ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, July 27, 1996 TAG: 9607290024
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: VIRGINIA EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TODD JACKSON STAFF WRITER
NOTE: Strip
The story of Clyde Bryant, the charismatic Franklin County antique dealer who's in trouble with the law, has taken another turn.
Richard Hamlett, a Roanoke developer who recently came out on the short end of a multimillion-dollar divorce from actress Debbie Reynolds, stepped forward to post a $50,000 bond for Bryant, which was set Wednesday.
As of Friday evening, however, Bryant remained in the county jail.
Commonwealth's Attorney Cliff Hapgood has objected to the bond because he's not satisfied that the properties Hamlett submitted through a corporation - two condominiums and a house in the Roanoke area - are sufficient to cover it.
One of the reasons for his doubt: Hamlett's publicized divorce with Reynolds, who is now a Las Vegas-based entertainer.
In May, a Nevada judge signed the divorce decree that awarded Reynolds about $8.9 million in property, attorneys' fees and money that Reynolds claimed Hamlett had borrowed from her. Judgments were filed against Hamlett in Roanoke and Roanoke County circuit courts by Reynolds' attorneys.
One of her Roanoke attorneys, Tommy Joe Williams, said Friday that he's been having a hard time getting money from Hamlett, who has filed an appeal of the divorce settlement in Nevada.
To date, Williams said, he has collected $17.67.
To get that, Williams said, he garnished a bank account, and that's all that was in it.
"I don't think he's got $9 million," Williams said of Hamlett, who could not be reached for comment.
Hapgood sent a fax late Friday afternoon explaining his objection to General District Judge George Jones, who set bond for Bryant Wednesday.
Jones could not be reached for comment, either.
Neither Hapgood nor anyone else contacted knows the details of Hamlett's relationship with Bryant, who faces three grand larceny charges in Franklin County, a federal investigation, and a number of civil lawsuits seeking more than $1 million in loans that creditors say Bryant didn't repay.
In addition, Bryant's wife, Wanda, has filed for bankruptcy, listing more than $6 million in debts owed to 50 creditors. She signed her power of attorney to her husband last year and was unaware of the mounting debts, according to court documents.
Wanda Bryant did not attend her husband's bond hearing Wednesday and has not commented publicly about the situation.
During his hearing, Bryant said a friend had agreed to post his bond and to possibly provide employment.
Bryant, 51, was wanted by the FBI for more than a month before he turned himself in last week. He ran Franklin Antiques on U.S. 220 between Boones Mill and Rocky Mount.
Friends say he spent hours there on the phone negotiating business deals, and they say he also spent a lot of time playing blackjack and socializing with movers and shakers in Atlantic City, N.J.
Bryant said Wednesday that he plans to live with his mother in Roanoke County when his bond is approved.
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