Disgraced Manhattan art gallery owner Andrew Crispo who was once linked to grisly murder of Norwegian student dies aged 78

A once-prominent art gallerist plagued by a series of scandals that nearly saw him accused of murder has died aged 78.

Andrew Crispo died in a Brooklyn nursing facility February 8, his lawyer confirmed - providing the final nail in the coffin to a sordid saga that includes tax evasion, extortion, and the 1985 execution of a 26-year-old FIT student found wearing only a leather hood.

A cause of death was not provided, but attorney J. Benjamin Greene said his client's death came after a decline in health. 

He told The New York Times that doctors had recently found he had an inoperable brain tumor - a cruel twist of fate for someone who survived prison not once but twice, and at one point had some $50million in the bank.

Moreover, he left no immediate survivors, and word of his death only emerged this week. He does, however, leave behind a long list of scandals - one that can be traced back to his opening of a now-defunct gallery on Madison Avenue in 1973.

Andrew Crispo (left) died in a Brooklyn nursing facility February 8, his lawyer confirmed - providing the proverbial nail in the coffin to a sordid saga that includes tax evasion, extortion, and the 1985 execution of a 26-year-old FIT student found wearing only a leather hood (inset)

district attorney Kenneth Gribetz holds the mask found on the body of slain model Eigil Dag Vesti during Crispo's murder trial March 24, 1985

'He could have been another Larry Gagosian today,' Manhattan artist David Ligare recalled of Crispo at this time, recalling to The Times Tuesday how he represented him in the '70s.

'He had such enthusiasm for art and such good connections,' he said, remembering how, for the rest of the decade, the then 20-something mega-gallerist made his name.

Hailing from Philadelphia, he lacked formal training - but soon became known for his eye for talent.

Crispo would use this nontangible to build a stable of talented artists, before earning a reputation among the city's most respected dealers.

The openly gay aficionado's first taste of success saw him bolster his namesake gallery on 57th Street with a second floor, and purchase a sprawling estate in the Hamptons.

There, he also put fine art on display - while the interiors of his gallery were decorated by his lover at the time, designer Arthur E. Smith. 

He soon developed a cocaine habit - with the halls of his business soon serving as a de facto Studio 54 when it would close its doors each day.

There - and at his nearby penthouse at 380 12th Street in Greenwich Village - drug- and sex-fueled parties became an almost daily occurrence for the next ten or so years.

However, on the night of February 22, 1985, things would change - when he and an employee met 26-year-old Norwegian Eigil Dag Vesti.

On the night of February 22, 1985, Crispo's life took a turn- when he and an employee met 26-year-old Norwegian model Eigil Dag Vesti (pictured)

An unidentified photographer takes a light meter reading in a smokehouse in a wooded section of Stony Point, N.Y., March 19, 1985, where the body of the Norwegian modeling student was found

Vesti was found naked - except for a pair handcuffs around his wrists and this zippered leather hood over his head

The group - which included Crispo's hanger-on Bernard LeGeros - met at the notorious Hellfire Club in meatpacking district. 

They eventually left the club to travel upstate, to a mansion in Rockland County owned by LeGeros' parents.

What happened next remains unclear - but it culminated with Legeros shooting Vesti twice, in the back of the head, execution style.

The men had all been doing drugs, and Vesti had been naked - save for a pair handcuffs and a zippered leather mask over his head.

Nothing happened for the next three weeks, until Vesti's body was found.

Discovered by a group of hikers in an abandoned smokehouse not far from the Legeros home, the body was savaged by wild animals - but the BDSM hood preserved his head.

Legeros - who later claimed from jail that he became wrapped up with Crispo when he was just fifteen - was arrested within two weeks.

A media circus ensued, during which Crispo denied any involvement.

LeGeros, son of a United Nations official, was ultimately charged and convicted of the crime, despite claiming he did it at Crispo's behest. Prosecutors would not hear that argument 

LeGeros was handed a life sentence for the 1985 killing - labeled the 'Death Mask Murder' by members of the press - with Crispo still implicated but never charged

His involvement was never established, but LeGeros, the son of a United Nations official, long maintained he forced Vesti to kneel and be shot.

Meanwhile, the murder weapon - a .22-caliber rifle - was found stashed in Crispo's gallery.

Still, Crispo was never called to the stand, but the media storm surrounding him saw another accuser come out of the woodwork - this one claiming that the gallerist and henchman kidnapped and tortured him in 1984.

The case was not tried until 1988, and this time, both LeGeros and Crispo were listed as defendants, while the plaintiff, 26-year-old bartender and NYU film student Mark Leslie claimed he as sexually abused along with four other young men by Crispo on September 20, 1984. 

During trial, Leslie claimed he was drawn into dealer's scandalous web after picking up a ringing public telephone and accepting an anonymous invitation to be chauffeured to a Crispo party to partake in cocaine. 

Proceedings also saw LeGeros stand up Leslie's claims, which included being tortured at Crispo's now-closed gallery. 

Leslie said he was also was threatened with a pistol and a whip, and said he came forward to 'prevent Andrew Crispo from beating, torturing or killing other young men' in the wake of what Leslie called an increase of subtle bias against gay men.

LeGeros is led to the Rockland County court house in New City, N.Y., March 27, 1985

LeGeros (pictured) was paroled in 2019 at age 59, after confessing to cops and prosecutors that he shot Vesti in the head when he was just 23. As of writing, he is a free man

Meanwhile, LeGeros was handed a life sentence for the 1985 killing - labeled the 'Death Mask Murder' by members of the press - with Crispo still implicated but never charged.

In the latter case, Crispo was acquitted, after he successfully convinced a jury the activities that took place the night of Leslie's alleged torture were all consensual.

For a second time, several onlookers - including LeGeros - thought the art dealer had escaped justice. He had faced charges of kidnapping, sodomy, assault, coercion, and unlawful imprisonment, but not a single one stuck.

However, during that trial, even more allegations of wrongdoing on the part of the gallerist surfaced - including tax evasion to the tune of $4 million on some $10 million in income.

The charges, this time, were upheld in court - and five months removed from the murder trial, Crispo was sent to jail for tax evasion.

He served three years of a five year sentence after pleading guilty, finishing the stint in 1989. 

During that span, the IRS seized his impressive art collection, auctioning off each the pieces to pay off the convicted felon's tax obligations.

Days after his release, his home in Southampton blew up in an alleged gas line explosion - an occurrence that saw him awarded $8.6million by a Long Island jury after he sued a local power company on the basis that they put the gas line too close to his house. 

The murder, at the time, shocked the world, while also spreading fear through New York City's gay community. Crispo - who was eventually jailed after threatening to kidnap a little girls - always denied any wrongdoing

He went on to use the fruits of his suit to relocate to South Carolina where he bought a $2million home in Charleston, where he planned to start a new business.

However, after some financial trouble and a bout with bankruptcy in 1996, he was forced to sell the home.

By then, though, he had reclaimed possession of several of the pieces seized by the IRS. Following a fire sale, he was able to raise some $14million.

At the time, in an interview with the Times, he anticipated a comeback with 'the largest sculpture gallery in the world' - this time in The Meatpacking District.

'I do think that I am on the road to a great success,' he told the paper in 1998. 'And I don't think that I will let anyone be disappointed.'

But disappointment reared its ugly head yet again, when the gallerist got in legal trouble the very next year when he threatened to kidnap the four-year-old daughter of an attorney involved in his bankruptcy case.

The threat, officials revealed, came after Crispo had grown frustrated with the lawyer's firm after it delayed sending him a $2,000 check of his own money that they were tasked with overseeing. 

In response, Crispo told the attorney he had photographs of her child at a playground, knew where she lived and would kidnap the young girl if the check did not arrive in a timely manner.

He was quickly convicted for threatening to kidnap or injure a person in 2000,and  sentenced to seven years. He got out in 2005.

During that stint, the magistrate judge, Michael H. Dolinger, refused to allow him out on bond.

'The defendant certainly has had a checkered history up to this point,' the jurist said at the time. '[A]nd there is a sufficient threat of irrational conduct.'

As for his former employee, he was paroled in 2019 at age 59, after confessing to cops and prosecutors that he shot Vesti in the head when he was just 23.

He always maintained it was at Crispo's behest.

Panel members who approved his parole  cited his 'personal growth throughout the years has been demonstrated... by your solid release plans and multiple levels of support as well as your achievements."

The panel members who approved his bid after several attempts, at the time, noted he has not incurred any negative reports since his last hearing in 2016.

As of writing, he is a free man.