Brothers Law & Greed

By Steven Winer

Thaddeus Jaxxson Muizarajs, nicknamed TJ, and Dorian Jaxxson Muizarajs, nicknamed Cotton, two brothers who were children of immigrants from Latvia, both grew up and went to school in the Miami, Florida area. Neither felt that the locals, in the area, were accepting them as an integrated part of Miami society or culture. Their father, who had a difficult time obtaining decent work, always emphasized, to his sons, that in order to get ahead, in a culture that was hostile to their ethnicity, that a modest amount of pilfering from the wealthy and embellishments about their backgrounds and financials, were appropriate. Those would enhance their chances of increasing their income and improve their way of life. The brother’s parents were both killed in an automobile accident when the brothers were in high school. So, with a couple of small socialistic scholarships and the proceeds of the legal settlement they received from the death of their parents, both brothers decided to attend law school. After the graduation of the youngest brother, Cotton, the brothers decided to leave the Miami area and start their legal practice together, in a more accepting location in the Fort Myers, Florida, area where their ethnicity was deemed a better fit than on the East coast of Florida. They even changed their last names to Murry to better become assimilated into the area’s society. However, both brothers had little money. TJ, who was three years older than Cotton, had a different view on how to start and grow their law practice to become well known and increase their wealth. However, one thing they both recalled was their father’s advice as to what was acceptable to assist in becoming successful and accumulate wealth. Therefore, the brother’s, through several local businessmen they befriended, acquired the necessary funds to open their own law firm through providing fraudulent financial statements to obtain a large bank loan. The banker who granted the loan was aware of the brother’s fraudulent financials, as well as other fraudulent financials provided periodically to the bank. Through an implied threat of revealing the brothers false financials to the authorities, the banker obtained the brother’s understanding to become involved with a group of professional community leaders, in a web of deceit, fraudulent real estate loans, and other white collar criminal activities. TJ attempted to extradite himself from the criminal activity, but realized he had become too involved and was unable to get out. BROTHERS GREED & THE LAW, takes the reader through a journey that the brothers experienced involving multiple dishonest brokers, bankers, FBI agents and lawyers. Their fraudulent schemes involved the embezzlement of millions of dollars from innocent investors during the early days of the real estate boom in Florida in the 1980’s and 1990’s. Through an intriguing misunderstanding by the mastermind of these illegal schemes, and the inquisitiveness of several nonparticipants in the schemes, several innocent persons were murdered thinking that their deaths would keep the schemes from being discovered. A turn in events, by several of the perpetrators, and other unrelated parties to the schemes, causes the illegal activities to be revealed to the authorities. How the brothers extracted themselves from the legal consequences of the long time criminal enterprise was a turn in events that none of the participants, or the informers of the criminal enterprise, could have expected.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jun 24, 2020
• ISBN: 9781984584809

Steven Winer

Steven Winer was born in St. Paul, Minnesota. He went to the University of Minnesota undergraduate School and received his B.S. degree in both Business Administration and History. He had season tickets for 40 years to his beloved Golden Gopher football games. He still attends as many games as he can each year. After a stint in the Army Security Agency, Steven then attended Law School at the University of Illinois in Chicago where he received his J.D. Law Degree. Steven returned to Minnesota, after finishing law school, and practiced law for 10 years in Minnesota. He then followed several of his Minnesota developer clients to Fort Myers, Florida in 1984, and continued practicing law until he retired in 2013. While practicing law in Fort Myers, Steven represented large banks, developers of large golf course communities and developers of high rise condominium. Steven practiced law during both the depressed years for real estate in the early 1990’s as well as the robust real estate boom during the 2000’s and the recession years thereafter, until he retired. Steven met his wife in Fort Myers who have been married for 30 years. Between them, they have 3 children and 6 grandchildren. Steven enjoys his retirement by aiding entrepreneurs fulfill their dreams of starting their own businesses. He also volunteers for the Lee County Visitors and Convention Bureau in Southwest Florida. Steven enjoys writing about his diverse experiences during the years of practiced law.

Book preview

CONTENTS

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

About the Author

THIS BOOK IS

DEDICATED TO THE TWO WOMAN,

I LOVE THE MOST, WHO HAVE ENCOURAGED

ME TO CONTINUE TO WRITE STORIES ABOUT

EVENTS THAT HAVE HAPPEN IN MY IMAGINATION,

MY MOTHER, JESSIE AND MY WIFE, LINDA

CHAPTER 1

Thaddeus Jaxxon Murry, known by everyone as TJ was sitting at the bar of the Veranda restaurant on Friday, June 5, 2003, at 5:30 PM. He was sitting next to his younger brother Dorian Jaxxon Murry. His nickname was Cotton. It was given to him by his mother when he was two years old because of his wavy white hair and good looks. Something that TJ didn’t inherit from his parents. They were in the midst of finishing their bottle of Dom Perion. The Veranda bar was one of the more elegant and popular locations for legal and business professionals to congregate in Fort Myers, Florida. It was located just several blocks from the Lee County Courthouse. Lawyers, accountants, realtors, brokers and many other ‘high roller’ businessmen were all flocking around the brothers. They were congratulating them on consummating the largest real estate transaction ever in Lee County. Little did anyone really know how that transaction was closed, nor did they care, as long as the adoring crowd was feasting on free whiskey paid for by the brothers. The Murry brothers were senior partners of the Murry Law Firm, a twenty attorney law firm, located in a large, old southern looking building, about two blocks from the restaurant. The brothers owned the building, where their law firm was located, as well as all of the adjacent buildings on that entire downtown block. TJ was 55 years old at the time, and his brother was 52. They loved to live the high life. Everyone, who thought they were anyone in the City of Fort Myers or suburban Lee County, all knew of TJ and Cotton. They had become very well known, for different reason to different people. The brothers had, before that day, put their livelihoods on the line, for some good and for some bad reasons, for many people in town. Most people claimed they knew them personally, but the majority in the crowd were only known to the brothers by their faces and not their names. The brothers were just beginning the prime of their lives. The real estate boom in Southwest Florida was just in its beginning stages. Both brothers had started to practice law in the 1970’s. It was a long hard struggle for the brothers. They almost didn’t make it due to their greed and their association with a certain element of business people. But, in the end, they were starting to enjoy the good life.

The brothers were born in Miami, Florida, to parents who emigrated from Latvia in the late 1940’s. Their parent’s last name was Muizarajs and their mother’s maiden name was Jaxxon. Their parents gave both brothers their mother’s maiden name as their middle names. Their parents had little money or possessions when they arrived in the Miami area. They were looked down to by most in the community as just white trash. Most of the emigrants in the Miami area were Latinos or wealthy New Yorkers and people from other parts of the Northeastern area of the Country. Their parent’s culture was much different than the Latinos or the Northeasterners. That excluded them from certain restaurants, public areas and exclusive events. Both parents worked long hours at various hard, low paying, and manual labor positions. They attempted to save as much money as they could. They prayed that their two sons would have the opportunity for an improved, and more prosperous life, than their parents had in the Old Country and Miami. It was the parents who wanted desperately to have their sons live the American dream. However, they instilled in their sons a sense of pride for their culture, so as not to forget their roots. But they desperately desired for their sons to become American entrepreneurs, who would eventually be able to work for themselves, and not depend on others. They wanted their sons to be able to make a prosperous and honest living, have large families and become proud Americans. Their parents desperately wanted all different kinds of people to accept them for the content of their minds and not to be held back by their heritage. Both brothers learned that their father’s use of the word honesty was a very loose one. Their father saw how most of his bosses, or supervisors, would pilfer funds from the petty cash drawer or overcharged items on their expense reports. No one really got hurt, except the owner of the business who, in their father’s mind, had lots of money. A little dishonest was Okay. Or that was the brother’s perception of their father.

Unfortunately, the brother’s parents both died in a freak automobile accident when Cotton and TJ were only 15 and 18 respectively. The brothers continued to live in the rental apartment where their family had lived since they arrived from Latvia. A short while after the death of their parents, the brothers decided to legally change their last name to Murry. This change was, in their minds, a better fit into the diverse community, as well as have a more legitimate opportunity for a higher category of employment. They witnessed what their parents had to go through. They wanted a good strong American, Anglo Saxon, name so as to get the respect that their parents never received. The brothers hated the way people treated their parents, and that feeling stayed with them forever. Their father was a hardworking man, who was forced to pilfer a little, here and there, and who really never achieved that American dream.

After their parent’s death, they worked at any job they could find to pay for rent, food and their other expenses while they finished high school. TJ was a senior and Cotton was a freshman at a Miami public school. Both went on to college, as their parents would have wanted. With the small, but adequate, settlement they received from their parent’s automobile accident, they both still had to work to graduate from both high school and college. It was difficult for the two of them to see other kids going to school who had lots of money in their pockets, enjoying life, and didn’t need to work in order to survive. Those kids spent a lot of time living an entertaining life, going to the beach and parting at night. Those were things the brothers just couldn’t afford. This experience was engrained in their minds for the rest of their lives. Especially Cotton’s. Money was important. It was what drove both brothers to excel. They both attended Florida International University, the least expensive public college in the Miami area. Both worked hard in college, but TJ’s grades were always better than Cotton’s. While Cotton was in his second year in college, TJ was accepted to The University of Miami Law School, a prestigious private school where TJ did very well. He even worked a part time job to make sure he and his brother always had food on the table. TJ received a scholastic scholarship which helped immensely with the costs of a private institution. After Cotton graduated from college, the only law school where he could get accepted, in order to keep him close to his brother was Stetson Law School in Tampa. That distance from his brother, over time, changed Cotton’s attitude about life. It was the first time he was really on his own. He ran with a crowd that liked to play, gamble and party and enjoyed woman. Cotton received several small scholarships, and took out some student loans, while in law school, but not enough to pay for all of his tuition or books. Money was always hard to come by. Money became an obsession for both brothers. TJ took a low paying job as an associate in a small law firm outside of downtown Miami and helped his brother with his tuition and expenses. TJ didn’t want Cotton to have to work while he attended law school. TJ wanted to make sure that Cotton had time to study and complete the three year curriculum on time. TJ even took an illegal job running numbers and gambling funds for several small time criminals, in Miami. He got paid under the table, in order to make ends meet and help pay both of their expenses. That obsession for money and the status their parent never received, remained instilled in them to the day they died.

After Cotton graduated from law school, the brothers wanted to work together, but it was an impossible task for both to be hired at the same law firm. TJ graduated from a much more prestigious school with high grades and Cotton graduated from Stetson, in the top third of his class. So they decided to start practicing law together in a small office on the outskirts of the City of Miami. Cotton had no experience and TJ was just starting to understand how to make money in the practice of law. That was something he never learned in law school. Law school taught them how to analyze a legal question and research the law. But, it didn’t teach them how to practice law. They had few clients, and they both disliked the Miami area. The area was comprised of either single practioners, Latino law firms or snooty silk stocking law firms who wouldn’t even give either of the brothers an interview. So, after much discussion concerning their futures, both brothers agreed that they wanted to leave the Miami area and try to practice law in a smaller, more tolerant, up and coming area. There would be fewer attorneys and, unlike Miami, a location which had a chance to grow and create opportunities for them. After much investigation, they ended up in the small town of Fort Myers, just a two hour car drive from their small office in the suburbs of Miami. Neither knew much about the area and it was difficult to find clients, which, at first, actually surprised them. They were somewhat naïve. They tried to practice whatever type of law that would convince someone to become a potential client. With the small amount of experience Cotton had concerning how to practice law, and TJ’s time it took to mentor his brother, it was hard for them to come to some specialty that seemed to fit their personalities. They tried cases, they probated wills, and they drafted business contracts, but just couldn’t keep a steady stream of clients. They were also very bored.

It was the middle of the 1970’s and the Fort Myers population boom had not quite begun. However, TJ could see it coming. It didn’t take very long before both brothers came to the conclusion that neither wanted to be trial attorneys, probate or tax lawyers. Too much work, too long of hours and it was very difficult to collect their fees. Also, even though they both had magnetic personalities, they just knew that trying cases and being in Court was not their style. More important, they were just not that good at it. They finally realized that there was plenty of cheap, unimproved real estate in the Fort Myers area and suburban Lee County. Also, there were a lot of banks. So after a long discussion about their future in Fort Myers, they decided real estate law and banking law would become their expertise. Most of the vacant land, all around the County, just had livestock on it. A population boom, that was sure to come, would change that. Someone needed to handle those real estate transactions and the loans to purchase the property. Why not the Murry brothers? There was also plenty of reasonably priced, office space in downtown Fort Myers. A wealthy local real estate developer had just built a large retail mall, called the Edison Mall, about 5 miles south of downtown. They could see the ‘for sale’ signs popping up all around the mall area. People wanted to sell their property for a large profit as the population started to move south. Many merchants, such as J.C. Penny’s and Sears had moved from their small downtown retail stores, in order to open new and larger stores at the mall. That left some prime, reasonably priced real estate available for rent. The brothers located a perfect 1400 square foot building close to the Fort Myers Court House. So they took a chance and signed a lease. With their personalities and ambition, they believed they would fill those empty offices soon. They both joined every organization in the area including the Lee County Bar Association, the Edison & Ford Society, the Real Estate Investment Society and even the Fort Myers Historical Society. Neither brother even knew that Thomas Edison and Henry Ford had winter homes in the area. Presidents of the United States and other major dignitaries came to Fort Myers, each winter, to visit the Edison’s and Fords. The brothers began to get to know some of the who’s who in each of those organizations. They let it be known that they were willing to do, whatever was necessary, to work their way up the organization to even become a board member. That was the best and fastest way to become known. They weren’t shy. People liked them and they were hard workers. Many of the members of the organizations began to ask them for advice on real estate and banking matters. The brothers knew just enough law, to persuade people to make appointments with them for meetings concerning their legal matters. That bit of time between setting the appointments and meeting the clients would give them time to study the necessary law to be able to answer their inquiries. The Murry Law Firm was beginning to become a true business.

In order to learn the ins and outs about practicing real estate law they determined that the best way to learn more about real estate law, as well as meet more people, was to become real estate agents. The schooling to become a real estate agent was only a two weeks course and cost only $45.00. Once they finished the school they both took the State real estate exam and passed. That was easy enough. The next step was a bit harder. They couldn’t use their real estate license unless they placed it with a real estate broker. They soon found out that almost any broker in town would let them put their real estate license with them. After all, no real estate broker had to pay their agent any money unless they sold, or listed property. Then the broker would get their cut. It wasn’t long before TJ realized he wanted to eventually become a broker, since that was where the real money was made. However, real estate agents had to have their license with a broker for at least one year before they could take the broker’s test. TJ would count the days. But who would be the best broker? Their law firm could then collect attorney fees for the legal work, for their client who purchased or sold real estate, and in addition, receive a commission on the sale of the real property. A great double dip. TJ and his brother were not too versed on the ethical issues of that scenario, but they would soon learn.

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That Friday afternoon at the Veranda, was a day that the Murry brothers will always remember. TJ and Cotton, along with their bankers, had worked out a scheme that would make all of them very rich people. TJ was the broker of the Murry Real Estate Company which had a dozen real estate agents working for him. Cotton had become a board of director and member of a Bank’s commercial loan committee of one of the largest banks in Lee County, Third National Bank. The Bank was a regional bank with its headquarter out of Orlando. Each branch had its own officers, directors and loan committee members. The brother frequently threw firm parties as well as sponsored other gatherings around town. The firm’s gatherings were well known for being over the top when it came to food, drink and companionship. Cotton used his legal influence as well as his positions at the bank to help clients and others who owned real property obtain loans for their buyers. He also helped refinance loans on their property, on favorable rates and terms. His personality, good looks and smooth talking, even got the President and several Vice Presidents of the Bank to jump on his band wagon. It was the beginning of a prosperous time for the Bank. Cotton and TJ were even enticed to purchase a fairly small minority ownership position in the bank. They made money, in some fashion, on nearly every real estate transaction and loan in the County. That was a glorious day for the Murry brothers, but also a day that the Murry brothers would somewhat regret. Their road to that wild evening, at the Veranda, was filled with pot holes that were hard to maneuver around. But with some Muizarajs luck, hard knocks and very scary moments, they persisted.

However, that evening, the Murry brothers were the talk of the town, sitting at the bar, buying drinks for people they didn’t even know. It was the beginning of a large spending spree that gave them great enjoyment. It also gave them pause on the grave consequences that got them to that evening. Cars, houses, boats, vacations, liquor and woman. How they made their money was not really known by most. Most of their business interests were never publically known, or in some cases, not even known privately by their insiders. Everyone just thought they were great lawyers. Everyone in town wanted to be their clients. By that day in 2003, about 25 years after they moved from Miami, they had 20 lawyers, 15 paralegals, 5 investigators and 25 administrative employees. If only the people who worked for them knew the real truth. How did they make so much money? Did TJ falsify his real estate transactions and real estate commissions? Did Cotton maneuverer his law clients and bank customers? There were some lawyers, CPAs, bankers and businessman who wondered. Or were TJ and Cotton just that smart and enterprising. The year 2003 was just the infancy of the real estate boom all over the Country, with Lee County being one of the epicenters of that boom. TJ and Cotton saw, and imagined, things others didn’t. The Murry law firm and the Murry Real Estate Company were on their way somewhere, and hopefully, a place that was very profitable. They didn’t quite know if their parents would have really been proud. Did their path humiliate the brothers and their heritage? Only the brothers and a few insiders really knew. But to the brothers, having the world on a string, that evening, made them feel very important.

CHAPTER 2

It was early in 1976 when the brothers left their roots in Miami and moved to Southwest Florida. They didn’t have much to move, since they owned only the bare minimum in household furniture and kitchen ware. As for office furniture, they had several desks and credenzas, four side chairs, two desk chairs and several cheap pictures. All of their diplomas from their schooling had not yet been framed. Cotton hadn’t even received his diploma from Stetson. The school said it would take several weeks, but it actually took more than two month to catch up to Cotton in Fort Myers. More important, they needed to wait until they could afford to frame them. After all they wanted them to look impressive. They hadn’t yet made much in fees in Lee County and the fees that they earned while in their Miami office was barely even enough for the move, or for the upfront deposit on their 1400 square foot office. Most of those costs went on their firm credit card. It was getting close to being maxed out. They were certain that they could increase the dollar limit once their new law firm started to generate fees. In addition, each brother had their own personal credit cards for their own use. TJ’s card had a reasonably low balance, but Cotton’s two credit cards were nearly maxed out. TJ had no idea as to how much Cotton owed. He knew Cotton enjoyed the good life and the company of woman, but TJ didn’t want to have to pay for that. TJ went out on dates, but very seldom. He just wasn’t as interested in dating, at that time in his life, as Cotton was. TJ wasn’t gay, just uninterested. He had too many other things on his mind. After all he was the big brother. Cotton had always been his responsibility.

While in Tampa, at law school, Cotton dated many women. Some where students at Stetson and others he met at bars and strip clubs. Cotton was a carouser and TJ only learned about that side of Cotton when he would drive to Tampa on his infrequent weekends to see his brother. Cotton constantly attempted to fix TJ up with woman, but TJ wasn’t really very interested. The times they did double date, it usually ended up as a disaster. Cotton wanted to stay out and drink until the bars closed. TJ liked his liquor, but just couldn’t keep up with his brother. The dates TJ did agree to, usually ended with TJ making it a short night and taking a cab back to his brother’s studio apartment. That left a very unhappy woman to finish the evening with Cotton and his date. Most of the time, TJ’s date would just also grab a cab and go home.

TJ was quit shocked at Cotton’s life. And, like a big brother, he would have long discussions with him about the money he was spending on drinking and woman and the lack of studying for his law school classes. Cotton barely had a C plus average after his first year. Those weekends in Tampa was the first time that TJ had any inkling of Cotton’s change in his way of life. After all, TJ believed that they would be law partners for the duration of their professional lives. They would each live respectable lives and be proud of each other and have people want their kids to grow up just like the Murry brothers. TJ was now questioning that premise. One night, when Cotton was finishing his first year of law school, TJ came to Cotton’s apartment and waited up for him to come home so he could have a come to Jesus talk with him. Most of the time Cotton didn’t show up until late the next morning. Then he would fall asleep and miss most of his classes that day. But this particular night he returned early.

Cotton, you and I need to have a talk about your life style. Stated TJ. I work eight to ten hours a day practicing law so I can make enough money to live my life and pay for part of your schooling and still give you some spending money to have a life. But, I want you to do well in school and not eventually have a huge debt to pay off. After all, this is the first time we haven’t lived together. But, what I see when I come to visit, is a person I don’t know. You never played this hard and spent this much when you lived in Miami. What the Hell changed? We always talked about working together as partners. I always thought that you and I believed that someday we would have a lucrative law practice. Each of us would work hard to acquire that goal. I knew you dated some in Miami, but I can never remember you like this. We use to go out once and while for the evening. I know I didn’t date as many woman as you. I have always been the one that believed that I needed to work hard, to make ends meet, do well in school and, and most important, make sure you were on the right track. Maybe I became more of a parent than a brother. You never seemed to complain or rebel. I knew you were dating in Miami. That was alright. But what’s happening here is different. How many woman are you going out with? Are some of them strippers? Do you even take out any woman that you would even consider bringing home to our mother, if she were still alive?

You sound just like Mom. Answered Cotton. Be the good boy, make something of yourself. Watch out for ‘those kind’ of women. They’ll trap you and you’ll be stuck in some low life job, have kids running all over a small apartment and be miserable. Cotton began to nearly tear up. He always felt close with his brother. Although, this time he had a few too many drinks before he got back to his apartment. You didn’t say it the same way Mom said it, but that is what you’re telling me. I just want to have some fun before I graduate and have to work for the rest of my life. I’m not going to marry any of these woman. If anyone gets too serious I always break it off. I don’t want to get some broad pregnant and mess up my life. What’s wrong with that? Let me ‘sew my wild oats’ now. Being on my own is new to me and I like it. I do enough to get by in school. After all I’m not going to be looking for some fancy legal job. You and I are still going to practice together. I just want to be myself with no one looking over my shoulder or judging me. At least for these few years. You know me. I lived with you all my life. I’ll be fine. We still have the same goals. I just want a respite from those goals for a short time in my life.

TJ was shocked and even a little embarrassed. I had no idea you felt this way. You could have said something to me. I never thought I was holding you back when we lived together.

Cotton looked straight into TJ’s eyes and said that he need to ask him a question.

Anything. You’re my brother.

Are you gay or bi-sexual or something? You just don’t seem to like to have any fun. Your life is always boring. When you come here for your little visits, I feel smothered and always being judged on everything I am doing with my life. The woman I see, the amount of drinks I have, when I come and go, the missing of classes. I’m drained by the time you leave. Can’t I just be a little over the top as long as you know it’s only for a while and my principles are no different than when I grew up with you? I’ll always be your brother and no matter what’s going on in my life, I’ll always be there when you may need me.

TJ turned around and thought for a while. Maybe he was being too harsh on Cotton. After all, everyone is different. Maybe he was trying too hard to cast Cotton into being exactly like him. Maybe he needed more of an open mind. This moment could be a turning point in their relationship. What he was going to say to his brother at this very moment could define both their lives for a long time. So TJ decided to just turn around and hug Cotton.

"Your right and I was wrong. I’m sorry. Maybe I should start to have some more fun in my life. I may have been a little too serious about everything and too concerned about our future. I seemed to have forgotten that there is a present. And no, I am not gay or bi-sexual! What in the world would make you think that? But school is different. You need to