WITNESS: SUKAMTO SIA

A Nevada investor has outbid Citibank on 32 residential and two commercial units at Executive Centre, the downtown high rise that once belonged to Indonesian investor Sukamto Sia.

But with court confirmation and another round of bids possibly ahead, ownership of the property is yet to be determined.

Clifford Laughton, president of the Reno-based Nevada Holdings Ltd. and chief executive at Honolulu-based satellite company Columbia Communications Corp., yesterday made the winning bid of $4,000,100.

Laughton's bid topped a $4 million offer by Citibank N.A., the only other bidder at a foreclosure auction at the state courthouse yesterday.

The leasehold properties include 31 residential units, a penthouse, two commercial spaces occupied by Sprint Hawaii and Fujikami Florist and 65 parking stalls.

The heavily mortgaged 41-story building, at 1088 Bishop Street also includes a 120-room Aston hotel, retail outlets including Long's Drugs and Ross Dress For Less and nearly 300 residential units.

The entire property was appraised last year at $39.5 million.

Citibank, the major creditor in a foreclosure action against one of Sia's company's, MKS Executive Partners, took possession last month of most of the 41-story building in a complex bankruptcy deal in which Sia's estate will receive about $500,000.

Citibank affiliate EXCT L.P. took ownership of about 400 units on July 28.

Sia, currently in Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation, originally filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in November 1998.

While Citibank yesterday allowed itself to be outbid by $100, the sale is far from over. Under rules of the foreclosure, new bids may be entertained at confirmation but must be at least 5 percent above the auction price.

Foreclosure commissioner John Candon said at least three parties who were silent during yesterday's auction have asked when the confirmation hearing would be. No date has been set.

Laughton yesterday said he would likely honor existing leases at Executive Centre if he remains the high bidder. He said the units are a good investment because of depressed property values and a strong rental market in the downtown area.

While Executive Centre was once a key holding of Sia in Honolulu, the bankruptcy trustee was unable to liquidate the property for creditors because Sia held no equity in it.

His ownership in the building was through MKS Executive Partners, one of his numerous companies.

The 40-year-old businessman owes nearly $300 million to casinos, banks and creditors around the world.

www.archives.starbulletin.com/2000/08/24/business/story1.html

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NEW DISCOVERIES (07-19-08):

December 25, 1995

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND

THE UNSPEAKABLE

In 1995, many ate caviar, some ate crow,
and a few had to settle for humble pie

Up and up and up it goes; when it'll stop, nobody knows. In this kind of market, which was powered along by Internet and pharmaceuticals plays, it's hard to believe there even were losers in '95. The unhappiest investors were those who picked trendy retailers, riverboat gaming, and oil companies. Below, we sketch the extreme ends of the spectrum, all of which kicked off the year at a share price of $5 or better....

WORST AMEX STOCK: . was designed as a 12-year self-liquidating real estate investment trust (REIT). Liquidate it did, and how.

The mortgage REIT invests in loans that are secured by property acquired to develop luxury resorts. Most of the stock is owned by the company's directors, Chris and Mark Hemmeter, a father-and-son team who made big bets on riverboat gaming in New Orleans only to see their grand plans run aground in the Mississippi mud (BW--Oct. 16, 1995).

Even worse, the Securities & Exchange Commission began an investigation and the Hemmeters, who resigned in August, were accused in court complaints of squandering company assets. The stock was recently trading at 1 1/8, down from its 52-week high of 10 1/2....

www.businessweek.com/1995/52/b345674.htm

~ ~ ~

October 10, 2003

Hemmeter still fighting

The one-time Hawaii resort
developer has come back
to town to see friends
and speak his piece

By Russ Lynch, Star-Bulletin

Former Hawaii developer Chris Hemmeter has battled prostate cancer and Parkinson's disease and is now dealing with a killer cancer affecting the bile duct. For Hemmeter, it's a liver transplant or death and his doctors told him he wouldn't make his 64th birthday.

But in a visit with friends in Honolulu this week, which included a party for that birthday, Hemmeter said his biggest trial was dealing with corrupt politicians in New Orleans.

Hemmeter -- who developed King's Alley and the twin-tower Hyatt Regency Waikiki, as well as luxury resorts such as the Hyatt Regency Waikoloa on the Big Island, now the Hilton Waikoloa Village, and the Westin Maui -- said in an interview that he was upset about the way Louisiana reporters picked on him over his grand plan for a $1 billion casino in New Orleans.

The bottom line to Hemmeter is that while the casino plan failed, it also put Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards in federal prison a year ago, to serve a 10-year term for extortion.

And Hemmeter said the luxury resorts he built in Hawaii made real money for him and his family and are now doing well again, despite setbacks under mostly Japanese owners following the burst of the late 1980s Japanese investment bubble.

Hemmeter sold those resorts at big profits, but when he stepped into the murky waters of Mississippi politics he ran aground, leading to the filing of personal bankruptcy by Hemmeter and his wife Patsy in 1997.

It began with the award to the Hemmeter group 10 years ago of a lease for a property designated to house the city's first land-based casino. The 60-year ground lease, worth hundreds of millions of dollars, was awarded because "we had the best plan," Hemmeter said.

Enter Edwards, a keen gambler and, according to Hemmeter and other critics, a corrupt politician. Edwards wanted a piece of the action for himself and his cronies and relatives, Hemmeter said. "He let me know in no uncertain terms that he expected his boys cut in on the deal. We said, no way we could do business like that," Hemmeter said. That's when the rot set in, ending with Edwards ignoring the law that said the land owner, in this case Hemmeter's company, would choose the gaming operator and simply telling Hemmeter that his choice of Caesar's as an operator was not going to be approved.

In the end, Edwards forced through a deal with three companies sharing the business, leaving Hemmeter with about a third of it.

"I ended up as a minority investor and watched my investment go down, down, down," Hemmeter said.

Hemmeter, who had kept his Hawaii developments as individual entities, ended up breaking that rule in New Orleans and consolidating several of his companies and pledging several multimillion-dollar homes as collateral for loans. The first casino, on a temporary location intended to get the business started while a new one was built, closed a few months after it opened in 1995, with Edwards' pick Harrah's going bankrupt and bond-holders unable to recover the $400 million they had invested.

That was about the end of the saga, except for the corruption and extortion federal case against Edwards.

During the selection process, Hemmeter paid for Edwards and other Louisiana officials to make luxury trips to Hawaii.

Hemmeter maintains that was all part of the shakedown and said he was vindicated when it was revealed that federal investigators had bugged his phones for 2 1/2 years and in "tens of hours" of tapes and they were unable to show one incident in which Hemmeter did anything wrong. The experience certainly soured him on the location. "I've never set foot in New Orleans, even to change planes, since 1995," he said.

For now, Hemmeter is looking after his health. He hopes for a liver transplant in the next month or so. He and his family have embarked on a new business, a Western-style restaurant called Saddle Ranch Chop House. The first unit is up and running next to the Universal Studios theme park in Los Angeles and is doing well, particularly late at night when the mechanical-bull rides, music and bands are in full swing, he said.

"We're doing just under $1 million a month in revenues" and that works out to about $250,000 in profits. Planning for four more restaurants in the next two years, Hemmeter said he hopes for eventual profits of more than $10 million a year and a number of potential buyers are paying attention.

"We should be able to get 10-12 times earnings when we sell," he said. The restaurant business is headed by Hemmeter's oldest son, Mark.

Hemmeter is also working on a golf project on the mainland. He said his family businesses have lined up some 400 pay-for-play golf courses that are interested. The idea is to have a couple of holes at each golf course wired for video with half a dozen cameras at each hole. Golfers can turn it on by dropping a $2 token in a slot and later they can go to a Web site and watch the video along with an analysis of their swings.

There will also be a $10,000 prize for a hole in one and the cameras won't let anyone cheat, he said.

Meanwhile, Chris and Patsy Hemmeter are living in a gated community near Bel Air, outside Los Angeles. Second son Chris graduated from Harvard business school and went into a dot-com business. When that failed, he got into the food and beverage distribution business and started a credit card for restaurants, but he wants to get a doctorate and may end up teaching.

Daughter Katie is doing well as an actress and playwright and makes money buying and selling residential real estate, Hemmeter said.

The Hemmeters had a "reverse surprise birthday party" at the Kahala Avenue home of lingerie multilevel marketing moguls Walter and Tiffany James Wednesday night, with a short but elite list of guests invited for what they thought was going to be a video-conference with Hemmeter speaking from the mainland.

Present were three former governors -- George Ariyoshi, John Waihee and Ben Cayetano -- former Mayor Frank Fasi and an array of other Hemmeter friends representing much of the long-time business leadership in the islands.

Guests were delighted when Walter James, who runs UndercoverWear with his wife, confessed that Chris and Patsy Hemmeter were in the house. Hemmeter was welcomed warmly and he said doctors had told him and Patsy that they should not expect him to be around for a 64th birthday party.

One who was completely taken by surprise was Larry Johnson, former chief executive officer of Bank of Hawaii, who had arrived only half an hour earlier on a flight from New York. Johnson said he hadn't showered but his wife Claire told him not to worry because the video link would not detect any body odor.

Thos Rohr, who headed the group that developed the Waikoloa Resort, said the best thing about Hemmeter was that he started at the bottom, as a trainee with Sheraton Hotels here in the early 1960s, and rose to the top, handling deals with hundreds of millions of dollars in the same gracious way he always acted.

Tim Guard, a longtime Hemmeter friend and president of the stevedoring company McCabe, Hamilton & Renny, called the reunion "an evening of smiles."

www.starbulletin.com/2003/10/10/business/story2.html

~ ~ ~

November 28, 2003

Developer Christopher Hemmeter

dies at age 64

Pacific Business News (Honolulu)

Christopher B. Hemmeter, a prolific developer who built some of Hawaii's most notable hotels and resorts, died Thursday at his Los Angeles home. He was 64.

Eight months ago he was diagnosed with severe liver cancer. He also had been coping with Parkinson's disease. This was his second bout with cancer.

Sharing memories of his father, son Mark Hemmeter told PBN from Los Angeles, "Thanksgiving was his favorite holiday because it was all about just family. Our whole family was with him yesterday, and it was very peaceful."

Hemmeter came to Hawaii in the 1960s and became a noted developer while still in his 20s, along with partners Henry Shigekane and Diane Plotts. Many credit Hemmeter with creating the concept of a destination resort. He moved to the mainland in 1991 and became a casino developer in Colorado and New Orleans. His most recent venture was a successful restaurant near Universal Studios.

Former President Jimmy Carter, Hemmeter's close friend, told PBN for an October profile: "Chris has the uncanny ability to dream ... then put his concepts into practice for the enjoyment of countless others."

"We are extremely saddened by his passing, but we also rejoice as we reflect upon his life," the family said in a statement Friday. "He stood for all that was good in us and gave unselfishly of his time and energy. He will be greatly missed. His affection and caring for others, his charisma, and his professional accomplishments lead many people to pronounce that he was truly 'larger than life.'"

For his accomplishments, Hemmeter has received numerous awards including being named twice as the Businessman of the Year, Salesperson of the Year, Marketing Man of the Year and Islander of the Year in Hawaii. He was inducted into the American Academy of Achievement in 1979. In 1991 Hemmeter was selected the Independent Hotelier of the World.

Hemmeter's activities went beyond the hotel industry. He was the founder and chairman of the Bank of Honolulu, a director of the First Hawaiian Bank, a director of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington D.C., a trustee of Punahou School in Honolulu, a member of the Young Presidents Organization, a director of the Carter Center, a director of Morrison Knudsen, a director of Resort Income Investors, and a Trustee Fellow of Cornell University where he received the prestigious Entrepreneur of the Year award granted to Cornell University graduates.

"Hawaii needs to appreciate his contributions to the visitor industry and the state," close Hemmeter friend and retired Bank of Hawaii CEO Larry Johnson told PBN previously. "His legacy will live here forever."

He is survived by his wife of 25 years, Patricia; children Mark and daughter-in-law Lisa, Chris and fiancée Debi, Katie and husband Cully; stepchildren Kelley, Shane, Brendan and wife Brook, and Holli; sister Sally Younge and husband Eric; brother Dr. Mead Hemmeter and wife Mari-Jo; sister-in-law Karen Cook; and six grandchildren, Taylor, Maddy, Annabelle, Austin, Ryan and Quinn.

Private services will be held Sunday in Los Angeles. In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to the new Christopher B. and Patricia K. Hemmeter Kahaola Hospice Foundation at 1164 Bishop St., Suite 800, Honolulu, HI 96813.

http://pacific.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2003/11/24/daily58.html

~ ~ ~

NEW DISCOVERY (05-26-08):

The Global Economy's

Investment In Prostitution

Another Perspective

Want to know a few of the results of the move towards the so-called "Global Economy" which has become the nirvana Corporate America seeks? Be very careful, you might not like what you find.

According to U.N. documents, 4 million women a year are sold into sexual slavery around the world. Understand, these documents aren't discussing some Mid- Eastern potentate's harem. What we're talking about is 500,000 women "imported" into Western Europe and 90,000 into Italy, alone. These women are kidnapped and sold into prostitution for the gratification of men like the late Larry Hilblom, the founder of DHL courier service. Hilblom, it should be added, also participated in the kidnapping and sales of many young women, as well.

The majority of these women, who are mostly just young girls, come from the countries once known as client states of the old Soviet Union, such as Albania and the Ukraine. In fact, the selling of girls for the sexual gratification of wealthy men has become a major export for many of the supposedly free nations from the former Soviet bloc.

Amazingly, many of these women are moved through our ally Israel. The reason Israel is a major center for these atrocities is that Israel has absolutely no laws against the sale or ownership of other humans. Now there is wonderful reason to continue our hundreds of billions of dollars in foreign aid to this moral back water of a country.

The main reason that these crimes can so easily occur is the demand by the world's corporations that there be few or no inspections at national borders and that, with corporations buying up governments just like ours at bargain prices, they own the decisions to investigate crimes and, of course, see no reason to investigate the very crimes they, themselves, are committing.

Now, of course, America is immune from these charges, aren't we. I mean, this is the country where politicians spend their entire careers shouting about their fairy tale world of "family values", right? Our government would immediately spring into action should even a hint of this crime appear within our borders, right?

Wrong, of course. Thai women were imported into the United States and forced into sexual slavery in New York, Houston and Toronto, according to stories in the LA Times, New York Times and Dallas Morning News.

How long will it take the corporate prostitutes in Washington, D.C., to even acknowledge these crimes? How many conservatives do you think are going to stand up in protest against these horrors against humanity? How many will demand hundreds of billions of dollars to fight these crimes against humanity? What is less than none?

Unless America wakes up to these violations against humanity and demands action from the blow hards in office, nothing, whatsoever, will ever happen. Why? Because the victims do not fall within the parameters these vile people respect. These are young girls from foreign countries that don't contribute to American political coffers, nor are they related to anyone who owns enough property to matter to American politicians. If they were all Republican, Christian, wealthy wives and daughters of campaign contributors then this would be a problem of cosmic proportion. They aren't, so the problem is ignored.

These crimes against women are only the most extreme examples of the damage that is being done to people all over the world in the name of corporate profits. Add in the disease ridden fruit coming into America from countries which have little in the way of health and safety laws and food covered with the pesticides that America banned so Corporate America sold its stock to the same Third World countries now supplying us with our daily fruits and vegetables and grains.

Consider the effects that corrupt rulers the world over have regarding the financial health of your retirement and investments and, if the idiots who hate government safety nets have their way, your Social Security. Consider the damage another episode like the Hunt brothers attempt to corner the silver market would have on America if it were done by a nation or groups of nations. Finally, consider the costs of a simple computer virus invading the systems which control what will be the world's financial institution.

You, as an individual, have absolutely nothing to gain in a global economy. In fact, you will be the loser if you continue to listen to the lies and do not begin fighting the mutation of your world into a world corporation where the wealthy would rule through unlimited economic power. As in all things, it is your choice but your inaction will affect billions of people for centuries to come.

http://www.anotherperspective.org/advoc150.html

~ ~ ~

NEW DISCOVERY (05/10/08) - FINANCIAL RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SUKAMTO SIA, DIANE PLOTTS, LINDA LINGLE, BOB AWANA, AIPAC, HENRY PETERS, LIPPO GROUP, ECHOSTAR, RUPERT MURDOCH, BILL CLINTON, CHINAGATE, ETC:

It was formerly known as EchoStar Communications Corporation and changed its ... It was founded by Mochtar Riady, an ethnic Chinese born in Indonesia...

www.boyboycute.wordpress.com/2008

* * *

www.kycbs.net/IndonesianConnection.htm

http://www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv.aol.com/msg06547.html

~ ~ ~

NEW DISCOVERY (01/04/08) - UNDISCLOSED RELATIONSHIP WITH ANOTHER WITNESS: DAVID C. FARMER WAS A TEAMMATE OF JUNE JONES WITH THE ATLANTA FALCONS:

August 24, 2007

WARRIOR FOOTBALL

Farmer’s forte is blocking

By Jason Kaneshiro, Star-Bulletin

David Farmer's particular skill set won't get him on the highlight tape very often.

But it could make him the first running back to take the field when Hawaii opens the season a week from tomorrow.

The junior's consistency, understanding of his assignments and willingness to throw his body in front of charging defensive ends have put him in a mix of three backs expected to share time this season.

Most of the preseason buzz has centered on the potential of freshman Kealoha Pilares and sophomore transfer Leon Wright-Jackson, both blessed with speed and elusiveness. Meanwhile, Farmer remains a valuable, if unheralded, part of the rotation by constantly looking for contact.

"It's kind of become my niche, my role on the team," Farmer said of serving as quarterback Colt Brennan's personal bodyguard.

"If I want to get on the field, it's not going to be running 60-yard touchdowns. If it takes blocking a 300-pound D-end, then that's what I'll do. I'll take him head up. I don't know if I'll always win, but I know I'll go 100 percent, and usually when you do that good things happen."

UH coach June Jones said all three will likely rotate, and whoever is first on the field will depend on his game plan....

Farmer -- whose father, Dave, played at USC and was Jones' teammate with the Atlanta Falcons in the late '70s -- played fullback at Aptos (Calif.) High School and could have accepted academic scholarships to several schools. Instead, he chose to walk on at Hawaii....

http://starbulletin.com/2007/08/24/sports/story03.html

~ ~ ~

August 28, 2007

FARMER EARNS A SCHOLARSHIP

By Dave Reardon, Star-Bulletin

Hawaii walk-on junior running back David Farmer received a scholarship, coach June Jones announced to the team after practice this morning.

Farmer, listed as No. 1 on the depth chart for Saturday’s opener against Northern Colorado, was hoisted into the air by teammates.

“He’s worked hard and he’s a great kid,” Jones said.

Then as an inititiation, he was the only player to have to run a 220-yard “conditioning run,” and then ran and dived through a gauntlet of high- and low-fives.

“That’ll be a fun call,” said Farmer, looking forward to phoning his parents with the news. “ (Coaches) told me for a long time I was close. I never got discouraged because if you’re doing it just for a scholarship, you’re doing it for the wrong reason.”

He said he will enjoy one of the fringe benefits.

“Yes, my first scholarship breakfast,” Farmer said. “I’m on a diet, so it’ll just be cereal and mango. But it will taste great.”

~ ~ ~

November 19, 2007

Hawaii bankruptcies still active years later

By Jim Dooley, Advertiser Staff Writer

It's been almost 10 years since Sukamto Sia, the high-rolling former Honolulu bank owner and real estate dealer, filed a $300 million personal bankruptcy case — and it still hasn't been resolved.

Sia's case is not the oldest bankruptcy pending in Hawai'i. A computer search of court dockets showed that there are 22 open cases filed between 1992 and 2000, involving hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid debts.

Several of the bankruptcies generated financial and social shockwaves when they were filed. Sia's case was notable because of his flamboyant lifestyle and the related financial collapse of the Bank of Honolulu.

The old cases, while still unresolved, have dwindled away to obscurity.

As they drag out there is "less money ... to pay creditors," bankruptcy attorney Dawn Smith said. "Usually there are administrative expenses that have to be paid to attorneys, accountants, appraisers and so forth."

Those expenditures can result in recovery of money owed to the bankrupt estate and later distributed to creditors, but Smith noted that for creditors "waiting years and years for payment means they've lost the use of that money and interest it could have been earning."

The oldest active case is the 1992 Hamakua Sugar bankruptcy, in which one of the largest sugar plantations in Hawai'i closed its doors, throwing some 700 employees out of work and idling cultivation of some 35,000 acres of land on the Big Island. The bankruptcy case was first closed in 1999 but reopened in 2004 to deal with a $36,000 fuel rebate apparently owed to the bankrupt estate. That collection issue is unresolved.

According to paperwork filed when the case was reopened, even if the money is collected, it won't come close to paying all the bills in the case.

"The total amount of unpaid administrative (expenses) in this case is $1.2 million," the Office of the U.S. Trustee reported. "There are over 1,200 administrative claimants comprised of government agencies, former employees, landlords, professionals, and others."

The oldest personal bankruptcy case still active here is that of Marlene Lindsey, sister of former Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate trustee Lokelani Lindsey.

The sisters were convicted in 2002 of federal money-laundering and tax charges connected to Marlene Lindsey's bankruptcy case. The bankruptcy remains open while Lokelani Lindsey, who once collected $1 million per year from the Bishop Estate and was one of the most powerful and controversial women in Hawai'i, makes $300 monthly restitution payments to her sister's bankrupt estate.

As of July 31, she had managed to pay $5,000 of the $35,000 she was ordered to repay in 2002.

Other cases include that of Mahalo Air, the startup interisland air carrier that launched service here in 1993 and shut its doors with a 1997 bankruptcy filing that is still active.

The financial failure of Gray Line Hawaii Ltd., the state's third-largest tour bus company, which shut its doors in 1997, is also generating paperwork in Bankruptcy Court.

In the Sia case, a lot has happened to the Indonesian-born businessman since he filed the bankruptcy action in 1998, listing among his debts tens of millions of dollars owed to gambling casinos in Las Vegas, London and Asia.

He was convicted in 2002 of bank and bankruptcy fraud related to the financial collapse and federal takeover of the Bank of Honolulu. He served three years in federal prison and was deported and forbidden ever to return to the United States.

Just a few months ago, he married Kelly Randall, who was his co-defendant in the fraud case, in a lavish wedding at the Hotel de Paris in Monaco.

A few friends from Honolulu attended the July nuptials, including state Senate vice president Donna Mercado Kim and Waikiki's "Ambassador of Aloha," entertainer Danny Kaleikini, according to news accounts of the event.

Attempts to reach Kim, Kaleikini and Linda Wong, another Honolulu friend of Sia's who attended the Monaco wedding, were unsuccessful.

Sia and Randall could not be reached. Sia's local bankruptcy attorney, Noah Fiddler, did not return telephone calls for comment.

Sia still owes more than $200 million to creditors around the world. Randall owes more than $1 million because of a series of transfers of assets Sia made to her, according to documents in the case.

Some creditors wonder where the money came from for the European wedding.

"I don't doubt there are still millions dollars out there which were never found," said Paul Alston, local attorney for an Asian bank owed more than $4 million.

The largest single creditor in the case is CommerzBank (Southeast Asia), which is owed some $41 million, according to case records.

According to accounts of the wedding published in two Singapore-based magazines, it was an exclusive and expensive affair.

Guido Giacometti, the court-appointed private trustee in charge of the Sia bankruptcy case, said he believes it will be closed in the next few months.

"We found all the pockets (of money) that we could," he said.

The Office of the U.S. Trustee, an arm of the Justice Department that oversees the administration of bankruptcy cases, stresses the need to close cases as quickly as possible, Giacometti said.

"We stay in close touch with the office," Giacometti said. "There are cases like this one which stretch out over years and I think the U.S. Trustee's office understands that."

He added: "This was a very complex case with international aspects and with connections to criminal proceedings. Next year it will be 10 years since the case was filed and I'm as anxious to close it as anyone else involved."

Carol Muranaka, assistant U.S. trustee in charge of the Hawai'i office, declined comment, referring questions to Steven Katzman, head of the U.S. Trustee's regional office in San Diego.

Katzman, who oversees bankruptcy administration in Southern California, Hawai'i, Guam and Saipan, was traveling and could not be reached for comment.

ACTIVE BANKRUPTCIES

Hawai'i bankruptcies filed 1992-2000 that are still active:

1992:

Hamakua Sugar Co. Inc.

Papa Bay Inc.

Gray Line Hawaii Ltd.

Industrial Technology Inc.

1997:

Mahalo Air Inc.

Kunimoto, Allan

Upland Partners

1998:

Hawaiian International Service & Tours

Syntech, Ltd.

Ho'Ano Inc.

Sia, Sukamto

1999:

Oahu Construction Co. Ltd.

Harmon, Bobby...

Multimedia Pacific Inc.

Hawaiian Super Prix LLC & Frontier Insurance Group

Hawaiian Grocery Stores Ltd.

2000:

Lee, Tanya

Midpac Lumber Co. Ltd.

Cg Investments Inc.

Cabuloy, Vicente

Giacometti v. Arton Bermuda Ltd. (related to 1998 Sia case)

Source: U.S. Bankruptcy Court

Reach Jim Dooley at jdooley@honoluluadvertiser.com

~ ~ ~

January 31, 2006

Indonesia wins one in war on corruption

By Bill Guerin

JAKARTA - Indonesia has scored a major victory in the war on corruption after the return to the country of a crooked banker who fled before being sentenced in absentia to eight years in jail.

The US turned over fugitive David Nusa Wijaya to Indonesia on January 17 after he was located in Los Angeles four days earlier. The two countries do not have an extradition treaty. However, national police chief General Sutanto, who was hand-picked last year by the president, said Wijaya had been given two choices by the police.

"The first was for him to go through the legal process in the US and then be deported, while the second was to voluntarily undergo the legal process in Indonesia," he said.

Wijaya, a 44-year-old ethnic Chinese wanted for embezzling about US$139 million, chose the latter, Sutanto said. This could suggest Wijaya believes that given time, he will find a way to escape justice yet again. However, he may find it much more difficult this time. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is talking tough on seeing such criminals brought to justice.

"I don't want any extortion, backroom deals or anything by the law enforcement people here that would create a more difficult situation for the judiciary," Yudhoyono warned, when commenting on the joint operation by Indonesian police and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation that resulted in Wijaya's capture in San Francisco.

Significantly, US assistance came less than a week after Washington praised Jakarta's arrest of suspects in the 2002 murders of two American teachers in the province of Papua. The case was the main hurdle to restoring military ties between the two countries.

Once again, as with the Papua arrests, public statements confirm the strong relationship developing between Jakarta and Washington. "I am grateful to the friendly country that helped him [Wijaya] be brought to justice," Yudhoyono said....

Wijaya had been on the run since 2004, a few weeks before Indonesia's Supreme Court increased an earlier sentence to eight years for embezzlement in a scam linked to one of the biggest and nastiest wholesale fraud cases ever, the misuse of Bank Indonesia Liquidity Assistance (BLBI) in 1997-98.

In a related development, the owner of liquidated Bank Bira, Atang Latief (ex-father in law of Sukamto Sia) alias Lau Tjin Ho, returned to Indonesia on Friday to face trial over alleged embezzlement of Rp325 billion (US$34.7 million) in BLBI....

He arrived in Jakarta from Singapore and was immediately rushed to a hospital for an undisclosed illness, according to Antara news agency. Sutanto said a ban on Latief going abroad was issued in 2000 but later revoked by the immigration office....

www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/HA31Ae01.html

August 6, 2004

Sukamto Sia’s Lawyers To Pay

$6 Million In Settlement

By Tim Ruel, Honolulu Star-Bulletin

A Honolulu attorney and a high-powered law firm that represented imprisoned businessman Sukamto Sia during his bankruptcy proceedings must pay $6.25 million in a settlement over allegations they helped the former Indonesian investor hide assets from creditors.

Attorney Renton Nip and the former Washington, D.C., law firm Verner Liipfert Bernhard McPherson & Hand must pay the money to Sia’s bankruptcy estate, a Singapore bank, casinos that are owed money by Sia and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Sia pleaded guilty to federal bankruptcy fraud in 2001 and is in prison in Big Springs, Texas. He was to be released next month but his sentence has been placed in an indefinite status because Sia was recently found in contempt for not complying with a U.S. Bankruptcy Court order.

Sia’s bankruptcy trustee Guido Giacometti sued Verner Liipfert and Nip in 2002, saying they “entered into an overarching conspiracy to conceal and divert assets from (Sia’s) bankruptcy estate.” Later, the Singapore bank and the casinos filed separate lawsuits over similar allegations.

“I know in my heart that the suits were not fair and not right. The settlement, however excessive, brings the Chinese water torture finally to an end,” Nip said yesterday. He declined to elaborate.”

Warren Price III, attorney for the former Verner Liipfert law firm, said the defendants settled based on the decision of their insurance carrier, and that the settlement will be covered by insurance. Verner Liipfert and Nip dispute all of the claims against them.

“There were a number of parties involved and the defense costs were just going to be horrendous,” Price said.

Nip, who shares a law office with former Gov. John Waihee, was once affiliated with Verner Liipfert, which has since merged into the national law firm Piper Rudnick.

Under the settlement, approved last week by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Lloyd King, Nip and Verner Liipfert do not admit liability. The casino companies, including London Clubs International plc, Aspinall’s Club Ltd. and Rio Casino, will get $2.5 million from the settlement, which is not as much as the $12 million in initial claims they filed against Sia’s bankruptcy estate.

The suits against Sia’s former lawyers will be dismissed and the casinos are waiving their right to seek more money from the bankruptcy estate.

Sia, who once was involved in selling land to the state for the $350 million Hawaii Convention Center, ran into financial problems with creditors in 1998. He filed bankruptcy in Honolulu, claiming he had nearly $300 million in debts and only $9.3 million in assets. Giacometti has since estimated the face value of Sia’s assets at $53 million.

Giacometti has raised $7.4 million for creditors, and the estate will receive another $1.25 million for its role as receiver for the now-defunct Bank of Honolulu, where Sia was once chairman and Nip was a director.

Another $1.25 million from the settlement will go to an Asian unit of Commerzbank AG, a major bank based in Germany.

Meanwhile, Giacometti said he is in talks to resolve the contempt order that is keeping Sia in prison. A local attorney for Sia declined comment yesterday....

http://starbulletin.com/98/11/10/business/story1.html

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March 21, 2002

Jones asks judge to be lenient with Sia

By Jim Dooley, Advertiser Staff Writer

University of Hawai'i football coach June Jones has asked a federal judge for leniency on behalf of financier Sukamto Sia, suggesting that Sia could give "instructional lectures" at UH as part of his rehabilitation instead of serving prison time for bank fraud.

In a Feb. 13 letter to U.S. District Court Judge David Ezra, Jones called Sia "one of the most wonderful persons I have associated myself with since returning to Hawai'i" and said he has known Sia for about a year, becoming "very good friends" over that time.

When he heard about Sia's legal troubles, "it made me feel sick to my stomach," Jones wrote.

Sia will appear before Ezra today for sentencing on bankruptcy and wire fraud convictions. He faces up to 40 months in federal prison and fines of $1.5 million. Earlier this month, his bail was revoked after his involvement in a domestic disturbance in Los Angeles on Feb. 13.

On Tuesday, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Lloyd King found Sia in contempt of court for repeatedly failing to produce financial records to his creditors.

King threatened to notify Ezra of the contempt ruling, then said he may order Sia jailed after he finishes serving whatever sentence Ezra hands down today in the criminal case.

Jones declined to discuss the letter he wrote on Sia's behalf, saying it was "a private letter to the judge."

Asked if the bail revocation or contempt ruling have changed his attitude toward Sia, Jones said, "No, nothing's changed." Jones said he didn't wish to elaborate. "The letter speaks for itself," he said.

Written on UH stationery, Jones' letter referred to Sia as "SS," and said Sia "could be a great asset to the University of Hawai'i by giving instructional lectures to our students. I make this suggestion as part of a rehabilitation sentence, in lieu of custody time."

Jones also noted that Sia has been involved helping young business people.

"In the past, he has held seminars and roundtable business discussions, devoting many hours of his time in open forum to help them and guide them toward achieving success in life," he said.

Numerous other friends and associates of Sia also wrote letters of support to Ezra.

Sia, 41, is a developer, financier and former owner of the Bank of Honolulu, which was seized by federal regulators in October 2000. As part of a plea agreement in the criminal case, Sia admitted defrauding the bank by obtaining illegal loans that went to companies he controlled.

He also admitted improperly cashing two state of Hawai'i tax refund checks worth $757,000 and using some of the proceeds to gamble in Las Vegas and to buy his girlfriend, Kelly Randall, a pair of diamond earrings worth $325,000.

More than a dozen other criminal counts against Sia were dropped in return for his guilty plea.

Sia's lawyers have argued to Ezra that Sia's financial problems were caused in part by a severe gambling addiction that led to losses of tens of millions of dollars at casinos around the world.

He was arrested by Las Vegas authorities in 1998 on charges he wrote bad checks to cover some $8 million in gambling debts. Those charges were later dropped after he agreed to repay the money.

The domestic disturbance incident last month occurred at a mansion in Bel Air, Calif., that Sia shares with Randall. Randall at one time was also charged in the federal court case, but prosecutors agreed to drop those charges in return for Sia's guilty plea.

Police said Randall initially told them Sia slapped her three or four times but she later said the accusation was a lie.

Ezra, in revoking Sia's bail, said it wasn't because of the domestic battery allegations but because Sia lied to police officers when he told them that he'd never been arrested before and that an electronic monitoring device attached to his wrist was a watch.

The Honolulu Advertiser

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Kevin Seah, Dr Frank Cintamani, Thomas Wee, Sharanjit Leyl, Kelly Randall

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November 7, 1998

Sukamto Sia claims

bankruptcy in Hawaii

The former Bank of Honolulu
chairman's debts could require
hearings in other countries

By Peter Wagner, Star-Bulletin

Investor Sukamto Sia has filed for bankruptcy in Honolulu, listing less than $50 million in assets and more than $208 million in debts to banks, investment firms and casinos around the world.

In an unusual step, Sia yesterday filed for personal bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the U.S. bankruptcy code -- an option usually used in the restructuring of companies. Initial filings show $153.1 million in debts to Asian banks, $27.5 million to Asian securities firms and $27.6 million to casinos in Las Vegas, Paris, London and Melbourne, Australia.

While the case is based in Honolulu, it could involve "ancillary" hearings in other countries because of the numerous foreign creditors, attorneys say.

The bankruptcy will protect Sia from creditors until a reorganization plan is drawn up and approved, a process that could take more than six months.

"This is a reorganization, not a liquidation," said his attorney, Jerrold Gubin. "This is about rehabilitation."

Sia, formerly known as Sukarman Sukamto, was arrested last month in Las Vegas on charges of bouncing checks totaling $6 million to the Rio and $2 million to Caesars Palace. He is scheduled to answer the charges in Las Vegas next week.

But economic problems in Asia, not gambling debts, are behind the bankruptcy, Gubin said.

"Financial conditions in the Far East since last year have really taken a toll on the value of his property and the cash flow of many of his companies," Gubin said.

Sia, 39, has interests in 10 to 15 companies, most of them in Asia, Gubin said. He plans to disclose details of his assets in court filings within the next several weeks.

Meanwhile, a reorganization plan will be drawn up and filed in about six months, showing how Sia plans to repay his debts.

Among Sia's Hawaii assets are the Bank of Honolulu, the Executive Centre Hotel, a home and other properties.

Born in Indonesia, Sia gained an interest in Bank of Honolulu in 1987 when his Indonesian father-in-law, Atang Latief, bought 70 percent of the bank and Sia bought 30 percent.

Latief later sold his interest to Sia.

Sia had been chairman of the bank but was demoted this week by the bank's board of directors following his arrest.

Sia, who was at his Honolulu residence yesterday, will have to live more modestly in the wake of his bankruptcy, Gubin said.

"I understand he's already disposed of several of his aircraft, for the creditors' sake," Gubin said.

"He's scaling back quite a bit."

Banker's debt

A list of Sukamto Sia's top 20 creditors:

Commerzbank AG: Singapore, $40 million loan

Societe Generale: Singapore, $40 million loan guarantor

P.T. Bank Bira: Indonesia, $25 million loan guarantor

Tamara Bank: Indonesia, $22 million loan guarantor

Credit Suisse: Singapore, $19 million loan guarantor

Kim Eng Securities Pte Ltd.: Singapore, $12 million securities investment guarantor

KG Investments Asia Ltd.: Hong Kong, $10.5 million securities investment guarantor

Rio Casino: Las Vegas, $6 million gambling markers

Creditanstalt Pte Ltd.: Hong Kong, $5 million investment loan

Caesars World of Marketing Corp.: Las Vegas, $5 million gambling markers

Bellagio/Mirage: Las Vegas, $4 million gambling markers

Bayerische Landesbank Girozentrale: Singapore, $3.2 million loan guarantor

Aspinall Club Ltd.: London, $3 million gambling markers

Bangkok Bank Public Co.: Singapore, $3 million loan guarantor

Las Vegas Hilton: $3 million gambling markers

Cercle Haussmann: Paris, $2.7 million gambling markers

London Club International: $2.2 million gambling markers

Crown Casino: Australia, $1.2 million gambling markers

Tat Lee Bank Ltd.: Singapore, $900,000 loan

Sun Cruise Ltd.: Singapore, $500,000 gambling markers

http://starbulletin.com/98/11/07/news/story1.html

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June 21, 1996

Landmark back on market

Pacific Business News (Honolulu) - by Chuck Davis

Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties has launched a program to bring the vacant Waikiki Landmark building back to the leasehold condominium market.

A June 23 brokers preview kicks off what Coldwell Banker Pacific terms "the start of a new era." But the consensus among observers is the demand for high-priced leasehold property remains weak.

Susan Todani, director of real estate and hospitality consulting at KPMG Peat Marwick, said the units could be difficult to sell, even on a fee-simple basis. It would require a mix of Hawaii residents and vacation-home owners, she said.

The Hung Wo Ching family's Aloha Securities & Investment Co. owns the fee interest in the 2.8-acre property, bounded by Kalakaua Avenue, Ala Wai Boulevard and McCully Street. The lease expires in 2055, but has fixed 5 percent incremental increases every five years, according to sources close to the situation....

In June 1995, Los Angeles-based Oaktree Capital Management bought the $155 million mortgage on the 196-unit building for an estimated $50 million from Mitsui Trust & Banking Co. Ltd. And in January, Oaktree filed a foreclosure suit against owner Waikiki Landmark Partners, headed by controversial Indonesian developer Sukamto Sia, also known as Sukarman Sukamto. At that time, Oaktree Vice President Sean Armstrong said his company's plan was to take control of the property and eventually bring it back to market.

Sources said the property was conveyed to Oaktree in a settlement with Waikiki Landmark Partners.

In 1993, residential units in the building ranged in price from $347,000 for a studio to $8.1 million for a penthouse.

But despite its proximity to the Hawaii Convention Center site, the Waikiki Landmark remains vacant. Todani said today's top prices for "upper end, quality units" is in the $400,000 range....

Industry experts speculated reconfiguration of the Waikiki Landmark to time-share or hotel use would be a viable scenario, given the potential demand in the immediate vicinity of the convention center.

A zoning variance would be necessary and conversion costs are estimated at $25 million to $30 million.

Joseph Toy, director of hospitality consulting at Coopers & Lybrand LLP, said the Waikiki Landmark would be a good candidate for hotel use, and "it's never too late." ...

www.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/1996/06/24/story1.html

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Sukamto Sia is expected to testify regarding his business, professional and personal relationships with Bank of Honolulu; Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate; Lokelani Lindsey; Diane Plotts; Chris Hemmeter; Mark Hemmeter; Governor Linda Lingle; Bob Awana; Constance Lau; Edwina Clarke; Robert Clarke; Guido Giacometti; Susan Tius; Renton Nip; Donna Tanoue; John Waihee; Ben Cayetano; Gil Tam; Robert Kihune; Henry Peters; Richard Wong; Louis Kau; Peter Savio; Jeffrey Stone, Judge Kevin Chang; Judge David Ezra; Judge Lloyd King; Judge Robert Faris; Kamehameha Investment Corp; Nathan Aipa; Colleen Wong; Louanne Kam; Rocco Sansone, Marsh & McLennan Companies; Maui Planning Commission; Hawaii Land Use Commission; Colbert Matsumoto; Curtis Ching; Gayle Lau; Steven Guttman; Summit Communications; Harold Johnston; Mary Lou Woo; Judge Lloyd King; Rupert Murdoch; Indostar; Chevron-Texaco; Tesoro Petroleum; Carol Muranaka; Curtis Ching; Gayle Lau; James Nicholson; Mark Bennett; Hugh Jones; Ron Rewald, Governor Linda Lingle, Mark Recktenwald, June Jones, David Farmer, James B. Nicholson, Hung Wo Ching, Leslie Osborne, and others to be determined upon discovery.