Financial troubles hampered Bechlers

Greg Risling

By all accounts, Eric and Pegye Bechler were living the lavish lifestyle

so many Newport Beach residents enjoy and so many others envy.

They purchased a Newport Heights home with an ocean view, an expensive

Porsche automobile and were plugged into the exclusive social scene.

But behind the scenes, the couple were coping with financial challenges

mainly as a result of a business sale that soured months before Pegye

Bechler’s disappearance in 1997.

The deal, which was never resolved, provides further insight into the

couple’s life prior to Pegye’s presumed death and alleged murder. Pegye,

38, vanished on July 6, 1997, while she and her husband took a boating

trip off the Newport Beach coast. Authorities suspect Eric Bechler, who

claims his wife fell off the boat, killed her for financial gain.

According to documents obtained by the Daily Pilot, the couple appeared

to be headed for good fortune with the imminent sale of their business

before the financial pillars began to crumble.

In an 18-month span, the home was on the verge of foreclosure, Pegye

mysteriously vanished and Eric lost a court battle to be named

conservator of his wife’s assets.

Problems began to surface in August 1996 when the couple agreed to sell

their physical therapy company, Syncare, for $1.2 million to Costa

Mesa-based ARV Assisted Living, Inc. The acquisition was reportedly

struck to expand ARV’s health-care division. Under the agreement, the

Bechlers were to receive 85,146 shares of the company’s stock and be

retained as employees with six-figure salaries.

For reasons the company would not disclose, the Bechlers’ contract was

terminated shortly after the sale and only one-half of the shares were

distributed.

The company, which develops and operates assisted-living communities,

decided in December 1997 that the health-care division wasn’t meeting its

goals and several months later shut it down.

“Financially and operationally, [the division] wasn’t productive enough,”

said Suzanne Shirley, a company vice president. “At that time, the

division was a minor part of our operation.”

Friends and family members said the couple felt betrayed and devastated

by the news and considered seeking legal action against the company.

“When I talked with Pegye, she was very upset about that issue,” said

Walter Mitchell, who was the couple’s real estate agent. “I believe that

the sale precipitated some of those financial problems.”

The couple profited from about $250,000 worth of company stock, although

the shares were distributed separately. Eric Bechler cashed out his

allotment to help support the family. Pegye kept her portion, which

remains with her estate today.

The Bechlers were feeling the pinch months before Pegye disappeared. She

had bought a 1996 Porsche 911 and they continued to make payments on

their Cliff Drive home, which they purchased in 1995.

Prosecutors contend Bechler, who was arrested earlier this month,

murdered his wife to cash in on a $2.5-million insurance policy.

However, the Pilot has learned the couple took out identical “mutual”

policies. The policies were reportedly sold by Pegye’s brother, Larry

Marshall. They contained similar payouts if either of the spouses died.

Because his wife was declared a missing person, Eric Bechler never

received the death certificate needed to collect the insurance policy. He

petitioned the court on several occasions, but wasn’t given the

paperwork.

Further adding to his problems was a dispute about who should handle

Pegye Bechler’s assets. According to court documents, Eric sought

conservatorship that was opposed by Pegye’s family. The family wanted

Marshall to handle the estate.

“The families had a dispute on what should be done with her property,”

said Ernest Hayward, an attorney involved in the litigation. “They

finally compromised and came to a resolution.”

It was determined in July 1998 that a neutral third party would be named

conservator. As of October of last year, Pegye Bechler’s estate had an

estimated worth of $273,588, documents show.

Meanwhile, Eric Bechler reportedly had trouble making payments on the

couple’s home. The Bechlers had taken out a $600,000 loan for a home that

was losing its value. The pool and spa were in disrepair and the

structure suffered from deferred maintenance.

They had tried to sell the home for about $900,000 several months before

Pegye’s disappearance, but a buyer was never found.

Eric Bechler fell behind on the payments and was facing foreclosure,

documents show. Mitchell said the house was finally sold in May 1998 for

$735,000. He added that Eric never received any money from the sale,

given the amount of debt needed to be paid off.

A lawyer involved in the conservatorship hearings wrote, “I believe that

this sale [of the home] is clearly in the best interests of both Eric and

Pegye because, although they will not receive any money from the sale, it

will avoid a foreclosure on their record, will protect their credit ...

and avoid any possible recourse by the lender against them.”

“There were two loans against the home,” Mitchell said. “There were no

net proceeds. There were a lot of emotions flying around the sale. It was

one of the most complex and difficult deals I’ve done.”

Although Eric Bechler struggled financially after his wife was reported

missing, he eventually rebounded with a $84,000 job designing Web pages.

Speculation still runs rampant about whether he would go as far as

killing his wife to collect a multimillion-dollar insurance policy.

“He has said before he feels picked on and maligned,” Hayward said.

“There have been times where he was down and feels no one believes him

about what happened. This has been an ordeal for him regardless of what

comes to pass.”