Embattled Purdue Pharma exec ordered to stop blocking sale of mansion to fund opioid settlements

Former Purdue Pharma chairman Richard Sackler was ordered stop interfering with the sale of his sprawling Connecticut mansion — as the Sackler family’s $7.4 billion opioid settlement threatens to cost him one of his luxury homes.A federal bankruptcy judge ruled Wednesday that Sackler, 81, and his wife, Lin Gao, lost their bid to keep the estate, which was pledged as collateral to help fund the family’s opioid settlement, according to Reuters.Court documents don’t estimate the home’s value, according to the outlet.But the property in Greenwich is arguably one of the finest estates in town and has a reported municipal assessment of $65.45 million, according to a source familiar with the neighborhood.

The ruling comes as Gao and her children reportedly continue to live in the mansion, complicating efforts to sell both the property and the artwork inside.Located at 60 Field Point Circle, the property spans nearly 10,500 square feet — with six bedrooms and eight bathrooms, according to Zillow.US Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane, presiding over the case in White Plains, rejected the couple’s request to reconsider an earlier ruling that cleared the way for the sale, as well as their bid to put the process on hold.“The persistent fiction that seems to pervade these papers is that this is Dr.Sackler’s house and Lin Gao’s house.

It is not,” Lane said during Wednesday’s hearing, according to Reuters.The judge stopped short of ordering the family to vacate the estate but warned that eviction or other sanctions could be on the table.Lane also noted that Sackler owns four other homes, including his primary residence in Florida.The mansion was previously transferred between two Sackler family trusts to free up funds for a $62 million settlement payment.The legal showdown is the latest chapter in the yearslong fallout from Purdue Pharma’s role in America’s opioid epidemic.Sackler, who previously served as Purdue’s president and chairman, led the pharmaceut...