Doc. ## 29, 28, 27, 25, Def. TONY WEST, U.S. Assistant Attorney, Civil Division

7/7/2010 Abandoned oil wells make Gulf of Mexi…
Abandoned oil wells make Gulf of

Mexico 'environmental minefield'
AP investigation finds BP was responsible for 600 of more than
27,000 abandoned wells in the Gulf of Mexico
Richard Wray
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 7 July 2 01 0 1 6 .3 8 BST
Detail of a m ap showing geology , oil (in red) and gas (green) fields, in the Gulf of Mexico Region Illustration:
U.S. Geological Surv ey US Geological Surv ey
The Gulf of Mexico is packed with abandoned oil wells from a host of companies
including BP, according to an investigation by Associated Press, which describes the area
as "an environmental minefield that has been ignored for decades".
While the explosion and subsequent sinking of the Deepwater Horizon rig has thrown the
spotlight sharply on BP's activities in the Gulf of Mexico, environmental safety in the
area has been neglected for decades.
There are more than 27,000 abandoned wells in the Gulf of Mexico, according to AP, of
which 600 belonged to BP.
The oldest of these abandoned wells dates back to the late 1940s and the investigation
highlights concerns about the way in which some of them have been plugged, especially
the 3,500 neglected wells that are catalogued by the government as "temporarily
abandoned". The rules for shutting off temporarily closed wells are not as strict as for
completely abandoned wells.
Regulations for temporarily abandoned wells require oil companies to present plans to
reuse or permanently plug such wells within a year, but AP found that the rule is
routinely circumvented, and that more than 1,000 wells have lingered in that unfinished
condition for more than a decade. About three-quarters of temporarily abandoned wells
have been left in that status for more than a year, and many since the 1950s and 1960s.
AP quotes state officials as estimating that tens of thousands are badly sealed, either
because they predate strict regulation or because the operating companies violated
rules. Texas alone has plugged more than 21,000 abandoned wells to control pollution,
according to the state comptroller's office. In state-controlled waters off the coast of
guardian.co.uk/…/abandoned-oil-wells… 1/15
California, many abandoned wells have had to be resealed. But in deeper federal waters,
AP points out, there is very little investigation into the state of abandoned wells.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (formerly the
US Minerals Management Service), which is charged with keeping an eye on offshore
drilling, has little power to deal with abandoned wells. It merely requests paperwork to
prove that a well has been capped and, unlike regulators in states such as California, it
does not typically inspect the job.
The Deepwater Horizon disaster has so far cost BP more than $3bn (£1.98bn) in actual
clean-up expenses, but many times more in terms of the company's financial value. Its
share price has more than halved since the explosion on 20 April and the clean-up is
likely to take months if not years. The AP investigation raises the question of whether
there are more such environmental disasters waiting to happen.
White knight wanted

BP boss Tony Hayward, meanwhile, continues to try to deal with the fallout from the
Deepwater Horizon disaster. The BP chief executive is understood to have met with the
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) as he continues his world tour in search of a
so-called "white knight" investor to ward off a takeover by a foreign rival.
Having already held talks with the Kuwait Investment Office, a current investor,
Hayward has switched his interest to other cash-rich oil states as he tries to bolster
support for BP, which has become increasingly vulnerable as a result of the share price
collapse caused by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. ADIA is one of the world's largest
sovereign wealth funds.
The news comes after it emerged on Tuesday that the US government has demanded
that the oil group give it advance notice of any potential disposals. Earlier this month BP
said it would raise $10bn by selling some of its non-core assets to help shore up its
balance sheet in the face of the mounting cost of dealing with the spill.
On 23 June, the US assistant attorney general Tony West wrote to BP to request that
the department of justice be alerted to any sales or even joint ventures entered into by
the company. BP has yet to respond.
Speculation has centred on the disposal of some of BP's assets in South America, while
"mature" assets in the North Sea have been seen by other oil watchers as obvious
candidates for sale. Hayward was in Azerbaijan on Tuesday to reassure local politicians
that it is not about to jettison its assets on the Caspian and met with Azerbaijan
president Ilham Aliyev.
BP has ruled out issuing any new shares, instead hoping that it will be able to persuade
investors to pick up their stakes in the market. But many in the City believe it will need
to raise more cash to bolster its balance sheet, with a bond issue seen as the most likely
route.
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Waraqah
7 Jul 2010, 1:20PM
'mature' assets in the North Sea have been seen by other oil watchers as
obvious candidates for sale.
For 'mature', read almost depleted. I can't imagine anyone is going to pay top dollar for any
of these fields, especially as any asset disposal now is going to be seen as a fire sale (no pun
intended).
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Geologybob
7 Jul 2010, 1:24PM
Lets just clarify this for non oil workers. Although it looks plenty controversial, the word
"abandoned" in this case does NOT mean that the oil company has just upped-sticks and
walked away from it, leaving it open to the sea.
Abandonment of a well is the term given to a fairly simple technical operation which is
performed at the end of life of all wells and involves them being physically stopped-
up...usually with a number of strong plugs of cement and/or packers so that they present
no path to surface. In most cases, the cement used is a stronger medium than the rock
through which the well was drilled in the first place.
The phrase used above "There are more than 27,000 abandoned wells in the Gulf of
Mexico" simply reflects the number of wells drilled and then no longer used, rather than
some dark secret the oil companies are keeping.
Its important that a well is abandoned correctly, but there are well established means of
testing the abandonment which are easily and regularly performed before a mobile rig
moves off and to imply that all abandoned wells pose a threat to the environment is being
"economical with the truth".
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29FR
7 Jul 2010, 1:36PM
So that's oil companies, regulators and any other beneficiaries of the petro-chemical age
fully implicated in the enviro-crime of the century.
That dark, filthy, endlessly gushing stuff is collective guilt.
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smartse
7 Jul 2010, 1:41PM
There are more than 27,000 abandoned wells in the Gulf of Mexico, according to AP, of
which 600 belonged to BP
If this is the case, shouldn't we be saying well done to BP? The other oil companies must be
far worse at it, oh yes, they're all 100% American companies though so that would be stupid
to report as the bashing of BP would stop...
Thanks for the insight GeologyBob - it would have been useful if the article had actually
described what an abandoned well is.
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PeakOilPete
7 Jul 2010, 1:49PM
If I went out to the local boating lake... poured a drum of oil into it and killed a few ducks,
I’d get locked up.
So why does Tony Hayward and other BP bosses get away with murder...yes murder... 11
and counting so far, and terrorism... yes, environmental terrorism. If that was Al Qaeda and
a dirty bomb the FBI would have rounded them up by now.
Can you imagine their faces Hayward and the other BP CEO’s in orange overalls going for
the Guantanamo Bay gurney ride! And while they are at it they can round up all those
other terrorist CEO’s on Wall Street... Goldman Sachs & Lehman Bros. Etc. who stole all our
pensions.
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Bauhaus
7 Jul 2010, 1:52PM
Its our planet these fuckers are destroying.
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newdecade
7 Jul 2010, 1:55PM
Waraqah:
For 'mature', read almost depleted. I can't imagine anyone is going to pay top dollar for any
of these fields, especially as any asset disposal now is going to be seen as a fire sale (no pun
intended).
Yeah, thats what it basically means, but its hardly unusual. A host of companies have
sprung up in recent years who specialise in redeveloping mature assets, simply because for
a company the size of BP or any other major, investing in those dying years of a field simply
arent worth the time and effort. They trade in bulk. But for those companies prepared to
tackle the technical challenges, its possible to make a neat profit.
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Catclaw
7 Jul 2010, 1:58PM
'Big Earl' does not like to deal with the many problems of properly plugging and abandoning
wells. They will often sell the wells after the best, easy oil is removed to another operator to
escape the plugging cost. Often the end result is an orphaned well that contaminates the
ground water, leaks gas and/or oil to the surface.
Many wells are closed with the much less restrictive procedure of 'temporarily abandoned'.
It is cheap. (Big Earl' is obsessed with cheap.) The cost is much less than a properly plugged
well. When a leak develops on these poorly handled wells, the operator will proclaim the
problem is not a result of shoddy work but is a natural seep to avoid punitive damages and
recognition of incompetence. 'Big Earl' has become obsessed with cost to the point of the
fiasco in the Gulf of Mexico.
Where the environment is concerned, 'Big Earl' can not deal with the multi-role of drilling,
protecting the environment and being the 'best cheap skate'. And don't ask them about how
the take care of environmental matters in Western Africa.
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outoffr
7 Jul 2010, 2:05PM
PeakOilPete
"If I went out to the local boating lake... poured a drum of oil into it and killed a few
ducks, I’d get locked up.
So why does Tony Hayward and other BP bosses get away with murder...yes murder... 11
and counting so far, and terrorism... yes, environmental terrorism. If that was Al Qaeda and
a dirty bomb the FBI would have rounded them up by now.
"
If you went to the local boating lake legally, and your boat engine exploded and oil poured in
the water, you wouldn't be locked up.
Not that i want to defend them, but lets stop the crazy comaprison ...
If they are foudn to have taken reckless risks, they will be prosecuted ..
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stodulky
7 Jul 2010, 2:08PM
I too, am intrigued by the emphasis given to BP in this article. So, of 27,000 abandoned
wells, only about 2.5% are/were owned by BP, but no mention of the other 26,400?
Is 600 a significant amount for one company to own? Are there other companies who own
700 or 7000 or 17000?
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outoffr
7 Jul 2010, 2:11PM
Bauhaus
Its our planet US fuckers are destroying.
You may cycle and not drive (i do), try and recycle, etc ... your carbon footprint is likely to
be much, much higher than you think.
Just look into the environmental cost of the internet and you'll be VERY suprised (energy
sucked by servers hosting websites - including this one).
By reading this online, you are contributing to the cost.
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delphinia
7 Jul 2010, 2:12PM
This should of course apply to all polluted areas of the world, not just those that affect rich
Americans.
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eryngium
7 Jul 2010, 2:21PM
@GelogyBob
thank you for your further detail on the simple job of capping spent wells. i would like to
add, though, that individuals can be simply greedy as well as being simply inept. this means
that your seemingly straight -forward explanation can, in reality, become a disaster, ie, that
cement that they use, did someoene increase their profit by selling cement past its sell-by
date? those "well established tests". are they just carried out at the point of the rig moving
away from the site or are there regular follow-up tests to monitor the integrity opf the
plug? i can wrap some gaffer tape around a leaking pipe and the leak stops. i would not say
that i had solved my leaky pipe in the long term. not even the middle term.
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Bauhaus
7 Jul 2010, 2:21PM
@outoffr - of course I realise my contribution to climate change etc.
I do what I can (increasingly) to mitigate this.
Does this mean I cannot voice an opinion on this subject?? If I can't, then noone can, and we
may as well let business do what it wants and forget our childrens future. Would you rather
7/7/2010
y Abandoned
g oil wells make Gulf of Mexi…
y
people who voice opinion on such subjects keep schtumm?
Either way, I`m not raping the oceans for profit am I, with scant regard for the fallout.
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cause
7 Jul 2010, 2:23PM
delphinia
yeah but yeah but no
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andinoble
7 Jul 2010, 2:27PM
27,000 since the 1940s, that´s over 415 per year which is a lot more than one well a day
that has been created since then and it´s likely the rate has steadily been accelerating.
Shurely Shum mishtake? How come this one went wrong. Anyone have any idea how may
similar events to the current well "excitement" have happened there and elsewhere but
never been reported and or "disappeared"?
"Now we know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall"?
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sutski123
7 Jul 2010, 2:30PM
This should of course apply to all polluted areas of the world, not just those that affect
rich Americans.
If there had been a movement against "pollution" rather than "global warming", we would
have cleaned up this planet a lot more these last 10 years for sure!!!
Stop killing the air in my town and the water and life in my rivers and sea is a lot more
relateable to than trying to stop a 0.5 degree warming that may or may not be caused by
us. Pollution IS caused by us. Period.
STOP POLLUTION NOT GLOBAL WARMING!!!
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sutski123
7 Jul 2010, 2:32PM
Shurely Shum mishtake?
hahahahaha but true!!!
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eryngium
7 Jul 2010, 2:38PM
@sutski123
it is so much easier for industry to wriggle out of reducing co2 emmissions due to the
division in the scienttific community. pollution can be measured every single day with great
accuracy so i would expect industry to be both supporting financially the global warmers
and the deniers. divide and conquer!
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maggawags
7 Jul 2010, 2:53PM
I expect once the world has run out of fish stocks , and whaling continues, and the desire for
shark fins carries on, there will be nothing left in the oil saturated oggin , apart from
cruiseliners full of senile wealthy elderlies, playing bingo!
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PorkChopExpress
7 Jul 2010, 2:56PM
sutski123 - The Computer you're using, was it grown out of the ground like a potato? Or is
it made up of mined materials then constructed/distributed with a huge carbon footprint?
Answers on a postcard marked 'Hypocrite'
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smuglyfrombrazil
7 Jul 2010, 2:57PM
How dare you bring this up?!!
We're watching footballl!!
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mike944
7 Jul 2010, 3:00PM
So BP has closed down 600 well over decades. Big deal. Perhaps Richard Wray could
perhaps provide some evidence that any of these 600 BP wells are causing an
environmental problem.
This paper should stop bashing BP for what was an accident. Half of our pensions are
probably tied up in BP so it will do none of us any favours if BP went bankrupt.
Also all of us owe a huge debt to oil, like it or not. Our very existence, way of life, our food,
etc is all heavily dependant on oil. If we stopped using oil right now we would have a world
famine with far greater consequences than a possible few degrees of global warning some
time in the next hundred years or so.
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Charity409
7 Jul 2010, 3:01PM
"This should of course apply to all polluted areas of the world, not just those that affect rich
Americans."
I completely agree with your opinion that reckless destruction of any place in the world
should be met with prosecution. I don't however, agree with the "rich Americans" portion of
you your statement. Clearly you haven't thought to take the time to learn about the area
affected by this spill. Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama and parts of Florida and Texas this is
affecting are not by any stretch wealthy. Their economies are driven by largely by fishing
and tourism.
You can argue that oil is also a big part of those state's economies but the affected areas are
directly on the coast. That may seem like a small area but consider this. Your country is
about the size of Texas. So now consider the amount of coast there is when you add four
more states to their coastline. Now imagine the equivalent of every hotel in London having
no business during the height of the tourist season. Which means the restaurants that feed
those visitors will likely fail. Which means the laundry services, taxis services, tour
operators and shops will see a dramatic decline in their business. Milliions are now
unemployed as a result of this because of the ripple affect.
And that's just the start. Fishermen who have passed on their fishing licenses from
generation to generation in their families can no longer fish. An oyster shucking company
that had been in business for over 125 years had to close. There are no edible oysters. And
the news is anything but good about the number of years it will take before seafood from
the gulf is safe to eat again.
None of the jobs I mention above are at the top of the pay scale. So before you assume this
is silly rich Americans getting their britches in a bunch over not being able to go to the
beach, maybe take a moment to put it in perspective.
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feline1973
7 Jul 2010, 3:08PM
TWENTY SEVEN THOUSAND?!?!
Good grief.
And don't get me started on SPACE JUNK!!!!!!!!
Devo to thread!
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Chriskiy
7 Jul 2010, 3:17PM
I'm no fan of BP or any other oil company, but the AP report seems to be a pure bit of BP-
bashing. They estimate that BP is responsible for 600 of these abandoned wells, in other
words just over 2 per cent of the wells. If they've been able to identify BP as the company
responsible for these wells, they have presumably been able to identify those responsible
for the remaining 26,400 of them, as they've been able to assume that it isn't BP. So who
are these companies? Who has the most abandoned wells in the Gulf of Mexico? What
percentage of these wells are owned by US companies? Which companies have been most
responsible for abandoning wells with mere temporary corks? Has the state of Texas
charged any company for topping off their abandoned wells, as BP is being charged, with
the PResident's foot on its neck? All of these, of course, are questions that AP is not
interested in answering, as it would spoil their BP-bashing brief.
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stodulky
7 Jul 2010, 3:19PM
Dear internet ranting crew,
I would like to propose a moratorium on the concept that anyone who owns a computer
(and doesn't live in a cave eating moss) is a hypocrite if they appear to give a flying one
about the environment.
Regards
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Burntfaceman
7 Jul 2010, 3:29PM
The quicker we use it all up the better, what's left, a hundred years of it? Good fukcin
riddance...a blink of an eye relative to mankind's time on earth...whatever economic pain
comes after who gives a 5hit.
We should be able to; feed, clothe, house.. the entire global population without it. Isn't 70%
of oil used to produce rubbish that we could do without and another 10% used to
ferry/transport that rubbish about? Bonkers...
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IchbineinBerliner
7 Jul 2010, 3:32PM
@PeakOilPete
'So why does Tony Hayward and other BP bosses get away with murder.'
beacuse this was designed to happen. BP and other oil workers already say that part of the
seabed is collapsing. World governments wanted this to happen so that the sea-levels fall
just before man made sea-level rising occurs.
They want the seabed to collapse, it's cheaper and easier than trying to stop man-made
pollution.
http://motherjones.com/blue-marble/2010/06/worst-already-true-BP-well-now-
unstoppable
http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6593#comment-648967
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Burntfaceman
7 Jul 2010, 3:35PM
BTW I' love to see BP in the hands of a middle east swf, LOL, suck on that Obamarama,
Libya drilling off the coast of the US and re-naming all the petrol stations...Cracking *up
yours* if Tony Hayward bails out with that one on his c.v.
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LostintheUS
7 Jul 2010, 3:57PM
BP has the worst record of accidents and spills caused by cost cutting and poor
maintenance. Many of their employees have been killed, injured and maimed due solely to
these causes. In BP's annual reports, you can see the corporate policy layed out...cost
cutting ad nauseum. Yes, BP should be focussed on. It is no fluke that the Deepwater
Horizon was a BP run well...they were the ones who drove reckless decisions that
everybody else on the rig knew were going to lead to disaster. Every one of those decisions
was about cutting costs.
Delphinium: that was a very ignorant statement about only effecting "rich Americans". As
in all corporate and natural disasters. the primary victims are poor and working class
people. That is certainly true in this case. Educate yourself. Rig workers live in shacks and
work like dogs and get killed a lot. Fishermen and women work harder than most people
with little profit, but love the water and its creatures. And on and on and on....arrogance
makes you stupid.
It is about extracting the profits and outsourcing the costs. We, the citizens and the wild
creatures, pick up the costs in hideous ways.
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LostintheUS
7 Jul 2010, 3:58PM
BP has the worst record of accidents and spills caused by cost cutting and poor
maintenance. Many of their employees have been killed, injured and maimed due solely to
these causes. In BP's annual reports, you can see the corporate policy layed out...cost
cutting ad nauseum. Yes, BP should be focussed on. It is no fluke that the Deepwater
Horizon was a BP run well...they were the ones who drove reckless decisions that
everybody else on the rig knew were going to lead to disaster. Every one of those decisions
was about cutting costs.
Delphinium: that was a very ignorant statement about only effecting "rich Americans". As
in all corporate and natural disasters. the primary victims are poor and working class
people. That is certainly true in this case. Educate yourself. Rig workers live in shacks and
work like dogs and get killed a lot. Fishermen and women work harder than most people
with little profit, but love the water and its creatures. And on and on and on....arrogance
makes you stupid.
It is about extracting the profits and outsourcing the costs. We, the citizens and the wild
creatures, pick up the costs in hideous ways.
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EuropeanOnion
7 Jul 2010, 4:02PM
technology magazine reports:
Reports of seeps in the Gulf are numerous, and the Department's study has located several
general areas of seepage within and around the Gulf of Mexico."
A Department of Energy website details studies that estimate that there may be as many
as 5,000 active seeps in the northern Gulf of Mexico. In the Green Canyon area of the Gulf,
they estimated at least 900 individual seeps.
In a paper presented at the 2000 Ocean Sciences Meeting in San Antonio, Texas, and titled
Estimates of Total Hydrocarbon Seepage into the Gulf of Mexico Based on Satellite Remote
Sensing Images, one researcher estimated that 500,000 barrels of oil seep into the Gulf
each year, twice the result of the Exxon Valdez spill. That seepage is not addressed by any
government, and mitigation efforts are non-existent.
Science Daily reports:
To get an estimate of how much oil seeps into the Gulf each year, the researchers took into
account the thickness of the oil-only a hundredth of a millimeter, the area of ocean surface
covered by slicks, and how long the oil remains on the surface before it's consumed by
bacteria or churned up by waves. "The number is twice the Exxon Valdez's spill per year,
and that's a conservative estimate,"
said Mitchell.
Springer Link adds:
Recent global estimates of crude-oil seepage rates suggest that about 47% of crude oil
currently entering the marine environment is from natural seeps, whereas 53% results
from leaks and spills during the extraction, transportation, refining, storage, and utilization
of petroleum. The amount of natural crude-oil seepage is currently estimated to be
600,000 metric tons per year, with a range of uncertainty of 200,000 to 2,000,000 metric
tons per year. Thus, natural oil seeps may be the single most important source of oil that
enters the ocean, exceeding each of the various sources of crude oil that enters the ocean
through its exploitation by humankind.
Mother Nature seems to be a 'petrol head'.
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chrislochhead
7 Jul 2010, 4:02PM
Yet another scaremongering article, which has completely twisted an oil industry practise
into an armageddon inducing disaster. Geologybob's simple explanation of this procedure
raises more questions about the rest of the oil industry's contribution if BP only contributed
600 abandoned wells.
Further comments suggesting out of date cement(?) is merely paranoia. BP may be at fault
for the gulf disaster, as the US are blaming them for ruining millions of lives, 'murdering'
ocean life and generally ruining our planet. Complete hypocrisy as far as I am concerned.
The American world police have been ruining millions of lives and murdering for decades,
so they should look closely at themselves first before any ill advised finger pointing.
BP certainly didnt want this to happen but if found to be negligent, then they should be
punished severely. However, Barak Obamas current cowboy stance on this has not shown
him to be the president I expected of him.
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Leluk
7 Jul 2010, 4:13PM
Well it looks like Obama has nearly succeeded in what he set out to do, destroy BP, and now
the cheeky so and so's in the American Government want prior warning as to who BP will
be selling their company to? What planet do these people live on? They have absouloutely
NO RIGHT to that information before the shareholders. Of course we all know why they
want to know, so they can offer £1.00p more than the highest bidder and get their greedy,
dirty fingers on the BP company. If BP had half an ounce of common sense, the minute it
caps that well it would tell America that the 20 billion is all it's going to get and it would pull
out and never go back. The one thing America doesn't seem to understand is that America
needs BP, but BP doesn't and never will, need America.
It's also time people stopped making excuses for the Americans on these blogs when they
act all offended by what someone says, they are doing it to make trouble where there is
none. Such as the remark by the Swedish Chairman about 'the little people', it wasn't an
offensive remark at all as everyone knows, it was an expression of concern for the small
bussinesses and indeed the very fishermen that the Americans can't stop bleating on about,
you know, the small people (bussinesses) that are the backbone of every community. And
to the person who has taken offence at the remark 'rich Americans', everyone on here
knows what is meant by that. America classes itself as a rich nation, so by your own
definition you are 'rich Americans', you can't have it all ways when it suits you, and what
the poster was saying is that if you Americans are so determined to prosecute something
that was an accident because it happened on your own doorstep for a change, then maybe
your own rules should apply to the rest of the world and those countries involved should
start with America. Contrary to what you are raised to believe, it is not one rule for
America and another one for the rest of the world, far from it.
Also, if this newspaper is going to print news in a way that is detrimental to the well being
and survival of BP, then in the interests of fairness can you please print a list of the owners
of the other 26,400 wells? Just to even the odds a bit so to speak.
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icurahuman2
7 Jul 2010, 4:13PM
Not worth a penny by the time the Deepwater Horizontal spill is plugged, that's if it ever is.
There's still a strong likelihood that neither of the two relief wells will work and a good
chance the seafloor will crumble before the final solution is recahed - a nuke down its
horrible throat. No-one is going to be buying into BP until they know what liabilities they're
buying into.
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loftytom
7 Jul 2010, 4:25PM
Burntfaceman
7 Jul 2010, 3:29PM
The quicker we use it all up the better, what's left, a hundred years of it? Good fukcin
riddance...a blink of an eye relative to mankind's time on earth...whatever economic pain
comes after who gives a 5hit.
We should be able to; feed, clothe, house.. the entire global population without it.
Nope, the food supply depends on lots of fertilisers which are high energy mofos.
Without them lots of people will die.
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gomerpyl3
7 Jul 2010, 4:30PM
Seriously? 2% of abandoned wells belong to BP? It's a bit weak trying to imply that BP are
real offenders in this!
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Lou64
7 Jul 2010, 4:31PM
geologybob says that the word abandoned does not mean the oil company just ups and
walks away. I beg to differ. You fail to mention the difference between abandoned and
temporarily abandoned wells and how the wells are capped or sealed according to which
type of abandonement they are undergoing.
The AP article goes on to tell us that....
'Regulations for temporarily abandoned wells require oil companies to present plans to
reuse or permanently plug such wells within a year, but the AP found that the rule is
routinely circumvented, and that more than 1,000 wells have lingered in that unfinished
condition for more than a decade. About three-quarters of temporarily abandoned wells
have been left in that status for more than a year, and many since the 1950s and 1960s —
even though sealing procedures for temporary abandonment are not as stringent as those
for permanent closures.
As a forceful reminder of the potential harm, the well beneath BP's Deepwater Horizon rig
was being sealed with cement for temporary abandonment when it blew April 20,.....'
For those interested here is the article in full
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100707/ap_on_bi_ge/us_gulf_oil_spill_abandoned_wells
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reddan
7 Jul 2010, 4:39PM
That's Capitalism! F..k you, and F...k the evironment. It's all about the bottom line.
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Concrete
7 Jul 2010, 5:00PM
'AP investigation finds BP was responsible for 600 of more than 27,000 abandoned wells in
the Gulf of Mexico.'
So BP is responsible for 0.02% of left wells in the gulf.
Who is responsible fro the other 99.98%?
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g u a r dia n .co.u k © Gu a r dia n New s a n d Media Lim it ed 2 0 1 0
Case 2:10-cv-00089-CEH-TGW Document 29 Filed 06/30/10 Page 1 of 8
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
FT. MYERS DIVISION
JORG BUSSE; JENNIFER FRANKLIN

PRESCOTT,
Plaintiffs,
v. Case No. 2:10-CV-89-CEH-TGW
JOHN EDWIN STEELE; SHERI POLSTER

CHAPPELL; ROGER ALEJO; KENNETH M.
WILKINSON; JACK N. PETERSON;
GERALD BARD TJOFLAT; RICHARD
JESSUP; JUDGE BIRCH; JUDGE DUBINA;
RICHARD A. LAZZARA; CHARLIE CRIST;
LEE COUNTY VALUE ADJUSTMENT
BOARD; LORI RUTLAND; EXECUTIVE
TITLE CO.; JOHNSON ENGINEERING, INC.,
Defendants.
MOTION TO DISMISS AND MEMORANDUM OF LAW
NOW COMES the United States of America, by and through its
undersigned attorneys, and hereby moves to dismiss Plaintiff’s
Complaint as frivolous and barred by absolute immunity. A
memorandum in support is included herein.
BACKGROUND
This Court, unfortunately, is all too familiar with
Plaintiffs’ grievances and litigious history. A brief synopsis
is set forth herein, but a more thorough history of Plaintiffs’
filings can be found in the Government’s Motion to Dismiss in
Busse VII, No. 2:09-CV-791 [DE-69], and this Court’s Order
entered on June 23, 2010 [DE-213].

Starting in 2007, Plaintiff Jorg Busse and others began a
campaign against Lee County, Florida, and other persons and
entities, alleging that their property in the Cayo Costa
subdivision had been illegally taken. Plaintiffs filed a
complaint with this Court alleging Constitutional deprivations.
Busse I, No. 2:07-CV-228, aff’d 317 Fed. Appx. 395 (11th Cir.
Mar. 5, 2009). Plaintiff’s first case was not facially improper,
but after a full and fair opportunity to litigate their case,
Plaintiffs’ complaint was dismissed as unripe because Plaintiffs
had not availed themselves of state remedies. Plaintiffs then
persisted to file lawsuit after lawsuit — now totaling nine
separate complaints — attempting to re-litigate the same
constitutional claims and adding allegations of an ever-growing
conspiracy theory of fraud and corruption against anyone involved
in his previous lawsuits who opposed him.
All of Plaintiffs’ lawsuits except for this case and one
after-filed Complaint (No. 2:10-CV-390) have been dismissed,
often summarily, as wanting jurisdiction or meritless. Each of
Plaintiffs’ numerous appeals from this Court’s decisions have
resulted in affirmation or dismissal. The Complaint in this case
is based on the same core facts and allegations that this Court
has rejected in each of the past cases, including Busse V, No.
2:09-CV-341, which also named each of the federal defendants
named herein, asserted the same unsupported allegations of
2
conspiracy and corruption, and which was summarily dismissed with
prejudice by Judge Lazzara as “patently frivolous, vexatious, and
harassing with little or no chance of success” [Busse V, DE-17].
ARGUMENT
A. Plaintiffs’ complaint is patently frivolous and barred by

res judicata.
Insofar as this case involves the same parties and
indistinguishable claims as Plaintiffs’ prior lawsuits that have
been dismissed with prejudice, including, inter alia, Busse V,
No. 2:09-CV-341, the Court should likewise dismiss the instant
complaint on grounds of res judicata and frivolity. See Davila
v. Delta Air Lines, Inc., 326 F.3d 1183, 1187 (11th Cir. 2003)
(res judicata absolutely bars re-litigation of claims after a
final judgment on the merits by a court of competent jurisdiction
where there is an identity of parties and the actions are based
on the same factual predicate). The frivolity of this lawsuit is
further evidenced by the sheer volume of filings that this Court
and the named defendants have been compelled to expend valuable
time and resources responding to; the Plaintiffs’ utter contempt
of this Court’s authority, principles of res judicata, and the
rule of law; the scurrilous and delusory accusations lodged
against judicial officers and other irreproachable public
servants; and Plaintiffs’ inability to state a coherent claim
despite their painfully obvious familiarity with our Constitution
and judicial system.
3
B. Plaintiffs yet again fail to articulate a plausible claim

upon which relief can be granted.
As this Court noted in the sound and cogent analysis of the
Busse litigation contained in its June 23, 2010, Order [Busse
VII, DE-213, at pp. 20-21], Plaintiffs’ allegations, to the
extent any sense can be made of them, are essentially criminal in
nature. In that same Order, the Court has already analyzed and
explained why Plaintiffs are not entitled to relief under the
various constitutional provisions upon which they rely. The only
other vehicle for charging essentially criminal conduct in a
civil forum is a suit under the civil provisions of the Racketeer
Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“civil RICO”), 18
U.S.C. § 1964(c).1
Complaints asserting civil RICO claims “must comply not only
with the plausibility criteria articulated in Twombly and Iqbal
but also with Fed. R. Civ. P. 9(b)’s heightened pleading
standard.” American Dental Ass’n v. Cigna Corp., 605 F.3d 1283,
--- (11th Cir. 2010). As the Court previously noted, Plaintiffs’
repetitious and voluminous pleadings are “convoluted and
incomprehensible,” “contain[] incoherent and rambling claims of
alleged wrongdoing,” and consist of “conclusory” statements
1
The case of Davis v. Kvalheim, 261 Fed. Appx. 231 (11th
Cir. 2008), a matter to which the Busse cases have frequently
been analogized [see, e.g., Busse V, DE-17], was a civil RICO
case filed against every judge and other governmental official
(totaling 129 defendants) that plaintiff “imagine[d to] have done
him wrong.” Id. at 235.
4
wholly lacking a “factual basis” [Busse VII, DE-213, at pp. 12,
15, 18]. The Complaint in this case consists of more of the same
incoherent drivel, and fails to buttress any of the sensational
and outlandish accusations already presented to and decided by
the Court with the kind of additional factual support needed to
plead a plausible claim for relief. Bell Atlantic Corp. v.
Twombly, 550 U.S. 544 (2007). Consequently, this case should be
dismissed for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be
granted. Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6).
C. Even assuming the truth of the allegations, Plaintiffs’

civil claims are barred by the doctrine of absolute
immunity.2
“Few doctrines [are] more solidly established at common law
than the immunity of judges from liability for damages from acts
committed within their judicial jurisdiction.” Pierson v. Ray,
386 U.S. 547, 553-54 (1967). Judicial immunity applies “even
when the judge is accused of acting maliciously and corruptly,”
id. at 554, and prevails even over allegations of bribery and
conspiracy such as Plaintiffs assert here, see Sparks v. Duval
County Ranch Co., 604 F.2d 976, 978 (5th Cir. 1979). Judicial
immunity provides judges with a blanket immunity from civil
liability, to include civil liability under RICO, for any
2
Insofar as this is an official capacity suit properly
brought against the United States and not the individual federal
officers, the United States may assert any defense based upon
judicial immunity that would otherwise be available to the
individual officer. See 28 U.S.C. § 2674.
5
judicial act over which they may exercise jurisdiction. Wilson
v. Bush, 196 Fed. Appx. 796, 799 (11th Cir. 2006); see also Glick
v. Gutbrod, 782 F.2d 754 (7th Cir. 1986).
Likewise, “[o]fficials charged with the duty of executing a
facially valid court order enjoy absolute quasi-judicial immunity
from liability for damages in a suit challenging conduct
prescribed by that order.” King v. Thornburg, 762 F.Supp. 336,
341 (S.D. Ga. 1991). Because absolute quasi-judicial immunity
derives from judicial immunity, it applies whenever a Deputy U.S.
Marshal executes a judicial order for which the issuing judge
would be immune from liability. Id.
In the instant Complaint, Plaintiffs’ continue their
insidious attack on the judicial orders that were issued on the
merits of his initial case, the sanctions that were imposed by
the Eleventh Circuit for pursuing a frivolous appeal, and the
writ of execution that was issued to enforce the judgment. [See
Compl., DE-1, passim references to the fraudulent “orders and
writ of execution”]. The entry of orders, sanctions, and writs
of execution are quintessential judicial functions over which the
named judicial defendants would have absolute judicial immunity
from civil suit. Therefore, the claims arising out of the
judicial acts of Judges Dubina, Tjoflat, Birch, Steele, Lazarra,
and Chappell should be dismissed. Deputy Marshal Richard
Jessup’s primary involvement in this case appears to be related
6
to the performance of his duty to serve Busse with the writ of
execution. [Busse I, DE-429.] Accordingly, Deputy Jessup would
be entitled to quasi-judicial immunity, and the claim arising out
of his acts should likewise be dismissed.
WHEREFORE, the United States respectfully requests that the
Court dismiss Plaintiffs’ complaint.
Date: June 30, 2010 Respectfully submitted,
TONY WEST
ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL
By: /s/ Matthew L. Fesak

MATTHEW L. FESAK
Special Attorney and
Assistant United States Attorney
Civil Division
310 New Bern Avenue, Suite 800
Raleigh, NC 27601-1461
Telephone: (919) 856-4530
Facsimile: (919) 856-4821
E-Mail: matthew.fesak@usdoj.gov
N.C. Bar No. 35276
7
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I do hereby certify that I have this 30th day of June, 2010,
served a copy of the foregoing upon the below-listed party
electronically or by placing a copy in the U.S. Mail, addressed
as follows:
Jorge Busse
c/o Legal and Consular Department
100 N. Biscayne Blvd.
Suite 2200
Miami, FL 33132
Jennifer Franklin Prescott

P.O. Box 845
Palm Beach, FL 33480
/s/ Matthew L. Fesak

8
7/7/2010 Tony West, Assistant Attorney General…
Office of the Assistant Attorney General

Assistant Attorney General, Civil
Division:
Tony West
OFFICE OF THE AAG
APPELLATE STAFF Tony West w as nominated by
COMMERCIAL LITIGATION President Barack Obama to be
BRANCH the Assistant Attorney General
for the Justice Department’s Civil
OFFICE OF CONSUMER
LITIGATION Division on January 22, 2009. He
w as confirmed by the U.S.
FEDERAL PROGRAMS Senate on April 20, 2009.
OFFICE OF IMMIGRATION
LITIGATION From 1993 through 1994, he
served as a Special Assistant in
TORTS BRANCH
the Department under the
OFFICE OF LITIGATION direction of U.S. Deputy
SUPPORT Attorneys General Philip
STOP MEDICARE FRAUD Heymann and Jamie Gorelick, as
w ell as Attorney General Janet
STRUCTURED SETTLEMENT
BROKERS Reno. Mr. West w orked on the
development of national crime
PRESS RELEASES policy, including the 1994
FORMS Omnibus Crime Bill. From 1994 to
1999, Mr. West served as an
EMPLOYMENT
Assistant U.S. Attorney for the
WEB SITE FEEDBACK Northern District of California.
CIVIL DIVISION FOIA
Mr. West later served as state
DOJ HOME Special Assistant Attorney
General, an appointee of
California Attorney General Bill
Lockyer. In that capacity, he
advised the California Attorney
General on various matters
including high-tech crime, identity
theft, the Microsoft antitrust
litigation, police officer training,
Employees rank the Civil Division civil rights, and police misconduct.
in the top 2% of government
offices Prior to his return to the Justice
Department, Mr. West was a
litigation partner at Morrison &
Foerster in San Francisco. His
trial practice there included
representing individuals and
companies in civil and criminal
matters.
Mr. West graduated w ith honors

from Harvard College, w here he
served as publisher of the
Harvard Political Review , and
received his law degree from
Stanford Law School, where he
justice.gov/civil/Tony West Bio.htm 1/2
7/7/2010 Tony West, Assistant Attorney General…
w as elected President of the
Stanford Law Review.
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justice.gov/civil/Tony West Bio.htm 2/2

7/7/2010 BP gets U.S. demand for notice of ass…
BP gets U.S. demand for notice of asset sales

Order underlines the U.S. government's intense scrutiny of BP
updated 7/7/2010 8:33:48 AM ET
LONDON — BP PLC confirmed Wednesday that it received a demand from U.S. authorities for advance notice of any asset sales or significant cash
transfers.
The Financial Times reported that U.S. Assistant Attorney General Tony West, who heads the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice,
wrote to Rupert Bondy, BP's general counsel, on June 23. Normally the U.S. Justice Department does not require advance notice of such deals.
"We have received the letter, and have not yet responded," said BP press officer Sheila Williams. "We will be responding in due course."
She declined to say whether the Justice Department had set a deadline.
The letter underlines the U.S. government's intense scrutiny of BP as it struggles to cap the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, which began on April 20,
and to clean up the damage.
On April 30, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced that he had dispatched a team, which included West, to New Orleans to monitor the
spill. Ignacia S. Moreno, the assistant attorney general for the Environment and Natural Resources Division, was also part of the team.
Under intense pressure from President Barack Obama's administration, BP agreed last month to suspend dividend payments for the rest year and
to set up a $20 billion escrow fund to insure that the company pays for the damage.
On June 1, Holder announced that the Department of Justice had launched criminal and civil investigations of the disaster, which began with an
explosion and fire aboard the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform. Eleven workers died.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
…msn.com/…/business-oil_and_energy/ 1/1

FT. MYERS DIVISION

PRESCOTT,
Plaintiffs,

Defendants.
MOTION FOR EXTENSION OF TIME
NOW COMES the United States of America, on behalf of its
officers, Chief Judge Joel Dubina and Circuit Judges Gerald
Tjoflat and Stanley Birch of the United States Court of Appeals
for the Eleventh Circuit; District Judges Richard Lazzara, John
Steele and Magistrate Judge Sheri Chappell of the United States
District Court for the Middle District of Florida; and Deputy
United States Marshal Richard Jessup (collectively, “federal
defendants”); and moves for an extension of time in which to
answer or otherwise respond to Plaintiffs’ complaint. In support
of this motion, the United States shows unto the Court as
follows:
1. On February 9, 2010, Plaintiffs filed a complaint
naming the above-referenced federal defendants, and others, as
defendants in their “individual private and official” capacities.
2. The docket sheet indicates that service of process was
effected upon Judge Steele on May 1 [DE-12] and upon Judge
Chappell on May 4 [DE-13], with corresponding answer deadlines of
June 30 and July 3, 2010, respectively. Fed. R. Civ. P.
12(a)(2)&(3). There is no indication that any other federal
defendant has yet been served, and therefore the undersigned is
unable to ascertain their answer deadlines at this time.
3. A suit against a federal officer in his or her official
capacity is in effect a suit against the United States. See
Swank, Inc. v. Carnes, 856 F.2d 1481, 1483 (11th Cir. 1988). It
is the position of the United States that Plaintiffs’ complaint
should be construed as an official capacity suit against the
United States and not the individual federal defendants.
4. The undersigned Special Attorney is entering a general
notice of appearance on behalf of the United States and timely
filing a motion to dismiss the complaint contemporaneous with the
filing of this motion.
5. The United States respectfully suggests to the Court
that the same defenses it asserts in its motion to dismiss the
official capacity suit would apply with equal force if the
federal defendants were sued in their individual capacities;
2
however, if the Court were to construe this as an individual
capacity suit and were to require them to answer, then the
federal defendants require additional time to seek and obtain
authorization for the undersigned to represent them in their
individual capacities. See generally 28 C.F.R. § 50.15.
6. Accordingly, the undersigned makes a limited appearance
on behalf of the individually-named federal defendants solely for
purposes of seeking this extension of time so as to avoid the
possibility of entry of default against them should the Court
construe this as an individual capacity suit and not summarily
dismiss such individual capacity claims as frivolous.
7. Local Rule 3.01(g) requires “that the moving party
shall confer with counsel for the opposing party in a good faith
effort to resolve the issues raised by the motion.” Insomuch as
Plaintiffs are proceeding pro se, Local Rule 3.01(g) is
inapplicable.
WHEREFORE, the individual federal defendants request an
extension of time, up to and including thirty (30) days from such
future date as the Court might require them to answer an
individual capacity suit, in which to answer or otherwise respond
to Plaintiffs’ complaint.
3
TONY WEST

MATTHEW L. FESAK
Civil Division
Telephone: (919) 856-4530
Facsimile: (919) 856-4821
N.C. Bar No. 35276
as follows:
Jorge Busse
Suite 2200
Miami, FL 33132

P.O. Box 845

4
FORT MYERS DIVISION
[“TRANSFERRED” FROM: SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA, WEST PALM BEACH DIVISION]
JENNIFER FRANKLIN PRESCOTT, DR. JORG BUSSE,

Plaintiffs,
versus Reassigned Case # 2:09-CV-00791-CEH-SPC

ROGER ALEJO; KENNETH M. WILKINSON; JACK N. PETERSON; ROGER
DESJARLAIS; LEE COUNTY, FLORIDA; LEE COUNTY VALUE
ADJUSTMENT BOARD; LORI L. RUTLAND; STATE OF FLORIDA, BOARD
OF TRUSTEES OF THE INTERNAL IMPROVEMENT TRUST FUND; STATE
OF FLORIDA, DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION; CHAD
LACH; CHARLES “BARRY” STEVENS; REAGAN KATHLEEN RUSSELL;
KAREN B. HAWES; ROGER DESJARLAIS; CHARLIE GREEN; BOB JANES;
BRIAN BIGELOW; RAY JUDAH; TAMMY HALL; FRANK MANN; UNITED
STATES ATTORNEY(S); SEAN P. FLYNN; E. KENNETH STEGEBY; DAVID P.
RHODES; A. BRIAN ALBRITTON; CYNTHIA A. PIVACEK; JOHNSON
ENGINEERING, INC.; STEVEN CARTA; MIKE SCOTT; HUGH D. HAYES;
GERALD D. SIEBENS; STATE OF FLORIDA ATTORNEY GENERAL;
WILLIAM M. MARTIN; PETERSON BERNARD; SKIP QUILLEN; TOM
GILBERTSON, RYAN LENGERICH, NEWS PRESS,
Defendants.
PUBLISHED PUBLIC NOTICE OF
JUDICIAL CORRUPTION & FRAUD
____________________________________________________________________________/
PUBLISHED PUBLIC NOTICE OF CORRUPTION, CASE FIXING, AND CRIMES
BY DEF. CROOKED JUDGE CHARLENE E. HONEYWELL, AND IN PARTICULAR,
OF HER IDIOTIC INCOMPREHENSIBLE ‘PUBLIC LAND CLAIM’ [DOC. # 213, P. 5]
OF PLAINTIFFS’ LOT 15A, AS CONVEYED IN REFERENCE TO PB 3, PG 25 (1912)
Lot 15A, among other property, was claimed as public land (“Resolution 569/875")
(Dkt 5, Ex. 3, p. 9).”
PUBLISHED RECORD AS TO PUBLIC CORRUPTION: DOC. # 93-1; 2:2007-cv-00228
___________________________________
/S/JENNIFER FRANKLIN PRESCOTT
Governmental Corruption & Fraud Victim, Plaintiff, pro se
P.O. BOX 845, Palm Beach, FL 33480; T: 561-400-3295
______________________________________
/S/JORG BUSSE, M.D., M.M., M.B.A., C.P.M.
Judicial Corruption & Crime Victim; Plaintiff, pro se, JRBU@aol.com
State Cert. Res. Appraiser, Licensed Real Estate Broker, Mortgage Broker, Appraisal Instructor;
ATTACHED EXHIBITS & EVIDENCE OF PUBLIC CORRUPTION: DOC. # 93-1
Case 2:07-cv-00228-JES-SPC Document 93-1 Filed 08/07/07 Page 1 of 14
;' J,:'
TROY PARNELL 'F'"
REGISTERED REAL ESTATE BROKER
lA~~~~ Street TELEPHONE

18131 275-858(
~~
x~~x~:x~x
FORT ~IYERS. I<'LORIDA ~ 33901
January 29, 1999
Mr. James G. Yaeger

County Attorney'
P. O. Box 398
Ft. Myers, Florida 33902
Re: Second Revised Plat of Cayo Costa Subdivision!

Accretion
Dear Mr. Yaeger:
In your letter of December 15, 1998 you informed me that

you were requesting input from department heads. I would
appreciate any information you have received. I also would
like your opinion of the validity of the enclosed instrument.
If this instrument is legal, then it would appear that the

County Commission could file such an instrument pertaining
to any waterfront subdivision in Lee County, thereby robbing
the waterfront owners of any waterfront properties.
~ would appreciate hearing from you at your earliest

convenience. For ready reference I have enclosed copies of
our previous correspondence.
.;?
Sinze-:r,':"y? / ,- .
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STE\NART & KEYES \:::::::",,/
ATTORNEYS AT LAW
1534 HENDRY STREET

P.O. DRAWER 790
FORT MYERS. FL 33902-0790
WILLIAM L. STEWART (841) 334-7477
WILLIAM A. KEYES. JR. FAX (841) 334-7941
May 14, 1997
Mr. Troy Parnell

1429 Colonial Boulevard
Suite 203
Fort Myers, FL 33907 "
Dear Troy:
You have asked me about the ownership of the accretion to the

area between Lots 2 and 3, Block 14, Second Revised Plat of Cayo
Costa Subdivision and the Gulf of Mexico.
The Plat of this subdivision does not have any dedication of

easements for any purpose. It divides the property into numbered
blocks with spaces between, which are obviously intended" to be
roads. It does, however, have the following wording:
II NOTE
All streets 60' wide
All alleys 20' wide
All lots shown in uniformly square
Blocks 50' x 130' other lots scale measure.1I
The area between
the Blocks and the Gulf of Mexico has no
designation, but it is part of the street since all streets lead
to it and there is no line indicating the end of the streets.
Our Supreme Court has repeatedly held that when a lot on a

subdivision pl'at borders on a street each lot owner owns to the
center of the street, and, when the street is on the border of the
subdivider's property title of the,lot owner extends to the out~r
limits of the street. .
In the case of Caples v. Taliaferro, 197 So. 861 the Supreme

Court said:
IIThere are also authorities holding that

when a
street or highway is laid out wholly on the
margin
of a grantor' s land, a conveyance of the lands
abutting such street or highway carried the fee to
the entire u -widt h of
- - --- - ..:J" such street or highway unless
~
'(
r
, .Mr. Troy par'nell
I May 14, 1997
I Pa ge Two
"The more specific question here involved is this:

Where a street, way or walk way is laid out wholly
on the margin of the grantor's lands, said street,
way or walk way being bordered by navigable water,
does a conveyance of land abutting on such street,
way or walk way, as designated on the plat, carry
the fee to the"width of such street, way or
walkway, together with all riparian rights incident
thereto, unless expressly reserved?
While there is some conflict in the decisions on
this quest, we have reached the conclusion that the
answer should be in the affirmative."
There now appears to be considerable accretion to this street

bordering these lots. Since ti tIe to the land under the street
belongs to you the accretion belongs to you. In the case of
Mexi co Bea ch Cor pora tion v. st. Joe pa per Cor pora tion, 97 So .2d
708, the Court said:
"The common-law rule which vests title to soil
formed along navigable waters by accretion or
reliction in owners of abutting land is in force in
Florida."
I have assumed that you did not install groins or other

devices that caused this accretion. In the case of Board of
Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund v. Sand Key
Associates, Ltd., 512 So.2d 934, our Supreme Court said:
"Waterfront owner who did not participate in

construction of improvement which, together wi th
natural causes, caused accretion, had vested right
to new lands formed as a result of accretion,
notwithstanding fact that accretions or relictiohs
occurred in part because of artificial
improvements.
Very truly yours,

STEWART & KEYES
~ 1~
Will i am L. Stewar';-\
. .\---tt---
'.Tr ro - , J......
'
TROY PARNELL '" '
..
/ ..'.1
REGISTERED REAL ESTATE BROKER 1£..
i.",_/
TELEPHO:
xx'Xx<;.C:£x]tx3{IX3(x
~ID'{~~~ 9 41 ~~275-85
MAIL'~X'MX3922 Rogers Street
~'ORT~rYERS.
FLORIDA3~3 3 9 01
December 11, 1998
Lee County Attorney's Office

P. O. Box 398
Ft. Myers, Florida 33902 ..
Attention: Judy
Pursuant to your request in our phone conversation of December la,

1998 I enclose the following:
(1) Copy of the Resolution recorded in OR 569 page 875.
(2) Copy of a letter from Attorney William L. Stewart.
(3 ) Copy of the plat with our property indicated - same

being Lots 2 & 3 of Block 14.
The Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund of

the State of Florida has made an offer to purchase the property
but has said because of the recorded Resolution we do not own Gulf
front property.
It would seem that this instrument does not appear to be a valid

instrument because it is not executed by any Authority, as a matter
of fact it is not signed by anyone. Neither was the instrument
notorized since there wasn't anything to acknowledge. A Title
Insurance Policy did not reveal the existence of the Resolution:
A title search would not know where to look for such an instrument.
There are no recordings related to the Resolution on the preceding

ten pages of OR 569 page 875. The enclosed one page instrument 'is
the Resolution in its entirety.
We are of the opinion that the Resolution does not affect our
ownership of Gulffront property since the public lands referred to
in the Resolution, specifically the Gulffront, are in fact not public
lands and are part of the plat.
The representative of the State (Buyer) advised me to present this

matter to the County Attorney's Office or to seek an opinion from
the County Attorney. Z;'~ '
TPIk /<-~ '-7

SOUTHWEST FLORIDA
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS Writer's Direct Dial Number: (941) 335-2236
John E. Manning
District One
Douglas R. SI. Cerny

District Two December 15, 1998
Ray Judah
District Three Mr. Troy Parnell
Andrew W. Coy 3922 Rogers Street
District Four
Fort Myers, Fl 33901
John E. Albion
District Five
Re: Second Revised Plat of Cayo Costa Subdivision/Accretion
Donald D. Stilwell
County Manager
Dear Mr. Parnell:
James G. Yaeger
County Attorney
Diana M. Parker
I am in receipt of your December 11, 1998 letter on the above. We will attempt
County Hearing to review the history of the County Resolution and let you know our position as soon
Examiner
as possible. In order to expedite review, I have taken the liberty of forwarding your
inquiry to the attention of the County lands Department.
Very truly yours,
2~~
County Attorney
JGY/jm
xc: J. W. French, Director, Public Works
Karen Forsyth, County lands
Timntn\l Innce .6.eeiet~nt ('nllnt\l .6.ttnrnc\l
,,'-'
\./ . -.,r...'
3922 Rogers Street

February 12,1999
Mr. James G. Yaeger

County Attorney
P.O. Box 398
Re: Second Revised Plat of Cayo Costa
Subdivision/Accretion
Dear Mr. Yaeger:
I enclose a copy of my letter of January 29, 1999 and

also a copy of your letter of December 15, 1998.
Since it has been two months I would think that your

County Lands Department has had time to respond.
At any rate I would appreciate your advising me as to
when I can expect an answer.
Sin;_.~;%lY /.
<::. /' / ~ ...
~
-
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Enc1s. (2)
/ / /~:o~*~~
/./
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.~I
LEECO~TY
SOUTHWEST , .
.'.
. i
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r
FLORIDA
,./9:~~
.p...,'-
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS Writer's Direct DialNumber: (941) 335-2236
John E. Manning
District One
Douglas R. SI. Cerny February 22, 1999

District Two
Ray Judah
District Three
Mr. Troy Parnell
Andrew W. Coy
District Four
3922 Roger Street ,
Fort Myers, FL 33901
John E. Albion
District Five
Re: Second Revised Plat of Cayo Costa Subdivision
Donald D. Stilwell
County Manager
Dear Mr. Parnell:
James G. Yaeger
County Attorney
In response to your correspondence to Mr. Yaeger, the Lee County Attorney's
Diana M. Parker
County Hearing
Office researched the history of the second revised plat of the Cayo Costa Subdivision
Examiner and governing case law on accretion and reliction. Based on this research, we conclude
that the public may have a valid claim to the accreted lands on the Gulf side of the Cayo
Costa Subdivision. Moreover, it is the Board's policy to retain public lands for public
purposes rather than relinquishthose intereststo private entities. It would be acceptable
for the County to relinquish its interests in this property if the intent is to transfer the
property in question to the State as part of the CARL Program. Your letter indicates that
the'Board of Trustees of the Internal ImprovementTrust Fund of the State of Florida has
offered to purchase the property, but claims that the resolution recorded in the public
records and reflected in the County Commission Minute Books calls into question your
client's ability to convey fee simple title to the accreted lands. This office would
recommend that the Board of County Commissioners release the public's interest in the
accreted land on the condition that the County deed is held in escrow until the closing
with the State. At that time, the deed would be released and available for recordation in
the public records.
If your client is interested in pursuing this course of action, please contact me at

your earliest convenience so that we may discuss the details of this transaction.
f2 i egards
1~;uJr~tif a{f~;v1.
Donna Mafie Collins
Assistant County Attorney
DMC/amp
cc: James G. Yaeger, County Attorney
Timot~y Jones, Assistant County Attorney
S:\LU\DMC\DMCL TR\PARNELL.WPD
P.O. Box 398, Fort Myers, Florida 33902-0398 (941) 335-2111

Lee On Line Access (LOLA) Internet address http://lola.co.lee.fI.us
~"",~"~~,~""""""""",,,",.,r::..nlrw"c
Dep~rtment of
Environmental Protection
Marjory Stoneman Douglas Building
Jeb Bush 3900 Commonwealth Boulevard Colleen M. Cast
Governor Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3000 Secretary
February 2, 2006
Troy Parnell
3922 Roters Street
Ft. Myers, FL 33901
RE: Cayo Costa Project, Lee County

0.30 Acres
Dear Property Owners:
As agent for the Department of Environmental Protection of the State of Florida, I ,«ould like to extend a
cash offer in the amount of $222,000.00, to purchase the above referenced property located in Lee
County, Florida. The State of Florida is offering to purchase this property due to its location within an
area that qualifies for State acquisition as part of the State's Florida Forever Program. The Division of
State lands will be the agent for this transaction.
Over the past several years, the State has diligently worked on acquiring property within the Cayo Costa
Project. The state has had the properties appraised numerous times and has made several offers to
property owners. Recent purchases within the last year have caused the Division of State Lands to
reevaluate its priorities. I was recently informed that the funds and time allocated for this project are
now limited.
Prior to extending an offer to purchase property, Florida law requires an appraisal to be completed by an
independent real estate appraiser. The appraiser is asked to give the market value of the property. The
appraisal is confidential, by law, until a contract is signed by the Seller and approved by the Division of
State lands. Your offer was formulated based on such an appraisal.
Please notify me within 60 days of receipt of this offer and I will prepare, for your review, an
Agreement to purchase your property. It is important for you to know that this is a voluntary
program, and you are under no obligation to sell your property or participate in this program.
Many times owners prefer to donate their property and, in some cases, tax benefits may be realized from
a donation. . An accountant, tax professional, or the Internal Revenue Service can provide you with
additional information. Please let us know if you are interested in donating the property for environmental
purposes.
If I may provide additional information or assistance, please do not hesitate to call me at the number
below. I hope to hear from you soon.
~
Si.~cereIY' .
-
.- ~"-.;
abrina Carter '-.,
-"
land Acquisition Agent

(.~ c c~~k
\ --. ~!
G "--
Bureau of Land Acquisition

(850) 245-2669 ext. 4702
JEFF PARNELL
REAL ESTATE INVESTMENTS, INC.
LICENSED REAL ESTATE BROKER
0)5 KELLYROAD TEll
SUITE 112 (239) ~
cRS. FLORIDA 33908 FA.'{ (239
K.M. Roesch, Jr. & Anita Roesch May 15,2007

15411 NW 46th Ln.
Chi efland, FL 32626
Re: Gulf front lot on Cayo Casta ,
Dear Mr. & Mrs. Roesch:
My father, Troy Parnell and the estate of William Reynolds own the northern most gulf
front lots (lots 1A & 2A). On December 10, 1969 the Lee County Commission voted to
deed itself an area of accretion to the west of certain gulf front lots. The effect of this
makes what was once gulf front lots no longer gulf front. They had no right to do this.
We have done much research on this matter. There have been recent rulings by the courts
to support our position that the area of accretion belongs to the gulf front owners. I have
had discussions with attorneys in Miami and Sarasota that specialize in this matter and
they have suggested our case is so strong that we hire a local attorney here in town.
My father is prepared to move ahead with a law suit. Through our correspondence with
the county and discussions with attorneys we believe the county, state or DEP will not or
can not do anything until they are sued. However, we will not go ahead without the
support of all the effected lot owners who will benefit from this. I have identified seven
lot owners who will benefit from this and included the lots on the enclosed plat.
The estimated cost to file the suit is $15,000. Each owner will most likely have to survey
their lots including the accretion area at a cost of $7,500.each. Even though our case is
extremely strong and supported by recent precedence we should be prepared to go to trial
at an estimated cost of an additional $25,000. This would be a total of approximately
$13,215.00 for each lot owner.
The average depth ofthe accretion is about 1,400 feet. Most of the single lots are 50 feet
wide. That would be about 70,000 square feet more property for each 50 foot lot.
Considering the state has offered as much as $18.00 per square foot for gulf front lots, the
reward for filing the law suit is impressive and the risk appears to be very low.
I am asking that each owner please contact me by telephone and let me know how you
feel about this issue so I can see what kind of consensus we have.
JJ/Tr;ld
7?eff ~arnell
Gulf Front Lot Owners Effected:
Troy Parnell & Reynolds Real Estate, LLP - Lots 2 & 3
Busse, Jorg, PO Box 1126, Naples, Fl34106 - Lot 15A
Lewis, Allen E., Kensington Investments, 347 Congress St., #3A, Boston, MA, 0221
Lots 23A & 24A
,
Elrubaie, Salman B 11810 Isle of Palms Dr., Ft. Myers Beach, FL 33931 - Lot 27A
Baucomm, Ruth K, Tr., 28232 Tung Oil Rd., Kinston, AL 36453 - Lot 28A
Garvey, William R, 519 Clubside Dr., Naples, FL 34110 - Lot 67A

n. 1 V""'T <> A .~-"" 1t:"A11 "THTA,thT_- nL~_£'1 ! r'T ,.".,C,.,C T TI
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FT. MYERS DIVISION

PRESCOTT,
Plaintiffs,

Defendants.
NOTICE OF APPEARANCE
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the undersigned Special Attorney, on
behalf of the United States of America and the following officers
in their official capacities: John Edwin Steele, Sheri Polster
Chappell, Gerald Bard Tjoflat, Richard Jessup, Judge Birch, Judge
Dubina, and Richard A. Lazzara, hereby enters his Notice of
Appearance in this case, and requests that the Court mail all
notices and orders and the like to its undersigned counsel at the
address indicated below.

Respectfully submitted, this 30th day of June, 2010.
TONY WEST

MATTHEW L. FESAK
Civil Division
Telephone: (919) 856-4530
Facsimile: (919) 856-4821
N.C. Bar No. 35276
as follows:
Jorg Busse
Suite 2200
Miami, FL 33132

P.O. Box 845


FT. MYERS DIVISION

PRESCOTT,
Plaintiffs,
v. Case No. 2:10-cv-89-CEH-TGW

Defendants.
CERTIFICATE OF INTERESTED PERSONS

AND CORPORATE DISCLOSURE STATEMENT
I hereby disclose the following pursuant to this Court’s
interested persons order:
1. The name of each person, attorney, association of

persons, firm, law firm, partnership, and corporation that has or
may have an interest in the outcome of this action - including
subsidiaries, conglomerates, affiliates, parent corporations,
publicly-traded companies that own 10% or more of a party’s
stock, and all other identifiable legal entities related to any
party in the case:
a. District Judge John Edwin Steele

b. Magistrate Judge Sheri Polster Chappell
c. Circuit Judge Gerald Bard Tjoflat
d. Deputy U.S. Marshal Richard Jessup
e. Circuit Judge Stanley Birch
f. Chief Circuit Judge Joel Dubina
g. District Judge Richard A. Lazzara
2. The name of every other entity whose publicly-traded

stock, equity, or debt may be substantially affected by the
outcome of the proceedings:
None.
3. The name of every other entity which is likely to be an

active participant in the proceedings, including the debtor and
members of the creditors’ committee (or twenty largest unsecured
creditors) in bankruptcy cases:
None.
4. The name of each victim (individual or corporate) of

civil and criminal conduct alleged to be wrongful, including
every person who may be entitled to restitution:
Plaintiffs Jennifer Franklin Prescott and Jorge Busse
I hereby certify that, except as disclosed above, I am

unaware of any actual or potential conflict of interest involving
the district judge and magistrate judge assigned to this case,
and will immediately notify the Court in writing on learning of
any such conflict. I further certify that I have inserted “None”
if there is no actual or potential conflict of interest.
TONY WEST

MATTHEW L. FESAK
Civil Division
Telephone: (919) 856-4530
Facsimile: (919) 856-4821
N.C. Bar No. 35276
2
as follows:
Jorg Busse
Suite 2200
Miami, FL 33132

P.O. Box 845

3

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

JORG BUSSE; JENNIFER FRANKLIN

v. Case No. 2:10-CV-89-CEH-TGW

JOHN EDWIN STEELE; SHERI POLSTER

MOTION TO DISMISS AND MEMORANDUM OF LAW

NOW COMES the United States of America, by and through its

undersigned attorneys, and hereby moves to dismiss Plaintiff’s

Complaint as frivolous and barred by absolute immunity. A

memorandum in support is included herein.

This Court, unfortunately, is all too familiar with

Plaintiffs’ grievances and litigious history. A brief synopsis

is set forth herein, but a more thorough history of Plaintiffs’

filings can be found in the Government’s Motion to Dismiss in

Busse VII, No. 2:09-CV-791 [DE-69], and this Court’s Order

entered on June 23, 2010 [DE-213].

Starting in 2007, Plaintiff Jorg Busse and others began a

campaign against Lee County, Florida, and other persons and

entities, alleging that their property in the Cayo Costa

subdivision had been illegally taken. Plaintiffs filed a

complaint with this Court alleging Constitutional deprivations.

Mar. 5, 2009). Plaintiff’s first case was not facially improper,

but after a full and fair opportunity to litigate their case,

Plaintiffs’ complaint was dismissed as unripe because Plaintiffs

had not availed themselves of state remedies. Plaintiffs then

persisted to file lawsuit after lawsuit — now totaling nine

separate complaints — attempting to re-litigate the same

constitutional claims and adding allegations of an ever-growing

conspiracy theory of fraud and corruption against anyone involved

in his previous lawsuits who opposed him.

All of Plaintiffs’ lawsuits except for this case and one

after-filed Complaint (No. 2:10-CV-390) have been dismissed,

often summarily, as wanting jurisdiction or meritless. Each of

Plaintiffs’ numerous appeals from this Court’s decisions have

resulted in affirmation or dismissal. The Complaint in this case

has rejected in each of the past cases, including Busse V, No.

2:09-CV-341, which also named each of the federal defendants

named herein, asserted the same unsupported allegations of

conspiracy and corruption, and which was summarily dismissed with

prejudice by Judge Lazzara as “patently frivolous, vexatious, and

harassing with little or no chance of success” [Busse V, DE-17].

A. Plaintiffs’ complaint is patently frivolous and barred by

Insofar as this case involves the same parties and

indistinguishable claims as Plaintiffs’ prior lawsuits that have

been dismissed with prejudice, including, inter alia, Busse V,

No. 2:09-CV-341, the Court should likewise dismiss the instant

complaint on grounds of res judicata and frivolity. See Davila

(res judicata absolutely bars re-litigation of claims after a

final judgment on the merits by a court of competent jurisdiction

where there is an identity of parties and the actions are based

on the same factual predicate). The frivolity of this lawsuit is

further evidenced by the sheer volume of filings that this Court

and the named defendants have been compelled to expend valuable

time and resources responding to; the Plaintiffs’ utter contempt

of this Court’s authority, principles of res judicata, and the

rule of law; the scurrilous and delusory accusations lodged

against judicial officers and other irreproachable public

servants; and Plaintiffs’ inability to state a coherent claim

despite their painfully obvious familiarity with our Constitution

and judicial system.

B. Plaintiffs yet again fail to articulate a plausible claim