The B.S. Thread
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I dont know if there is any meat on it, but i chunked you a bone boatman
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LAKE CONROE – Recent legal and financial activity involving Lake Conroe’s largest resort complex could signal a change in ownership or the first steps in foreclosure proceedings.
Documents acquired by The Courier indicate La Torretta Lake Resort is in default under terms of its deed of trust issued June 2007 in the terms of payment of debt secured by the property.
The action, filed Sept. 14, names Dallas attorney Wyatt Maxwell of Perkins Cole as substitute trustee, with Barclays Capital Real Estate as the beneficiary.
The default notification can be the first step taken by a lender to foreclose on a property, or merely be part of a financial restructuring that will have little or no effect to the property itself, said real estate attorney Dave Stevens, president of Texas Homeland Title.
“Either way, it’s unlikely there would be any immediate impact on the property level in terms of day-to-day operations,” he said. “It’s in everyone’s best interest for the property to continue to operate.”
What the filing means specifically for the future of the more than 300 staff and management personnel working at La Torretta is uncertain. Rudy Sharp, managing director of the property, declined comment, as did representatives from Noble House, the hotel management company responsible for operations at La Torretta.
Calls to Ronnie Ben-Zur, CEO of French Quarter Holdings Inc., the owner and developer of La Torretta, were not returned as of press time.
Financial uncertainty has been an ongoing challenge for the upscale resort complex consisting of a 300-room guest tower, meetings space, tennis facility, 18-hole golf course, water park and multiple food and beverage outlets.
A consortium of banks foreclosed on original Del Lago developer Judd Kassuba in 1986. The property closed in 2007 before it was purchased by French Quarter VIII. It reopened in November 2008 following a $130 million property-wide renovation.
The resort is up to date on its Montgomery County property taxes, Tax Assessor and Collector J.R. Moore said. The 2012 preliminary valuation for the hotel site is $10.15 million, according to the Montgomery County Appraisal District website.
“Although this (default) isn’t really shocking to me, it’s disappointing to see this happen again to the hotel,” Andrea Fahrenthold, with the AMF Appraisal Group in Montgomery, wrote in an email to The Courier. “My son and I have walked through the property and even though most of it is nicely renovated, other parts aren’t.”
What, if any, impact the default notice may have is uncertain. Maxwell confirmed his appointment as substitute trustee, but declined to comment on current or future plans for the resort complex or his role in the default proceedings.
“In a situation like this, the trustee is responsible for carrying out the instructions of the lender,” Stevens said. “He is not going to be involved in day-to-day operations or be involved with creditors.”
So far, activities at La Torretta have not been impacted by the default filing, said Al Luciano, director of sales and marketing.
“It’s business as usual at La Torretta,” he said. “This situation has not impacted the resort in any way.”
In a default situation, the lender and property owner will often work together to arrange a “seamless” and mutually beneficial resolution to the situation, Stevens said.
“That can mean bringing the finances up to date or an agreeable restructuring of the finances,” he said. “If not, it can mean a foreclosure on the borrower and a sale of the asset.”
Documents acquired by The Courier indicate La Torretta Lake Resort is in default under terms of its deed of trust issued June 2007 in the terms of payment of debt secured by the property.
The action, filed Sept. 14, names Dallas attorney Wyatt Maxwell of Perkins Cole as substitute trustee, with Barclays Capital Real Estate as the beneficiary.
The default notification can be the first step taken by a lender to foreclose on a property, or merely be part of a financial restructuring that will have little or no effect to the property itself, said real estate attorney Dave Stevens, president of Texas Homeland Title.
“Either way, it’s unlikely there would be any immediate impact on the property level in terms of day-to-day operations,” he said. “It’s in everyone’s best interest for the property to continue to operate.”
What the filing means specifically for the future of the more than 300 staff and management personnel working at La Torretta is uncertain. Rudy Sharp, managing director of the property, declined comment, as did representatives from Noble House, the hotel management company responsible for operations at La Torretta.
Calls to Ronnie Ben-Zur, CEO of French Quarter Holdings Inc., the owner and developer of La Torretta, were not returned as of press time.
Financial uncertainty has been an ongoing challenge for the upscale resort complex consisting of a 300-room guest tower, meetings space, tennis facility, 18-hole golf course, water park and multiple food and beverage outlets.
A consortium of banks foreclosed on original Del Lago developer Judd Kassuba in 1986. The property closed in 2007 before it was purchased by French Quarter VIII. It reopened in November 2008 following a $130 million property-wide renovation.
The resort is up to date on its Montgomery County property taxes, Tax Assessor and Collector J.R. Moore said. The 2012 preliminary valuation for the hotel site is $10.15 million, according to the Montgomery County Appraisal District website.
“Although this (default) isn’t really shocking to me, it’s disappointing to see this happen again to the hotel,” Andrea Fahrenthold, with the AMF Appraisal Group in Montgomery, wrote in an email to The Courier. “My son and I have walked through the property and even though most of it is nicely renovated, other parts aren’t.”
What, if any, impact the default notice may have is uncertain. Maxwell confirmed his appointment as substitute trustee, but declined to comment on current or future plans for the resort complex or his role in the default proceedings.
“In a situation like this, the trustee is responsible for carrying out the instructions of the lender,” Stevens said. “He is not going to be involved in day-to-day operations or be involved with creditors.”
So far, activities at La Torretta have not been impacted by the default filing, said Al Luciano, director of sales and marketing.
“It’s business as usual at La Torretta,” he said. “This situation has not impacted the resort in any way.”
In a default situation, the lender and property owner will often work together to arrange a “seamless” and mutually beneficial resolution to the situation, Stevens said.
“That can mean bringing the finances up to date or an agreeable restructuring of the finances,” he said. “If not, it can mean a foreclosure on the borrower and a sale of the asset.”
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In other words, this is what happens when you take a water front resort and trash the marina then $hit on the locals that want to help it be successful.
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this sucks.....this guys steaks were good...so what if he is a gangster....I wonder how long it took the TABC to relize he was not a local Texan....
LAKE CONROE — The chef of two popular restaurants near Lake Conroe remains in jail after an investigation by local and federal law enforcement allegedly revealed firearms at the businesses.
Dine “Dino” Rraci, 48, was taken into custody on the evening of Nov. 22, for allegedly smuggling three or more firearms, a second-degree felony. He was also arrested for the unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, a third-degree felony according to the arrest record obtained by The Courier though the Freedom of Information Act.
According to Rraci’s attorney, Steve Jackson of Conroe, members of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms — as well as deputies with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office — entered the Bistro Italiano & Rex Steakhouse on Nov. 22. It was then Deputy D. Everton, of the MCSO K-9 Unit allegedly found Rraci in possession of two loaded semi-automatic pistols along with 1,700 rounds of ammunition, according to the arrest record.
The investigation also found several other firearm boxes in the restaurants, hidden in trash cans and food pots, the arrest record allegedly states.
Jackson said the issues with the firearms represent “extenuating circumstances,” and that to regard Rraci as a convicted felon “may not be a correct statement as far as state law is concerned.”
Rraci was arrested and transported to the Montgomery County jail without incident, Everton stated on his arrest record.
While bond was set at $100,000 for each firearm charge, Rraci, a native of Yugoslavia now known as Kosovo, has remained in jail with no bond by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Jackson said he expects his client to obtain an immigration bond “real soon.”
Listed with a Conroe mailing address for his home, Rraci has been a “model citizen” since he started operating the Bistro Italiano & Rex Steakhouse on west Texas 105 not far from the Lake Conroe Dam in January 2011, Jackson said.
On his website “Chef Dino,” Rraci touts his 25 years of experience as a top-rated chef, and that he “brings an innovative flair in nuance and flavor combinations to his signature dishes, delivering every aspect of professionalism to his customers, as learned in five-star rated kitchens of Europe, New York and New Jersey.”
LAKE CONROE — The chef of two popular restaurants near Lake Conroe remains in jail after an investigation by local and federal law enforcement allegedly revealed firearms at the businesses.
Dine “Dino” Rraci, 48, was taken into custody on the evening of Nov. 22, for allegedly smuggling three or more firearms, a second-degree felony. He was also arrested for the unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, a third-degree felony according to the arrest record obtained by The Courier though the Freedom of Information Act.
According to Rraci’s attorney, Steve Jackson of Conroe, members of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms — as well as deputies with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office — entered the Bistro Italiano & Rex Steakhouse on Nov. 22. It was then Deputy D. Everton, of the MCSO K-9 Unit allegedly found Rraci in possession of two loaded semi-automatic pistols along with 1,700 rounds of ammunition, according to the arrest record.
The investigation also found several other firearm boxes in the restaurants, hidden in trash cans and food pots, the arrest record allegedly states.
Jackson said the issues with the firearms represent “extenuating circumstances,” and that to regard Rraci as a convicted felon “may not be a correct statement as far as state law is concerned.”
Rraci was arrested and transported to the Montgomery County jail without incident, Everton stated on his arrest record.
While bond was set at $100,000 for each firearm charge, Rraci, a native of Yugoslavia now known as Kosovo, has remained in jail with no bond by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Jackson said he expects his client to obtain an immigration bond “real soon.”
Listed with a Conroe mailing address for his home, Rraci has been a “model citizen” since he started operating the Bistro Italiano & Rex Steakhouse on west Texas 105 not far from the Lake Conroe Dam in January 2011, Jackson said.
On his website “Chef Dino,” Rraci touts his 25 years of experience as a top-rated chef, and that he “brings an innovative flair in nuance and flavor combinations to his signature dishes, delivering every aspect of professionalism to his customers, as learned in five-star rated kitchens of Europe, New York and New Jersey.”
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this sucks.....this guys steaks were good...so what if he is a gangster....I wonder how long it took the TABC to relize he was not a local Texan....
LAKE CONROE — The chef of two popular restaurants near Lake Conroe remains in jail after an investigation by local and federal law enforcement allegedly revealed firearms at the businesses.
Dine “Dino” Rraci, 48, was taken into custody on the evening of Nov. 22, for allegedly smuggling three or more firearms, a second-degree felony. He was also arrested for the unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, a third-degree felony according to the arrest record obtained by The Courier though the Freedom of Information Act.
According to Rraci’s attorney, Steve Jackson of Conroe, members of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms — as well as deputies with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office — entered the Bistro Italiano & Rex Steakhouse on Nov. 22. It was then Deputy D. Everton, of the MCSO K-9 Unit allegedly found Rraci in possession of two loaded semi-automatic pistols along with 1,700 rounds of ammunition, according to the arrest record.
The investigation also found several other firearm boxes in the restaurants, hidden in trash cans and food pots, the arrest record allegedly states.
Jackson said the issues with the firearms represent “extenuating circumstances,” and that to regard Rraci as a convicted felon “may not be a correct statement as far as state law is concerned.”
Rraci was arrested and transported to the Montgomery County jail without incident, Everton stated on his arrest record.
While bond was set at $100,000 for each firearm charge, Rraci, a native of Yugoslavia now known as Kosovo, has remained in jail with no bond by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Jackson said he expects his client to obtain an immigration bond “real soon.”
Listed with a Conroe mailing address for his home, Rraci has been a “model citizen” since he started operating the Bistro Italiano & Rex Steakhouse on west Texas 105 not far from the Lake Conroe Dam in January 2011, Jackson said.
On his website “Chef Dino,” Rraci touts his 25 years of experience as a top-rated chef, and that he “brings an innovative flair in nuance and flavor combinations to his signature dishes, delivering every aspect of professionalism to his customers, as learned in five-star rated kitchens of Europe, New York and New Jersey.”
LAKE CONROE — The chef of two popular restaurants near Lake Conroe remains in jail after an investigation by local and federal law enforcement allegedly revealed firearms at the businesses.
Dine “Dino” Rraci, 48, was taken into custody on the evening of Nov. 22, for allegedly smuggling three or more firearms, a second-degree felony. He was also arrested for the unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, a third-degree felony according to the arrest record obtained by The Courier though the Freedom of Information Act.
According to Rraci’s attorney, Steve Jackson of Conroe, members of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms — as well as deputies with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office — entered the Bistro Italiano & Rex Steakhouse on Nov. 22. It was then Deputy D. Everton, of the MCSO K-9 Unit allegedly found Rraci in possession of two loaded semi-automatic pistols along with 1,700 rounds of ammunition, according to the arrest record.
The investigation also found several other firearm boxes in the restaurants, hidden in trash cans and food pots, the arrest record allegedly states.
Jackson said the issues with the firearms represent “extenuating circumstances,” and that to regard Rraci as a convicted felon “may not be a correct statement as far as state law is concerned.”
Rraci was arrested and transported to the Montgomery County jail without incident, Everton stated on his arrest record.
While bond was set at $100,000 for each firearm charge, Rraci, a native of Yugoslavia now known as Kosovo, has remained in jail with no bond by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Jackson said he expects his client to obtain an immigration bond “real soon.”
Listed with a Conroe mailing address for his home, Rraci has been a “model citizen” since he started operating the Bistro Italiano & Rex Steakhouse on west Texas 105 not far from the Lake Conroe Dam in January 2011, Jackson said.
On his website “Chef Dino,” Rraci touts his 25 years of experience as a top-rated chef, and that he “brings an innovative flair in nuance and flavor combinations to his signature dishes, delivering every aspect of professionalism to his customers, as learned in five-star rated kitchens of Europe, New York and New Jersey.”
Guess the rent was to high there.
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I heard about that last week. Wish I would have known earlier. Could have gone in for some good eats and made some good deals on firearms.
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Last edited by jeff1000man; 11-30-2011 at 10:49 AM. Reason: Better movie reference