Marcos’ Lover Faces Charges in Bankruptcy

An ex-lover of former Philippine strongman Ferdinand Marcos faces contempt charges if she refuses to reveal where she hid trees, fancy cars and other property from her soon-to-be-foreclosed mansion, a bankruptcy trustee said Monday.

“I’m going to bring an order for contempt against her (later this week) for failing to tell me where the property is,” said James Stang, a lawyer appointed as trustee in the federal bankruptcy case of Dovie Beams de Villagran and her husband, Sergio.

De Villagran, a former B-movie actress, held a rambling news conference Monday outside the locked gates of her 10,000-square-foot Pasadena mansion. She alleged that she was threatened physically by “thugs” sent by Stang’s property manager during last week’s “wrongful eviction from my home without due process.”

She also claimed that in the presence of Stang’s representatives and Pasadena police officers, an unseen person standing behind her fired gunshots in an attempt to intimidate her.

“I don’t know who it was, but two shots were fired in the bushes,” Mrs. de Villagran said.

Stang replied that Mrs. de Villagran was evicted by Pasadena police while he wasn’t present, and that he knew “absolutely nothing” about any gunshots.

De Villagran said earlier in a telephone interview that she wanted to expose “the syndicate of the 40 thieves using the buddy system in conjunction with a bankruptcy court. I’m seeking support of the public for a congressional Senate investigation.”

She never specifically identified the “40 thieves” during her news conference, but was referring to judges and lawyers in the bankruptcy system.

De Villagran, who previously described how she consorted with Marcos in his presidential palace in Manila from 1968 to 1970, filed for protection from creditors Feb. 26, 1986, under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Marcos was ousted last year.

The bankruptcy case was filed because International Auto Brokers, a business once run by de Villagran and her husband, ceased operation after she became sick with an undisclosed illness, causing a lack of cash needed to pay debts on the mansion and 22 other Los Angeles-area homes, said her lawyer, Michael Cisneros.

Stang discovered Tuesday that a few large trees had been uprooted from the mansion’s grounds and that household furnishings, and several automobiles--including a Stutz Bearcat and a Cadillac limousine--also had been removed.

On Thursday, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Barry Russell ordered de Villagran and her husband to tell Stang where they are hiding the property, Stang and Cisneros said.

As of Monday, she failed to obey that order, Stang said, adding that a foreclosure sale for the mansion, valued at about $3.5 million, will be held Thursday morning outside the Los Angeles County Courthouse by United California Savings Bank, the first mortgage holder.

Cisneros said de Villagran hasn’t told him where she has the property or where she has stayed since police removed her from the mansion Thursday at Stang’s request.

During Thursday’s court hearing, de Villagran contended that the trees missing from mansion grounds had been removed for trimming and would be returned, and that the other missing property, taken to a friend’s home, “was only a few little things.”

Stang called that “the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. If they were going to put them (the trees) back, why did they fill up the holes?”

He said the value of the missing cars, furnishings and property, along with statues that were not removed, exceed $100,000, although he didn’t know the value of the missing property alone.

Stang and Cisneros said de Villagran contends that some of the furnishings are exempt from the bankruptcy and that she should be allowed to keep them.

“The judge’s position is she has never claimed those exemptions, and he gave her two weeks to do so,” but still must tell Stang where the property is, Stang added.

Alleged Use of Marcos Money

In March, 1986, state Sen. Paul Carpenter alleged that Marcos’ money was used to buy the mansion and the 22 other homes. De Villagran and Cisneros denied the allegation.

De Villagran and her husband later filed a defamation lawsuit against Carpenter and newspapers and television stations that reported the allegation. Cisneros said he isn’t handling the case and believes de Villagran filed it without a lawyer’s assistance.

Stang said he already has sold most of de Villagran’s other 22 homes, all but three of which are in Beverly Hills.