A U.S. bankruptcy judge held former car salesman Denny Hecker in contempt of court Wednesday for failing to turn over financial records to the trustee's office in a timely manner.
Judge Robert Kressel ordered Hecker to pay $660 in attorneys fees and gave him until noon Monday to produce the documents requested months ago by bankruptcy trustee Randy Seaver, including bank records, wire transfers, tax records, documentation of cash and gifts to girlfriend Christi Rowan, lodging, travel and other expense documents, utility bills for two of Hecker's mansions, and accounting ledgers for Hecker's Northstate Financial Corp., New Dimension Advisors and Inver Grove Investments.
Hecker attorney Bill Skolnick said the delay was due to the sheer volume of documents requested and the cost associated with copying records plus at least 30,000 e-mails. Skolnick said he offered to return Hecker's attorneys fees so that he would have the money to pay for copying. Skolnick also told the judge he was doing his best, considering that he and Hecker are dealing with a complicated bankruptcy case, Hecker's divorce and 12 other lawsuits.
"The order is the order, and you have to comply with it and should have," Kressel responded. "Standing there now saying it's complicated is not much of an excuse."
Of particular issue was a disk of internal e-mails that Hecker's former executive assistant, Cindy Bowser, secretly copied and gave to Hecker creditor Chrysler Financial Corp. Skolnick argued that the data was stolen, that it contained information protected by attorney-client privilege and that it should be returned.
Chrysler Financial attorneys said Bowser was copied on all e-mails and therefore stole nothing. Chrysler attorneys previously said they had not read any of the e-mails. However, in a surprise move Wednesday, Skolnick produced several e-mails that showed that Bowser gave certain Hecker e-mails to Chrysler's investigator and they discussed the contents. Chrysler's attorney Nick Nierengarten said that news came as a big surprise to him. None of Chrysler's attorneys read the e-mails, he said.
Bowser's e-mails to the investigator included scores of text messages between Hecker and Rowan in 2008 that discussed $4,000 monthly payments to "the Whitney," a $1 million contract-for-deed offer on a house; a $40,000 ring and spending money for Rowan and her kids. Hecker's expenses are a point of contention in his divorce -- his estranged wife Tamitha is seeking $7,500 a month in support.
Kressel said privileged information could be blacked out of the e-mails before Hecker gives a copy to the bankruptcy trustee.
Dee DePass • 612-673-7725
