RICO charges filed against Hudson Holdings

Remember these bums?

Well, former Lake Worth commissioner John Szerdi should remember them...he worked for them. Then we have Wes Blackman, former chair of the Historic Resource Preservation Board--he worked for Hudson Holdings too. We can't forget Greg Rice, Chair of our Planning & Zoning board, campaigning for it all, as well as the PAC for which he was affiliated, Friends of the Gulfstream, which had an ethics complaint filed against it in July 2013. It pulled a lot of dirty tricks back then.

On top of the above three, we have three city commissioners still in office: Scott Maxwell, Mayor Pam Triolo and Andy Amoroso who gave Hudson Holdings every little thing their heart desired like upzoning at the Gulfstream Hotel area as well as declaring an entire election null and void, won by the people on heights.

Anonymous Lake Worth Graphics Artist

Respectful Planning PAC won at the ballot just a few years ago getting 56% of the vote to keep the heights to 45 feet. Thanks to everyone who worked on this with special gratitude to Laurel Decker. Then the city attorney pulled a fast one on the people--so did the commission. They did not care about democracy, only giving developers what they wanted.

Changing Florida's Future, a PAC out of Tallahassee, sent out mailers supporting the election of Maxwell, Triolo and Amoroso that were funded by Hudson Holdings in the amount of $9,000. Hudson Holdings knew who their friends were.

The Gulfstream Hotel sits there and rots to this day. But wait a minute--we had a husband and wife team that blitzed into the city...supposed developers, Amy and Amrit Gill from St. Louis who told us that they were ready to embark on a $100 million project to renovate the historic building. The city fell for it and so did the residents. I wonder if any investors fell for it too? Where are these people?

Hudson Holdings had a lot of connections in St. Louis as well as failed projects. Was there not a red flag for the City of Lake Worth with this husband and wife team when it appeared out of nowhere from St. Louis? It really makes one wonder what really is going on. No one can continue to have two left feet.

The caveat for these "supposed" new developers to go forward with the hotel? They insisted that the residents approve a ballot measure in March 2020 that would allow property built adjacent to the hotel to match the Gulfstream’s 87-foot height. City guidelines limit building height east of Dixie Highway to 65 feet. Mailer after mailer was sent out to voters promoting this measure. Who was behind this mailer? It sounds like a Steven Michael tactic. The City knows nothing about this husband and wife team any more than they did about Hudson Holdings. Have they done one bit of due diligence?

Two years ago, south county developer Bill Milmoe and vitamin kingpin Carl DeSantis filed a RICO lawsuit against Hudson Holdings. It was settled and it was reported that CDS (the DeSantis group) now owns the property. Details of the settlement were kept secret and sealed.  But the owners are still HH GULFSTREAM LAND HOLDINGS LLC according to the Property appraiser's office.

**Now one of the original investors in the Hudson Holdings "enterprise" regarding the Gulfstream Hotel just filed suit under RICO statutes because of Steven Michael's and Avi Greenbaum's continuing individual and enterprise misconduct." The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties.

COMPLAINT

Adam Schlesinger Back in the News

Schlesinger's quest to take over the Ambassador Hotel, a Co-Op on South Ocean Boulevard, has been successful. His company, Copperline Partners, got a mortgage for $23.5 million.

Read about it...

From my blog post of May 6, 2019--

Why Adam Schlesinger is of interest to Lake Worth--Back in July 2005, Schlesinger bought the historic Gulfstream Hotel for $12,910,000 paying over double what it sold for only two years before. The hotel is 13,500 sq. ft. situated on 0.399 acres directly across from the Intracoastal Waterway and Bryant Park. It has 106 rooms in 65,456 square-feet and most rooms have a water view.

Adam Schlesinger came before a former Planning & Zoning Board on numerous occasions as well as the City Commission while Jeff Clemens was mayor. He was crying the blues that he couldn't get financing but NO one on the P&Z Board back then, (Lisa Maxwell, former candidate for District 4, Wes Blackman, former candidate for District 3 and Phil Spinelli to name a few), asked him to prove what he said--none of them even asked. They took him at his "word." They continued to give him extension after extension and allowed the Gulfstream to languish.

This is a hotel that survived the Great Depression but did not survive the financial depression we had. Asset Holding Company 5 LLC filed a foreclosure lawsuit against CSC Lake Worth Limited Partnership (Schlesinger) on August 11, 2010 in Palm Beach County Circuit Court. The lawsuit sought repayment of a $12 million loan, plus the foreclosure of the hotel property. In May 2010, it sold for $7,225,000 to HH GULFSTREAM LAND HOLDINGS LLC (Hudson Holdings--remember them?). Another suit ensued and then Carl DeSantis owned the Gulfstream Hotel.

Now some on the staff of the City of Lake Worth as well as the commission want a public/private partnership at our beach with the idea of building a hotel there. The Commission voted NOT to put the pool on the ballot so I would expect that they have bigger and greater things in mind for our beach property. This public/private partnership idea that Commissioner Robinson advocates, caused a popular mayor, Rodney Romano, to be defeated years ago.

They are also placing a height amendment on the ballot that will give the Gulfstream Hotel and that entire block more height--a max of 87 feet. The idea of small town charm continues to erode with this administration. When the initiative passes by the voters, they can say, "See, the voters approved" and there won't be any Florida law they can use to overturn that vote like they did a few years ago when the voters told them they wanted no more than 45 feet downtown.

Adam Schlesinger's history with Lake Worth and the Gulfstream Hotel

What caught my eye in the Palm Beach Post Sunday's edition was that Adam Schlesinger was back in the news. He and his companies are involved in the Ambassador Hotel Cooperative Apartments on S. Ocean Boulevard and have just been sued by them. It is stated that he is using a lot of scare tactics pressuring people to sell their units to him.

If you recall, the Schlesinger family was highly entrenched in our city at one time regarding The Gulfstream Hotel.

Back in July 2005, Schlesinger bought the historic hotel for $12,910,000 paying over double what it sold for only two years before. The hotel is 13,500 sq. ft. situated on 0.399 acres directly across from the Intracoastal Waterway and Bryant Park. It has 106 rooms in 65,456 square-feet and most rooms have a water view.

Adam Schlesinger came before a former Planning & Zoning Board on numerous occasions as well as the City Commission while Jeff Clemens was mayor. He was crying the blues that he couldn't get financing but NO one on the P&Z Board back then, (Lisa Maxwell, former candidate for District 4, Wes Blackman, former candidate for District 3 and Phil Spinelli to name a few), asked him to prove what he said--none of them even asked. They took him at his "word." They continued to give him extension after extension and allowed the Gulfstream to languish.

This is a hotel that survived the Great Depression but did not survive the financial depression we had. Asset Holding Company 5 LLC filed a foreclosure lawsuit against CSC Lake Worth Limited Partnership (Schlesinger) on August 11, 2010 in Palm Beach County Circuit Court. The lawsuit sought repayment of a $12 million loan, plus the foreclosure of the hotel property." In May 2010, it sold for $7,225,000 to HH GULFSTREAM LAND HOLDINGS LLC (Hudson Holdings). Another suit ensued and Carl DeSantis now owns the Gulfstream Hotel. Where is Steven Michael these days?

Read about Schlesinger... in Sunday's Palm Beach Post. In the meantime, the hotel, once an icon of our city, is still in limbo all these years later.

Letter to the Editor- On the Lake Worth Commission and Hudson Holdings

Letters to the Editor
Palm Beach Post
April 10, 2018

Hudson Holdings has not earned city’s love

The silence is deafening with regard to the relationship our mayor and commissioners in Lake Worth have with Hudson Holdings and the Gulfstream Hotel properties.

How is it our mayor is so enamored with this group and keeps promoting it as a good resource for the betterment of Lake Worth? Hudson Holdings is currently being sued not only by its partners regarding the Gulfstream Hotel and properties but in 10 other lawsuits around the state.

How can our mayor and commissioners think this is good business? Mayor Pam Triolo should be sending code enforcement officers and start daily fines for not maintaining this historic property (for the past seven years). Why should the taxpayers augment the profitability of Hudson Holdings Group who year after year chose profit over ethics?

So mayor and city commissioners, time to step out of the shadows and earn those raises you gave yourselves by addressing the projects that benefit everyone, i.e.: the public pool at the beach, improve and expand city-owned land (ballfields) and other parks and take the time and effort to listen to the majority of the citizens of Lake Worth on how to make this city the envy of not only the county but the whole country.

JAMES THOMSON
 LAKE WORTH

Hudson Holdings and the Gulfstream Hotel

These are the people that the City of Lake Worth went to bat for (changing the zoning and even discarding a referendum on heights and stomping on the voters in this city). They literally were in bed with Hudson Holdings...the culprits?-Mayor Pam Triolo and commissioners Scott Maxwell and Andy Amoroso, the trio that was just voted back in for three years.. Throw in the city manager too!

"CDS Gulfstream, the company that owns 51 percent of the $65 million Gulfstream Hotel renovation project, on Tuesday sued partner HH Gulfstream, claiming company owners for years engaged in racketeering activities to lure investors into the multimillion-dollar project.

'The defendants have engaged in a pattern of fraud to induce our clients to invest in projects in Lake Worth like The Gulfstream Hotel,' said Stuart Kaplan, a managing partner at Kaplan & Parker, the Palm Beach Gardens law firm that applied the suit. We believe this is not an isolated event, and it’s a pattern of behavior that has been ongoing for some time.'”

Read about it...

Gulfstream Hotel partners suing each other

Lake Worth’s Gulfstream Hotel project snarled in partner lawsuits

Read about it...

and the two partners, CDS Gulfstream that own 51% and HH Gulfstream (Hudson Holdings) with infamous partner, Steven Michael.

It always astonishes me that Lake Worth can take a stand against its citizens (which it did in the height amendment and the lawsuit) and bend over backwards for developers every single time.

Hudson Holdings just can't get it together

Hudson Holdings, the investor/developer who bought the Gulfstream Hotel in Lake Worth in the historic district with the stated goal of renovating it to its splendor of the past, was just turned down by the Historic board in Delray for its lofty goals involving their plan to demolish some historic buildings as well as to rehabilitate and relocate others. Hudson Holdings also planned to build condominiums, stores and an underground parking garage.

This development was to be on Swinton Avenue which is south of Atlantic. Hudson Holdings offices are also on Swinton.

Lake Worth bent over backwards for Hudson Holdings and all it did was get a poke in the eye and voters mad when the Lake Worth commission of Maxwell, Triolo and Amoroso, did not honor our heights amendment vote won at the ballot box. Instead, they gave Hudson whatever it wanted and the mayor cleverly made the area a hotel district.

To this day, the Gulfstream Hotel languishes.

Delray Beach was smarter than we by rejecting Hudson for the sixth time.

Read about it...

Contin's lawsuit thrown out

Architect Juan Contin, of 826 S. Federal Highway in Lake Worth, filed a lawsuit four years ago against the City of Boynton Beach for not implementing his plan to redevelop the historic high school. The Appellate court has thrown out the suit.

The City of Boynton Beach has contracted with Jeff Hardin of Stratican to rehab the school. If you recall, about ten years ago, Straticon was involved with one of the former owners of the Gulfstream Hotel, Schlesinger, and involved in building a hotel on our beach property.

Schlesinger, the former owner of the Gulfstream Hotel before Hudson Holdings, was the one who stopped the restoration of this hotel.  He could have restored this hotel when he bought it but he delayed over and over again after P&Z and the Historic Board gave him waiver after waiver.

Read more about Contin's lawsuit...

Hudson Holdings being sued

Hudson Holdings of The Gulfstream Hotel fame, is being sued! It's no wonder they have been totally silent on the Gulfstream Hotel property. The city commissioners (Maxwell, Triolo and Amoroso) as well as the Historic Preservation Board bent over backwards to accommodate their demands...changing zoning and even overthrowing a vote of the people on heights!

"HH Louisville Starks LP, an affiliate of Delray Beach, Fla.-based Hudson Holdings LLC, has been sued by its former construction manager and a former tenant of the Starks Building. The suits allege breach of contract, withheld payments and wrongful eviction among other claims. Both lawsuits were filed earlier this year.

One of the suits was brought earlier this month by Louisville-based Wehr Constructors Inc., who was retained as the construction manager on the renovation of the building, the first part of which was built in 1912. Hudson Holdings principals Steve Michael and Andrew "Avi" Greenbaum did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday afternoon."

Read the latest

Read all about it...

Read more... Old news is still relevant.

Hudson Holdings back in the news

Hudson Holdings, our favorite "developer" from Delray Beach is still fighting a battle in that city. At least their city commission is on the side of preservation rather than succumbing to the whims of Hudson--no waivers for them--no rezoning for them--in fact, the city commission is trying to get the property on the national register.

There has been a lot of resistance to the $140 million, 9 acre project that would include building a hotel, stores and an underground parking garage.

Read about it... and Hudson Holdings, the company that has neglected The Gulfstream Hotel beyond belief even after the Lake Worth commission (Maxwell, Triolo and Amoroso) bent over backwards for them even to the point of negating the vote of the people. And Commissioner Herman Robinson was the chair of the Historical Preservation Board that ok'd all of it for Hudson Holdings.

Climate comparisons and Florida Tourism

The Post on Weather in today's paper said that January through April in Florida were the hottest months in 122 years.

In the Business section, more than likely due to marketing efforts by Florida, tourists visited in record numbers as well with 31.1 million visiting our state. Since 2010, tourism has grown by 65% in Palm Beach County. The Florida legislature cut the tourism marketing budget by $50 million against the governor's wishes.

Let's hope that Hudson Holdings really does open the Gulfstream property as a hotel one day.

Hudson Holdings and its bullshit statement

“That the public overwhelmingly voted in people who have a positive, long-term outlook for growth is telling you what the residents want. This was a very pivotal election for that city. We feel a lot more comfortable and a lot more confident.”

~ Steven Michael, Principal of Hudson holdings

This guy has had more excuses over the last several years for not proceeding. This one really takes the cake telling us it is the election that was the decision for him taking the hotel property off the selling block...the people voted in Omari Hardy and Herman Robinson who favor growth, he says. It only takes a majority on the dais to approve of anything here. The minority commissioners were never an impediment for anything relative to Hudson Holdings and The Gulfstream Hotel. They both believed in growth but believed in democracy first and foremost--the vote of the people. Hudson could have saved its campaign contributions.

Both former commissioners were advocates of the vote on the heights referendum of 45 feet in that area. This lawsuit never had anything to do with The Gulfstream Hotel and why the city continues to imply it did, is a flat out fabrication. The commissioners were so hell bent on having The Gulfstream Hotel opened for business that they made the referendum all about that and preyed on people's emotions. The vote had everything to do with the height creep that will now take place in those several blocks and spread like an octopus.

It just shows that it is near to impossible to ever fight developers, city hall and those elected officials who believe that the tax dollar is more important than quality of life and small town charm and that a developer is more important than the vote of the people.  Perhaps a ban on receiving any campaign contributions from developers, lobbyists for developers, lawyers for developers, financial institutions for developers, etc. would be appropriate.

Why anyone believes trampling on democracy--the vote--especially in a democratic held city by those who are always screaming for the rights of the people, should be a mystery to us all.

Buildings next to Gulfstream Hotel Demolition

This is what it looked like mid-morning.

All the feral cats that were taking shelter under one of the buildings have scattered throughout the neighborhood.

Hudson Holdings finally on the ball - wrecking ball

Demolitions today at The Gulfstream Hotel.

Connecting the Political Dots

Herman Robinson

Candidate District 4 Commissioner

Herman Robinson is raising money for his campaign. To date, he has received $12,622.68. But guess who some of his contributors are besides the "normal" residents who always support that side of politics?

Delray New Wave LLC: $500
Located at 10 SE 1st Avenue, Delray Beach gave a fundraiser for Pam Triolo when she was running one year ago. They are also registered at 102 N Swinton Avenue in Delray. Right down the road is Hudson Holdings at 20 S Swinton Avenue--Connect the dots.

Yesterday, while at breakfast at Clary's Corner, Herman said that he thought Hudson Holdings should sell the property and did not want to see them in LW.  If you recall, Mr. Robinson was chair of the Historic Resource Preservation Board that gave Hudson Holdings the waivers they wanted to build high and allowed a zoning change favorable to Hudson Holdings at the Gulfstream property.

Jetport II, LLC: $750
This company has the same corporate agent as Delray New Wave. JetPort is one of Sun Recyling's many companies that was acquired by Waste Management. Do you remember how Southern Waste Systems infiltrated our local elections back in 2008 and Retha Lowe was fined $2,500 for filing false reports regarding them? She got off lightly--this was a small price for her to pay for these days of honest services fraud. Sun companies have been lurking around our politics for years with campaign contributions to certain candidates that they feel are favorable to their cause.

Waste Management: $250
They were given our roll-off business for commercial and residential in August 2015 and connected to the above. Garbage is a dirty business.

Candidates say things that they believe you want to hear, not necessarily what they believe. Herman Robinson said that he thought candidates should be running on the same amount of money...an even playing field if you will.  I have always said that as I believe it would limit the special interest donations as well as corruption in our democratic process. You still have to connect these dots.

Herman's M1 Report

The Biggest Losers around

“I’m a long-term investor and we want to be part of a city that is moving forward. It’s not just about our investment. It’s important that investors follow us and I feel that Lake Worth isn’t promoting that.”

~ Steven Michael, Hudson Holdings

Read more...

Who can believe this guy?  What a nerve! He's been pulling the wool over the eyes of city commissioners and City Manager Bornstein since day one when he bought the Gulfstream Hotel with the city believing that the Gulfstream Hotel reopening would be Lake Worth's salvation.  Throw in the Historical Board too that kissed their butts by voting on the approvals of a land use change from residential to commercial. The city has bent over backwards for them by giving them every little thing their hearts desired.

The city even stomped on democracy on the heights amendment that was won at the ballot box by the people who said "no more than 45 feet." Hudson Holdings said they needed 65 feet so screw the people and the city went along. To this very day the Trio commissioners are still singing the same song. You should have seen the look on the mayor's face when Commissioner McVoy suggested that the city drop out of the lawsuit against the citizens. The "visionaries" (city commission) not once listened to the people. It didn't matter what they wanted. Even after the heights amendment was won, the mayor made that area a hotel overlay district. And this trio (Maxwell, Triolo and Amoroso) was re-elected by a landslide.  Go figure.

The place is a blighted mess and not one improvement/repair ever was done since they bought it for $7,225,000 nearly three years ago. And if that wasn't enough, Hudson was informed of the heights amendment results before all of this but pursued all the waivers anyway to build high. It cost a few citizens a lot of money in legal fees, a suit for principle--something the owners of this hotel, as well as this city, never had--both the biggest losers around.

Who are they all trying to kid?

Such a deal - Hudson Holdings

The biggest joke of 2016? Hudson Holdings. And then you can throw in 2015 and 2014.

Now they're back in the news again.

Now it seems that Steven Michael of Hudson Holdings fame and the owner of the dilapidated Gulfstream Hotel, a hotel that has been given every desirable land use designation and waiver incentive in the history of lousy politics in Lake Worth to rebuild the hotel, has offered the owner of Mother Earth a few deals.

Read about it...

Lake Worth, The General Obligation Bond and the Gulfstream Hotel

Kevin D. Thompson had an article in the Local news section of the Palm Beach Post wherein he cited several businesses that are or have moved into Lake Worth. I am curious as to how many have moved out. Now, even Callaros has their business up for sale. We had a huge slowdown in our economy that seems to be turning around.

Chris Fleming is correct when he says that the commercial real estate market is "on fire." Chris Fleming, a commercial broker with Strategic Properties, touted the General Obligation Bond in this article that is on the November 8th ballot saying that passing this will bring more investment into our city. This statement, as well as others he made, is subjective and made by someone with an interest in the bond's passage and, let's face it, selling more commercial property.

Businesses in Lake Worth, for the most part, are located either on county roads or state roads and will not be affected by the 29.72% of our residential roads that will be repaired under this $69 plus million dollar bond. All the businesses cited in this Post article lie within the county or state ownership parameters.

Mr. Thompson mentioned The Gulfstream Hotel with their purported $70 million project in limbo because of legal issues. As said a million times, renovating the existing hotel has nothing to do with this lawsuit.  It is the owner's (Hudson Holdings) excuse not to do anything and with a legal matter pending in court, they can't flip their property which must be their real business plan? People keep falling for the hotel owner's line, over and over again and the city has bent over backwards to give them waiver after waiver. They still do nothing.

It's not the Lawsuit holding up the Gulfstream Hotel

I doubt if there is one person in this city that would not like to see the Gulfstream Hotel renovated, rebuilt and opened. It has been way too long that this historic structure has been allowed to go to blight and decay by the past two owners. The hotel must be a special exception as it is not even being coded.

Through the years, we had these owners appeal to the city to get every waiver imaginable that they said they just had to have in order to make their business plan work. They brought in their design architects and their lawyers. It has all been a heavy duty body blow. Hudson Holdings even has a former commissioner working on its behalf as well as a local blogger who was the former chair of the Historic Resource Preservation Board. The company gave to majority commissioner campaigns.

The attitude was hell with the city and its Charter. The hell with the zoning--that can be changed with a 3 to 2 vote. And hell to the people. The city's Historic Board and the city commission listened to them, desperate for a promise that may never be fulfilled until such time the owners, Hudson Holdings, can suck the blood to the very last drop.

Then the city, along with three commissioners, dishonored the will of the people on the Heights Charter Amendment. They ignored the vote all for the developer and his promise to open this hotel and his need to do what he wanted even though he could have built a four story on the vacant land.

Then all of this catering to an investor/flipper/developer paid off in a lawsuit filed by three residents looking out for rights--your rights--my rights.

Hudson Holdings, if it was serious, could have demolished those out buildings eons ago. They could have started to renovate the hotel as promised when they first arrived on the scene. But then they saw $$$ in their eyes and knew how to jerk around elected officials. They haven't renovated the hotel--none of this has happened. Why? Well it's not the lawsuit.

On Tuesday night, our city attorney, Glen Torcivia, brought up the lawsuit stating that the Plaintiffs filed their appeal which means it goes to the 4th District Court of Appeals. That's a beginning of a process. Generally, a brief would be filed about two months. There will be a response filed by the city. Usually, 30 days after that, another response will be filed. So, you're looking at 4 to 6 months before you get a ruling, said Glen.

At 1:31:26 into the meeting Commissioners Amoroso asks,
"Is it true that in our Ordinance or somewhere that they [Hudson Holdings] can not move forward [with renovations, development etc.] as long as there is a lawsuit pending?"

Glen Torcivia: "No, No. They're free to move forward but from their perspective, there's a risk...There are plenty of cases that do move forward."

I love Thursdays!

Comment Up

I love Thursdays.  Why?  I get my Lake Worth Herald delivered and there is always, without a doubt, something that totally ticks me off that is either untrue or missing facts.

Today it is the recent ruling in the Appellate Court on the citizen lawsuit on the Charter Amendment. The article states:  A referendum put to the voters of Lake Worth regarding building heights was narrowly defeated in March 2013.  The city commission certified the results of the election that the PAC won by 55.86% that were never moved forward to Tallahassee by the City Clerk. That margin of win is not insignificant nor should it be described as "narrow." Politico has defined a landslide election as being at least winning by 10 percentage points.

The editor also states that the citizen's effort "would have resulted in thwarting the revitalization of the Gulfstream Hotel."  The truth of the matter is--NOTHING in the Charter Amendment EVER thwarted the renovation of the existing hotel.  And the owner, Hudson Holdings, could have built to 45 feet on the vacant property.

The Hotel District was designated AFTER the Charter Amendment.  HB 537 was signed by the governor three months AFTER the election.  And this law reverted back to 2011.

I still believe the people's argument was correct. And all you little political activists who were in the photo in front of the hotel cheering on Hudson Holdings and the City, some of whom actually work for Hudson Holdings, tell the owner to clean up his mess. Let's now see some results.