Denny Hecker's 2 defense attorneys resign

Denny Hecker is defenseless.

Both of Hecker's criminal defense attorneys quit Friday, leaving Hecker to scrounge up a new attorney to take on the federal prosecutors who have accused him of orchestrating a multimillion-dollar loan scheme for cars that he otherwise would have been unable to finance.

Finding a new lawyer could be tough: Hecker says he has no money.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Nelson executed an order Friday excusing Bill Mauzy from Hecker's criminal case. Hecker's other defense attorney, Marsh Halberg, also asked Nelson to be removed from Hecker's criminal case Friday.

"I don't have the money, so they both resigned," Hecker said in an interview. "I will have to get a public defender. I have no money. Absolutely zero. If I had money stashed or if I had a lavish lifestyle, I would not have lost Mauzy."

Last week, Hecker told the state judge handling his divorce case that he was having a hard time coming up with the cash to pay Mauzy. Hecker asked the divorce court if he could get back $100,000 of the $125,000 he recently used to replenish a 401(k) account he liquidated without the permission of the court or his ex-wife, Tamitha. The judge denied the request.

"Tamitha and [the judge] thought we were kidding," said Hecker, adding that he is angry that his ex-wife and her attorney insisted he was "mysteriously" hiding money.

Hecker added that his girlfriend, Christi Rowan, has been forced to get a public defender because she received a letter from the U.S. attorney's office telling her that she is now a target of investigation relating to his criminal case.

A former business associate of Hecker who asked not to be identified said Hecker has been seeking to borrow money so he could pay his attorneys. Hecker acknowledged trying to borrow money but said his friends declined because they feared the wrath of his ex-wife.

Hecker was indicted in federal court last month on fraud, conspiracy and money laundering charges. Prosecutors also named former Hecker executive Steve Leach.

The blow to Hecker's plans for his criminal defense comes one day after the suicide of his friend and former father-in-law, Bill Prohofsky.

Prohofsky, who was the stepfather of Tamitha Hecker, was found with a gunshot wound to the head Wednesday morning, slumped in his silver Volvo in an empty business parking lot in Medina. He died at North Memorial Medical Center late Thursday. A source familiar with the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity said Friday that some documents found in car with Prohofsky specifically name Hecker.

However, it was not immediately clear what type of documents were found or whether they shed any light on what motivated Prohofsky to shoot himself.

While the suicide took place only a week after Prohofsky was accused in Hecker's bankruptcy case of helping Hecker try hide $81,557 from creditors, friends insisted Friday that those accusations would not have been driven Prohofsky to suicide. They said he had intended to try to reconcile this week with his ex-wife, Judith Pownall, and that he was scheduled to meet with his attorney on the day he shot himself.

Hecker's bankruptcy attorney, William Skolnick, said Thursday that Hecker is shocked and distraught over Prohofsky's death.

Prohofsky had worked as an independent contractor running errands for Hecker at his St. Louis Park headquarters starting in 2008 and continuing into late 2009. He eventually became a close confidant of Hecker and was frequently with him in bankruptcy court, divorce court and most recently in federal criminal court. In a deposition released this week, Prohofsky said he temporarily held gambling money for Hecker in the summer of 2008 and began paying Hecker's bills a year later.

A former co-worker who asked not to be identified said, "Bill dealt with conflict pretty easily. He was in the midst of it during the entire shutdown of all Denny's [26 auto dealership] stores. Bill was the guy who took all the calls from angry vendors and customers. And he managed through that. Some days he would get in their face and say, 'Well, you are not getting any money.' They would get mad and yell and Bill would yell right back at them. He was quite assertive about it. ... He was not a wallflower."

Separately, it was disclosed this week that another former Hecker auto leasing employee -- James C. Gustafson of Maple Grove -- has been designated as a "target" for investigation by the U.S. attorney's office in the criminal case against Hecker. Gustafson divulged that information in a filing Friday with the bankruptcy court in which he said his testimony in that case could "jeopardize his right against self-incrimination."

Hecker filed for bankruptcy last June 4, claiming $767 million in debt and $18.5 million in assets. The judge presiding over the case recently ruled that Hecker would not be forgiven about $82 million of his debt, because he had concluded that Hecker lied to the court in saying he didn't have access to documents that his creditors had demanded.

Randy Seaver, the bankruptcy trustee in charge of liquidating Hecker's assets, recently petitioned the court not to forgive the rest of Hecker's debt on the grounds that Hecker allegedly hid assets with the help of his girlfriend, Christi Rowan, and Prohofsky. Hecker has denied those allegations.

Dee DePass • 612-673-7725