In 1993, American financier Jeffrey Epstein purchased a controversial New York mansion for $20. This was stated in documents released by the US Department of Justice. The financier is known to have purchased a seven-story mansion on East 71st Street. The building contains approximately 40 units, including 10 bedrooms and 15 bathrooms. The building’s true…

If you live in New York long enough, you probably heard a version of this story from somebody’s cousin or neighbor — someone gets behind on the mortgage, a “nice helpful guy” shows up with a briefcase and promises to handle the bank mess, and next thing you know that homeowner isn’t a homeowner anymore.…