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$8M Pflueger home for sale
By Michael Levine - The Garden Island
LIHU‘E — A 3,800-square-foot home and more than 30 Kilauea acres formerly owned by Ka Loko landowner James Pflueger were put up for sale this week — for a whopping $7.9 million.
The home and surrounding property — described as “Hale Me Kihapai” (house with orchards) on its rental listing by Debra Blachowiak of Sleeping Giant Sotheby’s International Reality — was owned by Pflueger from 1991 until just weeks after a torrent of water escaping from the failing Ka Loko Reservoir Dam killed seven people and wrought millions of dollars in damages.
According to public records, Pflueger transferred the deed on April 20, 2006, about five weeks after the disaster, to Cynthia Foster, reportedly his long-time girlfriend, receiving no money in return. On Oct. 1, 2008, Foster in turn transferred the deed to a company called 39 C Trust and its New York-based trustee, Mark Seelig. Foster also received no money for the property.
“From my side, we’re not hiding anything,” said Blachowiak, who called herself “just a lowly Realtor” in a phone interview Friday.
“We’re just trying to sell a piece of property. ... This is a normal real estate thing for me,” she said. “Basically from my perspective, it’s just a house for sale, that’s all there is.”
Blachowiak said she has taken orders from a New York lawyer — potentially Seelig — and “another guy in L.A.” and has not worked with Pflueger at all on the property sale.
“Mr. Pflueger doesn’t sign any papers or anything,” Blachowiak said. “It doesn’t belong to Mr. Pflueger.”
Seelig is a founding partner of a 30-attorney New York law firm that lists among its significant practice areas “asset protection.” It remains to be seen how the trust would use the money recouped in a sale of the property or if Pflueger has any relationship with Seelig, his New York law firm, or affiliate offices in Los Angeles, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Australia.
The trust could serve as a shield to protect one of Pflueger’s sizable assets. The 83-year-old retired O‘ahu car dealer has been named in wrongful death and property damage lawsuits that could see him forced to pay damages in the tens of millions of dollars.
Pflueger is also currently awaiting trial for seven counts of manslaughter. He was charged in November, pleaded not guilty in January, and is scheduled to begin a jury trial in October. State Attorney General Mark Bennett has alleged that Pflueger performed unpermitted grading that led to the dam’s failure after heavy rains.
The 33.39-acre property at 4460-C Kuhio Highway features a three-bedroom, three-bathroom main house and a one-bedroom, three-bathroom guest house, according to public records, as well as an authentic Japanese tea house at the highest point, agricultural worker quarters with equipment storage, a citrus orchard and a tennis court, according to its listing.
It has been assessed at roughly $1.6 million for tax purposes, about one-fifth its asking price.
• Michael Levine, assistant news editor, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or mlevine@kauaipubco.com
The home and surrounding property — described as “Hale Me Kihapai” (house with orchards) on its rental listing by Debra Blachowiak of Sleeping Giant Sotheby’s International Reality — was owned by Pflueger from 1991 until just weeks after a torrent of water escaping from the failing Ka Loko Reservoir Dam killed seven people and wrought millions of dollars in damages.
According to public records, Pflueger transferred the deed on April 20, 2006, about five weeks after the disaster, to Cynthia Foster, reportedly his long-time girlfriend, receiving no money in return. On Oct. 1, 2008, Foster in turn transferred the deed to a company called 39 C Trust and its New York-based trustee, Mark Seelig. Foster also received no money for the property.
“From my side, we’re not hiding anything,” said Blachowiak, who called herself “just a lowly Realtor” in a phone interview Friday.
“We’re just trying to sell a piece of property. ... This is a normal real estate thing for me,” she said. “Basically from my perspective, it’s just a house for sale, that’s all there is.”
Blachowiak said she has taken orders from a New York lawyer — potentially Seelig — and “another guy in L.A.” and has not worked with Pflueger at all on the property sale.
“Mr. Pflueger doesn’t sign any papers or anything,” Blachowiak said. “It doesn’t belong to Mr. Pflueger.”
Seelig is a founding partner of a 30-attorney New York law firm that lists among its significant practice areas “asset protection.” It remains to be seen how the trust would use the money recouped in a sale of the property or if Pflueger has any relationship with Seelig, his New York law firm, or affiliate offices in Los Angeles, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Australia.
The trust could serve as a shield to protect one of Pflueger’s sizable assets. The 83-year-old retired O‘ahu car dealer has been named in wrongful death and property damage lawsuits that could see him forced to pay damages in the tens of millions of dollars.
Pflueger is also currently awaiting trial for seven counts of manslaughter. He was charged in November, pleaded not guilty in January, and is scheduled to begin a jury trial in October. State Attorney General Mark Bennett has alleged that Pflueger performed unpermitted grading that led to the dam’s failure after heavy rains.
The 33.39-acre property at 4460-C Kuhio Highway features a three-bedroom, three-bathroom main house and a one-bedroom, three-bathroom guest house, according to public records, as well as an authentic Japanese tea house at the highest point, agricultural worker quarters with equipment storage, a citrus orchard and a tennis court, according to its listing.
It has been assessed at roughly $1.6 million for tax purposes, about one-fifth its asking price.
• Michael Levine, assistant news editor, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or mlevine@kauaipubco.com
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The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of kauaiworld.com.
manawai wrote on May 30, 2009 8:19 AM:
" It takes a certain kind of Realtor to work for a certain kind of individual. We all know what's happening here and who the Realtor is really working for. There's always a few people who will do anything for money. And this article reveals who a few of them are. both Realtor and client are hiding behind the same transparent shield of deniability. "
66porkchop wrote on Jun 1, 2009 8:02 PM:
" Interestingly, the day this article was printed the for sale sign in front of Pfluegers house was quickly removed. I guess the "Lowly" realtor didn't want her name and that of the company she is the owner of (Sleeping Giant Sothebys International) associated with the house. I'll bet she takes the money and runs when it sells. Having sold his 1,000 acre parcel across the highway from the house she's made a killing off of Jimmy. Even Pfluegers daughter who is a realtor on Oahu and has co-listed previous sales with Blachowiak/Sleeping Giant didn't want to be associated with this one. Smart move on her part. "
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66porkchop wrote on May 30, 2009 6:02 AM: