THE TRUTH ABOUT PRESIDENT BOFFA'S ACTIONS!

A FORMER BOARD MEMBER TELLS THE REAL STORY!

THE PLAYA DEL MAR SAGA CONTINUES!

Just An Opinion By Jan Bergemann 
President, Cyber Citizens For Justice, Inc. 

Published March 13, 2008

 

It had to happen; it was just a matter of time. Too many bad things happened -- and one of Robert Boffa's former supporters finally got sick and tired covering up for Boffa's games. Mike DeMonia, former Secretary and one of the directors not showing up for the Mark Stern recall meeting that allowed a rigged recall to be certified because of lack of quorum, resigned from his seat as director of the board of Playa del Mar, Inc. and wrote a letter of explanation to all owners. This letter is self-explanatory and just confirms what many former board directors and owners of the Playa del Mar, Inc. had said all along: Robert Boffa plays games at the expense of his neighbors, the owners of this condominium association at the Fort Lauderdale Galt Mile. But whoever was surprised by the contents of this letter must have been running around with blinders: The writing was long on the wall! And even if Mike DeMonia's actions may have caused a lot of problems for the owners, he has to be congratulated for finally taking a stand and doing the right thing: Revealing the games played by Robert Boffa behind closed doors -- to the detriment of his neighbors!

 

March 3, 2008

Playa del Mar Association:

I am distributing this letter to explain to the association why I felt I could no longer work with Bob Boffa as President. The first category represents the way he has compromised my management of construction contractors to the determent of PDM.

·                   He accepted an invitation from the SPS operation's officer for a private meeting that specifically excluded me, the construction manager.

·                   He has allowed Dan Lecht to sign off on change orders for work not approved by the engineer.

·                   He did not keep his promise to me to keep our inspector on the parking deck job, in my absence.

·                   He basically fired our engineer and inspector, leaving us wide open to sloppy work by SPS.

·                   He continuously criticizes and tries to micro manage my management of contractors.

·                   He has signed changes to the painting contract without my knowledge.

·                   In SPS meetings, Bob has to be the big negotiator. I doubt that he has even read the "contract."

There are other areas where he has used bad judgment and possibly broken condo law.

·                   He was reimbursed $630 from the association for damage caused by his shower drain - Condo Docs XX.

·                   He used office and security personnel to obtain recall signatures.

·                   He wanted Jose to paint all residential hallways instead of performing needed maintenance of the building.

·                   He has given away association common property without Board approval - 718.115(3).

·                   He has received work in his unit from maintenance personnel without compensation - 718.111(1)a, 718.501(1)(d).

·                   He has authorized the purchase of unnecessary equipment that the supplier will not take back.

·                   He authorized the purchase of pool deck furniture that is not suited for this location.

·                   He omitted duties from the Vanguard contract that we had the previous guards do.

·                   Keith and Caren left because of their lack of trust in Bob's word.

·                   He has allowed the decorating chairwoman to replace hallway furniture without equal consideration for the wings.

·                   He has allowed Dan Lecht to question every purchase Jose makes, including reviewing his cell phone bills, in my absence.

·                   He showed no interest in enforcing any rules prior to the election.

·                   He directed the creation of a new parking space from common property for Dan Lecht - 718.113(2)(a).

Individually these concerns of mine can be explained away, but all together they show a disturbing pattern of abuse of power of a Board President that should be held to a higher standard. Many times I cautioned Bob of the perception of impropriety. He joked about my concerns, I think, knowing he has an ability to convince people of anything. Bob's careless "knee jerk" decisions do have a price. We are paying the price for his bad judgment. In the beginning of the election process I felt that if he wasn't president maybe his unilateral decisions could be restrained.

After several discussions with Fred Nesbitt about Boffa's questionable management style, he convinced me that he felt the same way I did and that there needed to be a change. Because Fred seemed willing to step up and be the full time leader that everyone wanted, I was willing to stand up to Bob. Fred called a meeting a few hours prior to elections and everyone including Bob agreed that whoever, between Fred and Bob, got the most votes would be elected President. Between 6:00pm and 11:00 pm, Bob convinced four other Board members to reverse their agreement and vote for him (without my knowledge). I felt set-up and betrayed, especially by Fred.

I have been the hands on person, the one solving problems and working out details. I have been working to help organize maintenance and get the most out of contractors. Bob and my management styles are direct opposite. I thought I was what the building needed, however, your new Board thinks it's Bob. I feel very bad that I didn't withdraw my support for Bob sooner. It might have made a difference. But you all should know what a "con man" he is.  

  

Mike DeMonia

 

The actual reason why Robert Boffa was allowed to violate all these rules and makes these adverse decisions? The unwillingness of the DIVISION OF FLORIDA LAND SALES, CONDOMINIUMS AND MOBILE HOMES to enforce Florida statutes and Administrative Rules. Harold Hyman from the Fort Lauderdale Bureau of Compliance received over the last two years a multitude of complaints from owners about Robert Boffa and the way he is violating Florida Statutes. Nothing really happened and Hyman found excuse after excuse to wiggle himself out of making decisions. 

 

Another important piece of information revealed was the fact that it was attorney Randall Roger who advised the three board members not to show up at the recall board meeting, causing the recall to be certified by default. Please see: JUDGE, JURY AND EXECUTIONER! LISTEN TO THE RANDALL ROGER SHOW! We have known it all along, but now we have finally the statement from one of the persons involved, who clearly stated: "Yes, Randall Roger and Keith Tannenbaum told us not to attend the meeting!" After listening to Randall Roger at the hearing of the House Select Committee in Tampa I was pretty sure from the beginning that he was behind these tactics circumventing the Florida statutes, telling his clients not to act in good faith. It's not the first case in associations with Roger as attorney of record where these tactics were used to make a dubious recall work! 

 

Have attorneys like Randall Roger ever figured out that they are getting paid to represent the interests of all association members, not just the few in power? Don't forget that Randall Roger wasn't even the official attorney for the association. He was never voted in; he was just hired by Robert Boffa, who most likely needed lots of legal protection, according to the letter above. In my opinion Roger clearly violated his fiduciary duties as association attorney, because this action caused the association to pay for the defense of the following recall arbitration. Most likely a serious complaint to the Florida Bar will follow. In my opinion, rightfully so!

   

This just proves our point that a lot of these associations would be much better off without these kinds of "attorneys."

 

But the most guilty party, besides the violators, is definitely arbitrator James Earl and his unwillingness to make decisions. ( See ARBITRATOR JAMES EARL -- PROCRASTINATOR PAR EXCELLENCE! )

 

His unwillingness to make decisions allowed the recall of Mark Stern to be certified -- for the moment according to Earl -- and the election to take place, despite Boffa making changes to the rules, clearly violating Florida statutes and Florida Administrative Code. His excuse for allowing a rigged recall conducted in bad faith to succeed: "In case of a final ruling that would allow Mark Stern to return to his rightful seat on the board of directors of the Playa Del Mar no harm would be done and things can be reversed again."

James Earl must be able to work real miracles if he believes that he can undo the damage his decisions created -- or his unwillingness to take a stand!  Paying arbitrators like James Earl from condo owners' money adds insult to injury!

Arbitrators are paid to make rulings -- and not sit on cases and hope they will just go away. Condo owners can deal with adverse rulings -- there are ways to remedy the situation if needed. But not making decisions at all is the worst situation at all! And James Earl is the absolute master of how to avoid making decisions!

Board member Grace Antonella resigned at the same meeting, because she didn't want to compromise her integrity any further. In her letter of resignation she appealed to her fellow unit owners (quote): "How much more of this are you all willing to take? When it is too late and we are faced with more assessments? Bob Boffa has lied to us all and will continue to do so, if you continue to let him. He is driven by his thirst for power, remember, Absolute Power Corrupts!"

This ongoing feud is far from over. More chapters will be written. But as long as the DBPR is unwilling to take a stand and enforce the rules, as required, more financial and emotional harm will be done to the owners of the Playa del Mar. Courtesy of Robert Boffa, Randall Roger and the DIVISION OF FLORIDA LAND SALES, CONDOMINIUMS AND MOBILE HOMES.


THE PLAYA DEL MAR SAGA


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