And then there's the stuff that never made it into headlines, like the alleged murder-for-hire plot out at the Flea Market. Near the end Venzon writes, "They want to bring up the 'murder-for-hire' investigation again. And then, just when it seemed as though family relations couldn't get any worse, they did. Jeff's daughter interrupted Matthew and said, "And I didn't know better. 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. 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. Unlike other partners, neither Jeff nor Brian had buyback provisions in their written agreements, an intentional omission meant to appease state gaming officials who wanted them out of the picture. Matthew Bumb's attorney argued that the relationship was consensual. Well, guess what? I'm on the hook for $15 million. They recorded the conversation. he asked. 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. The elder Bumb may not have been feeling well, but he wasn't too sick to remember who was boss in this family. 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. 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. And as with any divorce, embarrassing private details about the family and its businesses made their way into the public record. 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. Tim now runs Bay 101, which he says is no easy task. Christopher Gardner She told police about at least seven other sexual encounters she had with her cousin after that. In response to Jeff's legal attacks, George Bumb Sr. and Bumb & Associates filed two separate suits of their own to collect nearly $1 million in loans and interest they claimed Jeff never paid. Tim and George Jr. worried that pressuring state and city officials to deal Jeff back in at Bay 101 would backfire and authorities would close down the card room. The card club has done more than bring unwanted public scrutiny to this insular group. "I'm a big boy." "My issue with [George Bumb Sr.]," Jeff Bumb complains about his father, "was his control of where you lived, what kind of house you bought, where your children went to school, who your friends are, whether your children went to college, who they would marry, what kind of wedding they would have." Soon after his confession, the word started spreading in the family about what happened. You know the school we went to?" After learning of the incident, Jeff and wife Elizabeth did not report the matter to police immediately. Christopher Gardner You know the school we went to?" And then, just when it seemed as though family relations couldn't get any worse, they did. (In one case, George Bumb Sr. loaned Jeff $31,250 in 1992 for his son to invest in Bay 101.) He also pulled off an armed robbery of the Aloha Roller Palace. George Bumb Sr., an avid card player, held a regular weekly family poker game at his home. You know the school we went to?" Whenever trouble arose at the Flea Market with city code or building inspectors, the Bumbs sent Jeff to settle things. Though authorities were never able to prove a paid snuff plot, Jeff Bumb believes the allegations were a factor contributing to authorities' mistrust of him. They recorded the conversation. The two, she said, never talked about what was going on while it was happening. And then there's the stuff that never made it into headlines, like the alleged murder-for-hire plot out at the Flea Market. VENZON WAS well known to the Bumbs. (That thing that involved Jeff when Bay 101 was scheduled to open but didn't.)" 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. His crimes included taking valuables from the bereaved family members of dead crime victims while pretending to console them. Meanwhile, Jeff and his lawyers spent 15 months trying get his father to appear at a deposition. 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. Jeff tells the story differently: "Matthew was my godson. She told police about at least seven other sexual encounters she had with her cousin after that. she said, referring to the family-run Catholic school at the Flea Market. Almost four months later, on July 21, 1998, George Bumb Sr. appeared in the downtown offices of Berliner Cohen to have his deposition taken. The guy doesn't get a slap on the hand." Tim and George, under pressure from then Police Chief Lou Cobarruviaz, had already signed an agreement a year earlier that prohibited Brian, Jeff and their father from having anything to do with the card room. Before the end of the month, the Flea Market laid off Jeff's daughters Anne and Rebecca. Unlike other partners, neither Jeff nor Brian had buyback provisions in their written agreements, an intentional omission meant to appease state gaming officials who wanted them out of the picture. AN ATTORNEY involved likened the whole contentious affair to a divorce. And then, just when it seemed as though family relations couldn't get any worse, they did. AN ATTORNEY involved likened the whole contentious affair to a divorce. Now that their gaming license had been denied, a decision needed to be made--quickly. "I'm a big boy." The two, she said, never talked about what was going on while it was happening. 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. "They didn't teach anything about this. He also pulled off an armed robbery of the Aloha Roller Palace. Toward the end of the call, things got heated. That promised to be a hard sell to the San Jose City Council, which would have to authorize both the new site and the expansion. And Jeff himself had been playing poker since he was 12. Tim and George Jr. worried that pressuring state and city officials to deal Jeff back in at Bay 101 would backfire and authorities would close down the card room. "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. FROM THE START, Jeff's three brothers and father didn't share his enthusiasm for opening a lavish gaming house. 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." The elder Bumb may not have been feeling well, but he wasn't too sick to remember who was boss in this family. About 20 percent of the 130 students there are Bumb relatives.) "I don't need their help," he barked at Werner. "He worked for me." Bryant, who acts as emissary for the family and its patriarch, thinks the Bumbs are a misunderstood bunch. But his dream, which now seemed so close to being a reality, was about to become a nightmare. 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. The elder Bumb may not have been feeling well, but he wasn't too sick to remember who was boss in this family. And then, just when it seemed as though family relations couldn't get any worse, they did. Of the four brothers, Tim and George had faced the least resistance from state gaming officials. 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. Before the end of the month, the Flea Market laid off Jeff's daughters Anne and Rebecca. Jeff entertained offers to buy the club, the highest bid, he recalls, coming in at $40 million. He followed that with suits alleging breach of contract, wrongful termination and misrepresentation. And for nearly a month, they did. The court saga evolved into a battle of wills between a father--a man who wouldn't even let the Vatican tell him what to do--and his oldest son, determined to break free from the old man's grasp. The dolphin fountain at the front entrance is there because he wanted it there--water and fish are good luck. 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. Even though all the lights were out, she told police that she knew it was Matthew "because the moonlight shined into the room through the large windows that faced the ocean." And then, just when it seemed as though family relations couldn't get any worse, they did. OK--we didn't get out--OK? Well, guess what? Realizing that, Jeff offered to pay higher card-room taxes (next year the city expects to collect $4.5 million from Bay 101) and pick up the tab for security. And it was very explicit in there that no Bumbs could have anything to do with the club. "It's making a whole lot of money," Bumb says of the club which city financial forecasters have predicted will gross $34.6 million this year, $11.5 million more than its cross-town rival, Garden City. He asked longtime family attorney Ron Werner if his brothers could write a recommendation letter for him, something state officials had told him he would need to be considered eligible for a gaming license. Even though all the lights were out, she told police that she knew it was Matthew "because the moonlight shined into the room through the large windows that faced the ocean." 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." His crimes included taking valuables from the bereaved family members of dead crime victims while pretending to console them. "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. "My issue with [George Bumb Sr.]," Jeff Bumb complains about his father, "was his control of where you lived, what kind of house you bought, where your children went to school, who your friends are, whether your children went to college, who they would marry, what kind of wedding they would have." 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. "My wife broke the code," he says, "and I supported her." Originally he was scheduled for questioning on March 10, 1997, but the old man's lawyers explained that their client was extremely ill, suffering from "severe life-threatening conditions," practically on his death bed. The elder Bumb may not have been feeling well, but he wasn't too sick to remember who was boss in this family. 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. Finally, in July 1994, the state cleared Tim and George and gave them a conditional OK to let the games begin. He also disputes that such a letter was even necessary for Jeff to get licensed. Matthew is the kind of guy a relative described to police as "polite," the guy parents wanted their daughters to date. The elder Bumb may not have been feeling well, but he wasn't too sick to remember who was boss in this family. Jeff Bumb says he believes that state and local investigators at the time of Bay 101's limbo were investigating a rumor that Jeff had tried to get someone killed, a charge Jeff denies. 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. Even though all the lights were out, she told police that she knew it was Matthew "because the moonlight shined into the room through the large windows that faced the ocean." attorney Frank Ubhaus asked the Bumb patriarch. Well, George, whether you want to believe it or not I do love you and you are like a father to me." The teenagers had been drinking booze earlier in the night. In a fit, he took the paper he was writing on, crumpled it up and threw it out the office door. One month later, the state attorney general's office made a devastating announcement: Authorities had come across issues of "such magnitude" and "concern" that they would need at least another month to decide if gambling should be allowed at Bay 101. I'm on the hook for $15 million. Unlike other partners, neither Jeff nor Brian had buyback provisions in their written agreements, an intentional omission meant to appease state gaming officials who wanted them out of the picture. During his long tenure at the Flea Market, Venzon apparently developed a close relationship with George Bumb Sr. (In one case, George Bumb Sr. loaned Jeff $31,250 in 1992 for his son to invest in Bay 101.) "It's a very strong family. On Nov. 8, 1995, attorney Albin Danell, Elizabeth's brother-in-law, contacted the police, apparently after consulting with Elizabeth. Originally he was scheduled for questioning on March 10, 1997, but the old man's lawyers explained that their client was extremely ill, suffering from "severe life-threatening conditions," practically on his death bed.