We zijn ons aan het verheugen op ons jaarlijkse maand Florida.
"Zou Snead's er nog zijn?"
Vorig jaar had ik al een slecht voorgevoel: dat er iets niet in de haak was.
Internet bevestigde mijn vermoeden:
Een van onze favorieten in Naples, Sam Snead's, bestaat niet meer. Althans niet meer op deze locatie, Naples Walk Shopping Center.
Jammer zou je zeggen en daarmee basta.
Het past in het beeld van de economische crisis. Ze gaan achter elkaar op de fles.
Maar deze zaak stinkt.
Heel erg.
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Hier dronken wij, het liefst tijdens happy hour, de beste cocktails - vergezeld door de allerlekkerste spicy chicken wings.
De maaltijden waren uitstekend.
Tot 2012 was het sfeervolle Sam Snead's razend populair, vooral bij mensen met een golfhart.
Snead's ging om 12 uur open voor de lunch en zat iedere avond vanaf vijf uur stamp -en stampvol.
Reserveren in het restaurant was een must. Het bemachtigen van een zitplaats in de bar was na half zes een zware opgave.
Francis Reiff, die deze booming business in 2011 overnam, kwam regelmatig een praatje met ons maken.
"Waarom stapt zo'n oude man in zo'n drukke zaak?"
Die vraag stelde ik mij keer op keer (ik schatte Reiff zeker eind zestig - begin zeventig).
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Donderdag vertelde vriendin J. dat Francis dood is en dat schuldeisers geld bij zijn 94-jarige moeder proberen los te peuteren.
Toen ik het verhaal van Reiff op de Naples Daily News las, sloeg mijn hart toch wel een paar keer over.
Hier de belangrijkste flarden.
NAPLES —Verna Reiff is 94 and lives in a Pennsylvania assisted living community.
She hasn't lived in Naples since 2007.
But her signature appears on a guaranty for a lease agreement involving the defunct-Sam Snead's Tavern in North Naples, a restaurant operated by her son, Francis, who died four months ago.
So when Naples Walk Shopping Center in North Naples demanded more than $55,000 from the nonagenarian, Reiff's lawyer sued.
The lawsuit, filed last month in Collier Circuit Court, alleges the elderly woman never signed a guaranty, her signature is forged, her Social Security number is wrong, she didn't live at that Naples address — and hasn't been in Naples in five years.
A guaranty is a promise to answer for the debt of another. The signatures of two witnesses on the guaranty aren't legible and aren't notarized. But the Social Security number under Verna Reiff's name is the same as the one listed for her son, Francis D. Reiff.
The lawsuit involves FDR Enterprises, a company set up by Francis Reiff to operate his Sam Snead's Tavern franchise. Four months after it was shut down, the 60-year-old died in July with no assets.
His wife, Debra, 56, who resigned this spring as FDR Enterprises' vice president and then filed for divorce, couldn't be reached for comment.
Verna Reiff, her son and daughter-in-law are listed as guarantors for the lease agreement with Fl-Naples Walk Shopping Centers. State Division of Corporation records show Verna Reiff has never been an officer of FDR Enterprises.
"If it's a forged signature, it's not a valid note," said Jeffrey Davis, who teaches contract law at the University of Florida's Fredric G. Levin College of Law. "It comes down to a matter of proof. It's a question of fact, whether it is her signature or not. They must prove it's her signature."
Jan Leach, a forensic document examiner and handwriting expert, said the signature, witnesses and lack of a notary will all play a part in the case.
"These witnesses are useless if you can't find them," said Leach, of Janus Document Examination in Winter Park. "They can't come to court. They can't testify. It's like you have none."
Leach said elderly people's signatures don't change "dramatically" in two years unless they've had a stroke, heart attack or major health issue, so Verna Reiff's signature can be verified if there are five or six of her known signatures that can be compared against the original guaranty or a good copy.
"Elder abuse is rampant," Leach said, adding that she's seen numerous cases of children forging parents' signatures or husbands or wives signing each other's names. "We've seen it done financially, with property and property rights. There's a terrible amount of fraud going on — and identity theft.
"Your own signature is such a valuable asset that needs to be protected," she added.
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Februari 2012 waren daar ineens lege avonden.
Opvallend.
Er kwam ook ander publiek.
Ook opvallend.
Toen ik Francis strompelend van tafel naar tafel zag gaan om zijn (stam)gasten te begroeten, voelde ik dat er iets mis was.
Vervolgens ging hij, steunend op de leuningen, alle barzitters af.
Niet alleen lichamelijk was hij een wrak. Ik zie nog die desperate blik in zijn ogen.
Wat ik hoorde verontrustte mij:
- hey guys, you will support me - won't ye?
- can I rely on you guys?
- stand by me
- I will let you know what's happening
Hij sloeg ons in 't rijtje over.
Wel kregen we een klopje op de schouder.
"Hi guys, how're ye doing?
In de auto vertelde ik P. wat mijn vermoeden was.
"Hij zit in de problemen."
En dat zat hij zeker.
What was happening:
Court records show FDR Enterprises Inc. was evicted March 26. Naples Walk Shopping Center LLC filed for eviction Feb. 22. A month later, a Collier judge granted Naples Walk a writ of possession against FDR Enterprises, which Francis Reiff then was operating as Naples Tap Room & Grille.
In an interview with the Daily News this spring, Francis Reiff blamed a "rent issue" for the closing, but said he hoped to reopen. Reiff said he broke his 13-year franchise agreement with Sam Snead's because he didn't want to pay the franchise fee, about 4 percent of his revenues.
Four days after Naples Walk was granted possession on March 19, the Florida Department of Revenue filed a $1,680.06 lien against FDR Enterprises and the shuttered tavern for delinquent sales and use taxes.
On April 9, Reiff was arrested (ik zocht een foto en vond dit) and jailed on a warrant accusing him of not appearing for his arraignment on a ticket for driving on a suspended license. The next week, his wife filed papers with the state Division of Corporations, resigning as vice president of FDR. About a week later, she filed for divorce.
On July 2, the Florida Department of Revenue filed two more liens against FDR Enterprises and the former tavern, making the total $37,990.59 for unpaid sales, use and unemployment taxes. He died July 24, almost a week after his birthday.
Court records show the three Reiffs also were sued in May by U.S. Foods Inc. for more than $31,000 in unpaid food bills. Verna Reiff is listed as a guarantor in that agreement, as well. Vaccariello, her lawyer, filed papers in that case, alleging Verna Reiff never signed that guaranty and FDR Enterprises paid that bill.
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Over the cause of death kan ik niets vinden, maar gezien zijn toestand heb ik daar wel fantasieën over.
Ik mag hopen dat moeder Reiff snel gaat hemelen en dat ze haar zoon daar boven zonder eten naar bed stuurt.
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