But he didn't cash out. FROM THE START, Jeff's three brothers and father didn't share his enthusiasm for opening a lavish gaming house. OK--we didn't get out--OK? A nurse was present to monitor his condition. You think this didn't break my heart?" And for nearly a month, they did. Behind the scenes, the Bumbs suspected their potential gambling competitors and a disgruntled former Flea Market employee of giving investigators unsubstantiated material to use against them. "I don't need their help," he barked at Werner. (In one case, George Bumb Sr. loaned Jeff $31,250 in 1992 for his son to invest in Bay 101.) Tim and George Jr. would appeal and reapply, the hope being that the club would open as soon as possible. When Vice President Al Gore called to personally invite the elder Bumb to a fundraiser at the Los Altos home of real estate magnate George Marcus, Bumb put the VP on hold for several minutes, ultimately making Betsy take the call. "It made you tough, made you get a thick skin." And that ain't happening because I can't afford it." Ultimately, Jeff says with resignation, he hopes I find the truth, "not my truth, not their truth, just the truth." But there was no gambling done that night. Jeff Bumb says he believes that state and local investigators at the time of Bay 101's limbo were investigating a rumor that Jeff had tried to get someone killed, a charge Jeff denies. "And I told you that I loved you and you are like a father to me. Tim Bumb says writing a letter on Jeff's behalf would have violated the agreement with the police chief and put the club in jeopardy. The elder Bumb may not have been feeling well, but he wasn't too sick to remember who was boss in this family. A FEW DAYS AFTER returning from his son's Oct. 13, 1995, military graduation in San Diego, Jeff and his wife, Elizabeth, got some appalling news: Their 14-year-old daughter had been involved in a sexual relationship with an older male cousin. Ultimately, the charges against the older Bumb were reduced to a misdemeanor. "They had to find Snow White and Cinderella," Tim Bumb says, "and that was George and I." "I'm a big boy." And as with any divorce, embarrassing private details about the family and its businesses made their way into the public record. Some improprieties did turn up: Bumb & Associates, a partnership including the four brothers and their father, had failed to file required reports disclosing more than $100,000 in political contributions made between 1989 and 1992. He asked longtime family attorney Ron Werner if his brothers could write a recommendation letter for him, something state officials had told him he would need to be considered eligible for a gaming license. According to Jeff, there was tremendous pressure from his father and others in the family to keep the incest a secret. But Jeff and his family started hearing that instead of showing concern and support for his daughter, George Bumb Sr. and others in the family were blaming his freshman daughter for the incident and not her adult-age cousin.
George Bumb Jr. of San Jose Flea Market and Bay 101, dead at 61 Along the way, Jeff raised the ante, hiring Frank Ubhaus, a lawyer who represented Garden City card club, Bay 101's crosstown rival. Jeff signed a deal with his brothers that prohibited him from owning Bay 101 stock until he got all the necessary licenses. Of the four brothers, Tim and George had faced the least resistance from state gaming officials. And for nearly a month, they did. Campaign records show that Bumb & Associates and Bay 101 have made at least $587,000 in campaign donations since 1994 to local and state politicians and ballot measures. ON AUG. 11, 1995, Jeff sat in his Flea Market office scribbling on a piece of paper, plotting his grand return to his peach palace. And he [Jeff] wants me to violate the condition which says in it that I sign away my rights and they close us down. Almost four months later, on July 21, 1998, George Bumb Sr. appeared in the downtown offices of Berliner Cohen to have his deposition taken. According to Jeff, there was tremendous pressure from his father and others in the family to keep the incest a secret. Whenever trouble arose at the Flea Market with city code or building inspectors, the Bumbs sent Jeff to settle things. Tim and George Jr. worried that pressuring state and city officials to deal Jeff back in at Bay 101 would backfire and authorities would close down the card room. Almost four months later, on July 21, 1998, George Bumb Sr. appeared in the downtown offices of Berliner Cohen to have his deposition taken. Christopher Gardner Eight days after the molestation incident was reported to police--and one day after Jeff Bumb formally refused his father's $6.9 million buyout offer--George Bumb Sr. sent Jeff a curt typewritten memo informing Jeff that he was terminated effective immediately and had to clean out his desk before 5pm. Eight days after the molestation incident was reported to police--and one day after Jeff Bumb formally refused his father's $6.9 million buyout offer--George Bumb Sr. sent Jeff a curt typewritten memo informing Jeff that he was terminated effective immediately and had to clean out his desk before 5pm. Jeff was also getting word from his nieces and nephews that his father said at a family poker game: "If it was up to him, all the grandchildren would marry each other." She told police about at least seven other sexual encounters she had with her cousin after that. Soon after his confession, the word started spreading in the family about what happened. The court saga evolved into a battle of wills between a father--a man who wouldn't even let the Vatican tell him what to do--and his oldest son, determined to break free from the old man's grasp. He started telling people around the office that he wanted out of the family business. But Jeff says the loan dispute screwed up their moving plans. Almost four months later, on July 21, 1998, George Bumb Sr. appeared in the downtown offices of Berliner Cohen to have his deposition taken. Eight months later, the frame of the weapon was found in a Salinas pond near Venzon's home with the barrel and slide missing. Matthew Bumb's attorney argued that the relationship was consensual. "I'm a big boy." AN ATTORNEY involved likened the whole contentious affair to a divorce. In fact, on the day he was arrested, records show that Venzon pawned a 14-karat-gold diamond cluster ring and a ladies' gold tennis bracelet for a total of $298 at American Precious Metals, a jewelry store at the Flea Market run by Joseph Bumb. ALL TOGETHER, the intrafamily litigation has spanned nearly three years. ALL TOGETHER, the intrafamily litigation has spanned nearly three years. "He worked for me." Initially, police filed felony charges against Matthew Bumb for having oral sex with a minor and penetrating her with his fingers. It pitted Bumb against Bumb. Just so everyone got the point, Jeff Bumb announced to the press that he and Brian were divesting from Bay 101, and records show he eventually sold his shares for $1.4 million. But his dream, which now seemed so close to being a reality, was about to become a nightmare. Initially, police filed felony charges against Matthew Bumb for having oral sex with a minor and penetrating her with his fingers. Even though all the lights were out, she told police that she knew it was Matthew "because the moonlight shined into the room through the large windows that faced the ocean." Tim and George Jr. would appeal and reapply, the hope being that the club would open as soon as possible. Jeff entertained offers to buy the club, the highest bid, he recalls, coming in at $40 million. Jeff Bumb later explained to the press that they didn't know partnerships were required to file such reports, and they paid the state a $1,250 fine. Eight days after the molestation incident was reported to police--and one day after Jeff Bumb formally refused his father's $6.9 million buyout offer--George Bumb Sr. sent Jeff a curt typewritten memo informing Jeff that he was terminated effective immediately and had to clean out his desk before 5pm. The court saga evolved into a battle of wills between a father--a man who wouldn't even let the Vatican tell him what to do--and his oldest son, determined to break free from the old man's grasp. The couple even had a purchase contract for a $850,000 house on Golf Links Road. During his long tenure at the Flea Market, Venzon apparently developed a close relationship with George Bumb Sr. "He took care of it." At the time, Jeff was in the midst of negotiating an arrangement to be bought out of the family businesses. Ultimately, the charges against the older Bumb were reduced to a misdemeanor. "My issue with [George Bumb Sr.]," Jeff Bumb complains about his father, "was his control of where you lived, what kind of house you bought, where your children went to school, who your friends are, whether your children went to college, who they would marry, what kind of wedding they would have." George Bumb Sr.'s loan-repayment demands came in July 1996, just as his oldest son and his wife were about to move to Los Gatos and break away from the family and its eastside enclave. The two, she said, never talked about what was going on while it was happening. Jeff Bumb later explained to the press that they didn't know partnerships were required to file such reports, and they paid the state a $1,250 fine. Matthew Bumb's attorney argued that the relationship was consensual. Police reports would suggest she had, "for about a year," been giving "blow jobs" to 19-year-old Matthew Bumb, son of George Bumb Jr. At one point in the investigation, sheriff's detectives had Jeff's daughter call Matthew while he was working at the Flea Market to confirm the sexual activities. Toward the end of the call, things got heated. EVERY DAY THE CLUB stayed closed, the Bumbs lost more money. AN ATTORNEY involved likened the whole contentious affair to a divorce. Don't Shoot: George Bumb Sr., the publicity-shy patriarch of the Bumb family and creator of the Flea Market, in a rare photo which appeared in California Today magazine in 1980. It's like we had no life except for the family." Matthew Bumb's attorney argued that the relationship was consensual. He demanded $10 million from his brothers to compensate him for violating the purported secret Bay 101 deal. She told police about at least seven other sexual encounters she had with her cousin after that. In her 10 years as the Flea Market's community relations specialist, Bryant has come to adore the lack of pretension among this clan of millionaires who have their offices in a mobile home where none of the furniture seems to match. In a statement to police, Jeff's daughter recounted how the first incident had happened the year before on the Fourth of July at a family beach house near Santa Cruz when the older boy allegedly started fondling her while she was asleep on the living room couch. Meanwhile, Jeff and his lawyers spent 15 months trying get his father to appear at a deposition. Jeff's grandfather, Frank Bumb, had met his wife, Mary, at a card parlor in San Francisco where they worked. Almost four months later, on July 21, 1998, George Bumb Sr. appeared in the downtown offices of Berliner Cohen to have his deposition taken. Tim and George Jr. worried that pressuring state and city officials to deal Jeff back in at Bay 101 would backfire and authorities would close down the card room. And that ain't happening because I can't afford it." "Hell, no," George Bumb replied. In response to Jeff's legal attacks, George Bumb Sr. and Bumb & Associates filed two separate suits of their own to collect nearly $1 million in loans and interest they claimed Jeff never paid. In response to Jeff's legal attacks, George Bumb Sr. and Bumb & Associates filed two separate suits of their own to collect nearly $1 million in loans and interest they claimed Jeff never paid. In a statement to police, Jeff's daughter recounted how the first incident had happened the year before on the Fourth of July at a family beach house near Santa Cruz when the older boy allegedly started fondling her while she was asleep on the living room couch. She recalled that she was dressed in shorts and a T-shirt covered by a blanket. Almost four months later, on July 21, 1998, George Bumb Sr. appeared in the downtown offices of Berliner Cohen to have his deposition taken. Tim and George Jr. would appeal and reapply, the hope being that the club would open as soon as possible. Finally, in July 1994, the state cleared Tim and George and gave them a conditional OK to let the games begin. Ultimately, the charges against the older Bumb were reduced to a misdemeanor. The ensuing delay forced Jeff Bumb to lay off 600 workers he had hired. According to Werner, molestation of his daughter became part of a laundry list of damning things Jeff threatened to disclose if his buy-out demands weren't met. And he [Jeff] wants me to violate the condition which says in it that I sign away my rights and they close us down. Still Standing: Jeff Bumb, Bay 101's ostracized founder, boasts that despite various local, state and federal investigations over the years he has emerged squeaky clean. "I'm a big boy." After learning of the incident, Jeff and wife Elizabeth did not report the matter to police immediately. After learning of the incident, Jeff and wife Elizabeth did not report the matter to police immediately. He started telling people around the office that he wanted out of the family business. He demanded $10 million from his brothers to compensate him for violating the purported secret Bay 101 deal. "We made it very clear to Jeff and everybody else concerned," Tim says, "that I'm not going to stick my neck on the line here. "Hell, no," George Bumb replied. Toward the end of the call, things got heated. He asked longtime family attorney Ron Werner if his brothers could write a recommendation letter for him, something state officials had told him he would need to be considered eligible for a gaming license.