HOA: We're not 'a pack of Nazis'

Monday, October 13, 2008

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Joseph Prudente stands in front of his yard, now green with the help of the community. Watch the story Watch Video

PASCO COUNTY (Bay News 9) -- A Pasco County man's community has pulled together to help him out.

Joseph Prudente, 66, got a $1,000 fine from the Beacon Woods Civic Association in Hudson after he didn't replace the brown sod in his yard.

Prudente said he didn't do it because he had to pay his home mortgage, which was two months behind.

But when he didn't show up for a court date over the brown yard, a judge found him in contempt of court. Prudente had to report to jail and he did it wearing his "Grandpa Gone Wild shirt."

"The other residents (inmates), they didn't believe it when I says, 'Why you in here?', I says 'grass'," Prudente said. "They say, 'You mean' (gesture)? I said 'No, grass on the ground.'"

He spent two nights in jail, which outraged Andy Law, who saw the story in the newspaper.

"I personally thought it was wrong. It's wrong to put our senior citizens in jail for a brown lawn," he said.

Law rallied 15-20 people from the community, including a city council member. They worked all day to put Prudente's yard together.

"You get a bunch of guys and it's like putting a puzzle together," Law said.

They got donated sod, a sprinkler and the yard was green again.

So, the judge released Prudente.

Now, the HOA president is getting hate e-mail from across the world.

"We are not as we we're called in some of e-mail 'a pack of Nazis', we're not power hungry people," said HOA president Bob Ryan. "We are simply fellow homeowners of Mr. Prudente, I felt sorry for him."

But he says Prudente didn't follow the rules and the HOA was just following rules that apply with Florida statue's for homeowner associations.