A Brief History of Link

This article, appeared in The Tampa Tribune, on 11 February, 1999.
Thanx to Pete Lima who sent me the article which I scanned/OCRed as you see it here!

Area's Largest Home For Sale

Paul Bilzerian
was convicted
of securities
fraud in 1989.

TAMPA - Convicted corporate raider Paul Bilzerian's trophy home in north Hillsborough County, believed to be the largest private home in the Tampa Bay area, is for sale. "Its offered without a price, but the owner has $10 million invested in the property," said Bob Glaser, president of Smith & Associates Investment Co. Realtors in Tampa. The 36,000-square-foot mansion, in the Avila development, has been a lightning rod for criticism of Florida laws that allow residents to keep their homes, no matter the value, after bankruptcy filings. Critics say that provision attracts many wealthy people who sink millions of dollars into homes and real estate to thwart creditors. Bilzerian's home was featured on "60 Minutes" in November 1993 in a segment about Florida's bankruptcy laws. A former Singer Co. chairman and former head of Tampa based Bicoastal Corp., Bilzerian filed for bankruptcy protection in l991.

Bilzerian was convicted of securities fraud in 1989 for failing to properly report stock transactions. The Securities and Exchange Commission .fined Bilzerian and now claims $78 million in his bankruptcy case.

TheBilzerian home named Steffen Manor for his wife, Tern Steffen has 11 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, an indoor racquetball court, abasketball court, awine cellar, an elevator with a telephone and Brazilian cherry floors. Bilzerian could not be reached Wednesday, and ifs not clear whether Bilzerian or his creditors would get proceeds of a sale. In March 1997, Bilzerian transferred the deed to his house to a limited partnership, which lists its business address as the home's.

The Hillsborough County Property Appraiser appraised the house at about $3.4 million; Bilzerian has sued to have the appraisal lowered. The Bilzerian home has been quietly marketed to prospective clients for about four months and is the largest home currently on the market in Florida, Glaser said. "We have marketed it to a number of celebrities," Glaser said, declining to elaborate or address rumors that professional boxer Mike Tyson recently toured the house. About a dozen prospective buyers have visited or inquired about the house, buttherehave been no offers and its not under contract, Glaser said.

Jean Gross can be reached at (813) 259-7762 or fgruss@tampatrlb.com