19 luglio 2006

What's about Leona?


The widow and heir of New York real estate tycoon Harry Helmsley (1909-1997) and one of the richest women in the United States, Leona Helmsley attracted national attention in the early 1990s when she was convicted of mail fraud and tax evasion and sentenced to 18 months in prison. Dubbed "the Queen of Mean" by the gossip sheets, Helmsley's apparent lack of contrition was summed up for most people in a quote attributed to her by a former housekeeper: "We don't pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes." Helmsley's real estate firms own several posh hotels and prime real estate in New York City (including the lease on the Empire State Building), and Leona consistently makes the annual Forbes list of the richest Americans. In 2002 she was sued by Charles Bell, a former employee who claimed he was fired by Helmsley because he was homosexual. The jury originally awarded Bell $11.7 million, but a judge reduced the award in March 2003 to $554,000, leading observers to conclude that Helmsley's notoriously aloof manner in the courtroom turned the jury against her -- and that she still had a long way to go to escape the "Queen of Mean" label.

from www.who2.com/leonahelmsley.html