The Sunshine Flaw

As Originally Published in Key West the Newspaper June 24, 2011

I’m not a fan of the Sunshine Law.  Oh, don’t get me wrong, I love the intent of the Law, just not the law itself.  You see very often politicians in the interest of appearance “solve” a problem by creating legislation, then pat themselves on the back, give themselves accolades and add the accomplishment to their campaign rhetoric.  Regardless of whether or not they actually resolved the problem.

In the case of the Sunshine Law, who could argue with trying to stop public officials from conducting business behind closed doors, or working back room deals.  But as with many of these feel good laws it only serves to keep legal people legal.  Those intent on doing back room deals will continue to do so simply because the parties involved and benefiting from the meeting behind closed doors wouldn’t turn each other in.  It is also important to note that the legislature in all it’s great concern, exempted themselves from the law.  Go figure.

So what does that leave us with?  Those trying to abide by the law have to struggle with understanding it, abiding by it, and need to worry about the occasional minor slip up.  That slip up then becomes the fodder of political opponents, and a consumption of time for the State Attorney to diagnose.  In addition, the State Attorney has sponsored symposiums that only a handful of locally elected officials have attended, or even expressed interest in.

What a cataclysmic waste of time and resources.  However, if any politician had the courage to propose a change to it, it would be political suicide.  Imagine the simple minded headlines, “Gardi wants to promote back room deals!”   

Untangling the Foreclosure Mystery - Part 6

I’d like to extend a heartfelt thanks to Key West the Newspaper for providing me this forum to discuss the critical nature of this foreclosure mess over the last several weeks.  I hope at the very least I have been able to illustrate a reason to look beyond the headlines so that we all become a little more aware of these issues.  It is critical that we all understand how so many financial ailments find their root cause embedded in the intentional fraud devised and perpetrated by the too big to fail banks.  It is a layer cake comprised of mortgage fraud, fraud when the mortgages are securitized, and all topped off with a nice decorative icing of foreclosure fraud.

So now that we are in this mess, how do we get out of it?  First we have to stabilize property values by building confidence in our title histories.  The downward spiral  we are in only places more homeowners in a negative equity position, which is the primary cause of foreclosures, and this only perpetuates the cycle.  We need to do more than run articles of Real Estate agents screaming buy, buy, buy!!!

Our County Clerk needs to do an intensive reclassification of virtually every property in our County.  Not just those in foreclosure, but EVERY property.  Notices need to be sent out to every mortgage holder that if proper assignments have not been accurately recorded within a time specified period that all claim to the property beyond what is on file will be eliminated.  Any subsequent assignments need to be accompanied by copies of a properly transferred note, whose dates of transfer correlate with the mortgage assignments. Detailed documentation of the physical location of each note from inception to present needs to accompany these new filings.  These filings need to be reviewed in detail to detect any BS, and anything that even looks suspicious needs to be immediately referred to the State Attorney.

Untangling the Foreclosure Mystery - Part 5

Last week in Key West the Newspaper we began to review case 09-CA-471-K, a foreclosure case here in the 16th Judicial Circuit.  We highlighted some clearly questionable documents produced by the Law Firm Marshall C. Watson, on behalf of their Plaintiff Countrywide.  I also acknowledged that the case I began to describe in detail was my own.  However, it is also similar to countless other cases filed here in the Keys and throughout the State of Florida.

Let’s now take a look at how those in a position to address such egregious docs are handling the oversight of such cases.  First, Attorney General Pam Bondi.  She did recently fire Assistant Attorney General Erin Collins Cullaro for having “moonlighted” at a foreclosure mill law firm. (Who then went on to work for Shapiro and Fishman, another foreclosure mill under investigation.)  But what comes from these investigations?  In the instance of Bondi’s review of Marshall Watson it resulted in a two million dollar fine, and no admission of wrong doing.  That may sound like a lot, but remember this is one of the largest foreclosure mills out there, two million dollars is a drop in the bucket compared to their annual revenue.  It’s the cost of doing business.

Folks, these documents in many cases are potential felonies...countless in number, used to take possession of peoples homes, and that ultimately destroy YOUR property values by creating questionable title histories throughout our community.  No admission of wrong doing, and right back at it!!??  Why not jail time?  Bondi may as well be applying sun lotion to Marshall Watson’s back.