Developer, fed mole relists Bridgeport home with pool
David Lee Matthews
This home was built in 2002. Photo from Trulia.
A Bridgeport developer who recently pleaded guilty to a federal tax evasion charge has relisted an 8,400-square-foot home in Bridgeport for nearly $1.5 million. The four-bedroom home on Normal Avenue was built in 2002 with two kitchens, billiards and theater rooms and an indoor pool with a retractable roof, said listing agent Joseph Gasbarra of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. Construction costs are unknown. Court records show the seller, Michael DiFoggio, pleaded guilty in October, about two years after he reportedly worked undercover with federal authorities to offer former Cook County Commissioner Joseph Mario Moreno a bogus $5,000 bribe to develop a waste transfer station in west suburban Cicero, according to reports in the Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times. A spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Chicago confirmed that Mr. DiFoggio is cooperating with federal authorities in another case but declined to be more specific. Mr. Gasbarra said his client, who first listed the home for six months in 2011, is looking to downsize after his children left for college. Mr. DiFoggio and a lawyer representing him in the pending tax evasion case did not return messages seeking comment. The case against Mr. Moreno is pending, according to an online court record database.
The roof deck. Photo from Trulia.
Ex-Chicago Fire player sells Wicker Park condo
A professional soccer player formerly with the Chicago Fire sold a three-bedroom Wicker Park condominium for $901,900 after paying $716,000 for it in 2011. The fourth-floor penthouse on Division Street saw upgrades in "excess of $150,000," including a new sound system, new kitchen and bathrooms and a full-floor roof deck with hot tub and outdoor fireplace, said listing agent Sophia Klopas of Koenig & Strey Real Living. The seller, Bakary Soumaré, who plays for the Philadelphia Union after stints in Chicago, France and Germany, declined to comment through his broker. The buyer, Adeniyi Adedoyin, a senior director of IT strategy and program management office at Chicago-based rail company GATX Corp., said he had previously been renting for five years and was attracted by the condo's high-end finishes and turnkey condition.
Investor finds Lake Forest home after deed-in-lieu
A north suburban investment manager paid $3.6 million last month for a six-bedroom Lake Forest home nearly five months after it was handed back to a noteholder in a so-called "deed-in-lieu" of foreclosure. The 7,600-square-foot "French Chateau" on Bluff's Edge Drive has 189 feet of Lake Michigan frontage an outdoor pool and a walk-out finished basement with wine cellar, according to a listing. Records show a venture led by San Diego-based Turning Point Asset Management acquired the property late last year, a few weeks before a scheduled judicial foreclosure sale. Records in November showed that outstanding debt on the property totaled nearly $3.03 million then. A Turning Point representative and the buyer, Ethan Meister of Bannockburn-based Amberley Capital Management LLC, did not return messages seeking comment.
@properties co-founders start title company
The co-founders of Chicago real estate brokerage @properties have started a title company with two veteran industry executives, the company announced this week. Northbrook-based Proper Title LLC will offer title insurance, closing and escrow services, with closing locations in the Loop and across the suburbs, according to a news release. "We know how to scale operations while still being hands-on and making sure that everyone down the line has the tools and resources needed to grow and be successful," @properties co-founder Michael Golden said in a statement. Mr. Golden and fellow @properties co-founder Thaddeus Wong are partnering with Vitaliy Polyakov and Peter Janus, who previously owned Success Title Services. Mr. Polyakov will serve as president of the new company, with Messrs. Golden and Wong assuming managing member roles, @properties said.