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- April 25, 1988PEOPLELeona Helmsley
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- In the ads for one of the 23 posh hotels her husband owns,
- Leona Helmsley is often referred to as "the Queen," as in "The
- Queen stands guard." Last week the self-proclaimed royal and
- her spouse Harry found themselves under guard in a less than
- imperial court. "Not guilty," the couple pleaded in unison to
- the 188 counts of tax evasion and fraud filed against them in
- a New York court. The government charges that the Helmsleys,
- who control more than $1.4 billion in property, had illegally
- deducted as business expenses $4 million worth of renovations
- at their Greenwich, Conn., estate, including a $1 million
- swimming-pool enclosure. The couple are free pending trial.
- The accusations, said their lawyer, are "unfounded, unfair and
- unjust." They do have the sniff of lese majeste.
-
- --By Howard G. Chua-Eoan. Reported by David E. Thigpen/New
- York, with other bureaus
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