Photo via City of Mesa
By Scott Shumaker | East Tribune Staff
Southeast Mesa’s 320-acre Legacy Park has seen several management shake ups this year, and another one could be coming for the bankrupt mega park built with municipal bonds sold via the Arizona Industrial Development Authority in 2020 and 2021.
The U.S. trustee monitoring Legacy Park’s bankruptcy case last week asked the judge to assign a trustee to take over the park’s management and business affairs from owner Legacy Cares, citing “evidence of dishonesty, incompetence or gross mismanagement” before and after Legacy filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May.
Currently, Legacy Park is operating on emergency financing while Legacy Cares seeks a buyer.
In her blistering 23-page filing, U.S. Trustee Ilene Lashinsky accused Legacy Cares of failing to disclose conflicts of interest, improperly diverting assets, failing to justify a budgeted $708,000 management fee to Elite Sports Group, overpaying executives and employing multiple family members of people connected with Legacy.