More Attention To MO-Bail

Well I am a little late in returning and I do apologize for that. But here is the follow up on the previous post I made. Here you are going to read about a cast of characters that will rival the Keystone Cops in incompetence.


First let's recap, real quick. I called attention to the denial of Paul Berry's license over a failure to update his address information, which the statute sets a prescribed punishment at a $10.00 fine per month for each month that his address is not updated. I also called attention to the hint that was found in Paul's A.H.C. Ruling that this punishment might be just a little "draconian".


I also left you with proof of another person being granted a license by the Missouri department of Insurance, by displaying the picture below on my previous post:

I then asked you to conduct a CaseNet search for Marilyn Tufts-Nole's criminal history. Here it is below:

I then asked you to look up Paul Berry's criminal history and compare it to Marilyn Tufts-Nole's. Below is Paul Berry's criminal history:

Now if you will look closer, and research the case entries on Marilyn Tufts-Nole's criminal history you will see 3 Peace Disturbances First Offense convictions (all 3 separate case numbers and separate cases, now how are all 3 separate cases First Offenses?) and one Domestic Violence conviction, and 2 pending felonies, 1 for Manufacturing and Distribution of Controlled Substances, and 1 for Possession of a Controlled Substance. Upon further research of these cases you will find this entry in CaseNet on Marilyn Tufts-Nole's Possession Charge, Case Number:11BA-CR02278 on 07/05/2011: 

Warrant Issd Failure to Appear
Document ID: 11-BAFTA-1204, for TUFTS, MARILYN LYDIA. ,
Bond Amount: 4,750.00, Bond Text:
STATE BY JOHNSON. DEFT APPEARS NOT.
CAPIAS ISSUED AND BOND SET $4,750.00.
BOND FORFEITURE ORDERED WITH HEARING ON FINAL JUDGMENT SET FOR 08-12-11 AT 1:30 P.M. IN DIV 5. LB/DIV 5 (CMM)

Okay now compare Paul Berry's criminal record here. Paul has NO convictions and 2 Pending Misdemeanor Traffic Violations, 1 for Driving on a Revoked License, and 1 For Driving an Uninsured Vehicle belonging to Another Person. No Failures To Appear, and no criminal history prior to these two pending charges.


Does it seem fair to you that Marilyn Tufts-Nole should be granted a Bail Bonding Agent's License and Paul Berry should not, so far? Does something seem just a little "off kilter" to you here, thus far? I mean, you do understand that Marilyn Tufts-Nole is legally allowed to apprehend people miss their court dates on the bonds she writes, and she can't even show up to her own court dates, right?


Now let me give you some more of the "back story". First of all, Marilyn Tufts-Nole started out writing bail for Josh Dennison, who for some reason terminated her employment. now Josh seems scared to death to make any statements about Marilyn at all; one can only wonder? I wonder what Marilyn has on Josh? Josh is married, perhaps Josh is afraid that Marilyn might claim that something inappropriate happened between them? It does not make that much difference, because Josh has his own set of troubles and they derive from the fact that he just is not the "brightest bulb in the closet", but that is not his fault. You can get a glimpse of Josh's current problems below:

While Marilyn Tufts-Nole was writing bail for Josh Dennison, Tina Bozarth was complaining that Marilyn Tufts-Nole should not be licensed because of her history and because Marilyn Tufts-Nole is not of good moral character, and Tina was very upset that Josh hired Marilyn Tufts-Nole. And guess who Marilyn Tufts-Nole is writing for now? That is right, Tina Bozarth. But Tina is a "Dipstick", so I guess some of you can give her a pass on not being able to make her mind up about whether or not Marilyn Tufts-Nole should be allowed to have a bonding license. I means ignorance and stupidity should not be held against a person too much, right? 


Now at this time, surely some of you have to be wondering just who would license this all star cast of incompetent dilettantes, right? Enter Les Hogue!


Les Hogue is an Investigator with the Missouri Department of Insurance, and he has some influence over who is licensed and who is not licensed as a Bail Agent in Missouri. Les Hogue is at least partially responsible for the denial of Paul Berry's license. And Les Hogue is at least partially responsible for the granting of Marilyn Tufts-Nole's license. Below are some links to articles that mention Les Hogue's name that you can read a little about him in:


No crimes found in St. Louis bonds probe


No crimes found in city bonds probe But state auditor's report due today contains some harsh criticism


Now I can tell you that I have had a few dealing with Les Hogue myself, and in my personal opinion this is not an honorable man.he is a "low down, dirty, snake in the grass" and most General Agents and Bail Bonding Agents in Missouri will agree wit me on that. We will explore a lot more about Les Hogue in the next few days. I have a lot of material that I need to fact check before I can give you a full picture of just what kind of person the Missouri Department of Insurance has employed to grant and deny bail bonding licenses. 


For now, I want you to understand what the Missouri Department of Insurance has done. The Missouri Department of Insurance has granted a license to a person that has a criminal record that would prohibit her from owning a firearm, but yet the Missouri Department of insurance has given her the authority to get people out of jail, legally apprehend and arrest people that don't go to court, and to stand up in court and ask for continuances on bonds where people have failed to appear; and this lady can't even appear for her own court dates.. And the Missouri Department of Insurance has denied a license and also a livelihood to a man with no criminal record, 2  pending, simple misdemeanor charges, and no failures to appear on these charges, who is an experienced Bail Bonds Agent with no substantiated complaints against him. The citizens of Missouri should be outraged over this type of government incompetence. try to understand that this lady Marilyn Tufts-Nole could show up at your house looking for one of the people that did not go to court for her, demanding to search your house, accusing you of harboring a fugitive. Are you really sure that you want her licensed to do something like that, given her history? 


Ricky B. Gurley.

Time To Give Some Atention To MO-Bail!

Well, as anyone can see by looking at this blog, I have not given it much attention. That is about to change.....

Let me tell the reader little about myself first of all. My name is Ricky Gurley, and I have been a Recovery Agent (read carefully Leslie Hogue). I occasionally consult to Bail Bonding Companies when these bonding companies when they are in need of an expert in "Risk Management Matters" that the average Recovery Agent is not equipped to handle. I am called in when matters go well beyond what a Recovery Agent can handle for a Bail Bonds Company. Most of what I do is never read about or seen in the media. I don't chase fugitives for $500.00, nor am I interested in action, adventure, and/or excitement. Often times what I do does not even require me to leave my home. It is not glamorous, nor is it fun. But it does pay well and that is why I do it. A small example (certain details omitted), four years ago a married couple skipped out on on a Bail Bondsman and went to Mexico on a bond that would have put the Bail Bondsman out of business if he would have had to pay it. They were thought to be "unfindable". Their Bail Bondsman asked a very well known, and highly respected Professional Recovery Agent if he could find them (this Recovery Agent is now deceased). After a few months, this Recovery Agent could not put a location on them, but did have some information that they had left the country. He referred the Bail Bondsman to me and told the Bail Bondsman this: "I know a man that can find them, and if he can't then nobody can; but he is not cheap". The Bondsman called me and we talked for a while. I took my notes, and gave the Bail Bondsman a quote. It took the Bail Bondsman 3 days to get the money together to pay me, but he did. In 48 hours I had the exact address of the couple in Mexico. In 30 days I had pictures of the couple sitting at the table in their new home in Mexico. In 1 year the couple were sitting in a jail in Los Angeles, California after having been extradited from Mexico. In 1 year and 3 months they were back in the jail that they had been bonded out of. The Bail Bondsman did not have to pay one dime to the courts, and my reports got him all of the continuances he needed to get them back in the jail they were bonded out of. And..... I never had to leave my home to get this done; other than to go to the bank.... That is what I do. You did not read about this in the Newspaper, or if you did you never knew that I was behind this. You never heard my name on television or radio about this; because in this world publicity can kill....

I have recovered fugitives out of 43 states in the USA, and 4 countries in the world. Often times I have recovered fugitives with phone calls, I have made a good percentage of them turn their-selves in just by talking to them on the phone. I once made a fugitive drive up from San Padre Island, Texas to Columbia, Missouri to turn himself in just by talking to him on the phone. Negotiation is a skill, and if you are using it as a tool to protect a half a million dollars of your client's money and earn a living, you'd better know it well.

I have a lot to say about Bail Bonding in Missouri, since it seems to be one of the most unfairly managed, poorly organized, and corrupt businesses that I have ever seen.

First, I want to talk a little about a friend of mine that is having a terrible time getting his Bail Bonding License. I want to try to put his case in perspective by showing how easily a person got their bonding license that did not deserve them, and is not of moral character to have them and how my friend can't gt his Bail Bonding License and he has demonstrated that he is deserving of them.

Paul Berry is just a businessman, a family man, and a real "go-getter" in the Bail Bonds Business. There is nothing "bad" about Paul Berry, other than the fact that if he is licensed to write bail and working in your city you'd better step up your game and hustle, or he will be taking your business because he does "bring in the paper". Paul Berry was licensed as a Bail Bonds Agent for a few years, and he was a pretty good Bail Bonds Agent by various accounts. He did incur a few complaints, but none of these complaints were ever substantiated. More than likely these complaints derived from bad Bail Bondsmen that did not like seeing a good Bail Bondsman take their business. On September 10, 2010, the Director issued an order refusing to issue a bail bond agent license to Berry, and Paul has had to fight and pay attorneys to fight for him and he still does not have a license to write bail in Missouri. The only substantiated complaint against Paul Berry was that he did not submit a change of address form when he moved, which the statues only set a prescribed punishment at a fine of $10.00 a month for each month that the address of the bail bondsman is not up to date. Here is where you can find the ruling from the AHC: Paul Berry AHC Ruling

Look at the very first ruling at the top of the page and you will see this:

Case No.:   #10-1931 DI
Title:  Paul Lawrence Berry III vs. Director of Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions and Professional Registration
Description:  
Suffix:  DI Department of Insurance
Date:  8/01/2011

 Just download the link at the top or just click the link right here:  #10-1931 DI. Read the ruling and pay particular attention to the last part of the ruling:

            Berry says that Regulation 20 CSR 700-6.170(3) limits the Director’s authority in punishing violations of 20 CSR 700-6.170(1), because it provides that failure to timely inform the Director of changes of address may result in a forfeiture of up to $10 a month.  We agree that the provision, if read in isolation, might seem to limit the range of sanction for this offense to a forfeiture of up to $10 a month.

            But the provision cannot be read in isolation.  The statutory basis for this proceeding is § 374.750, which states the grounds for refusal to renew Berry’s license.  One of those grounds is set out in § 374.755.1(6) – “violation of any . . . department of insurance, financial institutions and professional registration rules and regulations.”  20 CSR 700-6.170(1) is a regulation of the Department, and Berry violated it.  “When there is a direct conflict or inconsistency between a statute and a regulation, the statute which represents the true legislative intent must necessarily prevail.”[1]

            But we also perceive that the lesser sanction imposed by 20 CSR 700-6.170(3) must, at some point, have reflected the Department’s policy that failure to keep one’s address updated with the Department was a lesser offense than, say, fraud,[2] bribery,[3] misappropriation of funds,[4] or the commission of a felony or a crime of moral turpitude[5]—as common sense dictates it must be.  Compared to these other grounds for discipline, failure to notify the Department of one’s change of address while couch surfing[6] and living in hotels, in order to keep one’s children (including a special needs child) in their school district, fails to qualify as grounds for draconian punishment.  We acknowledge that there were adverse consequences, at the time, to the miscommunication between the parties regarding the consumer complaints leveled against Berry.  But considering that, since at least October 30, 2010, the Director has known where to reach Berry for purposes of investigating the two consumer complaints that precipitated this action.  We cannot see, and the Director has not shown, any prejudice still existing as a result of failure to communicate during the period September 2009-February 2010.

            Thus, the case comes back to the discretion vested in the Director by § 374.051.1.  Where there is discretion to be exercised, it follows that there are factual considerations to be taken into account.[7]  Also, discretion does not mean caprice.  A discretion measured by a capriciously elastic yardstick presents a false measure of equitable right.[8]  Berry impressed as a credible witness who had a stretch of bad luck and who is trying to get his life back on track.  We trust that the Director’s discretion will be exercised commensurate with the facts we have found and the conclusions of law we have reached.

---

Notice the high-lit terms in the paragraph above. Seems to me that the Commissioner in this case is giving the Director of The Department of Insurance some awfully powerful hints as to what would be reasonable here, and denying Paul Berry an opportunity to pursue his livelihood is NOT it.

Tomorrow I will contrast a Licensed Bail Agent here in Missouri against Paul Berry's case, and I think that you will find this contrast very interesting and even complaint worthy. For now, here is the information on the person we will be discussing tomorrow:

For now, just do a CaseNet search on Marilyn Lydia Tufts (her maiden name prior to marrying Arlie Nole Jr.). Do a CaseNet search on Marilyn Lydia Tufts and Paul Lawrence Berry and make a comparison of criminal convictions and charges between them.

I think you will find tomorrow night's post even more interesting than tonight's post.


Ricky B. Gurley

Colorado Bail Bill SB11-186 Part (1)

Now just for starters, so that everyone reading these articles will know; I am a big believer in open debate (except when I am giving a well deserving moron a good tongue lashing on one of my blogs). You can post comments here and give contrary opinions if you wish. I don't censor people because they don't agree with me like some people do. The fact is however; few people want to argue with someone like me; someone that is just stating facts. I encourage open debate on this topic!

I want to take the time to write a series of articles concerning a bill that is working it's way into legislation in Colorado. The bill seeks to institute an alternative bail program in the state of Colorado through the local courts in Colorado.

I want to start with explaining why these types of bills are cropping up in various states. I think the first place to start here is with the Commercial Bail Industry.

First of all, one has to understand that the Commercial Bail System is not what the Bail Bondsmen that are getting rich off of it would have the public believe. These Bail Bondsmen are certainly up in arms over this bill; because it will have an effect on the material that they are used to lining their pockets with and make no mistake that material is MONEY!

The Commercial Bail System is wrought with corruption; most of which is never seen by the general public. Bail Bondsmen have been getting absolutely RICH from the Commercial Bail System for a very long time now. They prey on the desperate misery of others; and if that is not bad enough then consider that they often enough prey on these people's families too. Now understand that I am not saying all Bail Bondsmen are bad people. Some are great people that play by the rules and are nothing less than professionals. Names like Tom Peak, Richard Cloud, David Beasley, and Carlyle Poindexter come to mind when I speak of the True Bonding Professionals in this business. But the sad fact is that this type of Bail Bondsman is greatly outnumbered by greedy, limelight seeking, self-serving, egotistical con men who care for nobody but theirselves. And you will read about their brand of bonding now....

One of the first arguments that the Bail Bondsmen in the Commercial Bail System likes to make is how these states that are instituting these alternative bail programs have incurred a high debt as a result of these programs. Have any of you ever wondered how many Bail Bondsman get out of the Bail Bonding Business with literally hundreds of thousands of forfeiture debt that they are contractually obligated to pay the state; and leave the state holding that bag of bad debt? Let me put it like this; A LOT! The Commercial Bail System has racked up just as much or more in debt to various states than any alternative bail system has. When a Bail Bondsman is licensed and allowed to enter into the Bail Bonding Business, he or she contractually obligates theirself to the state to either produce each defendant that he or she bails out of jail in court to be held accountable for the crimes the defendant is accused of or to pay the full amount of the defendant's bond to the state. It is actually quite easy for a Bail Bondsman to rack up over $250,000.00 in forfeited bonds and then get out of the business and leave the state holding the bag on that debt; while the Bail Bondsman has actually profited from that debt. And it happens all of the time. This is money that could be used by the state to better enhance it's citizen's lives with better roads, better schools, better public services.

Another "first argument" that Bail Bondsmen like to use is that these Alternative Bail Systems make the state that is trying to institute them a haven for criminals and fugitives. The Bail Bondsman working in the Commercial Bail Bonding Profession will tell you that they get their fugitives in off of the street at no cost to the taxpayer; and they'll tell you how effective they are at it. There is some truth in this; but their is also a very ugly truth in this too...  Here are the facts. Bail Bondsmen and their Recovery Agents have their "misses" too. And if you combine all of those "misses" that the Bail Bondsmen and their Recovery Agents have you will find that the success rate for recovering fugitives between Law Enforcement and Bail Bondsmen is just about even. But their is one exception. Law Enforcement Officers are trained to understand what a defendant's rights are, how to treat a defendant while he or she is in custody, how to minimize risk to innocent bystanders in critical incident situations, and what they can and can not legally do while attempting to apprehend a fugitive. Have you seen what kind of people are out there conducting Fugitive Recovery in the private sector? It is absolutely terrifying, "wannabe Rambo's" and thugs that are worse than the thugs they are chasing! Are you sure you want the Commercial Bail Industry to go unchecked so that when one of your family members misses a court date on a Bail Bondsman you have a psychopath knocking on your door, fully ready to violate all of your rights in the name of making a fugitive recovery? That is what is happening in the Commercial Bail Industry right now! This is certainly a public safety issue! Even if the Bail Bondsman are getting their fugitives off of the streets without any cost to the tax payer; to what end?

How many people actually believe that after a Bail Bondsman is in the Bail Bonding Profession over a year that he or she in all cases stays financially solvent to write bail? I got news for you! Most Bail Bondsman do not maintain their financial solvency to post bonds as they are required to by the state.The fact is that the Clerks of Court do not have the time to audit on Bail Bondsman a month, much less keep all of the Bail Bondsmen in their county in compliance with the financial solvency requirements set forth by the state. Thats right, each time a Bail Bondsman writes a bond that he or she should not be writing because they don't meet the financial solvency requirements to write that bond, the state risks losing revenue that would have otherwise went to provide better services for us. Here is an example of the lengths that Bail Bondsman will go to in order to try to pass the audits when they are conducted: Austin Bail Bonding Company Fined $1.2 Million!

And you should see the financial abuses that most Bail Bondsmen get away with. Here is a good example. Often times if a defendant is under a fairly high bond such as a $50,000.00 or more the Bail Bondsman will require a co-signer and some type of collateral to secure the bond. Often times people with relatives in jail will use their home as collateral. Almost always the Bail Bondsman does not even look at this as collateral to secure the bond, they look at it as property to try to take from the co-signer. So, the family of the defendant co-signs on a $50,000.00 bond and secures the bond with a $250,000.00 home. Well the Bail Bondsman now HOPES the defendant will try to run on their bond; because the first thing the Bail Bondsman is going to do is move to try to take the house with the paperwork that the co-signer signed. And guess what? If the Bondsman take the house and sells it for $200,000.00 that Bail Bondsman is going to try to keep 100% of the money, when the Bail Bondsman is supposed to be giving the co-signer the remaining balance after the bond is paid and all of the expenses the Bail Bondsman incurred in the process of having to take the home is paid. And this means REASONABLE expenses; NOT "$600.00 a day for a month for investigative expenses for trying to find the defendant". And I have actually seen this happen! These practices have a far greater impact on society than what you might think.

Without going into and great detail about all of the other "dirty little secrets" that Bail Bondsmen in the Commercial Bail Industry don't want you to know about like how some Bondsmen trade writing bonds for sex and drugs, or other Bail Bondsman pay off public officials like Jailers to send them bonds, or how other Bail Bondsmen use some of their clients that have a history of theft to steal merchandise for them; I think it is fair to say that the Commercial Bail Industry has bought a lot of these types of bills and regulations on itself! Perhaps the state should have a shot at offering the defendant and his or her's family an alternative to the types of treatment that I just laid out in this article?