Deputy chief Tom Wheatley says that police wondered if Venzon, or someone, destroyed the barrel to prevent a ballistics test from tracing a fired bullet to the gun. 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. When family patriarch and Flea Market mastermind George Bumb Sr. was invited to attend a party with President Clinton in San Francisco a couple of years ago, he refused to go and sent his community relations specialist, Betsy Bryant, instead. He started telling people around the office that he wanted out of the family business. Christopher Gardner 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. AN ATTORNEY involved likened the whole contentious affair to a divorce. Other allegations were more dubious: Investigators chased after a tip that the Bumbs were skimming cash from the Flea Market parking lot, an accusation that was never proven. 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. You know the school we went to?" One of George Bumb Sr.'s granddaughters explained to police that her family was very old-fashioned: "The woman gets the short end of the deal; she is a whore. When the Vatican eliminated Latin from the Catholic mass in the '60s, George Bumb Sr. responded by building his own chapel, named for the rebellious St. Athanasius, at the base of Mt. Toward the end of the call, things got heated. Finally, in July 1994, the state cleared Tim and George and gave them a conditional OK to let the games begin. He and his brothers had a plan, he says. Initially, police filed felony charges against Matthew Bumb for having oral sex with a minor and penetrating her with his fingers. The district attorney's office says that Bumb attorney Ron Werner turned the letter over to authorities immediately after it came in the mail. Initially, police filed felony charges against Matthew Bumb for having oral sex with a minor and penetrating her with his fingers. Jeff entertained offers to buy the club, the highest bid, he recalls, coming in at $40 million. George Bumb Sr., an avid card player, held a regular weekly family poker game at his home. Matthew is the kind of guy a relative described to police as "polite," the guy parents wanted their daughters to date. 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. He and his brothers had a plan, he says. It's like we had no life except for the family." He demanded $10 million from his brothers to compensate him for violating the purported secret Bay 101 deal. 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." If all this weren't enough, a sexual relationship between his 14-year-old daughter and a 19-year-old Bumb cousin was reported to police, slicing the family's cherished privacy wide open for the world to see. "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. Along the way, Jeff raised the ante, hiring Frank Ubhaus, a lawyer who represented Garden City card club, Bay 101's crosstown rival. And that ain't happening because I can't afford it." Today, Bumb family enterprises include the local Premium Pet Stores chain, Air One Helicopters and, of course, Bay 101. The only reason we are driving around in his Lexus today is because he knows I have read the bizarre and bitter contents of a 2-foot-high stack of documents down at the Santa Clara County Superior Courthouse. In the last five years, the Bumb family and its enterprises have been investigated for illegal political campaign contributions, an alleged profit-skimming racket out at the Berryessa Flea Market and even a murder-for-hire scheme involving Johnny Venzon, a former cop, convicted thief and gambling addict. EVERY DAY THE CLUB stayed closed, the Bumbs lost more money. 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. He wanted to relocate and expand Sutter's Place in Alviso from a five-table card room to a 40-table one, matching the size of Northern California's largest card room, Garden City in San Jose. Now that their gaming license had been denied, a decision needed to be made--quickly. He demanded $10 million from his brothers to compensate him for violating the purported secret Bay 101 deal. At the time, Jeff was in the midst of negotiating an arrangement to be bought out of the family businesses. 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. She recalled that she was dressed in shorts and a T-shirt covered by a blanket. Toward the end of the call, things got heated. I'm on the hook for $15 million. Or at least he thought he didn't. They recorded the conversation. "And when I visited you at your home I told you that other than God you are the only person I've gotten down on my knees for," Venzon says on page 7. 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. Matthew is the kind of guy a relative described to police as "polite," the guy parents wanted their daughters to date. The card club has done more than bring unwanted public scrutiny to this insular group. Christopher Gardner Well, George, whether you want to believe it or not I do love you and you are like a father to me." OK--we didn't get out--OK? AN ATTORNEY involved likened the whole contentious affair to a divorce. If all this weren't enough, a sexual relationship between his 14-year-old daughter and a 19-year-old Bumb cousin was reported to police, slicing the family's cherished privacy wide open for the world to see. And as with any divorce, embarrassing private details about the family and its businesses made their way into the public record. The Flea Market, touted as the nation's largest, made the Bumbs rich, grossing nearly $12 million in 1996. At the time, Jeff was in the midst of negotiating an arrangement to be bought out of the family businesses. The couple even had a purchase contract for a $850,000 house on Golf Links Road. 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." He was also the kind of guy, police records reveal, who told his mother about the incidents "because he felt guilty." The gambling palace Jeff Bumb--the oldest son who is often described as the most entrepreneurial of the four brothers--had in mind was going to take a lot of effort and political skill. But Jeff says the loan dispute screwed up their moving plans. Ultimately, the charges against the older Bumb were reduced to a misdemeanor. He was also the kind of guy, police records reveal, who told his mother about the incidents "because he felt guilty." But Jeff says that privately he and his brothers had an oral agreement--which Tim Bumb now corroborates--that would one day let him repurchase his shares and become a partner in Bay 101 again. 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. They recorded the conversation. When Werner broke the news that Jeff's brothers wouldn't write a letter on his behalf, he says Jeff became furious. He demanded $10 million from his brothers to compensate him for violating the purported secret Bay 101 deal. Preventive Medicine: George Bumb Jr. is a co-owner of Bay 101, where a snakebite kit is kept on-hand as a family joke. Christopher Gardner Toward the end of the call, things got heated. 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. Now that their gaming license had been denied, a decision needed to be made--quickly. According to Jeff, there was tremendous pressure from his father and others in the family to keep the incest a secret. Soon after his confession, the word started spreading in the family about what happened. Jeff himself was hit with a federal grand jury investigation over financial transactions in connection with a multimillion-dollar residential development near Silver Creek Road. ALL TOGETHER, the intrafamily litigation has spanned nearly three years. 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. "I mean," Jeff later said at a deposition, "it was a time of hurt and heartache for us--and not my father, not my mother, not my brother George, not my brother Tim, not Brian could care less." 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." Well, George, whether you want to believe it or not I do love you and you are like a father to me." "They didn't teach anything about this. After learning of the incident, Jeff and wife Elizabeth did not report the matter to police immediately. "Jeff is a wheeler and dealer," explained his Uncle John, the Flea Market's executive vice president and owner of the Skeeball Arcade. As legend has it, the Bumbs still send a monthly check to the widow of a former head of security who died of a brain tumor 20 years ago. she said, referring to the family-run Catholic school at the Flea Market. Toward the end of the call, things got heated. You think this didn't break my heart?" to use this representational knowledge to guide current and future action. First, Jeff tried to have the Bumb & Associates partnership dissolved after accusing his family of trying to force him out without paying him a fair price. Jeff tells the story differently: "Matthew was my godson. The Bumbs had a plenty of experience with a cash business through the Flea Market, which they've run for almost 40 years. The two, she said, never talked about what was going on while it was happening. 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. Now that their gaming license had been denied, a decision needed to be made--quickly. During his long tenure at the Flea Market, Venzon apparently developed a close relationship with George Bumb Sr. Tim, the second youngest of George Bumb's four boys, was already running the family toy business, Fact Games, and Premium Pet Stores. 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. Well, George, whether you want to believe it or not I do love you and you are like a father to me." On Nov. 8, 1995, attorney Albin Danell, Elizabeth's brother-in-law, contacted the police, apparently after consulting with Elizabeth. 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. Deputy chief Tom Wheatley says that police wondered if Venzon, or someone, destroyed the barrel to prevent a ballistics test from tracing a fired bullet to the gun. Christopher Gardner He started telling people around the office that he wanted out of the family business. (That thing that involved Jeff when Bay 101 was scheduled to open but didn't.)" Privacy hasn't been so easy to come by for the Bumbs in the '90s, since they got involved in Bay 101. Tim and George Jr. would appeal and reapply, the hope being that the club would open as soon as possible. Earlier this year, a month before Venzon was sentenced to 14 years in prison, district attorney investigator Michael Schembri closed out the Venzon case, noting in a court filing, "No new information has been uncovered relating to the murder for hire case [at the Flea Market] which our department investigated several years ago." When the Vatican eliminated Latin from the Catholic mass in the '60s, George Bumb Sr. responded by building his own chapel, named for the rebellious St. Athanasius, at the base of Mt. "I mean," Jeff later said at a deposition, "it was a time of hurt and heartache for us--and not my father, not my mother, not my brother George, not my brother Tim, not Brian could care less." He demanded $10 million from his brothers to compensate him for violating the purported secret Bay 101 deal. "They had to find Snow White and Cinderella," Tim Bumb says, "and that was George and I." Near the end Venzon writes, "They want to bring up the 'murder-for-hire' investigation again. They recorded the conversation. He started telling people around the office that he wanted out of the family business. 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. attorney Frank Ubhaus asked the Bumb patriarch. And it was very explicit in there that no Bumbs could have anything to do with the club. 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. For all his quirks and controlling behavior, the old man is regarded as a benefactor by most family members and some Flea Market employees who know their boss to be capable of great generosity. Jeff's daughter interrupted Matthew and said, "And I didn't know better. 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. Matthew Bumb's attorney argued that the relationship was consensual. 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 Bumbs had a plenty of experience with a cash business through the Flea Market, which they've run for almost 40 years. "He worked for me." attorney Frank Ubhaus asked the Bumb patriarch. "And when I visited you at your home I told you that other than God you are the only person I've gotten down on my knees for," Venzon says on page 7. (Tim Bumb, the school's director, says it was put there to save on rent. Christopher Gardner Jeff's daughter interrupted Matthew and said, "And I didn't know better. And then there's the stuff that never made it into headlines, like the alleged murder-for-hire plot out at the Flea Market. Privacy hasn't been so easy to come by for the Bumbs in the '90s, since they got involved in Bay 101. During the Venzon investigation, San Jose police dug up an old file from November 1990 in which Venzon, a sheriff's deputy, had reported his department-issued Smith & Wesson 9 mm automatic stolen. After learning of the incident, Jeff and wife Elizabeth did not report the matter to police immediately. 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. 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. Finally, in July 1994, the state cleared Tim and George and gave them a conditional OK to let the games begin. And it was very explicit in there that no Bumbs could have anything to do with the club. And he [Jeff] wants me to violate the condition which says in it that I sign away my rights and they close us down. "Hell, no," George Bumb replied. Hamilton, where Latin mass is conducted on a regular basis. Initially, police filed felony charges against Matthew Bumb for having oral sex with a minor and penetrating her with his fingers. 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. Meanwhile, Jeff and his lawyers spent 15 months trying get his father to appear at a deposition. And then, just when it seemed as though family relations couldn't get any worse, they did. She recalled that she was dressed in shorts and a T-shirt covered by a blanket. He followed that with suits alleging breach of contract, wrongful termination and misrepresentation. "My wife broke the code," he says, "and I supported her." It's very tightknit," says Bryant, adding that the senior Bumb doesn't give interviews--ever. Whenever trouble arose at the Flea Market with city code or building inspectors, the Bumbs sent Jeff to settle things. They recorded the conversation. He also disputes that such a letter was even necessary for Jeff to get licensed. When the Vatican eliminated Latin from the Catholic mass in the '60s, George Bumb Sr. responded by building his own chapel, named for the rebellious St. Athanasius, at the base of Mt. "They didn't teach anything about this. He started telling people around the office that he wanted out of the family business. 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 witnessed abundant items thrown away every day and realized he could make a profit from these discarded items. In fact, Tim and George had to agree not to collaborate with other Bumbs on any new business venture. Near the end Venzon writes, "They want to bring up the 'murder-for-hire' investigation again. The teenagers had been drinking booze earlier in the night. Eight months later, the frame of the weapon was found in a Salinas pond near Venzon's home with the barrel and slide missing. Initially, police filed felony charges against Matthew Bumb for having oral sex with a minor and penetrating her with his fingers. It did the unthinkable: Today, Bumb family enterprises include the local Premium Pet Stores chain, Air One Helicopters and, of course, Bay 101.