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Open-Space Backers Had Close Call With Kissel

Posted on: Monday, 17 April 2006, 09:01 CDT

By Hoa Nguyen, The Stamford Advocate, Conn.

Apr. 17--GREENWICH -- Some open-space activists now know how close they came to forging a real estate deal with Andrew Kissel, the businessman who was facing federal fraud charges when he was found stabbed to death in his Greenwich home two weeks ago.

Kissel was arrested before he became involved with a project in which the activists wanted to preserve meadows in northwest Greenwich.

Until then, the group saw Kissel as a businessman willing to help them buy the land and develop it in an ecologically responsible way, said Ben Wallace, one of the leaders trying to save the open space.

"I've got to say, he did a lot," Wallace said of Kissel. "We had this little nucleus of people, and we were all trying to come up with ways to make it work. There was this moment where Kissel was right there meeting with us. It turned out he just wasn't for real."

At the time of his death, Kissel faced a federal bank fraud charge and New York larceny charges for his role in defrauding financial institutions out of $6.4 million and stealing $4 million from a Manhattan cooperative.

He was facing civil lawsuits from a former business partner who said Kissel misappropriated funds from their company, from title insurance companies that said Kissel's bank fraud cost them money, and from mortgage companies seeking to foreclose on his properties.

Seven months before those activities were uncovered and made headlines, Kissel was active in Greenwich.

Through business contacts, Kissel bought a half-interest in Epona Stables on Riversville Road, which led to his introduction to the Greenwich Riding and Trails Association. That led him to Wallace.

In 2004, Wallace and the riding group tried to persuade a developer to change his mind on plans to divide 32 acres of pristine meadows into five lots and ban the use of horse trails that run through it.

When their efforts failed, Wallace and the other activists decided to try to buy the land from the owner for another subdivision plan that would leave more of the meadows and riding trails intact. They believed Kissel was the one to help.

At first, the small group of residents, horse riders and open-space advocates were wary of Kissel, who was working on a house on nearby Quaker Lane.

"Here's this guy who had just bought half of Epona and was about to become a neighbor," Wallace said. "It looked like it could work, despite the fact that he was a developer."

Kissel tried to show the group how important he was to their goal of buying and developing real estate, Wallace said.

"First thing he was doing was trying to help us get a better bank loan," Wallace said. "It seemed like the bankers were lined up and coming to look at the property and make a deal with him."

The pace at which Kissel worked impressed Wallace -- and scared him. "He got aggressive about trying to buy the property," Wallace said.

Kissel presented himself as someone who was juggling multiple deals, but he seemed like he wanted to help, Wallace said.

"My intuitive feeling was that he was one of these guys who was really -- how do you say it? -- a real risk taker, a high roller," Wallace said. "I never got a sense that he was trying to screw people, that he thought he could pull stuff on you."

At about the time federal authorities were trying to track down Kissel to arrest him on bank fraud charges, the developer abruptly cut off communication with the group.

Before he did, Kissel introduced members to a real estate agent who continued to work with them even after Kissel was arrested in July, Wallace said.

In January, the property was sold to other developers just as Wallace's group was close to making an offer, he said.

The group and the riding group are trying to contact the new owner to see whether the trails can remain and some of the meadows can be saved. "It could have been a lot worse," Wallace said. "When it all came out, we just realized that was some close call."

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Stamford Advocate, Conn.

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Source: The Stamford Advocate, Stamford, Conn.

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