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Stealing the SoHo Grand
By
Dave Hogarty
Published Nov 18, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
Dave Hogarty
Published Nov 18, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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The Staten Island homeless man who repeatedly attempted to lay claim to the SoHo Grand Hotel has pleaded guilty and faces a year in prison. Kouadio Kouassi is an immigrant from the Ivory Coast and has been jailed since last December. He repeatedly filed claims with the city's Dept. of Finance in an attempt to assume legal ownership of the $76 million boutique hotel. Upon sentencing, Kouassi will like be quickly released and then deported because he's already served almost all of his expected sentence.
Kouassi was caught after five attempts to claim ownership of the 363-room downtown boutique hotel, which raised the suspicions of city officials because he was filing his applications for title transfer personally rather than through a company that specializes in property deeds. "Plus, the deed transfer lacked proper signatures - and a quick check with the Hartz Group revealed that officials of the conglomerate had never even heard of Kouassi." The SoHo Grand has rooms that run about $400 a night and the establishment describes itself as classically sophisticated. Amenities include a "complimentary pet goldfish upon request."
Tagged
deported
downtown
finance
Grand Hotel
homeless
hotel
Ivory Coast
news
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SoHo Grand
staten island
stealing
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The Staten Island
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Dave Hogarty
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