After learning of the incident, Jeff and wife Elizabeth did not report the matter to police immediately. Almost four months later, on July 21, 1998, George Bumb Sr. appeared in the downtown offices of Berliner Cohen to have his deposition taken. He can't ignore it. According to Jeff, there was tremendous pressure from his father and others in the family to keep the incest a secret. Within weeks, Jeff says, his six-month-old dog was dead, his cat was dead and the tires of a family car were slashed. Eight months later, the frame of the weapon was found in a Salinas pond near Venzon's home with the barrel and slide missing. "I don't need their help," he barked at Werner. That's it. `He drives by every day on his way to his Maverick Consulting development business in Mountain View, but he never gets off the Brokaw/First Street exit to pay a visit. During his long tenure at the Flea Market, Venzon apparently developed a close relationship with George Bumb Sr. I'm on the hook for $15 million. "Could he [Jeff] do any other work on his own behalf?" In fact, Tim and George had to agree not to collaborate with other Bumbs on any new business venture. 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. "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. He also pulled off an armed robbery of the Aloha Roller Palace. 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. "My wife broke the code," he says, "and I supported her." But he didn't cash out. Soon after his confession, the word started spreading in the family about what happened. 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. Before the end of the month, the Flea Market laid off Jeff's daughters Anne and Rebecca. He followed that with suits alleging breach of contract, wrongful termination and misrepresentation. Snow White or Cinderella? He followed that with suits alleging breach of contract, wrongful termination and misrepresentation. she said, referring to the family-run Catholic school at the Flea Market. It wasn't the idea of gambling. Bumb family attorney Ron Werner suggested that Jeff and his family had a hidden motive for waiting nearly a month to report the incident to police. The investigation was given a shot in the arm after the arrest of Johnny Venzon in 1997, a cop who made headlines for burglarizing homes while on duty to pay for his mounting gambling debts. a natural person who has individual net worth, or joint net worth with the person's spouse, that exceeds $1 million at the time of such person's purchase of the securities, excluding the value of the . When he was jailed, the desperate cop wrote a 15-page handwritten letter in pencil to George Bumb in May 1997 asking the Flea Market owner to bail him out. VENZON WAS well known to the Bumbs. 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. She recalled that she was dressed in shorts and a T-shirt covered by a blanket. Meanwhile, Jeff and his lawyers spent 15 months trying get his father to appear at a deposition. 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. Before the end of the month, the Flea Market laid off Jeff's daughters Anne and Rebecca. Bumb family attorney Ron Werner suggested that Jeff and his family had a hidden motive for waiting nearly a month to report the incident to police. Toward the end of the call, things got heated. "It's a very strong family. After learning of the incident, Jeff and wife Elizabeth did not report the matter to police immediately. The elder Bumb may not have been feeling well, but he wasn't too sick to remember who was boss in this family. And then there's the stuff that never made it into headlines, like the alleged murder-for-hire plot out at the Flea Market. On March 17, 1993, the City Council gave Bumb and his partners the green light to open a 40-table card room on a 10-acre plot of land off U.S 101. And then police remembered the old rumors about a murder plot at the Flea Market, where Venzon had worked as a security guard for more than 15 years. Though authorities were never able to prove a paid snuff plot, Jeff Bumb believes the allegations were a factor contributing to authorities' mistrust of him. He also runs day-to-day operations at the family-owned Flea Market. Bumb family attorney Ron Werner suggested that Jeff and his family had a hidden motive for waiting nearly a month to report the incident to police. Werner said no. After learning of the incident, Jeff and wife Elizabeth did not report the matter to police immediately. The Flea Market, touted as the nation's largest, made the Bumbs rich, grossing nearly $12 million in 1996. Tim and George Jr. would appeal and reapply, the hope being that the club would open as soon as possible. And as with any divorce, embarrassing private details about the family and its businesses made their way into the public record. Jeff entertained offers to buy the club, the highest bid, he recalls, coming in at $40 million. Within weeks, Jeff says, his six-month-old dog was dead, his cat was dead and the tires of a family car were slashed. It wasn't the money, either. And then, just when it seemed as though family relations couldn't get any worse, they did. There were flowers everywhere. AN ATTORNEY involved likened the whole contentious affair to a divorce. When he was jailed, the desperate cop wrote a 15-page handwritten letter in pencil to George Bumb in May 1997 asking the Flea Market owner to bail him out. He demanded $10 million from his brothers to compensate him for violating the purported secret Bay 101 deal. Jeff's daughter interrupted Matthew and said, "And I didn't know better. "Jeff is a wheeler and dealer," explained his Uncle John, the Flea Market's executive vice president and owner of the Skeeball Arcade. In a fit, he took the paper he was writing on, crumpled it up and threw it out the office door. At the time, Jeff was in the midst of negotiating an arrangement to be bought out of the family businesses. "They didn't teach anything about this. Jeff signed a deal with his brothers that prohibited him from owning Bay 101 stock until he got all the necessary licenses. 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. "He worked for me." At the time, San Jose, like cities throughout the state, was strapped for cash, looking at an $11 million budget shortfall. One month later, the state attorney general's office made a devastating announcement: Authorities had come across issues of "such magnitude" and "concern" that they would need at least another month to decide if gambling should be allowed at Bay 101. 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. "My wife broke the code," he says, "and I supported her." Matthew Bumb's attorney argued that the relationship was consensual. Within weeks, Jeff says, his six-month-old dog was dead, his cat was dead and the tires of a family car were slashed. VENZON WAS well known to the Bumbs. In February 1994, nearly one year after the San Jose City Council gave Bay 101 its blessing, the state denied the Bumbs and their partners' gaming license application. Christopher Gardner The guy doesn't get a slap on the hand." "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. "Could he [Jeff] do any other work on his own behalf?" Well, George, whether you want to believe it or not I do love you and you are like a father to me." Tim now runs Bay 101, which he says is no easy task. The state, still busy conducting background checks, still hadn't approved the Bumbs and their partners' gaming licenses. Bryant, who acts as emissary for the family and its patriarch, thinks the Bumbs are a misunderstood bunch. He started telling people around the office that he wanted out of the family business. 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. 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. Ultimately, the charges against the older Bumb were reduced to a misdemeanor. That promised to be a hard sell to the San Jose City Council, which would have to authorize both the new site and the expansion. "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. The couple even had a purchase contract for a $850,000 house on Golf Links Road. "They had to find Snow White and Cinderella," Tim Bumb says, "and that was George and I." Toward the end of the call, things got heated. 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. Matthew is the kind of guy a relative described to police as "polite," the guy parents wanted their daughters to date. EIGHT MONTHS AFTER its approval by the City Council, the peach-colored Bay 101 held its "grand opening." Dealers stood at the tables, ready to deal the cards. That promised to be a hard sell to the San Jose City Council, which would have to authorize both the new site and the expansion. "I'm a big boy." As we do our drive-by on a Tuesday midmorning, there are more than 100 cars in the parking lot. The couple even had a purchase contract for a $850,000 house on Golf Links Road. 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. At the time, Jeff was in the midst of negotiating an arrangement to be bought out of the family businesses. But the Bumbs are hardly traditional political players. "Could he [Jeff] do any other work on his own behalf?" The Bumbs had a plenty of experience with a cash business through the Flea Market, which they've run for almost 40 years. Tim, the second youngest of George Bumb's four boys, was already running the family toy business, Fact Games, and Premium Pet Stores. It's like we had no life except for the family." Before the end of the month, the Flea Market laid off Jeff's daughters Anne and Rebecca. AN ATTORNEY involved likened the whole contentious affair to a divorce. And Jeff himself had been playing poker since he was 12. During his long tenure at the Flea Market, Venzon apparently developed a close relationship with George Bumb Sr. attorney Frank Ubhaus asked the Bumb patriarch. He also disputes that such a letter was even necessary for Jeff to get licensed.

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