In a recent post, we mentioned a possible connection between the legal woes at the heart of this blog and the search for a football coach at Hoover High School. Both started almost eight years ago, in late 1998.
The Hoover search concluded with the hiring of Rush Propst, who has had spectacular success on the field, leading the Bucs to five Class 6A state championships and two second-place finishes. Propst also brought the school unprecedented attention, through No. 1 national rankings and the popular MTV series Two A Days.
But the downside of the Rush Propst regime has recently bubbled to the surface, with the school embroiled in an ugly controversy that involves alleged academic, financial, and personal wrongdoing connected to the football program.
Hoover High is again in the spotlight, with Sports Illustrated, USA Today, and The New York Times among the national publications covering the story. Attention this time is coming in a negative wave, and many Hoover residents are concerned about what it means to their school system and the overall community, both of which have long enjoyed stellar reputations.
So why do I think my tale of legal intrigue--what we've come to call the Legal Schnauzer case--has anything to do with the hiring of a football coach at Hoover High School?
Well, here's the story. See what you think.
In November 1998, there was unrest over the football program at Hoover High. Longtime coach Bob Finley had died unexpectedly in 1994, and Gerald Gann, one of his former assistants, had not been able to restore the Bucs to their usual lofty status. Hoover had gone 4-6 and lost several years in a row to arch-rival, and next-door neighbor, Vestavia Hills.
To fire a high-school football coach after a 4-6 season might have been unheard of 10 or 20 years earlier. It probably still would be unheard of today, in some places. But in many towns around Alabama, especially in the suburbs surrounding Birmingham, the line between high school and college athletics was becoming blurry. Coaches were expected to do more than manage the team and teach several classes of gym or driver's ed. They were expected to win.
Gerald Gann, cut very much from the Bob Finley mold, had started with an 11-2 season. But good will from that season had washed away with three straight losing seasons. Gann was summarily canned, and the relatively young Hoover School System went looking for a coach who could win big.
About this time, your humble blogger was living peacefully with his wife and miniature schnauzer in north Shelby County, just 2-3 miles from the winding Hoover city limits. My two main concerns in life were trying to figure out how to keep crabgrass out of my yard and wondering if my alma mater (the University of Missouri) ever would be competitive in football again. (Answers: Mizzou is UNDEFEATED and nationally ranked right now; my yard still has crabgrass.)
Life for my little family unit was about to get much more complicated.
My next-door neighbor to the east was a fellow named Fred Yancey. My wife and I bought our house (our one and, we hope, only) in 1989. Fred and his wife, Sharon, and their two teen-aged children moved in a few months later. Fred had been hired as head football coach at Briarwood Christian High School, just a chip-shot field goal from where we lived.
We didn't see a lot of Fred. As a former sportswriter myself, I was familiar with the coaching lifestyle. If Fred was any kind of coach at all, I knew he would be spending lots of time watching film and otherwise trying to figure out how to win games.
So even though we weren't "big buds" with the Yanceys, we considered them very good neighbors. They were always quick with a warm hello. We helped each other through the occasional neighborhood crisis, storm damage, falling trees, and such. And their kids were so straight-arrow and well-behaved that you hardly knew they were around.
In fact, in the eight years or so the Yanceys lived next door I really had no idea where the boundary line to our property was; I never had any reason to think about it.
That was about to change.
And one reason it changed, I think, is that Fred Yancey proved to be one heck of a football coach. (I can't tell you how many times since late 1998 I've looked to the sky and said: "Sweet Jesus, why couldn't Fred Yancey have been a sorry-ass football coach?" My hair probably would still be brown. My wallet would be thicker. And if I hadn't used crude language with the Lord, maybe He would have helped me.)
As Hoover High football was struggling, the Lions of Briarwood Christian were turning into a powerhouse. And this was a new development on the Birmingham sports scene.
I had worked for 11 years in the city as a sportswriter, much of it spent covering high-school sports, and I don't recall writing a single word about Briarwood Christian athletics. We all knew the school was connected to Briarwood Presybyterian Church, a massive, wealthy, evangelical, conservative congregation in Birmingham's suburbs. Sometimes you would hear about a conservative politician, say a Dan Quayle, visiting the church. And members occasionally made news by getting involved in an anti-abortion protest. But sports? Briarwood Christian was pretty much off the radar screen.
Fred Yancey changed all of that, in a major way. He immediately turned the Lions into winners, and by 1998, his team was pushing for a state championship.
One reason the Lions were so good that year was a multitalented offensive star named Tim Castille, and he was only an eighth grader. And a year or two behind him was his brother Simeon, and people said he would be even better than Tim. The Castilles came by their talent honestly. Their father, Jeremiah, had been a star defensive back at the University of Alabama under Bear Bryant and gone on to have a distinguished career in the National Football League.
My understanding is that Briarwood was pretty much an all-white school at one time. Of course with the coming of integration, church-affiliated "seg academies" sprung up across the South. It might be unfair to call Briarwood a "seg academy." But in the '70s and '80s, I think it's safe to say that Parliament and Funkadelic were seldom heard on the school sound system. In fact, Lionel Richie probably would have caused serious consternation.
The Castilles, and a few other black players, added diversity--and some serious athletic talent--to the Briarwood mix. With Fred Yancey at the controls, and Jeremiah Castille joining him on the coaching staff, the Christians no longer were everybody's favorite Homecoming opponent. In fact, they were whuppin' some major Friday-night butt.
It culminated on December 10, 1998 (a Thursday) when the Lions won the Class 3A title, the school's first state championship in football (and probably in any sport).
I remember reading about the game in the newspaper the next morning and feeling happy for Fred. In fact, I hollered upstairs to my wife, "Hey, we've got a state-championship football coach living next door."
Two days later, our lives would turn upside down.
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query Hoover High and Me. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query Hoover High and Me. Sort by date Show all posts
Monday, October 29, 2007
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Havoc in Hoover (Cont.)
The biggest story in the Birmingham area, by far, remains the resignation of Hoover High School football coach Rush Propst and the surrounding controversy involving academic, financial, and personal impropriety.
We noted earlier that the Hoover High story has special resonance here at Legal Schnauzer. So let's keep up with the latest:
* Fallout from the investigation is far from over. School Board president Sandra Frazier said more personnel decisions could be coming in the wake of retired judge Samuel Pointer's inquiry. The school system will not be able to truly move forward until those decisions, and a pending lawsuit by former Hoover High School principal Richard Bishop, are dealt with, Frazier says. Communities around the state are feeling the effects of the Hoover story. The Alabama Ethics Commission has received 12 to 15 inquiries from coaches and school boards about mandatory income reports. Former superintendent Connie Williams weighed in, saying she is disappointed that Propst still seems to be blaming others for the mess. "I find it unfortunate that obviously there are people in Hoover who still believe so much of what he says," Williams said.
* Names of possible candidates to replace Propst are beginning to surface. Those include Josh Niblett of Oxford, Bill Clark of Prattville, and Todd Watson of Foley. Ironically, Niblett and Clark recently have had issues connected to ineligible players and ethics forms, two matters that helped get Propst in hot water. People close to the situation say Hoover High still is considered one of the elite jobs in the state (and the nation), and the program is not likely to struggle on the field for long--if at all. "They're not going to let it fail," Birmingham-Southern College coach Joey Jones said. "But it's going to take a (head coach) to come in there and put it together." One problem is that high school does not have a permanent principal in place, so it is unclear who will lead the search for a new coach. One school board member suggested interim principal Ken Jarnigan lead the search, with the help of a committee made up of three parents (one representing freshman, sophomore, and junior classes), one teacher, and the athletics director.
* Speaking of Joey Jones, would he be a candidate? He's getting a Division III (non-scholarship) program off the ground at Birmingham-Southern and left Mountain Brook High School after 10 years for the challenge of the college game. But would he find the Hoover job enticing enough to return to the high-school level? Could Hoover pay Jones more than Birmingham-Southern is paying him? (My guess? Yes.) It would be hard to find a coach with a better reputation, in terms of both coaching ability and community-building skills.
* Birmingham News sports columnist Ray Melick says Hoover should go with someone who is familiar with the type of system that Propst used so successfully with the Bucs. That would mean a wide-open, spread-the-field, shotgun type of offense. Niblett, Watson, and Clark all fit that mold. Melick also threw out the name of Spain Park High School assistant Perry Swindall, who used a wide-open attack to build a powerhouse at Russellville High School.
* A number of Hooverites have expressed dismay about the conditions of Propst's exit--that he will stay in the school system until his resignation takes effect in August 2008, and he will leave with a generous financial settlement in hand. Some have said his transgressions were serious enough, and embarrassing enough to the city, that he should have been dismissed immediately, with no financial settlement. The Alabama Education Association and state tenure laws are to thank for Propst's exit package, says Tom Arenberg, sports editor of The Birmingham News.
We noted earlier that the Hoover High story has special resonance here at Legal Schnauzer. So let's keep up with the latest:
* Fallout from the investigation is far from over. School Board president Sandra Frazier said more personnel decisions could be coming in the wake of retired judge Samuel Pointer's inquiry. The school system will not be able to truly move forward until those decisions, and a pending lawsuit by former Hoover High School principal Richard Bishop, are dealt with, Frazier says. Communities around the state are feeling the effects of the Hoover story. The Alabama Ethics Commission has received 12 to 15 inquiries from coaches and school boards about mandatory income reports. Former superintendent Connie Williams weighed in, saying she is disappointed that Propst still seems to be blaming others for the mess. "I find it unfortunate that obviously there are people in Hoover who still believe so much of what he says," Williams said.
* Names of possible candidates to replace Propst are beginning to surface. Those include Josh Niblett of Oxford, Bill Clark of Prattville, and Todd Watson of Foley. Ironically, Niblett and Clark recently have had issues connected to ineligible players and ethics forms, two matters that helped get Propst in hot water. People close to the situation say Hoover High still is considered one of the elite jobs in the state (and the nation), and the program is not likely to struggle on the field for long--if at all. "They're not going to let it fail," Birmingham-Southern College coach Joey Jones said. "But it's going to take a (head coach) to come in there and put it together." One problem is that high school does not have a permanent principal in place, so it is unclear who will lead the search for a new coach. One school board member suggested interim principal Ken Jarnigan lead the search, with the help of a committee made up of three parents (one representing freshman, sophomore, and junior classes), one teacher, and the athletics director.
* Speaking of Joey Jones, would he be a candidate? He's getting a Division III (non-scholarship) program off the ground at Birmingham-Southern and left Mountain Brook High School after 10 years for the challenge of the college game. But would he find the Hoover job enticing enough to return to the high-school level? Could Hoover pay Jones more than Birmingham-Southern is paying him? (My guess? Yes.) It would be hard to find a coach with a better reputation, in terms of both coaching ability and community-building skills.
* Birmingham News sports columnist Ray Melick says Hoover should go with someone who is familiar with the type of system that Propst used so successfully with the Bucs. That would mean a wide-open, spread-the-field, shotgun type of offense. Niblett, Watson, and Clark all fit that mold. Melick also threw out the name of Spain Park High School assistant Perry Swindall, who used a wide-open attack to build a powerhouse at Russellville High School.
* A number of Hooverites have expressed dismay about the conditions of Propst's exit--that he will stay in the school system until his resignation takes effect in August 2008, and he will leave with a generous financial settlement in hand. Some have said his transgressions were serious enough, and embarrassing enough to the city, that he should have been dismissed immediately, with no financial settlement. The Alabama Education Association and state tenure laws are to thank for Propst's exit package, says Tom Arenberg, sports editor of The Birmingham News.
* As for my personal connection to the Hoover High story, we will return to that very soon. This blog started as a result of my experiences with judicial corruption in Alabama's state courts. And those experiences started because of a fraudulent lawsuit filed against me by a troublesome neighbor (with a criminal history) over a property-related matter. And that lawsuit started mainly because my Neighbor From Hell managed to find a Lawyer From Hell (with a lengthy history of ethical problems with the Alabama State Bar), who had no problem filing a claim that had no basis in fact or law. And that lawsuit became a serious problem only because of a corrupt judge in Shelby County, who repeatedly made unlawful rulings that caused the case to drag on for about five years, costing me and Alabama taxpayers thousands of dollars. And I have long suspected that the judge acted corruptly because of his connections--and those of the Lawyer From Hell--to a certain suburban private Birmingham school that has become quite the football power over the past 10 years or so. And curiously, an odd real-estate transaction was taking place involving said private school's football coach in December 1998, which is exactly the time Hoover's last coaching search was heating up. And that odd real-estate transaction with the private-school's coach led directly to huge legal headaches for your humble blogger. It's a story that mixes three Southern passions--politics, religion, and football. So stay tuned.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Shout Out to the Soul Patrol
We've been following the football/academic controversy at Hoover High School, and as part of our coverage, I posted recently about some of the better athletes that have come through Hoover, either at Hoover High or its predecessor, Berry High School.
I noted that 2006 American Idol Taylor Hicks, a pretty fair basketball player in his days at Hoover High, almost certainly was the most famous ex athlete from Hoover. That prompted an outpouring of readers, and commenters, from Hicks' dedicated fan base, the "Soul Patrol."
It was a delight to have them join our Legal Schnauzer audience. We spend most of our time here dealing with judicial corruption, politically motivated prosecution, ethically challenged attorneys, and other less-than-cheery subjects.
So it was a treat to be joined by the "Soul Patrol" and their unbridled enthusiasm for a Birmingham boy made good. Actually, I already knew all about the "Soul Patrollers;" I'm married to one. My wife and one of her girlfriends can go on and on about "cute" and "sweet" Taylor is. Sometimes, I think they even talk about his music.
As for me, I hope I can do my small part to help spread the word that Hicks is an artist worthy of appreciation by a broad base of music lovers--not just his "girlyfans." (Don't get me wrong. I like the "girlyfans." I'm married to one.)
And Hicks' story really goes beyond music. Here are a few things I find interesting about "Gray Charles":
* I like his back story, the fact that he had to slug it out in bars and clubs for about 10 years before becoming known; the fact that he doesn't have the standard "rock star" look; the fact he is not from a standard rock star-producing place. It's a tale of persistence, and having the goods to back it up, when the time came.
* In numerous newspaper and magazine articles, and in his book Heart Full of Soul, Hicks has talked about repeatedly facing rejection from the mainline music business. I can identify with that. I've had numerous mainstream journalists, and quite a few lawyers, tell me my story of being victimized by corrupt judges was not worthwhile. So I decided to tell it myself, on this blog. And in recent weeks, our reporting here has been cited by the highly respected and influential Scott Horton at Harper's.org. And it has been cited in documents filed as part of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee's investigation on selective prosecution by the Bush Justice Department. I would be the first to say that my story lacks the warm and fuzzies of the Taylor Hicks story. But having followed Hicks' rise from obscurity to American Idol, I like to think his toughness in the face of rejection rubbed off on me just a little.
* I like the fact that Hicks crosses racial boundaries. I like the fact his key musical influences are folks like Ray Charles, Otis Redding, and Sam Cooke. He sends the message that a white guy from Birmingham's suburbs can truly appreciate the talents that people of color can bring.
* I like Hicks' politics, I think. Actually, I'm not absolutely sure what his politics are. On a visit to the White House, he was gracious to George W. Bush--as he should have been. But I seem to recall reading somewhere that Hicks admires Bill Clinton. That, plus his affinity for black music, makes me think Hicks is a Democrat. Good for him.
* I like the fact that Hicks appreciates those who came before him. Three of my musical heroes are John Fogerty (Creedence Clearwater Revival), Don Henley (Eagles), and Lindsey Buckingham (Fleetwood Mac). Fogerty often has spoken of his love for great blues artists, such as Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and Robert Johnson. Henley grew up in east Texas, listening to country greats like George Jones and Merle Haggard and reading Henry David Thoreau. Buckingham clearly has been influenced heavily by the Kingston Trio and Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys. I think it's impossible to be really good at something if you don't appreciate those who have come before you. I think Hicks understands that.
* Finally, I just like Hicks' music. Looking back, my wife and I have major regrets that we never went to a Birmingham club to see Hicks perform in the days when he was unknown. I do recall seeing his name regularly when I would check the club schedules in The Birmingham News or in our two alternative weeklies, Birmingham Weekly and Black & White. So his name was familiar when I started seeing stories about him making the cut week after week on American Idol. We started tuning in to Idol and came to appreciate Hicks' ability to take a song by Rod Stewart or Elton John and make it his own. And after Hicks had won, we heard his two independent CDs--In Your Time and Under the Radar. Those told us that he was more than just a singer--he could play music; he could surround himself with strong musicians; and perhaps most importantly, he could write. Songs like "Son of a Carpenter," "Heart and Soul," "West Texas Sky," and "The Fall" show an artist who is serious about the writing craft.
* My wife is forcing me to write one more story about our connections to Taylor Hicks. We went to City Stages 2006, Birmingham's major annual music festival, and one of the primary attractions was our new, homegrown American Idol. We didn't see Hicks stand in with Snoop Dog one night. But we were there for his Sunday afternoon appearance with The Little Memphis Blues Orchestra. The schedule, however, presented a problem for yours truly. On at the same time were The Grass Roots, one of those blast-from-the-past acts that were a big part of my adolescence. (Herman's Hermits and the current incarnation of The Beach Boys also were on that night.) I'd wanted to see The Grass Roots for more than 30 years and never been able to catch them. So when Hicks and LIMBO were a bit late coming on, I decided to head for The Grass Roots stage while my wife stayed for the LIMBO show. I know this story sounds like I'm a fuddy dud who lives in the past. And I have only one defense to that charge: I knew I'd have plenty of opportunities to see Hicks in the near future, and I wasn't sure I'd ever have a chance to see The Grass Roots again. (Heck, lead singer Rob Grill has had hip surgery and can barely walk.) Indeed, the wife and I were fortunate to get tickets for the second of Hicks two shows at the Alabama Theater on his first nationwide tour. It was a terrific show, with the Homewood High School drum corps joining Hicks onstage for "The Runaround," followed by a solo version of "My Home's in Alabama."
Anyway, I'm going to write periodically about Hicks here at Legal Schnauzer. There are plenty of negatives about Alabama, and I write about some of them here--our corrupt state courts, our sorry and unethical politicians, our racist constitution. But there are lots of good things about Alabama, and Hicks is one of them. In fact, I have another post coming soon about his sports days at Hoover High. Hope the Soul Patrollers will stop by again to visit.
I noted that 2006 American Idol Taylor Hicks, a pretty fair basketball player in his days at Hoover High, almost certainly was the most famous ex athlete from Hoover. That prompted an outpouring of readers, and commenters, from Hicks' dedicated fan base, the "Soul Patrol."
It was a delight to have them join our Legal Schnauzer audience. We spend most of our time here dealing with judicial corruption, politically motivated prosecution, ethically challenged attorneys, and other less-than-cheery subjects.
So it was a treat to be joined by the "Soul Patrol" and their unbridled enthusiasm for a Birmingham boy made good. Actually, I already knew all about the "Soul Patrollers;" I'm married to one. My wife and one of her girlfriends can go on and on about "cute" and "sweet" Taylor is. Sometimes, I think they even talk about his music.
As for me, I hope I can do my small part to help spread the word that Hicks is an artist worthy of appreciation by a broad base of music lovers--not just his "girlyfans." (Don't get me wrong. I like the "girlyfans." I'm married to one.)
And Hicks' story really goes beyond music. Here are a few things I find interesting about "Gray Charles":
* I like his back story, the fact that he had to slug it out in bars and clubs for about 10 years before becoming known; the fact that he doesn't have the standard "rock star" look; the fact he is not from a standard rock star-producing place. It's a tale of persistence, and having the goods to back it up, when the time came.
* In numerous newspaper and magazine articles, and in his book Heart Full of Soul, Hicks has talked about repeatedly facing rejection from the mainline music business. I can identify with that. I've had numerous mainstream journalists, and quite a few lawyers, tell me my story of being victimized by corrupt judges was not worthwhile. So I decided to tell it myself, on this blog. And in recent weeks, our reporting here has been cited by the highly respected and influential Scott Horton at Harper's.org. And it has been cited in documents filed as part of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee's investigation on selective prosecution by the Bush Justice Department. I would be the first to say that my story lacks the warm and fuzzies of the Taylor Hicks story. But having followed Hicks' rise from obscurity to American Idol, I like to think his toughness in the face of rejection rubbed off on me just a little.
* I like the fact that Hicks crosses racial boundaries. I like the fact his key musical influences are folks like Ray Charles, Otis Redding, and Sam Cooke. He sends the message that a white guy from Birmingham's suburbs can truly appreciate the talents that people of color can bring.
* I like Hicks' politics, I think. Actually, I'm not absolutely sure what his politics are. On a visit to the White House, he was gracious to George W. Bush--as he should have been. But I seem to recall reading somewhere that Hicks admires Bill Clinton. That, plus his affinity for black music, makes me think Hicks is a Democrat. Good for him.
* I like the fact that Hicks appreciates those who came before him. Three of my musical heroes are John Fogerty (Creedence Clearwater Revival), Don Henley (Eagles), and Lindsey Buckingham (Fleetwood Mac). Fogerty often has spoken of his love for great blues artists, such as Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and Robert Johnson. Henley grew up in east Texas, listening to country greats like George Jones and Merle Haggard and reading Henry David Thoreau. Buckingham clearly has been influenced heavily by the Kingston Trio and Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys. I think it's impossible to be really good at something if you don't appreciate those who have come before you. I think Hicks understands that.
* Finally, I just like Hicks' music. Looking back, my wife and I have major regrets that we never went to a Birmingham club to see Hicks perform in the days when he was unknown. I do recall seeing his name regularly when I would check the club schedules in The Birmingham News or in our two alternative weeklies, Birmingham Weekly and Black & White. So his name was familiar when I started seeing stories about him making the cut week after week on American Idol. We started tuning in to Idol and came to appreciate Hicks' ability to take a song by Rod Stewart or Elton John and make it his own. And after Hicks had won, we heard his two independent CDs--In Your Time and Under the Radar. Those told us that he was more than just a singer--he could play music; he could surround himself with strong musicians; and perhaps most importantly, he could write. Songs like "Son of a Carpenter," "Heart and Soul," "West Texas Sky," and "The Fall" show an artist who is serious about the writing craft.
* My wife is forcing me to write one more story about our connections to Taylor Hicks. We went to City Stages 2006, Birmingham's major annual music festival, and one of the primary attractions was our new, homegrown American Idol. We didn't see Hicks stand in with Snoop Dog one night. But we were there for his Sunday afternoon appearance with The Little Memphis Blues Orchestra. The schedule, however, presented a problem for yours truly. On at the same time were The Grass Roots, one of those blast-from-the-past acts that were a big part of my adolescence. (Herman's Hermits and the current incarnation of The Beach Boys also were on that night.) I'd wanted to see The Grass Roots for more than 30 years and never been able to catch them. So when Hicks and LIMBO were a bit late coming on, I decided to head for The Grass Roots stage while my wife stayed for the LIMBO show. I know this story sounds like I'm a fuddy dud who lives in the past. And I have only one defense to that charge: I knew I'd have plenty of opportunities to see Hicks in the near future, and I wasn't sure I'd ever have a chance to see The Grass Roots again. (Heck, lead singer Rob Grill has had hip surgery and can barely walk.) Indeed, the wife and I were fortunate to get tickets for the second of Hicks two shows at the Alabama Theater on his first nationwide tour. It was a terrific show, with the Homewood High School drum corps joining Hicks onstage for "The Runaround," followed by a solo version of "My Home's in Alabama."
Anyway, I'm going to write periodically about Hicks here at Legal Schnauzer. There are plenty of negatives about Alabama, and I write about some of them here--our corrupt state courts, our sorry and unethical politicians, our racist constitution. But there are lots of good things about Alabama, and Hicks is one of them. In fact, I have another post coming soon about his sports days at Hoover High. Hope the Soul Patrollers will stop by again to visit.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Hoover High and Me, Part II
On December 12, 1998, there were two big stories connected to high-school football in Birmingham.
Briarwood Christian had just won its first state championship, two days earlier. And Hoover High School was looking for a new coach after firing Gerald Gann in early November following a 4-6 season.
Did those two stories collide, starting a chain of events that would lead to massive legal headaches for yours truly--and lead to gross judicial corruption in Shelby County that prompted me to begin this blog? And more importantly, did one of those schools--Briarwood Christian--act in a reckless and negligent manner that caused significant financial and emotional harm to innocent parties (my wife and me)? And did Briarwood Christian take those hasty steps in an effort to secure its football coach (and two star players), keeping them from being lured away by an attractive suitor--Hoover High School?
Join me on a twisting journey, and let's see what answers we come up.
On the morning of December 12, 1998, I awoke to the sounds of a barking dog. Many of you probably live in neighborhoods much like mine. The houses are fairly close together, and a lot of folks have dogs. Most of the dogs bark occasionally, but it has never been bothersome. In fact, it has kind of become the background music to our lives. Until this morning, the only one I had ever really noticed much was a cocker spaniel who lived behind us named Rover (pretty creative name). He will sometimes let out this mournful, pining, wailing sound, kind of like something you'd hear in a country song. We usually say something like, "Rover's got the blues again," and it stops pretty soon.
But the sound on December 12 was different and unfamiliar. It was piercingly loud and grating, and it sounded like an unusual kind of dog--maybe a hunting dog. "Where in the heck is that coming from," I thought.
My wife could sleep through a Ted Nugent concert, so I knew she wasn't going to do anything about it. Murphy, our miniature schnauzer, was in her usual place--stretched out between us, with her head plopped between our two pillows. Schnauzers are a vigilant sort, and she usually was pretty good about checking out unusual sounds. In fact, we called her our director of security. But it was chilly in the house that morning, and she didn't seem interested in getting out from under the covers. She looked at me as if to say, "I'm toasty at the moment. Why don't you go check on it and report back to me."
(By the way, this blog is inspired by, and dedicated to, Murphy's memory. Without her, I don't think my wife and I would have maintained our sanity through this legal ordeal. In fact, I'm not sure we would even be alive. Anyone who ever has had and lost a beloved pet might be interested in a series of posts about Murphy, which begins here.)
So I padded downstairs on my own and looked out our back kitchen window, toward the house to our east. That's where a local celebrity now resided. Fred Yancey, football coach at Briarwood Christian High, had led the Lions to their first state championship two days earlier.
I was surprised to see the offending canine in Fred's backyard, howling at . . . well, I have no idea what the dog was howling at. I just knew I had never heard a howl quite like that before. And I was surprised to see a dog in Fred's yard. Fred had never seemed like much of an animal person to me. He seemed to be mostly into God and football, not necessarily in that order.
(One of the great things about having Fred as a neighbor was that he was almost as useless as I was when it came to handyman things. I never had to worry about him developing a prizewinning lawn or otherwise showing me up in the "honey-do" category. Fred was a coach, end of story. On the home-care front, he was lucky if he could get the lawnmower started. I like guys like that. The neighbor on the other side, at the time, was another story. He built a deck on his house--himself. And I had a workman tell me one time that it was the best-built deck he had ever seen. In fact, the workman told me he couldn't afford to build a deck of that quality. I hated that neighbor.)
As my ears tried to adjust to the dog's howling, I noticed something else: Fred had fenced his yard. That's strange, I thought. The Yanceys were always very considerate neighbors, and putting up a fence is usually the kind of thing you mention to a neighbor before you start--just to make sure the fence is in the right place, etc. I didn't have a problem with the fence, but I was surprised Fred hadn't mentioned it. And here's something else I couldn't figure: Fred had been in the midst of trying to win the first state championship in his school's history. Seemed like a strange time to suddenly get a dog and fence his yard.
My wife still was hibernating, but I was dying to get her thoughts on these events. So I went upstairs and cranked up one of my old Alice Cooper albums. (She can sleep through Ted Nugent, but nobody sleeps through Alice Cooper--heh, heh.)
Once my wife was out of her "morning comatose" state, she looked out the kitchen window and noticed something else. "Hey, there's a strange guy out there." She was right. A thin guy with a mustache was standing in Fred's backyard, with the dog howling at full force. We'd never seen this guy before. But Fred often had members of his coaching staff over to his house, so I figured this guy must be an assistant coach. The Yanceys had a "mother-in-law" apartment in their basement. We thought maybe this guy was a new staff member and was living in the basement apartment while he got settled in.
The guy had gone indoors when we went outside to check things out. We stood on the edge of the driveway, and the dog came to the side of the fence nearest us. He was a handsome fellow, and he quieted down once he had company. We talked with him a little, telling him how good looking he was, the way we did with Murphy. He seemed to like that.
Then we noticed the guy, standing above us, on the steps of the deck. We said hello and introduced ourselves. We said he had a good-looking dog. "He doesn't normally bark this much," the guy said. We hadn't said anything about his barking.
We asked what kind of dog he was. "A shepherd/coonhound mix," the guy said. The coonhound part would explain the piercing bark. (We're dog people, so it's ironic that this little tale starts with a dog issue. But it certainly was not the dog's fault. Coonhounds really are not pets; they are working dogs, and they are bred to hunt. Sticking them in a small backyard, with little exercise and nothing much to do, is just asking for problems. We would soon discover that these people had no clue how to handle a dog like this.)
The fellow said his name was Mike McGarity. An unfamiliar woman appeared briefly on the deck, but she didn't come out to visit. I asked McGarity if he worked with Fred at Briarwood. "No, I work at Blue Cross and Blue Shield."
Oh, I guess you're just staying with Fred awhile? "Oh no, we live here; this is our house."
Well, Herve Villechaize could have knocked me over. There had been no for-sale sign in the yard. The Yanceys hadn't said a word to us about moving.
"Where did Fred and Sharon go?" I said.
"They moved to a house on the Briarwood campus. The school has a house, and that's where they are going to live."
McGarity didn't seem interested in having a lengthy conversation, and we were too stunned to say much, so we chatted a little while longer before saying our goodbyes. I do remember that I was wearing a University of Missouri sweatshirt, and McGarity noticed and said something about Larry Smith, Mizzou's coach at the time. "Wow, if he knows who Missouri's coach is, he must be a serious sports fan," I thought. I figured we'd get along great.
As we went back into our garage, my wife said something I will never forget. "Something about him doesn't seem right."
I was stunned. I'd never heard her say that about anybody. And the guy seemed fine to me.
"What do you mean?" I said.
"I don't know; something just doesn't seem right," she said. "Didn't you think it was strange that he stayed on the stairs, above us, the whole time and didn't come down to where we were? And his wife didn't say a thing? Isn't that unusual?"
"Well, maybe a little. Maybe they're just stressed out from the move."
"That could be. But the whole thing just seems strange."
Well, I've heard of a "woman's intuition." But I had no idea just how sharp my wife's intuition would prove to be.
Briarwood Christian had just won its first state championship, two days earlier. And Hoover High School was looking for a new coach after firing Gerald Gann in early November following a 4-6 season.
Did those two stories collide, starting a chain of events that would lead to massive legal headaches for yours truly--and lead to gross judicial corruption in Shelby County that prompted me to begin this blog? And more importantly, did one of those schools--Briarwood Christian--act in a reckless and negligent manner that caused significant financial and emotional harm to innocent parties (my wife and me)? And did Briarwood Christian take those hasty steps in an effort to secure its football coach (and two star players), keeping them from being lured away by an attractive suitor--Hoover High School?
Join me on a twisting journey, and let's see what answers we come up.
On the morning of December 12, 1998, I awoke to the sounds of a barking dog. Many of you probably live in neighborhoods much like mine. The houses are fairly close together, and a lot of folks have dogs. Most of the dogs bark occasionally, but it has never been bothersome. In fact, it has kind of become the background music to our lives. Until this morning, the only one I had ever really noticed much was a cocker spaniel who lived behind us named Rover (pretty creative name). He will sometimes let out this mournful, pining, wailing sound, kind of like something you'd hear in a country song. We usually say something like, "Rover's got the blues again," and it stops pretty soon.
But the sound on December 12 was different and unfamiliar. It was piercingly loud and grating, and it sounded like an unusual kind of dog--maybe a hunting dog. "Where in the heck is that coming from," I thought.
My wife could sleep through a Ted Nugent concert, so I knew she wasn't going to do anything about it. Murphy, our miniature schnauzer, was in her usual place--stretched out between us, with her head plopped between our two pillows. Schnauzers are a vigilant sort, and she usually was pretty good about checking out unusual sounds. In fact, we called her our director of security. But it was chilly in the house that morning, and she didn't seem interested in getting out from under the covers. She looked at me as if to say, "I'm toasty at the moment. Why don't you go check on it and report back to me."
(By the way, this blog is inspired by, and dedicated to, Murphy's memory. Without her, I don't think my wife and I would have maintained our sanity through this legal ordeal. In fact, I'm not sure we would even be alive. Anyone who ever has had and lost a beloved pet might be interested in a series of posts about Murphy, which begins here.)
So I padded downstairs on my own and looked out our back kitchen window, toward the house to our east. That's where a local celebrity now resided. Fred Yancey, football coach at Briarwood Christian High, had led the Lions to their first state championship two days earlier.
I was surprised to see the offending canine in Fred's backyard, howling at . . . well, I have no idea what the dog was howling at. I just knew I had never heard a howl quite like that before. And I was surprised to see a dog in Fred's yard. Fred had never seemed like much of an animal person to me. He seemed to be mostly into God and football, not necessarily in that order.
(One of the great things about having Fred as a neighbor was that he was almost as useless as I was when it came to handyman things. I never had to worry about him developing a prizewinning lawn or otherwise showing me up in the "honey-do" category. Fred was a coach, end of story. On the home-care front, he was lucky if he could get the lawnmower started. I like guys like that. The neighbor on the other side, at the time, was another story. He built a deck on his house--himself. And I had a workman tell me one time that it was the best-built deck he had ever seen. In fact, the workman told me he couldn't afford to build a deck of that quality. I hated that neighbor.)
As my ears tried to adjust to the dog's howling, I noticed something else: Fred had fenced his yard. That's strange, I thought. The Yanceys were always very considerate neighbors, and putting up a fence is usually the kind of thing you mention to a neighbor before you start--just to make sure the fence is in the right place, etc. I didn't have a problem with the fence, but I was surprised Fred hadn't mentioned it. And here's something else I couldn't figure: Fred had been in the midst of trying to win the first state championship in his school's history. Seemed like a strange time to suddenly get a dog and fence his yard.
My wife still was hibernating, but I was dying to get her thoughts on these events. So I went upstairs and cranked up one of my old Alice Cooper albums. (She can sleep through Ted Nugent, but nobody sleeps through Alice Cooper--heh, heh.)
Once my wife was out of her "morning comatose" state, she looked out the kitchen window and noticed something else. "Hey, there's a strange guy out there." She was right. A thin guy with a mustache was standing in Fred's backyard, with the dog howling at full force. We'd never seen this guy before. But Fred often had members of his coaching staff over to his house, so I figured this guy must be an assistant coach. The Yanceys had a "mother-in-law" apartment in their basement. We thought maybe this guy was a new staff member and was living in the basement apartment while he got settled in.
The guy had gone indoors when we went outside to check things out. We stood on the edge of the driveway, and the dog came to the side of the fence nearest us. He was a handsome fellow, and he quieted down once he had company. We talked with him a little, telling him how good looking he was, the way we did with Murphy. He seemed to like that.
Then we noticed the guy, standing above us, on the steps of the deck. We said hello and introduced ourselves. We said he had a good-looking dog. "He doesn't normally bark this much," the guy said. We hadn't said anything about his barking.
We asked what kind of dog he was. "A shepherd/coonhound mix," the guy said. The coonhound part would explain the piercing bark. (We're dog people, so it's ironic that this little tale starts with a dog issue. But it certainly was not the dog's fault. Coonhounds really are not pets; they are working dogs, and they are bred to hunt. Sticking them in a small backyard, with little exercise and nothing much to do, is just asking for problems. We would soon discover that these people had no clue how to handle a dog like this.)
The fellow said his name was Mike McGarity. An unfamiliar woman appeared briefly on the deck, but she didn't come out to visit. I asked McGarity if he worked with Fred at Briarwood. "No, I work at Blue Cross and Blue Shield."
Oh, I guess you're just staying with Fred awhile? "Oh no, we live here; this is our house."
Well, Herve Villechaize could have knocked me over. There had been no for-sale sign in the yard. The Yanceys hadn't said a word to us about moving.
"Where did Fred and Sharon go?" I said.
"They moved to a house on the Briarwood campus. The school has a house, and that's where they are going to live."
McGarity didn't seem interested in having a lengthy conversation, and we were too stunned to say much, so we chatted a little while longer before saying our goodbyes. I do remember that I was wearing a University of Missouri sweatshirt, and McGarity noticed and said something about Larry Smith, Mizzou's coach at the time. "Wow, if he knows who Missouri's coach is, he must be a serious sports fan," I thought. I figured we'd get along great.
As we went back into our garage, my wife said something I will never forget. "Something about him doesn't seem right."
I was stunned. I'd never heard her say that about anybody. And the guy seemed fine to me.
"What do you mean?" I said.
"I don't know; something just doesn't seem right," she said. "Didn't you think it was strange that he stayed on the stairs, above us, the whole time and didn't come down to where we were? And his wife didn't say a thing? Isn't that unusual?"
"Well, maybe a little. Maybe they're just stressed out from the move."
"That could be. But the whole thing just seems strange."
Well, I've heard of a "woman's intuition." But I had no idea just how sharp my wife's intuition would prove to be.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Censors are out at AL.com
A reader wrote recently to tell me of an interesting experience she'd had with the Hoover Forum at al.com.
The reader had come across Legal Schnauzer because of several recent posts about the Hoover High School football controversy. When she posted about the blog on the Hoover Forum, her post was almost immediately deleted. She tried it again, and in her words, the second post was removed faster than you can say "Nazi moderator." They also banned her IP address from posting for 24 hours.
For scientific purposes only, I asked someone else to post about Legal Schnauzer. They had the same thing happen.
Our reader didn't see anything controversial or unusual about her post, or the contents of my blog. In fact, Legal Schnauzer is on al.com's list of Alabama blogs. So she wondered what would make them delete her post about my blog.
Here is my guess: al.com is associated with The Birmingham News, The Huntsville Times, and the Mobile Press-Register. Those three Newhouse newspapers form the heart of al.com's news section.
The Birmingham News, and my references to Briarwood Christian High School, are probably the sources of the sensitivity. As I've noted several times, a strange real-estate transaction involving Briarwood coach Fred Yancey took place in December 1998, just as Hoover was searching for a new coach (a search that finished with the hiring of Rush Propst). Sources tell me that the real-estate transaction was hurriedly done, and pushed by Briarwood, evidently because the school was concerned about losing its coach (and possibly star players Tim and Simeon Castille) to another school. My guess is that school was Hoover High.
Could have been some other school, or there could have been some other reason for Fred Yancey's peculiar move. But the timing fits perfectly with the Hoover search. And because the real-estate transaction was done in a hurry, it also was done improperly, causing me the legal headaches that inspired this blog.
Evidence strongly suggests that Briarwood essentially handpicked my new neighbor, who turned out to be a guy named Mike McGarity--and he has at least eight criminal convictions in his background, even though he works at a reputable place, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama. Interesting that a fine Christian institution such as Briarwood would associate with someone of McGarity's background.
My research suggests that Briarwood acted negligently in the real-estate transaction and was liable for damages to yours truly. I suspect Briarwood, or someone associated with Briarwood, might have done something to make McGarity unhappy with his end of the real-estate deal. Perhaps someone was liable to him, as well.
But somehow McGarity wound up filing a bogus case against me--on a claim he clearly did not have under the law--costing both me and him thousands of dollars. Was this done to keep him away from filing a possibly legitimate claim against Briarwood, or someone associated with Briarwood? Certainly curious.
Interestingly, the judge in McGarity's lawsuit against me--Shelby County Circuit Judge J. Michael Joiner--has a daughter who goes, or did go, to Briarwood. McGarity's attorney, William E. Swatek, has a son, Chace Swatek, who is a Briarwood graduate. By repeatedly making unlawful rulings and causing McGarity's lawsuit to drag on for five years, Joiner helped ensure that the statute of limitations ran out on any possible claim McGarity might have had resulting from the real-estate deal. Was this done intentionally? Don't know, but it passes the curiosity test with me.
The real-estate deal was done, I suspect, in order to keep Fred Yancey and the Castilles around and procure a championship football program for Briarwood. And it worked. The Lions are undefeated and ranked No. 1 in Class 5A.
But the folks at al.com, and The Birmingham News, don't want you to know about the slick little, under-the-table real-estate deal that led to my legal woes. After all, Victor Hanson II, the longtime publisher of The Birmingham News is a member of Briarwood Presbyterian Church, and the school is a ministry of the church.
I suspect the real-estate deal all started because Hoover, innocently enough, expressed an interest in the Briarwood coach (and probably more importantly, its two star players, who were zoned to Hoover public schools, I believe).
So there, I think, is the reason al.com's censors are on the alert. But they aren't going to censor Legal Schnauzer. And the posts they don't want you to read are coming very soon.
The reader had come across Legal Schnauzer because of several recent posts about the Hoover High School football controversy. When she posted about the blog on the Hoover Forum, her post was almost immediately deleted. She tried it again, and in her words, the second post was removed faster than you can say "Nazi moderator." They also banned her IP address from posting for 24 hours.
For scientific purposes only, I asked someone else to post about Legal Schnauzer. They had the same thing happen.
Our reader didn't see anything controversial or unusual about her post, or the contents of my blog. In fact, Legal Schnauzer is on al.com's list of Alabama blogs. So she wondered what would make them delete her post about my blog.
Here is my guess: al.com is associated with The Birmingham News, The Huntsville Times, and the Mobile Press-Register. Those three Newhouse newspapers form the heart of al.com's news section.
The Birmingham News, and my references to Briarwood Christian High School, are probably the sources of the sensitivity. As I've noted several times, a strange real-estate transaction involving Briarwood coach Fred Yancey took place in December 1998, just as Hoover was searching for a new coach (a search that finished with the hiring of Rush Propst). Sources tell me that the real-estate transaction was hurriedly done, and pushed by Briarwood, evidently because the school was concerned about losing its coach (and possibly star players Tim and Simeon Castille) to another school. My guess is that school was Hoover High.
Could have been some other school, or there could have been some other reason for Fred Yancey's peculiar move. But the timing fits perfectly with the Hoover search. And because the real-estate transaction was done in a hurry, it also was done improperly, causing me the legal headaches that inspired this blog.
Evidence strongly suggests that Briarwood essentially handpicked my new neighbor, who turned out to be a guy named Mike McGarity--and he has at least eight criminal convictions in his background, even though he works at a reputable place, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama. Interesting that a fine Christian institution such as Briarwood would associate with someone of McGarity's background.
My research suggests that Briarwood acted negligently in the real-estate transaction and was liable for damages to yours truly. I suspect Briarwood, or someone associated with Briarwood, might have done something to make McGarity unhappy with his end of the real-estate deal. Perhaps someone was liable to him, as well.
But somehow McGarity wound up filing a bogus case against me--on a claim he clearly did not have under the law--costing both me and him thousands of dollars. Was this done to keep him away from filing a possibly legitimate claim against Briarwood, or someone associated with Briarwood? Certainly curious.
Interestingly, the judge in McGarity's lawsuit against me--Shelby County Circuit Judge J. Michael Joiner--has a daughter who goes, or did go, to Briarwood. McGarity's attorney, William E. Swatek, has a son, Chace Swatek, who is a Briarwood graduate. By repeatedly making unlawful rulings and causing McGarity's lawsuit to drag on for five years, Joiner helped ensure that the statute of limitations ran out on any possible claim McGarity might have had resulting from the real-estate deal. Was this done intentionally? Don't know, but it passes the curiosity test with me.
The real-estate deal was done, I suspect, in order to keep Fred Yancey and the Castilles around and procure a championship football program for Briarwood. And it worked. The Lions are undefeated and ranked No. 1 in Class 5A.
But the folks at al.com, and The Birmingham News, don't want you to know about the slick little, under-the-table real-estate deal that led to my legal woes. After all, Victor Hanson II, the longtime publisher of The Birmingham News is a member of Briarwood Presbyterian Church, and the school is a ministry of the church.
I suspect the real-estate deal all started because Hoover, innocently enough, expressed an interest in the Briarwood coach (and probably more importantly, its two star players, who were zoned to Hoover public schools, I believe).
So there, I think, is the reason al.com's censors are on the alert. But they aren't going to censor Legal Schnauzer. And the posts they don't want you to read are coming very soon.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Fond Memories of Hoover and Football
Your humble blogger has followed the ongoing Hoover High School football saga with great interest. There are several reasons for this, one being that I have very fond personal and professional memories of football and Hoover.
My first real job, when I was 21 and right out of college, was as a sportswriter at the late, and sometimes great, Birmingham Post-Herald. I wound up working there for 11 years (1978-89), and my primary assignment in the early years was coverage of high-school sports.
I had grown up in Missouri, where high-school football was not a particularly big deal. I saw many a game under the "Friday night lights," but basketball and baseball seemed to capture the Midwest's imagination more than the gridiron.
But I quickly learned that football was king in the Deep South. I was shocked when I saw how good the high-school teams were in Alabama. It was not so much that the athletes were better than those in Missouri (although they probably were). But the coaching was light years ahead of what I was used to. Buddy Anderson at Vestavia Hills, Robert Higginbotham at Shades Valley, Bill Sparks at Midfield, Danny Ridgeway at Banks, Ray Williams at West End, Ed Bruce at Gardendale, Bobby Johns at Erwin, Billy Livings at Jeff Davis in Montgomery . . . they were just a few of the many superb coaches I enjoyed covering.
But the coach who made the deepest impression on me was Bob Finley at W.A. Berry High School in Hoover. Berry was the forerunner to Hoover High, which would go on to fame on MTV's Two A Days and win numerous state championships under Coach Rush Propst, now the center of much controversy.
Bob Finley's Bucs also played championship football, and they did it in old-school style. Hand the ball to the tailback 25-30 times a game, commit very few penalties, win field position with a solid kicking game. It wasn't dazzling, but it worked.
I'm sure I'm forgetting some folks, but I recall only a handful of Berry players who went on to play major-college football. Linebacker Ricky Gilliland, tight end Bart Krout, and kicker Terry Sanders played at Alabama. I think former Auburn great Mike Kolen went to Berry.
But most of the guys I saw play were average high-school types who didn't particularly stand out in the hallways. I remember a tough tailback named Brian Blankenship. A slippery quarterback named Jimmy Dozier. A little noseguard named Jay Zito. Not sure any of them played a down of college football.
The most interesting guy, though, was the head coach. Finley seemed more like a minister than a football coach. If he had been a minister, I wouldn't have seen him as a fire-breathing evangelical sort. He would have been more of a "quiet" minister, a Presbyterian, a Methodist, an Episcopalian.
A recent letter writer to The Birmingham News, commenting on the current woes at Hoover High, recalled Finley's days as coach and remembered him "as one of the most decent Christian men I've ever known." I would second that statement, but Finley did not seem to be "out there" about his Christianity. He lived his faith, best I could tell, by example.
I once did a long feature story on Coach Finley. One of his former assistants said the thing he remembered most about Coach Finley was his willingness to do the little things--stopping to pick up a piece of paper in the parking lot, sweeping the gymnasium floor. He remembered that Finley coached girls' basketball at a time when girls' sports received very little attention.
When I interviewed Finley for the story, I told him that he almost seemed too nice to be a football coach. "It's hard to imagine you yelling at anybody," I said. The coach smiled and said he had tried the emotional locker room bit with his guys a few times, but it had fallen flat. "Being basically a dull person," he said, it was best for him to stick to the quieter approach. I still laugh thinking about that.
The key, Finley said, was knowing your players. He often learned a lot from listening to parents. He recalled learning that one player would go into a shell if you criticized him. But if you could find something to praise him about, the young man would give a wholehearted effort.
A few years ago, I interviewed a former Berry player who had gone on to become an ophthalmologist. The point of my story was eye surgery, and we probably talked about that for about half an hour. But we must have spent twice that long talking about Coach Finley and Berry football.
I also laugh when I think about how Finley used to call me "sir" during interviews. And I was 22 or 23 years old. But the funny thing was, it didn't seem phony coming from him. In fact, if there was anything phony about Bob Finley, I never saw it.
I've thought a lot about Bob Finley in the past seven or eight years, since my legal woes began--the legal woes that are at the heart of this blog. You see, the core problem with our justice system--whether you are talking about circuit court in Shelby County, Alabama appellate courts, or the cowboys in the Bush Justice Department--is dishonesty.
Bob Finley was a superb coach, and I think he would have been an excellent minister. I also think he would have been a very good judge, the kind we desperately need. He always impressed me as a fundamentally honest and fair person. And he had a keen intellect. Unlike the sleazebag judges I've encountered, Finley would have valued the law and applied it correctly.
My encounters with Alabama courts have been the most disheartening experience of my life. It has shown me an ugly side of human nature that I never knew existed. In an effort to maintain my mental health through the ordeal, I've tried regularly to think of the genuinely good people I've been privileged to know over the years. One of those was Bob Finley.
Unfortunately, Coach Finley is no longer with us. He died of a heart attack in 1994, while doing one of those simple things--mowing a field at the school.
A Web site, Hooverbuc.com, has information about the tradition of football in Hoover. It includes records under Finley and other coaches, including Rush Propst.
When Finley died, two of his former assistants tried to carry on his legacy. Mike Thorsen coached the Bucs for one year and went 4-5. Gerald Gann took over and went 11-2, 3-7, 3-7, 4-6. Gann is now head coach at John Carroll High School in Birmingham, and from everything I've heard, he's an outstanding person, very much in the Finley mold. But Gann's record evidently was not good enough, and he was fired after the 1998 season.
Hoover's search for a new coach started in late 1998. My legal problems also started in late 1998. I've often wondered if there was a connection between the two.
More on that in a bit.
My first real job, when I was 21 and right out of college, was as a sportswriter at the late, and sometimes great, Birmingham Post-Herald. I wound up working there for 11 years (1978-89), and my primary assignment in the early years was coverage of high-school sports.
I had grown up in Missouri, where high-school football was not a particularly big deal. I saw many a game under the "Friday night lights," but basketball and baseball seemed to capture the Midwest's imagination more than the gridiron.
But I quickly learned that football was king in the Deep South. I was shocked when I saw how good the high-school teams were in Alabama. It was not so much that the athletes were better than those in Missouri (although they probably were). But the coaching was light years ahead of what I was used to. Buddy Anderson at Vestavia Hills, Robert Higginbotham at Shades Valley, Bill Sparks at Midfield, Danny Ridgeway at Banks, Ray Williams at West End, Ed Bruce at Gardendale, Bobby Johns at Erwin, Billy Livings at Jeff Davis in Montgomery . . . they were just a few of the many superb coaches I enjoyed covering.
But the coach who made the deepest impression on me was Bob Finley at W.A. Berry High School in Hoover. Berry was the forerunner to Hoover High, which would go on to fame on MTV's Two A Days and win numerous state championships under Coach Rush Propst, now the center of much controversy.
Bob Finley's Bucs also played championship football, and they did it in old-school style. Hand the ball to the tailback 25-30 times a game, commit very few penalties, win field position with a solid kicking game. It wasn't dazzling, but it worked.
I'm sure I'm forgetting some folks, but I recall only a handful of Berry players who went on to play major-college football. Linebacker Ricky Gilliland, tight end Bart Krout, and kicker Terry Sanders played at Alabama. I think former Auburn great Mike Kolen went to Berry.
But most of the guys I saw play were average high-school types who didn't particularly stand out in the hallways. I remember a tough tailback named Brian Blankenship. A slippery quarterback named Jimmy Dozier. A little noseguard named Jay Zito. Not sure any of them played a down of college football.
The most interesting guy, though, was the head coach. Finley seemed more like a minister than a football coach. If he had been a minister, I wouldn't have seen him as a fire-breathing evangelical sort. He would have been more of a "quiet" minister, a Presbyterian, a Methodist, an Episcopalian.
A recent letter writer to The Birmingham News, commenting on the current woes at Hoover High, recalled Finley's days as coach and remembered him "as one of the most decent Christian men I've ever known." I would second that statement, but Finley did not seem to be "out there" about his Christianity. He lived his faith, best I could tell, by example.
I once did a long feature story on Coach Finley. One of his former assistants said the thing he remembered most about Coach Finley was his willingness to do the little things--stopping to pick up a piece of paper in the parking lot, sweeping the gymnasium floor. He remembered that Finley coached girls' basketball at a time when girls' sports received very little attention.
When I interviewed Finley for the story, I told him that he almost seemed too nice to be a football coach. "It's hard to imagine you yelling at anybody," I said. The coach smiled and said he had tried the emotional locker room bit with his guys a few times, but it had fallen flat. "Being basically a dull person," he said, it was best for him to stick to the quieter approach. I still laugh thinking about that.
The key, Finley said, was knowing your players. He often learned a lot from listening to parents. He recalled learning that one player would go into a shell if you criticized him. But if you could find something to praise him about, the young man would give a wholehearted effort.
A few years ago, I interviewed a former Berry player who had gone on to become an ophthalmologist. The point of my story was eye surgery, and we probably talked about that for about half an hour. But we must have spent twice that long talking about Coach Finley and Berry football.
I also laugh when I think about how Finley used to call me "sir" during interviews. And I was 22 or 23 years old. But the funny thing was, it didn't seem phony coming from him. In fact, if there was anything phony about Bob Finley, I never saw it.
I've thought a lot about Bob Finley in the past seven or eight years, since my legal woes began--the legal woes that are at the heart of this blog. You see, the core problem with our justice system--whether you are talking about circuit court in Shelby County, Alabama appellate courts, or the cowboys in the Bush Justice Department--is dishonesty.
Bob Finley was a superb coach, and I think he would have been an excellent minister. I also think he would have been a very good judge, the kind we desperately need. He always impressed me as a fundamentally honest and fair person. And he had a keen intellect. Unlike the sleazebag judges I've encountered, Finley would have valued the law and applied it correctly.
My encounters with Alabama courts have been the most disheartening experience of my life. It has shown me an ugly side of human nature that I never knew existed. In an effort to maintain my mental health through the ordeal, I've tried regularly to think of the genuinely good people I've been privileged to know over the years. One of those was Bob Finley.
Unfortunately, Coach Finley is no longer with us. He died of a heart attack in 1994, while doing one of those simple things--mowing a field at the school.
A Web site, Hooverbuc.com, has information about the tradition of football in Hoover. It includes records under Finley and other coaches, including Rush Propst.
When Finley died, two of his former assistants tried to carry on his legacy. Mike Thorsen coached the Bucs for one year and went 4-5. Gerald Gann took over and went 11-2, 3-7, 3-7, 4-6. Gann is now head coach at John Carroll High School in Birmingham, and from everything I've heard, he's an outstanding person, very much in the Finley mold. But Gann's record evidently was not good enough, and he was fired after the 1998 season.
Hoover's search for a new coach started in late 1998. My legal problems also started in late 1998. I've often wondered if there was a connection between the two.
More on that in a bit.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Sports Stars of Hoover
I wrote in a recent post about my fond memories of covering high school football in the Birmingham area, especially following the W.A. Berry High School Bucs of the late coach Bob Finley. Berry was the forerunner of Hoover High School, which has been heavily in the news recently due to alleged wrongdoing centered around football coach Rush Propst.
I wrote that Coach Finley's Berry teams usually were very good, although they produced only a handful of players who went on to play major-college football. At the time, I had a feeling I was forgetting some big-time athletes who had grown up in Hoover and played at either Berry or Hoover High.
And indeed, several others have come to mind. The first one I realized I had forgotten was Kurt Crain. Crain was a standout in both football and baseball at Berry (and I think he might have played basketball, too.) He went on to star as a linebacker at Auburn University and was drafted by the old Houston Oilers of the National Football League. I'm a little foggy about Crain's pro career, but I think he spent 2-3 years in the league.
I covered Auburn during Crain's time there, and I remember him as one of the smartest, toughest players on the field. Off the field, he was a nice guy and a great interview. All the sportswriters loved Crain. Just ask him one or two questions and sit back and let him fill up your notebook. And he didn't just babble. It was always thoughtful, insightful stuff.
Probably the former Hoover standout who has gone on to the most athletic success is Jeff Brantley. I don't remember much about Brantley as a football player. I think he was a quarterback, and I seem to recall that he shared the position with another kid--with Brantley being the thrower, and the other guy the runner. And Brantley definitely could throw. He went on to play baseball at SEC powerhouse Mississippi State and then went on to the pros, where he played 14 years and became one of the top relief pitchers in the major leagues. He now is a baseball analyst for ESPN.
Brantley, however, is not the most famous former athlete from Hoover. That title probably would have to go to Birmingham's own American Idol, Taylor Hicks. A 1995 graduate of Hoover High School, Hicks was a pretty fair basketball player during his prep days. But he has become much better known for his musical chops, gray hair, and "Soul Patrol" following.
Taylor Hicks has become quite a popular fellow in the Legal Schnauzer household. My wife is one of many "girlyfans" who flocked to the Gray Charles blog to catch up on the latest. (For some reason, Gray Charles is no more. Don't know what happened to it.) The wife and I were fortunate enough to catch one of Taylor's two soldout shows at the Alabama Theater on his first nationwide tour.
Excuse me for sounding like a wannabe writer for Rolling Stone, but I think the Taylor Hicks debut album is underappreciated by the public. It sold quite well, reaching platinum status (1 million units), I think. But neither of the two singles he released have caught fire. And that's too bad because I think the album is full of good stuff, including four songs that Hicks wrote or co-wrote. It bugs my wife that Chris Daughtry's debut record has produced 2-3 hit singles because she thinks (and I agree) that Taylor's album, overall, is stronger. And the fact we are from Birmingham makes us very objective observers, I'm sure.
The great thing about having a blog is that you can spout off about anything, even stuff you know very little about. So here's what I think Taylor's handlers need to do: Release another single and make it "Soul Thing." It's a somewhat autobiographical tune, the most "Taylor" song on the album. And it's been nicely funked up from the original version on his independent album. Follow that up with "The Right Place," another great "Taylor" song, one that originally was written for his musical hero, Ray Charles. And follow that with "Give Me Tonight," a catchy, infectious number that I thought was a sure hit the first time I heard it. The two singles released so far are good tunes, but they weren't the right ones to help the album catch fire.
Enough of being a rock impresario. But it was fun while it lasted.
I wrote that Coach Finley's Berry teams usually were very good, although they produced only a handful of players who went on to play major-college football. At the time, I had a feeling I was forgetting some big-time athletes who had grown up in Hoover and played at either Berry or Hoover High.
And indeed, several others have come to mind. The first one I realized I had forgotten was Kurt Crain. Crain was a standout in both football and baseball at Berry (and I think he might have played basketball, too.) He went on to star as a linebacker at Auburn University and was drafted by the old Houston Oilers of the National Football League. I'm a little foggy about Crain's pro career, but I think he spent 2-3 years in the league.
I covered Auburn during Crain's time there, and I remember him as one of the smartest, toughest players on the field. Off the field, he was a nice guy and a great interview. All the sportswriters loved Crain. Just ask him one or two questions and sit back and let him fill up your notebook. And he didn't just babble. It was always thoughtful, insightful stuff.
Probably the former Hoover standout who has gone on to the most athletic success is Jeff Brantley. I don't remember much about Brantley as a football player. I think he was a quarterback, and I seem to recall that he shared the position with another kid--with Brantley being the thrower, and the other guy the runner. And Brantley definitely could throw. He went on to play baseball at SEC powerhouse Mississippi State and then went on to the pros, where he played 14 years and became one of the top relief pitchers in the major leagues. He now is a baseball analyst for ESPN.
Brantley, however, is not the most famous former athlete from Hoover. That title probably would have to go to Birmingham's own American Idol, Taylor Hicks. A 1995 graduate of Hoover High School, Hicks was a pretty fair basketball player during his prep days. But he has become much better known for his musical chops, gray hair, and "Soul Patrol" following.
Taylor Hicks has become quite a popular fellow in the Legal Schnauzer household. My wife is one of many "girlyfans" who flocked to the Gray Charles blog to catch up on the latest. (For some reason, Gray Charles is no more. Don't know what happened to it.) The wife and I were fortunate enough to catch one of Taylor's two soldout shows at the Alabama Theater on his first nationwide tour.
Excuse me for sounding like a wannabe writer for Rolling Stone, but I think the Taylor Hicks debut album is underappreciated by the public. It sold quite well, reaching platinum status (1 million units), I think. But neither of the two singles he released have caught fire. And that's too bad because I think the album is full of good stuff, including four songs that Hicks wrote or co-wrote. It bugs my wife that Chris Daughtry's debut record has produced 2-3 hit singles because she thinks (and I agree) that Taylor's album, overall, is stronger. And the fact we are from Birmingham makes us very objective observers, I'm sure.
The great thing about having a blog is that you can spout off about anything, even stuff you know very little about. So here's what I think Taylor's handlers need to do: Release another single and make it "Soul Thing." It's a somewhat autobiographical tune, the most "Taylor" song on the album. And it's been nicely funked up from the original version on his independent album. Follow that up with "The Right Place," another great "Taylor" song, one that originally was written for his musical hero, Ray Charles. And follow that with "Give Me Tonight," a catchy, infectious number that I thought was a sure hit the first time I heard it. The two singles released so far are good tunes, but they weren't the right ones to help the album catch fire.
Enough of being a rock impresario. But it was fun while it lasted.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Hoover High and Me, Part IV
We posed a number of questions in our previous post about a peculiar real-estate deal that wound up causing numerous legal headaches for your humble bloggers. Two Southern staples--football and religion--seem to be at the heart of the matter.
And there is an interesting juxtaposition between Hoover High School's search for a new coach in 1998 and steps Briarwood Christian School took at the same time to evidently keep its successful coach, and perhaps two star players.
So let's take a three-part look at some of the questions we raised yesterday:
Facts/Events
The sale of Fred Yancey's house was done in an odd, "under-the-table" way. Consider:
* There was never a for-sale sign in the yard. My wife and I, living next door, never saw any indication that the house was for sale. We had been on good terms with the Yanceys, enjoyed having them as neighbors, and they never said a word to us about moving.
* After the sale, I went back and checked local newspapers for several months prior to the closing date and never saw an ad indicating the house was for sale, either by a real-estate agent or by owner.
* After the sale, I checked with a local real-estate appraiser, and he had no record of the property being listed in the Birmingham-area MLS book, which usually contains all properties listed with an agent.
* Even though the house evidently was not listed, a real-estate agent was involved in the transaction. It was Phyllis Tinsley, then with Prudential South o' Town Realty. She now has her own real-estate company.
* Mike McGarity, his wife, and two kids lived in Cahaba Heights prior to buying Yancey's house and becoming my new next-door neighbors.
* Phyllis Tinsley told my wife that she happened to see a for-sale-by-owner sign at McGarity's house in Cahaba Heights and stopped to talk with him. That, Tinsley said, is how she found a prospective buyer. And how did she find a prospective seller? She happened to be in our neighborhood and knocked on Fred Yancey's door. Lo and behold, he was looking to sell his house! A match was made in heaven! (Note: Do real-estate agents really sell houses this way? I have no idea, but sure doesn't sound like a very efficient way to go about it. And why didn't Ms. Tinsley knock on our door? We were the next house over. Maybe we would have been happy to sell.)
* Fred Yancey coached Briarwood Christian to its first ever state championship on Thursday, December 10, 1998. The McGaritys closed on the purchase of the Yanceys house the following day, Friday, December 11, 1998. The day after that, December 12, 1998, my wife and I saw an unfamiliar dog and man in the backyard at Fred Yancey's house, and the yard had been fenced. We soon would find out that--surprise!--we had a new neighbor. We later would find out that our new neighbor had--surprise!--a significant criminal record.
Educated Guesses
Why did this real-estate deal occur in this way and at this time? My guess is that some school (Hoover High?) was interested in hiring Fred Yancey. Why would Hoover be so high on Fred Yancey? For one, he had just won a state championship, a pretty good indication that he could coach. Two, Yancey had a star player, Tim Castille, who was just an eighth grader. And Tim had a younger brother, Simeon, who reportedly was even better than he was. (Both Castilles would go on to the University of Alabama, where their father Jeremiah--then a Briarwood assistant--had been a star under Bear Bryant. Tim Castille completed his college career last year. Simeon is currently a starting cornerback for Alabama and is an All-American candidate.)
Let's look at some other educated guesses:
* Did Phyllis Tinsley really just stumble upon Mike McGarity and Fred Yancey? Maybe. But it's interesting that McGarity previously lived in Cahaba Heights. Published reports have stated that Tommy Jackson, an assistant coach at Briarwood, once was very active in youth sports leagues in Cahaba Heights. In fact, my understanding is that Briarwood has drawn a lot of players from Cahaba Heights, which may explain why the football program at Shades Valley High School (the public school for Cahaba Heights at the time) has struggled in recent years. Could Jackson, or someone else associated with Briarwood, have known McGarity was looking to buy a house? Could they have thought of him when the school, in an effort to keep its coach, decided to help sell Yancey's house and have him move on campus?
* According to my sources, Briarwood indeed was intensely involved in the real-estate deal. Someone close to the transaction has said the school was pushing for Yancey to move on campus and to get his house sold--quickly.
* According to public documents, McGarity paid a price for Yancey's house that was hardly a bargain at the time. So was Briarwood able to offer an inducement to make the house more attractive? A source, a former student in Oak Mountain schools, has told me that McGarity's son, Michael McGarity, attended Briarwood for a while. I've not been able to confirm this. I know that Michael McGarity wound up at Oak Mountain schools, and I checked with Shelby County officials to see about dates he was enrolled. Federal privacy law prohibits the release of much student information. But enrollment dates are public information and can be released, unless a student or parent has signed a form specifically stating that such information is not to be released. Shelby County officials never said such a form had been signed by the McGaritys, but the officials refused to release the information. I find it curious that Shelby County officials refused to release such innocuous public information. If an employer contacts Shelby schools wanting to verify enrollment dates of a potential employee, I guess the employer is out of luck. Would admission for your child to a private school be a serious inducement to help make a real-estate deal go through? I suspect many parents would find that attractive. If McGarity's son did go to Briarwood for a while, why did he not stay there?
* I've known a few football coaches in my time. Few events in their lives are bigger than playing in a state-championship game. So here you have Fred Yancey, partaking in this huge event on Thursday, and the very next day, he takes on another huge event--the closing on the sale of his house? I don't see that happening unless something extraordinary was going on. My guess? Briarwood was not going to be comfortable about keeping Yancey until they had him moved into the school's house on campus. And the day after the championship game, the deal was done.
* What can happen when a real-estate deal is rushed through? From firsthand knowledge, I know someone living next door to the property in question can suffer greatly. For example, a survey of the property usually is conducted prior to the sale and generally is presented at closing. This is done to ensure there are no encumbrances on the property and is supposed to protect both the buyer and the mortgage company. It also protects people who live near the property. I've seen no evidence that a survey was conducted on the Yancey property prior to sale. During discovery of the civil case, I asked for a copy of McGarity's survey, and he presented an old one, from when the Yanceys bought the house. I can only assume he didn't have one from his purchase of the house because one wasn't done. And that probably explains how his fence got on our yard. If his property had been surveyed and staked out as it should have been, I see no way the fence mistake could have happened. Also, most intelligent home buyers make sure the house is inspected prior to the purchase. Again, I asked in discovery for a copy of McGarity's home inspection, and he did not present one. That appears to mean that he didn't have one done. Were there problems with the Yancey house that might have been caught with a home inspection? I know of at least one. The house, as I understand it, has a history of water coming in the basement during and after heavy rains. While the Yanceys lived there, they had a B-Dry waterproofing system installed. I believe this involves installing a drain that diverts water away from the basement. You can see the drain hole near one of McGarity's garage doors. Do B-Dry systems work? I have no idea. But if I were thinking about buying a house, and the inspection turned up the existence of a B-Dry system, I would have qualms about going through with the purchase. The presence of a B-Dry system, to many would-be buyers, screams, "This house has had water problems!" Not exactly a selling point, I wouldn't think. (By the way, our yard drains extremely well, and some of McGarity's water problems might come from water draining off our yard. I take a certain pleasure in that thought.)
The Aftermath
For my wife and me, it's been a "Neighbor From Hell" scene that Hollywood would have trouble dreaming up. I think I've read that the most common neighbor problems involve pets, children, and fences. Our scenario had all that--and much more:
* Max, the barking coonhound mix, was the first problem. I lost track of the number of barking episodes that lasted for 2-3 hours or more. How loud was it? I remember my wife and me trying to have conversations, inside our own home, and just giving up until it stopped. I remember trying to concentrate enough to pay bills--and giving up. I remember being kept awake all night on New Year's morning, 1999. I remember being awakened at about 4 a.m. almost every day when they evidently let the dog out to do his business. And the dog provided the first clue of the kind of person we were dealing with in Mike McGarity. When I called one time to ask if he could do something about the barking dog, his reply (McGarity's, not the dog's) was, "You need to get earplugs." Classy touch. The dog eventually left the premises, I suspect because he either was driving the McGaritys, or other neighbors, crazy. Hope he found a suitable home.
* I've noted the fence that suddenly appeared when McGarity moved in. Once I regained my equilibrium after the dog's exit, I noticed the fence didn't line up with the fence of folks behind us. McGarity already had proven himself to be such an unpleasant sort that I didn't want to raise this issue unless I knew for sure the fence was on our property. So my wife and I paid $200 to have our yard resurveyed. Was the fence on our yard? Yep, and not just a little. It took up 300-400 square feet of our yard. Did McGarity move it? Yep, after a lawyer sent him a letter. Did McGarity reimburse us for the cost of the survey, as demanded in the letter? Nope.
* After taking these steps to build "good will" with us, McGarity decided it would be appropriate for him, other adults, and numerous kids to trespass repeatedly from his front yard to our front yard (an area that we could not fence, under covenants and restrictions of our neighborhood). When I told him verbally to keep himself and his guests off our property, he threatened to sue me for "harassment" and said "we're going to keep on coming." When a lawyer wrote him a letter, explaining criminal trespass law, he trespassed again, on multiple occasions. We finally decided, if our property rights were to mean anything at all, that we would have to act. That led to the criminal trespassing charges against McGarity, the acquittal, the lawsuit against me, mind-boggling judicial corruption, and the blog you are now reading.
* By the way, I talked to two former neighbors of McGarity's in Cahaba Heights. One said the barking dog drove him nuts, to the point that he called sheriff's deputies several times. Another said he experienced trespassing problems similar to what we experienced. What kind of neighbor was McGarity, I asked this guy? "He's a son of a ______," said this fellow. Both said they were thrilled when the McGaritys moved.
* Are those the only problems we've had since acquiring our new neighbor? Gosh, no. I've already mentioned the assault, which happened a little over a year ago. But what's a neighbor problem without a little dose of vandalism? Make that a heavy dose. Let's see if I can remember all the creative ways our house has been vandalized: There were the paint balls, on at least eight to 10 occasions. There were the eggings, on probably a half dozen occasions. There was the attempt to burn down our mailbox. (The box and post were soaked in lighter fluid, and a spent lighter lay in the street. The lighter evidently wouldn't work, which saved our mailbox.) And then there was the lovely night when multiple workmen's tools (which sheriff's deputies told us had been stolen from a home in an adjoining neighborhood) were thrown through our windows, breaking screens and shattering glass. When my wife got up to check on the commotion, she stepped in broken glass. It's a miracle she didn't suffer a serious cut on her foot. Oh, and let's not forget what probably would almost amount to stalking and/or reckless endangerment. McGarity himself has followed my wife and/or me in his vehicle numerous times. Neighborhood buddies of his have followed us while we walked our dog. One swerved her (yes, I said her!) vehicle toward Murphy (our miniature schnauzer) and me one evening as we walked. I guess this mother of two found that amusing. Would she find it amusing if I swerved my vehicle like that toward her kids, or her dog? I don't think so.
* About a dozen neighbors signed a letter prior to the criminal trial saying they considered Mike McGarity to be a wonderful neighbor and that my wife and I were abusing the justice system by seeking his prosecution on criminal-trespass charges. We have a copy of the letter, which we received during the course of discovery in the civil case. Evidently, McGarity's attorney, William E. Swatek, had a copy. What was the purpose of the letter? Well, it was addressed to Judge Ron Jackson, who "presided" over the criminal case, so I can only assume it was presented to him. Is this a slight violation of criminal procedure? Yes. Did the letter amount to defamation by these neighbors? Yes. Were these neighbors--I think there were six households out of about 150 houses in our neighborhood--aware of Mike McGarity's criminal record at the time they signed the letter? Did they know he has convictions for sex- and violence-related offenses in his background? I doubt it. Would they consider him a wonderful neighbor if they knew about that? I doubt it.
* Speaking of McGarity's criminal record, I doubt Hollywood could dream that up. When my wife said something didn't seem right upon meeting our new neighbor, little did I know how right she would prove to be. Upon being sued, I checked into McGarity's background--and it ain't pretty. It's a frightening case of family dysfunction. The short story: He is one of four brothers, and all of them have had significant problems with the law. Two of them died young, under unusual circumstances. And our "soccer dad" himself? I know of at least eight criminal convictions on his record, including a sex-related offense and a violence-related offense. And his record is not the worst in the family. Another brother has been arrested on more stuff than I can remember, including burglary, theft, and felony drug charges. In fact, this brother faced theft charges once in Shelby County. His attorney in that case? William E. Swatek. Did Mike McGarity call on Swatek at the suggestion of his career-criminal brother? I think you can count on it.
* While my wife and I certainly have not been pleased about the aftermath of this hurried real-estate deal, we have wondered if Mike McGarity also was less-than-thrilled about something. Was he caught off guard by the presence of a B-Dry system and the indication that the house had a water problem in its past? Were some promises made during a rush-rush closing that were not kept, at least in his mind? If McGarity's son was enrolled at Briarwood, did something happen to cause that deal to blow up, leaving us with a neighbor who was even more bitter than he appears to be even under normal circumstances? Did McGarity initially seek a lawyer with the idea of pursuing a case, perhaps a legitimate one, against someone connected to Briarwood? Was his attention diverted to suing me, for a case he definitely did not have, as a way to protect Briarwood from some legal--and financial--unpleasantness?
I will go into much more detail later about all of these events and personalities and the resulting legal mess. But this gives you an idea of what can happen when a "Neighbor From Hell" enters your life. And how it can escalate when people in authority take actions to make a problem worse, rather than simply applying the law.
And there is an interesting juxtaposition between Hoover High School's search for a new coach in 1998 and steps Briarwood Christian School took at the same time to evidently keep its successful coach, and perhaps two star players.
So let's take a three-part look at some of the questions we raised yesterday:
Facts/Events
The sale of Fred Yancey's house was done in an odd, "under-the-table" way. Consider:
* There was never a for-sale sign in the yard. My wife and I, living next door, never saw any indication that the house was for sale. We had been on good terms with the Yanceys, enjoyed having them as neighbors, and they never said a word to us about moving.
* After the sale, I went back and checked local newspapers for several months prior to the closing date and never saw an ad indicating the house was for sale, either by a real-estate agent or by owner.
* After the sale, I checked with a local real-estate appraiser, and he had no record of the property being listed in the Birmingham-area MLS book, which usually contains all properties listed with an agent.
* Even though the house evidently was not listed, a real-estate agent was involved in the transaction. It was Phyllis Tinsley, then with Prudential South o' Town Realty. She now has her own real-estate company.
* Mike McGarity, his wife, and two kids lived in Cahaba Heights prior to buying Yancey's house and becoming my new next-door neighbors.
* Phyllis Tinsley told my wife that she happened to see a for-sale-by-owner sign at McGarity's house in Cahaba Heights and stopped to talk with him. That, Tinsley said, is how she found a prospective buyer. And how did she find a prospective seller? She happened to be in our neighborhood and knocked on Fred Yancey's door. Lo and behold, he was looking to sell his house! A match was made in heaven! (Note: Do real-estate agents really sell houses this way? I have no idea, but sure doesn't sound like a very efficient way to go about it. And why didn't Ms. Tinsley knock on our door? We were the next house over. Maybe we would have been happy to sell.)
* Fred Yancey coached Briarwood Christian to its first ever state championship on Thursday, December 10, 1998. The McGaritys closed on the purchase of the Yanceys house the following day, Friday, December 11, 1998. The day after that, December 12, 1998, my wife and I saw an unfamiliar dog and man in the backyard at Fred Yancey's house, and the yard had been fenced. We soon would find out that--surprise!--we had a new neighbor. We later would find out that our new neighbor had--surprise!--a significant criminal record.
Educated Guesses
Why did this real-estate deal occur in this way and at this time? My guess is that some school (Hoover High?) was interested in hiring Fred Yancey. Why would Hoover be so high on Fred Yancey? For one, he had just won a state championship, a pretty good indication that he could coach. Two, Yancey had a star player, Tim Castille, who was just an eighth grader. And Tim had a younger brother, Simeon, who reportedly was even better than he was. (Both Castilles would go on to the University of Alabama, where their father Jeremiah--then a Briarwood assistant--had been a star under Bear Bryant. Tim Castille completed his college career last year. Simeon is currently a starting cornerback for Alabama and is an All-American candidate.)
Let's look at some other educated guesses:
* Did Phyllis Tinsley really just stumble upon Mike McGarity and Fred Yancey? Maybe. But it's interesting that McGarity previously lived in Cahaba Heights. Published reports have stated that Tommy Jackson, an assistant coach at Briarwood, once was very active in youth sports leagues in Cahaba Heights. In fact, my understanding is that Briarwood has drawn a lot of players from Cahaba Heights, which may explain why the football program at Shades Valley High School (the public school for Cahaba Heights at the time) has struggled in recent years. Could Jackson, or someone else associated with Briarwood, have known McGarity was looking to buy a house? Could they have thought of him when the school, in an effort to keep its coach, decided to help sell Yancey's house and have him move on campus?
* According to my sources, Briarwood indeed was intensely involved in the real-estate deal. Someone close to the transaction has said the school was pushing for Yancey to move on campus and to get his house sold--quickly.
* According to public documents, McGarity paid a price for Yancey's house that was hardly a bargain at the time. So was Briarwood able to offer an inducement to make the house more attractive? A source, a former student in Oak Mountain schools, has told me that McGarity's son, Michael McGarity, attended Briarwood for a while. I've not been able to confirm this. I know that Michael McGarity wound up at Oak Mountain schools, and I checked with Shelby County officials to see about dates he was enrolled. Federal privacy law prohibits the release of much student information. But enrollment dates are public information and can be released, unless a student or parent has signed a form specifically stating that such information is not to be released. Shelby County officials never said such a form had been signed by the McGaritys, but the officials refused to release the information. I find it curious that Shelby County officials refused to release such innocuous public information. If an employer contacts Shelby schools wanting to verify enrollment dates of a potential employee, I guess the employer is out of luck. Would admission for your child to a private school be a serious inducement to help make a real-estate deal go through? I suspect many parents would find that attractive. If McGarity's son did go to Briarwood for a while, why did he not stay there?
* I've known a few football coaches in my time. Few events in their lives are bigger than playing in a state-championship game. So here you have Fred Yancey, partaking in this huge event on Thursday, and the very next day, he takes on another huge event--the closing on the sale of his house? I don't see that happening unless something extraordinary was going on. My guess? Briarwood was not going to be comfortable about keeping Yancey until they had him moved into the school's house on campus. And the day after the championship game, the deal was done.
* What can happen when a real-estate deal is rushed through? From firsthand knowledge, I know someone living next door to the property in question can suffer greatly. For example, a survey of the property usually is conducted prior to the sale and generally is presented at closing. This is done to ensure there are no encumbrances on the property and is supposed to protect both the buyer and the mortgage company. It also protects people who live near the property. I've seen no evidence that a survey was conducted on the Yancey property prior to sale. During discovery of the civil case, I asked for a copy of McGarity's survey, and he presented an old one, from when the Yanceys bought the house. I can only assume he didn't have one from his purchase of the house because one wasn't done. And that probably explains how his fence got on our yard. If his property had been surveyed and staked out as it should have been, I see no way the fence mistake could have happened. Also, most intelligent home buyers make sure the house is inspected prior to the purchase. Again, I asked in discovery for a copy of McGarity's home inspection, and he did not present one. That appears to mean that he didn't have one done. Were there problems with the Yancey house that might have been caught with a home inspection? I know of at least one. The house, as I understand it, has a history of water coming in the basement during and after heavy rains. While the Yanceys lived there, they had a B-Dry waterproofing system installed. I believe this involves installing a drain that diverts water away from the basement. You can see the drain hole near one of McGarity's garage doors. Do B-Dry systems work? I have no idea. But if I were thinking about buying a house, and the inspection turned up the existence of a B-Dry system, I would have qualms about going through with the purchase. The presence of a B-Dry system, to many would-be buyers, screams, "This house has had water problems!" Not exactly a selling point, I wouldn't think. (By the way, our yard drains extremely well, and some of McGarity's water problems might come from water draining off our yard. I take a certain pleasure in that thought.)
The Aftermath
For my wife and me, it's been a "Neighbor From Hell" scene that Hollywood would have trouble dreaming up. I think I've read that the most common neighbor problems involve pets, children, and fences. Our scenario had all that--and much more:
* Max, the barking coonhound mix, was the first problem. I lost track of the number of barking episodes that lasted for 2-3 hours or more. How loud was it? I remember my wife and me trying to have conversations, inside our own home, and just giving up until it stopped. I remember trying to concentrate enough to pay bills--and giving up. I remember being kept awake all night on New Year's morning, 1999. I remember being awakened at about 4 a.m. almost every day when they evidently let the dog out to do his business. And the dog provided the first clue of the kind of person we were dealing with in Mike McGarity. When I called one time to ask if he could do something about the barking dog, his reply (McGarity's, not the dog's) was, "You need to get earplugs." Classy touch. The dog eventually left the premises, I suspect because he either was driving the McGaritys, or other neighbors, crazy. Hope he found a suitable home.
* I've noted the fence that suddenly appeared when McGarity moved in. Once I regained my equilibrium after the dog's exit, I noticed the fence didn't line up with the fence of folks behind us. McGarity already had proven himself to be such an unpleasant sort that I didn't want to raise this issue unless I knew for sure the fence was on our property. So my wife and I paid $200 to have our yard resurveyed. Was the fence on our yard? Yep, and not just a little. It took up 300-400 square feet of our yard. Did McGarity move it? Yep, after a lawyer sent him a letter. Did McGarity reimburse us for the cost of the survey, as demanded in the letter? Nope.
* After taking these steps to build "good will" with us, McGarity decided it would be appropriate for him, other adults, and numerous kids to trespass repeatedly from his front yard to our front yard (an area that we could not fence, under covenants and restrictions of our neighborhood). When I told him verbally to keep himself and his guests off our property, he threatened to sue me for "harassment" and said "we're going to keep on coming." When a lawyer wrote him a letter, explaining criminal trespass law, he trespassed again, on multiple occasions. We finally decided, if our property rights were to mean anything at all, that we would have to act. That led to the criminal trespassing charges against McGarity, the acquittal, the lawsuit against me, mind-boggling judicial corruption, and the blog you are now reading.
* By the way, I talked to two former neighbors of McGarity's in Cahaba Heights. One said the barking dog drove him nuts, to the point that he called sheriff's deputies several times. Another said he experienced trespassing problems similar to what we experienced. What kind of neighbor was McGarity, I asked this guy? "He's a son of a ______," said this fellow. Both said they were thrilled when the McGaritys moved.
* Are those the only problems we've had since acquiring our new neighbor? Gosh, no. I've already mentioned the assault, which happened a little over a year ago. But what's a neighbor problem without a little dose of vandalism? Make that a heavy dose. Let's see if I can remember all the creative ways our house has been vandalized: There were the paint balls, on at least eight to 10 occasions. There were the eggings, on probably a half dozen occasions. There was the attempt to burn down our mailbox. (The box and post were soaked in lighter fluid, and a spent lighter lay in the street. The lighter evidently wouldn't work, which saved our mailbox.) And then there was the lovely night when multiple workmen's tools (which sheriff's deputies told us had been stolen from a home in an adjoining neighborhood) were thrown through our windows, breaking screens and shattering glass. When my wife got up to check on the commotion, she stepped in broken glass. It's a miracle she didn't suffer a serious cut on her foot. Oh, and let's not forget what probably would almost amount to stalking and/or reckless endangerment. McGarity himself has followed my wife and/or me in his vehicle numerous times. Neighborhood buddies of his have followed us while we walked our dog. One swerved her (yes, I said her!) vehicle toward Murphy (our miniature schnauzer) and me one evening as we walked. I guess this mother of two found that amusing. Would she find it amusing if I swerved my vehicle like that toward her kids, or her dog? I don't think so.
* About a dozen neighbors signed a letter prior to the criminal trial saying they considered Mike McGarity to be a wonderful neighbor and that my wife and I were abusing the justice system by seeking his prosecution on criminal-trespass charges. We have a copy of the letter, which we received during the course of discovery in the civil case. Evidently, McGarity's attorney, William E. Swatek, had a copy. What was the purpose of the letter? Well, it was addressed to Judge Ron Jackson, who "presided" over the criminal case, so I can only assume it was presented to him. Is this a slight violation of criminal procedure? Yes. Did the letter amount to defamation by these neighbors? Yes. Were these neighbors--I think there were six households out of about 150 houses in our neighborhood--aware of Mike McGarity's criminal record at the time they signed the letter? Did they know he has convictions for sex- and violence-related offenses in his background? I doubt it. Would they consider him a wonderful neighbor if they knew about that? I doubt it.
* Speaking of McGarity's criminal record, I doubt Hollywood could dream that up. When my wife said something didn't seem right upon meeting our new neighbor, little did I know how right she would prove to be. Upon being sued, I checked into McGarity's background--and it ain't pretty. It's a frightening case of family dysfunction. The short story: He is one of four brothers, and all of them have had significant problems with the law. Two of them died young, under unusual circumstances. And our "soccer dad" himself? I know of at least eight criminal convictions on his record, including a sex-related offense and a violence-related offense. And his record is not the worst in the family. Another brother has been arrested on more stuff than I can remember, including burglary, theft, and felony drug charges. In fact, this brother faced theft charges once in Shelby County. His attorney in that case? William E. Swatek. Did Mike McGarity call on Swatek at the suggestion of his career-criminal brother? I think you can count on it.
* While my wife and I certainly have not been pleased about the aftermath of this hurried real-estate deal, we have wondered if Mike McGarity also was less-than-thrilled about something. Was he caught off guard by the presence of a B-Dry system and the indication that the house had a water problem in its past? Were some promises made during a rush-rush closing that were not kept, at least in his mind? If McGarity's son was enrolled at Briarwood, did something happen to cause that deal to blow up, leaving us with a neighbor who was even more bitter than he appears to be even under normal circumstances? Did McGarity initially seek a lawyer with the idea of pursuing a case, perhaps a legitimate one, against someone connected to Briarwood? Was his attention diverted to suing me, for a case he definitely did not have, as a way to protect Briarwood from some legal--and financial--unpleasantness?
I will go into much more detail later about all of these events and personalities and the resulting legal mess. But this gives you an idea of what can happen when a "Neighbor From Hell" enters your life. And how it can escalate when people in authority take actions to make a problem worse, rather than simply applying the law.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Taylor Hicks and the Football Coach
We have written a good bit recently about Hoover High School and its ongoing football/academic controversy. And we've focused on two colorful personalities--Taylor Hicks and Rush Propst.
We've noted that Hicks, the 2006 American Idol, is almost certainly the most famous graduate of Hoover High. And he was a pretty fair athlete in his day, playing on the Bucs basketball team.
The second most famous person connected to Hoover High might be Propst, the controversial football coach. Thanks to his team's No. 1 national ranking and its central role in MTV's Two A Days, Propst became maybe the most high-profile high school coach in history.
Propst found remarkable success on the field, but problems off the field led to the recent announcement that he would step down as coach at the end of this season. Hicks meanwhile produced his debut major-label CD and a nationwide tour. His rabid fan base, the "Soul Patrol," awaits his followup efforts.
But here's an interesting thought: Have Taylor Hicks and Rush Propst ever met? To my knowledge, they haven't. Hicks graduated from Hoover in 1995. Propst was hired as football coach in early 1999.
The mid 1990s were a rough patch for the proud Hoover football program. One problem, according to news reports, was that a number of the school's better athletes had lost interest in football. Upon becoming coach, one of Propst's first goals reportedly was to scout the hallways for athletes and get them to come out for the football team.
So what if Taylor Hicks had been about four years younger and was still on the Hoover campus when Rush Propst arrived? What if Propst had spotted Hicks in the hallway and saw a future wide receiver, not a singer? Let's imagine that conversation . . .
Rush Propst: Hey son, I need you on my team.
Taylor Hicks: Woo-hoo!
RP: You ever play before?
TH: I play all the time, man.
RP: Where do you play?
TH: Small clubs mostly.
RP: Well, get ready for the big time, son; we're going to pack stadiums.
TH: Woo-hoo! Just like the Stones!
RP: You ready to go places?
TH: Sure. Nashville, LA, you name it.
RP: Well, first we're going to go to Vestavia Hills and kick their butts. We might hit those other places later.
TH: You travel in a bus?
RP: Sure. We go first class all the way.
TH: Woo-hoo!
RP: Son, I need guys with big dreams. What are your dreams?
TH: I want to make the Top 40.
RP: Top 40? Hell, son, we're going straight to No. 1.
TH: Woo-hoo! I like the way you think, man. You must have one heckuva promotions department at your label.
RP: It's not about promotion, son. It's all about hard work. With lots of hard work, we'll rule the Super Six.
TH: Super Six? Are they anything like the Fab Four?
RP: Not sure. I just know I need guys who have positive role models. Who's your hero, son.
TH: Ray Charles.
RP: What position does he play?
TH: Upright, mostly.
RP: Must have been a low draft choice. Never heard of him. Who's another hero?
TH: Otis Redding.
RP: Didn't he play for the Raiders?
TH: Paul Revere and the Raiders? You must be kidding, man. Otis had soul!
RP: Too much soul on my team will get you a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.
TH: Hey, I can't play without soul.
RP: OK, but just do it when the refs aren't watching.
TH: I hear you, dude.
RP: I need guys who are tough. Can you get physical?
TH: I don't know. But something tells me I might want to cold-cock a smart-aleck British guy someday.
RP: British guy, huh? That's weird. But it's a start. Ever make a touchdown?
TH: Well, I hear lead singers score quite a bit--more than bass players, anyway.
RP: This Bass Player fellow, can he block?
TH: Don't know, but he's got rhythm.
RP: Hmmm, might make a running back. Bring him along.
TH: Woo-hoo! What about the sax?
RP: Shhh, be quiet. You can get in trouble for that around here.
TH: No, I mean "sax," my sax player.
RP: Let me guess, he's got soul, right?
TH: Sure does. And he's great on solos.
RP: Hmmm, could be good on isolation plays. Bring him along. But remember: There's no "I" in team.
TH: Got it. Sounds like you're going to have a pretty big group.
RP: Gotta have numbers. That's why I've been up and down these halls. Hell of a day.
TH: Hell of a Day? That sounds like a good name for a song!
RP: Say, you mentioned scoring. Sounds like you do pretty well with the ladies. That's my second favorite sport. What's your secret?
TH: Two things.
RP: I'm listening.
TH: Gray hair . . .
RP: Got that.
TH: And the harmonica.
RP: Harmonica?
TH: Sure, learn to play that, and it leaves 'em defenseless.
RP: Defenseless? That's what we're going to do to Vestavia Hills.
TH: Whatever you say, man.
RP: Tell you what, you teach me harmonica and I'll let you play anywhere you want. Deal?
TH: Deal? The Deal? Man, you're full of good song titles!
RP: Anybody ever tell you you're strange, son?
TH: Soul Patrol!
RP: Ooooooh-kaaaay. You're a bit of a free spirit, but I could use a few of those. From now on you are one of the Bucs.
TH: The Bucs? That's the name of your group?
RP: Sure, and we're going to be known nationwide. I even see us making it on MTV.
TH: Wow, you're the kind of guy I want to play for. Think we'll even do videos?
RP: Sure, I watch tape all the time.
TH: Man, you are with it! When's our first gig?
RP: Well, we've got to practice first. And that's every day after school. See you at the stadium.
TH: The same one we're going to pack?
RP: The very one.
TH: Woo-hoo!
We've noted that Hicks, the 2006 American Idol, is almost certainly the most famous graduate of Hoover High. And he was a pretty fair athlete in his day, playing on the Bucs basketball team.
The second most famous person connected to Hoover High might be Propst, the controversial football coach. Thanks to his team's No. 1 national ranking and its central role in MTV's Two A Days, Propst became maybe the most high-profile high school coach in history.
Propst found remarkable success on the field, but problems off the field led to the recent announcement that he would step down as coach at the end of this season. Hicks meanwhile produced his debut major-label CD and a nationwide tour. His rabid fan base, the "Soul Patrol," awaits his followup efforts.
But here's an interesting thought: Have Taylor Hicks and Rush Propst ever met? To my knowledge, they haven't. Hicks graduated from Hoover in 1995. Propst was hired as football coach in early 1999.
The mid 1990s were a rough patch for the proud Hoover football program. One problem, according to news reports, was that a number of the school's better athletes had lost interest in football. Upon becoming coach, one of Propst's first goals reportedly was to scout the hallways for athletes and get them to come out for the football team.
So what if Taylor Hicks had been about four years younger and was still on the Hoover campus when Rush Propst arrived? What if Propst had spotted Hicks in the hallway and saw a future wide receiver, not a singer? Let's imagine that conversation . . .
Rush Propst: Hey son, I need you on my team.
Taylor Hicks: Woo-hoo!
RP: You ever play before?
TH: I play all the time, man.
RP: Where do you play?
TH: Small clubs mostly.
RP: Well, get ready for the big time, son; we're going to pack stadiums.
TH: Woo-hoo! Just like the Stones!
RP: You ready to go places?
TH: Sure. Nashville, LA, you name it.
RP: Well, first we're going to go to Vestavia Hills and kick their butts. We might hit those other places later.
TH: You travel in a bus?
RP: Sure. We go first class all the way.
TH: Woo-hoo!
RP: Son, I need guys with big dreams. What are your dreams?
TH: I want to make the Top 40.
RP: Top 40? Hell, son, we're going straight to No. 1.
TH: Woo-hoo! I like the way you think, man. You must have one heckuva promotions department at your label.
RP: It's not about promotion, son. It's all about hard work. With lots of hard work, we'll rule the Super Six.
TH: Super Six? Are they anything like the Fab Four?
RP: Not sure. I just know I need guys who have positive role models. Who's your hero, son.
TH: Ray Charles.
RP: What position does he play?
TH: Upright, mostly.
RP: Must have been a low draft choice. Never heard of him. Who's another hero?
TH: Otis Redding.
RP: Didn't he play for the Raiders?
TH: Paul Revere and the Raiders? You must be kidding, man. Otis had soul!
RP: Too much soul on my team will get you a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.
TH: Hey, I can't play without soul.
RP: OK, but just do it when the refs aren't watching.
TH: I hear you, dude.
RP: I need guys who are tough. Can you get physical?
TH: I don't know. But something tells me I might want to cold-cock a smart-aleck British guy someday.
RP: British guy, huh? That's weird. But it's a start. Ever make a touchdown?
TH: Well, I hear lead singers score quite a bit--more than bass players, anyway.
RP: This Bass Player fellow, can he block?
TH: Don't know, but he's got rhythm.
RP: Hmmm, might make a running back. Bring him along.
TH: Woo-hoo! What about the sax?
RP: Shhh, be quiet. You can get in trouble for that around here.
TH: No, I mean "sax," my sax player.
RP: Let me guess, he's got soul, right?
TH: Sure does. And he's great on solos.
RP: Hmmm, could be good on isolation plays. Bring him along. But remember: There's no "I" in team.
TH: Got it. Sounds like you're going to have a pretty big group.
RP: Gotta have numbers. That's why I've been up and down these halls. Hell of a day.
TH: Hell of a Day? That sounds like a good name for a song!
RP: Say, you mentioned scoring. Sounds like you do pretty well with the ladies. That's my second favorite sport. What's your secret?
TH: Two things.
RP: I'm listening.
TH: Gray hair . . .
RP: Got that.
TH: And the harmonica.
RP: Harmonica?
TH: Sure, learn to play that, and it leaves 'em defenseless.
RP: Defenseless? That's what we're going to do to Vestavia Hills.
TH: Whatever you say, man.
RP: Tell you what, you teach me harmonica and I'll let you play anywhere you want. Deal?
TH: Deal? The Deal? Man, you're full of good song titles!
RP: Anybody ever tell you you're strange, son?
TH: Soul Patrol!
RP: Ooooooh-kaaaay. You're a bit of a free spirit, but I could use a few of those. From now on you are one of the Bucs.
TH: The Bucs? That's the name of your group?
RP: Sure, and we're going to be known nationwide. I even see us making it on MTV.
TH: Wow, you're the kind of guy I want to play for. Think we'll even do videos?
RP: Sure, I watch tape all the time.
TH: Man, you are with it! When's our first gig?
RP: Well, we've got to practice first. And that's every day after school. See you at the stadium.
TH: The same one we're going to pack?
RP: The very one.
TH: Woo-hoo!
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Fast Times at Hoover High
This post might seem to be way off topic at first. But hang in there with me. I actually have a point.
Readers who live in Alabama and follow football (which means pretty much everybody in Alabama) almost certainly have heard of Hoover High School. And many folks around the country are familiar with Hoover High and its powerful football program, which was portrayed in the MTV program "Two a Days."
Several teachers at Hoover have claimed they were pressured to enhance the grades of athletes, ensuring their eligibility for college sports. In response to the charges, the superintendent of Hoover schools announced that he has hired former federal judge Sam C. Pointer Jr. to investigate the matter. Pointer now is with the Birmingham firm of Lightfoot, Franklin & White.
The story made Legal Schnauzer's ears stand up when it described the amounts Hoover will be charged for legal services.
Pointer normally charges $600 an hour, but is giving Hoover the low-low rate of $350 an hour. He will be working with three associates from his firm, and they will charge $325, $290, and $250 an hour, respectively. If my math is correct, Hoover will be paying $1,215 an hour for lawyers to handle this investigation--at least when all four attorneys are working on it at the same time.
That kind of cash can pay for an awful lot of books, band equipment, computers, etc.
Just wanted to give readers an idea of how expensive a problem can become when lawyers get involved. My guess is that the Hoover school system has some kind of insurance that will cover all or part of the cost of this investigation. But what if you are not a large organization or corporation? What if you are just an individual getting hit with legal bills? And what if your insurance does not cover it?
Readers who live in Alabama and follow football (which means pretty much everybody in Alabama) almost certainly have heard of Hoover High School. And many folks around the country are familiar with Hoover High and its powerful football program, which was portrayed in the MTV program "Two a Days."
Several teachers at Hoover have claimed they were pressured to enhance the grades of athletes, ensuring their eligibility for college sports. In response to the charges, the superintendent of Hoover schools announced that he has hired former federal judge Sam C. Pointer Jr. to investigate the matter. Pointer now is with the Birmingham firm of Lightfoot, Franklin & White.
The story made Legal Schnauzer's ears stand up when it described the amounts Hoover will be charged for legal services.
Pointer normally charges $600 an hour, but is giving Hoover the low-low rate of $350 an hour. He will be working with three associates from his firm, and they will charge $325, $290, and $250 an hour, respectively. If my math is correct, Hoover will be paying $1,215 an hour for lawyers to handle this investigation--at least when all four attorneys are working on it at the same time.
That kind of cash can pay for an awful lot of books, band equipment, computers, etc.
Just wanted to give readers an idea of how expensive a problem can become when lawyers get involved. My guess is that the Hoover school system has some kind of insurance that will cover all or part of the cost of this investigation. But what if you are not a large organization or corporation? What if you are just an individual getting hit with legal bills? And what if your insurance does not cover it?
Friday, July 27, 2007
Portrait of Financial Terrorists
In a recent post, we outlined the monstrous legal bills the Hoover, Alabama, school system is facing because of an investigation of possible irregularities in grading of athletes.
But how does a regular person handle such legal expenses? What if you are regular middle-class folks who get sued and your homeowner's insurance will not cover it? That's what my wife and I faced.
When I was sued, I called a Birmingham lawyer who was well known for handling property-related matters. He was a partner at a downtown Birmingham firm and took the case. An associate handled most of the work, but the costs were still steep. The partner charged $200 an hour and the associate charged $150. That was seven years ago, so I'm sure their rates have gone up.
(By the way, this pair has since moved to a different firm; much more about them in future posts. I used to think that if you went to a reputable firm and paid major bucks, you would get honest and whole-hearted legal representation. Boy, was I wrong about that.)
Considering how long legal proceedings draw out, and how much time it takes to prepare major documents such as motions for summary judgment, you are talking serious dollars in a hurry.
And the dollars get really serious when the judge is cheating you, causing a bogus case to last five or six times longer than it should have, by law.
How does this affect a regular person? It can ruin your financial picture and put you at risk of losing your home. I remember getting monthly legal bills that were in the four figures. And my wife and I both got almost physically ill when we had to go to the mailbox. What's coming today, we wondered, a godawful bill or another bogus ruling from this so-called judge?
I recently summoned the courage to look back at the monthly legal bills we received during the time I was represented by this firm. Four bills were in the quadruple digits, with one over $2,000 and another just shy of that mark. One included a charge of $800 for "research" that I never authorized and was never told about in advance. It also was for research that would have been totally unnecessary if we'd had an honest judge.
You already know how some terrorists operate. We'll soon be showing you exactly how judicial terrorists conduct their dirty deeds.
We'll also show you the financial devastation they leave in their wake.
But how does a regular person handle such legal expenses? What if you are regular middle-class folks who get sued and your homeowner's insurance will not cover it? That's what my wife and I faced.
When I was sued, I called a Birmingham lawyer who was well known for handling property-related matters. He was a partner at a downtown Birmingham firm and took the case. An associate handled most of the work, but the costs were still steep. The partner charged $200 an hour and the associate charged $150. That was seven years ago, so I'm sure their rates have gone up.
(By the way, this pair has since moved to a different firm; much more about them in future posts. I used to think that if you went to a reputable firm and paid major bucks, you would get honest and whole-hearted legal representation. Boy, was I wrong about that.)
Considering how long legal proceedings draw out, and how much time it takes to prepare major documents such as motions for summary judgment, you are talking serious dollars in a hurry.
And the dollars get really serious when the judge is cheating you, causing a bogus case to last five or six times longer than it should have, by law.
How does this affect a regular person? It can ruin your financial picture and put you at risk of losing your home. I remember getting monthly legal bills that were in the four figures. And my wife and I both got almost physically ill when we had to go to the mailbox. What's coming today, we wondered, a godawful bill or another bogus ruling from this so-called judge?
I recently summoned the courage to look back at the monthly legal bills we received during the time I was represented by this firm. Four bills were in the quadruple digits, with one over $2,000 and another just shy of that mark. One included a charge of $800 for "research" that I never authorized and was never told about in advance. It also was for research that would have been totally unnecessary if we'd had an honest judge.
In all, we spent almost $12,000 with this firm, and they could not manage to get a clearly fraudulent case dismissed. Heck, Chucky the ground squirrel who lives in our backyard could have gotten this case dismissed. He told me so just the other day. "Man, you have the worst luck with lawyers," he said, as he dug his 35th hole in our yard. "Remind me not to get a recommendation from you next time I need a pre-nup." (I gather Chucky's had bad luck with the ladies. Thank God, I've been pretty lucky in that regard. At least my wife tells me so on a regular basis.)
What did I get from my "high-class" lawyers? Well, they refused to file a clear counterclaim and lied to me about it in the process. When it became clear that these "barristers" were more interested in pleasing a corrupt judge than representing me, I fired them and went with a solo practitioner. He charged $4,500 up front and wound up doing almost nothing on the case, telling copious lies as well. By the time I wised up and figured out how to represent myself, we were almost $17,000 in the hole, with zero to show for it.
I will provide many more details on these lawyers and their "non-actions" on my behalf in future posts. But for now, my point is to show the devastating financial consequences the most bogus of lawsuits can have for middle-class people. And the whole thing can do a number on your mental and physical health--not to mention your credit report.
Judges, I'm sure, are well aware of how expensive it is to hire a lawyer. And I'm sure these judges knew, based on our address, that we are not wealthy. I'm convinced that the whole point of the multiple unlawful rulings in my case was this: The judges, J. Michael Joiner and G. Dan Reeves of Shelby County, wanted to put so much financial stress on my wife and me that we would cave and give them whatever twisted outcome they wanted. I'm also convinced that the lawyers we were paying so handsomely knew all about it--and did nothing.
I call it financial terrorism, and my research indicates a lot of state judges practice it. One of my goals with Legal Schnauzer is to show that terrorists come in many varieties. They don't all have dark skin and names like Osama or Abdul. Some of them are unctuous white guys wearing robes, with good old American names like Mike and Dan and Ron. And some of them are regular lawyers, with common names like Bill and Jesse and Michael and Richard.You already know how some terrorists operate. We'll soon be showing you exactly how judicial terrorists conduct their dirty deeds.
We'll also show you the financial devastation they leave in their wake.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Hoover High and Me, Part III
Was Hoover High School interested in hiring Briarwood Christian football coach Fred Yancey in late 1998, a move that probably would have netted the Bucs a proven coach, a high-profile assistant coach (Jeremiah Castille) and two star players (Jeremiah's sons, Tim and Simeon Castille)?
Did Briarwood hurriedly pull off a peculiar real-estate deal that resulted in Yancey, my former next-door neighbor, moving to a house on school property at little or no cost? Did this deal provide the financial incentive for Yancey (and perhaps more importantly, the Castilles) to stay at Briarwood, ensuring that the school's budding football program would remain a powerhouse?
Did Hoover turn to Rush Propst only after it realized that Yancey and the Castilles would stay at Briarwood?
Did the fear of losing Yancey (and maybe the Castilles) to Hoover--or some other school--drive Briarwood to engineer a shoddy real-estate deal that led to major legal headaches for your humble blogger? In fact, did Briarwood's concerns over losing its coach lead to the judicial corruption that prompted this blog in the first place?
Let's see if we can answer some of these questions. We'll do it in three parts, looking at some key facts/events, taking educated guesses at what caused these events to take place, and laying out the aftermath of these events. That's coming up in a bit.
Did Briarwood hurriedly pull off a peculiar real-estate deal that resulted in Yancey, my former next-door neighbor, moving to a house on school property at little or no cost? Did this deal provide the financial incentive for Yancey (and perhaps more importantly, the Castilles) to stay at Briarwood, ensuring that the school's budding football program would remain a powerhouse?
Did Hoover turn to Rush Propst only after it realized that Yancey and the Castilles would stay at Briarwood?
Did the fear of losing Yancey (and maybe the Castilles) to Hoover--or some other school--drive Briarwood to engineer a shoddy real-estate deal that led to major legal headaches for your humble blogger? In fact, did Briarwood's concerns over losing its coach lead to the judicial corruption that prompted this blog in the first place?
Let's see if we can answer some of these questions. We'll do it in three parts, looking at some key facts/events, taking educated guesses at what caused these events to take place, and laying out the aftermath of these events. That's coming up in a bit.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Birmingham's Next American Idol?
We've had fun posting occasionally about Taylor Hicks, Birmingham's American Idol 2006. There really isn't much of a connection between Hicks and our usual subject matter here--sleazy attorneys, corrupt judges, etc.
But Hicks did play basketball at Hoover High School, and I've written about a possible connection between Hoover football and my legal tale of woe. That's a pretty weak thread, I'll admit. But hey, my wife's a Taylor Hicks fan, and she turned me into a Taylor Hicks fan, so I don't need much of an excuse to write about the high priest of the "Soul Patrol."
And besides, I need a break now and then from our usual subject matter, which can get a bit grim. Hicks represents an Alabama feel-good story that I am only too happy to help spread.
To my untrained ears, Hicks is more than just a feel-good story. I've listened with great regularity to his major-label debut, and his two independent CDs, and I'm convinced the guy is a significant talent.
Yes, Hicks has a distinctive whiskey tenor and a charismatic stage presence. And he's pretty good on at least two instruments--harmonica and guitar. But I'm most impressed with his writing talent. Some might say that Hicks is unpolished as a songwriter. But there is good basic stuff there. A big-time producer, Matt Serletic, took three of Hicks' original tunes--Soul Thing, The Deal, and Hell of a Day--and turned them into true gems. In fact, many reviewers said that the best songs on the Taylor Hicks CD were those three originals.
So it's established that we here at Legal Schnauzer are big Taylor Hicks supporters. But the point of this post is to alert the public that Birmingham might have another American Idol in the works. And he happens to be a guy I've seen on the football field quite a bit.
Sam Hunt, the starting quarterback this year for the UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham) Blazers, happens to be a pretty talented musician. Steve Irvine, of The Birmingham News, recently wrote about Hunt and his possible future in music.
I follow UAB athletics, and I had heard that Hunt could sing and play guitar a little. But I figured he was a "hobby level" musician. On a local telecast of a recent UAB game, there was a halftime feature about Hunt, including him playing and singing. Heck, I thought, this guy's good.
Evidently, I'm not the only one who thinks so. He played before about 200 people at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes talent show, and he was lead vocalist at a recent performance by the UAB Gospel Choir.
Hunt's teammates are impressed. "I tried to get Sam to go on American Idol when they came to Birmingham," cornerback Zach Britten said. "I forgot what happened--the practice schedule or what. But Sam can sing, man. I think he would have made it."
I've had a chance to speak to Hunt a time or two, and he seems like a genuinely nice guy. Plus, he's disgustingly handsome, which wouldn't hurt on Idol. In the photo that ran with the News story (not available on the Web version), Hunt has a tousled-hair thing going on that makes him look like a CCR-era John Fogerty.
Hunt was a solid college football player, but he doesn't figure to have an NFL future. UAB struggled to a 2-10 record this season.
But who knows what might happen on the music front? Hunt says he gravitates toward a mixture of country, blues, rock, and gospel. "I would like to play music in the future," Hunt said. "I've seen a lot of really good players and singers who are trying to make it and aren't necessarily making it. That's a hard business to get into. But it would be awesome to do that."
Here is Hunt's bio from the UAB football Web site. The Blazers wrapped up their 2007 season Saturday with a 46-39 loss at Marshall. Hunt completed 13 of 24 passes for 189 yards and one touchdown and ran eight times for 64 yards.
But Hicks did play basketball at Hoover High School, and I've written about a possible connection between Hoover football and my legal tale of woe. That's a pretty weak thread, I'll admit. But hey, my wife's a Taylor Hicks fan, and she turned me into a Taylor Hicks fan, so I don't need much of an excuse to write about the high priest of the "Soul Patrol."
And besides, I need a break now and then from our usual subject matter, which can get a bit grim. Hicks represents an Alabama feel-good story that I am only too happy to help spread.
To my untrained ears, Hicks is more than just a feel-good story. I've listened with great regularity to his major-label debut, and his two independent CDs, and I'm convinced the guy is a significant talent.
Yes, Hicks has a distinctive whiskey tenor and a charismatic stage presence. And he's pretty good on at least two instruments--harmonica and guitar. But I'm most impressed with his writing talent. Some might say that Hicks is unpolished as a songwriter. But there is good basic stuff there. A big-time producer, Matt Serletic, took three of Hicks' original tunes--Soul Thing, The Deal, and Hell of a Day--and turned them into true gems. In fact, many reviewers said that the best songs on the Taylor Hicks CD were those three originals.
So it's established that we here at Legal Schnauzer are big Taylor Hicks supporters. But the point of this post is to alert the public that Birmingham might have another American Idol in the works. And he happens to be a guy I've seen on the football field quite a bit.
Sam Hunt, the starting quarterback this year for the UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham) Blazers, happens to be a pretty talented musician. Steve Irvine, of The Birmingham News, recently wrote about Hunt and his possible future in music.
I follow UAB athletics, and I had heard that Hunt could sing and play guitar a little. But I figured he was a "hobby level" musician. On a local telecast of a recent UAB game, there was a halftime feature about Hunt, including him playing and singing. Heck, I thought, this guy's good.
Evidently, I'm not the only one who thinks so. He played before about 200 people at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes talent show, and he was lead vocalist at a recent performance by the UAB Gospel Choir.
Hunt's teammates are impressed. "I tried to get Sam to go on American Idol when they came to Birmingham," cornerback Zach Britten said. "I forgot what happened--the practice schedule or what. But Sam can sing, man. I think he would have made it."
I've had a chance to speak to Hunt a time or two, and he seems like a genuinely nice guy. Plus, he's disgustingly handsome, which wouldn't hurt on Idol. In the photo that ran with the News story (not available on the Web version), Hunt has a tousled-hair thing going on that makes him look like a CCR-era John Fogerty.
Hunt was a solid college football player, but he doesn't figure to have an NFL future. UAB struggled to a 2-10 record this season.
But who knows what might happen on the music front? Hunt says he gravitates toward a mixture of country, blues, rock, and gospel. "I would like to play music in the future," Hunt said. "I've seen a lot of really good players and singers who are trying to make it and aren't necessarily making it. That's a hard business to get into. But it would be awesome to do that."
Here is Hunt's bio from the UAB football Web site. The Blazers wrapped up their 2007 season Saturday with a 46-39 loss at Marshall. Hunt completed 13 of 24 passes for 189 yards and one touchdown and ran eight times for 64 yards.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Havoc in Hoover (Cont.)
We now know that Hoover High School will be conducting a search for a new football coach, with Rush Propst stepping down when the Bucs are finished with the 2007 playoffs.
The Hoover School Board has approved an agreement that states, after the playoffs, Propst will be transferred to an administrative assistant job until his resignation takes effect August 31, 2008. His pay will remain at $100,678, and the school board agreed to give Propst a $120,000 annuity by August 31 and pay $21,000 to transfer credit for one year of service from the Georgia to the Alabama retirement system.
In speaking at last night's meeting, Propst admitted to an affair that had produced a child, although he said, "I don't admit wrongdoing inside the halls of Hoover High School."
The Propst story has drawn a variety of interesting responses:
Birmingham News sports columnist Kevin Scarbinsky said the move to oust Propst was best for Hoover. But he noted that, privately, Propst has been saying for months that he would not go quietly, that he would not "leave the building without trying to burn it down behind him." That seems to imply that Propst is aware of widespread wrongdoing, the kind that goes way beyond him. Will that wrongdoing surface publicly in the weeks ahead? Is Hoover essentially buying Rush Propst's silence?
One letter writer to the News says: "We don't allow coaches to pay for players in college so why should it be legal in high school? Rush (Propst) has been bringing in recruits from everywhere to win state titles. The man would sell his own mama to win at football."
My take? I don't think Rush Propst and Hoover are the only ones who might stretch ethical boundaries in an effort to win football games. I've noted on this blog previously that it appears my legal woes grew largely from the desire to win high-school football games.
The school in question is Briarwood Christian, currently undefeated and ranked No. 1 in Class 5A in Alabama. Sources have told me that officials with Briarwood took steps to instigate a real-estate transaction in late 1998 that helped them secure a championship-winning coach. Ironically, that transaction came just as Hoover was conducting its last head-coaching search, the one that ended with Rush Propst getting the job.
Are there connections between the two? Do the fine Christians at Briarwood care one iota that their actions apparently have caused an innocent couple to suffer terribly?
We will return to that story of football intrigue in a bit.
The Hoover School Board has approved an agreement that states, after the playoffs, Propst will be transferred to an administrative assistant job until his resignation takes effect August 31, 2008. His pay will remain at $100,678, and the school board agreed to give Propst a $120,000 annuity by August 31 and pay $21,000 to transfer credit for one year of service from the Georgia to the Alabama retirement system.
In speaking at last night's meeting, Propst admitted to an affair that had produced a child, although he said, "I don't admit wrongdoing inside the halls of Hoover High School."
The Propst story has drawn a variety of interesting responses:
Birmingham News sports columnist Kevin Scarbinsky said the move to oust Propst was best for Hoover. But he noted that, privately, Propst has been saying for months that he would not go quietly, that he would not "leave the building without trying to burn it down behind him." That seems to imply that Propst is aware of widespread wrongdoing, the kind that goes way beyond him. Will that wrongdoing surface publicly in the weeks ahead? Is Hoover essentially buying Rush Propst's silence?
One letter writer to the News says: "We don't allow coaches to pay for players in college so why should it be legal in high school? Rush (Propst) has been bringing in recruits from everywhere to win state titles. The man would sell his own mama to win at football."
My take? I don't think Rush Propst and Hoover are the only ones who might stretch ethical boundaries in an effort to win football games. I've noted on this blog previously that it appears my legal woes grew largely from the desire to win high-school football games.
The school in question is Briarwood Christian, currently undefeated and ranked No. 1 in Class 5A in Alabama. Sources have told me that officials with Briarwood took steps to instigate a real-estate transaction in late 1998 that helped them secure a championship-winning coach. Ironically, that transaction came just as Hoover was conducting its last head-coaching search, the one that ended with Rush Propst getting the job.
Are there connections between the two? Do the fine Christians at Briarwood care one iota that their actions apparently have caused an innocent couple to suffer terribly?
We will return to that story of football intrigue in a bit.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Bits and Pieces for $70, Alex
Congress Takes on Siegelman Case
The case of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman will be part of an upcoming Congressional hearing into possible selective prosecution by the Bush Department of Justice (DOJ). Glynn Wilson, of Locust Fork World News and Journal, has followed the Siegelman case closely and has this take on the latest news. So far, the focus appears to be on the Siegelman case, the Georgia Thompson case in Wisconsin, and the Cyril Wecht case in Pennsylvania. Let's hope the investigation becomes broader than that. As we are showing here at Legal Schnauzer, the Paul Minor case in Mississippi cries out for scrutiny. And my own case, involving unlawful rulings by multiple Republican judges in Alabama, is a classic case of suppression of a prosecution. Alice Martin, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, has taken affirmative steps to sweep my case under the proverbial rug. We will be posting more details on that soon.
The Malice of Alice
Speaking of Alice Martin, I thought about her today after reading this story in the business section of The Birmingham News. It's about a local ad agency that has developed a campaign for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. The campaign is designed to help raise awareness of various consumer mail-fraud schemes. That's what the postal inspection service does--it looks into consumer fraud. It does not have jurisdiction to investigate white-collar crime, such as honest-services mail fraud under 18 U.S. Code 1346. But Alice Martin took my detailed complaint about judicial wrongdoing and sent it to the postal inspection service. That's what I mean about sweeping my case under the rug. And I have far more details that I will be posting soon about the malice of Alice.
Dollars and Scholars
In earlier posts, we cited the ongoing investigation at Hoover High School as an example of how expensive a problem can get when lawyers get involved. The Hoover School System hired former federal judge Sam Pointer Jr. to investigate allegations of grade changing related to Hoover's renowned football program, the focus of MTV's Two A Days. So what's the latest legal tab for the Hoover folks? We learn today that it amounts to $151,153, based on 757 billable hours. Don't know about you, but that would put a serious ouch in my pocket book. And don't you think that money could have bought an awful lot of textbooks or computers or band outfits--or shoulder pads and helmets, for that matter?
A True Shocker
The most shocking news of all today is that the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission is actually doing something. This most worthless of Alabama agencies has been investigating Mobile circuit judge Herman Thomas for a variety of ethical violations. Among the charges against Thomas are claims from prisoners that he spanked them. Thomas must have really been a bad boy if he actually screwed up enough to draw the JIC's attention. I've filed multiple complaints regarding corrupt judges in Shelby County, and the JIC never lifted a finger to look into any of them. I figured the commission made the Maytag Repairman look like an overachiever. But it turns out the JIC actually does something once in a while. Well snip my pickle and call me Shlomo! And get this: Mobile County District Attorney John Tyson is pursuing a separate investigation into whether Thomas issued biased rulings favoring certain friends. Well, snip my pickle again! That's the way things are done on a regular basis in Shelby County. You mean there's something wrong with that? What's with this Tyson character? Why is he actually doing his job? What are the chances that Shelby County DA Robby Owens will look into wrongdoing by judges in his district? I would say Britney Spears has a better chance of being named Mother of the Year.
The case of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman will be part of an upcoming Congressional hearing into possible selective prosecution by the Bush Department of Justice (DOJ). Glynn Wilson, of Locust Fork World News and Journal, has followed the Siegelman case closely and has this take on the latest news. So far, the focus appears to be on the Siegelman case, the Georgia Thompson case in Wisconsin, and the Cyril Wecht case in Pennsylvania. Let's hope the investigation becomes broader than that. As we are showing here at Legal Schnauzer, the Paul Minor case in Mississippi cries out for scrutiny. And my own case, involving unlawful rulings by multiple Republican judges in Alabama, is a classic case of suppression of a prosecution. Alice Martin, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, has taken affirmative steps to sweep my case under the proverbial rug. We will be posting more details on that soon.
The Malice of Alice
Speaking of Alice Martin, I thought about her today after reading this story in the business section of The Birmingham News. It's about a local ad agency that has developed a campaign for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. The campaign is designed to help raise awareness of various consumer mail-fraud schemes. That's what the postal inspection service does--it looks into consumer fraud. It does not have jurisdiction to investigate white-collar crime, such as honest-services mail fraud under 18 U.S. Code 1346. But Alice Martin took my detailed complaint about judicial wrongdoing and sent it to the postal inspection service. That's what I mean about sweeping my case under the rug. And I have far more details that I will be posting soon about the malice of Alice.
Dollars and Scholars
In earlier posts, we cited the ongoing investigation at Hoover High School as an example of how expensive a problem can get when lawyers get involved. The Hoover School System hired former federal judge Sam Pointer Jr. to investigate allegations of grade changing related to Hoover's renowned football program, the focus of MTV's Two A Days. So what's the latest legal tab for the Hoover folks? We learn today that it amounts to $151,153, based on 757 billable hours. Don't know about you, but that would put a serious ouch in my pocket book. And don't you think that money could have bought an awful lot of textbooks or computers or band outfits--or shoulder pads and helmets, for that matter?
A True Shocker
The most shocking news of all today is that the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission is actually doing something. This most worthless of Alabama agencies has been investigating Mobile circuit judge Herman Thomas for a variety of ethical violations. Among the charges against Thomas are claims from prisoners that he spanked them. Thomas must have really been a bad boy if he actually screwed up enough to draw the JIC's attention. I've filed multiple complaints regarding corrupt judges in Shelby County, and the JIC never lifted a finger to look into any of them. I figured the commission made the Maytag Repairman look like an overachiever. But it turns out the JIC actually does something once in a while. Well snip my pickle and call me Shlomo! And get this: Mobile County District Attorney John Tyson is pursuing a separate investigation into whether Thomas issued biased rulings favoring certain friends. Well, snip my pickle again! That's the way things are done on a regular basis in Shelby County. You mean there's something wrong with that? What's with this Tyson character? Why is he actually doing his job? What are the chances that Shelby County DA Robby Owens will look into wrongdoing by judges in his district? I would say Britney Spears has a better chance of being named Mother of the Year.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Bits and Pieces for $40, Alex
We interrupt our analysis of the Paul Minor case in Mississippi to bring you this bulletin on an exceptionally busy day for justice-related news in Alabama:
Nick Bailey: My Bad
Nick Bailey says he's sorry for helping to send his former boss, ex-Alabama Governor Don Siegelman, to prison. Siegelman must be deeply touched. Bailey is heading off to prison himself, and before he goes, he makes a few contradictory statements. On the one hand, Bailey says he told the truth at the Siegelman trial. But on the other hand, he says, if he had it to do over again, he would not take the government's plea agreement and take his chances with the jury. Call me dense, but Tricky Nick can't have it both ways can he? If he told the truth at the trial, then how would it help him to pass on the plea agreement and take his chances with the jury? His testimony would be the same wouldn't it? And that would accomplish nothing but sending both Siegelman and himself to prison for seven or so years. Is that what Nick has in mind here? I don't think so. Either he lied on the stand at the trial or he would have lied on the stand had he not taken the plea agreement? Which one is it, Nick?
Artur Davis Fire Back
The Birmingham News still is after U.S. Rep. Artur Davis (D-AL), evidently for having the temerity to question the activities of the Bush Justice Department. But Davis is not one to take things lying down. Check out the letter to the editor he fired off to the Newshounds. Notice how the News story hints that Davis somehow violated Congressional rules in the hiring of Gina Bailey McKell. Notice how Davis says, "The practice of public agencies lending out staff members and paying their salaries is specifically permitted by congressional rules. The rules make no distinction between whether the agency is state or federal." Take that Newshounds!
GOP Follies, Part I
Things are getting interesting in the corruption case of Bessemer Judge Dan King. Dan King (a Republican) is being pursued by Alabama Attorney General Troy King (a Republican) evidently because Rapid Troy didn't like Dan the Man's ruling in a high-profile gaming case. Now comes Earl Carter, circuit clerk in Bessemer, saying in a sworn affidavit that the indictment of Dan King was not handled according state law. And Carter seems to be pointing a finger at Circuit Judge Teresa Petelos (a Republican) for causing the impropriety. Judge Petelos is married to Tony Petelos (who is, guess what, a Republican), the mayor of Hoover, Alabama, and longtime Republican official at both the local and state levels. Where will all of this GOP fussin' and fightin' lead? Can't wait to see.
GOP Follies, Part II
Speaking of Rapid Troy (King) the AG Boy, he's making news on another front. Rapid Troy is defending his decision to yank a death-penalty case away from Shelby County District Attorney Robby Owens (a Republican, natch). Owens had argued against the death penalty for convicted murderer LaSamuel Gamble in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court decision barring the execution of people who committed murder while they were juveniles. This didn't go down well with Rapid Troy, a staunch proponent of the death penalty. Which leaves me with this question: Is it possible to root against both contenders in a GOP Deathmatch? Rapid Troy gives me the creeps because he looks like that android character in Terminator 2. And my firsthand experience with Owens and his office tells me he runs an operation that is both shoddy and corrupt (par for the course at the Shelby County Courthouse). A couple of very interesting quotes from Owens. One, he says, "I can't sacrifice honor and integrity to be a Troy King or a Nifong," referring to the Duke lacrosse-team prosecutor, Mike Nifong. Hmmm, we will be taking a close look at the honor and integrity of Owens' office in the very near future. Also, Owens said he thought leaving Gamble on Death Row would turn his case into a rallying point for death-penalty opponents. I thought Owens was interested in honor and integrity, not politics. Hold that second thought from Owens. We will return to it down the road.
Chris McNair Sentenced
Former Jefferson County Commissioner Chris McNair is sentenced to five years in prison for his role in a sewer-contractor probe. McNair's case is just one of several where a public official who is an African-American and/or a Democrat (McNair is both) has been targeted by Alice Martin, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Alabama. That's not to quibble with the McNair prosecution (he confessed to wrongdoing) or the others, necessarily. But I'm trying to figure out how many Republican officials Ms. Martin has gone after. Anybody know the answer to that one? Anybody?
Nick Bailey: My Bad
Nick Bailey says he's sorry for helping to send his former boss, ex-Alabama Governor Don Siegelman, to prison. Siegelman must be deeply touched. Bailey is heading off to prison himself, and before he goes, he makes a few contradictory statements. On the one hand, Bailey says he told the truth at the Siegelman trial. But on the other hand, he says, if he had it to do over again, he would not take the government's plea agreement and take his chances with the jury. Call me dense, but Tricky Nick can't have it both ways can he? If he told the truth at the trial, then how would it help him to pass on the plea agreement and take his chances with the jury? His testimony would be the same wouldn't it? And that would accomplish nothing but sending both Siegelman and himself to prison for seven or so years. Is that what Nick has in mind here? I don't think so. Either he lied on the stand at the trial or he would have lied on the stand had he not taken the plea agreement? Which one is it, Nick?
Artur Davis Fire Back
The Birmingham News still is after U.S. Rep. Artur Davis (D-AL), evidently for having the temerity to question the activities of the Bush Justice Department. But Davis is not one to take things lying down. Check out the letter to the editor he fired off to the Newshounds. Notice how the News story hints that Davis somehow violated Congressional rules in the hiring of Gina Bailey McKell. Notice how Davis says, "The practice of public agencies lending out staff members and paying their salaries is specifically permitted by congressional rules. The rules make no distinction between whether the agency is state or federal." Take that Newshounds!
GOP Follies, Part I
Things are getting interesting in the corruption case of Bessemer Judge Dan King. Dan King (a Republican) is being pursued by Alabama Attorney General Troy King (a Republican) evidently because Rapid Troy didn't like Dan the Man's ruling in a high-profile gaming case. Now comes Earl Carter, circuit clerk in Bessemer, saying in a sworn affidavit that the indictment of Dan King was not handled according state law. And Carter seems to be pointing a finger at Circuit Judge Teresa Petelos (a Republican) for causing the impropriety. Judge Petelos is married to Tony Petelos (who is, guess what, a Republican), the mayor of Hoover, Alabama, and longtime Republican official at both the local and state levels. Where will all of this GOP fussin' and fightin' lead? Can't wait to see.
GOP Follies, Part II
Speaking of Rapid Troy (King) the AG Boy, he's making news on another front. Rapid Troy is defending his decision to yank a death-penalty case away from Shelby County District Attorney Robby Owens (a Republican, natch). Owens had argued against the death penalty for convicted murderer LaSamuel Gamble in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court decision barring the execution of people who committed murder while they were juveniles. This didn't go down well with Rapid Troy, a staunch proponent of the death penalty. Which leaves me with this question: Is it possible to root against both contenders in a GOP Deathmatch? Rapid Troy gives me the creeps because he looks like that android character in Terminator 2. And my firsthand experience with Owens and his office tells me he runs an operation that is both shoddy and corrupt (par for the course at the Shelby County Courthouse). A couple of very interesting quotes from Owens. One, he says, "I can't sacrifice honor and integrity to be a Troy King or a Nifong," referring to the Duke lacrosse-team prosecutor, Mike Nifong. Hmmm, we will be taking a close look at the honor and integrity of Owens' office in the very near future. Also, Owens said he thought leaving Gamble on Death Row would turn his case into a rallying point for death-penalty opponents. I thought Owens was interested in honor and integrity, not politics. Hold that second thought from Owens. We will return to it down the road.
Chris McNair Sentenced
Former Jefferson County Commissioner Chris McNair is sentenced to five years in prison for his role in a sewer-contractor probe. McNair's case is just one of several where a public official who is an African-American and/or a Democrat (McNair is both) has been targeted by Alice Martin, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Alabama. That's not to quibble with the McNair prosecution (he confessed to wrongdoing) or the others, necessarily. But I'm trying to figure out how many Republican officials Ms. Martin has gone after. Anybody know the answer to that one? Anybody?
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Ashley Madison customers revealed: Edgar C. Gentle III,, founding partner with Gentle Turner Sexton law firm in Birmingham, AL is among site's affair seekers
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| Attorney Edgar C. Gentle III |
The founding partner of a Birmingham law firm known for mass torts and class-action cases is among paying customers at the Ashley Madison (AM) extramarital-affair Web site, records show.
Edgar C. Gentle III has earned both bachelor's and master's degrees at Oxford University in England, where he was a Rhodes Scholar and received Honors in Jurisprudence. In the states, Gentle earned undergraduate degrees at Auburn University and the University of Miami before completing his legal education at the University of Alabama.
Gentle heads Gentle Turner Sexton and Harbison, an eight-lawyer firm that is tucked away in Riverchase, a leafy, moneyed section of the Birmingham suburb, Hoover.
Does Gentle sound like the kind of guy who would participate in a notorious Web site with the motto: "Life is short, have an affair"? You wouldn't think so. But our research shows dozens of high-end professionals--lawyers, doctors, architects, wealth managers, vice presidents, and so on--give the Alabama list an elite feel. The same holds true in Missouri.
According to Gentle's professional biography, he has helped create and administer more than $2 billion in settlements. Here is more about his background:
Mr. Gentle has comprehensive experience in serving as Special Master and Claims Administrator in Mass Tort Litigation, and providing claims administration and financial and business advice to Courts, Settling Parties, and Mass Tort Settlements. He has helped create and administer over $2 Billion in Settlements during the past 20 years.
From 1992 to 2015, Mr. Gentle has served as Special Master and Escrow Agent for the MDL 926 Global Breast Implant Settlement, paying over $1.1 billion dollars in claims. From 2001 until 2003, he was Interim Financial Adviser for the Settlement Facility – Dow Corning Trust (the Dow Corning Breast Implant Settlement) overseeing the investment of over $1 billion and providing tax and accounting support for the Settlement.
Commencing in December 2003, Mr. Gentle was appointed as the Settlement Administrator in the $300 million Anniston, Alabama Tolbert PCB Settlement with Monsanto and Solutia in connection with the administration of a Global Settlement before the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Alabama applicable to approximately 18,000 claimants with respect to PCB contamination of property and PCB personal injury claims. In administering the $300 million settlement, Mr. Gentle has designed the claimant payment program for property damage and personal injury, collected criteria for payments for each of the 18,000 Claimants, ranked the claimants for payment amounts, and remitted payments to each of the claimants. He now helps manage a medical clinic for the claimants in Anniston.
In the legal world, Edgar Gentle has been entrusted with multiple billions of dollars. Is he to be trusted in his personal life? Documents made public after last summer's hack of the Ashley Madison Web site suggest the answer is no.
According to published reports, Gentle does not appear to be currently married. Public records indicate, as of 2013-14, he owns property in Hoover with a woman named Beverly Denise Carlisle.
We twice contacted Gentle via e-mail seeking comment for this post. He replied to our second inquiry with the following statement:
Beverly Carlisle and I were married but are now divorced. In the divorce her share of the property was deeded to me.
(To be continued)
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