New London — The project manager of City Flats and New London Harbour Towers condominiums has filed for personal bankruptcy in federal court.

Anthony J. "Tony" Silvestri of Ledyard, whose associated businesses include the Silvestri Development Group LLC, indicated in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing late last week that he has more than $1 million in debts, including unspecified amounts owed to New London Harbor Towers LLC, Chelsea Groton Bank, the Internal Revenue Service, the state Division of Revenue Services, the Town of Waterford and the Ledyard tax collector.

Silvestri, in a phone call Wednesday, downplayed the bankruptcy, saying it was necessary to dispose of debts related to a "12-year-old lawsuit," adding that other individuals and entities listed in the filing will not be affected. He would not go into details about the lawsuit, but said the Tagliatella family that has backed both City Flats and New London Harbour Towers are aware of the bankruptcy and are still supporting his downtown initiatives.

"This does not affect any of the current projects we are working on," Silvestri said.

Silvestri became the face of the $16 million, 52-unit New London Harbour Towers condominium project on Bank Street that came to fruition just as the Great Recession hit a few years ago. He later announced another ambitious plan backed by the Tagliatellas to buy up large old homes in downtown to sell them as owner-occupied condominiums known collectively as City Flats.

"It's really about transforming entire neighborhoods," Silvestri said at the time.

Two of the debtors listed in Silvestri's bankruptcy filing, John and Jane Couto, sued the developer in 2007 after his firm Joseph General Contracting Inc. ceased construction of a nearly $2-million project in the Admiral Cove section of Stonington. According to court findings, Silvestri agreed to build a home for the couple and a carriage house for the Coutos' special-needs daughter on the site despite knowing that zoning regulations restricted lots in the development to only one dwelling.

"At the time they signed the contract, the Coutos were unaware of this zoning restriction," according to a July 2015 state Supreme Court decision that affirmed Silvestri violated the state's Unfair Trade Practices Act.

Subsequently, Silvestri had to stop construction because his lender cut off funding, court documents said. Silvestri then went to the Coutos to finance the rest of the project, the court found, but a change of architects resulted in design problems that led the family to cut off progress payments and Silvestri to again stop work.

"Forced to complete the construction of their home through a new, substitute contractor, the Coutos discovered numerous other problems with poor workmanship, as well as a large quantity of debris that ... caused damage to (land around the carriage house)," according to the state Supreme Court's description of the case.

The Supreme Court sided with Silvestri in overturning a state Appellate Court decision that had previously found Silvestri personally liable for breach of contract while awarding the Coutos more than $570,000 in damages. The court said it found that Silvestri's business entity, not Silvestri himself, was liable for the Coutos' issues, remanding a final determination of the penalty for violating Unfair Trade Practices back to the Appellate Court.

Silvestri has been active in local circles, including a stint on the New London Main Street board, and at one time was shopping around his "Eight Steps to Transforming New London," saying the city needed to back more owner-occupied projects, support the proposed National Coast Guard Museum near Union Station and get behind former Mayor Daryl Justin Finizio's magnet-school initiative, among other ideas.

The filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Connecticut indicated most of Silvestri's financial problems are business-related. Other companies Silvestri is associated with, according to the filing, include Landel Realty LLC, Joe Gen LLC, CCIR LLC and Alec Abatement LLC.

A voluntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing halts most collection efforts, at least for a short period of time. The filing indicated that unsecured creditors are not likely to see payments out of the bankruptcy.

Other local creditor listed in Silvestri's bankruptcy filing were the New London law firm on Conway Londregan Sheehan & Monaco, which represented Silvestri in his court case against the Coutos, and the Coutos' law firm of Cipparone & Zaccaro of New London.

The first meeting with creditors is scheduled May 25. A hearing on the case is set for 10 a.m. May 31 at bankruptcy court in Hartford.

l.howard@theday.com