A FORMER Greek Cypriot classmate of Thanos Papalexis said yesterday he was shocked to hear of the Greek property dealer’s arrest in connection with the gruesome murder of a Greek Cypriot man in London in 2000.
Speaking from London, the former classmate said: “When I first read about his arrest I was shocked. I’d heard he moved to the US through another former classmate I’m still in touch with.”
“I remember Thanos well, as he was in many of my classes, such as French and Business Studies. I wouldn’t classify him as a friend but sometimes we used to talk outside class because of the Greek connection.”
Papalexis, 36, was arrested in Florida on Friday in connection with the killing of Charalambos Christodoulides, 57, who was badly beaten and strangled in Kilburn. He is awaiting extradition back to the UK following his arrest at a pizza parlour where he was having lunch with a friend.
Two men have already been charged in the UK in connection with the killing. Ylli Xhelo, 34, and Robert Baxhija, 28, are due to stand trial on March 2 next year.
Police had found three sets of footprints at the scene where Christodoulides had been tied to a chair and badly beaten before being strangled. His body had subsequently been doused with paint stripper and was found wrapped in a sheet hidden in a pit at the disused wine factory where he worked as a live-in caretaker.
Christodoulides, who was born in Cyprus but lived most of his life in the UK, was said to have been a bit of a loner. Every night, he would put on his best clothes and designer shoes and sit at various restaurants around Leicester Square until the early hours.
He had been reported missing by his sister Anna Lanitis, who had last spoken to him on March 8, 2000. Two days later, he had not shown up to collect his winnings from a betting shop, where he was a regular, and was reported missing. His body was found ten days later.
British police told reporters the room where Christodoulides was killed “would have been a bloodbath”, but the killers had cleaned up. Remaining blood evidence suggested the victim was first attacked on a yacht parked in the yard of the warehouse. The evidence indicated he was then dragged upstairs and tied to the chair where he was brutally beaten. Police believe he was strangled in the same room.
Papalexis, the British-born son of a Greek shipping tycoon, is accused of hiring the other two men to kill Christodoulides because he refused to move from the warehouse, holding up a property deal, which was costing Papalexis £60,000 a week in bridging costs to a loan shark.
US attorney Marie Villafaqa, representing the British government in the extradition proceedings, said in documents handed to US authorities that: “As the property transaction was delayed, Papalexis’ expected profit was diminishing.”
According to reports, Papalexis was known around Palm Beach “as a flamboyant businessman who drove a Bentley and threw lavish parties for powerful guests in his rented 5,700 square-foot mansion”.
They said Bill Clinton attended a fundraiser there in January on behalf of his wife, Hillary, during her Presidential campaign.
“Being the son of a shipping tycoon, Thanos always had an air of being spoilt about him and he thought he was a bit of a ladies’ man,” said the former classmate. “Academically, he was not especially bright. His grades were average. He always seemed to be more interested in having a good time.”
Papalexis is the CEO of the Siseman Corporation, a company which develops luxury properties on Palm Beach island. He regularly appeared on the society pages of local newspapers. But according to the New York Times, the owner of the property, Michael Cantor, complained that Papalexis had failed to pay his own rent on time.
One American newspaper said that a year ago, a circuit judge issued a $350,000 judgment against him after he was sued by a man over the membership fee to an exclusive Miami club known as Privee.
“Papalexis was accused of leaving a trail of creditors after the collapse of Privee, which charged members hundreds of thousands of dollars for access to luxury amenities such as yachts, jets and five-star resorts,” Florida’s Sun Sentinel said.
