Page 12 - ARUBA TODAY

A12 WORLD NEWS
Monday 26 February 2018

Trump officials fight eviction from Panama hotel they manage

fight over control of the
property. Last August, Fin-
tiklis' Miami-based Ithaca
Capital Partners bought the
202 units in a fire sale from
the property's struggling
developer. As part of the
deal, Trump Hotels sought
and received some assur-
ances that Ithaca would
not seek to act against its
interests as hotel manager.
Relations quickly soured
amid abysmal hotel oc-
cupancy numbers and al-
legations by Ithaca and
other hotel unit owners of
financial mismanagement
or misconduct. In October,
Ithaca Capital led a push
to terminate Trump Hotel's
management contract
and seek compensatory
damages. Trump's compa-
ny — which he still owns but
does not directly control —
refused to hand over con-
This July 4, 2011, file photo, shows the Trump International Hotel Panama , third building from left, in Panama City. trol of the property, arguing
Associated Press that the vote to fire Trump
Hotels was invalid.
By JEFF HORWITZ and JUAN complaint filed by Orestes tering the room containing witnesses said. But by Sat- A Panamanian court de-
ZAMORANO Fintiklis, who controls 202 the building's closed-circuit urday afternoon the lobby clined to support that
PANAMA CITY (AP) — One of the property's 369 hotel TV system as well as key was again quiet. claim in December, and
of President Donald Trump's units. Trump's managers computer servers for the Representatives of the the parties have since
family businesses is battling retreated behind the glass hotel and apartments that Trump Organization de- been fighting in court. The
an effort to physically evict walls of an office where share the property. In re- clined to comment, but AP reported that the Trump
its team of executives from they were seen carrying sponse, they shut off power have previously called at- management team ran off
a luxury hotel in Panama files to an area where the to the room — temporarily tempts to fire their man- a group of Marriott execu-
where they manage op- sounds of a shredding ma- bringing down phone lines agement company illegal tives who had been invited
erations, and police have chine could be heard, ac- and internet connections and said no change in the to tour the property amid a
been called to keep the cording to two witnesses within the building. building's control would be search for a replacement
peace, The Associated aligned with the owners. According to the legal appropriate without a de- hotel operator.
Press has learned. Witness- The legal complaint also complaint, Trump's chief cision from arbitrators or a On Thursday, Fintiklis arrived
es told the AP they saw accused Trump's team of of security and six secu- judge. at the property with man-
Trump's executives carrying improperly destroying doc- rity guards "pushed and Fintiklis did not respond to agement staff and law-
files to a room for shred- uments. shouted at" Fintiklis when messages left by text or yers intending to take over
ding. The witnesses spoke on he came to deliver the email. the hotel immediately. The
Representatives of the ho- condition of anonymity termination notices. The On Friday night, lawyers, Trump management team
tel owners' association for- over concerns they would complaint said the hotel notaries and rival security again refused to yield con-
mally sought to fire Trump's be drawn into an expen- employees then called the personnel gathered at the trol of the property, and
management team Thurs- sive and protracted legal police. hotel in Panama City while according to the legal
day by hand-delivering ter- fight. A new confrontation ap- talks were underway to complaint filed by Ithaca's
mination notices to them Elsewhere in the building, peared likely to arise during prevent the conflict from lawyers, refused to allow
at the Trump International the hotel owners' team and the weekend, as Trump's deteriorating further. Fintiklis to check into any
Hotel and Tower, accord- its allies were barred by security staff set up early The showdown is the new- of his company's 202 hotel
ing to a Panamanian legal Trump Hotel staff from en- Saturday in the hotel lobby, est low in a months-long rooms.q