When Nydia Neubauer arrived on the social scene in the early aughts claiming to be a millionairess who wanted to to give a lot of money to charity, people could tell there was something off about her. ”She was kind of halfway there with her look,” image consultant Montgomery Frazier sniffed to the Times in 2002, after it had become clear that the woman was not a millionairess at all but a grifter whose actual name was Nydia Vegas Reeves. “She’d wear beige silk Shantung with appropriate jewelry, but then she’d wear a sheer black camisole. And she’d mention she had been sitting next to Astor Brooke at a soirée when she really meant Brooke Astor. Somehow she always got her name wrong. If you’re aiming to social-climb, that’s one name you need to get right.” Now, after eight years, Vegas Reeves has come back to town. Alas, her look is still a tiny bit off.
A source at the Alex Hotel told the Post:
“When Nydia arrived, the bellmen carried in two mink coats, followed by expensive luggage, followed by a green velvet urn containing her husbands ashes, followed by two little dogs.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t pay the bills and was soon forced to leave the hotel. “She said something about going to stay with nuns,” reports the Post’s source. Which is a good call. Nuns are pretty much the only people who won’t judge you for carrying around an urn.
Con lady’s weird hotel stay [Page Six/NYP]
Related: THE WAY WE LIVE NOW: 10-6-02: ORAL HISTORY; Putting On Airs [NYT]
