Housekeeper of billionaire Warren Stephens spent weekend from hell stuck in lift at his Manhattan home
- Warren Stephens was away with his family over the weekend, leaving 53-year-old housekeeper Marites Fortaliza alone in the town house
- She entered the lift on Friday evening and got stuck
A housekeeper who was trapped in a malfunctioning lift in a Manhattan town house for an entire weekend said she doesn’t plan to sue the billionaire she works for.
Marites Fortaliza, who said she was recovering at her sister’s home in New Jersey, called a neighbour in Queens Tuesday and asked him to relay a message to reporters camped outside her door.
“She says she has no intention to sue her boss,” said the neighbour, who declined to give his name, after speaking to Fortaliza, 53.
“She says they treat her very good. She says she’s still with her sister and will be back in a week.”
Fortaliza is the long-time housekeeper of investment banker Warren Stephens and his wife Harriet, who own the four-storey brick town house on East 65th Street in Manhattan where she was trapped.
He has an estimated net worth of US$2.6 billion.
“She says she’s doing fine,” Fortaliza’s neighbour told reporters.
“She’s OK … It’s shocking for everyone involved.”
Fortaliza was caught in the stuck lift from Friday evening until about 10:10am Monday when she was discovered by the Stephens’ daughter.
Stephens was away with his family over the weekend, leaving Fortaliza alone in the town house. She entered the lift on Friday evening and got stuck.
Firefighters forced open the lift, which was lodged between the second and third floors.
Authorities said she was dehydrated.
A city building inspector then slapped the billionaire couple with a violation for failure to maintain the lift.
Stephens is a billionaire investor from Arkansas, who poured millions in 2016 into groups fighting to keep Donald Trump from becoming president.
In a statement, a spokesman for Stephens on Monday called Fortaliza “a valued member of the Stephens extended family for 19 years”.
“The Stephens family is relieved and thankful that she is doing well in the hospital. The cause of this unfortunate incident is being investigated and appropriate measures will be taken to ensure that something like this never happens again,” the spokesperson said.
Tribune News Service, The Guardian