Sleazewire

Here's Inga Saffron's take on the property owner of the collapsed building, from an article in the Inquirer this past December [emphasis added]: "Sam Rappaport's empire of blight once extended clear across Center City's midsection, from the Schuylkill to the Delaware, and beyond. But since his death in 1994, his heirs have shed his holdings, shrinking his domain to an archipelago of surface parking lots and shuttered stores. Some of Rappaport's most notorious architectural victims, such as the Victory and PSFS buildings, have even gone on to lead productive lives again. Much of what does remain of Rappaport's kingdom is now controlled by Richard Basciano, a close friend and business associate who served for a time as executor of his estate. Dubbed "the undisputed king of Times Square porn" by the New York Times - back in those ancient days when Times Square and porn were synonymous - Basciano has hewed faithfully to Rappaport's recipe on real estate: Hold tight onto properties. Invest nothing, even as your buildings crumble in full public view. And wait patiently for the big payday to come along." [the Inquirer]