The elder Bumb may not have been feeling well, but he wasn't too sick to remember who was boss in this family. Hamilton, where Latin mass is conducted on a regular basis. Meanwhile, Jeff and his lawyers spent 15 months trying get his father to appear at a deposition. EVERY DAY THE CLUB stayed closed, the Bumbs lost more money. attorney Frank Ubhaus asked the Bumb patriarch. OK--we didn't get out--OK? Soon after his confession, the word started spreading in the family about what happened. The teenagers had been drinking booze earlier in the night. The guy doesn't get a slap on the hand." Ultimately, the charges against the older Bumb were reduced to a misdemeanor. "And when I visited you at your home I told you that other than God you are the only person I've gotten down on my knees for," Venzon says on page 7. His crimes included taking valuables from the bereaved family members of dead crime victims while pretending to console them. The court saga evolved into a battle of wills between a father--a man who wouldn't even let the Vatican tell him what to do--and his oldest son, determined to break free from the old man's grasp. George Bumb Sr.'s loan-repayment demands came in July 1996, just as his oldest son and his wife were about to move to Los Gatos and break away from the family and its eastside enclave. George Bumb Sr., an avid card player, held a regular weekly family poker game at his home. AN ATTORNEY involved likened the whole contentious affair to a divorce. "I'm a big boy." ALL TOGETHER, the intrafamily litigation has spanned nearly three years. He also runs day-to-day operations at the family-owned Flea Market. Tim and George, under pressure from then Police Chief Lou Cobarruviaz, had already signed an agreement a year earlier that prohibited Brian, Jeff and their father from having anything to do with the card room. Originally he was scheduled for questioning on March 10, 1997, but the old man's lawyers explained that their client was extremely ill, suffering from "severe life-threatening conditions," practically on his death bed. Bumb family attorney Ron Werner suggested that Jeff and his family had a hidden motive for waiting nearly a month to report the incident to police. You know the school we went to?" Unlike other partners, neither Jeff nor Brian had buyback provisions in their written agreements, an intentional omission meant to appease state gaming officials who wanted them out of the picture. It wasn't the money, either. Snow White or Cinderella? Matthew is the kind of guy a relative described to police as "polite," the guy parents wanted their daughters to date. But he didn't cash out. Bumble was first founded to challenge the antiquated rules of dating. "Could he [Jeff] do any other work on his own behalf?" The guy doesn't get a slap on the hand." Ultimately, the charges against the older Bumb were reduced to a misdemeanor. The couple even had a purchase contract for a $850,000 house on Golf Links Road. In a fit, he took the paper he was writing on, crumpled it up and threw it out the office door. "Could he [Jeff] do any other work on his own behalf?" Most of George Bumb Sr.'s five dozen grandchildren have grown up in the 95127 ZIP code and have attended the family-run K-12 Catholic school, St. Thomas More, located on Flea Market grounds since 1978. Dealers stood at the tables, ready to deal the cards. Jeff was also getting word from his nieces and nephews that his father said at a family poker game: "If it was up to him, all the grandchildren would marry each other." After learning of the incident, Jeff and wife Elizabeth did not report the matter to police immediately. "It's making a whole lot of money," Bumb says of the club which city financial forecasters have predicted will gross $34.6 million this year, $11.5 million more than its cross-town rival, Garden City. "My wife broke the code," he says, "and I supported her." Werner said no. Of the four brothers, Tim and George had faced the least resistance from state gaming officials. "They had to find Snow White and Cinderella," Tim Bumb says, "and that was George and I." In fact, Tim and George had to agree not to collaborate with other Bumbs on any new business venture. George Bumb Sr.'s loan-repayment demands came in July 1996, just as his oldest son and his wife were about to move to Los Gatos and break away from the family and its eastside enclave. Jeff entertained offers to buy the club, the highest bid, he recalls, coming in at $40 million. According to Jeff, there was tremendous pressure from his father and others in the family to keep the incest a secret. On Nov. 8, 1995, attorney Albin Danell, Elizabeth's brother-in-law, contacted the police, apparently after consulting with Elizabeth. He also disputes that such a letter was even necessary for Jeff to get licensed. Other allegations were more dubious: Investigators chased after a tip that the Bumbs were skimming cash from the Flea Market parking lot, an accusation that was never proven. For all his quirks and controlling behavior, the old man is regarded as a benefactor by most family members and some Flea Market employees who know their boss to be capable of great generosity. Tim and George, under pressure from then Police Chief Lou Cobarruviaz, had already signed an agreement a year earlier that prohibited Brian, Jeff and their father from having anything to do with the card room. When Jeff and Brian were denied licenses for Bay 101, Tim (above) and brother George Jr. jumped in. And as with any divorce, embarrassing private details about the family and its businesses made their way into the public record. ALL TOGETHER, the intrafamily litigation has spanned nearly three years. But Jeff says that privately he and his brothers had an oral agreement--which Tim Bumb now corroborates--that would one day let him repurchase his shares and become a partner in Bay 101 again. EVERY DAY THE CLUB stayed closed, the Bumbs lost more money. Don't Shoot: George Bumb Sr., the publicity-shy patriarch of the Bumb family and creator of the Flea Market, in a rare photo which appeared in California Today magazine in 1980. Eight months later, the frame of the weapon was found in a Salinas pond near Venzon's home with the barrel and slide missing. At one point in the investigation, sheriff's detectives had Jeff's daughter call Matthew while he was working at the Flea Market to confirm the sexual activities. The elder Bumb may not have been feeling well, but he wasn't too sick to remember who was boss in this family. OK--we didn't get out--OK? Or at least he thought he didn't. Matthew is the kind of guy a relative described to police as "polite," the guy parents wanted their daughters to date. Eight months later, the frame of the weapon was found in a Salinas pond near Venzon's home with the barrel and slide missing. Jeff was also getting word from his nieces and nephews that his father said at a family poker game: "If it was up to him, all the grandchildren would marry each other." During his long tenure at the Flea Market, Venzon apparently developed a close relationship with George Bumb Sr. Matthew Bumb's attorney argued that the relationship was consensual. And there were gamblers everywhere who had come looking for some action. Tim Bumb says writing a letter on Jeff's behalf would have violated the agreement with the police chief and put the club in jeopardy. Well, George, whether you want to believe it or not I do love you and you are like a father to me." The state, still busy conducting background checks, still hadn't approved the Bumbs and their partners' gaming licenses. The teenagers had been drinking booze earlier in the night. He also disputes that such a letter was even necessary for Jeff to get licensed. Preventive Medicine: George Bumb Jr. is a co-owner of Bay 101, where a snakebite kit is kept on-hand as a family joke. Realizing that, Jeff offered to pay higher card-room taxes (next year the city expects to collect $4.5 million from Bay 101) and pick up the tab for security. But he didn't cash out. She told police about at least seven other sexual encounters she had with her cousin after that. Along the way, Jeff raised the ante, hiring Frank Ubhaus, a lawyer who represented Garden City card club, Bay 101's crosstown rival. And then, just when it seemed as though family relations couldn't get any worse, they did. THINGS WERE certainly simpler back in the old days, before Bay 101, when the Bumbs were known for the Berryessa Flea Market, the family-owned business started in 1960 by 75-year-old family patriarch George Bumb Sr. "My issue with [George Bumb Sr.]," Jeff Bumb complains about his father, "was his control of where you lived, what kind of house you bought, where your children went to school, who your friends are, whether your children went to college, who they would marry, what kind of wedding they would have." AN ATTORNEY involved likened the whole contentious affair to a divorce. ON AUG. 11, 1995, Jeff sat in his Flea Market office scribbling on a piece of paper, plotting his grand return to his peach palace. Preventive Medicine: George Bumb Jr. is a co-owner of Bay 101, where a snakebite kit is kept on-hand as a family joke. But the Bumbs are hardly traditional political players. Just so everyone got the point, Jeff Bumb announced to the press that he and Brian were divesting from Bay 101, and records show he eventually sold his shares for $1.4 million. "They had to find Snow White and Cinderella," Tim Bumb says, "and that was George and I." Matthew Bumb's attorney argued that the relationship was consensual. Matthew Bumb's attorney argued that the relationship was consensual. He was also the kind of guy, police records reveal, who told his mother about the incidents "because he felt guilty." First, Jeff tried to have the Bumb & Associates partnership dissolved after accusing his family of trying to force him out without paying him a fair price. "We made it very clear to Jeff and everybody else concerned," Tim says, "that I'm not going to stick my neck on the line here. Almost four months later, on July 21, 1998, George Bumb Sr. appeared in the downtown offices of Berliner Cohen to have his deposition taken. "Could he [Jeff] do any other work on his own behalf?" Tim, the second youngest of George Bumb's four boys, was already running the family toy business, Fact Games, and Premium Pet Stores. "He took care of it." "And I told you that I loved you and you are like a father to me. The Bumbs had a plenty of experience with a cash business through the Flea Market, which they've run for almost 40 years.