Vito Simone, the prominent realtor and property investor and President of the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors, filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition with his wife, Gail. The couple claim assets of $487,074 and debts of more than $3.9 million.

The petition, dated Feb. 18, had not previously been reported before City Paper broke the news in this space March 9. Reached at home on his cell phone, Simone is reluctant to talk about his finances. “I’m not sure that we can talk about it for a story yet,” he says on March 9, before blaming business partners—particularly those in his construction companies—for his financial reversals. “A lot of those people let me down terribly,” Simone says. “It affected me in devastating ways. It affected my family in devastating ways.”

An associate broker with Yerman, Witman, Gaines and Conklin Realty, Simone has been quoted often in the media as an expert on real estate, especially “buyers agency,” when a realtor works for a prospective home buyer. He has been active in selling and rehabbing homes throughout the city, particularly in Reservoir Hill. He sat on the Flipping and Predatory Lending Task Force empaneled by U.S. senators Barbara Mikulski (D) and Paul Sarbanes (D) after the flipping scandals of the late 1990s, served in 2005 as treasurer of the Maryland Chapter of National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, a member of the Mayor’s Council for City Living’s Existing Housing Committee, an active member of the Baltimore Economy and Efficiency Foundation, and a participant in Congressman Elijah Cummings’ new Housing Council.

On March 13, Simone resigned as president of the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors, according to the organization’s Executive Vice President Joseph “Jody” Landers.

The Simones’ bankruptcy filing lists dozens of creditors, including at least three law firms and what appear to be numerous customers of their companies. Simone and his wife own Simone Real Estate, LLC; Tenant Buyer Homes, LLC; VGS Properties, LLC; Simone Construction, Inc.; and a 50 percent interest in each of Baltimore Rehab Services, LLC and Druid Lake Partners, LLC.

Although several of the Simones’ creditors have already obtained judgments in lawsuits, the bankruptcy filing puts payment of those judgments in doubt.

The couple’s home on Old Pimlico Road, appraised at $379,000, is encumbered by more than $1 million in liens, according to the filing. Chapter 7 filings are commonly called “liquidations,” in which all of the debtor’s non-exempt property is turned over to a trustee to be sold and the proceeds used to pay off creditors. But the couple has claimed exemptions on their home and another property at 5354 Cordelia Ave., plus all their furniture, jewelry, clothes and sundries. They’ve each claimed a $5,000 exemption on companies and partnerships they’ve valued at $0.

The Simones claim current monthly income of $4,346.40 and current expenses of $8,734.63.

Among the couple’s debts are more than $60,000 in state and federal taxes dating back to 2005, numerous construction contractors and suppliers owed thousands, and tens of thousands more charged on credit cards for “personal” expenses.

The Simones owe Bradford Bank $583,752.44, according to the filing, because of “obligations arising from operation of VGS Properties, LLC.” They owe First Mariner Bank $414,177 because of Druid Lake Partners.

“Most of my issues were centered around a partnership that didn’t work out,” says Simone, who last declared bankruptcy in 1988. He blames “partners that didn’t do what they should out in the field,” adding that “because I’m the visible person I guess I got left holding the bag.”

David Zichos, the Simones’ partner in a series of Druid Lake partnerships, could not immediately be reached for comment. He is owed an “unknown” amount which is in dispute, according to the filing.

Simone has been on Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors (GBBR) board since 2003 and served as the organization’s treasurer in 2005.

According to the bankruptcy filing, Simone owes the GBBR Credit Union $9,009.85.

Asked what will happen next in his bankruptcy, Simone replies, “I really don’t know.”

Editor's note: This story was updated March 18, 2009 from the previous version published March 9.

Email Edward Ericson Jr.