Fallen Star
SIMON
02-02-2008
Rating:
At one time, Teddy Riley was the reigning king of R&B and hip-hop. Now he's just another fallen star who owes $1 million.
In a courtroom Friday, two lawyers agreed to seek a buyer for Riley's recording studio in Thalia.
Music history was made there. In the 1990s, Riley produced hit songs in the studio for the likes of Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Heavy D, as well as his own group, BLACKstreet. It was a brand-new, state-of-the-art $3 million studio when it opened in 1991.
On Friday, Morris H. Fine, a lawyer for Riley's biggest creditor, said the studio is still functional but out-of-date in today's world of computer recording.
Another lawyer, who represents other creditors, said he hopes to sell the studio as a working business, not just another piece of real estate.
"I'm trying to save this iconic studio for the cultural heritage it represents," said lawyer Richard J. Conrod Sr. "It would be a shame for it to be mowed down or become anything but a recording studio."
For all its prominence, the studio is completely invisible from the street. It is a one-story, windowless building at 4338 Virginia Beach Blvd., near Princess Anne High School. It is hidden behind an AT&T retail store, sharing a parking lot with a veterinary clinic.
A neon sign on the building says: "Future Records Recording Studios."
Selling the studio is not simply a matter of finding the right buyer. Complicating matters is a series of disputed deeds tied to disbarred Virginia Beach lawyer Troy A. Titus.
A lawsuit filed in February 2007 accuses Titus of fraudulently conveying the studio to a company he controlled, then obtaining $475,000 in loans secured by the property. Titus never replied to the accusations, and the case is still pending.
A court hearing was scheduled Friday to resolve the deed dispute. Instead, at the last minute, two lawyers representing Riley's creditors - Fine and Conrod - agreed to settle their differences out of court.
Riley has been dogged by debts and legal problems for years.
In 2002,, Riley filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. He emerged from bankruptcy a year later, but that didn't stop his money troubles.
In 2004, the Internal Revenue Service filed a $1 million lien against Riley for unpaid income taxes. In 2006, Riley was forced to sell his house in the ritzy Church Point neighborhood for $1.5 million to pay off federal and city taxes, as well as the home's mortgage.
Last year, the IRS filed another tax lien against Riley for $196,747. And just last month, the state filed a $93,684 income tax lien against Riley.
The studio, too, is mired in debt.
In 2005, Riley borrowed $700,000 against the studio from a local lender, Equitable Relocation Services Inc. Riley defaulted on that loan, and the lender won a $700,000 judgment against him in 2006.
Equitable has been trying to collect the money ever since. The company has filed 22 garnishments against Riley's various bank accounts and assets in the past year. So far, it has collected $261,000.
It's unclear whether selling the studio would be enough to pay the rest of the debt. The property is assessed at $460,000.
Conrod said the studio is worth more as a going business than as real estate. If the studio is sold, Conrod said Riley told him last year that he "will use his influence to bring artists to Virginia Beach."
Riley grew up in New York City, then moved to Virginia Beach around 1990. He moved to Atlanta sometime in the past year or two.
|
Linear Mode
