A billionaire former bond trader is being accused of tormenting his next-door neighbor — by blaring the “Gilligan’s Island” theme song on a loop, according to a report on Monday.
“Bond King” Bill Gross allegedly launched the musical attack in an effort to get his Laguna Beach, Calif., neighbor, tech entrepreneur Mark Towfiq, to drop a complaint against him, The Los Angeles Times reported.
At the center of the complaint was a $1 million outdoor sculpture that Gross, 76, and his girlfriend, former professional tennis player Amy Schwartz, installed outside their mansion.
The 22-foot-long blue glass installation — which stretches nearly 10 feet high and can be lighted at night — was erected in 2019 on the couple’s $32 million property.
But the bitter dispute only started when Gross and his gal-pal installed a large netting structure to protect the artwork from damage — which Towfiq, 56, claimed blocked the view from his own mansion in the ritzy neighborhood, the report said.
The Orange County businessman called the city to file a gripe, and sent Gross a letter July 28 informing him that the netting, lighting and sculpture lacked the proper permits, according to the Times.
Then the squabble escalated, with Towfiq filing a lawsuit alleging the PIMCO founder blasted music at all hours — including the 1960s sitcom theme song — in an effort to force him to drop the complaint.
He claimed the tunes were played even when Gross and Schwartz were not home, “apparently controlling their sound system remotely,” the suit states.
When Towfiq and his wife asked Gross to turn it down, the financier allegedly sent him a text that read “Peace on all fronts or well [sic] just have nightly concerts big boy,” according to an Oct. 15 request for temporary restraining order, which was granted.
“Defendant William Gross is a 76-year-old billionaire used to getting his way no matter what. As proven by their behavior here, Gross and his decades-younger-girlfriend, defendant Amy Schwartz, are bullies,” states the Superior Court lawsuit filed by Towfiq and his wife.
Gross and Schwartz, 51, filed their own lawsuit on Oct. 13, alleging that their well-to-do neighbor had become obsessed with them.
They accused Towfiq of invasion of privacy and “peeping tom behaviors,” including installing cameras directed at their property.
The financial titan claimed Towfiq had a “particular fascination” with him and his girlfriend “particularly when the pair are swimming and thus wearing minimal, if any, clothing,” the lawsuit cited by the Times alleges.
Gross claimed he felt “trapped in my own home” and filed a request for a temporary restraining order, which is pending, according to the report.
A hearing in Towfiq’s legal pursuit is set for Nov. 2.
Meanwhile, Gross — who was once accused of putting dead fish in air vents to get back at his ex-wife — has been given an extension until Nov. 16 to seek the proper permits for the artwork.
Neither agreed to be interviewed by the Times.