Too funny, some people wil do ANYTHING for dough: "A Helmsley executive left the real-estate firm after a falling out with Leona Helmsley, who believes he misled her into thinking he had romantic intentions."
Helmsley Executive Leaves After Flap
With Mrs. Helmsley in Romantic Mix-Up
By PETER GRANT
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
NEW YORK -- The chief operations officer and vice chairman of the
$3 billion Helmsley real-estate empire has left the organization after a
falling-out with Leona Helmsley, who believes he misled her into thinking
he had romantic intentions, people familiar with the situation say.
Patrick Ward, 45 years old, left in late January after Mrs. Helmsley, 80,
was told by an associate that he is gay, these people say. She has told
confidants the two of them were dating and that marriage might even be in
their future, they say.
Mr. Ward's attorney, Raymond Hannigan of the law firm Herrick,
Feinstein, said in a statement that Mrs. Helmsley "wrongfully, maliciously
and for discriminatory reasons" pressured Mr. Ward to leave. Mr.
Hannigan also said Mr. Ward "could not have made it more clear in his
public and private statements that he had no romantic interest in Mrs.
Helmsley." He said Mr. Ward declined to comment.
Gerald Fields, an attorney at Paul Hastings representing Mrs. Helmsley,
said she would have no comment "at this time."
Mr. Ward was hired at Helmsley Enterprises about four months ago,
shortly after Mrs. Helmsley met him at a Miami social event. Mr. Hannigan
said he "turned the company around."
Both sides now are considering legal action, and are discussing a possible
settlement in which Mrs. Helmsley would pay Mr. Ward more than
$1 million, according to people familiar with the situation.
Part of the fight involves 60 cooperative apartments in a building on
Manhattan's Upper East side that Mrs. Helmsley sold to Mr. Ward for less
than $1 million shortly before he left his position. That amount is a fraction
of the apartments' value, according to people in the real-estate industry.
Mrs. Helmsley's attorneys are demanding the apartments back, claiming
they amounted to an engagement present that he accepted under false
pretenses, people with knowledge of the situation say.
The dispute is the latest twist in the saga of the massive Helmsley empire of
hotels, office buildings and residential property that has been controlled by
Mrs. Helmsley since the death of her husband, Harry Helmsley, in 1997.
While she has sold more than $2.5 billion of assets, Mrs. Helmsley still
owns such prime properties as Manhattan's Park Lane hotel and large
stakes in trophy properties such as the Empire State Building.
Mrs. Helmsley has been involved in a number of well-publicized disputes
with her husband's former partners and business associates. In 1993, she
was released from prison after completing an 18-month sentence for her
1989 conviction for income-tax evasion. New York tabloids recently have
run numerous articles rumoring relationships with a series of suitors,
including Mr. Ward. In one of the items, Mr. Ward denied a romantic
relationship.
Mr. Ward, a former optometrist in the Washington, D.C., area, had limited
experience in the hotel and real-estate industries when he met Mrs.
Helmsley last year. At the time, he was a senior executive for
CRAssociates, a health-care company in Newington, Va.
After being named chief operating officer of Helmsley Enterprises, Mr.
Ward began implementing numerous changes, including hiring new general
managers for the Park Lane and Carlton hotels. |
