Linda Macklowe’s lawyer calls her soon-to-be ex a ‘shyster’

Metropolitan Museum of Art trustee Linda Macklowe’s attorney blasted her estranged billionaire-developer husband as an untrustworthy, “slick … shyster” in a legal battle over a $14 million apartment.

“I think, generally speaking, some people might perceive that as derogatory,” Manhattan Supreme Court Justice David Cohen responded as the nasty divorce battle offshoot continued to rage in court Monday.

Linda Macklowe, 79, is suing the sponsor of 432 Park Ave., the 96-story tower built by her husband Harry Macklowe, 80.

The sponsor is pushing Linda Macklowe to close on the 78th floor unit while her $2 billion divorce is still pending.

She wants to delay the closing, scheduled for Friday, arguing that her soon-to-be ex husband filed Dept. of Building plans to demolish the interior of the three bedroom pad she was in contract to purchase.

But the sponsor’s lawyer, Ronald Greenberg, said they were contingency plans that would be used only if Linda Macklowe decided not to close.

Her attorney, Adam Leitman Bailey, told the judge that Harry Macklowe “is not a man who can be trusted at his word,” citing a 1985 incident when he illegally demolishing four midtown buildings.

Bailey continued that his client “is in fear because [Harry Macklowe] is so slick and I’m not going to use other words because they’re not appropriate for a court.”

After a short pause he said, “The word shyster comes up.”

That’s when the judge rebuked Bailey and told him that the remark was derogatory.

Judge Cohen than delivered another hit, telling Bailey that Linda Macklowe had to either purchase the $14 million apartment or walk away from it.

“I fail to see any irreparable harm in requiring Mrs. Macklowe to do what she’s required to do under the contract,” the judge said.

The Manhattan power couple are in the midst of a months-long divorce trial over their estimated $2 billion fortune.

Earlier this year Harry Macklowe made a string of Borscht Belt-style “Take my wife– please” jokes outside court while claiming he’d offered Linda Macklowe half his net worth to go away.