Friend Falsely Arrested In Upper East Side Socialite's Home: Suit

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — The daughter of an elderly heiress conspired to have the woman's longtime friend arrested at her Upper East Side townhouse, where the heiress has been confined by her family, the friend claims in a new lawsuit.

The bizarre suit was filed this week by Alina Morini, a woman who describes herself as the "dear friend, confidant, and moral supporter" of Marie Christophe de Menil: a prominent socialite, jewelry designer, scion of an international oil dynasty and member of an art-collecting family described as the "Medici of modern art."

For six years, Morini had been living with the 88-year-old de Menil in the heiress's home on East 81st Street near Fifth Avenue — a baroque townhouse that the New York Times once called "a monument to the Manhattan establishment."

Lately, the suit claims, de Menil has been increasingly isolated at the hands of her daughter, Taya Thurman, with whom she recently reconciled after having been estranged for over 30 years. As evidence, Morini's attorney provided audio recordings and a June email from a family friend, alleging that Thurman and other family members forced de Menil to rewrite her will, barred her from seeing visitors, and assigned her a new nurse who diagnosed her with "early dementia."

"Currently, no one is allowed to visit Christophe (as we all call her) nor is she allowed to step outside of the house," reads the June 3 email from the friend, Nico Iliev, to investigators from the Manhattan District Attorney's office.

On Feb. 3 of this year, Thurman had Morini evicted from the 81st Street townhouse, forcing her into a hotel, with the goal of "forcing a rift" between her and de Menil, she charges.

A month later, on March 2, Morini returned to the townhouse at de Menil's invitation, she says. After arriving, she was arrested around 8:30 p.m., remaining in jail for 30 hours until her attorney came and had her discharged, Morini says.

"Confined to her bedroom"

The suit paints a dire picture of de Menil's solitary life — a dramatic change for a woman who, just seven years ago, had her dinner parties chronicled by New York Magazine.

"It’s important to close your body for the day with a beautiful meal," de Menil told the magazine. Morini was also in attendance, pictured hanging onto de Menil's arm.

The isolation began at the onset of the pandemic in April 2020, according to Iliev's letter to prosecutors, when de Menil was asked to give power of attorney and health proxy to her daughter. The situation escalated this past spring, when the locks to her townhouse were changed, cameras were installed and her landline and cell phone were disabled, he said.

"Ms De Menil was confined to her bedroom, where she never received guests," Iliev wrote of a February visit to the 81st Street home, adding that de Menil confided that she felt she was 'in jail.'"

Morini also submitted a written statement to the court this week — penned by de Menil on the day of Morini's arrest, she says — attesting that she "want[s] Alina Morini to live with me, in my home."

"She lived with me for 5-6 years," reads the document, which Morini says was written in the presence of a police officer. "Nobody influences me in this statement."

Morini is asking a court for at least $5 million in damages, alleging false arrest and imprisonment, wrongful eviction and defamation, among other claims.

Taya Thurman — the half-sister of actress Uma Thurman, through her father's second marriage — did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Kathleen Culliton contributed reporting.