Jeff's daughter interrupted Matthew and said, "And I didn't know better. 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 he [Jeff] wants me to violate the condition which says in it that I sign away my rights and they close us down. She told police about at least seven other sexual encounters she had with her cousin after that. Ultimately, Jeff says with resignation, he hopes I find the truth, "not my truth, not their truth, just the truth." Of the four brothers, Tim and George had faced the least resistance from state gaming officials. Of the four brothers, Tim and George had faced the least resistance from state gaming officials. The air conditioning is on, but beads of sweat surface on Bumb's forehead, between a pair of fierce-looking blue eyes and a receding blonde hairline. But Jeff says the loan dispute screwed up their moving plans. Near the end Venzon writes, "They want to bring up the 'murder-for-hire' investigation again. Jeff didn't mind, though. 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. Snow White or Cinderella? It wasn't the idea of gambling. Ultimately, the charges against the older Bumb were reduced to a misdemeanor. 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." Some improprieties did turn up: Bumb & Associates, a partnership including the four brothers and their father, had failed to file required reports disclosing more than $100,000 in political contributions made between 1989 and 1992. But he didn't cash out. Of the four brothers, Tim and George had faced the least resistance from state gaming officials. 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. 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. 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. The ensuing delay forced Jeff Bumb to lay off 600 workers he had hired. 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. It wasn't the idea of gambling. She is seen as one of the most successful Lawyer of all times. But Jeff was confident. Meanwhile, Jeff and his lawyers spent 15 months trying get his father to appear at a deposition. After learning of the incident, Jeff and wife Elizabeth did not report the matter to police immediately. And then, just when it seemed as though family relations couldn't get any worse, they did. Jeff's daughter interrupted Matthew and said, "And I didn't know better. 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. Tim now runs Bay 101, which he says is no easy task. 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. Werner said no. Of the four brothers, Tim and George had faced the least resistance from state gaming officials. AN ATTORNEY involved likened the whole contentious affair to a divorce. 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. Of the four brothers, Tim and George had faced the least resistance from state gaming officials. Jeff's grandfather, Frank Bumb, had met his wife, Mary, at a card parlor in San Francisco where they worked. The guy doesn't get a slap on the hand." Of the four brothers, Tim and George had faced the least resistance from state gaming officials. 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. But there was no gambling done that night. 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. A nurse was present to monitor his condition. "I don't need their help," he barked at Werner. AN ATTORNEY involved likened the whole contentious affair to a divorce. 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. He followed that with suits alleging breach of contract, wrongful termination and misrepresentation. 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. 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. "I don't need their help," he barked at Werner. Meanwhile, Jeff and his lawyers spent 15 months trying get his father to appear at a deposition. The district attorney's office says that Bumb attorney Ron Werner turned the letter over to authorities immediately after it came in the mail. 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. 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 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. Werner said no. He followed that with suits alleging breach of contract, wrongful termination and misrepresentation. But Jeff was confident. 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. You know the school we went to?" 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. Jeff tells the story differently: "Matthew was my godson. Now that their gaming license had been denied, a decision needed to be made--quickly. It did the unthinkable: she said, referring to the family-run Catholic school at the Flea Market. Christopher Gardner "They had to find Snow White and Cinderella," Tim Bumb says, "and that was George and I." Jeff entertained offers to buy the club, the highest bid, he recalls, coming in at $40 million. "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." attorney Frank Ubhaus asked the Bumb patriarch. He demanded $10 million from his brothers to compensate him for violating the purported secret Bay 101 deal. 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. In fact, Tim and George had to agree not to collaborate with other Bumbs on any new business venture. 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. "And I told you that I loved you and you are like a father to me. "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." Almost four months later, on July 21, 1998, George Bumb Sr. appeared in the downtown offices of Berliner Cohen to have his deposition taken. Matthew Bumb's attorney argued that the relationship was consensual. Before the end of the month, the Flea Market laid off Jeff's daughters Anne and Rebecca. But Jeff Bumb hasn't made a penny from the club since it opened in September 1994. Tim and George Jr. would appeal and reapply, the hope being that the club would open as soon as possible. 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. FROM THE START, Jeff's three brothers and father didn't share his enthusiasm for opening a lavish gaming house. The teenagers had been drinking booze earlier in the night. He was also the kind of guy, police records reveal, who told his mother about the incidents "because he felt guilty." Near the end Venzon writes, "They want to bring up the 'murder-for-hire' investigation again. But his dream, which now seemed so close to being a reality, was about to become a nightmare. "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." Three years ago, the Mercury News listed the Bumb family in the Top 10 of the valley's most generous political contributors. Werner said no. "My wife broke the code," he says, "and I supported her." Along the way, Jeff raised the ante, hiring Frank Ubhaus, a lawyer who represented Garden City card club, Bay 101's crosstown rival. 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. 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. "Jeff is a wheeler and dealer," explained his Uncle John, the Flea Market's executive vice president and owner of the Skeeball Arcade. "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. The couple even had a purchase contract for a $850,000 house on Golf Links Road. George Bumb Sr., an avid card player, held a regular weekly family poker game at his home. She recalled that she was dressed in shorts and a T-shirt covered by a blanket. 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. "Could he [Jeff] do any other work on his own behalf?" 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. "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." "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." Tim, the second youngest of George Bumb's four boys, was already running the family toy business, Fact Games, and Premium Pet Stores. "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 there were gamblers everywhere who had come looking for some action. When Werner broke the news that Jeff's brothers wouldn't write a letter on his behalf, he says Jeff became furious. The card club has done more than bring unwanted public scrutiny to this insular group. Jeff signed a deal with his brothers that prohibited him from owning Bay 101 stock until he got all the necessary licenses. 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. In a fit, he took the paper he was writing on, crumpled it up and threw it out the office door. 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. Well, guess what? I'm on the hook for $15 million. And it was very explicit in there that no Bumbs could have anything to do with the club. 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. "Could he [Jeff] do any other work on his own behalf?" 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. AN ATTORNEY involved likened the whole contentious affair to a divorce. 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 started telling people around the office that he wanted out of the family business. 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. 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." Well, guess what? Initially, police filed felony charges against Matthew Bumb for having oral sex with a minor and penetrating her with his fingers. You know the school we went to?" 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. 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. She recalled that she was dressed in shorts and a T-shirt covered by a blanket. 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. A nurse was present to monitor his condition. "Hell, no," George Bumb replied. OK--we didn't get out--OK? 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. And then there's the stuff that never made it into headlines, like the alleged murder-for-hire plot out at the Flea Market. When Werner broke the news that Jeff's brothers wouldn't write a letter on his behalf, he says Jeff became furious. "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. 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 demanded $10 million from his brothers to compensate him for violating the purported secret Bay 101 deal. (In one case, George Bumb Sr. loaned Jeff $31,250 in 1992 for his son to invest in Bay 101.) 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. Jeff signed a deal with his brothers that prohibited him from owning Bay 101 stock until he got all the necessary licenses. Christopher Gardner Hamilton, where Latin mass is conducted on a regular basis. 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. Almost four months later, on July 21, 1998, George Bumb Sr. appeared in the downtown offices of Berliner Cohen to have his deposition taken. Christopher Gardner AN ATTORNEY involved likened the whole contentious affair to a divorce. The guy doesn't get a slap on the hand." 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. OK--we didn't get out--OK? 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. And Brian, the handsome and gregarious youngest brother, was in charge of day-to-day operations at the Flea Market. When Werner broke the news that Jeff's brothers wouldn't write a letter on his behalf, he says Jeff became furious. "He worked for me." Over the years, he had developed working relationships with the city's politicians and bureaucrats. Eight months later, the frame of the weapon was found in a Salinas pond near Venzon's home with the barrel and slide missing. 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. About 20 percent of the 130 students there are Bumb relatives.) attorney Frank Ubhaus asked the Bumb patriarch. Soon after his confession, the word started spreading in the family about what happened. Over the years, he had developed working relationships with the city's politicians and bureaucrats. The couple even had a purchase contract for a $850,000 house on Golf Links Road. They recorded the conversation. According to Jeff, there was tremendous pressure from his father and others in the family to keep the incest a secret. By Will Harper 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. Within weeks, Jeff says, his six-month-old dog was dead, his cat was dead and the tires of a family car were slashed. The couple even had a purchase contract for a $850,000 house on Golf Links Road. And that ain't happening because I can't afford it." He also pulled off an armed robbery of the Aloha Roller Palace. The elder Bumb may not have been feeling well, but he wasn't too sick to remember who was boss in this family. One wag refers to them as "the Beverly Hillbillies of San Jose." 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." He also pulled off an armed robbery of the Aloha Roller Palace.