Preventive Medicine: George Bumb Jr. is a co-owner of Bay 101, where a snakebite kit is kept on-hand as a family joke. During his long tenure at the Flea Market, Venzon apparently developed a close relationship with George Bumb Sr. After learning of the incident, Jeff and wife Elizabeth did not report the matter to police immediately. When Werner broke the news that Jeff's brothers wouldn't write a letter on his behalf, he says Jeff became furious. And as with any divorce, embarrassing private details about the family and its businesses made their way into the public record. It wasn't the idea of gambling. (That thing that involved Jeff when Bay 101 was scheduled to open but didn't.)" 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. 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. 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. Near the end Venzon writes, "They want to bring up the 'murder-for-hire' investigation again. At the time, San Jose, like cities throughout the state, was strapped for cash, looking at an $11 million budget shortfall. When Jeff and Brian were denied licenses for Bay 101, Tim (above) and brother George Jr. jumped in. Preventive Medicine: George Bumb Jr. is a co-owner of Bay 101, where a snakebite kit is kept on-hand as a family joke. Now that their gaming license had been denied, a decision needed to be made--quickly. "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." Preventive Medicine: George Bumb Jr. is a co-owner of Bay 101, where a snakebite kit is kept on-hand as a family joke. "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." 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. Almost four months later, on July 21, 1998, George Bumb Sr. appeared in the downtown offices of Berliner Cohen to have his deposition taken. Finally, in July 1994, the state cleared Tim and George and gave them a conditional OK to let the games begin. 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. "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. 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. 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. The Flea Market, touted as the nation's largest, made the Bumbs rich, grossing nearly $12 million in 1996. And then police remembered the old rumors about a murder plot at the Flea Market, where Venzon had worked as a security guard for more than 15 years. The two, she said, never talked about what was going on while it was happening. But Jeff says the loan dispute screwed up their moving plans. 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. "He worked for me." 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. And then there's the stuff that never made it into headlines, like the alleged murder-for-hire plot out 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. 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. 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. Ultimately, Jeff says with resignation, he hopes I find the truth, "not my truth, not their truth, just the truth." 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. At the time, Jeff was in the midst of negotiating an arrangement to be bought out of the family businesses. "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." Tim Bumb says writing a letter on Jeff's behalf would have violated the agreement with the police chief and put the club in jeopardy. Well, George, whether you want to believe it or not I do love you and you are like a father to me." The two, she said, never talked about what was going on while it was happening. 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. "And I told you that I loved you and you are like a father to me. A FEW DAYS AFTER returning from his son's Oct. 13, 1995, military graduation in San Diego, Jeff and his wife, Elizabeth, got some appalling news: Their 14-year-old daughter had been involved in a sexual relationship with an older male cousin. After learning of the incident, Jeff and wife Elizabeth did not report the matter to police immediately. He also disputes that such a letter was even necessary for Jeff to get licensed. Over the years, he had developed working relationships with the city's politicians and bureaucrats. 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. 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. "I don't need their help," he barked at Werner. "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. Toward the end of the call, things got heated. Matthew Bumb's attorney argued that the relationship was consensual. And for nearly a month, they did. 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. Jeff tells the story differently: "Matthew was my godson. "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. The teenagers had been drinking booze earlier in the night. So Jeff, Brian and the remaining non-family partners backed out of Bay 101, handing everything over to Tim and George Jr. 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. The dolphin fountain at the front entrance is there because he wanted it there--water and fish are good luck. They recorded the conversation. But there was no gambling done that night. Tim Bumb says writing a letter on Jeff's behalf would have violated the agreement with the police chief and put the club in jeopardy. 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. His crimes included taking valuables from the bereaved family members of dead crime victims while pretending to console them. "The thing they probably value most is their privacy," Bryant explains. EVERY DAY THE CLUB stayed closed, the Bumbs lost more money. 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. 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. 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. As a compromise of sorts, he was debating whether he should apply for a license as a gaming-club manager instead of as an owner. During his long tenure at the Flea Market, Venzon apparently developed a close relationship with George Bumb Sr. It's very tightknit," says Bryant, adding that the senior Bumb doesn't give interviews--ever. 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. Christopher Gardner Soon after his confession, the word started spreading in the family about what happened. The elder Bumb may not have been feeling well, but he wasn't too sick to remember who was boss in this family. But Jeff says the loan dispute screwed up their moving plans. And that ain't happening because I can't afford it." "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. "Could he [Jeff] do any other work on his own behalf?" It's like we had no life except for the family." Within weeks, Jeff says, his six-month-old dog was dead, his cat was dead and the tires of a family car were slashed. 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. Jeff tells the story differently: "Matthew was my godson. 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. George Bumb Jr., the quiet one with a flair for things mechanical, was already at the controls of Air One Helicopter. Preventive Medicine: George Bumb Jr. is a co-owner of Bay 101, where a snakebite kit is kept on-hand as a family joke. The teenagers had been drinking booze earlier in the night. Tim and George Jr. would appeal and reapply, the hope being that the club would open as soon as possible. And Jeff himself had been playing poker since he was 12. "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." Tim and George Jr. would appeal and reapply, the hope being that the club would open as soon as possible. Over the years, he had developed working relationships with the city's politicians and bureaucrats. The couple even had a purchase contract for a $850,000 house on Golf Links Road. Jeff's daughter interrupted Matthew and said, "And I didn't know better. He followed that with suits alleging breach of contract, wrongful termination and misrepresentation. But Jeff and his family started hearing that instead of showing concern and support for his daughter, George Bumb Sr. and others in the family were blaming his freshman daughter for the incident and not her adult-age cousin.