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39. petitions in favor of the park collected hundreds of names: Ibid.
40. “These individuals do not yet realize that mankind and wildlife live in the same ecosystem”: Meinhardt, “‘Double-Cross’ Allegations over Site for Sanctuary.”
41. In the end, the city turned the plot into a landfill: East, “Sod Farm Land to Be Considered for Landfill Use.”
42. the largest nonprofit wild bird hospital in the country: Lindberg, “Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary No Longer Taking in Injured Birds.”
43. published a quarterly newsletter, Fly Free: Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary, Fly Free, Summer 2008.
44. At its largest the sanctuary employed forty-four workers: Vaughan and Vaughan, interview, August 10, 2015.
45. internationally praised bird rehabilitator, Barbara Suto: Goff, “New Bird Rescue Operation Fills a Void.”
46. in state-of-the-art emergency facilities and a surgical center: Flying Free 2, Matheney Productions.
47. licensed veterinary assistants: Godwin, interview, July 24, 2015.
48. groundskeepers; office staff; a marketing director: Vaughan and Vaughan, interview, August 10, 2015.
49. all-volunteer rescue team bringing in up to forty-five new birds every day: Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary, “Our Birds . . . By the Numbers.”
50. volunteers keeping tight shifts on the grounds and in the sanctuary hospital: Walls, interview, July 14, 2015.
51. Chris was one of only three people there: Ibid.
52. There were now six paid employees working at the sanctuary: Ibid.
53. People were steadily leaving jobs at the sanctuary: Douglas, “Seabird Sanctuary Workers Say Donations Disappeared.”
54. Ralph was accused of stealing money out of the donation boxes— outed to the press by former employees: Ibid.
55. Ralph announced the sanctuary would no longer be rescuing birds: Lindberg, “Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary No Longer Taking in Injured Birds.”
56. transitioning to a volunteer-based staff due to its inability to keep up with debts: Douglas, “Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary Must Pay $21,336 in Back Wages.”
57. The IRS was pursuing them for almost $200,000 in unpaid payroll taxes: Lindberg, “State Files Tax Lien Against Troubled Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary.”
58. They owed more than $21,000 in employee back pay: Douglas, “Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary Must Pay $21,336 in Back Wages.”
59. Ralph was arrested and charged with workers’ compensation fraud: Lindberg, “Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary Founder Charged with Workers’ Compensation Fraud.”
60. a man had slipped in a truck while delivering ice at the sanctuary: Eslick, interview, November 4, 2015.
61. “It was the management”: Walls, interview, July 14, 2015.
62. “Then they’d go off and die, and not bother the chickens”: Flying Free 2, Matheney Productions.
63. Licensed rehabbers pick birds up from the hospital a few times a week so they can receive care the sanctuary can’t provide: Walls, interview, July 14, 2015.
64. She’s a former kindergarten teacher: Vickery, interview, July 12, 2015.
65. sanctuary volunteers used to go through special training to feed baby birds: Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary, “Volunteers.”
66. “He’s an OCD. Hoarder”: Kraut and Vaughan, interview, July 29, 2015.
67. Ralph signed over the deeds for the sanctuary property and his house to Seaside Land Investments LLC: Lindberg, “Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary No Longer Taking in Injured Birds.”
68. heirs to the Anheuser-Busch fortune and the fortune of their stepfather: “All the Kings’ Children,” St. Louis Magazine.
69. “It’s wall-to-wall pigeons”: Kraut and Vaughan, interview, July 29, 2015.
70. can’t legally release it back into the wild: “Wildlife Rehabilitation Permit,” Rule 68A-9.006.
71. “Well, yeah. He comes in and looks around”: Kraut and Vaughan, interview, July 29, 2015.
72. six hundred pounds of fish: Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary, “Our Birds . . . By the Numbers.”
73. Greg Vaughan was working at the sanctuary when the Deepwater Horizon oil spill happened: Vaughan, interview, July 12, 2015.
74. claiming there’s too much paperwork involved: Vaughan and Vaughan, interview, August 10, 2015.
75. some are quite large, whether monetary or in the form of cars and yachts: Guastella, interview, August 3, 2015.
76. “the sanctuary’s troubles would be over, for a time at least”: Bothwell, “Seabird Sanctuary Gains Recognition—but the Bills!”
77. Every few months, someone died and left millions of dollars to the sanctuary: Guastella, interview, August 3, 2015.
78. Ralph’s mother, Helen, managed the business: Vaughan and Vaughan, interview, August 10, 2015.
79. she fell ill and Micki took over: Eslick, interview, November 4, 2015.
80. Jimbo’s band held a benefit concert for the sanctuary down on St. Pete Beach: Guastella, interview, August 3, 2015.
81. “I had hair down to here”: Ibid.
82. he’d never been interested in the sanctuary’s operations: Ibid.
83. With his mother running the office, he never thought to learn how it ran: Vaughan and Vaughan, interview, August 10, 2015.
84. When publicity went south, so did donations: Lindberg, “Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary No Longer Taking in Injured Birds.”
85. he said, wrongfully, that birds faced famine: Lindberg, “Seabird Sanctuary Founder Sued Twice, Accused of Selling Car to Two Different Buyers.”
86. his waterfront home, which he’d purchased for $300,000, the sanctuary yacht, which he’d purchased for $355,000: Lindberg, “Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary Warehouse to Be Auctioned to Pay Debt.”
87. claimed he was using it to research the effects of plastic pollution on the ocean floor: Ibid.
88. “I came home with three thousand dollars in my pocket”: Guastella, interview, August 3, 2015.
89. Greg spotted an ad for a groundskeeper in the paper: Vaughan, interview, July 12, 2015.
90. Kellie, a certified nurse, moved in with her: Vaughan and Vaughan, interview, August 10, 2015.
91. Greg told me that Ralph owes him and Kellie each $7,000: Vaughan and Vaughan, interview, July 30, 2015.
92. “sort of a consultant”: Vickery, interview, July 12, 2015.
93. crippled Kellie’s ability to maintain donor relations: Vaughan and Vaughan, interview, July 30, 2015.
94. attempting to sell the same 1963 Corvette Stingray to two different buyers: Lindberg, “Seabird Sanctuary Founder Sued Twice, Accused of Selling Car to Two Different Buyers.”
95. “Ralph’s an idiot”: Vaughan and Vaughan, interview, July 30, 2015.
96. a man had died and left his estate to the sanctuary: Vaughan and Vaughan, interview, August 10, 2015.
97. “The thing is, he’s not doing it for the sanctuary”: Ibid.
98. there was a foreclosure suit against it back in 2013: Lindberg, “Foreclosure Suit Filed against Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary Property.”
99. the warehouse was put up for auction: Lindberg, “Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary Warehouse to Be Auctioned to Pay Debt.”
100. At the last minute, the auction was canceled: Cooper vs. Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary, et al.
101. Ralph’s sons registered an LLC named after the Starkey Road address: “12388 Starkey Road, LLC,” Corporation Wiki.
102. paid for the warehouse: Vaughan and Vaughan, interview, August 10, 2015.
103. “You don’t want to know”: Walls, interview, July 12, 2015.
104. 35,000 square feet, according to News Channel 8: Douglas, “Foreclosure Filed over Seabird Sanctuary Warehouse.”
105. has two floors, according to Jimbo: Guastella, interview, August 3, 2015.
106. Ralph refuses to believe what people say about him is true: Vaughan and Vaughan, interview, July 12, 2015.
107. “The media, as you well know, likes sensationalism”: Heath, interview, November 4,
2015.
108. “He has to win”: Guastella, interview, August 3, 2015.
109. He replied that he had one hundred pigeons: Heath, interview, July 12, 2015.
110. “We got a lot of baby birds in the hospital last night”: Heath, interview, August 1, 2015.
111. “Did I miss a call from you this morning?”: Vaughan, interview, August 3, 2015.
112. “They want to keep it alive and they know it won’t stay alive with him involved”: Guastella, interview, August 3, 2015.
113. some falling in love, as Ralph had described: Heath, interview, July 30, 2015.
114. some sick and waiting to die until he returned home: Heath, interview, August 12, 2015.
115. von Gontard estate, Oxbow Farm: Orcutt, “Down on the Farm: Tours Aim to Provide Missing Piece to Story.”
116. Andrew is a commercial airline pilot based in St. Louis, has a law degree, and is making his way toward being a judge: Guastella, interview, August 3, 2015.
117. recently launched an upscale bar called the Eberhard: Peppard, “Dallas Bar the Eberhard from Brothers with Beer in the Family.”
118. as well as a dating app called Courtem: Hall, “Anheuser-Busch Brothers Tap into Dating App Market with Support from Mark Cuban.”
119. “this is where the huge fear is going on here right now”: Guastella, interview, August 3, 2015.
120. “He’s just made a lot of stupid mistakes”: Vaughan and Vaughan, interview, August 10, 2015.
121. sitting under three feet of bird shit, infested with bees: Guastella, interview, August 3, 2015.
122. The sanctuary’s score on Charity Navigator: “Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary: Historical Ratings,” Charity Navigator.
123. purchased by the sanctuary back in 1997, from a funeral director: Deed of sale from Zeta G. Bobbitt to Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary Inc.
124. generate revenue for the sanctuary by renting out the house: Eslick, interview, November 4, 2015.
125. Micki had retired from Verizon after thirty-four years: Ibid.
126. doing the sanctuary’s books by hand for almost forty years: Karas, “At 100, Helen Heath Puts Her Life into the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary.”
127. And in 2007, she asked Micki to help her with administrative duties: Eslick, interview, November 4, 2015.
128. Micki’s husband, Slick, was against the transition: Ibid.
129. Michelle Glean Simoneau was the sanctuary’s marketing and public relations director: Mullane Estrada, “Financial Problems Strain Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary.”
130. keeping on general good terms with the public: Vaughan and Vaughan, interview, August 10, 2015.
131. built the sanctuary back up to near its former glory: “Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary: Historical Ratings,” Charity Navigator.
132. Ralph promised Michelle she’d be executive director when he retired: Vaughan and Vaughan, interview, August 10, 2015.
133. “Ralph let her have it because it’s his first cousin”: Ibid.
134. Ralph gave Micki the new title of operations manager: Ibid.
135. “I would say we need to use this money for what it was intended for”: Douglas, “Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary Finances Face Review.”
136. she was weeks behind in pay: Ibid.
137. “Micki hired eight or nine more employees, including her son”: Vaughan and Vaughan, interview, August 10, 2015.
138. sanctuary had allowed employees’ health insurance to lapse without telling them: Lindberg, “U.S. Labor Department Investigating Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary.”
139. Kellie began working full-time at a nursing home to make ends meet: Vaughan and Vaughan, interview, August 10, 2015.
140. “Mrs. Heath, to me, was like my grandma”: Ibid.
141. “We were never able to verify another account”: Heath, interview, November 4, 2015.
142. supposedly for health reasons: Vaughan, interview, October 28, 2015.
143. they were prepared to quit if Ralph didn’t leave: Vaughan and Vaughan, interview, August 10, 2015.
144. Instead I received a response from Adrianne: Beitl, interview, October 28, 2015.
145. “We never had any proof”: Heath, interview, November 2, 2015.
146. “They bought the mortgage and took it over”: Lindberg, “Mistake Gives Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary Owner Years of Tax Breaks.”
147. Beatrice and Ralph’s sons had given him two weeks to move: Vaughan and Vaughan, interview, August 10, 2015.
148. “reasons that are not clear but appear to be nefarious”: Doty, letter about Ralph Heath.
149. Micki’s friend paid $3,000 for the cremation: Eslick, interview, November 4, 2015.
150. they filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy: Notice of bankruptcy case filing, US Bankruptcy Court, Middle District of Florida.
151. “I didn’t do any embezzling”: Eslick, interview, November 4, 2015.
152. they were much like siblings, always very close: Ibid.
153. heated pools for the turtles so they wouldn’t be cold in the winter: Heath, interview, November 4, 2015.
154. “Why don’t you go ask Ralph how much money he’s embezzled from the sanctuary?”: Eslick, interview, November 4, 2015.
155. Omar Bsaies, a sanctuary board member: Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary, Fly Free, Spring/Summer 2012.
156. former US diplomat now living in the Philippines: San Diego, “Ali’s Wonderland a Labor of Love.”
157. a time when the sanctuary needed serious help: Eslick, interview, November 4, 2015.
158. “he runs over and kind of ruins it”: Guastella, interview, November 27, 2015.
159. In 1986, a woman named Anne Bywater had inherited four hundred acres of land: Wiggins, interview, November 24, 2015.
160. The land was mostly underwater and was environmentally protected: Holan, “Pasco County 400-Acre Seabird Sanctuary for Sale.”
161. his plans for the zoological park had been annihilated by the no-name storm of 1993: Ibid.
162. “I honestly feel that Ralph Heath always had grand ideas that he never carried through”: Wiggins, interview, November 24, 2015.
163. “You don’t do business like that”: Eslick, interview, November 4, 2015.
164. selling Ralph’s house would be in the sanctuary’s best interest: Ibid.
165. “what it takes to keep the sanctuary alive and well”: Marler, interview, November 6, 2015.
166. it was the first fuel-injected Corvette to enter the state of Florida: Lindberg, “Seabird Sanctuary Founder Sued Twice, Accused of Selling Car to Two Different Buyers.”
167. “Then you have the ’61 and the ’63 to go along with your other eighteen or twenty cars”: Heath, interview, November 4, 2015.
168. “only triple red un-restored and all original 1963 Corvette of its kind”: Lindberg, “Seabird Sanctuary Founder Sued Twice, Accused of Selling Car to Two Different Buyers.”
169. “they’re a wildlife object”: Heath, interview, August 1, 2015.
170. “I have to swipe away some spider webs to get out of my room”: Guastella, interview, November 27, 2015.
171. Tara Gallagher, a former girlfriend of Ralph’s and employee of the sanctuary: “Memorial for Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary Employee Set for Sunday,” Tampa Bay Times.
172. It’s not uncommon for Ralph to forage in the sanctuary’s trash cans: Guastella, interview, November 27, 2015.
173. the story of Grungy, the orphaned pigeon: Heath, interview, August 1, 2015.
174. Birds, especially pigeons, are linked to a slew of human illnesses: Nordqvist, “Birds and Their Droppings Can Carry over 60 Diseases.”
175. Bird fancier’s lung is one of the most common: “Health Guide: Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis,” New York Times.
176. Other bird-linked illnesses, such as cryptococcal meningitis, affect the brain: “Health Guide: Meningitis-Cryptococcal,” New York Times.
177. spinal tap showed it wasn’t that, but rather cryptococcal meningitis: Eslick, interview, N
ovember 4, 2015.
178. “Birds are dying at an alarming rate”: Vergara, email to von Gontard brothers.
179. “Wings of Change: A Win-Win for All”: Taylor, “Save the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary 2012.”