What McCrary did not realize was that Giannasca, shortly after receiving McCrary's check, would recruit Fisher, who has been dogged by allegations of fraud and failed projects since the 1980s. Giannasca's past is similarly littered with lawsuits.
In May 2005, Giannasca was part of Baltimore's Ritz-Carlton project, but he was fired by his employer for his involvement in the New Orleans deal. The developer, Midtown Baltimore LLC, sued Giannasca in July 2005, accusing him of fraud and breach of contract.
The complaint alleged that Giannasca defrauded Midtown by spending time developing the New Orleans condo project rather than working full time on overseeing sales, marketing and construction of the Ritz-Carlton. Giannasca, now 46, used Midtown employees, computers, designers and consultants to work on the New Orleans project, the complaint charged.
Giannasca countersued that August, alleging that his former Midtown partners cheated him out of his ownership interest.
Fisher had been part of a previous project that was to bring a Ritz-Carlton to South Baltimore in the late 1990s, but the deal fell through in November 1999 after The Sun reported that Fisher had no apparent assets and was refusing to pay a $1.28 million fraud judgment issued in a Maryland land deal.
In previous projects in Florida, New York and Maryland, Fisher proposed upscale waterfront developments that fell through amid disputes, bankruptcies and lawsuits alleging fraud.
McCrary said he knew none of this before signing the deal with Giannasca.
"These people have made a career of fraud and deceit. I realized I had to put an end to it," McCrary said yesterday.
McCrary said he became suspicious when neither Giannasca nor Fisher would provide financial or progress statements for the New Orleans project, even before Hurricane Katrina hit.
McCrary's lawyer, Kenneth B. Frank, said his client put up about $550,000 for what Giannasca and Fisher claimed were operating costs.
"He didn't believe they were spending the money for legitimate purchase," Frank said.
After the hurricane, the partners sold the building in November 2005, and McCrary was able to recoup his $3.5 million, Frank said. McCrary said he was told by the partners that they had filed an insurance claim as well, and that the claim had been denied.
But Giannasca and Fisher received a $1 million insurance settlement in October 2005, and about $11 million more from February to April 2006.
