The so-called taxi king of New York took a plea deal Thursday in Manhattan court for slamming his beautiful young wife against a wall weeks before she filed for divorce.
Gene Freidman, 44, who owns more taxi medallions than anyone in the city, copped to harassment as a violation, not a crime, for the March 3, 2015, attack on Sandra Freidman.
“Is it true that on that date, at that time, and in that location you subjected her to physical contact with intent to harass, annoy or alarm her in that you pushed her body against a wall?” asked prosecutor Laura Millendorf in Manhattan Supreme Court.
“Yes,” answered the beleaguered businessman, looking clean-cut in a gray pinstriped suit. Sandra sat nearby, wearing a sharp navy skirt-suit, black stilettos and a Chanel purse.
Gene will have no criminal record. Justice Tandra Dawson told Gene he must abide by a two-year order of protection barring any contact with his estranged wife, who is 20 years younger than Gene.
The mercurial taxi mogul was originally charged with attempted assault, obstruction of breathing and harassment after he allegedly shoved Sandra into a wall and choked her inside their $4.8 million townhouse on the Upper East Side.
“We are very pleased we were able to reach a result that recognized the original charges in this case were vastly overstated,” said Gene’s defense lawyer James Kousouros. “Mr. Freidman has always lived up to his obligations to his family and will always continue to do so.”
The couple, who have a 1-year-old daughter, are in the midst of a contentious divorce. Gene currently pays his wife $25,000 a month in support.
Gene has faced mounting financial pressure since the value of his medallions plummeted from over $1 million to $700,000 thanks to competition from app-based livery companies like Uber.
In June, a Manhattan Supreme Court judge ordered the seizure of nearly 90 of Gene’s taxi medallions after he defaulted on $31.2 million in loans to Citibank.