Nicolescu and the two others, who were masked during the attack, perpetrated the virus scam in order to exact $8.5 million from Bass, in payment for the antidote. Bass, who is believed to have received more than $150 million in her divorce settlement, refused to give into the demands however, and were left beaten and bruised. Nicolescu worked as a butler in Bass' Kent home until he was terminated a few months before the terrifying incident. He fled the country for a while afterwards, and was only captured this past January. more ›

When the Wall Street Journal wrote about the Nepalese butler who inherited two apartments at the Dakota, some brokers suggested that he might not be approved by the co-op board to reside there. Well, the Dakota contacted the WSJ and said that was just a "baseless" rumor: "We at The Dakota are proud that for many years ours has been an extraordinarily diverse community of residents." It may not matter—former butler Indra Tamang, who already has a home in Queens with his wife and child, is selling the three-bedroom unit; the other apartment is a studio. more ›

Mayor Bloomberg's trip to the University of Oklahoma to caucus with a bipartisan group of current and former politicians and grouse about Washington gridlock only fueled the fires of speculation that he is preparing a Presidential run. People are already strategizing about who his ideal running mate would be. Bloomberg is sticking to his (anti-)guns, however, and still claiming that he is not a candidate. But his pollster told the LA Times that our Mayor is seriously considering a run and will make a decision in the next two months. more ›