Denver TV and radio personality and businessman Tom Martino has filed for Chapter 7 personal bankruptcy protection, claiming assets of $1.37 million and liabilities of $78.6 million.

Martino, known as the “Troubleshooter” for his consumer-advocacy shows, appeared regularly on the KDVR Fox-31 television station until earlier this month and still has a show on AM radio station 630-KHOW. He’s also involved in businesses including real estate and telecommunications.

Martino’s Sept. 2 filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Denver lists 47 creditors. Those include New Frontier Bank, which failed in 2008, and several other banks that made real estate loans to Martino.

Martino, who spoke to The Denver Post Wednesday, said he was unable to finance short-term real estate loans at three banks over the last three years — as a recession hit, property values plummeted and lending tightened. The loans totalled about $40 million he said. The $78.6 million figure in the filing resulted from multiple claims on the same loans and other potential liabilities unlikely to actually be claimed, he said.

“There are so many people in this same boat,” Martino said. “You’ve got millions of dollars in lost value and all of a sudden you can’t refinance your loans and you are just upside down. I just don’t know what I could have done.”

He said that he has little or no consumer debt, but took on additional loans over the last few years to try to save his real estate investments. He said his Troubleshooter Network business, consulting and radio shows aren’t affected by the bankruptcy.

Martino said he has been making real estate investments since the early 1980s. He buys land for residential development and commercial development, and owns parking lots in downtown Denver. The loans that brought about the bankruptcy were for properties in Fort Lupton, Parker and Denver, among other cities.

Late last year Martino sold a majority stake in his Liberty-Bell Telecom, which buys wholesale access to telecommunications networks and resells it, to Dish Network.

Martino reported income of about $1.6 million in 2009 and about $2.2 million last year, from Troubleshooter Network Inc., Tom Martino Consulting LLC and Fox 31. So far this year his income is $260,000, with none from his consulting business.

Greg Griffin: 303-954-1241 or ggriffin@denverpost.com