The Week in Words

By Times Staff Writer
Published February 17, 2008

"I should have framed it instead of cashing it, but I needed the money."

Jon Scott, a former client of Coral Bay Construction, whose president, Steven Bartlett, is charged with grand theft. Scott and other bilked customers received checks for $166 in a bankruptcy settlement.

"I have no choice because all my money's gone. This is what my retirement is. This is what I looked forward to."

Conrad Filipiak, who claims to have lost at least $126,000 to Coral Bay, describing to jurors the 33-year-old mobile home in the Royal Highlands that he lives in now.

"He said, 'Take me to Panama.' They didn't want him. He was worried about terminal bullets."

Mike Honeycutt of Jet ICU, an air ambulance company at Hernando Airport that transports patients around the world, recalling a former Latin American dictator who was a customer.

"In Florida, we crash harder, but believe it or not, we come back quicker."

Joel Tew, an attorney representing developer Tommy Bronson in his application to the County Commission for permission for a massive subdivision in northwest Hernando County, on the resiliency of the state's home-building market.

"I just couldn't stop it."

John Hartvell, 56, a Brooksville resident and Sears employee, recovering in a Tampa hospital after a forklift malfunctioned and pinned him to the ceiling of a semitrailer.

[Last modified February 16, 2008, 20:37:07]