Prospective WBIX buyer pulls out

Accused embezzler Bradford C. Bleidt checked himself into the psychiatric unit at Massachusetts General Hospital this week, said investigators involved in the case, and they expect him to come forward in the next several days to face the civil charges against him.

Meanwhile, the future of Bleidt's radio station, WBIX, was thrown into doubt yesterday. Christopher Egan, the real estate developer who planned to buy the station this month, said he was pulling out of the deal and would stop funding the station's operations.

Bleidt, a financial planner and investment adviser, was admitted to the locked unit after receiving treatment for injuries he sustained while attempting suicide last week. That attempt followed the mailing of taped confessions to federal authorities, family members, and at least one brokerage firm. On the tapes Bleidt admitted to having cheated clients out of "tens of millions" of dollars over two decades, according to a complaint filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Since Bleidt checked himself into the ward, investigators said there is some risk he could check himself out and flee. Generally, state health regulations allow such patients voluntary dismissal if they're not believed to be a danger to themselves.

While they do not know his exact condition, investigators believe Bleidt broke two vertebrae during his suicide attempt. That he was transferred to the psychiatric unit, however, suggests he is mobile. The SEC has moved to have Bleidt's passport seized, but federal authorities said they cannot take him into custody or prevent his travel because he has not yet been charged with a crime.

Several investigators said they expected Bleidt to hire an attorney --as soon as today --to negotiate on his behalf.

Mass General spokeswoman Peggy Slasman declined to comment. The hospital's website said the average stay in the psychiatric unit is 10 days. Bleidt's wife, Bonnie Kirchner Bleidt, declined to comment.

Meanwhile, prospective WBIX buyer Chris Egan said he would step aside to clear the way for court-appointed receiver David A. Vicinanzo to try to sell the station and recover some money for Bleidt's alleged victims. Bleidt's assets, including the radio station, are frozen under a federal court order, so Egan would have faced a long and difficult process to gain control of the station from securities authorities.

"We considered whether to go forward" with the purchase, Egan said, and came to the conclusion that "we would have ruined any opportunity for investors to recoup any money."

Although Egan planned to purchase the station for $7 million, none of that money would have gone to Bleidt, so his alleged victims would not have recouped any of their funds from the deal.

That is because under the terms of the Egan purchase, the proceeds would have gone to the previous owner, Alex Langer, who is still owed around $7 million by Bleidt for his purchase of the station. Indeed, as part of the transaction, Bleidt was supposed to pay a little more than $1 million of his own money to satisfy his debts to Langer.

Egan has already sunk more than a half-million dollars into the station since August when he began operating it under agreement with Bleidt.

Yesterday Langer said he has offered to help "in any way" to keep the station operating, short of paying for the ongoing expenses out of his pocket. "I'm the one who put the station on the air and I would like to preserve it," he said.

What happens next at the station is unclear. Employees were told to report for work today as usual, and yesterday host Mark Mills told listeners the station planned to continue broadcasting its format of business news and information until Monday, when Vicinanzo is expected to arrive at the station.

Egan has volunteered to pay through the end of the year the salaries and benefits of any WBIX employees who lose their jobs in the coming days and weeks. Such generosity is important for the employees of the small station that has a loyal following in the Eastern Massachusetts business community. WBIX is losing approximately $100,000 a month, and investigators said that Vicinanzo doesn't have government funds to subsidize its operations.

Vicinanzo did not return calls seeking comment. But one immediate question he faces is whether WBIX is more valuable as an ongoing operation or valuable only for the federal broadcast license it holds.

Scott Fybush, editor of Northeast Radio Watch, an industry newsletter based in Rochester, N.Y., said it makes more sense for the receiver to find a way to keep WBIX on air. "A station that goes off the air has no value," he said. "Most brokers try to value stations based on trailing cash flow. When you have no cash flow because a station's not operating, that becomes a bigger problem."

Ultimately, though, Fybush said WBIX will attract strong interest from buyers because "there's a very finite number of radio signals available in any given market, especially one the size of Boston. There's no question somebody will come along that would find this a valuable property."

Andrew Caffrey can be reached at caffrey@globe.com; Beth Healy at bhealy@globe.com; Jeffrey Krasner at krasner@globe.com