A bellboy who took Liam Payne a courtesy platter of fruit shortly after he checked into the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires also told bosses the artist had insulted him after asking him whether he could get him cocaine

In a new bombshell report, a senior hotel employee has claimed that Liam Payne, who tragically died after falling from a hotel balcony, frequently called the hotel reception asking for alcohol “all the time” and inquiring where to get cocaine.

A bellboy at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires alleged that after he delivered a fruit platter to the singer’s room, Liam insulted him for declining to help him obtain drugs. Chief receptionist Esteban Grassi, who is now under formal investigation with four other suspects amidst an ongoing court probe, dialed 999 for urgent medical assistance before Liam’s fatal fall, which was fueled by alcohol and drugs. Esteemed Argentinian news source Todo Noticias exposed WhatsApp messages purporting to show exchanges submitted to court investigators by Grassi, who was one of three men seen carrying Liam back to his room just before his death.

In a message said to be from Santiago Benitez, identified as Bellboy AM, it read: “Hello Esteban how are you? Sorry for bothering you but I wanted to let you know about a little situation I had with the person in room 310. When I went to hand him a guest amenity and welcome him to the hotel and Argentina, he invited me into his room (which was a complete mess) and asked me if I could get him cocaine.”

The bellboy reportedly stated: “I told him, ‘I’m sorry sir, but neither I or any other staff can help you with that type of service’ to which he replied that I was useless and told me to get out of his sight. I felt a bit threatened because he didn’t behave very politely.”

Liam Payne’s funeral was in November ( 
Image:
Getty Images)
The message continued, referencing head of security Gilda Martin: “I’m going to tell Gilda this too so you’re both aware and there’s no misunderstandings in case this man mentions my name again at some point in his stay, because he asked me what my name was. I’m just telling you and Gilda this.”

Mr. Grassi attempted to reassure the junior hotel worker, telling him “not to worry” about Liam’s comments. Mr. Grassi also shared with investigators that during Liam’s stay at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, “I understand he was more active at night, that he ran reception repeatedly to ask for alcohol all the time and ask where he could get drugs, specifically cocaine.”

Additionally, Mr. Grassi claimed to have acted as a translator for the two female escorts Liam spent time with before his death, as they didn’t speak English and Liam didn’t speak Spanish.

Mr. Grassi confirmed earlier reports that the former One Direction singer requested $300 and alcohol when they visited his room, stating: “Liam asked me to act as translator.”

He continued, “That’s when they tell me he had to pay them but they didn’t specify why. ” He added, “They told me he owed them $5,000 but it seemed strange to me because he had asked me previously for $300 and although I’m not an expert about these things, the amount of money they were asking for seemed a bit excessive to me.”

Screenshots of WhatsApp messages exchanged with one of the women, allegedly from Liam’s phone, were also published by Todo Noticias. The news portal identified the mobile phone user as Liam, who sent a link to his Instagram in an initial message and asked ‘Wanna play’ before adding after making a video call that wasn’t picked up: “I have all day, I’d gift you $5,000.”

The recipient of the messages sent back a Whatsapp location and wrote ‘Are you coming?

‘ but received the reply: “You come to my hotel, we party, just me and u.’ After sending a voice message, the man Todo Noticias identified as Liam wrote, ‘Do you want to bring her? in an apparent reference to the second female escort, and added: “Casa Sur, I’m just gunna clean my room.

“Hello Esteban how are you? Sorry for bothering you but I wanted to let you know about a little situation I had with the person in room 310. When I went to hand him a guest amenity and welcome him to the hotel and Argentina, he invited me into his room (which was a complete mess) and asked me if I could get him cocaine.”

The Whatsapp conversation revealed that the woman had requested “5,000 US dollars both” to which a man named Liam responded: ‘Hmmm. That’s a lot huh, let’s discuss’ but then agreed with an ‘Ok’ and mentioned a bank transfer after the other person stated: ‘It’s the whole day the two of us together.

In a detailed account of Liam’s final moments alive, Mr Grassi shared with investigators, as published by Todo Noticias recently, that the singer returned to the reception area after allegedly destroying his room. This adds to the growing concern about the decision to move him from the lobby following the release of a distressing photo last month showing him being carried back up to his third floor suite.

Mr Grassi said: “He was staring blankly, in a totally drunken state. It was clear he wasn’t okay. “When we opened the door we went in behind him and he just walked around. “That’s when I saw everything was broken, vases, lamps, his clothes strewn everything around the room, the towels stained with wine, broken bottles. I didn’t see blood or any type of drug.”

He further claimed that Liam fainted several times “because he was very drunk” in the minutes leading up to his third-floor balcony fall, adding: “We heard he was once again smashing up everything inside, as if he was throwing or kicking things.”

“We stayed outside trying to hear if things were calming down or how the situation was evolving and how we could intervene.”

After making the 999 call, he learned about Liam’s fatal fall and recalled: “One of the sales lads appeared and told me, ‘He threw himself off the balcony'”Hello Esteban how are you?

Sorry for bothering you but I wanted to let you know about a little situation I had with the person in room 310. When I went to hand him a guest amenity and welcome him to the hotel and Argentina, he invited me into his room (which was a complete mess) and asked me if I could get him cocaine.

“I asked him if he was alive and he said he didn’t know, that he’d fallen onto the restaurant terrace and heard the noise, but no-one had seen how he’d fallen.”

It was unclear whether Mr. Grassi’s account of Liam’s final hours came from a previous statement or a new inquiry after being informed he would be questioned again and advised to hire a defense lawyer. Argentine media reported earlier that the number of suspects in the Liam Payne probe had increased to five, including hotel workers Mr. Grassi and Gilda Martin, who were now under formal investigation.

The three previously identified suspects were Liam’s friend Rogelio ‘Roger’ Nores, former hotel worker Ezequiel David Pereyra, and Braian Nahuel Paiz. Waiter Paiz, accused of being Liam’s ‘drug dealer’, admitted to consuming marijuana and claimed Liam had taken cocaine during their second hotel meeting before his death.

The individual cleared the air asserting: “I never took drugs to him or accepted any money. I have messages where he’s offering me money because he was apparently used to offering money for everything but I never accepted anything.”

Mr. Nores, identified locally as one of three under investigation regarding the untimely death of Liam, has maintained his innocence. He countered the allegations that he deserted Liam before the tragedy, stating emphatically, “I never abandoned Liam, I went to his hotel three times that day and left 40 minutes before this happened. There were over 15 people at the hotel lobby chatting and joking with him when I left. I could have never imagined something like this would happen.”

He further clarified, “I’ve given my statement to the prosecutor on October 17 as a witness and I haven’t spoken to any police officer or prosecutor ever since. I wasn’t Liam’s manager. He was just my very dear friend.”

Ezequiel David Pereyra, another person linked to the case, has remained silent in public.