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Home My Public Portal AboutPRR 16-2107z/22/ie Patsy Randolph verbally requested a copy of the notes that Mr. Sweetapple had at the February Commission meeting. LAW OFFICES Or SWEETAPPLE, BROF.KER & VARKAS, P.L. DOUGLAS C- BROEKER, P.A. 44 west FlaLda Sue=, See. 1500 Miami, Florida73130-017 Telephone:(305) 374-5623 Facsimile: (305) 356-1023 ROBERT A. SWEETAPPLE ! " DOUGLAS C. BROEKER ALEX&.', -DER D. VARKAS, IR KADISHA D. PHELPS ALEXANDER D. VARKAS, III ASI ILLIGH M. GREENE BERKLEY SWEETAPPLE VITALE • aM CMTMWCa4� Ur.0AT . ATIeR;Y ,• aCNaDCERTmae OV0.TL'AI Af'1YIti21 February 18, 2016 VIA EMAIL Scott W. Morgan, Mayor Town of Gulf Stream Commission 100 Sea Road Gulf Stream, Florida 33483 SWEETAPPLE & VARKAS, P.A. 20 5.E. 3" Slreel Boca Raaon, Florida 334324914 Telephone: (361) 392.1230 Faoimile: (561) 394.6102 Pleam Reply To: Boca Raton rsweaapplC@MeCWPlelaw.wm avarkas rbgsweetapplelaw.mm ervarkas(d swcmpplclaw.com bvitale gsweeWpplelaw,com cbailey@swectapplcluw.mm dsmitls„^u sw WMPPlelaw,eom Re: Martin O'Boyle, Jonathan O'Boyle and Christopher O'Hare Dear Mayor Morgan and Commission Members: I have been asked to provide a report regarding the ongoing litigation and activities involving Martin O'Boyle, Jonathan O'Boyle and his law firm, The O'Boyle Law Firm, and Christopher O'Hare. PAST CONDUCT 1. Lonaport. N.J. I believe it is important 1'or you to understand that the Town's current disputes are not atypical for Martin O'Boyle. A New Jersey Law Journal reports that Mr. O'Boyle entered into a conflict with the Town of Longport, New Jersey in 2007, when he was cited for a zoning violation. Mr. O'Boyle is reported to have filed numerous lawsuits individually, through his corporation, Commerce Group Construction, Inc., and his organization, Citizens for Open Government, LLC. These were lodged against various individuals, the Town and the press. In the case of Martin E O'Boyle 1� Peter Isen, 2014 WL 340104 (N.J. Super. A.D.) (a defamation case that Mr. O'Boyle brought and lost) the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, noted: From September 2007 through early July 2008, plaintifl'[Martin O'Boyle] and members of his family filed multiple requests pursuant to the Open Public Records Act (OPRA), N.J.S.A. 47:1 A-1 to 13. Longport's only clerk worked part-time, and she did not address the requests within the time required by statute. At one point, the clerk went to the emergency room because of the stress she attributed to the flood of OPRA requests. And, in February 2008, the Mayor Scan Morgan February 18, 2016 To%m of Gulf Stream Commission Page 12 Borough's solicitor notified plaintiff that it would not accept any additional OPRA requests he filed, explaining that the numerous requests were substantially disrupting governmental services. The solicitor claimed that Longport had received 190 requests on October 16 and 17 and thirty filed October 31, 2007. The Longport dispute included published reports of the flying of planes and banners trailing messages calling the Mayor a "puppet" and other more cryptic enunciation. IT. Tennessee In state court litigation in Tennessee, in the case of New Midland Plaza Associates, et. al. v. Wachovia, et. al., Case Number &18053 in the Blount County Circuit Court, Fifth Judicial District, Judge W. Dale Young found that: O'Boyle's intent, purpose and strategy in pursuing his claims was to conduct this litigelinn in a manner which had the maximum financial impact on defendants.... The purpose and strategy manifested itself in O'Boyle's repeatedly making arguments and taking positions—itrespcetive of their merits—that would maximize the inconvenience and costs to defendants. More than seven years of frivolous litigation, litigation spawned by the zealous temperament of O'Boyle, has placed an extreme burden on the clerk of this court over and above the everyday course of business Judge Young also found that Mr. O'Boyle had filed "serial motions" denying he had given inconsistent testimony, which motions "served dual improper purposes of attempting to re -litigate issues upon which the Court had previously ruled and unnecessarily increasing the Defendants' costs." The Court found this conduct sanctionable. An affidavit filed by the trial court noted that it had previously sanctioned [the Plaintiffs] on two occasions in an amount totaling a quarter of a million dollars and twice held them in contempt. M. The Palm Beach County State Attorney The Palm Beach Post reports that in one month, O'Boyle's company, Sweet Aron Boy Blimp Co., LLC, submitted 1,328 request to Aronberg and the Office of the 19' Judicial Circuit State Attorney Bruce Colton... that included 874 requests to Bruce Colton, State Attorney on the Treasure Coast, and 454 requests to Dave Aronberg, Palm Beach County State Attorney. More than 1,000 requests were sent over three days, February 25 through 27. IV. Gulf Stream Mr. O'Boyle commenced his assault of public records requests on the Town of Gulf Stream in the spring of 2013, atter he was denied certain variance requests for work on his home. Some 400 Requests were followed by approximately 16 lawsuits. Ultimately, in an attempt to put an end to his LAw Omar or SwEETAALE, 3aorxrR & VARm P.L Mayor Scott Morgan February 18, 2016 Town of Gulf Stream Commission Page 13 conduct, the Town settled with Mr. O'Boyle in July 2013, permitting the improvements he sought and paying him $180,000.00. The current onslaught of Public Records Requests and Lawsuits began shortly after the Town settled with Mr. O'Boyle in July 2013. Specifically, just one month after the settlement, Mr. Christopher O'Hare began inundating the Town with public records requests. From late August 2013, when the Town began keeping detailed logs until the end of the year, Mr. O'Hare averaged in excess of 100 requests per month. By October 2013, just three months after the Town settled with Mr. O'Boyle, Mr. O'Hare had filed his first public records suit. More than one dozen lawsuits had been served on the Town by January 2014. The O'Boyle Law Firm, which had been formed by Jonathan O'Boyle in Pennsylvania in November 2013, began operating in Florida in acid -January 2014 and immediately began filing public records suits against the Town on behalf of both Mr. O'Hare, Mr. O'Boyle and Citizens Awareness Foundation, Inc. With dozens of lawsuits pending, Martin O'Boyle, Christopher O'Hare and various individuals or entities affrliatedwith them continued to make hundreds of public records requests to the Town over the past 2 V, years. Ultimately, they have made approximately 2,000 public records requests. These have included numerous requests by Mr. O'Hare usingpseu donyms mocking Town officials suchas: Gonna White, Groan Orthwein, Billy Trasher and Bobby Gangrene. Requests have also been routinely made by email in high volumes and outside of regular business hours, making it nearly impossible for Town staff to keep up. This includes 40 requests made in a 4 hour period on a Sunday. V. Citizens Awareness Foundation, Inc. During July of 2014 I received an unsolicited email from Joel Chandler, a former Director of Citizens Awareness Foundation, Inc, ("CAFrJ, an alleged Florida not-for-profit Company. Mr. Chandler advised and swore in an affidavit that CAM and The O'Boyle Law Firm were established and funded by Martin O'Boyle. Both were located in the O'Boyle offices and run by O'Boyle, his employees, and designees. The ultimate goal of the enterprise was to file at least one hundred public records lawsuits per month against public entities and State contractors throughout Florida. All litigation would then be fed to The O'Boyle Law Firm. The law firm would then demand and collect more in fees than it had expended in billable time in what Mr. Chandler described as the "windfall scheme." Defendants would find it less expensive to settle than to engage counsel or litigate. (See Chandler Affidavit and exchange of cmails attached as composite Exhibit "A'). As a result of these alleged activities, Mr. Chandler quit his job and stated that he was notifying victims of this conduct. He further indicated that Mr. O'Boyle personally caused hundreds of public records requests and two lawsuits to be filed against the Town of Gulf Stream on behalf of CAFI without Mr. Chandler's knowledge or approval. Public records reveal that on behalf of CAFI as of one year ago, the O'Boyle Law Firm, has filed more than 100 lawsuits against various government entities, government contractors and not-for-profit LAA OFSCESOF SW EEFAPPLC aROMM & VAR[A5. P.I. Mayor Scott Morgan February 18, 2016 Town of Gulf Stream Commission Page 14 entities (including the Area Agency on Aging of Palm Beach Treasure Coast, Homeless Coalition of Palm Beach County and the Hope Foundation for Autism). The Florida Bar News and other publications have now extensively reported this conduct as a scam and the legislature is discussing proposed changes to the Florida Statutes. Vl. Pendine Litieation Currently pending against the Town are nearly 40 public records cases which have been filed by Mr. O'Hare, Mr. O'Boyle or entities owned or controlled by O'Boyle. These lawsuits are largely being advanced by The O'Boyle Law Firm. In essence, Mr. O'Hare and Mr. O'Boyle have filed thousands of Public Records Requests inundating the Clerk of the Town to frustrate her ability to comply with the requests. Thereafter suits are brought complaining about the speed and accuracy of the responses and seeking attorney's fees and costs that the current version of the Public Records Act only permits a plaintiff to recover. The plaintiffs have not succeeded on any of their public records claims and have dismissed several of them after motions for sanctions were filed. The only case to have gone to conclusion was won by the Town and has been appealed by Mr. O'Boyle. We intend to notice the remainder of the cases for trial as soon as possible. Various additional claims have been brought by Mr. O'Hare and Mr. O'Boyle against the Town and its elected officials, employees and contractors including Mayor Morgan, Bill Thrasher, Special Magistrate Lara Donlon, Chief Ward and Marty Minor with Urban Design Kilday for alleged Federal and State civil rights violations. These claims are being handled by insurance counsel. The Town has obtained favorable dismissals of several of these suits, one of which was just affirmed on appeal by the Federal Appeals Court and resulted in a favorable fee award against Mr. O'Boyle for his frivolous filing. None of these claims have been decided in favor of Mr. O'Hare or Mr. O'Boyle. Lawsuits have been filed against the Town's attorneys, including three suits against my firm or me personally and a lawsuit against Joanne O'Connor and Skip Randolph. Particularly frustrating is the fact that one of these lawsuits arose after Mayor Morgan, Ms. O'Connor and I met to confidentially discuss a potential settlement with Mr. O'Hare and his counsel, Louis Roeder and Mark Hanna. W. O'Boyle has sued complaining that this settlement conference violated the Sunshine Law even though Mayor Morgan was the only city government representative in attendance. )ethics Complaints have been brought against me, Mr. Randolph and Mayor Morgan. These have all been dismissed. Mr. O'Boyle has repeatedly flown planes towing banners over West Palm Beach and Gulf Stream denigrating the Town's attorneys and officials. More recently, the attempts to particularly target the attorneys defending the public records cases has intensified as some 200 records requests were sent to almost every attorney at Mr. Randolph's law firm in late November and December apparently by Mr. O'Hare. VII. Conclusion In 35 years of practicing law and litigating cases throughout the State of Florida and the United States I have never encountered this type of a concerted pattern of abusive conduct directed at a local LAw Omcu u; SWITIAPPU SR0EKEF&VAAKA5,RL Mayor Scott Morgan February 18, 2016 Town of Gulf Stream Commission Page 15 government. It is clear to me that the O'Boyles and Mr. O'Hare engage in this conduct to cause the Town to accede to their demands. 1 hope that my report has helped you understand the nature and scope of the litigation and actions that the Town has been defending. RAS:cjb Enclosures Regards, ROBERT A. SWEETAPPLE LAw Omca or SWEETAPPLE, BROEEER & VARKM,?.L AFFIDAVIT OF JOEL EDWARD CHANDLER BEFORE ME, the undersigned authority, personally appeared JOEL CHANDLER, who after being duly sworn, deposes and says that: 1. My name is JOEL CHANDLER, 2. I am over eighteen (18) years of age. 3. 1 am a resident of Polk County, Florida. 4. I have personal knowledge of every assertion made in this affidavit. 5. Citizens Awareness Foundation, Inc., (herein "CAFI"), was fanned as a Florida not-for-profit corporation by Martin O'Boyle in concert with his son, Jonathan O'Boyle. 6. Jonathan O'Boyle is an attorney admitted in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, but not admitted to practice in Florida. 7. In January 2014,1 was solicited by Martin O'Boyle to lead a not-for-profit corporation that was, he said, intended to promote open government. That not-for-profit corporation was created at Martin O'Boyle's direction and became known as the "Citizens Awareness Foundation, Inc." or "CAFE' 8. During my discussions with Martin O'Boyle, wherein he sought to hire me to serve as the leader of CAR, we explicitly agreed that CAFI would have an independent Board of Directors; that the Board of Directors would be entirely free from the influence of Martin O'Boyle or the O'Boyle Law Firm; that I would have absolute and sole discretion regarding the commencement and resolution of open government litigation on behalf of CAR, and; subject only to the independent Board of Directors, I would have the authority to select and retain law firms for the purpose of engaging in open government litigation. EXHIBIT 9. During January or February of 2014, I participated in a telephone conversation with Martin O'Boyle and Robert "Bob" Tweet, a tax attorney from West Virginia. Martin O'Boyle and I discussed with Mr. Tweet the absolute necessity that CAFI be a legitimate not-for-profit entity. This included, but was not limited to, the requirement that CAFI use a variety of law firms to represent it so as to avoid the appearance of self-dealing. 10. Martin O'Boyle indicated to Mr. Tweet and to me that he was going to loan all necessary monies to fund CAFI and, after 501(c)(3) status was acquired, write off as a charitable donation all of the monies he had loaned to CAFI. After leaving this meeting I was particularly encouraged that Martin O'Boyle was genuine in his interest to establish a bona fide not-for-profit entity of which 1 would serve as the Executive Director and that CAFI would afford me the opportunity to more effectively continue my work as a civil rights activist and advocate for open government. 11. Martin O'Boyle appointed Brenda Russell, William Ring and Denise DeMartini to the CAFI Board. 12. Brenda Russell is Martin O'Boyle's long time secretary. She was never present for meetings. In fact, no formal meetings of the Board were ever called or held. For a brief time, Brenda Russell collected my travel and business receipts, all of which were subject to the approval of Martin O'Boyle. 13. William Ring is Martin O'Boyle's longtime business associate and corporate attorney. 14. Denise DeMartini is the long-time employee of Martin O'Boyle or entities that he controls. 15. All of my negotiations for employment by CAFI were with Martin O'Boyle. At no time did I engage in any negotiations regarding the details of my employment, including my compensations, with anyone other than Martin O'Boyle. 16. At Martin O'Boyle's direction 1 drafted and signed a proposed memorandum of understanding regarding my employment by CAFI. 1 have never received a copy of the proposed memorandum of understanding signed or approved by the board of CAFI. 17.1 served as the Executive Director of CAFI for approximately five (5) months, through the end of June 2014. 18.1 resigned because of repeated instances of conduct perpetuated by Martin O'Boyle, Jonathan O'Boyle, William Ring, Denise DeMartini, and some of the attorneys at the O'Boyle Law Firm, P.C., Inc., (herein the "O'Boyle Law Firm"), as set forth herein, which I believe may be criminal, fraudulent and unethical. 19. My relationship with the O'Boyle Law Firm was not limited to my capacity as the Executive Director of CAFI. As the individual plaintiff in several open government lawsuits, l had retained the O'Boyle Law Firm as my personal legal counsel. 20. My communications with the attorneys of the O'Boyle Law Firm, including Jonathan O'Boyle, affected both CAFI and me, as an individual client. 21. Martin O'Boyle and Jonathan O'Boyle told me that Martin O'Boyle was funding the O'Boyle Law Firm. 22. Martin O'Boyle told me that he was also funding CAFI. 23. The Martin O'Boyle business entities, including Commerce Group, Inc., CAFI, and the O'Boyle Law Firm operated from the same physical location and were controlled by Martin O'Boyle. 24. Despite assurances that CAFI would be independent and not-for-profit, Martin O'Boyle and the O'Boyle Law Finn used CAFI for the sole purpose of generating attomey's fees for the O'Boyle Law Firm. 25. Throughout my tenure with CAFI,1 repeatedly demanded that lawsuits not be filed or settled without my direct authorization. 26. In spite of Martin O'Boyle's initial assurances to the contrary, I was not permitted to retain legal counsel on behalf of CAFI, other than the O'Boyle Law Firm. William Ring, CAM's President and Martin O'Boyle's proxy, communicated this to me. 27. On numerous occasions, I learned that the O'Boyle Law Firm, on behalf of CAFI, had filed lawsuits, without my knowledge or authorization. 28. The O'Boyle Law Firm routinely settled cases without written fee agreements, contingency agreements or closing statements. No accountings of the monies received were provided to me despite my repeated requests for that documentation. 29. Repeatedly, I advised Martin O'Boyle, William Ring and Jonathan O'Boyle that my other personal attorneys had advised it was a serious Bar violation to disburse settlement funds without client approval or closing statements, 30. Despite my protests, the O'Boyle Law Firm continued to file and settle lawsuits on behalf of CAFI and to collect and keep settlement payments. At no time was I ever presented with any form of accounting for legal fees or the disbursement of settlement payments. 31. During the O'Boyle Law Firm's representation of CAFI and me, I was personally present, or present by telephone, at numerous O'Boyle Law Firm meetings. Denise DeMartini, Martin O'Boyle's executive assistant and Director of CAFI, conducted these aw firm meetings. During these meetings, and in my presence, many pending cases were discussed. These discussions included the details of cases to which neither CAM nor I were parties. Denise DeMartini is not a member of the Florida Bar. 32. It became commonplace for Martin O'Boyle to express his opinions and to offer his advice with respect to litigation strategies and on the conduct of CAR lawsuits as well as the cases of other firm clients. Jonathan O'Boyle actively participated in these discussions and, in my presence, directed the work of O'Boyle Law Firm attorneys and made litigation decisions. 33. During the course of my employment I learned that Martin O'Boyle directed his secretary to file in excess of 100 public records requests to the Town of Gulf Stream, under the pretense that these were being filed on behalf of CAR. He also ordered that lawsuits be filed by CAFI against the Town of Gulf Stream. This was done without my authority and litigation was filed over my objection. 34. When I complained about the fact that Martin and Jonathan O'Boyle were not honoring the commitment that I would have sole authority to make public records requests and conduct litigation, I was told by William Ring that this was "the way Big Daddy wants it", i.e., Martin O'Boyle. Otherwise, "Big Daddy will turn-off the spigot of money". 35. Jonathan O'Boyle advised me that he was not a member of the Florida Bar but would be become a member within days. During the five months that I worked with CAR, Jonathan O'Boyle worked full-time at the O'Boyle Law Firm providing legal advice, directing the administration of cases, and assuming responsibility for cases. 36. The O'Boyle Law Firm and Jonathan O'Boyle prosecuted and filed some cases without my permission and settled some cases without my knowledge or consent. 37. No retainer agreements were ever entered into with me on behalf of CAFI. No contingency agreements were entered into with me on behalf of CAFI. No closing statements were ever presented to me and it appears that all monies that were solicited from defendants were paid directly to the O'Boyle Law Firm. 38. Martin O'Boyle, through his entities, funded all of the filing fees and expenses of CAFI as well as the expenses of the O'Boyle Law Firm. CAFI has now filed scores, if not hundreds, of cases against state and local agencies throughout Florida as well as various state contractors. 39. The employees of all of Martin O' Boyle's entities, including The Commerce Group, Inc., CAFI and the O'Boyle Law Firm were shared. Denise DeMartini and William Ring worked for Martin O'Boyle, CAFI and the O'Boyle Law Firm. 40. Although Martin O'Boyle named Denise DeMartini a director of CAFI, she also directed the operations of the O'Boyle Law Firm and conducted law firth meetings. 41. Denise DeMartini repeatedly stated that CAFI was required to file at least one hundred lawsuits a month; that all lawsuits had to be directed to the O'Boyle Law Firm for prosecution, and; that as my direct supervisor, she would evaluate my performance based upon my ability to deliver a minimum of twenty-five case per week to the O'Boyle Law Firm. 42. Through William Ring, Martin O'Boyle insisted that the O'Boyle Law Firm handle all litigation. 43. Martin O'Boyle told me he had unlimited money to pay filing fees for CAFI cases and I was to file as many cases as possible. 44. When I asked Martin O'Boyle to quantify how many cases he was willing to finance he said it was virtually unlimited. When I again tried to clarify by asking him if he was willing to finance three thousand (3,000) cases in a single year, he said "sure." 45. When I learned it was the policy and practice of the O'Boyle Law Firm to demand settlement of cases against government entities and state contractors for attorney's fees in excess of the fees actually earned I was livid. In fact, I confronted William Ring, Denise DeMartini and Jonathan O'Boyle in May of 2014 and stated in unequivocal terms that I would resign if it didn't stop. 46. In one telephone conversation with Jonathan O'Boyle I warned him at least six times that I was going to resign and that 1 objected to Denise DeMartini's demands that I produce 100 cases per month, her control of the O'Boyle Law Firm and the windfall scheme of collecting more monies in attorney's fees from defendants, than had actually been earned. 47. Despite these complaints, William Ring, Denise DeMartini and Jonathan O'Boyle told members of the firm that I had authorized the windfall scheme. When I learned of this I confronted those involved. Nick Taylor, Esquire confirmed that despite my objection, the windfall scheme would continue as firm policy. Shortly thereafter, I announced my resignation. 46. Ryan Witmer and Giovanni Mesa announced they were also going to resign. 49. William Ring announced he was going to become a member of the O'Boyle Law Firm at about that time. 50. After I resigned, Martin O'Boyle contacted me by telephone and demanded that I withdraw an email I had sent to Nick Taylor regarding Jonathan O'Boyle's unlicensed practice of law and Jonathan O'Boyle's authorship of the windfall scheme. During that call, which was my last conversation with Martin O'Boyle, he repeatedly threatened to bring great "unpleasantness" to my life if I failed to renounce my email to Nick Taylor. 51. Thereafter, Martin O'Boyle repeatedly attempted to contact me by telephone and email seeking my assistance to facilitate CAFI in filing additional lawsuits. 52. After resigning from CAM I sent an email to numerous newspaper and television news reporters announcing my resignation. I copied that announcement to dozens of individuals, including Robert Sweetapple, Esquire, to notify them of my disassociation and disapproval of the O'Boyles and their activities. 53. Within a few days of my resignation from CAFI, I granted an interview with a reporter from the Lakeland Ledger and provided many of the details contained within this affidavit. 54. Prior to emailing Robert Sweetapple, l had never met him, spoken to him, nor had he or any members of his firm contacted me. 55. Prior to my emailing the law firm of Jones Foster, I had never had any contact with Joanne O'Connor, Esquire, or any member of that law firm. 56. My subsequent contact with Robert Sweetapple and Joanne O'Conner was entirely the result of own initiative. 57. I sent my email to Robert Sweetapple because I knew he represented the Town of Gulf Stream, which I believed was being victimized by Martin O'Boyle and the O'Boyle Law Firm and 1 was concerned that the conduct of Martin O'Boyle and the O'Boyle Law Firm might be illegal and fraudulent. 58. 1 believed that 1 had a duty to make all victims, including the Town of Gulf Stream, aware of what 1 learned during my association with Martin and Jonathan O'Boyle. For example, Martin O'Boyle's orchestration of more than one hundred public records requests being served upon the Town of Gulf Stream, allegedly under the name of CAFI, but without my authorization; Martin O'Boyle's direction that lawsuits be filed by the O'Boyle Law Firm in the name of CAFI against the Town of Gulf Stream but without my authorization, and; in spite of my objections, Martin O'Boyle's use of CAFI as a weapon in his personal vendetta against the Town. 59. Prior to contacting Robert Sweetapple to make him aware of my concerns regarding Martin and Jonathan O'Boyle's conduct, I met with numerous private attorneys. As a result of those meetings I concluded that I had a duty to disassociate myself from the O'Boyles and to make full disclosure of any illegal and fraudulent activities. I have also contacted numerous other victims and their attorneys to advise them of the conduct of the O'Boyles and to provide them with evidence of such conduct. 60. Before speaking with Robert Sweetapple on the phone I spoke with Joanne O'Connor by telephone and made her aware of the misconduct. 61. I then provided to Robert Sweetapple evidence of what i believe may be fraudulent and criminal conduct as well as a detailed chronology of events. 62. Thereafter, I spoke with Robert Sweetapple and gave him permission to meet with me and to take a voluntary sworn video statement concerning my involvement with Martin O'Boyle, Jonathan O'Boyle, CAFI and the O'Boyle Law Firm. 63. At all limes Robert Sweetapple made me aware of the application of the lawyer -client privilege, both as it pertained to CAFI and to me personally. I determined, based upon independent legal advice, that I was fully permitted and had a duty to disclose what I believe to be the criminal and fraudulent conduct of Martin O'Boyle, Jonathan W O'Boyle, CAFI and the O'Boyle Law Firm. I also voluntarily waived privileged matters that arose from the joint representation by the O'Boyle Law Firm. 64. In spite of the many contrary assurances made by Martin O'Boyle to me, including the exercise of my independent judgment and meaningful economic resources to be used to promote the public's right to access government records and meeting, in reality CAFI's sole purpose is to serve as an exclusive in-house mechanism whereby the O'Boyle Law Firm can generate legal fees by filing hundreds of open government lawsuits. 65. The egregiousness of the scheme was exacerbated by the O'Boyle Law Firm's policy of demanding excessive and unearned legal fees from defendants as a condition of settlement. 66, Simply put, CAFI is a profit -generating scheme funded by Martin O'Boyle to produce fees for his son's legal practice. 67. Allegations that Joanne O'Conner, Robert Sweetapple or their firms purposely solicited and obtained confidential information from me is false. The allegation that this was done to gain an unfair advantage in litigation is further false. 68. The information that i provided to Robert Sweetapple and Joanne O'Connor was not intended to provide an unfair advantage to the Town of Gulf Stream, but to make the Town and all other victims aware of what I believe to be the fraudulent, criminal and professionally unethical conduct of Martin O'Boyle, Jonathan O'Boyle, CAFI and the O'Boyle Law Firm. 69. Robert Sweetapple and Joanne O'Connor did not solicit privileged information from me. I voluntarily contacted them and made my own determination, after meetings with 10 independent counsel, as to what information and documents to provide to victims. 70. My sole motivation for contacting the media, victims and their attorneys, proving evidence, inviting the taking of my sworn statements and authoring this affidavit is to protect the essential civil right of all Floridians to know what their government is doing in their name and at their expense. It is my considered opinion that the unconscionable conduct of Martin O'Boyle, Jonathan O'Boyle, CAM and the O'Boyle Law Firm serves as an example of the abuse of our legal system and will be used by opponents of open govertunent as an excuse to limit the public's right to know. FURTHER AFFIANT SAYETH NAUGH . JO SPANDLER SWORN TO AND SUBSCRIBED before me thisl�27 day of October, 2014. AMBER COLSOtt KELLY Notary Public - State of Florida " My Comm. Expires May 31, 2015 -'`T�P•M Commission A EE 166909 Personally known Produced Identification Identification produced: fi_ dI� 11 My Commissions Expires: ley 31I -LU I S Page I of t From: "Ryan Witmer" <rwiuner@commcrcc-grnup.cum> Pate: Tuesday, January 14, 2014 6:27 PM To: "Joel Chandlcr" <joel.chandla fogwatch.org> Subject: RE: New case Joel - regarding your second question below, " how many cases are your guys able to take where you're paying the filing fees?" - what do you have in mind? Ryan L Witmer, Esq. 1280 West Newport Center Drive Deerfield Beach, FL 33442 Off ce: 954-574-6885 Cell: 717-201-3097 Fax:954-360-0807 RWitmer@commerce-group.com -----Original Message ----- From: Joel Chandler [mailtojoel.chandler@fogwatch.org) Sent Sunday, January 12, 2014 4:08 PM To: Ryan Witmer Subject New case I have been having technical issues with DropBox and was just now able to send you a like to the records and videos we discussed yesterday. Please confirm your access to those files. At some point I'd like to talk again with you about our work. One obvious question that comes to mind is how many cases are your guys able to take where you're paying the filing fees? Joel Chandler (863) 660-4244 ioel.chandler@fogwatch.org www.FogWatch.org Page I of 3 From: 'Ryan Witmer" <twitmer@commcrec-group.com> Date: Wednesday, January 15, 2014 9:59 AM To: "Joel Chandler" <Joel.chandlcr@fbgwirtch.org> Subject: RE: New case Joel - is there a good time to chat this afternoon? Ryan L Witmer, Esq. 1280 West Newport Center Drive Deerfield Beach, FL 33442 Office: 954-574-6885 Cell: 717-201-3097 Fax: 954-360-0807 RWitmer@commerce-group.com -----Original Message ----- From: Joel Chandler [mailtojoel.chandler@fogwatch.org) Sent: Tuesday, January 14, 2014 8:14 PM To: Ryan Witmer Subject: Re: New case Well, that's an interesting question. In the Fall of 2012 an attorney asked me to come up with public records cases with a very specific set of facts and I was able to bring him 101 cases in the space of about six weeks. Each case had nearly perfect facts and was what I refer to as a "triple A" or a "kill -shot." What I'm trying to gauge is how many cases you guys are comfortable doing on a contingency basis if 1.) you are fronting the filing fees; 2.)the cases have perfect facts; 3.) the denials are either clearly stated in writing or video records if they are in person; 4). the plaintiff is ideal (willing to settle or go as far as the attorneys want - no media issues, etc.). We need to figure out the economics of this - who gets paid and how - and then how many cases we want to do and roll with it. The alternative to filing fees may be creating a state not-for-profit with no assets, income or bank account and filing for indigent status. I am confident that we would have to litigate that issue and it would go up on appeal. Once the establishment figured out what we are trying to do they would expend enormous resources to stop us. But if we puled it off there would be no limit to the number of cases that we could file. The less conspicuous method is just to pay the filing fees and go for the throat and get paid 7J 1 F1'>n i A Pagc 2 of 3 quickly. Joel Chandler (863) 660-4244 i oel.chandler@fogwatch.org www.Fog-Watch.org On Jan 14, 2014, at 6:27 PM, Ryan Witmer <naitmer@commerce -group.com> wrote: > Joel - regarding your second question below, " how many cases are your guys able to take where you're paying the filing fees?" - what do you have in mind? > Ryan L Witmer, Esq. > 1280 West Newport Center Drive > Deerfield Beach, FL 33442- > Office: 954-574-6885 > Cell: 717-201-3097 > Fax: 954-360-0807 > RWitmer@commerce-group.com > -----Original Message----- • From: Joel Chandler [mailtojoel.chandler@fogwatch.org3 > Sent: Sunday, January 12, 2014 4:08 PM > To: Ryan Witmer > Subject New case > I have been having technical issues with DropBox and wasjust now able to send you a like to the records and videos we discussed yesterday. Please confirm your access to those files. > At some point I'd like to talk again with you about our work One obvious question that comes to mind is how many cases are your guys able to take where you're paying the filing fees? > Joel Chandler > (863) 660-4244 > joel.chandler@fogwatch.org > www.FogWatch.org 71161MIa TOWN OF GULF STREAM PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA Delivered via e-mail February 22, 2016 Patsy Randolph - Verbal [mail to: patsyrandolph@gmail.com] Re: GS # 2107 (Sweetapple Notes) Would like a copy of the notes that Mr. Sweetapple had at the Febmary Commission meeting. Dear Patsy Randolph - Verbal [mail to:yatsvrandolphAmmail.coml, The Town of Gulf Stream has received your original record request dated February 22, 2016. Your original public records request can be found at the following link http://www2.gulf- stream.ore/weblink/O/doc/80709/Pagel.asox. Please refer to the referenced number above with any future correspondence. You will find the responsive records at the above same link. We consider this closed. Respectfully, Town Clerk, Custodian of the Records