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. 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. 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. The couple even had a purchase contract for a $850,000 house on Golf Links Road. And Brian, the handsome and gregarious youngest brother, was in charge of day-to-day operations at the Flea Market. It's like we had no life except for the family." He can't ignore it. During his long tenure at the Flea Market, Venzon apparently developed a close relationship with George Bumb Sr. 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. But Jeff Bumb hasn't made a penny from the club since it opened in September 1994. He and his brothers had a plan, he says. In a fit, he took the paper he was writing on, crumpled it up and threw it out the office door. 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. Initially, police filed felony charges against Matthew Bumb for having oral sex with a minor and penetrating her with his fingers. "I don't need their help," he barked at Werner. If all this weren't enough, a sexual relationship between his 14-year-old daughter and a 19-year-old Bumb cousin was reported to police, slicing the family's cherished privacy wide open for the world to see. But Jeff was confident. "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." Christopher Gardner 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. Tim and George Jr. would appeal and reapply, the hope being that the club would open as soon as possible. He was also the kind of guy, police records reveal, who told his mother about the incidents "because he felt guilty." Meanwhile, Jeff and his lawyers spent 15 months trying get his father to appear at a deposition. "And I told you that I loved you and you are like a father to me. A nurse was present to monitor his condition. Matthew is the kind of guy a relative described to police as "polite," the guy parents wanted their daughters to date. 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. The elder Bumb may not have been feeling well, but he wasn't too sick to remember who was boss in this family. "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." According to Jeff, there was tremendous pressure from his father and others in the family to keep the incest a secret. 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. 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. 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. Eight months later, the frame of the weapon was found in a Salinas pond near Venzon's home with the barrel and slide missing. ALL TOGETHER, the intrafamily litigation has spanned nearly three years. About 20 percent of the 130 students there are Bumb relatives.) "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." The teenagers had been drinking booze earlier in the night. Jeff signed a deal with his brothers that prohibited him from owning Bay 101 stock until he got all the necessary licenses. 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. And then, just when it seemed as though family relations couldn't get any worse, they did. "I don't need their help," he barked at Werner. When Werner broke the news that Jeff's brothers wouldn't write a letter on his behalf, he says Jeff became furious. "And I told you that I loved you and you are like a father to me. He and his brothers had a plan, he says. John W Bumb Jr, San Jose, CA (95127) - Spokeo 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. 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 worked for me." "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." 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. Near the end Venzon writes, "They want to bring up the 'murder-for-hire' investigation again. 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. 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. The teenagers had been drinking booze earlier in the night. "And I told you that I loved you and you are like a father to me. The two, she said, never talked about what was going on while it was happening. "They didn't teach anything about this. I'm on the hook for $15 million. She recalled that she was dressed in shorts and a T-shirt covered by a blanket. It's like we had no life except for the family." Tim and George Jr. would appeal and reapply, the hope being that the club would open as soon as possible. And then, just when it seemed as though family relations couldn't get any worse, they did. Over the years, he had developed working relationships with the city's politicians and bureaucrats. He followed that with suits alleging breach of contract, wrongful termination and misrepresentation. Ultimately, Jeff says with resignation, he hopes I find the truth, "not my truth, not their truth, just the truth." You think this didn't break my heart?" The state, still busy conducting background checks, still hadn't approved the Bumbs and their partners' gaming licenses. The guy doesn't get a slap on the hand." "He worked for me." When he was jailed, the desperate cop wrote a 15-page handwritten letter in pencil to George Bumb in May 1997 asking the Flea Market owner to bail him out. Christopher Gardner The Bumbs' reputation as an unconventional, insular, wealthy, large brood keeps tongues in political circles flapping. He also runs day-to-day operations at the family-owned Flea Market. Meanwhile, Jeff and his lawyers spent 15 months trying get his father to appear at a deposition. Along the way, Jeff raised the ante, hiring Frank Ubhaus, a lawyer who represented Garden City card club, Bay 101's crosstown rival. 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. When Werner broke the news that Jeff's brothers wouldn't write a letter on his behalf, he says Jeff became furious. When Werner broke the news that Jeff's brothers wouldn't write a letter on his behalf, he says Jeff became furious. The teenagers had been drinking booze earlier in the night. The couple even had a purchase contract for a $850,000 house on Golf Links Road. 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. At the time, Jeff was in the midst of negotiating an arrangement to be bought out of the family businesses. 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. "And I told you that I loved you and you are like a father to me. "And I told you that I loved you and you are like a father to me. Within weeks, Jeff says, his six-month-old dog was dead, his cat was dead and the tires of a family car were slashed. In February 1994, nearly one year after the San Jose City Council gave Bay 101 its blessing, the state denied the Bumbs and their partners' gaming license application. "The thing they probably value most is their privacy," Bryant explains. Soon after his confession, the word started spreading in the family about what happened. 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. "My wife broke the code," he says, "and I supported her." And then there's the stuff that never made it into headlines, like the alleged murder-for-hire plot out at the Flea Market. ALL TOGETHER, the intrafamily litigation has spanned nearly three years. Hamilton, where Latin mass is conducted on a regular basis. "They had to find Snow White and Cinderella," Tim Bumb says, "and that was George and I." Almost four months later, on July 21, 1998, George Bumb Sr. appeared in the downtown offices of Berliner Cohen to have his deposition taken. Dealers stood at the tables, ready to deal the cards. 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. Jeff didn't mind, though. 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. VENZON WAS well known to the Bumbs. 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. Matthew is the kind of guy a relative described to police as "polite," the guy parents wanted their daughters to date. One wag refers to them as "the Beverly Hillbillies of San Jose." "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." Jeff signed a deal with his brothers that prohibited him from owning Bay 101 stock until he got all the necessary licenses. But Jeff Bumb hasn't made a penny from the club since it opened in September 1994. Police reports would suggest she had, "for about a year," been giving "blow jobs" to 19-year-old Matthew Bumb, son of George Bumb Jr. "Could he [Jeff] do any other work on his own behalf?" 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. Still Standing: Jeff Bumb, Bay 101's ostracized founder, boasts that despite various local, state and federal investigations over the years he has emerged squeaky clean. 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. At the time, Jeff was in the midst of negotiating an arrangement to be bought out of the family businesses. "He worked for me." Christopher Gardner Jeff himself was hit with a federal grand jury investigation over financial transactions in connection with a multimillion-dollar residential development near Silver Creek Road. (Tim Bumb, the school's director, says it was put there to save on rent. At the time, San Jose, like cities throughout the state, was strapped for cash, looking at an $11 million budget shortfall. "I'm a big boy." "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." "They didn't teach anything about this. So Jeff, Brian and the remaining non-family partners backed out of Bay 101, handing everything over to Tim and George Jr. Still Standing: Jeff Bumb, Bay 101's ostracized founder, boasts that despite various local, state and federal investigations over the years he has emerged squeaky clean. Whenever trouble arose at the Flea Market with city code or building inspectors, the Bumbs sent Jeff to settle things. VENZON WAS well known to the Bumbs. 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. The elder Bumb may not have been feeling well, but he wasn't too sick to remember who was boss in this family. And it was very explicit in there that no Bumbs could have anything to do with the club. Initially, police filed felony charges against Matthew Bumb for having oral sex with a minor and penetrating her with his fingers. Tim, the second youngest of George Bumb's four boys, was already running the family toy business, Fact Games, and Premium Pet Stores. Almost four months later, on July 21, 1998, George Bumb Sr. appeared in the downtown offices of Berliner Cohen to have his deposition taken.