Former NY Attorney Rears Ex-Con Head in Miami

From con to condo
The New York Post by THOMAS FRANCIS in Miami and PHILIP MESSING in NY - November 12, 2010

Disgraced former Bronx political boss Stanley Friedman -- who served four years behind bars during the city's infamous corruption scandals in the 1980s -- now wants to help run a ritzy Miami Beach condo board, The Post has learned. Friedman, 74, a cigar-chomping, disbarred lawyer convicted of rigging city contracts along with crooked cronies, would help oversee The Alexander condominium's financial dealings as a board member. "Not everyone knows about his past," one source insisted. Friedman works for the Alexander's nearby hotel operations as "acting general manager." He is being offered up as the hotel "owner's representative" to the five-member condo board for the election, which is set for Nov. 23. The ultimate political insider, Friedman sent out a biography to woo condominium owners at The Alexander, located on Collins Avenue in the Millionaire's Row section. In it, he describes himself as a "husband, father, grandfather (8 granddaughters)" and lists his past educational accomplishments, including having attended prestigious Stuyvesant High School, City College and Brooklyn Law School. He also lists an impressive array of official positions he's held -- as an attorney for the Federal Trade Commission; as Bronx County prosecutor; counsel to the majority leader of the New York City Council; former Mayor Ed Koch's legislative representative in Albany; deputy mayor for Intergovernmental Affairs and Bronx Democratic Party leader. Conspicuously absent is news of Friedman's checkered past. Friedman and three other men were found guilty in November 1986 of racketeering, conspiracy and mail fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud the city Parking Violations Bureau in a case that was personally prosecuted by Rudy Giuliani. The Post caught up to the dapper Friedman at the Alexander condo's valet-parking site, where he was puffing on a cigar, just like he did before his fall from power in New York. Wearing a salmon-colored shirt and sports jacket, Friedman was initially amused when The Post confronted him. "I don't know if I want to talk to you, but you can go ahead and ask your questions," he said. When a reporter asked him whether condo owners knew of his criminal past, his good humor faded. "Everybody knows!" he snapped. He refused to talk further. In his letter to condo owners, Friedman told them he would try to help end the recent feud between the hotel and condo tenants, a source said. The oceanfront property features one-bedrooms selling for $350,000 and three bedrooms for roughly $1.7 million, according to one online real-estate listing. philip.messing@nypost.com