Resdel Seeks Moratorium on Paying Debts

Financially besieged Resdel Industries said Monday that it has asked its creditors for a moratorium on debt payments until July, as the telecommunications company tries to reorganize operations.

Bruce Rossiter, chairman and chief executive of Resdel, said in a statement that the company has not proposed a specific creditor payment plan but has asked that creditors not press for debt payments for the next three months, when a payment plan will be offered.

Rossiter, who acquired 57% of Resdel in January from Irvine-based Phoenix Group International, said several creditors have filed lawsuits against the company. No judgments have been awarded, but Resdel has retained legal counsel in the matters and hired NY Credit, a credit management firm, to assist in repayment.

Resdel has about $17 million in liabilities for back taxes, unpaid medical-insurance claims and past-due payments to suppliers, contractors and landlords, as well as a $10-million convertible note held by Reliance Insurance Group in New York.

The company is operating on a cash-on-delivery basis as it restructures. Rossiter said he recently had negotiated a $1-million contract to build a specialized radio for AT&T.;

But Rossiter said that Resdel continues to pare its work force. It now has 22 employees, down from 274 in late 1988.