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Two Big Isle Two Big Island ranch lots on the western slopes of Mauna Kea, seized by the federal government from convicted international drug trafficker Claude DuBoc, go up for auction next week.
ranch lots set
for auction
The seized properties
previously were owned
by a drug traffickerBy Tim Ruel
Star-Bulletin
DuBoc, who pleaded guilty in 1994 to conspiracy to import narcotics and to laundering drug money, is estimated to have owned from $50 million to $100 million in assets around the world, including cash in Luxembourg, real estate in Hong Kong and homes in France, according to court documents.
The U.S. government submitted a final forfeiture order last year on the two Big Island lots, plus a third nearby lot that the feds have already sold to an unidentified buyer, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.
DuBoc's conviction recently drew renewed attention after he won a federal appeals court ruling last month that he can reargue a case to change his plea agreement, which had been advised by celebrity attorney F. Lee Bailey. Bailey, who has represented O.J. Simpson and Patty Hearst, spent six weeks in prison in 1996 and faces possible disbarment over legal fees he is alleged to have taken from DuBoc.
DuBoc bought the three 10-acre Big Island lots for $201,000 apiece in 1992 through a Hong Kong-based company named Chi Tung Cheong Ltd., according to state records and documents filed in U.S. District Court in Gainesville, Fla.
All three lots are 13 miles from the town of Kamuela, within a 3,000-acre gated residential community of cattle ranchers called Waikii Ranch. Ranch amenities include a clubhouse, tennis courts and rodeo facility, according to the Waikii Ranch Homeowners' Association's Web site.
U.S. Marshals are auctioning the two forfeited lots from March 13 to March 27 through Silver Spring, Md.-based auction company Bid4Assets Inc. The firm, which announced the auction yesterday, displays both properties at its Web site, www.Bid4Assets.com.
Bidding for the fee-simple lots starts at $145,000 apiece, with bid increments of $500. "That's about where the market is," said John Michael White, president of real estate firm Hawaii Land Co., which has represented other buyers of lots on the property.
Hawaii architect Jerry Kremkow developed Waikii Ranch in the 1980s, offering more than 100 vacant lots in sizes of 10 acres, 20 acres and 40 acres, White said. Zoning allows for one home on each lot, plus a guest cottage.
Buyers have built about a dozen homes at the ranch, White said. The lots up for auction are vacant.
White has watched forfeiture cases involving drugs before. "People do get very apprehensive in the neighborhood, because if it's a drug situation, you never know who's going to be looking for something that's on site," White said. But the lots are so big at Waikii Ranch that there shouldn't be as much a concern, he said.
Neighboring landowners may even buy the lots to expand their properties, White said. He called the initial bid price a bargain. "It really is an idyllic area," he said.
Following the close of the auction, successful bidders have 24 hours to sign a purchase agreement and must complete the sale within five business days, according to Bid4Assets.