In the aggregate of his numerous corporations, Steve Geppi has become a spectacular
deadbeat: he may owe somewhat more than $17 million to sundry suppliers and
other entities, saith pwbeat.publisherswekly.com. The mounting debt threatens
one of his companies that is crucial to the health of the comics industry,
Geppi’s Diamond Comic Distributors. Geppi, his Diamond company and his Gemstone
Publishing are being sued by a collection agency on behalf of Global Interprint
for printing bills of over $373,000. Geppi also owes PNC Bank over $16 million. And Geppi's Entertainment Museum in Baltimore
owes more than $700,000 in unpaid rent, late fees and unpaid electric bills
dating back to February 2007. Although most of the debt is piled up around
Geppi businesses other than Diamond, pwbeat observed, “If Steve Geppi can't pay
his bills, something has to give. It certainly puts all of Diamond's recent
cost cutting measures — new trade terms, layoffs and so on — into a new light.”
DC Comics, according to a rumor that drifted this way, may take over Diamond
under the terms of its contract with the company. For details about Geppi's
debt woes, visit http://pwbeat. publishersweekly .com/blog/ 2009/02/18/
steve-geppis- debt-woes- growing/ You won’t find there any evidence of the
latest rumor, though — namely, that Geppi has pulled the plug on Gemstone
Publishing, leaving Russ Cochran and his Missourian minions high and dry.
Egads. That's insane. What happens if you declare bankruptcy with such a large debt. CAN you still declare?
Posted by: family limited partnership | February 24, 2011 at 08:23 PM