TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

Closure was a long time coming for Bakersfield's real estate industry.

When finally it arrived Friday in the form of a federal indictment against 10 people connected to now-defunct Crisp & Cole Real Estate, a sense of vindication set in among local real estate professionals -- a shared hope that people will see that "bad apples" get their due.

"This is something that we've all been waiting on ... that justice be done," said Jeanne Radsick, owner of Century 21 Hometown Realty.

For some, there was expectation that the indictment would clear the industry's good name and demonstrate to the community that the area's biggest alleged mortgage fraud scheme was perpetrated by a few newcomers, not by the many people who have put in decades of hard work serving customers.

"There's an old saying that excessive profit breeds ruinous competition," said appraiser Jim Henderson, owner of J.L. Henderson & Co. He pointed out that defendants Carl Cole and David Crisp were relatively unknown locally before the real estate bubble.

"They swooped in, did their deed and then left town," he said.

The past-president of the Bakersfield Association of Realtors, Gail Malouf, said she thinks people outside the industry understand that Crisp and Cole -- people she likes personally -- were bad apples whose actions stood out.

"We're certainly not all that way," she said. "We're good people. We're there for our clients."

For appraiser Gary Crabtree, though, the satisfaction was incomplete. He said he wondered why no escrow officers or appraisers were indicted.

"Without an appraiser, this stuff could never happen," Crabtree said.

What's more, he said, the federal case is not the beginning or the end of alleged mortgage fraud in Bakersfield.

"There are many, many more, but it's the largest and most high-profile," he said.

Crabtree looked beyond the damage done to the local industry's standing, and past the losses suffered by mortgage lenders, which he estimated at as much as $39.5 million.

"I feel bad for the people in North Country Meadows who bought on a rent to own basis only to lose the houses," he said. "And also the innocent homebuyers who purchased properties based on these inflated valuations."

"People vastly overpaid for their homes, and then lost tremendous equity after those fraudulent buys were foreclosed on."

One Bakersfield real estate professional in particular found personal redemption in Friday events: Kirksey J. "Mark" Newton Jr.

The California Office of Real Estate Appraisers considered revoking Newton's appraiser's license last year after scrutinizing eight property appraisals he either performed or signed off on, including work done for Tower Lending, the mortgage brokerage arm of Crisp & Cole.

The state ruled that Newton could keep his license, but ordered him to undergo additional training and pay a fine of more than $28,000 to cover the cost of the state's investigation. Newton argued at the time that the hearing was a witch hunt orchestrated by a competitor, and that a corrupt, rogue subordinate had affixed his name to some of the reports at issue.

On Friday, Newton said he was surprised the indictments took so long, and added that he hoped the fact the he was not arrested would lift the cloud of suspicion that has hung over his head in recent years.

"It doesn't matter, though," he said. "I don't want any part of an industry that would allow a competitor to ruin a man's reputation and livelihood. I want out of the limelight."

Newton allowed his license to expire in November.