[TBO] Pinellas County Circuit Judge Jack St. Arnold on Monday threw out the $458,100 sale of a gulf-front condo because of what he called an "unscrupulous" and "conniving" scheme to trick bidders at a foreclosure auction.
His ruling means that the owners of Orlando Realty Group will get back the money they bid on what turned out to be a second mortgage held by a company connected to Clearwater attorney Roy Skelton. Only later did the bidders discover that a different lender had a superior first mortgage and could soon foreclose, leaving them with no condo and out nearly a half million dollars.
While he rapped Orlando Realty for not doing sufficient due diligence before bidding, St. Arnold had especially harsh words for Skelton.
"Clearly you set a trap for unwary buyers," the judge said.
Skelton said after the hearing that he would either sell the unit in the Ram-Sea Condominiums on North Redington Beach or try to pay off the first mortgage.
"While I respectfully disagreed with the judge's decision, I will respect it and will not file an appeal," Skelton said.
Two years ago, Skelton's Outbidya, Inc. paid $157,8000 for the condo at a homeowners association foreclosure auction. Last year, shortly after Wells Fargo began foreclosing on the first mortgage, Skelton created Deutsche Residential Mortgage -- no relation to the giant German bank -- and took back a second mortgage from Outbidya.
In February, while Wells Fargo's case dragged along, Skelton's Deutsche obtained a final judgement of foreclosure on its second mortgage and set the stage for the contested June auction.
The sole witness at Monday's hearing -- which was held on an emergency motion to set aside the sale -- was John Houde, who owns Orlando Realty Group with his wife.
Houde testified that he thought the auction involved a first mortgage because the only lis pendens -- initial notice of foreclosure -- he saw was filed by Wells Fargo. Before bidding, he said, he reviewed public records including the docket in the bank's case.
"I've done quite a number of these," Houde said, referring to online foreclosure auctions. "This (review) is to make sure which mortgage is foreclosing."
But under questioning from Skelton, Houde acknowledged that he had not read the entire final judgment, which showed that Deutsche Residential held the mortgage being foreclosed. Skelton also accused Houde of committing fraud by indicating in the online auction process that he had thoroughly read all documents in the case even though he had not.
"He comes with unclean hands," Skelton said.
Skelton and Matthew Weidner, one of Houde's lawyers, traded sometimes dense legal and technical arguments in the 90-minute hearing -- which included a brief recess to watch the eclipse. But another of Houde's attorneys, Jon McGraw, was more straightforward in his remarks.
"It's a very cunning plan by Mr. Skelton and his group," McGraw said and one in which Orlando Realty "stands to lose a substantial amount of money."
Before ruling, St. Arnold said Houde's company had failed to do its due diligence "in a competent manner," and added that he had little sympathy for bidders at foreclosure auctions who "pick on the bones" of people who lost their homes.
But, calling it a case of "complicit versus conniving," the judge said in effect that he found Skelton's actions much more egregious. The mortgage company Skelton set up "was not a legitimate lender," St. Arnold said, and its sole purpose was to further a scheme to reap "an unconscionable profit."
Skelton, who conceded that his Deutsche Residential never made a single loan, is involved in a similar case in which a person thought he was bidding on a first mortgage on a Largo townhome owned by another of Skelton's companies. That buyer forfeited a $5,000 deposit rather than go through with the $112,000 purchase.
Despite the judge's criticism of him, Houde was relieved to be getting his money back.
"You shouldn't be allowed to create a scheme to defraud buyers," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/23/2017 00:00 ||
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Thereby alienating the 50% or more of his fans who prefer to keep their music free of politics.
[IsraelTimes] Legendary singer Billy Joel appears onstage for an encore during his monthly concert at Madison Square Garden wearing a yellow Star of David on his jacket.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
Amazing what the delayed reaction to doing 'cain and binge drinking does to you on the outside and on the inside.
Given us a preview of USA after progressives win:
Jews will wear yellow stars. (White) Christians will wear yellow cross. Agnostic Conservatives will be exterminated.
#3
Such nonsense as spouted by the lefties comes from living in the MSM echo chamber and listening to the lies for too long. I'd say "escape while you can before it's too late." Alas, maybe it is too late for them.
#6
For the less than two minutes when just the corona was visible it was OK to take off the glasses. This fact was repeated often throughout the day by the media.
LAS VEGAS (AP) - A federal jury in Las Vegas has refused to convict four accused gunmen in a 2014 standoff with federal authorities near the Nevada ranch of anti-government figure Cliven Bundy.
In a verdict that stunned Bundy supporters, the jury on Tuesday acquitted Ricky Lovelien and Steven Stewart of all 10 charges against them.
Defendants Scott Drexler and Eric Parker were found not guilty of most of the charges against them.
The jury did not reach verdicts on four charges against Parker and two charges against Drexler.
Prosecutors said the men conspired with Bundy family members and wielded weapons to threaten the lives of federal agents enforcing lawful court orders to remove Bundy cattle from public land after failing to pay grazing fees.
#1
A federal jury in Las Vegas has refused to convict four accused gunmen in a 2014 standoff with federal authorities near the Nevada ranch of anti-government figure Cliven Bundy.
ju·ry
/ˈjo͝orē/
noun
1. a body of people (typically twelve in number) sworn to give a verdict in a legal case on the basis of evidence submitted to them in court. (Google.com)
#2
It's those evil White Man rules that made this possible. See - Trial of William Penn. The jury trial is an old Anglo-Saxon tradition. The Constitution embodied that tradition. Remember that when Antifa screams "F* you, F* your constitution".
Ukrainian military officials are saying the Russian backed rebels are using their artillery and direct fire gunnery to deliberately start fires in built up areas in Donetsk and Lugansk, according to Russian language sources.
A news report which appeared in lb.ua quoted a Ukrainian military officials saying that rebel artillery and small arms fire in Zaitsevo and in Stanitsa Luganskaya causing the fires, are being set on purpose. The rebels were using the prevailing eastern winds in the region to blow fires toward built up areas and in areas where Ukrainian troops are dug in.
According to another lb.ua report, almost 75 acres of forest were burned in Lugansk due to rebel overnight gunfire.
In Zaitsevo, Ukrainian military officials released images they say are of residential buildings damaged by fire. According to that report, Ukrainian forces did not return fire.
Yet another lb.ua report said that rebel overnight attacks in Avdievka lasted until midnight. Ukrainian officials said their forces responded with counterbattery fire and suppressed the rebel artillery.
The same report also stated that mortar and direct fire heavy weapons were fired at Zaitsevo for nearly two hours.
In Lugansk, rebel mortar fire was reported in Krymskoye and Novotoshkovsk areas. Rebels fired heavy machine gun fire into Novoaleksandrovka and Stanitsa Luganskaya.
In southern Donetsk, rebel mortar fire landed on Vodnovo and in Shirokino.
Rebel media said that Ukrainian forces hit Bezymennoye with 122mm rocket artillery overnight. The attack came a day after Ukrainian forces said that the rebels used 122mm rocket artillery Monday to Tuesday night near Peski, for a total of 16 rounds.
Rebel media said the Ukrainians fired 10 rounds at their forces. Bezymennoye is in the south in the Mariupol region. The artillery fire came from the direction of Shirokino. The report said that a joint Russian/Ukrainian observation post was nearby when the Bezymennoye attack took place.
Rebel media said that the charge that they used 122mm rocket artillery is a lie.
A separate rebel report said that Ukrainian artillery in Gorlovka, Yasinovatskaya, and the village of Gorky damaged or destroyed 11 residential buildings. All the Ukrainian artillery fire reported took place overnight.
[IsraelTimes] 16 individuals and companies slapped with penalties over ties to Pyongyang nuclear program
The United States on Tuesday slapped sanctions on 16 Chinese and Russian individuals and companies, accusing them of supporting North Korea’s nuclear program and attempting to evade US sanctions.
“It is unacceptable for individuals and companies in China, Russia, and elsewhere to enable North Korea to generate income used to develop weapons of mass destruction and destabilize the region,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.
The Treasury Department, which oversees US sanctions programs, said those targeted by the sanctions had helped people known to support the North’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, or had traded in North Korean energy, exploited its workers or acted as a conduit to the international financial system.
The move follows a war of words between Washington and Pyongyang over recent missile tests that show North Korea is capable of reaching the US mainland.
The sanctions effectively block their targets from accessing much of the global financial system, as well as freezing any US assets.
Among those hit by the sanctions was the Russian national Ruben Kirakosyan and his Moscow-based company Gefest-M LLC, which the Treasury Department accuses of procuring metals for a sanctions-barred company involved in North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, Korean Tangun Trading Corp.
Also targeted is China’s Dandong Rich Earth Trading Co. Ltd., which the United States says has acted on behalf of North Korea’s General Bureau of Atomic Energy — responsible for the North’s nuclear program — and has facilitated prohibited North Korean exports of vanadium ore, the department said.
A third company, Mingzheng International Trading Limited, which maintains offices in Hong Kong and on mainland China, was in fact a front for Foreign Trade Bank, North Korea’s main foreign exchange bank, the Treasury Department said.
Ynet adds:
The penalties are intended to complement new UN Security Council sanctions and further isolate North Korea for its nuclear and missile tests amid heightened tensions that have led to threats from both sides, the Treasury Department said in a statement.
[CTVNEWS.CA] A British Columbia mother says a black bear followed her two-and-a-half-year-old son up a staircase and through a patio doorway into their home on Saturday.
Eleri Froude of Gibsons, B.C., says she first was alerted to the presence of the bear inside her home around 5:30 p.m. on Saturday when her son said, “Mom, look!”
“I thought, ‘Oh my God, what am I going to do now?’” she said. “That was when my friend turned around and said, ‘Get the kids and get them in the bedroom.’”
A photo released by B.C. Mounties shows an adult male bear gnawing at a home's door after being locked outside.
Froude locked herself and her children in a bedroom while the friend attempted to scare the bear away by yelling and banging pots. He also used a chair to push it back out the door it came in from.
Sunshine Coast RCMP say the friend was only able to shut the door after giving the intruder a punch in the nose. The friend then took some frightening photos of the snarling bear on the other side of the glass in the door.
RCMP say they tried to scare the bear away with an air horn and water bottles, but the bear soon returned to the house, “tried to open the door to the garage and chased a male down the street.”
Police say they consulted with a conservation officer before deciding that the up-to-250-pound (113 kilogram) bear should be killed.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/23/2017 00:00 ||
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#9
Punched a bear in the nose, grabbed a chair and pushed it outside, locked the door, then took photos? Crikey! Only thing missing is a video with a bad South Park Erwin, "Next, I'm gonna stick my thumb right up its ...!"
[Ynet] India's Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled a controversial Moslem quick divorce law unconstitutional, a landmark victory for Moslem women who had long argued that it violated their right to equality.
The law allows Moslem men to divorce their wives simply by uttering the word "talaq" three times. Moslem women say they have been left destitute by husbands divorcing them through "triple talaq," including by Skype and WhatsApp.
Under the ruling, the government will need to frame a new divorce law, which would abolish the practice by making it illegal.
The ruling was delivered by a panel of five male judges from different faiths - Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism. Three of the five ruled that the practice was unconstitutional, overruling the senior-most judge in India, the chief justice.
[DAWN] The government has decided to amend Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution, Minister for Law and Justice Zahid Hamid said on Tuesday. Those were the articles that got Nawaz tossed, of course.
The law minister made the announcement during a session of the National Assembly called to debate amendments to a proposed election law put forward by opposition parties.
He said the government will take up the matter with the reforms committee.
The government also rejected a suggestion forwarded by Muttahida Qaumi Movement to set the maximum duration of disqualification to five years.
Noting that there was no explicit duration for disqualification set under the current law, he said, "We want the duration of disqualification to be less than five years."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/23/2017 00:00 ||
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Some of the most popular industrial and consumer robots are dangerously easy to hack and could be turned into bugging devices or weapons, IOActive Inc. said. I seen dis movie!
The Seattle-based cybersecurity firm found major security flaws in industrial models sold by Universal Robots, a division of U.S. technology company CyberdyneYoyodyne Teradyne Inc. It also cited issues with consumer robots Pepper and NAO, which are manufactured by Japan’s Softbank Group Corp., and the Alpha 1 and Alpha 2 made by China-based UBTech Robotics.
These vulnerabilities could allow the robots to be turned into surveillance devices, surreptitiously spying on their owners, or let them to be hijacked and used to physically harm people or damage property, the researchers wrote in a report released Tuesday.
Universal Robots’s devices are designed to work directly alongside humans without being confined to a cage for safety, as with many other industrial models. But IOActive was able to remotely hack the software that controls the robot and disable key safety features. This could result in them being programmed to injure the humans around them.
This is particularly worrying, IOActive said, because these machines are large enough and have enough power that "even running at low speeds, their force is more than sufficient to cause a skull fracture."
With the robots intended for home use ‐ SoftBank’s Pepper and NAO ‐ IOActive found that cyberattackers could use them to record audio and video and secretly transmit this data to an external server. UBTech’s Alpha series home robots did not encrypt sensitive information they captured before storing or transmitting it, opening an avenue for cybercriminals to potentially steal important personal information, IOActive said.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
Yeah, you think it's funny.
Ever tripped over a lurking Roomba in the dark?
405 Antifa @405Antifa
·
3h
Replying to @SenatorInvictus and @facebook
Image is patently dishonest, b/c
there is no such thing as #AltLeft ... alt means toxic, & Left means good/woke. So alt-left is oxymoronic
[ZeroHedge] Yesterday we reported that in a shocking, and explained move, statistics professor Salil Mehta, adjunct professor at Columbia and Georgetown who teaches probability and data science and whose work has appeared on this website on numerous prior occasions, had been banned by Google on Friday, with his email, blog and other Google-linked accounts wiped clean and no longer accessible.
That changed yesterday, because after our article detailing Salil's plight went viral, and was read 300,000 times, Google responded and as of this morning, has restored all of Salil Metha's accounts.
A much better idea than Antifa viciousness, and as another contrast it's legal, though it seems to me that donating to Israel is a much more pointed response to actual Nazis. But as the group staging the rally are free speech advocates rather than Nazis, may I suggest they fly Israeli flags and tout Israel as a free speech oasis in a totalitarian desert, just to set up a proper cognitive dissonance in the minds of the deliberately ignorant idiots?
[IsraelTimes] Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party, attorney, local Jewish Bar Association behind tongue-in-cheek response to far-right ’free speech’ rally in the Socialist paradise of San Francisco on Saturday.
It sounds like a deal with the devil, but a new GoFundMe page that asks people to "Adopt-a-Nazi" is actually a fundraiser for a civil rights group.
the Socialist paradise of San Francisco ...where God struck dead Anton LaVey, home of the Sydney Ducks, ruled by Vigilance Committee from 1859 through 1867, reliably and volubly Democrat since 1964... attorney Cody Harris and the Jewish Bar Association of San Francisco are behind the tongue-in-cheek response to a far-right "free speech" rally in San Francisco on Saturday
The campaign asks visitors to donate a small amount of money to the Southern Poverty Law Center by "sponsoring" each person expected to attend the rally. Some donors have pledged $6; others have given $600 or more. About 300 people are expected to attend the rally.
Launched on Thursday with an initial goal of $10,000, the campaign passed that target in 24 hours. The goal was changed to $100,000 and then to $125,000. As of Tuesday morning, more than $91,000 had been raised.
The link has been shared 10,000 times on Facebook.
"What it shows is that people want to do something positive," Harris said.
When Harris heard about the San Francisco rally, he was shocked that a national issue stirred by the events in Charlottesville, Virginia, was coming to his doorstep. He created the GoFundMe page "Adopt-a-Nazi (Not Really)" to raise money for the Southern Poverty Law Center, a national organization fighting hate and extremism and tracking neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups.
Harris came up with the idea after hearing about a town in Germany that countered a neo-Nazi parade in 2014 with a fundraiser to benefit anti-extremist groups. He asked the Jewish Bar Association of San Francisco, where he is a board member, to take on the effort.
The Saturday rally is being organized by the Portland-based group Patriot Prayer, whose events have been marked by festivities between protesters and counterprotesters. The group is led by Joey Gibson, a Trump supporter who has publicly denounced white supremacists but whose rallies still draw white nationalists, anti-Semites and self-described fascists, according to SPLC and other groups.
Gibson has said that security for the Patriot Prayer group will be provided by the Oath Keepers, an armed, militia-like group that the Anti-Defamation League has described as a "large but loosely organized collection of anti-government bad boys."
The rally, which has been condemned by local and national politicians and drawn opposition from around the Bay Area, has tentative approval from the National Park Service. A final decision is expected any day.
Bay Area Jewish leaders and Jewish organizations are split on how to respond to the rally and its "alt-right" message, which often contains racist and anti-Semitic tropes. Some plan to join counterprotests at Crissy Field, while others say the best response is to attend planned alternative, peaceful gatherings elsewhere.
One woman was killed and dozens were maimed when a car driven by a suspected white supremacist plowed into a crowd of counterprotesters following a far-right rally in Charlottesville on August 12.
#2
The SPLC is doing great damage. 1st off, Joey
Gibson himself is not white. Only one of the speakers scheduled that day is white. Patriot Prayer has always been a more diverse group than Antifa. None of that matters. Trump is Hitler, and if you support him, you're a nazi. As I've been saying for some time - the violence will continue because the Left insists on it.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
08/23/2017 10:03 Comments ||
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#3
As to the inline comment on wearing an Israeli flag -that is a regular occurrence at these rallies. And as we saw in Boston and elsewhere, Antifa will come after you for doing so
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
08/23/2017 10:06 Comments ||
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#4
From Rex Mundi: #2 The SPLC is doing great damage. Yes, the SPLC tags anybody with differing opinions with the term "hate" to demonize them--the "anybody" is anyone to the right of center. McCarthyism from the left.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
North Korea
[CTVNEWS.CA] A British Columbia mother says a black bear followed her two-and-a-half-year-old son up a staircase and through a patio doorway into their home on Saturday.
