Glenn Straub sued a couple of New Jersey government agencies and Revel’s tenants during his three years in Atlantic City.
Glenn Straub, the colorful former owner of the defunct Revel Casino, faces lawsuits from former girlfriend Jessica Nicodemo, 34, back in his home state of Florida. Straub sold the Revel Building to Colorado real estate developer Bruce Deifik earlier this year. Deifik reopend the building as Ocean Resort Casino.
Glenn Straub was the owner of the Revel Casino from 2015 to 2018. During that time, he gained a local reputation for litigiousness and public charges against his opponents. Nicodemo claims Straub has a pattern of litigiousness against his former girlfriends — suing them for “faithlessness”.
Jessica Nicodemo joined with Lacy K. Bridges, 24, of Charleston, South Carolina to countersue Glenn Straub.
The two women claim the 72-year old Glenn Straub targeted them with lawsuits as a form of harassment after they stopped dating him. Nicodemo and Bridges also claim their former boyfriend targeted at least three other woman with similar suits, including a former Ms. Florida contestamnt.
Jessica Nicodemo Countersuit
In their civil counterclaim, the women submitted revealing text messages that their lawyers say show a pattern of harassment and deviousness. The counterclaim suggests that Glenn Straub dated a series of women since 2013, then targeted them with frivilous lawsuits to get revenge when they spurned him.
The filing, made in the State Attorney’s Office of Broward County, suggests that the frivolous lawsuits were over alleged debts or eviction from his yacht. Those woman did not fight, but Nicodemo and Bridges decided to take a stand.
Already, the legal case has caused Florida Gov. Rick Scott to get involved. Last year, Governor Scott transferred the case from Palm Beach County to Broward County, because of conflicts of interest. Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg and his ex-wife, Lynn Aronberg, are witnesses in the case. The two are friends of Glenn Straub, so Rick Scott determined that neither Dave Aronberg nor his office should oversee the case.
Straub Blames #MeToo Movement
In a deposition, Glenn Straub explained why his company, Palm Beach North (formerly Polo North), sues his ex-girlfriends. Straub told the court, “I’m not a romanticist. I’m a business person. You do something…I charge you for it. You do not pay your bills, I send you a bill and my people know how to put liens on things, because we do it all the time.”
In the court filings, Glenn Straub blamed the lawsuit on the #MeToo movement. He suggested that Jessica Nicodemo and Lacy K. Bridges were inspired by the #MeToo movement to file the lawsuit, stating in his deposition, “This ‘Me Too’ thing, that’s pretty much what this case is around, and it’s not right.”
Lawyer Calls It “Stalking through the Courts”
Elizabeth Parker, a Palm Beach Gardens attorney who represents Nicodemo and Bridges, disputed Straub’s characterization of the case. Parker said her clients are not accusing Straub of unwanted sexual contact or sexual harassment. She said they are accusing Glenn Straub of using the court system to stalk and take petty revenge against women he targeted.
Parker also accused Glenn Straub of predatory behavior. The Palm Beach lawyer said, “He will loan money to vulnerable women. And if they cross him, if they won’t date him or won’t have sex with him, if they break up with him, that’s when he takes legal action.”
Suggesting Glenn Straub corrupts the legal system with frivolous lawsuits, Elizabeth Parker added, “It’s stalking through the courts.”
Palm Beach Polo Successes
Glenn Straub was a controversial figure during his short time in Atlantic City, but he’s been no stranger to controversy in South Florida for the past generation. Straub is best known for buying Palm Beach Polo for $27 million in a government auction in 1993 and turning it into a world class real estate development. Today, Palm Beach Polo contains opulent residences for the rich and famous like Bill Gates, Bruce Springsteen, and Michael Bloomberg.
Through the Palm Beach Polo development, Glenn Straub made an ever-widening circle of friends in the South Florida scene: Dave Aronberg, Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Jeffrey Colbath, and even President Donald Trump.
Glenn Straub specializes in distressed businesses and bankruptcy auctions — like the Revel Casino business which made him locally famous. Glenn Straub once said, “We turn around sick companies, like a doctor does for a patient….I’m a hands-on operations person who kind of gives inspiration to the company.”
“I’m a Dictator”
Though he’s a known miracle worker in the business field, Straub also has his share of detractors — and a string of high-profile lawsuits in the Palm Beach and Broward County courts. During a property owners association meeting 20 years ago, Glenn Straub told some of the high-powered homeowners assembled, “I’m a dictator,” when questioned about his leadership.
Straub tells stories about his run-ins with the Ohio mafia in the 1970s. Litigation appears to be his favorite form of warfare. Straub once said that going to court against the government is “a little hobby of mine”. He once sued Mark Bellisimo for not providing the best tables at horse events. He sued the village of Wellington for flooding his property. He sued the New Jersey Casino Control Commission over failure to approve his casino license.
“Not the First Incident”, Says Police
He’s even gotten in trouble with his own real estate development, Palm Beach Polo. Last year, Straub allegedly drove his Bentley through a security gate. A Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office deputy’s report said, “Straub refused to show his ID and drove his brown Bentley convertible coupe through the gate, causing the gate arm to fall off.”
The report added, “This is not the first incident they had with Straub.”
One can say Glenn Straub is used to getting his way. Whether that justifies lawsuits against his ex-girlfriends is another matter. A Broward County court soon will give that answer.
