Keating Loses His Mansion in Phoenix : Thrifts: Bank of America is the only bidder on the $2.2-million property, which it foreclosed on.
Pigeons roost under the red-tile eaves and dead cockroaches litter the marble floors of imprisoned financier Charles Keating Jr.’s once-posh home.
The two-bedroom, 4,000-square-foot home once was the centerpiece of a walled family compound in this pricey Phoenix neighborhood.
But the former savings and loan executive moved out as his legal troubles mounted and he stopped making payments on a $2.2-million mortgage.
Late last week, Bank of America took over the home. The bank got a foreclosure judgment on the property Oct. 21.
It was the only bidder when the home and 5.4 acres of the 10-acre compound were sold at auction last Thursday at the Maricopa County Courthouse. The bid was about $1.5 million.
“Frankly, it’ll take some work, but even in the shape it’s in, it’s still a lovely home,” a lawyer for the bank, Susan Jones, said before the bidding.
The sale came as Keating was on trial in Los Angeles on federal racketeering charges for allegedly looting Lincoln Savings and cheating his investors in an S&L; collapse that cost taxpayers $2.6 billion.
Keating, who turned 69 Friday, cut a wide swath through Phoenix society as a land developer, anti-pornography crusader and chairman of Lincoln’s parent, American Continental Corp.
The house on Medicine Man Ridge fit the image of the entrepreneur.
There are gold-plated bathroom fixtures and gold-inlaid moldings around the doors and along the floors.
Twelve-foot or higher ceilings can be found in even the bathrooms, which are fully equipped with bidets and large whirlpool bathtubs. The state-of-the art kitchen has two dishwashers.
The Spanish-styled residence is replete with marble, from the pink stone in the bathrooms to an elaborate multicolor sun that stretches across the foyer floor.
There’s a three-car garage, adjoining a guest house and den.
There also are signs of Keating’s demise.
A bedroom safe is crossed with yellow tape reading “Evidence: The Federal Bureau of Investigation.”
The plants haven’t been watered for months, and even though most of the landscaping is desert chic, some have died. A white horse, owned by Keating’s son-in-law, rambled through the yard one day last week.
Real estate agents estimate that it will cost $20,000 just to restore the landscape.
“I look at it as a nice piece of dirt for the right person,” said real estate broker Walt Danley.
No buyer would be able to escape the Keating notoriety: No wall separates the property from the home of Gary Hall, Keating’s son-in-law and the current host of Keating’s wife, Mary Elaine.
And then there are the family names and birth dates written when the sidewalk was poured behind the garage. Next to a drawing of a champagne glass is the inscription “CHK Jr. 12-4-23.”
