It looks as if the onetime king of Wall Street has found himself in another pickle with the taxman – and this time it’s federal.
John Gutfreund, the fallen Salomon Brothers chief who in the 1980s was called the “King of Wall Street,” has had his posh Fifth Avenue co-op slapped with a lien for more than $430,000 from the Internal Revenue Service, according to a document filed earlier this week with the Finance Department.
It’s not the first time that Gutfreund, who turns 79 next month, has gotten ensnared in a tax issue. Last year, New York state slapped the former Wall Street big with a tax warrant for $230,400. Such warrants act as liens and are often filed ahead of attempts to seize property.
Reps from Gutfreund’s camp said they were caught off guard by the existence of the IRS’ lien.
“I know nothing about this,” said Gutfreund’s accountant, Sheldon Ganis of audit firm Grant Thornton, who added he was first alerted to the existence of the lien by Gutfreund’s personal assistant after she was contacted by The Post.
“Errors happen. Miscommunications happen,” said Ganis, adding that he has contacted the IRS and is waiting to sort things out.
Attempts to reach Gutfreund and his wife Susan, an interior designer and New York socialite, were unsuccessful. People who work for the couple, including employees stationed at the Gutfreund’s luxurious duplex at 834 Fifth Ave., would only say the couple was travelling overseas and had been contacted about this story.
Ganis declined to provide details of the state warrant except to say that it was paid.
Records show payment was made nearly six months after the warrant was filed.
“There has to be a somewhat serious – I don’t want to say neglect – but there has to be a somewhat serious attention-deficit disorder” for someone to get repeatedly hit with liens, said one tax expert.
Liens typically come as a last resort, after the government has tried to get taxes paid and sometimes moves to garnish wages, this person said.
Ganis said the IRS has made no attempts to garnish Gutfreund’s wages, although that could be difficult if Gutfreund files a tax return as a self-employed person, tax experts said.
In addition to serving on charity boards like the New York Public Library, Gutfreund, who figured prominently in the 1989 book “Liar’s Poker,” is also a corporate director for several companies, from which he draws compensation. He also founded a financial management firm.
By targeting the Gutfreunds’ lavish apartment, the IRS has set its eye on one of the most prestigious addresses in Manhattan.
The duplex has colorfully decorated rooms, a winding stairwell and walls with elaborate murals.
Gutfreund is no stranger to controversy. In 1991, he agreed to pay a $100,000 fine and was banned from ever running a brokerage firm after Salomon was caught in a Treasury bond-trading scandal.