Burning $1,572,650 Worth of Cancelled Bonds

Burning $1,572,650 Worth of Cancelled Bonds

Burning Cancelled Bonds

Politicians--Florida

Bonds--Florida

Embezzlement

Sanford (Fla.)

The burning of canceled bonds from Mayor Forrest Lake's (1869-1939) on January 5, 1932. Before this scandal surfaced, Lake was considered an accomplished politician, who was elected eleven times, and helped create Seminole County. However, the pace of Mayor Forrest’s run turned sour when an article in the The Sanford Herald wrote an article with false facts about Lake’s use of city funds. According to the article, Lake sold "previously unsellable city bonds at a price of more than 95 percent of their face value; in reality, it was less than 90 percent. Lake was indicted following the investigation. It was proven that Lake sold the bonds for less, which caused the city to lose money, and he used illegal loans for personal use. This caused the city of Sanford to fall into $1,000,000 in debt, an increase in property tax, salary cuts, and cuts to public city services, such as the police department. After being sentenced for sixteen years, the City of Sanford protested Lake’s actions by burning over $1.5 million worth of cancelled bonds. Ex-Mayor Forrest Lake’s reputation has been tarnished, and today in Sanford, is considered to be “Sanford’s forgotten mayor.”

Chase & Company

Original 8.5 x 11 inch black and white photographs by Chase & Company, January 5, 1932: Chase Collection (MS 14), box 211, folder 3.30B, Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.

Wieboldt, A.

1932-01-05

Digital reproduction of original 8.5 x 11 inch black and white photographs by Chase & Company, January 5, 1932.

Chase Collection (MS 14), box 211, folder 3.30B, Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.

Sanford Collection, Chase Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.

Folder referenced in Chase Collection finding guide, http://web.uflib.ufl.edu/spec/pkyonge/chase.htm.

image/jpeg

140 KB

156 KB

8.5 x 11 inch black and white photographs

eng

Still Image

Sanford, Florida

Donation

History Teacher

Civics/Government Teacher

Economics Teacher

Entire Chase Collection is comprised of four separate accessions from various donors, including Cecilia Johnson, the granddaughter of Joshua Coffin Chase and the children of Randall Chase.

The displayed collection item is housed at Special and Area Studies Collections at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. Rights to this item belong to the said institution, and therefore inquiries about the item should be directed there. RICHES of Central Florida has obtained permission from Special and Area Studies Collections at the University of Florida to display this item for educational purposes only.

Special and Area Studies Collections, University of Florida

Holmes, Kristen

University of Florida, Special and Area Studies Collections

Gilmartin, Daniel O. "Mayor Forrest Lake of Sanford." Florida Historical Quarterly 74, No. 4 (Spring, 1996), 391-404.

Sanford Historical Society, Inc. Sanford. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, 2003.

"The People of Lawmaking in Florida, 1822-2012." Florida House of Representatives. August 2012. http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/FileStores/Web/HouseContent/Approved/ClerksOffice/ThePeopleOfLawmakingInFlorida.pdf.

Bentley, Altermese Smith. Seminole County. Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2000.

"14-YEAR TERM GIVEN BANKER: Forrest Lake of Sanford Sentenced in Connection With Financial Trouble." The Sarasota Herald-Tribune. May 5. 1928. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=MJUcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LWQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3645%2C6433680.

Robison, Jim. "Rise And Decline Of Forrest Lake Seemed To Follow State's Fortunes." The Orlando Sentinel, May 3, 1990. http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1990-05-03/news/9005030412_1_lake-cashier-bank-fraud.

"Forrest Lake Back at Raiford Prison." The Palm Beach Post, February 25, 1934. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-3UyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=87UFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2908%2C3701396.

"Lake Is Denied Pardon by Board." St. Petersburg Times, December 7, 1933. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Bb0wAAAAIBAJ&sjid=bk4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=3011%2C1280506.

Ping, Dan. "Sanford's Archives: Former mayor was turn-of-century Madoff." The Sanford Herald, August 5, 2009. http://mysanfordherald.com/bookmark/3095854-Sanford-s-Archives-Former-mayor-was-turn-of-century-Madoff.

Burning
$1,572,650
Worth of Cancelled Bonds
of the
City of Stanford, Florida
Tuesday, Jan. 5, 1932

BURNING $1,572,650 Worth of Cancelled Bonds of the
CITY OF SANFORD, FLORIDA
Tuesday, Jan. 5, 1932

2 black and white photographs

8.5 x 11 inch