Con Man’s Conviction Doesn’t End Headaches for Clairemont Couple

Can I interest you in a large dose of depression?

If so, listen to the sad story of Melvin and Alice Clark, a retired couple in Clairemont fighting to save the modest home where they’ve lived for 25 years.

He’s 70, a retired commercial fisherman; she’s 66. They exist on Social Security and a small disability stipend.

In 1989, a con man named William James Baker sweet-talked the Clarks into agreeing to a “reverse annuity” plan.

The Clarks would get $1,600 a month for life. When they died, Baker would split the proceeds from the sale of their home with their four children.

“Baker said he’d done the same thing for his mother and father,” Alice Clark said. “All the while, he was swindling us.”

Baker tricked the Clarks into signing away immediate title to the home. He used the home to get a $106,300 loan, which he blew on a Corvette and fancy living.

Later, Baker was convicted of cheating the Clarks and sentenced to four years in prison.

But his conviction did not get the loan company (Cameo Financial) off the Clarks’ backs. Since the company was not part of Baker’s scheme, it asserted the right to seize the collateral he put up for the loan.

“We woke up one Saturday morning,” Alice Clark said, “and there was a note tacked to our door from the mortgage company saying our house was for sale.”

The Clarks’ lawyer, Mark Kessler, got the title back from Baker, plus a $100,000 judgment against him (uncollectable since he’s broke).

Kessler hopes for a compromise with the loan company: The Clarks would pay a portion of the lien and the rest would be paid by title insurance.

Still, the Clarks would face additional payments for a house they had nearly paid off. They’ve already spent nearly $10,000 on legal fees and a surety bond to stall the sale.

If no compromise is reached, the case will soon go to trial.

“It’s a constant worry, day and night,” Melvin Clark said. “We don’t know where to turn.”

Who’s Counting?

Money, food and rhyme.

* Attorney for Southern California Edison explaining to the Public Utilities Commission why there’s a $100-million discrepancy in different documents about purported merger savings:

“We rounded our numbers off.”

* San Diego Councilwoman Linda Bernhardt is expressing confidence that she’ll beat the April 9 recall.

She’s already planning to attend a transit convention in Philadelphia, June 9-12. Expenses ($1,100 for air fare, hotel and conference fee) to be paid by the Metropolitan Transit Development Board.

Bernhardt represents the city on the MTDB. If she’s ousted April 9, no junket.

* Why were chefs at the downtown Pan Pacific Hotel, which is set to open April 2, doing lots of practice cooking last week but not taking even a tiny taste?

Because approval had not yet arrived from the county Department of Health Services.

It’s the law: Not even a chef can taste his food without the right health permit.

* Recall candidate John Brand has Burma Shave-style signs on Mira Mesa Boulevard, leading to Interstate 805:

Imagine if traffic were doubled?

Our growth plan is already in trouble

Select a leader who’ll help you drive

Elect John Brand in District 5.

He’s also got signs about the drought but, frankly, they couldn’t be verse.

Patriotic G-Strings

Short shots.

* The Pure Platinum strip joint near downtown is offering free admission to troops back from Operation Desert Storm. The girls are wearing only yellow ribbons.

* Why does La Mesa Mayor Art Madrid have a business card that is about the size of a pregnant postage stamp? “Small city, small business card.”

* Anti-merger attorney explaining what drives the utility companies: “Corporate testosterone.”

* North County bumper sticker: “Kill Your Television.”