The week started with Boruch Drillman avoiding jail for his role in a $165 million mortgage fraud scheme.
The district judge instead handed Drillman five years of probation, citing his early cooperation with investigators, genuine remorse, the consideration of Drillman as less culpable than other defendants in the case and his poor health in downgrading the sentence.
The charge carried a maximum five-year prison sentence. Drillman, who was also fined $250,000, will need to abide by certain conditions, including submitting to alcohol and drug tests, as well as making business and financial disclosures.
Elsewhere on the (alleged) crime beat, Marcal Group’s Mark Caller filed a motion to dismiss the indictment Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg brought in 2023, which charged him with conspiracy and bribery.
Caller is accused of offering ex-Buildings Commissioner Eric Ulrich a sweetheart deal on a Rockaway Park apartment in exchange for favors. He’s facing up to 15 years in prison over the alleged bribery, but he argues that prosecutors withheld important information from the grand jury about Caller’s past dealings with the public official.
Ulrich is accused of accepting or soliciting more than $150,000 worth of bribes over a period of two years. He resigned as DOB chief in November 2022 following reports of involvement in an illegal gambling investigation and has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Gary Barnett appeared before a community board in the Upper West Side to detail his plans for a residential tower at the site of the former ABC campus. The Extell Development head is planning a 1,200-foot building on Columbus Avenue between 66th and 67th streets that would tower over others in the neighborhood.
Barnett is offering to build more than 100 affordable housing units across two smaller buildings to appease community members, looking to avoid a legal battle. He’s also planning to appear before the community board again this week.
“What I’m getting out of it is just peace,” Barnett said at the meeting. “I’m not interested in a fight.”
And the $399 million loan tied to a Midtown Manhattan building at 1440 Broadway went into special servicing again. Australian pension fund QSuper purchased the building in 2017 with CIM Group. By 2023, the loan backed by the property landed in special servicing.
Investors landed a loan modification last May. They pushed the March 2024 maturity date back to October 2025, replaced CIM with StepStone LP and brought on a new property manager.
But lenders placed it in special servicing this month due to a balloon payment or maturity default, according to Morningstar Credit.
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No prison for Boruch Drillman in mortgage fraud scheme
Developer accused of bribing DOB commish moves to throw out charges
Gary Barnett reveals plans for Upper West Side supertall at former Disney campus
