The Shifty Chronicles

SHIFTY: [shif-tee]

1. given to or full of evasions; tricky.

2. suggesting a deceptive or evasive character: a shifty look.

Synonyms:
crafty, foxy, slippery

(courtesy Dictionary.com)

This past year has been a doozie for our family in New Zealand because my nearly former brother- in-law is bereft of a conscience. You know how it is when you meet a person and you try like hell to develop some sort of affection for them because they rank in the life of someone important to you? You know how you struggle to find the positive in them and how you convince yourself that they must be in possession of at least a few redeeming qualities because isn't everyone?

The answer is no. It really is.

I have learned, first hand, that there are those that walk among us who are so damaged that they cut wide swaths of wreckage where ever they go. My brother in law is one of those people. I'm not sure what the professionals would call him but I'm guessing he'd be classified as a sociopath with narcissistic tendencies. We just call him Shifty.

Recently, a court date arrived and surprisingly, Shifty plead guilty to several charges ending months of speculation as to what would happen. His sentencing hearing was scheduled for the spring and for the first time in fifteen months, we can finally see an end to fiasco that was the Shifty years.

We all knew that he was guilty but it was an odd mix of emotions to finally have it confirmed. I certainly didn't feel compassion for the man that caused so much grief to the people I love but his guilty plea had me thinking about my niece and nephews and wondering how it would be for them the first time they each found themselves having to "explain" their father.

Below is the story I couldn't share openly before now. Some of you have seen it before on my private blog.

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Last year after we arrived home from honeymoon, Dallas and I heard the first rumblings of problems in New Zealand. It seems that my brother in law, Shifty (as we like to call him), was in serious trouble both financially and legally.

He owned three pubs and was trying to put together a deal to buy a fourth except the first three were in the red. The financial side of pubs in New Zealand is quite complex because they often combine drinking and slot machines. The slot machines are owned and operated by non-profit trusts and in exchange for housing the slot machines, pub owners have their rental obligations paid. Seems like a win win for everyone and for the most part, I think it works. From what I understand, the pub owners are responsible to collect the profits from the slots and deposit them into the trust's bank account less any funds owed. Unfortunately, when Shifty ran into personal financial issues, this left the door wide open for him to get his hands on a serious quantity of money, quickly. And this is what the government believes happened last summer.

It really all started back several years earlier when Shifty and Leisa decided to buy their first home. Mortgages work very differently in New Zealand and as it turned out Leisa's parents agreed to underwrite a small portion of the loan by cosigning and putting up their own home, which they owned outright, as collateral. The chain of events gets a bit murky here but from what I understand, Shifty was not content with the house and soon after, made plans to build their dream home in one of the most exclusive neighbourhoods in their borough using appreciation in the first house to help fund the second. He also decided, at this time, to have an affair.

Well, building costs went way, way over budget and Shifty presented my in laws with a number of documents to sign dismissing their questions with a wave of the hand and a slick, prepared reply. My in laws were trusting people and unfortunately, they didn't ask a lot of questions.

Then the affair came to light. After months of pain and anger, Leisa decided that it was important to keep her family intact and she made the conscious decision to work at her relationship with Shifty since they had three children and twelve years together. They reconciled, moved into their new home together and a few months later, in February of 2008, they decided to officially marry. Unbeknownst to Leisa at the time, things in Shifty's professional life had been unravelling at the speed of sound.

Long story short, by August of last year, the mortgages hadn't been paid on either the old house, now occupied by a renter and the new home, in MONTHS. When the bank finally stepped in, the situation was bleak. There was 1.2 million owing and at best, they thought they would be able to recoup around $850,000 for the houses at auction. Shifty told Leisa. Understandably, Leisa FREAKED.

Then, Bruce and Anne were notified. They were guarantors. Turns out, they were likely to be on the hook for roughly $400,000. They were completely blindsided. It was a terrible time and about to get a whole lot worse.