Eugene Conti & Larry Bernstein Birds of a Feather?

Larry Bernstein of Florida is a 30% owner of Palo Verde Resort. I'm not sure how involved he is with the SALE of Palo Verde and the dealings with Robert 'Bobby' Blair and Arenal Bungalows or if he's letting Gene call all the shots, but I would assume Larry's protecting his interest, he's a business man and apparently a successful one.

Honestly, I can't really be upset with Larry since we DIDN'T and DON'T really care for each other either, so I'm sure he doesn't give a rats ass if I'm in the 'LOOP' or not (although you'd think he'd CARE a little about me NOW...just sayin).

I do however, know a few things about Larry Bernstein. First, he was what most people would consider 'rich'. If he is now, after the recession, couldn't tell you, but I know he was. I can also tell you I was hoping to ride Larry's coattails so to speak, if anyone had the 'money' to keep Gene Conti in 'CHECK' it was Larry, so in my mind, if Larry ever called Gene OUT on his Palo Verde shenanigans, I thought I could ride along in the lawsuit as a 10% owner. *My real estate NAIVETY knew no bounds.

*But now, I believe Gene has Larry right where he wants him- in his back pocket, but Larry's ALWAYS been there whether he knows it or not. Personally, I believe the back pocket skews the VIEW of things, but Larry seems as comfortable there as Gene feels having him there. *Purely speculative on my part.


I didn't like Larry from almost the first time I met him. He's loud and a bit obnoxious, but only because he has MONEY, so people put up with him because he's FUN at a party and ALWAYS picks up the tab. I'm fairly certain he's not 'self made', I think he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and I'll tell you why,

Larry is a closeted gay man with his family, don't know if he still is or not, nor do I care, but the 'gay' thing is one of the reasons I don't care for him, but I'll get to that in a second. In my experience, 'self made' men usually don't give a 'rip' how others may view them, but men who may inherit 'Daddy's money', well, let's just say that's ample motivation for some folks to keep their homosexual practices in the CLOSET. Here's what happened:

When I was finally OUT, I promised myself I would NEVER, EVER deny who I was again- for ANY reason, for ANYONE.... which includes my own family. In my mind, you're either with me or you're NOT. I was made to feel bad about myself for too long, so I swore, NEVER again. Anyway, Larry's family was coming to visit him at Palo Verde Resort and Larry actually had the audacity to 'TELL' me and D'Angelo we had to leave the resort for about a month while his family was there because we were gay (don't remember if he said, "too gay" or just "gay", I believe it was the former) and he didn't want his family making any connection between our gayness and him. I was about 46 at the time, can you imagine? But when you're RICH and usually get what you want, in his mind it was a plausible demand.

Pretty much went WAy downhill from there, although Larry did tell me after D'Angelo and myself left Palo Verde that we should get a lawyer as soon as possible to protect our interests.

In the beginning, Larry stayed and managed Palo Verde fairly regularly. Gone for a few months, then returning and managing the place for a month or so and then leaving again. And he was always GREAT with the staff, buying them lunch or dinner or BOTH, helping out monetarily when he saw fit and would often spend his own money to keep Palo Verde afloat and once even sponsored a Palo Verde employee's soccer team- WAY COOL! But even Larry knew Gene Conti was a TERRIBLE manager in general, but a bad manager of money in particular, but since he was RICH, he didn't really appear bothered by Gene's everyday pinching of the dimes and nickles. But he was also in a bit of denial about Gene and his ways- in Dec. 2005, Gene was going to have a 'shareholders' meeting and ban Larry from Palo Verde, or should I say, he could come to the place but couldn't sleep there (or manage the place)... but that's when Gene thought he had me to watch his 'monetary' back. Hey Larry, don't believe me? Ask him and watch him squirm.

I guess I've just been surprised at just how much Larry has put up with from Gene, I mean he invested in Palo Verde and appeared to want it to be successful, but yet seemed to have gotten more 'hands-off' over the last couple years, and really, pretty much has let Gene do whatever he's wanted. I asked Larry about 3 years ago how long he would put up with Palo Verde not making any money before he would ask Gene to cut the Palo Verde losses and SELL, he said, "One year."

Ummmm,,,,,interesting. Don't forget, I'VE NEVER, EVER seen my 10% of any monthly Palo Verde profits generated from the tourist dollar, so apparently it was NEVER profitable... to me anyway.

I've got TONS of questions for Larry Bernstein..... one of my questions: "HOW MUCH are YOU and GENE getting off the TOP from the SALE of Palo Verde... you know, cause you guys SUNK so much of your own money (with receipts of course) into this 'losing proposition",...so really, how much are you guys taking before we ALL split the proceeds?" Shouldn't we already know?

I'm sure Larry has his investment secure and maybe even making a little money, not sure. Hell, maybe he's washed his hands of Palo Verde and Costa Rica, you never know.

"Does this recipe really call for skimming off the top?"
I can't help but feel Larry has to be a little disappointed he EVER got in bed with Gene Conti, he really seemed to like the IDEA of having a little place of paradise.....

"Nah...... with folks like Larry Bernstein and Eugene Conti, it's all about the money.......... and the KILL."

"Damn, I can't remember how's it goes...'birds of a feather....' something like that."
*For those of you asking about Nico Pisani, don't worry, of all the people I mention in this blog, I've been the most intimate with HIM. He's almost an entirely different BLOG all together, and the fact Craig Nicholas 'Nico' Pisani owes me more than $20,000.00, well, that's not even the half of it.

**Truthfully, I don't know the relationship status of Eugene Gene Conti and Larry Bernstein. The above is mostly speculation based on MY: experiences w/ Larry and/or Gene, observances, lack of communication, prior conversations... I'm merely connecting the dots in logical fashion. If I'm wrong, it's because I am out of the LOOP, and that begs questions, which I have many.

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