Papalexis

Finally, it’s Palm Beach bizman Thanos Papalexis’ turn to talk.

Six weeks after the start of his murder trial in London, Papalexis and his defense attorneys started presenting his side Friday.

In a statement to a jury convened at the Old Bailey courthouse, Papalexis denied taking part in the murder of a caretaker nicknamed Bambi, a man who wouldn’t leave a London warehouse that Papalexis bought to develop into luxury apartments.

“I have no knowledge or involvement in that murder,” Papalexis said, according to a pool report by the Press Association. “If I had any idea about what had gone on, I would have called the authorities. There would be no possibility of me getting involved with anybody who did that.”

Two other men described as Papalexis’ henchmen are also on trial.

At home in the Palm Beach area less than a year ago, the British citizen parlayed his claims of being a wealthy entrepreneur into hosting former Pres. Bill Clinton for a political fundraiser.

By then, Papalexis was trying to start a luxury fractional club. But without enough cash but with lawsuits mounting, he eventually failed.

He was arrested in November by the US Marshals during lunch at a downtown West Palm Beach terrace. By Christmas, he was extradited.

For more, including why Papalexis may be lying, look below or click (Read more…)

Papalexis in his office in 2007

Fallen Palm Beach businessman Thanos Papalexis, who’s being tried for murder in London, may have a second death on his conscience.

This one is the passing of his mistress.

She may have died of a broken heart, if you believe the woman’s ex-husband.

Authorities can’t positively identify a body found next to an empty vodka bottle in a townhouse in the Riviera Beach community of Turtle Cay. But Ron Purpura believes it’s his ex-wife, and Papalexis’ 42-year-old mistress, Marie-Helene Jarry.

“She was in love with Thanos and she believed in him,” said Purpura. “When Thanos was arrested (in November) and she found out he was a phony, she started drinking heavily. I believe her body just shut down from all the booze. She was inconsolable.”

The person in the townhouse may have died more than a month ago and wasn’t recognizable. The medical examiner is checking dental records for a positive identification.

But to Purpura, there’s little doubt it was the women from whom he divorced in 2001. The body was found in a home Jarry bought for $153,000 in 2003, and it’s also the home address on Jarry’s drivers license.

For more, look below or click (Read more…)

Stunning development in the London murder trial of Palm Beach businessman Thanos Papalexis!

An area porn star and $700-an-hour escort is set to become the star witness after a prosecutor claimed that Papalexis confessed the murder to her during pillow talk at the Four Seasons Palm Beach.

DeFalco (Jimmaxwellphotography.com)

Papalexis, 36, a debonair Greek immigrant who weaseled his way into Palm Beach society over the past five years, is accused of the 2000 murder of an eccentric elderly man who refused to leave a London building that Papalexis bought to redevelop.

Papalexis, who endeared himself with some on The Island with his invitations to sex parties at his mansion, was nabbed last November by U.S. Marshals acting on a warrant from The Crown.

The trial started last week at the famous Old Bailey, and the focus is now on Rebecca DeFalco, 41, an escort with clients in Palm Beach and Miami who starred in XXX flicks. Under the stage name Paris, she had prominent roles in Anal Audition 8 and Perverted Stories 14.

Public records show she had a West Palm Beach address but recently moved to a condo along the fancy Brickell Avenue in downtown Miami.

She couldn’t be reached for comment. Her friend, Fort Lauderdale’s Garin Patrick, didn’t return calls. Patrick’s a little-used former Miami Dolphins center.

DeFalco, meanwhile, had a three-month relationship with Papalexis in 2004, prosecutor Jonathan Laidlaw told the British jury Wednesday.

(For Laidlaw’s shocking pleadings, click (Read more…)

The murder trial at Old Bailey in London of Thanos Papalexis, a silver-tongued Palm Beach entrepreneur who hosted former Prez Bill Clinton and tried to start several fractional-ownership luxury clubs here, is under way.

Thanos Papalexis

Papalexis, 36, is on trial for the murder of an eccentric Londoner who refused to leave his dingy apartment in a warehouse building that Papalexis bought and wanted to renovate. With the interest on the mortgage he took out mounting, Papalexis and two alleged accomplices are believed to have tortured the man then killed him, in a crime scene that had grossed out even hard-boiled investigators.

“His strategy will be to attack the character of his co-defendants,” a Scotland Yard source told Page2Live.

So British prosecutors have reached out to several Palm Beach area residents to paint their profile of Papalexis. They also believe that Papalexis confessed to friends here. The names of witnesses scheduled to fly to London for their court appearance wasn’t available.

The trial started with jury selection on June 4. Papalexis has denied any involvement and pleaded not guilty. Opening arguments were this morning. (Read more…)