Picture an ink-drawn political cartoon where a pleading-eyed man rapaciously shovels piles of “taxpayer dollars” into a blazing furnace. The furnace has a fresh sign labeled “Taxpayer Mandate,” which lies above an older sign, scratched away and barely legible that reads “Personal Vendetta.”
Now picture Mayor Scott Morgan and his personal quest against Christopher O’Hare and my father, Martin O’Boyle; now think of your tax dollars.
This is the present picture for the taxpayers of Gulf Stream, but it does not have to be the future if they tell town officials to “knock it off” and focus on peace.
It is a new year and 2016 should be the year that the town returns to normalcy. The legal battles that have been the harbinger of new taxes (both overt and hidden in water fees) and general unpleasantries can end if the town, O’Hare, and Martin O’Boyle sit down and make peace.
O’Boyle and O’Hare have long preached negotiation; officials insist on conflagration. If the taxpayers want a change, they must demand it. Otherwise, the town’s approach will consume all coffers. Morgan’s promise that the town will get its money back from O’Hare and O’Boyle rings hollow — abject fantasy.
The town has lost the RICO suit at a cost of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of dollars. The town lost its identical action in state court and at a much higher cost than the RICO suit (look it up). The town has spent countless dollars trying to prove that I engaged in the unauthorized practice of law. That misadventure ended when I was sworn into the Florida Bar in September 2015.
I fear that the taxpayers have been deprived of such critical information, including the fact that the town once cut attorney Gerald Richman a $50,000 check without receiving any itemized bills. The taxpayers have been swindled; every dollar the town now spends litigating is forever wasted.
For those of you who don’t know me, I was born in Gulf Stream and attended Gulf Stream School from the age of 3 until the day I departed for Culver Military Academy. I attended with Lisa Orthwein and Ashley Morgan, had playdates with Berkley Sweetapple, and was welcomed into the homes of those who now call me the “scourge of the state.”
The taxpayers ought to know of these deep and intertwined connections because it explains the emotional and irrational behavior of the town’s spending habits.
No one discussed conflicts of interest when Morgan put his personal lawyer, Robert Sweetapple, on the town’s payroll or how the town allows Sweetapple to profiteer from personal lawsuits with taxpayer dollars (request his bills).
But there is hope. The taxpayers have to urge their commissioners and/or Town Manager William Thrasher to end this travesty by sitting down with O’Hare and O’Boyle — unconditionally. The latter want this episode to end. Town officials will continue to engage in this unchecked behavior, which is destructive and abasing the town, for perpetuity. Taxpayers, resolution is reality — but the onus is on you.
Jonathan O’Boyle
Deerfield Beach
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