That’s a lot of pastrami!
The ousted manager of the Carnegie Deli will get an overstuffed helping of alimony — $11,500 a month — from his estranged wife, who’d accused him of thievery.
“This is a lot of smoked meat and mirrors,” quipped Sandy Levine’s attorney, Donald Frank, in Manhattan divorce court on Wednesday, to the allegations raised by deli owner Marian Levine.
“I like that, smoked meat mirrors,” chuckled matrimonial Judge Matthew Cooper.
The scorned beef started when Marian discovered in 2011 that Sandy was allegedly cheating on her with a waitress who worked at the 55th Street eatery.
Marian, whose father founded the Jewish-style deli sandwich mecca in 1937, then sued Sandy, his lover and his daughter for $10 million for stealing from the eatery’s coffers.
Her suit came after Sandy — who fled his deli position for Boca Raton, Florida, when his wife discovered the alleged affair — filed for divorce in 2013.
But Cooper said he’s not seen any evidence to confirm allegations that Sandy wrote himself $4.3 million in checks from the deli, where tourists line up daily for stacked sandwiches named after celebs like Woody Allen and free-agent Knicks star Carmelo Anthony.
“I have seen nothing,” Cooper said. “I don’t have dates, I don’t have people, I don’t have amounts, I don’t have copies of checks.”
State law dictates that the spouse with less money is entitled to monthly payments until the divorce has ended, he said.
Cooper turned down Sandy’s request for a whopping $27,000 a month, instead awarding $11,500 based on statutory calculations for the couple’s income.
Marian made $1.7 million in 2012 while Sandy earned $118,000 in 2013, the judge said. Marian has not yet filed her tax returns for 2013 with the court.
Marian will also have to fork over $90,000 in legal fees to Sandy. Her attorney claimed she paid her lawyers $700,000 last year. The sum included lawyers who settled an unfair wages claim by deli workers for $2.65 million in March.
Marian says her hubby was pocketing the staffers’ tips, but Sandy’s attorney denied the claim.
“That’s nonsense,” Frank said. “He worked hard, he was a good husband and all he got in return was scorn.”
Marian left the courthouse looking ready for the summer holiday in a white dress, pumps and black sunglasses.
She claimed to be unfazed by the judge’s order, predicting that she would ultimately prevail.
“We told the truth,” she said.
The divorce trial is expected to include a handwriting expert who will determine if Sandy forged his wife’s signature on Department of Labor documents, and testimony by deli workers.
But the judge urged them to settle.
“Life is short folks,” he said. “You’ve done very well in business, you both are coming into your twilight years, maybe we can end it on a good note as opposed to being consumed by the fire of litigation.”