Attorney insists DaBoyz rent went to AEA

All rent payments made by DaBoyz Italian Cuisine have been credited to AEA Federal Credit Union, stated attorney Robert M. Cook, calling reports they may not have been are “utterly false.”

DaBoyz rents the ground floor of the Kress building at 284 S. Main St., which is owned by Desert Best Enterprises but has been in bankruptcy since July 1, 2010.

Frank Ruiz is the principal partner in Desert Best Enterprises, which purchased and renovated the historic downtown building and operates Top of the Kress, a nightclub on the upper floor and rooftop. AEA was the lender.

Cook is the attorney who represents Ruiz and Desert Best Enterprises.

In late November, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge James Marler issued an order dismissing Desert Best Enterprises's bankruptcy, saying that no “viable plan” for reorganization had been presented to the court and calling the bankruptcy a “failed Chapter 11.”

That cleared the way for AEA to take possession of the Top of the Kress and begin seeking a buyer for the property.

In a news report in Thursday's Yuma Sun, Randal Dawson, speaking on behalf of his wife Christine, who owns DaBoyz, said they had heard that the restaurant's rent payments weren't being given to AEA.

Other news media quoted Christine Dawson as saying that AEA wasn't getting its portion of her rental payments. The other media also attributed a statement to Ruiz's son, Mark, that his father had been using the money from the Top of the Kress for his personal use.

In an email, Cook said Christine Dawson's statement “is reckless, false and defamatory,” and Mark Ruiz's statement “is absolutely untrue.”

“It must be incredibly heartbreaking for my client, Frank R. Ruiz, for his son, Mark Ruiz, to make false statements to the press, even though he, the father, had to fire his son before such comments were made.”

Mark Ruiz had managed the Top of the Kress for his father until Sept. 1.

Cook said that all payments made by DaBoyz to Top of the Kress were paid to his office's trust fund for AEA and that all payments were “in fact made to AEA.”

Randal Dawson said it “is a relief to hear that. That's good for all of us. I'm glad they got their money.”

Joyce Lobeck can be reached at jlobeck@yumasun.com or 539-6853. Find her on Facebook at Facebook.com/jlobeck or on Twitter at @YSJoyceLobeck.