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TAMPA - Investigators say they have tapped into a long-running loan shark operation that targeted start-up pizza restaurants.
Wednesday, Temple Terrace businessman Josh D. Burke was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit racketeering. He is accused of lending money to several owners of Westshore Pizza outlets at illegal interest rates.
"Josh Burke seized on the opportunity to prey on people who just wanted a piece of the American dream," said Tampa police Detective James W. Bartoszak.
The investigation began in January and is ongoing. Several other men are also under investigation for similar activities, according to authorities.
Bartoszak said Burke and others could face additional charges.
"I've got the guy's bank statements, canceled checks," Bartoszak said. "And if I have my way, there will be more indictments from this."
Burke, 43, of 205 Bannockburn Ave., was booked into the Hillsborough County Jail on $100,000 bail. His attorney, Paul Sisco, said Burke has never been accused of anything like this before and said he has no reason to believe Burke has broken any laws in this case.
"He has been a successful businessman for several years," Sisco said. "There are a number of parties who have reason to fabricate the wording of contracts as they relate to Josh Burke and Westshore Pizza."
According to investigators, Burke made hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans to several restaurant owners starting in the 1990s. Some of the owners took multiple loans from Burke. The loans allowed him to leverage an ownership interest in a number of Westshore Pizza stores, sometimes without the knowledge of the franchise owner, investigators said.
With some exceptions, it is a misdemeanor under Florida law to make loans with interest rates between 25 to 45 percent per year and a third-degree felony to charge more than 45 percent.
Investigators say the franchise owners involved in the case could not obtain commercial loans. Burke stepped in and provided loans with interest rates between 30 and 68 percent a year, which included weekly cash payments made to collectors who came to the restaurants, according to a statement released by Tampa Police and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
"Burke crafted elaborate agreements and promissory notes that the borrowers were required to sign," the statement said. "These agreements appear to be attempts to disguise the factual illegality of the transactions."
Sisco defended the loans, saying his client never made any threats of violence or tried to extort any of the restaurant owners. Sisco said he and his client dispute investigators' interpretation of the interest rates.
The pizza restaurant business is risky, Sisco said. Burke was providing a service to owners who could not otherwise secure loans.
"The agreements merely reflect the high failure rate in that business," Sisco said.
Graham Brink can be reached at 813 226-3365 or brink@sptimes.com Shannon Colavecchio-Van Sickler can be reached at (813) 226-3373 or svansickler@sptimes.com