"We're looking at the other assessments," he states, "and we'll make a determination in the next three or four weeks about adding" buildings to the suit. But Trump stopped short of naming specific addresses. So far, the suit seeks to claim damages on the "ridiculously high" assessments at Trump's 72-story World Tower. "I was forced to sell those apartments with an artificially high tax on those units because the city didn't negotiate the tax to what it should have been due to the scandal. And there was nobody left to cut the assessments because they were all in jail." Trump says the 376-unit East Side tower is currently 81% sold out.

The developer's claim is that assessors hiked taxes at his property--forcing his prices up--in order to compensate for illegal breaks they gave other building owners around town. According to published records, assessors took some $10 million in bribes to lower assessments on a variety of city assets. Earlier this year, some 15 people pleaded guilty to the charges.

Not everyone in the local industry fully embraces Trump's lawsuit. "It sounds totally frivolous," Steven Spinola, president of the Real Estate Board of New York, tells GlobeSt.com. "There is a normal process for filing appeals on your property; you go to the tax commission and make an appeal. I don't believe any owner who has professionals looking at their assessments would know right away if they were over-assessed and not challenge it" at the appeals level. Spinola also voiced doubt that there is enough "evidence to prove his claims."