Dog charities who were begging a judge to help them get a bigger bite of Leona Helmsley’s billions were barking up the wrong tree.
A Manhattan judge has denied a bid by the ASPCA, the Humane Society of the United States and other animal groups to get a larger share of the Helmsley Foundation’s multibillions, finding that even though the late “Queen of Mean” directed her massive fortune go to the dogs, the foundation trustees don’t have to throw them a bone.
The dog charities argued they should have standing to challenge how the foundation gives away its money because Helmsley’s mission statement said the cash should go “to purposes related to the . . . care of dogs.”
The animal groups said the foundation’s trustees haven’t exactly respected Helmsley’s wishes, because of the approximately $450 million they’ve given away to date, only $100,000 has gone to dog causes.
Wayne Pacelle, president of HSUS, called that “a trifling amount, and contrary to Leona Helmsley’s expressed intentions.
Surrogate’s Court Judge Nora Anderson rejected their bids to intervene in the case, citing an earlier ruling from another judge that the trustees have sole discretion in how to distribute the money.
She also said the group’s challenge was impractical, because it could open the floodgates to countless lawsuits from dog organizations around the world.
Death has not been kind to the once-feared Helmsley, who died in 2007 at 87.
In her will, she left $12 million for the care of her little dog, Trouble, and asked that the pampered pooch be taken care of by one of two relatives. A judge reduced the amount of Trouble’s bequest to $2 million, and both relatives refused to take in the notoriously ill-tempered bitch. She’s now being tended to by a Helmsley employee in Florida.