Judge Rules MSNBC's Donny Deutsch Denied His Real-Estate Broker a Cool Million

October 30th, 2014 11:28 AM

Greed, for lack of a better word, is good. ---Gordon Gekko

A New York judge has ruled that frequent MSNBC Morning Joe guest, Donny Deutsch, scammed over a million dollars in commission from his real estate broker in the sale of a $30 million home in the Hamptons. For those who don't remember, Deutsch was the one who stated on Morning Joe that the Occupy Wall Street movement needs a Kent State moment to "articulate this clash." Here is what the judge ruled about this OWS supporter according to a New York Post story:

MSNBC host and former ad exec Donny Deutsch scammed a real estate broker out of a $1.2 million commission in the sale of Deutsch’s $30 million Hamptons home, a Manhattan judge seethes in new court papers.

Justice Charles Ramos says Deutsch’s lawyer was acting on his client’s behalf when Sotheby’s broker Edward Petrie was schemed out of his 4 percent commission, The Post’s Julia Marsh reports.

Petrie had brought a potential buyer, LA hedge funder Howard Marks, by Deutsch’s Tyson Lane home in 2010.

After Deutsch realized he knew Marks, he went behind Petrie’s back and brokered the sale privately to avoid the fee, Petrie claimed.

And here is the Judge stating that Deutsch basically has the scruples of a Gordon Gekko:

“This court considers that and refusal to acknowledge [Petrie] as the broker to be marks of dishonesty and greed,” Ramos writes in the Oct. 23 decision awarding Petrie’s employer, Sotheby’s, $1.2 million.

“Both characteristics are particularly unbecoming when exhibited by those blessed with great wealth,” the judge scolds.

OUCH!

Exit question: Will Willie Geist be making Gordon Gekko jokes the next time Donny Deutsch appears on Morning Joe?