The former business manager for Simca automobile heir Jean “Johnny” Pigozzi says his “abusive” boss fired him after he confronted him about tax fraud.
Peter Sung says in his new Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit that he worked for Pigozzi — a photographer, art collector and investor — for 2 ¹/₂ years starting in 2015 managing his finances out of the car scion’s Upper West Side triplex.
During that time, a “demanding” Pigozzi ran Sung into the ground, calling at all hours, the suit says.
Sung — whose “health began to deteriorate because of the conditions at work” — says he landed in the hospital January 2018 with acute pancreatitis but during his recovery Pigozzi “continued to harass him,” the lawsuit charges.
By March 2018, a fed-up Sung, who for the past year had started to see patterns of possible tax evasion by Pigozzi, confronted him in an email and was fired the next day, the court papers allege.
Sung, who was being paid $225,000 a year at the time, alleges that Pigozzi set up “shell businesses,” to cheat his taxes on New York companies, according to the court papers.
“Mr. Pigozzi viewed himself as being above the law with respect to his tax obligations and his treatment of his employees: he openly ignored professional advice concerning numerous tax obligations, and demanded that his employees, including Mr. Sung, be available to him 24/7, even when in the hospital,” the lawsuit charges.
The suit also names Pigozzi’s company as a defendant.
Pigozzi — known for his jet-setting lifestyle and who has an art collection boasting some 10,000 pieces — sold his 1 W. 67th St. Hotel des Artistes penthouse triplex earlier this month.
A lawyer for Pigozzi, Errol Margolin, said he intends to ask a judge to dismiss the case, adding that Sung is a “former disgruntled employee.”
“Mr. Sung was given every opportunity to succeed at Mr. Pigozzi’s company and he failed at every opportunity. His accusation that Mr. Pigozzi failed to pay company taxes is baseless and is categorically denied,” Margolin said.