Spanky in Trouble: Western District United States Attorney Tim Heaphy laid out his case against Roanoke businessman Roland “Spanky” Macher on Tuesday, charging the well known restaurateur (Spanky’s, Star City Diner), landlord and former towing company operator with bankruptcy fraud and tax evasion.
Specifically, Heaphy has charged Macher with not disclosing certain properties he owned before declaring bankruptcy in 2000. On August 5th, a federal grand jury charged Macher with cheating the IRS and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court out of money. He has also been assessed more than $275,000 in unpaid taxes.
Macher’s attorney, Paul Dull, said his client’s initial bankruptcy filing, dating back to 2000, had several errors because of the sheer amount of Macher’s assets. Federal law requires all assets to be listed as part of a “schedule” in bankruptcy filings. Dull said Macher’s errors of leaving off several local rental properties from his schedule were an accident and unintended. Dull also said the federal statute of limitations to charge Macher on several of the crimes had already run out.
Macher notified the government of several errors more than six years ago, said Dull, meaning the statute of limitations had expired. Macher is due in court for his formal arraignment this Friday at 10 a.m. on his five-count indictment. If convicted he faces more than 25 years in prison and fines of $1 million or more.
At Tuesday’s news conference, Heaphy praised the new bankruptcy “multi-agency task force,” that helped collect evidence leading to the grand jury indictment against Macher, who was arrested by IRS and FBI agents. “Mr. Macher failed to truthfully report the amount of equity he controlled in a number of rental properties in Roanoke,” said Heaphy, “and failed to disclose that he had any interest in several properties in Hilton Head, South Carolina.”
That, said Heaphy, constituted bankruptcy fraud. Macher is also alleged to have sold properties during the bankruptcy proceedings without seeking permission first, as was required. “Our message today is clear,” said Heaphy, “to all those individuals who are tempted to lie when filing for bankruptcy, think twice – don’t do it.”
Slate Hill / South Peak to move forward? Developer James R. Smith says he’s finally ready to get the ball rolling on developing the 62 acre site once known as Slate Hill, near the intersection of Route 419 and Route 220. “This could be a billion dollar development over time,” said Smith, who is now calling the project South Peak, where he says he’s already received firm offers from a hotel and two restaurants to be part of the project.
He’s been working with Roanoke County attorney Paul Mahoney to create a Community Development Authority, or CDA, for the project. The CDA will sell bonds that will be used to pay for things like parking garages, roads, water, and sewer improvements. The plan is for those bonds to be paid off with a percentage of the tax revenue from South Peak in the next 20 years.
Mahoney says using the CDA offers low financial risk to Roanoke County. On Tuesday the Board of Supervisors held a public hearing on the Community Development Authority proposal.
“The Roanoke County government – the Roanoke County tax payers – are not at risk for this project. If this project fails, taxpayers are not going to have to bail it out. There’s no legal obligation on the part of the county or county tax payers to pay off these bonds,” said Mahoney.
Smith believes it’s a good time to invest in the economy and the entrepreneur says he’ll be spending about 130 million dollars to bring the old Slate Hill to life. The Board of Supervisors gave preliminary approval for the CDA and will take a fianl vote on August 24th.
One less candidate for Sheriff in Roanoke County: Republicans will not field a candidate for Sheriff in Roanoke County as Roanoke County Police Lt. Steve Turner announced earlier this week that he would quit the race. Turner called off his bid just before the County GOP would have nominated him at a mass meeting, saying he did not have the time or money to devote to a campaign against Democrat Sheriff Mike Winston (named interim Sheriff after the retirement of Gerald Holt) and independent Mike Stovall.
by Gene Marrano (includes information from media partner WSLS-10)