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. Here is a synopsis of previous chapters. For complete chapters, see our website: www.kwtn.com.
In Chapter 1, 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 2, Sugarman used Fantasy Fest as a backdrop to introduce us to her cast of characters. In Chapter 3, investigative reporter Kate Anderson hears about an allegfed conspiracy by multiple government agencies to take over private property in the Keys. 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: Kate's review of Code Enforcement records seem to reveal a pattern of deceit. Chapter 10: A lawyer tells a property owner, in jail on seemingly trumped up environmental charges, that he can get him off if he will sell his property cheap to the Conservation League.
In Chapter 11, Kate shares her suspicians with the editor of a local newspaper . Chapter 12: The editor suggests that she take a close look at Rev. Clive Farrell and the Conservation League. Kate and a freind head down to Bahama Village to hear Farrell address a meeting of Last Chance. Chapter 13: The meeting. Chapter 14: Kate meets Clive Farrell and asks for an interview. Chapters 15 and 16: The interview.
Chapter 17: Another government raid. Chapter 18: Kate does her homework. Chapters 19 and 20: She attends a Code Enforcement meeting. Chapter 21 and 22: We get a peek inside a Steering Committee meeting of the Conservation League.
It was a pleasant half hour boat ride to Pirates' Key in Lloyd's 25-foot Well Craft. The day was perfect, not a cloud in sight, water smooth as glass. At first, Lloyd did his `captain' thing, naming each Key and pointing out the sights as they passed them, offering up some of the local lore to bring the marine history of the Keys to life. Then he wound down and seemed to lose himself in some private world and Frankie took up the slack, taking the opportunity to fill Kate in on the sad private history of their 140-acre key.
Mary Jo had been quietly lying on the back seat in her bathing suit, enjoying the sun. But, the story drew her and she moved up next to Kate, then sat listening with a sympathetic expression that sometimes changed into a look of utter disgust. The `boys' had bought Pirates' Key for $400,000. "Our life savings," said Lloyd. "All our liquid assets," Frankie corrected, apparently unwilling to make them seem as destitute as all that. It was an excellent business investment," he went on. "We researched it thoroughly. Mary Jo knows that. We pestered her to death with questions."
"Please," Mary Jo corrected. "I was glad to help you, you had a very creative idea. And a sound investment. Everybody thought so."
They had set up a corporation called Queer Camp of the Keys, planning to sell 100 campsites to offset their costs. "Campsites for gay guys and girls. That's what the brochure said," Frankie explained. "A completely private homo-environment."
"Great idea," Mary Jo said. "Great idea. Took off like wildfire."
Lloyd looked over at Kate and said, "We wanted it to be a place they could come to and let it all hang out. A beautiful natural place, like Fire Island, that sort of ambiance. But without the priceyness. Owners could get away to the island and have a little fun."
"They were selling like hotcakes. In less than three months, we had deposits on fifty lots. It would have been so . . . beautiful." Frankie spread his arms wide, to indicate the vast openness around them. "We wouldn't be bothering anyone, you see. All the way out here, in the middle of nowhere. Pirates' Key isn't visible from any other Key, Kate. We're out in the middle of nowhere."
"But they just wouldn't let us live," Lloyd put in, softly, almost to himself.
"We were cleaning up the land, that's when the trouble started," Frankie said. "About four months into the project. Louis Sanchez started dropping by, Lloyd knew him from around the marina. He's with the Marine Patrol. We thought these were just friendly visits . . ."
"He SAID they were just friendly visits, to see what we were into. Like he was interested, like he thought the idea was neat."
"Sometimes he even brought a friend along," Frankie began.
"Ricky Pinder. Some friend," Mary Jo interjected.
"Then one day, we got a whole bunch of Code Enforcement violations. For unpermitted work we'd done, like clearing the old roads, trimming branches, getting rid of junk. We'd put out a half dozen tents . . ."
"Those tents were completely legal," Mary Jo said.
"Didn't matter if they were," Lloyd insisted. "They want to stop us. And they did."
"Not yet. They haven't stopped us yet," Frankie said. "We're still trying to work things out. At Code hearing, like the one where we met you. Sitting down with all these environmental agencies. You name it, they know us. Nothing we do seems to help, but we're not giving up."
"Out here, it's turning into a real nightmare. We've got helicopter flyovers with Louie sitting in the open door, videotaping nude sunbathers. That cut down on our visitors, believe me. . ."
"Teams of officials would just show up, unannounced, to conduct these inspection tours. It got so we never have any privacy, we're so jumpy." Frankie recalled. "It's really awful."
"It sounds awful," Kate said, experiencing deja vu as she thought of Little Knockemdown Key. She started to say as much, but Lloyd interrupted to announce that the island directly in front of them was Pirates' Key. For a moment, all conversation stopped as everybody stared.
Frankie breathed, "Isn't she beautiful?"
They came a little closer, Lloyd cut the engine and dropped anchor. The water was so clear Kate could see all the way to the bottom, sand and pebbles and shells, clouds of tiny fish. Carrying their shoes and components of the picnic, they waded ashore.
"We come right up and moor the boat, we can get cited for a felony— destroying wetlands, pollution, a few other crimes," Lloyd snorted, as he led them across the silvery beach. "Mind you don't step on a mangrove, you could get life imprisonment for that." Everybody laughed when he said it, but they all knew it wasn't as far fetched as it sounded.
Lloyd led the way to a small rise and spread out a blanket under the shade of a lignum vitae tree. As Frankie organized things and spread out the repast, Kate stood in awed silence letting her eyes take in the glorious vistas. It was beautiful all right. It had to be one of the most unspoiled, pristine Keys she'd ever seen.
They flopped down on the blanket and dug in. Frankie had outdone himself, lobster salad sandwiches, deviled eggs, dilled potato salad, pickles and olives and chips and crackers and cheese. For dessert, grapes and cherries and some killer devilsfood cookies. Absent Lloyd's famous mai tais— in the end, there hadn't been time to assemble them, Frankie explained unnecessarily— they had to settle for a chilled rose, mint ice tea, or Perrier. For about ten minutes, all conversation ceased.
Mary Jo broke the silence. "You see, the problem, Kate, is that Pirates' Key is on the CARL Key Deer/Coupon Byte acquisition list. The boys paid $400,000 for it. Later, they found out that B.G. Waters, the previous owner, had turned down a similar offer from the Conservation League."
"Really?" Kate said.
"They offered us $400 just before we closed," Frankie explained. "But we weren't interested in selling. Still aren't. We intended to stick it out, this is our dream." Kate noticed he'd put it in the past. He really had given up.
The look on Mary Jo's face said she was thinking the same thing Kate was. "Now, Frankie. Don't give up. It's not over `till it's over."
"What were the charges?" Kate asked.
"For starters, some felonies that didn't even exist," Lloyd answered, heatedly. "And six misdemeanors. One felony was pollution for bags of wood chips. Listen to this. There were ruts in the road, put there by a vehicle we had on the island. They were dredge and fill. We had collected all the dead branches and shredded them, then put them in plastic bags and used the bags to fill in the ruts. Dredge and fill they call it. And they get away with it. Charges are anything they want."
"It's overzealous law enforcement," Mary Jo said. "And you boys aren't alone. It's happening all over the Keys."
She turned to Kate and asked if she was familiar with what was going on. "The permitting situation's becoming a real crime Last year, the County Land Use Plan completely devalued 17,000 pieces of property with a single stroke of the pen. Took them right off the tax roles, rendered them N.A.— that's Nature. Which makes them unbuildable. You see what this does? Creates a preserve without paying a dime for the property. It's a $500 million loss of revenue for the property appraiser. You ought to talk to him, he'll give you an earful."
"Did anyone try to fight it?" Kate asked.
"Actually, someone in South Carolina took it all the way up to the Supreme Court. The Court declared this after-the-fact retroactive zoning— changing the use of a piece of property from what it was when you purchased it— a taking. Said the government had to pay people just compensation in such cases."
"So?"
"So, it takes about a half million to take a case all the way to the Supreme Court. And all these takings would have to be tried individually, one by one. People down here can hardly afford that."
Kate shook her head. No wonder people caved in.
"As if that weren't enough, the powers that be came up with a real creative idea. If you want to build a house and can't get a permit, give them a piece of your land for conservation and for the donation, you get points. The points add up toward getting a permit. It's the ROGO system. The land use office could explain it to you. . ."
"Sometimes I think we should just give up. Just get it over with. Go on with our lives," Frankie sighed.
"You can't do that," Mary Jo said. "They haven't beat you yet."
"They could put us in jail," Lloyd argued. "Our attorney told us that. Take us away in orange suits and leg shackles, we end up with mug shots and felony records. It's over, anyway. Our dream is shattered."
"They want the island left alone, and they're going to get it," Frankie added. "Without paying a dime. If you arrest people for felonies that don't even exist. . ."
Lloyd forced a smile and raised his glass. "Hey, come on. This is a party. And the island's still ours. It's a beautiful day, let's enjoy it." The others joined in the toast.
To be continued next week
Willing Seller is a work of fiction. The events and characters portrayed are imaginary. Any resemblance to real people, living or dead, is coincidental.
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.
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.
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.
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.