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Durham's Geist mansion listed for $5.5 million

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Beleaguered local businessman Tim Durham's Geist home is listed for sale with a $5.5 million asking price.

The listing on mibor.com describes the 5-acre property as a “car collectors’ dream home,” featuring a 30-car garage.

Built in 1990, the 10,700-square-foot house has seven bedrooms, eight full bathrooms and five half-baths. Other selling points: “multiple” wet bars, a home theater, and multi-level decks overlooking a “resort-style pool” despite its lakefront location on Geist Reservoir.

Durham’s Ohio-based Fair Finance Co. was placed in involuntary bankruptcy in February, allowing a trustee to control its assets while federal securities fraud investigations continue.

Fair’s offices have been closed since Nov. 24, when FBI agents raided its headquarters in Akron and Durham’s office on the top floor of the Chase Tower in downtown Indianapolis.

The raid came a month after IBJ reported that Durham and fellow Indianapolis businessman Jim Cochran had used Fair almost like a personal bank since buying it in 2002.

The story said the pair, their associates and companies they owned rung up more than $168 million in insider loans—debt that might imperil Fair’s ability to repay the Ohio investors who purchased more than $200 million of the company's investment certificates.

Neither Durham nor Cochran has been charged with a crime, and both men have denied wrongdoing.

Before the bankruptcy action, investors asked the court to appoint a receiver following  media and blog reports indicating Durham and Cochran were unloading cars and other assets acquired with investors’ money.

Investors have been frustrated with Tim Morrison, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, for not pursuing legal action to lock down Fair’s assets and those of Cochran and Durham

Morrison’s office on Nov. 24 filed a civil lawsuit seeking to seize Durham’s Geist mansion and other assets, but dropped it six days later. “Having received appropriate assurance [that assets] are not being dissipated, that litigation stopped,” Morrison said at the time. He has declined to elaborate.

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  • Did anybody see
    this news story early last week. TD still doing deals. National Lampoon doc in the works
    4th Row Films duo option rights to comedy banner's story
    By GORDON COX


    Douglas Tirola and Susan Bedusa of 4th Row Films are gearing up to make a documentary about National Lampoon.
    Duo optioned the rights to the comedy banner's story and archives for the movie, to be directed by Tirola. Access to the archives will include the use of previously unseen footage. Shooting begins next month.

    National Lampoon started as the Harvard Lampoon magazine, which was influential in the 1970s, before being spun off into a wide array of properties including books, radio shows, theater events and movies, notably "National Lampoon Animal House" and "National Lampoon's Vacation."

    Deal for the untitled docu was negotiated by Tirola and Bedusa with National Lampoon's Tim Durham.

    Tirola previously helmed "All In: The Poker Movie" and Tribeca alum "An Omar Broadway Film," bowing on HBO next month. Both were produced by Tirola and Bedusa.



  • What is this World Coming To?
    Hey, it works for anyone who craves attention.

    Octomom, who deliberately had 8 children even though she couldn't afford the 2 she had.

    John and Katie Make 8, same story.

    Kim Kardashian, her only claim to fame was a sex tape with her then boyfriend. She got a reality show out of that move.

    Any "celebrity" on the Surreal Life. All has beens who are desperately trying to get more then their 15 minutes.

    It is pathetic the lengths to which people try to be famous without accomplishing anything of substance.
  • attention
    Amazing how one could want attention so bad that they don't care if it is bad publicity. Usually this type of behavior is displayed in 16 year children. They become so attention starved that they will do anything to get it no matter how it makes them look. Kind of sad that a 50 year old has the same problem. Anybody else notice that the square footage is off by quite a bit? I don't think he even wants to sell! LOL
    • Vote now!
      Tim Morrison for Chief of Staff! Vote now! He'd look the other way on Tony Rezko--wait, that already happened. He'd look the other way on Tim, Carl, et al if Mitch becomes President! C'mon, Tim is such a man of conviction. And, he's so smart. Look how he believed Tim Durham would actually tell the truth and not dissipate assets. How about that Bugatti watch, huh? It cost $300k. Durham had to have one. How come that hasn't been turned over? You'll never see it again, or the other watches--about $5M of them--or the big diamond ring Jim bought for that wife of his he hits or any of the other stuff. Just a complete charade, this is.

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    1. Saw the Indy Men's Chorus "Music of Gilbert & Sullivan" at the Indiana Historical Society on Sunday evening.

    2. Temporary workers are not "tools" they are people and companies that keep large amounts of temp staff are cheating.

    3. I miss having them around. I hope one of their stores is in the general Meridian/86th Street area. I will make good use of it.

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