


Now it’s the Friars getting roasted.
The embattled Friar’s Club owes its former executive director — whom it once sued for embezzlement — nearly $2 million, according to court papers.
Michael Gyure contends he “performed his work duties so well” the club repeatedly extended his contract before firing him in April 2020 — prompting him to drag them to arbitration, he said in a new Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit.
On Aug. 17, an arbitrator awarded Gyure $1.68 million in unpaid income, pension, severance payments, along with attorney fees and court costs after a three-year battle, Gyure said in a Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit.
The proceeding was dragged out as the Friars’ “engaged in a series of tactics to delay the arbitration,” including switching attorneys and refusing to produce witnesses, Gyure contends.
The historic club was once overseen by talk show legend Larry King, and is renowned for its celebrity roasts. It’s where Henny Youngman, Milton Berle and Frank Sinatra would hold court — but a flood, and the coronavirus pandemic, closed the legendary spot for more than a year before it reopened in 2021.
The Friars Club stuck with Gyure despite a host of ups and downs: years of financial trouble; a 2017 raid of its 55th Street clubhouse by the FBI; even giving him a new contract after his 2019 guilty plea for filing false tax returns and failing to disclose $433,000 in income.
In February 2022, the Friars sued Gyure, demanding $2.3 million in damages and accusing him of costing them money by secretly owning an entertainment company while leading their operation.
Gyure allegedly signed over the right to the use the Friars name “in perpetuity” to that business without the club’s knowledge or permission, the club said in court papers.
The case was later dropped.
Reps for the Friars didn’t respond to messages seeking comment.