The Art of the Con

THE ART OF THE CON: PROLOGUE AND REWARDS

The perpetrators of the con were obviously gleeful at their apparent success to win over the hearts and minds of the Villa homeowners. After all, they were all gathered together on that 20th day of July almost two years ago to hear answers to their financial questions the Villa homeowners had been so anxiously waiting for. Everything was all right, they were assured. Their money was safe, their accounts were funded, and best of all--at least for the perpetrators, the appearance of no shortfall in transition reserves to worry about, apparently thanks to the successful negotiating skills of Favil West and the efforts of reserves specialist Jack Troia. The news was welcomed. You could almost hear a big sigh of relief fill the room while nurturing those hungry Villa homeowners who were in need of reassurance and seeking needed answers to their questions. Their queries had been finally answered, they assumed, and now they could go home and tell their friends and neighbors not to worry.

But all was not as it seemed. Far from it, the con was still on and would continue until the perpetrators would find a way to work their will and finally diminish (forever, if the perpetrators have their way) the aspirations and expectations of the Villa homeowners for a proper accounting of reserves and effective accountability for those deemed responsible for their sorry plight. Stay tuned in next week for the rest of the story.

Much later, the two perpetrators of that con would eventually emerge to win an election to Sun City's Board of Directors, incredible as that may seem. That just happened based on the results of our recent board election, as you can readily see on our Today's Anthem View page. Even more incredibly, if that's possible, Unity or indifference would virtually demand that the two perpetrators of that con be rewarded again, this time with an election by their fellow board members to key positions as officers of the corporation. That will happen on Thursday, tomorrow morning, the 7th of May, in Freedom Hall at 10:00 a.m. during the Board's organizational meeting for the sole purpose of choosing new association officers.

Could it be any more sad than that? Here we have a glaring illustration of what should have been effective governance instead going awry, giving in to self-serving temptations to engaged in wrongful acts that served only to denigrate the community along with its leadership.

[to be continued]

Ron Johnson, 6 May 2009

Addendum: On 7 May, the newly elected board officers:

Roz Berman- President
Jack Troia- Vice President
Shirley Cheri- Treasurer
Roger Cooper- Secretary