Arizona Governor Files for Bankruptcy
PHOENIX — Gov. Fife Symington filed for personal bankruptcy Wednesday after a creditor refused to forgive an $11.4-million debt dating from his days as a real estate developer.
The filing is the latest in a string of financial setbacks for the onetime millionaire, who was elected in 1991 promising to bring his business acumen to bear on the problems of state government. In the U.S. Bankruptcy Court filing, he claims debts of more than $24 million from his collapsed real estate empire and assets of $61,000.
The move was prompted by a consortium of six union pension funds that loaned the 50-year-old Republican $10 million to build the Mercado, a struggling shopping center and office complex in downtown Phoenix. They foreclosed on the project in 1991 when the Mercado’s disappointing revenues prevented the developer from making loan payments.
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