Martha Stewart Condo Fees In Arrears

DECEMBER 18--Martha Stewart has failed to pay nearly $40,000 in monthly maintenance charges on her swanky Manhattan condominium, forcing the building's management last month to file a lien against the homemaking guru, The Smoking Gun has learned. According to documents filed November 18 with New York City's Department of Finance, Stewart has not paid her West Village pad's monthly common charges from February through October of this year. According to the lien, a copy of which you'll find below, the 62-year-old multimillionaire is supposed to pay $4304.14 monthly to the board of managers of the West Perry Condominium, architect Richard Meier's striking glass-box buildings across from the Hudson River. In addition to the unpaid common charges, building management wants Stewart to pay its legal fees and other expenses incurred in connection with the lien. Stewart paid $6.16 million for her duplex penthouse, which covers 3258-square-feet and also has a large terrace. While TSG usually makes it a point to pay its rent, Martha's been a bit preoccupied of late, what with her June indictment and a criminal investigation that has swirled for more than a year. Or maybe she's just misplaced her checkbook. (4 pages)

12/19 UPDATE: Shortly after TSG disclosed the Stewart lien, her spokesperson told reporters that the domestic diva paid off her debt "in the last couple of days." Despite that claim, city records do not show that the lien has been satisfied or removed. (4 pages)