to bed.
At 48 -- She tells you a story to avoid going to bed.
At 58 - - You stay in bed to avoid her story.
At 68 -- If you take her to bed, that'll be a story!
At 78 --What story???What bed???Who the hell are you???
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