Actor Armand Assante Fights May Auction for N.Y. Home

Actor Armand Assante says he’s the unlikely face of predatory lending. The tough-guy actor’s attempts to save his Hudson Valley mansion—which could be sold at a May 6 auction—have been well-documented.

Now, his lawyers are pushing a New York judge to reconsider her 2011 decision to let the bank foreclose on the 7,000-square foot home, where Mr. Assante, 64, worked on the “American Gangster” script and rehearsed his role as the Gambino family boss in the 1996 HBO movie “Gotti.” Indeed, his lawyers almost appear to be relying on the elements of a well-plotted screenplay in their push for the judge to change her mind.

Thicken the plot: Mr. Assante’s lawyers are targeting former Eastern Savings Bank executive Jonathan Feldman, who handled his mortgage and was accused in 2010 by bank regulators of improperly altering a $3.25 million mortgage document. Mr. Feldman later settled and agreed to pay a $125,000 fine.

That news of Mr. Feldman’s settlement, Mr. Assante’s lawyers wrote in court papers, provides enough new evidence “to infer and conclude that [Mr. Feldman] acted with the same level of self-dealing, dishonesty and fraud with regard to Assante’s mortgage-loan transaction.”

Mr. Feldman’s lawyer, Greg Lawrence, declined to comment on Mr. Assante’s motion but pointed out that Mr. Feldman’s settlement with regulators did not contain a finding of fraud.

Maryland-based Eastern Savings Bank extended a $1.5 million loan to Mr. Assante in 2005 on terms he couldn’t afford. He made $700,000 in payments but stopped in 2009 to try to negotiate a break, particularly on the 10% interest rate. He now owes $2.3 million, according to the bank.

Turn up the drama: Mr. Assante hired former Federal Bureau of Investigation agents and fraud experts who dug up alleged dirt on a law clerk that “verbally espoused his own social justice bias against Hollywood actors and celebrities,” according to their statement. They also dived into the history of a property appraiser involved in the 2005 refinancing.

Throw in a twist: Investigators who pored over paperwork said Eastern Savings Bank hasn’t proved that the original, recorded mortgage was actually signed by Mr. Assante—a “fatal flaw which can collapse any and all aspects of Eastern’s claims against Assante’s property,” his lawyers said in court papers.

Eastern Savings Bank declined to comment for this article, but its lawyer previous told the court that Mr. Assante wasn’t earning enough money to support his lifestyle or his divorce obligations.

Pull at the audience’s heart strings: Lengthy narratives in court documents describe Mr. Assante’s personal attachment to the property, which is called Lone Oak Farm.

 “Assante and his family have come to know every stone wall, every riding and walking trail, the grassy meadows, the still water pond, the timbered woods, (which provide cover for the herds of deer and flocks of turkeys that grace the land and make it their home), and the famous Lone Oak, which has begat the formal name for this Orange County Estate and which stands metaphorically for the ideals and career of the very courageous and acclaimed actor who calls it his home.”

Hint at a happy ending: Lately, Mr. Assante has worked on international projects involving Argentina, Serbia and Switzerland. He isn’t making enough money to pay off the mortgage debt, but Mr. Assante’s lawyers said that he could win money for damages that could help him escape his financial problems once and for all.

Write to Katy Stech at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @KatyStech.