- El-Gamal who has a lengthy arrest record still does not own the Con Edison property envisioned as part of the mosque. Another bidder offered Con Ed $12 million to buy the lease and property.
The Pomerantz family, which had owned the building since the late 1960s and fielded offers after the patriarch died in 2006, rejected at least one bid that was
- nearly four times what prospective mosque builder Sharif El-Gamal eventually paid, The Post has learned.
- New York developer Kevin Glodek was livid when he found out the building sold for a fraction of what he offered in 2007 -- $18 million cash -- and wondered whether money changed hands under the table, according to sources close to the deal.
- according to sources and documents obtained by The Post.
- In addition to selling the building to El-Gamal, Mitani sold him the long-term lease for the property next door -- a former Con Edison substation -- for $700,000. The buildings had once been joined to create a store.
- Glodek was also negotiating with Con Edison
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8/30/10, CBS New York's Marcia Kramer interviews Sharif El-Gamal:
- "It’s a community center, if you call it a community center, we would talk,” El-Gamal said.
Kramer reports the developer’s reluctance to talk may have been related to his prior run-ins with the law.
- His most recent arrest was in 2005 for assault on a man he met while working as a waiter at Serafina Restaurant, who sublet an apartment from his brother.
- He reportedly punched the man, breaking his nose and cheekbone and spit on him.
El-Gamal first said he didn’t hit the man, but arrest documents obtained by CBS 2 showed he later conceded
- “his face could have run into my hand.”
Records showed El-Gamal also had trouble coming up with the $15,000 settlement reached in 2008, and had to pay interest . El-Gamal also has a number of other arrests on his record:-
- -In 1990, he was arrested in Nassau County and pled guilty to disorderly conduct.
- -In 1992, he pled guilty in Nassau to DWI and paid a $350 fine.
- -In 1993, he pled guilty in Nassau to attempted petit larceny and paid a $100 fine.
- -In 1994, arrested for disorderly conduct in Manhattan.
- -In 1998, there was another Manhattan disorderly conduct arrest.
- -In 1999, yet another Manhattan disorderly conduct arrest.
A potential problem for the mosque developer is a deposition he gave in the assault case in October 2007. When asked if he was ever convicted or pled guilty to a crime, El-Gamal replied “no.”
- Lately, he has been trying to resurrect his image, sitting down for a lengthy 60 Minutes interview with Scott Pelley.
When Pelley asked if it occurred to him that putting a project so close to Ground Zero would heighten tensions, El-Gamal replied “not at all.”
- “I did not hold myself or my faith accountable for the tragedy,” El-Gamal said.
El-Gamal also owes over $227,000 in unpaid real estate taxes and a spokesman for the Department of Finance said interest will be added for each and every day its unpaid.
- Another question surrounding the debate is whether the Muslim cleric of the mosque — Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf — knew about El-Gamal’s criminal background and unpaid taxes before partnering with him.
- El-Gamal refused repeated requests from CBS 2 Monday to comment on the story."
- Reference, 8/30, CBS New York, "Who is the man behind the Ground Zero Mosque?"
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