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ClueLess on Las Olas 2010

Death of an Auctioneer
ClueLess on Las Olas • Held on April 15, 2010

The 15th annual ClueLess on Las Olas was a great event and the Board of Directors and I wish to thank everyone for their participation. While the weather kept a few people away, the event still raised approximately $20,000 for Partners In Education, Inc. These funds will be used to support school/business partnership efforts in Broward County Public Schools. In 2009, school partnerships contributed $4.29 million to schools. This contribution includes all cash donations plus the value of donated goods and product, as well as the value of volunteer time.

Please take a moment to visit the 2010 ClueLess Sponsors page for a list of the sponsors, food, drink, silent auction donors, and volunteers and organizations whose support is invaluable to the success of this event. Should the opportunity arise, please thank these businesses and organizations for their support of ClueLess on Las Olas. We could not do the event without their help.

ClueLess on Las Olas Winners

First Place: Terry Stone, Oakland Park
Second Place: Tonya Pinson, Tamarac
Third Place: Nicole Carpenter, Fort Lauderdale

Story Synopsis
On the morning of April 15, Jacob Ruppert Snakeowski, known as Jake the Snake, was found shot to death behind the dumpster in back of his shop on Las Olas Boulevard. Many detested Jake, since he swindled nearly everyone with whom he did business. As usual, Detectives Ima Duhman and Peggy Lovelylass responded to the 1-8-7-homicide call.

Upon searching the crime scene, Det. Lovelylass found 3 bid sheets in Jake’s pocket and five sets of footprints around and near the body. Immediately, our two detectives began to hone in on six suspects.

The Suspects
D’Andre Ton Loc is a Jamaican ex-con and an employee of Jake’s. D’Andre is the one who found Jake’s body and called in the homicide on the morning of April 15. While speaking with the detectives, D’Andre let it slip that Jake had a picture of him drinking with some of his friends, in clear violation of his parole, and that Jake used the picture as blackmail and often did not pay his wages.

Ricky "Rebel" Rhymes is a big spender, at least on himself. He typically drinks Johnny Walker Blue, the King George V Edition, a $500 bottle of Scotch whiskey. Rhymes is a loan shark and Jake owed him $50,000. Rhymes was one of the people Jake was playing poker with the night of the murder and he was overheard saying that he had 50,000 reason to kill the guy.

Gaitor Bates is known as a shill in the auction world and he often worked for Jake bumping-up bids during the auction at Jake’s House of Antiques. Duhman found Bates at Shop 603 where he was trying on the latest in youthful fashions. Gaitor said that he needed to look young to “stay in the game.” Duhman realized that TSA has a BOLO out on Bates for trying to board a plan with ammunition. At the auction on April 14, Gaitor bumped up a bid on a fake Peter Maxx print and when no one bid against him, Jake had Ryne Stone charge Gaitor’s credit card $20,000.

Ryne Stone was Jake’s “wench in the cage.” Her job was to sign-in all potential bidders and checkout all the winning bidders and collect their money. She is also the one who switched the real merchandise (pearls, diamonds, rubies) for paste before she gave the stuff to customers. Ryne Stone hated Jake for making her be the one to do the merchandise switch and to have to face the customers while at the point of sale and when they returned angry at being duped. She was trying to get off drugs and get her music career back together and working for Jake kept her in the wrong frame of mind.

Phyllis Featherstone was one of many Fort Lauderdale elite who lost millions investing in a local Ponzi scheme similar to Madoff’s. Featherstone now lives in a small apartment in Collee Hammock and barely makes ends meet. A few weeks before the murder, Phyllis purchased a diamond necklace at auction at the House of Antiques. She still went to social functions and wanted to keep up appearances. Unfortunately, an appraisal of the necklace showed that it was glass. Phyllis was making a scene at the auction on April 14, trying to get her money back from Jake the Snake and telling everyone what a cheat he is.

Martha Mondell is from the wealthy and legendary Mondell Confections family. Martha was known for her nightly dalliances that made the gossip pages but had recently reconciled with her mother, Eva. The famous Mondell family started to unravel when Joe Mondell passed away. Widow Eva was depressed after his death and Jake took talked her into having an estate sale, Unfortunately, Jake gave her only a few thousand for an entire safe full of priceless jewelry. When Martha found this out last week and confronted Snake, he dismissed her saying there was nothing he could do.

At the end of the evening, Det. Duhman arrested Gaitor Baites. See the Answers to the Clues and Hints for the explanation of each.

For information about the program, please contact Nina A. Randall, APR, Executive Director at 754-321-1974 or nrandall@browardschools.com.

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