By Shira Ovide Wall Street Journal Hey, hedgies, better brush up on Preet Bharara’s CV and predilections. The U.S. Attorney for Manhattan is looking like the new Sheriff of Wall Street–-and he’s a Springsteen fan, to boot. Bharara’s office, along with the FBI and the SEC, are closing in on an insider-trading case that could…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com The big Wall Street folks with lots of money could soon be trading in those $3,000 tailored wool suits for orange jumpsuits in what promises to be a full blown, major scandal. F.B.I. agents on Monday raided offices of three hedge funds as part of an escalating probe into insider trading…
(dea photo) By Allan Lengel For AOL News In the eyes of Russian officials, Viktor Bout is an innocent businessman being railroaded — quite contrary to the American view that he’s a cunning and dangerous arms dealer worthy of the moniker “Merchant of Death.” Clad in black T-shirt and black sweat pants, Bout briefly appeared…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Big Apple. Big trial. Big headache. The latest big headache in the federal trial in New York of a Gitmo detainee surfaced Monday when a juror on the third day of deliberations, asked the judge to remove her, saying she felt threatened by fellow jurors because she was at odds with…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com The spoils of swindler Bernie Madoff and his wife go up for auction Saturday in New York. His black velveteen slippers, an emerald cut 10.5-carat diamond ring, other jewelry and furniture are up for grabs, the New York Daily News reports. Auctioneers at Gaston & Sheehan will handle the sale, which…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com The headline in the New York Post read: ” ‘Life’ of a Super Mob Rat; Turncoat Killer Gets Witness Protection.” The headline referred to former Bonanno crime-family underboss Salvatore “Good Looking Sal” Vitale, who the Post described as “one of the most helpful government informers in US Mafia history.” Vitale was…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Imitation may be the most sincere form of flattery, but in the art world it’s not always seen that way. The FBI announced Monday that in July it had seized a fraudulent Andrew Wyeth painting “Snow Birds” from a New York auction house . The FBI said the fraudulent painting, which…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com James “Harlem” Washington was helping deliver more than the U.S. mail. Washington, a supervisor for the U.S. Postal Service, was convicted Thursday in federal court in New York of running a “Lotto” type numbers gambling operation at the Postal Service and other government facilities that collected about $10 million in wagers,…
