From: Jean
Date: 10/4/2005
Time: 10:39:47 AM
Remote Name: 192.168.7.18
Untangling a Lobbyist's Stake in a Casino Fleet The stepfather had also sued him, alleging that Kidan misappropriated $250,000 being held in escrow, a dispute that would eventually lead Kidan to relinquish his license to practice law. Among the funds at issue: $15,000 posted as a reward in his mother's slaying. Nevertheless, Foothill Capital and a second specialty lender, Citadel Equity Fund, agreed to lend Abramoff and Kidan $60 million to buy Boulis's business, requiring the two men to personally guarantee the loans and to put $23 million of their own money into the deal. COURT DOCUMENTS The Missing $23 Million Untangling a Lobbyist's Stake in a Casino Fleet Untangling a Lobbyist's Stake in a Casino Fleet Foothill Capital's representative in the deal was Greg C. Walker, then a vice president at the firm. Asked last week why Foothill Capital would take a chance on someone such as Kidan, Walker said, "You'd have to be there at the time." He declined to elaborate. A Sealed Envelope The lenders, buyers and sellers gathered to begin closing the deal on the morning of Sept. 18, 2000, in the midtown Manhattan offices of Foothill Capital's lawyers. Tensions were running high; Kidan and Abramoff were annoyed that Walker was requiring them to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars more than they had expected in closing fees. That night, though, they smoothed things over during a Monday night football game, between the Redskins and the Dallas Cowboys. Kidan and Walker traveled to Washington from New York to join Abramoff in the lobbyist's leased skybox at FedEx Field. Abramoff was spending about $1 million a year on skyboxes at FedEx Field, MCI Center and Oriole Park at Camden Yards, and often allowed politicians and their staffers to use them for fundraising. A copy of a roster maintained by Abramoff and obtained by The Post shows he provided the box for DeLay's use that night. Walker said he was introduced to DeLay in the skybox and was later told that DeLay was the majority whip. Walker said he was unfamiliar with the position, which is the third in rank in the House. "It sounds to me like it is a powerful position," Walker said in a recent interview. Asked whether the introduction with DeLay helped establish Abramoff's bona fides, Walker said, "The credit has to stand on its own." DeLay spokesman Allen said last week that DeLay does not recall meeting Walker. Nine days after the Redskins game, the last of the closing documents were signed in New York: Under the final terms, Kidan and Abramoff were to put in $23 million in cash, Foothill Capital and Citadel would lend the partners $60 million, and Boulis would agree to accept IOUs from Kidan and Abramoff totaling $67.5 million. Boulis would stay as a consultant with a 10 percent stake in the company. As one of the four owners -- Kidan and Abramoff each had 40 percent, and Waldman had 10 percent -- Boulis thought he would also still have a say in how business was done. The closing documents did not tell the whole story, however. What really happened that week is the subject of the federal bank fraud investigation.