Damn, Charlie Sheen: the slate was clean for what? Two years? Does it matter anymore? Charlie Sheen choked his wife out for Christmas. He got arrested, she's not talking to cops, he's still the highest paid actor in television.
It was 25 years ago today that Bernie Goetz pulled out a handgun on a No. 2 train and opened fire on four black teenagers who he claimed were planning to mug him. Goetz fired five shots and all four were seriously injured— one was left a paraplegic—and the story, which touched on the hot buttons of race and urban crime, dominated the news media for months. Goetz later stood trial for attempted murder, assault, and reckless endangerment, although a jury only convicted him of illegal firearms, and he ultimately spent less than a year in prison before his release. Cindy Adams took a few minutes to catch up with Goetz on the occasion of the anniversary to see if planned to do anything to do mark the day.
Over the weekend, Rush & Molloy reported that money manager Jeffrey Epstein recently settled a lawsuit that had been brought against him by one of his alleged victims, an unnamed woman who says the pervy billionaire forced her to be his sex slave from the ages of 15 to 19. The terms of the settlement weren't disclosed. (Word has it Epstein has offered other accusers "a minimum of $150,000" in the past.) But his legal problems are far from over: A dozen other women, who all claim Epstein took advantage of them when they were minors, still have lawsuits pending against him.
Brooke Astor's scheming son, Anthony Marshall, heads to court today to find out if he'll do hard time for his crimes. Will the 85-year-old get an early Christmas present and get a judge to grant him his request to serve out his sentence at home? Will he spend the next year behind bars? The answer should come any moment now. [NYP, AP] Update: The judge just sentenced him one to three years behind bars, and Marshall will be required to report to prison on January 19.
Failed David Letterman extorter Joe Halderman was more than an inept criminal with an inept legal defense team; he was a severely paranoid inept criminal. He's just saying—who knows if Letterman might have him killed, or whatever?
The New York Post has some choice quotes from Halderman's recorded conversations with Letterman's lawyer, when he was trying to get a couple million to keep quiet about Letterman's affair. He was worried Letterman might have him fired. Or have his house burned down. Or, something else:
Ever since Raj Rajaratnam was arrested in October for allegedly operating a vast insider trading ring, lawyers for the hedge fund founder have been busy pointing out flaws in the government's case. Now they'll get to see how it plays with a jury. A federal grand jury formally charged Rajaratnam with five counts of conspiracy and six counts of securities fraud this afternoon. [BN]
Yes. Eleven god damn pounds of coke, he tried to buy, in Florida. Allegedly! He and two other guys were arrested last week, and now the DEA has released its version of the story, in which a snitch told them earlier this month that Buju et al "wanted to purchase kilogramme amounts of cocaine in the Sarasota area of the Middle District of Florida." Yea, while you're in Sarasota, pick up some coke, k? So the DEA stone cold set them up, undercover style. Allegedly:
What about the children? A cursory examination of the "news" reveals the chilling truth which we have all dreaded for so long: There is no hope for you, kids. Just do what you want.
