Hot House : Beverly Hills Mansion--a Film Site Seized From Accused Money Launderer--Goes on Auction Block

Attention home buyers: With only $50,000 and a photo ID, you too can bid for a palatial Beverly Hills estate that even comes with its own film credit.

The tony mansion, seized by the federal government from a flamboyant golf tycoon, comes complete with silk-padded wallpaper, a gourmet kitchen with built-in wok and a temperature-regulated toilet.

On Oct. 5 the U.S. Customs Service will put up a tent in the front yard of the house and auction off the residence and its contents. Officials were coy about how much they hoped to garner from the sale, but they were optimistic that several hundred bidders and the house’s colorful past would drive bidding to a fever pitch.

The two-story, 5,000-square-foot mansion was purchased in 1990 by Japanese businessman Ken Mizuno. Two years later, Mizuno was accused of operating one of the largest international money laundering rings in U.S. history and his property was seized by the Customs Service.

Dennis Shintani, head of the Customs Service in Los Angeles, said Mizuno’s real estate development firm, Ken International Co., oversold golf memberships to a course north of Toyko. In the process Mizuno allegedly generated more than $800 million in “fraudulent proceeds,” Shintani said.

Mizuno, whose age is estimated at 60, is free on bail in Japan while he appeals his convictions there for tax evasion and fraud. Shintani said the U.S. investigation of Mizuno and his associates is continuing.

The house is the same one that Eddie Murphy’s character Axel Foley conned his way into in the 1987 film “Beverly Hills Cop II.” Murphy played a Detroit detective who lived in the house for several days while he worked on a case.

“The irony is the house in the movie ended up in the hands of local law enforcement, and now the house has ended up in the hands of federal law enforcement,” said Kristina A. Messner, spokeswoman for EG&G; Dynatrend, which sells seized property for the Customs Service.

The stately mansion was only a small part of Mizuno’s booty.

He allegedly funneled about $250 million of fraudulently obtained money to the United States from Japan, and bought luxury real estate here between 1988 and 1991, Shintani said.

Mizuno purchased the Indian Wells Country Club and hotel near Palm Springs and the Royal Kenfield Golf Course in Las Vegas. During that period, Mizuno, a legendary high-rolling gambler, also proved to be an unlucky one--losing between $65 million and $90 million at Las Vegas casinos, Customs officials estimate.

In addition to the house and some lavish furnishings, several hundred thousand dollars worth of jewelry, furs and artwork will be on the auction block.

A bracelet styled in the shape of a jaguar and encrusted with 800 diamonds will be one of the items, along with watches and gem-studded rings and earrings. Also up for sale will be about 500 golf clubs, officials said.

Mizuno purchased the house for $2.8 million--in cash. Since then, the real estate market has taken a beating and the residence will probably go for $1 million to $2 million, officials said.

But the fact that the mansion was owned by an accused money launderer may appeal to buyers.

“There will be no stigma attached to the house,” Messner said. “The allure is more likely to help the sale.”