Businessman disappears after boarding flight to Hong Kong
A Chicago fan manufacturer's desire to pay its former owner more than $3 million has been stymied because the man has disappeared.
Relatives of James Larkin, 62, say he was last seen boarding a flight to Hong Kong with his second wife last fall just a few months after he suffered a debilitating stroke. Neither checked bags for the trip, the family later learned.
The family contends that before Larkin's disappearance, his wife, Brigetta Cheung Larkin, acted recklessly, flouting doctors' instructions for her husband, skipping his medical appointments and even taking Larkin to bars.
"Last we saw Jim, he couldn't sign his name," his brother, Jerome Larkin, who heads the state agency that disciplines lawyers in Illinois. "He certainly couldn't drive. He couldn't do things like count. He could sometimes carry on simple conversations. . . . A doctor told us that any significant travel would put him at risk."
On Wednesday, a Cook County probate judge, agreeing the case constituted an emergency, appointed Jerome Larkin as James Larkin's temporary guardian.
The temporary guardianship allows the brother to care for Larkin's financial affairs and, if he is found, to seek a court order that he receive medical attention, said the family's attorney, Kerry Peck. But it expires in two months if Larkin remains missing and can't be served with court papers notifying him of the guardianship.
Larkin is a certified public accountant and lawyer who worked for a manufacturing company before starting Circulair, now known as O2 Cool. The company sells portable "misting" fans that cool by spraying a fine mist.
According to court records, Larkin sold his share of the business for $5.2 million early last year. Under the agreement, Larkin pocketed $2 million upfront; the rest was due at the end of 2007 and 2008, but Circulair wants to pay the entire $3.2 million now.
In petitioning for temporary guardianship last month, the relatives said United Airlines records show that Larkin and his wife flew to Hong Kong on Sept. 27 with tickets bought with cash.
Relatives hired Hong Kong private investigators to look for the couple, including at a condo they've used there, but the investigators came up empty.