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Steve LaBrake and Lynne McCarter struggle to keep the dream house that has cost two jobs and started federal and state inquiries.
By JEFF TESTERMAN, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published January 26, 2002
TAMPA -- The dream house built in south Tampa by Steve LaBrake and Lynne McCarter, and the media attention it attracted, cost the couple their reputations.
It put them in the crosshairs of a federal grand jury investigation and a state ethics inquiry. It cost LaBrake his $105,000 job as Tampa's housing boss.
Now, LaBrake and McCarter are struggling to hang on to the home.
Ryan Construction, the contractor that built the 4,200-square-foot home at 3608 W Corona St., has filed a lien on the property saying the couple still owes $168,431 for work completed in September.
"As a last resort, they may have to sell the house," said Dean Ryan, owner of Ryan Construction. "It's tough for them right now. Neither of them has a job, they just had a baby (and) they can't get financing."
LaBrake said Friday that he and McCarter sought refinancing from several banks in hopes of getting out of their financial jam. But bank officials had read stories about the investigations, he said, and turned them down.
"We're in a horrendous predicament," LaBrake said. "We're trying to do anything we can do to bring in a little money."
The FBI and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating how McCarter obtained a $230,000 mortgage to build the dream house and her signing of a bargain-basement contract with Ryan to build it.
The Florida Ethics Commission is investigating the circumstances of McCarter's advancement in the city's housing department, which happened while she was LaBrake's top aide and girlfriend.
With the help of excellent evaluations from LaBrake, McCarter was promoted from a $6-an-hour clerk to a $55,723-a-year senior redevelopment counselor for the city of Tampa. LaBrake, 50, was involved in an affair with McCarter, 31, while both worked for the city and while LaBrake was in the midst of a contentious divorce, now scheduled to go to trial in March.
LaBrake's baby son was born to McCarter in December, shortly after the two set up housekeeping in the W Corona Street home.
Ryan, which has profited from dozens of city housing contracts, initially agreed to build the shell of the four-bedroom, 31/2 bath home with pool and spa for $105,000. It was to be constructed on a lot purchased by McCarter for $121,000, and LaBrake was to complete much of the finish work himself.
But those plans changed last year when LaBrake underwent heart bypass surgery. His medical condition meant Ryan would have to do more of the work. Change orders pushed Ryan's contract up to $246,656.
"Over and over, the media has been reporting what a wonderful deal this house was," LaBrake said. "But it's not the sweetheart deal it's been made out to be."
LaBrake said he has been unable to find a new job. McCarter, on leave without pay since last August, has some sick pay coming following maternity leave and plans to return to her city job next month. In the meantime, the two are scrambling to make ends meet.
This month, McCarter turned to a city housing inspector and a longtime friend of LaBrake for a loan to purchase two lots she hopes to sell or develop.
Richard Nazaro loaned McCarter $14,708 for the $13,714 purchase of adjoining lots in Grant Park, a low-income neighborhood north of Interstate 4 and east of 50th Street. Nazaro owned a construction company from 1985 to 1997 that did housing renovation work through LaBrake's department. He was hired as a housing inspector in 1999.
"I'm afraid of being drawn into the investigation, so, legally, it was a dumb thing to do," Nazaro said. "And I know the people at the city will hate me for this. But (LaBrake and McCarter) are destitute. They've been abandoned. I just wanted to help out."
McCarter and LaBrake both have real estate licenses. LaBrake also is a licensed general contractor who has built homes for himself. LaBrake said he would handle home construction on the Grant Park lots if buyers can be found.
McCarter also got a favor from Orlando Vasquez, a former employee of THAP Homes who until recently kept a desk in LaBrake's old department at the city. Vasquez helped McCarter with the real estate contract on the lots and accompanied her to seal the deal with a $500 cash down payment.
"They'd helped me out," Vasquez said. "It was just a favor I did for them. I didn't even charge any commission."
The unfolding scandal involving LaBrake and McCarter contributed to Vasquez losing his job with THAP Homes. The home-building company is part of the Tampa Hillsborough Action Plan, a nonprofit that received millions of dollars through LaBrake's city department.
THAP chief executive Chester M. Luney okayed several favors enabling McCarter to finance the dream home, including a blind lease, a gift basket contract worth $34,100 and services to haul an old home from her Corona Street lot and dig a hole for a pool on the property.
The publicity about the favors, on top of reports of THAP's shaky finances, resulted in a loss of confidence in the nonprofit by local officials. The city, the county and the U.S. Dept. of Veteran Affairs have all decided to withhold funds from THAP.
Luney, the target of a separate investigation by the VA's Office of the Inspector General, left THAP in December. A few days later, Vasquez and other THAP Homes employees were laid off.
"Luney was the backbone of the program," Vasquez said. "I think he was the victim of a lot of propaganda."
LaBrake thinks he and McCarter have been victimized by the media. He insists they broke no laws. He feels certain investigators will find no wrongdoing involving the dream house.
Based on comparable recent home sales, the couple could possibly sell their place and walk away with money in their pocket. Similar homes have been going for $135 to $145 a square foot, meaning the dream home might sell for $567,000 to $609,000.
LaBrake doubts the home would fetch that much.
"We could probably break even," he said. "But it's not our wish to sell this house after all the anguish we've been through."
- Times researcher John Martin contributed to this report.