Developer Rick Burton files $310 mil bankruptcy

A developer who helped build a corporate-jet center and tried to build a resort complex in Glendale has filed an enormous personal bankruptcy in Las Vegas.

Rick Burton owes more than $310 million to investors. He lists $6,500 in assets, mostly home furnishings, with little more than $50 in records and CDs and a $50 watch, according to court records. He lists $96 in two bank accounts.

He filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on May 30.

Reached Tuesday, Burton said he did not have time to discuss the bankruptcy because he was with business associates at an East Coast hotel. He said he had been injured in a vehicle accident in Africa a year ago, "and I've kind of been out of it."

Burton, along with business affiliates Danny Hendon and Bob Banovac, opened luxury-jet hubs in Glendale, Goodyear and Yuma in recent years and announced multimillion-dollar renovations at each.

Burton split from the group, known as Rightpath Limited Development Group, in 2009, and the company defaulted on loans and lease payments at the Glendale facility. The Glendale and Yuma facilities eventually closed.

Rightpath also tried and failed to develop an office, shopping and resort complex in Glendale called Main Street. The project didn't raise enough money, and portions of the land fell into foreclosure before ground was broken.

Hendon, the magnate of Danny's Family Companies car-wash chain, and business partner Banovac are listed as co-debtors on many of the debts in Burton's bankruptcy.

In Nevada, where the bankruptcy was filed, Burton tried to develop a private terminal at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, which also failed.

Burton reported in his petition for bankruptcy that he is working as chief operating officer for a Las Vegas company that makes sandbags, earning $10,000 a month, and that his personal expenses are more than $9,300 a month, including a $3,400 mortgage.

Among his debts are $135 million owed to the Arizona State Land Department for purchased land, according to the bankruptcy petition.

Another debt is $109 million to Mortgages Ltd. in Arizona for a business loan.

Burton also owes the city of Glendale $20 million for the Main Street development's bond requirement, and more than $12 million is owed to a bank for the Glendale airport land.

He also owes $120,000 to Phoenix attorney Dennis Wilenchik for an Aston Martin car, as well as debts to Ford Motor Credit, GMAC and Mercedes-Benz Financial for vehicles.

by Ryan Randazzo - Jun. 5, 2012 07:30 PM The Republic | azcentral.com


Developer Rick Burton files $310 mil bankruptcy