Article Courtesy of The News Press
By Melanie Payne
Published March 26, 2010
Homeowners in the North Fort Myers development of Timberbend are concerned about what has happened to the dues and assessments they've paid during the past two years.
And they have good reason to worry.
Their treasurer refuses to respond to homeowner requests for financial records, and the board and homeowners haven't had a meeting in more than a year. And, recently, the homeowners discovered that Teri Bridenthal, the treasurer and registered agent for the Timberbend Property Owners' Association, is a convicted felon on probation for embezzling $1.4 million from a Collier County law firm, according to the Florida Department of Corrections and newspaper accounts.
On Christmas Eve last year, when someone showed Harold Sabin, the former homeowner association president, a copy of a mug shot of Bridenthal, Sabin thought it was fake. It wasn't until he did his own research that he discovered her record.
Sabin said Bridenthal told him she didn't do anything wrong, but he told her it didn't matter.
"If she's a convicted felon, it negates our (insurance) coverage," Sabin said, and she shouldn't be on the board.
Sabin said the issue was compounded when Bridenthal canceled the homeowner's association meeting in January "on advice of counsel" and refused repeated requests to provide copies of the financial records of the association.
The last financial statement was dated April 2007 and came from the management company, Sabin said.
Lawrence Snyder, Sabin's successor on the board, said the management company's contract wasn't renewed and the board took over management of the 80-home site development.
Bridenthal was the secretary/treasurer at the time.
In early 2007, the homeowners association had more than $22,000 in reserves, Sabin said. Association members have since paid about $60,000 in fees and assessments.
The current reserve account, according to a newsletter that Bridenthal sent out recently, was $100. Cash-on-hand was less than $4,800.
"I'm not saying anyone took it," Sabin said. "I'm saying we need to see where it went."
Homeowners can legally compel Bridenthal to turn over the books but will need to hire an attorney if she won't cooperate.
If a majority of homeowners want to recall the officers, they can also do that. And if Bridenthal still refuses to turn over the books, they can ask for arbitration through the state's Department of Professional Regulation, a process that takes on average 63 days.
Meanwhile, the homeowners also received notice of increased association dues for 2010, but some homeowners refuse to pay the $150 dues.
"I'm not paying her any more money until this is resolved," said Lois Fratino, a 10-year resident of the community.
Bridenthal did not return my calls. Neither did association president Donald Robinson.
When Bridenthal was found guilty of embezzlement in 2002, her name was Teri Kim Warren. She was initially sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to pay almost $160,000 restitution to the lawyer she was working for when she took the money.
Bridenthal violated her probation by not making restitution payments and her probation term was extended until 2034, court records show.
Vincent Capriolo has lived in Timberbend for seven years. He said he's not paying his dues for 2010 until he finds out what happened to the $650 he paid as an assessment to correct drainage in the development.
Bridenthal, he said, refuses to tell anyone what happened to the money or if the drainage and erosion problem has been fixed.
I can clear up some of the mystery on this, but I don't think the homeowners are going to like it.
The money they paid apparently did not go to CSA Landclearing, the company hired to fix the drainage issue. According to Lee County Clerk of Court records, CSA put a $26,000 contractor's lien on Timberbend's common property and is suing to foreclose.
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