NEW PORT RICHEY - Last week Raymond Pemburn stood before the Pointe West Condominium Association's violations board. The board asked if he had any intention of paying a $25 fine for socializing in his front yard.

He said no and the board doubled his fine to $50.

Pemburn and his condominium have become the hub of controversy in Pointe West after the condo association passed a rule forbidding front-yard gatherings.

It was an emergency measure to stem the complaints coming from the 89-year-old widower's front yard, said Arthur Gay, president of the Pointe West Condo Board.

The board had heard complaints about people "swapping spit" and drinking beer in the driveway with parties spilling onto the street, he added. The rule restricts socializing to indoors, on the screened porch or in the back yard.

Gay said the rule also has infringed on his ability to barbecue in his carport. He was not present when it was passed on Nov. 5.

"If we don't enforce it, the exception becomes the rule," he said. The residents of the community have not yet voted on the measure but will have the opportunity in February during the condo association's annual meeting.

Pemburn, a dapper, soft-spoken man, said he often hugs his female visitors but denies any untoward behavior and talk of tailgate parties. He likes to sit in a plastic chair in the front yard and people will stop to talk to him while walking their dogs. If they are women, Pemburn said sometimes they'll hug.

"We socialize. We have nice camaraderie. We're not out to hurt anybody or damage any property," Pemburn said Friday. He doesn't know who would complain other than some unnamed "biddies."

The property manager issued Pemburn a violation notice for a front-yard gathering on the night of Nov. 13.

If Pemburn doesn't pay the fine, his civil disobedience could lead him to the courthouse, cautioned property manager Jack Smith.

"At the meeting and earlier to the press you stated that you would not pay the fine," Smith wrote to Pemburn. "I must warn you that the association has no choice but to follow through with the collection of this fine even if it means legal action."

His friend, Judith Krauss, said Pemburn wasn't outside on the night of Nov. 13. He was cooking dinner while his friend, Victor Novak, a 52-year-old construction worker, smoked a cigarette outside. Two women stopped to talk to Novak before heading into the condominium for dinner, Krauss said.

Novak, whose mother lives in Pointe West, said he once drank a bottle of beer in Pemburn's yard. He admits he should have put it in a cup.

Novak no longer parks his truck in front of Pemburn's condo, fearing it will draw attention to Pemburn.

Pemburn's neighbor, John DiDiego, a retired New York City police officer, denies any carousing across the street.

"What are you supposed to do? Stay in your house like a mummy?" he said.

Smith said that the rule does not infringe on the residents' ability to socialize.

In a Dec. 7 letter to the Times, he wrote, "I want to make it perfectly clear to the ignorant masses that sitting in your front yard or talking to your neighbors is not a violation of the Pointe West rules. Having a tailgate party at the street's edge is!"

Since Pemburn's troubles with the condo association started, others have received violation notices. 

Krauss said she received a letter from Smith last week saying a recent gathering in Pemburn's yard was "obviously a planned event in violation of the rules," he wrote. "It is only hurting you and your neighbors," he continued, adding that the infraction would be placed on the board's upcoming agenda.

Krauss said the group was talking in the middle of the day with "no tailgate, truck or alcohol present."

Although she knew she was risking a violation by gathering in Pemburn's front yard, Krauss said she is more concerned with living in the moment after surviving repeated bouts with cancer.

"It was more important on that day to enjoy the connection with people. That's what life is about," she added.