Dennis Stackhouse Latest Victim of "Batista Bomb"

Let me tell you, "developer" Dennis Stackhouse is in a world of trouble. Sure he's got all kinds of shady dealings with various county pols, looming foreclosures and whatnot, but worse than all that -- he's got Dave Batista up in his grillhouse:

His business is in tatters, he was dumped by his former partners with Miami-Dade County, and he's now being hounded by lenders and prosecutors.

Yet, controversial developer Dennis Stackhouse insists that he has a plan to turn things around and pay off his debts. His solution: Buy a chunk of county-owned land in Liberty City -- land stripped from him once before -- and then flip it for a profit, Stackhouse said when questioned in a recent lawsuit.

One small problem: County officials say they don't know what he's talking about.

Last year, Stackhouse was the county's darling, promising to deliver a mammoth $250 million biopharmaceutical park and thousands of new jobs to a fallow stretch of Liberty City called the Poinciana Industrial Park. The land, owned by the county, was leased to Stackhouse's company through the nonprofit Miami-Dade Empowerment Trust.

But most of Stackhouse's promises for the 15-acre site proved empty: Companies named as likely tenants in the office park had never heard of Stackhouse; one didn't exist. After The Miami Herald exposed those and other problems -- including $500,000 in double billing on the construction project -- County Manager George Burgess canceled the lease last June and severed ties with the developer.

Since then, Stackhouse has been the target of a criminal probe over his handling of the park's finances, although he has not been charged. In another case, he was arrested on charges of illegally bundling campaign contributions to local political candidates; he is awaiting trial after pleading not guilty.

Three years after Stackhouse unveiled his ambitious plans, the 65-year-old developer is steeped in lawsuits that hold hostage a large stretch of available commercial land in one of Miami-Dade's poorest neigborhoods.

A Boston real-estate company is now seeking to foreclose on a $4.2 million loan to Stackhouse's company, a loan secured with the county lease on the land.

Last month, a New York judge also ordered Stackhouse to pay $3.6 million to the Boston lender in a separate suit, because he had personally guaranteed the loan that was to go toward building the park, records show.

An Orlando construction firm hired for the project is also demanding $900,000 from Stackhouse's company for unpaid bills.

In a sworn deposition on Aug. 26, lawyers for the lender asked Stackhouse how he planned to repay his mounting debts. Stackhouse said he was negotiating a deal to buy the county land for almost $2 million and resell it for a profit.

''To your understanding, is this deal moving forward?'' attorney David Batista asked.

''Right now,'' Stackhouse said. But he cautioned the lawyers not to ask too many questions.

''There's a lot of political aspects to this thing,'' he said. ``The one thing that can derail it is somebody trying to corroborate or confirm stuff that hasn't happened or has not been signed off on.''

Hey -- makes perfect sense to me!

Hold on -- oops, I guess they mean this David Batista.

It doesn't matter, in tough times, this guy is like a lawyer oasis. Dennis Stackhouse, on behalf of our profession I salute you and your no-longer-quite-as-deep-pockets and endless capacity for complicated legal proceedings.

Oh hail...sniffle...God Bless You, Dennis Stackhouse!