Michael Lafferty Gives Hotel Back To Richard
Seibel
LABELLE, FL. -- In order to avoid a court foreclosure against the Port
LaBelle Inn, Port LaBelle Resorts, LLC owned by Michael John Lafferty, gave a
deed for the hotel property and adjoining land back to Richard and Mary "Dottie"
Seibel operating as J & D Of LaBelle, LLP.
The deed filed August 20 in Hendry County was a "Deed In Lieu Of
Foreclosure" meaning Lafferty was presumably delinquent in mortgage payments to
Siebel, and to avoid a foreclosure fight in court, gave Seibel a deed to avoid
the courts.
Lafferty Development, LLC., a new company operated by Michael John Lafferty
of Naples and Arizona took over the Port LaBelle Inn December 1, 2005 from
Richard and Mary "Dottie" Seibel with hopes to expand the 50-room operation
which sits on 5.4 acres along State Road 80 east of the city of LaBelle, and
sell off the adjoining land to developers for high density development.
The purchase included acreage zoned agricultural/leisure that was
formerly part of the Port LaBelle Oxbow golf course. Surrounding
property owners are now attempting to rezone the former golf course to
allow high density development including condos, offices, and
apartments. The land is listed in the 1999 Hendry Comprehensive Land
Plan as a Regional Park, but the county's planning director says since
the splitting up of the land among new owners, the county is now out of
compliance with the county's land use regulations filed with the
state's Department of Community Affairs. A regional park is designated
for use by several counties. S.O.A.R, a citizens group trying to keep
the recreational use designation, says the buyers purchased the land
while it was designated for recreation as a regional park, and want to
keep it that way to meet requirements set by Florida's Department of
Community Affairs.
Lafferty bought the property under various partnership
arrangements including Port LaBelle Resorts, LLC and MJL Main
Properties, an Arizona company. Lafferty also created Fl East 31, LLC,
another limited liability corporation the same day in November 2005 as
Lafferty Development, and formed No Paltalones W Division, LLC with Ft.
Myers partner Samir Cabrera in October, 2005. Cabrera is a Ft. Myers
real estate agent who has listed the property for sale with no success
for the last several years. Cabrera's name has been removed from the
for sale signs in the last several days. The oversized signs are
located around the former golf course surrounding the hotel.
The December 2005 $4 million hotel and land deal included a $3
million mortgage back to the Seibel's partnership, J and D of LaBelle
LPC along with a 34-page security agreement covering collateral
pledged, including the hotel's furnishings. The mortgage would have
been the subject of a foreclosure suit if Lafferty fell behind in
payments. Lafferty has another interest only payment, but balloon
mortgage with a payment of over a million dollars due in November on
another parcel adjoining the hotel.
Hotel and Restaurant Poorly Run, But Now Cleaned
Up
The motel property and restaurant have been the subject of
numerous state health and safety citations and violations that were
ignored by Lafferty and his managers through many state inspections.
Customer complaints ranged from poor maintenance to no night clerk on
site after 10 p.m. The restaurant had numerous health and safety
violations that were also ignored by restaurant managers, including
having no restaurant license, and no certified food manager or staff
food handling training.
New motel owner Seibel has been cleaning up the property including
mowing the three-foot high weeds that had overgrown the property in
recent years, and making sure state hotel safety and health standards
are being kept. Siebel is now attempting to rent the motel rooms by the
month as well as for nightly stays to up the motel's income stream.
Since there was little to attract overnight stays to the Port LaBelle
motel -- no golf course, deteriorated tennis courts and unkempt
grounds, the previous owner had catered to clientel including
motorcycle clubs, tractor-trailer drivers, and construction workers,
with pickup trucks the usual vehicle found in the mostly vacant parking
lot.
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Clewiston Fight Leaves One Dead
Guadalupe Gonzales Arrested On Murder ChargesCLEWISTON, FL. -- The Clewiston Police Department and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement announce the arrest of Guadalupe Gonzales, 51, of Clewiston, Fla. for the murdering one man and critically injuring the man's brother. Gonzales is charged with one count of second-degree murder and one count of attempted felony murder.
Wednesday night the Clewiston Police Department responded to a fight at the Everglades Mobile Home Park in Clewiston. When police arrived on the scene, witnesses told them two men had been shot and the victims had been taken to a local hospital by friends. Officers located the first victim, Jorge Rico, 21, deceased at the Hendry Regional Hospital. The second victim, Juan Rico, 22, was flown to Lee Memorial Hospital in Lee County.
According to witness statements, a fight began between two males at the mobile home park around 7:30 p.m. A large group gathered and several other fights occurred. During the altercation Gonzales allegedly retrieved a weapon and shot both brothers. Gonzales was booked into the Hendry County Jail. The investigation is ongoing.
FDLE provided crime scene and investigative assistance to the Clewiston Police Department.
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