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Should you perish in a fire in a Trump-owned property, the Trump organization still expects to get paid.




Six months ago, Todd Brassner, a famed art collector who used to kick it with Andy Warhol in the ’70s, perished after an electrical fire inside his 50th-floor apartment in Trump Tower.

Now, the residential board is coming after his estate for monies owed at the time of his death.


According to the Washington Post, Brassner lived alone in his Trump Tower residence and began falling behind on payments. Brassner tried to sell his property but after Trump was handed the presidency by Russian bots, Brassner was unable to fetch bidders.

“It haunts me,” Brassner’s friend Stephen Dwire, a musician and producer, told the Post. “He said, ‘This is getting untenable.’ It was like living in an armed camp. But when people heard it was a Trump building, he couldn’t give it away.”

Brassner died on April 7 after an accidental electrical fire engulfed his apartment. He was 67. Smoke alarms may have alerted the longtime art dealer that there was a problem, but Trump reportedly lobbied hard against the devices.

The Post reports:

Now, with backing from a Trump Organization attorney, the Residential Board of Trump Tower Condominium is suing Brassner’s estate for more than $64,600 in unpaid common charges, an amount that includes fees accrued in the months after Brassner died. The residential board is also seeking a judgment of at least $25,000, bringing the total amount sought to nearly $90,000. Common charges are condo fees that typically include maintenance, utilities or other services. Brassner defaulted on common charge payments in June 2015, according to the complaint.


“Brassner’s family members and executors of his estate, Heather and Aaron Brassner, could not immediately be reached for comment, nor could the attorney representing the board,” writes the Post.