The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My Public Portal AboutPRR 15-1792RECORDS REQUEST (the "Request ") Date of Request: 2112/2015 Requestor's Request ID#: REQUESTEE: Custodian of Records Town of Gulf Stream REQUESTOR: Our Public Records, LLC 1039 REQUESTOR'S CONTACT INFORMATION: E -Mail: records @commerce- group.com Fax: 954- 360 -0807; Address: 1280 West Newport Center Drive, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442 REQUEST: Provide all documents which relate to the "Attorney General Case" and the work performed on such case as Identified In the January 23rd billing of Sweetapple, Invoice 10012, In a line entry dated January 15, 2015 (See attached). ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING REQUEST: THIS REQUEST IS MADE PURSUANT TO ARTICLE I, SECTION 24 OF THE FLORIDA CONSTITUTION AND CHAPTER 119, FLORIDA STATUTES IF THE PUBLIC RECORDS BEING SOUGHT ARE MAINTAINED BY YOUR AGENCY IN AN ELECTRONIC FORMAT PLEASE PRODUCE THE RECORDS IN THE ORIGINAL ELECTRONIC FORMAT IN WHICH THEY WERE CREATED OR RECEIVED. SEE 41I9.01(2)(F). FLORIDA STATUTES. IF NOT AVAILABLE IN ELECTRONIC FORM, IT IS REQUESTED THAT THIS RECORDS REOVEST BE FULFILLED ON 1I X 17 PAPER. NOTE: IN ALL CASES (UNLESS IMPOSSIBLE) THE COPIES SHOULD BE TWO SIDED AND SHOULD BE BILLED IN ACCORDANCE WITH Section 119.07(4) (a) (2) ALSO PLEASE TAKE NOTE OF 4119.07(1)(H) OF THE FLORIDA STATUTES, WHICH PROVIDES THAT "IF A CIVIL ACTION IS INSTITUTED WITHIN THE 10 -DAY PERIOD 1'0 ENFORCE THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION WITH RESPECT TO THE REQUESTED RECORD, THE CUSTODIAN OF PUBLIC RECORDS MAY NOT DISPOSE OF THE RECORD EXCEPT BY ORDER OF A COURT OF COMPETENT.IURISDIC"nON AFTER NOTICE TO ALL AFFECTED PARTIES." ALL ELECTRONIC COPIES ARE REQUESTED TO BE SENT BY E -MAIL DELIVERY. PLEASE PROVIDE THE APPROXIMATE COSTS (IF ANY) TO FULFILL THIS PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST IN ADVANCE. It will be required that the Requester approve of any costs, asserted by the Agency (as deaned in Florida Statute, Chapter 119.01 (Definitions)), In advance of any costs imposed to the Requestor by the Agency. "BY FULFILLING THIS RECORDS REQUEST, THE AGENCY ACKNOWLEDGES THAT THE RESPONSIVE DOCUMENTS ARE "PUBLIC RECORDS" AS DEFINED IN CHAPTER 119, FLORIDA STATUTES". UP/NP/FLRR 1.12.2015 1/13/2015 Deposition of Jonas and conference with Joanne R.S. 1.50 $525.00 1/13/2015 Conference w/ RAS re: finalized affirmative D.P.V. .10 $20.00 defenses and counterclaim. Conference w/ RAS re: Jonas deposition. 1/13/2015 Review O'Hare count from Joanne and letter and R.S. .30 $105.00 filing from Berger. 1/13/2015 Format and update O'Hare Motion for Leave to File C.B. .40 $50.00 Amended Answer, Affirmative Defenses and Counterclaim w. RAS changes 1/14/2015 Update Motion for Leave; emails w. J. O'Connor re: C.B. .30 $37.50 depos for PRR 1/14/2015 Update O'Boyle Motion for Leave with RAS C.B. 1.70 $212.50 changes; update Compliance with RAS changes; d/f Notice of Filing; finalize letters to M. Berger and Judge Blanc; a -file Motion for Leave and Notice of Filing Compliance 1/14/2015 Conference w/ RAS and draft complaint to Attorney D.P.V. 1.40 $280.00 General. 1/14/2015 Review FCIR story and email correspondence re: D.P.V. .10 $20.00 same. 1/15/2015 Revise Oboyle affirmative defenses and R.S. 1.75 $612.50 counterclaim. Prepare O'Hare affirmative defenses and counterclaim. Conference Gerry yesterday. Review and incorporate his corrections. Review investigative reporter update. Prep for meeting all counsel tomorrow. Conference Joanne. 1/15/2015 Conference w/ RAS re: counterclaims v. O'Hare and D.P.V. 2.30 $460.00 O'Boyle. Edit same re: comments, as well as comments by Joanne and Gerry. Insert additional claim re: O'Hare. Conference w/ RAS re: final draft and status of the OLF. Finalize per RAS comments and put in final form. -4/15 /2015 Work on Attorney General case. R.S. .60 $210.00 1/15/2015 Conference call w Dave and Mayor Morgan. R.S. .10 $35.00 1/16/2015 Travel to and from meeting at Richman Greer re D.P.V. 4.00 $800.00 finalizing RICO complaint, et al. 1/16/2015 Meeting with all counsel. Work on all pleadings in R.S. 4.00 $1,400.00 all cases and Attorney General issues. Review new Oboyle cases and strategies. 1/16/2015 Letter to Roberto Mendez; compile exhibits to letter, C.B. .50 $62.50 email and mail. 1/17/2015 Review Berger filings and conference Mayor R.S. .60 $210.00 Morgan. 1/192015 Review lengthy response and prepare for hearing. R.S. .50 $175.00 1/20/2015 Review pleadings binder. Outine arguments for R.S. 1.50 $525.00 hearing. 1/202015 Westlaw research re: sanctions for perjury (not D.P.V. .20 $40.00 billed); Edit motion per case law. 1/202015 Conference w/ RAS. Prepare draft answer, a/d, and D.P.V. 1.00 $200.00 counterclaim to new lawsuit per RAS instructions. Submit for his review. TOWN OF GULF STREAM PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA Delivered via e-mail February 27, 2015 Our Public Records, LLC [mail to: records @commerce- group.com] Re: GS #1792 (1039) Provide all documents which relate to the "Attorney General Case" and the work performed on such as identified in January 23rd billing of Sweetapple, Invoice 10012, in a line entry dated January 15, 2015 (See attached). Dear Our Public Records, LLC [mail to: recordsno,commerce- groua.coml, The Town of Gulf Stream has received your public records requests dated February 12, 2015. If your request was received in writing, then the requests can be found at the following link: htti)://www2.gulf-stream.org/WebLink8/0/doc/37678/Pagel.asRx If your request was verbal, then the description of your public records request is set forth in the italics above. Please refer to the referenced number above with any future correspondence. The Town of Gulf Stream is currently working on a large number of incoming public records requests. The Town will use its very best efforts to respond to you in a reasonable amount of time with the appropriate response or an estimated cost to respond. Sincerely, Town Clerk, Custodian of the Records The Honorable Pam Bondi Attorney General of the State of Florida PL -01, The Capital Tallahassee, FL 32399 -1050 January 2015 Re: Complaint against Citizens Awareness Foundation, Inc. Dear Attorney General Bondi: The Town of Gulf Stream ( "Town ") respectfully writes pursuant to Florida Statutes § 617.2003 to file a complaint requesting that your office revoke the corporate charter of Citizens Awareness Foundation, Inc. ( "CAFI "), a purported not - for -profit corporation located at 1280 West Newport Center Drive in Deerfield Beach, Florida. The Town is currently defending public records litigation against a local resident Martin E. O'Boyle, who it believes, along with his son Jonathon's purported O'Boyle Law Firm, P.C., is the main benefactor of CAFI. The purported O'Boyle Law Firm is located directly adjacent to CAFI at 1286 West Newport Center Drive Deerfield Beach, FL., and shares resources and employees. In defending this action, the Town has filed a counterclaim ( "Counterclaim ") against Mr. O'Boyle and a large number of persons /entities, one of which is CAFI. A copy of the Counterclaim is attached as Exhibit A to this letter. In filing for not - for - profit status, CAFI listed its corporate purpose as "1) To provide programs and information, to meet the educational needs of individuals who engage/are involved with government; and 2) To encourage citizens to monitor and to participate in the process of government. A copy of CAFI's articles of incorporation is attached as Exhibit B. However, as demonstrated by the Town's Counterclaim, CAM's actual purpose is to abuse Florida's "sunshine law" in order to extort local governments and generate legal fees for the purported O'Boyle Law Firm, with which it shares office space. CAFI has been devised simply to generate as many public records lawsuits as possible. CAFI first makes bogus public records requests for items that it has absolutely no interest in, with the requests lumped together in a way that prevents local government from reasonably responding in a timely manner. Once it has engineered a "violation" of the Florida Statutes § 119, the purported not - for -profit then files a lawsuit to seek relief for its "damages." Once the lawsuits are filed, however, CAFI simply requests settlements far in excess of any accrued legal fees. Because CAFI would be entitled to its attorney's fees in the event the litigation proved successful, local governments essentially have little choice but to pay. This scheme has been finely tuned by CAFI over the past year, as it has filed nearly one hundred public records requests with the Town during this period. 1 Although unclear at this time, there are likely questions as to the validity of the tax status of CAFI and the tax- deductible "contributions" it has received from benefactors. The former executive director of CAFI, Joel Chandler, has reached out to the Town, through its legal counsel, to blow the whistle on CAFI's for -profit scheme. Mr. Chandler submitted a voluntary sworn statement detailing the criminal and fraudulent conduct of CAFI. A sworn copy of Mr. Chandler's statement is attached as Exhibit C. Recently, the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting published two detailed reports of CAFI's profit- seeking scheme. Copies of the reports are attached as Exhibit D and Exhibit E. In blowing the whistle on CAFI's fraudulent actions to the Town, Mr. Chandler provided the Town's legal counsel with an email "drop box" containing evidence that Mr. Chandler collected during his six (6) months as CAM's Executive Director. This email "drop box" is currently the subject of various motions, as both CAFI and Mr. O'Boyle have improperly attempted to claim that this information is somehow CAFI's "privileged" information under the attorney- client doctrine. This issue should be resolved shortly in the Town's favor, as 1) CAFI is not a bona -fide Florida not - for - profit entity; 2) The "O'Boyle Law Firm is not a bona -fide law firm; 3) The crime -fraud exception, i.e. Florida Statute §90.502, applies; 4) The "common interest exception," i.e. Florida Statute §90.502(4)(e), applies ; 5) Waiver, as all of the alleged CAFI records have been shared by CAFI with third parties including Martin O'Boyle. However, in an abundance of caution, the Town has not provided the contents of the email "drop box" to this complaint. The Town will immediately forward all evidence to your office once the court has ruled on the issue of privilege. Pursuant to § 617.2003, the Town is prepared to cover the court costs and fees associated with revoking CAFI's charter. Florida's sunshine laws are vital to the idea of open government and the accountability of elected officials. However, CAFI is using them as nothing more than a means to an end as part of the scheme to "go for the throat and get paid quickly." CAFI is a for - profit corporation in every sense of the word, and your office should revoke its charter and send a message to the State that Florida's sunshine laws are meant to encourage open government, and cannot be used as a way to close government and generate illicit profit. Respectfully submitted, The Town of Gulf Stream, Florida TOWN OF GULF STREAM PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA Delivered via e-mail April 6, 2015 Our Public Records, LLC [mail to: records @commerce- group.com] Re: GS #1792 (1039) Provide all documents which relate to the "Attorney General Case" and the work performed on such as identified in January 23rd billing of Sweetapple, Invoice 10012, in a line entry dated January 15, 2015 (See attached). Dear Our Public Records, LLC [mail to: records(a),commerce- eroup.coml, The Town of Gulf Stream received your public records requests dated February 12, 2015. You should be able to view your original requests at the following http://www2.gulf- stream.orpJWebLink8 /0 /doc /37678 /Pagel.aspx. If your request was verbal, then the description of your public records request is set forth in the italics above. In future correspondence, please refer to this public records request by the above referenced numbers. The responsive records can be found at the same above link. We consider this matter closed. Sincerely, Town Clerk, Custodian of the Records