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To: Lucretius who wrote (67079)	2/13/2001 8:13:30 AM
From: Box-By-The-Riviera™	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 436258

Do you think the thought of sleeping with Leona made him "that" way?? or Eye Doctor has four month stint as real estate barron and turn around king February 13, 2001 Major Business News Helmsley Executive Quits Following 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. Write to Peter Grant at peter.grant@wsj.com1 URL for this Article: interactive.wsj.com Hyperlinks in this Article: (1) mailto:peter.grant@wsj.com Copyright © 2001 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.