Olympic Luger Accused of Owning $300K Back Rent at Manhattan Luxury

A former Olympic athlete faces accusations of squatting inside a high-end Manhattan building where stars like Jon Bon Jovi and Ben Stiller have lived. Erica Terwillegar competed for Team USA as a luger during the 1988 and 1992 Winter Olympics. She currently shares an apartment at 150 Charles Street in the West Village with her husband, Peter Molinari. The couple reportedly stayed past their August 2025 lease term by more than a year. Their monthly rent comes to $26,000.

Wellness instructor Cathy Crane and her husband Salvatore Trentalancia own the unit. They filed a lawsuit that became public through reports from the Daily Mail. The owners say the Terwillegars and Molinari owe over $300,000 in back rent and utility bills for the luxury two-bedroom condo with 2½ baths. This is a furnished space inside one of the priciest complexes in New York City.

The tenants deny owing that sum. They claim they renewed their lease last year and attempted to make payments but were allegedly blocked by the landlords. Their counter-complaint paints a very different picture of the living conditions. When the couple moved into the apartment in September 2024, they say it was dirty. Cupboards reportedly overflowed with the owners' items like clothes, documents, and loofahs. There simply was no room left for their own belongings.

Salvatore Trentalancia, who is 67 years old, told reporters on Thursday that he refuses to accept these claims. He called them lies designed to hold the apartment hostage. We have been living this nightmare for a year or more, Trentalancia said. He emphasized that they currently have no access to their own place and added that it's crazy s***.

The owners say the situation has gone on too long. We can't get in, we can't check how it is, Terwillegar stated. Hopefully my apartment is fine, she added, noting she has no idea what condition her home is actually in because they are not paying rent. She insisted that reports of clutter and dirt were false. Yes, there is some of our stuff in there, she explained. The apartment was rented furnished after all, so documents remain in a closet. That is all.

Trentalancia argued this was never a problem before. These people are completely crazy, he said. They made out like we left a mess there when it's not true. He noted that the tenants knew exactly what items were left behind during previous walk-throughs of the apartment.

The owners also allege the couple is blocking a multimillion-dollar sale. Prospective buyers cannot view the premises because the tenants refuse them access. Crane stated in the complaint that she has been unable to get in to show the place. She added that the tenants have even made the incredible claim that they have the right to purchase the premises themselves.

Crane had lived there since 2015 before moving to Denver, Colorado with her husband in 2023 to care for her mother. The Terwillegars and Molinari say their rental unit is far worse than Section 8 housing despite the high price tag. They insist the current situation is a form of eviction by other means.

Tenants deny it all. They say they never squatted and have followed every rule laid out in their lease agreements. Terwillegar insists she renewed the contract and has paid her dues ever since signing up. Her legal filing paints her and her husband as victims of landlords who refuse to be reasonable. The building at 150 Charles Street is no ordinary place. It houses former residents like Ben Stiller, Jon Bon Jovi, and model Irina Shayk. A redbud tree-lined courtyard sits outside, while a pool designed for seventy-five laps waits inside. West-facing rooms offer sweeping views of the Hudson River. In March 2025, a duplex unit in this same complex sold for $60 million, setting a new record for downtown sales according to the New York Times.

The owners want money back. They seek at least $327,600 for the use of their apartment after the lease ended. They also demand a minimum of $30,000 for unpaid utilities and $6.75 million for the sale price they claim to have lost. Attorney Colleen Kerwick fights these demands on behalf of the former Olympian. She states clearly that her clients paid rent on time and in full whenever due. Terwillegar argues she did renew the lease and kept every term intact. Her lawsuit accuses the owners of violating the sanctity and security of an American Olympian's home. It claims they treated her like an unpaid house-sitter for a place they refused to hand over.

Molinari filed his own suit with similar grievances. He alleges the apartment violated his privacy and peace of mind due to its condition and the items left behind. The counter-claims list broken appliances, including mechanized window blinds in the master bedroom, a failing Sub-Zero fridge, and bathroom faucets that do not work. They also say they were expected to pay for a housekeeper. 'It's been horrible living there,' Molinari told Curbed. He added that this situation is not normal, even if one lives in Section 8 housing. Yet he admitted dreaming of living at 150 Charles since 2013. Despite the alleged problems, he did not want to give it up. 'Once I got into 150 Charles,' he said. 'I wasn't leaving.' Molinari also told the Daily Mail that his wife faces death threats now that she is called a squatter. The dispute highlights how regulations and government directives can affect everyday lives when ownership lines get blurred in high-stakes real estate battles.

This whole squatter thing is a lie," he said.

His landlord, Trentalancia, told the Daily Mail that his tenants have a history of litigious battles with landlords. The couple allegedly refused to vacate their previous home in the same neighborhood when the lease for the two-bedroom apartment with a monthly rent of $11,000 expired. Former Christie's executive Diane Upright ended the lease in 2022 after deciding to sell the property and gave the couple nine months notice.

When the couple allegedly refused to leave, Upright sued for possession and damages, according to a legal complaint. The couple hit back with a counter-claim asserting that they had been negotiating to buy the apartment from Upright and entered a rolling month-by-month tenancy with additional rent. Litigation over the rent ended in August 2024 following an undisclosed settlement.

Crane and Trentalancia accused the tenants in a statement to Curbed of being 'career litigants who have made similar, if not identical, disparaging claims about other condominium properties they have rented'. Trentalancia told the Daily Mail he hopes to secure a win over the couple in court so that they cannot continue to live rent-free in other apartments. 'I hope nobody has to deal with them again', he said.

Attorney Colleen Kerwick, who is representing Terwillegar and Molinari, told the Daily Mail that the accusations against her clients are untrue. 'My clients paid their rent on time and in full at all relevant times,' she said. 'They also paid and overpaid additional rent.' Readers should also know that in the Housing Court proceeding, the owners have never moved for an order requiring use-and-occupancy payments, which is the step an owner would ordinarily take if it were not being paid.

Their trial is slated to be heard in New York City on December 1. Terwillegar was a Team USA luger in the 1988 and 1992 Winter Olympics.