SACRIFICE HONESTY AND INTEGRITY TO BE A BOARD MEMBER? OBVIOUSLY NO PROBLEM IF YOU ARE A RETIRED ATTORNEY! |
An Opinion By Jan Bergemann Published October 30, 2007
You read last week the very interesting story about Playa del Mar board president Robert G. Boffa Sr., a felon convicted of racketeering according to many documents available on the Internet, and his attempt to have a board member opposing his rein recalled for dishonesty – just because that board member did not immediately return a briefcase he picked up by mistake in his own parking space. A
new wanna-be player, Betty Cholst, appeared on the scene, eager to
take the seat -- if available. Cholst
is a retired attorney, always eager to serve on association boards.
When you read the following letter, mailed out by her to the unit
owners in the Playa del Mar, please consider that she obviously has a
private agenda to push this issue. She
wants to be the new board member appointed (quote) "a responsible
owner can be selected who will serve the best interests of Playa
I guess it's really better that Betty Cholst has retired from her profession -- meaning she is no longer eligible to practice law in Florida, because with her arguments every judge would have laughed her out of the courtroom. Her arguments have more holes than a Swiss Cheese! Cholst mixes up facts with fantasy, because her "indisputable facts" are very much disputable, starting with her video camera proof. There was no briefcase temporarily placed by the real owner at the elevator, even if the police report says so, because the real owner wasn't sure where he actually "forgot" his briefcase, according to the police report. (The video camera actually proves that the briefcase was not left by the elevator, but in a parking space in the parking garage.) Her letter further claims that the video camera “proves” that Mark Stern was in possession of a laptop, passport and papers of a resident owner. Gee, they must have fancy video cameras in Playa del Mar, able to identify the contents of closed briefcases! What would you do if you saw a briefcase that looked like your own sitting in your parking space after you unloaded your car? Wouldn’t you pick up that briefcase, believing it was your own? Betty Cholst has a history of short tenures as a board member -- first at the Playa del Sol, then at the Playa del Mar. At the last election in the Playa del Mar this spring she ended up dead-last of 8 candidates with 84 votes, despite being an incumbent. She obviously didn't strike the fancy of the voting unit owners? But this defeat didn't teach her the lesson that such an election result should teach every loser: She really isn't wanted! Now she is trying to climb back into a board seat through the backdoor, not in any way disturbed by voters' rejection. And the really big question: Why isn't the owner of the briefcase not the one making all these false accusations? The answer is easy: He knows better! If this isn't "BOARD POLITICS" I really wonder what is?
Board president Boffa desperately needs another board member voting for him to keep his presidency alive. In the moment he can't even hold a public board meeting without getting embarrassed, since he is unable to garner the necessary votes on the board. So,
everybody supporting Boffa’s cause is welcome, even if it's the support
of Betty Cholst, a former board member who was part of the board that
tried to legally remove him from the board, because as a convicted felon
Florida Statutes prevent him from serving on the board. An attempt that
has cost the owners of the Playa del Mar a bunch of money -- and Boffa
still hasn't proven that his civil rights were restored, as required by Considering that Betty Cholst is calling in her letter for board members with a (quote) "higher standard of honesty, integrity and responsibility," let's take a look at the current board members. President Robert G. Boffa Sr.: A felon convicted of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO), his name prominently mentioned in a report authored by the President's Commission on Organized Crime.
Vice President Daniel Lecht: Casting the vote that helped Boffa to become president, after campaigning with a different agenda. Many voters stated that they never would have voted for Lecht if they had known that he would support Boffa. Lecht’s reward: Being Vice President!
And not to forget manager Keith Tannenbaum, whose name will forever be connected to the fact that he was the first -- and so far only -- community association manager who dared to stop officially appointed Florida election monitors from doing their job. He will go to every length to keep his job, even if it includes sending out e-mails polling board members if they are in favor of recalling Mark Stern -- definitely not his business as a licensed CAM!
Tannenbaum knows that his tenure as Playa del Mar manager is over as soon as Boffa has lost the majority of the board votes.
A recent event in the association office showed that Betty Cholst makes another false claim in her letter (quote): "[Board members] have access to all financial records and the management office - including keys to our units."
Board member Heide Von Schlieffen was asking Keith Tannenbaum last week for association documents, only to be yelled at by Tannenbaum’s high-pitched (angry) voice when he threatened to call the police because of "harassment.” So much for so-called easy access to association documents for board members. Von Schlieffen left, rather than create a confrontation. Just like many other others, she is well aware that Tannenbaum has a temper and that he has been accused in court of REPEATED DOMESTIC VIOLENCE. It's pretty obvious that Betty Cholst is just another retired attorney who thinks she knows it all, but she has no scruples about sacrificing her integrity and honesty -- or whatever was left -- in order to get back on the board of a condominium association. The
unit owners of the Playa del Mar definitely deserve better than that,
especially decisions regarding their money -- decisions made in public
board meetings, not behind closed doors! Unit
owners should make sure that they vote at the next board elections for
candidates with a high standard of honesty, integrity and
responsibility, willing to obey the Florida Statutes and
willing to make decisions at public board meetings -- with input of the
members! They already have such a person in Mark Stern. Maybe
that's why certain unscrupulous persons are trying so hard to get rid of
Stern! |