The Manhattan man who bizarrely tried to claim ownership of the iconic New Yorker hotel finally admitted he never owned the iconic Art Deco landmark as he was slapped with a six-month prison sentence on Wednesday.
Mickey Barreto, 49, pleaded guilty to forging property records after claiming he owned the historic Midtown tower between May 2019 and September 2023 in front of Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Cori Weston.
The judge asked Barreto to confirm that he purposely filed a “written instrument containing a false statement and false information… with intent to defraud the state” before accepting the plea — which he confirmed with a short “yes.”
Barreto was immediately sentenced to six months jail and five years post-release probation after the judge accepted his plea.
He will not serve time locked up since he had already served the length of the sentence at times during his court proceedings.
Barreto infamously claimed to take ownership of the New Yorker hotel after he spent one-night at the hotel in June 2018 — when he allegedly told the hotel that he wanted to enter a lease agreement through the city’s rent stabilization law.
When the hotel balked at the offer, its owners, the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of the World Christianity, gave Barreto the boot from the premises — but he sued in civil court and the hotel was forced to let him back in, court papers said.
The con-artist was able to stay a year rent-free at the hotel before he tried pushing his luck by claiming ownership of the building on May 28, 2019, Manhattan prosecutors have said.
Barreto convinced clerks at the city’s Department of Finance that the judge’s orders to let him back into the hotel meant he was now the owner of the 43-story structure, estimated to be worth $189 million.
While acting as “owner” of the hotel, Barreto demanded rent from one of the hotel’s tenants, prosecutors have said.
He also registered the building under his name and demanded the hotel’s bank to send over its accounts to him.
Barreto also tried to contact the New York Hotel’s franchisor, Wyndham, in an attempt to get the franchise transferred over to him, according to court papers.
The civil case was settled in 2021, according to court records.
Barreto was indicted by prosecutors in 2024.
He had previously been found not mentally fit to face criminal charges in November 2024 — which resulted in the judge ordering him to find inpatient psychiatric care or be forced into treatment.
Barreto’s attorney, Brian Hutchinson, called the plea a fair deal for everyone and said that his client is looking to put this behind him.
“We worked really hard to get something that everyone can live with,” Hutchinson said after the court hearing.
“Mickey got some treatment he needed and he’s looking forward to getting on with his life,” the attorney added.