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By Melissa E. Holsman of TCPalm

STUART — A Palm City man who last year co-founded the first Boy Scouts of America troop in East Stuart has been removed from leadership after Scouts officials learned he was convicted of beating a child — a conviction that wasn't detected during a 2008 background check.

Anthony "Tony" Hester, 55, a licensed real estate broker with a felony record and a judgment for $1.3 million in unpaid restitution for defrauding Medicare, had reinvented himself as a model citizen in Martin County, leading East Stuart's Boy Scout Troop 825 and helping revive a condominium complex mired in foreclosures and debt.

Hester has been active in local real estate through his company, TNT Realty & Associates. He volunteers with the Martin County Chapter for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

He's known to dote on the 30 scouts in Troop 825 while the youths performed a range of charitable works throughout the community.

But the Scouts have removed Hester as a Scoutmaster and troop leader after being questioned by Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers about his felony convictions for embezzlement, aggravated assault and mail fraud, a criminal record Scouts officials somehow missed.

Dennis Armstrong, a Boy Scout executive with the local Sailfish District, which is part of the larger Gulf Stream Council that includes Martin County, said Hester was sent a certified letter that told him his registration with the Boy Scouts was revoked.

He called the abrupt removal "disappointing."

"It's the first time I've had something like this happen," Armstrong said. "Tony has made great in-roads into getting scouting up and going in East Stuart, which is an area where we've always wanted to have a program, and had always had difficulties getting one going there."

Hester insisted he never deceived anyone at the Boy Scouts.

"No, I never misled ... there is one form that you fill out with the Boy Scouts," he said. "You fill out the form that you are the parent, and that you have kids in scouting. Then to be the leader you fill out the form and you sign another page that says, 'I hereby authorize the Boy Scouts of America to conduct a background check,' and you put your information on it and you sign it."

That form, he said, is returned to the Boy Scouts.

"They have their own company that does background checks," he said. "Now, they've done background checks on other leaders that I have in the troop, OK? There's two other leaders in the troop that they've done background checks on and they've come to me and they said, 'We did a background check on this guy and we found they've got this and this and this and they can't do this and they can't do that.'

"And the only thing that I'm saying is they are going to 2008," added Hester, "and I think that's the wrong thing to do. Because I've been in Boy Scouts before then, because in Miami I was a leader in Boy Scouts, and they did the same thing."

MISSISSIPPI CONVICTIONS

Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers learned of Hester's felony convictions during an investigation into foreclosures plaguing area condominium complexes that in 2005 were converted from rental apartments. That review included the Stuart-based Fairway Palms II, where records show Hester is an investor-owner and had served on the association's board of directors until he resigned in October.

Condo owners say when he joined the board last year as president, he rallied board members as they grappled with a 65 percent foreclosure rate and improved the community's situation.

Jenn Meale, with the Division of Condominiums, Timeshares and Mobile Homes, confirmed Hester's resignation from the Fairway Palms II board closed an inquiry into his position as a board member. State law prohibits convicted felons from serving on condo boards.

Hester said he didn't learn until after he was elected that convicted felons could not be on condo boards.

An investigation by Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers revealed in the early 1980s while living in Mississippi, Hester served 18 months in prison for an embezzlement conviction related to a failed business, according to court records.

Mississippi court records show he was convicted in 1982 for aggravated assault, which earned him a 12-year prison term. Court filings show his sentence was later reduced to two years after an appeals court reviewed his 1982 conviction.

Hester said he was working on a ship in the Gulf of Mexico for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers when his then-wife Mary Cotton's child Tyshawn Cotton was injured, which sparked an investigation and the aggravated assault charge.

"What had happened is, while I was gone somewhere in September of 1981, Tyshawn Cotton was burned in the back. His mother, who was there, and her uncle, who was there at the house, stated that he had backed into a stove," Hester said. "The problem was they indicted her, they indicted me, because they didn't know who did it but because it was at my house and I owned the house."

He said his former wife's uncle falsely testified before a grand jury that Hester had injured the toddler.

At trial, he said the captain of his ship testified Hester was offshore from May through December and was not at his home in September when the child was hurt.

The uncle gave the false testimony, Hester said, because he blamed him for getting fired from an Army Corps job that Hester had helped him get.

He said in court, a state prosecutor asked the uncle if he'd ever been to Hester's home and witnessed him "wup the children."

"He said, 'Oh yeah, I seen Tony just pick up anything, like he'd pick up a fan belt or he'll use his hands or feet or whatever else and do this,' " Hester recalled. "And you know, that's not true. But I was on trial because they said that I took responsibility for the burn that he had."

The day he was convicted and sentenced to 12 years in prison, Hester said he appealed the conviction and was freed on a $25,000 bond while his case was on appeal. He soon moved to Texas, he said, to start a new life.

STARTING A NEW LIFE

But in 1985, his attorney reached him in Texas to say his conviction had been overturned and the case was being returned for a new trial.

Hester insisted he never returned to Mississippi, believing new charges were not being filed against him. He didn't learn until a dozen years later, he said, that state prosecutors convicted him of aggravated assault and he had received a two-year prison sentence.

Hester filed legal papers seeking to have the conviction erased from his criminal record, claiming the conviction was unlawfully recorded against him.

In a 1999 order issued by the Mississippi Court of Appeals, Judge P.J. Southwick noted that Hester was indicted Feb. 23, 1982 for aggravated assault and according to that indictment, "Hester had beaten 18-month-old Tyshawn Cotton with an automobile fan belt and with his fists and feet, then tried to burn him."

In denying Hester's request to expunge the conviction, the appeals court found that Hester's guilty plea to aggravated assault was accepted by a judge March 4, 1985.

"So when the federal government was investigating my ambulance company and they wanted to charge me with mail fraud for overbilling Medicare, that's when I learned that conviction was on record," he said. "I was like, 'Holy Christ.' I never went back to court. I never entered a plea. I never did any two years. I never did any of this. But this was like 13 years later."

Hester said federal officials investigated whether he served the time in Mississippi.

"The state district judge in Mississippi played it off and said, 'Oh well, we gave him two years, but we gave him time served,'" Hester recalled.

"Time served. From what? I didn't get locked up from that case..."

A NEW BUSINESS

Hester said between 1986 and 1991, he and his new wife, Kristina Rosen-Hester, had five children while living in Houston, and with paramedic training he'd received, he started buying ambulance service firms.

"I bought, was buying, a lot of ambulance companies, small companies," he said. "And I bought one company that had been under investigation by Medicare and I didn't know it until after I bought it. And when the Medicare people came in and wanted to look at my records, I let them do it."

Federal investigators, he said, discussed the billing irregularities and his staff received new training.

"We were trying to do things right," he said.

But in 1997, Hester was ordered to pay $1.3 million in restitution to the government when he was sentenced to a five-year and three-month federal prison term for pleading guilty to four counts of mail fraud and aiding and abetting, a case prosecuted in Houston, documents show. The charges stemmed from a Medicare fraud investigation that targeted Hester's company, Doctor's Professional Ambulance Services.

In exchange for pleading guilty, federal prosecutors agreed in plea documents to "not criminally prosecute the defendant's current wife, Kristina Rosen-Hester," for her role while employed at the ambulance firm.

Hester was accused of bilking Medicare between 1991 and 1994. In a 20-count indictment, the government accused him of misrepresenting the medical condition of transported patients, falsely claiming a patient received medical supplies and services that were not provided, and falsely detailing where a patient had been transported to and from.

$1.3 MILLION LIEN

Hester had been under a court order since 2001, when he was released from a federal prison in Miami, to pay 10 percent of his monthly income toward his criminal restitution.However, a lien filed against him in Martin County first in July by the U.S. Department of Justice shows that with interest, Hester now owes more than $1.6 million.

He claims the outstanding balance of the $1.3 million restitution is now a civil judgment against him and is no longer in the jurisdiction of the criminal court.

"The lien situation they have on there is very arguable," he said. "I have an attorney in Miami that's working on that and it's currently being litigated, and he's already talked to the U.S. Attorney's Office about that."

Court records filed Oct. 19 show DOJ officials in Houston filed an amended lien against Hester showing $1.69 million owed in a "fine and/or restitution," but a document filed the same day shows the DOJ filed a certificate of release of lien.

"They refiled it based on my information my attorney has," he said.

He said federal rules note that while the government can no longer come after him criminally for not paying the restitution, "they can try and sue me or bring civil action against me on that for a period of 20 years."

He said he wasn't sure how much he'd paid toward the restitution but insisted "it's been several thousands."

"I can't tell you the amount off the top of my head," he said. "During the time I was on supervised release, I paid monthly ... 10 percent of my salary."

PAST UNCOVERED

When Hester applied for a Florida real estate license in 2006, he listed the aggravated assault as a conviction on his record. But his application shows he never disclosed his role in the assault or that the victim was a child.

He said when he appeared before the Florida Real Estate Commission, he "did not deny anything there."

"They didn't ask me details," he said. "I can't do anything more than what they ask me because this is a formal hearing."

According to a transcript provided by the state Department of Business and Professional Regulation, when Hester in 2006 appeared before the commission, he was not pressed for specifics about his Mississippi convictions. When members asked about his mail fraud convictions and prison term, the transcript indicates Hester failed to reveal he owed $1.3 million in restitution.

He kept that — and his convictions and prison terms — from the Boy Scouts, too, Armstrong said.

In its letter to Hester, Boy Scout officials stated they can refuse admission to anyone they feel "might not meet the high standards of leadership," according to Armstrong.

He said local Scouts officials "worked hard to help Tony create this unit.

"I know him personally, so it's disappointing to me that he misled us," he said. "He could have been more forthcoming on some of this stuff."

All Scouts leaders, Armstrong said, undergo background checks.

"Boy Scouts of America takes youth protection EXTREMELY SERIOUSLY," Armstrong added in an e-mail to Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers. "And as part of that emphasis, we work with an industry-leading third party to do a full criminal background check."

He said Boy Scout policies require two adults to be present during all scouting activities.

"This system is extremely effective at screening out individuals who should not be involved in scouting," he added, "but in the rare instance where we find inconsistencies, we take immediate steps to correct it."

Hester insisted he never hid his past.

"What I'm saying is this: I don't know what they do or who they go through to do background checks," he said. "I authorized them to do a background check, OK. And I'm willing to answer to it."

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Hester earned high marks as leader of Troop 825, the first predominantly minority Boy Scout troop of the 11 in Martin County. The troop was chartered in 2009 by the Pentecostal Church of God in Christ, and Pastor Jerry Gore.

Hester said he will appeal the Boy Scouts' decision to remove him from the program. One of his sons is about to become an Eagle Scout, the highest rank in scouting.

"I've got two boys who are still in Scouts, and I'm in it for them also," he said. "But then when I look over here at East Stuart, you've seen my past, I'm from Mississippi. Take a picture of that community in East Stuart and that's where I grew up. With houses on blocks, two bedrooms, one bathroom."

Since he can't give back to his hometown, he adopted East Stuart, he said.

"When I drive through East Stuart, and I see those kids standing out there with other guys with pants on the ground and they're selling dope and all that other stuff," he said. "That's not a place for them. They don't want to go to lock up. They don't want to go to jail. They don't want to have a bad reputation. They don't want to be stabbed.

"I try to bring joy to their life. (On Nov. 27), we put them on the bus, we ended up taking them to Miami ... we got 15 free tickets so they could see the last (University of South Florida) game. I've already gotten 14 tickets so they can go see the Miami Heat, free of charge. I've already gotten 20 tickets coming from the Orlando Magic so they can go see that game."

He said he paid $15,000 of his own money to buy a former City of Stuart mini-bus he and his wife use to take the scouts camping or to volunteer work.

He said he requires scouts in his troop to do community service every Saturday and go to church every Sunday.

"I think these kids, who have never been out of East Stuart, have a better focus on life than what they had before my wife and I went over there and started the only African-American or let's say black, Boy Scout troop in Martin County," he said.

'I FIXED MYSELF'

Pastor Gore on Monday said he wasn't aware of Hester's criminal past but he questioned why a Boy Scouts background check failed to detect the convictions. He feared Troop 825 might not survive without the dedication Hester has shown to the Scouts.

He said Hester was "somebody to come in and take interest and lead them to a better life; get them out of the system — probation, take them out to the bowling alley and show them there's another world," Gore said. "Take them down to the (Florida) Keys, show them they have to work in order to learn, OK? Take them to the professional ball games; take them camping, show them how to work together. I have not seen this in 54 years of my life.

"Now, I haven't seen everything," Gore added, "but being of my color, and all the things that I do in raising my kids, this is the first."

Hester said he knows he made mistakes.

"I think I was traveling too fast and I think I was going too fast and not paying attention to what I was doing," he said. "And I stopped and I slowed down and said, 'Oh my God, this is horrible and this isn't me.' And I've been around and I've seen a lot of people, and when you talk about people going to prison and people going to jail, I've seen some people, and I sit and watch people, and say, 'Oh my God, these people deserved to be here.' And then I look and I say, 'But do I deserve to be here?'" he said. "Well, at the moment maybe I did.

"But that means I have to look inside myself and say, 'Fix it.' So I fixed myself. And I came back to my wife and kids. I've been with her for 20 years now and ever since then, I've been doing everything I can for the community, talk to people, kids, students, young kids and Boy Scouts.

"And I tell them, don't make the mistakes in life that I made. Don't go down the road that I went down.

"I'm not ashamed of my life," he said. "And I'm not proud of it either."

FILING LAWSUITS

Since moving to Martin County in 2004, Hester has continued to act as his own attorney while suing people, professionals and businesses — often with claims of racial discrimination aimed at himself, his wife and their interracial children.

Over the past 20 years, Hester has filed at least 35 lawsuits in county, state and federal courts, sometimes seeking tens of millions of dollars in damages from prison officials, judges, attorneys, former neighbors, real estate associates, clients and renters. Court documents show he filed 10 lawsuits in the U.S. Southern District of Texas, and four more federal complaints in Washington, D.C., Louisiana, Oklahoma and Florida.

He often claimed prison officials were relying on flawed criminal records to wrongly place him in medium security risk facilities. That issue sparked years of complaints from Hester, and he generated more than 110 internal administrative complaints against federal prison officials.

Hester had little success fighting prison officials though, and for most of his incarceration he was kept in medium security facilities.

A federal judge in Oklahoma noted in 2001 that according to Hester's prison sentencing report, "individuals who were employed by you described you as often treating 'old people' in a verbally abusive manner.

"One employee quoted you as saying "(expletive), pay the (expletive) bill. You should have died a long time ago,'" the report stated. "In our professional correctional judgment, your offense behavior indicates that you present a potential risk to community safety and require more security than a Camp facility provides."

LOCAL SUITS

In Martin County courts, he's filed more than 15 lawsuits in the past six years, litigating over rifts with neighbors, disputed money matters, soured business deals, broken contracts, claims of civil rights violations and debt collections. Court documents show he's been sued a few times too.

Palm City resident Joel Drawbaugh, 35, is fighting Hester in court after he was sued by him in 2009 over a deal to lease a home fell apart after Drawbaugh paid Hester's firm TNT Realty $3,300.

Hester in court papers claims his real estate client, the homeowner, was due money damages after Drawbaugh canceled the deal and he's asking a judge to sort out the dispute.

Drawbaugh, who is married to attorney Rosalie Drawbaugh, in turn accused Hester of theft and conversions of funds in a complaint filed with state regulators. Records show Rosalie Drawbaugh filed a complaint against Hester to the division of real estate under the state's Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Not long after, Joel Drawbaugh said, Hester filed a complaint against Rosalie Drawbaugh with the Florida Bar.

"He likes to file complaints against people and he had threatened to do that three or four times before he actually filed it," Joel Drawbaugh said in an interview.

In a countersuit Drawbaugh filed in the case, he complained about Hester's conduct since filing the suit, which Hester is litigating as his own attorney.

"Defendant has researched the plaintiff (Hester) and it turns out he loves to bully and abuse people and uses the court system as his personal playground," wrote Joel Drawbaugh, who is acting as his own lawyer in the case.

ACCUSATIONS AGAINST JUDGES, NEIGHBORS

In Martin County Circuit Court, Hester and his wife are battling a 2007 foreclosure filed by US Bank National Association that resulted in a $454,000 judgment and the loss of their Southwest Wisper Bay Drive home in Palm City.

Records show in October, the Hesters, who are disputing the foreclosure and judgment, filed papers seeking to remove Martin Circuit Judge Elizabeth Metzger from the case, and accused her of racial bias.

Metzger, Hester wrote, "has treated Anthony Hester, whom is black, different from any other person that have appeared before her court.

"Judge Metzger has failed and refused to hear any motions filed by Anthony Hester," he noted in the papers filed, "but have allowed the white attorneys to completely argue their motions."

Hester said in an interview that in Metzger's courtroom, he has been shut out of arguing motions he had scheduled before her. He said that instead, the judge has allowed opposing attorneys to state legal arguments out of turn three times.

Metzger denied the request to step off the case in an order signed in October.

Hester also complained about Metzger to the state's Judicial Qualifications Committee, claiming unfair treatment in her courtroom.

"I am not allowed to speak and threatened with jail if I do not shut up," he wrote. "I feel that because I am black and pro se, this judge is bias and racist and I am not being allowed to present my case because of her actions."

During his mail fraud case, he accused U.S. Magistrate Judge Frances Stacey of racial bias, a move that irked U.S. District Judge Ewing Werlein Jr., who presided over his case.

"Hester's accusations that the magistrate judge's ruling was motivated by racial bias is false, contemptuous, and obnoxious, and the accusation is stricken," Werlein wrote.

Likewise, in a 1997 order by U.S. District Judge Nancy F. Atlas, Hester was rebuked for trying to remove a judge from his Texas bankruptcy case because of racial discrimination. His contention, Atlas noted, "that Bankruptcy Judge (Karen) Brown is biased because 'plaintiff is black and his wife is white and their children are interracial,' has no support in the record before this court."

Hester once targeted his former Palm City neighbors with claims of racial discrimination in the first lawsuit he filed in 2004 in Martin courts against the Granada Property Owners Association and four board of director members.

In the suit, Hester, who was seeking $53 million in damages, claimed his family and children were subjected to repeated acts of racial discrimination, causing them to suffer "intimidations and threats and all types of hatred from the community since moving in.

"All of these actions and much more," Hester wrote, "are being placed upon the plaintiff's only because of plaintiff's race."

Records show the lawsuit was dismissed after a judge ruled the matters had already been mediated in 2005 by state regulators with the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Both sides reached a state-mediated settlement in 2005, according to the Florida Commission on Human Relations. In its own investigation launched after Hester filed a complaint, the commission in March 2006 determined that "there was not enough evidence to conclude that the problems (Hester) encountered was because of race."

'HE'S A REAL PARADOX'

At Stuart's Fairway Palms II, some board members say that last year when they voted Hester in as president of the board of directors, he didn't disclose his felony convictions, despite state law that prohibits felons from serving on a condo association's board of directors.

Most board members didn't know why Hester abruptly resigned from the board in October, board member Sylvester Arcaro said.

But Hester had so enamored board members — which now include his recently elected wife, Kristina Rosen-Hester, and her brother, Kevin Rosen — Arcaro said they appointed him as a non-board-member president, which the association's by-laws permit.

"Yeah, I voted for him," said Arcaro, despite Hester's felony record. "Strange isn't it? I guess you can recognize the good in people and the bad in people."Arcaro also insisted that thanks to Hester's leadership at Fairway Palms II, the grounds improved, bills got paid, and the complex collected more in delinquent condo dues.

"Tony is an interesting guy," Arcaro said. "To me, he's a real paradox."