After a long struggle to get repaid the $5,000 he loaned to Details fashion director Michael Macko almost two years ago, TV personality and fashion guru Robert Verdi has won a court judgment ordering Macko to pay up.
In January 2008, when Macko was working in public relations for Saks Fifth Avenue, a source says “Michael came to Robert as a friend and said he was in need. Robert obliged and wrote a $5,000 check with the understanding that Michael would repay him when he got his new job at Condé Nast.”
Our source said Macko, hired by Details in June 2008, never contacted Verdi about repaying him: “Almost a year went by before Robert finally asked him for the money.”
By December 2008 — after Verdi got word that Macko was allegedly taking lavish trips and buying new furniture for his apartment — a business manager for Robert Verdi Inc. contacted Macko about repaying the loan.
Macko responded via e-mail, “Trust me, if I had the money, I would pay him back.” Macko finally agreed to pay him $500 a month until the loan was paid off.
But “Michael made only one payment of $500 for the month of January and then stopped,” said our source. “Every time they tried to contact him, there was no response.”
Verdi filed against Macko in small-claims court last month. When Macko didn’t show up, he was ordered to pay Verdi $4,500 plus interest and court costs.
“Michael’s accounts are frozen until Robert gets his money back,” the source says.
Another friend of Verdi told us, “This is not about $5,000, it’s about the principle. Michael makes $200,000 a year as an editor at Condé Nast and he doesn’t have $5,000? He never even called to explain or apologize.”
Verdi’s lawyer said, “It is our hope that Michael Macko will honor the judgment of the court and pay the debt which he has admitted to owing.” Macko had no comment.