The New York Post reports today that one or more competing commercial real estate buyers were willing to pay more than three times the $4.8 that Sharif al-Gamal paid for the property. The Post states:
"New York developer Kevin Glodek was livid when he found out the building sold for a fraction of what he offered in 2007 -- $18 million cash -- and wondered whether money changed hands under the table, according to sources close to the deal.
Glodek and his partners wanted to build a 60-story condo tower with retail space on the Park Place site, had inked a purchase agreement and even had keys to the existing building, according to sources and documents obtained by The Post."
This raises -- once again -- questions.about the legitimacy of the buyer and the seller, Kukiko Mitani, the widow of Melvin Pomerantz. By selling for an official price of $4.8 million, she would only have to pay taxes on the smaller amount. One can speculate whether there were other financial considerations not reported to the government in this deal. I have no evidence of such irregularities, but every day seems to reveal a new mess -- and mess of questions -- regarding this proposed mosque property near Ground Zero.
Share
