People v. Zinke

147 A.D.2d 106, 541 N.Y.S.2d 986, 1989 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 7125
CourtAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
DecidedMay 30, 1989
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 147 A.D.2d 106 (People v. Zinke) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Zinke, 147 A.D.2d 106, 541 N.Y.S.2d 986, 1989 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 7125 (N.Y. Ct. App. 1989).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Sullivan, J.

This appeal presents the issue of whether a general partner with virtually unfettered management control and investment discretion may be held criminally accountable for misappropriating a limited partnership’s funds.

In April 1981, defendant, an investment adviser for small pension and profit-sharing funds, formed a limited partnership, SIN (Stonehenge Investment Notes) 1, Ltd., in which he was the general partner and about 20 to 25 pension funds or profit-sharing plans were limited partners. The partnership’s purpose, as defined in the partnership agreement, was to invest in "negotiable notes, mortgages and other evidences of indebtedness secured by real property.” The partnership assets were invested basically in second mortgages on properties located in California. Defendant invested about $40,000 of his own money in the partnership when it started and another [108]*108$360,000 in 1985, after the incidents which led to his conviction had occurred.

As general partner, defendant controlled the partnership’s books, records and cash. Although the limited partners had the right to inspect all partnership records and to receive yearly certified balance sheets and profit and loss statements, they did not have the right to review the investments defendant selected or countersign partnership checks. Nor did they have any voice in the running of the partnership.

On January 9, 1984, defendant entered into negotiations with a real estate broker to purchase for $9,650,000 a landmark building at 4 East 54th Street, owned by Joseph Famolare, and signed a purchase agreement on behalf of an entity named Philip, Page, Staunton and Geer, Inc. a private corporation, totally unrelated to SIN 1, in which he and various family members were the only shareholders. Defendant made a $700,000 down payment with a check drawn on his personal account.

The formal contract of sale called for an April 2, 1984 closing, but provided for an extension of time until July 2, 1984 if defendant paid an additional $250,000 by April 2nd. If defendant neither closed on April 2nd nor paid the additional $250,000, he would forfeit the previously advanced $700,000. On April 2 defendant extended the closing date until July 2nd by issuing a check to Famolare for $250,000 drawn on a money market account maintained by SIN 1 with the Benham Capital Management Group in Palo Alto, California.

Subsequently, defendant and Famolare entered into a letter agreement under which defendant, by an additional $1,000,000 paid to Famolare no later than July 6th, could postpone the closing until August 6, 1984. The agreement, which contained a "time is of the essence” clause, provided that if defendant did not pay the additional $1,000,000 by July 6th, Famolare was released from his obligation under the contract and was entitled to retain, as liquidated damages, the $950,000 which defendant had already paid. If, by paying the additional $1,000,000, defendant obtained the extension until August 6th but then did not close by that date, Famolare would be released from his obligation and could keep as liquidated damages all moneys paid. SIN l’s name did not appear on any of the documents relating to the purchase or sale of the building.

On July 5th defendant paid Famolare the $1,000,000 by [109]*109issuing two checks, one for. $200,000 drawn on his personal account and one for $800,000 drawn on SIN l’s money market account. The closing took place on August 6th, and the property was then transferred to a limited partnership known as 4 East 54th Street Associates, which defendant had created for the purpose of taking title to the building, and of which he was the general partner and Philip, Page, Staunton and Geer, Inc. the limited partner.

Defendant eventually sold the building on behalf of 4 East 54th Street Associates to the Indonesian government for $11,600,000. In his dealings, he never indicated to either the buyer’s broker or lawyer that he was selling the building for SIN 1; in fact, neither ever heard the name mentioned. As of the date of the trial, defendant had not returned any part of the $1,050,000, even though he made a gross profit of $2,000,000 on the transaction.

Although defendant had been providing quarterly reports to SIN l’s limited partners and filing yearly partnership tax returns, he stopped doing so in 1984, the year he withdrew $1,050,000 in partnership funds to purchase 4 East 54th Street. None of SIN l’s limited partners had any financial interest in the purchase; nor did they receive any profits therefrom. They never gave defendant permission to use partnership money to purchase the building for himself.

Defendant testified that when he withdrew partnership funds for the purchase of 4 East 54th Street, he was merely borrowing from the partnership money which he had every intention of repaying. Such loans, he testified, were authorized by the partnership agreement, which permitted him to lend any of the partnership’s property, with or without securities, to himself or other entities controlled by him provided that the repayment terms were "no less favorable” to the partnership than are generally afforded in an arm’s length transaction with third parties. To evidence his obligation to repay SIN 1, defendant executed two promissory notes to the partnership; he eventually substituted a third note to cover the entire obligation. None of these notes were notarized; nor were they filed with any third party or agency or shown or mentioned to any of the limited partners. No one was present when they were executed. The notes provided that when the principal was repaid, defendant was also obligated to pay interest at the same rate as had been paid on SIN l’s funds or 20% of the profit from any resale of 4 East 54th Street, whichever was greater. No periodic interest payments were [110]*110required. By the terms of the third promissory note, defendant was only obligated to repay SIN 1 after the net profit on the sale of the building had been determined.

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Related

Tri-Growth Centre City, Ltd. v. Silldorf, Burdman
216 Cal. App. 3d 1139 (California Court of Appeal, 1989)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
147 A.D.2d 106, 541 N.Y.S.2d 986, 1989 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 7125, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-zinke-nyappdiv-1989.