A Park Avenue residence that once served as the home of convicted white collar fraudster Hassan Nemazee has found a buyer after two years on the market, according to property records filed today. The apartment, at 770 Park Avenue, sold for $17.75 million to Marina Shields Purcell, the half-sister of Hollywood actress Brooke Shields, and her husband Thomas Purcell.
Iranian-American investment banker Nemazee was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2010 for defrauding banks of $292 million. He was a top Democratic fundraiser and served as the national finance chairman of Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign. With Nemazee in prison, the federal government listed the duplex apartment for sale in 2011 with Anne Corey of Sotheby’s International Realty, asking $28 million.
After several price cuts and a change in brokers, John Burger of Brown Harris Stevens had the most recent listing, at $19.5 million, according to StreetEasy.
Burger did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the deal, which closed March 5, records show.
The 15-room spread is on the 14th and 15th floors of the Upper East Side co-op tower, located on the corner of East 73rd Street. It has six bedrooms and six bathrooms, as well as several terraces and staff facilities. Residents of the Rosario Candela-designed property also have access to a gym and a wine cellar, according to the listing.
Thomas Purcell is a top analyst at Greenwich, Conn.-based Viking Global Investors. A call to Purcell’s office was not immediately returned.