By: Susan Clark Armstrong ––
If you live in the Town of Orange Park (TOP) and like its’ mostly quiet and safe environment— despite the outrageously high taxes—you might have a few reasons to count yourself in those “afraid” of Virginia Hall.
Disclaimer: In Dec., 2020, the Orange Park Town Council appointed Virginia Hall to fill the seat 4 vacancy. Hall is now seeking to be elected to that seat. I have never met nor spoken to Virginia Hall’s opponent, Susana Thompson. I attempted to contact Ms. Hall on several occasions to advise her I was writing about her life and times. I also texted her to let her know some of the information that would be shared. I wanted her to have choices. She made them…she did not respond.
In case you have no patience to read over 1800 words, I will cover the scary part first.
In the small town of Orange Park, approximately 700 people vote in non-presidential elections. Given the 2020 population count of 8,870 and the minuscule voter turnout, past candidates say a normal run for the non-partisan town council can be accomplished for about $3,500. Virginia Hall has collected a whopping $15,722. There are a few noteworthy contributors on her donation list: lawyers, lobbyist-supported Political Action Committees—even people as far away as Dallas, TX. Most interesting is that she has collected the maximum amount of dollars allowed by election laws from gaming entrepreneur Howard Korman’s gambling establishments: Orange Park Kennel Club, Jacksonville Kennel Club, and Bayard Raceways.
The offer of gambling money to political candidates in our conservative county is akin to the offering of a fifth of Jack Daniels to take to the Baptist Church chicken spaghetti supper. You either leave the Jack from whence it came or you disguise it in a red Dixie cup with church ice and coca cola. Ms. Hall has neither refused the donations nor disguised them.
Gambling is a dirty word in most of Orange Park and the county. Back around 2007, Mr. Korman wanted to bring poker rooms to his dog racing track in the town, which borders residential neighborhoods. There was a big brouhaha and lots of concerned folks, both from the town and the county, lobbied against it. Given the epoch-level of opposition and very little support, several notable Christian groups felt confident the council understood the concerns and would rule against increased gambling. Members of one of the groups had spoken with then-Councilman Travis Cummings. They claimed Cummings had indicated he would vote against the poker rooms. He did not. Cummings was the deciding vote to bring Poker to Orange Park.
A seat on the TOP council has been a spring-board to state and national elections, so I asked Cummings if he thought it wise to blatantly ignore the wishes of his constituents. His answer was that voters have short memories. I guess they do, because Cummings eventually was elected to the Florida House of Representatives.
The reason given by the council to allow the poker rooms? Gambling at the dog track was already in practice…what’s a few little card games? And the councilmembers assured residents there would be no further opening for increased gambling in the future at the Kennel Club. Orange Park is now one of the two largest poker rooms in the state.
Two things seemed to have changed that assurance: in 2018 Florida voted to discontinue dog racing and Roland Mastandrea was elected to the town council.
Councilman Mastandrea is the self-described “go to guy for development in the county.” He has been actively seeking development for the town. Roland told me the town was in a financial bind and needed more tax dollars. Since Korman can no longer race dogs, Roland said he had personally been in talks with Korman’s son-in-law to tear down the Dog Track and build a large “casino” on the property which backs up to River Road and the St. Johns River.
Casinos are not normally built in residential communities, especially near high value properties like the ones on River Road. The increase in tax revenue is quickly eaten up, because they reduce property values, create traffic nightmares and place significant strain on infrastructure and police and fire departments. In short, they suck the life out of family neighborhoods.
Given Ms. Hall’s unabashed acceptance of gaming money and the fact that the dog track has a jumbo-sized Virginia Hall political sign prominently placed, Ms. Hall may be the Kormans’ next Travis Cummings.
With the election looming on April 13, and Ms. Hall’s large campaign expenditures, early voters may have already elected her. For those who have not yet cast their vote, however, there’s a lot to know about Virginia Hall.
In 1995, I researched the Hall family extensively, including Virginia Hall, and wrote a historical piece called Boss Hall. Considering my acquired knowledge of Ms. Hall and her family, it appears her official campaign biography was surely created by her fairy godmother, or godfather—because parts of it are pure fantasy.
Hall comments in her bios that her grandfather, John Hall, served as sheriff for decades and “always stressed the need to give back to your community.”
In the 90’s, I spent one long afternoon and into the twilight, drinking sweet tea in the lush gardens of 92-year-old former State Representative Sam Saunders, John Hall’s best friend. Mr. Saunders was still mentally sharp, and thinking he would be meeting Jesus sooner than later, he unburdened some chilling information about his best friend. Some I published, some I did not because he asked me not to make them public.
“John put me in office, but we got into stuff we should have never been involved in.” Sam said.
John Hall’s story began when he rode into Clay County in the early 1920’s with just a horse and gun. He became known as the “enforcer” for the rich cattlemen in the area. His benefactors arranged for him to become sheriff, and he quickly became one of the most feared, hated and richest men in the county.
Sheriff Hall ran protection rackets for the county’s whiskey bootleggers and bolita gamblers in exchanged for a share of the profits. He chose land and homesites he wanted for his own, threatening the property owners with physical violence and jail if they paid their taxes. When the owners lost their properties due to foreclosure, he bought them for a pittance. As sheriff for 36 years, Hall decided who ran for office, who was elected and who kept their jobs. Historical archives, county records and conversations with long-time residents, including Mr. Saunders, proved that John Hall took a lot from the community. There is no evidence he ever even considered giving back.
When John Hall died, his only son J.P. Hall, Jr. inherited his ill-gotten booty. He was a more benevolent version of his father, but he still maintained a certain degree of control over local elections and contributed heavily to political contests throughout Florida. Despite the money he put into elections, local county voters became stubbornly independent and sometimes strayed from J.P.’s direction.
According to the Divisions of Corporations, a John Hall, Sr. Children’s Charity was created in 1981 and dissolved in 1984. Numerous citizens said the creation was an attempt to help people forget the corrupt actions of Sheriff Hall and bring respectability to the living Halls. Nevertheless, John Hall’s victims and their families maintained fresh memories of the pain he inflicted, so the charity was less than successful under his name. It then became known as the J.P. Hall, Jr. Children’s Charity and the J.P. Hall Children’s Charity. Interestingly, in 2012, the John Hall charity was reactivated, but shows no activity.
Ms. Hall’s bio states she was a “Land Planner” for the county. I talked with her boss, a former county manager, Douglas Anderson. He had a reputation as being an outstanding county manager and a fair individual. Anderson said J.P. used his political connections to secure a job for his only daughter in the Planning Department, but not as a Land Planner. Doug Anderson said Virginia had a hard time showing up for work and actually working when she was there. He fired her. Shortly after he fired her, he recounted, he received word that J.P. Hall wanted him fired. He was. Anderson then became the long-time County Administrator for St. Lucie County and at the same time was a spring trainer for the N.Y. Mets in St. Lucie. He also started a non-profit for people who had no dental care and worked for Homeland Security.
After being fired, Ms. Hall became the face of the J.P. Hall Children’s Charity. The charity also had other spin-off names, according to what activity was held to raise money. Some people in the county have called it a “party-charity.” I covered the charity in the 90’s. In that span, it was named one of the most irresponsible charities in the state. The charity collected over $100,000—and spent most of the largesse on parties and door prizes, instead of children.
In 2000, J.P. Hall, Jr. died. He left behind his young wife, Virginia’s step-mother, Virginia, a son and three step-children. Judging by the contents of county documents, most of the Hall fortune was soon spent, at least the part controlled by Virginia. Ironically, the Green Cove Springs home of Virginia Hall went into foreclosure. She also received a bank judgement against her for non-payment. With J.P. Hall dead and some of his money apparently depleted, long-time county residents felt the Hall’s political control had slipped away.
I have struggled with this next bit of information. It’s a little smutty, even for me. If you know me or have ever read anything I’ve written, you know I believe that whatever happens in your personal life is between you and Jesus. Besides, I’m no saint. When the priest knows I’m coming for confession, he probably packs a lunch. But I’m smart enough to never to run for office, because when you do, the Jesus stuff becomes the people’s business.
When Virginia Hall was married to her second husband, she was apparently spending a lot of time talking on her phone in her car in the middle of night. Her husband became perplexed at her nocturnal activity and placed a voice activated recorder under her car seat. The tapes caught a number of steamy conversations—one-sided—which proved she was involved in an affair with a married Clay County detective. Also captured on audio tape was a noisy session of Virginia and her detective having sex. The event became increasingly sticky as the married detective, who was caught in the doing, was furious and wanted Virginia’s husband arrested. Apparently, while the doing was legal, recording the doing was not.
The event was extremely devastating for both of the lovers’ families. To spare them more anguish, then-Sheriff Rick Beseler (told there was “probably” only one sex tape) confiscated the tape and handled the matter “in house.” Neither marriage survived.
Virginia then married her third husband, an attorney, and moved to Orange Park.
The Ds and Rs in Washington tell us elected officials’ character doesn’t matter. I don’t agree. However, I’m leaving it up to the people in the town who haven’t voted. I’m also hoping that if Ms. Hall is elected and she is tasked with betting against the people and gambling-away their quality of life, many of you will be sitting in the council room watching and maybe reflecting some fear back Virginia Hall’s way.
