SARASOTA — A Sarasota jury ruled Monday that politically-connected developers Randy Benderson and Henry Rodriguez used their sway with officials to sour a major development deal with their partner, Hugh Culverhouse Jr. More than $20 million in damages were awarded to Culverhouse in the civil suit, which dragged on for more than 4 years.
The trio was to develop 1,900 homes and 1.75 million square feet of commercial and industrial space on 1,000 acres in Osprey. The Sarasota County Commission shelved the project in 2010 and never took it up again.
Culverhouse filed suit in 2011, alleging that his partners secretly colluded with elected officials to see that the project was halted.
According to the Herald Tribune, Culverhouse testified during the suit that Benderson was upset with the amount of retail Culverhouse was entitled to develop under the deal and threatened to kill it if he didn't agree to take less, and that Benderson suggested he had the votes on the county commission to do so.
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