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Just some information on one of the principles of this company... June 24, 2005 Legal Briefs (Tampa) St. Petersburg Lawyer Keeps Nearly $1 Million, Regains License Nearly 30 months after the Florida Supreme Court suspended St. Petersburg lawyer Philip Winston Dann, the justices agreed to reinstate his license. The court unanimously accepted a referees report that Dann be readmitted to the Florida Bar, according to an Oct. 18 court order. No one publicly disagreed with the recommendation by Hillsborough Chief Judge Manuel Menendez, the referee, that Dann be reinstated. Dann, 50, is a lawyer in good standing with the bar - about eight years to the month after his problems started. On June 22, 1997, Walter Vossiek, 93, died, leaving an estate, valued at $1.7 million in 2001, to Dann, his counsel. The inheritance seemed like a sure thing for Dann: Vossiek had no known relatives. But Danns former secretary, Suzanne Howard Goldstone, told bar investigators in October 1997 that Vossiek, a retired Ford Motor Co. engineer, had dementia when he made Dann his heir. A medical form showed that Vossiek suffered from dementia when he was admitted to The Laurels Rehabilitation Center in August 1992, five years prior to his death, according to court records. Goldstone painted a picture of a miser who scrimped and saved. In turn, Dann contended Goldstone was upset she hadnt inherited the money. The Pinellas-Pasco State Attorneys Office investigated the allegations against Dann. Prosecutors Robert Lewis and Scott Hopkins later said under oath that Goldstones testimony wasnt credible. It would take nearly five years for the Florida Bar investigation to wind its way through the system. In 2002, the justices cited numerous ethical breaches on Danns part and suspended him for 91 days. He was found guilty of violating five rules under the Florida Bar Rules of Conduct, including conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation. A lawyer for Vossieks 18 relatives said Dann had given about $880,000 to Vossieks cousins and paid $218,000 to their attorneys. The relatives agreed to write the bar and state attorney on Danns behalf. Even with the settlement, Dann still reaped as much as $1 million from Vossieks estate, according to testimony at the Feb. 16 hearing. Dann didnt return telephone calls for comment. - Janet Leiser [Q=ken1193] maryd347 asks / states, perhaps just rhetorically: >> Can you confirm that statistic regarding " 99.9% of upfront fee resale companies taking money for nothing?<< This question was not directed to me personally, but I'll still gladly and openly state that in my own 25+ years of timeshare ownership (multiple resorts and weeks) and experience, I have *NEVER ONCE* ever seen or heard of a confirmed sale of a timeshare by any "upfront fee" company. That's NEVER! I'll further add that this same observation has also been echoed by many other people over the years on TUG (Timeshare Users Group), a site frequented by THOUSANDS of very knowledgeable and experienced timeshare owners. The open (and still standing) challenge on TUG to any and all "upfront fee companies" to "...identify a recorded deed from a sale you've really made" has never actually been met. NEVER. Once again, I think the word NEVER speaks volumes --- loudly and clearly! The deafening silence from the "upfront fee" companies in response to this long-standing open challenge also speaks for itself... ============================================ Re: >> I'd like to find an advertising company that actually provides REAL advertising for free.<< Please allow me to help with that --- see Bidshares. I've sold two different weeks at two different resorts there just within the past year; I spent exactly NOTHING to do so. TUG also now provides free advertising for members, although I've never personally used it. Craigslist advertising is free too. That's THREE avenues of free, effective advertising that I know of right off the top of my head, without doing any research at all... ================================================= Re: >> When I pay a fee for advertising my timeshare for sale, I still know that I am selling it and using a resource. Is this site actually a help to consumers using truthful information?<< You may or may not be a "shill" for some unidentified upfront fee company; I don't know. While I certainly can't and don't speak for RedWeek, the forums here are for open, non-commercial discussion and input. You just got some of mine, very clearly and openly stated, to absorb or ignore as you may see fit...[/Q]