Todd Brassner was quoted as talking Yiddish to his mother.
I think that we are ignoring the role that Todd Brassner played in this. He was portrayed as being an older recluse, living an apartment stuffed with valuable furniture and paintings. As he aged, he became a target for con artists and "friends", and many of his painting had started to disappear from his residence. Perhaps, one of those missing paintings was acquired by Cohen, and sold to bribe Stormy. The fire would give black hats the opportunity to remove proof from Cohen's office. The missing paintings were not missing. They just burned in the fire, along with paperwork on art financial transactions, which would leave a money laundering trail.
That portrait was reported to have burned in the fire.