Cinespace Chicago Film Studio Sale Dredges Up Lawsuits

Legal fires are blazing four years after Alex Pissios’ estimated $1.1 billion exit from Cinespace Chicago Film Studios.

Two longtime allies claim he stiffed them on proceeds from the 2021 sale of the studios, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Pissios’ cousin, Konstantinos “Dino” Mirkopoulos, and scrap dealer Ronald Nisson filed separate suits alleging they’re owed millions from the blockbuster 2021 sale, which included 2.45 million square feet of real estate in Chicago and Toronto.

Mirkopoulos pointed to a 2012 handwritten note allegedly signed by their late uncle promising him a stake equal to Pissios’ brother’s. Nisson claims he’s entitled to 10 percent of Pissios’ cut of the deal, based on a verbal agreement tied to a $400,000 loan that helped launch the studio.

Pissios and his lawyers have denied the claims and have sought to get the lawsuits thrown out, so far unsuccessfully.

While the court battles unfold, Pissios has been building his post-Cinespace real estate portfolio through Alecko Capital, an investment firm he launched in 2022.

The firm has spent more than $50 million across at least 16 deals in recent years, including a distressed office building in River North, picked up in February for $7.4 million. The eight-story property at 620 North LaSalle was acquired via short sale after the previous owner surrendered it to Wintrust Bank. Alecko Capital declined to comment on the lawsuits and hasn’t disclosed plans for the LaSalle Street property.

That deal followed Pissios’ $11 million acquisition three years ago of 232 North Carpenter, a boutique office building in Fulton Market between Google’s two local hubs. Pissios has said he plans to locate his family office there.

The former studio head has drawn headlines before, not just for selling the production campus behind shows like “Chicago Fire” and “Empire,” but also for working as a confidential informant in a federal investigation that led to the conviction of a top Chicago Teamsters official.

— Judah Duke