THIS IS THE T*** THAT WANTS TO BUY OUR CLUB

Last updated : 24 October 2004 By Editor

From the Supersoaraway (Yes we know, but this is something we were aware of too)

The tycoon hell-bent on buying Manchester United has made millions out of America's desperately poor trailer park families.

And a Sun investigation on the eve of the clash of the giants between Man U and Arsenal has revealed members of his own family despise him for his money-grabbing ways.

Florida-based property multi-millionaire Malcolm Glazer has been branded a hard-hearted miser by his family and hard-up tenants who claim they were forced to pay illegal fees on his mobile home parks.

The recluse is determined to own United, recently increasing his stake to £210m.

He now owns 28.11 per cent of the club and is poised for a takeover bid.

But his sister and brother-in-law urged United fans: "Don't let him near your club." No one he’s ever worked with has a good word to say about him. He can appear charming but it’s all a front

- HIS SISTER

A US judge reviewing his business practices has also branded him "a snake in sheep's clothing."

New York-born Glazer, 76, is dubbed "The Leprechaun" by enemies because of his short stature, bushy ginger beard and trousers pulled up too high on his body.

But he controls vast real estate and business holdings valued at an estimated £636million.

He was the fifth of seven children born to Russian Jew Abraham Glazer, who came to America aged 19 seeking his fortune.

When Abraham died in 1943, leaving just £300, Malcolm took over his watch repair business and assumed the role of head of the family.



Trailer of misery ... an old Glazer trailer park in New York
Picture: SPLASH


And when Malcolm's mother Hannah passed away in 1980 with an estate worth £415,000, super-rich Glazer launched a legal bid to prevent his brother and five sisters getting a share of the business - despite having made his fortune.

The fight has dragged on for an amazing 24 years.

One sister, who The Sun has agreed not to name, said: "When his mother died he wanted to make sure he got every single cent of the inheritance as he believed he was the one who made a success of the business.

"The family were all so close but he just made mincemeat of them all.

"He made sure they ended up with virtually nothing. He would rather have spent the money on court fees than give them a cent. It was incredibly mean, but also incredibly sad. That man should not be in charge of Manchester United. He is only interested in one thing - the dollar

- HIS EX-TENANT

"People in Britain should be very wary of him. I don't think he is fit to own such a famous and historic club as Manchester United. If he gets his hands on it the only one who will benefit is Malcolm.

"No one he has ever worked with has a good word to say about him. He can appear very charming but it's all a front."

Within five years of taking on his father's business Glazer had the capital to start buying property.

By the 1960s, he had diversified into banking and his tenant groups started complaining about his rents and upkeep.

In the 1970s he bought up nursing homes and TV stations.

He made much of his money from thousands of tenants who lived on his ten vast mobile home parks.

But after his mother's death, he was furious that her will appointed his oldest sister Rosalind Klein, now 85, as executor and split her legacy between her family.



Sign of trouble ... greeting for visitors at one of the parks
Picture: SPLASH


At one point in the court case, with the judge out of the room, the stenographer recorded Glazer telling his lawyer: "We have to keep going until there is no money in this estate."

The case has outlived two of his sisters. Last night his brother-in-law Morris Krovetz said: "Malcolm Glazer is not a man - he's an animal.

"He's done so much damage to the family that it pains me to even mention his name. As far as I'm concerned he no longer exists."

Mr Krovetz, who was married to Glazer's sister Evelyn, blames his brother-in-law for destroying his wife's life. Malcolm Glazer is not a man - he’s an animal. He’s done so much damage to the family that it pains me to even mention his name

- HIS BROTHER-IN-LAW

Evelyn died seven years ago, having not spoken to her brother for 15 years.

Glazer, disowned by his own family, has courted controversy at every stage of his life.

Despite the high profile of his American football club, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the father of six remains secretive and reclusive.

At his East Avenue and Forest Lawn mobile home parks in Rochester, New York, residents complained constantly about the poor conditions he kept them in.

The tenants, many old and poor, formed a pressure group to fight him.

Lawyer Paul Marasco, who represented them in a successful lawsuit against Glazer, said: "He was charging tenants extra for having pets and even having babies.

"It was all against the law but he still fought it every inch of the way. We thought what he was doing was wrong so took him on and the courts vindicated our fight. I'm glad we won and a lot of people got some money back."



Glazer's goal ... the tycoon has set his sights on Man Utd


Former shopkeeper Chester Wilday, 83, who lives in the Forest Lawn mobile home park in Penfield, Rochester, also believes Glazer is bad news for Man Utd.

He said: "That man should not be allowed in charge of the club. He is only interested in one thing - the dollar sign."

Today parts of the trailer parks resemble waste dumps - with rusting toys and discarded rubbish littering the cramped space between lots.

Many mobile homes are boarded up and have become a magnet for drug users, residents say.

Glazer's company, First Allied, sold seven Rochester mobile home parks in April this year. Glazer is a snake in sheep’s clothing

- JUDGE TERENCE EVANS

A prime example of his business tactics was his corporate raid on Harley-Davidson in 1991.

When the motorcycle maker was struggling, Glazer used his stockholding to air his complaints about management and threaten a hostile takeover.

It drove up the share price - and just as analysts were predicting Glazer to make a fully-fledged takeover, he quietly sold his entire shareholding and walked away with the profits.

At a court hearing into the affair, Judge Terence Evans likened Glazer to "a snake in sheep's clothing".

The tycoon has now put his two homes in Palm Beach, Florida, on the market for a total of £27million, a move which would help raise cash for his United bid.

Now Manchester United fans have a battle to keep the snake from slipping under the boardroom door.