DA: Manhattan lounge rent dispute spurred torture threat ASSOCIATED PRESS 1:33 PM, January 14, 2010 Prosecutors say two would-be Manhattan restaurateurs extorted thousands of dollars from their landlord’s agent by threatening to torture him with tools, a candle and a large accomplice. All three men went on trial Thursday on charges including extortion, coercion and kidnapping. Architect Ekkehart... [more]
DA: Manhattan lounge rent dispute spurred torture threat
ASSOCIATED PRESS
1:33 PM, January 14, 2010
Prosecutors say two would-be Manhattan restaurateurs extorted thousands of dollars from their landlord’s agent by threatening to torture him with tools, a candle and a large accomplice.
All three men went on trial Thursday on charges including extortion, coercion and kidnapping.
Architect Ekkehart Schwarz and chef Vasileios Giamagas tried to open a Greenwich Village watering hole in 2007. The plan fell apart amid disputes over rent and renovations.
Prosecutors say the two arranged to abduct the landlord’s representative and threaten him with the help of roughly 350-pound Kakhaber Gogoladze.
The defense says the agent concocted the allegations to cover his own mismanagement.
[less]
