Accusations fly between Skydive City, vendor

For 20 years, theirs was a marriage based on mutual need and respect. They built a business that lured thrill seekers from around the world to a sleepy little town an hour north of Tampa.

But now Skydive City and its former vendor, Freefall Express, are mired in a nasty divorce. Like many a bitter divorce, there are accusations of cheating, trespassing and withholding money.

Skydiving is big business in Zephyrhills, and Skydive City built a reputation for being the "friendliest drop zone in Florida." It attracts parachutists from all over the world, especially in those warm Florida winters.

"They're one of the largest skydiving centers in the country," said Nancy Koreen, spokeswoman for the U.S. Parachute Association. "I personally have dropped there several times."

Skydiving has become such an important industry in Zephyrhills, city leaders redesigned the city's official seal to include a parachutist. City Manager Steve Spina estimates the company generates about $8 million a year in sales, hotel rooms and other related businesses.

"They're world renowned," Spina said. "If you're a skydiver, you know Z-hills. I was on a cruise in Finland once, and the captain of my ship had skydived in Zephyrhills."

The company does 70,000 jumps a year, and for the first two decades, nearly all of those jumpers went up in Freefall Express planes. Freefall founder Billy Richards also owns 32 percent of Skydive City. His company earned $18 for each jumper who went up in one of his planes, plus he also received payments as a shareholder of Skydive City.

In January, Skydive City's longtime general manager, T.K. Hayes, notified Richards the company was terminating Freefall Express. Hayes said he and the other partners were fed up with Richards. When he changed the pricing structure for the flight service, it was the last straw.

"We don't want to do business with him," Hayes said.

Richards sued Skydive City in New York and in Florida. He accused Hayes of mismanaging the business and putting profits ahead of customer safety. He has asked courts to force Skydive City to use Freefall Express planes and pilots.

"He goes and makes himself president, and the first thing he does is violate two FAA regulations," Richard said.

Hayes, who started taking skydivers up in March in his new single-engine Cessna, says he violated Federal Aviation Administration regulations when he flew about 25 groups of jumpers while he was still training to get his a commercial license. Hayes had a private pilot's license for the Cessna and a commercial license for a multi-engine plane.

"I had customers waiting to go, and I didn't have a pilot available," Hayes said. "It was bad judgment on my part."

In addition, commercial pilots are required to renew their medical certification every year. Hayes' certification had expired in June 2009. He called it an oversight. Richards said he was behaving recklessly. He reported Hayes to the FAA.

Richards pointed out that a skydiver was killed at Skydive City on March 19 while Hayes was making unlicensed flights. Though the victim had jumped from another plane, Richards said that Hayes' actions put the company at risk.

The FAA sent an inspector to Skydive City. Hayes told the inspector what he did, but the case is pending.

Pasco County Judge Susan Gardner agreed to hold an emergency hearing on Richards' request that Freefall Express be reinstalled as the flight vendor at Skydive City. But after a full day of testimony, Gardner said he failed to prove that any customers were in imminent danger.

The two sides will return to court June 11. Richards has asked the court to dissolve the corporation.
He has accused Hayes of financial mismanagement, too, saying the general manager oversaw a bookkeeper who embezzled nearly $140,000 from the company in 2009. The bookkeeper was convicted of grand theft and is serving a year sentence in the Pasco County Detention Center. She was ordered to pay full restitution within six months of her release.

Richards also has accused another partner, Joanne Murphy, of defrauding the state by failing to pay state sales tax. Murphy, who also owns a 32 percent share of Skydive City, operates a retail store in the drop zone that sells parachutes and skydiving equipment.

Skydive City's attorney, Jack Hoogewind, said the allegation against Murphy isn't true. When he was questioned about the alleged fraud, Richards had no evidence and could not recall any dates of the questionable transactions.

Hayes said Richards is simply trying to use the courts to enforce a contract that never existed. If he can't have Skydive City's business, he wants to sabotage it. Freefall Express has refused to move its planes from the property and has even parked in Skydive City's staging area.

"Right now, they're just going out of their way to hurt us," Hayes said. "I understand Billy's case. He's losing a very large customer who provided half of his revenue. The relationship is irreparably damaged - we're never going to do business with him again."