As suspected, the TriBeCa kidnapping yesterday was over real estate. The Time spins it as an Edgar Allan Poe tale, detailing the the ordeal of the alleged victim, Lawrence Schlosser, 63 year old real estate investor. It was a real estate meeting gone sour, with the alleged kidnapper, Lawrence Omansky, forcing Schlosser to sign over buildings after punching and threatening him with a knife for a few hours. Then he tied Schlosser up and hid him in the crawlspace of his building. Schlosser got out 18 hours laters, after prying open the trapdoor with a pipe. Omansky's lawyer is Benjamin Brafman, who defended P. Diddy during the club shooting case.
UPDATED: Further Gothamist coverage. Also, coverage from NY1.
Other New York real estate nightmares from Gothamist.
