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Hudson Man Charged In Theft Of Toys For Tots Cash

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By LISA A. DAVIS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 19, 2007

NEW PORT RICHEY - As the Christmas season approaches, patrons at the Sail Inn bar have to pay up if they let the mother of all curse words slip off their tongues.

Each time the word flies it costs 25 cents, but if you want to cuss like a sailor all day at the bar, it's a flat fee of $5. If you want to be a potty mouth throughout the holiday season, you must cough up $50. But it's all in the name of charity.

The funds collected are for West Pasco's Toys for Tots. It's something Kathy Ramech, co-owner of the bar at 6143 Massachusetts Ave., and her co-owner parents have been doing for 20 years.

They also have other creative ways to collect money for the organization, or people can simply drop off some cash. And it adds up.

Last year, the bar raised $1,456 for the cause.

The Sail Inn gang was proud to hand over the cash to Robert Blomquist last year sometime around Thanksgiving when he came in looking for it, Ramech said.

But, as it turned out, Toys for Tots didn't see a dime or even a teddy bear worth of that money, organization officials say.

And now Blomquist, of 7309 Skyline Drive, Hudson, is facing a charge of grand theft, accused of stealing the donations.

Deputies arrested him Monday afternoon. He was released from Land O' Lakes Jail after posting $5,000 bail early Tuesday morning.

A decade ago, Blomquist, was convicted on misdemeanor charges of indecent exposure of sexual organs and battery, records show. He received a concurrent sentence for each charge of one year of probation.

Blomquist, 66, a onetime coordinator for Toys for Tots, could not be reached for comment later Tuesday.

For years, he volunteered for the program begun by the U.S. Marine Corp Reserve and run locally by Marine Corp League Holiday Detachment No. 567.

But a few holiday seasons ago he was suspended for 30 days after using profanity in front of students at a local high school while preparing for the annual Toys for Tots giveaway, said current coordinator Emile "E.J." Koczur, a retired police officer from Waterbury, Conn.

Since then, Blomquist's ties to the group have been unofficially severed. Ramech, of the Sail Inn, had no idea, so when Blomquist walked into the bar last year with the usual Toys for Tots paperwork, she didn't even blink when she handed over the money. In fact, she said, he told her he was going right to Wal-Mart to shop for the children.

Though Koczur and others have long had suspicions about misconduct by Blomquist in his dealings with Toys for Tots, it wasn't until recently that they could put some pieces to the puzzle together.

Last month, Koczur's wife, Mary, and another volunteer were kicking off the Toys for Tots season with a publicity table outside of Toys R Us when Ramech, who didn't know the women, stopped to chat and told them about the bar's annual donations each year, including last year's charitable pot.

A look of shock washed over the women's faces, but they didn't tell Ramech why and let their husbands do the investigating. Soon, E.J. Koczur and volunteer Charles Salvaggio went to sheriff's deputies, who began investigating Blomquist.

Detectives said they think that since 1988 there is more than $4,600 in unaccounted for cash donations that never made it to Toys for Tots. They're still investigating.

Blomquist has denied any wrongdoing but said he has accepted some donations in recent years on behalf of the organization, according to Pasco County Sheriff's Office reports. He told detectives he purchased toys with the money but could not give them receipts for items purchased, reports say.

Koczur said he has not seen any donations from Blomquist, nor had the national organization. "I'm sad that it happened, and I think anyone who would steal from the underprivileged children of Pasco County, deserve what they get," he said.

He said he will do everything in his power to see something like this never happens again to taint such a cause.

This year alone, Koczur said, he has had 400 volunteers helping in the toy distribution process for more than 5,000 children. "I would like to thank the people of Pasco for their support," he said. "And hopefully they will continue. I want to assure them that now every dollar they give will go for Toys for Tots."

Reporter Lisa A. Davis can be reached at (727) 815-1083 or ldavis@tampatrib.com.

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