part 8:
He knew nothing? Documents show that Behrens knew of non-permitted construction at gay bar in September, 2007
Building Director Hans Behrens told his staff not to take any action as it was all in the hands of the city attorney,  city attorney claims Behrens never mentioned it to him; Also: police seek criminal charges against bar owner Mike Vellucci in murder of innocent video camera
-- John Patten, 04/24/08
-- jpatten@veniceflorida.com

Got a comment? Make it here.

Anderson further stated that he never requested or received any investigative materials from Behrens about Tavern on the Island, this also in direct contradiction of Behrens' memo of September 20. According to Anderson, the first time that he had heard of Tavern on the Island was earlier this year, some time after this web site's initial inquiries.

In an interview earlier this year with Code Enforcement Officer John Patek in the presence of Assistant City Manager Mary Holcombe, Patek mentioned that Behrens had requested photos and supporting docs showing construction work, this purportedly in order to comply with the city attorney's request. Patek stated he supplied the materials to Behrens the same day as requested.

Patek stated that In the subsequent months, Patek asked Behrens for direction in handling the Tavern on the Island case repeatedly, only to be told that it was still in the hands of the city attorney.

But... but... but... there is no construction being done
Since January, Behrens has repeatedly denied, both verbally and in writing, that he had any knowledge of ongoing construction work. In a January interview with this web site, Behrens stated that the tavern owner had done no work that would require a permit, that bar owner Mike Vellucci had just "painted some walls and moved some furniture around."

A narrative of that first interview was published on this web site on March 15.

Based on this web site's inquiries, City Manager Marty Black launched a preliminary investigation in late February. Black asked for written statements from four city staffers explaining their involvement in the permitting and enforcement decisions made in the Tavern on the Island case.

Dan Weigner, second-in-command to Behrens, stated in writing that extensive non-permitted construction/renovation had taken place, specifically that two adjoining store spaces in the small strip-mall had been joined into one: "The space appears to have been enlarged by perhaps incorporating the former construction company area into the nightclub space. Michael and Tammy Vellucci have worked together under separate entities to effect the desired changes. Work has been completed without the required permits and inspections, and occupancy has taken place in violation of the requirements for a Certificate of Occupancy. In addition, the illegal use of the space is non-compliant, ...thus it constitutes a significant potential danger to all who may use or occupy the space."

Behrens response, dated March 13, to Black's request was quite the opposite. Behrens claims in his response that he toured the site in November with Venice Fire Marshall Jack Stevenson. As for ongoing construction, Behrens wrote, "Even upon very close observation, I could not detect any structural work being done."

Stevenson denied touring the site with Behrens, stating that Behrens arrived just as Stevenson was leaving.

Death of a camera
On April 3, Mike Vellucci was found guilty of four code violations regarding non-permitted construction and signage ordinances, violations that Behrens allowed his staff to issue citations for after this web site had started openly digging into the story.

On Friday, April 18, Vellucci was observed by this writer doing more non-permitted renovations in the building, this time at the north end, the opposite end as the tavern. Vellucci was slapped with a stop work order, but not before stealing a video camera that belonged to Venice Florida! dot com. The vidcam, damaged with a cracked outer casing and crushed innards, was recovered from Vellucci by the Venice Police Department. It lies dead, laid out on a slab in the VPD's evidence room. According to department spokesman Tom McNulty, paperwork over that incident has been referred to the State Attorney's Office.

Later the same day, Vellucci was accused of harassing neighboring store owners in the Hamilton Square Shopping Center. Venice Police Department responded again and Vellucci was issued a trespass warning, ordering him to stay off of Hamilton Square property.

Vellucci is due in court this coming Monday, April 28, for a jury trial on a criminal charge of battery. Vellucci is accused of pushing and shoving former girlfriend Deanna Galli and shouting, "I could hit you, I could shoot you." According to a North Port police report, the incident took place in the presence of both a North Port police officer and Galli and Vellucci's pre-teen daughter.

An earlier report on this web site, one that has been pulled and taken offline, was highly critical of (and deliberately insulting to) police for not retrieving the camera from Vellucci prior to the camera being damaged. Since then, police have divulged that the first officer on the scene did make several requests to Vellucci to hand over the camera and Vellucci refused to comply. The officer waited for sufficient backup and then reportedly had to pry the camera from Vellucci's hand. This writer's profound apologies go out to the officers involved for the misunderstanding and for my subsequent misrepresentation of their actions that was caused by the misunderstanding.

Black's investigation is not an investigation
Marty Black's promised internal investigation into the allegations that Behrens deliberately lied to his own staff and thwarted them from performing their lawful duties has been stalled. Black had also promised an investigation into Fire Marshall Jack Stevenson's role. According to Black, the outside inspector that had originally been contacted has turned down the job, citing "conflict of interest." No other action has been taken.

To further complicate things, the city's information officer, Pam Johnson, had attempted to downplay the growing scandal. On April 3, the day that the Sarasota Herald-Tribune had announced that an investigation into Behrens and Stevenson was to take place, Johnson called the Herald-Trib and denied that any such investigation was ongoing or planned. The Herald-Trib thanked Johnson for her concern and quoted back to her the subject line of Black's February 26 memo: "Building Officials and Fire Marshall Investigation(s)."

Not the first time Behrens has done this
This isn't the first time Behrens has sided with a business against the city's own codes in the permitting process. Behrens' actions in this Tavern on the Island case are almost identical to the same actions Behrens took a few years back in refusing to do building and electrical inspections on Anthony Tundo's ill-famed bar, the Venice Island Pub. Venice Florida! dot com will be recounting that tale in an upcoming story.

Web site calls for Behrens to resign, city officials count tiles in the ceiling
This web site has repeatedly urged council and the city manager to suspend Behrens with pay pending a full investigation. To date, Behrens is still on the job.

At Tuesday's city council meeting, Venice Florida! dot com's Patten requested Behrens' resignation and, failing that, that council and/or the city manager immediately suspend Behrens [see video at the top of this page]. Mayor Ed Martin remained blank-faced and refused to comment, but he did ask the city manager if he would like to say a few words.

Black's one-word response:

"No."
 

John Patten is the head of Web Operations for Creative Pages, and has worked in broadcasting for over 12 years. He can also be incredibly rude at times.