Archive for March, 2010

Massive homestead exemption decision comes days after guilty verdict in separate case

Wednesday, March 31st, 2010

The Lee County Value Adjustment Board’s ruling that Barbara and Charles Parsons must pay $216,817 in back taxes for an improper homestead exemptions comes just days after a Fort Myers Beach man was found guilty by jury of homestead fraud.

David Tezak, 50, owes the county about $1,015 in back taxes and penalties for the tax year 2008. That’s far less than the Parsonses, who are far and away the most lucrative homestead exemption non-compliance case in Lee County’s history.

Where Tezak’s case differs, is a jury found him guilty of fraud March 24. The Parsonses have not been charged with fraud, only found not to be in compliant with homestead exemption rules, and therefore they must pay back the taxes with penalty.

You can check out the county’s letter to Tezak here.

David Tezak, 50

David Tezak, 50

– Ryan Lengerich

DUI trial for woman who said she was drugged at Blue Martini could be more than month away

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

The trial for a Naples woman charged with driving drunk after she said she was drugged at the Blue Martini night club in North Naples is not likely to take place for more than a month, the woman’s attorney said Tuesday.

Dana Fisher, 26, is charged with DUI causing property damage when she crashed her car into a street sign in Lee County in November. Fisher has told media outlets she had one Jack Daniels and Coke after a work shift at the Blue Martini when she blacked out and remembers nothing about the evening leading to the crash. Fisher, who lives in Naples, has told media she does not know how or why she drove to Lee County.

Fisher is among 30 people who have filed a complaint with the Collier County Sheriff’s Office claiming to be drugged at the Blue Martini. She has pled not guilty to the DUI charges.

Her attorney, Daniel Hornuka of Fort Myers said today the state has asked for a continuance in the trial, which he has agreed to. He expects a trial will take place more than a month from now.

The Collier Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate the complaints.

– Ryan Lengerich

Dana Fisher, 26

Dana Fisher, 26

Cell phone use impedes driving for all but a few

Monday, March 29th, 2010

A University of Utah study found that there are a few people — 2.5 percent of those studied — who can drive safely and talk on the cell phone. Most people — a whopping 97.5 percent — were not able to chat on the cell phone and drive well on the simulator test. These participants took about 20 percent longer time to brake when needed compared to how quickly they could brake when they weren’t talking on the phone.

So when you talk on the cell phone and drive, you might think you can do it safely, but the odds are you can’t.