Contact Pres. Clinton's chief of staff, Leon Paneta at 202/456-6797, or
send a fax to him at 202/456-2883, and demand an end to this logging
operation, a repayment of the $1.6 billion dollars, and a halt to the
transfer of The Presidio and other public lands to this corporation.
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Forwarded message:
From:wfg@designlink.com
Date: 96-09-25 12:50:48 EDT
LEGAL FOUNDATION URGES FEDS TO FREEZE ASSETS OF MAXXAM CORP.
by Mark Bult
San Francisco (9/25/96) -- The Rose Foundation will today issue a legal
brief urging the federal Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) to freeze the
assets of Maxxam Corporation, parent of the Pacific Lumber Company and
controller of the contested Headwaters Forest Complex in Northern
California. The brief states that a pending government suit against Maxxam
and its chief, Charles Hurwitz, as well as Maxxam's stated intent to
liquidate its ancient forest assets, are legal grounds for the move.
A lawsuit filed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) last
August against Hurwitz cited a "pattern of deceptive financial reporting"
in his role as caretaker of the United Savings Association of Texas (USAT),
a savings and loan that went bust in 1988 and prompted a U.S. taxpayer
bailout to the tune of $1.6 billion. The OTS followed with a second lawsuit
against Maxxam and Hurwitz in December 1995, and a private citizen has also
filed a suit under the Federal False Claims Act.
"Each tree Maxxam and CEO Charles Hurwitz liquidate for profit now could
lessen their ability to pay what they owe later," stated Jill Ratner,
attorney and president of Oakland's Rose Foundation. "Based on the
seriousness of [the FDIC's charges], and Maxxam's stated intention to
liquidate the Pacific Lumber Company's most valuable old-growth redwood
assets, we are surprised that federal regulators have waited this long."
The OTS lawsuit charges Maxxam and Hurwitz of, among other things:
violating federal statutory obligations to maintain the net worth of USAT,
illegally purchasing junk bonds, enganging in unsafe and unsound banking
practices, and making false and misleading statements to federal regulators
to conceal their activities. The government is reportedly seeking to bar
Hurwitz from banking in the future.
The OTS has authority to issue temporary "asset preservation orders" that
would effectively freeze Maxxam's assets and would "guarantee that Maxxam
could pay pending federal claims in excess of $2 billion," according to the
Rose Foundation.
Hurwitz could not be reached late Tuesday for comment. Maxxam
representative Bob Irelan has maintained that Hurwitz owes no debt to the
government nor the taxpayers. "That savings and loan failed for the same
reason practically every other Texas S&L failed--a precipitous drop in the
Texas economy," he said.
"Hurwitz's actions and decisions were taken in the exercise of his best
business judgment at that time and are not legally subject to the FDIC's
second-guessing," stated a rebuttal to the FDIC suit, filed by Hurwitz's
attorney, Richard Keeton. "We trust Mr. Hurwitz's position will be
completely vindicated by the federal court," Keeton said.
The Rose Foundation's legal brief will be unveiled at a press conference
11am today, Wednesday, September 25, at the Press Club, 555 Post (at Mason)
in San Francisco. For information contact the Rose Foundation at
510-658-0702
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Sent by Bay Area Action's Headwaters Forest Project / Forest Action Team