Sheer magnitude of items Parish accumulated stuns receiver

By Dan McCue , Staff Writer

Everywhere attorney J. David Dantzler Jr. looked in economist Al Parish’s Summerville home he found works of art, jewels and potentially priceless furniture.

“There are hundreds, perhaps thousands of items that we’ve looking at—literally something everywhere we’ve looked—and we haven’t even been to Parish other properties, in Edisto and the Highlands,” he said. “The task is just enormous, more than we’ve seen in any of our previous cases, and more by a long shot.

“Based on our experience and expertise in forensic accounting and funds-tracing, in the scheme of complicated cases, this is a very complicated case. What we’ve got is a much bigger task before us than we typically run into.”

Parish, who built his Lowcountry reputation as a university professor and regional economic forecaster, stands accused of bilking investors through a series of funds he ran and could be responsible for the disappearance of as much as $134 million.

The U.S. Security and Exchange Commission brought a five-count federal civil case against him April 5, the same day Parish’s then-employer, Charleston Southern University, sued him in Charleston County Common Pleas Court over his handling of more than $10 million in university funds.

On Tuesday, CSU announced that it had terminated its relationship with Parish both as a faculty member and as director of its Economic Forecasting Center due to misconduct.

The magnitude of the objects Parish collected in his home is so extraordinary that Dantzler, who is working with court-appointed receiver Hays Financial Consulting LLC of Atlanta, will have to bring in local appraisers and receivers to help come to terms with it all.

“By definition our job is to handle complicated cases, but this is a whole different order of magnitude,” said Dantzler, who is trying to determine exactly how much money Parish received from investors through Parish Economics LLC, and where it went.

“There’s just so much art, and objects d’art, and so many pieces of furniture, that we need some help figuring out what should be treated as museum pieces and what are just regular furniture,” Dantzler said.

“The same holds true for gem stones; we need a little help determining which are the precious stones and which are only semi-precious.”

A number of other clients have now also filed suit against Parish, who has been hospitalized since early April with what’s been described as a case of profound amnesia.

A hearing on the SEC charges is scheduled before U.S. District Judge David C. Norton for Friday morning.

Hays Financial Consulting plans to file a report with Norton prior to that hearing, Dantzler said, but admitted Wednesday morning the team is scrambling to get a preliminary assessment done.

The local appraisers and receivers, which Dantzler did not identify, are expected to begin trying to sort through Parish’s collection on Saturday.

Dantzler predicted that for the next 30 to 45 days, the receiver’s large team of investigators will be “consumed” with locating, securing and cataloging all of the hard assets Parish accumulated.

“Our expectation is that once we get the bank records, financial statements and get done examining the computers we’ve seized, figuring out how much money came in and how it was spent won’t be difficult, only time-consuming,” he said.

“It’s going to take a long time to figure out what we’ve got and how to dispose of it at a fair market value to benefit his creditors.”

Investor seeks class action status in new Parish lawsuit

By Dan McCue , Staff Writer

A former professor and head of the evening division at Charleston South University is seeking certification as the lead plaintiff in a class action lawsuit against economist Al Parish and his investment companies.

Louis Mancuso, now a resident of Louisiana, accuses Parish of carrying out an intentional scheme to defraud investors through the auspices of Parish Economics LLC and Summerville Hard Assets LLC, both of which are owned and operated by Parish, and Battery Wealth Management Inc. of Mount Pleasant, a company for which Parish served as vice president until March 2007.

The case, Mancuso v. Parish, et al., was filed on April 9 in the U.S. District Court in Charleston. U.S. District Judge David C. Norton, who is presiding over an earlier civil action against Parish filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission, is also presiding in this case.

Parish stands accused by the SEC of bilking investors through a series of funds he ran and could be responsible for the disappearance of as much as $134 million.

Mancuso is being represented by the law office of James M. Griffin and attorney Richard A. Harpootlian, both of Columbia.

Mancuso began investing with Parish in 2002 and, by 2007, his investment in pools operated by Parish exceeded $100,000, the complaint said. These investments included Mancuso’s IRA retirement accounts.

The former CSU professor is seeking compensatory damages, “extraordinary, equitable and injunctive relief,’ court costs and attorney’s fees.

Central Mount Pleasant passes first phase

By Lindsay Danzell , Staff Writer

Four ordinances designed to facilitate the construction of Central Mount Pleasant came in front of Mount Pleasant Town Council Tuesday night.

Council delays Snee Farm zoning decision

By Lindsay Danzell , Staff Writer

The Mount Pleasant Town Council meeting overflowed with Snee Farm residents who came out in protest of the final reading of an ordinance amending zoning near the Snee Farm Country Club golf course from conservation/recreation/open space to planned development/mixed use.

One man called it “a wealthy slum,” while another expressed concerns over increasing traffic. All had concerns about lowered property values.

The new development would not affect operation of the golf course, according to those involved in the development.

Four years ago, JKM Holdings purchased the ailing golf course and, late last year, announced plans to develop parts of the club’s property for residential units.

The development would create 57 homes ranging from less than 2,000 square feet to more than 3,000 square feet.

Snee Farm residents spoke out on the mismatch between a tight cluster of homes and the “rural suburban” feel created by Snee Farm. Many brought up the town’s land use plan announced in 2006 to deter development near Snee Farm.

Coleman Boulevard vision may reach new heights

By Lindsay Danzell , Staff Writer

In the wake of approving the Coleman Revitalization Project in Mount Pleasant, the town council passed the first reading of a project that could have buildings as tall as 55 feet.

The town of Mount Pleasant has previously limited building heights to 35 feet. The building-height request was made for the development of Mount Pleasant Square.

Part of the revitalization project was creating clustered homes interspersed with retail and commercial operations and the developer needed taller buildings to accomplish that task, Councilman Krueger Smith said. The developer has plans to only build up to 40 feet, he added.

According to the assessment impact document, the developer would build buildings more than 40 feet in the interior of the development.

Mount Pleasant Square is at the intersection of Ben Sawyer Boulevard and Rifle Range Road. A request for approval of the sketch plan and assessment impact was in the same ordinance changing building height for the development.

The assessment proposes 287 units with 20 units per acre and more than 83,000 square feet of retail space. Apartment buildings and parking garages would be within the development. The developer requested a waiver from sanitation impact fees because the development would not use town services.

Noisette retains real estate giant Cushman & Wakefield

By Daily Journal Staff

The Noisette Co. has appointed New York-based real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield as a consultant for the sustainable redevelopment of the 340-acre Navy Yard at Noisette, Noisette officials announced today.

The Navy Yard at Noisette is a master-planned, environmentally conscious redevelopment of the former Navy base in North Charleston. The Navy Yard, considered the urban heart of Noisette’s 3,000-acre revitalization of the city, has 6 million square feet slated for commercial development and can accommodate up to 5,600 units of housing.

Cushman & Wakefield Global Consulting will provide capital markets, valuation, multi-family housing, retail, hospitality and commercial advisory and brokerage services. Charleston-based Cushman & Wakefield affiliate Coppedge & Tison will provide local brokerage services and market analysis.

Founded in 1917, Cushman & Wakefield has 201 offices in 55 countries. 

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