This Man needs our Help!!!!!!!

[RATM99]

On Friday morning, Joseph Prudente put on a pair of shorts and his "Grandpa Gone Wild" T-shirt. He took off his wedding band and put his heart medication in a plastic Wal-Mart bag.Then his daughter drove him to jail. Grandpa had time to do.His crime? He had disobeyed a court order that he sod the lawn at his Beacon Woods home.His bail? Zero.

Prudente, 66, must stay in the Pasco County jail in Land O'Lakes until the required sod work is completed, under a September court order signed by Circuit Judge W. Lowell Bray."He's in prison for God knows how long because we can't afford to sod the lawn," said his sobbing daughter, Jennifer Lehr.Prudente has owned a home in the deed restricted community since 1998. The covenants require homeowners to keep their lawns covered with grass.

Earlier this year, the Beacon Woods Civic Association took Prudente to court after he failed to install new sod on his browning lawn, which had withered after his sprinklers broke. The association had already sent letters telling him to resod his front and back yards by certain dates.
In an interview at the jail Friday evening, Prudente said he thought he had made a good financial hardship case to the association: His adjustable rate mortgage went up an extra $600 a month. Wachovia repossessed his Toyota Scion. His daughter and her two young children, who had fallen on hard times, moved in with him and his wife, Pat.

"To me, keeping the house is more important than the grass," said Prudente, a retired registered nurse from New York. "I just ignored them."


http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/article847365.ece

This poor man was thrown in jail without bond. His crime. Not having money to get sod on his lawn. I can't believe a judge would do such a thing. People commit violent crimes all the time in this country and get bonds. This guy gets thrown in jail without a bond. What a shame and abuse of power. This is why I can't stand associations.

Here is the website to these Fascist Fucks.

http://www.bwcai.org/

Here is the Address and Telephone numbers to the Manager of the Association.

Maggi Kosuda, Manager
12440 Clocktower Pkwy.
Bayonet Point FL 34667
727-863-1267
Office Hours: M-F 9-5

Here is the Fascist email address.

manager@bwcai.org


I'm calling and sending hate mail. If anyone wants to join please do. It will be fun.

[CountryMe]

This is really sad!

I don't suggest hate mail but we can get the point across how upset we are that they would so such a thing.

We tried to sell our home but we were a bit late getting it on the market so our value went down too much to sell but my point is our home/land is unrestricted as we don't live in the city and we don't live in a development AND we have many of the same amenities that the nearby restricted communities have except for a golf course and we have more land but we don't get the same value put on our property and home as they do. I would never want to (unless I had to) live any place with all those restrictions. I mean in one place they said you could not even put what color curtains you wanted. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE LIKE TO LIVE IN THESE PLACES THAT THE HOMES ARE SO CLOSE TOGETHER YOU CAN ALMOST REACH OUT THE WINDOWS AND TOUCH YOUR NEIGHBORS! As well as all the other restrictions!!

[MoneyWhereMyMouthIs2]

Bump. If anyone has any digg clout, this would make a nice submission and do way more for the guy than RPF could.

[jabrownie]

Link wouldn't work for me, looked it up, here's a new one if needed:

http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/article847365.ece

He's up for election this year...unfortionately he's running unopposed:

http://election.dos.state.fl.us/candidate/CanDetail.asp?account=46179

[RATM99]

Bump. If anyone has any digg clout, this would make a nice submission and do way more for the guy than RPF could.

Digg it!!!!!!!

[RATM99]

I just sent a few emails to them calling them the assholes they are. I've been calling the phone # with no answer. I guess they will be in tomorrow. Someone should digg this if they can. I'm sorry but i don't know how to. I'm calling the courthouse tommorrow along with sending emails.

[ronpaulhawaii]

http://digg.com/people/Florida_man_in_jail_because_he_can_t_afford_to_sod _his_lawn

[RATM99]

http://digg.com/people/Florida_man_in_jail_because_he_can_t_afford_to_sod _his_lawn

Thanks. Good work.

[MoneyWhereMyMouthIs2]

digg it, digg it, digg it. That's screwed up.

[Eroberer]

Why not spray weedkiller on everyone's lawn in the neighborhood overnight, especially the idiots who had this rule made.

* This is only to show the absurdity of the situation. Any real call for destruction of others' properties is done in jest and to make a point. Real action should not be taken.

[RonPaulVolunteer]

OK, the penalty sure does not fit the crime, but let's remember that he had a private contract and the law has stepped in to ensure it is fulfilled.

[TastyWheat]

Me: Hi, this is <whoever>. I've been having trouble sleeping lately and I'm hoping you could recommend me one.
Maggi: I'm sorry, I think you have the wrong number.
Me: This is Maggi Kosuda, the manager of BWCA right?
Maggi: Yes.
Me: Okay, well I was wondering what sleep aid you use because it'll probably help me out too.
Maggi: I don't use a sleep aid.
Me: Really? Then how do you get to sleep knowing you put a senior citizen in jail for not sodding his lawn?

[MoneyWhereMyMouthIs2]

OK, the penalty sure does not fit the crime, but let's remember that he had a private contract and the law has stepped in to ensure it is fulfilled.

So, he agreed to jailtime if he couldn't afford to sod his yard?

If a crime occurred, the article didn't mention it. The court seems to be ordering him to do something he's unable to do. If anything, jailing someone in that case would be the crime.

[ForrestLayne]

I wonder who they will lock up if homes go into foreclosure and no one waters the lawn? The bank president??

GEEZE - what has this country come to. Sheriff's that don't evict foreclosures and others locking up people for brown grass.


ONLY IN AMERICA

[Mini-Me]

OK, the penalty sure does not fit the crime, but let's remember that he had a private contract and the law has stepped in to ensure it is fulfilled.

Failing to hold up your end of a contract results in financial compensation for the aggrieved party in the contract, not jailtime. Civil matters NEVER legitimately involve jailtime. The penalty is not just wrong by a matter of degree, it's wrong by a matter of principle.

[dr. hfn]

tell someone what to do with their lawn!?!? WTF!!!


This is too much, disgusting!!!

[afmatt]

http://www.tampabay.com/multimedia/archive/00041/passod101108a_41576c.jpeg

Okay - seriously that grass looks green to me.

[Mini-Me]

http://www.tampabay.com/multimedia/archive/00041/passod101108a_41576c.jpeg

Okay - seriously that grass looks green to me.

"Not green enough for us, bitch! Go straight to jail. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200."

[Jeremy]

Forget being able to afford it! I would "go" in jail out of principle! FREEDOM BABY

civil disobedience =)

[Jeremy]

OK, the penalty sure does not fit the crime, but let's remember that he had a private contract and the law has stepped in to ensure it is fulfilled.

Wait, where does it say he had a contract?

[trey4sports]

tell someone what to do with their lawn!?!? WTF!!!


This is too much, disgusting!!!


then he shouldn't have signed the contract........... no one held a gun to his head

[Jeremy]

well DAMN

now i dont feel as mad

but i want to be mad =)

[Mini-Me]

then he shouldn't have signed the contract........... no one held a gun to his head

Allow me to repeat myself.

Failing to hold up your end of a contract results in financial compensation for the aggrieved party in the contract, not jailtime. Civil matters NEVER legitimately involve jailtime. The penalty is not just wrong by a matter of degree, it's wrong by a matter of principle.

Now, if he was repeatedly ordered by the court to uphold his end of the contract and repeatedly refused, then he'd be in contempt of court, and that could eventually - possibly - lead to jailtime. However, I didn't get the impression that this was some kind of "final recourse" like that. Furthermore, being given absolutely no bail for the mere crime of being in contempt of court is absolutely appalling and inexcusable.

[RATM99]

I going to spend all day calling the Manager today. :D

The best we could do is make sure they don't do this again. With all the phones calls and emails. They will think twice to ever do such an injustice.

[RATM99]

There is good people in this world.......


Andy Law was eating breakfast with his girlfriend, Mary Dinan, at their Hudson home Saturday morning when she pushed the newspaper at him.

"Read this," she said.

It was a story in the St. Petersburg Times about a 66-year-old grandfather, Joseph Prudente, who was jailed without bail on Friday because his lawn was brown. For nearly a year, he ignored letters from his Beacon Woods homeowners' association and a court order because, he said, he barely had the money to pay his mortgage. He was trying to keep his house and didn't care about the lawn.

"This is not right," Law said. He was livid.

Law's own handyman business had slowed to nothing, and both he and Dinan lost money when they sold their houses to buy this, their dream home on 5 acres, which they likely will lose. Both are considering bankruptcy.

Law is a Marine and a problem solver. He is not used to feeling helpless.

But, he thought, he could fix this for Mr. Prudente.

"I'm going to do something," Law told his girlfriend.

"What can you do?" she said.

"I'm going to help," he said, and was out the door.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/article850257.ece


Bravo to this man. He is a blessing.

[RATM99]

Bump. Because it needs too.

[ClockwiseSpark]

There is good people in this world.......



http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/article850257.ece


Bravo to this man. He is a blessing.

Wow, that's awesome. :D

[RATM99]

Money Bomb for Andy Law!!!!!

[afmatt]

Glad to see this turned out for the better.
Marines - I love them.

[bkreigh]

Money Bomb for Andy Law!!!!!

+1

[jbrace]

That it awesome!

[RATM99]

The last name of the guy who helped out is "Law".

How ironic is that.

[angelatc]

OK, the penalty sure does not fit the crime, but let's remember that he had a private contract and the law has stepped in to ensure it is fulfilled.

I don't think the jails were intended to be used as tools in civil disputes.

The HOA should do the damned work and place a big lein on his property, not use taxpayer money to subsidize their Napoleonic tendencies.

[hillbilly123069]

Everybody hates bad publicity.If I lived in the area, I would picket them.