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Love Of Money Weaves Cruel, Sordid Tale

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 12, 2008

Sometimes, money is a curse.

If you're wealthy, friends come easily, many with their hands out.
Lotto winners say family members can be the worst, especially those who develop a sense of entitlement, a sense that they, too, should benefit from a relative's sudden wealth.

Love of money can lead families to behave badly, even criminally. And along the way, their greed can destroy relationships and lives.

Sadly, the charges filed Wednesday against three relatives of Don Wallace, a Tampa philanthropist and entrepreneur who built a fabulous house on Bayshore Boulevard, show the depths to which family greed can go.

"They tried to extort me," says Wallace, the founder of LazyDays RV SuperCenter in Seffner.

Wallace's sister, her daughter and her husband were arrested and charged with demanding $1.2 million from Wallace. If he refused to pay, they threatened to tell the media that Wallace had sexually molested his niece and gotten her pregnant.

At a Wednesday press conference, Wallace provided reporters with DNA tests proving he is not the child's father, as well as the e-mail demands from his relatives. On the advice of law enforcement, he agreed to give the three the money, at which point they were arrested for extortion and conspiracy.

It can't be easy to go public with such a sordid story. Some might have been tempted to pay up and avoid the publicity.

The last thing that should happen is for Wallace to let this ugly incident lead him to withdraw from public life.

He and his wife Erika are generous, stand-up citizens undeserving of this mud. They should keep their chins held high.

That Wallace's mother stood by his side when he took the news public told us all we need to know.

It must be a relief to see this threatening cloud, which hung over Wallace for several years, dispelled.

Like we said, sometimes money is a curse.

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