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In August of 1987, John decided to combine two parcels of
property and develop them as a 32-lot subdivision called
"Westlake". John had already acquired an option to buy one of
the parcels, but he needed capital to option the remaining parcel
and develop Westlake. He took Larry Hashigami (Larry), an
alleged drug king, as his first partner.
Larry agreed to fund 50 percent of Westlake. But, since
John's three previous deals had failed, and since John intended
to option both parcels in his own name, Larry demanded and got
Chancery Court as security.
Pledging the house to Larry would have triggered the
acceleration clause in Jack Rice's mortgage. So John
orchestrated an hypothecation to keep Jack Rice unaware of John's
machinations. John bought the house from petitioners, got them
to execute a grant deed, and swore every one involved to silence.
He gave the grant deed to Larry, but he made him promise not to
record it. The deed purportedly granted title to William S.
Hashigami, Larry's brother Sid, rather than to Larry himself.
John "purchased" Chancery Court from petitioners on August
25, 1987. The purchase was evidenced by a document entitled
"Exchange Agreement", which provided that "This agreement shall
be a complete and full satisfaction by virtue of the debt
satisfied for the equity and ownership of the property Chancery
Court." Petitioners agreed to deed Chancery Court to whomever
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Last modified: May 25, 2011