08/20/08 Today In History: (On Year Ago In Greenwich) Hotel magnate Leona Helmsley died in Greenwich, Conn., at age 87

Helmsley, 'queen of mean,' dies in Greenwich at 87

Greenwich Post By AP Newswire

Well-known hotelier Leona Helmsley died Monday at age 87 at her summer home in Greenwich. She was infamously known worldwide as the “queen of mean,” but, in town, she leaves a legacy of philanthropy.

According to her publicist, Howard Rubenstein, Mrs. Helmsley died of heart failure.

Mrs. Helmsley became internationally known while helping her late husband, Harry, run a $5-billion real estate empire that included managing the Empire State Building, but she was infamous for her alleged furious temper and a jail term for tax evasion. The couple was accused in state and federal indictments of charging millions of dollars in personal expenses and home improvements to their businesses.

She was convicted in federal court in 1989 on 33 of 47 federal tax evasion counts and was sentenced to four years in prison. She also was fined $7.1 million and ordered to perform 750 hours of community service.

The trial included testimony from employees who said she terrorized both menial and executive help at her homes and hotels.

Mrs. Helmsley’s image and nickname were sealed when a former housekeeper testified that she heard Mrs. Helmsley say, “We don’t pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes.” While Mrs. Helmsley denied having said that, the allegations stuck to her and her reputation was shaped by them.

However, in Greenwich, Mrs. Helmsley was also remembered for her philanthropy. Frank Corvino, president and chief executive officer of Greenwich Hospital, told the Post on Tuesday that her generosity helped build and develop a renovated hospital. She gave an initial gift of $10 million to the hospital and donated millions more to purchase state-of-the-art equipment for patients.

“I’m very sad,” Mr. Corvino said Tuesday. “At 87 years old, she left behind a long history. We will remember her here for her great philanthropy and generosity. Mrs. Helmsley gave a great deal of her fortune to worthy causes and we were one of the beneficiaries. The entire hospital is extremely saddened.”

At the time of her death, Mrs. Helmsley still controlled a sizable fortune. In 2007, Forbes magazine ranked her as the 369th richest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of $2.5 billion.

At one time, the Helmsleys’ homes included a nine-room penthouse with a swimming pool overlooking Central Park atop their own Park Lane Hotel, a 28-room estate in Greenwich, a condo in Palm Beach, Fla., and a mountaintop hideaway near Phoenix, Ariz. The couple flew the globe in a 100-seat jet with a bedroom suite.

While the Helmsley name was known for wealth, her detractors said she nickel-and-dimed merchants on her personal purchases and stiffed contractors who worked on her Greenwich home. Ultimately, it was tips from disgruntled employees that led to the tax-evasion charges in 1988.

Mr. Helmsley’s health and memory were so poor that he was judged incompetent to stand trial. But Mrs. Helmsley, after an eight-week trial, was convicted of evading $1.2 million in federal taxes by billing Helmsley businesses for personal expenses ranging from her underwear to $3 million worth of renovations to her Dunellen Hall estate on Round Hill Road in Greenwich.

She tried to avoid jail by pleading that her husband might die without her at his side. Her doctor said that prison might also kill her because of high blood pressure and other problems. In March 1992, a federal judge rejected that argument and ironically ordered her to surrender on April 15, the day all taxes are due.

Mrs. Helmsley served a total of 21 months and was released in 1994.
While her tabloid reputation remained with her for the rest of her life, Mr. Corvino said he never saw that side of her. “She was a very generous person,” Mr. Corvino said. “When she saw a need, she shared her wealth. Her and Harry’s giving track record was very significant and very generous. Their gifts helped many different people.” In addition to their initial gift to the hospital, which named a pavilion after the couple, Mrs. Helmsley gave another $4 million for equipment such as a new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine.

When Mr. Helmsley died in 1997 at age 87, Mrs. Helmsley said in a statement, “My fairy tale is over. I lived a magical life with Harry.”

When she married Mr. Helmsley in 1972, it was her third marriage. She was already a successful seller of residential real estate in the New York market and he was one of the richest men in America. In 1980, he made her president of Helmsley Hotels, a subsidiary which at the time operated more than two dozen hotels in 10 states.

Mrs. Helmsley became the public face of the hotels, appearing in magazine ads dressed in luxurious gowns and a tiara, advertising that the Palace Hotel was the only hotel in the world “where the Queen stands guard.”

Mrs. Helmsley is survived by her brother and his wife, four grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

According to reports, Ms. Helmsley will be buried in a $1.4-million mausoleum in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y. Her husband and son are buried there.

Greenwich Post Staff Reporter Ken Borsuk contributed to this story

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