Colorado Media Newsroom
February 4th, 2013, 11:13 PM
From The Denver Post:
For $18,000 in monthly payments over the next three years, radio voice and pitchman Tom Martino could finally walk away from the personal bankruptcy case that has dogged him for 17 months.
And he gets to keep his helicopter and antique airplane.
In papers filed Monday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Denver, Martino agreed to pay $3.6 million to be done with a case that he blamed for stripping him of lucrative broadcast deals around town.
The amount was reduced by the sale of an airplane hangar, conversion of parking-lot ownership and tax refunds Martino has already handed over to the court — including a $405,000 federal refund he was to get from 2011, according to the settlement.
That leaves $1.88 million to be paid over 36 months, as well as handing over any tax refunds he's due from 2012 through 2014. But if Martino can pay $1.68 million by Dec. 31, 2014, the deal will be considered finished, paperwork shows.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Romero must still approve the settlement. Before that, creditors have 21 days to object.
The payments are, in essence, Martino's way of keeping his Troubleshooter Network and affiliated Referral List, which the trustee valued at $450,000.
Key, too, is the following wording in the settlement: "Any liability, wrongdoing, malfeasance, fraud or misfeasance on the part of the Debtor and Mrs. Martino is expressly denied."
Martino's aggressive defense in what should have been a routine bankruptcy was rooted in assertions from banks — and then investigated by Trustee Simon Rodriguez — that Martino moved assets to his wife's name to avoid collection. No evidence to support the claim has been found, and Rodriguez said in the settlement he "does not believe such evidence exists."
During court testimony in November, Martino, 59, said he continued to clear about $90,000 a month in unused income.
Martino has said the bankruptcy was forced on him when the real-estate market soured a number of multimillion-dollar deals for which he had personally guaranteed the notes.
The settlement is "no free lunch," said Martino's lawyer, Stephen Berken.
As security on the agreement, Martino and his wife, Holly, put up their Cherry Hills Village home, Martino's Enstrom helicopter and a 1946 Ercoupe airplane owned by his Troubleshooter Network.
Two creditor lawsuits are unaffected by the settlement, one by First Citizens Bank for loans he guaranteed and the other by Martino's credit cards, which say he charged lavish trips in the days before filing bankruptcy.
more (http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_22518406/tom-martino-settles-bankruptcy-3-6-million-keeps)
For $18,000 in monthly payments over the next three years, radio voice and pitchman Tom Martino could finally walk away from the personal bankruptcy case that has dogged him for 17 months.
And he gets to keep his helicopter and antique airplane.
In papers filed Monday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Denver, Martino agreed to pay $3.6 million to be done with a case that he blamed for stripping him of lucrative broadcast deals around town.
The amount was reduced by the sale of an airplane hangar, conversion of parking-lot ownership and tax refunds Martino has already handed over to the court — including a $405,000 federal refund he was to get from 2011, according to the settlement.
That leaves $1.88 million to be paid over 36 months, as well as handing over any tax refunds he's due from 2012 through 2014. But if Martino can pay $1.68 million by Dec. 31, 2014, the deal will be considered finished, paperwork shows.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Romero must still approve the settlement. Before that, creditors have 21 days to object.
The payments are, in essence, Martino's way of keeping his Troubleshooter Network and affiliated Referral List, which the trustee valued at $450,000.
Key, too, is the following wording in the settlement: "Any liability, wrongdoing, malfeasance, fraud or misfeasance on the part of the Debtor and Mrs. Martino is expressly denied."
Martino's aggressive defense in what should have been a routine bankruptcy was rooted in assertions from banks — and then investigated by Trustee Simon Rodriguez — that Martino moved assets to his wife's name to avoid collection. No evidence to support the claim has been found, and Rodriguez said in the settlement he "does not believe such evidence exists."
During court testimony in November, Martino, 59, said he continued to clear about $90,000 a month in unused income.
Martino has said the bankruptcy was forced on him when the real-estate market soured a number of multimillion-dollar deals for which he had personally guaranteed the notes.
The settlement is "no free lunch," said Martino's lawyer, Stephen Berken.
As security on the agreement, Martino and his wife, Holly, put up their Cherry Hills Village home, Martino's Enstrom helicopter and a 1946 Ercoupe airplane owned by his Troubleshooter Network.
Two creditor lawsuits are unaffected by the settlement, one by First Citizens Bank for loans he guaranteed and the other by Martino's credit cards, which say he charged lavish trips in the days before filing bankruptcy.
more (http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_22518406/tom-martino-settles-bankruptcy-3-6-million-keeps)