Ossipee – September 12, 2009 — Two months after the owners of Westward Shores Campground successfully blocked a foreclosure auction by declaring bankruptcy, the lenders in the case have filed a motion for relief, essentially asking the court to allow it to proceed with the sale.
The motion, filed on behalf of the lenders by Manchester law firm Nixon Peabody LLP, asserts a secured claim on the property of $8,927,720 against a liquidation value of approximately $6,000,000. Additional liens on the business total $224,440 primarily for unpaid federal and local taxes.
On July 9 the bankruptcy court applied an automatic stay against the planned foreclosure sale of the property after the owners, Charlie Smith and Anthony Aversa, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
As “cause” for relief from the automatic stay, the lenders state that the debtors do not have any equity in the property and have failed to pay interest on their secured indebtedness, adding that escrow funds for property and casualty insurance are causing the lender to “suffer a diminution in the value of its collateral.”
The document further states the debtors have told the court “they have neither working capital available nor a Plan of Reorganization in progress,” noting that the collection of deposits for seasonal sites and boat slips was running $43,000 behind budget as of August 15, “evidencing a serious deterioration in their customer base.”
A hearing on the motion is scheduled for October 6.
Not looking good for the campers. maybe it’s time for the long term campers to band together and buy this from the bank at auction.
Luckily the campers have had a generous person named “Westy” that has kept them informed of the bankruptcy process via email these last two months. Smith & Aversa have refused to keep campers informed, and have been as rare around the campground as the spotted owl. Westy has provided numeorus documents to campers, including a budget that allegedly shows WWS is paying employees of Expo North as WWS employees, and cutting checks for thousands of dollars to friends and relatives! Thankfully a number of informed campers are now making their concerns known to the Bankruptcy Court and the IRS with contact information that Westy has provided. Unfortunately when WWS finally dissolves, many campers will lose thousands upon thousands of dollars, and that is a shame! But the documents Westy has provided, documents that are now easily accesible by the Alliance and any camper, shows that the owners of WWS have simply not been forthcoming and forthwright with campers, while continuing to pocket hundreds of thousands of dollars. However, it is apparent to me that too many people know the truth, and while it may take some time in the end justice will be served on both Smith & Aversa. Viva la Westy!
do we know for sure they are from expo north or from sammys….anyone know what the 50k lien awarded by the courts to robert heywood is all about…has anyone blown the whistle to irs about charlies 15% rake off on sold units….does he even have abrokers license…illegal in nh not to have one if you are brokering sales
Its a shame that people may lose everything theyve enjoyed all these years because of the poor management of one person. Weve been coming up to the lake for over 30 years and were hoping to enjoy it when we retire and have our kids and grandkids enjoy it too but now we are going to pull out at the end of this season.Thank you Charlie,I hope you get everything you deserve.
WY ARE THEY LETTINGSMITH STAY AND COLECT MONEY FROM HARD WORKING
CAMPERS TO LINE HIS POCKETS AND HIS CRONIES GET HIM OUT NOW.HASENT
HE DONE ENOUGH DAMAGE .LETS GET REAL.THE MAN IS A DEAD BEAT ALL DAY
LONG WY WOULD YOU ALOW HIM TO COLLECT MONEY FROM HARD WORKING
FAMILYS THAT HAVE SAVED UP TO PAY 2010 SEASON ONLY TO DOWN RIGHT STEAL
FROM THEM.YOU KNOW THAT ANT RIGHT BUT YET THE BANK AND THE COURT ARE
LETTING IT HAPPEN WY CAN YOU TELL ME WY BECAUSE I JUST DONT GET IT.
EVERONE WHO HAS MADE A PAYMENT SHOULD STOP CHECK PAYMENT AS SOON AS POSIBLE SMITH IS A CROOK WHAT MORE DOES HE HAVE TO LOOSE HE HAS
NOTHING TO LOOSE NOTHING AT ALL. HE IS NOT AFRAID OF THE BANK OR THE COURT SYSTEM.HE LAUGHS AT THEM ALL THE WAY TO THE NEW BANK WHERE
HE DEPOSITS CAMPERS 2010 PAYMENTS.
Like Bob Marley Says. “Everythings going to be alright! I Spoke to the bankrupcy Lawyer Late Friday. Chuck is almost there making a deal with the Bank! Things are starting to look up. I hope everyone who winter camps enjoys the snowmobile season, I know I will. Again, Thank you Mark for all that you do to keep the happy campers happy. The unhappy campers Like Sarah”PLEASE SELL” chuck needs your 15%.
There is a new boat in town if you all havent already see it, watch out Mr. Baja here he comes. the Islander powered by a mercury v6. Awesome boat Mike, See ya soon.
LIBERATOR HAPPY BIRTHDAY DID YOU STOP PAYMENT ON YOUR CHECK
Reality check Mr. Liberator….Bankruptcy lawyer? There is no such thing. Now, there is a law firm representing WWS, and unless you are their client they will release no information. There is also the law firm for the Bank, Nixon & Peabody out of Manchester. If you have contacted them with concerns, as a number of campers have, then you have been told that they can release no information and you must contact the Assistant Trustee at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Concord. And once again, because of professional ethics, that individual cannot offer advice on this or any bankruptcy in progress. However, the owners of WWS are free to use their cronies to offer false promises of “everything is going to be OK” so that unsuspecting campers keep pouring funds into a bankrupt business. By the way, isn’t the claim of “this is just a misunderstanding, I’m making an offer to the bank” the same claim we’ve heard from WWS since this entire debacle went public back in the beginning of July? ….”Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive”…is now the new and official WWS motto! But hey, fellow campers…keep those complaints and concerns flowing to the Bank, the Bankruptcy Court, the IRS and now, I hear the NH Department of Revenue Administration (gee, did someone forget to collect the new 9% camper tax this season???)…what goes around will come around Mr. Liberator!
Mr. Liberator, I can’t speak for Sarah but we would love to sell unfortuantley “Chuck” has run this place into the ground and giving him 15% does not help! Noone in their right mind would invest with this man right now and those who have, are definatley taking a gamble!
Band together campers – don’t pay this man a single penney more and let’s hope this helps in taking him down! Make those phone calls campers and let’s win this fight!
i think sarah is a little mad at the liberator.everyone needs to a deep breath
and cool off
No, not mad at liberator at all, just showing that the truth is not being told here and pointing out the correct information, something that even to this day WWS refuses to share with it’s customers. The question everyone has to ask themselves, if everything is OK and this is all “a misunderstanding”, is why has WWS refused to address this in a calm, rational and thorugh manner with us? I think that anyone that has taken the time to carefully read the bankruptcy documentation so kindly provided bny Westy, at her own expense, tells the story. I beg everyone of you to read the file provided by Westy titled “operating report 8312009”, especially the section highlighting checks paid to alleged “employees”, and then ask yourself why the owners refuse to share any information with us!
Sarah, I could not agree with you more, you and Westy have done an amazing job at pointing out the facts. We were told nothing but it was a “misunderstanding”, it is our right to know the facts especially when we are supposed to give this man our money. I thought the latest email stating that they thought we may have “misunderstood” when our fees were due and that after the 16th they would evaluate late fees!! HA, HA! They really expect us to had over more money! It appauls me to think that they feel so entitled after what they have put us through! There seems to be alot of misunderstanding going on here, well one thing is clear, they are not getting anymore of our money! Bring on the new owners, you will be greated with open arms! WWS has a ton of potential, if we could just get owners that love it as much as the campers do!
I don’t think Sarah sounds angry at all, she is simply stating the facts! It’s very hard to take a deep breath and cool off when you think that we could possibly loose thousands of dollars! And why? All because of one man’s greed!
Don’t worry campers! Many people are looking to buy WWS, including a few already successful campground owners. You all are loyal campers. If you stick together, you can prevent WWS from turning into a place like Totem Pole. Make sure the prospective new owners know what you like. I hope to see you all next summer!
keep in mind that should charlie manages to keep the campground he will come after the “posters” who have had anything negative to say about the goings on.he will also try again to push thru the sale of a mailbox. and if you think people would be foolish to put their down payment in how foolish would they be to hand over a fistfull of dollars and still let charlie control the campground. everyone’s answer to the condos should be a resounding NO
This is also a fact we are considered renters, with a landlord tenant relationship.
camper…..what does that mean ?
Camper is confused. WWS is a campground, and campground owners/renters are handled under a completely different set of laws than those regarding lanlord/tenant relationships. Campgrounds are covered by State regulations located in Chapter 216 and landlord/tenant regulations are found mostly under Chapter 540. Big difference….thank you Westy for e-mailing me this information, and that recipe you have for apple crisp!
Dribble, Dribble Drop, Drop…the sound of leaves falling and the end to WWS as we know it. New ownership is just around the corner and a fun and relaxing summer lies ahead. Why Charlie just doesn’t concede is beyond any of us. He has lost his reputation both inside and outside of the camp. Many campers are leaving and most local suppliers won’t want to do business with WWS after being burned for thousands of dollars should the bankruptcy succeed. It’s just a matter of time!
Charlie hangs on for one simple reason. CASH. Each week that he retains control of the cash flow he pays himself, his wife and vsrious friends & relatives thousands of dollars. As long as he can keep cutting those checks he ain’t going nowhere folks! And as long as campers keep paying him, he ain’t going nowhere folks! But it looks like October 6th is the drop dead date. Methinks that come the end of October two things will be gone at Westward Shores….the leaves on the trees and Smith & Avara! C’mon October!!!
Sarah do we have any rights under Chapter 216?
to morse code…..charlie lost his reputation years ago…..
to sos…there is no income now..store and gas pumps not open and no transient fees…deposits in escrow held by bank…no income no checks
Westy mailed out the latest income report for August, and things are still going downhill. She also reports that the escrow account, after escrowed taxes are subtracted, is less than 100K as of September 14th! Income report also shows checks still being cut to employees down at Expo North, Charlie’s wife, the State of Rhode Island for child support and we’re even paying an electric bill over in the State of Maine! What a terrible mess…..thanks again Westy for the heads up, I’m making that apple crisp tonite to get my mind off of this debacle!
“I am making lamb chops w/ a hint of mint jelly, Sweat potato pie, For an App. I will go to Jakes to get some Lobster Pie to go with all the bs that I keep hearing from the drama queen Sarah! Who Cares about APPLE CRISP!!!!!!!!!
Drama Queen? I’ll take that hit, Lord knows that anytime you hitch your wagon to Charlie’s star, drama is always the by-product! I only hope that “This is a joke” isn’t one of those poor saps that have paid WWS in full for next season….but either way, when WWS goes Chapter 7 and all the deposits are lost, I promise not to say told you so “This is a joke”. And if this is Charlie, John or Julie…how about manning up and giving us some honest explanation instead of continuing with the snide remarks.
Sarah, Ask Westy if she has heard the latest on the Bankrupcy! Did you know that Everthings going to be alright!! I think I have heard this one before.. Music to my ears.
Sarah “You know who”
Yah Thats right. You will be ejected soon!
Oh I forgot to mention, A little Birdie told me who you are!
Ill Have the last Laugh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sarah, we all know that you are Westy. Stop tooting your own horn for crying out loud. Drama is your middle name. Thanks for the cheap entertainment though.
anyone else notice the campground manager,s salary has doubled
He is probably getting hazard pay. That email group is a hoot. Truth be told there are only a handful of campers there who are really interested in the gossip. There is a second email group laughing their butts off at Westy’s excitement over handing out reports that mean absolutely nothing to anyone. At the end of the day those of us who could give a crap less about her fact finding missions sleep well. She is the one who will some day have to answer for her obvious glee over others misfortunes. Karma has a way of biting people where the sun doesnt shine. Hope she doesnt have her name smeared in public for others to take delight in. All I can say is that I am glad I am not her.
So sad. Because a camper has taken it upon herself to post publicly available documentation and provide information to fellow campers, a service not being provided by WWS management, she finds herself threatened. Gee, I wonder who it is that is once again offering the snide remarks and the veiled threats while refusing to offer any valid explanations or rational for the mess the campground finds itself in. I think the educated reader and camper here can clearly figure out who is behaind this smear campaign. At least the curtain is soon to fall on this sad little drama….unfortunately the price of the ticket will be much more than many campers can truly afford!
Veiled threats, behaind this smear campaign,rational for the mess,snide remarks Here we still go, Blah Blah Blah Blah Nothing better to do!!! Sarah no one wants to hear you anymore! Go Make Some more of Westy’s Apple crisp.