Judge Orders Psychiatric Exam for Harry Helmsley in Tax Case

A judge today ordered aging hotel magnate Harry Helmsley to undergo a psychiatric test to see if he is competent to stand trial for tax evasion despite defense claims that the stress of an exam could kill him.

The ruling by Justice John Bradley at state Supreme Court came after prosecutors revealed that Helmsley, 81, and his wife, Leona, 70, recently jetted off for a Florida vacation at one of their hotels.

“On April 5, Harry Helmsley flies to Florida, to Sarasota, with his wife, to one of their hotels for a vacation. It was our information that he did not go by ambulance or on a stretcher,” remarked state Assistant Atty. Gen. Alfredo Mendez.

Mendez said defense lawyers had ignored an earlier order to undergo a mental exam by court-appointed psychiatrists and said he was too ill to leave his apartment at the Park Lane Hotel.

The hearing before Bradley was to determine whether Helmsley, who last month fell headfirst down a flight of stairs and was knocked unconscious, was physically fit to undergo the mental competence exam.

After the hearing Monday, he ordered Helmsley to be examined May 9 and to return to court for a hearing on the findings May 23.

The Helmsleys are accused of cheating the state out of $1 million in taxes. They also are accused of disguising millions of dollars in renovations at their Greenwich, Conn., mansion as business expenses of their hotel empire.

Leona Helmsley was convicted of similar charges in federal court and has been sentenced to four years in prison. She is free pending her appeal.

Her husband was deemed incompetent to stand trial with her last summer in U.S. District Court. However, in the wake of that ruling, the New York Post reported that Helsmley was actively participating in his wife’s defense.

Mendez said that in recent months Helmsley has apparently been capable of seeking documents and making huge financial transactions. He noted that Helmsley submitted an affidavit in February demanding documents from the attorney general’s office. He also noted that Forbes Magazine reported recently that Helmsley completed a $50-million transaction.