Broker Slips Out of Friend’s Arms, Jumps to His Death

NEW YORK — A despondent executive of a brokerage firm struggled from a friend’s arms and jumped 10 stories to his death, police said today.

Robert Loeb, 56, a vice president and shareholder of the brokerage and investment firm of Kidder, Peabody & Co., fell to the sidewalk in front of his home on East 91st Street on Tuesday, police said.

They said Loeb’s companion, New York Times reporter Geraldine Fabrikant, struggled with him in a frantic attempt to prevent him from jumping from his apartment.

“She was screaming for him not to jump,” said George Kaloges, owner of the Jackson Hole restaurant across the street. “She held him by the waist. Her grip slipped to his wrists, then he slipped completely away.”