A brief stroll from the house the place long-time Wall Avenue financier Howard Rubin lived together with his spouse and three kids in Manhattan, he stored a second house.
The $18,000 a month penthouse at Metropolitan Tower Condominium on 57th avenue, slightly below Central Park, has glorious views — however most of his guests by no means received to see them.
In response to prosecutors Rubin transformed the place right into a seedy “built-in” intercourse dungeon the place he allegedly tortured dozens of ladies with savage beatings, rape and even electrocutions.
Rubin and his assistant Jennifer Powers now stand accused of working a $1 million bondage and masochism sex-trafficking scheme between 2009 and 2019, with a lot of the exercise going down within the sound-proofed house.
The Put up this week reported how Rubin – value tens of hundreds of thousands — had a “revolving door” of ladies who dined with him at a bistro close to the house and court docket papers describe a number of of his alleged victims as Playboy fashions and fashions.
“It appeared like he paid for his or her boobs, butts and faces… They had been all blond,” stated a server, who requested to stay nameless.
There have been additionally crimson flags, in response to a former affiliate of Rubin’s, who instructed The Put up: “It’s typically not signal when males who aren’t public figures make girls signal non-disclosure agreements earlier than occurring dates.”
As soon as inside his lair, his alleged victims – a lot of whom say they had been lured there below false pretenses – endured wicked habits.
The lockable room was painted crimson, with white carpet, and included varied sadism and bondage units and gear, in response to court docket paperwork obtained by The Put up.
Among the many objects within the room was an X-shaped “St. Andrews cross” and mattress with restraints the place the ladies can be certain, chained and gagged, in response to the authorities.
Additionally contained in the dungeon was a set of intercourse toys, full-face masks with zippers, ropes, chains, steel hooks, and different units resembling a cattle prod used to inflict hurt, in response to his alleged victims.
On July 30, 2012, Powers — who allegedly helped lure dozens of ladies for him to abuse – emailed Rubin with particulars of how she had furnished the dungeon, noting:
“I’ve put chains on the 4 factors of your cross and 4 factors of the Dungeon mattress. On the top of every chain is a cuff. … I’ve executed this bc will probably be VERY straightforward to simply throw somebody on the cross or on the mattress and simply strap them into the ‘pre-made’ chains and cuffs,” federal paperwork stated.
One in every of Rubin’s alleged victims stated she was tied to the cross, crushed and whipped, court docket paperwork present.
Whereas hitting one other lady Rubin allegedly said that she “is the newborn, and Howie is the daddy. The daddy has to beat his child,” in response to the filings.
Rubin even stored a lawyer on retainer who’s job was merely to cope with the fallout from all his perverted enterprise, sources instructed The Put up.
Individuals acquainted with the posh constructing are shocked, as a result of whereas it is extremely safe and discreet, workers are additionally very thorough.
“That place is Fort Knox,” an actual property supply stated. “The door workers are extremely attentive and don’t let something previous them … The entrance desk takes your whole data each time you enter the constructing.
“[Maybe he] paid off the door workers – it’s not nice but it surely’s a fairly frequent factor to occur on this metropolis.”
A spokesperson for Macklowe Properties, the corporate that manages the Metropolitan Tower Condominium constructing declined to remark when contacted by The Put up.
Attorneys for Rubin and Powers additionally didn’t return The Put up’s requests for remark.
Non-public kink dens are extra frequent throughout town than most individuals understand, in response to Corcoran actual property advisor Thomas Ventura, who identified such amenities are typically constructed for consensual pleasure and never the place criminality takes place.
“If they need a intercourse dungeon give them a intercourse dungeon,” he stated, in reference to requests he’s obtained.
“We had a state of affairs the place had been representing the sellers and the son of a really well-known kids’s writer got here in to see the house and he was asking a whole lot of explicit questions. By way of the dialog we had been in a position to deduce he had a really, let’s assume, ‘energetic’ social life and he needed to ensure the house was completely soundproofed.
“We needed to have a full on dialog about how can we soundproof this house in a means so he’s not going to disturb the next-door neighbor and get noise complaints.
“It simply goes to indicate each purchaser has totally different search standards and high priorities.”
Allegations in opposition to Rubin first got here to mild in 2017, when he was taken to civil court docket by a number of Florida girls who accused him of violent sexual assaults in New York. He was additionally sued in Brooklyn federal court docket in 2022.
Two of his victims had been described in civil court docket papers as Playboy fashions, together with Amy Moore, Mia Lytell and a 3rd, Stephanie Caldwell, who was recognized as a mannequin and a dancer.
One other mannequin and pupil from Atlanta, Emma Hopper, was additionally a part of the civil litigation in opposition to Rubin and Powers.
A jury discovered Rubin — whose 30-year profession included a stint at billionaire George Soros’ funding agency — chargeable for hundreds of thousands of {dollars}, however cleared Powers at a 2022 civil trial in Brooklyn.
One other supply – who was in Senior Administration at Merrill Lynch alongside Rubin and his then-wife Mary Henry within the mid Eighties – described him as “good” with “an intuitive really feel for the markets”.
However they added he “was at all times out for himself.”
“He was stored on by the very senior individuals of Merrill Lynch, as a result of Merrill Lynch was a sales-driven agency not a trader-driven agency in order that they stored him on as a result of he did giant trades.”
The supply stated Rubin misplaced cash at each Merrill Lynch and Bear Stearns, however actually made his fortune for George Soros. He additionally stated he was by no means a workforce participant and by no means frolicked with different merchants after work.
“I’d see him speaking to his spouse at work. That they had good properties in Manhattan and in Lengthy Island, and so they did philanthropy.
“However he was most likely doing the identical factor that he was doing with the ladies again then…like I stated, he by no means had an ethical compass,” the supply added.
Rubin has pleaded not responsible to the legal expenses and is being held with out bail pending his subsequent court docket date on Oct. 20.
Powers, who now lives in Texas, has additionally pleaded not responsible and is at the moment free on bail after posting an $850,000 bond.
