I checked the following names:
james alefntis, big cheese, and comet ping pong.
All I am coming up with are personal R.E. records of deeds and satisfaction documents for various residential properties for james and brock.
Are there any other names that you know of that I can search?
Outstanding! The $1.44 million loan number stuck with me, as it logically follows a 20% deposit on a $1.8 million purchase.
It is my contention that Comet can in no way generate the sales needed to amortize such a loan. Commercial loans are for a shorter term, and have a higher interest rate than homeowner loans.
Further, when Alefantis bought the property, he spent a year and a half on renovating to his peculiar tastes before he opened. With payments certainly coming due in that time, this raises another red flag. Where did the money come from?
A mere 8 years later, he allows it to go to tax sale? It suggests that there was no longer a lien at that point.
One of the reasons Trust Deeds have become widely used is for circumstances like this. If the property was still under lien, the lender could move quickly. This suggests to me that the mortgage was repaid at that point.
Amortizing a loan of that amount in such a time frame would require payments well beyond any net receipts Comet could generate. Yet at the same time, an 8 year term is common in commercial loans.
There are also statements from Alefantis that when he first opened Comet, no one came. He petitioned in 2008 for extended hours and live music, in order to make his business profitable. This gives us at least three years, at the beginning of the loan term, when he was operating in the red. Not much chance to bring down the principle during that time.
Your thoughts on this would be very much appreciated. Please accept my thanks for grabbing and forwarding the image. My login attempt failed, so otherwise I'd have nothing to cement my suspicions.
A little reminder from a former business owner.... one of the very first things that struck me about Comet Pizza and the shopping center its in.... You should never ever find two of the same type business in the same strip center. I tried many times to lease from strip centers and even though our Halotherapy Spa only did an occasional massage in the Halotherapy rooms, No strip center owner/agent would let me lease in the center even when the other business may be 50 stores down and on the other side or whatever. That was one of my first indications when this all started that somethings not kosher. Do we know who owns that strip center? Do we know what Alfentis did before comet pizza? What makes him one of the most powerful men in WA?
And beyond business types, look at the clustering of alcohol licenses. Comet, Buck's, Little Red Fox, Politics And Prose. Even Besta had made an application, from a posted comment someone said they saw on Besta's door. Alcohol control boards exist to control alcohol, but this block seems to get whatever they want.
Interesting thought... I wonder how much they each paid for their license.. very expensive.... We need someone wiht ground penetrating radar to find these tunnels
Somebody must have bailed him out after the tax sale but before the new buyer could sue for title of the property.
Also, there has never been a certificate of satisfaction or a release issued for either the LLC or the actual property so I'm almost positive the loan still exists.
I agree with the lack of income as well. As recently as 2012 he was having trouble just paying the taxes ($1,500 / mo) much less the probable $10,000+ / mo. mortgage payment so someone else has to be contributing - maybe Brock? who knows.
One other note, James and Brock did sell their property at 2310 California St NW, Washington, DC 20008 for about a $4 to 5 hundred k profit. The money may have come from that sale.
You can go to that DC site and submit your own credentials if you like. You will probably need to close all other windows for it to work though - not sure why - but there is nearly endless information in there on anyone you'd like to research dating back many decades.
For his lender to overlook the tax sale insult, Alefantis' partners must be very important, very wealthy, or both.
Back when I bought commercial property, my lender practically begged me for a hypothecation. In addition to the obligatory 20% down, no matter how good the deal, they also wanted additional collateral beyond the secured property. My lender cared not where the additional pledge came from. I suspect Alefantis' partners supplied more than ample coverage for his loan, to the point where his misdeed of delinquent property tax payment would be overlooked.
In addition to his P&I and property tax, we then add in his commercial insurance policies for both the property and the business. His lender would require insurance for the property. Maybe a life insurance policy, too. To operate the business would require a comprehensive policy for general liability, and he has a liquor license that adds risk and thus more coverage costs. Insurance is very expensive and likely moreso in DC. He easily pays more for insurance, in total, than his property tax. Then add in a schooch more for a myriad of annual DC licenses and fees. It all breaks down to many thousands of dollars per week before he spends a dime on payroll, ingredients, utilities, etc.
Insurance cost alone ate up so much of my gross that my budding empire became a rat race, and in short order.
All I can do to express my gratitude here is to toss my upvotes your way. Here's hoping you get to the 100-mark soon. I've got another reply in me, just details to perhaps aid anyone else that may find this topic of interest, but not necessarily expecting you to respond. Thanks again.
Yes, I saw it. Gives me hope that some day a disgruntled insider won't get the big payoff, and will tell all.
My suggestion is you work this up into a submission. Start with the proven facts of the mortgage and tax sale.
Aaaaand.....Alefantis bought a home with Brock in Kalorama at the same time Tony Podesta bought his home there. Then there's the later sale of the Brock/Alefantis home. Alefantis also bought a mystery property on 11th. St in DC. Then there's the TransformersDC.
Don't expect to find it all yourself. Other investigators will chime in, and then save the submission for future work. You will have a solid research thread to build a timeline. I'd love to see it all laid out: dates, prices, agents, everything that's publicly available. Not something I'd do well. A breeze for you.
You should also get to 100 points quickly, allowing you to directly message other investigators at Voat. Bonus! As for me, not in this for fame or glory. Happy here just to help out a bit in exposing these SOBs. If you run with this, no need for credit. At the same time, if you're not willing to make a submission, other posters might find this interesting, and I hope you will forward it to them.
Yesterday, I had tried to piece together a long list of ideas into something coherent. My browser froze at the last minute, and all was lost. Gotta take a break from this.
view the rest of the comments →
RumplestiltskiaAT ago
Lurker here that recently joined. I am still learning the rules/terminology here.
I do however have access to Maryland real estate records and transactions with full 'Deed of Trust' info if this is needed in the future.
Also, the term 'Judiciary case search XXXXXX' (insert State name) works for all the states I've tried.
Works in Maryland, DC, and Virginia so far..
Ex. http://casesearch.courts.state.md.us/casesearch/
oldskeptic ago
Can you confirm that the Comet property was purchased with the aid of a $1.44 million loan from EagleBank?
RumplestiltskiaAT ago
I'm only subscribed in Maryland but i'll see what I can find on the DC sites.
I did find this site, It says 5037 Conn Ave is '2' floors and was last sold on June 3, 2005 for $1,800,000.
http://commercial-real-estate.findthedata.com/l/113710/5037-Connecticut-Ave-NW-Washington-DC-20008
oldskeptic ago
Thanks for the reply. I'm interested in liens recorded against these properties. Hope you find something. Good luck.
RumplestiltskiaAT ago
I checked the following names: james alefntis, big cheese, and comet ping pong. All I am coming up with are personal R.E. records of deeds and satisfaction documents for various residential properties for james and brock.
Are there any other names that you know of that I can search?
It does not give the option to search by address.
oldskeptic ago
Whatever is published in property records for Alefantis, Brock, or the Podesta brothers. That's a good start.
RumplestiltskiaAT ago
Ok, I found what you were looking for: Lender: Eagle Bank Address 5037 Connecticut ave NW Loan Amount: $1,440,000
It's poor quality and DC wants a $fee to download each document but here's a screen shot http://postimg.org/image/lam5n3769/
Also, you can go here https://gov.propertyinfo.com/dc-washington/ and log in (user name is Tuxx) (P/W is DC123!) and see the entire document(s)
It's listed under **CHRISTOPHER ACHILLES LLC ** It's the 2nd from the bottom document# 2005086431 Labeled 'Trust'
oldskeptic ago
Outstanding! The $1.44 million loan number stuck with me, as it logically follows a 20% deposit on a $1.8 million purchase.
It is my contention that Comet can in no way generate the sales needed to amortize such a loan. Commercial loans are for a shorter term, and have a higher interest rate than homeowner loans.
Further, when Alefantis bought the property, he spent a year and a half on renovating to his peculiar tastes before he opened. With payments certainly coming due in that time, this raises another red flag. Where did the money come from?
Also, please review this submission: https://voat.co/v/pizzagate/1472762
A mere 8 years later, he allows it to go to tax sale? It suggests that there was no longer a lien at that point.
One of the reasons Trust Deeds have become widely used is for circumstances like this. If the property was still under lien, the lender could move quickly. This suggests to me that the mortgage was repaid at that point.
Amortizing a loan of that amount in such a time frame would require payments well beyond any net receipts Comet could generate. Yet at the same time, an 8 year term is common in commercial loans.
There are also statements from Alefantis that when he first opened Comet, no one came. He petitioned in 2008 for extended hours and live music, in order to make his business profitable. This gives us at least three years, at the beginning of the loan term, when he was operating in the red. Not much chance to bring down the principle during that time.
Your thoughts on this would be very much appreciated. Please accept my thanks for grabbing and forwarding the image. My login attempt failed, so otherwise I'd have nothing to cement my suspicions.
JoJoVoat ago
A little reminder from a former business owner.... one of the very first things that struck me about Comet Pizza and the shopping center its in.... You should never ever find two of the same type business in the same strip center. I tried many times to lease from strip centers and even though our Halotherapy Spa only did an occasional massage in the Halotherapy rooms, No strip center owner/agent would let me lease in the center even when the other business may be 50 stores down and on the other side or whatever. That was one of my first indications when this all started that somethings not kosher. Do we know who owns that strip center? Do we know what Alfentis did before comet pizza? What makes him one of the most powerful men in WA?
oldskeptic ago
And beyond business types, look at the clustering of alcohol licenses. Comet, Buck's, Little Red Fox, Politics And Prose. Even Besta had made an application, from a posted comment someone said they saw on Besta's door. Alcohol control boards exist to control alcohol, but this block seems to get whatever they want.
JoJoVoat ago
Interesting thought... I wonder how much they each paid for their license.. very expensive.... We need someone wiht ground penetrating radar to find these tunnels
RumplestiltskiaAT ago
You're right about the 20% down payment - as far as I know that is the bare minimum for a commercial loan and even that is difficult to qualify for.
The LLC still owns the property according to the most recent tax bill.
http://postimg.org/image/6fqds3apf/
http://postimg.org/image/phmo103tz/
Somebody must have bailed him out after the tax sale but before the new buyer could sue for title of the property. Also, there has never been a certificate of satisfaction or a release issued for either the LLC or the actual property so I'm almost positive the loan still exists.
I agree with the lack of income as well. As recently as 2012 he was having trouble just paying the taxes ($1,500 / mo) much less the probable $10,000+ / mo. mortgage payment so someone else has to be contributing - maybe Brock? who knows. One other note, James and Brock did sell their property at 2310 California St NW, Washington, DC 20008 for about a $4 to 5 hundred k profit. The money may have come from that sale.
You can go to that DC site and submit your own credentials if you like. You will probably need to close all other windows for it to work though - not sure why - but there is nearly endless information in there on anyone you'd like to research dating back many decades.
oldskeptic ago
For his lender to overlook the tax sale insult, Alefantis' partners must be very important, very wealthy, or both.
Back when I bought commercial property, my lender practically begged me for a hypothecation. In addition to the obligatory 20% down, no matter how good the deal, they also wanted additional collateral beyond the secured property. My lender cared not where the additional pledge came from. I suspect Alefantis' partners supplied more than ample coverage for his loan, to the point where his misdeed of delinquent property tax payment would be overlooked.
In addition to his P&I and property tax, we then add in his commercial insurance policies for both the property and the business. His lender would require insurance for the property. Maybe a life insurance policy, too. To operate the business would require a comprehensive policy for general liability, and he has a liquor license that adds risk and thus more coverage costs. Insurance is very expensive and likely moreso in DC. He easily pays more for insurance, in total, than his property tax. Then add in a schooch more for a myriad of annual DC licenses and fees. It all breaks down to many thousands of dollars per week before he spends a dime on payroll, ingredients, utilities, etc.
Insurance cost alone ate up so much of my gross that my budding empire became a rat race, and in short order.
All I can do to express my gratitude here is to toss my upvotes your way. Here's hoping you get to the 100-mark soon. I've got another reply in me, just details to perhaps aid anyone else that may find this topic of interest, but not necessarily expecting you to respond. Thanks again.
RumplestiltskiaAT ago
Don't know if you've seen this but it's pretty interesting.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/02/27/media-matters-boss-paid-former-partner-850g-blackmail-settlement.html
oldskeptic ago
Yes, I saw it. Gives me hope that some day a disgruntled insider won't get the big payoff, and will tell all.
My suggestion is you work this up into a submission. Start with the proven facts of the mortgage and tax sale.
Aaaaand.....Alefantis bought a home with Brock in Kalorama at the same time Tony Podesta bought his home there. Then there's the later sale of the Brock/Alefantis home. Alefantis also bought a mystery property on 11th. St in DC. Then there's the TransformersDC.
Don't expect to find it all yourself. Other investigators will chime in, and then save the submission for future work. You will have a solid research thread to build a timeline. I'd love to see it all laid out: dates, prices, agents, everything that's publicly available. Not something I'd do well. A breeze for you.
You should also get to 100 points quickly, allowing you to directly message other investigators at Voat. Bonus! As for me, not in this for fame or glory. Happy here just to help out a bit in exposing these SOBs. If you run with this, no need for credit. At the same time, if you're not willing to make a submission, other posters might find this interesting, and I hope you will forward it to them.
Yesterday, I had tried to piece together a long list of ideas into something coherent. My browser froze at the last minute, and all was lost. Gotta take a break from this.
Good Luck and Godspeed