Bankruptcy case halts LV man’s Brunei lawsuit

Kim Smith

Friday, Oct. 4, 2002 | 9:37 a.m.

A retired Honolulu police officer who is suing the Sultan of Brunei's family for wrongful termination won't get to tell his story this week after all.

Two of the family's corporations filed for bankruptcy in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles Thursday, suspending indefinitely the trial that was supposed to start Thursday.

George Chock filed a lawsuit against Prince Jefri Bolkiah, Princess Jefridah Louis, two of their companies and various corporate officers in 1998.

The prince is the brother of the Sultan and the princess is the Sultan's sister-in-law.

The Sultan of Brunei is considered one of the richest men in the world and controls an oil- and gas-rich sultanate in Southeast Asia. He and his family also own a number of properties in Las Vegas, including a large compound near the exclusive community of Spanish Trail.

Chock, 50, now a probation officer for Clark County, claimed the royal pair conspired with members of their staff to fire him from his security position because he was willing to testify on behalf of Lorrie McCready, a fellow employee who alleged she had been sexually harassed by the family. The royals, too, are suing Chock, alleging he violated an agreement prohibiting him from revealing "confidential" information about the family.

Chock's attorney, Greg Denue, was furious the attorneys for Amedeo Vegas IV and Earnst Inc. waited until the morning of jury selection to file for bankruptcy. He said he hopes to have the stay set in place by the filing lifted within the next week.

"I'm suspicious when the Sultan of Brunei sends his $500-an-hour attorneys to file a piece of paper saying he's broke," Denue said. "I will believe the Sultan is broke when I see Bill Gates panhandling in front of the Four Queens."

Attorneys for Amedeo and Earnst were not in court when the stay was announced by District Judge Mark Denton and could not be reached for comment.

Between them, the corporations own such prestigious hotels as the Dorchester in England, the Bel-Air in Hollywood, Calif., the New York Palace, the Plaza Athenee in Paris and the Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif.

Chock, a 25-year law enforcement veteran, was lured away from Hawaii by the royal family in 1996 and originally worked to safeguard Jefridah Louis on travels around the world and to the nightclubs she routinely frequented.

Eventually he was assigned to oversee the Las Vegas compound until his termination on Oct. 30, 1997, amid the harassment controversy which has already ended in a confidential settlement.

The Chock case is about a royal family coming to the United States to take advantage of tax breaks and then deciding they are above U.S. laws by tampering with witnesses and engaging in other questionable activities, Denue said.

Denue said that once the case goes to trial four former security guards will testify the royals used their personal and leased jets to fly illegal drugs from Brunei, which is located near Malaysia, to Hawaii for their personal use.

Evidence will show that Princess Jefridah herself had a $3 million monthly allowance, Denue said.

It will also be revealed that John Rieger, the former corporate officer with Amedeo and the lawyer who fired Chock, is now being sued by the royal family for allegedly stealing more than $10 million from them, Denue said.

Denue said Rieger, who is also named as a defendant in Chock's lawsuit, is also accused of transferring the New York Palace Hotel and Hotel Bel-Air, which are both worth $1 billion, into his law firm's name.

"The royal family claims he's a looter with a notary stamp and he's the only person who said George has not been truthful about the reason for his termination," Denue said.

The Sultan of Brunei and his family should just settle the case, Denue said.

"The Sultan should feel that the money Princess Jefridah is spending on jewelry, drugs and male playthings is better off going to the citizens of Brunei and honest workers like George Chock," Denue said.

The Chock and McCready cases are not the first alleging improprieties by the royal family. Former Miss USA Shannon Marketic filed a lawsuit against the Sultan in 1997 claiming the family held her against her will as a sex slave for 32 days.