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Hotelier Leona Helmsley Dies at 87
abcnews.com ^ | 08/20/2007 | AP

Posted on 08/20/2007 7:29:03 AM PDT by Sleeping Freeper

Leona Helmsley, the hotelier who went to prison as a tax cheat and was reviled as the "queen of mean," died Monday at age 87.

Helmsley died of heart failure at her summer home in Greenwich, Conn., said her publicist, Howard Rubenstein.

Helmsley and her husband, Harry, ran a $5 billion real estate empire that included managing the Empire State Building. She was tried in 1989 on tax evasion charges in a sensational trial that included testimony from disgruntled employees who said she terrorized both menial and executive help at her homes and hotels.

Her image was sealed when a former housekeeper testified that she heard Helmsley say: "We don't pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes."

She denied having said it, but the words followed her the rest of her life.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; US: Connecticut
KEYWORDS: leonahelmsley; obituary; queenofmean
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To: relictele

resposible => responsible


61 posted on 08/20/2007 10:05:56 AM PDT by relictele
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To: SkyPilot

Edward G. Robinson in drag.


62 posted on 08/20/2007 10:44:11 AM PDT by RetSignman (DEMSM: "If you tell a big enough lie, frequently enough, it becomes the truth")
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To: SkyPilot

Yep. Tyrants are so predictable.


63 posted on 08/20/2007 10:55:07 AM PDT by subterfuge (Today, Tolerance =greatest virtue;Hypocrisy=worst character defect; Discrimination =worst atrocity)
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To: Sleeping Freeper

I was always a fan of Leona’s. Didn’t know her personally but only through the terrific towels ALL Helmsley Hotels provided, even their low-end hotels. I suspect that changed after she went to the slammer.

Happy Landings, Leona, wherever you are.


64 posted on 08/20/2007 10:58:16 AM PDT by Veto! (Opinions freely dispensed as advice)
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To: Sleeping Freeper

““After her son died, she sued the estate for money and property she said her son had borrowed, and an eviction notice was served on her son’s widow, Mimi.”

That did it- rot, Leona.


65 posted on 08/20/2007 11:45:31 AM PDT by richmwill
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To: Long Island Pete
No, to Satan, Leona is mere childs play. What Satan is really worried about is when he meets Hellary.


66 posted on 08/20/2007 1:37:17 PM PDT by Screamname (The only reason time exists is so everything doesn`t happen all at once - Albert Einstein)
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To: JimC214

That one threw me for a major loop. They were playing an old interview with him today on 89.9 FM (my favorite music station) here in NYC and I couldn`t understand why, then they announced what happened and it was all over as far as I was concerned. Check it out, you may find a re-broadcast of that interview here...

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/wkcr/

By the way, my favorite video of him...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cS-xiX64HGQ


67 posted on 08/20/2007 1:46:49 PM PDT by Screamname (The only reason time exists is so everything doesn`t happen all at once - Albert Einstein)
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To: Sleeping Freeper

RIP.


68 posted on 08/20/2007 6:07:08 PM PDT by fieldmarshaldj (~~~Jihad Fever -- Catch It !~~~ (Backup tag: "Live Fred or Die"))
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To: peggybac

“I wonder who she willed all her shoes to.”

I think you have her confused with Imelda Marcos;)


69 posted on 08/21/2007 5:57:57 PM PDT by Frank_2001
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To: SkyPilot

Ouch! She makes Helen Thomas look like Marilyn Monroe;)


70 posted on 08/21/2007 6:01:56 PM PDT by Frank_2001
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To: Frank_2001
“I wonder who she willed all her shoes to.”

I think you have her confused with Imelda Marcos;)

You’re right! Color me embarrassed.

71 posted on 08/21/2007 6:15:43 PM PDT by peggybac (Tolerance is the virtue of believing in nothing)
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To: Sleeping Freeper

Helmsley's Dog: $12 Million, Grandchildren Zilch

The Queen of Mean's dog will continue to live the royal life, and then be buried alongside Leona Helmsley in a mausoleum maintained by a multi-million-dollar fund.

But two of Helmsley's grandchildren got zilch from the late luxury hotelier and real estate billionaire's estate.

Helmsley left her beloved white Maltese, named Trouble, a $12 million trust fund, according to her will, which was made public Tuesday in surrogate court, according to published reports.

She also left millions for her brother, Alvin Rosenthal, who was named to care for Trouble in her absence, as well as two of four grandchildren from her late son Jay Panzirer, so long as they visit their father's grave site once each calendar year.

Otherwise, she wrote, neither will get a penny of the $5 million she left for each.

But no one made out better than Trouble, who once appeared in ads for the Helmsley Hotels, and lived up to its name by biting a housekeeper.

"I direct that when my dog, Trouble, dies, her remains shall be buried next to my remains in the Helmsley mausoleum," Helmsley wrote in her will.

The mausoleum, she ordered, must be "washed or steam-cleaned at least once a year." She left behind $3 million for the upkeep of her final resting place in Westchester County, where she is buried with her husband, Harry Helmsley, and where the pair have a view of the New York skyline.

She also left her chauffeur, Nicholas Celea, $100,000.

Everything else, including cash from sales of the Helmsley's residences and belongings, reported to be worth billions, she ordered sold and the money given to the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, the New York Post reported in Wednesday editions.

"I will have no comment concerning Mrs. Helmsley's will," said her longtime spokesman, Howard Rubenstein, in the Post.

Helmsley died earlier this month at her Connecticut home. She became known as a symbol of 1980s greed and earned her famous moniker after her 1988 indictment and subsequent conviction for tax evasion. One employee had quoted her as snarling, "Only the little people pay taxes."

72 posted on 08/29/2007 6:49:44 AM PDT by Calpernia (Hunters Rangers - Raising the Bar of Integrity http://www.barofintegrity.us)
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To: kbennkc

We can send the bill to the dog.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1883773/posts?page=72#72


73 posted on 08/29/2007 6:52:09 AM PDT by Calpernia (Hunters Rangers - Raising the Bar of Integrity http://www.barofintegrity.us)
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To: SkyPilot

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1883773/posts?page=72#72


74 posted on 08/29/2007 6:52:47 AM PDT by Calpernia (Hunters Rangers - Raising the Bar of Integrity http://www.barofintegrity.us)
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To: Calpernia

That’s correct , the dog pays or shares a cell with Micheal Vick .


75 posted on 08/29/2007 10:39:24 AM PDT by kbennkc (For those who have fought for it , freedom has a flavor the protected will never know. F Troop)
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