Property broker who met Tom Cruises rep says no villa in Malta costs 12 million
12 million villa for Tom Cruise - truly a 'mission impossible' says property broker who met Alessandro Proto.
Matthew Vella
Additional reporting by Teodor Reljic.
The real estate agent who met Italian financier Alessandro Proto - who has told MaltaToday he is still representing Hollywood star Tom Cruise in the search for a villa in the nondescript town of San Gwann - says there is no villa in Malta that costs 12 million.
MaltaToday spoke to the Dhalia property broker soon after his name was dropped by Alessandro Proto, the self-styled 'property broker to the stars' who contacted MaltaToday after carrying the denial by Cruise's publicists that the star was searching for a Maltese villa.
"I have met Alessandro Proto twice, once in July and recently... but in the last month he has been unreachable, and I have both his mobile phone numbers. Even his assistant has disappeared," the broker said, who apparently was also searching for Brad Pitt's new residence on the island with Proto.
It is understood that Proto has been in touch with other estate agents.
But the Dhalia agent has ruled out the existence of a 12 million villa. "There is no such thing," he told MaltaToday.
And he equally expressed doubts over the credentials of Alessandro Proto, 37, whose Lugano firm Alessandro Proto Consulting claims to represent American property mogul Donald Trump.
"I'm having my doubts... he's not answering my phone-calls or emails. There's a big question mark. I did have a good rapport with him but suddenly there's been no communication."
While Dhalia's broker struggles to find a window to discuss Tom Cruise's ten! nis cour t-sized living room, Proto himself got in touch with MaltaToday earlier this morning to claim the denials by 42 West, Cruise's publicists, are a tad misinformed.
"You see, the people you spoke to... who are they?"
MaltaToday: "Who are you referring to?"
Proto: "The publicists..."
MaltaToday: "42 West?"
Proto: "Yes... the thing is 42 West are Tom Cruise's reps on certain matters. I, on the other hand, have my direct contacts to Cruise through other entities."
But Proto would not tell MaltaToday who these intermediaries were when asked whether this newspaper could verify their existence. "I cannot tell you. You know what this business is like... we have never had any problems on these deals."
Proto also insisted that he sent a dozen listings of luxury properties to Tom Cruise, who allegedly found one to be suitable - located in the environs of San Gwann and costing 12 million. "It's in the vicinity of San Gwann. You know how small Malta is, everybody knows everyone."
READ Tom Cruise publicist denies house-hunt
Alessandro Proto (right) self-styled property broker to the stars
Asked whether the star had expressed the desire to buy a house in Malta, 42 West, the New York-based agency denied the claim. "It is not true," Patricia Holdstein, assistant publicist at 42 West, told MaltaToday on the phone.
A further email, asking her to confirm whether the star had employed Alessandro Proto Consulting to search for the 12 million pad, was answered with some more clarity: "It is NOT TRUE," Holdstein wrote.
A report published in The Times back in December 2011 stated that Cruise was on the lookout for a property in Malta after he paid a 'secret visit' to his friend, the fellow actor and producer Brad Pitt, while the latter was shooting World War Z on our shores last year.
Then, a more recent report - published on 29 February - claimed that the Top Gun star was eyeing a San Gwann property that supposedly belonged to one of the most "prominent families" in Malta. Altogether the 12 million villa has eight bedrooms, six bathrooms, an indoor and an outdoor pool, a gym and a private cinema. It also has a living room the size of a tennis court.
The web is awash with Alessandro Proto's name as it accompanies the names of stars like Mel Gibson, Cruise, Madonna, Jude Law, Matt Damon, Johnny Depp and George Clooney, all house-hunting in Italy with his assistance.
In comments to MaltaToday, Proto insisted that he had never stated that he sold Depp a property in Venice: "What's true is that while he spent eight months in Venice filming The Tourist, he saw three palazzi and expressed his interest in buying one. The story is not that he bought the house, but that he had seen it."
But it was Depp who putan end to therumours that hewas negotiating the acquisitionof a palacein Venice withthereal estate company: "There isnothing goodthat cancome out ofthat water."
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