I found this article on the FS forum that sheds some light on the recent issues at HB.
in the Key West newspaper.
http://www.keysnews.com/285285064551773.bsp.htm
Broderick's Hell's Bay problems are escalating
Bryan Broderick, the owner of the bankrupt flats boat company Hell's Bay Boatworks, pleaded guilty in 2002 to providing false information to an Alabama corporate licensing board, and in exchange he agreed to cooperate in a corruption probe that eventually targeted the state's governor and one of the country's highest-paid CEOs, according to news reports and sources familiar with Broderick's history.
Hell's Bay Boatworks of Titusville was founded in 1998 by a team of shallow-water fishing pioneers that included Flip Pallot of the television show "Walker's Cay Chronicles." The company planned to build boats to order for customers instead of selling them through marinas.
In August 2002, with his Alabama chapter closed, Broderick purchased Hell's Bay from former Key West businessman and flats angler Hal Chittum. The company's boats were increasingly sought by the best Keys guides, and at the time most observers considered Hell's Bay a challenger to Maverick Boat Company of Fort Pierce, as the industry leader.
Over the next few years, however, the company's fortunes gradually faded for reasons that are still in debate. What is known for certain is that Hell's Bay filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October after the company's primary financier, Riverside National Bank, received a $2.6 million judgment against Hell's Bay for unpaid loans.
Sources familiar with the bankruptcy proceedings said talks are under way over the potential sale of the company to an owner who would keep the name and product line, while paying back creditors under a deal structured by the bankruptcy court.
Broderick did not return repeated calls seeking comment. Critics allege he accepted thousands of dollars in downpayments for new boats even though his company was financially unable to build those boats. By their tally, 28 customers paid $400,000 in downpayments on boats that were never built.
As recently as August, Broderick told this column that his company's financial woes were manageable and that he was not considering seeking bankruptcy protection. "People keep asking me about these chapters. I don't even know what the chapters are," he said, referring to the U.S. bankruptcy code. In fact, at the time of that interview, Circuit Court Judge Warren Burk had issued a $2.6 million judgment against Hell's Bay and Broderick for unpaid loans, a decision that led to the bankruptcy filing.
Before coming to Florida, Broderick received a six-month suspended sentence in exchange for cooperating in a state corruption probe, according to the Mobile Register daily newspaper. "He's a flea on a dog that got hit by a truck," Broderick's attorney, Ron Wise, told the newspaper.
Wise declined to comment on Broderick Wednesday, but other sources said Broderick — known as J. Bryan Broderick in bankruptcy court papers — is the James Bryan Broderick who reached the plea agreement in Alabama.
The Alabama probe culminated in indictments last October of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman and former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy.
The Siegelman-Scrushy indictments show no obvious link to the matter that produced Broderick's plea. Siegelman allegedly conspired to pack the state's health board for Scrushy in exchange for payments. The two are scheduled to go on trial in May. A jury acquitted Scrushy of unrelated fraud charges last year.
Siegelman and Scrushy maintain their innocence. "The evidence will show that there were no requests for favors or promises for favors by Richard Scrushy from Governor Siegelman," says Scrushy's defense team on his Web site,
http://www.richardscrushy.com.
In 2001, Broderick's company, GH Construction, came under state scrutiny after the Mobile Register questioned the state's decision to "hire a two-person firm with no employees or history to manage construction of a state warehouse project slated to cost more than $16 million," according to the newspaper.
The state of Alabama dropped GH Construction from the warehouse projects. In his plea, Broderick admitted to providing false information to a state corporate licensing board.
Meanwhile, in Florida numerous angry customers are pursuing Broderick in the courts. Among them is Gordon Baggett, a part-time Keys tarpon guide from Daytona Beach. Baggett said he turned over his Hell's Bay Marquesa boat to Broderick last year as a downpayment on a new boat that was to be built over the coming months. Broderick allegedly sold Baggett's boat but never built the new one.
Baggett leads a committee of creditors that is providing information to the bankruptcy court. Despite his experience with Broderick, Baggett said he believes in the Hell's Bay product as envisioned by Pallot and others. Baggett said he hopes a buyer will emerge to restore the company. "It was a good company and it still can be a good company," he said.
Lawyers involved in the Hell's Bay case said discussions are under way with potential buyers and that a court-supervised resolution could come within days or weeks.
David McFarlin, the attorney for Hell's Bay Boatworks, said he could not predict an outcome. "Beyond that unhelpful response, [this] is what's on the table right now, and that is a proposal to sell the business as an ongoing concern," he said.
Ben Iannotta is a free-lance journalist and flats fishing guide. He can be reached at
biannotta@aol.com.
hells bay 
Thanks for posting the article. 
