Ex-CenTrust Chairman Says He Can’t Repay S&L; Funds

Former CenTrust Chairman David L. Paul, a national symbol of extravagance in the savings and loan crisis, says he’s $3.5 million in debt, according to court documents released Friday.

Paul, who has pleaded poverty for months, filed a personal financial statement with the Office of Thrift Supervision saying that his $4.9 million in assets are outweighed by $8.4 million in loans he must repay.

Last October the agency ordered Paul to submit a personal financial statement and post a $31-million bond--a figure based on his estimated holdings and on the CenTrust deposits that he allegedly squandered.

No bond has been posted, and Paul, whose thrift was shut down in February, 1990, at a loss of $1.7 billion, contends that regulators had more financial records on his personal worth than he does.

A federal judge last week ordered Paul to submit an unaudited accounting of his finances if he wants to meet with OTS officials on his request to free money for an attorney.

Paul faces a civil order freezing his assets and three criminal investigations for the way he operated CenTrust. No criminal charges have been filed.

OTS spokesman Tom Mason acknowledged receipt of Paul’s report and said it was under review.

Paul listed a $2.5-million island mansion in Miami Beach and a $1.6-million apartment complex in Orono, Me., as his primary assets. He also had $141,413 in cash as of April 20, $193,044 in securities, $150,000 in art and personal property and a $155,000 condominium that he owns with his brother.

But the La Gorce Island mansion is in foreclosure. Paul said he owes $6.6 million in mortgage payments and interest on the property, where he once entertained guests with a meal cooked by European chefs flown in for the occasion.

Indebtedness on the Maine property totals nearly $1.1 million, Paul added.

He noted that his 3.7 million shares in defunct CenTrust Savings were declared worthless by the Resolution Trust Corp., which is selling off the S&L;’s remaining holdings.

Several attempts to sell the thrift’s landmark headquarters tower in downtown Miami, furnished with gold-plated plumbing fixtures, green marble and other luxuries, have fallen through.

Paul also contends that he had $80,000 to $100,000 in personal property at CenTrust when the thrift was seized. He said he demanded that the property be returned, but believes that the RTC auctioned some of it.