Another New Mexican newspaper article.
Santa Fe venture capitalist Charles Kokesh's financial empire continues to founder while his son, Adam Kokesh, looks to run for the U.S. House of Representatives.
So far this year, two foreclosure lawsuits have been filed on the senior Kokesh's horse park and private residence, another lender has tried to repossess his motor home, and a credit card company is demanding payments from his wife.
But Kokesh maintains some of those cases are in error, that he is doing well financially after selling his South Dakota arms-manufacturing firm, and looks forward to settling all claims against him.
In a telephone interview Friday, Kokesh said he believes previous stories about his financial troubles are part of a "vendetta" against him by a New Mexican reporter.
"You like to emphasize the negative?" he asked. "You could put a much more positive spin on it: Local venture capitalist succeeds in selling one of the remaining portfolio companies, is flush with cash, does not see a problem working through any of the issues."
Last week, the city of Santa Fe brought a lawsuit against Kokesh, demanding he pay $100,391 owed for sewage effluent to irrigate the fields of the Santa Fe Horse Park.
Kokesh maintains the city complaint omits the "offset" of water he let the city use from the Hagerman Well, which the park owns with Santa Fe County, to irrigate its recreational fields during the drought a few years ago.
"I think they've made a serious mistake," he said. "We've tried resolution in a number of ways."
Only last month, Kokesh said, state District Judge Daniel Sanchez declared valid water rights for the well that the Santa Fe Horse Park and the county acquired from Public Service Company of New Mexico — a transfer the city had opposed before the state engineer.
So far, Charles and Marla Kokesh have been able to stave off Thornburg Mortgage's effort to foreclose on their Camino Corrales home to satisfy a debt of about $4.3 million.
A foreclosure sale for the house, valued for taxes at about $2.2 million, was originally scheduled in front of the Judge Steve Herrera Judicial Complex on April 28 but was postponed until Tuesday. Last week, it was postponed again until 12:15 p.m. Aug. 4.
Kokesh said the postponements are because he is trying to renegotiate his mortgage with Thornburg, which filed for bankruptcy in March.
In March, GEMB Lending filed a complaint seeking to take possession of Kokesh's 1996 custom motor home, valued at $180,000, to satisfy a debt for $227,418. Kokesh said he stopped payments on the motor home because he is not satisfied with its quality and wants to return it.
In June, Citibank sued Marla Kokesh for what it said was an unpaid $9,054 debt. Charles Kokesh said he is unaware of that lawsuit, but believes it may be connected to "a massive embezzlement and credit card fraud involving a former employee" in 2007.
Also still unresolved is the first foreclosure lawsuit brought against Kokesh's Santa Fe Horse Park in February by Los Alamos National Bank for default on a $2.25 million mortgage. That case is set for trial early next year.
Like all of the local lawsuits, Kokesh said he hopes to resolve this and to retain his ownership of the park, which he purchased a decade ago. He said the park is still in business and there are seven other owners, whom he declined to identify.
Kokesh said his financial situation has improved since selling Dakota Arms in Sturgis, S.D., to Remington recently. Dakota Arms, which Kokesh had been running, makes sporting arms for big game as well as sniper and counter-sniper weapons for the military and government agencies. He said he also is close to selling other companies in his portfolio.
Kokesh also said he was misquoted in a recent letter in The New Mexican regarding comments he made at a Republican Party fundraiser regarding a rifle Dakota Arms had donated.
When the auctioneer suggested the gun should go to former Vice President Dick Cheney, Kokesh said, he joked, "I certainly wouldn't oppose shooting all of the corrupt lawyers and Democrats. The lady (who wrote the letter) conveniently left out the word 'corrupt' and the context. I'll stand by the comment. ... An open season on corrupt lawyers and corrupt Democrats doesn't strike me as a bad idea."
Kokesh said he doesn't necessarily agree with his son Adam on all issues, but he supports his commitment to the political process, although he has not contributed to the campaign. "In some ways, probably the only less reputable profession than politician would be reporter," he said. "But it's his choice. I have to admire him for his choice and the stance that he took several years ago against the war in Iraq."
Contact Tom Sharpe at 986-3080 or
tsharpe@sfnewmexican.com.
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