Download as pdf
Download as pdf
You are on page 1of 1
‘gust 21, 1986 ~ August 27, 1986 RUSSIAN RIVER NEWS Page 10 The man from Las Vegas This July Mr. Guy Olano Jr, President and Chairman of the Board of Alliance Savings and Loan of Kenner, Louisiana was indicted by a federal grand jury. He was charged with conspiracy to defraud his S & L, misapplying funds and receiving kickbacks on loans Mr. Olano’s troubles might have gone unnoticed by us had it not been for a single name in the complex indictment. The indictment alleges that in June of 1984 Mr. Olano issued an unauthorized shortterm loan commitment from Alliance to "The Convention Center’ in Las Vegas. The loan commitment was for $4 million. The indictment goes on to allege that Olano had sent $500,000 directly to attorney Norman B. Jenson, one of the Convention Center principals. ‘That same day, the indictment states, Mr. Olano received a $50,000 kickback from Mr. Jenson for providing the Alliance loan. The US Attorney states that the $4 million loan is now in default and the Project in bankruptey. ‘So what does ali this have to do with Centennial? To understand one has to begin by leafing through county real estate records beginning in 1979. During that year the seafcher finds Norman B. Jenson entering into a jpint venture agreement with Piombo Construction Co. One will also find Jenson’s name associated on deeds with then Piombo employee Sidharth Shah. This was a full three years before Centennial would move to purchase Piombo and Shah would join Centennial. ‘Another name appears that same year in county records, a mercurial little company, Clipper Land and Cattle Co. Clipper is seen also transacting some real estate deals with Sid Shah in 1979, but after 1981 all reference to the company disappears from county records. Clipper apparently ceased doing business. in 1981 and 1982 the names Shah and Jenson can be found on several county recordings involving Shah's pet project in Windsor, Lakewood Hills But suddenly in November of 1982’the two names stop appearing together in county records, for no apparent reason. ‘What we do know is that just a month later in December of 1982 Erwin Hansen dropped. the bombshell announcement that little Centennial, with net assets of only $13 million, was purchasing’ giant Piombo Construction Ca. for $13 million, all cash. Sid Shah had brokered the deal and would become executive vice president of Centennial, president of Piombo Corp, and the recipient ‘of 25% of Centennial’s stock, as well asa six-figure annual salary. All this came to pass less than 7 months after Shah had to let his only employee at Lakewood Hills go because he was out of funds. Broke. ‘Although the man from Las Vegas kept his name off real estate transactions after 1982, he was not gone. ‘This reporter was shown photos of Hansen and Shah in the company of Jenson at a gambling casino in Las Vegas in 1984 and photos of Jenson and Hansen on board the Centennial company plane. We were told by reliable sources that on more than one ocassion Jenson would. pick up Hansen and other Centennial executives in his Jaguar sedan when they landed at the Las Vegas airport. Then eight months after the Centennial takeover Jenson's and Clipper’s names suddenly reappear in county records On April 21, 1986, Clipper Land and Cattle president Stevenson files a notice at the county designating Norman B. Jenson as Attorney in Fact for Clipper. Right behind that document Clipper deeds back to Sid Shah a 169 acre parcel he deeded to Clipper in 1979. The parcel on Norton Road is undeveloped and valued on the tax rolls at $133,812.00, The igned by Norman B. Jenson for Clipper Land and.Cattie Co. But try as we did to get a fix on Clipper Land and Cattle, we could not, The company gave its address in 1979 and 1980 as 50 Santa Rosa Avenue, the Crocker Building But when we called the property manager

You might also like