No loan payments made since 2011

By Robert Cloud

Waupaca County filed suit against the retired Packers safety, LeRoy Butler.

The county is seeking $83,973 in unpaid principal and interest from a 2009 loan to Butler and his business partner, Scott Wilson.

In October 2009, Butler and Wilson opened a Ford dealership on Royalton Road in Waupaca. They had acquired an existing Ford dealership from Racette.

In August 2009, the Waupaca County Board approved a $1.3 million bond from the county’s share of federal economic stimulus funding for Butler’s new business.

At that meeting, Butler told county supervisors that he planned to add 15 new jobs initially and increase the total number of employees to 25 over the long run.

Butler and Wilson later decided that the federal stimulus bonding was more appropriate for large corporations.

Instead, the Waupaca County Economic Development Corporation provided a $100,000 loan to the dealership in November 2009 from the county’s revolving loan program. The loan was for 10 years at 4 percent interest.

According to the county’s civil complaint, Butler-Wilson Development Inc. agreed to pay $1,012.45 each month for 10 years.

The dealership’s inventory, equipment and contract rights were secured as collateral under the terms of the agreement.

LeRoy Butler Ford closed in November 2011.

The county says it has received no payments on its loan since September 2011.

Butler-Wilson Development was placed in receivership and its assets liquidated, according to the county’s complaint.

In 2009, Butler and Wilson also approached the city of Waupaca for a loan, but the city had no loan money available. They were referred to CAP Services and its business loan subsidiary, Community Assets for People LLC.

They asked CAP to provide gap financing for retooling the body shop, installing new lifts, lighting and tools.

CAP Services also worked with Butler-Wilson Development to create low-income housing units on property located behind the Ford dealership.

In Portage County in December 2011, Cap Services sued Butler-Wilson Development, and the partners, Wilson and Butler, for a total of  $421,051.

A transcript of judgment was entered against Butler on Aug. 16, 2012, and against Wilson on Feb. 3, 2014.

Butler and Wilson have 60 days to respond to Waupaca County’s civil claim.

Correction:  An earlier posting of this story reported an incorrect figure for the total amount of CAP Services suit against Butler and Wilson.