Welcome to The Home Equity Theft Reporter, a blog dedicated to informing the consumer public and the legal profession about Home Equity Theft issues. This blog will consist of information describing the various forms of Home Equity Theft and links to news reports & other informational sources from throughout the country about the victims of Home Equity Theft and what government authorities and others are doing about it.
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
Elderly Widow Finds Herself Wresting w/ Her Attorney-Children Over Ten$ Of Million$ In Real Estate Amassed By Dead Hubby; Says They Tricked Her Into Signing Deed To Lakefront Home That Purported To Be 'Do Not Resuscitate' Order For Dying Family Patriarch
In New York City, the New York Post reports:
A Brooklyn mob lawyer’s elderly widow is claiming her kids tricked her into signing away her Connecticut vacation home — by pretending the papers were a “do not resuscitate” order for her dying husband, a new lawsuit charges.
The eldest child named in the bitter suit is legal heavyweight Nicholas Gravante, Jr., who, as a partner to Al Gore attorney David Boies, has repped the Andy Warhol Foundation and the family of vice president Joe Biden.
“She did not understand what she was signing,” lawyers for the angry mom and plaintiff, Elinor Gravante, 81, claim in the Brooklyn federal court lawsuit, filed [recently]. “She believed she was signing a “do not resuscitate” order.”
The lawsuit also accuses Gravante Jr., and his brother and sister, of pocketing some $600,000 in rental income from their dead dad’s buildings in Park Slope, Bensonhurst and SoHo.
It’s the latest volley in a raging family feud over tens of millions of dollars in property in Connecticut, Florida and New York, amassed during the 50-year career of longtime Bensonhurst-based Luchese and Gambino family lawyer Nicholas Gravante, Sr., who died in 2015.
The feud simmered to the surface two weeks ago, when Nicholas Jr., fired off the first lawsuit against his mom in Florida, where she lives.
The son’s suit asks a Collier County judge to stop the mom from claiming to family, friends, and even the press that her children tricked her out of the lakefront house, a $1.8 million property in New Fairfield.
The so-called bogus “do not resuscitate” order is a three-page, notorized document that clearly states “Warranty Deed” at the top, Nicholas Jr. said.
His mom had wanted to give the house to him and his siblings since they’d inherit it anyway, and she had no interest in living there — then cried fraud last summer after an argument with her daughter, Christine Castellano, who now lives there, the lawsuit says.
The third child, Richard, is a Brooklyn-based lawyer.
The mom had long agreed that the rental income could be used by her 11 grandchildren toward college tuition, Nicholas Jr. told The Post.
“It is unfortunate that our mother, who has been dealing with serious health issues, including memory loss, has been advised to take action that delays progress and closure,” the three Gravante children said in a statement Friday.
“We love her and will continue to support her financially and emotionally through this painful period,” the statement added.
CBC News: Betrayal of Trust (A CBC investigation reveals how lawyers across Canada have misappropriated and mishandled clients money, to the tune of tens of millions of dollars, or sometimes even charging vulnerable people top dollar for shoddy services)
Land Contract/Contract For Deed/Rent-To-Own Rackets
The New York Times: The Housing Trap (In the wake of the housing crisis, low-income families have turned to seller financing to buy homes but these deals can be a money trap)
Beware The Fine Print: Consumers Forced To Sign Away Their Rights To Use Court System
The NY Times: Arbitration Everywhere, Stacking the Deck of Justice(Part 1 in series examining how clauses buried in tens of millions of contracts have deprived Americans of one of their most fundamental constitutional rights: their day in court)
Foreclosure Mills' Abysmal Record In Complying With New NYS Foreclosure Requirements
Justice Deceived: How Large Foreclosure Firms Subvert State Regulations Protecting Homeowners
MFY Legal Services Report On Questionable Practices By Process Servers In Debt Collection Cases
Justice Disserved: A Preliminary Analysis of the Exceptionally
Low Appearance Rate by Defendants in Lawsuits Filed in the Civil Court of the City of New York
Mortgage Mess Redux: Robo-Signers Return (A Reuters investigation finds that many banks are still employing the controversial foreclosure practices that sparked a major outcry last year)
CNN Video: As Foreclosures Mount, Florida Court Turns To 'Rocket Docket'
The Wall Street Journal: A Florida Court's 'Rocket Docket' Blasts Through Foreclosure Cases (2 Questions, 15 Seconds, 45 Days to Get Out; 'What's to Talk About?' Says a Judge)
"Produce The Note" Strategy When Dealing With Missing Promissory Notes In Foreclosure Actions
ABC Video: Fighting Against Foreclosure (Some homeowners have found a new tactic to keep the banks at bay)
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