Paul Greenwald, a former hedge fund millionaire, slipped out of Bellevue Hospital early Saturday morning and is now missing, according to authorities. The police say security camera footage caught the 70-year-old leaving the building around 2 a.m. with a yellow folder in hand, wearing a red shirt, black pants, black sandals, white socks, and with glasses perched atop his head. They have issued a Silver Alert and are asking anyone with information about Greenwald's location to come forward.
Formerly a resident of the luxury Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Midtown, Greenwald is believed to be homeless and according to the Daily News, may have been staying at a homeless shelter on East 30th Street, near the Kips Bay hospital. The NY Post reports that he was admitted to the hospital "for unknown reasons" on August 9.
In September 2009, authorities arrested Greenwald after he attacked his then-estranged, now-ex wife. As the Post reported at the time, he had lured Michelle Greenwald—author of a cookbook called The Magical Melting Pot and an adjunct assistant professor at NYU's Stern School of Business—to a spot near her apartment, telling her she needed to check on her parked car. When she arrived, he forcefully grabbed her arm and began screaming at her, in violation of a restraining order she'd taken out against him. He got out on bail, and apparently continued to harass Michelle over the phone.
In early 2010, the harassment earned Paul Greenwald seven charges of felony criminal contempt, but a Manhattan Supreme Court Justice sent him to Bellevue's correctional ward after determining him unfit to enter a plea. He reportedly shouted "the judge is a fucking crook!" and declined to enter the courtroom at the hearing.
Greenwald is roughly 200 pounds, and 6 feet tall with blue eyes. Anyone who has information on his whereabouts can call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782), or submit a tip to the Crime Stoppers website: www.nypdcrimestoppers.com. They can also text tips to 274637 (CRIMES) and enter TIP577. Police note that all calls are strictly confidential.
