A NOVEL BY ELLEN SUGARMAN
The Willing Seller
< ALIGN="JUSTIFY>EDITOR'S NOTE: Ellen Sugarman is a nationally known investigative reporter. She has given
KWTN permission to serialize her new book about environmental terrorism in the Florida Keys.
< ALIGN="JUSTIFY>In Chapter One, officials from County Code Enforcement, the Sheriff's Office and the Florida
Marine Patrol— off duty and in civilian clothes, but armed— pay an unofficial visit to property owners
on Little Knockemdown Key. A few days later, the owners were cited, ordering them to tear down
unpermitted structures— even though many of those structures had been there prior to the law requiring
permitting. In Chapter Two, Sugarman used Fantasy Fest as a backdrop to introduce us to her cast of characters.
In Chapter Three, an investigative reporter hears about an alleged conspiracy by multiple government
agencies to take over private property in the Keys and, in Chapter 4, she starts to look into it. Chapter
5: Officials "raid" Little Torch Key. Chapter 6: Government officials charge a Sugarloaf resident with
environmental infractions and, in Chapter 7, they take his house. Chapters 8 and 9: Code Enforcement
records begin to reveal a pattern of deceit. To read previous chapters of The Willing Seller, see our
website— www.kwtn.com.
CHAPTER 10
< ALIGN="JUSTIFY>When they came to arrest Billy Ray, the county did it all proper-like, crossing their "t's" and
dotting their "i's." They showed him the formal charges and papers and brought lots of personnel, like he was
a real fugitive. Sheriff's deputies, Louie Sanchez, two beefy plain-clothes from the Key West P.D.
What they were there for Billy Ray couldn't immediately ascertain, since the presence of so many uniforms
had caused his brain to temporarily short-circuit. He was confused and upset at the prospect of going to
jail, but he was careful not to give the slightest indication that he was arguing with The Man. Just kept his
big trap shut and did what he was told, not wanting to give them an excuse for any force or a serious
misunderstanding. After all, he already had a bad back and a gimpy leg.
< ALIGN="JUSTIFY>Louie seemed to be the leader, with the others as backup. He explained to Billy Ray, with the glee
of a zealot, that he'd committed a number of serious environmental crimes and read off the charges.
Dredge and fill. Altering Mangroves. Destroying Joewood. Causing Pollution. Fancy names for whacking a
few mangroves, which he hadn't even done, clearing away some plants, of which there were plenty, filling
in a few little ruts and leveling off his private access road.
< ALIGN="JUSTIFY>They handcuffed him, though they did let him keep his hands in front seeing as how he was
certainly not your average violent criminal, bundled him into a black-and-white and took him to jail in
downtown Key West. There, he was liberated from the few lingering possessions he happened to have in his
pockets, given an orange jumpsuit in exchange for this clothing, booked and posed for mug shots. The
entire operation took no time at all. In less than half an hour, he was transformed from an ordinary citizen to
a criminal.
< ALIGN="JUSTIFY>He was given one phone call, like he was entitled, so he called his mom, Dixie. That is, he left
a message for her with her best friend, Rose, who lived in a trailer a few doors down from her because
Dixie herself didn't have a phone. Saying just to tell her he'd been arrested, nothing serious. (At the time, he
still hoped it was nothing serious.) And to come on downtown and bond him out. (At the time, he thought
the bail would be low.) She didn't have to worry about him, he knew the drill. They'd get him a
public defender and she could get some cash to the bondsman, he figured he'd be out tomorrow at the
latest, seeing as how this was coming into the weekend. Having to give his mother the news, Billy Ray felt
real bad.
< ALIGN="JUSTIFY>As a longtime member of the counter culture and a onetime Viet Nam grunt who had used
the government's money to buy three consecutive lots on Little Torch Key, Billy Ray had expected to
blend right in. Or disappear, depending on your perspective. Now, he found himself in serious trouble,
through no fault of his own. They put him in a cell by himself, where he sat locked up and nervous,
wondering what was next.
< ALIGN="JUSTIFY>What was next was a visit from his public defender the following morning. This was a
squirrely nervous little guy with thick glasses and bad breath named Winston Freeman. In a tired voice,
Winston explained that the charge of Causing Pollution was a felony, punishable by as much as five years'
imprisonment and a $10,000 fine— which increased his client's anxiety. Billy Ray tried to tell him there were
no mangroves on his property, it wasn't wetlands. and that a private botanist he'd hired would bear him
out on this. But Winston didn't seem to be much interested in that, either. Nevertheless, Billy Ray
thought, This is something. He'll get me out. Billy Ray was wrong, though.
< ALIGN="JUSTIFY>When he went before the judge for the arraignment hearing late that afternoon, it didn't go well
for him. The woman from the state attorney's office produced a rap sheet on Billy Ray, some charges
that were so old he'd forgotten all about them. One was for stealing a car with some guys back when he was
in high school in Mobile— the charge had been dropped, which was never mentioned during the
hearing. The other was a California possession-of-marijuana he'd gotten when he was caught smoking at a rally
in the sixties. He'd paid a fine on that one, that was all. There also was a weapons charge he thought
must belong to some other William R. Johnson. And a couple outstanding moving violations and some
parking tickets that happened to be his. All this gave him a black eye with the judge who decided to lock him
up and throw away the key, setting bail at $25,000. When Billy Ray couldn't make that, he was back in
the slammer. He couldn't help but notice that ole Winston hadn't said much at all. You get what you pay
for, even where justice was concerned.
< ALIGN="JUSTIFY>His mother, Dixie, had been at the arraignment, sitting in the second row dressed like she was
going to church. She was a plump little woman with a pretty smile, red hair done up in a bun, bright little
blue eyes. She'd come prepared to help, having stopped at the bank on the way to get $500— but now it
turned out they weren't going to be able to bond him out. Beneath the weak smile Dixie had a pained look in
her eyes and it broke his heart to have put it there. Billy Ray loved his mother. He intended to build her a
nice solar house for the two of them on his property when he saved up enough money. She'd been the one
to move to Florida; Billy Ray came to stay with her after the war.
< ALIGN="JUSTIFY>He was yet to learn that environmental crimes were serious all right, even the ones that were
trumped up charges like his. The matter of the mangroves and the pollution were pretty bad. He got a speedy
trial, that was something, and most everyone except Billy Ray and Dixie thought that justice was served
when he was only sentenced to sixty days. Billy ray wasn't even sure that Winston believed he was
mainly innocent. His mom said she had a suspicion the man was a tree-hugger himself. There was just
something about him that she didn't trust.
< ALIGN="JUSTIFY>"When you get out, I'd do your best to clear up all these violations, settle this matter before the
law," Winston advised Billy Ray before they took him away. "Otherwise, they could come after you again,
you know, once you're out. this court really frowns on a scofflaw." Why did everyone keep saying that?
< ALIGN="JUSTIFY>Trouble was, at the time he was arrested— and this was another thing he hadn't been able to
explain to anyone, not even Winston— Billy Ray was of the opinion he'd already fixed it up with the county.
He'd spent around $850 for indigenous plants, in the county's work `mitigation,' put them in himself. He
attended some code enforcement meetings along the way to accomplishing this and got instructions
from the county biologist, the lady who'd come out to his property that day taking pictures with them
eco-cops. He'd hired hisself this private biologist to write a report and submit it to the county. Then he'd
been waiting on code enforcement to come and inspect what he had done. He'd called them a few times,
left messages that he was now in compliance, that never got him anywhere.
< ALIGN="JUSTIFY>He was still waiting for them to show up when he was arrested. One hand not knowing what the
other one was up to was what it looked like to Billy Ray, who had some experience with these bureaucracies.
< ALIGN="JUSTIFY>Then this really weird thing happened. Somewhere along about his third week in jail he had a
visit from Winston. They were taken to a little room with a table and a window where they could talk. Billy
Ray could tell Winston was making an effort to be amiable, he'd brought him a con leche and some
cigarettes, and he was wearing a shit-kicking grin.
< ALIGN="JUSTIFY>"I've got some real good news for you," Winston announced as Billy Ray sat sipping his
coffee, which was a damn sight better than what they give you in jail. At his words Billy Ray set down the
cup, thinking the public defender had somehow got him out.
< ALIGN="JUSTIFY>That was when Winston took a manilla envelope out of his briefcase and laid it on the table
between them like it was some kind of present. When Billy Ray just sat there staring at it without doing
anything, Winston gestured with his chin and said: "Open it." Billy Ray did. Inside was this paper, some kind
of contact. "Take a look, Billy Ray," said Winston, "this is something interesting."
< ALIGN="JUSTIFY>It was interesting all right. A draft contract from the Conservation League offering Billy Ray
$9,000 for all three of his lots. Billy Ray had paid $15,000 apiece. And he didn't want to sell them, anyhow.
< ALIGN="JUSTIFY>"This group is buying up parcels on Big Pine," Winston explained, still grinning. "They'd be glad
to take your troubles off your hands."
< ALIGN="JUSTIFY>When Billy Ray still didn't say anything, Winston added that of course, in the event he agreed to
the sale, they could probably work out something with the judge. "Send you home to your mama a little
early, boy. How'd you like that?"
< ALIGN="JUSTIFY>Then Winston revealed a side of him Billy wouldn't have guessed, an understanding of real
estate, county regulations and other things like that. Well, probably any lawyer in the Keys would know all
this stuff. He ticked off all the problems Billy Ray would face if he decided he wanted to, say, build
something on his property. For one thing, he'd never be able to pull the necessary permits now that they'd declared
a building moratorium on Big Pine. This was the first Billy Ray had heard about it, another obstacle to
his plans. Winston told his client he should jump on it, take the generous offer.
< ALIGN="JUSTIFY>Instead of listening, Billy Ray started thinking about his property, picturing the exact spot he
intended to put up the house. It would be on the lot furthest in, overlooking the sea. He'd imagined it
so much he could just turn away slightly from Winston and see the place projected on the wall.
Nothing fancy. just a little solar house, all hand-hewn wood, kind of simple. A small-is-beautiful ecological sort
of place. Real pretty and comfortable. He planned to work on it hisself.
< ALIGN="JUSTIFY>Winston was saying something in a slightly irritated voice, so Billy Ray looked over at him and
said, What. "I said, plus," Winston repeated. "With all your violations. You'd never get clearance to build.
In any case."
< ALIGN="JUSTIFY>Billy Ray stopped hisself from asking the man whose side he was on, anyway, giving him the
benefit of the doubt. "Where'd you get this?" he asked, fingering the contact as though it was dirty.
< ALIGN="JUSTIFY>Winston shrugged and ignored the question.
< ALIGN="JUSTIFY>"I mean, did they come to you? Because they heard you were representing me?"
< ALIGN="JUSTIFY>Instead of answering, Winston said, "I don't understand you, Billy Ray. I expected you to jump at
this offer." He looked disappointed when Billy Ray didn't say anything. "Especially since I told you, I could
get the judge to send you home for good behavior. All we need is your signature on this paper. Are
you listening to me, boy? Well, think about it." Then he lost his patience and signaled to the guard. "I
really don't have time to waste on this."
< ALIGN="JUSTIFY>Back in his cell, Billy Ray did think about it. He sat on his cot a long time studying the contract,
stared at the signature on the line above Conservation League. Donald Redford. The name was familiar. It
took him awhile, but finally he remembered that he'd seen that signature before. It had been on a letter
he'd received about six months ago, telling him and his neighbors— everyone on Big Pine had already
gotten one— how this same Conservation League was in the process of purchasing undeveloped lots on Big
Pine Keyto expand the federal Key Deer Refuge. How they were offering a cash payment to anyone who
made a deal with them by the end of the month. All the property owner had to do was contact this
Donald Redford guy right away.
< ALIGN="JUSTIFY>Billy Ray hadn't contacted anyone, but he'd kept the letter. At least, he thought he did. He
wondered if it was still over at his mother's, where he usually kept his important stuff. In the meantime, he'd have
to think some more about this offer and the things Mr. Winston Freeman had told him. Maybe he should
just take the money and run, get out from under all these problems. Billy Ray just didn't know.
< ALIGN="JUSTIFY>To be continued next week.
< ALIGN="JUSTIFY>EDITOR'S NOTE: Ellen Sugarman spent the summer in New York. But it's getting cold up there.
She wants to come down for January. If you know of a small house or a two-bedroom apartment for rent,
call Mary here at KWTN, 292-2108.
* * *
< ALIGN="JUSTIFY>Willing Seller is a work of fiction. The events and characters portrayed are imaginary. Any
resemblance to real people, living or dead, is coincidental.
< ALIGN="JUSTIFY>Ellen Sugarman's writing has appeared in publications such as
Newsday, Time, Vogue, Ms., Penthouse, New York Times Magazine, the San Francisco
Chronicle, the Chicago Sun Times, and the
Miami Herald's Tropic Magazine.
< ALIGN="JUSTIFY>As a freelance television producer, she has worked with ABC, Fox News, A&E and the BBC.
Several years ago, she produced a segment on environmental terrorism in the Florida Keys for ABC's 20/20.
Although scheduled to run several times, the show was ultimately killed, reportedly because of pressure
from the Nature Conservancy.
< ALIGN="JUSTIFY>The program did air in the Keys, however, after activist Peter Anderson was able to obtain a
videotape of the show and paid for time to run it on local cable television.
< ALIGN="JUSTIFY>Among a number of shocking revelations, the program documents that State Attorney Kirk
Zuelch, while a member of the local Nature Conservancy board, offered to drop charges against property
owners accused of environmental crimes if they would sell or give their land to the Nature Conservancy.
Zuelch quickly resigned from the Nature Conservancy board after he was interviewed by 20/20.
Anderson encouraged viewers to tape the show when it ran on local TV. If you want to see this
show, KWTN has a couple of loaner copies. Info: 292-2108.