Florida Sues Bonita Bay Group, Inc.

Bonita Bay Group Alleged In Failure To Refund Deposits

TALLAHASSEE, FL ­ Attorney General Bill McCollum has announced that his office has filed a lawsuit against the Bonita Bay Group, Inc. over allegations the company took hundreds of thousands of dollars in membership fees to country clubs, marinas and other social establishments, but failed to provide the promised refunds. The lawsuit alleges that despite demands, Bonita Bay Group has not refunded membership deposits to approximately 800 resigned members and may owe over $215 million in un-returned membership deposits.

The Bonita Bay Group owns development lands in Hendry county, and has an office in LaBelle.

The lawsuit states that an integral part of Bonita Bay Group's marketing strategy is the marketing of club memberships with the written representation that a member's deposit, which ranged from $25,000 to $180,000, would be immediately refunded within 30 days of a member's resignation.

Consumers reported that Bonita Bay Group amended the membership plans in November 2008 and suspended the immediate refund of membership deposits. According the lawsuit, the opportunity for an instant refund of membership deposits was an integral part of the Bonita Bay Group's real estate development and marketing and the sale of residential home sites and amenities to consumers, prior to November 2008. The lawsuit alleges the suspension of the instant refund program constitutes violations of Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.

The Attorney General has requested that the Court grant a permanent injunction against the company and full restitution for any victims. The Attorney General is also seeking civil penalties of $10,000 per violation or $15,000 per violation if the victim was an elderly citizen or disabled individual. The lawsuit also seeks the recovery of any fees and costs associated with the litigation and investigation.

Great Grandson Of Hendry Namesake Dies

Richard Clark, Great Grandson Of Captain Francis Asbury Hendry Dies At 89

BARTOW, FL. -- Richard Clark, 89, civic leader, developer, and agricultural entrepreneur died March 13, 2010 in an accidental drowning at his home in Bartow. He was born May 31, 1920 in Bartow, the youngest of three sons of the late W. W. and Laura Clark.

Hendry County was named for his great grandfather, Captain Francis Asbury Hendry. The city of LaBelle, the county seat of Hendry county was named for his mother, Laura and her sister, Belle.

His education at Summerlin Institute and studying animal husbandry at the University of Florida equipped him to build on his family's entrepreneurial history--a family remembered in the parts of Florida bearing their names.  His father owned and Operated the Bartow Ice Plant for 50 years.

He took an interest in farming while working in his father's Ice Plant, supplying ice for produce shipping out of Florida. Supported by a mentor who helped him master better ways of growing vegetables, he found early success growing cabbage, which he shipped north by train. His green thumb­and innovation­expanded as he worked with two partners to reclaim a 160-acre tract of land. The first reclamation project ever done on this scale or magnitude, the project was written up in an engineering manual, serving as a valuable resource for hundreds of engineers. Using two bulldozers he purchased, Richard went out ahead of areas where the mining was taking place and hauled topsoil back to his 160 acres of reclaimed land.

He developed more than 800 residential lots and four subdivisions, the largest being the 490-home Richland Manor. His capstone project was Square Lake, an upscale residential community with 120 lots developed on the land he had carefully groomed with rich topsoil and planted with hundreds of trees.

Richard was preceded in death by two sons, Fred Clark and James Milton Clark. He is survived by his wife: Mayme Burdin Clark; Grandchildren: Susan Blenk and husband, Paul Blenk Bartow; Rickie Clark and his wife, Cyndi Clark Highlands Ranch, CO); Cindi Clark Lakeland; Cathy Ferris and husband Chris Ferris Tallahassee; Jim Clark; Allison Mabe Greensboro, NC; Melissa Woodard Savannah, GA; Cathrine and Lilly Pfeiffer Bartow; Great-grandchildren: Adam, Jake, and Taylor Blenk Bartow; Chrissy Clark Highlands Ranch, CO; Jamie and David Clark IL; Sydney and Julia Ferris Tallahassee; Stepchildren: John Burdin Lakeland; Trish Pfeiffer and husband, Bob Pfeiffer Bartow. 

Driver Dies In State Road 29 Canal

Driver Used Seat Belt But Alcohol Use Under Investigation

IMMOKALEE, FL. -- Serafin Gonzalez - Caracheo, 29 of Immokalee died in a canal crash on State Road 29 north of State Road 82 about 1:30 am Tuesday.

The 2000 Ford 150 pickup truck he was driving was traveling south on State Road 29 on the southbound lane. The driver failed to maintain control as it traveled in a southwesterly direction onto the unpaved grassy west shoulder.

It then traveled in a southeasterly direction and re-entered the roadway crossing the southbound lane and entered the northbound lane. The driver over steered back to a southwesterly direction and the truck rotated clockwise, re-entered the unpaved west shoulder while traveling in a southwesterly direction where it overturned multiple times and subsequently entered a canal.

The truck came to final rest on it's roof submerged in a canal on the west shoulder southwest of where it initially left the roadway.

Hendry Sweep Catches Five Selling To Minors

Hendry County, Clewiston Police and ABT In Underage Alcohol Enforcement Sweep

LABELLE, FL. -- Hendry County Sheriff's Office, Alcohol Beverage and Tobacco and Clewiston Police Department teamed up Friday, March 12, 2010 for an enforcement sweep in Hendry County targeting the sale of alcohol to minors. 

The sweep operation included compliance checks of 18 local commercial establishments licensed to sell alcoholic beverages in Hendry County.  Of the 18 establishments checked, five were found to be in violation, and five individuals were arrested.

Friday's operation was the result of a continued effort on the part of Hendry County Sheriff's Office to continue to curb the sale of alcohol to minors. 

Hendry County Sheriff Steve Whidden stated, ''I am very pleased with the vast majority of our commercial partners that are responsible businesses that refuse to sell alcohol to minors.'' 

The Hendry County Sheriff's Office urges all individuals to report the illegal sale of alcohol to law enforcement.  Violations within the unincorporated areas of Hendry County can be reported to the Hendry County Sheriff's Office at either 674-5600 or 885-5000 or within the city limits of Clewiston call 983-1474.

The sting operation brought arrests of those alleged to have been selling alcohol to minors at the following locations:

Gator Bait Pub, 17070 E. State Road 80 at the Pioneer Plantation intersection where April Britt was arested by HCSO and transported to the Hendry County Jail and charged with selling alcohol to a minor. Britt released on $500 bond.

Primetime Shell Gas Station, 750 Hickpoochee, Labelle where Susanne Evenson was arrested by HCSO and  transported to the Hendry County Jail and charged with selling alcohol to minor. Evenson was released on a $500 bond.

Super Stop Gas Station, 642 E. Sugarland Hwy, Clewiston where Sandro Cordova was arrested by ABT and issued a criminal notice to appear for selling  alcohol to a minor.

Tiki Bar 920 E. Del Monte Ave., Clewiston, where Angela Lancaster was arrested by ABT and issued a criminal notice to appear for selling alcohol to a minor

La Fiesta Bar 721 E. Sugarland Hwy., Clewiston where Maria Alfrado was arrested by Clewiston P.D. and issued a criminal notice to appear in Court for selling alcohol to a minor.

Commercial establishments that were checked and did not sell to a minor include:

Merit Shell Station at 1830 S. State Road 28, LaBelle, Florida
Patson's Beverage -  216 South Main Street, LaBelle, Florida
Rick's Mini-Mart -  4050 N.E. Eucalyptus Blvd., LaBelle, Florida
Handy Food Store #85 -  1400 N. River Road, LaBelle, Florida
Handy Food Store -  North, 200 Old C.R.78, LaBelle, Florida
Handy Food Store, South - 1040 South State Road 29, LaBelle, Florida, (24 hour store)
Valero's – 101 N. Berner Road, Clewiston
Suzy B Liquors – 210 W. Sugarland Hwy, Clewiston
Shamrock - 641 E. Sugarland Hwy, Clewiston
Quick Stop – 1020 S. WC Owens Ave, Clewiston
Stop n' Shop – 721 E. El Paso Ave., Clewiston,
Brenda's Place – 107 N. Francisco Street, Clewiston

Florida Panther Found Dead In Collier

Panther Discovered - Killed By Vehicle

IMMOKALEE, FL. -- The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission received a call Monday morning from staff at the Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed (CREW) about a dead female panther found along Corkscrew Road at the Marsh Unit 1 trailhead, Collier County, FL. 


Darrell Land, Panther Team Leader at the FWC said the female panther, identified as UCFP139, appeared to have been struck by vehicle and killed sometime during the night of March 11 based on the degree of rigor mortis and the lack of tracks leading to the carcass following recent heavy rains. 

UCFP139 weighed 68 lbs., did not have a kinked tail or a cowlick and no transponder chip was detected.  UCFP139 was approximately 3 years of age.  This is the first road kill of 2010 and the second mortality overall. 

The remains have been placed in a freezer at the Naples Office and will be eventually transported to Gainesville for a necropsy.  Following the necropsy, the remains will be archived at the Florida Museum of Natural History.