But
the Commission found the Bitskys spent more than $10,000 HOA dollars on
their personal utility bills, groceries, gas, travel, even memberships
to online adult chat sites.
"I
know I'm not the best-liked person in the room," Bitsky said to the
Commission.
That
might be the understatement of the year, considering one commissioner
compared him to a former Yugoslavian dictator.
"Does
it seem like I'm a dictator? No!" Bitsky protested.
But
after the Commission fined him and his wife nearly $116,000... the man
who's never been at a loss for words, had nothing at all to say.
Darcy:
Would you have some comment on what the board ruled on?
Joe: No.
Darcy: No comment at all? They said a lot of very difficult things in
there about how you ran things. No response to that?
Joe: No.
Darcy: They said that you embarrassed every HOA in the valley.
When
he wouldn't talk, we turned to his wife.
Darcy:
Barbara, you've never said anything. I'd like to hear your
comments.
Barbara: They're gonna say what they wanna say.
Darcy: What would you like to say? We've never had the chance to hear
from you.
Barbara: Does it matter?
Darcy: Of course it matters. It does matter.
Barbara: No, it doesn't.
It
matters a whole lot to the homeowners.
"We
feel vindicated," said Cathy Aja.
"I'm
ecstatic!" added Joe Salvatore.
They've
been fighting the Bitskys and their board for years.
"No
one else should really have to go through what we went through,"
Salvatore said.
Joe
and Cathy were two of the four homeowners whose complaint to the Real
Estate Division in 2010 led to the Commission's ruling.
"Now
we have a long road to hoe to rebuild the community," Cathy said.
The
Bitskys have six months to pay their fines, fees and restitution to the
HOA.
And
they were ordered to immediately surrender the association credit card
and records to the state until a new board of directors is in place.
The
Commission did not fine Hellen Murphy, citing concerns that she too was
a victim of the Bitskys.