Cash-strapped former Mayor Rudy Giuliani is allegedly not “ready” to hand over his New York City apartment after a federal judge ordered him to turn over his Manhattan penthouse and other valuables to two election workers he defamed.
A judge last week ordered Giuliani to transfer his Madison Avenue co-op apartment — along with cash, 26 watches, his Mercedes Benz that was allegedly previously owned by Lauren Bacall and other valuables — to Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, whom he has been ordered to pay $150 million in a defamation verdict. Now, he is not “ready” to make the transfer — even though movers plan to come to his apartment Thursday.
On Tuesday, his lawyer Kenneth Caruso wrote in a letter to the judge that Giuliani was “ready to make the turnovers” and was waiting for Freeman and Moss’ lawyers to send over documents pertaining to the transfer of shares in his apartment.
Aaron Nathan, a lawyer for Freeman and Moss, said in a Wednesday evening filing that they have “continued their preparations to take possession of the receivership property, and those preparations are now substantially complete.” Nathan also noted, “in the interest of correcting the record and dispelling any misimpressions caused by [Caruso’s] letter,” that the election workers’ team had sent “several emails” about the status of the property to Giuliani’s team that “went unanswered”.
So, Nathan’s team spoke to Giuliani’s lawyer on the phone: “During that phone call, it became clear that Defendant’s counsel was not ‘ready’ to make any turnovers.” Additionally, Giuliani’s lawyer allegedly “could not even answer basic questions about the location of the receivership property, including the co-op shares and any particular items of physical property, or the amount of the cash accounts subject to turnover.”
Still, a representative of the moving and storage company will be provided access to the New York apartment on Thursday, the Wednesday filing said.
His three-bedroom, three-bathroom New York City apartment is valued at $5.6 million, his 1980 Benz is worth roughly $25,000, and his watch collection is worth tens of thousands of dollars,”The Independent’s review of his assets found.
The Trump ally plans to maintain his residence in Palm Beach, Florida — which is estimated to be worth roughly $3.5 million — but he is prohibited from doing anything to diminish its value as the judge determines whether it can also be transferred to Freeman and Moss, an October 22 ruling states. Giuliani previously objected to the sale of the condo. One of his bankruptcy case lawyers suggested that forcing the 80-year-old to sell his Palm Beach condo could make “join the ranks of the homeless.”
The colossal defamation verdict last December prompted the former mayor to voluntarily declare Chapter 11 bankruptcy. That bankruptcy case was dismissed in August, allowing for his barrage of creditors — those who claim Giuliani owes money — to restart their suits that were stalled by bankruptcy proceedings.
Elsewhere in New York, a lawsuit brought by Giuliani’s former employee-turned-accuser Noelle Dunphy restarted on Wednesday. The suit accuses the former mayor of wide-ranging misconduct, including sexual harassment, assault, battery and a hostile work environment. Chaos ensued at Wednesday’s oral arguments, which began with the disbarred lawyer admitting he was “confused” as to whether he was representing himself.
Later, Giuliani made personal attacks against Dunphy — before he was muted at the behest of the judge. The judge called his remarks “inappropriate,” and told Giuliani he was muted because “you are going to cause yourself harm by doing this, so I’m going to protect you from yourself.”
The judge struck some portions of Dunphy’s complaint and denied both sides’ requests for sanctions. He then directed the defense to file an answer to the complaint within 45 days of Wednesday’s hearing — and noted that he had given the former mayor extra time to figure out the matter of representation.
