Bell, Randy | Testimony transcript

Transcript of the Testimony of Randy Bell

Date: November 19, 2013Volume: I

Case: In Re: Joplin Critical Investigation

Printed On: December 1, 2013

Holliday Reporting Service, Inc.Phone: 417-358-4078

Fax: 417-451-1114Email:[email protected]

Internet:

Randy Bell In Re: Joplin Critical Investigation

417-358-4078

Holliday Reporting Service, Inc.

Page 1

IN RE: JOPLIN CRITICAL INVESTIGATION

TELEPHONE SWORN STATEMENT OF

RANDY BELL

Taken on Tuesday, November 19, 2013, from 2:41 p.m. to 2:47

p.m., at the law offices of Juddson H. McPherson, LLC, 626

S. Byers, in the City of Joplin, County of Jasper, State of

Missouri, before

SHARON K. ROGERS, C.C.R.650,

a Certified Court Reporter and a Notary Public within and

for the County of Jasper, and State of Missouri.


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APPEARANCES

MR. THOMAS E. LORAINE

Loraine & Associates, LLC

4075 Osage Beach Pkwy., Suite 300

Osage Beach, MO 65065

[email protected]


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S T I P U L A T I O N

IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED AND AGREED that this Sworn

Statement may be taken by steno-mask type recording by

SHARON K. ROGERS, a Certified Court Reporter, and

afterwards reduced into typewriting.

It is further stipulated that the signature of the

witness is hereby waived, and that said Sworn Statement of

said witness shall be of the same force and effect as

though said witness had read and signed Sworn Statement.


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I N D E X

Page/Line

DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. LORAINE . . . 5-2

E X H I B I T S

(sic) - typed as spoken

(ph.) - phonetic


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1 RANDY BELL

2 DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. LORAINE:

3 Q. Randy Bell?

4 A. Yeah.

5 Q. My name is Tom Loraine, Mr. Bell. I'm the

6 Special Investigator for the City of Joplin.

7 I've been appointed by the Council to

8 investigate three issues. One would be any

9 irregularities in anything the City does,

10 management or otherwise. The second would be

11 anything about Bill Scearce concerning some

12 issues. And the other would be Mr. Woolston,

13 about his real estate involvement in some of

14 the areas that have been repurchased by the

15 City. Your name has been given to me as

16 having some information about one of the

17 three of those topics. I think it was about

18 the Elks Club being bought. Do you have

19 anything that you want to tell me?

20 A. The Elks Club property being bought?

21 Q. Yes.

22 A. By Wallace-Bajjali?

23 Q. Yes, I think they did buy it ultimately, yes.

24 There was some involvement with Mr.

25 Woolston?


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1 A. No.

2 Q. Okay. Tell me what you know about that.

3 A. You know, probably a year or so ago I was

4 approached by Gary Box --

5 Q. Mr. Bell, is it okay if I record this for my

6 information?

7 A. Oh, yes.

8 Q. Okay. Thank you. You were approached by Mr.

9 Box?

10 A. Right.

11 Q. He's with Wallace-Bajjali?

12 A. That's correct.

13 Q. All right, sir. And he's also an Elk member?


15 Q. Okay. Tell me what he told you.

16 A. And at that time I was an officer of the

17 lodge, I was the Secretary so that's probably

18 the reason he approached me to start with.

19 And he asked if we may be interested in

20 selling the property behind the building

21 since it was just after the tornado and I

22 told him that I don't know why we wouldn't,

23 but I would speak with some of the other

24 officers and get back to him.

25 Q. All right.


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1 A. And I did and it just progressed from there.

2 Q. Ultimately was the property purchased?

3 A. Yes, it was.

4 Q. Do you know what it was purchased for?

5 A. $3.00 a foot.

6 Q. Was that an appropriate number in your

7 opinion?

8 A. Well, you know, with what I seen with what we

9 were told it compared with what they paid for

10 other properties.

11 Q. All right. Did Mr. Box do this transaction

12 with you?

13 A. Well, with me for awhile and then it moved up

14 to the leaders of the lodge, the ones above

15 me, and it continued on from there, that's

16 correct.

17 Q. Would that have been Jake Skouby, Charles

18 Sorenson, or Jim Willis?

19 A. It would have been Charlie Sorenson.

20 Q. Sorenson, okay.

21 A. Jake Skouby, he was involved, but Charlie

22 would have been - he was the Exalted Ruler at

23 the time. He's the one that ran the place.

24 Q. Okay. Did you have anything else that I

25 needed to know about that in any way shed any


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1 light on any of these topics?

2 A. No, my knowledge Mr. Scearce nor Mr. Woolston

3 had anything to do with that at all, period.

4 Q. All right. Did the transaction seem to go

5 reasonably well? Apparently it did proceed

6 satisfactorily as far as you're concerned?

7 A. They made their whole presentation to the

8 Elks showing the Elks what they intended to

9 do with the property, how it tied in with the

10 projects that's on 26th and Maiden Lane. It

11 all made sense and the Elks, it was a

12 beautiful wooded area prior to the tornado

13 and we never would have considered selling,

14 but after that it was just a flat piece of

15 ground that it's just --

16 Q. Didn't have any aesthetic value left, huh?

17 A. It had zero aesthetic value. They put it to

18 a vote, it had to be voted on by all members,

19 and they voted to sell it so we sold it.

20 Q. The only person you dealt with was Mr. Box on

21 this?


23 Q. Was Mr. Box up front with you and there was

24 no difficulties as you know?

25 A. None whatsoever.


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1 Q. Was. Mr. Golden involved in this transaction

2 in any way?

3 A. Jack Golden?

4 Q. Yes.

5 A. No.

6 Q. He's also an Elk?

7 A. Yes, he is.

8 Q. All right. Would he have voted on that or do

9 you know if he attended that meeting?

10 A. I don't know if he attended the meeting or

11 not. He's certainly a member so he certainly

12 had a right to vote.

13 Q. In any case you received the $3.00 a square

14 foot which is what you thought it was worth?


16 Q. All right. I really appreciate you talking

17 to me. I try to follow-up every lead I can.

18 That's what I'm getting paid to do is find

19 out what, if anything, is going on here. I

20 don't know, your name was given to me, and

21 I'm pursuing every name that I can.

22 A. Okay.

23 Q. Thank you for your help, Mr. Bell, I

24 appreciate it.

25 A. Thank you.


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1

2 (SWORN STATEMENT CONCLUDED)

3

4

5


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REPORTER'S CERTIFICATE

STATE OF MISSOURI

ss.

COUNTY OF JASPER

I, SHARON K. ROGERS, Certified Court Reporter in the

State of Missouri, do certify that pursuant to the

foregoing Stipulation the witness came before me on the

19th day of November, 2013, was duly sworn by me, and was

examined. That examination was then taken by me by

steno-mask recording and afterwards transcribed; said Sworn

Statement is subscribed by the witness as hereinbefore set

out on the day in that behalf aforesaid and is herewith

returned.

I further certify that I am not counsel, attorney, or

relative of either party, or clerk, or stenographer of

either party or of the attorney of either party, or

otherwise interested in the event of this suit.

_________________________

SHARON K. ROGERS, CCR-650

Documents

Bell, Randy | Testimony transcript