Alvin Brown billionaire benefactor Willie Gary loses $2M property in foreclosure auction

One of the most important relationships of Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown‘s political career has been his relationship with billionaire Willie Gary. 

The “Giant Killer” (pictured with Mayor Brown and his wife in 2008 at the Willie Gary Football Classic, which Brown was CEO of for a few years) has won his share of cases. But recently, he suffered a setback in a foreclosure case; after years of stall tactics designed to delay the action, the flamboyant attorney lost a $2M Judgment and lost the property.

This issue has been building for some time. The first signs of trouble were in 2011, when a lawsuit was first filed.

At the time, Gary told media that he got caught up in market vicissitudes.

“What I did was pull the equity out of that property when the market was good and it was worth about $4 million to $5 million,” Gary said at the time. “The money went into my cable television network, the Black Family Channel. I was hoping the Black Family Channel would go big, but it didn’t. It backfired on me.”

The Black Family Channel was merged into the Gospel Music Channel, in which the Garys owned a minority interest.

“I’m renegotiating the loan with another bank at a lower interest rate to take them (Iberiabank) out of it,” Gary said in 2011. “I should have done it before I got foreclosed on.”

When asked why he didn’t simply pay the loan, given his resources, he told the reporter: “Ask Donald Trump.”

The relationship between Gary and Brown has been a matter of long standing, and is clearly cherished by both parties. Gary delivered a keynote address at the mayor’s second annual Trailblazer Ceremony.

“It is imperative that as leaders in our communities, we reach back and help those who need a little motivation,”  Gary said. “It is also up to us to provide employment opportunities for young boys and girls as they graduate high school and college. None of us made it to where we are today on our own. It was because we stood on the shoulders of others that we are where we are today and we don’t have the right to not help one another,” Gary continued.

While the Jacksonville mayor was not a young man when he worked for Gary as the CEO of the Willie Gary Football Classic, he nonetheless was graced with an employment opportunity. In 2011, the Jax Observer reported that Brown and his wife collected over $500K between 2005-2009, even as the game’s attendance and visibility both were in a downward spiral.

Despite working 60 hours a week year round to promote the game, the Browns were unable to keep the Classic’s initial momentum going. By 2007 and 2008, crowds were in the mid triple digits.

When contacted for comment on the foreclosure, Brown spokesman Yianni Varonis had a short message.

“As always, the Mayor wishes him the best.”