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Weekly records check snowballs into probe of million-dollar looting, murder
My two-year investigation of a local businessman started simply enough with my weekly check of bankruptcy filings. But it would explode and culminate in the publication of a 16-page special report showing how Donald Boehm - "Teflon Don" - had taken millions from business associates, banks and a cousin's estate, all in a desperate effort to keep his ventures afloat.
Police continue to investigate his possible role in the shooting death of Cosimo DiBrizzi, a prominent, beloved local businessman who had filed a lawsuit accusing Boehm of stealing from their partnership.
The reporting for "Teflon Don" began with the March 2004 bankruptcy filings of three companies. I checked for local bankruptcies using PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records, http://pacer. uspci.uscourts.gov), which provides fee-based access to federal court records.
The initial filings appeared to be a rush job. Each was just two pages long, where normal business bankruptcy filings are at least 30 or 40 pages. All three listed the same debtor address: the New Windsor residence of Donald Boehm.
The filings suggested these were small but not insignificant companies, each with between $1 million and $10 million in assets and debts.
With little to go on, I started a file and monitored the Web site for additional documents. Within a few weeks those documents appeared, and details about Boehm's companies emerged, including boat companies in the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands.
I contacted the few people listed in the filings, but none were willing to talk.
When I checked the county clerk's office, a few property transfers for Boehm turned up, as did the DiBrizzi lawsuit. It dated back to the late 1990s and appeared unrelated to Boehm's current troubles. So, I focused instead on the property records and bankruptcies. Over the following months, I sat in on a few hearings when my schedule permitted but couldn't yet see the full picture.
High-profile killing
On May 10, 2004, about six weeks after the bankruptcy filings, a man walked into DiBrizzi's home and shot him and his son, Nicolas. Father and son were hospitalized, and Cosimo DiBrizzi died that August.
For a long time, our coverage didn't progress beyond what the police...