Rudy Giuliani is sued by his former lawyer over $1.4m in unpaid legal fees racked up from probes into the ex-NYC mayor’s efforts to keep Donald Trump in the White House

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani has been dealt another blow as his former longtime friend and attorney signed a lawsuit seeking more than $1.4 million in unpaid legal fees.

Robert Costello and his law firm, Davidoff Hutcher & Citron LLP, say Giuliani paid them only $214,000 and still has a $1.36 million bill. Giuliani’s last payment, according to the lawsuit, was $10,000 on September 14 — about a week after Trump hosted a $100,000-a-plate fundraiser for Giuliani at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.

The legal fees are largely related to Giuliani’s efforts to keep Donald Trump in office following his loss in the 2020 presidential election. It was previously reported that Giuliani “begged” Trump to pay his legal bills during a rally at Mar-a-Lago during the summer.

Giuliani told it The New York Times that he was ‘personally hurt’ by Costello’s actions. “It’s a real shame when lawyers do this kind of thing, and all I’m saying is that their bill is way higher than anything even close to legitimate fees,” he added.

The pair first met when Costello was a law student working for Giuliani’s federal prosecutor’s office in Manhattan, where the Brooklyn native earned his reputation by taking down some of the biggest figures in the Big Apple’s criminal underworld.

Giuliani was represented by Robert Costello in matters ranging from investigations into transactions in Ukraine to investigations related to the 2020 election

Costello disputed Giuliani’s claims that he had overbilled and said his complaints about the prices only emerged after the lawsuit was filed.

“He’s a little late to the party, it’s too late for that frivolous claim, as he’ll find out in court,” Costello said.

Costello, a partner at Davidoff Hutcher & Citron, was Giuliani’s attorney from November 2019 to July 2023.

In separate comments at CBS News, Costello said Giuliani has been receiving bills since 2019 and has not paid them.

“I’m sorry he took the bad route here because he feels desperate,” he told the station.

“In violation of the Retainer Agreement, Defendant failed to pay Plaintiffs the balance of $1,360,196.10 of the total amount due even though it was properly demanded,” reads part of the lawsuit.

If the lawsuit is successful, Giuliani will also have to pay the company’s legal fees in filing the lawsuit, in addition to the nearly $1.4 million.

He represented Giuliani in matters ranging from an investigation into his business dealings in Ukraine, which resulted in an FBI raid on his home and office in April 2021, to state and federal investigations into his work in the wake of Trump’s 2020 election loss.

Costello and his firm said in their lawsuit that they also helped represent Giuliani in several civil lawsuits filed against him and in disciplinary proceedings that led to the suspension of his law licenses in Washington, D.C. and New York.

Costello said Giuliani has been receiving bills since 2019 and has not paid them

If the lawsuit is successful, Giuliani will also have to pay the company’s legal fees in filing the lawsuit, in addition to the nearly $1.4 million.

The former mayor isn’t the only Trump loyalist in Costello’s crosshairs; in February, the attorney sued Steve Bannon over unpaid legal bills

The former mayor isn’t the only Trump loyalist in Costello’s crosshairs; in February, the attorney sued Steve Bannon over unpaid legal bills. In that case, a New York judge ordered Trump’s former strategist to pay $500,000.

Giuliani, Trump and 17 others were indicted in Georgia last month, accused by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis of plotting to undermine Joe Biden’s election victory. Giuliani has denied guilt on charges that he acted as Trump’s chief co-conspirator.

Giuliani, who became known for his leadership and was nicknamed “America’s mayor” in the aftermath of September 11, could face a huge financial penalty after a judge last month found him liable in a defamation lawsuit brought by two Georgians. election workers who say he falsely accused them of fraud.

The judge has already ordered Giuliani and his companies to pay more than $130,000 in legal fees for the women.

Giuliani’s son, Andrew, said last week that the Bedminster fundraiser was expected to raise more than $1 million for Giuliani’s legal bills and that Trump had promised to hold a second event later at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida to organise. autumn or early winter.

Meanwhile, Giuliani is trying to raise money in other ways.

In July, he put his Manhattan apartment up for sale for $6.5 million. After his indictment, he directed social media followers to his legal defense fund’s website. To save money, Giuliani has represented himself in some legal disputes.

Last year, a judge threatened Giuliani with prison in a dispute over money he owed to Judith, his third ex-wife. Giuliani said he was making progress on paying the debt, which she said totaled more than $260,000.

In May, a woman who said she worked for Giuliani sued him, alleging he owed her nearly $2 million in unpaid wages and forced her to have sex. Giuliani denied the allegations.