Local News in Brief : Pearl Linked to Marcos
Dovie Beams de Villagran, the self-declared ex-mistress of Ferdinand Marcos, told a bank officer that the ousted Philippine ruler had given her a large pearl ring as a love token, the banker testified Wednesday.
John Lahn, director of Bank of America’s private banking office in Beverly Hills, testified in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles that he was interviewing De Villagran for a $1-million loan in the fall of 1985 when he noticed the black and gold pearl ring on her hand.
“She stressed the point that her wealth did not come from Marcos, but this was an item that was dear to her,” Lahn said after his appearance in Villagran’s bank fraud trial.
Villagran, 55, who claims that she was Marcos’ lover from 1968-1970, is charged with submitting false financial statements and income tax returns to 13 banks to obtain $18 million in loans between 1983 and February, 1986. Her husband, Sergio Villagran, 51, pleaded guilty Tuesday.
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