Douglas Elliman’s Joseph Aquino, a retail broker who worked under retail chair Faith Hope Consolo, has been fired over claims Elliman improperly withheld commissions from him.
Two days before he was fired, Joseph (snapped above, from 2012, with Faith and C&W's Bruce Mosler) filed suit against Elliman, alleging the firm spent over $1M owed to him in commissions on wasteful personal perks for Faith.
The lawsuit claims Elliman cut into his commission to pay for things like spa treatments, cashmere sweaters, beauty supplies, and expensive make-up sessions for his former boss, The Real Deal reports.
Joseph also claims that when he told Elliman chairman Howard Lorber about the situation, Howard threatened to “blackball” him from the industry if he didn’t pipe down and play ball.
Cindy Salvo, Aquino's attorney, told The Real Deal the $1M owed him was taken out of his commission checks over a period of years, and that “deductions for Consolo’s personal expenses were just a small part of the improper deductions.”
Marc Kasowitz, an attorney for Elliman, called the suit “a desperate effort by Mr. Aquino to get an undeserved payday” in a statement. [TRD]
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