A 'FIRE' SALE
APENTHOUSE at the Sherry-Netherland, 781 Fifth Ave., is now a crime scene following the arrest of accused fraudster Guo Wengui (above) inside the apartment on Wednesday — and a suspicious fire that may have been triggered remotely while FBI agents were still inside, even after Guo was carted out in handcuffs. Guo, an exiled Chinese national, was charged this week with running a fraud scheme and using the proceeds to buy, in part, a $26.5 million New Jersey mansion. The penthouse, which has been tied to Guo since 2015 — and most recently asked $32.5 million for sale — suffered terrible damage during the blaze, sources say. But we hear buyers are still interested in calling it their own. “A smart buyer could pick it up in the low $20s,” one top broker told Gimme Shelter, meaning the low-$20 million range. However, a listing update shows the property, whose 2015 purchase Guo negotiated for $67.5 million, was taken off the market on Friday. Serena Boardman , of Sotheby’s International Realty, held the listing and didn’t return calls seeking comment at press time. The brokerage declined to comment on the listing. Still, building insiders say more than one buyer has expressed interest hoping to get a lower price for the home — due, in part, to legal issues and damage from the Wednesday fire. The penthouse has gone on and off the market since the year of its purchase, when Guo tried flipping it for $86 million. In February 2022, Guo filed for personal bankruptcy protection in Connecticut after amassing more than $500 million in debt. Guo claims his children own the apartment and that any profits from its sale cannot be used to pay off creditors. City co-op boards don’t normally allow unknown foreign nationals, no matter how rich, to buy in. But Guo had a secret weapon: a recommendation letter from former British prime minister Tony Blair, who often dined at the apartment. “He wouldn’t have gotten in without that letter. Nobody knew who he was,” said one source familiar with the deal.