eye on Pinellas County

Sembler's neighbor to handle legislation for gambling despite a gambling junket paid by the industry

2006-01-13T09:11:00.000-05:00

reprint from 11-13-05 Florida Senate President Tom Lee said Wednesday he will let [Mel Sembler's neighbor] Sen. Dennis Jones, (R-Treasure Island), who was one of four Republican beneficiaries of a $48,000 gambling industry junket to Canada, handle legislation that will authorize slot machines in Broward County. Ultimatley the Republican Party picked up the tab for Jones, plus Rep. Frank Farkas, R-St. Petersburg (both run committees regulating Florida parimutuels), Sen. Jim King, R-Jacksonville, and Sen. Michael Bennett, R-Bradenton. Also on the junket were lobbyists Marc Dunbar of Magna and John Culbreath of Magna's Gulfstream Park. [Florida's Lt. Governor Toni Jennings, (R-Orlando) is past president of Florida's Senate and is a member of Straight's Advisory Board (under its latest name--Drug Free America Foundation. H. Lee Moffitt, past speaker of Florida's House of Representatives is another DFAF Advisory Board member.] LINK Related story: LINK

Dead: James T. Russell, former Pinellas County States Attorney

2006-01-06T12:49:00.000-05:00

Republican James T. Russell, the former states attorney for Pinellas County Florida, died at his home in Tennessee on Jan. 2, 2006. They say when a man dies, if you can not say anything good about him, say nothing at all. So this will be awkward for us. From what we have read about the man, he had a reputation for going after local political corruption and for that we are grateful because Pinellas County Florida is one of the most corrupt political systems in the nation. In 1993 Democratic Gov. Lawton Chiles and members of the state Cabinet honored Mr. Russell with a resolution praising him for never allowing "power, money or politics" to influence his decisions.

Like any good prosecutor, James T. Russell looked for solutions to juvenile delinquency on his turf. To that end he turned to two people: Art Barker, the Pied Piper from Ft. Lauderdale, and to his neighbor Shirely Colletti. Both had visions to solve addiction problems in young people. Mr. Barker formed The Seed in Ft. Lauderdale. One day Russell and Sheriff Don Genung visited The Seed. They liked what they saw and Russell invited Barker to speak at a luncheon for the Pinellas County Bar Association. This led to the founding of the St. Petersburg Seed which had Russell as a founding advisory board member. After the US Senate exposed The Seed for using Communist techniques to brainwash kids, The Seed closed and Mel and Betty Sembler opened Straight which they patterned after The Seed.

The Semblers turned their Seed implementation into the national-level program that had always eluded Art Barker. Straight did not become the powerhouse it became because it was effective--actually it was destructive. No, it grew because powerful politicians in Mel Sembler's pockets praised it. Because former NIDA director and White House Drug Czar Robert DuPont was a Straight consultant. And because James T. Russell looked the other way when Straight abused kids. Russell did not witness any abuse at The Seed. Indeed, Art Barker would not let anyone behind the curtains to observe what he was doing with his young charges. When the abuse charges came out and The Seed closed, Russell felt that the Semblers could fix The Seed's mistakes. Straight was a pyramid scam that sold its two products--a reborn kid in a reunited family--to affluent white folks. Straight was a criminal activity not just limited to criminal child abuse. Its crimes rose to the level of RICO.

But Russell refused to believe the claims of abuse at Straight. He did this because he felt responsible for bringing Straight to the county. He turned aside when six Straight board members resigned the first year--one implying that Straight was worse than the Seed. Allen Allweiss, formerly Russell's chief assistant state attorney for Pasco County, was on the Straight board of directors.

Art Barker created The Seed; Shirely Colletti created Operation PAR. PAR took the poor blacks that Straight was not interested in. Through the years Mel and Betty had Straights taken away from them for charges of criminal child abuse. Now Straight is closed. Betty Sembler and her Straight staff have virtually taken over Operation PAR.

James T. Russell is dead and so are over 40 former Straight clients--thanks, in part, to James T. Russell for not taking the threat of Straight seriously. Now he must answer to the Creator for those ruined lives. The story of James T. Russell's involvement in Straight is here.

Sembler turns his rezoning sights to Garden Manor in St. Petersburg

2005-12-15T08:54:00.000-05:00

Last Tuesday Pinellas County commissioners voted to 4 - 3 (AGAINST THE ADVICE OF ITS OWN STAFF) to approve a Sembler Company bid to have 29 acres of industrial-use property in Seminole rezoned to commercial so it can build a shopping center. Mike Meidel, the county’s director of economic development, and Brian Smith, the county’s planning director, made spirited pleas to the commissioners to back their recommendations to deny the proposal. Said Meidel,

"To keep Pinellas a self-sustaining county, instead of becoming a bedroom community for the wealthy will require between 2,200 and 5,800 acres of industrial land, which traditionally generates more jobs per acre than commercial land, to attract new industries and let the industries already here expand locally instead of moving elsewhere."

Brian Smith added that Pinellas by Design, Planning to Stay, the Comprehensive Plan and other long-range county plans discourage the rezoning of industrial land for other uses.

We are surprised that no one at the hearing pointed out that back in March the Safety Harbor city council approved a Sembler request to rezone 3 acres from industrial to commercial so it can build a shopping center there; or that back in August Sembler met with members of the Garden Manor Neighborhood Association in St. Petersburg in South Pinellas County to explain its plans to buy 18 acres of industrially-zoned property from the Catholic Diocese of St. Petersburg and get it rezoned commercial. When Pinellas planners look at rezoning requests by a particular company, do they turn a blind eye to history or is every specific request considered in relation to other current/previous requests made by every company?

On Monday Sembler held a second meeting with the folks in Garden Manor. The local citizenry seems to be opposed to the idea. They feel there are already enough shopping centers (one of them already built by Sembler) and they are concerned about additional traffic. But Sembler studies show "minimal new impact" to traffic.

A better way to make a living: give up your 9 - 5 office job and become an anti-commercial activist. Just find out where a big company wants to build and stir the local citizens against it. I'll bet somebody will offer you a consulting job or a vice presidency--or something. Last August local citizen Steve Plice lead the charge agaisnt Sembler. But Monday, Steve was a changed man. He has seen the light. He had this to say at teh meeting, "Sometimes commercial property takes traffic off the road. It depends on the kind of commercial."

What does Steve do these days. After August's meeting he became a consultant with the Diocese trying to sell the property! See SPT for full story.

Other sources:

Seminole Beacon 12-14-05

Good to hear Bill Young doesn't tolerate Congressional bribes

2005-12-14T22:25:00.000-05:00

update: 12-01-05 Congressman Bill Young, (R) Florida, chairs the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee. On Monday Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham, (R) Calif., who served on Young's subcommittee, acknowledged he had taken $2.4 million in bribes from defense contractors before resigning from Congress. Now Young says he is going back over Duke's list for defense spending and "checking it twice!" Asked whether he would contribute to Duke's legal defense fund, Young purportedly replied, "No way, Hose A." story

Now we hear Cunningham wasn't alone. story

12-02-05 Great Caesar's Ghost: Even the St. Pete Times is chastising Bill Young and his Republican Guard Times

Lingering ethical issues over Sembler's rezoning request in Seminole

2005-12-12T22:13:00.000-05:00

Last Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2005, we watched via Internet the Pinellas County Board of Commissioners vote 4 - 3 to approve a Sembler Company request to rezone 29.6 acres of land (part of a larger 62 acre industrial tract) in Seminole from industrial-use to commercial. Many, including us, were surprised at this vote because the commission's own staff had recommended against it citing the ever diminishing county lands that are zoned for industrial use. According to Mike Meidel, the county's economic director, the county would earn substantially more in tax dollars from an industrial-use property. Sembler's charge was led by local blue blood attorney Tim Johnson of Johnson, Pope.

What we did not observe on the Internet coverage was when (after the cameras stopped rolling) Will Van Sant of the St. Petersburg Times approached the commissioners and asked whether any of them had had ex parte communications with the Sembler team before the hearing. Back in March the city council of Safety Harbor acted on another Sembler proposal also to rezone from industrial to commercial. This one was a just a 3 acre plot. Once again Sembler had been represented by Tim Johnson (plus Steve Williamson--also of Johnson, Pope). The difference in procedure from the Safety Harbor meeting and the county meeting was that right up front Safety Harbor's city attorney asked the assembled councilmen whether any had had ex parte discussions with Sembler representatives. All said they had not. No one asked the county commissioners before their meeting started.

Van Sant published his findings in The Times on Dec. 7 stating that Mel Sembler had contacted three Republican commissioners the week before and that his son Brent had tried, unsuccessfully, contacting the other two Republicans on the commission the day before the hearing. Neither of the two Democratic commissioners say they were contacted. One citizen who read Van Sant's article is Charles Plancon. Mr. Plancon was so disturbed by what he feels is a breach of ethics that he wrote a letter to the editor at The St. Pete Times that was published on Dec. 10.

He wrote that when he was the former chairman of Golden Lantern Mobile Home Owners Association in Pinellas Park, he tried to have an ex parte discussion with the county commissioners over a rezoning request but was told by a representative from the states attorney office that his association was "an affected party that stood to gain by the decision, therefore there was conflict of interest." So he was not allowed to talk to the commissioners, he wrote. After the association's request was denied, it decided to make a second attempt. But even before the second attempt was made Plancon wrote that he was told that "since the county knew that the owner of the property would refile, it was still a conflict" for him to communicate with the commissioners. Mr. Plancon feels that the commission has a double standard.

All this brings up some questions. Namely: (a) Just how extensive is Sembler's use of ex parte communications with local officials? (b) Did Sembler or any commissioner(s) do anything illegal or unethical? (c) If so, is there anything anybody can do about it?

(a) Just how extensive is Sembler's use of ex parte communications with local officials? Melvin Sembler has a history getting his name into the political spotlight by buying into politics to get what he wants like an ambassadorship now and then or a hundred million dollar monument named for his Greatness. Here is an incomplete tally of his generous donations to state and national political figures and parties: LINK.

But what about his donations and working relationships with local politicians. Last Tuesday , the Board of Commissioners sided with Sembler against the advice of its own staff. Last month the Pinellas Planning Council also voted to approve the measure despite the fact that its staff had also recommended against the proposal. Had Sembler approached any members of the council? Van Sant pointed out that Commissioner Susan Latvala sits on the Advisory Board of Betty Sembler's drug foundation. That would be Drug Free America Foundation (formerly known as Straight, Inc.). She is also executive director of Operation PAR which has been infiltrated with many former Straight officers including Betty Sembler. Ms. Latvala admits that Ambassador Sembler called her. Did Commissioner Latvala also talk to Betty Sembler about the impending zoning request? Besides the Seminole deal, has anyone from the Sembler team ever held other ex parte discussion(s) with any commissioner(s). Have any of the commissioners ever been to a function at Sembler Company or at his home (or any other social function sponsored by Sembler--whole or in part)? Has any commissioner ever had any personal business dealings with Sembler?

(b) Did Sembler or any commissioner(s) do anything illegal or unethical? No says Pinellas County Attorney Susan Churuti who was at the hearing. According to what theStraights editor Wes Fager was able to glean from her:

The matter has come up before and was decided in 1991 in Jennings vs Dade County (589 So. 2d, 1337 3rd District Court of Appeals). The court ruled that it is not illegal for a citizen to contact his elected officials. The state legislature considered the matter to be so important that it voted into law Section 286.0115 "Access to Local Officials" which makes it legal for elected officials to talk to their constituents.

(c) But if so, is there anything that anybody could do about it?

Appeals to the 2nd Court of Appeals. Ms. Churuti went on to explain that sometimes the board of commissioners acts like a judge hearing a case. In those instances it is a quasi judicial body. Other times it acts in a legislative manner. Ms. Churuti feels that last Tuesday's meeting started out as a quasi judicial body to determine yes on no or Sembler's proposal. But a broader discussion developed during the hearing as to how the county needs to improve upon its zoning scheme. But the board decided, she says, as a quasi judicial body and like any circuit judge's decision any appeal would go to the Second Court of Appeals.

Ms. Churuti concedes there could be a problem in the Seminole matter. If someone were to appeal the commission's decision the judge would rule that there is a "presumption of prejudice," especially from telephone calls--because nobody really knows what was said. Now that does not mean that an appeal of this specific case would automatically win. It only means that for starters the judge would assume "presumption of prejudice." Perhaps there are those who feel that the lost revenue that otherwise would have been generated from industrial tenants on the Seminole property will be passed on to tax payers in later years.

Lingering questions on ethics. Sembler has a history here. In 1987 Sembler formed a partnership with Clearwater city official Michael Kenton. Together they bought a swamp and almost got away selling it to Clearwater, with Kenton's lobbying, for a cool $1.65 million profit--practically overnight. States attorney James T. Russell would not even consider prosecuting Sembler for the scam. He declared it an ethics issue since Kenton worked for the city and referred the matter to the states ethics commission. Kenton was forced by the states ethics commission to forfeit his entire commission.

Mel Sembler is a very, very prominent Republican. He personally contacted three fellow Republicans about a vote they would be making. About a vote on whose outcome would mean millions to him. One commissioner he contacted was Susan Latvala. It is undeniable that the money he has given to Republicans has benefited the Latvala family (both Susan and her husband Jack). Melvin Sembler once boasted, You pay a little more, you get a little more. Indeed he gave so much to the Republicans that Congressman Bill Young appropriated $113 million to buy a monument to Sembler's Greatness!

Commissioners Karen Seel and Susan Latvala said there was "no pressure" when Sembler called. Commissioner Bob Stewart said it made him feel uncomfortable. "The significance of somebody like Mel Sembler calling and lobbying on an issue is not something that would go unrecognized or unheeded," Stewart said. We agree. We do not feel the commissioners would have handled a call from Charles Plancon the same way it did with Mel Sembler. We think it's high time for Sembler to answer up to his comment, "You pay a little more; you get a little more."

UPDATE 12-13-05:1400 EST. Wes Fager spoke to Kerrie Stillman of the Florida Commission on Ethics on Dec 13 at 1330. The commission comes under the legislature but is an independent body. Ms. Stillman advised him that the commission is not empowered to conduct grand juries or the like to ask questions of public officials like what gifts they may have received or whether they spoke to the wife of someone hoping to get a favorable ruling from a public official. A link to documents concerning ethics of state officials and employees is here. A link to forms, including Form 50 used to file a complaint, is here. The web page the Florida Commission on Ethics is here.

Sembler personally lobbies Republican commissioners and wins another rezoning request

2005-12-07T12:18:00.000-05:00

Dateline Clearwater, Fl 12-06-05 Pinellas Commissioners voted 4 - 3 to rezone 4900 Park St. in Seminole from industrial to commercial even though their own staff recommended against it. Last week Ambassador Mel Sembler, AO personally called and spoke to three Republican commissioners (Seel, Latvala, and Stewart) about his proposal which would mean millions for him. On Monday Mel's son Brent, who is Charlie Crist's campaign manager for governor, called Republican Commissioners Morroni and Duncan, but the two say they did not speak to him. The two Democrat commissioners (Harris and Welch) say they were not contacted.

Sembler brought in a team of experts capable of beating the Indianapolis Colts. There was Florida's top-gun economist Dr. Hank Fishkind of Fishkind and Johnson to debunk the county's concerns of dwindling industrial-use property. Bill Oliver of Tindale-Oliver & Associates assuaged the commissioners' concerns over increased traffic. [Tindale-Oliver is the county's own transportation consultants.] Sembler Company CEO Craig Sher was there to report that the old man himself would have been there had not he been in Washington, "on more important business, presumably."

But some speculate that Sembler avoids announced public appearances these days because he is frequently protested by groups such as the Uhurus who call him a racist; St. Pete for Peace who call him a right-wing elitist; the anti-Straight crowd who say he is unrepentant for his involvement in organized child abuse; and a growing number of citizens disgruntled with Sembler business plans who feel he is not a good neighbor.

The hearing to decide on the rezoning of property in Seminole was held at the county courthouse in Clearwater. Heading up Sembler's show was local, blue-blood attorney Tim Johnson whose daddy had once been named Mr. Clearwater and whose uncle had once been named Mr. Seminole! Mr. Johnson crowed that though he is known for saying much in few words he asked for more time on this particularly important matter. But one of the commissioners opined that all matters that come before the commission are important. [Sembler frequently uses Johnson's law firm. He used Tim Johnson in the The Great Cooper's Point Land Scam.]

With such fire power boring down on them, the issue for the county's own technical staff seemed to be in doubt until Mike Meidel, the county's economic development director, took the floor. Mr. Meidel eloquently, and simply, told the assembled commissioners that the county has a plan; that in that plan there is a huge effort to attract industry to the area; that the type of industry he is talking about is not factories with ugly smoke stacks, but rather medical, engineering and computer technologies buildings that look from the outside like attractive, big boxes. Industries that do not need a major highway, airport or rails to ship out big boxes of goods. It comes down to this, Mr. Meidel stated, getting more unskilled, low-paid workers in the retail business of which there is already an abundance OR getting a thousand, highly paid, skilled workers working in an attractive box. The later, he claimed, would generate more revenue for the county. The latter, he claimed, is becomming a diminishing commoditiy in the county.

Johnson and team argued that the property had gone vacant for a long, long time; that industrially zoned property was not selling; that insurance companies do not want to insure a property rated as a high flood area. Mr. Meidel suggested that perhaps Essilor, the property's owner (also being represented by Tim Johnson) had not been too effective in trying to sell its property. He noted that the county uses CoStar when trying to attract industrial buyers and that the Costar listing for the property at hand shows a picture of the former building on the property. Mr. Meidel pointed out that the building has been razed, but Essilor has not bothered to upgrade the ad. [The ad simply states, "4900 Park St N - Essilor, St. Petersburg, FL 33709-2228 USA. This property is an industrial building with 160,000 SF of rentable building area located in St. Petersburg in the South Pinellas Industrial submarket of Pinellas county."]

When Tim Johnson got a chance to rebut, he told the commissioners that Essilor uses LoopNet to list its American properties for sale. [I got an account with LoopNet at 1:41 PM EST, just after the commissioners voted, and did a search for the property, selecting every category, and found 12 properties in Seminole--but Essilor's was not among them.]

Frankly, we are confused about all the big fuss over the property being located in a high flood potential area. Consequently (it was stated over and over again) no one will insure it for industrial use. If the property is not insurable for industrial use, why would anyone insure it for commercial use? Why didn't one of the commissioners ask Craig Sher why Sembler is willing to build on such a risky location? Is Sembler going to inform the retailers who will lease his stores off Park Street that before they put hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of inventory in those stores, the area is an at- risk area? If Sembler is not going to tell them, should some informed, concerned citizen's group do it?

We are not hydrologists. We know nothing about flood plains. Perhaps there are economic or hydrological reasons why the matter is of no concern, or at least of lesser concern, to non-industrial businessmen. Unfortunately, we were not represented at the meeting--this time--to ask questions. From our map it looks like part of the property is on the water. Could that later be developed as high-priced, waterfront property for condos? Does Bill Young have a plan to build a flood retaining wall? If we are right in presumng that Sembler should have similar concerns as an industrialist, then why didn't Dr. Fishkind jump up and point out this anomaly. After all, was he representing the interest of the Sembler Company that hired him--or the interest of the citizens of Pinellas County?

We watched the entire proceeding on the Internet and thought that the county's team of Brian Smith (CPA staff), Mike Crawford (PPC staff) and Mike Meidel had proved their case for the county to deny Sembler's request. Robert Stewart made a motion to deny the request which was seconded by Ken Welch. But in the the end the commissioners decided against their own staff and voted for Sembler 4 - 3.

On Nov. 16 the Pinellas Planning Council voted 4 - 3, also against its own staff's recommendation, to side with Sembler in the Essilor matter. But Sembler is getting worse at this game. In 1988 Sembler tried to get a piece of property near Tyronne Village in St. Petersburg rezoned from industrial to commercial to build another shopping center. But the local citizens signed a petition against it; The Times noted that there was already 4 - 5 shopping centers in the area; and the planning staff for St. Pete advised against it citing increased traffic usage on streets already overused. So Sembler hired attorney Roy G. Harrell, Jr., immediate past president of the St. Pete Chamber of Commerce (who was friends with city Councilman Ron Mason) to lobby his case before the city's elected officials--just as he had hired Tim Johnson to lobby his case before the Pinellas commissioners in The Coopers Point matter. Those councilmen voted 9 - 0 for Sembler to build a shopping center that no one wanted! [See Sembler's long history of getting his way with elected officials even though their own staff's disagree with him.]

How they voted:

John Morroni (R) Chair.......no
Kenneth T. Welch (D) VC....no
Susan Latvala (R).................yes
Calvin D. Harris (D)..............yes
Robert B. Stewart (R)...........no
Ronnie E. Duncan (R)............yes
Karen Williams Seel (R)........yes

Email the commissioners: click individually above or email them all.

Related stories:

SPT: "Sembler family is flexing its political muscles in city" link
Special report by theStraights: Sembler's history of convincing elected officials link
Special report by theStraights: Sembler contributions to local elected officials link
Sembler Company CEO Craig Sher doesn't think $500 contributions can influence politicians. link indy vers
The Republican Party and their lobbyists help normalize cults in Pinellas County, Fl. link
Our article announcing that there would be a hearing on the matter on Dec. 6 link
SPT: Power broker calls; land use plan changes on Dec 7. link
Seminole Beacon 12-14-05
Commissioners' agenda for meeting on Dec. 6, 2005 link

You don't send me flowers anymore: Is Sembler trying to buy off Tampa's ABC Action News too?

2005-10-18T11:13:00.000-04:00

Robin Guess is a hard-hitting investigative reporter for ABC Action News in Tampa Florida. Like Richard Leiby of the Washington Post she immediately saw news worthiness in a civil suit brought on by the ambassador to Italy (who is from the Tampa Bay area) to reclaim his discarded penis pump from a former employee who claims he had been severely abused in a program once run by the ambassador. So she and ABC Action News did a story on the affair.

Now this was devastating news for the Semblers because it started a bufooning snowball. Their hometown newspaper, The St. Petersburg Times (which is in Sembler's pockets), had decided against doing a story. But with Robin Guess airing the story to millions of Bay area viewers The Times was forced to report too. And of course something this bizarre, this unusual concerning Florida's most powerful politician had to make front page news in The Times. These local reports did not go unnoticed by a national-level newspaper--The Washington Post. And while Tampa's ABC News and The Times were generous to the ambassador calling the pump a "medical device" as he alleges it is, the Post was not so intimidated by Tampa Bay's Republican Party machine. Since Sembler's own attorney had called it a "penile pump" in a court document, The Post rightfully called it a penis pump. And once The Post ran its story, Ana Marie Cox, Washington's premiere gossip columnist (who also goes by the name Wonkette) jumped upon it under the heading PumpGate and the story is now all over the international Internet.

So you see what a thorn Robin Guess had become to Mel Sembler. Worse still for Sembler, Robin promised to follow PumpGate through the courts. What do you think Big Mel Sembler did? Early on Lenny Englander, Mel's attorney, had threatened that the Semblers were going to drag anybody into their lawsuit who had colluded with Bradbury. Apparently ABC Action News had not gotten the word. You don't mess with Tammany Hall South--Tampa Bay's powerful Republican Party machine. Almost immediately Mel had Robin Guess subpoenaed and sent her through a grueling deposition to find out what she knew. Sembler's forces had already had a judge illegally gag Bradbury and he had the Sheriff and the states attorney looking for ways to jail Bradbury. And now he had a reporter under the microscope to see, perhaps, if there was anything he could nail her on.

But Papa Joe is not really a bad man. He likes to help people. Robin Guess donates time to a worthy charity--The Academy Prep Foundation. The stated mission of Academy Prep is, "To promote the educational, social, and ethical development of middle school students who qualify for need-based scholarships and have the ability and desire both to succeed in a rigorous academic program and to become positive, productive members of society." If you look at the foundation's annual report for 2003 - 2004 and search separately on "Sembler" and on "Robin Guess" you will see that The Sembler Company gave at least $5,000 in cumulative gifts which includes $2,000+ as a Table Top sponsor.

We're reminded of another era, another time when some politicians were truly mean spirited. A time when this newspaper editor in Cicero or Peoria Illinois wrote an unflattering piece on Al Capone. Capone sent over a couple of his thugs who beat the editor severely. And then good ole' Al stepped in and paid the man's medical bills!

One would like to dismiss this Academy Prep thing as a mere coincidence, but then Melvin Sembler has made his bones in life by making small monetary contributions in return for hopes of greater wealth and power. Furthermore, the Semblers' have a poor record in dealing with minorities as documented here. Since Academy Press is geared towards helping inner-city black kids it's difficult to imagine the Semblers supporting this worthy charity without having some ulterior motive.

Anyway ABC Action News has removed both its video segment and the printed transcript from its web page. And ABC Action News has not reported on any PumpGate court proceedings since Ms. Guess vowed to see the matter through the courts. ABC has not reported on the cronyism of Judge Logan or on Judge Rondolino's failure to order the Sembler's to be evaluated by Bradbury's independent medical examiner after he had order Bradbury to be evaluated by the Sembler's medical examiner--even though it is not Bradbury who is claiming (at least for now) any medical sufferings. ABC did not even report that the Semblers appear to have misrepresented themselves stating they were not available for depositions when actually they were. Nor did ABC report that in the midst of all this the ambassador conspired with Congress Bill Young to get federal taxpayers to hand over $50 million to repair the causeway out to Sembler's home on Treasure Island, or that the duo conspired to purchase a $113 million monument to themselves in Rome. The Washington Post broke this story. Why hasn't ABC News Tampa carried it--after all he is a local boy?

Shame on The St. Pete Times

2005-03-08T13:27:00.000-05:00

Shame on The St. Pete Times: the ethics of naming rights for St. Pete Times Forum may go deeper than previously reported and the Times' cover-up of Straight's Karen Norton trial
an editorial by Wes Fager (c) 2003 modfied March 2005

This page is being updated and is scheduled for completion by Mar 11, 2005. Keep checking back or look for announcement on www.theStraights.com

For now you can read the unupdated version at www.theStraights.com/articles/shameon-spt.htm

Congressman C.W. "Bill" Young sends more pork to Sembler's Treasure Island, white, Republican elite

2005-02-26T10:19:00.000-05:00

Look at this map. It shows Pinellas County's beautiful, exclusive beach communities along the Gulf of Mexico. Townships like Treasure Island where Mel and Betty Sembler live; Madera Beach where Miller Newton lives; and, to the north, Belleair Beach. Also notice the little bridges, called causeways, that take Tampa Bay's elite out to their waterside homes. Last year, US Congressman C.W. "Bill" Young, who heads Congress' Appropriation Committee, got $50 million approved to upgrade the Treasure Island Causeway. [Mayor Mary Maloof had even written a letter to Mel Semble in Rome. She says she wanted, "to see what he can help us do with his contacts in Washington."] This year Young got another $34 million approved to build a new causeway for Belleair Beach! He said this year's hurricanes underscore the importance of an evacuation route for the beaches!

In 1989 Young gave an almost laughable endorsement for Sembler when Sembler bought his Australian ambassadorship. A reporter once asked St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker who's the most powerful man in St. Petersburg. He responded Bill Young followed by Mel Sembler. In 2002 Young visited with Sembler at Mel's Villa Taverna in Rome. Young got just $3 million for Betty Sembler's Operation Par. Meanwhile Mel Sembler and the NAACP's Daryl Rouson have teamed up build a $ 5 million Kash n' Karry supermarket in the economically deprived Midtown section of St. Petersburg. [The city donated the land.]

Florida Holocaust Museum's Awards Banquet protested for association with those tied to Straight

2005-02-13T08:52:00.000-05:00

(Story at 2/12/2005:2300 EST) This just in. Our newsroom just got a call at 2300. The protesters wound up at some party and called to say there is a man there who started talking about a program he had been in that sounded to them like Straight. One of the protesters asked him if it was Straight. No was the reply; it was Second Chance. Second Chance is a second-generation Straight with a Christian theme in Memphis, Tennessee started by Reverend Scotty Cassidy. It is believed that Rev. Cassidy was formerly director of Straight-Dallas. We have little data on his program and may have found a foot into unraveling yet another layer of theStraights' onion.

(Story consolidation of reports at 2/12/2005: 1845, 1911, 2000; 2/13/2005: 1000) The picket is over and the protesters are enjoying a cold beer in a nearby pub. The weather was beautiful. There were 7 or 8 protesters--one drove down from Virginia. One potential protester had a sprained back and could not show, another could not get off from work. They lined up along the sidewalk shown in the picture on the right. The photo on the left is from last year's event. The large sign was used once again. Cars had to drive along the sidewalk before turning into the parking lot. They were stacked up and had to stop right in front of the sign. Elderly people in their black ties put on their glasses to read the signs.

A woman said she had to drop off her child but would be back. She returned and said I want information to read. A old man walked up and said can't you forgive someone for something they did 30 years ago when now they're doing all this good--especially since they've apologized. A protester told him--they have never apologized. A man in his 20s walked up and started talking. He was hostile. The protesters explained to him why they were there. He left unconvinced, still hostile. Another man in his 20s came up. He seemed to understand why the protesters were there. Before the event started a teenage girl came out of the pavilion and talked to the survivors. She said she agreed with them. Three teenage boys walked over from the building. They talked to the protesters and left saying they agreed with the survivors. A protester told us he was moved by their understanding.

The protesters received several one finger salutes; a few cursed them. A car U-turned, came back, and asked for fliers. Police cruisers were placed at each end of the street. A man in a tan suit named Greg took license numbers. The protesters think he was a cop. He asked one of the protesters, "who is in charge," but was told no one. This seemed to upset him. Please stayed tuned for the latest updates from this breaking story.

WHY PROTEST. See the previous post on this blog for the reason why there was a protest.

Protest flier

Protest photos

Interact with the protesters on fornits.

The Florida Holocaust Museum's Annual Awards Banquet will be protested Feb 12 for its association with those tied to Straight

2005-02-13T07:34:00.000-05:00

The photo is of protesters at last year's Florida Holocaust Museum's Annual Awards banquet.

Why would anybody other than a neo-Nazi protest a Holocaust museum? The systematic destruction of the Jews in Nazi Germany is the single most horrific program of crime this planet has ever witnessed. We are in complete agreement with any and all persons, media and institutions which seek to tell the story of what happened to the Jews in World War II--including the Florida Holocaust Museum.

But the protesters do have an issue with the management of one, and only one, of these institutions--the Florida Holocaust Museum. As dastardly as Straight is, it's crimes could never compare to those that occurred in The Holocaust which destroyed the body as well as the spirit. Nevertheless, Straight, Inc. is guilty of many of the same human right abuses and civil liberties violations as the Nazis.

The Florida Holocaust Museum was founded by Walter Loebenberg, formerly president of Straight Foundation, now called Drug Free America Foundation (DFAF). He is still on the board of DFAF. Straight's former national clinical director, Father Doctor Cassian Newton (AKA Reverend Doctor Miller Newton) is a member of a DFAF subsidiary. [See The Miller Newton Story. See Newton and team settle for $11 million. Straight founders Melvin and Betty Sembler and others associated with them or Straight have been or are museum board members. Last year the museum thumbed its collective nose at the protesters by selecting Bruce Epstein, MD as interim museum director (he was another Straight board member) and by selecting Mel Sembler's son for its annual award. How will it antognize the crowd this year? Read now The compeling case to protest the Florida Holocaust Museum, and why the media will not cover such protests for the justification to protest the Florida Holocaust Museum's "Life Awards" banquet on February 12. If you would like more information on the protest contact this e-mail.

Related links: 2004 awards banquet protest , 2004 protest at the museum.

A La Carte Event Pavilion
4050 Dana Shores Drive, Tampa
Feb. 12, 2005
5:30PM - 730PM
Contact: email MAP

--Holocaust Museum protest endorsed by St. Pete for Peace link
--Washington DC's Independent Media Center on Holocaust protest link
--Tallahassee Independent Media Center on Holocaust protest link
--Italian Independent Media Center on Holocaust protest link
--Israel Independent Media Center on Holocaust protest link

Mel, Betty, Herman, John, Eagle Point Christian Academy and name changing

2005-02-11T08:52:00.000-05:00

In 1992 Straight of Orlando closed. That very day Straight Orlando's executive director Michael Scaletti took over Straight's clients in a new program but in the very same facility that he called SAFE, Inc. When Virginia authorities yanked Straight's license in northern Virginia for abusing kids there Straight hopped the border and reopened in Southern Maryland. Cincinnati officials closed Straight in 1986 but today a second-generation Straight continues to operate out of the old Straight faciltiy in Milford, Ohio. In 1989 state health authorities closed Reverend Doctor Miller Newton's Kids of Southern California for abusing kids. The day Kids closed Straight took over the clients under the name Straight of Southern California. Within a year authorities had run Straight out of the state. In 1988 prosecutors in Bergen County New Jersey raided Newton's Kids of Bergen County and removed a bunch of kids. Whereupon Miller Newton changed the name of his program to Kids of North Jersey and moved to neighboring Hudson County. When he suffered $11 million in civil suits for abusing kids there, Miller Newton changed his name to Father Doctor Cassian Newton and retired to his Madeira Beach, Florida seaside home, but bought some adjoining properties and turned them into a chapel.

Just so Mel and Betty know they're not the only ones doing it, in 1988 Mississippi welfare officials raided Herman Fountain's Bethel Home for Children and removed 72 "abused and neglected children." Two years later a judge shut the place down. Later Herman reopened under the name Bethel Academy for Boys. But Bethel was cited for abuses too. Now John Fountain (Herman's son) runs the place and has changed the name again to Eagle Point Christian Academy.

Maybe it's time for Mel and Betty to have a little name change of their own. How 'bout something regal like William and Mary Sembler? Or perhaps something red hot and spicy like Anthony and Cleopatra Sembler or even Romeo and Juliet. Or even something out of this world--Mork and Mindy Sembler. No. No. It's going to have to be Jack and Jill. story

If David Miscaviage can go to his deposition as Admiral Farragut, then Keith Henson can go as Bozo the Clown.

Pinellas County's two biggest cults--Scientology™ and Straight--, and the Semblers finally answer their first set of interrogatories

2005-02-11T05:53:00.000-05:00

The other day I was reading a newspaper series about a popular cult. In the first segment the writer wrote that during the course of his investigation he had found criticisms of the group and that these criticisms included that the group can tear families apart, that it even pressures some members to sever relations with family members critical of the group. That it uses deceptive practices and some recruitment methods lack professional credibility. That it seeks legitimacy through government coalitions and that it had even wooed city officials in an attempt to escape its reputation as a cult. That the mayor had declared a day in honor of the cult. That jail authorities tried to bring the group's drug-related program to the jail. That it practices intimidation and harassment and that it has a " history of using lawsuits to silence critics." That it is costly and that it opposes psychiatry.

Well I thought the writer was talking about Pinellas County, Florida and Melvin and Betty Sembler and their Straight program--you probably did too. But he wasn't. He was talking about L. Ron Hubbard and another cult--the Church of Scientology™ in Buffalo, New York. [Read Mark Sommer's excellent four part series in The Buffalo News, Jan 30 - Feb. 2, 2005, Part 1: Enlightenment's dark side, Part 2: Being in, breaking out, Part Three: Helping spread the word, Part Four: Outside critics are unacceptable.]

Like I say the series wasn't about Mel, Betty and Straight, but it easily could have been. America's First Couple of National Drug Policy was in the news though. The darlings of demand reduction finally turned in their interrogatories for PumpGate. (See plaintiff's answers to first set of interrogatories.) They were a few days late but the framers of the Constitution did allow for certain automatic time extensions of a judge's order for dukes, duchesses, earles, knights, ambassadors and others who "pay a little more." To me their collective answer to question 15 lays out the whole of PumpGate.

Q15. "Please state your understanding of what has motivated Richard Bradbury to picket your house."

Answer. "His effort to extort monies from us. His sadistic desire to inflict pain on people. His desire to avoid responsibility for his own actions."

You know, when my daughter was a little girl, whenever she pointed an accusatory finger at me I would tell her, "Honey, whenever you point a finger at someone three fingers are pointing back at you." Truth be known Mel and Betty Sembler founded and operated a juvenile drug rehab program that extorted money from clients' parents; that used a quack, sadistic therapy that intentionally inflicted pain on its captives; that ran at every turn to avoid responsibility for what it had done. Mel and Betty never mentioned Straight in the entirety of their answers even though everyone, especially Mel and Betty, knows that many people, including Ray Bradbury, have protested the Sembler home, venues and other interests because of what Straight did to them all those years ago. I wonder if their answer to Q15, by ommission, is tantamount to perjury--or does it just border on perjury. This case is about Straight and nothing but Straight. The Semblers know that if Straight gets in, there's not an honest person who could be on a jury who would not find their Straight program reprehensible.

In question 7 the Semblers admit that they told several people about his prostrate cancer. So much for invasion of that privacy. But they do affirm they told no one that he uses the medical device. (ADDED BONUS: Of course Mr. Bradbury did not ask the question, but their answer to Q7 amounts to a voluntary admission that Mr. Sembler has not been unfaithful to his wife since he purchased the medical device [or devices, if there have been others]. Quite possibly DNA testing can confirm this. )

In other questions the Sembler's say they have not sought medical attention to deal with their emotional distress. So how does one tell a magistrate, "judge, he's made me emotionally disturbed and I am suffering from $1 million in emotional damages."? How can a court assess the extent of harm done and determine a dollar award for damages without supporting expert medical testimony. If there is this damage, then why haven't they sought medical help?

I am reminded of an old black and white English film (Marlene Dietrich may have been in it). It was about a person who had accused another of having been a doctor in a Nazi concentration camp. The doctor sued for libel. In court the doctor prevailed that his reputation had been soiled by the claim and the judge's instruction to the jury told them that they had to find the defendant guilty. Complicating the matter for the plaintiff however, though the defendant could not actually prove beyond a shadow that the doctor had been in the SS, his attorney had convinced the jury that the doctor had been a monster in the SS. Required to find for the plaintiff, the jury did. But the punishment they recommended--one pound! If "Straight" gets in, the Sembler's lose even if they win.

Sounds to us like, from their own answers, their case is weak, regardless. Sounds to us like they've already lost. They claim that when Bradbury placed the ad on eBay, Bradbury was over the limit. They had Judge Logan shut Bradbury up and then their son served on a diner committee with the judge. A US ambassador with a dark past who is being picketed all over the place for that black past sues a former employee for placing for sale his discarded penis pump--and he demands it back! The St. Pete Times might be in Sembler's vast Republican pockets and quash the story, but a story like that has to sell. Sembler has Bradbury gagged and hogged-tied but PumpGate is all over the Internet in blogs, web pages, discussion forums--and in languages that we don't even know what they are. And now it's in print. For 17 long years Melvin and Betty Sembler ran a program that intentionally inflicted emotional distress (and even physical pain on some) on thousands of kids and now they want to sue one of those former kids for intentional infliction of emotional distress because he dared fight back. How dare them.

If David Miscaviage can go to his deposition as Admiral Farragut, then Keith Henson can go as Bozo the Clown.

Oakton Institute to Florida's Office of the Attorney General: leave our whores in Pinellas County alone

2005-02-04T09:40:00.000-05:00

Page 1. So you thought the first time Trevor Aaronson crossed paths with Betty Sembler was when he wrote Suffering Together last December for New Times, a story about alleged abuses in a second-generation Straight in Lakeworth, Fl. called Growing Together. Well guess what, he thought so too--and you're both wrong. St. Pete's hookers used to transact business on N Fort Harrison Avenue until the vice squad put a sting out and arrested a bunch of them. But that did not deter these ladies from providing their services. They just moved down to 34th Street. Aaronson wrote about St. Pete vice squad officer Sandy Minor and his cohorts who have setup stings on 34th Street. And that's when Aaronson found out that the state legislature had stepped in. State Representative Frank Farkas (R), a chiropractor from Pinellas County, introduced a bill to the 2002 legislative session that is sure to end the scourge of prostitution that has plagued the sunshine state since Ponce de Leon first propositioned Pocohonas on the sandy banks of Lake Kissimmee.

It's quite an epitaph for a mere bone manipulator to solve a problem that has plagued mankind since before recorded history. The reasoning is that prostitutes don't sell their goods because it might feel good while making money at the same time. They don't do it because they can make as much in one evening tricking as they can clerking all week at 7/11. And they don't do it because they are damn good at what they do and it's the one thing they do better than anything else. No. Farkas said, "When we know that 90 percent of these prostitutes have substance abuse addiction, we know that jail is not the answer." So almost all prostitutes are drug addicts and the cost of drugs is so high they must sell their bodies to buy the drugs. Now Farkas didn't say, "therefore we must legalize drugs to make the price drop." What he did say is this, "we need treatment." [See Soliciting Hope by Trevor Aaronson in Weekly Planet and Prostitutes will get treatment, not jail by Leanora Minai in SPT]

Frank Farkas is a member of the House's powerful Health Care Appropriations Committee. In 2002 he proposed bill HB415 asking for a statewide initiative to force prostitutes to get drug rehabilitation treatment upon a second conviction in stead of jail. He proposed the program be called Project HOPE. The House agreed and state Senator Lesley Miller (D) from neighboring Hillsborough County sponsored the bill (SB 570) in Florida's Senate. The bill was passed but there wasn't enough money available in 2002 to implement it statewide so the legislature set aside $100,000 for Pinellas County and $100,000 for Hillsborough County to setup pilot programs. Aaronson wrote that Officer Minor (citing that both Farkas and Miller were up for reelection) had said about Project HOPE, "It's totally political. It'll take a lot more (money) than that."

Page 2. Well Officer Minor you are only 1/4 right. Project Hope is not only a political solution to a 10,000 year old crime, but it is also a business venture. And while 2002 was an election year for Farkas and Miller, there are other forces driving the politics as well.

Frank Farkas ran for and won a seat in the state House of Representatives in 1998 and has won reelection every two years since. The Semblers have been generous to Farkas' campaigns. Their contributions include--1996: Betty Sembler - $250, son Brent Sembler - $100; 1998: Betty - $100, Brent - $250; 1999: Betty - $250; 2000: Brent - $500, son Gregroy Sembler $100; 2002: Betty - $500. Actually Project HOPE was first implemented in October 1996 by Operation PAR in Pinellas County. PAR's Project HOPE has received support from the St. Petersburg Police Department and the county. The $100,000 given to Pinellas County by HB415 went to Operation PAR. The $100,000 slated for Hillsborough County went to a drug rehabilitation there called DACCO. Betty Sembler is on the board of directors for Operation PAR. And she is not the only former Straight officer tied to Operation PAR. In fact, the infiltration of Operation PAR by former Straight officials is so pandemic that an excellent case can be made that Operation PAR is now the drug treatment arm of Betty Sembler's Drug Free America Foundation (DFAF) [formerly known as Straight Foundation]. Operation PAR won the 1996 Howard McGlasson Grant of $8,045 from the Pinellas County Community Foundation for its Project Hope. In 1996 the St. Petersburg Police Department and Operation PAR, Inc. received a $60,000 grant for the project from the Pinellas County Substance Abuse Advisory Board.

Project HOPE stands for Healthy Options Promoting Esteem. We find it particulary objectionable and hypocritical that for 17 years Betty Sembler operated a juvenile drug rehabilitation program known as Straight, Inc. that uses an unproven, experimental therapy that intentionally lowers a person's self esteem (in some cases to the point where kids have suicidal ideations or they resort to carving on their bodies) and then attempts to rebuild their self esteem in a new, positive straight image--and now her Operation PAR is working to rebuild self esteem for prostitutes by weaning them off drugs.

Three Strikes and you are out. Prostitution was just a misdemeanor in the land down under before Rep. Farkas took charge. But not anymore. For now on if you or your "john" get free educational help from the state in lieu of going to jail and subsequently get busted a third time, you will be charged with a third-degree felony! In December 1994 Renee Hughes says she got into a car with a man to have sex so she could buy drugs. She says he hit her in the head with a hammer or crowbar. That's a felony too. Renee spent the next month in a hospital. We just feel that what Renee did just does not rise to the level of what her assailant did. The stigma of a felony conviction harms a person's ego and self esteem in untold ways; its effects are almost always irreversible. Why do that to an unfortunate person. Perhaps Rep. Farkas should stick to bone massaging and leave fucking to the experts.

The other day one of Charlie Crist's lieutenants got ripped off in a hotel room in Tampa. Charlie Crist is Florida's Attorney General. Seems the assistant attorney general called a couple of escort girls up to his room. He says that while he was being escorted by the duo in the privacy of his room a man knocked on the door. He opened the door and was gassed with pepper spray. The assistant AG then says the trio robbed him and absconded with $500 of his money. The AG office has announced they are investigating. Investigating what? Besides, Farkas' bill requires that "johns" attend six educational classes to raise awareness of sexually transmitted diseases. Will the assistant AG be required to attend these classes and will the state pay for his classes? The Oakton Institute has this message for the Office of Attorney General. Leave our whores in Pinelas County alone. Get your lassies in Tallahassee. And now you know the rest of the story.

Sticker price for ambassadorships dropping

2005-02-03T05:59:00.000-05:00

They don't get it. You have a president and an administration that does what they say they are going to do. Ambassador "Cowboy Bob" Sembler clowning around at the Suncoast Tiger Bay Club, May 28, 2003, fielding a question from the floor about the European perception that "jingoistic cowboys" run the US State Department.

Michael Crowley, a senior editor at The New Republic, was shocked to report in the Dec. 2004 Reader's Digest that George W. Bush named George Argyros to be ambassador to Spain even though he did not speak Spanish. He notes that Argyros did ontribute $100,000 to the Bush-Cheney inaugural committee. But we're not shocked. After all, we know that in 1988 George H. W. Bush, the President's daddy, nominated Joseph Zappala to be ambassador to Spain even though Mr. Zappala claimed to be a co-founder of Straight, Inc. (a chain of juvenile drug rehabilitation programs that had been accussed of child abuse all over the country); his sister was a convicted cocaine dealer; and he was but a high school graduate who didn't speak Spanish either! But Joe Zappala had donated $126,000 to them Republicans. (Bush I named Peter Secchia, a $100K donor from Michigan, as his choice for ambassador to Italy even though he was not fluent in Italian. When asked what he hoped to accomplish in Italy, Secchia reputedly answered, "I’m looking for a big-titted woman".) Homeland Security should really be concerned about what information political buffoons leave laying around on their kitchen tables or throw out in their trash.

Related stories:
Bush puts friends in high places, Christian Science Monitor
Rumor says Ambassador Sembler and others to be fired, World Peace Hearld
White House for Sale

Museum director says no irony in Jackie Robinson display. We say there is.

2005-02-02T14:15:00.000-05:00

In April 1998 Stephen Goldman who was then director of The Florida Holocaust Museum said, "There's no irony in it being here. Our lessons are those of tolerance and breaking down of barriers." He was talking about hosting "Stealing Home: How Jackie Robinson Changed America" an exhibit dedicated to the late, great baseball hall-of-famer Jackie Robinson who on April 14, 1947 became the first black man to play major league baseball. Robinson started with the Brooklyn Dodgers. The exhibit had started the year before at the Simeon Wisenthal Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles and had traveled its way around the country to various museums and ballparks. Director Goldman went on to tell a story about former Detroit Tigers star (and fellow Jew) Hank Greenberg. In 1947 when Greenberg was playing with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Goldman had said, he was the first opposing player to encourage Robinson. Goldman concluded his story saying, "Just as blacks and Jews went through the civil rights movement together, Robinson and Greenberg did much to break down those barriers."

Well, Mr. Goldman, Jackie Robinson and Hank Greenberg did break down barriers and it was only fitting that the Jackie Robinson Exhibit started at the Simon Wisenthal Museum, but we think you misspoke when you said, "There's no irony in it being here." Here at the Florida Holocaust Museum, that is. And this is why:

In 1978 Florida’s Bureau of Criminal Justice Planning and Assistance released a report on Straight finding that in its first 18 months of operation Straight had enrolled 450 youths but only one had been black. Five years later Straight's national clinical director admitted that out of 260 young clients at Straight-St. Petersburg there were no blacks! In a sworn affidavit made by a Straight Foundation board member on January 17, 1991 he stated, "...research has shown that over the last 3 years there has been a decline in Straight’s market, to-wit: middle and upper income children involved in drugs..." Straight just did not target blacks. It targeted whites whose parents could better afford to pay its steep fees. Straight Foundation president Walter Loebenberg founded your museum, Straight founders Melvin and Betty Sembler are on (or have been on) the board of directors, along with Jay Synder and Dr. Bruce Epstein. Dr. Epstein has even been the interim director of your museum. Not only is their Straight program guilty of committing many of the same human rights violations that the Nazis are accused of committing but Straight was a racial institution that targeted white kids only. It was indeed ironic that your museum, under its then oversight, hosted an exhibit to baseball great Jackie Robinson. [Source: St. Petersburg Times, Apr. 4, 1998, pg. 3.B]
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Read about the alleged treatment of Straight-St. Petersburg's first black kid on Fornits (NOTE: This story is unsubstantiated.)

It doesn't smell good: Sembler talks C.W. "Bill" Young into giving Italians $10M of our money

2004-12-04T10:39:00.000-05:00

In 2004 Mel Sembler pressed Representative Young to include $10 million of US taxpayers money for an Italian AID's vacine that some say has a weak scientific rationale. One US health official who requested anonymity said of the deal, "It doesn't smell good." story

The ethics of naming rights for St. Pete Times Forum may go deeper than previously reported

2003-10-18T10:59:00.000-04:00

an editorial by Wes Fager (c) 2003.

In September 2002 the Saint Petersburg Times broke new ground by being the first media source ever to buy the naming rights to a major sports arena causing an uproar from journalists warning that such a deal could cause a newspaper to lose its objectivity and truth in reporting. Little did they realize that there had already been other naming right deals by the Times or that the Times may have already breached objectivity and truth. Had the St. Pete Times killed a story on child abuse involving a prominent Republican hero in exchange for certain naming rights?
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On Sept. 3, 2002 the Saint Petersburg Times announced it was buying the naming rights for Tampa's Ice Palace, home of the NHL Tampa Lightning. The new name soon would be St. Pete Times Forum. No media company had ever done that before. And worse still, the deal was shrouded in secrecy. Times editor, Paul Tash, would not even tell one of his own reporters who was investigating the story the cost of the purchase. The deal brought a flurry of protests from writers like Bob Steele, director of ethics programs at The Poynter Institute which owns the Times. He questioned the hypocrisy in a newspaper that is a watchdog in some situations but a guard dog when it comes to looking into its own books. Steve Weaver, president and publisher of the competing Tampa Tribune, noted that by having the Times' name on the arena there is "an implied endorsement of the events which are hosted at the venue, including concerts, political rallies, religious functions, etc." Lana Whited of the Roanoke Times in Virginia wrote a piece called "Florida newspaper buys name, sells credibility" in which she asserts that a newspaper's currency is "truth and objectivity."

The Colorado Rockies play at Coors Field, the San Francisco Giants at Pacific Bell Park. The difference with the Times Forum name is that if the St. Pete Times Forum were to host the politically controversial Dixie Chicks, how could the Times objectively editorialize against the group if it wanted too. Or suppose the 2004 Republican national convention were to be held at the Times Forum. Would that put pressure on the Times to endorse the Republican candidate? So newspaper ethicists protested the arrangement last year because it gives rise to the potential for a paper to lose its sense of objectivity and truth in reporting. What the ethicists had feared most of possibly happening, had, perhaps, already happened. The real, un-reported story is that while the Times was negotiating its secret deal, it had already stopped a story which could hurt the buy. During all the ruckus over renaming the Ice Palace, the Times did not report a story on child abuse involving a prominent local Republican because the Times wanted to host the 2004 Republican national convention from the St. Pete Times Forum. And the story goes even deeper. Beyond the naming rights for the Ice Palace, the Times may have killed the story on the politician in order to get naming rights for entertainment stages at certain venues built by that man. Or so all of this would appear. Here's the untold story.

Melvin Sembler: the man who sells swampland in Florida. The man at the center of the controversy is Tampa Bay shopping center developer Melvin Sembler, Mr. Republican Party in Florida. For those in the know, he is the man in the shadows who controls the Republican Party in America. Florida Trend Magazine calls him "kingmaker" adding [he is] "a self-made millionaire, anti-drug crusader, community benefactor and self-avowed family man, Sembler personifies the conservative, successful image that Republicans hold dear." [Update 9-1-03 Andy Barnes was chairman of Trend when that magazine praised Mel Sembler. Paul Tash, the former editor of Trend, was vice president of Times Publishing--the owner of The St. Petetersburg Times and Trend--at the time.] It was Mel Sembler who dreamed up the concept of Republican Regents--the 139 individuals and corporations who have donated $250,000 to the GOP since 1999. He's been the national finance chairman for the GOP and is one of the few living men who have held two ambassadorships. His wife of 50 years, Betty, was Florida Governor Jeb Bush's finance cochairman. When the Bushes (any of them) are in Tampa Bay they stay at Mel's house.

But Sembler has his critics too. They say he buys Republican respectability because of his political largess. They point out that he paid $127,600 to be Ambassador to Italy. They say he ran a controversial drug rehabilitation program for kids known as Straight, Inc. In 2000 during his Senate confirmation hearings for the Italian job, Sembler told the assembled senators, "For 17 years, I served as chairman of the board of Straight. Other than our children, nothing was more rewarding than this effort." But Straight has a dark side and that's where this story of the Saint Petersburg Times and naming rights really begins.

Headquartered in Saint Petersburg, Florida, Straight was the world's largest chain of juvenile drug rehabilitation programs. Perhaps as many as 50,000 kids were tricked or forced through its doors. Straight's method is to strip a child down of his self esteem and then to build him back up in a non-"druggie," straight image. Clinically this behavior modification process is called thought reform or "brainwashing." There are reports that some Straight clients were made to defecate, urinate and vomit on themselves; that youmg girls on their periods soiled their chairs. Straight used food and sleep deprivations and unwarranted restraints. Many kids were treated for drug problems they just did not have--one 12 year old girl was admitted for sniffing a magic marker! Under such depravity and stress many kids resorted to carving on their bodies. The jury is still out on whether Straight was an overzealous attempt by self righteous businessmen to cure any youngster with red eyes from drug addiction, or whether it was just one big pyramid scam to put pressure on affluent white parents to seek the treatment while the top took in $100 million as a charity. But one thing is certain, today former clients are coming forward by the hundreds on the Internet claiming that they still suffer from nightmares, relationship problems, family estrangements, drug addiction, employment difficulties and post traumatic stress syndrome from Mel Sembler's Straight program. Some can not post; they are insane. Others are dead. At least 40 have committed suicide. In 2000 Sembler had told the senators that "with 12,000 successful Straight graduates the effort had been well worth it." However check out this web page where former graduates are denouncing their graduate status in droves.

How do we know about Straight's abuses and more importantly about Sembler? We know Straight from professionals and the court cases. And we know Sembler and Straight from what the media has said with most of that coming from 17 years of hard-hitting reporting by the Saint Petersburg Times in articles like "A persistent foul odor", "Money buys Bush Appointments" and "Cooper's Point Deal is Rotten." Cooper's Point is the mangrove swamp Sembler bought for $900,000 using insider information and almost got away sticking his fellow citizens with it for $3 million until the Times exposed the deal.

Last summer the survivors from Sembler's Straight gulag assembled in Saint Petersburg to hold the "Second International Conference on Rehabs that Abuse." On June 7, 2002, the day before the conference, approximately 25 men and women assembled in the little park across the street from Ambassador Sembler's house on Treasure Island. People had flown in from as far away as Michigan, Maryland and Virginia to protest the hypocrisy of Sembler's appointment as Ambassador to Italy. Sembler had a private security guard, walkie-talkie in hand, positioned strategically in his driveway. Several plain clothes police officers sat in unmarked cars and vans in nearby parking areas. A reporter from the Saint Petersburg Times took several pictures, taking notes on who was there and where they were from. He took shots of a least 18 people marching, single-file with banners in hand, in front of Sembler's house (while others were on the grounds in the park across the street). But this remarkable event went unreported. In 1988 the Tampa Tribune ran a story with photo of just two local people protesting at Sembler's house.Exactly one month later, an article appeared in the Times announcing that The St. Petersburg Times had entered into a deal with the $40 million BayWalk shopping mall in Saint Petersburg and the $45 million Centro Ybor plaza in Tampa (two properties developed by the Sembler Company in 2000) for exclusive rights to newspaper sales and to promotions. According to the deal the Times "will be entitled to vending racks, promotional kiosks, on-site special events, signs and banners." The entertainment stage at Centro Ybor would become known as "St. Petersburg Times Stage;" the stage at Bay Walk would be named the "Infinity Broadcasting Stage at BayWalk 'presented by the St. Petersburg Times.' " Enlarged front pages of the Times would be on display at both sites. Craig Sher, president of the Sembler Company, had this to say, "We are pleased to be associated with the Pulitzer Prize-winning St. Petersburg Times in this sponsorship venture." Paul Tash, the president and editor of the Saint Petersburg Times, was so excited about the sweetheart deal that he made this public statement, "By positioning the Times prominently with these two popular venues, this agreement advances our place as the newspaper for the entire Tampa Bay area."

For 17 years the Times had carried the Straight story and, as usual, had sent a reporter to cover just another one. They paid a reporter's salary to show up and then killed the story. Two days before the protest, an article had appeared in the Times stating that a planning committee had been formed to propose a bid to hold the 2004 Republican national convention in Tampa. In the ensuing weeks it was learned from Bay area media sources that Saint Pete Times chairman and CEO Andy Barnes was on the proposal committee and that the committee's findings were being kept secret, though it was disclosed early on that the plan was to hold the convention at the Ice Palace. [It was learned that Mr. Barnes had actually briefly resigned from the committee until it had decided to open up its books.] It was disclosed that a pep rally was planned to kickoff the convention and that the rally might be held at Tropicana Field--another Times sponsored venue. And then it was learned that the Times had bought the naming rights to the Ice Palace where Times' chairman Andy Barnes was trying to entice the Republican Party to hold its 2004 convention!

So there you have it. Imagine. For one solid week all radios and televisions in America would hear the Republican national convention being beamed from the St. Pete Times Forum! Mel Sembler and the St. Pete Times were not about to let a handful of damaged adults spoil the plan to host the Republican national convention in Tampa. It appears to be just that simple. A report on the truth would embarrass Mel Sembler; harm the Republican Party; and hurt the St. Petersburg Times' pocket book. The story was omitted and a possible sweetheart deal involving "exclusive" selling rights was thrown in to boot. Or so it would appear.

In all fairness to the Saint Petersburg Times, the Times did carry an article about Straight on June 7, the day of the protest at Sembler's house. Times' writer Jeanne Malgren wrote "In the middle of a nightmare" which tells the horror story of three former Straight clients and also announced the conference. But Sembler had not been tipped off that that story was coming. The best we figure at this stage is that the wheels of damage control started with the protest.
Last September amidst all the hullabaloo about the St. Pete Times Forum, Paul Tash had written, "My favorite quote in the coverage about the name change came from a GOP bigwig who noted that most Republicans in Florida had started out as Democrats but been converts. 'Maybe,' he said, 'we can even convert the St. Pete Times.' " But Mr. Tash, didn't he really tell you, "Maybe we can even buy-off the St. Pete Times?"

See the related article Has the Tash Times been soft on Tampa's Dynamic Duo?