Eva Longoria’s Beso files bankruptcy to restructure debt

By Steve Green

Published Thursday, Jan. 6, 2011 | 6:43 p.m.

Updated Thursday, Jan. 6, 2011 | 8:24 p.m.

Beso, the Las Vegas restaurant and nightclub at CityCenter owned by actress Eva Longoria and co-investors, filed for bankruptcy Thursday to restructure nearly $5.7 million in debt and other liabilities.

Beso LLC, 32 percent owned by Longoria, listed assets of about $2.5 million in the Chapter 11 filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Las Vegas.

The restaurant, which has a nightclub called Eve, projected ongoing losses of $76,000 per month.

Court records indicated Beso may be having trouble meeting lease obligations, with the company reporting $1.8 million owed to landlord Crystals at CityCenter.

CityCenter is the resort complex that MGM Resorts International opened in December 2009.

Beso generated nearly $14.6 million in gross income in the past 12 months, the filing said.

Longoria, who has filed for divorce from Tony Parker, apparently has had to provide cash to keep the business afloat. She’s listed as a creditor, owed $375,000 for legal fees paid on behalf of Beso and another $1 million for a cash loan.

Several construction companies are among the creditors, and the filing noted litigation is pending involving contractors involved in the construction of the club as well as former partners.

A June lawsuit filed in Clark County District Court by Ronen and Mali Nachum, investors and purported managers at Beso, alleged they provided the company a $280,000 loan to help fund construction but were later pushed out of the company without payment.

Clark County District Court Judge Mark Denton on Oct. 27 denied a motion by Longoria and co-defendants that the case be dismissed.

Attorneys for Longoria, Beso and the co-defendants then filed a counterclaim against the Nachums, saying the validity of their ownership interest “is in question because of the existence of irregularities and certain improprieties which may have been committed” in connection with the initial grants of their interests.

The counterclaim says Ronen Nachum was permitted to help oversee the construction of Beso in early 2009 based on his representation that he was a licensed contractor, though Beso says he has never been so licensed in Nevada.

“Due in large part to Ronen Nachum’s mismanagement of the construction process, Beso LLC was forced to request an additional contribution in the form of a $1 million loan by Longoria,” the counterclaim says.

It says Ronen Nachum’s “serial mismanagement” of the construction led to the filing of $1.2 million in construction liens, along with lawsuits and multiple breaches of Beso’s lease with Crystals.

The counterclaim also alleged Ronen Nachum “used threats and intimidation to gain control over the day-to-day operations of Beso with the encouragement of Mali Nachum” and that the Nachums mishandled Beso funds.

Attorneys for the Nachums fired back, denying the allegations and asking in a Dec. 30 filing that $280,000 Ronen Nachum personally deposited into a Beso construction trust account be garnished.

“It would be manifestly unfair for Beso and its agents to terminate their relationship with the Nachums, but use the Nachums’ personal funds to pay for the liens for the construction of Beso,” the filing said.

An earlier lawsuit filed by investor Anthony Vicidomine was settled.

The bankruptcy filing said Vicidomine has been paid $200,000 but is still owed about $651,000 for Beso’s purchase of his interest in the business.

Other litigation disclosed in the bankruptcy filing involves contractors Bombard Electric LLC, Mechanical Insulation Specialists and Perini Building Co.

The company’s assets include nearly $1.9 million in computers, furniture, equipment, restaurant supplies and audio and video gear; and another $172,000 in food and beverage inventory. Some equipment is leased, the filing says.

Besides Longoria’s interest, ownership interests are held by Vicidomine (2 percent), John Torregiani Consulting Inc. (1 percent), Jonas Lowrance (32 percent) and the Nachums’ disputed 32 percent, the filing says. The company is managed by William M. Braden.

A manager at Beso was contacted about the bankruptcy Thursday, but he declined to comment.