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The current owners of the apartment where alleged sex torturer Howard Rubin built his fetish “dungeon” told The Post they were shocked to find out who it used to belong to.
The home at the top of the Metropolitan Tower Condominium on 57th Street right by Central Park is prime real estate, and had been rented by Rubin for $18,000-a-month. After civil cases against the married ex-financer were filed, he moved out and it didn’t stay empty for long.
“It’s pretty creepy [to realize]. I feel sorry for the women,” said Mary “Rishy” Studer, who bought the luxury two-bedroom with her husband, Quint Studer, in 2019.
In fact, the Studers only realized the $5.4 million apartment’s dark past when approached by The Post.
“I’m learning more every minute,” Quint said. “I’ve learned more in the last two hours [about the apartment] than I have in the six years since we bought it.”
Healthcare group founder, author and motivational speaker Quint said there was no sign of any sex furniture — such as the large X shaped cross Rubin allegedly had installed to tie women to — or materials in the apartment when they viewed it or moved in.
“It was renovated before we moved and they had a contractor in there when we first went to see it. When we looked at the place, most of it was repainted.
“When we looked at it, it wasn’t a whole lot different than it is now. It was clean, nice, it wasn’t beat up. No holes in the wall,” said Rishy.
The couple were also shocked to hear the room where Rubin did his dirty work is where their son, Michael, and his wife, who currently occupy the property, sleep.
“Oh wow, that’s our son’s room! We got to tell our son that was his bedroom. He lives there with his wife, they’re not aware of this,” said Quint, who is also owner of the Pensacola Blue Wahoos and Beloit Sky Carp baseball teams.
Rubin had rented the apartment using an innocuous-sounding LLC which he was later linked to in court. His trysts there, which prosecutors say were with dozens of women, were allegedly organized by his right-hand woman and assistant, Jennifer Powers.
“I called our real estate attorney to say ‘Could you look into who we bought this apartment from?’ And, as you already know, it was the LLC, Blue Icarus.
“And the challenge in New York is they protect owners of LLCs. So reports – The Post’s reports – indicate the LLC was leasing to Rubin,” said Quint.
“We feel bad that anyone was treated badly like that. We never connected it to us, and we still don’t. We’re disappointed in the whole situation, but it doesn’t stop us from feeling it’s a wonderful building.
“Our son won’t have an issue staying there – he’s more worried if The Knicks are going to win.”
Rubin and Powers face federal charges of sex trafficking and transporting women to engage in commercial sex acts. Powers is free on bail, while Rubin is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. Both have pleaded not guilty.
English (US)