The Friars Club. Yes, it still exists.
So they’re suing the ex CEO who they all ran down to court and supported in 2020. That’s Michael Gyure, ironically pronounced “jury.”
You may recall that Gyure was found guilty of tax evasion, and caused the club to be raised by the feds. All the members went down to the federal courthouse to support Gyure despite his breaking the law. And then they let him return to the Friars Club like nothing happened.
And now the Friars are suing Gyure for embezzlement. There is no honor among thieves, you see.
Meantime, the Friars think they’re having a ‘roast’ in May and honoring comedian Tracy Morgan. Maybe someone should tell Morgan that the club is still strongly associated with Bruce Charet. It was Charet who caused the club to be sued for sexual harassment by their former receptionist, Rehanna Almestica. She won a settlement of just under one million bucks.
Usually when that happens, the firm that settles gets rid of the person who caused the problem. But Charet thrives and is held in high esteem at the Friars Club. He has not one but two websites on which be brags about his ties to the Club.
Gyure, 54, allegedly secretly owned an entertainment company while running the Friars Club, The Friars say he signed over the right to the use the Friars name “in perpetuity” to that business without the club’s knowledge or permission. The claim is filed in a Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit.
The company Gyure owned never paid the $150,000 fee to use the name. After Gyure’s business lost more than $616,000 on a January 2015 event, he used Friars’ funds to cover the loss, the Club claimed. The Friars are demanding $2.3 million in damages.
You have laugh. After the 2017 raid, the Friars totally supported Gyure. He was given a new contract after his 2019 guilty plea for filing false tax returns and failing to disclose $433,000 in income.
Charet, meantime, last year held himself out on a radio show as “Larry King’s manager” after the famed radio and TV star died. And despite the terrible publicity from the sex embarrassment lawsuit, the Friars refuse to rid themselves of him. The Club recently re-opened after closing during the pandemic and suffering a massive flood through their East 55th St. building. The Club has had a lot of renovations which they luckily gained through insurance money.
And let’s not forget that the Friars, which was run as a 501 c3 charity, lost their designation last year. So whatever they’re raising money for with the Tracy Morgan event, it’s unclear where that money is going.
You can read articles I’ve written about the Friars here, including how in2019 they honored a guy named Rinaldo Nistico, who goes by the name “Ronnie Shoes” or “Ronnie Copa.” Nistico was indicted and settled a case in 2004 for assault. The NY Post reported then that Nistico had two prior arrests and convictions on weapons charges in 1990 and 1996.
