The ownership of a piece of coastal land in Daly City is rather complicated, as it turns out, and convicted local art scammer Luke Brugnara was not being entirely dishonest in his (at least partial) claim to the land.When we relayed the story last week about the connection between noted local real e state invester and convicted art fraudster Luke Brugnara and a previous report about a mysterious fence that had gone up on a bluff in Daly City adjacent to Thonrton State Beach, we noted some conflicting information. Initially, San Mateo County Supervisor David Canepa was saying that the person who put up the fench, Brugnara, had bought the property last fall, but that the fence was nonetheless illegal and blocking a longtime public right-of-way to the beach.Then the Chronicle got in touch with a woman from Santa Cruz, Donna Pope, who claimed that the land had belonged to her family for several generations.And that appears to be true, but it's also true, as the Chronicle is now reporting following some further digging, that there are four separate parcels on the property in question, with multiple owners attached to each. And it sounds like none of these owners have been able to agree to sell the land — after a previous development attempt fell through.Pope, and a woman who may ber sister, Joan Kneass, own the southermost parcel where the path to the beach sits next to a parking lot, per the Chronicle — and it was Pope who reported a trespasser to local authorities after the fence went up, along with its threatening, handwritten message about trespassers being shot.Pope and Kneass also have partial ownership of each of the other three parcels, along with a Utah man named Bruce Norton, and another set of four siblings, Patricia Fraguglia, Paul Nagy, James Anthony Nagy, and Carolyn Nagy. The latter is deceased, and apparently her share of the land is in a trust.Brugnara did, apparently, get in touch with Paul Nagy, a North Carolina resident, who confirmed that he had sold his fraction of the parcels — possibly just 1/24th. And Nagy confirmed to the Chronicle that he had agreed to sell his share to Brugnara — though it remains unclear if money changed hands.Nagy further seems to have expressed frustration, in an email obtained by the Chronicle, with the other owners (and his siblings) being unable to communicate or come to an agreement about offloading the land. And the land comes with the baggage of state Coastal Commission oversight, and a previous plan to develop a retreat center there fell through due these and other complications.But neither the fence, nor the sale of any property, has received the approval of a majority of owners — which, because he owns 10/24ths of the land, needs to include Norton.Got all that? Apparently, Paul Nagy suggested the Brugnara, with the fence, might simply be trying to "test the political waters and wake up the owners to follow up or through with selling the property."Brugnara, for his part, reportedly offered $2 million, though it's not clear if that was for all four parcels. Brugnara claims to the Chronicle that he has full legal rights to the entire property now, after purchasing Paul Nagy's shares, and is claiming a "tenancy in common" arrangement with the other owners — which it sounds like they're not all on board with. He further claims to have right of first refusal to purchase the other shares of the property if and when the owners die.It should be noted that Brugnara has apparently played fast and loose with the truth before — particularly with the mail fraud case in which he was convicted a decade ago. In that case, Brugnara was accused of having a New York art gallery ship $11 million in valuable art to his Sea Cliff home, including works by deKooning and Degas, and then refusing to pay for them — claiming they were sent as gifts. And in a tell-tale sign of some personality issues, Brugnara represented himself in court, and reportedly made several scenes in the courtroom that got him held in contempt.How this shakes out is anyone's guess, and it seems like the next thing that will happen will be the Coastal Commission and Daly City officials taking legal action to force the removal of the fence.Previously: Noted Art Fraudster Who Owned Sea Cliff Mansion Accused of Squatting on Property In Daly City, Erecting Fence ...read more read less