Islamic Center Group Can Preserve Condo Liens
How will hateblogger Pam Geller spin this?
A federal judge refused to quash condominium liens against a couple accused of swindling the nonprofit that planned to build an Islamic community center near Ground Zero.
Cordoba Initiative Corp. said in a 2011 complaint that its president was conned into trusting Robert Deak and his wife, Moshira Soliman, and ultimately paid nearly twice the asking price for a condo they never delivered.
Cordoba filed notices of lis pendens against both the condo it bought from the couple and the condo that Deak and Soliman bought in the same building using the money they allegedly bilked from the nonprofit.
The Malaysian-based nonprofit, which said it is “dedicated to improving relations among people of all cultures and faiths,” sparked controversy in 2010 with its plans to build an Islamic community center two blocks away from the footprint of the World Trade Center in Manhattan.
Cordoba president and principal Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf said he became close friends with Deak and Soliman over the course of five years, and the couple even raised money for Cordoba.
More: Courthouse News Service