Versace Mansion Owner Files For Bankruptcy
MIAMI BEACH (CBSMiami) – The posh Versace mansion on Ocean Drive in Miami Beach is on the financial brink.
Its current owner, Peter Loftin, has filed for bankruptcy to avoid foreclosure, according to the Wall St. Journal. Loftin bought the Casa Casuarina about a decade ago for $19 million dollars. It is now on the market for $75 million.
It was once owned by Italian designer Gianni Versace who was gunned down on its front steps July 15th, 1997 by Andrew Cunanan, a male prostitute suspected in the murders of four other men.
A little more than a week after Versace's murder, Cunanan killed himself on a shuttered houseboat about 40 blocks from the mansion as police closed in.
Earlier this year, Miami impresario Barton Weiss sued the South Beach property, which he vowed three years ago to reshape into an exclusive party space and lavish hotel bearing his personal Barton G brand, according to CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald.
His lawyers blamed the failure on Loftin, whose fight with lenders allegedly scared off Weiss' crucial catering customers. Loftin's lawyer claims Weiss still owes hundreds of thousands of dollars.
CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald contributed to this report.
