By Mariel S. Clark
DNAinfo News Editor
MANHATTAN — Anne Bass' former butler has been arrested for breaking into her mansion and allegedly injecting the Manhattan socialite and her boyfriend with liquid he said was a killer virus, according to reports.
Emanuel Nicolescu, 32, has been charged with conspiracy to commit extortion stemming from the April 15, 2007 incident, the Daily News reported.
Prosecutors said Nicolescu and two accomplices broke in to Bass' Kent, Conn. mansion. The allegedly blindfolded and battered Bass and her boyfriend, artist Julian Lethbridge, for 12 hours, according to the News.
Nicolescu and his accomplices, who are still at large, allegedly injected Bass and Lethbridge with a blue liquid they claimed was a "deadly virus" and tried to extort $8.5 million for the antidote, the paper reported.
Bass is the ex-wife of billionaire investor Sid Bass; she received more than $200 million when the couple divorced more than 25 years ago, the New York Post reported at the time of the incident.
Nicolescu had been fired from his position as Bass' butler a few months before the incident, the News reported.
