Waterfront project in limbo as developer serves time
Mumford's forgery sentence won't derail plan, attorney says
By Casey Ross, Globe Staff | January 28, 2009
The future of one of the most prime properties on Boston's waterfront is now sitting behind bars.
Yovette Mumford, the controversial owner of the Boston Yacht Haven on Commercial Wharf, is serving a three-month sentence at the women's state prison at Framingham, following her conviction on charges of forging a letter she used in her real estate dealings.
But a lawyer for Mumford insists her Dec. 30 incarceration will not prevent her from pursuing development plans for the waterfront property once she leaves prison this spring.
"I would say the best example of this situation is Martha Stewart," said lawyer Robert E. McLaughlin Sr., who is representing Mumford, 51, in a civil lawsuit related to the property. "Everyone who makes a mistake has to pay for it. But it doesn't mean she can't be a successful businesswoman. And it doesn't mean the end of her business at the Boston Yacht Haven."
Mumford, the former sister-in-law of Massachusetts congressman Edward Markey, was the lead investor in a group that paid $11.7 million for the property in 2005. The group, MGM Commercial Wharf, had floated various plans to redevelop the yacht club, but had not formally proposed a specific development. Meanwhile, it has failed to keep up with its tax bills, racking up the city's second-largest outstanding debt, at $115,246.
Mumford has also been locked in a dispute with condominium owners on Commercial Wharf, who claim she improperly used the yacht club's function hall to host a wedding and other events. The condo owners have sued her ownership group in Massachusetts Land Court. The case was argued in September 2007, and the parties are still awaiting a decision from Judge Keith Long.
The yacht club currently consists of a 100-slip marina as well as a bed-and-breakfast at the tip of the wharf.
Mumford's conviction last month adds another bizarre twist to her long legal history. She has been embroiled in court battles for much of the past decade, including a pair of criminal convictions and a $6.4 million civil judgment against her in a dispute with her family. The dispute was over an investment gone bad that generated additional forgery accusations from family members who charged that Mumford deceived them in the transaction.
In December, she pleaded guilty to forging a letter from her probation officer in spring 2005. Prosecutors charged she altered the letter so it falsely stated that previous criminal charges against her had been dismissed, in order to re assure the bank that had lent her group money to buy the yacht haven property.
In fact, Mumford was convicted in 2003 of failure to file withholding tax returns and of two counts of procurement fraud while working as a subcontractor on the Big Dig. She was involved in about $1 million in work on the mega project as president of Burlington's American Electronics Corp. The attorney general's office at the time accused Mumford's company of improperly billing the Big Dig for a baby sitter for her three children, dance lessons for her daughters, and improvements to her home, among other things. Her conviction in that case resulted in a fine and three years probation.
But the forged letter in 2005 stated those charges had been vacated. Mumford included the letter in a packet sent in 2005 to Northern Bank & Trust Co., which had financed the purchase of the yacht haven property for Mumford. The bank did not respond to questions about whether the $10.1 million loan it provided remains in good standing.
After she serves her prison sentence, Mumford will be on probation for three years; she will be subject to house arrest over the first six months of the probationary period.
McLaughlin, her lawyer, said Mumford still maintains ownership of the yacht haven and has a team in place to manage it during her imprisonment. He said she still hopes to move forward with her development plans, which at times involved a boutique hotel or condominiums on the property.
An official in the office of former House Speaker Sal DiMasi, whose district includes the yacht haven, said some neighbors are fed up with the controversy at the yacht club.
"For many residents, this has been a constant problem that won't go away," said Aaron Michlewitz, a former DiMasi employee who is running for DiMasi's House seat. "It's been going on for years now and they're tired of it."
Casey Ross can be reached at
cross@globe.com.
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