LIHU‘E — A 3,800-square-foot home and more than 30 Kilauea acres formerly owned by Ka Loko landowner James Pflueger were put up for sale this week — for a whopping $7.9 million.
The home and surrounding property — described as “Hale Me Kihapai” (house with orchards) on its rental listing by Debra Blachowiak of Sleeping Giant Sotheby’s International Reality — was owned by Pflueger from 1991 until just weeks after a torrent of water escaping from the failing Ka Loko Reservoir Dam killed seven people and wrought millions of dollars in damages.
According to public records, Pflueger transferred the deed on April 20, 2006, about five weeks after the disaster, to Cynthia Foster, reportedly his long-time girlfriend, receiving no money in return. On Oct. 1, 2008, Foster in turn transferred the deed to a company called 39 C Trust and its New York-based trustee, Mark Seelig. Foster also received no money for the property.
“From my side, we’re not hiding anything,” said Blachowiak, who called herself “just a lowly Realtor” in a phone interview Friday.
“We’re just trying to sell a piece of property. … This is a normal real estate thing for me,” she said. “Basically from my perspective, it’s just a house for sale, that’s all there is.”
Blachowiak said she has taken orders from a New York lawyer — potentially Seelig — and “another guy in L.A.” and has not worked with Pflueger at all on the property sale.
“Mr. Pflueger doesn’t sign any papers or anything,” Blachowiak said. “It doesn’t belong to Mr. Pflueger.”
Seelig is a founding partner of a 30-attorney New York law firm that lists among its significant practice areas “asset protection.” It remains to be seen how the trust would use the money recouped in a sale of the property or if Pflueger has any relationship with Seelig, his New York law firm, or affiliate offices in Los Angeles, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Australia.
The trust could serve as a shield to protect one of Pflueger’s sizable assets. The 83-year-old retired O‘ahu car dealer has been named in wrongful death and property damage lawsuits that could see him forced to pay damages in the tens of millions of dollars.
Pflueger is also currently awaiting trial for seven counts of manslaughter. He was charged in November, pleaded not guilty in January, and is scheduled to begin a jury trial in October. State Attorney General Mark Bennett has alleged that Pflueger performed unpermitted grading that led to the dam’s failure after heavy rains.
The 33.39-acre property at 4460-C Kuhio Highway features a three-bedroom, three-bathroom main house and a one-bedroom, three-bathroom guest house, according to public records, as well as an authentic Japanese tea house at the highest point, agricultural worker quarters with equipment storage, a citrus orchard and a tennis court, according to its listing.
It has been assessed at roughly $1.6 million for tax purposes, about one-fifth its asking price.
• Michael Levine, assistant news editor, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or mlevine@kauaipubco.com
