Owner’s indictment puts question mark on Plaza Towers

Marco Denis is currently incarcerated on federal charges.

The future of Plaza Towers is in question as the owner of the 10-story, 130,000-square-foot property faces a litany of criminal charges amid millions of dollars’ worth of renovations to the real estate.

Marco Denis, president and owner of Springfield Property LLC, which owns Plaza Towers, on Aug. 29 was denied bond and required to remain in custody by U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush, according to records on file with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri. Denis last month was indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly possessing eight firearms illegally and lying about his criminal record when buying two of the weapons. The firearms were discovered by law enforcement officers in the course of the investigation of separate charges – Denis was arrested and jailed in mid-July amid Greene County Circuit Court charges of domestic assault and kidnapping, in which he’s accused of allegedly taking the victim to his boat in Kimberling City and severely beating her.

Denis, who purchased Plaza Towers, Plaza Towers Center and the Jimm’s Steakhouse and Pub building for $13.3 million in September 2020, told Springfield Business Journal in February that renovations to Plaza Towers were progressing.

“We go way over budget – way, way, way over budget,” he told SBJ at the time of the cost of the renovations, initially estimated at $7 million.

In February, Denis said exterior renovations, including a facade upgrade and LED signage on the roof, had been completed, along with renovations of common areas, corridors and bathrooms. Ongoing work at the time was the 200-person Sunshine Event Center, along with third-floor construction of a wraparound patio, dubbed C’est La Vie, that connects to the event center, then predicted to be ready in the spring.

“We have a lot of people right now who are on the list to be booked, but we want to make sure that we get closer before we give them an exact date when they can actually do it or not,” Denis told SBJ at the time.

Denis also said that infill work had yet to begin on a first-floor restaurant and coffee shop. In SBJ’s Summer 2024 Architects & Engineers Project Report, published in July, the Chez Nous restaurant at Plaza Towers was featured, with an estimated December completion.

Sunshine Event Center has a website and invites visitors to request a proposal. C’est La Vie also has a website that allows visitors to request proposals for potential bookings. Both websites share a phone number with Springfield Property.

The Plaza Towers Facebook page has remained active, posting a maintenance technician/general handyman job description on Aug. 7 and a Labor Day message on Aug. 31.

An individual who answered the phone at Springfield Property – which has an office in Plaza Towers – declined to comment on the status and management of the real estate and its renovation projects.

Denis’ attorneys in the criminal cases have declined interviews by SBJ. Stacie Calhoun Bilyeu, Attorney at Law LLC owner Stacie Bilyeu is representing Denis in the federal and county cases with co-counsel Teresa Grantham of Grantham Fiester Law LLC, according to court records.

Tenant decisions
SBJ reached out to myriad tenants at properties owned by Springfield Property and Denis for comment on whether they were considering a change in location amid the landlord’s criminal proceedings. 

Greg Tigges, co-owner of Document Solutions of Springfield Inc., said his company’s time at Plaza Towers predates Denis’ ownership. The company, which provides sales and support for Xerox products, has called Plaza Towers home since 1994.

“We are planning on staying. I’ve been in that building for over 30 years, and it’s a pain to move,” Tigges said. “They have done a lot of work with the building. I’ve seen it from its ugly days to looking very nice inside.”

One of Inviktus Salon’s three locations operates in the Springfield Property-owned Plaza Towers Center, adjacent to Plaza Towers.

Christa Stephens, owner of Inviktus Salon, said she is looking into the possibility of exiting the lease, pending a conversation with an attorney on whether the property owner’s criminal proceedings would allow for the lease to be broken.

“We are considering relocation as a women-owned business. This is an unfortunate issue,” Stephens said via email.

Reached by email, Marshall-Waters-Moody and Associates Inc. President Bill Woody simply responded, “We have a lease.”

The architecture firm operates in Plaza Towers, which it designed in 1969, according to past reporting.

Multiple other tenants either declined to comment or did not return messages by press time.

Denis in February reported a 96% occupancy rate at Plaza Towers.

Legal precedent
Glenn Green, an attorney at Lowther Johnson Attorneys at Law LLC, said that generally speaking, a person does not lose ownership of their property when convicted of a crime or sentenced for one.

“Property cannot be removed from somebody or taken from somebody without due process of the law,” said Green, whose practice encompasses transactions, litigation and appeals in areas such as real estate law and business, commercial and corporate law. “Conviction of a crime by itself does not meet that constitutional requirement.”

The government may seize property through criminal proceedings in certain circumstances, namely if the real estate was used as part of the commission of a crime or if the assets were derived from the proceeds of a crime, said Green. He also cited examples where real estate could be used to cover fines or restitution orders imposed in criminal cases.

“There has to be something typically that would enable the government to make a claim against the property,” he said.

In federal court, Denis is facing a three-count indictment comprising one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and two counts of making a false statement to a licensed firearms dealer. In county court, his charges comprise two counts of domestic assault in the first degree, a class B felony; one count of domestic assault in the third degree, a class E felony; and one count of kidnapping, a class B felony.

In the July complaint filed in Greene County Circuit Court, prosecutors noted a range of punishment for a class B felony is five to 15 years in prison. A class E felony of domestic assault in the third degree could result in one to four years in prison.

Don Ledford, spokesperson for the office of Teresa Moore, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri, said Denis is facing one count of illegally possessing firearms after having been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, which carries a potential sentence of up to 15 years in prison. Ledford said two counts of a false statement to a federally licensed firearms dealer in connection with the acquisition of a firearm - in which Denis allegedly claimed he had not been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence - can carry up to 10 years in prison on each count.

Ownership background
Springfield Property’s website lists around 10 properties, including Plaza Towers, the Plaza Towers Center and the Plaza Shopping Center across Glenstone Avenue.

Records on file with the Greene County recorder’s office point to a $13.3 million deed of trust, dated Sept. 25, 2020, between Springfield Property and OMB Bank related to the purchase of the Plaza Towers properties.

OMB declined to comment on the loan.

SBJ previously reported Denis is a native of Haiti and came to Springfield in 1994. A self-described private person, he arrived alone and didn’t know anyone in town prior to moving but said he was determined to become a successful businessman.

He’s run Springfield Property for over a decade and for several years also operated cellphone stores through First Impressions Wireless Inc. To focus full-time on real estate, Denis previously told SBJ he sold the last of his four stores in 2017.

“I wanted to get out because it required so much of my time,” Denis told SBJ after buying Plaza Towers in 2020. “My passion was for real estate and I decided that’s what I needed to do more.”

In the federal firearms indictment last month, prosecutors said Denis was not legally allowed to possess firearms after he was convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic assault in the third degree in 2003. Federal law prohibits individuals who have been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence to be in possession of a firearm, and officials pointed to Denis’ prior misdemeanor conviction for domestic assault against a person with whom he shared a child in common.

The federal complaint indicates Denis was sentenced to 120 days imprisonment, with the sentence suspended, and placed on two years of probation for the 2003 domestic assault offense.

In denying bond late last month, Judge Rush noted Denis’ criminal history, including the pending domestic assault and kidnapping charges, as well as a prior conviction involving a sex offense, a charge involving domestic violence and a prior conviction for violation of a protective order.

“Based on all the foregoing, the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant is a danger to the community,” Rush wrote in his decision. “Based on the evidence presented at the [Aug. 23 detention] hearing, there are no conditions the court can impose that would reasonably assure the safety of other persons or the community.”

During the detention hearing, the judge received several letters from supporters of Denis, including Abe McGull, a member of Springfield City Council and an attorney, according to reporting by the Springfield Daily Citizen. Johnathon Bish, administrative specialist for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, said via email that “the character letters were submitted into evidence solely for the limited purpose of that particular hearing” and are therefore not available in public court records. He was unable to confirm who wrote the letters.