My brothers and I were raised in an environment of being independent, being self-sufficient and having entrepreneurial spirit.

In 1955 when I was sixteen, I purchased my first car for $400 with money I had earned from working in the family business. It was a 1951 Chevrolet two door coupe. I sold it in 1958 and brought a 1955 Pontiac Star Chief Coupe. At age eighteen, I financed this purchase at a local bank.

My older brother Douglas and I did not rely on our parents to provide us with things we wanted. We were given the freedom to choose our possessions and the responsibility to pay for them. Our mother was always there for support and would lend a helping hand if she thought it a good investment.

In the mid-seventies when I owned some citrus groves in Putnam County, Florida, I had the opportunity to purchase my neighbor’s orange grove but did not have the funds or financing. My mother purchased the grove in her name for me. Two years later when I was able to arrange financing, I paid my mother back and she transferred the grove to me.

In the mid-eighties, I had the opportunity to purchase some commercial highway property that a client had given back to the bank in a voluntary foreclosure. During this period, Russell and I were in business together and jointly investing in land. I brought the deal to his attention. I did not have the funds for the bank’s required cash down payment. Mother said she would provide the cash down payment, and Russell and I could own the land and service the mortgage. Through a series of events prior to final closing I was able to sell a portion of the land and have the proceeds applied to the mortgage. My mother had to provide a $15,000 down payment and the remaining mortgage balance was $15,000. I had the land deeded to Mother and Russell, with the understanding when I repaid mother back the $15,000 she could deed her interest in the land back to me. Russell agreed and said he would make the monthly mortgage payments.

Because my mother’s name appeared first on the deed, she received the real estate tax bills each year for the land. She would encourage me to have the deed prepared and transfer her interest to me. I told her I would do it as soon as I found $15,000 to pay her back. She would say, "Just go ahead and transfer it, she didn’t need the money". I would not make the transfer because Russell was making the monthly payments and I wanted our interest to be equal. Each year Mother and I would have these conversations. I can even remember our talking about it when our Mother was residing at an ACLF in 1992. I told Russell about these conversations, and he would not say anything.

When the Court appointed Carol Cube as guardian for my mother in 1992, I assisted in identifying my mother’s property holdings from my Conservator files. I told Carol Cube about my mother’s one half interest in the Commercial real estate in Putnam County. About two months later, Carol contacted me by phone and said two title companies researched the Court records and they could not locate any land ownership interest in Putnam County held by my mother. I told Carol I would go to the Courthouse and see what information I could find. What I found was an Indenture Deed shown as Exhibit 5. My mother’s one half interest in the property had been deeded to Russell. The recorded deed was not dated. My mother signed it on July 23, 1987 and Charles Robinson, a personal friend and attorney of Russell had prepared the deed. The deed was recorded in the Putnam County Courthouse on June 20, 1990 after my mother was diagnosed with dementia. The deed was recorded by James Martin, also a friend and personal attorney of my brother Russell.

When Russell spoke that evening in January at Shoney’s, he said he feared Douglas having mother sign a will without her knowledge. I believe his fear came from his own personal experience of having mother sign things, like a deed for the Putnam County land. This little Land Heist was just a prelude to the Big Heist he was planning.

When I discovered the deed transfer, I called Russell and asked what was going on. He screamed into the phone, "Mother never wanted you to have that property", and hung up on me. He would never permit me to talk to him about it.

(Authors note) When my brother, Doug read this passage he was surprised, shocked, and appalled. He told me Mother had told him several times how happy she was being able to help Gary and Russell buy commercial land together. The conversations were always about "our" land, not "his" land.

(Post Script) Gee, I wonder if Russell paid mother the $15,000 or is he planning to declare it as a gift on the estate tax return.