Copper Ridge Community HOA board allegedly hires private investigators to intimidate and harass homeowners, while using expletive words.
There is a good ole’ saying that you get more bees with honey than vinegar. However, in some instances some private investigative firms have been caught with what seems like bucket loads of vinegar. Certainly, using expletive words against innocent homeowners in an attempt to intimidate and harass is highly unwarranted.
During an investigation by Private Investigative firm Emerging Investigations, located out of Plant City on Paul Buchman Hwy, the owner of the investigative firm Brian J. DeAntonio was caught on camera going door to door with his wife Rachel DeAntonio and in some cases intimidating the neighbors of their subject and even calling them expletive words for what looks like not being able to obtain actionable intelligence on their subject, who is an Investigative Journalist with The People’s Olive Branch.
In some ways, this is seen as unethical and potentially coercive behavior towards homeowners of the Copper Ridge Community and neighbors of the subject in an attempt to acquire actionable intel. However, what is the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services doing about such unethical behavior? Unfortunately, there is nothing illegal about it that our investigative research could turn up in section 493 of the Florida Statutes. In addition, according to social media records, they are also members of (FAPI), which is known as the Florida Association of Private Investigators. Does FAPI have requirements as an investigative association over intimidating or potentially coercive behavior by their investigator members?
Nonetheless, it must be damaging to a client’s purpose when the investigators of a subject give their position away and behave in such a manner that causes multiple neighbors of the community to warn the subject about the event and how they were approached by Brian J. DeAntonio during his encounter along with his wife Rachel DeAntonio. In one scenario the Owner of Emerging Investigations (Emerging Industries LLC) even stated to the subject’s neighbor, “Whatever Pu**y” as it was heard on cameras. Evidence of this encounter has been provided in the video footage below.
From our investigative research, it is alleged that the Private investigative firm Emerging Investigations (Emerging Industries LLC) was attempting to surveil an investigative the journalist of The People’s Olive Branch on behalf of the HOA board members. It is also alleged that this surveillance attempt is also in result of the investigative research that the journalist has obtained and published on the Copper Ridge Community HOA board members themselves.
In addition, it does look like Brian J. DeAntonio had also lied about the purpose of his encounter during his attempted interrogation tactics against the homeowner in the Copper Ridge Community, when he stated that the subject he was asking about was being sued.
The People’s Olive Branch did a search in the Hillsborough Hover County records and from our research, the subjects name did not come up as a defendant in any Hillsborough County pending or opened cases. Therefore, the private investigators’ (Mr. DeAntonio) statement to homeowners in Copper Ridge Community stating that the subject is being sued was a false statement and possibly in line with defamation by the owners of Emerging Investigations, also known as Emerging Industries LLC in Florida Sunbiz.org records.
It is known from one of our previous reports on HOA communities that the HOA board was alleged to have doubled the quorum necessary to meet election regulations originally set prior to the recorded amended bylaws on March 22, 2022.
Prior to the Copper Ridge Community’s HOA board elections in 2022, the necessary number of votes required to meet election quorum was 10% of the homes in the community. After the amended changes were recorded against the governing documents, (which required the membership to receive notice prior to amending the bylaws, but did not), the number necessary to meet election quorum was doubled to 20%. This is now the center of a contentious legal battle currently recorded in Hillsborough County Records.
It would be interesting to know if the Copper Ridge Community HOA board is using HOA community dues to pay Emerging Investigations during their time hired to surveil the investigative journalist. Unfortunately, the case may be that the HOA board’s attorneys may argue that those records of payment to Emerging Investigations are attorney client privilege if they are being paid directly by their attorneys Frazier and Bowles.
This is an ongoing investigation and more will be provided as additional evidence turns up.
){kind=link}